Sunday, 14 January

22.   And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do. 23.   "Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt." 24.   And Abraham said, "I will swear." 25.   Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized. 26.   And Abimelech said, "I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today." 27.   So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. 28.   And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29.   Then Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?" 30.   And he said, "You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well." 31.   Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there. 32.   Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. 33.   Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. 34.   And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days.

1.   Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2.   Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." 3.   So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4.   Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5.   And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you." 6.   So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7.   But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8.   And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together. 9.   Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10.   And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11.   But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." 12.   And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son , from Me." 13.   Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14.   And Abraham called the name of the place, The–LORD–Will–Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The LORD it shall be provided." 15.   Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16.   and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son –– 17.   "blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18.   "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." 19.   So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. 20.   Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, "Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21.   "Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22.   "Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel." 23.   And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24.   His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah.

4.   Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few, and the houses were not rebuilt. 5.   Then my God put it into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who had come up in the first return , and found written in it: 6.   These are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his city. 7.   Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: 8.   the sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy–two; 9.   the sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy–two; 10.   the sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty–two; 11.   the sons of Pahath–Moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen; 12.   the sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty–four; 13.   the sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty–five; 14.   the sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; 15.   the sons of Binnui, six hundred and forty–eight; 16.   the sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty–eight; 17.   the sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty–two; 18.   the sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty–seven; 19.   the sons of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty–seven; 20.   the sons of Adin, six hundred and fifty–five; 21.   the sons of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety–eight; 22.   the sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty–eight; 23.   the sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty–four; 24.   the sons of Hariph, one hundred and twelve; 25.   the sons of Gibeon, ninety–five; 26.   the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty–eight; 27.   the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty–eight; 28.   the men of Beth Azmaveth, forty–two; 29.   the men of Kirjath Jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty–three; 30.   the men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty–one; 31.   the men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty–two; 32.   the men of Bethel and Ai, one hundred and twenty–three; 33.   the men of the other Nebo, fifty–two; 34.   the sons of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty–four; 35.   the sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty; 36.   the sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty–five; 37.   the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty–one; 38.   the sons of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty. 39.   The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy–three; 40.   the sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty–two; 41.   the sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty–seven; 42.   the sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen. 43.   The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of the sons of Hodevah, seventy–four. 44.   The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and forty–eight. 45.   The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty–eight. 46.   The Nethinim: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, 47.   the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon, 48.   the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Salmai, 49.   the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, 50.   the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, 51.   the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, 52.   the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephishesim, 53.   the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 54.   the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 55.   the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah, 56.   the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha. 57.   The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida, 58.   the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 59.   the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the sons of Amon. 60.   All the Nethinim, and the sons of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred and ninety–two. 61.   And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not identify their father’s house nor their lineage, whether they were of Israel: 62.   the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and forty–two; 63.   and of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name. 64.   These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled. 65.   And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim. 66.   Altogether the whole assembly was forty–two thousand three hundred and sixty, 67.   besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty–seven; and they had two hundred and forty–five men and women singers. 68.   Their horses were seven hundred and thirty–six, their mules two hundred and forty–five, 69.   their camels four hundred and thirty–five, and donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty. 70.   And some of the heads of the fathers’ houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand gold drachmas, fifty basins, and five hundred and thirty priestly garments. 71.   Some of the heads of the fathers’ houses gave to the treasury of the work twenty thousand gold drachmas, and two thousand two hundred silver minas. 72.   And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand gold drachmas, two thousand silver minas, and sixty–seven priestly garments. 73.   So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their cities. When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.

1.   And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him , He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. 2.   Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3.   Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4.   Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 5.   These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6.   "But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7.   "And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8.   "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9.   "Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10.   "nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. 11.   "Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12.   "And when you go into a household, greet it. 13.   "If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14.   "And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. 15.   "Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!