17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 1 the Lord appeared to him and said, 2 “I am the sovereign God. 3 Walk 4 before me 5 and be blameless. 6 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant 7 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” 8
17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, 9 and God said to him, 10 17:4 “As for me, 11 this 12 is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be 13 Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham 14 because I will make you 15 the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you 16 extremely 17 fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 18 17:7 I will confirm 19 my covenant as a perpetual 20 covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 21 17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing 22 – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent 23 possession. I will be their God.”
17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep 24 the covenantal requirement 25 I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: 26 Every male among you must be circumcised. 27 17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder 28 of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 29 must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, 30 whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant 31 will be visible in your flesh as a permanent 32 reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male 33 who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off 34 from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” 35
17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; 36 Sarah 37 will be her name. 17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. 38 Kings of countries 39 will come from her!”
17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed 40 as he said to himself, 41 “Can 42 a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? 43 Can Sarah 44 bear a child at the age of ninety?” 45 17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that 46 Ishmael might live before you!” 47
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 48 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 49 covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. 50 I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. 51 He will become the father of twelve princes; 52 I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. 53
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 54 and circumcised them 55 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old 56 when he was circumcised; 57 17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old 58 when he was circumcised. 17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham 59 by the oaks 60 of Mamre while 61 he was sitting at the entrance 62 to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham 63 looked up 64 and saw 65 three men standing across 66 from him. When he saw them 67 he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low 68 to the ground. 69
18:3 He said, “My lord, 70 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 71 18:4 Let a little water be brought so that 72 you may all 73 wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get 74 a bit of food 75 so that you may refresh yourselves 76 since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” 77 “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 78 three measures 79 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 80 18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, 81 who quickly prepared it. 82 18:8 Abraham 83 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 84 before them. They ate while 85 he was standing near them under a tree.
18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, 86 in the tent.” 18:10 One of them 87 said, “I will surely return 88 to you when the season comes round again, 89 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 90 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 91 18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; 92 Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 93 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 94 “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, 95 especially when my husband is old too?” 96
18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 97 did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 98 have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible 99 for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” 100 18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 101
18:16 When the men got up to leave, 102 they looked out over 103 Sodom. (Now 104 Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) 105 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 106 18:18 After all, Abraham 107 will surely become 108 a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 109 using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him 110 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 111 the way of the Lord by doing 112 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 113 to Abraham what he promised 114 him.”
18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 115 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 116 18:21 that I must go down 117 and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. 118 If not, 119 I want to know.”
18:22 The two men turned 120 and headed 121 toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 122 18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare 123 the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge 124 of the whole earth do what is right?” 125
18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord 126 (although I am but dust and ashes), 127 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 128 the whole city because five are lacking?” 129 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 130 spoke to him again, 131 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 132 said, “May the Lord not be angry 133 so that I may speak! 134 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 135 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 136 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
18:33 The Lord went on his way 137 when he had finished speaking 138 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 139
19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while 140 Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. 141 When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night 142 and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” 143 “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” 144
19:3 But he urged 145 them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate. 19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, 146 all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. 147 19:5 They shouted to Lot, 148 “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex 149 with them!”
19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 19:7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! 150 19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with 151 a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. 152 Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection 153 of my roof.” 154
19:9 “Out of our way!” 155 they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, 156 and now he dares to judge us! 157 We’ll do more harm 158 to you than to them!” They kept 159 pressing in on Lot until they were close enough 160 to break down the door.
19:10 So the men inside 161 reached out 162 and pulled Lot back into the house 163 as they shut the door. 19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, 164 with blindness. The men outside 165 wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors 166 said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? 167 Do you have 168 any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? 169 Get them out of this 170 place 19:13 because we are about to destroy 171 it. The outcry against this place 172 is so great before the Lord that he 173 has sent us to destroy it.”
19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. 174 He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy 175 the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. 176
19:15 At dawn 177 the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, 178 or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” 179 19:16 When Lot 180 hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. 181 They led them away and placed them 182 outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they 183 said, “Run 184 for your lives! Don’t look 185 behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! 186 Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”
19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! 187 19:19 Your 188 servant has found favor with you, 189 and you have shown me great 190 kindness 191 by sparing 192 my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because 193 this disaster will overtake 194 me and I’ll die. 195 19:20 Look, this town 196 over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. 197 Let me go there. 198 It’s just a little place, isn’t it? 199 Then I’ll survive.” 200
19:21 “Very well,” he replied, 201 “I will grant this request too 202 and will not overthrow 203 the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, 204 for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) 205
19:23 The sun had just risen 206 over the land as Lot reached Zoar. 207 19:24 Then the Lord rained down 208 sulfur and fire 209 on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. 210 19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, 211 including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew 212 from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s 213 wife looked back longingly 214 and was turned into a pillar of salt.
19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went 215 to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward 216 Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. 217 As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. 218
19:29 So when God destroyed 219 the cities of the region, 220 God honored 221 Abraham’s request. He removed Lot 222 from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed 223 the cities Lot had lived in.
19:30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 19:31 Later the older daughter said 224 to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby 225 to have sexual relations with us, 226 according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine 227 so we can have sexual relations 228 with him and preserve 229 our family line through our father.” 230
19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, 231 and the older daughter 232 came and had sexual relations with her father. 233 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 234 19:34 So in the morning the older daughter 235 said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. 236 Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 237 19:35 So they made their father drunk 238 that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. 239 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 240
19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter 241 gave birth to a son and named him Moab. 242 He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 19:38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. 243 He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.
20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev 244 region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident 245 in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.
20:3 But God appeared 246 to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead 247 because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” 248
20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, 249 would you really slaughter an innocent nation? 250 20:5 Did Abraham 251 not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, 252 ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience 253 and with innocent hands!”
20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. 254 That is why I have kept you 255 from sinning against me and why 256 I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed 257 he is a prophet 258 and he will pray for you; thus you will live. 259 But if you don’t give her back, 260 know that you will surely die 261 along with all who belong to you.”
20:8 Early in the morning 262 Abimelech summoned 263 all his servants. When he told them about all these things, 264 they 265 were terrified. 20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? 266 You have done things to me that should not be done!” 267 20:10 Then Abimelech asked 268 Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” 269
20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, 270 ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of 271 my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, 272 she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 20:13 When God made me wander 273 from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: 274 Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”
20:14 So Abimelech gave 275 sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” 276
20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver 277 to your ‘brother.’ 278 This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” 279
20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord 280 had caused infertility to strike every woman 281 in the household of Abimelech because he took 282 Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
21:1 The Lord visited 283 Sarah just as he had said he would and did 284 for Sarah what he had promised. 285 21:2 So Sarah became pregnant 286 and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 21:3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac. 287 21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, 288 Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. 289 21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) 290
21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. 291 Everyone who hears about this 292 will laugh 293 with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, 294 “Who would 295 have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”
21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared 296 a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 297 21:9 But Sarah noticed 298 the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. 299 21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish 300 that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”
21:11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son. 301 21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset 302 about the boy or your slave wife. Do 303 all that Sarah is telling 304 you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. 305 21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”
21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took 306 some food 307 and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, 308 and sent her away. So she went wandering 309 aimlessly through the wilderness 310 of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved 311 the child under one of the shrubs. 21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot 312 away; for she thought, 313 “I refuse to watch the child die.” 314 So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. 315
21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. 316 The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, 317 Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard 318 the boy’s voice right where he is crying. 21:18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 21:19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water. 319 She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.
21:20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. 320 His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. 321
21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you 322 in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name 323 that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. 324 Show me, and the land 325 where you are staying, 326 the same loyalty 327 that I have shown you.” 328
21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” 329 21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint 330 against Abimelech concerning a well 331 that Abimelech’s servants had seized. 332 21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, 333 you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”
21:27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty. 334 21:28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves. 21:29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these 335 seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 21:30 He replied, “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof 336 that I dug this well.” 337 21:31 That is why he named that place 338 Beer Sheba, 339 because the two of them swore 340 an oath there.
21:32 So they made a treaty 341 at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned 342 to the land of the Philistines. 343 21:33 Abraham 344 planted a tamarisk tree 345 in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, 346 the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. 347
22:1 Some time after these things God tested 348 Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham 349 replied. 22:2 God 350 said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac 351 – and go to the land of Moriah! 352 Offer him up there as a burnt offering 353 on one of the mountains which I will indicate to 354 you.”
22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. 355 He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out 356 for the place God had spoken to him about.
22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of 357 the place in the distance. 22:5 So he 358 said to his servants, “You two stay 359 here with the donkey while 360 the boy and I go up there. We will worship 361 and then return to you.” 362
22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, 363 and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, 364 “My father?” “What is it, 365 my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, 366 “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide 367 for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.
22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there 368 and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up 369 his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter 370 his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel 371 called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” 372 the angel said. 373 “Do not do anything to him, for now I know 374 that you fear 375 God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”
22:13 Abraham looked up 376 and saw 377 behind him 378 a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he 379 went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” 380 It is said to this day, 381 “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” 382
22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ 383 decrees the Lord, 384 ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, 385 and I will greatly multiply 386 your descendants 387 so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession 388 of the strongholds 389 of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, 390 all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 391 using the name of your descendants.’”
22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together 392 for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. 393
22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah 394 also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 395 22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now 396 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) These were the eight sons Milcah bore to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children – Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. 397 23:2 Then she 398 died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 399
23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife 400 and said to the sons of Heth, 401 23:4 “I am a temporary settler 402 among you. Grant 403 me ownership 404 of a burial site among you so that I may 405 bury my dead.” 406
23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, 407 23:6 “Listen, sir, 408 you are a mighty prince 409 among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you 410 from burying your dead.”
23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, 411 the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree 412 that I may bury my dead, 413 then hear me out. 414 Ask 415 Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell 416 me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly 417 for the full price, 418 so that I may own it as a burial site.”
23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite 419 replied to Abraham in the hearing 420 of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate 421 of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell 422 you both the field and the cave that is in it. 423 In the presence of my people 424 I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”
23:12 Abraham bowed before the local people 23:13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay 425 to you the price 426 of the field. Take it from me so that I may 427 bury my dead there.”
23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth 428 400 pieces of silver, 429 but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”
23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price 430 and weighed 431 out for him 432 the price 433 that Ephron had quoted 434 in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. 435
23:17 So Abraham secured 436 Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 23:18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city. 437
23:19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 23:20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site 438 from the sons of Heth.
24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, 439 and the Lord had blessed him 440 in everything. 24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one 441 in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh 442 24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise 443 by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire 444 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 445 to find 446 a wife for my son Isaac.”
24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me 447 to this land? Must I then 448 take your son back to the land from which you came?”
24:6 “Be careful 449 never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. 450 24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, 451 promised me with a solemn oath, 452 ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel 453 before you so that you may find 454 a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, 455 you will be free 456 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. 457
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. 458 He journeyed 459 to the region of Aram Naharaim 460 and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well 461 outside the city. It was evening, 462 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. 463 Be faithful 464 to my master Abraham. 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring, 465 and the daughters of the people 466 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.’ 467 In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” 468
24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah 469 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). 470 24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. 471 She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 24:17 Abraham’s servant 472 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 473 her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 24:19 When she had done so, 474 she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied 475 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 476 if the Lord had made his journey successful 477 or not.
24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka 478 and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels 479 and gave them to her. 480 24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. 481 “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. 482 24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, 483 “and room for you 484 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 485 for my master! The Lord has led me 486 to the house 487 of my master’s relatives!” 488
24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about 489 these things. 24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) 490 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 491 and heard his sister Rebekah say, 492 “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing 493 by the camels near the spring. 24:31 Laban said to him, 494 “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! 495 Why are you standing out here when I have prepared 496 the house and a place for the camels?”
24:32 So Abraham’s servant 497 went to the house and unloaded 498 the camels. Straw and feed were given 499 to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. 500 24:33 When food was served, 501 he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” 502 “Tell us,” Laban said. 503
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. 504 The Lord 505 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 506 when she was old, 507 and my master 508 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 509 a wife for my son.’ 24:39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go 510 with me?’ 511 24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, 512 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 513 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, 514 may events unfold as follows: 515 24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring. 516 When 517 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, 518 along came Rebekah 519 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.’ 520 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 521 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.” 522
24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. 523 Our wishes are of no concern. 524 24:51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become 525 the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” 526
24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 24:53 Then he 527 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. 528
When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” 529 24:55 But Rebekah’s 530 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 531 has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return 532 to my master.” 24:57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” 533 24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want 534 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: 535
“Our sister, may you become the mother 536 of thousands of ten thousands!
May your descendants possess the strongholds 537 of their enemies.”
24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with 538 the man. So Abraham’s servant 539 took Rebekah and left.
24:62 Now 540 Isaac came from 541 Beer Lahai Roi, 542 for 543 he was living in the Negev. 544 24:63 He 545 went out to relax 546 in the field in the early evening. 547 Then he looked up 548 and saw that 549 there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up 550 and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked 551 Abraham’s servant, 552 “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. 553 So she took her veil and covered herself.
24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah 554 into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her 555 as his wife and loved her. 556 So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. 557
25:1 Abraham had taken 558 another 559 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. 560 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 561 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 562 and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. 563
25:7 Abraham lived a total of 564 175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. 565 He joined his ancestors. 566 25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah 567 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. 568 There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed 569 his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. 570
25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, 571 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: 572 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 573 according to their clans.
25:17 Ishmael lived a total of 574 137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. 575 25:18 His descendants 576 settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next 577 to Egypt all the way 578 to Asshur. 579 They settled 580 away from all their relatives. 581
25:19 This is the account of Isaac, 582 the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, 583 the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 584
25:21 Isaac prayed to 585 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 586 inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” 587 So she asked the Lord, 588 25:23 and the Lord said to her,
“Two nations 589 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, 590 there were 591 twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish 592 all over, 593 like a hairy 594 garment, so they named him Esau. 595 25:26 When his brother came out with 596 his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. 597 Isaac was sixty years old 598 when they were born.
25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled 599 hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 600 25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, 601 but Rebekah loved 602 Jacob.
25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, 603 and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed 604 me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called 605 Edom.) 606
25:31 But Jacob replied, “First 607 sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” 608 25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” 609 So Esau 610 swore an oath to him and sold his birthright 611 to Jacob.
25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. 612 So Esau despised his birthright. 613
26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred 614 in the days of Abraham. 615 Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; 616 settle down in the land that I will point out to you. 617 26:3 Stay 618 in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, 619 for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, 620 and I will fulfill 621 the solemn promise I made 622 to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them 623 all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. 624 26:5 All this will come to pass 625 because Abraham obeyed me 626 and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” 627 26:6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.
26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” 628 He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, 629 “The men of this place will kill me to get 630 Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
26:8 After Isaac 631 had been there a long time, 632 Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed 633 Isaac caressing 634 his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really 635 your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” 636
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 637 One of the men 638 might easily have had sexual relations with 639 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches 640 this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” 641
26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, 642 because the Lord blessed him. 643 26:13 The man became wealthy. 644 His influence continued to grow 645 until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had 646 so many sheep 647 and cattle 648 and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous 649 of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up 650 all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.
26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, 651 for you have become much more powerful 652 than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. 653 26:18 Isaac reopened 654 the wells that had been dug 655 back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up 656 after Abraham died. Isaac 657 gave these wells 658 the same names his father had given them. 659
26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing 660 water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 661 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 662 named the well 663 Esek 664 because they argued with him about it. 665 26:21 His servants 666 dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it 667 Sitnah. 668 26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac 669 named it 670 Rehoboth, 671 saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
26:23 From there Isaac 672 went up to Beer Sheba. 26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped 673 the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. 674
26:26 Now Abimelech had come 675 to him from Gerar along with 676 Ahuzzah his friend 677 and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me 678 and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see 679 that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be 680 a pact between us 681 – between us 682 and you. Allow us to make 683 a treaty with you 26:29 so that 684 you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed 685 you, but have always treated you well 686 before sending you away 687 in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” 688
26:30 So Isaac 689 held a feast for them and they celebrated. 690 26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. 691 Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. 692
26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. 693 26:33 So he named it Shibah; 694 that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba 695 to this day.
26:34 When 696 Esau was forty years old, 697 he married 698 Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. 699
27:1 When 700 Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, 701 he called his older 702 son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau 703 replied. 27:2 Isaac 704 said, “Since 705 I am so old, I could die at any time. 706 27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game 707 for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then 708 I will eat it so that I may bless you 709 before I die.”
27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 710 When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, 711 27:6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 27:7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat 712 it and bless you 713 in the presence of the Lord 714 before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do 715 exactly what I tell you! 716 27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare 717 them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take 718 it to your father. Thus he will eat it 719 and 720 bless you before he dies.”
27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! 721 27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him 722 and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 27:13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me, 723 my son! Just obey me! 724 Go and get them for me!”
27:14 So he went and got the goats 725 and brought them to his mother. She 726 prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 27:16 She put the skins of the young goats 727 on his hands 728 and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed 729 the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac 730 replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” 731 27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up 732 and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” 733 27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world 734 did you find it so quickly, 735 my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” 736 he replied. 737 27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, 738 my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” 739 27:22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.” 27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. 740 27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob 741 replied. 27:25 Isaac 742 said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. 743 Then I will bless you.” 744 So Jacob 745 brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac 746 drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob 747 went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent 748 of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,
“Yes, 749 my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.
27:28 May God give you
the dew of the sky 750
and the richness 751 of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
27:29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will be 752 lord 753 over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. 754
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left 755 his father’s 756 presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. 757 27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau 758 said to him, “My father, get up 759 and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” 760 27:32 His father Isaac asked, 761 “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” 762 he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently 763 and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him. 764 He will indeed be blessed!”
27:34 When Esau heard 765 his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. 766 He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac 767 replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away 768 your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! 769 He has tripped me up 770 two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”
27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” 771 Then Esau wept loudly. 772
27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“Indeed, 773 your home will be
away from the richness 774 of the earth,
and away from the dew of the sky above.
27:40 You will live by your sword
but you will serve your brother.
When you grow restless,
you will tear off his yoke
from your neck.” 775
27:41 So Esau hated 776 Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. 777 Esau said privately, 778 “The time 779 of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill 780 my brother Jacob!”
27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, 781 she quickly summoned 782 her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. 783 27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. 784 Run away immediately 785 to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while 786 until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there 787 until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there. 788 Why should I lose both of you in one day?” 789
27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed 790 because of these daughters of Heth. 791 If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” 792
28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! 793 28:2 Leave immediately 794 for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 28:3 May the sovereign God 795 bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! 796 Then you will become 797 a large nation. 798 28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham 799 so that you may possess the land 800 God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” 801 28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. 802 As he blessed him, 803 Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 804 28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized 805 that the Canaanite women 806 were displeasing to 807 his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married 808 Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.
28:10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. 28:11 He reached a certain place 809 where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. 810 He took one of the stones 811 and placed it near his head. 812 Then he fell asleep 813 in that place 28:12 and had a dream. 814 He saw 815 a stairway 816 erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it 28:13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. 817 I will give you and your descendants the ground 818 you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, 819 and you will spread out 820 to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 821 using your name and that of your descendants. 822 28:15 I am with you! 823 I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”
28:16 Then Jacob woke up 824 and thought, 825 “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!” 28:17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”
28:18 Early 826 in the morning Jacob 827 took the stone he had placed near his head 828 and set it up as a sacred stone. 829 Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, 830 although the former name of the town was Luz. 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food 831 to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, 832 then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone 833 that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely 834 give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” 835
29:1 So Jacob moved on 836 and came to the land of the eastern people. 837 29:2 He saw 838 in the field a well with 839 three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now 840 a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds 841 would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well’s mouth.
29:4 Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.” 29:5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson 842 of Nahor?” “We know him,” 843 they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” 844 Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. 845 Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob 846 said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, 847 it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” 848 29:8 “We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water 849 the sheep.”
29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. 850 29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, 851 and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he 852 went over 853 and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. 854 29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. 855 29:12 When Jacob explained 856 to Rachel that he was a relative of her father 857 and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father. 29:13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob 858 told Laban how he was related to him. 859 29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” 860 So Jacob 861 stayed with him for a month. 862
29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work 863 for me for nothing because you are my relative? 864 Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; 865 the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, 866 but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) 867 29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with 868 Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.” 29:19 Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man. 869 Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. 870 But they seemed like only a few days to him 871 because his love for her was so great. 872
29:21 Finally Jacob said 873 to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. 874 I want to have marital relations with her.” 875 29:22 So Laban invited all the people 876 of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah 877 to Jacob, 878 and Jacob 879 had marital relations with her. 880 29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 881
29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! 882 So Jacob 883 said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! 884 Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked 885 me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” 886 Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage 887 before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. 888 Then we will give you the younger one 889 too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” 890
29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. 891 When Jacob 892 completed Leah’s bridal week, 893 Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 894 29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 895 29:30 Jacob 896 had marital relations 897 with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban 898 for seven more years. 899
29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, 900 he enabled her to become pregnant 901 while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant 902 and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, 903 for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. 904 Surely my husband will love me now.”
29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, 905 he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 906
29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, 907 because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 908
29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. 909 Then she stopped having children.
30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she 910 became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children 911 or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious 912 with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 913 30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with 914 her so that she can bear 915 children 916 for me 917 and I can have a family through her.” 918
30:4 So Rachel 919 gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with 920 her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant 921 and gave Jacob a son. 922 30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer 923 and given me a son.” That is why 924 she named him Dan. 925
30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. 926 30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” 927 So she named him Naphtali. 928
30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave 929 her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. 930 30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” 931 So she named him Gad. 932
30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. 933 30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, 934 for women 935 will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. 936
30:14 At the time 937 of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants 938 in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 30:15 But Leah replied, 939 “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” 940 Rachel said, “he may sleep 941 with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep 942 with me because I have paid for your services 943 with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations 944 with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention 945 to Leah; she became pregnant 946 and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. 947 30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward 948 because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” 949 So she named him Issachar. 950
30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. 951 30:20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 952
30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
30:22 Then God took note of 953 Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. 954 30:23 She became pregnant 955 and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” 956 30:24 She named him Joseph, 957 saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”
30:25 After Rachel had given birth 958 to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send 959 me on my way so that I can go 960 home to my own country. 961 30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. 962 Then I’ll depart, 963 because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” 964
30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, 965 for I have learned by divination 966 that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” 967
30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, 968 “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. 969 30:30 Indeed, 970 you had little before I arrived, 971 but now your possessions have increased many times over. 972 The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. 973 But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” 974
30:31 So Laban asked, 975 “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” 976 Jacob replied, 977 “but if you agree to this one condition, 978 I will continue to care for 979 your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among 980 all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, 981 and the spotted or speckled goats. 982 These animals will be my wages. 983 30:33 My integrity will testify for me 984 later on. 985 When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, 986 if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.” 987 30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” 988
30:35 So that day Laban 989 removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the care 990 of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, 991 while 992 Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.
30:37 But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible. 30:38 Then he set up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink. 993 30:39 When the sheep mated 994 in front of the branches, they 995 gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 30:40 Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face 996 the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban’s flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban’s flocks. 30:41 When the stronger females were in heat, 997 Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches. 30:42 But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there. 998 So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban 999 and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob 1000 became extremely prosperous. He owned 1001 large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.
31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, 1002 “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich 1003 at our father’s expense!” 1004 31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. 1005
31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers 1006 and to your relatives. I will be with you.” 1007 31:4 So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah 1008 to come to the field 1009 where his flocks were. 1010 31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, 1011 but the God of my father has been with me. 31:6 You know that I’ve worked for your father as hard as I could, 1012 31:7 but your father has humiliated 1013 me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, 1014 ‘The speckled animals 1015 will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring. 31:9 In this way God has snatched away your father’s livestock and given them to me.
31:10 “Once 1016 during breeding season I saw 1017 in a dream that the male goats mating with 1018 the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 31:11 In the dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ ‘Here I am!’ I replied. 31:12 Then he said, ‘Observe 1019 that all the male goats mating with 1020 the flock are streaked, speckled, or spotted, for I have observed all that Laban has done to you. 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, 1021 where you anointed 1022 the sacred stone and made a vow to me. 1023 Now leave this land immediately 1024 and return to your native land.’”
31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance 1025 in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted 1026 the money paid for us! 1027 31:16 Surely all the wealth that God snatched away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So now do everything God has told you.”
31:17 So Jacob immediately put his children and his wives on the camels. 1028 31:18 He took 1029 away all the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram and all his moveable property that he had accumulated. Then he set out toward the land of Canaan to return to his father Isaac. 1030
31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, 1031 Rachel stole the household idols 1032 that belonged to her father. 31:20 Jacob also deceived 1033 Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. 1034 31:21 He left 1035 with all he owned. He quickly crossed 1036 the Euphrates River 1037 and headed for 1038 the hill country of Gilead.
31:22 Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left. 1039 31:23 So he took his relatives 1040 with him and pursued Jacob 1041 for seven days. 1042 He caught up with 1043 him in the hill country of Gilead. 31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, 1044 “Be careful 1045 that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” 1046
31:25 Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. 1047 31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me 1048 and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! 1049 31:27 Why did you run away secretly 1050 and deceive me? 1051 Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? 1052 31:28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren 1053 good-bye. You have acted foolishly! 31:29 I have 1054 the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful 1055 that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ 1056 31:30 Now I understand that 1057 you have gone away 1058 because you longed desperately 1059 for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” 1060
31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” 1061 Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought 1062 you might take your daughters away from me by force. 1063 31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! 1064 In the presence of our relatives 1065 identify whatever is yours and take it.” 1066 (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) 1067
31:33 So Laban entered Jacob’s tent, and Leah’s tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. 1068 Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. 1069 31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle 1070 and sat on them.) 1071 Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. 1072 31:35 Rachel 1073 said to her father, “Don’t be angry, 1074 my lord. I cannot stand up 1075 in your presence because I am having my period.” 1076 So he searched thoroughly, 1077 but did not find the idols.
31:36 Jacob became angry 1078 and argued with Laban. “What did I do wrong?” he demanded of Laban. 1079 “What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? 1080 31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? 1081 Set it here before my relatives and yours, 1082 and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! 1083
31:38 “I have been with you for the past twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 31:39 Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. 1084 You always made me pay for every missing animal, 1085 whether it was taken by day or at night. 31:40 I was consumed by scorching heat 1086 during the day and by piercing cold 1087 at night, and I went without sleep. 1088 31:41 This was my lot 1089 for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave 1090 for you – fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, but you changed my wages ten times! 31:42 If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears 1091 – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, 1092 and he rebuked you last night.”
31:43 Laban replied 1093 to Jacob, “These women 1094 are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, 1095 and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today 1096 or the children to whom they have given birth? 31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, 1097 you and I, and it will be 1098 proof that we have made peace.” 1099
31:45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. 31:46 Then he 1100 said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they brought stones and put them in a pile. 1101 They ate there by the pile of stones. 31:47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, 1102 but Jacob called it Galeed. 1103
31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement 1104 today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 31:49 It was also called Mizpah 1105 because he said, “May the Lord watch 1106 between us 1107 when we are out of sight of one another. 1108 31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize 1109 that God is witness to your actions.” 1110
31:51 “Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you,” Laban said to Jacob. 1111 31:52 “This pile of stones and the pillar are reminders that I will not pass beyond this pile to come to harm you and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to come to harm me. 1112 31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, 1113 the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. 1114 31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice 1115 on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal. 1116 They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.
31:55 (32:1) 1117 Early in the morning Laban kissed 1118 his grandchildren 1119 and his daughters goodbye and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home. 1120
32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God 1121 met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, 1122 “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. 1123
32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead 1124 to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region 1125 of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant 1126 Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now. 32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent 1127 this message 1128 to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”
32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.” 32:7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels. 32:8 “If Esau attacks one camp,” 1129 he thought, 1130 “then the other camp will be able to escape.” 1131
32:9 Then Jacob prayed, 1132 “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said 1133 to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ 1134 32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love 1135 you have shown 1136 your servant. With only my walking stick 1137 I crossed the Jordan, 1138 but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Rescue me, 1139 I pray, from the hand 1140 of my brother Esau, 1141 for I am afraid he will come 1142 and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. 1143 32:12 But you 1144 said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper 1145 and will make 1146 your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” 1147
32:13 Jacob 1148 stayed there that night. Then he sent 1149 as a gift 1150 to his brother Esau 32:14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 32:15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 32:16 He entrusted them to 1151 his servants, who divided them into herds. 1152 He told his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep some distance between one herd and the next.” 32:17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd, 1153 “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? 1154 Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ 1155 32:18 then you must say, 1156 ‘They belong 1157 to your servant Jacob. 1158 They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. 1159 In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” 1160
32:19 He also gave these instructions to the second and third servants, as well as all those who were following the herds, saying, “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 1161 32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” 1162 Jacob thought, 1163 “I will first appease him 1164 by sending a gift ahead of me. 1165 After that I will meet him. 1166 Perhaps he will accept me.” 1167 32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him 1168 while he spent that night in the camp. 1169
32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took 1170 his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons 1171 and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 1172 32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. 1173 32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man 1174 wrestled 1175 with him until daybreak. 1176 32:25 When the man 1177 saw that he could not defeat Jacob, 1178 he struck 1179 the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
32:26 Then the man 1180 said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” 1181 “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, 1182 “unless you bless me.” 1183 32:27 The man asked him, 1184 “What is your name?” 1185 He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, 1186 “but Israel, 1187 because you have fought 1188 with God and with men and have prevailed.”
32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” 1189 “Why 1190 do you ask my name?” the man replied. 1191 Then he blessed 1192 Jacob 1193 there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, 1194 explaining, 1195 “Certainly 1196 I have seen God face to face 1197 and have survived.” 1198
32:31 The sun rose 1199 over him as he crossed over Penuel, 1200 but 1201 he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day 1202 the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck 1203 the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.
23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. 1204
23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. 1205
39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. 1206 An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, 1207 purchased him from 1208 the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.
39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. 1209 An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, 1210 purchased him from 1211 the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.
4:1 Now, Israel, pay attention to the statutes and ordinances 1212 I am about to teach you, so that you might live and go on to enter and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, 1213 is giving you.
12:32 (13:1) 1214 You 1215 must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it! 1216
28:1 Now after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.