Genesis 21 Cross References - NSB

¹ Jehovah was gracious to Sarah, as he had said. Jehovah did for Sarah what he had promised. ² Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age. It was at the very time God had promised him. ³ Abraham gave the name Isaac (he laughs) to the son Sarah bore him. ⁴ When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded him. ⁵ Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. ⁶ Sarah said: »God brought me laughter. Everyone who hears about this will laugh on account of me.« ⁷ She added: »Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.« ⁸ The child grew and was weaned. Abraham held a big feast on the day Isaac was weaned. ⁹ Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was laughing in mockery. ¹⁰ She said to Abraham: »Get rid of that slave woman and her son.« ¹¹ This upset Abraham because of his son Ishmael. ¹² God said to Abraham: »Do not be upset about the boy and your slave. Listen to what Sarah says, because through Isaac your descendants will carry on your name. ¹³ »I will make the slave’s son into a nation also, because he is your child.« ¹⁴ Early the next morning Abraham took bread and a container of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder. He also gave her the boy and sent her on her way. So she left and wandered around in the desert near Beer-sheba. ¹⁵ When the water in the skin was used up, she left the boy under one of the bushes. ¹⁶ She sat across from him at a distance. She thought: »I cannot watch the boy die.« She sat opposite him, and lifted up her voice and wept. ¹⁷ God heard the lad crying. The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her: »What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear! God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. ¹⁸ »Arise, lift up the lad. Hold him by the hand. I will make him a great nation.« ¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes. She saw a well of water. She filled the skin with water and gave the lad a drink. ²⁰ God was with the lad, and he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. ²¹ He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. ²² Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham. They said: »God is with you in all that you do. ²³ »Swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity. Consider the kindness that I have shown to you. Please show it to me and to the land in which you have sojourned.« ²⁴ Abraham said: »I swear it.« ²⁵ Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well of water that the servants of Abimelech had seized. ²⁶ Abimelech said: »I do not know who has done this thing. You did not tell me, nor did I hear of it until today.« ²⁷ Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a covenant. ²⁸ Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. ²⁹ Abimelech asked Abraham: »What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves?« ³⁰ He said: »You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness to me, that I dug this well.« ³¹ Therefore he called that place Beer-sheba, because there the two of them took an oath. ³² They made a covenant at Beer-sheba. Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, arose and returned to the land of the Philistines. ³³ Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beer-sheba. There he called on the name of Jehovah, the Everlasting God. ³⁴ Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for many days.

¹⁶ »I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her.«

¹⁹ God replied: »Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son! You will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as a long lasting covenant for his descendants after him.

²¹ »But my covenant I will establish with Isaac. Sarah will bear him to you by this time next year.«

¹⁰ He said: »Next year I will give you and Sarah a son.« (Sarah was listening in the tent door behind him.)

¹⁴ »Is anything too hard for Jehovah? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life. Sarah shall have a son!«

²⁴ Before Joseph died, he told his brothers: »I will not live much longer. God will take care of you. He will lead you out of Egypt to the land he promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

¹⁶ Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them: JEHOVAH, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me. He said: »I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt.«

³¹ The people believed them. When they heard that Jehovah was concerned about the people of Israel and that he had seen their misery, they knelt, bowed low and worshiped.

⁵ »Do not worship them or serve them. I, Jehovah your God, am a God demanding exclusive devotion. (I do not tolerate rivals.) I will not share your affection with any other god. I punish children for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.

⁶ Some time later Naomi heard that Jehovah blessed his people by giving them good crops. So she got ready to leave Moab with her daughters-in-law.

²¹ Jehovah visited Hannah so that she conceived. She bore three sons and two daughters. At the same time the child Samuel grew before Jehovah.

⁶ The words of Jehovah are pure, like silver refined in a furnace on the earth and purified seven times.

⁴ Remember me, O Jehovah, with favor toward your people. Visit me with your salvation.

³⁵ »Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

⁶⁸ »Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel. He has visited his people and brought them redemption. (Psalm 72:18)

⁴⁴ »They will knock you and your children down to the ground. They will not leave one stone upon another. What’s more you do not know when this visit will take place.«

¹⁷ It is written: »I have made you a father of many nations.« [This was] in the presence of God, the one in whom he believed. He gives life to the dead, and calls into being that which does not exist. ¹⁸ In hope against hope Abraham believed that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken: »So your descendants will be.« ¹⁹ Not being weak in faith he considered his own body now as good as dead (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰ Yet, he looked to the promise of God. He did not waver through unbelief, but grew strong through faith. He gave the glory to God!

²³ How is it that the son by the slave woman is born after the flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through promise?

²⁸ Brothers, we are children who belong to the promise, the same as Isaac was.

² It is in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before times eternal.

¹⁶ Elisha said to her: »By this time next year you will hold a son in your arms.« »Please do not lie to me. You are a man of God!« She said. ¹⁷ Just as Elisha said, about that time the following year she gave birth to a son.

²⁴ His wife Elisabeth became pregnant. She remained in seclusion for five months. ²⁵ She said: »This is the way God has dealt with me by taking away my reproach among men.« (1 Samuel 1:11)

³⁶ »Your relative Elisabeth has also conceived a son even in her old age. This so-called barren woman is in her sixth month.

⁸ »He gave him the covenant of circumcision. Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him the eighth day. Isaac became father to Jacob and Jacob fathered the twelve family heads.

⁹ The word of promise: »According to this time I will come and Sarah will have a son.«

²² It is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman, and one by the freewoman.

¹¹ By faith Sarah received strength to conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who promised.

⁶ Sarah said: »God brought me laughter. Everyone who hears about this will laugh on account of me.«

¹² God said to Abraham: »Do not be upset about the boy and your slave. Listen to what Sarah says, because through Isaac your descendants will carry on your name.

² »Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.«

³ »‘I took Abraham, your ancestor, from the land across the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac,

² Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

⁷ It is not because they are Abraham’s that they are all children, but: »What will be called ‘your seed’ will be through Isaac.« (Genesis 21:12)

¹⁸ It was said: »In Isaac your descendants will be called.«

¹⁰ »This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ »You are to undergo circumcision. It will be the sign of the covenant between us. ¹² »For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised. This includes those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner, those who are not your offspring.

⁴⁸ »The uncircumcised man may not eat it. If a foreigner has settled among you and wants to celebrate Passover to honor Jehovah, you must first circumcise all the males of his household. He is then to be treated like a native-born Israelite and may join in the festival.

³ »‘The boy must be circumcised when he is eight days old.

³² »Be careful to do what I command you. Do not add to it nor take away from it.

⁶ They were both righteous before God. They blamelessly obeyed all the commandments and ordinances of God (Greek: kurios: God).

⁵⁹ On the eighth day they circumcised the child. They planned to call him Zechariah, after the name of the father.

²¹ After eight days the baby was circumcised. He was called by the name, Jesus. (Jesus: Jehovah is salvation) This was the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

²² »Moses gave you circumcision. Not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers. And you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. ²³ »A man receives circumcision on the Sabbath. That way the Law of Moses may not be broken. Are you angry with me, because I made an entire man whole on the Sabbath?

¹ Abram was ninety-nine years old. Jehovah appeared to him and said: »I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless.

¹⁷ Abraham fell to his face. He laughed and said to himself: »Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?«

¹⁹ Not being weak in faith he considered his own body now as good as dead (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.

¹² Therefore Sarah laughed within herself. She said to herself: »After I have grown old, shall I have a baby? My lord is old also.« ¹³ Jehovah said to Abraham: »Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?' ¹⁴ »Is anything too hard for Jehovah? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life. Sarah shall have a son!« ¹⁵ Sarah denied saying: »I did not laugh!« She was afraid. He said: »But you did laugh!«

²⁶ Hannah said to him: »My lord. Do you remember me? I am the woman you saw standing here, praying to Jehovah.

⁹ He makes a childless woman a joyful mother. Praise Jehovah!

² Then our mouths were filled with laughter and our tongues with joyful songs. Then the nations said: »Jehovah has done spectacular things for them.«

¹⁵ Can a woman forget her nursing child? Will she have no compassion on the child from her womb? Although mothers forget, I will not forget you.

²¹ »‘You will think in your heart: ‘Who brought these children to birth? I am barren (sterile) and bereaved of my children. I am an exiled wonderer. Who gave birth to these? From where did these come?’

¹ »Sing joyfully, O barren woman, you who never bore a child! Burst into song and shout for joy, you who were never in labor! More are the children of the desolate woman than of the woman, who has a husband,« proclaims Jehovah.

¹⁴ »You will be filled with joy, and many will be happy at his birth.

⁴⁶ Mary said: »My life magnifies Jehovah my God. (1 Samuel 2:1) ⁴⁷ »My heart and mind rejoice in God my Savior. ⁴⁸ »He has looked on the low position of his servant. All generations from now on will call me blessed. ⁴⁹ »He that is mighty has done great things to me. Holy is his name. ⁵⁰ »His mercy is to all generations for all who respect him. ⁵¹ »He shows strength with his arm. He scatters the proud in the thoughts of their heart. ⁵² »He removes rulers from their thrones and exalts the humble. ⁵³ »He fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty handed. ⁵⁴ »He has helped Israel his servant that he might remember mercy. ⁵⁵ »He spoke to our fathers. To Abraham and his seed forever.«

⁵⁸ Her neighbors and her relatives heard that Jehovah magnified his mercy towards her; and they rejoiced with her.

²¹ »A woman in tribulation has sorrow, because her hour to give birth has come. When she delivers the child, she remembers no more anguish, because of the joy that a man is born into the world. ²² »You have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your heart will rejoice and no one can take your joy from you.

¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

²⁷ It is written, »Rejoice, barren woman who does not give birth. Break forth and cry, you who do not labor; for there are more children of the desolate than of the one who has the husband.« ²⁸ Brothers, we are children who belong to the promise, the same as Isaac was.

¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. ¹² Therefore Sarah laughed within herself. She said to herself: »After I have grown old, shall I have a baby? My lord is old also.«

²³ »For there is omen (spell) against Jacob, Nor is there any divination against Israel. At the proper time it will be said to Jacob and Israel: What God has done!

³² »Ask about the days from the past. A time that came before you, since the day that God created man upon the earth. And ask from one side of heaven to the other whether there has ever been anything like this great thing, or anything like it has been heard? ³³ »Did people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the middle of the fire, as you have heard, and live? ³⁴ »Has God attempted to take a nation from the middle of another nation? Has he done this by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by great terrors? Yes, and by the use of his great power! Jehovah your God did all this for you in Egypt before your very eyes!

⁸ No god is like you, O Jehovah. No one can do what you do.

¹⁰ Indeed, you are great, a worker of miracles. You alone are God.

⁸ »Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a country be born in one day? Can a nation be born in a moment? When Zion went into labor, she also gave birth to her sons.

¹⁰ It is the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known through the congregation and the rules and authorities in the heavenly places.

¹⁰ He will then come to be glorified in his holy ones, and to be marveled at by all those who believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

³ Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. He set a great feast before them, complete with fresh unleavened (unfermented) bread.

³⁰ Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

²² Laban gathered all the men of the place and gave a feast.

²⁰ It happened on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday that he made a feast for all his servants. He lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.

¹⁰ Samson’s father went to the woman’s house. Samson gave a banquet there. This was a custom among the young men.

¹² Samson said to them: »Let me tell you a riddle. If you can tell me the meaning before the seven days of the wedding feast are over, I will give each of you a piece of fine linen and a change of fine clothes.« »Tell us your riddle,« they said: »Let us hear it.«

²² This time Hannah did not go. She told her husband: As soon as the child is weaned, I will take him to the Temple of Jehovah, where he will stay all his life.

³⁶ When Abigail came to Nabal, he was holding a banquet in his home. It was like a king’s banquet. He was in a good mood and very drunk, so she did not tell him anything until dawn.

²⁰ Twenty men accompanied Abner to see David at Hebron. David had a feast for Abner and his men.

¹⁵ Solomon woke up and was aware that God had spoken to him in the dream. Then he went to Jerusalem and stood in front of Jehovah’s Ark of the Covenant. He offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to Jehovah. Then he gave a feast for all his officials.

³ In the third year of his rule he gave a feast to all his captains and his servants. The captains of the army of Persia and Media, the great men and the rulers of the divisions of his kingdom, were present before him.

² Surely I am composed and quiet. I am like a weaned child who rests against his mother. Inside of me I am like a weaned child.

⁸ Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, Gomer conceived, and gave birth to another son.

¹ Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.

³ After Abram lived in Canaan ten years, Sarai, his wife, gave her Egyptian maidservant Hagar to her husband to be his wife. ⁴ Abram had intercourse with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram: »You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms; she knows she is pregnant and she despises me. May Jehovah judge between you and me.« ⁶ »Your servant is in your hands,« Abram said. »Do with her whatever you think best.« Then Sarai mistreated Hagar. So she ran away from her.

¹⁵ Hagar bore Abram a son. Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.

²⁰ »Concerning Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him. I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.

²³ Elisha left Jericho to go to Bethel. On the way some boys came out of a town and taunted and made fun of him. They shouted: »Get out of here, baldy!« ²⁴ Elisha turned around and glared at them. He cursed them in the name of Jehovah. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys to pieces.

¹⁰ So the couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.

¹⁶ They mocked God’s messengers. They despised his words, and made fun of his prophets until Jehovah became angry with his people. He could no longer heal them.

¹ Now, Sanballat, hearing that we were building the wall, was very angry, and in his wrath made sport of the Jews. ² And in the hearing of his countrymen and the army of Samaria he said: »What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they make themselves strong? Will they make offerings? Will they get the work done in a day? Will they make the stones that have been burned come again out of the dust?« ³ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was with him, and he said: Such is their building that if a fox climbs to the top of it, their stonewall will be broken down. ⁴ Give ear, O our God, for we are ridiculed. Let their words of shame be turned back upon them, and let them be given up to plunder in a land where they are prisoners. ⁵ Do not let their wrongdoing be covered or their sin be washed away from before you: for they have made you angry before the builders.

¹ »Men younger than I am make fun of me now! Their fathers have always been so worthless that I would not let them help dogs guard sheep.

⁶ Yet, I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned by humanity and despised by people.

¹⁰ As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me, while they say to me all day long: »Where is your God?«

¹³ You made us a reproach to our neighbors and an object of ridicule and contempt to those around us. ¹⁴ You made our defeat a proverb among the nations so that people shake their heads at us.

¹¹ Even a child is known by his deeds, whether his work is pure, and whether it is right.

⁷ Jerusalem remembers in her days of sorrow and of her wanderings, all the desired things that were hers in the past. When her people were captive to the power of her adversary she had no helper. Her attackers desired her and made fun of her in her destruction.

²⁹ Just like then, the son who was conceived in a natural way according to the flesh persecuted the son conceived in a spiritual way. That is exactly what is happening now!

³⁶ And others had trial of cruel mocking and scourging and bonds and imprisonment.

¹¹ Abraham said: »I thought that because there are no people who reverence God in this place, I would be killed because of my wife.

¹⁰ Then he picked up the knife to kill him.

⁶ While Abraham was still alive, he gave gifts to the sons of Hagar and Keturah. He also sent their sons to live in the east far from his son Isaac.

¹⁹ This is the genealogy of Abraham’s son Isaac and his descendants. Abraham was the father of Isaac.

⁶ Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob. ⁷ For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock.

¹¹ »I tell you, many will come from the east and the west, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: ¹² »but the sons of the kingdom will be cast forth into the outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.«

¹³ »The king gave orders for that person to be tied hand and foot and thrown outside into the dark. That is where people will cry and grind their teeth in pain.

³⁵ »The slave does not abide in the house forever. The son abides forever.

¹⁸ If the inheritance is based on the Law, it is no longer based on a promise. However God granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.

⁷ So you are no longer slaves but a son. And as a son God has made you an heir.

²² It is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman, and one by the freewoman. ²³ How is it that the son by the slave woman is born after the flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through promise? ²⁴ This contains an allegory (symbolic drama). These women symbolize two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar. ²⁵ Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the Jerusalem that now is. She is in bondage with her children. ²⁶ The Jerusalem above is free. She is our mother. ²⁷ It is written, »Rejoice, barren woman who does not give birth. Break forth and cry, you who do not labor; for there are more children of the desolate than of the one who has the husband.« ²⁸ Brothers, we are children who belong to the promise, the same as Isaac was. ²⁹ Just like then, the son who was conceived in a natural way according to the flesh persecuted the son conceived in a spiritual way. That is exactly what is happening now! ³⁰ What do the scriptures say? »Throw out the slave woman and her son. For the son of the slave woman must not share the inheritance with the son of the free woman.« (Genesis 21:10) ³¹ Brothers, we are not children of a slave woman but of the free woman.

⁴ You are born to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that does not fade away and is reserved in heaven for you.

¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not of us. If they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it made it plain that they all are not of us.

¹⁸ Abraham said to God: »If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!«

¹ God tested Abraham. He said to him: »Abraham!« Abraham replied: »Here I am.« ² »Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.«

³³ The king was shaken by the news. He went to the room above the gate and cried. »My son Absalom!« He said. »My son, my son Absalom! I wish I had died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!«

³⁷ »He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. He who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

¹¹ Now no discipline for the present seems to be joyous. In fact it seems grievous! Nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained.

⁷ Jehovah answered: »Samuel, do everything they want you to do. I am really the one they have rejected as their king.

⁹ »Listen to them. But be sure to warn them and tell them about the behavior and rights of a king who rules over them.«

¹⁰ »I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’

⁷ It is not because they are Abraham’s that they are all children, but: »What will be called ‘your seed’ will be through Isaac.« (Genesis 21:12) ⁸ That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as seed.

¹⁰ »I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.«

¹⁸ »Arise, lift up the lad. Hold him by the hand. I will make him a great nation.«

¹² This is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maid, bore to Abraham. ¹³ These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael, and Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam ¹⁴ and Mishma and Dumah and Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages, and by their camps: twelve leaders according to their tribes. ¹⁷ Ishmael lived one hundred and thirty-seven years. Then he died and was gathered to his ancestors. ¹⁸ His descendants lived as nomads from the region of Havilah to Shur. This is near Egypt, in the direction of Assyria. He died in the presence of all his brothers.

⁷ The angel of Jehovah found Hagar near a spring in the desert. It was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.

²⁷ Early the next morning Abraham came to the place where he had stood in front of Jehovah.

³¹ Therefore he called that place Beer-sheba, because there the two of them took an oath.

³³ Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beer-sheba. There he called on the name of Jehovah, the Everlasting God.

³ Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey. He took two of his servants and his son Isaac with him. He had cut the wood for the burnt offering. Then he set out for the place that God had told him about.

¹⁹ Abraham and Isaac went back to the servants who had come with him. They returned to Abraham’s home in Beer-sheba.

⁵⁴ He and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they got up in the morning, he said: »Let me go back to my master.«

³¹ Early the next morning each man made his promise and sealed it with a vow. Isaac said good-bye to them. They parted as friends.

³³ Isaac named the well Shibah. The town is still called Beer-sheba.

¹⁵ and wandering through the fields, when a man asked: »What are you looking for?«

¹ Jacob (Israel) packed up everything he owned and left for Egypt. On the way he stopped near the town of Beer-sheba and offered sacrifices to the God his father Isaac had worshiped.

³ Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He took his servant and went to Beersheba in Judah. He left the servant there.

⁴ They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way. They found no city to live in.

⁶⁰ I hurried and did not delay to keep your commandments.

¹⁴ He that blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, where you are going.

⁸ The fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah wither. The rulers of the nations have trampled down the choicest vines, which once reached Jazer and spread toward the desert. Their shoots spread out and went as far as the sea.

²³ How is it that the son by the slave woman is born after the flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through promise? ²⁴ This contains an allegory (symbolic drama). These women symbolize two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar. ²⁵ Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the Jerusalem that now is. She is in bondage with her children.

¹⁴ Early the next morning Abraham took bread and a container of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder. He also gave her the boy and sent her on her way. So she left and wandered around in the desert near Beer-sheba.

²² Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea into the desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. ²³ When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water because it tasted bitter. That is why the place was called Marah (Bitter Place). ²⁴ The people complained about Moses. They asked: »What can we drink?« ²⁵ Moses cried out to Jehovah. Jehovah showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. Jehovah presented laws and rules for them to live by. He tested them there.

¹ The entire congregation of Israelites left the desert of Sin and traveled from place to place as Jehovah commanded them. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ² So they complained to Moses about this: »Give us water to drink!« Moses said: »Why do you complain to me? Why do you test Jehovah?« ³ The people were thirsty for water. They complained to Moses and asked: »Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Was it to make us, our children, and our livestock die of thirst?«

⁹ King Joram and the kings of Judah and Edom assembled. After marching seven days, they ran out of water. There was none left for the men or the pack animals.

¹ ([[Psalm of David] in the wilderness of Judah:]) O God, you are my God. At dawn I search for you. I thirst for you. My body longs for you in a dry, parched land where there is no water.

¹² The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals. He shapes an idol with hammers; he forges it with the might of his arm. He gets hungry and loses his strength. He drinks no water and grows faint.

³ Important people send their assistants out for water. They do not find any water at the cisterns. They return with their containers empty. They cover their heads, because they are ashamed and dishonored.

³⁸ Esau pleaded: »Father, please! Do you have only one blessing, Father? Bless me too, Father!« Esau broke down and wept.

¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept loudly.

³⁴ »How can I face my father if Benjamin is not with me? I could not bear to see my father in such sorrow.«

⁴ When the angel of Jehovah spoke these words to all the children of Israel the people wept loudly.

⁹ »May Jehovah make it possible for each of you to marry again and have a home.« Then Naomi kissed them good-bye and they cried.

¹⁶ »David, my son is that you?« Saul asked. Then he started crying.

⁴ David and his men cried loudly until they did not have the strength to cry anymore.

²⁶ With a heart full of love for her son the real mother said: »Please, Your Majesty, do not kill the child! Give it to her!« But the other woman said: »Do not give it to either of us cut it in two.«

⁶ »For how can it be possible for me to see the evil that is to overtake my nation? How may I see the destruction of my people?«

¹⁰ »I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of kindness and of supplication. They will look to the one whom they pierced; and they will mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son. There will be a bitter lamentation for him, like one who grieves for his first-born.

²⁰ »He went to his father. He was a long way from home when his father saw him. His heart filled with pity. He ran and threw his arms around his son and kissed him.

¹ The word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision: »Do not be afraid, Abram; I am your shield. Your reward shall be very great.«

⁹ Then the angel of Jehovah told her: »Go back to your mistress and submit to her.

¹¹ Jehovah’s angel also said: »You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael (means: God hears). Jehovah has heard of your misery.

³ God said: »I am God! I am the same God your father worshiped. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt. I will give you so many descendants that one day they will become a nation.

⁷ Jehovah said: »I have seen how my people are suffering as slaves in Egypt. I have heard them beg for my help because of the way they are being mistreated. I feel sorry for them.

¹³ But Moses said to the people: »Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of Jehovah. He will accomplish this for you today. The Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.

²³ »If you do, I, Jehovah, will answer them when they cry out to me for help,

²⁷ for it is the only covering he has to keep him warm. What else can he sleep in? When he cries out to me for help, I will answer him because I am merciful.

²³ They shouted at them. The Danites turned around and asked Micah, »What is the problem? Why have you gathered such a company?«

⁵ Just then Saul came from the field from behind some oxen. »Why are these people crying?« Saul asked. They told him the news about the men of Jabesh.

⁴ Then Jehoahaz prayed to Jehovah. Jehovah listened to him. He saw how cruelly the king of Aram crushed Israel.

²³ But Jehovah was kind to them and had pity on them, caring for them, because of his agreement with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He would not put them to destruction or send them away from his presence until now.

¹⁵ »Call on me in times of trouble. I will rescue you, and you will honor me.«

² All men will come to you O Hearer of prayer.

¹⁵ When you call to me, I will answer you. I will be with you when you are in trouble. I will deliver you and honor you.

⁴ They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way. They found no city to live in. ⁵ Hungry and thirsty, they fainted within. ⁶ Then they cried to Jehovah in their trouble. He delivered them out of their distress.

¹ What troubles you now that you have all gone up on the roof?

¹⁰ »‘Do not fear for I am with you! Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’

¹³ »I AM JEHOVAH, YOUR GOD! I take hold of your right hand and say to you: Do not fear; I will help you. ¹⁴ »Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I will help you. This is the declaration of Jehovah, your Redeemer, and the Holy One of Israel.

¹ Jehovah created Jacob and formed Israel. Jehovah says: »Do not be afraid for I have reclaimed you. I have called you by my name. You are mine. ² »When you go through the sea, I am with you. When you go through rivers, they will not sweep you away. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames will not harm you.

³² Jesus called his disciples and said: »I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.«

³⁶ But Jesus did not listen. He said to the ruler of the synagogue believe and do not fear.

¹³ »I will make the slave’s son into a nation also, because he is your child.«

²⁹ These were their descendants: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ³⁰ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, ³¹ Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael.

³¹ Then Jehovah let Balaam see the angel standing there with his sword. Balaam threw himself face down on the ground.

¹⁷ Elisha prayed: »O Jehovah, open his eyes that he may see.« Jehovah answered his prayer. Elisha's servant looked up and saw the hillside covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. ¹⁸ The Syrians attacked! Elisha prayed, »O Jehovah, strike these men blind!« Jehovah answered his prayer and struck them blind. ¹⁹ Elisha said to the Syrians: »This is not the way or the town you are looking for. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are after.« He led them to Samaria. ²⁰ When they entered the city, Elisha prayed: »Open their eyes and let them see.« Jehovah answered his prayer. He restored their sight, and they saw that they were inside Samaria.

⁵ Then the blind will be able to see, and the deaf will hear. ⁶ The lame will leap and dance, and those who cannot speak will shout for joy. Streams of water will flow through the desert plain.

¹⁶ But their eyes did not permit them to recognize him. ¹⁷ He asked: »What are you talking about with each other as you walk?« They stopped walking and were sad. ¹⁸ The one named Cleopas answered him: »Do you travel alone in Jerusalem and not know the things that have happened there these days?« ¹⁹ He asked: »What things?« They said to him: »The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene. He was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. ²⁰ »The chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death. They impaled him! ²¹ »We hoped he would redeem Israel. Yes and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. ²² »Some of the women of our company stunned us. They went to the tomb early. ²³ »They did not find his body. They said that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. ²⁴ »Others with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women said. He was not there!« ²⁵ He said to them: »You are foolish men. You are slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ »Did the Christ need to suffer these things and enter into his glory?« ²⁷ He explained to them all the Scriptures about the things concerning him. He spoke about Moses and all the prophets. ²⁸ They approached the village where they were going and he appeared to be going further. ²⁹ They persuaded him not to go saying, »Abide with us. It is nearly evening and the day is almost gone.« He stayed with them. ³⁰ When he had sat down with them to eat he took the bread and blessed; and breaking it he gave to them. ³¹ Their eyes were opened and they knew him. Then he vanished out of their sight.

⁹ He was a mighty hunter before Jehovah. That is why it is said: »Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Jehovah.«

¹² »He (Ishmael) will be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him. He will live in hostility toward all his brothers.«

²⁷ The boys grew up. Esau became a skilled hunter, a man who loved the outdoors. Jacob was an upright man who stayed at home.

³ »Please take your hunting equipment, your quiver and bow, and go out into the open country and hunt some wild game for me.

¹⁵ »Remember, I am with you. I will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I do what I have promised you.«

² Jehovah was with Joseph. Joseph became a successful man. He worked in the house of his Egyptian master. ³ Joseph’s master saw that Jehovah was with him. Jehovah made him succeed in everything he did.

²¹ Jehovah helped him and was good to him. He even made the jailer like Joseph so much that

²³ »Archers provoked him, shot at him, and harassed him. ²⁴ »His bow stayed steady! His arms remained limber because of the help of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

¹² Jehovah’s angel appeared to him there and said: »Jehovah is with you, mighty man of valor!«

²⁴ The woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The child grew and Jehovah blessed him. ²⁵ Jehovah’s power strengthened him while he was between Zorah and Eshtaol in the Camp of Dan.

⁸⁰ The child grew and became spiritually strong. He lived in the deserts till the time came to show himself to Israel.

⁴⁰ The child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom and was blessed by God.

³ »I want you to swear by Jehovah God of heaven and earth that you will not get my son a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am living. ⁴ »Instead, you will go to the land of my relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.«

³⁴ When Esau was forty he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵ These two women brought a lot of grief to his parents, Isaac and Rebekah.

⁴⁶ Rebekah said to Isaac: »I cannot stand Hittite women! I would rather die than see Jacob marry one of them.«

¹² At last the Israelites started on their journey out of the Sinai Desert. The cloud came to rest in the wilderness of Paran.

¹⁶ Then they left Hazeroth and set up camp in the wilderness of Paran.

³ According to Jehovah’s command, Moses sent these men from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.

²⁶ They returned to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. They gave their report and showed them the fruit from the land.

² He went home and told his father and mother: »A Philistine woman at Timnah caught my attention. Get her for me. I want to marry her.«

¹ Samuel died. All Israel gathered to mourn him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David went to the desert of Paran.

³⁸ So then he who gives his virginity in marriage does well; but he who does not get married does even better.

² he said that his wife Sarah was his sister. So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

¹⁷ Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could have children.

²⁶ Abimelech came from Gerar with Ahuzzath, his friend (companion), and Phicol, the commander of his army, to see Isaac.

²⁸ They answered: »Now we know that Jehovah is with you. We think that there should be a solemn agreement between us. We want you to promise

²⁷ But Laban said: »If now it pleases you, stay with me. I have observed that Jehovah has blessed me on your account.«

⁷ Jehovah said to Joshua: »This day will I begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel. Now they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.

¹ Solomon, son of David, strengthened his position over the kingdom. Jehovah (YHWH), his God, was with him and made him very powerful.

¹⁰ Make plans for battle, but they will never succeed. Give orders, but they will not be carried out, because God is with us!

¹⁴ This is what Jehovah says: »The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and those tall Sabeans will come over to you and will be yours. They will walk behind you. They will come to you in chains. They will bow down before you and plead with you. They will say: ‘God is with you and there is no other. There is no other god!’

²³ Jehovah of hosts said: »In those days it will come to pass, that ten men out of all the languages of the nations, will take hold of the skirt of the one who is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.«

²³ »The virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,« which means: »God (God-like one) is with us.« (John 1:18)

³¹ What shall we then say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

²⁵ The secrets of his heart are made known. So falling down on his face he will worship God, and report, »God is truly among you.«

⁵ You should be free from the love of money. Be content with what you have, for he has said: »I will not leave you. I will not forsake you.«

⁹ »'I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews, and are not, for they lie; I will make them come and bow down before your feet. They will know that I have loved you.

²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom: »I have sworn to Jehovah, God Most High, maker of heaven and earth: ²³ »I will take nothing. Not a thread or a sandal strap. You will not be able to say: 'I have made Abram rich.’

¹⁴ Abimelech took sheep, cattle, and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him.

³ »I want you to swear by Jehovah God of heaven and earth that you will not get my son a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am living.

⁴⁴ »Now, let us make an agreement (covenant) and let it stand as a witness between you and me.«

⁵³ »May the God of Abraham and Nahor the God of their father judge between us.« So Jacob swore this oath out of respect for his father Isaac.

¹³ »You must respect Jehovah your God. Serve him and swear by his name!

¹² »I pray that you will swear to me by Jehovah, since I have showed you kindness that you will also show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token(sign) (pledge of truth);

¹³ »If my father plans to harm you and I do not send you away safely, may Jehovah harm me even more. Jehovah should be with you just as he used to be with my father.

¹⁷ Once again Jonathan made David promise to love him. Jonathan loved David as much as he loved himself.

⁴² Jonathan said to David: »God be with you. Jehovah will make sure that you and I, and your descendants and mine, will keep the sacred promise we have made to each other for as long as we live.« Then David left and Jonathan went back to town.

²¹ »Promise me with Jehovah as your witness, that you will not destroy my descendants. Let them live to keep my family name alive.« ²² David promised and Saul went home. David and his men returned to their hideout.

¹⁵ »Will you lead me to those raiders?« David asked him. He answered, »I will if you promise me in God’s name that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master.«

² if you take the oath, as Jehovah lives in an honest, fair, and right way, then the nations will be blessed, and in him they will glory.«

²³ But I call God for a witness against me. To spare you I did not come to Corinth.

¹⁶ Men swear by someone greater then themselves: and an oath for confirmation to them puts an end to the problem.

¹³ Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. He was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. They were Abram’s allies.

¹⁸ When it is possible, be peaceable with all men.

⁷ Quarreling arose between Abram’s herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.

¹⁵ The Philistines stopped up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father. They filled them with dirt. ¹⁶ Abimelech said to Isaac: »Go away from us. You are too powerful for us.« ¹⁷ Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar where he settled. ¹⁸ Then Isaac dug the water wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham. The Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He gave them the same names his father had given them. ¹⁹ Isaac’s servants dug in the valley (wadi) (torrent-valley) and found a well of running water. ²⁰ The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac. They said: »The water is ours!« So he named the well Esek, because they argued with him. ²¹ They dug another well. And they quarreled over that one too. So Isaac named it Sitnah (Accusation). ²² He moved on from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over this one. So he named it Rehoboth (Roomy). He said: »Now Jehovah has made room for us. We will prosper in this land.«

⁸ They said: »We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well. Then we water the sheep.«

¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian by a well. ¹⁶ The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷ Then the shepherds came and drove them away. Moses stood up and helped them water their flock.

¹⁵ She said: »Give me a blessing: for you have given me a land south with spring water.« And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

¹⁰ Reproof influences a wise man more than a hundred stripes does to a fool.

⁹ Debate your cause with your neighbor direct; and do not reveal the secret of another.

⁵ Open rebuke is better than secret love.

¹⁵ »If your brother does wrong to you, go to him in private. Clearly explain his error between you and him. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother back.

²⁰ when Elisha's servant Gehazi said to himself: »My master has let Naaman get away without paying a thing! He should have accepted what that Syrian offered him. By the living God Jehovah I will run after him and get something from him.« ²¹ He ran after Naaman. When Naaman saw a man running after him, he got down from his chariot to meet him, and asked: »What is wrong?« ²² »Nothing is wrong,« answered Gehazi. »But my master sent me to tell you that just now two members of the group of prophets in the hill country of Ephraim arrived. He would like you to give them three thousand pieces of silver and two changes of fine clothes.« ²³ »Please take six thousand pieces of silver,« Naaman replied. He tied the silver in two bags and gave them and two changes of fine clothes to two of his servants, and sent them on ahead of Gehazi. ²⁴ They reached the hill where Elisha lived. Gehazi took the two bags and carried them into the house. Then he sent Naaman's servants back.

²⁸ They answered: »Now we know that Jehovah is with you. We think that there should be a solemn agreement between us. We want you to promise ²⁹ »that you will not harm us. We did not harm you. We were kind to you and let you go peacefully. Now it is clear that Jehovah has blessed you.« ³⁰ Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ Early the next morning each man made his promise and sealed it with a vow. Isaac said good-bye to them. They parted as friends.

³ Jonathan made a covenant with David. He loved him as himself.

⁸ A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes its owner. He prospers in everything he does.

¹⁶ A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.

²⁴ A man with friends must be friendly! A friend sticks closer than a brother.

¹⁴ A gift in secret pacifies anger. A bribe behind the back provokes strong anger.

⁸ But the noble man devises noble plans. He stands firm for what is honorable.

¹³ »He took one of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land,

³¹ without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, unforgiving, and unmerciful.

¹⁵ Brothers, I speak like a man speaks: Though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds to it.

⁸ Esau asked: »What about that other group I met? What do you mean by all this company?« Jacob answered: »It was to gain your favor.«

²⁶ »When your children ask you: What does this rite mean to you?

¹⁴ Samuel asked: »Why do I hear the sound of cows and sheep?«

⁴⁴ »Now, let us make an agreement (covenant) and let it stand as a witness between you and me.« ⁴⁵ Jacob took a stone and set it up as a marker. ⁴⁶ Jacob said to his relatives: »Gather some stones.« They took stones, put them into a pile, and ate there by the pile of stones. ⁴⁷ In his language, Laban called it »Jegar Sahadutha« (Witness Pile), but Jacob called it »Galeed.« ⁴⁸ Laban said: »This pile of stones stands as a witness between you and me today.« This is why it was named Galeed,

⁵² »This pile of stones and this marker stand as witnesses that I will not go past the pile of stones to harm you, and that you will not go past the pile of stones or marker to harm me.

²⁷ but instead, as a sign for our people and yours, and for the generations after us, that we do indeed worship Jehovah. We do this before his sacred Tabernacle with our offerings to be burned and with sacrifices and fellowship offerings. This was to keep your descendants from saying that ours have nothing to do with Jehovah.« ²⁸ »We thought that if this should ever happen, our descendants could say: ‘You see our ancestors made an altar just like Jehovah’s altar. It was not for burning offerings or for sacrifice, but as a sign for our people and yours.’«

²⁷ He told the people: »This stone will serve as our witness. It has heard all the words that Jehovah spoke to us. So it will be a witness against you, to keep you from rebelling against your God.«

²³ He went from there to Beer-sheba.

²⁸ Hazarshual, and Beer-sheba, and Bizjothjah,

¹ The people of Israel came from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, as well as from the land of Gilead in the east. They were united in Jehovah’s presence at Mizpah.

¹¹ »My advice is to gather all Israel’s troops from Dan to Beersheba. They are as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Lead them into battle yourself.

²⁵ As long as he lived, the people throughout Judah and Israel lived in safety. Each family had its own grapevines and fig trees.

¹⁴ Pathrusites, Casluhites, and Caphtorites.

²⁷ Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a covenant.

⁸ After Isaac had been there a long time, King Abimelech looked out a window and saw Isaac intimately laughing and caressing Rebekah.

¹⁴ He possessed flocks and herds and a great household. The Philistines envied him.

¹⁷ »When the king of Egypt let the people go God did not take them on the road that goes up the coast to Philistia, although it was the shortest way. God thought: I do not want the people to change their minds and return to Egypt when they see that they are going to have to fight.«

¹ The Israelites sinned against Jehovah again. So he let the Philistines rule them for forty years.

²⁶ Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on (proclaim) the name of Jehovah.

⁸ From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent. Bethel was on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to Jehovah and called on the name of Jehovah.

²⁵ Isaac built an altar there and worshiped Jehovah. Then he set up his camp. His servants dug another well.

²¹ »When you build the altar for Jehovah your God, never plant beside it any tree dedicated to the goddess Asherah.

²⁷ »The eternal God is a dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms. He drove out the enemy from before you, and said: ‘Destroy!’

⁷ The people of Israel forgot Jehovah their God. They sinned against him and worshiped the idols of Baal and Asherah.

² Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and its inhabitants, you are God from everlasting to everlasting.

²⁸ »Do you not know? Have you not heard? JEHOVAH IS THE EVERLASTING GOD, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and no one can measure (find out) his understanding.

¹⁵ The High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy, says: ‘I dwell in the high and holy and also with him who has a contrite and humble spirit. I revive the spirit of the humble, and the heart of the contrite ones.’

¹⁰ Jehovah is the true (faithful) (right) God! He is the living God and the everlasting king. The earth quakes at his wrath. The nations cannot endure his indignation.

¹⁴ »They who swear by the sin of Samaria. They will say: ‘As your god lives, O Dan, the way Beersheba lives.’ They will fall and never rise up again.«

²⁰ His invisible attributes are clearly seen since the creation of the world. The things made prove His eternal power and divine nature. Mankind has no excuse,

²⁶ It is now made known by the Scriptures of the prophets according to the commandment of the everlasting God. It is made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.

¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

¹ Abraham moved from Mamre to the southern part of Canaan and lived between Kadesh and Shur. Later, while he was living in Gerar,

¹⁵ »You know, O Jehovah that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death.

¹² »Hear my prayer, O Jehovah. Open your ear (listen) to my cry for help. Do not be deaf to my tears, for I am a foreign resident with you, a stranger like all my fathers.

⁹ By faith he became an alien in the Promised Land. It was not his land. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob. They were heirs with him of the same promise.

¹³ These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar. They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

¹¹ Beloved, I request that you as aliens and strangers abstain from fleshly lust (desires), which causes conflict in you.