Legacy Standard Bible

Genesis 17 - 18

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

17Now it happened that when Abram was ninety-nine years old, aYahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am 1God bAlmighty;Walk before Me and be 2,cblameless,
2so that I may 1confirm My acovenant between Me and you,And that I may bmultiply you exceedingly.”
3Then Abram afell on his face, and God spoke with him, saying,
4“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,And you will be the father of a amultitude of nations.5“And no longer shall your name be called 1Abram,But ayour name shall be 2Abraham;For bI have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
6“And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and akings will go forth from you. 7“And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an aeverlasting covenant, bto be God to you and cto your seed after you. 8“aAnd I will give to you and to your seed after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and bI will be their God.”
9God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, ayou shall keep My covenant, you and your seed after you throughout their generations. 10“aThis is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. 11“And ayou shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12“And every male among you who is aeight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, one who is born in the house or one who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your seed. 13“A servant who is born in your house or awho is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14“But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be acut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

Sarah Will Bear Isaac

15Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but 1Sarah shall be her name. 16“And I will bless her, and indeed I will give you aa son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; bkings of peoples will 1come from her.” 17Then Abraham afell on his face and laughed and said in his heart, “Will a son be born to a man one hundred years old? And bwill Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a son?” 18And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” 19But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you aa son, and you shall call his name 1Isaac; and bI will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him. 20“As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and awill make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. bHe shall 1become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a cgreat nation. 21“But My covenant I will establish with aIsaac, whom bSarah will bear to you at this season next year.” 22So He finished talking with him, and aGod went up from Abraham.
23Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all who were aborn in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the very same day, bas God had spoken with him. 24Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when ahe was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25And aIshmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26In the very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son. 27Now all the men of his household, who were aborn in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Yahweh Appears to Abraham

18Then aYahweh appeared to him by the 1,boaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three amen were standing nearby; he saw, and he ran from the tent door to meet them, and he bowed himself to the earth, 3and he said, “1My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not 2pass Your servant by. 4“Please let a little water be brought and awash your feet, and 1rest yourselves under the tree; 5and let me 1,abring a piece of bread, that you may 2refresh your hearts; after that you may pass on, since in such a manner you have passed by your servant.” And they said, “So you shall do, as you have said.” 6So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “1Hurry, prepare 2three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and make bread cakes.” 7Abraham also ran to the herd and took a tender and 1choice calf and gave it to his young man, and he hurried to prepare it. 8Then he took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree, and they ate.
9Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10And He said, “aI will surely return to you 1at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door which was behind him. 11Now aAbraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was bpast 1childbearing. 12And Sarah laughed 1to herself, saying, “aAfter I am worn out, shall I have pleasure, my blord being old also?” 13And Yahweh said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed 1bear a son, when I am so old?’ 14“aIs anything too 1difficult for Yahweh? At the bappointed time I will return to you, 2at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 15Then Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

Yahweh and Abraham Speak About Sodom

16Then athe men rose up from there and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. 17aNow Yahweh said, “Shall I conceal from Abraham bwhat I am about to do, 18since Abraham will surely become a great and 1mighty nation, and in him aall the nations of the earth will be blessed? 19“For I have 1,aknown him, so that he may bcommand his children and his household after him, cthat they keep the way of Yahweh to do righteousness and justice, so that Yahweh may bring upon Abraham dwhat He has spoken about him.” 20So Yahweh said, “aThe outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. 21“I will ago down now and see whether they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
22Then athe men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before bYahweh. 23Then Abraham came near and said, “aWill You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24“Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not 1spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25“Far be it from You to do 1such a thing, to put to death the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not athe Judge of all the earth do justice?” 26So Yahweh said, “aIf I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will 1spare the whole place on their account.” 27And Abraham answered and said, “Now behold, I have 1ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but adust and ashes. 28“Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29Then he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” 30Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31And he said, “Now behold, I have 1ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” 32Then he said, “aOh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” 33And as soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham, aYahweh departed, and Abraham returned to his place.

Matthew 13

The Parable of the Sower

13On that day Jesus went out of athe house and was sitting bby the sea. 2And 1large crowds gathered to Him, so aHe got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
3And He spoke many things to them in aparables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5“And others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6“But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7“And others fell 1among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8“And others fell on the good soil and were yielding 1a crop, some a ahundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9“aHe who has ears, 1let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

10And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11And 1Jesus answered and said to them, “aTo you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12“aFor whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13“Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while aseeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14“And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘1,aYou will keep on hearing, 2but will not understand;3You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
15aFor the heart of this people has become dull,And with their ears they scarcely hear,And they have closed their eyes,Lest they would see with their eyes,Hear with their ears,And understand with their heart and return,And I would heal them.’
16“aBut blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17“For truly I say to you that amany prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18“aHear then the parable of the sower. 19“When anyone hears athe word of the kingdom and does not understand it, bthe evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20“And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet he has no root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he 1,afalls away. 22“And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the worry of athe 1world and the bdeceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23“And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some aa hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

The Parable of Tares Among Wheat

24He presented another parable to them, saying, “aThe kingdom of heaven 1may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25“But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed 1tares among the wheat, and went away. 26“But when the 1wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27“The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? 1How then does it have tares?’ 28“And he said to them, ‘An 1enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29“But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but agather the wheat into my barn.”’”

Parables of the Mustard Seed and Leaven

31He presented another parable to them, saying, “aThe kingdom of heaven is like ba mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; 32and this is the 1smallest of all seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is the 2largest of the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that athe birds of the 3air come and nest in its branches.”
33He spoke another parable to them, “aThe kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in 1,bthree sata of flour until it was all leavened.”
34All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He was not speaking to them awithout a parable 35so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, “aI will open My mouth in parables;I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of Tares Explained

36Then He left the crowds and went into athe house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “bExplain to us the parable of the 1tares of the field.” 37And He answered and said, “The one who sows the good seed is athe Son of Man, 38and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are athe sons of the kingdom; and the tares are bthe sons of cthe evil one; 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is athe 1end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40“So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at athe 1end of the age. 41“aThe Son of Man bwill send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom 1all cstumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42and awill throw them into the fiery furnace; in that place bthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43“aThen the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. bHe who has ears, 1let him hear.

A Hidden Treasure

44“aThe kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and bsells all that he has and buys that field.

A Costly Pearl

45“Again, athe kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

A Dragnet

47“Again, athe kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 48and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49“So it will be at athe 1end of the age; the angels will come forth and 2take out the wicked from among the righteous, 50and awill throw them into the fiery furnace; in that place bthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51“Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” 52And He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

531,aNow it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. 54aAnd He came to 1His hometown and bbegan teaching them in their synagogue, so that cthey were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these 2miraculous powers? 55“Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not aHis mother called Mary, and His bbrothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56“And aHis sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57And they were taking aoffense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “bA prophet is not without honor except in his 1hometown and in his own household.” 58And He did not do many 1miracles there because of their unbelief.

Psalm 9

Yahweh Will Judge the World in Righteousness

9

א Aleph

For the choir director. 1Almuth-labben. A Psalm of David.
2I will give thanks to Yahweh with all amy heart;I will brecount all Your 3wondrous deeds.

א Aleph

2I will be glad and aexult in You;I will bsing praise to Your name, O cMost High.

ב Beth

3When my enemies turn back,They stumble and aperish before You.4For You have amaintained my 1justice and my cause;You have sat on the throne 2,bjudging righteously.

ג Gimel

5You have arebuked the nations, You have made the wicked perish;You have bblotted out their name forever and ever.

ה He

61The enemy has come to an end in perpetual 2ruins,And You have uprooted the cities;The very amemory of them has perished.

ו Vav

7But aYahweh 1abides forever;He has established His bthrone for judgment,

ו Vav

8And He will ajudge the world in righteousness;He will render justice for the peoples with equity.

ו Vav

91Yahweh also will be a astronghold for the oppressed,A stronghold in times of 2distress;

ו Vav

10And 1those who aknow Your name will put their trust in You,For You, O Yahweh, have not bforsaken those who seek You.

ז Zayin

11Sing praises to Yahweh, who aabides in Zion;bDeclare among the peoples His acts.12For aHe who 1requires blood remembers them;He does not forget bthe cry of the afflicted.

ח Heth

13Be gracious to me, O Yahweh;See my affliction from those awho hate me,You who blift me up from the gates of death,14That I may recount aall Your praises,That in the gates of the daughter of ZionI may brejoice in Your 1salvation.

ט Teth

15The nations have sunk down ain the pit which they have made;In the bnet which they hid, their own foot has been caught.16Yahweh has amade Himself known;He has bexecuted judgment.In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared. 1Higgaion 2 Selah.

י Yodh

17The wicked will 1,areturn to Sheol,Even all the nations who bforget God.

כ Kaph

18For the aneedy will not always be forgotten,Nor the bhope of the afflicted perish forever.19aArise, O Yahweh, do not let man prevail;Let the nations be bjudged before You.20Put them ain fear, O Yahweh;Let the nations know that they are bbut men. Selah.