Saturday, 13 January

1.   And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2.   Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And 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 whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife." 4.   But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, "Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? 5.   "Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this." 6.   And God said to him in a dream, "Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you 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 restore her , know that you shall surely 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.   And 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.   Then Abimelech said to Abraham, "What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?" 11.   And Abraham said, "Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife. 12.   "But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. 13.   "And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, "He is my brother."’" 14.   Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. 15.   And Abimelech said, "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; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody." Thus she was rebuked. 17.   So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children ; 18.   for the LORD had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

1.   And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2.   For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3.   And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him––whom Sarah bore to him––Isaac. 4.   Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5.   Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6.   And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me." 7.   She also said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age." 8.   So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. 9.   And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. 10.   Therefore she said to Abraham, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac." 11.   And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son. 12.   But God said to Abraham, "Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. 13.   "Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed." 14.   So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. 15.   And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. 16.   Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, "Let me not see the death of the boy." So she sat opposite him , and lifted her voice and wept. 17.   And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is . 18.   "Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation." 19.   Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. 20.   So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21.   He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

1.   Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), 2.   that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, "Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono." But they thought to do me harm. 3.   So I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?" 4.   But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner. 5.   Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. 6.   In it was written: It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king. 7.   And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, " There is a king in Judah!" Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together. 8.   Then I sent to him, saying, "No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart." 9.   For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, "Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done." Now therefore, O God , strengthen my hands. 10.   Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, "Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you." 11.   And I said, "Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!" 12.   Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13.   For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. 14.   My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid. 15.   So the wall was finished on the twenty–fifth day of Elul, in fifty–two days. 16.   And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it , and all the nations around us saw these things , that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God. 17.   Also in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them. 18.   For many in Judah were pledged to him, because he was the son–in–law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. 19.   Also they reported his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.

1.   Then it was, when the wall was built and I had hung the doors, when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, 2.   that I gave the charge of Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the leader of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many. 3.   And I said to them, "Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand guard , let them shut and bar the doors; and appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in front of his own house."

18.   While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live." 19.   So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples. 20.   And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. 21.   For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well." 22.   But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour. 23.   When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, 24.   He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him. 25.   But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26.   And the report of this went out into all that land. 27.   When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!" 28.   And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." 29.   Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you." 30.   And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it ." 31.   But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country. 32.   As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon–possessed. 33.   And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!" 34.   But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons." 35.   Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36.   But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37.   Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38.   "Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."