A reading from the book of Genesis.

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, and he said, Here I am.

He said, take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Mariah,

and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the

mountains of which I shall tell you. 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. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar,

then Abraham said to his young men,

Stay here with the donkey.

I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son,

and he took in his hand the fire and the knife, so they went both of them together.

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 burn offering?

Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burn offering, my son. So they went both of them together.

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 laid him on the altar, on top

of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son, but

the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham, and he said,

Here I am. He said, do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God,

seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me. 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

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