Genesis 16; Genesis 17; Matthew 5:27-48

1 Abram's wife Sarai had not borne him children. She owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar.

2 Sarai said to Abram, "Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps I can have children by her." And Abram agreed to what Sarai said.

3 So Abram's wife Sarai took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife for him. [This happened] after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan 10 years.

4 He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she looked down on her mistress.

5 Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for my suffering! I put my slave in your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has looked down on me. May the Lord judge between me and you."

6 Abram replied to Sarai, "Here, your slave is in your hands; do whatever you want with her." Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her.

7 The Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.

8 He said, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She replied, "I'm running away from my mistress Sarai."

9 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, "You must go back to your mistress and submit to her mistreatment."

10 The Angel of the Lord also said to her, "I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count."

11 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her: You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your [cry of] affliction.

12 This man will be [like] a wild ass. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand will be against him; he will live at odds with all his brothers.

13 So she named the Lord who spoke to her: The God Who Sees, for she said, "Have I really seen here the One who sees me?"

14 That is why she named the spring, "A Well of the Living One Who Sees Me." It is located between Kadesh and Bered.

15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram's son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son Hagar had.

16 Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

1 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, "I am God Almighty. Live in My presence and be devout.

2 I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly."

3 Then Abram fell to the ground, and God spoke with him:

4 "As for Me, My covenant is with you, and you will become the father of many nations.

5 Your name will no longer be Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations.

6 I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you.

7 I will keep My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant to be your God and the [God] of your offspring after you.

8 And to you and your offspring after you I will give the land where you are residing-all the land of Canaan-as an eternal possession, and I will be their God."

9 God also said to Abraham, "As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep My covenant.

10 This is My covenant, which you are to keep, between Me and you and your offspring after you: Every one of your males must be circumcised.

11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and you.

12 Throughout your generations, every male among you at eight days old is to be circumcised. This includes a slave born in your house and one purchased with money from any foreigner. The one who is not your offspring,

13 a slave born in your house, as well as one purchased with money, must be circumcised. My covenant will be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant.

14 If any male is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that man will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."

15 God said to Abraham, "As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for Sarah will be her name.

16 I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her."

17 Abraham fell to the ground, laughed, and thought in his heart, "Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?"

18 So Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael could live in Your presence!"

19 But God said, "No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.

20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will certainly bless him; I will make him fruitful and will multiply him greatly. He will father 12 tribal leaders, and I will make him into a great nation.

21 But I will confirm My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year."

22 When He finished talking with him, God withdrew from Abraham.

23 Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the slaves born in his house or purchased with his money-every male among the members of Abraham's household-and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day, just as God had said to him.

24 Abraham was 99 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised,

25 and his son Ishmael was 13 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised.

26 On that same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised.

27 And all the men of his household-both slaves born in his house and those purchased with money from a foreigner-were circumcised with him.

27 "You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery.

28 But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell!

31 "It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.

32 But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality, = fornication, or possibly a violation of Jewish marriage laws causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

33 "Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord.

34 But I tell you, don't take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God's throne;

35 or by the earth, because it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.

36 Neither should you swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black.

37 But let your word 'yes' be 'yes,' and your 'no' be 'no.' Anything more than this is from the evil one.

38 "You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

39 But I tell you, don't resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

40 As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well.

41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two.

42 Give to the one who asks you, and don't turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

43 "You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

45 so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same?

47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don't even the Gentiles do the same?

48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.