Bible in a Year.

On the tenth day, we celebrate the fulfillment of God's promise. Genesis 20-21 recounts another episode of Abraham's weakness with Abimelech, but most importantly, the glorious birth of Isaac, the son of promise, and the subsequent expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael. Job 9-10 leads us to a profound reflection on God's incomparable majesty and the impossibility of man contending with Him, while Job questions the purpose of his suffering. Proverbs 2:6-8 reminds us that all true wisdom comes from the Lord, who gives it freely and protects those who walk in integrity.

Chapter 20

1. Abraham removed from thence to the south country, and dwelt between Cedes and Sur, and sojourned in Gerara.

2. And he said of Sara his wife: She is my sister. So Abimelech the king of Oerara sent, and took her.

3. And God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and he said to him: Lo thou shalt die for the woman thou hast taken: for she hath a husband.

4. Now Abimelech had not touched her, and he said : Lord, wilt thou slay a nation, that is ignorant and justl

5. Did not he say to me : She is my sister: and she say, He is my brother? in the simplicity of my heart, and cleanness of my hands have I done this.

6. And God said to him: And I know that thou didst it with a sincere heart: and therefore I withheld thee from sinning against me, and I suffered thee not to touch her.

7. Now therefore restore the man his wife, for he is a prophet: and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: but if thou wilt not restore her, know that thou shalt surely die, thou and all that are thins.

8. And Abimelech forthwith rising up in the night, called all his servants: and spoke all these words in their hearing, and all the men were exceedingly afraid.

9. And Abimelech called also for Abraham, and said to him: What hast thou done to us? what have we offended thee in, that thou hast brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done to us what thou oughtest not to do.

10. And again he expostulated with him, and said, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this?

11. Abraham answered: I thought with myself, saying: Perhaps there is not the fear of God in this place: and they will kill me for the sake of my wife:

12. Howbeit, otherwise also she is truly my sister, the daughter of my father, and not the daughter of my mother, and I took her to wife.

13. And after God brought me out of my father's house, I said to her: I Thou shalt do me this kindness: In every place, to which we shall come, thou shalt say that I am thy brother.

14. And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and servants and handmaids, and gave to Abraham: and restored to him Sara, his wife.

16. And said: The land is before you, dwell wheresoever it shall please thee.

16. And to Sara he said: Behold I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: this shall serve thee for a covering of thy eyes to all that are with thee, and whithersoever thou shalt go: and remember thou wast taken.

17. And when Abraham prayed, God healed Abimelech and his wife, and his handmaids, and they bore children:

18. For the Lord had closed up every womb of the house of Abimelech on ac- count of Sara, Abraham's wife.

Chapter 21

1. And the Lord visited Sara, as he had promised: and fulfilled what he had spoken.

2. And she conceived and bore a son in her old age, at the time that God had foretold her.

3. And Abraham called the name of his son, whom Sara bore him, Isaac.

4. And he circumcised him the eighth day, as God had commanded him,

5. When he was a hundred years old: for at this age of his father was Isaac born.

6. And Sara said: God hath made a laughter for me: whosoever shall hear of it will laugh with me.

7. And again she said: Who would believe that Abraham should hear that Sara gave suck to a son, whom she bore to him in his old age.

8. And the child grew and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast on the day of his weaning.

9. And when Sara had seen the son of Agar the Egyptian playing with Isaac her son, she said to Abraham:

10. Cast out this bondwoman, and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.

11. Abraham took this grievously for his son.

12. And God said to him: Let it not seem grievous to thee for the boy, and for thy bondwoman: in all that Sara hath said to thee, hearken to her voice: for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

13. But I will make the son also of the bondwoman a great nation, because he is thy seed.

14. So Abraham rose up in the morning, and taking bread and a bottle of water, put it upon her shoulder, and delivered the boy, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Bersabee.

15. And when the water in the bottle was spent, she cast the boy under one of the trees that were there.

16. And she went her way, and sat over against him a great way off as far as a bow can carry, for she said: I will not see the boy die: and sitting over against, she lifted up her voice and wept.

17. And God heard the voice of the boy: and an angel of God called to Agar from heaven, saying: What art thou doing, Agar? fear not: for God hath heard the voice of the boy, from the place wherein he is.

18. Arise, take up the boy, and hold him by the hand: for I will make him a great nation.

19. And God opened her eyes: and she saw a well of water, and went and filled the bottle, and gave the boy to drink.

20. And God was with him: and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became a young man, an archer.

21. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Pharan, and his mother took a wife for him out of the land of Egypt.

22. At the same time Abimelech, and Phicol the general of his army said to Abraham: God is with thee in all that thou dost.

23. Swear therefore by God, that thou wilt not hurt me, nor my posterity, nor my stock: but according to the kindness that I have done to thee, thou shalt do to me, and to the land wherein thou hast lived a stranger.

24. And Abraham said: I will swear.

25. And he reproved Abimelech for a well of water, which his servants had taken away by force.

26. And Abimelech answered: I knew not who did this thing: and thou didst not tell me, and I heard not of it till today.

27. And Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech: and both of them made a league.

28. And Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs of the flock.

29. And Abimelech said to him: What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set apart?

30. But he said: Thou shalt take seven ewe lambs at my hand: that they may be a testimony for me, that I dug this well.

31. Therefore that place was called Bersabee: because both of them did swear.

32. And they made a league for the well of oath.

33. And Abimelech, and Phicol the general of his army arose and returned to the land of the Palestines. But Abraham planted a grove in Bersabee, and there called upon the name of the Lord God eternal.

34. And he was a sojourner in the land of the Palestines many days.

Chapter 9

1. And Job answered, and said:

2. Indeed I know it is so, and that man cannot be justified compared with

3. If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one for a thousand.

4. He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath resisted him, and hath had peace ?

5. Who hath removed mountains, and they whom he overthrew in his wrath, knew it not.

6. Who shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.

7. Who commandeth tile sun and it riseth not: and shutteth up the stars as it were under a seal:

8. Who alone spreadeth out the heavens, and walketh upon the waves of the sea.

9. Who maketh Arcturus, and Orion, and Hyades, and the inner parts of the south.

10. Who doth things great and incomprehensible, and wonderful, of which there is no number.

11. If he come to me, I shall not see him: if he depart I shall not understand.

12. If he examine on a sudden, who shall answer him? or who can say: Why dost thou so?

13. God, whose wrath no mall can resist, and under whom they stoop that bear up the world.

14. What am I then, that I should answer him, and have words with him?

15. I, who although I should have any just thing, would not answer, but would make supplication to my judge.

16. And if he should hear me when I call, I should not believe that he had heard my voice.

17. For he shall crush me in a whirlwind, and multiply my wounds even without cause.

18. He alloweth not my spirit to rest, and he filleth me with bitterness.

19. If strength be demanded, he is most strong: if equity of judgment, no man dare bear witness for me.

20. If I would justify myself, my own mouth shall condemn me: if I would shew myself innocent, he shall prove me wicked.

21. Although I should be simple, even this my soul shall be ignorant of, and I shall be weary of my life.

22. One thing there is that I have spoken, both the innocent and the wicked he consumeth.

23. If he scourge, let him kill at once, and not laugh at the pains of the innocent.

24. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked, he covereth the face of the judges thereof: and if it be not he, who is it then?

25. My days have been swifter than a post: they have fled away and have not seen good.

26. They have passed by as ships carrying fruits, as an eagle flying to the prey.

27. If I say: I will not speak so: I change my face, and am tormented with sorrow.

28. I feared all my works, knowing that thou didst not spare the offender.

29. But if so also I am wicked, why have I laboured in vain?

30. If I be washed as it were with snow waters, and my hands shall shine ever so clean :

31. Yet thou shalt plunge me in filth, and my garments shall abhor me,

32. For I shall not answer a man that is like myself: nor one that may be heard with me equally in judgment.

33. There is none that may be able to reprove both, and to put his hand between both.

34. Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me.

35. I will speak, and will not fear him: for I cannot answer while I am in fear.

Chapter 10

1. My soul is weary of my life, I will let go my speech against myself, I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

2. I will say to God: Do not condemn me: tell me why thou judgest me so.

3. Doth it seem good to thee that thou shouldst calumniate me, and oppress me, the work of thy own hands, and help the counsel of the wicked?

4. Hast thou eyes of flesh: or, shalt thou see as man seeth?

5. Are thy days as the days of man, and are thy years as the times of men:

6. That thou shouldst inquire after my iniquity, and search after my sin?

7. And shouldst know that I have done no wicked thing, whereas there is no man that can deliver out of thy hand.

8. Thy hands have made me, and fashioned me wholly round about, and dost thou thus cast me down headlong on a sudden?

9. Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay, and thou wilt bring me into dust again.

10. Hast thou not milked me as milk, and curdled me like cheese?

11. Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh: thou hast put me together with bones and sinews:

12. Thou hast granted me life and mercy, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.

13. Although thou conceal these things in thy heart, yet I know that thou rememberest all things.

14. If I have sinned and thou hast spared me for an hour: why dost thou not suffer me to be clean from my iniquity?

15. And if I be wicked, woe unto me: and if just, I shall not lift up my head, being filled with affliction and misery.

16. And for pride thou wilt take me as a lioness, and returning thou tormentest me wonderfully.

17. Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and multipliest thy wrath upon me, and pains war against me.

18. Why didst thou bring me forth out of the womb: O that I had been consumed that eye might not see me!

19. I should have been as if I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave.

20. Shall not the fewness of my days be ended shortly? suffer me, therefore, that I may lament my sorrow a little:

21. Before I go, and return no more, to a land that is dark and covered with the mist of death:

22. A land of misery and darkness, where the shadow of death, and no order, but everlasting horror dwelleth.

6. Because the Lord giveth wisdom: and out of his mouth cometh prudence and knowledge.

7. He will keep the salvation of the righteous, and protect them that walk in simplicity.

8. Keeping the paths of justice, and guarding the ways of saints.