Jan 6 - Genesis 17-19
Genesis
1In truth, after he began to be ninety-nine years of age, the Lord appeared to him. And he said to him: "I am the Almighty God. Walk in my sight and become complete2And I will set my covenant between me and you. And I will multiply you very exceedingly.3Abram fell prone on his face4And God said to him: "I AM, and my covenant is with you, and you will be the father of many nations5No longer will your name be called Abram. But you will be called Abraham, for I have established you as the father of many nations6And I will cause you to increase very greatly, and I will set you among the nations, and kings will come forth from you7And I will establish my covenant between me and you, and with your offspring after you in their generations, by a perpetual covenant: to be God to you and to your offspring after you8And I will give to you and to your offspring, the land of your sojourn, all the land of Canaan, as an eternal possession, and I will be their God.9Again God said to Abraham: "And you therefore shall keep my covenant, and your offspring after you in their generations10This is my covenant, which you shall observe, between me and you, and your offspring after you: All the males among you shall be circumcised11And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, so that it may be a sign of the covenant between me and you12An infant of eight days will be circumcised among you, every male in your generations. So also servants born to you, as well as those bought, shall be circumcised, even those who are not of your stock13And my covenant shall be with your flesh as an eternal covenant14The male, the flesh of whose foreskin will not be circumcised, that soul shall be eliminated from his people. For he has made my covenant void.15God said also to Abraham: "Your wife Sarai, you shall not call Sarai, but Sarah16And I will bless her, and from her I will give you a son, whom I will bless, and he will be among the nations, and the kings of the peoples will rise from him.17Abraham fell on his face, and he laughed, saying in his heart: "Do you think a son can be born to a one hundred year old man? And will Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?18And he said to God, "If only Ishmael would live in your sight.19And God said to Abraham: "Your wife Sarah shall give birth to a son, and you shall call his name Isaac, and I will establish my covenant with him as a perpetual covenant, and with his offspring after him20Likewise, concerning Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I will bless and enlarge him, and I will multiply him greatly. He will produce twelve leaders, and I will make him into a great nation21Yet in truth, I will establish my covenant with Isaac, to whom Sarah will give birth for you at this time next year.22And when he had finished speaking with him, God ascended from Abraham23Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, and all who were born in his house, and all whom he had bought, every male among the men of his house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin promptly, the very same day, just as God had instructed him24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin25And his son Ishmael had completed thirteen years at the time of his circumcision26On the very same day, Abraham was circumcised with his son Ishmael27And all the men of his house, those born in his house, as well as those who were bought, even the foreigners, were circumcised with him
1Then the Lord appeared to him, in the steep valley of Mamre, when he was sitting at the door of his tent, in the very heat of the day2And when he had lifted up his eyes, there appeared to him three men, standing near him. When he had seen them, he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and he reverenced them on the ground3And he said: "If I, O lord, have found grace in your eyes, do not pass by your servant4But I will bring a little water, and you may wash your feet and rest under the tree5And I will set out a meal of bread, so that you may strengthen your heart; after this you will pass on. It is for this reason that you have turned aside to your servant." And they said, "Do as you have spoken.6Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and he said to her, "Quickly, mix together three measures of the finest wheat flour and make loaves baked under the ashes.7In truth, he himself ran to the herd, and he took a calf from there, very tender and very good, and he gave it to a servant, who hurried and boiled it8Likewise, he took butter and milk, and the calf which he had boiled, and he placed it before them. Yet truly, he himself stood near them under the tree9And when they had eaten, they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" He answered, "Behold, she is in the tent.10And he said to him, "When returning, I will come to you at this time, with life as a companion, and your wife Sarah will have a son." Hearing this, Sarah laughed behind the door of the tent11Now they were both old, and in an advanced state of life, and it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women12And she laughed secretly, saying, "After I have grown old, and my lord is elderly, shall I give myself to the work of delight?13Then the Lord said to Abraham: "Why did Sarah laugh, saying: ‘How can I, an old woman, actually give birth?14Is anything difficult for God? According to the announcement, he will return to you at this same time, with life as a companion, and Sarah will have a son.15Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh." For she was terribly afraid. But the Lord said, "It is not so; for you did laugh.16Therefore, when the men had risen up from there, they directed their eyes against Sodom. And Abraham traveled with them, leading them17And the Lord said: "How could I hide what I am about to do from Abraham18since he will become a great and very robust nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed19For I know that he will instruct his sons, and his household after him, to keep to the way of the Lord, and to act with judgment and justice, so that, for the sake of Abraham, the Lord may bring about all the things that he has spoken to him.20And so the Lord said, "The outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah has been multiplied, and their sin has become exceedingly grievous21I will descend and see whether they have fulfilled the work of the outcry that has reached me, or whether it is not so, in order that I may know.22And they turned themselves from there, and they went toward Sodom. Yet in truth, Abraham still stood in the sight of the Lord23And as they drew near, he said: "Will you destroy the just with the impious24If there were fifty of the just in the city, will they perish with the rest? And will you not spare that place for the sake of fifty of the just, if they were in it25Far be it from you to do this thing, and to kill the just with the impious, and for the just to be treated like the impious. No, this is not like you. You judge all the earth; you would never make such a judgment.26And the Lord said to him, "If I find in Sodom fifty of the just in the midst of the city, I will release the entire place because of them.27And Abraham responded by saying: "Since now I have begun, I will speak to my Lord, though I am dust and ashes28What if there were five less than fifty of the just? Would you, despite the forty-five, eliminate the entire city?" And he said, "I will not eliminate it, if I find forty-five there.29And again he said to him, "But if forty were found there, what would you do?" He said, "I will not strike, for the sake of the forty.30"I ask you," he said, "not to be angry, Lord, if I speak. What if thirty were found there?" He responded, "I will not act, if I find thirty there.31"Since now I have begun," he said, "I will speak to my Lord. What if twenty were found there?" He said, "I will not put to death, for the sake of the twenty.32"I beg you," he said, "not to be angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more. What if ten were found there?" And he said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.33And the Lord departed, after he had ceased speaking to Abraham, who then returned to his place
1And the two Angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting at the gate of the city. And when he had seen them, he rose up and went to meet them. And he reverenced prone on the ground2And he said: "I beg you, my lords, turn aside to the house of your servant, and lodge there. Wash your feet, and in the morning you will advance on your way." And they said, "Not at all. But we will lodge in the street.3He pressed them very much to turn aside to him. And when they had entered his house, he made a feast for them, and he cooked unleavened bread, and they ate4But before they went to bed, the men of the city surrounded the house, from boys to old men, all the people together5And they called out to Lot, and they said to him: "Where are the men who entered to you in the night? Bring them out here, so that we may know them.6Lot went out to them, and blocking the door behind him, he said7"Do not, I ask you, my brothers, do not be willing to commit this evil8I have two daughters who as yet have not known man. I will bring them out to you; abuse them as it pleases you, provided that you do no evil to these men, because they have entered under the shadow of my roof.9But they said, "Move away from there." And again: "You have entered," they said, "as a stranger; should you then judge? Therefore, we will afflict you yourself more than them." And they acted very violently against Lot. And they were now at the point of breaking open the doors10And behold, the men put out their hand, and they pulled Lot in to them, and they closed the door11And they struck those who were outside with blindness, from the least to the greatest, so that they were not able to find the door12Then they said to Lot: "Do you have here anyone of yours? All who are yours, sons-in-law, or sons, or daughters, bring them out of this city13For we will eliminate this place, because the outcry among them has increased before the Lord, who sent us to destroy them.14And so Lot, going out, spoke to his sons-in-law, who were going to receive his daughters, and he said: "Rise up. Depart from this place. For the Lord will destroy this city." And it seemed to them that he was speaking playfully15And when it was morning, the Angels compelled him, saying, "Arise, take your wife, and the two daughters that you have, lest you also should perish amid the wickedness of the city.16And, since he ignored them, they took his hand, and the hand of his wife, as well as that of his two daughters, because the Lord was sparing him17And they brought him out, and placed him beyond the city. And there they spoke to him, saying: "Save your life. Do not look not back. Neither should you stay in the entire surrounding region. But save yourself in the mountain, lest you also should perish.18And Lot said to them: "I beg you, my lord19though your servant has found grace before you, and you have magnified your mercy, which you have shown to me in saving my life, I cannot be saved on the mountain, lest perhaps some misfortune take hold of me and I die20There is a certain city nearby, to which I can flee; it is a little one, and I will be saved in it. Is it not a modest one, and will not my soul live?21And he said to him: "Behold, even now, I have heard your petitions about this, not to overturn the city on behalf of which you have spoken22Hurry and be saved there. For I cannot do anything until you enter there." For this reason, the name of that city is called Zoar23The sun had risen over the land, and Lot had entered into Zoar24Therefore, the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulphur and fire, from the Lord, out of heaven25And he overturned these cities, and all the surrounding region: all the inhabitants of the cities, and everything that springs from the land26And his wife, looking behind herself, was turned into a statue of salt27Then Abraham, rising up in the morning, in the place where he had stood before with the Lord28looked out toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and the entire land of that region. And he saw embers rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace29For when God overthrew the cities of that region, remembering Abraham, he freed Lot from the overthrow of the cities, in which he had dwelt30And Lot ascended from Zoar, and he stayed on the mountain, and likewise his two daughters with him, (for he was afraid to stay in Zoar) and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters with him31And the elder said to the younger: "Our father is old, and no man remains in the land who can enter to us according to the custom of the whole world32Come, let us inebriate him with wine, and let us sleep with him, so that we may be able to preserve offspring from our father.33And so they gave their father wine to drink that night. And the elder went in, and she slept with her father. But he did not perceive it, neither when his daughter lay down, nor when she rose up34Likewise, the next day, the elder said to the younger: "Behold, yesterday I slept with my father, let us give him wine to drink yet again this night, and you will sleep with him, so that we may save offspring from our father.35And then they gave their father wine to drink that night also, and the younger daughter went in, and slept with him. And not even then did he perceive when she lay down, or when she rose up36Therefore, the two daughters of Lot conceived by their father37And the elder gave birth to a son, and she called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites, even to the present day38Likewise, the younger gave birth to a son, and she called his name Ammon, that is, ‘the son of my people.’ He is the father of the Ammonites, even today