16:10 After Paul ¹  saw the vision, we attempted ²  immediately to go over to Macedonia, ³  concluding that God had called ⁴  us to proclaim the good news to them.

16:11 We put out to sea ⁵  from Troas ⁶  and sailed a straight course ⁷  to Samothrace, ⁸  the next day to Neapolis, ⁹  16:12 and from there to Philippi, ¹⁰  which is a leading city of that district ¹¹  of Macedonia, ¹²  a Roman colony. ¹³  We stayed in this city for some days. 16:13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the side of the river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down ¹⁴  and began to speak ¹⁵  to the women ¹⁶  who had assembled there. ¹⁷  16:14 A ¹⁸  woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth ¹⁹  from the city of Thyatira, ²⁰  a God-fearing woman, listened to us. ²¹  The Lord opened her heart to respond ²²  to what Paul was saying. 16:15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, ²³  “If ²⁴  you consider me to be a believer in the Lord, ²⁵  come and stay in my house.” And she persuaded ²⁶  us.

16:16 Now ²⁷  as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit that enabled her to foretell the future by supernatural means. ²⁸  She ²⁹  brought her owners ³⁰  a great profit by fortune-telling. ³¹  16:17 She followed behind Paul and us and kept crying out, ³²  “These men are servants ³³  of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way ³⁴  of salvation.” ³⁵ 

20:5 Did Abraham ¹  not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ²  ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience ³  and with innocent hands!”

20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. ⁴  That is why I have kept you ⁵  from sinning against me and why ⁶  I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ⁷  he is a prophet ⁸  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ⁹  But if you don’t give her back, ¹⁰  know that you will surely die ¹¹  along with all who belong to you.”

20:8 Early in the morning ¹²  Abimelech summoned ¹³  all his servants. When he told them about all these things, ¹⁴  they ¹⁵  were terrified. 20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? ¹⁶  You have done things to me that should not be done!” ¹⁷  20:10 Then Abimelech asked ¹⁸  Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” ¹⁹ 

20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ²⁰  ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of ²¹  my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, ²²  she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 20:13 When God made me wander ²³  from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: ²⁴  Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”

20:14 So Abimelech gave ²⁵  sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” ²⁶ 

21:1 The Lord visited ¹  Sarah just as he had said he would and did ²  for Sarah what he had promised. ³  21:2 So Sarah became pregnant ⁴  and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 21:3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac. ⁵  21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, ⁶  Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. ⁷  21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) ⁸ 

21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. ⁹  Everyone who hears about this ¹⁰  will laugh ¹¹  with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, ¹²  “Who would ¹³  have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”

21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared ¹⁴  a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. ¹⁵  21:9 But Sarah noticed ¹⁶  the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. ¹⁷  21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish ¹⁸  that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”

21:11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son. ¹⁹  21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ²⁰  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ²¹  all that Sarah is telling ²²  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ²³  21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”

21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took ²⁴  some food ²⁵  and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, ²⁶  and sent her away. So she went wandering ²⁷  aimlessly through the wilderness ²⁸  of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved ²⁹  the child under one of the shrubs. 21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot ³⁰  away; for she thought, ³¹  “I refuse to watch the child die.” ³²  So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. ³³ 

21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. ³⁴  The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, ³⁵  Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard ³⁶  the boy’s voice right where he is crying. 21:18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

27:1 When ¹  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ²  he called his older ³  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ⁴  replied. 27:2 Isaac ⁵  said, “Since ⁶  I am so old, I could die at any time. ⁷  27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game ⁸  for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then ⁹  I will eat it so that I may bless you ¹⁰  before I die.”

27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. ¹¹  When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, ¹²  27:6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 27:7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat ¹³  it and bless you ¹⁴  in the presence of the Lord ¹⁵  before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do ¹⁶  exactly what I tell you! ¹⁷  27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare ¹⁸  them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take ¹⁹  it to your father. Thus he will eat it ²⁰  and ²¹  bless you before he dies.”

27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! ²²  27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him ²³  and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 27:13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me, ²⁴  my son! Just obey me! ²⁵  Go and get them for me!”

27:14 So he went and got the goats ²⁶  and brought them to his mother. She ²⁷  prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 27:16 She put the skins of the young goats ²⁸  on his hands ²⁹  and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed ³⁰  the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.

27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac ³¹  replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” ³²  27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up ³³  and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” ³⁴  27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world ³⁵  did you find it so quickly, ³⁶  my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” ³⁷  he replied. ³⁸  27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, ³⁹  my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” ⁴⁰  27:22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.” 27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. ⁴¹  27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob ⁴²  replied. 27:25 Isaac ⁴³  said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. ⁴⁴  Then I will bless you.” ⁴⁵  So Jacob ⁴⁶  brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac ⁴⁷  drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob ⁴⁸  went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent ⁴⁹  of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,

“Yes, ⁵⁰  my son smells

like the scent of an open field

which the Lord has blessed.

27:28 May God give you

the dew of the sky ⁵¹ 

and the richness ⁵²  of the earth,

and plenty of grain and new wine.

27:29 May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

You will be ⁵³  lord ⁵⁴  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ⁵⁵ 

May those who curse you be cursed,

and those who bless you be blessed.”

27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left ⁵⁶  his father’s ⁵⁷  presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. ⁵⁸  27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau ⁵⁹  said to him, “My father, get up ⁶⁰  and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” ⁶¹  27:32 His father Isaac asked, ⁶²  “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” ⁶³  he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently ⁶⁴  and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him. ⁶⁵  He will indeed be blessed!”

27:34 When Esau heard ⁶⁶  his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. ⁶⁷  He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac ⁶⁸  replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away ⁶⁹  your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! ⁷⁰  He has tripped me up ⁷¹  two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”

27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” ⁷²  Then Esau wept loudly. ⁷³ 

27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,

“Indeed, ⁷⁴  your home will be

away from the richness ⁷⁵  of the earth,

and away from the dew of the sky above.

27:40 You will live by your sword

but you will serve your brother.

When you grow restless,

you will tear off his yoke

from your neck.” ⁷⁶ 

27:41 So Esau hated ⁷⁷  Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. ⁷⁸  Esau said privately, ⁷⁹  “The time ⁸⁰  of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill ⁸¹  my brother Jacob!”

27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, ⁸²  she quickly summoned ⁸³  her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. ⁸⁴  27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. ⁸⁵  Run away immediately ⁸⁶  to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while ⁸⁷  until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there ⁸⁸  until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there. ⁸⁹  Why should I lose both of you in one day?” ⁹⁰ 

27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed ⁹¹  because of these daughters of Heth. ⁹²  If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” ⁹³ 

28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! ⁹⁴  28:2 Leave immediately ⁹⁵  for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 28:3 May the sovereign God ⁹⁶  bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! ⁹⁷  Then you will become ⁹⁸  a large nation. ⁹⁹  28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ¹⁰⁰  so that you may possess the land ¹⁰¹  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ¹⁰²  28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. ¹⁰³  As he blessed him, ¹⁰⁴  Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” ¹⁰⁵  28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized ¹⁰⁶  that the Canaanite women ¹⁰⁷  were displeasing to ¹⁰⁸  his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married ¹⁰⁹  Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.

28:10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. 28:11 He reached a certain place ¹¹⁰  where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. ¹¹¹  He took one of the stones ¹¹²  and placed it near his head. ¹¹³  Then he fell asleep ¹¹⁴  in that place 28:12 and had a dream. ¹¹⁵  He saw ¹¹⁶  a stairway ¹¹⁷  erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it 28:13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. ¹¹⁸  I will give you and your descendants the ground ¹¹⁹  you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ¹²⁰  and you will spread out ¹²¹  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹²²  using your name and that of your descendants. ¹²³  28:15 I am with you! ¹²⁴  I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”

28:16 Then Jacob woke up ¹²⁵  and thought, ¹²⁶  “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!”