"that they may believethat the LORD,the Godof their fathers,the Godof Abraham,the Godof Isaac,and the Godof Jacob,has appearedto you."
The LORDappearedto Abramand said,"To your descendantsI will givethisland."So he builtan altarthereto the LORDwho had appearedto him.
Now when Abramwas ninety-nineyearsold,the LORDappearedto Abramand saidto him, "I am GodAlmighty;WalkbeforeMe, and be blameless.
Now the LORDappearedto him by the oaksof Mamre,while he was sittingat the tentdoorin the heatof the day.
The LORDappearedto him and said,"Do not godownto Egypt;stayin the landof whichI shall tellyou.
And behold,the LORDstoodaboveit and said,"I am the LORD,the Godof your fatherAbrahamand the Godof Isaac;the landon whichyou lie,I will giveit to you and to your descendants.
He blessedJoseph,and said,"The Godbeforewhommy fathersAbrahamand Isaacwalked,The Godwho has been my shepherdallmy lifeto thisday,
Then Jacobsaidto Joseph,"GodAlmightyappearedto me at Luzin the landof Canaanand blessedme,
At the timeof the offeringof the [evening] sacrifice,Elijahthe prophetcamenearand said,"O LORD,the Godof Abraham,Isaacand Israel,todaylet it be knownthat You are Godin Israeland that I am Your servantand I have doneallthesethingsat Your word.
They roseearlyin the morningand wentout to the wildernessof Tekoa;and when they wentout, Jehoshaphatstoodand said,"Listento me, O Judahand inhabitantsof Jerusalem,putyour trustin the LORDyour Godand you will be established.Putyour trustin His prophetsand succeed."
The LORDsaidto Moses,"Behold,I will cometo you in a thickcloud,sothat the peoplemay hearwhen I speakwith you and may alsobelievein you forever."Then Mosestoldthe wordsof the peopleto the LORD.
God,furthermore,saidto Moses,"Thusyou shall sayto the sonsof Israel,The LORD,the Godof your fathers,the Godof Abraham,the Godof Isaac,and the Godof Jacob,has sentme to you.' Thisis My nameforever,and thisis My memorial-nameto allgenerations.
"Goand gatherthe eldersof Israeltogether and sayto them, 'The LORD,the Godof your fathers,the Godof Abraham,Isaacand Jacob,has appearedto me, saying,"I amindeedconcernedabout you and what has been doneto you in Egypt.
"They will payheedto whatyou say;and you with the eldersof Israelwill cometo the kingof Egyptand you will sayto him, 'The LORD,the Godof the Hebrews,has metwith us. So now,please,let us goa threedays'journeyinto the wilderness,that we may sacrificeto the LORDour God.'
When the LORDsawthat he turnedasideto look,Godcalledto him from the midstof the bushand said,"Moses,Moses!"And he said,"HereI am."
He saidalso, "I am the Godof your father,the Godof Abraham,the Godof Isaac,and the Godof Jacob."Then Moseshidhis face,for he was afraidto lookat God.
Then Mosessaid,"What ifthey will not believeme or listento whatI say?For they may say,The LORDhas not appearedto you.'"
So the peoplebelieved;and when they heardthat the LORDwas concernedabout the sonsof Israeland that He had seentheir affliction,then they bowedlowand worshiped.
But the LORDsaidto Moses,"Stretchout your handand grasp[it] by its tail"--so he stretchedout his handand caughtit, and it becamea staffin his hand--
and the headof Ephraimis Samariaand the headof Samariais the sonof Remaliah.Ifyou will not believe,you surelyshall not last."'"
The LORDappearedto him from afar,[saying], "I have lovedyou with an everlastinglove;ThereforeI have drawnyou with lovingkindness.
and I am gladfor your sakesthat I was not there,sothat you may believe;but let us goto him."
"I knewthat You alwayshearMe; but becauseof the peoplestanding aroundI saidit, sothat they may believethat You sentMe."
ThenHe saidto Thomas,"Reachherewith your finger,and seeMy hands;and reachhere your handand putit into My side;and do not be unbelieving,but believing."
but thesehave been writtensothat you may believethat Jesusis the Christ,the Sonof God;and that believingyou may havelifein His name.
"But the testimonywhich I haveis greaterthan [the testimony of] John;for the workswhichthe Fatherhas givenMe to accomplish--the veryworksthat I do--testifyaboutMe, that the Fatherhas sentMe.
And he said,"Hearme, brethrenand fathers!The Godof gloryappearedto our fatherAbrahamwhen he was in Mesopotamia,beforehe livedin Haran,
But as it is, they desirea better[country], that is, a heavenly one.ThereforeGodis not ashamedto be calledtheir God;for He has prepareda cityfor them.
