1:1 In the beginning 1 God 2 created 3 the heavens and the earth. 4
1:2 Now 5 the earth 6 was without shape and empty, 7 and darkness 8 was over the surface of the watery deep, 9 but the Spirit of God 10 was moving 11 over the surface 12 of the water. 13 1:3 God said, 14 “Let there be 15 light.” 16 And there was light! 1:4 God saw 17 that the light was good, 18 so God separated 19 the light from the darkness. 1:5 God called 20 the light “day” and the darkness 21 “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. 22
1:6 God said, “Let there be an expanse 23 in the midst of the waters and let it separate water 24 from water. 1:7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. 25 It was so. 26 1:8 God called the expanse “sky.” 27 There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
1:9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place 28 and let dry ground appear.” 29 It was so. 1:10 God called the dry ground “land” 30 and the gathered waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good.
1:11 God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: 31 plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, 32 and 33 trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” It was so. 1:12 The land produced vegetation – plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. God saw that it was good. 1:13 There was evening, and there was morning, a third day.
1:14 God said, “Let there be lights 34 in the expanse 35 of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs 36 to indicate seasons and days and years, 1:15 and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so. 1:16 God made two great lights 37 – the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also. 38 1:17 God placed the lights 39 in the expanse of the sky to shine on the earth, 1:18 to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. 40 God saw that it was good. 1:19 There was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day.
1:20 God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms 41 of living creatures and let birds fly 42 above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 1:21 God created the great sea creatures 43 and every living and moving thing with which the water swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was good. 1:22 God blessed them 44 and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” 45 1:23 There was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.
1:24 God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” 46 It was so. 1:25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the cattle according to their kinds, and all the creatures that creep along the ground according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.
1:26 Then God said, “Let us make 47
humankind 48 in our image, after our likeness, 49 so they may rule 50 over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, 51 and over all the creatures that move 52 on the earth.”
1:27 God created humankind 53 in his own image,
in the image of God he created them, 54
male and female he created them. 55
1:28 God blessed 56 them and said 57 to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! 58 Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” 59 1:29 Then God said, “I now 60 give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 61 1:30 And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give 62 every green plant for food.” It was so.
1:31 God saw all that he had made – and it was very good! 63 There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.
24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, 64 and the Lord had blessed him 65 in everything. 24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one 66 in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh 67 24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise 68 by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire 69 a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 24:4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives 70 to find 71 a wife for my son Isaac.”
24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me 72 to this land? Must I then 73 take your son back to the land from which you came?”
24:6 “Be careful 74 never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. 75 24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, 76 promised me with a solemn oath, 77 ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel 78 before you so that you may find 79 a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, 80 you will be free 81 from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!” 24:9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes. 82
24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. 83 He journeyed 84 to the region of Aram Naharaim 85 and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well 86 outside the city. It was evening, 87 the time when the women would go out to draw water. 24:12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. 88 Be faithful 89 to my master Abraham. 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring, 90 and the daughters of the people 91 who live in the town are coming out to draw water. 24:14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ 92 In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” 93
24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah 94 with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor). 95 24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. 96 She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 24:17 Abraham’s servant 97 ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 24:18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering 98 her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 24:19 When she had done so, 99 she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied 100 her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. 24:21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine 101 if the Lord had made his journey successful 102 or not.
24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka 103 and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels 104 and gave them to her. 105 24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. 106 “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”
24:24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor. 107 24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, 108 “and room for you 109 to spend the night.”
24:26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, 24:27 saying “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love 110 for my master! The Lord has led me 111 to the house 112 of my master’s relatives!” 113
24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about 114 these things. 24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) 115 Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring. 24:30 When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring 116 and heard his sister Rebekah say, 117 “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing 118 by the camels near the spring. 24:31 Laban said to him, 119 “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! 120 Why are you standing out here when I have prepared 121 the house and a place for the camels?”
24:32 So Abraham’s servant 122 went to the house and unloaded 123 the camels. Straw and feed were given 124 to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. 125 24:33 When food was served, 126 he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” 127 “Tell us,” Laban said. 128
24:34 “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. 24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. 129 The Lord 130 has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 24:36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him 131 when she was old, 132 and my master 133 has given him everything he owns. 24:37 My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 24:38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find 134 a wife for my son.’ 24:39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go 135 with me?’ 136 24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, 137 will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 24:41 You will be free from your oath 138 if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’ 24:42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, 139 may events unfold as follows: 140 24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring. 141 When 142 the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Give me a little water to drink from your jug.” 24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’
24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, 143 along came Rebekah 144 with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 24:47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’ 145 I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter 146 of my master’s brother for his son. 24:49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.” 147
24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. 148 Our wishes are of no concern. 149 24:51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become 150 the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” 151
24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 24:53 Then he 152 brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother. 24:54 After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight. 153
When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” 154 24:55 But Rebekah’s 155 brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go.” 24:56 But he said to them, “Don’t detain me – the Lord 156 has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return 157 to my master.” 24:57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” 158 24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want 159 to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”
24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: 160
“Our sister, may you become the mother 161 of thousands of ten thousands!
May your descendants possess the strongholds 162 of their enemies.”
24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with 163 the man. So Abraham’s servant 164 took Rebekah and left.
24:62 Now 165 Isaac came from 166 Beer Lahai Roi, 167 for 168 he was living in the Negev. 169 24:63 He 170 went out to relax 171 in the field in the early evening. 172 Then he looked up 173 and saw that 174 there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up 175 and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked 176 Abraham’s servant, 177 “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. 178 So she took her veil and covered herself.
24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah 179 into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her 180 as his wife and loved her. 181 So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. 182
25:1 Abraham had taken 183 another 184 wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. 185 The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants 186 of Keturah.
25:5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines 187 and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. 188
25:7 Abraham lived a total of 189 175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. 190 He joined his ancestors. 191 25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah 192 near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. 193 There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed 194 his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. 195
25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, 196 whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.
25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: 197 Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps – twelve princes 198 according to their clans.
25:17 Ishmael lived a total of 199 137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. 200 25:18 His descendants 201 settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next 202 to Egypt all the way 203 to Asshur. 204 They settled 205 away from all their relatives. 206
25:19 This is the account of Isaac, 207 the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, 208 the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 209
25:21 Isaac prayed to 210 the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 25:22 But the children struggled 211 inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” 212 So she asked the Lord, 213 25:23 and the Lord said to her,
“Two nations 214 are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, 215 there were 216 twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish 217 all over, 218 like a hairy 219 garment, so they named him Esau. 220 25:26 When his brother came out with 221 his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. 222 Isaac was sixty years old 223 when they were born.
25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled 224 hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 225 25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, 226 but Rebekah loved 227 Jacob.
25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, 228 and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed 229 me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called 230 Edom.) 231
25:31 But Jacob replied, “First 232 sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” 233 25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” 234 So Esau 235 swore an oath to him and sold his birthright 236 to Jacob.
25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. 237 So Esau despised his birthright. 238