Matthew 4:1-11 Acts 4:23-37 Psalms 7 Genesis 18-20
Matthew 4:1-11
1Then Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by the Devil. 2For forty days and forty nights he ate nothing and became very hungry. 3Then the Devil* came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, change these stones into loaves of bread." 4But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say,`People need more than bread for their life;they must feed on every word of God.'" 5Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,`He orders his angels to protect you.And they will hold you with their handsto keep you from striking your foot on a stone.'" 7Jesus responded, "The Scriptures also say, `Do not test the Lord your God.'" 8Next the Devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the world and all their glory. 9"I will give it all to you," he said, "if you will only kneel down and worship me." 10"Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "For the Scriptures say,`You must worship the Lord your God;serve only him.'" 11Then the Devil went away, and angels came and cared for Jesus.
Acts 4:23-27
23As soon as they were freed, Peter and John found the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. 24Then all the believers were united as they lifted their voices in prayer: "O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them-- 25you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor King David, your servant, saying,`Why did the nations rage?Why did the people waste their time with futile plans? 26The kings of the earth prepared for battle;the rulers gathered togetheragainst the Lordand against his Messiah.' 27"That is what has happened here in this city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed.
Psalms 7
1I come to you for protection, O LORD my God.Save me from my persecutors--rescue me!
2If you don't, they will maul me like a lion,tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3O LORD my God, if I have done wrongor am guilty of injustice,
4if I have betrayed a friendor plundered my enemy without cause,
5then let my enemies capture me.Let them trample me into the ground.Let my honor be left in the dust.
6Arise, O LORD, in anger!Stand up against the fury of my enemies!Wake up, my God, and bring justice!
7Gather the nations before you.Sit on your throne high above them.
8The LORD passes judgment on the nations.Declare me righteous, O LORD,for I am innocent, O Most High!
9End the wickedness of the ungodly,but help all those who obey you. For you look deep within the mind and heart,O righteous God.
10God is my shield,saving those whose hearts are true and right.
11God is a judge who is perfectly fair.He is angry with the wicked every day.
12If a person does not repent,God* will sharpen his sword;he will bend and string his bow.
13He will prepare his deadly weaponsand ignite his flaming arrows.
14The wicked conceive evil;they are pregnant with troubleand give birth to lies.
15They dig a pit to trap othersand then fall into it themselves.
16They make trouble,but it backfires on them. They plan violence for others,but it falls on their own heads.
17I will thank the LORD because he is just;I will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
Genesis 18-20
1The LORD appeared again to Abraham while he was camped near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day about noon, as Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent, 2he suddenly noticed three men standing nearby. He got up and ran to meet them, welcoming them by bowing low to the ground. 3"My lord," he said, "if it pleases you, stop here for a while. 4Rest in the shade of this tree while my servants get some water to wash your feet. 5Let me prepare some food to refresh you. Please stay awhile before continuing on your journey.""All right," they said. "Do as you have said." 6So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, "Quick! Get three measures* of your best flour, and bake some bread." 7Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a fat calf and told a servant to hurry and butcher it. 8When the food was ready, he took some cheese curds and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them there beneath the trees. 9"Where is Sarah, your wife?" they asked him."In the tent," Abraham replied. 10Then one of them said, "About this time next year I will return, and your wife Sarah will have a son."Now Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent nearby. 11And since Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and Sarah was long past the age of having children, 12she laughed silently to herself. "How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?" she thought. "And when my master--my husband--is also so old?" 13Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, `Can an old woman like me have a baby?' 14Is anything too hard for the LORD? About a year from now, just as I told you, I will return, and Sarah will have a son." 15Sarah was afraid, so she denied that she had laughed. But he said, "That is not true. You did laugh."
Abraham Intercedes for Sodom
16Then the men got up from their meal and started on toward Sodom. Abraham went with them part of the way. 17"Should I hide my plan from Abraham?" the LORD asked. 18"For Abraham will become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. 19I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the LORD and do what is right and just. Then I will do for him all that I have promised." 20So the LORD told Abraham, "I have heard that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are extremely evil, and that everything they do is wicked. 21I am going down to see whether or not these reports are true. Then I will know." 22The two other men went on toward Sodom, but the LORD remained with Abraham for a while. 23Abraham approached him and said, "Will you destroy both innocent and guilty alike? 24Suppose you find fifty innocent people there within the city--will you still destroy it, and not spare it for their sakes? 25Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, destroying the innocent with the guilty. Why, you would be treating the innocent and the guilty exactly the same! Surely you wouldn't do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?" 26And the LORD replied, "If I find fifty innocent people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake." 27Then Abraham spoke again. "Since I have begun, let me go on and speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. 28Suppose there are only forty-five? Will you destroy the city for lack of five?"And the LORD said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five." 29Then Abraham pressed his request further. "Suppose there are only forty?"And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it if there are forty." 30"Please don't be angry, my Lord," Abraham pleaded. "Let me speak--suppose only thirty are found?"And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it if there are thirty." 31Then Abraham said, "Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue--suppose there are only twenty?"And the LORD said, "Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty." 32Finally, Abraham said, "Lord, please do not get angry; I will speak but once more! Suppose only ten are found there?"And the LORD said, "Then, for the sake of the ten, I will not destroy it." 33The LORD went on his way when he had finished his conversation with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his tent.
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
1That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom, and Lot was sitting there as they arrived. When he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed low to the ground. 2"My lords," he said, "come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up in the morning as early as you like and be on your way again.""Oh no," they said, "we'll just spend the night out here in the city square." 3But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. He set a great feast before them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast. After the meal, 4as they were preparing to retire for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. 5They shouted to Lot, "Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out so we can have sex with them." 6Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. 7"Please, my brothers," he begged, "don't do such a wicked thing. 8Look--I have two virgin daughters. Do with them as you wish, but leave these men alone, for they are under my protection." 9"Stand back!" they shouted. "Who do you think you are? We let you settle among us, and now you are trying to tell us what to do! We'll treat you far worse than those other men!" And they lunged at Lot and began breaking down the door. 10But the two angels reached out and pulled Lot in and bolted the door. 11Then they blinded the men of Sodom so they couldn't find the doorway. 12"Do you have any other relatives here in the city?" the angels asked. "Get them out of this place--sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. 13For we will destroy the city completely. The stench of the place has reached the LORD, and he has sent us to destroy it." 14So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters' fianc¦s, "Quick, get out of the city! The LORD is going to destroy it." But the young men thought he was only joking. 15At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. "Hurry," they said to Lot. "Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out of here right now, or you will be caught in the destruction of the city." 16When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful. 17"Run for your lives!" the angels warned. "Do not stop anywhere in the valley. And don't look back! Escape to the mountains, or you will die." 18"Oh no, my lords, please," Lot begged. 19"You have been so kind to me and saved my life, and you have granted me such mercy. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die. 20See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don't you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved." 21"All right," the angel said, "I will grant your request. I will not destroy that little village. 22But hurry! For I can do nothing until you are there." From that time on, that village was known as Zoar.* 23The sun was rising as Lot reached the village. 24Then the LORD rained down fire and burning sulfur from the heavens on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, eliminating all life--people, plants, and animals alike. 26But Lot's wife looked back as she was following along behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. 27The next morning Abraham was up early and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the LORD's presence. 28He looked out across the plain to Sodom and Gomorrah and saw columns of smoke and fumes, as from a furnace, rising from the cities there. 29But God had listened to Abraham's request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.
Lot and His Daughters
30Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters. 31One day the older daughter said to her sister, "There isn't a man anywhere in this entire area for us to marry. And our father will soon be too old to have children. 32Come, let's get him drunk with wine, and then we will sleep with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father." 33So that night they got him drunk, and the older daughter went in and slept with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again. 34The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, "I slept with our father last night. Let's get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him. That way our family line will be preserved." 35So that night they got him drunk again, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again. 36So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. 37When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab.* He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites. 38When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi.* He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.
Abraham Deceives Abimelech
1Now Abraham moved south to the Negev and settled for a while between Kadesh and Shur at a place called Gerar. 2Abraham told people there that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. So King Abimelech sent for her and had her brought to him at his palace. 3But one night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, "You are a dead man, for that woman you took is married." 4But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, "Lord, will you kill an innocent man? 5Abraham told me, `She is my sister,' and she herself said, `Yes, he is my brother.' I acted in complete innocence!" 6"Yes, I know you are innocent," God replied. "That is why I kept you from sinning against me; I did not let you touch her. 7Now return her to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don't return her to him, you can be sure that you and your entire household will die." 8Abimelech got up early the next morning and hastily called a meeting of all his servants. When he told them what had happened, great fear swept through the crowd. 9Then Abimelech called for Abraham. "What is this you have done to us?" he demanded. "What have I done to you that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? This kind of thing should not be done! 10Why have you done this to us?" 11"Well," Abraham said, "I figured this to be a godless place. I thought, `They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.' 12Besides, she is my sister--we both have the same father, though different mothers--and I married her. 13When God sent me to travel far from my father's home, I told her, `Wherever we go, have the kindness to say that you are my sister.'" 14Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen and servants--both men and women--and gave them to Abraham, and he returned his wife, Sarah, to him. 15"Look over my kingdom, and choose a place where you would like to live," Abimelech told him. 16Then he turned to Sarah. "Look," he said, "I am giving your `brother' a thousand pieces of silver* to compensate for any embarrassment I may have caused you. This will settle any claim against me in this matter." 17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and the other women of the household, so they could have children. 18For the LORD had stricken all the women with infertility as a warning to Abimelech for having taken Abraham's wife.
1Then Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by the Devil. 2For forty days and forty nights he ate nothing and became very hungry. 3Then the Devil* came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, change these stones into loaves of bread." 4But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say,`People need more than bread for their life;they must feed on every word of God.'" 5Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,`He orders his angels to protect you.And they will hold you with their handsto keep you from striking your foot on a stone.'" 7Jesus responded, "The Scriptures also say, `Do not test the Lord your God.'" 8Next the Devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the world and all their glory. 9"I will give it all to you," he said, "if you will only kneel down and worship me." 10"Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "For the Scriptures say,`You must worship the Lord your God;serve only him.'" 11Then the Devil went away, and angels came and cared for Jesus.
Acts 4:23-27
23As soon as they were freed, Peter and John found the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. 24Then all the believers were united as they lifted their voices in prayer: "O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them-- 25you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor King David, your servant, saying,`Why did the nations rage?Why did the people waste their time with futile plans? 26The kings of the earth prepared for battle;the rulers gathered togetheragainst the Lordand against his Messiah.' 27"That is what has happened here in this city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed.
Psalms 7
1I come to you for protection, O LORD my God.Save me from my persecutors--rescue me!
2If you don't, they will maul me like a lion,tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3O LORD my God, if I have done wrongor am guilty of injustice,
4if I have betrayed a friendor plundered my enemy without cause,
5then let my enemies capture me.Let them trample me into the ground.Let my honor be left in the dust.
6Arise, O LORD, in anger!Stand up against the fury of my enemies!Wake up, my God, and bring justice!
7Gather the nations before you.Sit on your throne high above them.
8The LORD passes judgment on the nations.Declare me righteous, O LORD,for I am innocent, O Most High!
9End the wickedness of the ungodly,but help all those who obey you. For you look deep within the mind and heart,O righteous God.
10God is my shield,saving those whose hearts are true and right.
11God is a judge who is perfectly fair.He is angry with the wicked every day.
12If a person does not repent,God* will sharpen his sword;he will bend and string his bow.
13He will prepare his deadly weaponsand ignite his flaming arrows.
14The wicked conceive evil;they are pregnant with troubleand give birth to lies.
15They dig a pit to trap othersand then fall into it themselves.
16They make trouble,but it backfires on them. They plan violence for others,but it falls on their own heads.
17I will thank the LORD because he is just;I will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
Genesis 18-20
1The LORD appeared again to Abraham while he was camped near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day about noon, as Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent, 2he suddenly noticed three men standing nearby. He got up and ran to meet them, welcoming them by bowing low to the ground. 3"My lord," he said, "if it pleases you, stop here for a while. 4Rest in the shade of this tree while my servants get some water to wash your feet. 5Let me prepare some food to refresh you. Please stay awhile before continuing on your journey.""All right," they said. "Do as you have said." 6So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, "Quick! Get three measures* of your best flour, and bake some bread." 7Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a fat calf and told a servant to hurry and butcher it. 8When the food was ready, he took some cheese curds and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them there beneath the trees. 9"Where is Sarah, your wife?" they asked him."In the tent," Abraham replied. 10Then one of them said, "About this time next year I will return, and your wife Sarah will have a son."Now Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent nearby. 11And since Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and Sarah was long past the age of having children, 12she laughed silently to herself. "How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?" she thought. "And when my master--my husband--is also so old?" 13Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, `Can an old woman like me have a baby?' 14Is anything too hard for the LORD? About a year from now, just as I told you, I will return, and Sarah will have a son." 15Sarah was afraid, so she denied that she had laughed. But he said, "That is not true. You did laugh."
Abraham Intercedes for Sodom
16Then the men got up from their meal and started on toward Sodom. Abraham went with them part of the way. 17"Should I hide my plan from Abraham?" the LORD asked. 18"For Abraham will become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. 19I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the LORD and do what is right and just. Then I will do for him all that I have promised." 20So the LORD told Abraham, "I have heard that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are extremely evil, and that everything they do is wicked. 21I am going down to see whether or not these reports are true. Then I will know." 22The two other men went on toward Sodom, but the LORD remained with Abraham for a while. 23Abraham approached him and said, "Will you destroy both innocent and guilty alike? 24Suppose you find fifty innocent people there within the city--will you still destroy it, and not spare it for their sakes? 25Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, destroying the innocent with the guilty. Why, you would be treating the innocent and the guilty exactly the same! Surely you wouldn't do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?" 26And the LORD replied, "If I find fifty innocent people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake." 27Then Abraham spoke again. "Since I have begun, let me go on and speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. 28Suppose there are only forty-five? Will you destroy the city for lack of five?"And the LORD said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five." 29Then Abraham pressed his request further. "Suppose there are only forty?"And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it if there are forty." 30"Please don't be angry, my Lord," Abraham pleaded. "Let me speak--suppose only thirty are found?"And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it if there are thirty." 31Then Abraham said, "Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue--suppose there are only twenty?"And the LORD said, "Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty." 32Finally, Abraham said, "Lord, please do not get angry; I will speak but once more! Suppose only ten are found there?"And the LORD said, "Then, for the sake of the ten, I will not destroy it." 33The LORD went on his way when he had finished his conversation with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his tent.
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
1That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom, and Lot was sitting there as they arrived. When he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed low to the ground. 2"My lords," he said, "come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up in the morning as early as you like and be on your way again.""Oh no," they said, "we'll just spend the night out here in the city square." 3But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. He set a great feast before them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast. After the meal, 4as they were preparing to retire for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. 5They shouted to Lot, "Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out so we can have sex with them." 6Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. 7"Please, my brothers," he begged, "don't do such a wicked thing. 8Look--I have two virgin daughters. Do with them as you wish, but leave these men alone, for they are under my protection." 9"Stand back!" they shouted. "Who do you think you are? We let you settle among us, and now you are trying to tell us what to do! We'll treat you far worse than those other men!" And they lunged at Lot and began breaking down the door. 10But the two angels reached out and pulled Lot in and bolted the door. 11Then they blinded the men of Sodom so they couldn't find the doorway. 12"Do you have any other relatives here in the city?" the angels asked. "Get them out of this place--sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. 13For we will destroy the city completely. The stench of the place has reached the LORD, and he has sent us to destroy it." 14So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters' fianc¦s, "Quick, get out of the city! The LORD is going to destroy it." But the young men thought he was only joking. 15At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. "Hurry," they said to Lot. "Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out of here right now, or you will be caught in the destruction of the city." 16When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful. 17"Run for your lives!" the angels warned. "Do not stop anywhere in the valley. And don't look back! Escape to the mountains, or you will die." 18"Oh no, my lords, please," Lot begged. 19"You have been so kind to me and saved my life, and you have granted me such mercy. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die. 20See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don't you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved." 21"All right," the angel said, "I will grant your request. I will not destroy that little village. 22But hurry! For I can do nothing until you are there." From that time on, that village was known as Zoar.* 23The sun was rising as Lot reached the village. 24Then the LORD rained down fire and burning sulfur from the heavens on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, eliminating all life--people, plants, and animals alike. 26But Lot's wife looked back as she was following along behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. 27The next morning Abraham was up early and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the LORD's presence. 28He looked out across the plain to Sodom and Gomorrah and saw columns of smoke and fumes, as from a furnace, rising from the cities there. 29But God had listened to Abraham's request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.
Lot and His Daughters
30Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters. 31One day the older daughter said to her sister, "There isn't a man anywhere in this entire area for us to marry. And our father will soon be too old to have children. 32Come, let's get him drunk with wine, and then we will sleep with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father." 33So that night they got him drunk, and the older daughter went in and slept with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again. 34The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, "I slept with our father last night. Let's get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him. That way our family line will be preserved." 35So that night they got him drunk again, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again. 36So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. 37When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab.* He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites. 38When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi.* He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.
Abraham Deceives Abimelech
1Now Abraham moved south to the Negev and settled for a while between Kadesh and Shur at a place called Gerar. 2Abraham told people there that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. So King Abimelech sent for her and had her brought to him at his palace. 3But one night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, "You are a dead man, for that woman you took is married." 4But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, "Lord, will you kill an innocent man? 5Abraham told me, `She is my sister,' and she herself said, `Yes, he is my brother.' I acted in complete innocence!" 6"Yes, I know you are innocent," God replied. "That is why I kept you from sinning against me; I did not let you touch her. 7Now return her to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don't return her to him, you can be sure that you and your entire household will die." 8Abimelech got up early the next morning and hastily called a meeting of all his servants. When he told them what had happened, great fear swept through the crowd. 9Then Abimelech called for Abraham. "What is this you have done to us?" he demanded. "What have I done to you that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? This kind of thing should not be done! 10Why have you done this to us?" 11"Well," Abraham said, "I figured this to be a godless place. I thought, `They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.' 12Besides, she is my sister--we both have the same father, though different mothers--and I married her. 13When God sent me to travel far from my father's home, I told her, `Wherever we go, have the kindness to say that you are my sister.'" 14Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen and servants--both men and women--and gave them to Abraham, and he returned his wife, Sarah, to him. 15"Look over my kingdom, and choose a place where you would like to live," Abimelech told him. 16Then he turned to Sarah. "Look," he said, "I am giving your `brother' a thousand pieces of silver* to compensate for any embarrassment I may have caused you. This will settle any claim against me in this matter." 17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and the other women of the household, so they could have children. 18For the LORD had stricken all the women with infertility as a warning to Abimelech for having taken Abraham's wife.
posted by John MacAdam at 16.2.06
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