Isaac Is Born^(A)

21 And the Lord ^(B)visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah ^(C)as He had spoken. ² For Sarah ^(D)conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, ^(E)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—^(F)Isaac.^{[a] 4} Then Abraham ^(G)circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, ^(H)as God had commanded him. ⁵ Now ^(I)Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. ⁶ And Sarah said, ^(J)“God has ^[b]made me laugh, and all who hear ^(K)will laugh with me.” ⁷ She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? ^(L)For I have borne him a son in his old age.”

Hagar and Ishmael Depart^(M)

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 ^(N)the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, ^(O)scoffing.^{[c] 10} Therefore she said to Abraham, ^(P)“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 ^[d]displeasing in Abraham’s sight ^(Q)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 ^(R)in Isaac your seed shall be called. ¹³ Yet I will also make ^(S)a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your ^[e]seed.”

¹⁴ So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and ^[f]a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and ^(T)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 ^(U)God heard the voice of the lad. Then the ^(V)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 ^(W)I will make him a great nation.”

¹⁹ Then ^(X)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 ^(Y)was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, ^(Z)and became an archer. ²¹ He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother ^(AA)took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

A Covenant with Abimelech

²² And it came to pass at that time that ^(AB)Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, ^(AC)“God is with you in all that you do. ²³ Now therefore, ^(AD)swear^[g] 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 ^(AE)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 ^(AF)made a ^[h]covenant. ²⁸ And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

²⁹ Then Abimelech asked Abraham, ^(AG)“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 ^(AH)they may be my witness that I have dug this well.” ³¹ Therefore he ^(AI)called that place ^[i]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 ^(AJ)there called on the name of the Lord, ^(AK)the Everlasting God. ³⁴ And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days.

Offerings at the Feast of Trumpets^(A)

29 ‘And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you ^(B)it is a day of blowing the trumpets. ² You shall offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the Lord: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish. ³ Their grain offering shall be fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram, ⁴ and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs; ⁵ also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, to make atonement for you; ⁶ besides ^(C)the burnt offering with its grain offering for the New Moon, ^(D)the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings, ^(E)according to their ordinance, as a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

The Family of Elkanah

1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the ^(A)mountains of Ephraim, and his name was ^(B)Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of ^[a]Elihu, the son of ^[b]Tohu, the son of Zuph, ^(C)an Ephraimite. ² And he had ^(D)two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. ³ This man went up from his city ^(E)yearly ^(F)to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in ^(G)Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there. ⁴ And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an ^(H)offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. ⁵ But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, ^(I)although the Lord had closed her womb. ⁶ And her rival also ^(J)provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb. ⁷ So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.

Hannah’s Vow

⁸ Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not ^(K)better to you than ten sons?”

⁹ So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of ^(L)the ^[c]tabernacle of the Lord. ^10 (M)And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and ^[d]wept in anguish. ¹¹ Then she ^(N)made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed ^(O)look on the affliction of Your maidservant and ^(P)remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and ^(Q)no razor shall come upon his head.”

¹² And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth. ¹³ Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴ So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!”

¹⁵ But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have ^(R)poured out my soul before the Lord. ¹⁶ Do not consider your maidservant a ^(S)wicked^[e] woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”

¹⁷ Then Eli answered and said, ^(T)“Go in peace, and ^(U)the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”

¹⁸ And she said, ^(V)“Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman ^(W)went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

Samuel Is Born and Dedicated

¹⁹ Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah ^(X)knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord ^(Y)remembered her. ²⁰ So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name ^[f]Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”

²¹ Now the man Elkanah and all his house ^(Z)went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will ^(AA)take him, that he may appear before the Lord and ^(AB)remain there ^(AC)forever.”

²³ So ^(AD)Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the Lord ^[g]establish ^[h]His word.” Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

²⁴ Now when she had weaned him, she ^(AE)took him up with her, with ^[i]three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to ^(AF)the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. ²⁵ Then they slaughtered a bull, and ^(AG)brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ And she said, “O my lord! ^(AH)As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. ^27 (AI)For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. ²⁸ Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be ^[j]lent to the Lord.” So they ^(AJ)worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer^(AK)

2 And Hannah ^(AL)prayed and said:

The Comfort of Christ’s Coming

¹³ But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen ^[a]asleep, lest you sorrow ^(A)as others ^(B)who have no hope. ¹⁴ For ^(C)if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him ^(D)those who ^[b]sleep in Jesus.

¹⁵ For this we say to you ^(E)by the word of the Lord, that ^(F)we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are ^[c]asleep. ¹⁶ For ^(G)the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with ^(H)the trumpet of God. ^(I)And the dead in Christ will rise first. ^17 (J)Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them ^(K)in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus ^(L)we shall always be with the Lord. ^18 (M)Therefore comfort one another with these words.