Genesis 18
The Hospitality of Abraham
1 Then God appeared to him at the oak of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door during the noon hour.†
2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood before him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,
3 and said, “O Lord, if I have now found grace in Your sight, do not pass by Your servant.
4 Let water be brought, and let them wash Your feet, while You cool Yourselves under the tree.†
5 And I will bring bread for You to eat. After that You may pass by, inasmuch as You have come to Your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.”
7 Then Abraham ran to the herd, took a young calf, tender and good, gave it to his servant, and he hastened to prepare it.
8 He also took butter and milk and the calf he prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.
Promise of a Son
9 Then He said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “Here, in the tent.”†
10 Again He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door behind him.)
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “I have not yet had a child until now, and my lord is old also?”
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh within herself, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’
14 Is anything impossible with God? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.Ӡ
15 But Sarah denied she had laughed, for she was afraid, saying, “I did not laugh”; but He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
Abraham Intercedes for Sodom
16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham went along and escorted them on their journey.
17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham, My servant, what I am about to do?†
18 But Abraham shall surely become a great and populous nation, and in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.
19 For I know he will order his sons and his house after him. They will keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah has been completed, and their sins are exceedingly great.
21 Therefore, I will go down now and see whether or not they are carrying out the outcry coming to Me concerning them.”
22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained before the Lord.†
23 So Abraham drew near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the ungodly?†
24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous in it?
25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26 Then the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”
27 So Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:
28 But suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?” He replied, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”
29 Again he spoke to Him and said, “But suppose there should be forty found there?” So He said, “I would not destroy it for the sake of forty.”
30 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be offended, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?” So He said, “I would not destroy it if I should find thirty there.”
31 Again he said, “Since I have permission to speak to the Lord, suppose twenty should be found there?” So He said, “I would not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”
32 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be offended, and I will speak but once more, suppose ten should be found there?” So He said, “I would not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
33 So the Lord went His way as soon as He finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.†
Psalms 20
1 For the End; a psalm by David. †
2 O Lord, the king shall be glad in Your power, And in Your salvation he will greatly rejoice.
3 You gave him his soul’s desire, And You did not deprive him of his lips’ request. (Pause)
4 For You anticipated him with blessings of goodness; You placed a crown of precious stones on his head.
5 He asked You for life, and You gave it to him, Length of days unto ages of ages.
6 Great is his glory in Your salvation; Glory and majesty You shall place upon him.
7 For You shall give him blessing unto ages of ages; You shall fill him with the joy of Your presence.
8 For the king hopes in the Lord, And in the mercy of the Most High he will not be shaken.
9 May Your hand be found on all Your enemies; May Your right hand find all who hate You.
10 You shall make them like a fiery furnace In the time of Your presence; The Lord shall throw them into confusion in His wrath, And the fire shall devour them.
11 You shall destroy their offspring from the earth And their seed from among the sons of men.
12 For they vented all their evils against You; They reasoned through a counsel they could not establish.
13 For You shall make them turn their back; Among Your remnants, You shall make ready their countenance.
14 Be exalted, O Lord, in Your power; We will sing and praise Your mighty deeds.
Proverbs of Solomon 3
33 Do not be ready to quarrel with a man in vain, Lest he do you some harm.
34 Do not incur the reproach of evil men, Neither seek their ways;
35 For every lawless man is unclean before the Lord, And he does not sit among the righteous.
36 The curse of God is in the houses of the ungodly, But He blesses the dwellings of the righteous.
37 The Lord opposes the arrogant, But He gives grace to the humble.
38 The wise shall inherit glory, But the ungodly exalt dishonor.
Matthew 12
Is Jesus from God?
22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.†
23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.†
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.
34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.†
35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.†
36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Can Jesus Perform a Sign?
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”†
39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.†
40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
42 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.
43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.†
44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.
45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
Jesus’ Relatives Fail to Understand
46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.†
47 Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”
48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”
49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!
50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”