Genesis 22

Complete Jewish Bible

22 (vii) After these things, God tested Avraham. He said to him, “Avraham!” and he answered, “Here I am.” ²He said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Yitz’chak; and go to the land of Moriyah. There you are to offer him as a burnt offering on a mountain that I will point out to you.”

³Avraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, together with Yitz’chak his son. He cut the wood for the burnt offering, departed and went toward the place God had told him about. ⁴On the third day, Avraham raised his eyes and saw the place in the distance. ⁵Avraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go there, worship and return to you.” ⁶Avraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on Yitz’chak his son. Then he took in his hand the fire and the knife, and they both went on together.

⁷Yitz’chak spoke to Avraham his father: “My father?” He answered, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “I see the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” ⁸Avraham replied, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son”; and they both went on together.

⁹They came to the place God had told him about; and Avraham built the altar there, set the wood in order, bound Yitz’chak his son and laid him on the altar, on the wood. ¹⁰Then Avraham put out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.

¹¹But the angel of Adonai called to him out of heaven: “Avraham? Avraham!” He answered, “Here I am.” ¹²He said, “Don’t lay your hand on the boy! Don’t do anything to him! For now I know that you are a man who fears God, because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” ¹³Avraham raised his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. Avraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴Avraham called the place Adonai Yir’eh [Adonai will see (to it), Adonai provides] — as it is said to this day, “On the mountain Adonai is seen.”

¹⁵The angel of Adonai called to Avraham a second time out of heaven. ¹⁶He said, “I have sworn by myself — says Adonai — that because you have done this, because you haven’t withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷I will most certainly bless you; and I will most certainly increase your descendants to as many as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸and by your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed — because you obeyed my order.”

¹⁹So Avraham returned to his young men. They got up and went together to Be’er-Sheva, and Avraham settled in Be’er-Sheva.

(Maftir) ²⁰Afterwards, Avraham was told, “Milkah too has borne children, to your brother Nachor — ²¹‘Utz his firstborn, Buz his brother, K’mu’el the father of Aram, ²²Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Yidlaf and B’tu’el. ²³B’tu’el fathered Rivkah. These eight Milkah bore to Nachor Avraham’s brother. ²⁴His concubine, whose name was Re’umah, bore children also: Tevach, Gacham, Tachash and Ma‘akhah.

Haftarah Vayera: M’lakhim Bet (2 Kings) 4:1–37 (A); 4:1–23 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Vayera: Luke 17:26 –37; Romans 9:6 – 9; Galatians 4:21–31; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 6:13–20; 11:13–19; Ya‘akov (James) 2:14–24; 2 Kefa (2 Peter) 2:4–10

Psalm 22

Complete Jewish Bible

22 ⁽⁰⁾For the leader. Set to “Sunrise.” A psalm of David:

²⁽¹⁾My God! My God!
Why have you abandoned me?
Why so far from helping me,
so far from my anguished cries?

³⁽²⁾My God, by day I call to you,
but you don’t answer;
likewise at night,
but I get no relief.
⁴⁽³⁾Nevertheless, you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Isra’el.
⁵⁽⁴⁾In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted, and you rescued them.
⁶⁽⁵⁾They cried to you and escaped;
they trusted in you and were not disappointed.

⁷⁽⁶⁾But I am a worm, not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁸⁽⁷⁾All who see me jeer at me;
they sneer and shake their heads:
⁹⁽⁸⁾“He committed himself to Adonai,
so let him rescue him!
Let him set him free
if he takes such delight in him!”

¹⁰⁽⁹⁾But you are the one who took me from the womb,
you made me trust when I was on my mother’s breasts.
¹¹⁽¹⁰⁾Since my birth I’ve been thrown on you;
you are my God from my mother’s womb.
¹²⁽¹¹⁾Don’t stay far from me, for trouble is near;
and there is no one to help.
¹³⁽¹²⁾Many bulls surround me,
wild bulls of Bashan close in on me.
¹⁴⁽¹³⁾They open their mouths wide against me,
like ravening, roaring lions.
¹⁵⁽¹⁴⁾I am poured out like water;
all my bones are out of joint;
my heart has become like wax —
it melts inside me;
¹⁶⁽¹⁵⁾my mouth is as dry as a fragment of a pot,
my tongue sticks to my palate;
you lay me down in the dust of death.
¹⁷⁽¹⁶⁾Dogs are all around me,
a pack of villains closes in on me
like a lion [at] my hands and feet.^[a]

¹⁸⁽¹⁷⁾I can count every one of my bones,
while they gaze at me and gloat.
¹⁹⁽¹⁸⁾They divide my garments among themselves;
for my clothing they throw dice.

²⁰⁽¹⁹⁾But you, Adonai, don’t stay far away!
My strength, come quickly to help me!
²¹⁽²⁰⁾Rescue me from the sword,
my life from the power of the dogs.
²²⁽²¹⁾Save me from the lion’s mouth!

You have answered me from the wild bulls’ horns.
²³⁽²²⁾I will proclaim your name to my kinsmen;
right there in the assembly I will praise you:
²⁴⁽²³⁾“You who fear Adonai, praise him!
All descendants of Ya‘akov, glorify him!
All descendants of Isra’el, stand in awe of him!
²⁵⁽²⁴⁾For he has not despised or abhorred
the poverty of the poor;
he did not hide his face from him
but listened to his cry.”

²⁶⁽²⁵⁾Because of you
I give praise in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my vows
in the sight of those who fear him.
²⁷⁽²⁶⁾The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek Adonai will praise him;
Your hearts will enjoy life forever.
²⁸⁽²⁷⁾All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to Adonai;
all the clans of the nations
will worship in your presence.
²⁹⁽²⁸⁾For the kingdom belongs to Adonai,
and he rules the nations.

³⁰⁽²⁹⁾All who prosper on the earth
will eat and worship;
all who go down to the dust
will kneel before him,
including him who can’t keep himself alive,
³¹⁽³⁰⁾A descendant will serve him;
the next generation will be told of Adonai.
³²⁽³¹⁾They will come and proclaim
his righteousness
to a people yet unborn,
that he is the one who did it.

Footnotes

Psalm 22:17 Or: “They pierced my hands and feet.” See Introduction, Section VIII, paragraph 6, and Section XIV, footnote 70.

Isaiah 53

Complete Jewish Bible

53 Who believes our report?
To whom is the arm of Adonai revealed?
²For before him he grew up like a young plant,
like a root out of dry ground.
He was not well-formed or especially handsome;
we saw him, but his appearance did not attract us.
³People despised and avoided him,
a man of pains, well acquainted with illness.
Like someone from whom people turn their faces,
he was despised; we did not value him.

⁴In fact, it was our diseases he bore,
our pains from which he suffered;
yet we regarded him as punished,
stricken and afflicted by God.
⁵But he was wounded because of our crimes,
crushed because of our sins;
the disciplining that makes us whole fell on him,
and by his bruises* we are healed.

⁶We all, like sheep, went astray;
we turned, each one, to his own way;
yet Adonai laid on him
the guilt of all of us.

⁷Though mistreated, he was submissive —
he did not open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to be slaughtered,
like a sheep silent before its shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
⁸After forcible arrest and sentencing,
he was taken away;
and none of his generation protested
his being cut off from the land of the living
for the crimes of my people,
who deserved the punishment themselves.
⁹He was given a grave among the wicked;
in his death he was with a rich man.

Although he had done no violence
and had said nothing deceptive,
¹⁰yet it pleased Adonai to crush him with illness,
to see if he would present himself as a guilt offering.
If he does, he will see his offspring;
and he will prolong his days;
and at his hand Adonai’s desire
will be accomplished.
¹¹After this ordeal, he will see satisfaction.
“By his knowing [pain and sacrifice],
my righteous servant makes many righteous;
it is for their sins that he suffers.
¹²Therefore I will assign him a share with the great,
he will divide the spoil with the mighty,
for having exposed himself to death
and being counted among the sinners,
while actually bearing the sin of many
and interceding for the offenders.”