He said to them, "I have noticed that your father is not as friendly toward me as he used to be; but my father's God has been with me.

I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, where you dedicated a stone as a memorial by pouring olive oil on it and where you made a vow to me. Now get ready and go back to the land where you were born.' "

The angel of the LORD met Hagar at a spring in the desert on the road to Shur

He said, "Go back to her and be her slave."

You are going to have a son, and you will name him Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your cry of distress.

Hagar asked herself, "Have I really seen God and lived to tell about it?" So she called the LORD, who had spoken to her, "A God Who Sees."

The LORD appeared to Abraham at the sacred trees of Mamre. As Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day,

And the LORD said to himself, "I will not hide from Abraham what I am going to do.

Then he blessed Joseph: "May God, whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac served, bless these boys! May God, who has led me to this very day, bless them!

May the angel, who has rescued me from all harm, bless them! May my name and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac live on through these boys! May they have many children, many descendants!"

Some time later God tested Abraham; he called to him, "Abraham!" And Abraham answered, "Yes, here I am!"

When the LORD saw that Moses was coming closer, he called to him from the middle of the bush and said, "Moses! Moses!" He answered, "Yes, here I am."

the LORD called Samuel. He answered, "Yes, sir!"

The LORD called Samuel again. The boy did not know that it was the LORD, because the LORD had never spoken to him before. So he got up, went to Eli, and said, "You called me, and here I am." But Eli answered, "My son, I didn't call you; go back to bed."

The LORD called Samuel a third time; he got up, went to Eli, and said, "You called me, and here I am." Then Eli realized that it was the LORD who was calling the boy,

Eli called him, "Samuel, my boy!" "Yes, sir," answered Samuel.

When you pray, I will answer you. When you call to me, I will respond. "If you put an end to oppression, to every gesture of contempt, and to every evil word;