Genesis 20
Abraham and Abimelech
1 Now Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned among the Gerarites.†
2 Then Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” lest at a given time the men of the city should kill him because of her. Now Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.†
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed, you are a dead man because of the woman you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”
4 Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “O Lord, will You destroy an ignorant and just nation?
5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and did she not say to me, ‘He is my brother’? I did this thing with a clean heart and righteous hands.”
6 Then God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clean heart, and I spared you that you might not sin against Me; therefore, I did not allow you to touch her.
7 Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; and he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, rest assured you shall die, you and all who are yours.”
8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid.
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.”
10 Again Abimelech said to Abraham, “What possessed you to do this thing?”
11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, surely the worship of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife.
12 But indeed, she truly is my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not of my mother; and she became my wife.
13 So it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This righteousness shall you do for me: in every place we enter, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”
14 Then Abimelech took one thousand pieces of silver, sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him.
15 Thus Abimelech said to Abraham, “See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.”
16 Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver, which will vindicate your honor before all those with you. But tell the truth in all things.”
17 So Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children;
18 for the Lord closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Psalms 21
20 But You, O Lord, do not remove Your help from me; Attend to my aid.
21 Deliver my soul from the sword And my only-begotten from the hand of the dog;
22 Save me from the lion’s mouth, My humiliation from the horns of the unicorns.
23 I will declare Your name to my brethren; In the midst of the church I will sing to You.
24 You who fear the Lord, praise Him. All you seed of Jacob, glorify Him; Fear Him, all you seed of Israel.
25 For He has not despised nor scorned the beggar’s supplication, Nor has He turned away His face from me; And when I cried out to Him, He heard me.
26 My praise is from You in the great church; I will pay my vows before those who fear Him.
27 The poor shall eat and be well-filled, And those who seek Him will praise the Lord; Their hearts will live unto ages of ages.
28 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord; And all families of the Gentiles shall worship before You,
29 For the kingdom is the Lord’s; And He is the Master of the Gentiles.
30 All the prosperous of the earth ate and worshiped; All going down into the earth shall bow down before Him, And my soul lives with Him.
31 And my seed shall serve Him; The coming generation shall be told of the Lord,
32 And they will declare His righteousness To a people who will be born, because the Lord made them.
Proverbs of Solomon 4
The Paths of Wisdom
9 Hear me, my son, and receive my words, And the years of your life shall be increased, That many ways of life may be yours;†
10 For I teach you the ways of wisdom And set you on upright paths.
11 For if you walk, your steps shall not be confined; And if you run, you will not grow weary.
12 Lay hold of my instruction; do not let go, But guard it for yourself as your life.
Matthew 13
The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,†
32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
Parables Fulfill Prophecy
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them,
35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”
The Wheat and Tares Explained
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”†
37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.
39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.
40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
The Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price
44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.†
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,
46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The Dragnet
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind,†
48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.
49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just,
50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
Old and New Wisdom
51 Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”†
53 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.
Rejection at Nazareth
54 When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?†
55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?†
56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?”
57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.”
58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.