Genesis 16

• 1. But Sarai, Abram's wife, had no children. So Sarai took her servant, an Egyptian woman named Hagar,
• 2. and gave her to Abram so she could bear his children. "The LORD has kept me from having any children," Sarai said to Abram. "Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her." And Abram agreed.
• 3. So Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram first arrived in the land of Canaan.)
• 4. So Abram slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress Sarai with contempt.
• 5. Then Sarai said to Abram, "It's all your fault! Now this servant of mine is pregnant, and she despises me, though I myself gave her the privilege of sleeping with you. The LORD will make you pay for doing this to me! "
• 6. Abram replied, "Since she is your servant, you may deal with her as you see fit." So Sarai treated her harshly, and Hagar ran away.
• 7. The angel of the LORD found Hagar beside a desert spring along the road to Shur.
• 8. The angel said to her, "Hagar, Sarai's servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?I am running away from my mistress," she replied.
• 9. Then the angel of the LORD said, "Return to your mistress and submit to her authority."
• 10. The angel added, "I will give you more descendants than you can count."
• 11. And the angel also said, "You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard about your misery.
• 12. This son of yours will be a wild one--free and untamed as a wild donkey! He will be against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live at odds with the rest of his brothers."
• 13. Thereafter, Hagar referred to the LORD, who had spoken to her, as "the God who sees me," for she said, "I have seen the One who sees me!"
• 14. Later that well was named Beer-lahairoi, and it can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.
• 15. So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael.
• 16. Abram was eighty-six years old at that time.

Genesis 17

• 1. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.
• 2. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to make you into a mighty nation."
• 3. At this, Abram fell face down in the dust. Then God said to him,
• 4. "This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of not just one nation, but a multitude of nations!
• 5. What's more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram; now you will be known as Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations.
• 6. I will give you millions of descendants who will represent many nations. Kings will be among them!
• 7. "I will continue this everlasting covenant between us, generation after generation. It will continue between me and your offspring forever. And I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
• 8. Yes, I will give all this land of Canaan to you and to your offspring forever. And I will be their God.
• 9. "Your part of the agreement," God told Abraham, "is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility.
• 10. This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised;
• 11. the flesh of his foreskin must be cut off. This will be a sign that you and they have accepted this covenant.
• 12. Every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family, but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased.
• 13. All must be circumcised. Your bodies will thus bear the mark of my everlasting covenant.
• 14. Anyone who refuses to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for violating the covenant."
• 15. Then God added, "Regarding Sarai, your wife--her name will no longer be Sarai; from now on you will call her Sarah.
• 16. And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings will be among her descendants!"
• 17. Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. "How could I become a father at the age of one hundred?" he wondered. "Besides, Sarah is ninety; how could she have a baby?"
• 18. And Abraham said to God, "Yes, may Ishmael enjoy your special blessing!"
• 19. But God replied, "Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my everlasting covenant with him and his descendants.
• 20. As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will cause him to multiply and become a great nation. Twelve princes will be among his descendants.
• 21. But my covenant is with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year."
• 22. That ended the conversation, and God left Abraham.
• 23. On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and every other male in his household and circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins, exactly as God had told him.
• 24. Abraham was ninety-nine years old at that time,
• 25. and Ishmael his son was thirteen.
• 26. Both were circumcised the same day,
• 27. along with all the other men and boys of the household, whether they were born there or bought as servants.

Genesis 18

• 1. The LORD appeared again to Abraham while he was camped near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day about noon, as Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent,
• 2. he suddenly noticed three men standing nearby. He got up and ran to meet them, welcoming them by bowing low to the ground.
• 3. "My lord," he said, "if it pleases you, stop here for a while.
• 4. Rest in the shade of this tree while my servants get some water to wash your feet.
• 5. Let me prepare some food to refresh you. Please stay awhile before continuing on your journey.All right," they said. "Do as you have said."
• 6. So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, "Quick! Get three measures of your best flour, and bake some bread."
• 7. Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a fat calf and told a servant to hurry and butcher it.
• 8. When the food was ready, he took some cheese curds and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them there beneath the trees.
• 9. "Where is Sarah, your wife?" they asked him. "In the tent," Abraham replied.
• 10. Then one of them said, "About this time next year I will return, and your wife Sarah will have a son." Now Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent nearby.
• 11. And since Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and Sarah was long past the age of having children,
• 12. she laughed silently to herself. "How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?" she thought. "And when my master--my husband--is also so old?"
• 13. Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, `Can an old woman like me have a baby?'
• 14. Is anything too hard for the LORD? About a year from now, just as I told you, I will return, and Sarah will have a son."
• 15. Sarah was afraid, so she denied that she had laughed. But he said, "That is not true. You did laugh."
• 16. Then the men got up from their meal and started on toward Sodom. Abraham went with them part of the way.
• 17. "Should I hide my plan from Abraham?" the LORD asked.
• 18. "For Abraham will become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.
• 19. I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the LORD and do what is right and just. Then I will do for him all that I have promised."
• 20. So the LORD told Abraham, "I have heard that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are extremely evil, and that everything they do is wicked.
• 21. I am going down to see whether or not these reports are true. Then I will know."
• 22. The two other men went on toward Sodom, but the LORD remained with Abraham for a while.
• 23. Abraham approached him and said, "Will you destroy both innocent and guilty alike?
• 24. Suppose you find fifty innocent people there within the city--will you still destroy it, and not spare it for their sakes?
• 25. Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, destroying the innocent with the guilty. Why, you would be treating the innocent and the guilty exactly the same! Surely you wouldn't do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?"
• 26. And the LORD replied, "If I find fifty innocent people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake."
• 27. Then Abraham spoke again. "Since I have begun, let me go on and speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes.
• 28. Suppose there are only forty-five? Will you destroy the city for lack of five?" And the LORD said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five."
• 29. Then Abraham pressed his request further. "Suppose there are only forty?" And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it if there are forty."
• 30. "Please don't be angry, my Lord," Abraham pleaded. "Let me speak--suppose only thirty are found?" And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it if there are thirty."
• 31. Then Abraham said, "Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue--suppose there are only twenty?" And the LORD said, "Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty."
• 32. Finally, Abraham said, "Lord, please do not get angry; I will speak but once more! Suppose only ten are found there?" And the LORD said, "Then, for the sake of the ten, I will not destroy it."
• 33. The LORD went on his way when he had finished his conversation with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his tent.

New Living Translation: 6 of 324 days.