⁹ But Sarah ^(A)saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, ^(B)laughing.^{[a] 10} So she said to Abraham, ^(C)“Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” ¹¹ And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. ¹² But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for ^(D)through Isaac shall your offspring be named.

The Sacrifice of Isaac

22 After these things ^(A)God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ² He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to ^(B)the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” ³ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. ⁴ On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. ⁵ Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy^[a] will go over there and worship and come again to you.” ⁶ And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and ^(C)laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. ⁷ And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” ⁸ Abraham said, ^(D)“God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

⁹ When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and ^(E)laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹² He said, ^(F)“Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for ^(G)now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” ¹³ And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called the name of that place, ^(H)“The Lord will provide”;^[b] as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”^[c]

¹⁵ And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven ¹⁶ and said, ^(I)“By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring ^(J)as the stars of heaven and ^(K)as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess ^(L)the gate of his^[d] enemies, ¹⁸ and ^(M)in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, ^(N)because you have obeyed my voice.” ¹⁹ So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to ^(O)Beersheba. And Abraham lived at ^(P)Beersheba.

Test the Spirits

4 Beloved, ^(A)do not believe every spirit, but ^(B)test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for ^(C)many ^(D)false prophets ^(E)have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(F)every spirit that confesses that ^(G)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ and every spirit ^(H)that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and ^(I)now is in the world already. ⁴ Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for ^(J)he who is in you is greater than ^(K)he who is in the world. ^5 (L)They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and ^(M)the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God. ^(N)Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(O)the Spirit of truth and ^(P)the spirit of error.

God Is Love

⁷ Beloved, ^(Q)let us love one another, for love is from God, and ^(R)whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ^8 (S)Anyone who does not love does not know God, because ^(T)God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that ^(U)God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(V)not that we have loved God ^(W)but that he loved us and sent his Son to be ^(X)the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ^12 (Y)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and ^(Z)his love is perfected in us.

^13 (AA)By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And ^(AB)we have seen and testify that ^(AC)the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of ^(AD)the world. ^15 (AE)Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ So ^(AF)we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. ^(AG)God is love, and ^(AH)whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this ^(AI)is love perfected with us, so that ^(AJ)we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because ^(AK)as he is so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but ^(AL)perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not ^(AM)been perfected in love. ^19 (AN)We love because he first loved us. ^20 (AO)If anyone says, “I love God,” and ^(AP)hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot^[a] love God ^(AQ)whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(AR)this commandment we have from him: ^(AS)whoever loves God must also love his brother.

By Faith

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of ^(A)things not seen. ² For by it the people of old received their commendation. ³ By faith we understand that the universe was created by ^(B)the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of ^(C)things that are visible.

⁴ By faith ^(D)Abel offered to God ^(E)a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And ^(F)through his faith, though he died, he ^(G)still speaks. ⁵ By faith ^(H)Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God ^(I)must believe that he exists and ^(J)that he rewards those who seek him. ⁷ By faith ^(K)Noah, being warned by God concerning ^(L)events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of ^(M)the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁸ By faith ^(N)Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place ^(O)that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹ By faith he went to live in ^(P)the land of promise, as in a foreign land, ^(Q)living in tents ^(R)with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to ^(S)the city that has ^(T)foundations, ^(U)whose designer and builder is God. ¹¹ By faith ^(V)Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered ^(W)him faithful who had promised. ¹² Therefore from one man, and ^(X)him as good as dead, were born descendants ^(Y)as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

¹³ These all died in faith, ^(Z)not having received the things promised, but ^(AA)having seen them and greeted them from afar, and ^(AB)having acknowledged that they were ^(AC)strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴ For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, ^(AD)they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed ^(AE)to be called their God, for ^(AF)he has prepared for them a city.

¹⁷ By faith ^(AG)Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, ¹⁸ of whom it was said, ^(AH)“Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ^19 (AI)He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ^(A)‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from ^(B)these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

²³ and in ^(A)Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and ^(B)saw Abraham far off and Lazarus ^(C)at his side. ²⁴ And he called out, ^(D)‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and ^(E)cool my tongue, for ^(F)I am in anguish in this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that ^(G)you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ ²⁷ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— ²⁸ for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ ²⁹ But Abraham said, ‘They have ^(H)Moses and the Prophets; ^(I)let them hear them.’ ³⁰ And he said, ‘No, ^(J)father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear ^(K)Moses and the Prophets, ^(L)neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

³⁷ But that the dead are raised, ^(A)even Moses showed, in ^(B)the passage about the bush, where he calls ^(C)the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. ³⁸ Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all ^(D)live to him.”

Before Abraham Was, I Am

⁴⁸ The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and ^(A)have a demon?” ⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but ^(B)I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ Yet ^(C)I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Truly, truly, ^(D)I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never ^(E)see death.” ⁵² The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! ^(F)Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet ^(G)you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never ^(H)taste death.’ ^53 (I)Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” ⁵⁴ Jesus answered, ^(J)“If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. ^(K)It is my Father who glorifies me, ^(L)of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’^{[a] 55} But ^(M)you have not known him. ^(N)I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be ^(O)a liar ^(P)like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. ^56 (Q)Your father Abraham ^(R)rejoiced ^(S)that he would see my day. ^(T)He saw it and was glad.” ⁵⁷ So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”^{[b] 58} Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, ^(U)I am.”