Genesis
16
Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
16 Now Sarai Avram’s wife had
not borne him a child. But she had an Egyptian slave-girl named Hagar; 2 so
Sarai said to Avram, “Here now, Adonai
has kept me from having children; so go in and sleep with my slave-girl. Maybe
I’ll be able to have children through her.” Avram listened to what Sarai said.
3 It was after Avram had lived ten
years in the land of Kena‘an that Sarai Avram’s wife took Hagar the Egyptian,
her slave-girl, and gave her to Avram her husband to be his wife. 4 Avram
had sexual relations with Hagar, and she conceived. But when she became aware
that she was pregnant, she looked on her mistress with contempt. 5 Sarai
said to Avram, “This outrage being done to me is your fault! True, I gave my
slave-girl to you to sleep with; but when she saw that she was pregnant, she
began holding me in contempt. May Adonai
decide who is right — I or you!” 6 However, Avram answered
Sarai, “Look, she’s your slave-girl. Deal with her as you think fit.” Then
Sarai treated her so harshly that she ran away from her.
7 The angel of Adonai found her by a spring in the
desert, the spring on the road to Shur, 8 and said, “Hagar!
Sarai’s slave-girl! Where have you come from, and where are you going?” She
answered, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The
angel of Adonai said to
her, “Go back to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” 10 The
angel of Adonai said to
her, “I will greatly increase your descendants; there will be so many that it
will be impossible to count them.” 11 The angel of Adonai said to her, “Look, you are
pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. You are to call him Yishma‘el [God
pays attention] because Adonai
has paid attention to your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey
of a man, with his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him,
living his life at odds with all his kinsmen.”
13 So she named Adonai who had spoken with her El
Ro’i [God of seeing], because she said, “Have I really seen the One who sees me
[and stayed alive]?” 14 This is why the well has been called Be’er-Lachai-Ro’i
[well of the one who lives and sees]; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.
15 Hagar bore Avram a son, and Avram
called the son whom Hagar had borne Yishma‘el. 16 Avram was 86
years old when Hagar bore Yishma‘el to Avram.
Genesis
17
Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
17 When Avram was 99 years old Adonai appeared to Avram and said to
him, “I am El Shaddai [God Almighty]. Walk in my presence and be
pure-hearted. 2 I will make my covenant between me and you, and
I will increase your numbers greatly.” 3 Avram fell on his
face, and God continued speaking with him: 4 “As for me, this
is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations. 5 Your
name will no longer be Avram [exalted father], but your name will be Avraham
[father of many], because I have made you the father of many nations. 6 I
will cause you to be very fruitful. I will make nations of you, kings will
descend from you.
(vii) 7 “I am
establishing my covenant between me and you, along with your descendants after
you, generation after generation, as an everlasting covenant, to be God for you
and for your descendants after you. 8 I will give you and your
descendants after you the land in which you are now foreigners, all the land of
Kena‘an, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God.”
9 God said to Avraham, “As for you,
you are to keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation
after generation. 10 Here is my covenant, which you are to
keep, between me and you, along with your descendants after you: every male among
you is to be circumcised. 11 You are to be circumcised in the
flesh of your foreskin; this will be the sign of the covenant between me and
you. 12 Generation after generation, every male among you who
is eight days old is to be circumcised, including slaves born within your
household and those bought from a foreigner not descended from you. 13 The
slave born in your house and the person bought with your money must be
circumcised; thus my covenant will be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant.
14 Any uncircumcised male who will not let himself be
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin — that person will be cut off from his
people, because he has broken my covenant.”
15 God said to Avraham, “As for Sarai
your wife, you are not to call her Sarai [mockery]; her name is to be Sarah
[princess]. 16 I will bless her; moreover, I will give you a
son by her. Truly I will bless her: she will be a mother of nations; kings of
peoples will come from her.” 17 At this Avraham fell on his
face and laughed — he thought to himself, “Will a child be born to a man a
hundred years old? Will Sarah give birth at ninety?” 18 Avraham
said to God, “If only Yishma‘el could live in your presence!” 19 God
answered, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you are to call him
Yitz’chak [laughter]. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting
covenant for his descendants after him. 20 But as for
Yishma‘el, I have heard you. I have blessed him. I will make him fruitful and
give him many descendants. He will father twelve princes, and I will make him a
great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with
Yitz’chak, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.” 22 With
that, God finished speaking with Avraham and went up from him.
23 Avraham took Yishma‘el his son, all
the slaves born in his house and all who had been bought with his money, every
male among the people in Avraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of
their foreskin that very day, just as God had said to him.
(Maftir) 24 Avraham was
ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, 25 and
Yishma‘el his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh
of his foreskin. 26 Avraham and Yishma‘el his son were
circumcised on the same day; 27 and all the men in his
household, both slaves born in his house and those bought with money from a
foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Love the Complete Jewish Bible, nothing tells the truth like the original!
ReplyDeleteCynthia Kuhn.