A Walk Through The Word

¹⁷ So Jacob got up and put his children and wives on the camels. ¹⁸ He took all the livestock and possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram, and he drove his herds to go to the land of Canaan, to his father Isaac. ¹⁹ When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.^{(A) 20} And Jacob deceived^[a] Laban the Aramean, not telling him that he was fleeing. ²¹ He fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for^[b] the hill country of Gilead.

Laban Overtakes Jacob

²² On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. ²³ So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁴ But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night. “Watch yourself!” God warned him. “Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”^(B)

²⁵ When Laban overtook Jacob, Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban and his relatives also pitched their tents in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁶ Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and taken my daughters away like prisoners of war! ²⁷ Why did you secretly flee from me, deceive me, and not tell me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and lyres, ²⁸ but you didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters. You have acted foolishly. ²⁹ I could do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Watch yourself! Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ ³⁰ Now you have gone off because you long for your father’s family—but why have you stolen my gods?” ^(C)

³¹ Jacob answered, “I was afraid, for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force. ³² If you find your gods with anyone here, he will not live!^(D) Before our relatives, point out anything that is yours and take it.” Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.

³³ So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, Leah’s tent, and the tents of the two concubines,^[c] but he found nothing. When he left Leah’s tent, he went into Rachel’s tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken Laban’s household idols, put them in the saddlebag of the camel, and sat on them. Laban searched the whole tent but found nothing.

³⁵ She said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence;^(E) I am having my period.” So Laban searched, but could not find the household idols.

Jacob’s Covenant with Laban

³⁶ Then Jacob became incensed and brought charges against Laban. “What is my crime?” he said to Laban. “What is my sin, that you have pursued me? ³⁷ You’ve searched all my possessions! Have you found anything of yours?^[d] Put it here before my relatives and yours, and let them decide between the two of us. ³⁸ I’ve been with you these twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams from your flock. ³⁹ I did not bring you any of the flock torn by wild beasts; I myself bore the loss. You demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or by night. ⁴⁰ There I was—the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes. ⁴¹ For twenty years in your household I served you—fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks^(F)—and you have changed my wages ten times! ⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, certainly now you would have sent me off empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and my hard work,^[e] and he issued his verdict last night.”

⁴³ Then Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters; the children, my children; and the flocks, my flocks! Everything you see is mine! But what can I do today for these daughters of mine or for the children they have borne? ⁴⁴ Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I.^(G) Let it be a witness between the two of us.”

⁴⁵ So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a marker.^{(H) 46} Then Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a mound, then ate there by the mound. ⁴⁷ Laban named the mound Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob named it Galeed.^[f]

⁴⁸ Then Laban said, “This mound is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore the place was called Galeed ⁴⁹ and also Mizpah,^[g](I) for he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are out of each other’s sight. ⁵⁰ If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, though no one is with us, understand that God will be a witness between you and me.”^{(J) 51} Laban also said to Jacob, “Look at this mound and the marker I have set up between you and me. ⁵² This mound is a witness and the marker is a witness that I will not pass beyond this mound to you, and you will not pass beyond this mound and this marker to do me harm. ⁵³ The God of Abraham, and the gods^(K) of Nahor—the gods of their father^[h]—will judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. So they ate a meal and spent the night on the mountain. ⁵⁵ Laban got up early in the morning, kissed his grandchildren and daughters, and blessed them. Then Laban left to return home.

Preparing to Meet Esau

32 Jacob went on his way, and God’s angels met him.^{(L) 2} When he saw them, Jacob said, “This is God’s camp.” So he called that place Mahanaim.^[i](M)

³ Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the territory of Edom. ⁴ He commanded them, “You are to say to my lord Esau, ‘This is what your servant Jacob says. I have been staying with Laban and have been delayed until now. ⁵ I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female slaves. I have sent this message to inform my lord, in order to seek your favor.’”^(N)

⁶ When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau; he is coming to meet you—and he has four hundred men with him.”^{(O) 7} Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; he divided the people with him into two camps, along with the flocks, herds, and camels. ⁸ He thought, “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it, the remaining one can escape.”^(P)

⁹ Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac,^(Q) the Lord who said to me, ‘Go back to your land and to your family, and I will cause you to prosper,’^{(R) 10} I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. Indeed, I crossed over the Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two camps. ¹¹ Please rescue me from my brother Esau, for I am afraid of him; otherwise, he may come and attack me, the mothers, and their children. ¹² You have said, ‘I will cause you to prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to be counted.’”^(S)

²⁴ A disciple^[a] is not above his teacher, or a slave above his master.^{(A) 25} It is enough for a disciple to become like his teacher and a slave like his master. If they called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much more the members of his household!^(B)

Fear God

²⁶ “Therefore,^(C) don’t be afraid of them, since there is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered and nothing hidden that won’t be made known.^{(D) 27} What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper,^[b] proclaim on the housetops.^{(E) 28} Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; ^(F) rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.^{(G) 29} Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny?^[c] Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s^(H) consent.^{[d] 30} But even the hairs of your head have all been counted.^{(I) 31} So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.^(J)

Acknowledging Christ

³² “Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge me before others, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.^{(K) 33} But whoever denies me before others,^(L) I will also deny him before my Father in heaven. ³⁴ Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.^{(M) 35} For I came to turn

³⁷ The one who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; ^(O) the one who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Anyone who finds his life will lose it,^(P) and anyone who loses his life because of me will find it.^(Q)

A Cup of Cold Water

⁴⁰ “The one who welcomes you welcomes me,^(R) and the one who welcomes me welcomes him who sent me.^{(S) 41} Anyone who welcomes a prophet^(T) because he is a prophet^[f] will receive a prophet’s reward. And anyone who welcomes a righteous person because he’s righteous^[g] will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² And whoever gives^(U) even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple,^[h](V) truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”

John the Baptist Doubts

11 When Jesus had finished giving instructions to his twelve disciples, he moved on from there to teach and preach in their towns.^{(W) 2} Now when John heard in prison what the Christ was doing, he sent a message through his disciples^{(X) 3} and asked him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” ^(Y)

⁴ Jesus replied to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy^[i] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news,^{(Z) 6} and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by me.”^(AA)

Psalm 13

A Plea for Deliverance

For the choir director. A psalm of David.

30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. “Give me sons, or I will die!” ^(A) she said to Jacob.

² Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God? He has withheld offspring^[a] from you!”

³ Then she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah. Go sleep with her, and she’ll bear children for me^[b](B) so that through her I too can build a family.” ⁴ So Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. ⁵ Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. ⁶ Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; yes, he has heard me and given me a son,” so she named him Dan.^[c]

⁷ Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Rachel said, “In my wrestlings with God,^[d] I have wrestled with my sister and won,” and she named him Naphtali.^[e]

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” ^[f] and she named him Gad.^[g]

¹² When Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, ¹³ Leah said, “I am happy that the women call me happy,”^(C) so she named him Asher.^[h]

¹⁴ Reuben went out during the wheat harvest and found some mandrakes in the field.^(D) When he brought them to his mother Leah, Rachel asked, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵ But Leah replied to her, “Isn’t it enough that you have taken my husband? Now you also want to take my son’s mandrakes?”

“Well then,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶ When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with her that night.

¹⁷ God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my slave to my husband,” and she named him Issachar.^[i]

¹⁹ Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. ²⁰ “God has given me a good gift,” Leah said. “This time my husband will honor me because I have borne six sons for him,” and she named him Zebulun.^{[j] 21} Later, Leah bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

²² Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb.^{(E) 23} She conceived and bore a son, and she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”^{(F) 24} She named him Joseph^[k] and said, “May the Lord add another son to me.”^(G)

Jacob’s Flocks Multiply

²⁵ After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so that I can return to my homeland. ²⁶ Give me my wives and my children that I have worked for, and let me go.^(H) You know how hard I have worked for you.”

²⁷ But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor with you, stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” ²⁸ Then Laban said, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”^(I)

²⁹ So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your herds have fared with me.^{(J) 30} For you had very little before I came, but now your wealth has increased. The Lord has blessed you because of me. And now, when will I also do something for my own family?”

³¹ Laban asked, “What should I give you?”

And Jacob said, “You don’t need to give me anything. If you do this one thing for me, I will continue to shepherd and keep your flock. ³² Let me go through all your sheep today and remove every sheep that is speckled or spotted, every dark-colored sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the female goats. Such will be my wages. ³³ In the future when you come to check on my wages, my honesty will testify for me. If I have any female goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not black, they will be considered stolen.”

³⁴ “Good,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”

³⁵ That day Laban removed the streaked and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats—every one that had any white on it—and every dark-colored one among the lambs, and he placed his sons in charge of them. ³⁶ He put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob. Jacob, meanwhile, was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flock.

³⁷ Jacob then took branches of fresh poplar, almond, and plane wood, and peeled the bark, exposing white stripes on the branches. ³⁸ He set the peeled branches in the troughs in front of the sheep—in the water channels where the sheep came to drink. And the sheep bred when they came to drink. ³⁹ The flocks bred in front of the branches and bore streaked, speckled, and spotted young.^{(K) 40} Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face the streaked sheep and the completely dark sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and didn’t put them with Laban’s sheep.

⁴¹ Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs, in full view of the flocks, and they would breed in front of the branches. ⁴² As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not put out the branches. So it turned out that the weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. ⁴³ And the man became very rich.^[l] He had many flocks, female and male slaves, and camels and donkeys.^(L)

Jacob Separates from Laban

31 Now Jacob heard what Laban’s sons were saying: “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s and has built this wealth from what belonged to our father.” ² And Jacob saw from Laban’s face that his attitude toward him was not the same as before.

³ The Lord said to him, “Go back to the land of your ancestors and to your family, and I will be with you.”^(M)

⁴ Jacob had Rachel and Leah called to the field where his flocks were. ⁵ He said to them, “I can see from your father’s face that his attitude toward me is not the same as before, but the God of my father has been with me. ⁶ You know that with all my strength I have served your father^{(N) 7} and that he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not let him harm me. ⁸ If he said, ‘The spotted sheep will be your wages,’ then all the sheep were born spotted. If he said, ‘The streaked sheep will be your wages,’ then all the sheep were born streaked.^{(O) 9} God has taken away your father’s herds and given them to me.

¹⁰ “When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females. ¹¹ In that dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’ ¹² And he said, ‘Look up and see: all the males that are mating with the flocks are streaked, spotted, and speckled, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.^{(P) 13} I am the God of Bethel, where you poured oil on the stone marker and made a solemn vow to me.^(Q) Get up, leave this land, and return to your native land.’”

¹⁴ Then Rachel and Leah answered him, “Do we have any portion or inheritance in our father’s family? ¹⁵ Are we not regarded by him as outsiders? For he has sold us^(R) and has certainly spent our purchase price. ¹⁶ In fact, all the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever God has said to you.”

Commissioning the Twelve

10 Summoning his twelve disciples,^(A) he gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every^[a] disease and sickness.^{[b](B) 2} These are the names of the twelve apostles:^(C) First, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;^{[c] 4} Simon the Zealot,^[d] and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.^(D)

⁵ Jesus sent out these twelve after giving them instructions: “Don’t take the road that leads to the Gentiles, and don’t enter any Samaritan^(E) town. ⁶ Instead, go to the lost sheep^(F) of the house of Israel.^{(G) 7} As you go, proclaim, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’^{(H) 8} Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy,^[e] drive out demons.^(I) Freely you received, freely give. ⁹ Don’t acquire gold, silver, or copper for your money-belts.^{(J) 10} Don’t take a traveling bag for the road, or an extra shirt, sandals, or a staff, for the worker^(K) is worthy of his food. ¹¹ When you enter any town or village, find out who is worthy, and stay there until you leave. ¹² Greet a household when you enter it,^{(L) 13} and if the household is worthy, let your peace be on it; but if it is unworthy, let your peace return to you.^{(M) 14} If anyone does not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet^(N) when you leave that house or town. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment^(O) for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.^(P)

Persecutions Predicted

¹⁶ “Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.^{(Q) 17} Beware of them, because they will hand you over to local courts^[f] and flog you in their synagogues.^{(R) 18} You will even be brought before governors and kings because of me, to bear witness to them and to the Gentiles.^{(S) 19} But when they hand you over, don’t worry about how or what you are to speak.^(T) For you will be given what to say at that hour, ²⁰ because it isn’t you speaking, but the Spirit^(U) of your Father is speaking through you.^(V)

²¹ “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.^{(W) 22} You will be hated by everyone because of my name.^(X) But the one who endures to the end will be saved.^{(Y) 23} When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.^(Z) For truly I tell you, you will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Psalm 12

Oppression by the Wicked

For the choir director: according to Sheminith.^(A) A psalm of David.

Wisdom Brings Happiness

Jacob’s Departure

28 So Isaac summoned Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite girl. ² Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father. Marry one of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. ³ May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you^(A) so that you become an assembly of peoples.^{(B) 4} May God give you and your offspring the blessing of Abraham^(C) so that you may possess the land where you live as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”^{(D) 5} So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

⁶ Esau noticed that Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to get a wife there. When he blessed him, Isaac commanded Jacob, “Do not marry a Canaanite girl.” ⁷ And Jacob listened to his father and mother and went to Paddan-aram. ⁸ Esau realized that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women,^{(E) 9} so Esau went to Ishmael and married, in addition to his other wives, Mahalath daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. She was the sister of Nebaioth.

Jacob at Bethel

¹⁰ Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹ He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place. ¹² And he dreamed:^(F) A stairway was set on the ground with its top reaching the sky, and God’s angels were going up and down on it.^{(G) 13} The Lord was standing there beside him,^[a] saying, “I am the Lord,^(H) the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your offspring the land on which you are lying. ¹⁴ Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth,^(I) and you will spread out toward the west, the east, the north, and the south. All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.^{(J) 15} Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land,^(K) for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

¹⁶ When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”^{(L) 17} He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.”

¹⁸ Early in the morning Jacob took the stone that was near his head and set it up as a marker. He poured oil on top of it ¹⁹ and named the place Bethel,^[b] though previously the city was named Luz.^{(M) 20} Then Jacob made a vow:^(N) “If God will be with me and watch over me during this journey I’m making, if he provides me with food to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹ and if I return safely to my father’s family,^(O) then the Lord will be my God.^{(P) 22} This stone that I have set up as a marker will be God’s house, and I will give to you a tenth of all that you give me.”^(Q)

Jacob Meets Rachel

29 Jacob resumed his journey^[c] and went to the eastern country.^{[d](R) 2} He looked and saw a well in a field. Three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it because the sheep were watered from this well. But a large stone covered the opening of the well. ³ The shepherds would roll the stone from the opening of the well and water the sheep when all the flocks^[e] were gathered there. Then they would return the stone to its place over the well’s opening.

⁴ Jacob asked the men at the well, “My brothers! Where are you from?”

“We’re from Haran,” they answered.

⁵ “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?” Jacob asked them.

They answered, “We know him.”

⁶ “Is he well?” Jacob asked.

“Yes,” they said, “and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with his sheep.”

⁷ Then Jacob said, “Look, it is still broad daylight. It’s not time for the animals to be gathered. Water the flock, then go out and let them graze.”

⁸ But they replied, “We can’t until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone is rolled from the well’s opening. Then we will water the sheep.”

⁹ While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. ¹⁰ As soon as Jacob saw his uncle Laban’s daughter Rachel with his sheep,^[f] he went up and rolled the stone from the opening and watered his uncle Laban’s sheep. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept loudly.^{[g] 12} He told Rachel that he was her father’s relative, Rebekah’s son. She ran and told her father.

Jacob Deceived

¹³ When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him, hugged him, and kissed him. Then he took him to his house, and Jacob told him all that had happened.

¹⁴ Laban said to him, “Yes, you are my own flesh and blood.”^[h](S)

After Jacob had stayed with him a month, ¹⁵ Laban said to him, “Just because you’re my relative, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”

¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters: the older was named Leah, and the younger was named Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah had tender eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel, so he answered Laban, “I’ll work for you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”^(T)

¹⁹ Laban replied, “Better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob worked seven years for Rachel, and they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Since my time is complete, give me my wife, so I can sleep with^[i] her.” ²² So Laban invited all the men of the place and sponsored a feast. ²³ That evening, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with her. ²⁴ And Laban gave his slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her slave.

²⁵ When morning came, there was Leah! So he said to Laban, “What have you done to me? Wasn’t it for Rachel that I worked for you? Why have you deceived me?”

²⁶ Laban answered, “It is not the custom in our country to give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn. ²⁷ Complete this week of wedding celebration, and we will also give you this younger one in return for working yet another seven years for me.”

²⁸ And Jacob did just that. He finished the week of celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. ²⁹ And Laban gave his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. ³⁰ Jacob slept with Rachel also, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.^(U)

Jacob’s Sons

³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was neglected,^(V) he opened her womb;^(W) but Rachel was unable to conceive.^{(X) 32} Leah conceived, gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben,^[j] for she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction;^(Y) surely my husband will love me now.”

³³ She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “The Lord heard that I am neglected and has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon.^[k]

³⁴ She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “At last, my husband will become attached to me because I have borne three sons for him.” Therefore he was named Levi.^[l]

³⁵ And she conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah.^[m](Z) Then Leah stopped having children.

A Girl Restored and a Woman Healed

¹⁸ As he was telling them these things,^(A) suddenly one of the leaders came and knelt down before him, saying, “My daughter just died,^[a] but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”^{(B) 19} So Jesus and his disciples got up and followed^(C) him.

²⁰ Just then, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years approached from behind and touched the end of his robe,^{(D) 21} for she said to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I’ll be made well.”^[b](E)

²² Jesus turned and saw her. “Have courage, daughter,” he said. “Your faith has saved you.”^[c](F) And the woman was made well from that moment.^[d]

²³ When Jesus came to the leader’s house, he saw the flute players and a crowd lamenting loudly.^{(G) 24} “Leave,” he said, “because the girl is not dead but asleep.”^(H) And they laughed at him. ²⁵ After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.^{(I) 26} Then news of this spread throughout that whole area.^(J)

Healing the Blind

²⁷ As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” ^(K)

²⁸ When he entered the house, the blind men approached him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe^(L) that I can do this?”

They said to him, “Yes, Lord.”

²⁹ Then he touched their eyes, saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” ³⁰ And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus warned them sternly, “Be sure that no one finds out.”^{(M) 31} But they went out and spread the news about him throughout that whole area.

Driving Out a Demon

³² Just as they were going out, a demon-possessed man who was unable to speak was brought to him.^{(N) 33} When the demon had been driven out, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”

³⁴ But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.”^(O)

The Lord of the Harvest

³⁵ Jesus continued going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom,^(P) and healing every^[e] disease and every sickness.^{[f][g] 36} When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected,^(Q) like sheep without a shepherd.^{(R) 37} Then he said to his disciples,^(S) “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. ³⁸ Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”

Psalm 11

Refuge in the Lord

For the choir director. Of David.

¹⁷ So Isaac left there, camped in the Gerar Valley, and lived there. ¹⁸ Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and that the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. He gave them the same names his father had given them. ¹⁹ Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of spring^[a] water there. ²⁰ But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek^[b] because they argued with him.^{(A) 21} Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also, so he named it Sitnah.^{[c] 22} He moved from there and dug another, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Rehoboth^[d] and said, “For now the Lord has made space for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

The Lord Appears to Isaac

²³ From there he went up to Beer-sheba, ²⁴ and the Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham.^(B) Do not be afraid, for I am with you.^(C) I will bless you and multiply your offspring because of my servant Abraham.”

²⁵ So he built an altar there,^(D) called on the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there. Isaac’s servants also dug a well there.^(E)

Covenant with Abimelech

²⁶ Now Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.^{(F) 27} Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me? You hated me and sent me away from you.”

²⁸ They replied, “We have clearly seen how the Lord has been with you. We think there should be an oath between two parties—between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you: ²⁹ You will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have done only what was good to you, sending you away in peace. You are now blessed by the Lord.”^(G)

³⁰ So he prepared a banquet for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ They got up early in the morning and swore an oath to each other.^[e](H) Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace. ³² On that same day Isaac’s servants came to tell him about the well they had dug, saying to him, “We have found water!” ^{(I) 33} He called it Sheba.^[f] Therefore the name of the city is still Beer-sheba^[g](J) today.

Esau’s Wives

³⁴ When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hethite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hethite.^{(K) 35} They made life bitter^[h] for Isaac and Rebekah.^(L)

The Stolen Blessing

27 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could not see,^(M) he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.”

And he answered, “Here I am.”

² He said, “Look, I am old and do not know the day of my death. ³ So now take your hunting gear, your quiver and bow, and go out in the field to hunt some game for me.^{(N) 4} Then make me a delicious meal that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I can bless you before I die.”^(O)

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening to what Isaac said to his son Esau. So while Esau went to the field to hunt some game to bring in, ⁶ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Listen! I heard your father talking with your brother Esau. He said, ⁷ ‘Bring me game and make a delicious meal for me to eat so that I can bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ ⁸ Now, my son, listen to me and do what I tell you. ⁹ Go to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, and I will make them into a delicious meal for your father—the kind he loves. ¹⁰ Then take it to your father to eat so that he may bless you before he dies.”

¹¹ Jacob answered Rebekah his mother, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a man with smooth skin.^{(P) 12} Suppose my father touches me. Then I will be revealed to him as a deceiver and bring a curse rather than a blessing on myself.”

¹³ His mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey me and go get them for me.”

¹⁴ So he went and got the goats and brought them to his mother, and his mother made the delicious food his father loved. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were in the house, and had her younger son Jacob wear them. ¹⁶ She put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ Then she handed the delicious food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.

¹⁸ When he came to his father, he said, “My father.”

And he answered, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

¹⁹ Jacob replied to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may bless me.”

²⁰ But Isaac said to his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?”

He replied, “Because the Lord your God made it happen for me.”

²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau or not?”

²² So Jacob came closer to his father Isaac. When he touched him, he said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ²³ He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. ²⁴ Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?”

And he replied, “I am.”

²⁵ Then he said, “Bring it closer to me, and let me eat some of my son’s game so that I can bless you.” Jacob brought it closer to him, and he ate; he brought him wine, and he drank.

²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come closer and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ So he came closer and kissed him. When Isaac smelled^[i] his clothes, he blessed him and said:

³⁰ As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had left the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau arrived from his hunting. ³¹ He had also made some delicious food and brought it to his father. He said to his father, “Let my father get up and eat some of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.”

³² But his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”

He answered, “I am Esau your firstborn son.”

³³ Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably. “Who was it then,” he said, “who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it all before you came in, and I blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed!”

³⁴ When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” ^(V)

³⁵ But he replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”

³⁶ So he said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob?^[j](W) For he has cheated me twice now. He took my birthright, and look, now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

³⁷ But Isaac answered Esau, “Look, I have made him a master over you, have given him all of his relatives as his servants, and have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then can I do for you, my son?”

³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” And Esau wept loudly.^[k]

³⁹ His father Isaac answered him,

Esau’s Anger

⁴¹ Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

⁴² When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Listen, your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. ⁴³ So now, my son, listen to me. Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, ⁴⁴ and stay with him for a few days until your brother’s anger subsides— ⁴⁵ until your brother’s rage turns away from you and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?”

⁴⁶ So Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick of my life because of these Hethite girls.^(X) If Jacob marries someone from around here,^[m] like these Hethite girls, what good is my life?” ^(Y)

The Son of Man Forgives and Heals

9 So he got into a boat, crossed over, and came to his own town.^{(A) 2} Just then^(B) some men^[a] brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.”^(C)

³ At this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “He’s blaspheming!” ^(D)

⁴ Perceiving their thoughts,^(E) Jesus said, “Why are you thinking evil things in your hearts?^{[b] 5} For which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then he told the paralytic, “Get up, take your stretcher, and go home.” ⁷ So he got up and went home. ⁸ When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck^[c][d] and gave glory^(F) to God, who had given such authority to men.

The Call of Matthew

⁹ As Jesus went on from there,^(G) he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him.^(H)

¹⁰ While he was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and his disciples.^{(I) 11} When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ^(J)

¹² Now when he heard this, he said, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick.^{(K) 13} Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.^[e](L) For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”^[f]

A Question about Fasting

¹⁴ Then John’s disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” ^(M)

¹⁵ Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests^[g] be sad while the groom is with them? The time^[h] will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. ¹⁶ No one patches an old garment with unshrunk cloth, because the patch pulls away from the garment and makes the tear worse. ¹⁷ And no one puts^[i] new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord. ⁵³ Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothing and presented them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother. ⁵⁴ Then they ate their meal, and the servant and the men with him stayed there overnight.

But early the next morning, Abraham’s servant said, “Send me back to my master.”

⁵⁵ “But we want Rebekah to stay with us at least ten days,” her brother and mother said. “Then she can go.”

⁵⁶ But he said, “Don’t delay me. The Lord has made my mission successful; now send me back so I can return to my master.”

⁵⁷ “Well,” they said, “we’ll call Rebekah and ask her what she thinks.” ⁵⁸ So they called Rebekah. “Are you willing to go with this man?” they asked her.

And she replied, “Yes, I will go.”

⁵⁹ So they said good-bye to Rebekah and sent her away with Abraham’s servant and his men. The woman who had been Rebekah’s childhood nurse went along with her. ⁶⁰ They gave her this blessing as she parted:

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her servant girls mounted the camels and followed the man. So Abraham’s servant took Rebekah and went on his way.

⁶² Meanwhile, Isaac, whose home was in the Negev, had returned from Beer-lahai-roi. ⁶³ One evening as he was walking and meditating in the fields, he looked up and saw the camels coming. ⁶⁴ When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel. ⁶⁵ “Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” she asked the servant.

And he replied, “It is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil. ⁶⁶ Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.

⁶⁷ And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.

The Death of Abraham

25 Abraham married another wife, whose name was Keturah. ² She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³ Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. ⁴ Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah.

⁵ Abraham gave everything he owned to his son Isaac. ⁶ But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to a land in the east, away from Isaac.

⁷ Abraham lived for 175 years, ⁸ and he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying life. He breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. ⁹ His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. ¹⁰ This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites and where he had buried his wife Sarah. ¹¹ After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who settled near Beer-lahai-roi in the Negev.

Ishmael’s Descendants

¹² This is the account of the family of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant. ¹³ Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael’s descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes named after them, listed according to the places they settled and camped. ¹⁷ Ishmael lived for 137 years. Then he breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. ¹⁸ Ishmael’s descendants occupied the region from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. There they lived in open hostility toward all their relatives.^[a]

The Births of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ This is the account of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. ²⁰ When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean.

²¹ Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. ²² But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked.

²³ And the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”

²⁴ And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! ²⁵ The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau.^{[b] 26} Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob.^[c] Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.

Esau Sells His Birthright

²⁷ As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. ²⁸ Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

²⁹ One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. ³⁰ Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”)

³¹ “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.”

³² “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”

³³ But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.

³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.

Isaac Deceives Abimelech

26 A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived.

² The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you. ³ Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants,^[d] just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father. ⁴ I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. ⁵ I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.” ⁶ So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

⁷ When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “They will kill me to get her, because she is so beautiful.” ⁸ But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah.

⁹ Immediately, Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, “She is obviously your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?”

“Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me,” Isaac replied.

¹⁰ “How could you do this to us?” Abimelech exclaimed. “One of my people might easily have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin.”

¹¹ Then Abimelech issued a public proclamation: “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death!”

Conflict over Water Rights

¹² When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him. ¹³ He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow. ¹⁴ He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him. ¹⁵ So the Philistines filled up all of Isaac’s wells with dirt. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham.

¹⁶ Finally, Abimelech ordered Isaac to leave the country. “Go somewhere else,” he said, “for you have become too powerful for us.”

The Cost of Following Jesus

¹⁸ When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he instructed his disciples to cross to the other side of the lake.

¹⁹ Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰ But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man^[a] has no place even to lay his head.”

²¹ Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”

²² But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.^[b]”

Jesus Calms the Storm

²³ Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. ²⁴ Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.

²⁷ The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”

Jesus Heals Two Demon-Possessed Men

²⁸ When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gadarenes,^[c] two men who were possessed by demons met him. They came out of the tombs and were so violent that no one could go through that area.

²⁹ They began screaming at him, “Why are you interfering with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before God’s appointed time?”

³⁰ There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding in the distance. ³¹ So the demons begged, “If you cast us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”

³² “All right, go!” Jesus commanded them. So the demons came out of the men and entered the pigs, and the whole herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.

³³ The herdsmen fled to the nearby town, telling everyone what happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone.

Psalm 10

The Burial of Sarah

23 When Sarah was 127 years old, ² she died at Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron) in the land of Canaan. There Abraham mourned and wept for her.

³ Then, leaving her body, he said to the Hittite elders, ⁴ “Here I am, a stranger and a foreigner among you. Please sell me a piece of land so I can give my wife a proper burial.”

⁵ The Hittites replied to Abraham, ⁶ “Listen, my lord, you are an honored prince among us. Choose the finest of our tombs and bury her there. No one here will refuse to help you in this way.”

⁷ Then Abraham bowed low before the Hittites ⁸ and said, “Since you are willing to help me in this way, be so kind as to ask Ephron son of Zohar ⁹ to let me buy his cave at Machpelah, down at the end of his field. I will pay the full price in the presence of witnesses, so I will have a permanent burial place for my family.”

¹⁰ Ephron was sitting there among the others, and he answered Abraham as the others listened, speaking publicly before all the Hittite elders of the town. ¹¹ “No, my lord,” he said to Abraham, “please listen to me. I will give you the field and the cave. Here in the presence of my people, I give it to you. Go and bury your dead.”

¹² Abraham again bowed low before the citizens of the land, ¹³ and he replied to Ephron as everyone listened. “No, listen to me. I will buy it from you. Let me pay the full price for the field so I can bury my dead there.”

¹⁴ Ephron answered Abraham, ¹⁵ “My lord, please listen to me. The land is worth 400 pieces^[a] of silver, but what is that between friends? Go ahead and bury your dead.”

¹⁶ So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price and paid the amount he had suggested—400 pieces of silver, weighed according to the market standard. The Hittite elders witnessed the transaction.

¹⁷ So Abraham bought the plot of land belonging to Ephron at Machpelah, near Mamre. This included the field itself, the cave that was in it, and all the surrounding trees. ¹⁸ It was transferred to Abraham as his permanent possession in the presence of the Hittite elders at the city gate. ¹⁹ Then Abraham buried his wife, Sarah, there in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre (also called Hebron). ²⁰ So the field and the cave were transferred from the Hittites to Abraham for use as a permanent burial place.

A Wife for Isaac

24 Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. ² One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh. ³ Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. ⁴ Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”

⁵ The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home? Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?”

⁶ “No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there. ⁷ For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants.^[b] He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son. ⁸ If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath of mine. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there.”

⁹ So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham’s instructions. ¹⁰ Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled. ¹¹ He made the camels kneel beside a well just outside the town. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water.

¹² “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham. ¹³ See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.”

¹⁵ Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah. ¹⁶ Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again. ¹⁷ Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.”

¹⁸ “Yes, my lord,” she answered, “have a drink.” And she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ When she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough to drink.” ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw water for all his camels.

²¹ The servant watched her in silence, wondering whether or not the Lord had given him success in his mission. ²² Then at last, when the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets^[c] for her wrists.

²³ “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “And please tell me, would your father have any room to put us up for the night?”

²⁴ “I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she replied. “My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah. ²⁵ Yes, we have plenty of straw and feed for the camels, and we have room for guests.”

²⁶ The man bowed low and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ “Praise the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “The Lord has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s relatives.”

²⁸ The young woman ran home to tell her family everything that had happened. ²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, who ran out to meet the man at the spring. ³⁰ He had seen the nose-ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man had said. So he rushed out to the spring, where the man was still standing beside his camels. ³¹ Laban said to him, “Come and stay with us, you who are blessed by the Lord! Why are you standing here outside the town when I have a room all ready for you and a place prepared for the camels?”

³² So the man went home with Laban, and Laban unloaded the camels, gave him straw for their bedding, fed them, and provided water for the man and the camel drivers to wash their feet. ³³ Then food was served. But Abraham’s servant said, “I don’t want to eat until I have told you why I have come.”

“All right,” Laban said, “tell us.”

³⁴ “I am Abraham’s servant,” he explained. ³⁵ “And the Lord has greatly blessed my master; he has become a wealthy man. The Lord has given him flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, a fortune in silver and gold, and many male and female servants and camels and donkeys.

³⁶ “When Sarah, my master’s wife, was very old, she gave birth to my master’s son, and my master has given him everything he owns. ³⁷ And my master made me take an oath. He said, ‘Do not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. ³⁸ Go instead to my father’s house, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son.’

³⁹ “But I said to my master, ‘What if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to go back with me?’ ⁴⁰ He responded, ‘The Lord, in whose presence I have lived, will send his angel with you and will make your mission successful. Yes, you must find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. ⁴¹ Then you will have fulfilled your obligation. But if you go to my relatives and they refuse to let her go with you, you will be free from my oath.’

⁴² “So today when I came to the spring, I prayed this prayer: ‘O Lord, God of my master, Abraham, please give me success on this mission. ⁴³ See, I am standing here beside this spring. This is my request. When a young woman comes to draw water, I will say to her, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.” ⁴⁴ If she says, “Yes, have a drink, and I will draw water for your camels, too,” let her be the one you have selected to be the wife of my master’s son.’

⁴⁵ “Before I had finished praying in my heart, I saw Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ ⁴⁶ She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’ So I drank, and then she watered the camels.

⁴⁷ “Then I asked, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel, and my grandparents are Nahor and Milcah.’ So I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her wrists.

⁴⁸ “Then I bowed low and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me straight to my master’s niece to be his son’s wife. ⁴⁹ So tell me—will you or won’t you show unfailing love and faithfulness to my master? Please tell me yes or no, and then I’ll know what to do next.”

⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “The Lord has obviously brought you here, so there is nothing we can say. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”

Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy

8 Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. ² Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.”

³ Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. ⁴ Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy.^[a] This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”

The Faith of a Roman Officer

⁵ When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer^[b] came and pleaded with him, ⁶ “Lord, my young servant^[c] lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”

⁷ Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”

⁸ But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! ¹¹ And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. ¹² But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

¹³ Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.

Jesus Heals Many People

¹⁴ When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, Peter’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. ¹⁵ But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her. Then she got up and prepared a meal for him.

¹⁶ That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick. ¹⁷ This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said,

Trusting in the Lord

Abraham Deceives Abimelech

20 Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a while between Kadesh and Shur, and then he moved on to Gerar. While living there as a foreigner, ² Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.

³ But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!”

⁴ But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? ⁵ Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.”

⁶ In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.”

⁸ Abimelech got up early the next morning and quickly called all his servants together. When he told them what had happened, his men were terrified. ⁹ Then Abimelech called for Abraham. “What have you done to us?” he demanded. “What crime have I committed that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? No one should ever do what you have done! ¹⁰ Whatever possessed you to do such a thing?”

¹¹ Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘This is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.’ ¹² And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I married her. ¹³ When God called me to leave my father’s home and to travel from place to place, I told her, ‘Do me a favor. Wherever we go, tell the people that I am your brother.’”

¹⁴ Then Abimelech took some of his sheep and goats, cattle, and male and female servants, and he presented them to Abraham. He also returned his wife, Sarah, to him. ¹⁵ Then Abimelech said, “Look over my land and choose any place where you would like to live.” ¹⁶ And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving your ‘brother’ 1,000 pieces of silver^[a] in the presence of all these witnesses. This is to compensate you for any wrong I may have done to you. This will settle any claim against me, and your reputation is cleared.”

¹⁷ Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, so they could have children. ¹⁸ For the Lord had caused all the women to be infertile because of what happened with Abraham’s wife, Sarah.

The Birth of Isaac

21 The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. ² She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. ³ And Abraham named their son Isaac. ⁴ Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. ⁵ Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born.

⁶ And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter.^[b] All who hear about this will laugh with me. ⁷ Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!”

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁸ When Isaac grew up and was about to be weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion. ⁹ But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac.^{[c] 10} So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won’t have it!”

¹¹ This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son. ¹² But God told Abraham, “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. ¹³ But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too.”

¹⁴ So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food and a container of water, and strapped them on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her away with their son, and she wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba.

¹⁵ When the water was gone, she put the boy in the shade of a bush. ¹⁶ Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards^[d] away. “I don’t want to watch the boy die,” she said, as she burst into tears.

¹⁷ But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. ¹⁸ Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.”

¹⁹ Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink.

²⁰ And God was with the boy as he grew up in the wilderness. He became a skillful archer, ²¹ and he settled in the wilderness of Paran. His mother arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of Egypt.

Abraham’s Covenant with Abimelech

²² About this time, Abimelech came with Phicol, his army commander, to visit Abraham. “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,” Abimelech said. ²³ “Swear to me in God’s name that you will never deceive me, my children, or any of my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so now swear that you will be loyal to me and to this country where you are living as a foreigner.”

²⁴ Abraham replied, “Yes, I swear to it!” ²⁵ Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech’s servants had taken by force from Abraham’s servants.

²⁶ “This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Abimelech answered. “I have no idea who is responsible. You have never complained about this before.”

²⁷ Abraham then gave some of his sheep, goats, and cattle to Abimelech, and they made a treaty. ²⁸ But Abraham also took seven additional female lambs and set them off by themselves. ²⁹ Abimelech asked, “Why have you set these seven apart from the others?”

³⁰ Abraham replied, “Please accept these seven lambs to show your agreement that I dug this well.” ³¹ Then he named the place Beersheba (which means “well of the oath”), because that was where they had sworn the oath.

³² After making their covenant at Beersheba, Abimelech left with Phicol, the commander of his army, and they returned home to the land of the Philistines. ³³ Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he worshiped the Lord, the Eternal God.^{[e] 34} And Abraham lived as a foreigner in Philistine country for a long time.

Abraham’s Faith Tested

22 Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.

“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”

² “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

³ The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

⁶ So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, ⁷ Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”

⁸ “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

⁹ When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. ¹⁰ And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. ¹¹ At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”

¹² “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

¹³ Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴ Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

¹⁵ Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. ¹⁶ “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that ¹⁷ I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants^[f] beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. ¹⁸ And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

¹⁹ Then they returned to the servants and traveled back to Beersheba, where Abraham continued to live.

²⁰ Soon after this, Abraham heard that Milcah, his brother Nahor’s wife, had borne Nahor eight sons. ²¹ The oldest was named Uz, the next oldest was Buz, followed by Kemuel (the ancestor of the Arameans), ²² Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. ²³ (Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) In addition to these eight sons from Milcah, ²⁴ Nahor had four other children from his concubine Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

The Tree and Its Fruit

¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. ¹⁶ You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. ¹⁹ So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

True Disciples

²¹ “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. ²² On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ ²³ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

Building on a Solid Foundation

²⁴ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵ Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. ²⁶ But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. ²⁷ When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.

Psalm 9

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune “Death of the Son.”

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

¹⁶ Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send them on their way.

¹⁷ “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the Lord asked. ¹⁸ “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. ¹⁹ I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.”

²⁰ So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. ²¹ I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”

²² The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham. ²³ Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? ²⁴ Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? ²⁵ Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”

²⁶ And the Lord replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.”

²⁷ Then Abraham spoke again. “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. ²⁸ Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”

And the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.”

²⁹ Then Abraham pressed his request further. “Suppose there are only forty?”

And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty.”

³⁰ “Please don’t be angry, my Lord,” Abraham pleaded. “Let me speak—suppose only thirty righteous people are found?”

And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty.”

³¹ Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?”

And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

³² Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?”

And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

³³ When the Lord had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent.

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

19 That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. ² “My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.”

“Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.”

³ But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate. ⁴ But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. ⁵ They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”

⁶ So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. ⁷ “Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing. ⁸ Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.”

⁹ “Stand back!” they shouted. “This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you far worse than those other men!” And they lunged toward Lot to break down the door.

¹⁰ But the two angels^[a] reached out, pulled Lot into the house, and bolted the door. ¹¹ Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside.

¹² Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. ¹³ For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.”

¹⁴ So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking.

¹⁵ At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!”

¹⁶ When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful. ¹⁷ When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”

¹⁸ “Oh no, my lord!” Lot begged. ¹⁹ “You have been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you have shown such great kindness. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die. ²⁰ See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don’t you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.”

²¹ “All right,” the angel said, “I will grant your request. I will not destroy the little village. ²² But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.” (This explains why that village was known as Zoar, which means “little place.”)

²³ Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon. ²⁴ Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. ²⁵ He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. ²⁶ But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.

²⁷ Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s presence. ²⁸ He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace.

²⁹ But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.

Lot and His Daughters

³⁰ Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters. ³¹ One day the older daughter said to her sister, “There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can’t get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have children. ³² Come, let’s get him drunk with wine, and then we will have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.”

³³ So that night they got him drunk with wine, and the older daughter went in and had intercourse with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.

³⁴ The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, “I had sex with our father last night. Let’s get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.” ³⁵ So that night they got him drunk with wine again, and the younger daughter went in and had intercourse with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.

³⁶ As a result, both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their own father. ³⁷ When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab.^[b] He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites. ³⁸ When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi.^[c] He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.

²⁵ “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? ²⁷ Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

²⁸ “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, ²⁹ yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. ³⁰ And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

³¹ “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God^[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

³⁴ “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Do Not Judge Others

7 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. ² For you will be treated as you treat others.^[b] The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.^[c]

³ “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye^[d] when you have a log in your own? ⁴ How can you think of saying to your friend,^[e] ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

⁶ “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy.^[f] Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.

Effective Prayer

⁷ “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹ “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? ¹⁰ Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! ¹¹ So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

The Golden Rule

¹² “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

The Narrow Gate

¹³ “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell^[g] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. ¹⁴ But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

Psalm 8

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.^[a]

The Birth of Ishmael

16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. ² So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. ³ So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.)

⁴ So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt. The Lord will show who’s wrong—you or me!”

⁶ Abram replied, “Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.

⁷ The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. ⁸ The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

“I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied.

⁹ The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” ¹⁰ Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”

¹¹ And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. ¹² This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”

¹³ Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.”^[a] She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” ¹⁴ So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born.

Abram Is Named Abraham

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. ² I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

³ At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, ⁴ “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! ⁵ What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham,^[b] for you will be the father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

⁷ “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants^[c] after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁸ And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”

The Mark of the Covenant

⁹ Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. ¹⁰ This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. ¹¹ You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹² From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. ¹³ All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”

Sarai Is Named Sarah

¹⁵ Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah.^{[d] 16} And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”

¹⁷ Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” ¹⁸ So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”

¹⁹ But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac,^[e] and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant. ²⁰ As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. ²¹ But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.” ²² When God had finished speaking, he left Abraham.

²³ On that very day Abraham took his son, Ishmael, and every male in his household, including those born there and those he had bought. Then he circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins, just as God had told him. ²⁴ Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, ²⁵ and Ishmael, his son, was thirteen. ²⁶ Both Abraham and his son, Ishmael, were circumcised on that same day, ²⁷ along with all the other men and boys of the household, whether they were born there or bought as servants. All were circumcised with him.

A Son Is Promised to Sarah

18 The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. ² He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.

³ “My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. ⁴ Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet. ⁵ And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.”

“All right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”

⁶ So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get three large measures^[f] of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.” ⁷ Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it. ⁸ When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees.

⁹ “Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked.

“She’s inside the tent,” Abraham replied.

¹⁰ Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!”

Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. ¹² So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?”

¹³ Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁵ Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.”

But the Lord said, “No, you did laugh.”

Teaching about Giving to the Needy

6 “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. ² When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. ³ But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. ⁴ Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Teaching about Prayer and Fasting

⁵ “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. ⁶ But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

⁷ “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. ⁸ Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! ⁹ Pray like this:

¹⁴ “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

¹⁶ “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. ¹⁷ But when you fast, comb your hair^[d] and wash your face. ¹⁸ Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Teaching about Money and Possessions

¹⁹ “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

²² “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. ²³ But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.

Psalm 7

A psalm^[a] of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush of the tribe of Benjamin.

The Benefits of Wisdom

⁵ Lot, who was traveling with Abram, had also become very wealthy with flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and many tents. ⁶ But the land could not support both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and herds living so close together. ⁷ So disputes broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. (At that time Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land.)

⁸ Finally Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives! ⁹ The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.”

¹⁰ Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹ Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram. ¹² So Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain. ¹³ But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord.

¹⁴ After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west. ¹⁵ I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants^[a] as a permanent possession. ¹⁶ And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted! ¹⁷ Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.”

¹⁸ So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built another altar to the Lord.

Abram Rescues Lot

14 About this time war broke out in the region. King Amraphel of Babylonia,^[b] King Arioch of Ellasar, King Kedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim ² fought against King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar).

³ This second group of kings joined forces in Siddim Valley (that is, the valley of the Dead Sea^[c]). ⁴ For twelve years they had been subject to King Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him.

⁵ One year later Kedorlaomer and his allies arrived and defeated the Rephaites at Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites at Ham, the Emites at Shaveh-kiriathaim, ⁶ and the Horites at Mount Seir, as far as El-paran at the edge of the wilderness. ⁷ Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (now called Kadesh) and conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites living in Hazazon-tamar.

⁸ Then the rebel kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (also called Zoar) prepared for battle in the valley of the Dead Sea.^{[d] 9} They fought against King Kedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Babylonia, and King Arioch of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰ As it happened, the valley of the Dead Sea was filled with tar pits. And as the army of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into the tar pits, while the rest escaped into the mountains. ¹¹ The victorious invaders then plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and headed for home, taking with them all the spoils of war and the food supplies. ¹² They also captured Lot—Abram’s nephew who lived in Sodom—and carried off everything he owned.

¹³ But one of Lot’s men escaped and reported everything to Abram the Hebrew, who was living near the oak grove belonging to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his relatives, Eshcol and Aner, were Abram’s allies.

¹⁴ When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan. ¹⁵ There he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. ¹⁶ Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the women and other captives.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ After Abram returned from his victory over Kedorlaomer and all his allies, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

¹⁸ And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High,^[e] brought Abram some bread and wine. ¹⁹ Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing:

Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.

²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give back my people who were captured. But you may keep for yourself all the goods you have recovered.”

²² Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I solemnly swear to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will not take so much as a single thread or sandal thong from what belongs to you. Otherwise you might say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will accept only what my young warriors have already eaten, and I request that you give a fair share of the goods to my allies—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.”

The Lord’s Covenant Promise to Abram

15 Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”

² But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. ³ You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”

⁴ Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” ⁵ Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

⁶ And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.

⁷ Then the Lord told him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.”

⁸ But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?”

⁹ The Lord told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half. ¹¹ Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.

¹² As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him. ¹³ Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. ¹⁵ (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) ¹⁶ After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”

¹⁷ After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. ¹⁸ So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt^[f] to the great Euphrates River— ¹⁹ the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, ²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

Teaching about Adultery

²⁷ “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’^{[a] 28} But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ So if your eye—even your good eye^[b]—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your hand—even your stronger hand^[c]—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Teaching about Divorce

³¹ “You have heard the law that says, ‘A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a written notice of divorce.’^{[d] 32} But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery.

Teaching about Vows

³³ “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’^{[e] 34} But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. ³⁵ And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. ³⁶ Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. ³⁷ Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

Teaching about Revenge

³⁸ “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’^{[f] 39} But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. ⁴⁰ If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. ⁴¹ If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile,^[g] carry it two miles. ⁴² Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.

Teaching about Love for Enemies

⁴³ “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’^[h] and hate your enemy. ⁴⁴ But I say, love your enemies!^[i] Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵ In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. ⁴⁶ If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. ⁴⁷ If you are kind only to your friends,^[j] how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. ⁴⁸ But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Psalm 6

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument.^[a]