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Moses Kills an Egyptian

¹¹ Years later, after^[a] Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people,^[b] and took notice of their heavy burdens. He saw an Egyptian beating up a Hebrew, one of his own people.^{[c] 12} Looking around and seeing no one else, he killed^[d] the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ Going out the next day, Moses noticed^[e] two Hebrew men fighting right in front of him. He told the one who was at fault, “Why did you strike your companion?”

¹⁴ The man^[f] replied, “Who appointed you to be an official judge over us? Are you planning^[g] to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?”

Then Moses became terrified and told himself,^[h] “Certainly this event has become known!”

Moses Flees to Midian

¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. So Moses fled from Pharaoh, settled in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well. ¹⁶ Meanwhile, the seven daughters of a certain Midianite priest would come to draw water in order to fill water troughs for their father’s sheep. ¹⁷ Some shepherds came to drive them away, but Moses got up, came to their rescue, and watered their sheep. ¹⁸ When they returned to their father Reuel,^[i] he asked, “Why have you returned so quickly today?”

¹⁹ “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,”^[j] they replied, “and he even drew water for us and watered the sheep!”

²⁰ “Then where is he?” He asked his daughters. “Why did you leave the man behind? Go invite him to have something to eat.”^[k]

²¹ Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.^{[l] 22} Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses^[m] named him Gershom,^[n] because he used to say, “I became an alien in a foreign land.”

The Israelis Cry Out to God

²³ The king of Egypt eventually^[o] died, and the Israelis groaned because of the bondage. They cried out, and their cry for deliverance from slavery ascended to God. ²⁴ God heard their groaning and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ²⁵ God watched the Israelis and took notice of them.

God Calls Moses

3 Meanwhile, Moses continued tending the sheep that belonged to his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the sheep to the western^[p] desert and came to Horeb,^[q] God’s mountain, where^{[r] 2} the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flaming fire from the center of a bush. As Moses^[s] continued to watch, amazingly the bush kept on burning, but was not consumed. ³ Then Moses told himself,^[t] “I’ll go over and see this remarkable^[u] sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?”

⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from the center of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

He said, “Here I am.”

⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God^[v] said. “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ Then he said, “I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ The Lord said, “I have certainly seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry caused by their slave masters. I really do understand their pain, ⁸ so I have come down to deliver them from their domination by^[w] the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the territory^[x] of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹ Now, listen carefully! The cry of the Israelis has come to my attention about how severely the Egyptians have been oppressing them. ¹⁰ So go! I am sending you to Pharaoh. Bring my people the Israelis out of Egypt.”

¹¹ But Moses told God, “Who am I? How can I go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelis out of Egypt?”

¹² Then God^[y] said, “I certainly will be with you. And this will be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will serve God on this mountain.”

¹³ Moses told God, “Look! When I go to the Israelis and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me to you,’ they’ll say to me, ‘What is his name?’ What should I say to them?”

¹⁴ God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,”^[z] and then said, “Tell the Israelis: ‘I AM sent me to you.’”

¹⁵ God also told Moses, “Tell the Israelis, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered from generation to generation.

¹⁶ “Go and gather the elders of Israel. Tell them, ‘The Lord God of your ancestors, appeared to me—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and he said, “I have paid close attention to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷ I have said that I will bring you out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites—to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’

¹⁸ “The elders of Israel^[aa] will listen to you,^[ab] and then you and they^[ac] are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now, let us take a three-day journey into the desert to sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ ¹⁹ I know that the king of Egypt won’t allow you to go unless compelled to do so by force,^{[ad] 20} so I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will do there. After that he will release you. ²¹ I will grant this people public favor with the Egyptians, and as a result, when you leave you won’t go empty-handed. ²² Each woman is to ask her neighbor or any foreign^[ae] woman in her house for articles of gold and for clothing, and use them to clothe your sons and daughters. You will plunder the Egyptians.”

¹⁰ So the disciples asked him, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹ He answered them, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things. ¹² But I tell you that Elijah has already come, yet people^[a] did not recognize him and treated him just as they pleased. In the same way, the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he had been speaking to them about John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon^(A)

¹⁴ As they approached the crowd, a man came up to Jesus,^[b] knelt down in front of him, ¹⁵ and said, “Sir,^[c] have mercy on my son, because he is an epileptic and suffers terribly. Often he falls into fire and often into water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and perverted generation! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me!” ¹⁸ Then Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him, and the boy was healed that very hour.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁰ He told them, “Because of your lack of faith.^[d] I tell all of you^[e] with certainty, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. ²¹ But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting.”^[f]

Jesus Again Predicts His Death and Resurrection^(B)

²² While they were gathering together^[g] in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands. ²³ They will kill him, but he will be raised on the third day.” Then they were filled with grief.

Questions about the Temple Tax

²⁴ When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax^[h] came up to Peter and asked, “Your teacher pays the temple tax,^[i] doesn’t he?”

²⁵ He answered, “Yes.”

When Peter^[j] went home,^[k] Jesus spoke to him first and asked him, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings on the earth collect tolls or tributes? From their own subjects,^[l] or from foreigners?”

²⁶ “From foreigners,” he replied.

So Jesus told him, “In that case, the subjects^[m] are exempt. ²⁷ However, so that we don’t offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, open its mouth, and you will find a coin.^[n] Take it and give it to them for me and you.”

To the Director: To the tune of^[a] “Doe of the Dawn”.

A Davidic Psalm.

God Delivers His Suffering Servant

Joseph Mourns for His Father

50 Then Joseph embraced his father,^[a] cried over him, and kissed him. ² After this, he issued orders to his physician servants to embalm his father. So they embalmed Israel. ³ It took 40 days to complete the process, the normal period required for embalming. Meanwhile, the Egyptians mourned for him for 70 days. ⁴ At the conclusion of the mourning period, Joseph addressed Pharaoh’s household. “If you’re satisfied with me, would you please take this message to Pharaoh for me? Tell him, ⁵ ‘My father told me, “Look! I’m about to die. Bury me in my grave that I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” So please let me travel to bury my father. I’ll be right back.’”

⁶ “Please go,” Pharaoh replied. “Bury your father, as he asked you to do.”

Joseph Mourns in Canaan

⁷ So Joseph got up and went to bury his father, accompanied by all of Pharaoh’s servants, all of the elders of Egypt, ⁸ all of Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household. They left behind in the territory of Goshen only their youngest children, their flocks, and their herds. ⁹ Chariots and horsemen also accompanied Joseph,^[b] so there were a lot of people. ¹⁰ When they arrived at Atad’s threshing floor, which is located beyond the Jordan River,^[c] they held a great and mournful memorial service, during which Joseph^[d] spent seven days mourning for his father. ¹¹ As soon as the Canaanites who lived in the land observed the mourning going on at Atad’s threshing floor, they commented “This is a significant time of mourning for the Egyptians.” That’s why the place, which is located beyond the Jordan River,^[e] became known as Abel-mizraim.^[f]

The Burial at Machpelah

¹² And so Israel’s^[g] sons did what he had instructed them to do: ¹³ they carried him to the territory of Canaan and buried him in the cave in Machpelah field near Mamre that Abraham had purchased^[h] as a cemetery from Ephron the Hittite. ¹⁴ After he had buried his father, Joseph and his brothers returned to Egypt, along with everyone who had gone with him to attend the burial.

¹⁵ Later, after Joseph’s brothers faced the reality of their father’s death, they asked themselves, “What happens if Joseph decides to hold a grudge against us? What if he pays us back in full for all the wrong things we did to him?”

¹⁶ So they sent this message to Joseph: ¹⁷ “Before he died, your father left some instructions. He told us, ‘Tell Joseph, “Please forgive your brothers’ offenses. I beg you, forgive their sins, because they wronged you.”’ So please forgive the transgression of the servants of your father’s God.”

Joseph wept when they talked to him. ¹⁸ So Joseph’s^[i] brothers went to visit him, fell prostrate in front of him, and declared, “Look! We’re your servants.”

¹⁹ “Don’t be afraid,” Joseph responded. “Am I sitting in God’s place? ²⁰ As far as you’re concerned, you were planning evil against me, but God intended it for good, planning to bring about the present result so that many people would be preserved alive. ²¹ So don’t be afraid! I’ll take care of you and your little ones.” So Joseph^[j] kept on comforting them, speaking to the needs of^[k] their hearts.

Joseph’s Death and Burial

²² Joseph continued to live in Egypt, along with his father’s household, until he was 110 years old. ²³ Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children, as well as the children who had been born to Manasseh’s son Machir, whom he adopted as his own.^{[l] 24} Later, Joseph told his brothers, “I’m going to die soon, but God will certainly provide for you and bring you up from this land to the land that he promised with an oath to give^[m] to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” ²⁵ So Joseph made all of Israel’s other^[n] children make this promise: “Because God is certainly going to take care of you, you are to carry my bones up from here.”

²⁶ Some time later, Joseph died at the age of 110 years, and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

The Israelis Prosper in Egypt

1 These are the names of the Israelis^[o] who entered Egypt with Jacob, each one having come with his family:^{[p] 2} Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, ³ Issacar, Zebulun, Benjamin, ⁴ Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. ⁵ All those who descended from^[q] Jacob totaled 75 persons.^[r] Now Joseph was already^[s] in Egypt. ⁶ Then Joseph, all his brothers, and that entire generation died. ⁷ But the Israelis were fruitful and increased abundantly.^[t] They multiplied in numbers and became very, very strong. As a result, the land was filled with them.

The Israelis Become Slaves

⁸ Eventually a new king who was unacquainted with Joseph came to power in^[u] Egypt. ⁹ He told his people, “Look, the Israeli people are more numerous and more powerful than we are. ¹⁰ Come on, let’s be careful how we treat them, so that when they grow numerous, if a war breaks out they won’t join our enemies, fight against us, and leave our land.” ¹¹ So the Egyptians^[v] placed supervisors over them, oppressing them with heavy burdens. The Israelis^[w] built the supply cities of Pithom and Rameses for Pharaoh. ¹² But the more the Egyptians afflicted the Israelis,^[x] the more they multiplied and flourished, so that the Egyptians^[y] became terrified of^[z] the Israelis. ¹³ The Egyptians ruthlessly forced the Israelis to serve them, ¹⁴ making their lives bitter through hard labor with mortar, bricks, and all kinds of outdoor labor. They ruthlessly imposed all this^[aa] work on them.

Pharaoh Orders Male Children Killed

¹⁵ Later, the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah. ¹⁶ “When you help the Hebrew women give birth,” he said, “watch them as they deliver.^[ab] If it’s a son, kill him; but if it’s a daughter, let her live.” ¹⁷ But the midwives feared God and didn’t do what the king of Egypt told them. Instead,^[ac] they let the boys live.

¹⁸ When the king of Egypt called for the midwives, he asked them, “Why have you done this^[ad] and allowed the boys to live?”

¹⁹ “Hebrew women aren’t like Egyptian women,” the midwives replied to Pharaoh. “They’re so healthy that they give birth before the midwives arrive to help^[ae] them.”

²⁰ God was pleased with the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very strong. ²¹ Because the midwives feared God, he provided families^[af] for them. ²² Meanwhile, Pharaoh continued commanding all of his people, “You’re to throw every Hebrew^[ag] son who is born into the Nile River,^[ah] but you’re to allow every Hebrew^[ai] daughter to live.”

Moses is Born

2 A man of the family of Levi married the daughter of a descendant of Levi. ² Later, the woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a beautiful^[aj] child, and hid him for three months. ³ But when she was no longer able to hide him, she took a papyrus container, coated it with asphalt and pitch, placed the child in it, and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. ⁴ Then his sister positioned herself some distance away in order to find out what would happen to him.

Pharaoh’s Daughter Adopts Moses

⁵ Then Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the Nile River^[ak] to bathe while her maids walked along the river bank. She saw the container among the reeds and sent a servant girl to get it. ⁶ When she opened it and saw the child, the little boy suddenly began crying. Filled with compassion for him, she exclaimed, “This is one of the Hebrew children!”

⁷ Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the nursing Hebrew women so she can nurse the child for you?”

⁸ Pharaoh’s daughter told her, “Go,” so the young girl went and called the child’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter instructed her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I’ll pay you a salary.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. ¹⁰ After the child had grown older,^[al] she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses,^[am] because she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

Peter Declares His Faith in Jesus^(A)

¹³ When Jesus had come to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They said, “Some say^[a] John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,^[b] the Son of the living God!”

¹⁷ Then Jesus told him, “How blessed you are, Simon son of Jonah,^[c] since flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, though my Father in heaven has. ¹⁸ I tell you that you are Peter,^[d] and it is on this rock^[e] that I will build my congregation,^[f] and the powers of hell^[g] will not conquer it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys to the kingdom from^[h] heaven. Whatever you prohibit on earth will have been prohibited^[i] in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will have been permitted^[j] in heaven.”

²⁰ Then he strictly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.^[k]

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection^(B)

²¹ From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he would have to go to Jerusalem and suffer a great deal because of the elders, the high priests, and the scribes. Then he would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised. ²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God be merciful to you, Lord! This must never happen to you!”

²³ But Jesus^[l] turned and told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an offense^[m] to me, because you are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts!”

²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me continuously. ²⁵ Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it, ²⁶ because what profit will a person have if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? ²⁷ The Son of Man is going to come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to what he has done. ²⁸ I tell all of you^[n] with certainty, some people standing here will not experience^[o] death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Jesus’ Appearance is Changed^(C)

17 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² His appearance was changed in front of them, his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. ³ Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.^[p]

⁴ Then Peter told Jesus, “Lord, it’s good that we’re here! If you want, I’ll set up three shelters^[q]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵ He was still speaking when a bright cloud suddenly overshadowed them.

A voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him. Keep on listening to him!”

⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.

⁷ But Jesus came up to them and touched them, saying, “Get up, and stop being afraid.” ⁸ When they raised their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus all by himself.

⁹ On their way down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Don’t tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.

Praise for the Lord’s Deliverance

Warning against Sexual Immorality

Joseph Tests His Brothers

44 Then he commanded ^(A)the steward of his house, ^(B)“Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in the mouth of his sack, ² and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph told him.

³ As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. ⁴ They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his ^(C)steward, “Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?^{[a] 5} Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and ^(D)by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.’”

⁶ When he overtook them, he spoke to them these words. ⁷ They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! ⁸ Behold, ^(E)the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord's house? ^9 (F)Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be ^(G)my lord's servants.” ¹⁰ He said, “Let it be as you say: he who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent.” ¹¹ Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. ¹² And he searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. ¹³ Then they ^(H)tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

¹⁴ When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, he was still there. They ^(I)fell before him to the ground. ¹⁵ Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me ^(J)can indeed practice divination?” ¹⁶ And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out ^(K)the guilt of your servants; behold, we are ^(L)my lord's servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.” ¹⁷ But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

¹⁸ Then Judah went up to him and said, ^(M)“Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord's ears, and ^(N)let not your anger burn against your servant, for ^(O)you are like Pharaoh himself. ¹⁹ My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father, or a brother?’ ²⁰ And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, ^(P)and a young brother, ^(Q)the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's children, and his father loves him.’ ²¹ Then you said to your servants, ^(R)‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’ ²² We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, ^(S)his father would die.’ ²³ Then you said to your servants, ^(T)‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.’

²⁴ “When we went back to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. ²⁵ And when ^(U)our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little food,’ ²⁶ we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ ²⁷ Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me ^(V)two sons. ²⁸ One left me, and I said, ^(W)“Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I have never seen him since. ²⁹ If you ^(X)take this one also from me, ^(Y)and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol.’

³⁰ “Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy's life, ³¹ as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. ³² For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, ^(Z)‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.’ ³³ Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. ³⁴ For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.”

Joseph Provides for His Brothers and Family

45 Then Joseph could not ^(AA)control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. ² And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. ³ And Joseph said to his brothers, ^(AB)“I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.

⁴ So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, ^(AC)whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, ^(AD)for God sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶ For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are ^(AE)yet five years in which there will be neither ^(AF)plowing nor harvest. ⁷ And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. ⁸ So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ^(AG)ruler over all the land of Egypt. ⁹ Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. ^10 (AH)You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. ^11 (AI)There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ ¹² And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is ^(AJ)my mouth that speaks to you. ¹³ You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and ^(AK)bring my father down here.” ¹⁴ Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. ¹⁵ And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶ When the report was heard in Pharaoh's house, “Joseph's brothers have come,” it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. ¹⁷ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, ¹⁸ and take your father and your households, and come to me, and ^(AL)I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ ¹⁹ And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take ^(AM)wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. ²⁰ Have no concern for^[b] your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

²¹ The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them ^(AN)wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. ²² To each and all of them he gave ^(AO)a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels^[c] of silver and ^(AP)five changes of clothes. ²³ To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. ²⁴ Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, ^(AQ)“Do not quarrel on the way.”

²⁵ So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. ²⁶ And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. ²⁷ But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw ^(AR)the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. ²⁸ And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹³ Now when Jesus heard this, ^(A)he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When he went ashore he ^(B)saw a great crowd, and ^(C)he had compassion on them and healed their sick. ¹⁵ Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; ^(D)send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶ But Jesus said, “They need not go away; ^(E)you give them something to eat.” ¹⁷ They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, ^(F)he looked up to heaven and ^(G)said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. ²¹ And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

^22 (H)Immediately he ^(I)made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³ And after he had dismissed the crowds, ^(J)he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When ^(K)evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴ but the boat by this time was a long way^[a] from the land,^[b] beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. ²⁵ And ^(L)in the fourth watch of the night^[c] he came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, ^(M)they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ^(N)“Take heart; it is I. ^(O)Do not be afraid.”

²⁸ And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹ He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and ^(P)walked on the water and came to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind,^[d] he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ^(Q)“Lord, save me.” ³¹ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ^(R)“O you of little faith, why did you ^(S)doubt?” ³² And when they got into the boat, ^(T)the wind ceased. ³³ And ^(U)those in the boat ^(V)worshiped him, saying, ^(W)“Truly you are ^(X)the Son of God.”

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

^34 (Y)And when they had crossed over, they came to land at ^(Z)Gennesaret. ³⁵ And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and ^(AA)brought to him all who were sick ³⁶ and implored him that they might only touch ^(AB)the fringe of his garment. And ^(AC)as many as touched it were made well.

Jacob establishes worship at Bethel

35 God said to Jacob, “Get up, go to Bethel, and live there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you ran away from your brother Esau.”

² Jacob said to his household and to everyone who was with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you. Clean yourselves and change your clothes. ³ Then let’s rise and go up to Bethel so that I can build an altar there to the God who answered me when I was in trouble and who has been with me wherever I’ve gone.” ⁴ So they gave Jacob all of the foreign gods they had, as well as the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the terebinth at Shechem. ⁵ When they set out, God made all of the surrounding cities fearful so that they didn’t pursue Jacob’s sons. ⁶ Jacob and all of the people with him arrived in Luz, otherwise known as Bethel, in the land of Canaan. ⁷ He built an altar there and named the place El-bethel,^[a] because God had revealed himself to him there when he ran away from his brother. ⁸ Rebekah’s nurse Deborah died and was buried at Bethel under the oak, and Jacob named it Allon-bacuth.^[b]

⁹ God appeared to Jacob again, while he was on his way back from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. ¹⁰ God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but your name will be Jacob no longer. No, your name will be Israel.” And he named him Israel. ¹¹ God said to him, “I am El Shaddai.^[c] Be fertile and multiply. A nation, even a large group of nations, will come from you; kings will descend from your own children. ¹² The land I gave to Abraham and to Isaac, I give to you; and I will give the land to your descendants after you.” ¹³ Then God ascended, leaving him alone in the place where he spoke to him. ¹⁴ So Jacob set up a sacred pillar, a stone pillar, at the place God spoke to him. He poured an offering of wine on it and then poured oil over it. ¹⁵ Jacob named the place Bethel where God spoke to him.

Benjamin’s birth and Rachel’s death

¹⁶ They left Bethel, and when they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into hard labor. ¹⁷ During her difficult labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid. You have another son.” ¹⁸ As her life faded away, just before she died, she named him Ben-oni,^[d] but his father named him Benjamin.^{[e] 19} Rachel died and was buried near the road to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem. ²⁰ Jacob set up a pillar on her grave. It’s the pillar on Rachel’s tomb that’s still there today. ²¹ Israel continued his trip and pitched his tent farther on near the tower of Eder.

Jacob’s family

²² While Israel stayed in that place, Reuben went and slept with Bilhah his father’s secondary wife, and Israel heard about it.

Jacob had twelve sons. ²³ The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. ²⁴ The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁵ The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali. ²⁶ The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher. These were Jacob’s sons born to him in Paddan-aram.

Isaac’s death

²⁷ Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, that is, Kiriath-arba. This is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac lived as immigrants. ²⁸ At the age of 180 years, ²⁹ Isaac took his last breath and died. He was buried with his ancestors after a long, satisfying life. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Esau’s descendants

36 These are the descendants of Esau, that is, Edom. ² Esau married Canaanite women: Adah the daughter of the Hittite Elon; Oholibamah the daughter of Anah son of the Hittite Zibeon,^{[f] 3} and Basemath the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. ⁴ Adah gave birth to Eliphaz for Esau, Basemath gave birth to Reuel, ⁵ and Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are Esau’s sons born to him in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and everyone in his household, and his livestock, all of his animals, and all of the property he had acquired in the land of Canaan; and he moved away from the land of Canaan^[g] and from his brother Jacob. ⁷ They had so many possessions that they couldn’t live together. The land where they lived as immigrants couldn’t support all of their livestock. ⁸ So Esau, that is, Edom, lived in the mountains of Seir.

Working on the Sabbath

12 At that time Jesus went through the wheat fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry so they were picking heads of wheat and eating them. ² When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are breaking the Sabbath law.”

³ But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? ⁴  He went into God’s house and broke the law by eating the bread of the presence, which only the priests were allowed to eat. ⁵  Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple treat the Sabbath as any other day and are still innocent? ⁶  But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. ⁷  If you had known what this means, I want mercy and not sacrifice,^[a] you wouldn’t have condemned the innocent. ⁸  The Human One^[b] is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Healing on the Sabbath

⁹ Jesus left that place and went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ A man with a withered hand was there. Wanting to bring charges against Jesus, they asked, “Does the Law allow a person to heal on the Sabbath?”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “Who among you has a sheep that falls into a pit on the Sabbath and will not take hold of it and pull it out? ¹²  How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! So the Law allows a person to do what is good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he did and it was made healthy, just like the other one. ¹⁴ The Pharisees went out and met in order to find a way to destroy Jesus.

Healing the crowd

¹⁵ Jesus knew what they intended to do, so he went away from there. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them all. ¹⁶ But he ordered them not to spread the word about him, ¹⁷ so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:

Psalm 15

A psalm of David.

Integrity of wisdom

¹³ Jacob spent that night there. From what he had acquired, he set aside a gift for his brother Esau: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty nursing camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. ¹⁶ He separated these herds and gave them to his servants. He said to them, “Go ahead of me and put some distance between each of the herds.” ¹⁷ He ordered the first group, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, ‘Who are you with? Where are you going? And whose herds are these in front of you?’ ¹⁸ say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s, a gift sent to my master Esau. And Jacob is actually right behind us.’” ¹⁹ He also ordered the second group, the third group, and everybody following the herds, “Say exactly the same thing to Esau when you find him. ²⁰ Say also, ‘Your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” Jacob thought, I may be able to pacify Esau with the gift I’m sending ahead. When I meet him, perhaps he will be kind to me. ²¹ So Jacob sent the gift ahead of him, but he spent that night in the camp.

Jacob wrestles with God

²² Jacob got up during the night, took his two wives, his two women servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the Jabbok River’s shallow water. ²³ He took them and everything that belonged to him, and he helped them cross the river. ²⁴ But Jacob stayed apart by himself, and a man wrestled with him until dawn broke. ²⁵ When the man saw that he couldn’t defeat Jacob, he grabbed Jacob’s thigh and tore a muscle in Jacob’s thigh as he wrestled with him. ²⁶ The man said, “Let me go because the dawn is breaking.”

But Jacob said, “I won’t let you go until you bless me.”

²⁷ He said to Jacob, “What’s your name?” and he said, “Jacob.” ²⁸ Then he said, “Your name won’t be Jacob any longer, but Israel,^[a] because you struggled with God and with men and won.”

²⁹ Jacob also asked and said, “Tell me your name.”

But he said, “Why do you ask for my name?” and he blessed Jacob there. ³⁰ Jacob named the place Peniel,^[b] “because I’ve seen God face-to-face, and my life has been saved.” ³¹ The sun rose as Jacob passed Penuel, limping because of his thigh. ³² Therefore, Israelites don’t eat the tendon attached to the thigh muscle to this day, because he grabbed Jacob’s thigh muscle at the tendon.

Esau forgives Jacob

33 Jacob looked up and saw Esau approaching with four hundred men. Jacob divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two women servants. ² He put the servants and their children first, Leah and her children after them, and Rachel and Joseph last. ³ He himself went in front of them and bowed to the ground seven times as he was approaching his brother. ⁴ But Esau ran to meet him, threw his arms around his neck, kissed him, and they wept. ⁵ Esau looked up and saw the women and children and said, “Who are these with you?”

Jacob said, “The children that God generously gave your servant.” ⁶ The women servants and their children came forward and bowed down. ⁷ Then Leah and her servants also came forward and bowed, and afterward Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed.

⁸ Esau said, “What’s the meaning of this entire group of animals that I met?”

Jacob said, “To ask for my master’s kindness.”

⁹ Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what’s yours.”

¹⁰ Jacob said, “No, please, do me the kindness of accepting my gift. Seeing your face is like seeing God’s face, since you’ve accepted me so warmly. ¹¹ Take this present that I’ve brought because God has been generous to me, and I have everything I need.” So Jacob persuaded him, and he took it.

¹² Esau said, “Let’s break camp and set out, and I’ll go with you.”

¹³ But Jacob said to him, “My master knows that the children aren’t strong and that I am responsible for the nursing flocks and cattle. If I push them hard for even one day, all of the flocks will die. ¹⁴ My master, go on ahead of your servant, but I’ve got to take it easy, going only as fast as the animals in front of me and the children are able to go, until I meet you in Seir.”

¹⁵ Esau said, “Let me leave some of my people with you.”

But Jacob said, “Why should you do this since my master has already been so kind to me?” ¹⁶ That day Esau returned on the road to Seir, ¹⁷ but Jacob traveled to Succoth. He built a house for himself but made temporary shelters for his animals; therefore, he named the place Succoth.^[c]

Dinah and the conflict at Shechem

¹⁸ Jacob arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan on his trip from Paddan-aram, and he camped in front of the city. ¹⁹ He bought the section of the field where he pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred qesitahs.^{[d] 20} Then he set up an altar there and named it El Elohe Israel.^[e]

34 Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to meet the women of that country. ² When Shechem the son of the Hivite Hamor and the country’s prince saw her, he took her, slept with her, and humiliated her. ³ He was drawn to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He loved the young woman and tried to win her heart. ⁴ Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get this girl for me as my wife.” ⁵ Now Jacob heard that Shechem defiled his daughter Dinah; but his sons were with the animals in the countryside, so he decided to keep quiet until they got back. ⁶ Meanwhile, Hamor, Shechem’s father, went out to Jacob to speak with him. ⁷ Just then, Jacob’s sons got back from the countryside. When they heard what had happened, they were deeply offended and very angry, because Shechem had disgraced Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter. Such things are simply not done.

⁸ Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem’s heart is set on your daughter. Please let him marry her. ⁹ Arrange marriages with us: give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰ Live with us. The land is available to you: settle down, travel through it, and buy property in it.”

¹¹ Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “If you approve of me, tell me what you want, and I will give it to you. ¹² Make the bride price and marriage gifts as large as you like, and I will pay whatever you tell me. Then let me marry the young woman.”

¹³ Jacob’s sons responded deviously to Shechem and his father Hamor because Shechem defiled their sister Dinah. ¹⁴ They said to them, “We can’t do this, allowing our sisters to marry uncircumcised men, because it’s disgraceful to us. ¹⁵ We can only agree to do this if you circumcise every male as we do. ¹⁶ Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves. We will live with you and be one people. ¹⁷ But if you don’t listen to us and become circumcised, we will take our daughter and leave.”

¹⁸ Their idea seemed like a good one to Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. ¹⁹ The young man didn’t waste any time doing this because he liked Jacob’s daughter so much. He was more respected than anyone else in his father’s household. ²⁰ Hamor and his son Shechem went to their city’s gate and spoke to the men of their city: ²¹ “These men want peace with us. Let them live in the land and travel through it; there’s plenty of land for them. We will marry their daughters and give them our daughters. ²² But the men will agree to live with us and become one people only if we circumcise every male just as they do. ²³ Their livestock, their property, and all of their animals—won’t they be ours? Let’s agree with them and let them live with us.” ²⁴ Everyone at the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, so every able-bodied male in the city was circumcised.

²⁵ On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons and Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi took their swords, came into the city, which suspected nothing, and killed every male. ²⁶ They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, took Dinah from Shechem’s household, and left. ²⁷ When Jacob’s other sons discovered the dead, they looted the city that had defiled their sister. ²⁸ They took their flocks, their cattle, and their donkeys, whether in the city or in the fields nearby. ²⁹ They carried off their property, their children, and their wives. They looted the entire place. ³⁰ Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You’ve put me in danger by making me offensive to those who live here in the land, to the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I have only a few men. They may join forces, attack me, and destroy me, me and my household.”

³¹ They said, “But didn’t he treat our sister like a prostitute?”

Appeal of John’s ministry

⁷ When John’s disciples had gone, Jesus spoke to the crowds about John: “What did you go out to the wilderness to see? A stalk blowing in the wind? ⁸ What did you go out to see? A man dressed up in refined clothes? Look, those who wear refined clothes are in royal palaces. ⁹ What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ He is the one of whom it is written: Look, I’m sending my messenger before you, who will prepare your way before you.^[a]

Significance of John’s ministry

¹¹ “I assure you that no one who has ever been born is greater than John the Baptist. Yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven is violently attacked as violent people seize it. ¹³ All the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John came. ¹⁴ If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵ Let the person who has ears, hear.

This generation

¹⁶ “To what will I compare this generation? It is like a child sitting in the marketplaces calling out to others, ¹⁷  ‘We played the flute for you and you didn’t dance. We sang a funeral song and you didn’t mourn.’ ¹⁸  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹  Yet the Human One^[b] came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved to be right by her works.”

Condemnation of Bethsaida and Capernaum

²⁰ Then he began to scold the cities where he had done his greatest miracles because they didn’t change their hearts and lives. ²¹ “How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible it will be for you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done among you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have changed their hearts and lives and put on funeral clothes and ashes a long time ago. ²²  But I say to you that Tyre and Sidon will be better off on Judgment Day than you. ²³  And you, Capernaum, will you be honored by being raised up to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to the place of the dead. After all, if the miracles that were done among you had been done in Sodom, it would still be here today. ²⁴  But I say to you that it will be better for the land of Sodom on the Judgment Day than it will be for you.”

The Father and the Son

²⁵ At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you’ve hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have shown them to babies. ²⁶ Indeed, Father, this brings you happiness.

²⁷ “My Father has handed all things over to me. No one knows the Son except the Father. And nobody knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wants to reveal him.

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. ²⁹  Put on my yoke, and learn from me. I’m gentle and humble. And you will find rest for yourselves. ³⁰  My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light.”

Psalm 14

For the music leader. Of David.

¹⁷ So Jacob got up, put his sons and wives on the camels, ¹⁸ and set out with all of his livestock and all of his possessions that he had acquired^[a] in Paddan-aram in order to return to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. ¹⁹ Now, while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole the household’s divine images that belonged to her father. ²⁰ Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not sending word to him that he was leaving. ²¹ So Jacob and his entire household left. He got up, crossed the river, and set out directly for the mountains of Gilead.

²² Three days later, Laban found out that Jacob had gone, ²³ so Laban took his brothers with him, chased Jacob for seven days, and caught up with him in the mountains of Gilead. ²⁴ That night, God appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream and said, “Be careful and don’t say anything hastily to Jacob one way or the other.”

²⁵ Laban reached Jacob after Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains. So Laban and his brothers also pitched theirs in the mountains of Gilead. ²⁶ Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and taken off with my daughters as if they were prisoners of war. ²⁷ Why did you leave secretly, deceiving me, and not letting me know? I would’ve sent you off with a celebration, with songs and tambourines and harps. ²⁸ You didn’t even let me kiss my sons and my daughters good-bye. Now you’ve acted like a fool, ²⁹ and I have the power to punish you. However, your father’s God told me yesterday, ‘Be careful and don’t say anything hastily to Jacob one way or the other.’ ³⁰ You’ve rushed off now because you missed your father’s household so much, but why did you steal my gods?”

³¹ Jacob responded to Laban, “I was afraid and convinced myself that you would take your daughters away from me. ³² Whomever you find with your divine images won’t live. Identify whatever I have that is yours, in front of your brothers, and take it.” Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had stolen them. ³³ Laban went into Jacob’s tent, Leah’s tent, and her two servants’ tent and didn’t find them.

So he left Leah’s tent and went into Rachel’s. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the divine images and put them into the camel’s saddlebag and sat on them. Laban felt around in the whole tent but couldn’t find them. ³⁵ Rachel said to her father, “Sir, don’t be angry with me because I can’t get up for you; I’m having my period.” He searched but couldn’t find the divine images.

³⁶ Jacob was angry and complained to Laban, “What have I done wrong and what’s my crime that you’ve tracked me down like this? ³⁷ You’ve now felt through all of my baggage, and what have you found from your household’s belongings? Put it in front of our relatives, and let them decide between us. ³⁸ For these twenty years I’ve been with you, your female sheep and goats haven’t miscarried, and I haven’t eaten your flock’s rams. ³⁹ When animals were killed, I didn’t bring them to you but took the loss myself. You demanded compensation from me for any animals poached during the day or night. ⁴⁰ The dry heat consumed me during the day, and the frost at night; I couldn’t sleep. ⁴¹ I’ve now spent twenty years in your household. I worked for fourteen years for your two daughters and for six years for your flock, and you changed my pay ten times. ⁴² If the God of my father—the God of Abraham and the awesome one of Isaac—hadn’t been with me, you’d have no doubt sent me away without anything. God saw my harsh treatment and my hard work and reprimanded you yesterday.”

Jacob and Laban’s treaty

⁴³ Laban responded and told Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. Everything you see is mine. But what can I do now about my daughters and about their sons? ⁴⁴ Come, let’s make a treaty, you and me, and let something be our witness.”^[b]

⁴⁵ So Jacob took a stone, set it up as a sacred pillar, ⁴⁶ and said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they took stones, made a mound, and ate there near the mound. ⁴⁷ Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha,^[c] but Jacob called it Galeed.^[d]

⁴⁸ Laban said, “This mound is our witness today,” and, therefore, he too named it Galeed. ⁴⁹ He also named it Mizpah,^[e] because he said, “The Lord will observe both of us when we are separated from each other. ⁵⁰ If you treat my daughters badly and if you marry other women, though we aren’t there, know that God observed our witness.”

⁵¹ Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this mound and here is the sacred pillar that I’ve set up for us. ⁵² This mound and the sacred pillar are witnesses that I won’t travel beyond this mound and that you won’t travel beyond this mound and this pillar to do harm. ⁵³ The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor^[f] will keep order between us.” So Jacob gave his word in the name of the awesome one of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and invited his relatives to a meal. They ate together and spent the night on the mountain. ^55 [g] Laban got up early in the morning, kissed his sons and daughters, blessed them, and left to go back to his own place.

Jacob prepares to meet Esau

32 Jacob went on his way, and God’s messengers approached him. ² When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp,” and he named that sacred place Mahanaim.^{[h] 3} Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau, toward the land of Seir, the open country of Edom. ⁴ He gave them these orders: “Say this to my master Esau. This is the message of your servant Jacob: ‘I’ve lived as an immigrant with Laban, where I’ve stayed till now. ⁵ I own cattle, donkeys, flocks, men servants, and women servants. I’m sending this message to my master now to ask that he^[i] be kind.’”

⁶ The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went out to your brother Esau, and he’s coming to meet you with four hundred men.”

⁷ Jacob was terrified and felt trapped, so he divided the people with him, and the flocks, cattle, and camels, into two camps. ⁸ He thought, If Esau meets the first camp and attacks it, at least one camp will be left to escape.

⁹ Jacob said, “Lord, God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I’ll make sure things go well for you,’ ¹⁰ I don’t deserve how loyal and truthful you’ve been to your servant. I went away across the Jordan with just my staff, but now I’ve become two camps. ¹¹ Save me from my brother Esau! I’m afraid he will come and kill me, the mothers, and their children. ¹² You were the one who told me, ‘I will make sure things go well for you, and I will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, so many you won’t be able to count them.’”

²⁴ “Disciples aren’t greater than their teacher, and slaves aren’t greater than their master. ²⁵ It’s enough for disciples to be like their teacher and slaves like their master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, it’s certain that they will call the members of his household by even worse names.

Whom to fear

²⁶ “Therefore, don’t be afraid of those people because nothing is hidden that won’t be revealed, and nothing secret that won’t be brought out into the open. ²⁷ What I say to you in the darkness, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, announce from the rooftops. ²⁸ Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell. ²⁹ Aren’t two sparrows sold for a small coin? But not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father knowing about it already. ³⁰ Even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹ Don’t be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.

Confessing Christ to people

³² “Therefore, everyone who acknowledges me before people, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. ³³ But everyone who denies me before people, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Trouble in the family

³⁴ “Don’t think that I’ve come to bring peace to the earth. I haven’t come to bring peace but a sword. ³⁵ I’ve come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ People’s enemies are members of their own households.^[a]

³⁷ “Those who love father or mother more than me aren’t worthy of me. Those who love son or daughter more than me aren’t worthy of me. ³⁸ Those who don’t pick up their crosses and follow me aren’t worthy of me. ³⁹ Those who find their lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives because of me will find them.

Rewards

⁴⁰ “Those who receive you are also receiving me, and those who receive me are receiving the one who sent me. ⁴¹  Those who receive a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Those who receive a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴²  I assure you that everybody who gives even a cup of cold water to these little ones because they are my disciples will certainly be rewarded.”

Ministry to the people

11 When Jesus finished teaching his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

Question from John the Baptist

² Now when John heard in prison about the things the Christ was doing, he sent word by his disciples to Jesus, asking, ³ “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”

⁴ Jesus responded, “Go, report to John what you hear and see. ⁵ Those who were blind are able to see. Those who were crippled are walking. People with skin diseases are cleansed. Those who were deaf now hear. Those who were dead are raised up. The poor have good news proclaimed to them.^{[b] 6}  Happy are those who don’t stumble and fall because of me.”

Psalm 13

For the music leader. A song of David.

30 When Rachel realized that she could bear Jacob no children, Rachel became jealous of her sister and said to Jacob, “Give me children! If you don’t, I may as well be dead.”

² Jacob was angry at Rachel and said, “Do you think I’m God? God alone has kept you from giving birth!”

³ She said, “Here’s my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her, and she will give birth for me. Because of her, I will also have children.” ⁴ So Rachel gave her servant Bilhah to Jacob as his wife, and he slept with her. ⁵ Bilhah became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Jacob. ⁶ Rachel said, “God has judged in my favor, heard my voice, and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.^{[a] 7} Rachel’s servant Bilhah became pregnant again and gave birth to a second son for Jacob. ⁸ Rachel said, “I’ve competed fiercely with my sister, and now I’ve won.” So she named him Naphtali.^[b]

⁹ When Leah realized that she had stopped bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as his wife. ¹⁰ Leah’s servant Zilpah gave birth to a son for Jacob, ¹¹ and Leah said, “What good luck!” So she named him Gad.^{[c] 12} Leah’s servant Zilpah gave birth to a second son for Jacob, ¹³ and Leah said, “I’m happy now because women call me happy.” So she named him Asher.^[d]

¹⁴ During the wheat harvest, Reuben found some erotic herbs^[e] in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me your son’s erotic herbs.”

¹⁵ Leah replied, “Isn’t it enough that you’ve taken my husband? Now you want to take my son’s erotic herbs too?”

Rachel said, “For your son’s erotic herbs, Jacob^[f] may sleep with you tonight.”

¹⁶ When Jacob came back from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep with me because I’ve paid for you with my son’s erotic herbs.” So he slept with her that night.

¹⁷ God responded to Leah. She became pregnant and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. ¹⁸ Leah said, “God gave me what I paid for, what I deserved for giving my servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.^{[g] 19} Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob, ²⁰ and she said, “God has given me a wonderful gift. Now my husband will honor me since I’ve borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.^{[h] 21} After this, she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

²² Then God remembered Rachel, responded to her, and let her conceive. ²³ She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my shame.” ²⁴ She named him Joseph,^[i] saying to herself, May the Lord give me another son.

God blesses Jacob and Laban

²⁵ After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me off so that I can go to my own place and my own country. ²⁶ Give me my wives and children whom I’ve worked for, and I will go. You know the work I’ve done for you.”

²⁷ Laban said to him, “Do me this favor. I’ve discovered by a divine sign that the Lord has blessed me because of you, ²⁸ so name your price and I will pay it.”

²⁹ Jacob said to him, “You know how I’ve worked for you, and how well your livestock have done with me. ³⁰ While in my care, what little you had has multiplied a great deal. The Lord blessed you wherever I took your livestock.^[j] Now, when will I be able to work for my own household too?”

³¹ Laban said, “What will I pay you?”

Jacob said, “Don’t pay me anything. If you will do this for me, I will take care of your flock again, and keep a portion.^{[k] 32} I will go through the entire flock today, taking out all of the speckled and spotted sheep, all of the black male lambs, and all of the spotted and speckled female goats. That will be my price. ³³ I will be completely honest with you: when you come to check on our agreement, every female goat with me that isn’t speckled or spotted and every male lamb with me that isn’t black will be considered stolen.”

³⁴ Laban said, “All right; let’s do it.” ³⁵ However, on that very day Laban took out the striped and spotted male goats and all of the speckled and spotted female goats—any with some white in it—and all of the black male lambs, and gave them to his sons. ³⁶ He put a three-day trip between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was watching the rest of Laban’s flock.

³⁷ Then Jacob took new branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees; and he peeled white stripes on them, exposing the branches’ white color. ³⁸ He set the branches that he had peeled near the watering troughs so that they were in front of the flock when they drank, because they often mated when they came to drink. ³⁹ When the flock mated in front of the branches, they gave birth to striped, speckled, and spotted young. ⁴⁰ Jacob sorted out the lambs, turning the flock to face the striped and black ones in Laban’s flock but keeping his flock separate, setting them apart from Laban’s flock. ⁴¹ Whenever the strongest of the flock mated, Jacob put the branches in front of them near the watering troughs so that they mated near the branches. ⁴² But he didn’t put branches up for the weakest of the flock. So the weakest became Laban’s and the strongest Jacob’s. ⁴³ The man Jacob became very, very rich: he owned large flocks, female and male servants, camels, and donkeys.

Jacob’s household leaves Laban

31 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob took everything our father owned and from it he produced all of this wealth.” ² And Jacob saw that Laban no longer liked him as much as he used to.

³ Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your ancestors and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”

⁴ So Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah and summoned them into the field where his flock was. ⁵ He said to them, “I am aware that your father no longer likes me as much as he used to. But my father’s God has been with me. ⁶ You know that I’ve worked for your father as hard as I could. ⁷ But your father cheated me and changed my payment ten times. Yet God didn’t let him harm me. ⁸ If he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your payment,’ the whole flock gave birth to speckled young. And if he said, ‘The striped ones will be your payment,’ the whole flock gave birth to striped young. ⁹ God took away your father’s livestock and gave them to me. ¹⁰ When the flocks were mating, I looked up and saw in a dream that the male goats that mounted the flock were striped, speckled, and spotted. ¹¹ In the dream, God’s messenger said to me, ‘Jacob!’ and I said, ‘I’m here.’ ¹² He said, ‘Look up and watch all the striped, speckled, and spotted male goats mounting the flock. I’ve seen everything that Laban is doing to you. ¹³ I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a sacred pillar and where you made a solemn promise to me. Now, get up and leave this country and go back to the land of your relatives.’”

¹⁴ Rachel and Leah answered him, “Is there any share or inheritance left for us in our father’s household? ¹⁵ Doesn’t he think of us as foreigners since he sold us and has even used up the payment he received for us? ¹⁶ All of the wealth God took from our father belongs to us and our children. Now, do everything God told you to do.”

Mission of the Twelve

10 He called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to throw them out and to heal every disease and every sickness. ² Here are the names of the twelve apostles: 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; ⁴ Simon the Cananaean;^[a] and Judas, who betrayed Jesus.

Commissioning of the Twelve

⁵ Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, “Don’t go among the Gentiles or into a Samaritan city. ⁶ Go instead to the lost sheep, the people of Israel. ⁷ As you go, make this announcement: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, and throw out demons. You received without having to pay. Therefore, give without demanding payment. ⁹ Workers deserve to be fed, so don’t gather gold or silver or copper coins for your money belts to take on your trips. ¹⁰ Don’t take a backpack for the road or two shirts or sandals or a walking stick. ¹¹ Whatever city or village you go into, find somebody in it who is worthy and stay there until you go on your way. ¹² When you go into a house, say, ‘Peace!’ ¹³ If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if the house isn’t worthy, take back your blessing. ¹⁴ If anyone refuses to welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet as you leave that house or city. ¹⁵ I assure you that it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on Judgment Day than it will be for that city.

Response to harassment

¹⁶ “Look, I’m sending you as sheep among wolves. Therefore, be wise as snakes and innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Watch out for people—because they will hand you over to councils and they will beat you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ They will haul you in front of governors and even kings because of me so that you may give your testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ Whenever they hand you over, don’t worry about how to speak or what you will say, because what you can say will be given to you at that moment. ²⁰ You aren’t doing the talking, but the Spirit of my Father is doing the talking through you. ²¹ Brothers and sisters will hand each other over to be executed. A father will turn his child in. Children will defy their parents and have them executed. ²² Everyone will hate you on account of my name. But whoever stands firm until the end will be saved. ²³ Whenever they harass you in one city, escape to the next, because I assure that you will not go through all the cities of Israel before the Human One^[b] comes.

Psalm 12

For the music leader. According to the Sheminith.^[a] A psalm of David.

Value of wisdom

28 So Isaac summoned Jacob, blessed him, and gave him these orders: “Don’t marry a Canaanite woman. ² Get up and go to Paddan-aram, to the household of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and once there, marry one of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. ³ God Almighty^[a] will bless you, make you fertile, and give you many descendants so that you will become a large group of peoples. ⁴ He will give you and your descendants Abraham’s blessing so that you will own the land in which you are now immigrants, the land God gave to Abraham.” ⁵ So Isaac sent Jacob off, and he traveled to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, Jacob and Esau’s mother.

⁶ Esau understood that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to marry a woman from there. He recognized that, when Isaac blessed Jacob, he had ordered him, “Don’t marry a Canaanite woman,” ⁷ and that Jacob had listened to his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram. ⁸ Esau realized that his father Isaac considered Canaanite women unacceptable. ⁹ So he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth, in addition to his other wives.

Jacob’s dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Jacob left Beer-sheba and set out for Haran. ¹¹ He reached a certain place and spent the night there. When the sun had set, he took one of the stones at that place and put it near his head. Then he lay down there. ¹² He dreamed and saw a raised staircase, its foundation on earth and its top touching the sky, and God’s messengers were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ Suddenly the Lord was standing on it^[b] and saying, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. ¹⁴ Your descendants will become like the dust of the earth; you will spread out to the west, east, north, and south. Every family of earth will be blessed because of you and your descendants. ¹⁵ I am with you now, I will protect you everywhere you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done everything that I have promised you.”

¹⁶ When Jacob woke from his sleep, he thought to himself, The Lord is definitely in this place, but I didn’t know it. ¹⁷ He was terrified and thought, This sacred place is awesome. It’s none other than God’s house and the entrance to heaven. ¹⁸ After Jacob got up early in the morning, he took the stone that he had put near his head, set it up as a sacred pillar, and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹ He named that sacred place Bethel,^[c] though Luz was the city’s original name. ²⁰ Jacob made a solemn promise: “If God is with me and protects me on this trip I’m taking, and gives me bread to eat and clothes to wear, ²¹ and I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God. ²² This stone that I’ve set up as a sacred pillar will be God’s house, and of everything you give me I will give a tenth back to you.”

Jacob meets Rachel

29 Jacob got to his feet and set out for the land of the easterners. ² He saw a well in the field in front of him, near which three flocks of sheep were lying down. That well was their source for water because the flocks drank from that well. A huge stone covered the well’s opening. ³ When all of the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the well’s opening, water the sheep, and return the stone to its place at the well’s opening. ⁴ Jacob said to them, “Where are you from, my brothers?”

They said, “We’re from Haran.”

⁵ Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?”

They said, “We know him.”

⁶ He said to them, “Is he well?”

They said, “He’s fine. In fact, this is his daughter Rachel now, coming with the flock.”

⁷ He said to them, “It’s now only the middle of the day. It’s not time yet to gather the animals. Water the flock, and then go, put them out to pasture.”

⁸ They said to him, “We can’t until all the herds are gathered, and then we^[d] roll the stone away from the well’s opening and water the flock.”

⁹ While he was still talking to them, Rachel came with her father’s flock since she was its shepherd. ¹⁰ When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his uncle, and the flock of Laban, Jacob came up, rolled the stone from the well’s opening, and watered the flock of his uncle Laban. ¹¹ Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. ¹² Jacob told Rachel that he was related to her father and that he was Rebekah’s son. She then ran to tell her father. ¹³ When Laban heard about Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him. Laban embraced him, kissed him, and invited him into his house, where Jacob recounted to Laban everything that had happened. ¹⁴ Laban said to him, “Yes, you are my flesh and blood.”

Jacob marries Leah and Rachel

After Jacob had stayed with Laban for a month, ¹⁵ Laban said to Jacob, “You shouldn’t have to work for free just because you are my relative. Tell me what you would like to be paid.”

¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters: the older was named Leah and the younger Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah had delicate eyes,^[e] but Rachel had a beautiful figure and was good-looking. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel and said, “I will work for you for seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter.”

¹⁹ Laban said, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man. Stay with me.”

²⁰ Jacob worked for Rachel for seven years, but it seemed like a few days because he loved her. ²¹ Jacob said to Laban, “The time has come. Give me my wife so that I may sleep with her.” ²² So Laban invited all the people of that place and prepared a banquet. ²³ However, in the evening, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he slept with her. ²⁴ Laban had given his servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her servant. ²⁵ In the morning, there she was—Leah! Jacob said to Laban, “What have you done to me? Didn’t I work for you to have Rachel? Why did you betray me?”

²⁶ Laban said, “Where we live, we don’t give the younger woman before the oldest. ²⁷ Complete the celebratory week with this woman. Then I will give^[f] you this other woman too for your work, if you work for me seven more years.” ²⁸ So that is what Jacob did. He completed the celebratory week with this woman, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. ²⁹ Laban had given his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her servant. ³⁰ Jacob slept with Rachel, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. He worked for Laban seven more years.

Jacob’s sons are born

³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb; but Rachel was unable to have children. ³² Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben^[g] because she said, “The Lord saw my harsh treatment, and now my husband will love me.” ³³ She became pregnant again and gave birth to a son. She said, “The Lord heard that I was unloved, so he gave me this son too,” and she named him Simeon.^{[h] 34} She became pregnant again and gave birth to a son. She said, “Now, this time my husband will embrace me,^[i] since I have given birth to three sons for him.” So she named him Levi.^{[j] 35} She became pregnant again and gave birth to a son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah.^[k] Then she stopped bearing children.

A ruler’s daughter and the woman who touched Jesus’ clothes

¹⁸ While Jesus was speaking to them, a ruler came and knelt in front of him, saying, “My daughter has just died. But come and place your hand on her, and she’ll live.” ¹⁹ So Jesus and his disciples got up and went with him. ²⁰ Then a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came up behind Jesus and touched the hem of his clothes. ²¹ She thought, If I only touch his robe I’ll be healed.

²² When Jesus turned and saw her, he said, “Be encouraged, daughter. Your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that time on.

²³ When Jesus went into the ruler’s house, he saw the flute players and the distressed crowd. ²⁴ He said, “Go away, because the little girl isn’t dead but is asleep”; but they laughed at him. ²⁵ After he had sent the crowd away, Jesus went in and touched her hand, and the little girl rose up. ²⁶ News about this spread throughout that whole region.

Healing of two blind men

²⁷ As Jesus departed, two blind men followed him, crying out, “Show us mercy, Son of David.”

²⁸ When he came into the house, the blind men approached him. Jesus said to them, “Do you believe I can do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they replied.

²⁹ Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “It will happen for you just as you have believed.” ³⁰ Their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly warned them, “Make sure nobody knows about this.” ³¹ But they went out and spread the word about him throughout that whole region.

Healing of a man unable to speak

³² As they were leaving, people brought to him a man who was demon-possessed and unable to speak. ³³ When Jesus had thrown out the demon, the man who couldn’t speak began to talk. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

³⁴ But the Pharisees said, “He throws out demons with the authority of the ruler of demons.”

Compassion

³⁵ Jesus traveled among all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, announcing the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. ³⁶ Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The size of the harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers. ³⁸  Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for his harvest.”

Psalm 11

For the music leader. Of David.

¹⁷ So Isaac moved away from there, camped in the valley of Gerar, and lived there. ¹⁸ Isaac dug out again the wells that were dug during the lifetime of his father Abraham. The Philistines had closed them up after Abraham’s death. Isaac gave them the same names his father had given them. ¹⁹ Isaac’s servants dug wells in the valley and found a well there with fresh water. ²⁰ Isaac’s shepherds argued with Gerar’s shepherds, each claiming, “This is our water.” So Isaac named the well Esek^[a] because they quarreled with him. ²¹ They dug another well and argued about it too, so he named it Sitnah.^{[b] 22} He left there and dug another well, but they didn’t argue about it, so he named it Rehoboth^[c] and said, “Now the Lord has made an open space for us and has made us fertile in the land.”

²³ Then he went up from Gerar to Beer-sheba. ²⁴ The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid because I am with you. I will bless you, and I will give you many children for my servant Abraham’s sake.” ²⁵ So Isaac built an altar there and worshipped in the Lord’s name. Isaac pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well.

²⁶ But Abimelech set out toward him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his ally and Phicol the commander of his forces. ²⁷ Isaac said to him, “Why have you come after me? You resented me and sent me away from you.”

²⁸ They said, “We now see that the Lord was with you. We propose that there be a formal agreement between us and that we draw up a treaty^[d] with you: ²⁹ you must not treat us badly since we haven’t harmed you and since we have treated you well at all times. Then we will send you away peacefully, for you are now blessed by the Lord.” ³⁰ Isaac prepared a banquet for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ They got up early in the morning, and they gave each other their word. Isaac sent them off, and they left peacefully.

³² That day Isaac’s servants informed him about the well that they had been digging and said to him, “We found water.” ³³ He called it Shibah;^[e] therefore, the city’s name has been Beer-sheba^[f] until today.

Esau’s wives

³⁴ When Esau was 40 years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵ They made life very difficult for Isaac and Rebekah.

Jacob acquires his father’s blessing

27 When Isaac had grown old and his eyesight was failing, he summoned his older son Esau and said to him, “My son?”

And Esau said, “I’m here.”

² He said, “I’m old and don’t know when I will die. ³ So now, take your hunting gear, your bow and quiver of arrows, go out to the field, and hunt game for me. ⁴ Make me the delicious food that I love and bring it to me so I can eat. Then I can bless you before I die.”

⁵ Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau went out to the field to hunt game to bring back, ⁶ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I just heard your father saying to your brother Esau, ⁷ ‘Bring me some game and make me some delicious food so I can eat, and I will bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ ⁸ Now, my son, listen to me, to what I’m telling you to do. ⁹ Go to the flock and get me two healthy young goats so I can prepare them as the delicious food your father loves. ¹⁰ You can bring it to your father, he will eat, and then he will bless you before he dies.”

¹¹ Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “My brother Esau is a hairy man, but I have smooth skin. ¹² What if my father touches me and thinks I’m making fun of him? I will be cursed instead of blessed.”

¹³ His mother said to him, “Your curse will be on me, my son. Just listen to me: go and get them for me.” ¹⁴ So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made the delicious food that his father loved. ¹⁵ Rebekah took her older son Esau’s favorite clothes that were in the house with her, and she put them on her younger son Jacob. ¹⁶ On his arms and smooth neck she put the hide of young goats, ¹⁷ and the delicious food and the bread she had made she put into her son’s hands.

¹⁸ Jacob went to his father and said, “My father.”

And he said, “I’m here. Who are you, my son?”

¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I’m Esau your oldest son. I’ve made what you asked me to. Sit up and eat some of the game so you can bless me.”

²⁰ Isaac said to his son, “How could you find this so quickly, my son?”

He said, “The Lord your God led me right to it.”^[g]

²¹ Isaac said to Jacob, “Come here and let me touch you, my son. Are you my son Esau or not?” ²² So Jacob approached his father Isaac, and Isaac touched him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the arms are Esau’s arms.” ²³ Isaac didn’t recognize him because his arms were hairy like Esau’s arms, so he blessed him.

²⁴ Isaac said, “Are you really my son Esau?”

And he said, “I am.”

²⁵ Isaac said, “Bring some food here and let me eat some of my son’s game so I can bless you.” Jacob put it before him and he ate, and he brought him wine and he drank. ²⁶ His father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ So he came close and kissed him. When Isaac smelled the scent of his clothes, he blessed him,

Esau receives a secondary blessing

³⁰ After Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and just as Jacob left his father Isaac, his brother Esau came back from his hunt. ³¹ He too made some delicious food, brought it to his father, and said, “Let my father sit up and eat from his son’s game so that you may bless me.”

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

And he said, “I’m your son, your oldest son, Esau.”

³³ Isaac was so shocked that he trembled violently. He said, “Who was the hunter just here with game? He brought me food, and I ate all of it before you came. I blessed him, and he will stay blessed!”

³⁴ When Esau heard what his father said, he let out a loud agonizing cry and wept bitterly. He said to his father, “Bless me! Me too, my father!”

³⁵ Isaac said, “Your brother has already come deceitfully and has taken your blessing.”

³⁶ Esau said, “Isn’t this why he’s called Jacob? He’s taken me^[h] twice now: he took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing.” He continued, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

³⁷ Isaac replied to Esau, “I’ve already made him more powerful than you, and I’ve made all of his brothers his servants. I’ve made him strong with grain and wine. What can I do for you, my son?”

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

³⁹ His father Isaac responded and said to him,

Jacob sent away for protection

⁴¹ Esau was furious at Jacob because his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, When the period of mourning for the death of my father is over, I will kill my brother.

⁴² Rebekah was told what her older son Esau was planning, so she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Esau your brother is planning revenge. He plans to kill you. ⁴³ So now, my son, listen to me: Get up and escape to my brother Laban in Haran. ⁴⁴ Live with him for a short while until your brother’s rage subsides, ⁴⁵ until your brother’s anger at you goes away and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I suffer the loss of both of you on one day?”

⁴⁶ Rebekah then said to Isaac, “I really loathe these Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women, like the women of this land, why should I go on living?”

Healing of a man who was paralyzed

9 Boarding a boat, Jesus crossed to the other side of the lake and went to his own city. ² People brought to him a man who was paralyzed, lying on a cot. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man who was paralyzed, “Be encouraged, my child, your sins are forgiven.”

³ Some legal experts said among themselves, “This man is insulting God.”

⁴ But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you fill your minds with evil things? ⁵  Which is easier—to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶  But so you will know that the Human One^[a] has authority on the earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“Get up, take your cot, and go home.” ⁷ The man got up and went home. ⁸ When the crowds saw what had happened, they were afraid and praised God, who had given such authority to human beings.

Calling of Matthew

⁹ As Jesus continued on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes. He said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him. ¹⁰ As Jesus sat down to eat in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners joined Jesus and his disciples at the table.

¹¹ But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹² When Jesus heard it, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. ¹³  Go and learn what this means: I want mercy and not sacrifice.^[b] I didn’t come to call righteous people, but sinners.”

Question about fasting

¹⁴ At that time John’s disciples came and asked Jesus, “Why do we and the Pharisees frequently fast, but your disciples never fast?”

¹⁵ Jesus responded, “The wedding guests can’t mourn while the groom is still with them, can they? But the days will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they’ll fast.

¹⁶ “No one sews a piece of new, unshrunk cloth on old clothes because the patch tears away the cloth and makes a worse tear. ¹⁷  No one pours new wine into old wineskins. If they did, the wineskins would burst, the wine would spill, and the wineskins would be ruined. Instead, people pour new wine into new wineskins so that both are kept safe.”

⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed low before the Lord. ⁵³ The servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. To her brother and to her mother he gave the finest gifts. ⁵⁴ He and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night.

When they got up in the morning, the servant said, “See me off to my master.”

⁵⁵ Her brother and mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us not more than ten days, and after that she may go.”

⁵⁶ But he said to them, “Don’t delay me. The Lord has made my trip successful. See me off so that I can go to my master.”

⁵⁷ They said, “Summon the young woman, and let’s ask her opinion.” ⁵⁸ They called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”

She said, “I will go.”

⁵⁹ So they sent off their sister Rebekah, her nurse, Abraham’s servant, and his men. ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah, saying to her,

⁶¹ Rebekah and her young women got up, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

⁶² Now Isaac had come from the region of^[a] Beer-lahai-roi and had settled in the arid southern plain. ⁶³ One evening, Isaac went out to inspect the pasture,^[b] and while staring he saw camels approaching. ⁶⁴ Rebekah stared at Isaac. She got down from the camel ⁶⁵ and said to the servant, “Who is this man walking through the pasture to meet us?”

The servant said, “He’s my master.” So she took her headscarf and covered herself. ⁶⁶ The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. ⁶⁷ Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent. He received Rebekah as his wife and loved her. So Isaac found comfort after his mother’s death.

Abraham and Keturah’s children

25 Abraham married another wife, named Keturah. ² The children she bore him were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³ Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s sons were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. ⁴ Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Enoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All of these were Keturah’s sons. ⁵ Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac. ⁶ To the sons of Abraham’s secondary wives, Abraham gave gifts and, while he was still living, sent them away from his son Isaac to land in the east.

Abraham’s death

⁷ Abraham lived to the age of 175. ⁸ Abraham took his last breath and died after a good long life, a content old man, and he was placed with his ancestors. ⁹ His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave in Machpelah, which is in the field of Zohar’s son Ephron the Hittite, near Mamre. ¹⁰ Thus Abraham and his wife Sarah were both buried in the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites. ¹¹ After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, and Isaac lived in Beer-lahai-roi.

Ishmael’s descendants

¹² These are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore for Abraham. ¹³ These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names and according to their birth order: Nebaioth, Ishmael’s oldest son; Kedar; Adbeel; Mibsam; ¹⁴ Mishma; Dumah; Massa; ¹⁵ Hadad; Tema; Jetur; Naphish; and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These are Ishmael’s sons. These are their names by their villages and their settlements: twelve tribal leaders according to their tribes. ¹⁷ Ishmael lived to the age of 137. He took his last breath and died, and was placed with his ancestors. ¹⁸ He established camps^[c] from Havilah to Shur, which is near Egypt on the road to Assyria. He died^[d] among all of his brothers.

Jacob and Esau are born

¹⁹ These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham became the father of Isaac. ²⁰ Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean and the sister of Laban the Aramean, from Paddan-aram. ²¹ Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, since she was unable to have children. The Lord was moved by his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. ²² But the boys pushed against each other inside of her, and she said, “If this is what it’s like, why did it happen to me?”^[e]

So she went to ask the Lord. ²³ And the Lord said to her,

²⁴ When she reached the end of her pregnancy, she discovered that she had twins. ²⁵ The first came out red all over, clothed with hair, and she named him Esau. ²⁶ Immediately afterward, his brother came out gripping Esau’s heel, and she named him Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

Jacob acquires the oldest son’s rights

²⁷ When the young men grew up, Esau became an outdoorsman who knew how to hunt, and Jacob became a quiet man who stayed at home. ²⁸ Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. ²⁹ Once when Jacob was boiling stew, Esau came in from the field hungry ³⁰ and said to Jacob, “I’m starving! Let me devour some of this red stuff.” That’s why his name is Edom.^[f]

³¹ Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright^[g] today.”

³² Esau said, “Since I’m going to die anyway, what good is my birthright to me?”

³³ Jacob said, “Give me your word today.” And he did. He sold his birthright to Jacob. ³⁴ So Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew. He ate, drank, got up, and left, showing just how little he thought of his birthright.

Isaac and Rebekah visit Gerar

26 When a famine gripped the land, a different one from the first famine that occurred in Abraham’s time, Isaac set out toward Gerar and toward King Abimelech of the Philistines. ² The Lord appeared to him and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt but settle temporarily in the land that I will show you. ³ Stay in this land as an immigrant, and I will be with you and bless you because I will give all of these lands to you and your descendants. I will keep my word, which I gave to your father Abraham. ⁴ I will give you as many descendants as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all of these lands. All of the nations of the earth will be blessed because of your descendants. ⁵ I will do this because Abraham obeyed me and kept my orders, my commandments, my statutes, and my instructions.”

⁶ So Isaac lived in Gerar. ⁷ When the men who lived there asked about his wife, he said, “She’s my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “my wife,” thinking, The men who live there will kill me for Rebekah because she’s very beautiful. ⁸ After Isaac had lived there for some time, the Philistines’ King Abimelech looked out his window and saw Isaac laughing together with his wife Rebekah.

⁹ So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She’s your wife, isn’t she? How could you say, ‘She’s my sister’?”

Isaac responded, “Because I thought that I might be killed because of her.”

¹⁰ Abimelech said, “What are you trying to do to us? Before long, one of the people would have slept with your wife; and you would have made us guilty.” ¹¹ Abimelech gave orders to all of the people, “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death!”

Isaac’s treaty with the Philistines

¹² Isaac planted grain in that land and reaped one hundred shearim^[h] that year because the Lord had blessed him. ¹³ Isaac grew richer and richer until he was extremely wealthy. ¹⁴ He had livestock, both flocks and cattle, and many servants. As a result, the Philistines envied him. ¹⁵ The Philistines closed up and filled with dirt all of the wells that his father’s servants had dug during his father Abraham’s lifetime. ¹⁶ Abimelech said to Isaac, “Move away from us because you have become too powerful among us.”

Discussions about following

¹⁸ Now when Jesus saw the crowd, he ordered his disciples to go over to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹ A legal expert came and said to him, “Teacher, I’ll follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens, and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Human One^[a] has no place to lay his head.”

²¹ Another man, one of his disciples, said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

²² But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Calming a storm

²³ When Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴ A huge storm arose on the lake so that waves were sloshing over the boat. But Jesus was asleep. ²⁵ They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, rescue us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you people of weak faith?” Then he got up and gave orders to the winds and the lake, and there was a great calm.

²⁷ The people were amazed and said, “What kind of person is this? Even the winds and the lake obey him!”

Jesus frees demon-possessed men

²⁸ When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake in the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed came from among the tombs to meet him. They were so violent that nobody could travel on that road. ²⁹ They cried out, “What are you going to do with us, Son of God? Have you come to torture us before the time of judgment?” ³⁰ Far off in the distance a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹ The demons pleaded with him, “If you throw us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

³² Then he said to the demons, “Go away,” and they came out and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned. ³³ Those who tended the pigs ran into the city and told everything that had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ Then the whole city came out and met Jesus. When they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

Psalm 10^[a]