Information Retrieved -> Genesis 14 - 50(NLT)

Book Chapter Verse Text
Genesis 14 1 About this time war broke out in the region. King Amraphel of Babylonia, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Kedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim
Genesis 14 2 fought against King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (now called Zoar).
Genesis 14 3 The kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela formed an alliance and mobilized their armies in Siddim Valley (that is, the valley of the Dead Sea ).
Genesis 14 4 For twelve years they had all been subject to King Kedorlaomer, but now in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
Genesis 14 5 One year later, Kedorlaomer and his allies arrived. They conquered the Rephaites in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in the plain of Kiriathaim,
Genesis 14 6 and the Horites in Mount Seir, as far as El-paran at the edge of the wilderness.
Genesis 14 7 Then they swung around to En-mishpat (now called Kadesh) and destroyed the Amalekites, and also the Amorites living in Hazazon-tamar.
Genesis 14 8 But now the army of the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (now called Zoar) prepared for battle in the valley of the Dead Sea
Genesis 14 9 against King Kedorlaomer of Elam and the kings of Goiim, Babylonia, and Ellasar--four kings against five.
Genesis 14 10 As it happened, the valley was filled with tar pits. And as the army of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some slipped into the tar pits, while the rest escaped into the mountains.
Genesis 14 11 The victorious invaders then plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and began their long journey home, taking all the wealth and food with them.
Genesis 14 12 They also captured Lot--Abram's nephew who lived in Sodom--and took everything he owned.
Genesis 14 13 One of the men who escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was camped at the oak grove belonging to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his relatives, Eshcol and Aner, were Abram's allies.
Genesis 14 14 When Abram learned that Lot had been captured, he called together the men born into his household, 318 of them in all. He chased after Kedorlaomer's army until he caught up with them in Dan.
Genesis 14 15 There he divided his men and attacked during the night from several directions. Kedorlaomer's army fled, but Abram chased them to Hobah, north of Damascus.
Genesis 14 16 Abram and his allies recovered everything--the goods that had been taken, Abram's nephew Lot with his possessions, and all the women and other captives.
Genesis 14 17 As Abram returned from his victory over Kedorlaomer and his allies, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).
Genesis 14 18 Then Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought him bread and wine.
Genesis 14 19 Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.
Genesis 14 20 And blessed be God Most High, who has helped you conquer your enemies." Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.
Genesis 14 21 The king of Sodom told him, "Give back my people who were captured. But you may keep for yourself all the goods you have recovered."
Genesis 14 22 Abram replied, "I have solemnly promised the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
Genesis 14 23 that I will not take so much as a single thread or sandal thong from you. Otherwise you might say, `I am the one who made Abram rich!'
Genesis 14 24 All I'll accept is what these young men of mine have already eaten. But give a share of the goods to my allies--Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre."
Genesis 15 1 Afterward the LORD spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, "Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great."
Genesis 15 2 But Abram replied, "O Sovereign LORD, what good are all your blessings when I don't even have a son? Since I don't have a son, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.
Genesis 15 3 You have given me no children, so one of my servants will have to be my heir."
Genesis 15 4 Then the LORD said to him, "No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own to inherit everything I am giving you."
Genesis 15 5 Then the LORD brought Abram outside beneath the night sky and told him, "Look up into the heavens and count the stars if you can. Your descendants will be like that--too many to count!"
Genesis 15 6 And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD declared him righteous because of his faith.
Genesis 15 7 Then the LORD told him, "I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land."
Genesis 15 8 But Abram replied, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I be sure that you will give it to me?"
Genesis 15 9 Then the LORD told him, "Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
Genesis 15 10 Abram took all these and killed them. He cut each one down the middle and laid the halves side by side. He did not, however, divide the birds in half.
Genesis 15 11 Some vultures came down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.
Genesis 15 12 That evening, as the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep. He saw a terrifying vision of darkness and horror.
Genesis 15 13 Then the LORD told Abram, "You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, and they will be oppressed as slaves for four hundred years.
Genesis 15 14 But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth.
Genesis 15 15 (But you will die in peace, at a ripe old age.)
Genesis 15 16 After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, when the sin of the Amorites has run its course."
Genesis 15 17 As the sun went down and it became dark, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses.
Genesis 15 18 So the LORD made a covenant with Abram that day and said, "I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River--
Genesis 15 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
Genesis 15 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
Genesis 15 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites."
Genesis 16 1 But Sarai, Abram's wife, had no children. So Sarai took her servant, an Egyptian woman named Hagar,
Genesis 16 2 and gave her to Abram so she could bear his children. "The LORD has kept me from having any children," Sarai said to Abram. "Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her." And Abram agreed.
Genesis 16 3 So Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram first arrived in the land of Canaan.)
Genesis 16 4 So Abram slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress Sarai with contempt.
Genesis 16 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, "It's all your fault! Now this servant of mine is pregnant, and she despises me, though I myself gave her the privilege of sleeping with you. The LORD will make you pay for doing this to me! "
Genesis 16 6 Abram replied, "Since she is your servant, you may deal with her as you see fit." So Sarai treated her harshly, and Hagar ran away.
Genesis 16 7 The angel of the LORD found Hagar beside a desert spring along the road to Shur.
Genesis 16 8 The angel said to her, "Hagar, Sarai's servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?I am running away from my mistress," she replied.
Genesis 16 9 Then the angel of the LORD said, "Return to your mistress and submit to her authority."
Genesis 16 10 The angel added, "I will give you more descendants than you can count."
Genesis 16 11 And the angel also said, "You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard about your misery.
Genesis 16 12 This son of yours will be a wild one--free and untamed as a wild donkey! He will be against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live at odds with the rest of his brothers."
Genesis 16 13 Thereafter, Hagar referred to the LORD, who had spoken to her, as "the God who sees me," for she said, "I have seen the One who sees me!"
Genesis 16 14 Later that well was named Beer-lahairoi, and it can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.
Genesis 16 15 So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael.
Genesis 16 16 Abram was eighty-six years old at that time.
Genesis 17 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.
Genesis 17 2 I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to make you into a mighty nation."
Genesis 17 3 At this, Abram fell face down in the dust. Then God said to him,
Genesis 17 4 "This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of not just one nation, but a multitude of nations!
Genesis 17 5 What's more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram; now you will be known as Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations.
Genesis 17 6 I will give you millions of descendants who will represent many nations. Kings will be among them!
Genesis 17 7 "I will continue this everlasting covenant between us, generation after generation. It will continue between me and your offspring forever. And I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
Genesis 17 8 Yes, I will give all this land of Canaan to you and to your offspring forever. And I will be their God.
Genesis 17 9 "Your part of the agreement," God told Abraham, "is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility.
Genesis 17 10 This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised;
Genesis 17 11 the flesh of his foreskin must be cut off. This will be a sign that you and they have accepted this covenant.
Genesis 17 12 Every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family, but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased.
Genesis 17 13 All must be circumcised. Your bodies will thus bear the mark of my everlasting covenant.
Genesis 17 14 Anyone who refuses to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for violating the covenant."
Genesis 17 15 Then God added, "Regarding Sarai, your wife--her name will no longer be Sarai; from now on you will call her Sarah.
Genesis 17 16 And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings will be among her descendants!"
Genesis 17 17 Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. "How could I become a father at the age of one hundred?" he wondered. "Besides, Sarah is ninety; how could she have a baby?"
Genesis 17 18 And Abraham said to God, "Yes, may Ishmael enjoy your special blessing!"
Genesis 17 19 But God replied, "Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my everlasting covenant with him and his descendants.
Genesis 17 20 As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will cause him to multiply and become a great nation. Twelve princes will be among his descendants.
Genesis 17 21 But my covenant is with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year."
Genesis 17 22 That ended the conversation, and God left Abraham.
Genesis 17 23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and every other male in his household and circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins, exactly as God had told him.
Genesis 17 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old at that time,
Genesis 17 25 and Ishmael his son was thirteen.
Genesis 17 26 Both were circumcised the same day,
Genesis 17 27 along with all the other men and boys of the household, whether they were born there or bought as servants.
Genesis 18 1 The LORD appeared again to Abraham while he was camped near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day about noon, as Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent,
Genesis 18 2 he suddenly noticed three men standing nearby. He got up and ran to meet them, welcoming them by bowing low to the ground.
Genesis 18 3 "My lord," he said, "if it pleases you, stop here for a while.
Genesis 18 4 Rest in the shade of this tree while my servants get some water to wash your feet.
Genesis 18 5 Let me prepare some food to refresh you. Please stay awhile before continuing on your journey.All right," they said. "Do as you have said."
Genesis 18 6 So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, "Quick! Get three measures of your best flour, and bake some bread."
Genesis 18 7 Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a fat calf and told a servant to hurry and butcher it.
Genesis 18 8 When the food was ready, he took some cheese curds and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them there beneath the trees.
Genesis 18 9 "Where is Sarah, your wife?" they asked him. "In the tent," Abraham replied.
Genesis 18 10 Then one of them said, "About this time next year I will return, and your wife Sarah will have a son." Now Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent nearby.
Genesis 18 11 And since Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and Sarah was long past the age of having children,
Genesis 18 12 she laughed silently to herself. "How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?" she thought. "And when my master--my husband--is also so old?"
Genesis 18 13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, `Can an old woman like me have a baby?'
Genesis 18 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? About a year from now, just as I told you, I will return, and Sarah will have a son."
Genesis 18 15 Sarah was afraid, so she denied that she had laughed. But he said, "That is not true. You did laugh."
Genesis 18 16 Then the men got up from their meal and started on toward Sodom. Abraham went with them part of the way.
Genesis 18 17 "Should I hide my plan from Abraham?" the LORD asked.
Genesis 18 18 "For Abraham will become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.
Genesis 18 19 I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the LORD and do what is right and just. Then I will do for him all that I have promised."
Genesis 18 20 So the LORD told Abraham, "I have heard that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are extremely evil, and that everything they do is wicked.
Genesis 18 21 I am going down to see whether or not these reports are true. Then I will know."
Genesis 18 22 The two other men went on toward Sodom, but the LORD remained with Abraham for a while.
Genesis 18 23 Abraham approached him and said, "Will you destroy both innocent and guilty alike?
Genesis 18 24 Suppose you find fifty innocent people there within the city--will you still destroy it, and not spare it for their sakes?
Genesis 18 25 Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, destroying the innocent with the guilty. Why, you would be treating the innocent and the guilty exactly the same! Surely you wouldn't do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?"
Genesis 18 26 And the LORD replied, "If I find fifty innocent people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake."
Genesis 18 27 Then Abraham spoke again. "Since I have begun, let me go on and speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes.
Genesis 18 28 Suppose there are only forty-five? Will you destroy the city for lack of five?" And the LORD said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five."
Genesis 18 29 Then Abraham pressed his request further. "Suppose there are only forty?" And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it if there are forty."
Genesis 18 30 "Please don't be angry, my Lord," Abraham pleaded. "Let me speak--suppose only thirty are found?" And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it if there are thirty."
Genesis 18 31 Then Abraham said, "Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue--suppose there are only twenty?" And the LORD said, "Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty."
Genesis 18 32 Finally, Abraham said, "Lord, please do not get angry; I will speak but once more! Suppose only ten are found there?" And the LORD said, "Then, for the sake of the ten, I will not destroy it."
Genesis 18 33 The LORD went on his way when he had finished his conversation with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his tent.
Genesis 19 1 That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom, and Lot was sitting there as they arrived. When he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed low to the ground.
Genesis 19 2 "My lords," he said, "come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up in the morning as early as you like and be on your way again.Oh no," they said, "we'll just spend the night out here in the city square."
Genesis 19 3 But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. He set a great feast before them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast. After the meal,
Genesis 19 4 as they were preparing to retire for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house.
Genesis 19 5 They shouted to Lot, "Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out so we can have sex with them."
Genesis 19 6 Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him.
Genesis 19 7 "Please, my brothers," he begged, "don't do such a wicked thing.
Genesis 19 8 Look--I have two virgin daughters. Do with them as you wish, but leave these men alone, for they are under my protection."
Genesis 19 9 "Stand back!" they shouted. "Who do you think you are? We let you settle among us, and now you are trying to tell us what to do! We'll treat you far worse than those other men!" And they lunged at Lot and began breaking down the door.
Genesis 19 10 But the two angels reached out and pulled Lot in and bolted the door.
Genesis 19 11 Then they blinded the men of Sodom so they couldn't find the doorway.
Genesis 19 12 "Do you have any other relatives here in the city?" the angels asked. "Get them out of this place--sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else.
Genesis 19 13 For we will destroy the city completely. The stench of the place has reached the LORD, and he has sent us to destroy it."
Genesis 19 14 So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters' fiances, "Quick, get out of the city! The LORD is going to destroy it." But the young men thought he was only joking.
Genesis 19 15 At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. "Hurry," they said to Lot. "Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out of here right now, or you will be caught in the destruction of the city."
Genesis 19 16 When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful.
Genesis 19 17 "Run for your lives!" the angels warned. "Do not stop anywhere in the valley. And don't look back! Escape to the mountains, or you will die."
Genesis 19 18 "Oh no, my lords, please," Lot begged.
Genesis 19 19 "You have been so kind to me and saved my life, and you have granted me such mercy. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die.
Genesis 19 20 See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don't you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved."
Genesis 19 21 "All right," the angel said, "I will grant your request. I will not destroy that little village.
Genesis 19 22 But hurry! For I can do nothing until you are there." From that time on, that village was known as Zoar.
Genesis 19 23 The sun was rising as Lot reached the village.
Genesis 19 24 Then the LORD rained down fire and burning sulfur from the heavens on Sodom and Gomorrah.
Genesis 19 25 He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, eliminating all life--people, plants, and animals alike.
Genesis 19 26 But Lot's wife looked back as she was following along behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Genesis 19 27 The next morning Abraham was up early and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the LORD's presence.
Genesis 19 28 He looked out across the plain to Sodom and Gomorrah and saw columns of smoke and fumes, as from a furnace, rising from the cities there.
Genesis 19 29 But God had listened to Abraham's request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.
Genesis 19 30 Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters.
Genesis 19 31 One day the older daughter said to her sister, "There isn't a man anywhere in this entire area for us to marry. And our father will soon be too old to have children.
Genesis 19 32 Come, let's get him drunk with wine, and then we will sleep with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father."
Genesis 19 33 So that night they got him drunk, and the older daughter went in and slept with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.
Genesis 19 34 The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, "I slept with our father last night. Let's get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him. That way our family line will be preserved."
Genesis 19 35 So that night they got him drunk again, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.
Genesis 19 36 So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father.
Genesis 19 37 When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites.
Genesis 19 38 When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.
Genesis 20 1 Now Abraham moved south to the Negev and settled for a while between Kadesh and Shur at a place called Gerar.
Genesis 20 2 Abraham told people there that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. So King Abimelech sent for her and had her brought to him at his palace.
Genesis 20 3 But one night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, "You are a dead man, for that woman you took is married."
Genesis 20 4 But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, "Lord, will you kill an innocent man?
Genesis 20 5 Abraham told me, `She is my sister,' and she herself said, `Yes, he is my brother.' I acted in complete innocence!"
Genesis 20 6 "Yes, I know you are innocent," God replied. "That is why I kept you from sinning against me; I did not let you touch her.
Genesis 20 7 Now return her to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don't return her to him, you can be sure that you and your entire household will die."
Genesis 20 8 Abimelech got up early the next morning and hastily called a meeting of all his servants. When he told them what had happened, great fear swept through the crowd.
Genesis 20 9 Then Abimelech called for Abraham. "What is this you have done to us?" he demanded. "What have I done to you that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? This kind of thing should not be done!
Genesis 20 10 Why have you done this to us?"
Genesis 20 11 "Well," Abraham said, "I figured this to be a godless place. I thought, `They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.'
Genesis 20 12 Besides, she is my sister--we both have the same father, though different mothers--and I married her.
Genesis 20 13 When God sent me to travel far from my father's home, I told her, `Wherever we go, have the kindness to say that you are my sister.'"
Genesis 20 14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen and servants--both men and women--and gave them to Abraham, and he returned his wife, Sarah, to him.
Genesis 20 15 "Look over my kingdom, and choose a place where you would like to live," Abimelech told him.
Genesis 20 16 Then he turned to Sarah. "Look," he said, "I am giving your `brother' a thousand pieces of silver to compensate for any embarrassment I may have caused you. This will settle any claim against me in this matter."
Genesis 20 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and the other women of the household, so they could have children.
Genesis 20 18 For the LORD had stricken all the women with infertility as a warning to Abimelech for having taken Abraham's wife.
Genesis 21 1 Then the LORD did exactly what he had promised.
Genesis 21 2 Sarah became pregnant, and she gave a son to Abraham in his old age. It all happened at the time God had said it would.
Genesis 21 3 And Abraham named his son Isaac.
Genesis 21 4 Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded.
Genesis 21 5 Abraham was one hundred years old at the time.
Genesis 21 6 And Sarah declared, "God has brought me laughter! All who hear about this will laugh with me.
Genesis 21 7 For who would have dreamed that I would ever have a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!"
Genesis 21 8 As time went by and Isaac grew and was weaned, Abraham gave a big party to celebrate the happy occasion.
Genesis 21 9 But Sarah saw Ishmael--the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar--making fun of Isaac.
Genesis 21 10 So she turned to Abraham and demanded, "Get rid of that servant and her son. He is not going to share the family inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won't have it!"
Genesis 21 11 This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son.
Genesis 21 12 But God told Abraham, "Do not be upset over the boy and your servant wife. Do just as Sarah says, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.
Genesis 21 13 But I will make a nation of the descendants of Hagar's son because he also is your son."
Genesis 21 14 So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food for the journey, and strapped a container of water to Hagar's shoulders. He sent her away with their son, and she walked out into the wilderness of Beersheba, wandering aimlessly.
Genesis 21 15 When the water was gone, she left the boy in the shade of a bush.
Genesis 21 16 Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards away. "I don't want to watch the boy die," she said, as she burst into tears.
Genesis 21 17 Then God heard the boy's cries, and the angel of God called to Hagar from the sky, "Hagar, what's wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy's cries from the place where you laid him.
Genesis 21 18 Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants."
Genesis 21 19 Then God opened Hagar's eyes, and she saw a well. She immediately filled her water container and gave the boy a drink.
Genesis 21 20 And God was with the boy as he grew up in the wilderness of Paran. He became an expert archer,
Genesis 21 21 and his mother arranged a marriage for him with a young woman from Egypt.
Genesis 21 22 About this time, Abimelech came with Phicol, his army commander, to visit Abraham. "It is clear that God helps you in everything you do," Abimelech said.
Genesis 21 23 "Swear to me in God's name that you won't deceive me, my children, or my grandchildren. I have been loyal to you, so now swear that you will be loyal to me and to this country in which you are living."
Genesis 21 24 Abraham replied, "All right, I swear to it!"
Genesis 21 25 Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech's servants had taken violently from Abraham's servants.
Genesis 21 26 "This is the first I've heard of it," Abimelech said. "And I have no idea who is responsible. Why didn't you say something about this before?"
Genesis 21 27 Then Abraham gave sheep and oxen to Abimelech, and they made a treaty.
Genesis 21 28 But when Abraham took seven additional ewe lambs and set them off by themselves,
Genesis 21 29 Abimelech asked, "Why are you doing that?"
Genesis 21 30 Abraham replied, "They are my gift to you as a public confirmation that I dug this well."
Genesis 21 31 So ever since, that place has been known as Beersheba--"well of the oath"--because that was where they had sworn an oath.
Genesis 21 32 After making their covenant, Abimelech left with Phicol, the commander of his army, and they returned home to the land of the Philistines.
Genesis 21 33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and he worshiped the LORD, the Eternal God, at that place.
Genesis 21 34 And Abraham lived in Philistine country for a long time.
Genesis 22 1 Later on God tested Abraham's faith and obedience. "Abraham!" God called. "Yes," he replied. "Here I am."
Genesis 22 2 "Take your son, your only son--yes, Isaac, whom you love so much--and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you."
Genesis 22 3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son Isaac. Then he chopped wood to build a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place where God had told him to go.
Genesis 22 4 On the third day of the journey, Abraham saw the place in the distance.
Genesis 22 5 "Stay here with the donkey," Abraham told the young men. "The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back."
Genesis 22 6 Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac's shoulders, while he himself carried the knife and the fire. As the two of them went on together,
Genesis 22 7 Isaac said, "Father?Yes, my son," Abraham replied. "We have the wood and the fire," said the boy, "but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?"
Genesis 22 8 "God will provide a lamb, my son," Abraham answered. And they both went on together.
Genesis 22 9 When they arrived at the place where God had told Abraham to go, he built an altar and placed the wood on it. Then he tied Isaac up and laid him on the altar over the wood.
Genesis 22 10 And Abraham took the knife and lifted it up to kill his son as a sacrifice to the LORD.
Genesis 22 11 At that moment the angel of the LORD shouted to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!Yes," he answered. "I'm listening."
Genesis 22 12 "Lay down the knife," the angel said. "Do not hurt the boy in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld even your beloved son from me."
Genesis 22 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering on the altar in place of his son.
Genesis 22 14 Abraham named the place "The LORD Will Provide." This name has now become a proverb: "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
Genesis 22 15 Then the angel of the LORD called again to Abraham from heaven,
Genesis 22 16 "This is what the LORD says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your beloved son, I swear by my own self that
Genesis 22 17 I will bless you richly. I will multiply your descendants into countless millions, like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. They will conquer their enemies,
Genesis 22 18 and through your descendants, all the nations of the earth will be blessed--all because you have obeyed me."
Genesis 22 19 Then they returned to Abraham's young men and traveled home again to Beersheba, where Abraham lived for quite some time.
Genesis 22 20 Soon after this, Abraham heard that Milcah, his brother Nahor's wife, had borne Nahor eight sons.
Genesis 22 21 The oldest was named Uz, the next oldest was Buz, followed by Kemuel (the father of Aram),
Genesis 22 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
Genesis 22 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.
Genesis 22 24 In addition to his eight sons from Milcah, Nahor had four other children from his concubine Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
Genesis 23 1 When Sarah was 127 years old,
Genesis 23 2 she died at Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron) in the land of Canaan. There Abraham mourned and wept for her.
Genesis 23 3 Then, leaving her body, he went to the Hittite elders and said,
Genesis 23 4 "Here I am, a stranger in a foreign land, with no place to bury my wife. Please let me have a piece of land for a burial plot."
Genesis 23 5 The Hittites replied to Abraham,
Genesis 23 6 "Certainly, for you are an honored prince among us. It will be a privilege to have you choose the finest of our tombs so you can bury her there."
Genesis 23 7 Then Abraham bowed low before them and said,
Genesis 23 8 "Since this is how you feel, be so kind as to ask Ephron son of Zohar
Genesis 23 9 to let me have the cave of Machpelah, down at the end of his field. I want to pay the full price, of course, whatever is publicly agreed upon, so I may have a permanent burial place for my family."
Genesis 23 10 Ephron was sitting there among the others, and he answered Abraham as the others listened, speaking publicly before all the elders of the town.
Genesis 23 11 "No, sir," he said to Abraham, "please listen to me. I will give you the cave and the field. Here in the presence of my people, I give it to you. Go and bury your dead."
Genesis 23 12 Abraham bowed again to the people of the land,
Genesis 23 13 and he replied to Ephron as everyone listened. "No, listen to me," he insisted. "I will buy it from you. Let me pay the full price for the field so I can bury my dead there."
Genesis 23 14 "Well," Ephron answered,
Genesis 23 15 "the land is worth four hundred pieces of silver, but what is that between friends? Go ahead and bury your dead."
Genesis 23 16 So Abraham paid Ephron the amount he had suggested, four hundred pieces of silver, as was publicly agreed.
Genesis 23 17 He bought the plot of land belonging to Ephron at Machpelah, near Mamre. This included the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees nearby.
Genesis 23 18 They became Abraham's permanent possession by the agreement made in the presence of the Hittite elders at the city gate.
Genesis 23 19 So Abraham buried Sarah there in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, which is at Hebron.
Genesis 23 20 The field and the cave were sold to Abraham by the Hittites as a permanent burial place.
Genesis 24 1 Abraham was now a very old man, and the LORD had blessed him in every way.
Genesis 24 2 One day Abraham said to the man in charge of his household, who was his oldest servant,
Genesis 24 3 "Swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not let my son marry one of these local Canaanite women.
Genesis 24 4 Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac."
Genesis 24 5 The servant asked, "But suppose I can't find a young woman who will travel so far from home? May I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives?"
Genesis 24 6 "No!" Abraham warned. "Be careful never to take my son there.
Genesis 24 7 For the LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my offspring. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a young woman there to be my son's wife.
Genesis 24 8 If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there."
Genesis 24 9 So the servant took a solemn oath that he would follow Abraham's instructions.
Genesis 24 10 He loaded ten of Abraham's camels with gifts and set out, taking with him the best of everything his master owned. He traveled to Aram-naharaim and went to the village where Abraham's brother Nahor had settled.
Genesis 24 11 There the servant made the camels kneel down beside a well just outside the village. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water.
Genesis 24 12 "O LORD, God of my master," he prayed. "Give me success and show kindness to my master, Abraham. Help me to accomplish the purpose of my journey.
Genesis 24 13 See, here I am, standing beside this spring, and the young women of the village are coming out to draw water.
Genesis 24 14 This is my request. I will ask one of them for a drink. If she says, `Yes, certainly, and I will water your camels, too!'--let her be the one you have appointed as Isaac's wife. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."
Genesis 24 15 As he was still praying, a young woman named Rebekah arrived with a water jug on her shoulder. Her father was Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham's brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah.
Genesis 24 16 Now Rebekah was very beautiful, and she was a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again.
Genesis 24 17 Running over to her, the servant asked, "Please give me a drink."
Genesis 24 18 "Certainly, sir," she said, and she quickly lowered the jug for him to drink.
Genesis 24 19 When he had finished, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough!"
Genesis 24 20 So she quickly emptied the jug into the watering trough and ran down to the well again. She kept carrying water to the camels until they had finished drinking.
Genesis 24 21 The servant watched her in silence, wondering whether or not she was the one the LORD intended him to meet.
Genesis 24 22 Then at last, when the camels had finished drinking, he gave her a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets for her wrists.
Genesis 24 23 "Whose daughter are you?" he asked. "Would your father have any room to put us up for the night?"
Genesis 24 24 "My father is Bethuel," she replied. "My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah.
Genesis 24 25 Yes, we have plenty of straw and food for the camels, and we have a room for guests."
Genesis 24 26 The man fell down to the ground and worshiped the LORD.
Genesis 24 27 "Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master, Abraham," he said. "The LORD has been so kind and faithful to Abraham, for he has led me straight to my master's relatives."
Genesis 24 28 The young woman ran home to tell her family about all that had happened.
Genesis 24 29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.
Genesis 24 30 When he saw the nose-ring and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when he heard her story, he rushed out to the spring, where the man was still standing beside his camels. Laban said to him,
Genesis 24 31 "Come and stay with us, you who are blessed by the LORD. Why do you stand here outside the village when we have a room all ready for you and a place prepared for the camels!"
Genesis 24 32 So the man went home with Laban, and Laban unloaded the camels, gave him straw to bed them down, fed them, and provided water for the camel drivers to wash their feet.
Genesis 24 33 Then supper was served. But Abraham's servant said, "I don't want to eat until I have told you why I have come.All right," Laban said, "tell us your mission."
Genesis 24 34 "I am Abraham's servant," he explained.
Genesis 24 35 "And the LORD has blessed my master richly; he has become a great man. The LORD has given him flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, a fortune in silver and gold, and many servants and camels and donkeys.
Genesis 24 36 When Sarah, my master's wife, was very old, she gave birth to my master's son, and my master has given him everything he owns.
Genesis 24 37 And my master made me swear that I would not let Isaac marry one of the local Canaanite women.
Genesis 24 38 Instead, I was to come to his relatives here in this far-off land, to his father's home. I was told to bring back a young woman from here to marry his son.
Genesis 24 39 " `But suppose I can't find a young woman willing to come back with me?' I asked him.
Genesis 24 40 `You will,' he told me, `for the LORD, in whose presence I have walked, will send his angel with you and will make your mission successful. Yes, you must get a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father's family.
Genesis 24 41 But if you go to my relatives and they refuse to let her come, you will be free from your oath.'
Genesis 24 42 "So this afternoon when I came to the spring I prayed this prayer: `O LORD, the God of my master, Abraham, if you are planning to make my mission a success, please guide me in a special way.
Genesis 24 43 Here I am, standing beside this spring. I will say to some young woman who comes to draw water, "Please give me a drink of water!"
Genesis 24 44 And she will reply, "Certainly! And I'll water your camels, too!" LORD, let her be the one you have selected to be the wife of my master's son.'
Genesis 24 45 "Before I had finished praying these words, I saw Rebekah coming along with her water jug on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water and filled the jug. So I said to her, `Please give me a drink.'
Genesis 24 46 She quickly lowered the jug from her shoulder so I could drink, and she said, `Certainly, sir, and I will water your camels, too!' And she did.
Genesis 24 47 When I asked her whose daughter she was, she told me, `My father is Bethuel, the son of Nahor and his wife, Milcah.' So I gave her the ring and the bracelets.
Genesis 24 48 "Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me along the right path to find a wife from the family of my master's relatives.
Genesis 24 49 So tell me--will you or won't you show true kindness to my master? When you tell me, then I'll know what my next step should be, whether to move this way or that."
Genesis 24 50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, "The LORD has obviously brought you here, so what can we say?
Genesis 24 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has directed."
Genesis 24 52 At this reply, Abraham's servant bowed to the ground and worshiped the LORD.
Genesis 24 53 Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and lovely clothing for Rebekah. He also gave valuable presents to her mother and brother.
Genesis 24 54 Then they had supper, and the servant and the men with him stayed there overnight. But early the next morning, he said, "Send me back to my master."
Genesis 24 55 "But we want Rebekah to stay at least ten days," her brother and mother said. "Then she can go."
Genesis 24 56 But he said, "Don't hinder my return. The LORD has made my mission successful, and I want to report back to my master."
Genesis 24 57 "Well," they said, "we'll call Rebekah and ask her what she thinks."
Genesis 24 58 So they called Rebekah. "Are you willing to go with this man?" they asked her. And she replied, "Yes, I will go."
Genesis 24 59 So they said good-bye to Rebekah and sent her away with Abraham's servant and his men. The woman who had been Rebekah's childhood nurse went along with her.
Genesis 24 60 They blessed her with this blessing as she parted: "Our sister, may you become the mother of many millions! May your descendants overcome all their enemies."
Genesis 24 61 Then Rebekah and her servants mounted the camels and left with Abraham's servant.
Genesis 24 62 Meanwhile, Isaac, whose home was in the Negev, had returned from Beer-lahairoi.
Genesis 24 63 One evening as he was taking a walk out in the fields, meditating, he looked up and saw the camels coming.
Genesis 24 64 When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted.
Genesis 24 65 "Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?" she asked the servant. And he replied, "It is my master." So Rebekah covered her face with her veil.
Genesis 24 66 Then the servant told Isaac the whole story.
Genesis 24 67 And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother's tent, and she became his wife. He loved her very much, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.
Genesis 25 1 Now Abraham married again. Keturah was his new wife,
Genesis 25 2 and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
Genesis 25 3 Jokshan's two sons were Sheba and Dedan. Dedan's descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites.
Genesis 25 4 Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah.
Genesis 25 5 Abraham left everything he owned to his son Isaac.
Genesis 25 6 But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to the east, away from Isaac.
Genesis 25 7 Abraham lived for 175 years,
Genesis 25 8 and he died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death.
Genesis 25 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.
Genesis 25 10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites, where he had buried his wife Sarah.
Genesis 25 11 After Abraham's death, God poured out rich blessings on Isaac, who settled near Beer-lahairoi in the Negev.
Genesis 25 12 This is the history of the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian servant.
Genesis 25 13 Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael's descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,
Genesis 25 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
Genesis 25 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
Genesis 25 16 These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes that bore their names, listed according to the places they settled and camped.
Genesis 25 17 Ishmael finally died at the age of 137 and joined his ancestors in death.
Genesis 25 18 Ishmael's descendants were scattered across the country from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. The clans descended from Ishmael camped close to one another.
Genesis 25 19 This is the history of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham.
Genesis 25 20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban.
Genesis 25 21 Isaac pleaded with the LORD to give Rebekah a child because she was childless. So the LORD answered Isaac's prayer, and his wife became pregnant with twins.
Genesis 25 22 But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the LORD about it. "Why is this happening to me?" she asked.
Genesis 25 23 And the LORD told her, "The sons in your womb will become two rival nations. One nation will be stronger than the other; the descendants of your older son will serve the descendants of your younger son."
Genesis 25 24 And when the time came, the twins were born.
Genesis 25 25 The first was very red at birth. He was covered with so much hair that one would think he was wearing a piece of clothing. So they called him Esau.
Genesis 25 26 Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau's heel. So they called him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.
Genesis 25 27 As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open fields, while Jacob was the kind of person who liked to stay at home.
Genesis 25 28 Isaac loved Esau in particular because of the wild game he brought home, but Rebekah favored Jacob.
Genesis 25 29 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home exhausted and hungry from a hunt.
Genesis 25 30 Esau said to Jacob, "I'm starved! Give me some of that red stew you've made." (This was how Esau got his other name, Edom--"Red.")
Genesis 25 31 Jacob replied, "All right, but trade me your birthright for it."
Genesis 25 32 "Look, I'm dying of starvation!" said Esau. "What good is my birthright to me now?"
Genesis 25 33 So Jacob insisted, "Well then, swear to me right now that it is mine." So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his younger brother.
Genesis 25 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank and went on about his business, indifferent to the fact that he had given up his birthright.
Genesis 26 1 Now a severe famine struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham's time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived.
Genesis 26 2 The LORD appeared to him there and said, "Do not go to Egypt.
Genesis 26 3 Do as I say, and stay here in this land. If you do, I will be with you and bless you. I will give all this land to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father.
Genesis 26 4 I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
Genesis 26 5 I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, regulations, and laws."
Genesis 26 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
Genesis 26 7 And when the men there asked him about Rebekah, he said, "She is my sister." He was afraid to admit that she was his wife. He thought they would kill him to get her, because she was very beautiful.
Genesis 26 8 But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out a window and saw Isaac fondling Rebekah.
Genesis 26 9 Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, "She is obviously your wife! Why did you say she was your sister?Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me," Isaac replied.
Genesis 26 10 "How could you treat us this way!" Abimelech exclaimed. "Someone might have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin."
Genesis 26 11 Then Abimelech made a public proclamation: "Anyone who harms this man or his wife will die!"
Genesis 26 12 That year Isaac's crops were tremendous! He harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the LORD blessed him.
Genesis 26 13 He became a rich man, and his wealth only continued to grow.
Genesis 26 14 He acquired large flocks of sheep and goats, great herds of cattle, and many servants. Soon the Philistines became jealous of him,
Genesis 26 15 and they filled up all of Isaac's wells with earth. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham.
Genesis 26 16 And Abimelech asked Isaac to leave the country. "Go somewhere else," he said, "for you have become too rich and powerful for us."
Genesis 26 17 So Isaac moved to the Gerar Valley and lived there instead.
Genesis 26 18 He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham's death. Isaac renamed them, using the names Abraham had given them.
Genesis 26 19 His shepherds also dug in the Gerar Valley and found a gushing spring.
Genesis 26 20 But then the local shepherds came and claimed the spring. "This is our water," they said, and they argued over it with Isaac's herdsmen. So Isaac named the well "Argument," because they had argued about it with him.
Genesis 26 21 Isaac's men then dug another well, but again there was a fight over it. So Isaac named it "Opposition."
Genesis 26 22 Abandoning that one, he dug another well, and the local people finally left him alone. So Isaac called it "Room Enough," for he said, "At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be able to thrive."
Genesis 26 23 From there Isaac moved to Beersheba,
Genesis 26 24 where the LORD appeared to him on the night of his arrival. "I am the God of your father, Abraham," he said. "Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant."
Genesis 26 25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug a well.
Genesis 26 26 One day Isaac had visitors from Gerar. King Abimelech arrived with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander.
Genesis 26 27 "Why have you come?" Isaac asked them. "This is obviously no friendly visit, since you sent me from your land in a most unfriendly way."
Genesis 26 28 They replied, "We can plainly see that the LORD is with you. So we decided we should have a treaty, a covenant between us.
Genesis 26 29 Swear that you will not harm us, just as we did not harm you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the LORD has blessed you!"
Genesis 26 30 So Isaac prepared a great feast for them, and they ate and drank in preparation for the treaty ceremony.
Genesis 26 31 Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath of nonaggression. Then Isaac sent them home again in peace.
Genesis 26 32 That very day Isaac's servants came and told him about a well they had dug. "We've found water!" they said.
Genesis 26 33 So Isaac named the well "Oath," and from that time to this, the town that grew up there has been called Beersheba--"well of the oath."
Genesis 26 34 At the age of forty, Esau married a young woman named Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite. He also married Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
Genesis 26 35 But Esau's wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.
Genesis 27 1 When Isaac was old and almost blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, "My son?Yes, Father?" Esau replied.
Genesis 27 2 "I am an old man now," Isaac said, "and I expect every day to be my last.
Genesis 27 3 Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows out into the open country, and hunt some wild game for me.
Genesis 27 4 Prepare it just the way I like it so it's savory and good, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die."
Genesis 27 5 But Rebekah overheard the conversation. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game,
Genesis 27 6 she said to her son Jacob, "I overheard your father asking Esau
Genesis 27 7 to prepare him a delicious meal of wild game. He wants to bless Esau in the LORD's presence before he dies.
Genesis 27 8 Now, my son, do exactly as I tell you.
Genesis 27 9 Go out to the flocks and bring me two fine young goats. I'll prepare your father's favorite dish from them.
Genesis 27 10 Take the food to your father; then he can eat it and bless you instead of Esau before he dies."
Genesis 27 11 "But Mother!" Jacob replied. "He won't be fooled that easily. Think how hairy Esau is and how smooth my skin is!
Genesis 27 12 What if my father touches me? He'll see that I'm trying to trick him, and then he'll curse me instead of blessing me."
Genesis 27 13 "Let the curse fall on me, dear son," said Rebekah. "Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats."
Genesis 27 14 So Jacob followed his mother's instructions, bringing her the two goats. She took them and cooked a delicious meat dish, just the way Isaac liked it.
Genesis 27 15 Then she took Esau's best clothes, which were there in the house, and dressed Jacob with them.
Genesis 27 16 She made him a pair of gloves from the hairy skin of the young goats, and she fastened a strip of the goat's skin around his neck.
Genesis 27 17 Then she gave him the meat dish, with its rich aroma, and some freshly baked bread.
Genesis 27 18 Jacob carried the platter of food to his father and said, "My father?Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it--Esau or Jacob?"
Genesis 27 19 Jacob replied, "It's Esau, your older son. I've done as you told me. Here is the wild game, cooked the way you like it. Sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing."
Genesis 27 20 Isaac asked, "How were you able to find it so quickly, my son?Because the LORD your God put it in my path!" Jacob replied.
Genesis 27 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come over here. I want to touch you to make sure you really are Esau."
Genesis 27 22 So Jacob went over to his father, and Isaac touched him. "The voice is Jacob's, but the hands are Esau's," Isaac said to himself.
Genesis 27 23 But he did not recognize Jacob because Jacob's hands felt hairy just like Esau's. So Isaac pronounced his blessing on Jacob.
Genesis 27 24 "Are you really my son Esau?" he asked. "Yes, of course," Jacob replied.
Genesis 27 25 Then Isaac said, "Now, my son, bring me the meat. I will eat it, and then I will give you my blessing." So Jacob took the food over to his father, and Isaac ate it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. Then Isaac said,
Genesis 27 26 "Come here and kiss me, my son."
Genesis 27 27 So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, "The smell of my son is the good smell of the open fields that the LORD has blessed.
Genesis 27 28 May God always give you plenty of dew for healthy crops and good harvests of grain and wine.
Genesis 27 29 May many nations become your servants. May you be the master of your brothers. May all your mother's sons bow low before you. All who curse you are cursed, and all who bless you are blessed."
Genesis 27 30 As soon as Isaac had blessed Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunting trip.
Genesis 27 31 Esau prepared his father's favorite meat dish and brought it to him. Then he said, "I'm back, Father, and I have the wild game. Sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing."
Genesis 27 32 But Isaac asked him, "Who are you?Why, it's me, of course!" he replied. "It's Esau, your older son."
Genesis 27 33 Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, "Then who was it that just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him with an irrevocable blessing before you came."
Genesis 27 34 When Esau understood, he let out a loud and bitter cry. "O my father, bless me, too!" he begged.
Genesis 27 35 But Isaac said, "Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has carried away your blessing."
Genesis 27 36 Esau said bitterly, "No wonder his name is Jacob, for he has deceived me twice, first taking my birthright and now stealing my blessing. Oh, haven't you saved even one blessing for me?"
Genesis 27 37 Isaac said to Esau, "I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine--what is there left to give?"
Genesis 27 38 Esau pleaded, "Not one blessing left for me? O my father, bless me, too!" Then Esau broke down and wept.
Genesis 27 39 His father, Isaac, said to him, "You will live off the land and what it yields,
Genesis 27 40 and you will live by your sword. You will serve your brother for a time, but then you will shake loose from him and be free."
Genesis 27 41 Esau hated Jacob because he had stolen his blessing, and he said to himself, "My father will soon be dead and gone. Then I will kill Jacob."
Genesis 27 42 But someone got wind of what Esau was planning and reported it to Rebekah. She sent for Jacob and told him, "Esau is threatening to kill you.
Genesis 27 43 This is what you should do. Flee to your uncle Laban in Haran.
Genesis 27 44 Stay there with him until your brother's fury is spent.
Genesis 27 45 When he forgets what you have done, I will send for you. Why should I lose both of you in one day?"
Genesis 27 46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm sick and tired of these local Hittite women. I'd rather die than see Jacob marry one of them."
Genesis 28 1 So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, "Do not marry any of these Canaanite women.
Genesis 28 2 Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban's daughters.
Genesis 28 3 May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants become a great assembly of nations!
Genesis 28 4 May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where we now are foreigners, for God gave it to Abraham."
Genesis 28 5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother's brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.
Genesis 28 6 Esau heard that his father had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that he had warned Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman.
Genesis 28 7 He also knew that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan-aram.
Genesis 28 8 It was now very clear to Esau that his father despised the local Canaanite women.
Genesis 28 9 So he visited his uncle Ishmael's family and married one of Ishmael's daughters, in addition to the wives he already had. His new wife's name was Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son.
Genesis 28 10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran.
Genesis 28 11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone for a pillow and lay down to sleep.
Genesis 28 12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from earth to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down on it.
Genesis 28 13 At the top of the stairway stood the LORD, and he said, "I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I will give it to you and your descendants.
Genesis 28 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will cover the land from east to west and from north to south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.
Genesis 28 15 What's more, I will be with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. I will someday bring you safely back to this land. I will be with you constantly until I have finished giving you everything I have promised."
Genesis 28 16 Then Jacob woke up and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn't even aware of it."
Genesis 28 17 He was afraid and said, "What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God--the gateway to heaven!"
Genesis 28 18 The next morning he got up very early. He took the stone he had used as a pillow and set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it.
Genesis 28 19 He named the place Bethel--"house of God"--though the name of the nearby village was Luz.
Genesis 28 20 Then Jacob made this vow: "If God will be with me and protect me on this journey and give me food and clothing,
Genesis 28 21 and if he will bring me back safely to my father, then I will make the LORD my God.
Genesis 28 22 This memorial pillar will become a place for worshiping God, and I will give God a tenth of everything he gives me."
Genesis 29 1 Jacob hurried on, finally arriving in the land of the east.
Genesis 29 2 He saw in the distance three flocks of sheep lying in an open field beside a well, waiting to be watered. But a heavy stone covered the mouth of the well.
Genesis 29 3 It was the custom there to wait for all the flocks to arrive before removing the stone. After watering them, the stone would be rolled back over the mouth of the well.
Genesis 29 4 Jacob went over to the shepherds and asked them, "Where do you live?At Haran," they said.
Genesis 29 5 "Do you know a man there named Laban, the grandson of Nahor?Yes, we do," they replied.
Genesis 29 6 "How is he?" Jacob asked. "He's well and prosperous. Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep."
Genesis 29 7 "Why don't you water the flocks so they can get back to grazing?" Jacob asked. "They'll be hungry if you stop so early in the day."
Genesis 29 8 "We don't roll away the stone and begin the watering until all the flocks and shepherds are here," they replied.
Genesis 29 9 As this conversation was going on, Rachel arrived with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherd.
Genesis 29 10 And because she was his cousin, the daughter of his mother's brother, and because the sheep were his uncle's, Jacob went over to the well and rolled away the stone and watered his uncle's flock.
Genesis 29 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and tears came to his eyes.
Genesis 29 12 He explained that he was her cousin on her father's side, her aunt Rebekah's son. So Rachel quickly ran and told her father, Laban.
Genesis 29 13 As soon as Laban heard about Jacob's arrival, he rushed out to meet him and greeted him warmly. Laban then brought him home, and Jacob told him his story.
Genesis 29 14 "Just think, my very own flesh and blood!" Laban exclaimed. After Jacob had been there about a month,
Genesis 29 15 Laban said to him, "You shouldn't work for me without pay just because we are relatives. How much do you want?"
Genesis 29 16 Now Laban had two daughters: Leah, who was the oldest, and her younger sister, Rachel.
Genesis 29 17 Leah had pretty eyes, but Rachel was beautiful in every way, with a lovely face and shapely figure.
Genesis 29 18 Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, "I'll work for you seven years if you'll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife."
Genesis 29 19 "Agreed!" Laban replied. "I'd rather give her to you than to someone outside the family."
Genesis 29 20 So Jacob spent the next seven years working to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.
Genesis 29 21 Finally, the time came for him to marry her. "I have fulfilled my contract," Jacob said to Laban. "Now give me my wife so we can be married."
Genesis 29 22 So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood to celebrate with Jacob at a wedding feast.
Genesis 29 23 That night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her.
Genesis 29 24 And Laban gave Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.
Genesis 29 25 But when Jacob woke up in the morning--it was Leah! "What sort of trick is this?" Jacob raged at Laban. "I worked seven years for Rachel. What do you mean by this trickery?"
Genesis 29 26 "It's not our custom to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn," Laban replied.
Genesis 29 27 "Wait until the bridal week is over, and you can have Rachel, too--that is, if you promise to work another seven years for me."
Genesis 29 28 So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too.
Genesis 29 29 And Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.
Genesis 29 30 So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her more than Leah. He then stayed and worked the additional seven years.
Genesis 29 31 But because Leah was unloved, the LORD let her have a child, while Rachel was childless.
Genesis 29 32 So Leah became pregnant and had a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "The LORD has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me."
Genesis 29 33 She soon became pregnant again and had another son. She named him Simeon, for she said, "The LORD heard that I was unloved and has given me another son."
Genesis 29 34 Again she became pregnant and had a son. She named him Levi, for she said, "Surely now my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!"
Genesis 29 35 Once again she became pregnant and had a son. She named him Judah, for she said, "Now I will praise the LORD!" And then she stopped having children.
Genesis 30 1 When Rachel saw that she wasn't having any children, she became jealous of her sister. "Give me children, or I'll die!" she exclaimed to Jacob.
Genesis 30 2 Jacob flew into a rage. "Am I God?" he asked. "He is the only one able to give you children!"
Genesis 30 3 Then Rachel told him, "Sleep with my servant, Bilhah, and she will bear children for me."
Genesis 30 4 So Rachel gave him Bilhah to be his wife, and Jacob slept with her.
Genesis 30 5 Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son.
Genesis 30 6 Rachel named him Dan, for she said, "God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son."
Genesis 30 7 Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son.
Genesis 30 8 Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, "I have had an intense struggle with my sister, and I am winning!"
Genesis 30 9 Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn't getting pregnant anymore, so she gave her servant, Zilpah, to Jacob to be his wife.
Genesis 30 10 Soon Zilpah presented him with another son.
Genesis 30 11 Leah named him Gad, for she said, "How fortunate I am!"
Genesis 30 12 Then Zilpah produced a second son,
Genesis 30 13 and Leah named him Asher, for she said, "What joy is mine! The other women will consider me happy indeed!"
Genesis 30 14 One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought the roots to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah to give some of them to her.
Genesis 30 15 But Leah angrily replied, "Wasn't it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son's mandrake roots, too?" Rachel said, "I will let him sleep with you tonight in exchange for the mandrake roots."
Genesis 30 16 So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me tonight!" she said. "I have paid for you with some mandrake roots my son has found." So Jacob slept with her.
Genesis 30 17 And God answered her prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to her fifth son.
Genesis 30 18 She named him Issachar, for she said, "God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife."
Genesis 30 19 Then she became pregnant again and had a sixth son.
Genesis 30 20 She named him Zebulun, for she said, "God has given me good gifts for my husband. Now he will honor me, for I have given him six sons."
Genesis 30 21 Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
Genesis 30 22 Then God remembered Rachel's plight and answered her prayers by giving her a child.
Genesis 30 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. "God has removed my shame," she said.
Genesis 30 24 And she named him Joseph, for she said, "May the LORD give me yet another son."
Genesis 30 25 Soon after Joseph was born to Rachel, Jacob said to Laban, "I want to go back home.
Genesis 30 26 Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them from you, and let me be on my way. You know I have fully paid for them with my service to you."
Genesis 30 27 "Please don't leave me," Laban replied, "for I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because you are here.
Genesis 30 28 How much do I owe you? Whatever it is, I'll pay it."
Genesis 30 29 Jacob replied, "You know how faithfully I've served you through these many years, and how your flocks and herds have grown.
Genesis 30 30 You had little indeed before I came, and your wealth has increased enormously. The LORD has blessed you from everything I do! But now, what about me? When should I provide for my own family?"
Genesis 30 31 "What wages do you want?" Laban asked again. Jacob replied, "Don't give me anything at all. Just do one thing, and I'll go back to work for you.
Genesis 30 32 Let me go out among your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the dark-colored sheep. Give them to me as my wages.
Genesis 30 33 This will make it easy for you to see whether or not I have been honest. If you find in my flock any white sheep or goats that are not speckled, you will know that I have stolen them from you."
Genesis 30 34 "All right," Laban replied. "It will be as you have said."
Genesis 30 35 But that very day Laban went out and removed all the male goats that were speckled and spotted, the females that were speckled and spotted with any white patches, and all the dark-colored sheep. He placed them in the care of his sons,
Genesis 30 36 and they took them three days' distance from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for Laban's flock.
Genesis 30 37 Now Jacob took fresh shoots from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of the bark to make white streaks on them.
Genesis 30 38 Then he set up these peeled branches beside the watering troughs so Laban's flocks would see them as they came to drink, for that was when they mated.
Genesis 30 39 So when the flocks mated in front of the white-streaked branches, all of their offspring were streaked, speckled, and spotted.
Genesis 30 40 Jacob added them to his own flock, thus separating the lambs from Laban's flock. Then at mating time, he turned the flocks toward the streaked and dark-colored rams in Laban's flock. This is how he built his flock from Laban's.
Genesis 30 41 Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob set up the peeled branches in front of them.
Genesis 30 42 But he didn't do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob's.
Genesis 30 43 As a result, Jacob's flocks increased rapidly, and he became very wealthy, with many servants, camels, and donkeys.
Genesis 31 1 But Jacob soon learned that Laban's sons were beginning to grumble. "Jacob has robbed our father!" they said. "All his wealth has been gained at our father's expense."
Genesis 31 2 And Jacob began to notice a considerable cooling in Laban's attitude toward him.
Genesis 31 3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you."
Genesis 31 4 Jacob called Rachel and Leah out to the field where he was watching the flocks,
Genesis 31 5 so he could talk things over with them. "Your father has turned against me and is not treating me like he used to," he told them. "But the God of my father has been with me.
Genesis 31 6 You know how hard I have worked for your father,
Genesis 31 7 but he has tricked me, breaking his wage agreement with me again and again. But God has not allowed him to do me any harm.
Genesis 31 8 For if he said the speckled animals were mine, the whole flock began to produce speckled lambs. And when he changed his mind and said I could have the streaked ones, then all the lambs were born streaked.
Genesis 31 9 In this way, God has made me wealthy at your father's expense.
Genesis 31 10 During the mating season, I had a dream and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted.
Genesis 31 11 Then in my dream, the angel of God said to me, `Jacob!' And I replied, `Yes, I'm listening!'
Genesis 31 12 The angel said, `Look, and you will see that only the streaked, speckled, and spotted males are mating with the females of your flock. For I have seen all that Laban has done to you.
Genesis 31 13 I am the God you met at Bethel, the place where you anointed the pillar of stone and made a vow to serve me. Now leave this country and return to the land you came from.'"
Genesis 31 14 Rachel and Leah said, "That's fine with us! There's nothing for us here--none of our father's wealth will come to us anyway.
Genesis 31 15 He has reduced our rights to those of foreign women. He sold us, and what he received for us has disappeared.
Genesis 31 16 The riches God has given you from our father are legally ours and our children's to begin with. So go ahead and do whatever God has told you."
Genesis 31 17 So Jacob put his wives and children on camels.
Genesis 31 18 He drove the flocks in front of him--all the livestock he had acquired at Paddan-aram--and set out on his journey to the land of Canaan, where his father, Isaac, lived.
Genesis 31 19 At the time they left, Laban was some distance away, shearing his sheep. Rachel stole her father's household gods and took them with her.
Genesis 31 20 They set out secretly and never told Laban they were leaving.
Genesis 31 21 Jacob took all his possessions with him and crossed the Euphrates River, heading for the territory of Gilead.
Genesis 31 22 Laban didn't learn of their flight for three days.
Genesis 31 23 But when he did, he gathered a group of his relatives and set out in hot pursuit. He caught up with them seven days later in the hill country of Gilead.
Genesis 31 24 But the previous night God had appeared to Laban in a dream. "Be careful about what you say to Jacob!" he was told.
Genesis 31 25 So when Laban caught up with Jacob as he was camped in the hill country of Gilead, he set up his camp not far from Jacob's.
Genesis 31 26 "What do you mean by sneaking off like this?" Laban demanded. "Are my daughters prisoners, the plunder of war, that you have stolen them away like this?
Genesis 31 27 Why did you slip away secretly? I would have given you a farewell party, with joyful singing accompanied by tambourines and harps.
Genesis 31 28 Why didn't you let me kiss my daughters and grandchildren and tell them good-bye? You have acted very foolishly!
Genesis 31 29 I could destroy you, but the God of your father appeared to me last night and told me, `Be careful about what you say to Jacob!'
Genesis 31 30 I know you feel you must go, and you long intensely for your childhood home, but why have you stolen my household gods?"
Genesis 31 31 "I rushed away because I was afraid," Jacob answered. "I said to myself, `He'll take his daughters from me by force.'
Genesis 31 32 But as for your household gods, let the person who has taken them die! If you find anything that belongs to you, I swear before all these relatives of ours, I will give it back without question." But Jacob didn't know that Rachel had taken them.
Genesis 31 33 Laban went first into Jacob's tent to search there, then into Leah's, and then he searched the tents of the two concubines, but he didn't find the gods. Finally, he went into Rachel's tent.
Genesis 31 34 Rachel had taken the household gods and had stuffed them into her camel saddle, and now she was sitting on them. So although Laban searched all the tents, he couldn't find them.
Genesis 31 35 "Forgive my not getting up, Father," Rachel explained. "I'm having my monthly period." So despite his thorough search, Laban didn't find them.
Genesis 31 36 Then Jacob became very angry. "What did you find?" he demanded of Laban. "What is my crime? You have chased me as though I were a criminal.
Genesis 31 37 You have searched through everything I own. Now show me what you have found that belongs to you! Set it out here in front of us, before our relatives, for all to see. Let them decide who is the real owner!
Genesis 31 38 "Twenty years I have been with you, and all that time I cared for your sheep and goats so they produced healthy offspring. In all those years I never touched a single ram of yours for food.
Genesis 31 39 If any were attacked and killed by wild animals, did I show them to you and ask you to reduce the count of your flock? No, I took the loss! You made me pay for every animal stolen from the flocks, whether the loss was my fault or not.
Genesis 31 40 I worked for you through the scorching heat of the day and through cold and sleepless nights.
Genesis 31 41 Yes, twenty years--fourteen of them earning your two daughters, and six years to get the flock. And you have reduced my wages ten times!
Genesis 31 42 In fact, except for the grace of God--the God of my grandfather Abraham, the awe-inspiring God of my father, Isaac--you would have sent me off without a penny to my name. But God has seen your cruelty and my hard work. That is why he appeared to you last night and vindicated me."
Genesis 31 43 Then Laban replied to Jacob, "These women are my daughters, and these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks and all that you have--all are mine. But what can I do now to my own daughters and grandchildren?
Genesis 31 44 Come now, and we will make a peace treaty, you and I, and we will live by its terms."
Genesis 31 45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a monument.
Genesis 31 46 He also told his men to gather stones and pile them up in a heap. Jacob and Laban then sat down beside the pile of stones to share a meal.
Genesis 31 47 They named it "Witness Pile," which is Jegar-sahadutha in Laban's language and Galeed in Jacob's.
Genesis 31 48 "This pile of stones will stand as a witness to remind us of our agreement," Laban said.
Genesis 31 49 This place was also called Mizpah, for Laban said, "May the LORD keep watch between us to make sure that we keep this treaty when we are out of each other's sight.
Genesis 31 50 I won't know about it if you are harsh to my daughters or if you take other wives, but God will see it.
Genesis 31 51 This heap of stones and this pillar
Genesis 31 52 stand between us as a witness of our vows. I will not cross this line to harm you, and you will not cross it to harm me.
Genesis 31 53 I call on the God of our ancestors--the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of my grandfather Nahor--to punish either one of us who harms the other." So Jacob took an oath before the awesome God of his father, Isaac, to respect the boundary line.
Genesis 31 54 Then Jacob presented a sacrifice to God and invited everyone to a feast. Afterward they spent the night there in the hills.
Genesis 31 55 Laban got up early the next morning, and he kissed his daughters and grandchildren and blessed them. Then he returned home.
Genesis 32 1 As Jacob and his household started on their way again, angels of God came to meet him.
Genesis 32 2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, "This is God's camp!" So he named the place Mahanaim.
Genesis 32 3 Jacob now sent messengers to his brother, Esau, in Edom, the land of Seir.
Genesis 32 4 He told them, "Give this message to my master Esau: `Humble greetings from your servant Jacob! I have been living with Uncle Laban until recently,
Genesis 32 5 and now I own oxen, donkeys, sheep, goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform you of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to us.'"
Genesis 32 6 The messengers returned with the news that Esau was on his way to meet Jacob--with an army of four hundred men!
Genesis 32 7 Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps.
Genesis 32 8 He thought, "If Esau attacks one group, perhaps the other can escape."
Genesis 32 9 Then Jacob prayed, "O God of my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac--O LORD, you told me to return to my land and to my relatives, and you promised to treat me kindly.
Genesis 32 10 I am not worthy of all the faithfulness and unfailing love you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home, I owned nothing except a walking stick, and now my household fills two camps!
Genesis 32 11 O LORD, please rescue me from my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to kill me, along with my wives and children.
Genesis 32 12 But you promised to treat me kindly and to multiply my descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore--too many to count."
Genesis 32 13 Jacob stayed where he was for the night and prepared a present for Esau:
Genesis 32 14 two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, twenty rams,
Genesis 32 15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys.
Genesis 32 16 He told his servants to lead them on ahead, each group of animals by itself, separated by a distance in between.
Genesis 32 17 He gave these instructions to the men leading the first group: "When you meet Esau, he will ask, `Where are you going? Whose servants are you? Whose animals are these?'
Genesis 32 18 You should reply, `These belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present for his master Esau! He is coming right behind us.'"
Genesis 32 19 Jacob gave the same instructions to each of the herdsmen and told them, "You are all to say the same thing to Esau when you see him.
Genesis 32 20 And be sure to say, `Your servant Jacob is right behind us.'" Jacob's plan was to appease Esau with the presents before meeting him face to face. "Perhaps," Jacob hoped, "he will be friendly to us."
Genesis 32 21 So the presents were sent on ahead, and Jacob spent that night in the camp.
Genesis 32 22 But during the night Jacob got up and sent his two wives, two concubines, and eleven sons across the Jabbok River.
Genesis 32 23 After they were on the other side, he sent over all his possessions.
Genesis 32 24 This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until dawn.
Genesis 32 25 When the man saw that he couldn't win the match, he struck Jacob's hip and knocked it out of joint at the socket.
Genesis 32 26 Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is dawn." But Jacob panted, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
Genesis 32 27 "What is your name?" the man asked. He replied, "Jacob."
Genesis 32 28 "Your name will no longer be Jacob," the man told him. "It is now Israel, because you have struggled with both God and men and have won."
Genesis 32 29 "What is your name?" Jacob asked him. "Why do you ask?" the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.
Genesis 32 30 Jacob named the place Peniel--"face of God"--for he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared."
Genesis 32 31 The sun rose as he left Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.
Genesis 32 32 That is why even today the people of Israel don't eat meat from near the hip, in memory of what happened that night.
Genesis 33 1 Then, in the distance, Jacob saw Esau coming with his four hundred men.
Genesis 33 2 Jacob now arranged his family into a column, with his two concubines and their children at the front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.
Genesis 33 3 Then Jacob went on ahead. As he approached his brother, he bowed low seven times before him.
Genesis 33 4 Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him affectionately and kissed him. Both of them were in tears.
Genesis 33 5 Then Esau looked at the women and children and asked, "Who are these people with you?These are the children God has graciously given to me," Jacob replied.
Genesis 33 6 Then the concubines came forward with their children and bowed low before him.
Genesis 33 7 Next Leah came with her children, and they bowed down. Finally, Rachel and Joseph came and made their bows.
Genesis 33 8 "And what were all the flocks and herds I met as I came?" Esau asked. Jacob replied, "They are gifts, my lord, to ensure your goodwill."
Genesis 33 9 "Brother, I have plenty," Esau answered. "Keep what you have."
Genesis 33 10 "No, please accept them," Jacob said, "for what a relief it is to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the smile of God!
Genesis 33 11 Please take my gifts, for God has been very generous to me. I have more than enough." Jacob continued to insist, so Esau finally accepted them.
Genesis 33 12 "Well, let's be going," Esau said. "I will stay with you and lead the way."
Genesis 33 13 But Jacob replied, "You can see, my lord, that some of the children are very young, and the flocks and herds have their young, too. If they are driven too hard, they may die.
Genesis 33 14 So go on ahead of us. We will follow at our own pace and meet you at Seir."
Genesis 33 15 "Well," Esau said, "at least let me leave some of my men to guide and protect you.There is no reason for you to be so kind to me," Jacob insisted.
Genesis 33 16 So Esau started back to Seir that same day.
Genesis 33 17 Meanwhile, Jacob and his household traveled on to Succoth. There he built himself a house and made shelters for his flocks and herds. That is why the place was named Succoth.
Genesis 33 18 Then they arrived safely at Shechem, in Canaan, and they set up camp just outside the town.
Genesis 33 19 Jacob bought the land he camped on from the family of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of silver.
Genesis 33 20 And there he built an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
Genesis 34 1 One day Dinah, Leah's daughter, went to visit some of the young women who lived in the area.
Genesis 34 2 But when the local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her.
Genesis 34 3 But Shechem's love for Dinah was strong, and he tried to win her affection.
Genesis 34 4 He even spoke to his father about it. "Get this girl for me," he demanded. "I want to marry her."
Genesis 34 5 Word soon reached Jacob that his daughter had been defiled, but his sons were out in the fields herding cattle so he did nothing until they returned.
Genesis 34 6 Meanwhile, Hamor, Shechem's father, came out to discuss the matter with Jacob.
Genesis 34 7 He arrived just as Jacob's sons were coming in from the fields. They were shocked and furious that their sister had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob's family, a thing that should never have been done.
Genesis 34 8 Hamor told Jacob and his sons, "My son Shechem is truly in love with your daughter, and he longs for her to be his wife. Please let him marry her.
Genesis 34 9 We invite you to let your daughters marry our sons, and we will give our daughters as wives for your young men.
Genesis 34 10 And you may live among us; the land is open to you! Settle here and trade with us. You are free to acquire property among us."
Genesis 34 11 Then Shechem addressed Dinah's father and brothers. "Please be kind to me, and let me have her as my wife," he begged. "I will give whatever you require.
Genesis 34 12 No matter what dowry or gift you demand, I will pay it--only give me the girl as my wife."
Genesis 34 13 But Dinah's brothers deceived Shechem and Hamor because of what Shechem had done to their sister.
Genesis 34 14 They said to them, "We couldn't possibly allow this, because you aren't circumcised. It would be a disgrace for her to marry a man like you!
Genesis 34 15 But here is a solution. If every man among you will be circumcised like we are,
Genesis 34 16 we will intermarry with you and live here and unite with you to become one people.
Genesis 34 17 Otherwise we will take her and be on our way."
Genesis 34 18 Hamor and Shechem gladly agreed,
Genesis 34 19 and Shechem lost no time in acting on this request, for he wanted Dinah desperately. Shechem was a highly respected member of his family,
Genesis 34 20 and he appeared with his father before the town leaders to present this proposal.
Genesis 34 21 "Those men are our friends," they said. "Let's invite them to live here among us and ply their trade. For the land is large enough to hold them, and we can intermarry with them.
Genesis 34 22 But they will consider staying here only on one condition. Every one of us men must be circumcised, just as they are.
Genesis 34 23 But if we do this, all their flocks and possessions will become ours. Come, let's agree to this so they will settle here among us."
Genesis 34 24 So all the men agreed and were circumcised.
Genesis 34 25 But three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Dinah's brothers, Simeon and Levi, took their swords, entered the town without opposition, and slaughtered every man there,
Genesis 34 26 including Hamor and Shechem. They rescued Dinah from Shechem's house and returned to their camp.
Genesis 34 27 Then all of Jacob's sons plundered the town because their sister had been defiled there.
Genesis 34 28 They seized all the flocks and herds and donkeys--everything they could lay their hands on, both inside the town and outside in the fields.
Genesis 34 29 They also took all the women and children and wealth of every kind.
Genesis 34 30 Afterward Jacob said to Levi and Simeon, "You have made me stink among all the people of this land--among all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will come and crush us. We will all be killed!"
Genesis 34 31 "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?" they retorted angrily.
Genesis 35 1 God said to Jacob, "Now move on to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to worship me--the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau."
Genesis 35 2 So Jacob told everyone in his household, "Destroy your idols, wash yourselves, and put on clean clothing.
Genesis 35 3 We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has stayed with me wherever I have gone."
Genesis 35 4 So they gave Jacob all their idols and their earrings, and he buried them beneath the tree near Shechem.
Genesis 35 5 When they set out again, terror from God came over the people in all the towns of that area, and no one attacked them.
Genesis 35 6 Finally, they arrived at Luz (now called Bethel) in Canaan.
Genesis 35 7 Jacob built an altar there and named it El-bethel, because God had appeared to him there at Bethel when he was fleeing from Esau.
Genesis 35 8 Soon after this, Rebekah's old nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried beneath the oak tree in the valley below Bethel. Ever since, the tree has been called the "Oak of Weeping."
Genesis 35 9 God appeared to Jacob once again when he arrived at Bethel after traveling from Paddan-aram. God blessed him
Genesis 35 10 and said, "Your name is no longer Jacob; you will now be called Israel."
Genesis 35 11 Then God said, "I am God Almighty. Multiply and fill the earth! Become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants!
Genesis 35 12 And I will pass on to you the land I gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants."
Genesis 35 13 Then God went up from the place where he had spoken to Jacob.
Genesis 35 14 Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. He then poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil.
Genesis 35 15 Jacob called the place Bethel--"house of God"--because God had spoken to him there.
Genesis 35 16 Leaving Bethel, they traveled on toward Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). But Rachel's pains of childbirth began while they were still some distance away.
Genesis 35 17 After a very hard delivery, the midwife finally exclaimed, "Don't be afraid--you have another son!"
Genesis 35 18 Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named him Ben-oni; the baby's father, however, called him Benjamin.
Genesis 35 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
Genesis 35 20 Jacob set up a stone monument over her grave, and it can be seen there to this day.
Genesis 35 21 Jacob then traveled on and camped beyond the tower of Eder.
Genesis 35 22 While he was there, Reuben slept with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and someone told Jacob about it. These are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob:
Genesis 35 23 The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob's oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
Genesis 35 24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
Genesis 35 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant, were Dan and Naphtali.
Genesis 35 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons born to Jacob at Paddan-aram.
Genesis 35 27 So Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, which is near Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron), where Abraham had also lived.
Genesis 35 28 Isaac lived for 180 years,
Genesis 35 29 and he died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death. Then his sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him.
Genesis 36 1 This is the history of the descendants of Esau (also known as Edom).
Genesis 36 2 Esau married two young women from Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite.
Genesis 36 3 He also married his cousin Basemath, who was the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth.
Genesis 36 4 Esau and Adah had a son named Eliphaz. Esau and Basemath had a son named Reuel.
Genesis 36 5 Esau and Oholibamah had sons named Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. All these sons were born to Esau in the land of Canaan.
Genesis 36 6 Then Esau took his wives, children, household servants, cattle, and flocks--all the wealth he had gained in the land of Canaan--and moved away from his brother, Jacob.
Genesis 36 7 There was not enough land to support them both because of all their cattle and livestock.
Genesis 36 8 So Esau (also known as Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir.
Genesis 36 9 This is a list of Esau's descendants, the Edomites, who lived in the hill country of Seir.
Genesis 36 10 Among Esau's sons were Eliphaz, the son of Esau's wife Adah; and Reuel, the son of Esau's wife Basemath.
Genesis 36 11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.
Genesis 36 12 Eliphaz had another son named Amalek, born to Timna, his concubine. These were all grandchildren of Esau's wife Adah.
Genesis 36 13 The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were all grandchildren of Esau's wife Basemath.
Genesis 36 14 Esau also had sons through Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon. Their names were Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
Genesis 36 15 Esau's children and grandchildren became the leaders of different clans. The sons of Esau's oldest son, Eliphaz, became the leaders of the clans of Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,
Genesis 36 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These clans in the land of Edom were descended from Eliphaz, the son of Esau and Adah.
Genesis 36 17 The sons of Esau's son Reuel became the leaders of the clans of Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These clans in the land of Edom were descended from Reuel, the son of Esau and Basemath.
Genesis 36 18 The sons of Esau and his wife Oholibamah became the leaders of the clans of Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the clans descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
Genesis 36 19 These are all the clans descended from Esau (also known as Edom).
Genesis 36 20 These are the names of the tribes that descended from Seir the Horite, one of the families native to the land of Seir: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,
Genesis 36 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the Horite clans, the descendants of Seir, who lived in the land of Edom.
Genesis 36 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman. Lotan's sister was named Timna.
Genesis 36 23 The sons of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
Genesis 36 24 The sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the wilderness while he was grazing his father's donkeys.
Genesis 36 25 The son of Anah was Dishon, and Oholibamah was his daughter.
Genesis 36 26 The sons of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.
Genesis 36 27 The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.
Genesis 36 28 The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran.
Genesis 36 29 So the leaders of the Horite clans were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,
Genesis 36 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. The Horite clans are named after their clan leaders, who lived in the land of Seir.
Genesis 36 31 These are the kings who ruled in Edom before there were kings in Israel:
Genesis 36 32 Bela son of Beor, who ruled from his city of Dinhabah.
Genesis 36 33 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah became king.
Genesis 36 34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites became king.
Genesis 36 35 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad became king and ruled from the city of Avith. He was the one who destroyed the Midianite army in the land of Moab.
Genesis 36 36 When Hadad died, Samlah from the city of Masrekah became king.
Genesis 36 37 When Samlah died, Shaul from the city of Rehoboth on the Euphrates River became king.
Genesis 36 38 When Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Acbor became king.
Genesis 36 39 When Baal-hanan died, Hadad became king and ruled from the city of Pau. Hadad's wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Me-zahab.
Genesis 36 40 These are the leaders of the clans of Esau, who lived in the places named for them: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,
Genesis 36 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,
Genesis 36 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,
Genesis 36 43 Magdiel, and Iram. These are the names of the clans of Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites, each clan giving its name to the area it occupied.
Genesis 37 1 So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived.
Genesis 37 2 This is the history of Jacob's family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father's flocks with his half brothers, the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing.
Genesis 37 3 Now Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day he gave Joseph a special gift--a beautiful robe.
Genesis 37 4 But his brothers hated Joseph because of their father's partiality. They couldn't say a kind word to him.
Genesis 37 5 One night Joseph had a dream and promptly reported the details to his brothers, causing them to hate him even more.
Genesis 37 6 "Listen to this dream," he announced.
Genesis 37 7 "We were out in the field tying up bundles of grain. My bundle stood up, and then your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before it!"
Genesis 37 8 "So you are going to be our king, are you?" his brothers taunted. And they hated him all the more for his dream and what he had said.
Genesis 37 9 Then Joseph had another dream and told his brothers about it. "Listen to this dream," he said. "The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!"
Genesis 37 10 This time he told his father as well as his brothers, and his father rebuked him. "What do you mean?" his father asked. "Will your mother, your brothers, and I actually come and bow before you?"
Genesis 37 11 But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father gave it some thought and wondered what it all meant.
Genesis 37 12 Soon after this, Joseph's brothers went to pasture their father's flocks at Shechem.
Genesis 37 13 When they had been gone for some time, Jacob said to Joseph, "Your brothers are over at Shechem with the flocks. I'm going to send you to them.I'm ready to go," Joseph replied.
Genesis 37 14 "Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are getting along," Jacob said. "Then come back and bring me word." So Jacob sent him on his way, and Joseph traveled to Shechem from his home in the valley of Hebron.
Genesis 37 15 When he arrived there, a man noticed him wandering around the countryside. "What are you looking for?" he asked.
Genesis 37 16 "For my brothers and their flocks," Joseph replied. "Have you seen them?"
Genesis 37 17 "Yes," the man told him, "but they are no longer here. I heard your brothers say they were going to Dothan." So Joseph followed his brothers to Dothan and found them there.
Genesis 37 18 When Joseph's brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance and made plans to kill him.
Genesis 37 19 "Here comes that dreamer!" they exclaimed.
Genesis 37 20 "Come on, let's kill him and throw him into a deep pit. We can tell our father that a wild animal has eaten him. Then we'll see what becomes of all his dreams!"
Genesis 37 21 But Reuben came to Joseph's rescue. "Let's not kill him," he said.
Genesis 37 22 "Why should we shed his blood? Let's just throw him alive into this pit here. That way he will die without our having to touch him." Reuben was secretly planning to help Joseph escape, and then he would bring him back to his father.
Genesis 37 23 So when Joseph arrived, they pulled off his beautiful robe
Genesis 37 24 and threw him into the pit. This pit was normally used to store water, but it was empty at the time.
Genesis 37 25 Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they noticed a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking spices, balm, and myrrh from Gilead to Egypt.
Genesis 37 26 Judah said to the others, "What can we gain by killing our brother? That would just give us a guilty conscience.
Genesis 37 27 Let's sell Joseph to those Ishmaelite traders. Let's not be responsible for his death; after all, he is our brother!" And his brothers agreed.
Genesis 37 28 So when the traders came by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver, and the Ishmaelite traders took him along to Egypt.
Genesis 37 29 Some time later, Reuben returned to get Joseph out of the pit. When he discovered that Joseph was missing, he tore his clothes in anguish and frustration.
Genesis 37 30 Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, "The boy is gone! What can I do now?"
Genesis 37 31 Then Joseph's brothers killed a goat and dipped the robe in its blood.
Genesis 37 32 They took the beautiful robe to their father and asked him to identify it. "We found this in the field," they told him. "It's Joseph's robe, isn't it?"
Genesis 37 33 Their father recognized it at once. "Yes," he said, "it is my son's robe. A wild animal has attacked and eaten him. Surely Joseph has been torn in pieces!"
Genesis 37 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes and put on sackcloth. He mourned deeply for his son for many days.
Genesis 37 35 His family all tried to comfort him, but it was no use. "I will die in mourning for my son," he would say, and then begin to weep.
Genesis 37 36 Meanwhile, in Egypt, the traders sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was captain of the palace guard.
Genesis 38 1 About this time, Judah left home and moved to Adullam, where he visited a man named Hirah.
Genesis 38 2 There he met a Canaanite woman, the daughter of Shua, and he married her.
Genesis 38 3 She became pregnant and had a son, and Judah named the boy Er.
Genesis 38 4 Then Judah's wife had another son, and she named him Onan.
Genesis 38 5 And when she had a third son, she named him Shelah. At the time of Shelah's birth, they were living at Kezib.
Genesis 38 6 When his oldest son, Er, grew up, Judah arranged his marriage to a young woman named Tamar.
Genesis 38 7 But Er was a wicked man in the LORD's sight, so the LORD took his life.
Genesis 38 8 Then Judah said to Er's brother Onan, "You must marry Tamar, as our law requires of the brother of a man who has died. Her first son from you will be your brother's heir."
Genesis 38 9 But Onan was not willing to have a child who would not be his own heir. So whenever he had intercourse with Tamar, he spilled the semen on the ground to keep her from having a baby who would belong to his brother.
Genesis 38 10 But the LORD considered it a wicked thing for Onan to deny a child to his dead brother. So the LORD took Onan's life, too.
Genesis 38 11 Then Judah told Tamar, his daughter-in-law, not to marry again at that time but to return to her parents' home. She was to remain a widow until his youngest son, Shelah, was old enough to marry her. (But Judah didn't really intend to do this because he was afraid Shelah would also die, like his two brothers.) So Tamar went home to her parents.
Genesis 38 12 In the course of time Judah's wife died. After the time of mourning was over, Judah and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went to Timnah to supervise the shearing of his sheep.
Genesis 38 13 Someone told Tamar that her father-in-law had left for the sheep-shearing at Timnah.
Genesis 38 14 Tamar was aware that Shelah had grown up, but they had not called her to come and marry him. So she changed out of her widow's clothing and covered herself with a veil to disguise herself. Then she sat beside the road at the entrance to the village of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah.
Genesis 38 15 Judah noticed her as he went by and thought she was a prostitute, since her face was veiled.
Genesis 38 16 So he stopped and propositioned her to sleep with him, not realizing that she was his own daughter-in-law. "How much will you pay me?" Tamar asked.
Genesis 38 17 "I'll send you a young goat from my flock," Judah promised. "What pledge will you give me so I can be sure you will send it?" she asked.
Genesis 38 18 "Well, what do you want?" he inquired. She replied, "I want your identification seal, your cord, and the walking stick you are carrying." So Judah gave these items to her. She then let him sleep with her, and she became pregnant.
Genesis 38 19 Afterward she went home, took off her veil, and put on her widow's clothing as usual.
Genesis 38 20 Judah asked his friend Hirah the Adullamite to take the young goat back to her and to pick up the pledges he had given her, but Hirah couldn't find her.
Genesis 38 21 So he asked the men who lived there, "Where can I find the prostitute who was sitting beside the road at the entrance to the village?We've never had a prostitute here," they replied.
Genesis 38 22 So Hirah returned to Judah and told him that he couldn't find her anywhere and that the men of the village had claimed they didn't have a prostitute there.
Genesis 38 23 "Then let her keep the pledges!" Judah exclaimed. "We tried our best to send her the goat. We'd be the laughingstock of the village if we went back again."
Genesis 38 24 About three months later, word reached Judah that Tamar, his daughter-in-law, was pregnant as a result of prostitution. "Bring her out and burn her!" Judah shouted.
Genesis 38 25 But as they were taking her out to kill her, she sent this message to her father-in-law: "The man who owns this identification seal and walking stick is the father of my child. Do you recognize them?"
Genesis 38 26 Judah admitted that they were his and said, "She is more in the right than I am, because I didn't keep my promise to let her marry my son Shelah." But Judah never slept with Tamar again.
Genesis 38 27 In due season the time of Tamar's delivery arrived, and she had twin sons.
Genesis 38 28 As they were being born, one of them reached out his hand, and the midwife tied a scarlet thread around the wrist of the child who appeared first, saying, "This one came out first."
Genesis 38 29 But then he drew back his hand, and the other baby was actually the first to be born. "What!" the midwife exclaimed. "How did you break out first?" And ever after, he was called Perez.
Genesis 38 30 Then the baby with the scarlet thread on his wrist was born, and he was named Zerah.
Genesis 39 1 Now when Joseph arrived in Egypt with the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, a member of the personal staff of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was the captain of the palace guard.
Genesis 39 2 The LORD was with Joseph and blessed him greatly as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.
Genesis 39 3 Potiphar noticed this and realized that the LORD was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.
Genesis 39 4 So Joseph naturally became quite a favorite with him. Potiphar soon put Joseph in charge of his entire household and entrusted him with all his business dealings.
Genesis 39 5 From the day Joseph was put in charge, the LORD began to bless Potiphar for Joseph's sake. All his household affairs began to run smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished.
Genesis 39 6 So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn't have a worry in the world, except to decide what he wanted to eat! Now Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man.
Genesis 39 7 And about this time, Potiphar's wife began to desire him and invited him to sleep with her.
Genesis 39 8 But Joseph refused. "Look," he told her, "my master trusts me with everything in his entire household.
Genesis 39 9 No one here has more authority than I do! He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I ever do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God."
Genesis 39 10 She kept putting pressure on him day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible.
Genesis 39 11 One day, however, no one else was around when he was doing his work inside the house.
Genesis 39 12 She came and grabbed him by his shirt, demanding, "Sleep with me!" Joseph tore himself away, but as he did, his shirt came off. She was left holding it as he ran from the house.
Genesis 39 13 When she saw that she had his shirt and that he had fled,
Genesis 39 14 she began screaming. Soon all the men around the place came running. "My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to insult us!" she sobbed. "He tried to rape me, but I screamed.
Genesis 39 15 When he heard my loud cries, he ran and left his shirt behind with me."
Genesis 39 16 She kept the shirt with her, and when her husband came home that night,
Genesis 39 17 she told him her story. "That Hebrew slave you've had around here tried to make a fool of me," she said.
Genesis 39 18 "I was saved only by my screams. He ran out, leaving his shirt behind!"
Genesis 39 19 After hearing his wife's story, Potiphar was furious!
Genesis 39 20 He took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king's prisoners were held.
Genesis 39 21 But the LORD was with Joseph there, too, and he granted Joseph favor with the chief jailer.
Genesis 39 22 Before long, the jailer put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison.
Genesis 39 23 The chief jailer had no more worries after that, because Joseph took care of everything. The LORD was with him, making everything run smoothly and successfully.
Genesis 40 1 Some time later, Pharaoh's chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended him.
Genesis 40 2 Pharaoh became very angry with these officials,
Genesis 40 3 and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of Potiphar, the captain of the guard.
Genesis 40 4 They remained in prison for quite some time, and Potiphar assigned Joseph to take care of them.
Genesis 40 5 One night the cup-bearer and the baker each had a dream, and each dream had its own meaning.
Genesis 40 6 The next morning Joseph noticed the dejected look on their faces.
Genesis 40 7 "Why do you look so worried today?" he asked.
Genesis 40 8 And they replied, "We both had dreams last night, but there is no one here to tell us what they mean.Interpreting dreams is God's business," Joseph replied. "Tell me what you saw."
Genesis 40 9 The cup-bearer told his dream first. "In my dream," he said, "I saw a vine in front of me.
Genesis 40 10 It had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon there were clusters of ripe grapes.
Genesis 40 11 I was holding Pharaoh's wine cup in my hand, so I took the grapes and squeezed the juice into it. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand."
Genesis 40 12 "I know what the dream means," Joseph said. "The three branches mean three days.
Genesis 40 13 Within three days Pharaoh will take you out of prison and return you to your position as his chief cup-bearer.
Genesis 40 14 And please have some pity on me when you are back in his favor. Mention me to Pharaoh, and ask him to let me out of here.
Genesis 40 15 For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I'm here in jail, but I did nothing to deserve it."
Genesis 40 16 When the chief baker saw that the first dream had such a good meaning, he told his dream to Joseph, too. "In my dream," he said, "there were three baskets of pastries on my head.
Genesis 40 17 In the top basket were all kinds of bakery goods for Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them."
Genesis 40 18 "I'll tell you what it means," Joseph told him. "The three baskets mean three days.
Genesis 40 19 Three days from now Pharaoh will cut off your head and impale your body on a pole. Then birds will come and peck away at your flesh."
Genesis 40 20 Pharaoh's birthday came three days later, and he gave a banquet for all his officials and household staff. He sent for his chief cup-bearer and chief baker, and they were brought to him from the prison.
Genesis 40 21 He then restored the chief cup-bearer to his former position,
Genesis 40 22 but he sentenced the chief baker to be impaled on a pole, just as Joseph had predicted.
Genesis 40 23 Pharaoh's cup-bearer, however, promptly forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.
Genesis 41 1 Two years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River.
Genesis 41 2 In his dream, seven fat, healthy-looking cows suddenly came up out of the river and began grazing along its bank.
Genesis 41 3 Then seven other cows came up from the river, but these were very ugly and gaunt. These cows went over and stood beside the fat cows.
Genesis 41 4 Then the thin, ugly cows ate the fat ones! At this point in the dream, Pharaoh woke up.
Genesis 41 5 Soon he fell asleep again and had a second dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain on one stalk, with every kernel well formed and plump.
Genesis 41 6 Then suddenly, seven more heads appeared on the stalk, but these were shriveled and withered by the east wind.
Genesis 41 7 And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, well-formed heads! Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was a dream.
Genesis 41 8 The next morning, as he thought about it, Pharaoh became very concerned as to what the dreams might mean. So he called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt and told them about his dreams, but not one of them could suggest what they meant.
Genesis 41 9 Then the king's cup-bearer spoke up. "Today I have been reminded of my failure," he said.
Genesis 41 10 "Some time ago, you were angry with the chief baker and me, and you imprisoned us in the palace of the captain of the guard.
Genesis 41 11 One night the chief baker and I each had a dream, and each dream had a meaning.
Genesis 41 12 We told the dreams to a young Hebrew man who was a servant of the captain of the guard. He told us what each of our dreams meant,
Genesis 41 13 and everything happened just as he said it would. I was restored to my position as cup-bearer, and the chief baker was executed and impaled on a pole."
Genesis 41 14 Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was brought hastily from the dungeon. After a quick shave and change of clothes, he went in and stood in Pharaoh's presence.
Genesis 41 15 "I had a dream last night," Pharaoh told him, "and none of these men can tell me what it means. But I have heard that you can interpret dreams, and that is why I have called for you."
Genesis 41 16 "It is beyond my power to do this," Joseph replied. "But God will tell you what it means and will set you at ease."
Genesis 41 17 So Pharaoh told him the dream. "I was standing on the bank of the Nile River," he said.
Genesis 41 18 "Suddenly, seven fat, healthy-looking cows came up out of the river and began grazing along its bank.
Genesis 41 19 But then seven other cows came up from the river. They were very thin and gaunt--in fact, I've never seen such ugly animals in all the land of Egypt.
Genesis 41 20 These thin, ugly cows ate up the seven fat ones that had come out of the river first,
Genesis 41 21 but afterward they were still as ugly and gaunt as before! Then I woke up.
Genesis 41 22 "A little later I had another dream. This time there were seven heads of grain on one stalk, and all seven heads were plump and full.
Genesis 41 23 Then out of the same stalk came seven withered heads, shriveled by the east wind.
Genesis 41 24 And the withered heads swallowed up the plump ones! I told these dreams to my magicians, but not one of them could tell me what they mean."
Genesis 41 25 "Both dreams mean the same thing," Joseph told Pharaoh. "God was telling you what he is about to do.
Genesis 41 26 The seven fat cows and the seven plump heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity.
Genesis 41 27 The seven thin, ugly cows and the seven withered heads of grain represent seven years of famine.
Genesis 41 28 This will happen just as I have described it, for God has shown you what he is about to do.
Genesis 41 29 The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity throughout the land of Egypt.
Genesis 41 30 But afterward there will be seven years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten and wiped out. Famine will destroy the land.
Genesis 41 31 This famine will be so terrible that even the memory of the good years will be erased.
Genesis 41 32 As for having the dream twice, it means that the matter has been decreed by God and that he will make these events happen soon.
Genesis 41 33 "My suggestion is that you find the wisest man in Egypt and put him in charge of a nationwide program.
Genesis 41 34 Let Pharaoh appoint officials over the land, and let them collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years.
Genesis 41 35 Have them gather all the food and grain of these good years into the royal storehouses, and store it away so there will be food in the cities.
Genesis 41 36 That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come. Otherwise disaster will surely strike the land, and all the people will die."
Genesis 41 37 Joseph's suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his advisers.
Genesis 41 38 As they discussed who should be appointed for the job, Pharaoh said, "Who could do it better than Joseph? For he is a man who is obviously filled with the spirit of God."
Genesis 41 39 Turning to Joseph, Pharaoh said, "Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, you are the wisest man in the land!
Genesis 41 40 I hereby appoint you to direct this project. You will manage my household and organize all my people. Only I will have a rank higher than yours."
Genesis 41 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt."
Genesis 41 42 Then Pharaoh placed his own signet ring on Joseph's finger as a symbol of his authority. He dressed him in beautiful clothing and placed the royal gold chain about his neck.
Genesis 41 43 Pharaoh also gave Joseph the chariot of his second-in-command, and wherever he went the command was shouted, "Kneel down!" So Joseph was put in charge of all Egypt.
Genesis 41 44 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am the king, but no one will move a hand or a foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval."
Genesis 41 45 Pharaoh renamed him Zaphenath-paneah and gave him a wife--a young woman named Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis. So Joseph took charge of the entire land of Egypt.
Genesis 41 46 He was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And when Joseph left Pharaoh's presence, he made a tour of inspection throughout the land.
Genesis 41 47 And sure enough, for the next seven years there were bumper crops everywhere.
Genesis 41 48 During those years, Joseph took a portion of all the crops grown in Egypt and stored them for the government in nearby cities.
Genesis 41 49 After seven years, the granaries were filled to overflowing. There was so much grain, like sand on the seashore, that the people could not keep track of the amount.
Genesis 41 50 During this time, before the arrival of the first of the famine years, two sons were born to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis.
Genesis 41 51 Joseph named his older son Manasseh, for he said, "God has made me forget all my troubles and the family of my father."
Genesis 41 52 Joseph named his second son Ephraim, for he said, "God has made me fruitful in this land of my suffering."
Genesis 41 53 At last the seven years of plenty came to an end.
Genesis 41 54 Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. There were crop failures in all the surrounding countries, too, but in Egypt there was plenty of grain in the storehouses.
Genesis 41 55 Throughout the land of Egypt the people began to starve. They pleaded with Pharaoh for food, and he told them, "Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you."
Genesis 41 56 So with severe famine everywhere in the land, Joseph opened up the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians.
Genesis 41 57 And people from surrounding lands also came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe throughout the world.
Genesis 42 1 When Jacob heard that there was grain available in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why are you standing around looking at one another?
Genesis 42 2 I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down and buy some for us before we all starve to death."
Genesis 42 3 So Joseph's ten older brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain.
Genesis 42 4 Jacob wouldn't let Joseph's younger brother, Benjamin, go with them, however, for fear some harm might come to him.
Genesis 42 5 So Jacob's sons arrived in Egypt along with others to buy food, for the famine had reached Canaan as well.
Genesis 42 6 Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt and in charge of the sale of the grain, it was to him that his brothers came. They bowed low before him, with their faces to the ground.
Genesis 42 7 Joseph recognized them instantly, but he pretended to be a stranger. "Where are you from?" he demanded roughly. "From the land of Canaan," they replied. "We have come to buy grain."
Genesis 42 8 Joseph's brothers didn't recognize him, but Joseph recognized them.
Genesis 42 9 And he remembered the dreams he had had many years before. He said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see how vulnerable our land has become."
Genesis 42 10 "No, my lord!" they exclaimed. "We have come to buy food.
Genesis 42 11 We are all brothers and honest men, sir! We are not spies!"
Genesis 42 12 "Yes, you are!" he insisted. "You have come to discover how vulnerable the famine has made us."
Genesis 42 13 "Sir," they said, "there are twelve of us brothers, and our father is in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is there with our father, and one of our brothers is no longer with us."
Genesis 42 14 But Joseph insisted, "As I said, you are spies!
Genesis 42 15 This is how I will test your story. I swear by the life of Pharaoh that you will not leave Egypt unless your youngest brother comes here.
Genesis 42 16 One of you go and get your brother! I'll keep the rest of you here, bound in prison. Then we'll find out whether or not your story is true. If it turns out that you don't have a younger brother, then I'll know you are spies."
Genesis 42 17 So he put them all in prison for three days.
Genesis 42 18 On the third day Joseph said to them, "I am a God-fearing man. If you do as I say, you will live.
Genesis 42 19 We'll see how honorable you really are. Only one of you will remain in the prison. The rest of you may go on home with grain for your families.
Genesis 42 20 But bring your youngest brother back to me. In this way, I will know whether or not you are telling me the truth. If you are, I will spare you." To this they agreed.
Genesis 42 21 Speaking among themselves, they said, "This has all happened because of what we did to Joseph long ago. We saw his terror and anguish and heard his pleadings, but we wouldn't listen. That's why this trouble has come upon us."
Genesis 42 22 "Didn't I tell you not to do it?" Reuben asked. "But you wouldn't listen. And now we are going to die because we murdered him."
Genesis 42 23 Of course, they didn't know that Joseph understood them as he was standing there, for he had been speaking to them through an interpreter.
Genesis 42 24 Now he left the room and found a place where he could weep. Returning, he talked some more with them. He then chose Simeon from among them and had him tied up right before their eyes.
Genesis 42 25 Joseph then ordered his servants to fill the men's sacks with grain, but he also gave secret instructions to return each brother's payment at the top of his sack. He also gave them provisions for their journey.
Genesis 42 26 So they loaded up their donkeys with the grain and started for home.
Genesis 42 27 But when they stopped for the night and one of them opened his sack to get some grain to feed the donkeys, he found his money in the sack.
Genesis 42 28 "Look!" he exclaimed to his brothers. "My money is here in my sack!" They were filled with terror and said to each other, "What has God done to us?"
Genesis 42 29 So they came to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened.
Genesis 42 30 "The man who is ruler over the land spoke very roughly to us," they told him. "He took us for spies.
Genesis 42 31 But we said, `We are honest men, not spies.
Genesis 42 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of one father; one brother has disappeared, and the youngest is with our father in the land of Canaan.'
Genesis 42 33 Then the man, the ruler of the land, told us, `This is the way I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take grain for your families and go on home.
Genesis 42 34 But bring your youngest brother back to me. Then I will know that you are honest men and not spies. If you prove to be what you say, then I will give you back your brother, and you may come as often as you like to buy grain.'"
Genesis 42 35 As they emptied out the sacks, there at the top of each one was the bag of money paid for the grain. Terror gripped them, as it did their father.
Genesis 42 36 Jacob exclaimed, "You have deprived me of my children! Joseph has disappeared, Simeon is gone, and now you want to take Benjamin, too. Everything is going against me!"
Genesis 42 37 Then Reuben said to his father, "You may kill my two sons if I don't bring Benjamin back to you. I'll be responsible for him."
Genesis 42 38 But Jacob replied, "My son will not go down with you, for his brother Joseph is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's children. If anything should happen to him, you would bring my gray head down to the grave in deep sorrow."
Genesis 43 1 But there was no relief from the terrible famine throughout the land.
Genesis 43 2 When the grain they had brought from Egypt was almost gone, Jacob said to his sons, "Go again and buy us a little food."
Genesis 43 3 But Judah said, "The man wasn't joking when he warned that we couldn't see him again unless Benjamin came along.
Genesis 43 4 If you let him come with us, we will go down and buy some food.
Genesis 43 5 But if you don't let Benjamin go, we may as well stay at home. Remember that the man said, `You won't be allowed to come and see me unless your brother is with you.'"
Genesis 43 6 "Why did you ever tell him you had another brother?" Jacob moaned. "Why did you have to treat me with such cruelty?"
Genesis 43 7 "But the man specifically asked us about our family," they replied. "He wanted to know whether our father was still living, and he asked us if we had another brother so we told him. How could we have known he would say, `Bring me your brother'?"
Genesis 43 8 Judah said to his father, "Send the boy with me, and we will be on our way. Otherwise we will all die of starvation--and not only we, but you and our little ones.
Genesis 43 9 I personally guarantee his safety. If I don't bring him back to you, then let me bear the blame forever.
Genesis 43 10 For we could have gone and returned twice by this time if you had let him come without delay."
Genesis 43 11 So their father, Jacob, finally said to them, "If it can't be avoided, then at least do this. Fill your bags with the best products of the land. Take them to the man as gifts--balm, honey, spices, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.
Genesis 43 12 Take double the money that you found in your sacks, as it was probably someone's mistake.
Genesis 43 13 Then take your brother and go back to the man.
Genesis 43 14 May God Almighty give you mercy as you go before the man, that he might release Simeon and return Benjamin. And if I must bear the anguish of their deaths, then so be it."
Genesis 43 15 So they took Benjamin and the gifts and double the money and hurried to Egypt, where they presented themselves to Joseph.
Genesis 43 16 When Joseph saw that Benjamin was with them, he said to the manager of his household, "These men will eat with me this noon. Take them inside and prepare a big feast."
Genesis 43 17 So the man did as he was told and took them to Joseph's palace.
Genesis 43 18 They were badly frightened when they saw where they were being taken. "It's because of the money returned to us in our sacks," they said. "He plans to pretend that we stole it. Then he will seize us as slaves and take our donkeys."
Genesis 43 19 As the brothers arrived at the entrance to the palace, they went over to the man in charge of Joseph's household.
Genesis 43 20 They said to him, "Sir, after our first trip to Egypt to buy food,
Genesis 43 21 as we were returning home, we stopped for the night and opened our sacks. The money we had used to pay for the grain was there in our sacks. Here it is; we have brought it back again.
Genesis 43 22 We also have additional money to buy more grain. We have no idea how the money got into our sacks."
Genesis 43 23 "Relax. Don't worry about it," the household manager told them. "Your God, the God of your ancestors, must have put it there. We collected your money all right." Then he released Simeon and brought him out to them.
Genesis 43 24 The brothers were then led into the palace and given water to wash their feet and food for their donkeys.
Genesis 43 25 They were told they would be eating there, so they prepared their gifts for Joseph's arrival at noon.
Genesis 43 26 When Joseph came, they gave him their gifts and bowed low before him.
Genesis 43 27 He asked them how they had been getting along, and then he said, "How is your father--the old man you spoke about? Is he still alive?"
Genesis 43 28 "Yes," they replied. "He is alive and well." Then they bowed again before him.
Genesis 43 29 Looking at his brother Benjamin, Joseph asked, "Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about? May God be gracious to you, my son."
Genesis 43 30 Then Joseph made a hasty exit because he was overcome with emotion for his brother and wanted to cry. Going into his private room, he wept there.
Genesis 43 31 Then he washed his face and came out, keeping himself under control. "Bring on the food!" he ordered.
Genesis 43 32 Joseph ate by himself, and his brothers were served at a separate table. The Egyptians sat at their own table because Egyptians despise Hebrews and refuse to eat with them.
Genesis 43 33 Joseph told each of his brothers where to sit, and to their amazement, he seated them in the order of their ages, from oldest to youngest.
Genesis 43 34 Their food was served to them from Joseph's own table. He gave the largest serving to Benjamin--five times as much as to any of the others. So they all feasted and drank freely with him.
Genesis 44 1 When his brothers were ready to leave, Joseph gave these instructions to the man in charge of his household: "Fill each of their sacks with as much grain as they can carry, and put each man's money back into his sack.
Genesis 44 2 Then put my personal silver cup at the top of the youngest brother's sack, along with his grain money." So the household manager did as he was told.
Genesis 44 3 The brothers were up at dawn and set out on their journey with their loaded donkeys.
Genesis 44 4 But when they were barely out of the city, Joseph said to his household manager, "Chase after them and stop them. Ask them, `Why have you repaid an act of kindness with such evil?
Genesis 44 5 What do you mean by stealing my master's personal silver drinking cup, which he uses to predict the future? What a wicked thing you have done!'"
Genesis 44 6 So the man caught up with them and spoke to them in the way he had been instructed.
Genesis 44 7 "What are you talking about?" the brothers responded. "What kind of people do you think we are, that you accuse us of such a terrible thing?
Genesis 44 8 Didn't we bring back the money we found in our sacks? Why would we steal silver or gold from your master's house?
Genesis 44 9 If you find his cup with any one of us, let that one die. And all the rest of us will be your master's slaves forever."
Genesis 44 10 "Fair enough," the man replied, "except that only the one who stole it will be a slave. The rest of you may go free."
Genesis 44 11 They quickly took their sacks from the backs of their donkeys and opened them.
Genesis 44 12 Joseph's servant began searching the oldest brother's sack, going on down the line to the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin's sack!
Genesis 44 13 At this, they tore their clothing in despair, loaded the donkeys again, and returned to the city.
Genesis 44 14 Joseph was still at home when Judah and his brothers arrived, and they fell to the ground before him.
Genesis 44 15 "What were you trying to do?" Joseph demanded. "Didn't you know that a man such as I would know who stole it?"
Genesis 44 16 And Judah said, "Oh, my lord, what can we say to you? How can we plead? How can we prove our innocence? God is punishing us for our sins. My lord, we have all returned to be your slaves--we and our brother who had your cup in his sack."
Genesis 44 17 "No," Joseph said. "Only the man who stole the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may go home to your father."
Genesis 44 18 Then Judah stepped forward and said, "My lord, let me say just this one word to you. Be patient with me for a moment, for I know you could have me killed in an instant, as though you were Pharaoh himself.
Genesis 44 19 "You asked us, my lord, if we had a father or a brother.
Genesis 44 20 We said, `Yes, we have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, his youngest son. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's children, and his father loves him very much.'
Genesis 44 21 And you said to us, `Bring him here so I can see him.'
Genesis 44 22 But we said to you, `My lord, the boy cannot leave his father, for his father would die.'
Genesis 44 23 But you told us, `You may not see me again unless your youngest brother is with you.'
Genesis 44 24 So we returned to our father and told him what you had said.
Genesis 44 25 And when he said, `Go back again and buy us a little food,'
Genesis 44 26 we replied, `We can't unless you let our youngest brother go with us. We won't be allowed to see the man in charge of the grain unless our youngest brother is with us.'
Genesis 44 27 Then my father said to us, `You know that my wife had two sons,
Genesis 44 28 and that one of them went away and never returned--doubtless torn to pieces by some wild animal. I have never seen him since.
Genesis 44 29 If you take away his brother from me, too, and any harm comes to him, you would bring my gray head down to the grave in deep sorrow.'
Genesis 44 30 "And now, my lord, I cannot go back to my father without the boy. Our father's life is bound up in the boy's life.
Genesis 44 31 When he sees that the boy is not with us, our father will die. We will be responsible for bringing his gray head down to the grave in sorrow.
Genesis 44 32 My lord, I made a pledge to my father that I would take care of the boy. I told him, `If I don't bring him back to you, I will bear the blame forever.'
Genesis 44 33 Please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.
Genesis 44 34 For how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me? I cannot bear to see what this would do to him."
Genesis 45 1 Joseph could stand it no longer. "Out, all of you!" he cried out to his attendants. He wanted to be alone with his brothers when he told them who he was.
Genesis 45 2 Then he broke down and wept aloud. His sobs could be heard throughout the palace, and the news was quickly carried to Pharaoh's palace.
Genesis 45 3 "I am Joseph!" he said to his brothers. "Is my father still alive?" But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them.
Genesis 45 4 "Come over here," he said. So they came closer. And he said again, "I am Joseph, your brother whom you sold into Egypt.
Genesis 45 5 But don't be angry with yourselves that you did this to me, for God did it. He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.
Genesis 45 6 These two years of famine will grow to seven, during which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.
Genesis 45 7 God has sent me here to keep you and your families alive so that you will become a great nation.
Genesis 45 8 Yes, it was God who sent me here, not you! And he has made me a counselor to Pharaoh--manager of his entire household and ruler over all Egypt.
Genesis 45 9 "Hurry, return to my father and tell him, `This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all the land of Egypt. Come down to me right away!
Genesis 45 10 You will live in the land of Goshen so you can be near me with all your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all that you have.
Genesis 45 11 I will take care of you there, for there are still five years of famine ahead of us. Otherwise you and your household will come to utter poverty.'"
Genesis 45 12 Then Joseph said, "You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that I really am Joseph!
Genesis 45 13 Tell my father how I am honored here in Egypt. Tell him about everything you have seen, and bring him to me quickly."
Genesis 45 14 Weeping with joy, he embraced Benjamin, and Benjamin also began to weep.
Genesis 45 15 Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and then they began talking freely with him.
Genesis 45 16 The news soon reached Pharaoh: "Joseph's brothers have come!" Pharaoh was very happy to hear this and so were his officials.
Genesis 45 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Tell your brothers to load their pack animals and return quickly to their homes in Canaan.
Genesis 45 18 Tell them to bring your father and all of their families, and to come here to Egypt to live. Tell them, `Pharaoh will assign to you the very best territory in the land of Egypt. You will live off the fat of the land!'
Genesis 45 19 And tell your brothers to take wagons from Egypt to carry their wives and little ones and to bring your father here.
Genesis 45 20 Don't worry about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours."
Genesis 45 21 So the sons of Jacob did as they were told. Joseph gave them wagons, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he supplied them with provisions for the journey.
Genesis 45 22 And he gave each of them new clothes--but to Benjamin he gave five changes of clothes and three hundred pieces of silver!
Genesis 45 23 He sent his father ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten donkeys loaded with grain and all kinds of other food to be eaten on his journey.
Genesis 45 24 So he sent his brothers off, and as they left, he called after them, "Don't quarrel along the way!"
Genesis 45 25 And they left Egypt and returned to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan.
Genesis 45 26 "Joseph is still alive!" they told him. "And he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!" Jacob was stunned at the news--he couldn't believe it.
Genesis 45 27 But when they had given him Joseph's messages, and when he saw the wagons loaded with the food sent by Joseph, his spirit revived.
Genesis 45 28 Then Jacob said, "It must be true! My son Joseph is alive! I will go and see him before I die."
Genesis 46 1 So Jacob set out for Egypt with all his possessions. And when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.
Genesis 46 2 During the night God spoke to him in a vision. "Jacob! Jacob!" he called. "Here I am," Jacob replied.
Genesis 46 3 "I am God," the voice said, "the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will see to it that you become a great nation there.
Genesis 46 4 I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring your descendants back again. But you will die in Egypt with Joseph at your side."
Genesis 46 5 So Jacob left Beersheba, and his sons brought him to Egypt. They carried their little ones and wives in the wagons Pharaoh had provided for them.
Genesis 46 6 They brought their livestock, too, and all the belongings they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Jacob and his entire family arrived in Egypt--
Genesis 46 7 sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters--all his descendants.
Genesis 46 8 These are the names of the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob, who went with him to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob's oldest son.
Genesis 46 9 The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
Genesis 46 10 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul. (Shaul's mother was a Canaanite woman.)
Genesis 46 11 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
Genesis 46 12 The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. (But Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan.) The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
Genesis 46 13 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.
Genesis 46 14 The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
Genesis 46 15 These are the sons of Jacob who were born to Leah in Paddan-aram, along with their sister, Dinah. In all, Jacob's descendants through Leah numbered thirty-three.
Genesis 46 16 The sons of Gad were Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
Genesis 46 17 The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was named Serah. Beriah's sons were Heber and Malkiel.
Genesis 46 18 These sixteen were descendants of Jacob through Zilpah, the servant given to Leah by her father, Laban.
Genesis 46 19 The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
Genesis 46 20 Joseph's sons, born in the land of Egypt, were Manasseh and Ephraim. Their mother was Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis.
Genesis 46 21 Benjamin's sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
Genesis 46 22 These fourteen were the descendants of Jacob and his wife Rachel.
Genesis 46 23 The son of Dan was Hushim.
Genesis 46 24 The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
Genesis 46 25 These seven were the descendants of Jacob through Bilhah, the servant given to Rachel by her father, Laban.
Genesis 46 26 So the total number of Jacob's direct descendants who went with him to Egypt, not counting his sons' wives, was sixty-six.
Genesis 46 27 Joseph also had two sons who had been born in Egypt. So altogether, there were seventy members of Jacob's family in the land of Egypt.
Genesis 46 28 Jacob sent Judah on ahead to meet Joseph and get directions to the land of Goshen. And when they all arrived there,
Genesis 46 29 Joseph prepared his chariot and traveled to Goshen to meet his father. As soon as Joseph arrived, he embraced his father and wept on his shoulder for a long time.
Genesis 46 30 Then Jacob said to Joseph, "Now let me die, for I have seen you with my own eyes and know you are still alive."
Genesis 46 31 And Joseph said to his brothers and to all their households, "I'll go and tell Pharaoh that you have all come from the land of Canaan to join me.
Genesis 46 32 And I will tell him, `These men are shepherds and livestock breeders. They have brought with them their flocks and herds and everything they own.'
Genesis 46 33 So when Pharaoh calls for you and asks you about your occupation,
Genesis 46 34 tell him, `We have been livestock breeders from our youth, as our ancestors have been for many generations.' When you tell him this, he will let you live here in the land of Goshen, for shepherds are despised in the land of Egypt."
Genesis 47 1 So Joseph went to see Pharaoh and said, "My father and my brothers are here from Canaan. They came with all their flocks and herds and possessions, and they are now in the land of Goshen."
Genesis 47 2 Joseph took five of his brothers with him and presented them to Pharaoh.
Genesis 47 3 Pharaoh asked them, "What is your occupation?" And they replied, "We are shepherds like our ancestors.
Genesis 47 4 We have come to live here in Egypt, for there is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine is very severe there. We request permission to live in the land of Goshen."
Genesis 47 5 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Now that your family has joined you here,
Genesis 47 6 choose any place you like for them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt--the land of Goshen will be fine. And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock, too."
Genesis 47 7 Then Joseph brought his father, Jacob, and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
Genesis 47 8 "How old are you?" Pharaoh asked him.
Genesis 47 9 Jacob replied, "I have lived for 130 hard years, but I am still not nearly as old as many of my ancestors."
Genesis 47 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before he left.
Genesis 47 11 So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt--the land of Rameses--to his father and brothers, just as Pharaoh had commanded.
Genesis 47 12 And Joseph furnished food to his father and brothers in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependents.
Genesis 47 13 Meanwhile, the famine became worse and worse, and the crops continued to fail throughout Egypt and Canaan.
Genesis 47 14 Joseph collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan in exchange for grain, and he brought the money to Pharaoh's treasure-house.
Genesis 47 15 When the people of Egypt and Canaan ran out of money, they came to Joseph crying again for food. "Our money is gone," they said, "but give us bread. Why should we die?"
Genesis 47 16 "Well, then," Joseph replied, "since your money is gone, give me your livestock. I will give you food in exchange."
Genesis 47 17 So they gave their livestock to Joseph in exchange for food. Soon all the horses, flocks, herds, and donkeys of Egypt were in Pharaoh's possession. But at least they were able to purchase food for that year.
Genesis 47 18 The next year they came again and said, "Our money is gone, and our livestock are yours. We have nothing left but our bodies and land.
Genesis 47 19 Why should we die before your very eyes? Buy us and our land in exchange for food; we will then become servants to Pharaoh. Just give us grain so that our lives may be saved and so the land will not become empty and desolate."
Genesis 47 20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold him their fields because the famine was so severe, and their land then belonged to Pharaoh.
Genesis 47 21 Thus, all the people of Egypt became servants to Pharaoh.
Genesis 47 22 The only land he didn't buy was that belonging to the priests, for they were assigned food from Pharaoh and didn't need to sell their land.
Genesis 47 23 Then Joseph said to the people, "See, I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. I will provide you with seed, so you can plant the fields.
Genesis 47 24 Then when you harvest it, a fifth of your crop will belong to Pharaoh. Keep four-fifths for yourselves, and use it to plant the next year's crop and to feed yourselves, your households, and your little ones."
Genesis 47 25 "You have saved our lives!" they exclaimed. "May it please you, sir, to let us be Pharaoh's servants."
Genesis 47 26 Joseph then made it a law throughout the land of Egypt--and it is still the law--that Pharaoh should receive one-fifth of all the crops grown on his land. But since Pharaoh had not taken over the priests' land, they were exempt from this payment.
Genesis 47 27 So the people of Israel settled in the land of Goshen in Egypt. And before long, they began to prosper there, and their population grew rapidly.
Genesis 47 28 Jacob lived for seventeen years after his arrival in Egypt, so he was 147 years old when he died.
Genesis 47 29 As the time of his death drew near, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, "If you are pleased with me, swear most solemnly that you will honor this, my last request: Do not bury me in Egypt.
Genesis 47 30 When I am dead, take me out of Egypt and bury me beside my ancestors." So Joseph promised that he would.
Genesis 47 31 "Swear that you will do it," Jacob insisted. So Joseph gave his oath, and Jacob bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.
Genesis 48 1 One day not long after this, word came to Joseph that his father was failing rapidly. So Joseph went to visit him, and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
Genesis 48 2 When Jacob heard that Joseph had arrived, he gathered his strength and sat up in bed to greet him.
Genesis 48 3 Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.
Genesis 48 4 He said to me, `I will make you a multitude of nations, and I will give this land of Canaan to you and your descendants as an everlasting possession.'
Genesis 48 5 Now I am adopting as my own sons these two boys of yours, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born here in the land of Egypt before I arrived. They will inherit from me just as Reuben and Simeon will.
Genesis 48 6 But the children born to you in the future will be your own. The land they inherit will be within the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.
Genesis 48 7 As I was returning from Paddan, Rachel died in the land of Canaan. We were still on the way, just a short distance from Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). So with great sorrow I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath."
Genesis 48 8 Then Jacob looked over at the two boys. "Are these your sons?" he asked.
Genesis 48 9 "Yes," Joseph told him, "these are the sons God has given me here in Egypt." And Jacob said, "Bring them over to me, and I will bless them."
Genesis 48 10 Now Jacob was half blind because of his age and could hardly see. So Joseph brought the boys close to him, and Jacob kissed and embraced them.
Genesis 48 11 Then Jacob said to Joseph, "I never thought I would see you again, but now God has let me see your children, too."
Genesis 48 12 Joseph took the boys from their grandfather's knees, and he bowed low to him.
Genesis 48 13 Then he positioned the boys so Ephraim was at Jacob's left hand and Manasseh was at his right hand.
Genesis 48 14 But Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys' heads. So his right hand was on the head of Ephraim, the younger boy, and his left hand was on the head of Manasseh, the older.
Genesis 48 15 Then he blessed Joseph and said, "May God, the God before whom my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac, walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life,
Genesis 48 16 and the angel who has kept me from all harm--may he bless these boys. May they preserve my name and the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac. And may they become a mighty nation."
Genesis 48 17 But Joseph was upset when he saw that his father had laid his right hand on Ephraim's head. So he lifted it to place it on Manasseh's head instead.
Genesis 48 18 "No, Father," he said, "this one over here is older. Put your right hand on his head."
Genesis 48 19 But his father refused. "I know what I'm doing, my son," he said. "Manasseh, too, will become a great people, but his younger brother will become even greater. His descendants will become a multitude of nations!"
Genesis 48 20 So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing: "The people of Israel will use your names to bless each other. They will say, `May God make you as prosperous as Ephraim and Manasseh.'" In this way, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
Genesis 48 21 Then Jacob said to Joseph, "I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to Canaan, the land of your ancestors.
Genesis 48 22 And I give you an extra portion beyond what I have given your brothers--the portion that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow."
Genesis 49 1 Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, "Gather around me, and I will tell you what is going to happen to you in the days to come.
Genesis 49 2 "Come and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.
Genesis 49 3 "Reuben, you are my oldest son, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first on the list in rank and honor.
Genesis 49 4 But you are as unruly as the waves of the sea, and you will be first no longer. For you slept with one of my wives; you dishonored me in my own bed.
Genesis 49 5 "Simeon and Levi are two of a kind--men of violence.
Genesis 49 6 O my soul, stay away from them. May I never be a party to their wicked plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport.
Genesis 49 7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; cursed be their wrath, for it is cruel. Therefore, I will scatter their descendants throughout the nation of Israel.
Genesis 49 8 "Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will defeat your enemies. All your relatives will bow before you.
Genesis 49 9 Judah is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness--who will dare to rouse him?
Genesis 49 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will obey.
Genesis 49 11 He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine because his harvest is so plentiful.
Genesis 49 12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
Genesis 49 13 "Zebulun will settle on the shores of the sea and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.
Genesis 49 14 "Issachar is a strong beast of burden, resting among the sheepfolds.
Genesis 49 15 When he sees how good the countryside is, how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the task and submit to forced labor.
Genesis 49 16 "Dan will govern his people like any other tribe in Israel.
Genesis 49 17 He will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so the rider is thrown off.
Genesis 49 18 I trust in you for salvation, O LORD!
Genesis 49 19 "Gad will be plundered by marauding bands, but he will turn and plunder them.
Genesis 49 20 "Asher will produce rich foods, food fit for kings.
Genesis 49 21 "Naphtali is a deer let loose, producing magnificent fawns.
Genesis 49 22 "Joseph is a fruitful tree, a fruitful tree beside a fountain. His branches reach over the wall.
Genesis 49 23 He has been attacked by archers, who shot at him and harassed him.
Genesis 49 24 But his bow remained strong, and his arms were strengthened by the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
Genesis 49 25 May the God of your ancestors help you; may the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the earth beneath, and blessings of the breasts and womb.
Genesis 49 26 May the blessings of your ancestors be greater than the blessings of the eternal mountains, reaching to the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills. These blessings will fall on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers.
Genesis 49 27 "Benjamin is a wolf that prowls. He devours his enemies in the morning, and in the evening he divides the plunder."
Genesis 49 28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and these are the blessings with which Jacob blessed his twelve sons. Each received a blessing that was appropriate to him.
Genesis 49 29 Then Jacob told them, "Soon I will die. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in Ephron's field.
Genesis 49 30 This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a permanent burial place.
Genesis 49 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah.
Genesis 49 32 It is the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites."
Genesis 49 33 Then when Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he lay back in the bed, breathed his last, and died.
Genesis 50 1 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him.
Genesis 50 2 Then Joseph told his morticians to embalm the body.
Genesis 50 3 The embalming process took forty days, and there was a period of national mourning for seventy days.
Genesis 50 4 When the period of mourning was over, Joseph approached Pharaoh's advisers and asked them to speak to Pharaoh on his behalf.
Genesis 50 5 He told them, "Tell Pharaoh that my father made me swear an oath. He said to me, `I am about to die; take my body back to the land of Canaan, and bury me in our family's burial cave.' Now I need to go and bury my father. After his burial is complete, I will return without delay."
Genesis 50 6 Pharaoh agreed to Joseph's request. "Go and bury your father, as you promised," he said.
Genesis 50 7 So Joseph went, with a great number of Pharaoh's counselors and advisers--all the senior officers of Egypt.
Genesis 50 8 Joseph also took his brothers and the entire household of Jacob. But they left their little children and flocks and herds in the land of Goshen.
Genesis 50 9 So a great number of chariots, cavalry, and people accompanied Joseph.
Genesis 50 10 When they arrived at the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan River, they held a very great and solemn funeral, with a seven-day period of mourning for Joseph's father.
Genesis 50 11 The local residents, the Canaanites, renamed the place Abel-mizraim, for they said, "This is a place of very deep mourning for these Egyptians."
Genesis 50 12 So Jacob's sons did as he had commanded them.
Genesis 50 13 They carried his body to the land of Canaan and buried it there in the cave of Machpelah. This is the cave that Abraham had bought for a permanent burial place in the field of Ephron the Hittite, near Mamre.
Genesis 50 14 Then Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to his father's funeral.
Genesis 50 15 But now that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers became afraid. "Now Joseph will pay us back for all the evil we did to him," they said.
Genesis 50 16 So they sent this message to Joseph: "Before your father died, he instructed us
Genesis 50 17 to say to you: `Forgive your brothers for the great evil they did to you.' So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive us." When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept.
Genesis 50 18 Then his brothers came and bowed low before him. "We are your slaves," they said.
Genesis 50 19 But Joseph told them, "Don't be afraid of me. Am I God, to judge and punish you?
Genesis 50 20 As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil. He brought me to the high position I have today so I could save the lives of many people.
Genesis 50 21 No, don't be afraid. Indeed, I myself will take care of you and your families." And he spoke very kindly to them, reassuring them.
Genesis 50 22 So Joseph and his brothers and their families continued to live in Egypt. Joseph was 110 years old when he died.
Genesis 50 23 He lived to see three generations of descendants of his son Ephraim and the children of Manasseh's son Makir, who were treated as if they were his own.
Genesis 50 24 "Soon I will die," Joseph told his brothers, "but God will surely come for you, to lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will bring you back to the land he vowed to give to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
Genesis 50 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, and he said, "When God comes to lead us back to Canaan, you must take my body back with you."
Genesis 50 26 So Joseph died at the age of 110. They embalmed him, and his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
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