Genesis 16–17; Matthew 5:27–48

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Genesis 16–17

Sarai and Hagar

aNow Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was bHagar. And Sarai said to Abram, Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children1 by her. And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. So, after Abram chad lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, dshe looked with contempt on her mistress.2 And Sarai said to Abram, May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May ethe Lord judge between you and me! But Abram said to Sarai, Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please. Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to fShur. And he said, Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going? She said, I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai. The angel of the Lord said to her, Return to your mistress and submit to her. 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, gI will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude. 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her,

Behold, you are pregnant

and shall bear a son.

You shall call his name Ishmael,3

hbecause the Lord has listened to your affliction.

12  He shall be ia wild donkey of a man,

his hand against everyone

and everyone’s hand against him,

and he shall dwell jover against all his kinsmen.

13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You are a God of seeing,4 for she said, kTruly here I have seen him who looks after me.5 14 Therefore the well was called lBeer-lahai-roi;6 it lies between mKadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am God Almighty;7 walk before me, and be nblameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and omay multiply you greatly. Then Abram pfell on his face. And God said to him, Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be qthe father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram,8 but ryour name shall be Abraham,9 sfor I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make tyou into nations, and ukings shall come from you. And I will vestablish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, wto be God to you and to your offspring after you. And xI will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and yI will be their God.

And God said to Abraham, As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a zsign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is aeight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bbought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.

Isaac’s Birth Promised

15 And God said to Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah10 shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will cgive11 you a son by her. I will bless her, and dshe shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her. 17 Then Abraham efell on his face fand laughed and said to himself, Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child? 18 And Abraham said to God, Oh that Ishmael might live before you! 19 God said, No, but gSarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name hIsaac.12 I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and imultiply him greatly. He jshall father twelve princes, and kI will make him into a great nation. 21 But lI will establish my covenant with Isaac, mwhom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.

22 When he had finished talking with him, nGod went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.


Matthew 5:27–48

Lust

27 hYou have heard that it was said, iYou shall not commit adultery. 28 But I say to you that jeveryone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 kIf your right eye lcauses you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into mhell. 30 kAnd if your right hand lcauses you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into mhell.

Divorce

31 hIt was also said, nWhoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce. 32 oBut I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and pwhoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

33 Again hyou have heard that it was said to those of old, qYou shall not swear falsely, but rshall perform to the Lord what you have sworn. 34 But I say to you, sDo not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for tit is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is uthe city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply Yes or No; vanything more than this comes from evil.1

Retaliation

38 hYou have heard that it was said, yAn eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 39 But I say to you, zDo not resist the one who is evil. But aif anyone bslaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And zif anyone would sue you and take your tunic,2 let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone cforces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 dGive to the one who begs from you, and edo not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

43 fYou have heard that it was said, gYou shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 But I say to you, iLove your enemies and jpray for those who persecute you, 45 kso that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and lsends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 mFor if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,3 what more are you doing than others? Do not even nthe Gentiles do the same? 48 oYou therefore must be pperfect, qas your heavenly Father is perfect.