Bible: Gen. 12-50

12:1 Now the Lord said ¹  to Abram, ² 

“Go out ³  from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household

to the land that I will show you. ⁴ 

12:2 Then I will make you ⁵  into a great nation, and I will bless you, ⁶ 

and I will make your name great, ⁷ 

so that you will exemplify divine blessing. ⁸ 

12:3 I will bless those who bless you, ⁹ 

but the one who treats you lightly ¹⁰  I must curse,

and all the families of the earth will bless one another ¹¹  by your name.”

12:4 So Abram left, ¹²  just as the Lord had told him to do, ¹³  and Lot went with him. (Now ¹⁴  Abram was 75 years old ¹⁵  when he departed from Haran.) 12:5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew ¹⁶  Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired ¹⁷  in Haran, and they left for ¹⁸  the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.

12:6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree ¹⁹  of Moreh ²⁰  at Shechem. ²¹  (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) ²²  12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants ²³  I will give this land.” So Abram ²⁴  built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

12:8 Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel ²⁵  and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord. ²⁶  12:9 Abram continually journeyed by stages ²⁷  down to the Negev. ²⁸ 

12:10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt ²⁹  to stay for a while ³⁰  because the famine was severe. ³¹  12:11 As he approached ³²  Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, ³³  I know that you are a beautiful woman. ³⁴  12:12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. ³⁵  12:13 So tell them ³⁶  you are my sister ³⁷  so that it may go well ³⁸  for me because of you and my life will be spared ³⁹  on account of you.”

12:14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 12:15 When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. So Abram’s wife ⁴⁰  was taken ⁴¹  into the household of Pharaoh, ⁴²  12:16 and he did treat Abram well ⁴³  on account of her. Abram received ⁴⁴  sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

12:17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe diseases ⁴⁵  because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this ⁴⁶  you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? 12:19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her ⁴⁷  to be my wife? ⁴⁸  Here is your wife! ⁴⁹  Take her and go!” ⁵⁰  12:20 Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, ⁵¹  and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.

13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. ⁵²  He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. ⁵³  13:2 (Now Abram was very wealthy ⁵⁴  in livestock, silver, and gold.) ⁵⁵ 

13:3 And he journeyed from place to place ⁵⁶  from the Negev as far as Bethel. ⁵⁷  He returned ⁵⁸  to the place where he had pitched his tent ⁵⁹  at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. 13:4 This was the place where he had first built the altar, ⁶⁰  and there Abram worshiped the Lord. ⁶¹ 

13:5 Now Lot, who was traveling ⁶²  with Abram, also had ⁶³  flocks, herds, and tents. 13:6 But the land could ⁶⁴  not support them while they were living side by side. ⁶⁵  Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live ⁶⁶  alongside one another. 13:7 So there were quarrels ⁶⁷  between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. ⁶⁸  (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.) ⁶⁹ 

13:8 Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no quarreling between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are close relatives. ⁷⁰  13:9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself now from me. If you go ⁷¹  to the left, then I’ll go to the right, but if you go to the right, then I’ll go to the left.”

13:10 Lot looked up and saw ⁷²  the whole region ⁷³  of the Jordan. He noticed ⁷⁴  that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated ⁷⁵  Sodom and Gomorrah) ⁷⁶  like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, ⁷⁷  all the way to Zoar. 13:11 Lot chose for himself the whole region of the Jordan and traveled ⁷⁸  toward the east.

So the relatives separated from each other. ⁷⁹  13:12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled among the cities of the Jordan plain ⁸⁰  and pitched his tents next to Sodom. 13:13 (Now ⁸¹  the people ⁸²  of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord.) ⁸³ 

13:14 After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, ⁸⁴  “Look ⁸⁵  from the place where you stand to the north, south, east, and west. 13:15 I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants ⁸⁶  forever. 13:16 And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted. ⁸⁷  13:17 Get up and ⁸⁸  walk throughout ⁸⁹  the land, ⁹⁰  for I will give it to you.”

13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live ⁹¹  by the oaks ⁹²  of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.

14:1 At that time ⁹³  Amraphel king of Shinar, ⁹⁴  Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations ⁹⁵  14:2 went to war ⁹⁶  against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ⁹⁷  14:3 These last five kings ⁹⁸  joined forces ⁹⁹  in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). ¹⁰⁰  14:4 For twelve years ¹⁰¹  they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year ¹⁰²  they rebelled. ¹⁰³  14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated ¹⁰⁴  the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 14:6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert. ¹⁰⁵  14:7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, ¹⁰⁶  and they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.

14:8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and prepared for battle. In the Valley of Siddim they met ¹⁰⁷  14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, ¹⁰⁸  Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against ¹⁰⁹  five. 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. ¹¹⁰  When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, ¹¹¹  but some survivors ¹¹²  fled to the hills. ¹¹³  14:11 The four victorious kings ¹¹⁴  took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew ¹¹⁵  Lot and his possessions when ¹¹⁶  they left, for Lot ¹¹⁷  was living in Sodom. ¹¹⁸ 

14:13 A fugitive ¹¹⁹  came and told Abram the Hebrew. ¹²⁰  Now Abram was living by the oaks ¹²¹  of Mamre the Amorite, the brother ¹²²  of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty ¹²³  with Abram.) ¹²⁴  14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew ¹²⁵  had been taken captive, he mobilized ¹²⁶  his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders ¹²⁷  as far as Dan. ¹²⁸  14:15 Then, during the night, ¹²⁹  Abram ¹³⁰  divided his forces ¹³¹  against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north ¹³²  of Damascus. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. ¹³³  He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of ¹³⁴  the people.

14:17 After Abram ¹³⁵  returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram ¹³⁶  in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). ¹³⁷  14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem ¹³⁸  brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) ¹³⁹  14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by ¹⁴⁰  the Most High God,

Creator ¹⁴¹  of heaven and earth. ¹⁴² 

14:20 Worthy of praise is ¹⁴³  the Most High God,

who delivered ¹⁴⁴  your enemies into your hand.”

Abram gave Melchizedek ¹⁴⁵  a tenth of everything.

14:21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.” 14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand ¹⁴⁶  to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow ¹⁴⁷  14:23 that I will take nothing ¹⁴⁸  belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I ¹⁴⁹  who made Abram rich.’ 14:24 I will take nothing ¹⁵⁰  except compensation for what the young men have eaten. ¹⁵¹  As for the share of the men who went with me – Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre – let them take their share.”

15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield ¹⁵²  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ¹⁵³ 

15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, ¹⁵⁴  what will you give me since ¹⁵⁵  I continue to be ¹⁵⁶  childless, and my heir ¹⁵⁷  is ¹⁵⁸  Eliezer of Damascus?” ¹⁵⁹  15:3 Abram added, ¹⁶⁰  “Since ¹⁶¹  you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” ¹⁶² 

15:4 But look, ¹⁶³  the word of the Lord came to him: “This man ¹⁶⁴  will not be your heir, ¹⁶⁵  but instead ¹⁶⁶  a son ¹⁶⁷  who comes from your own body will be ¹⁶⁸  your heir.” ¹⁶⁹  15:5 The Lord ¹⁷⁰  took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”

15:6 Abram believed ¹⁷¹  the Lord, and the Lord ¹⁷²  considered his response of faith ¹⁷³  as proof of genuine loyalty. ¹⁷⁴ 

15:7 The Lord said ¹⁷⁵  to him, “I am the Lord ¹⁷⁶  who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans ¹⁷⁷  to give you this land to possess.” 15:8 But ¹⁷⁸  Abram ¹⁷⁹  said, “O sovereign Lord, ¹⁸⁰  by what ¹⁸¹  can I know that I am to possess it?”

15:9 The Lord ¹⁸²  said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram ¹⁸³  took all these for him and then cut them in two ¹⁸⁴  and placed each half opposite the other, ¹⁸⁵  but he did not cut the birds in half. 15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, ¹⁸⁶  and great terror overwhelmed him. ¹⁸⁷  15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain ¹⁸⁸  that your descendants will be strangers ¹⁸⁹  in a foreign country. ¹⁹⁰  They will be enslaved and oppressed ¹⁹¹  for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. ¹⁹²  Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, ¹⁹³  you will go to your ancestors ¹⁹⁴  in peace and be buried at a good old age. ¹⁹⁵  15:16 In the fourth generation ¹⁹⁶  your descendants ¹⁹⁷  will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” ¹⁹⁸ 

15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch ¹⁹⁹  passed between the animal parts. ²⁰⁰  15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant ²⁰¹  with Abram: “To your descendants I give ²⁰²  this land, from the river of Egypt ²⁰³  to the great river, the Euphrates River – 15:19 the land ²⁰⁴  of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” ²⁰⁵ 

16:1 Now Sarai, ²⁰⁶  Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, ²⁰⁷  but she had an Egyptian servant ²⁰⁸  named Hagar. ²⁰⁹  16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since ²¹⁰  the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with ²¹¹  my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” ²¹²  Abram did what ²¹³  Sarai told him.

16:3 So after Abram had lived ²¹⁴  in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, ²¹⁵  to her husband to be his wife. ²¹⁶  16:4 He had sexual relations with ²¹⁷  Hagar, and she became pregnant. ²¹⁸  Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. ²¹⁹  16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! ²²⁰  I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, ²²¹  but when she realized ²²²  that she was pregnant, she despised me. ²²³  May the Lord judge between you and me!” ²²⁴ 

16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your ²²⁵  servant is under your authority, ²²⁶  do to her whatever you think best.” ²²⁷  Then Sarai treated Hagar ²²⁸  harshly, ²²⁹  so she ran away from Sarai. ²³⁰ 

16:7 The Lord’s angel ²³¹  found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. ²³²  16:8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from ²³³  my mistress, Sarai.”

16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit ²³⁴  to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, ²³⁵  “so that they will be too numerous to count.” ²³⁶  16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,

“You are now ²³⁷  pregnant

and are about to give birth ²³⁸  to a son.

You are to name him Ishmael, ²³⁹ 

for the Lord has heard your painful groans. ²⁴⁰ 

16:12 He will be a wild donkey ²⁴¹  of a man.

He will be hostile to everyone, ²⁴² 

and everyone will be hostile to him. ²⁴³ 

He will live away from ²⁴⁴  his brothers.”

16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” ²⁴⁵  for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” ²⁴⁶  16:14 That is why the well was called ²⁴⁷  Beer Lahai Roi. ²⁴⁸  (It is located ²⁴⁹  between Kadesh and Bered.)

16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. ²⁵⁰  16:16 (Now ²⁵¹  Abram was 86 years old ²⁵²  when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.) ²⁵³ 

17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, ²⁵⁴  the Lord appeared to him and said, ²⁵⁵  “I am the sovereign God. ²⁵⁶  Walk ²⁵⁷  before me ²⁵⁸  and be blameless. ²⁵⁹  17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant ²⁶⁰  between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” ²⁶¹ 

17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, ²⁶²  and God said to him, ²⁶³  17:4 “As for me, ²⁶⁴  this ²⁶⁵  is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be ²⁶⁶  Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham ²⁶⁷  because I will make you ²⁶⁸  the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you ²⁶⁹  extremely ²⁷⁰  fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. ²⁷¹  17:7 I will confirm ²⁷²  my covenant as a perpetual ²⁷³  covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ²⁷⁴  17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing ²⁷⁵  – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent ²⁷⁶  possession. I will be their God.”

17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep ²⁷⁷  the covenantal requirement ²⁷⁸  I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: ²⁷⁹  Every male among you must be circumcised. ²⁸⁰  17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder ²⁸¹  of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old ²⁸²  must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, ²⁸³  whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant ²⁸⁴  will be visible in your flesh as a permanent ²⁸⁵  reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male ²⁸⁶  who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off ²⁸⁷  from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” ²⁸⁸ 

17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; ²⁸⁹  Sarah ²⁹⁰  will be her name. 17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. ²⁹¹  Kings of countries ²⁹²  will come from her!”

17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed ²⁹³  as he said to himself, ²⁹⁴  “Can ²⁹⁵  a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? ²⁹⁶  Can Sarah ²⁹⁷  bear a child at the age of ninety?” ²⁹⁸  17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that ²⁹⁹  Ishmael might live before you!” ³⁰⁰ 

17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. ³⁰¹  I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual ³⁰²  covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. ³⁰³  I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. ³⁰⁴  He will become the father of twelve princes; ³⁰⁵  I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. ³⁰⁶ 

17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) ³⁰⁷  and circumcised them ³⁰⁸  on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old ³⁰⁹  when he was circumcised; ³¹⁰  17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old ³¹¹  when he was circumcised. 17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham ³¹²  by the oaks ³¹³  of Mamre while ³¹⁴  he was sitting at the entrance ³¹⁵  to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham ³¹⁶  looked up ³¹⁷  and saw ³¹⁸  three men standing across ³¹⁹  from him. When he saw them ³²⁰  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ³²¹  to the ground. ³²² 

18:3 He said, “My lord, ³²³  if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. ³²⁴  18:4 Let a little water be brought so that ³²⁵  you may all ³²⁶  wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get ³²⁷  a bit of food ³²⁸  so that you may refresh yourselves ³²⁹  since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” ³³⁰  “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”

18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take ³³¹  three measures ³³²  of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” ³³³  18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, ³³⁴  who quickly prepared it. ³³⁵  18:8 Abraham ³³⁶  then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food ³³⁷  before them. They ate while ³³⁸  he was standing near them under a tree.

18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, ³³⁹  in the tent.” 18:10 One of them ³⁴⁰  said, “I will surely return ³⁴¹  to you when the season comes round again, ³⁴²  and your wife Sarah will have a son!” ³⁴³  (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. ³⁴⁴  18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; ³⁴⁵  Sarah had long since passed menopause.) ³⁴⁶  18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, ³⁴⁷  “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, ³⁴⁸  especially when my husband is old too?” ³⁴⁹ 

18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why ³⁵⁰  did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really ³⁵¹  have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible ³⁵²  for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” ³⁵³  18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” ³⁵⁴ 

18:16 When the men got up to leave, ³⁵⁵  they looked out over ³⁵⁶  Sodom. (Now ³⁵⁷  Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) ³⁵⁸  18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ³⁵⁹  18:18 After all, Abraham ³⁶⁰  will surely become ³⁶¹  a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ³⁶²  using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him ³⁶³  so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep ³⁶⁴  the way of the Lord by doing ³⁶⁵  what is right and just. Then the Lord will give ³⁶⁶  to Abraham what he promised ³⁶⁷  him.”

18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against ³⁶⁸  Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant ³⁶⁹  18:21 that I must go down ³⁷⁰  and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. ³⁷¹  If not, ³⁷²  I want to know.”

18:22 The two men turned ³⁷³  and headed ³⁷⁴  toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. ³⁷⁵  18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare ³⁷⁶  the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge ³⁷⁷  of the whole earth do what is right?” ³⁷⁸ 

18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord ³⁷⁹  (although I am but dust and ashes), ³⁸⁰  18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy ³⁸¹  the whole city because five are lacking?” ³⁸²  He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

18:29 Abraham ³⁸³  spoke to him again, ³⁸⁴  “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”

18:30 Then Abraham ³⁸⁵  said, “May the Lord not be angry ³⁸⁶  so that I may speak! ³⁸⁷  What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

18:31 Abraham ³⁸⁸  said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

18:32 Finally Abraham ³⁸⁹  said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

18:33 The Lord went on his way ³⁹⁰  when he had finished speaking ³⁹¹  to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. ³⁹² 

19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while ³⁹³  Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. ³⁹⁴  When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.

19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night ³⁹⁵  and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” ³⁹⁶  “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” ³⁹⁷ 

19:3 But he urged ³⁹⁸  them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate. 19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, ³⁹⁹  all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. ⁴⁰⁰  19:5 They shouted to Lot, ⁴⁰¹  “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex ⁴⁰²  with them!”

19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 19:7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! ⁴⁰³  19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with ⁴⁰⁴  a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. ⁴⁰⁵  Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection ⁴⁰⁶  of my roof.” ⁴⁰⁷ 

19:9 “Out of our way!” ⁴⁰⁸  they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, ⁴⁰⁹  and now he dares to judge us! ⁴¹⁰  We’ll do more harm ⁴¹¹  to you than to them!” They kept ⁴¹²  pressing in on Lot until they were close enough ⁴¹³  to break down the door.

19:10 So the men inside ⁴¹⁴  reached out ⁴¹⁵  and pulled Lot back into the house ⁴¹⁶  as they shut the door. 19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, ⁴¹⁷  with blindness. The men outside ⁴¹⁸  wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors ⁴¹⁹  said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? ⁴²⁰  Do you have ⁴²¹  any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? ⁴²²  Get them out of this ⁴²³  place 19:13 because we are about to destroy ⁴²⁴  it. The outcry against this place ⁴²⁵  is so great before the Lord that he ⁴²⁶  has sent us to destroy it.”

19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. ⁴²⁷  He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy ⁴²⁸  the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. ⁴²⁹ 

19:15 At dawn ⁴³⁰  the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, ⁴³¹  or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” ⁴³²  19:16 When Lot ⁴³³  hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. ⁴³⁴  They led them away and placed them ⁴³⁵  outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ⁴³⁶  said, “Run ⁴³⁷  for your lives! Don’t look ⁴³⁸  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ⁴³⁹  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! ⁴⁴⁰  19:19 Your ⁴⁴¹  servant has found favor with you, ⁴⁴²  and you have shown me great ⁴⁴³  kindness ⁴⁴⁴  by sparing ⁴⁴⁵  my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because ⁴⁴⁶  this disaster will overtake ⁴⁴⁷  me and I’ll die. ⁴⁴⁸  19:20 Look, this town ⁴⁴⁹  over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. ⁴⁵⁰  Let me go there. ⁴⁵¹  It’s just a little place, isn’t it? ⁴⁵²  Then I’ll survive.” ⁴⁵³ 

19:21 “Very well,” he replied, ⁴⁵⁴  “I will grant this request too ⁴⁵⁵  and will not overthrow ⁴⁵⁶  the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, ⁴⁵⁷  for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) ⁴⁵⁸ 

19:23 The sun had just risen ⁴⁵⁹  over the land as Lot reached Zoar. ⁴⁶⁰  19:24 Then the Lord rained down ⁴⁶¹  sulfur and fire ⁴⁶²  on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. ⁴⁶³  19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, ⁴⁶⁴  including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew ⁴⁶⁵  from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s ⁴⁶⁶  wife looked back longingly ⁴⁶⁷  and was turned into a pillar of salt.

19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went ⁴⁶⁸  to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward ⁴⁶⁹  Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. ⁴⁷⁰  As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. ⁴⁷¹ 

19:29 So when God destroyed ⁴⁷²  the cities of the region, ⁴⁷³  God honored ⁴⁷⁴  Abraham’s request. He removed Lot ⁴⁷⁵  from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed ⁴⁷⁶  the cities Lot had lived in.

19:30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 19:31 Later the older daughter said ⁴⁷⁷  to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby ⁴⁷⁸  to have sexual relations with us, ⁴⁷⁹  according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine ⁴⁸⁰  so we can have sexual relations ⁴⁸¹  with him and preserve ⁴⁸²  our family line through our father.” ⁴⁸³ 

19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, ⁴⁸⁴  and the older daughter ⁴⁸⁵  came and had sexual relations with her father. ⁴⁸⁶  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ⁴⁸⁷  19:34 So in the morning the older daughter ⁴⁸⁸  said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. ⁴⁸⁹  Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” ⁴⁹⁰  19:35 So they made their father drunk ⁴⁹¹  that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. ⁴⁹²  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ⁴⁹³ 

19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter ⁴⁹⁴  gave birth to a son and named him Moab. ⁴⁹⁵  He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 19:38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. ⁴⁹⁶  He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ⁴⁹⁷  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ⁴⁹⁸  in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

20:3 But God appeared ⁴⁹⁹  to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead ⁵⁰⁰  because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” ⁵⁰¹ 

20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, ⁵⁰²  would you really slaughter an innocent nation? ⁵⁰³  20:5 Did Abraham ⁵⁰⁴  not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ⁵⁰⁵  ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience ⁵⁰⁶  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. ⁵⁰⁷  That is why I have kept you ⁵⁰⁸  from sinning against me and why ⁵⁰⁹  I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ⁵¹⁰  he is a prophet ⁵¹¹  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ⁵¹²  But if you don’t give her back, ⁵¹³  know that you will surely die ⁵¹⁴  along with all who belong to you.”

20:8 Early in the morning ⁵¹⁵  Abimelech summoned ⁵¹⁶  all his servants. When he told them about all these things, ⁵¹⁷  they ⁵¹⁸  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? ⁵¹⁹  You have done things to me that should not be done!” ⁵²⁰  20:10 Then Abimelech asked ⁵²¹  Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” ⁵²² 

20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ⁵²³  ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of ⁵²⁴  my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, ⁵²⁵  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 ⁵²⁶  from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: ⁵²⁷  Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”

20:14 So Abimelech gave ⁵²⁸  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.” ⁵²⁹ 

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver ⁵³⁰  to your ‘brother.’ ⁵³¹  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” ⁵³² 

20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord ⁵³³  had caused infertility to strike every woman ⁵³⁴  in the household of Abimelech because he took ⁵³⁵  Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

21:1 The Lord visited ⁵³⁶  Sarah just as he had said he would and did ⁵³⁷  for Sarah what he had promised. ⁵³⁸  21:2 So Sarah became pregnant ⁵³⁹  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. ⁵⁴⁰  21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, ⁵⁴¹  Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. ⁵⁴²  21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) ⁵⁴³ 

21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. ⁵⁴⁴  Everyone who hears about this ⁵⁴⁵  will laugh ⁵⁴⁶  with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, ⁵⁴⁷  “Who would ⁵⁴⁸  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 ⁵⁴⁹  a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. ⁵⁵⁰  21:9 But Sarah noticed ⁵⁵¹  the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. ⁵⁵²  21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish ⁵⁵³  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. ⁵⁵⁴  21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ⁵⁵⁵  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ⁵⁵⁶  all that Sarah is telling ⁵⁵⁷  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ⁵⁵⁸  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 ⁵⁵⁹  some food ⁵⁶⁰  and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, ⁵⁶¹  and sent her away. So she went wandering ⁵⁶²  aimlessly through the wilderness ⁵⁶³  of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved ⁵⁶⁴  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 ⁵⁶⁵  away; for she thought, ⁵⁶⁶  “I refuse to watch the child die.” ⁵⁶⁷  So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. ⁵⁶⁸ 

21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. ⁵⁶⁹  The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, ⁵⁷⁰  Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard ⁵⁷¹  the boy’s voice right where he is crying. 21:18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 21:19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water. ⁵⁷²  She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.

21:20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. ⁵⁷³  His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷⁴ 

21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you ⁵⁷⁵  in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name ⁵⁷⁶  that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. ⁵⁷⁷  Show me, and the land ⁵⁷⁸  where you are staying, ⁵⁷⁹  the same loyalty ⁵⁸⁰  that I have shown you.” ⁵⁸¹ 

21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” ⁵⁸²  21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint ⁵⁸³  against Abimelech concerning a well ⁵⁸⁴  that Abimelech’s servants had seized. ⁵⁸⁵  21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, ⁵⁸⁶  you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”

21:27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty. ⁵⁸⁷  21:28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves. 21:29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these ⁵⁸⁸  seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 21:30 He replied, “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof ⁵⁸⁹  that I dug this well.” ⁵⁹⁰  21:31 That is why he named that place ⁵⁹¹  Beer Sheba, ⁵⁹²  because the two of them swore ⁵⁹³  an oath there.

21:32 So they made a treaty ⁵⁹⁴  at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned ⁵⁹⁵  to the land of the Philistines. ⁵⁹⁶  21:33 Abraham ⁵⁹⁷  planted a tamarisk tree ⁵⁹⁸  in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, ⁵⁹⁹  the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. ⁶⁰⁰ 

22:1 Some time after these things God tested ⁶⁰¹  Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham ⁶⁰²  replied. 22:2 God ⁶⁰³  said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac ⁶⁰⁴  – and go to the land of Moriah! ⁶⁰⁵  Offer him up there as a burnt offering ⁶⁰⁶  on one of the mountains which I will indicate to ⁶⁰⁷  you.”

22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. ⁶⁰⁸  He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out ⁶⁰⁹  for the place God had spoken to him about.

22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of ⁶¹⁰  the place in the distance. 22:5 So he ⁶¹¹  said to his servants, “You two stay ⁶¹²  here with the donkey while ⁶¹³  the boy and I go up there. We will worship ⁶¹⁴  and then return to you.” ⁶¹⁵ 

22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, ⁶¹⁶  and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, ⁶¹⁷  “My father?” “What is it, ⁶¹⁸  my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, ⁶¹⁹  “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide ⁶²⁰  for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.

22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there ⁶²¹  and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up ⁶²²  his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter ⁶²³  his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel ⁶²⁴  called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” ⁶²⁵  the angel said. ⁶²⁶  “Do not do anything to him, for now I know ⁶²⁷  that you fear ⁶²⁸  God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

22:13 Abraham looked up ⁶²⁹  and saw ⁶³⁰  behind him ⁶³¹  a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he ⁶³²  went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” ⁶³³  It is said to this day, ⁶³⁴  “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” ⁶³⁵ 

22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ ⁶³⁶  decrees the Lord, ⁶³⁷  ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, ⁶³⁸  and I will greatly multiply ⁶³⁹  your descendants ⁶⁴⁰  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ⁶⁴¹  of the strongholds ⁶⁴²  of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ⁶⁴³  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁶⁴⁴  using the name of your descendants.’”

22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together ⁶⁴⁵  for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. ⁶⁴⁶ 

22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah ⁶⁴⁷  also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), ⁶⁴⁸  22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now ⁶⁴⁹  Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) These were the eight sons Milcah bore to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children – Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. ⁶⁵⁰  23:2 Then she ⁶⁵¹  died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. ⁶⁵² 

23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife ⁶⁵³  and said to the sons of Heth, ⁶⁵⁴  23:4 “I am a temporary settler ⁶⁵⁵  among you. Grant ⁶⁵⁶  me ownership ⁶⁵⁷  of a burial site among you so that I may ⁶⁵⁸  bury my dead.” ⁶⁵⁹ 

23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, ⁶⁶⁰  23:6 “Listen, sir, ⁶⁶¹  you are a mighty prince ⁶⁶²  among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you ⁶⁶³  from burying your dead.”

23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, ⁶⁶⁴  the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree ⁶⁶⁵  that I may bury my dead, ⁶⁶⁶  then hear me out. ⁶⁶⁷  Ask ⁶⁶⁸  Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell ⁶⁶⁹  me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly ⁶⁷⁰  for the full price, ⁶⁷¹  so that I may own it as a burial site.”

23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite ⁶⁷²  replied to Abraham in the hearing ⁶⁷³  of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate ⁶⁷⁴  of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell ⁶⁷⁵  you both the field and the cave that is in it. ⁶⁷⁶  In the presence of my people ⁶⁷⁷  I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”

23:12 Abraham bowed before the local people 23:13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay ⁶⁷⁸  to you the price ⁶⁷⁹  of the field. Take it from me so that I may ⁶⁸⁰  bury my dead there.”

23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth ⁶⁸¹  400 pieces of silver, ⁶⁸²  but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”

23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price ⁶⁸³  and weighed ⁶⁸⁴  out for him ⁶⁸⁵  the price ⁶⁸⁶  that Ephron had quoted ⁶⁸⁷  in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. ⁶⁸⁸ 

23:17 So Abraham secured ⁶⁸⁹  Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 23:18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city. ⁶⁹⁰ 

23:19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 23:20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site ⁶⁹¹  from the sons of Heth.

24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, ⁶⁹²  and the Lord had blessed him ⁶⁹³  in everything. 24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one ⁶⁹⁴  in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh ⁶⁹⁵  24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise ⁶⁹⁶  by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire ⁶⁹⁷  a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 24:4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives ⁶⁹⁸  to find ⁶⁹⁹  a wife for my son Isaac.”

24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me ⁷⁰⁰  to this land? Must I then ⁷⁰¹  take your son back to the land from which you came?”

24:6 “Be careful ⁷⁰²  never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. ⁷⁰³  24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, ⁷⁰⁴  promised me with a solemn oath, ⁷⁰⁵  ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel ⁷⁰⁶  before you so that you may find ⁷⁰⁷  a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, ⁷⁰⁸  you will be free ⁷⁰⁹  from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!” 24:9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes. ⁷¹⁰ 

24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. ⁷¹¹  He journeyed ⁷¹²  to the region of Aram Naharaim ⁷¹³  and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well ⁷¹⁴  outside the city. It was evening, ⁷¹⁵  the time when the women would go out to draw water. 24:12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. ⁷¹⁶  Be faithful ⁷¹⁷  to my master Abraham. 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring, ⁷¹⁸  and the daughters of the people ⁷¹⁹  who live in the town are coming out to draw water. 24:14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ ⁷²⁰  In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” ⁷²¹ 

24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah ⁷²²  with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor). ⁷²³  24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. ⁷²⁴  She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 24:17 Abraham’s servant ⁷²⁵  ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 24:18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering ⁷²⁶  her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 24:19 When she had done so, ⁷²⁷  she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied ⁷²⁸  her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. 24:21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine ⁷²⁹  if the Lord had made his journey successful ⁷³⁰  or not.

24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka ⁷³¹  and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels ⁷³²  and gave them to her. ⁷³³  24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. ⁷³⁴  “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”

24:24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor. ⁷³⁵  24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, ⁷³⁶  “and room for you ⁷³⁷  to spend the night.”

24:26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, 24:27 saying “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love ⁷³⁸  for my master! The Lord has led me ⁷³⁹  to the house ⁷⁴⁰  of my master’s relatives!” ⁷⁴¹ 

24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about ⁷⁴²  these things. 24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) ⁷⁴³  Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring. 24:30 When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring ⁷⁴⁴  and heard his sister Rebekah say, ⁷⁴⁵  “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing ⁷⁴⁶  by the camels near the spring. 24:31 Laban said to him, ⁷⁴⁷  “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! ⁷⁴⁸  Why are you standing out here when I have prepared ⁷⁴⁹  the house and a place for the camels?”

24:32 So Abraham’s servant ⁷⁵⁰  went to the house and unloaded ⁷⁵¹  the camels. Straw and feed were given ⁷⁵²  to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. ⁷⁵³  24:33 When food was served, ⁷⁵⁴  he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” ⁷⁵⁵  “Tell us,” Laban said. ⁷⁵⁶ 

24:34 “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. 24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. ⁷⁵⁷  The Lord ⁷⁵⁸  has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 24:36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him ⁷⁵⁹  when she was old, ⁷⁶⁰  and my master ⁷⁶¹  has given him everything he owns. 24:37 My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 24:38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find ⁷⁶²  a wife for my son.’ 24:39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go ⁷⁶³  with me?’ ⁷⁶⁴  24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, ⁷⁶⁵  will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 24:41 You will be free from your oath ⁷⁶⁶  if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’ 24:42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, ⁷⁶⁷  may events unfold as follows: ⁷⁶⁸  24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring. ⁷⁶⁹  When ⁷⁷⁰  the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Give me a little water to drink from your jug.” 24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, ⁷⁷¹  along came Rebekah ⁷⁷²  with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 24:47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’ ⁷⁷³  I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter ⁷⁷⁴  of my master’s brother for his son. 24:49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.” ⁷⁷⁵ 

24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. ⁷⁷⁶  Our wishes are of no concern. ⁷⁷⁷  24:51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become ⁷⁷⁸  the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” ⁷⁷⁹ 

24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 24:53 Then he ⁷⁸⁰  brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother. 24:54 After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight. ⁷⁸¹ 

When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” ⁷⁸²  24:55 But Rebekah’s ⁷⁸³  brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go.” 24:56 But he said to them, “Don’t detain me – the Lord ⁷⁸⁴  has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return ⁷⁸⁵  to my master.” 24:57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” ⁷⁸⁶  24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want ⁷⁸⁷  to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”

24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: ⁷⁸⁸ 

“Our sister, may you become the mother ⁷⁸⁹  of thousands of ten thousands!

May your descendants possess the strongholds ⁷⁹⁰  of their enemies.”

24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with ⁷⁹¹  the man. So Abraham’s servant ⁷⁹²  took Rebekah and left.

24:62 Now ⁷⁹³  Isaac came from ⁷⁹⁴  Beer Lahai Roi, ⁷⁹⁵  for ⁷⁹⁶  he was living in the Negev. ⁷⁹⁷  24:63 He ⁷⁹⁸  went out to relax ⁷⁹⁹  in the field in the early evening. ⁸⁰⁰  Then he looked up ⁸⁰¹  and saw that ⁸⁰²  there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up ⁸⁰³  and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked ⁸⁰⁴  Abraham’s servant, ⁸⁰⁵  “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. ⁸⁰⁶  So she took her veil and covered herself.

24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah ⁸⁰⁷  into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her ⁸⁰⁸  as his wife and loved her. ⁸⁰⁹  So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. ⁸¹⁰ 

25:1 Abraham had taken ⁸¹¹  another ⁸¹²  wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. ⁸¹³  The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants ⁸¹⁴  of Keturah.

25:5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines ⁸¹⁵  and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. ⁸¹⁶ 

25:7 Abraham lived a total of ⁸¹⁷  175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. ⁸¹⁸  He joined his ancestors. ⁸¹⁹  25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah ⁸²⁰  near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. ⁸²¹  There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed ⁸²²  his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. ⁸²³ 

25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, ⁸²⁴  whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.

25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: ⁸²⁵  Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps – twelve princes ⁸²⁶  according to their clans.

25:17 Ishmael lived a total of ⁸²⁷  137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. ⁸²⁸  25:18 His descendants ⁸²⁹  settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next ⁸³⁰  to Egypt all the way ⁸³¹  to Asshur. ⁸³²  They settled ⁸³³  away from all their relatives. ⁸³⁴ 

25:19 This is the account of Isaac, ⁸³⁵  the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, ⁸³⁶  the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. ⁸³⁷ 

25:21 Isaac prayed to ⁸³⁸  the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 25:22 But the children struggled ⁸³⁹  inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” ⁸⁴⁰  So she asked the Lord, ⁸⁴¹  25:23 and the Lord said to her,

“Two nations ⁸⁴²  are in your womb,

and two peoples will be separated from within you.

One people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”

25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, ⁸⁴³  there were ⁸⁴⁴  twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish ⁸⁴⁵  all over, ⁸⁴⁶  like a hairy ⁸⁴⁷  garment, so they named him Esau. ⁸⁴⁸  25:26 When his brother came out with ⁸⁴⁹  his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. ⁸⁵⁰  Isaac was sixty years old ⁸⁵¹  when they were born.

25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ⁸⁵²  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ⁸⁵³  25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, ⁸⁵⁴  but Rebekah loved ⁸⁵⁵  Jacob.

25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, ⁸⁵⁶  and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed ⁸⁵⁷  me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called ⁸⁵⁸  Edom.) ⁸⁵⁹ 

25:31 But Jacob replied, “First ⁸⁶⁰  sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” ⁸⁶¹  25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” ⁸⁶²  So Esau ⁸⁶³  swore an oath to him and sold his birthright ⁸⁶⁴  to Jacob.

25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. ⁸⁶⁵  So Esau despised his birthright. ⁸⁶⁶ 

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ⁸⁶⁷  in the days of Abraham. ⁸⁶⁸  Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; ⁸⁶⁹  settle down in the land that I will point out to you. ⁸⁷⁰  26:3 Stay ⁸⁷¹  in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, ⁸⁷²  for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, ⁸⁷³  and I will fulfill ⁸⁷⁴  the solemn promise I made ⁸⁷⁵  to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them ⁸⁷⁶  all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. ⁸⁷⁷  26:5 All this will come to pass ⁸⁷⁸  because Abraham obeyed me ⁸⁷⁹  and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” ⁸⁸⁰  26:6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.

26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” ⁸⁸¹  He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, ⁸⁸²  “The men of this place will kill me to get ⁸⁸³  Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”

26:8 After Isaac ⁸⁸⁴  had been there a long time, ⁸⁸⁵  Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed ⁸⁸⁶  Isaac caressing ⁸⁸⁷  his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really ⁸⁸⁸  your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” ⁸⁸⁹ 

26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? ⁸⁹⁰  One of the men ⁸⁹¹  might easily have had sexual relations with ⁸⁹²  your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches ⁸⁹³  this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ⁸⁹⁴ 

26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, ⁸⁹⁵  because the Lord blessed him. ⁸⁹⁶  26:13 The man became wealthy. ⁸⁹⁷  His influence continued to grow ⁸⁹⁸  until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had ⁸⁹⁹  so many sheep ⁹⁰⁰  and cattle ⁹⁰¹  and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous ⁹⁰²  of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up ⁹⁰³  all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.

26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, ⁹⁰⁴  for you have become much more powerful ⁹⁰⁵  than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. ⁹⁰⁶  26:18 Isaac reopened ⁹⁰⁷  the wells that had been dug ⁹⁰⁸  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ⁹⁰⁹  after Abraham died. Isaac ⁹¹⁰  gave these wells ⁹¹¹  the same names his father had given them. ⁹¹² 

26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing ⁹¹³  water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled ⁹¹⁴  with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac ⁹¹⁵  named the well ⁹¹⁶  Esek ⁹¹⁷  because they argued with him about it. ⁹¹⁸  26:21 His servants ⁹¹⁹  dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it ⁹²⁰  Sitnah. ⁹²¹  26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac ⁹²²  named it ⁹²³  Rehoboth, ⁹²⁴  saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”

26:23 From there Isaac ⁹²⁵  went up to Beer Sheba. 26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped ⁹²⁶  the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. ⁹²⁷ 

26:26 Now Abimelech had come ⁹²⁸  to him from Gerar along with ⁹²⁹  Ahuzzah his friend ⁹³⁰  and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me ⁹³¹  and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see ⁹³²  that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be ⁹³³  a pact between us ⁹³⁴  – between us ⁹³⁵  and you. Allow us to make ⁹³⁶  a treaty with you 26:29 so that ⁹³⁷  you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed ⁹³⁸  you, but have always treated you well ⁹³⁹  before sending you away ⁹⁴⁰  in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” ⁹⁴¹ 

26:30 So Isaac ⁹⁴²  held a feast for them and they celebrated. ⁹⁴³  26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. ⁹⁴⁴  Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. ⁹⁴⁵ 

26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. ⁹⁴⁶  26:33 So he named it Shibah; ⁹⁴⁷  that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba ⁹⁴⁸  to this day.

26:34 When ⁹⁴⁹  Esau was forty years old, ⁹⁵⁰  he married ⁹⁵¹  Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. ⁹⁵² 

27:1 When ⁹⁵³  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ⁹⁵⁴  he called his older ⁹⁵⁵  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ⁹⁵⁶  replied. 27:2 Isaac ⁹⁵⁷  said, “Since ⁹⁵⁸  I am so old, I could die at any time. ⁹⁵⁹  27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game ⁹⁶⁰  for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then ⁹⁶¹  I will eat it so that I may bless you ⁹⁶²  before I die.”

27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. ⁹⁶³  When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, ⁹⁶⁴  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 ⁹⁶⁵  it and bless you ⁹⁶⁶  in the presence of the Lord ⁹⁶⁷  before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do ⁹⁶⁸  exactly what I tell you! ⁹⁶⁹  27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare ⁹⁷⁰  them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take ⁹⁷¹  it to your father. Thus he will eat it ⁹⁷²  and ⁹⁷³  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! ⁹⁷⁴  27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him ⁹⁷⁵  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, ⁹⁷⁶  my son! Just obey me! ⁹⁷⁷  Go and get them for me!”

27:14 So he went and got the goats ⁹⁷⁸  and brought them to his mother. She ⁹⁷⁹  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 ⁹⁸⁰  on his hands ⁹⁸¹  and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed ⁹⁸²  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 ⁹⁸³  replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” ⁹⁸⁴  27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up ⁹⁸⁵  and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” ⁹⁸⁶  27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world ⁹⁸⁷  did you find it so quickly, ⁹⁸⁸  my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” ⁹⁸⁹  he replied. ⁹⁹⁰  27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, ⁹⁹¹  my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” ⁹⁹²  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. ⁹⁹³  27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob ⁹⁹⁴  replied. 27:25 Isaac ⁹⁹⁵  said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. ⁹⁹⁶  Then I will bless you.” ⁹⁹⁷  So Jacob ⁹⁹⁸  brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac ⁹⁹⁹  drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob ¹⁰⁰⁰  went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent ¹⁰⁰¹  of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,

“Yes, ¹⁰⁰²  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 ¹⁰⁰³ 

and the richness ¹⁰⁰⁴  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 ¹⁰⁰⁵  lord ¹⁰⁰⁶  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ¹⁰⁰⁷ 

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 ¹⁰⁰⁸  his father’s ¹⁰⁰⁹  presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. ¹⁰¹⁰  27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau ¹⁰¹¹  said to him, “My father, get up ¹⁰¹²  and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” ¹⁰¹³  27:32 His father Isaac asked, ¹⁰¹⁴  “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” ¹⁰¹⁵  he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently ¹⁰¹⁶  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. ¹⁰¹⁷  He will indeed be blessed!”

27:34 When Esau heard ¹⁰¹⁸  his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. ¹⁰¹⁹  He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac ¹⁰²⁰  replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away ¹⁰²¹  your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! ¹⁰²²  He has tripped me up ¹⁰²³  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!” ¹⁰²⁴  Then Esau wept loudly. ¹⁰²⁵ 

27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,

“Indeed, ¹⁰²⁶  your home will be

away from the richness ¹⁰²⁷  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.” ¹⁰²⁸ 

27:41 So Esau hated ¹⁰²⁹  Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. ¹⁰³⁰  Esau said privately, ¹⁰³¹  “The time ¹⁰³²  of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill ¹⁰³³  my brother Jacob!”

27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, ¹⁰³⁴  she quickly summoned ¹⁰³⁵  her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. ¹⁰³⁶  27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. ¹⁰³⁷  Run away immediately ¹⁰³⁸  to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while ¹⁰³⁹  until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there ¹⁰⁴⁰  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. ¹⁰⁴¹  Why should I lose both of you in one day?” ¹⁰⁴² 

27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed ¹⁰⁴³  because of these daughters of Heth. ¹⁰⁴⁴  If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” ¹⁰⁴⁵ 

28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! ¹⁰⁴⁶  28:2 Leave immediately ¹⁰⁴⁷  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 ¹⁰⁴⁸  bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! ¹⁰⁴⁹  Then you will become ¹⁰⁵⁰  a large nation. ¹⁰⁵¹  28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ¹⁰⁵²  so that you may possess the land ¹⁰⁵³  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ¹⁰⁵⁴  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. ¹⁰⁵⁵  As he blessed him, ¹⁰⁵⁶  Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” ¹⁰⁵⁷  28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized ¹⁰⁵⁸  that the Canaanite women ¹⁰⁵⁹  were displeasing to ¹⁰⁶⁰  his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married ¹⁰⁶¹  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 ¹⁰⁶²  where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. ¹⁰⁶³  He took one of the stones ¹⁰⁶⁴  and placed it near his head. ¹⁰⁶⁵  Then he fell asleep ¹⁰⁶⁶  in that place 28:12 and had a dream. ¹⁰⁶⁷  He saw ¹⁰⁶⁸  a stairway ¹⁰⁶⁹  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. ¹⁰⁷⁰  I will give you and your descendants the ground ¹⁰⁷¹  you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ¹⁰⁷²  and you will spread out ¹⁰⁷³  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹⁰⁷⁴  using your name and that of your descendants. ¹⁰⁷⁵  28:15 I am with you! ¹⁰⁷⁶  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 ¹⁰⁷⁷  and thought, ¹⁰⁷⁸  “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!” 28:17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”

28:18 Early ¹⁰⁷⁹  in the morning Jacob ¹⁰⁸⁰  took the stone he had placed near his head ¹⁰⁸¹  and set it up as a sacred stone. ¹⁰⁸²  Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, ¹⁰⁸³  although the former name of the town was Luz. 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food ¹⁰⁸⁴  to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, ¹⁰⁸⁵  then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone ¹⁰⁸⁶  that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely ¹⁰⁸⁷  give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” ¹⁰⁸⁸ 

29:1 So Jacob moved on ¹⁰⁸⁹  and came to the land of the eastern people. ¹⁰⁹⁰  29:2 He saw ¹⁰⁹¹  in the field a well with ¹⁰⁹²  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ¹⁰⁹³  a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds ¹⁰⁹⁴  would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well’s mouth.

29:4 Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.” 29:5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson ¹⁰⁹⁵  of Nahor?” “We know him,” ¹⁰⁹⁶  they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” ¹⁰⁹⁷  Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. ¹⁰⁹⁸  Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob ¹⁰⁹⁹  said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, ¹¹⁰⁰  it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” ¹¹⁰¹  29:8 “We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water ¹¹⁰²  the sheep.”

29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. ¹¹⁰³  29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, ¹¹⁰⁴  and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he ¹¹⁰⁵  went over ¹¹⁰⁶  and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. ¹¹⁰⁷  29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. ¹¹⁰⁸  29:12 When Jacob explained ¹¹⁰⁹  to Rachel that he was a relative of her father ¹¹¹⁰  and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father. 29:13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob ¹¹¹¹  told Laban how he was related to him. ¹¹¹²  29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” ¹¹¹³  So Jacob ¹¹¹⁴  stayed with him for a month. ¹¹¹⁵ 

29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work ¹¹¹⁶  for me for nothing because you are my relative? ¹¹¹⁷  Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; ¹¹¹⁸  the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, ¹¹¹⁹  but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) ¹¹²⁰  29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with ¹¹²¹  Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.” 29:19 Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man. ¹¹²²  Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. ¹¹²³  But they seemed like only a few days to him ¹¹²⁴  because his love for her was so great. ¹¹²⁵ 

29:21 Finally Jacob said ¹¹²⁶  to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. ¹¹²⁷  I want to have marital relations with her.” ¹¹²⁸  29:22 So Laban invited all the people ¹¹²⁹  of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah ¹¹³⁰  to Jacob, ¹¹³¹  and Jacob ¹¹³²  had marital relations with her. ¹¹³³  29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) ¹¹³⁴ 

29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! ¹¹³⁵  So Jacob ¹¹³⁶  said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! ¹¹³⁷  Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked ¹¹³⁸  me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” ¹¹³⁹  Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage ¹¹⁴⁰  before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. ¹¹⁴¹  Then we will give you the younger one ¹¹⁴²  too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” ¹¹⁴³ 

29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. ¹¹⁴⁴  When Jacob ¹¹⁴⁵  completed Leah’s bridal week, ¹¹⁴⁶  Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ¹¹⁴⁷  29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) ¹¹⁴⁸  29:30 Jacob ¹¹⁴⁹  had marital relations ¹¹⁵⁰  with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban ¹¹⁵¹  for seven more years. ¹¹⁵² 

29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, ¹¹⁵³  he enabled her to become pregnant ¹¹⁵⁴  while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant ¹¹⁵⁵  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ¹¹⁵⁶  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ¹¹⁵⁷  Surely my husband will love me now.”

29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, ¹¹⁵⁸  he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. ¹¹⁵⁹ 

29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, ¹¹⁶⁰  because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. ¹¹⁶¹ 

29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. ¹¹⁶²  Then she stopped having children.

30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she ¹¹⁶³  became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children ¹¹⁶⁴  or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious ¹¹⁶⁵  with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” ¹¹⁶⁶  30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with ¹¹⁶⁷  her so that she can bear ¹¹⁶⁸  children ¹¹⁶⁹  for me ¹¹⁷⁰  and I can have a family through her.” ¹¹⁷¹ 

30:4 So Rachel ¹¹⁷²  gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with ¹¹⁷³  her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant ¹¹⁷⁴  and gave Jacob a son. ¹¹⁷⁵  30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer ¹¹⁷⁶  and given me a son.” That is why ¹¹⁷⁷  she named him Dan. ¹¹⁷⁸ 

30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. ¹¹⁷⁹  30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” ¹¹⁸⁰  So she named him Naphtali. ¹¹⁸¹ 

30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave ¹¹⁸²  her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. ¹¹⁸³  30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” ¹¹⁸⁴  So she named him Gad. ¹¹⁸⁵ 

30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. ¹¹⁸⁶  30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, ¹¹⁸⁷  for women ¹¹⁸⁸  will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. ¹¹⁸⁹ 

30:14 At the time ¹¹⁹⁰  of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants ¹¹⁹¹  in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 30:15 But Leah replied, ¹¹⁹²  “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” ¹¹⁹³  Rachel said, “he may sleep ¹¹⁹⁴  with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep ¹¹⁹⁵  with me because I have paid for your services ¹¹⁹⁶  with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations ¹¹⁹⁷  with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention ¹¹⁹⁸  to Leah; she became pregnant ¹¹⁹⁹  and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. ¹²⁰⁰  30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward ¹²⁰¹  because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” ¹²⁰²  So she named him Issachar. ¹²⁰³ 

30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. ¹²⁰⁴  30:20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. ¹²⁰⁵ 

30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

30:22 Then God took note of ¹²⁰⁶  Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. ¹²⁰⁷  30:23 She became pregnant ¹²⁰⁸  and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” ¹²⁰⁹  30:24 She named him Joseph, ¹²¹⁰  saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”

30:25 After Rachel had given birth ¹²¹¹  to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send ¹²¹²  me on my way so that I can go ¹²¹³  home to my own country. ¹²¹⁴  30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. ¹²¹⁵  Then I’ll depart, ¹²¹⁶  because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” ¹²¹⁷ 

30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, ¹²¹⁸  for I have learned by divination ¹²¹⁹  that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” ¹²²⁰ 

30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, ¹²²¹  “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. ¹²²²  30:30 Indeed, ¹²²³  you had little before I arrived, ¹²²⁴  but now your possessions have increased many times over. ¹²²⁵  The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. ¹²²⁶  But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” ¹²²⁷ 

30:31 So Laban asked, ¹²²⁸  “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” ¹²²⁹  Jacob replied, ¹²³⁰  “but if you agree to this one condition, ¹²³¹  I will continue to care for ¹²³²  your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among ¹²³³  all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, ¹²³⁴  and the spotted or speckled goats. ¹²³⁵  These animals will be my wages. ¹²³⁶  30:33 My integrity will testify for me ¹²³⁷  later on. ¹²³⁸  When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, ¹²³⁹  if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.” ¹²⁴⁰  30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” ¹²⁴¹ 

30:35 So that day Laban ¹²⁴²  removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the care ¹²⁴³  of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, ¹²⁴⁴  while ¹²⁴⁵  Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.

30:37 But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible. 30:38 Then he set up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink. ¹²⁴⁶  30:39 When the sheep mated ¹²⁴⁷  in front of the branches, they ¹²⁴⁸  gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 30:40 Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face ¹²⁴⁹  the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban’s flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban’s flocks. 30:41 When the stronger females were in heat, ¹²⁵⁰  Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches. 30:42 But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there. ¹²⁵¹  So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban ¹²⁵²  and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob ¹²⁵³  became extremely prosperous. He owned ¹²⁵⁴  large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ¹²⁵⁵  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ¹²⁵⁶  at our father’s expense!” ¹²⁵⁷  31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. ¹²⁵⁸ 

31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers ¹²⁵⁹  and to your relatives. I will be with you.” ¹²⁶⁰  31:4 So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah ¹²⁶¹  to come to the field ¹²⁶²  where his flocks were. ¹²⁶³  31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, ¹²⁶⁴  but the God of my father has been with me. 31:6 You know that I’ve worked for your father as hard as I could, ¹²⁶⁵  31:7 but your father has humiliated ¹²⁶⁶  me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, ¹²⁶⁷  ‘The speckled animals ¹²⁶⁸  will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring. 31:9 In this way God has snatched away your father’s livestock and given them to me.

31:10 “Once ¹²⁶⁹  during breeding season I saw ¹²⁷⁰  in a dream that the male goats mating with ¹²⁷¹  the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 31:11 In the dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ ‘Here I am!’ I replied. 31:12 Then he said, ‘Observe ¹²⁷²  that all the male goats mating with ¹²⁷³  the flock are streaked, speckled, or spotted, for I have observed all that Laban has done to you. 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, ¹²⁷⁴  where you anointed ¹²⁷⁵  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ¹²⁷⁶  Now leave this land immediately ¹²⁷⁷  and return to your native land.’”

31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance ¹²⁷⁸  in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted ¹²⁷⁹  the money paid for us! ¹²⁸⁰  31:16 Surely all the wealth that God snatched away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So now do everything God has told you.”

31:17 So Jacob immediately put his children and his wives on the camels. ¹²⁸¹  31:18 He took ¹²⁸²  away all the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram and all his moveable property that he had accumulated. Then he set out toward the land of Canaan to return to his father Isaac. ¹²⁸³ 

31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, ¹²⁸⁴  Rachel stole the household idols ¹²⁸⁵  that belonged to her father. 31:20 Jacob also deceived ¹²⁸⁶  Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. ¹²⁸⁷  31:21 He left ¹²⁸⁸  with all he owned. He quickly crossed ¹²⁸⁹  the Euphrates River ¹²⁹⁰  and headed for ¹²⁹¹  the hill country of Gilead.

31:22 Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left. ¹²⁹²  31:23 So he took his relatives ¹²⁹³  with him and pursued Jacob ¹²⁹⁴  for seven days. ¹²⁹⁵  He caught up with ¹²⁹⁶  him in the hill country of Gilead. 31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, ¹²⁹⁷  “Be careful ¹²⁹⁸  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” ¹²⁹⁹ 

31:25 Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. ¹³⁰⁰  31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me ¹³⁰¹  and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! ¹³⁰²  31:27 Why did you run away secretly ¹³⁰³  and deceive me? ¹³⁰⁴  Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? ¹³⁰⁵  31:28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren ¹³⁰⁶  good-bye. You have acted foolishly! 31:29 I have ¹³⁰⁷  the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful ¹³⁰⁸  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ ¹³⁰⁹  31:30 Now I understand that ¹³¹⁰  you have gone away ¹³¹¹  because you longed desperately ¹³¹²  for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” ¹³¹³ 

31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” ¹³¹⁴  Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought ¹³¹⁵  you might take your daughters away from me by force. ¹³¹⁶  31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! ¹³¹⁷  In the presence of our relatives ¹³¹⁸  identify whatever is yours and take it.” ¹³¹⁹  (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) ¹³²⁰ 

31:33 So Laban entered Jacob’s tent, and Leah’s tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. ¹³²¹  Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. ¹³²²  31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle ¹³²³  and sat on them.) ¹³²⁴  Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. ¹³²⁵  31:35 Rachel ¹³²⁶  said to her father, “Don’t be angry, ¹³²⁷  my lord. I cannot stand up ¹³²⁸  in your presence because I am having my period.” ¹³²⁹  So he searched thoroughly, ¹³³⁰  but did not find the idols.

31:36 Jacob became angry ¹³³¹  and argued with Laban. “What did I do wrong?” he demanded of Laban. ¹³³²  “What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? ¹³³³  31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? ¹³³⁴  Set it here before my relatives and yours, ¹³³⁵  and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! ¹³³⁶ 

31:38 “I have been with you for the past twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 31:39 Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. ¹³³⁷  You always made me pay for every missing animal, ¹³³⁸  whether it was taken by day or at night. 31:40 I was consumed by scorching heat ¹³³⁹  during the day and by piercing cold ¹³⁴⁰  at night, and I went without sleep. ¹³⁴¹  31:41 This was my lot ¹³⁴²  for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave ¹³⁴³  for you – fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, but you changed my wages ten times! 31:42 If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears ¹³⁴⁴  – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, ¹³⁴⁵  and he rebuked you last night.”

31:43 Laban replied ¹³⁴⁶  to Jacob, “These women ¹³⁴⁷  are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, ¹³⁴⁸  and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today ¹³⁴⁹  or the children to whom they have given birth? 31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, ¹³⁵⁰  you and I, and it will be ¹³⁵¹  proof that we have made peace.” ¹³⁵² 

31:45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. 31:46 Then he ¹³⁵³  said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they brought stones and put them in a pile. ¹³⁵⁴  They ate there by the pile of stones. 31:47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, ¹³⁵⁵  but Jacob called it Galeed. ¹³⁵⁶ 

31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement ¹³⁵⁷  today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 31:49 It was also called Mizpah ¹³⁵⁸  because he said, “May the Lord watch ¹³⁵⁹  between us ¹³⁶⁰  when we are out of sight of one another. ¹³⁶¹  31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize ¹³⁶²  that God is witness to your actions.” ¹³⁶³ 

31:51 “Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you,” Laban said to Jacob. ¹³⁶⁴  31:52 “This pile of stones and the pillar are reminders that I will not pass beyond this pile to come to harm you and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to come to harm me. ¹³⁶⁵  31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, ¹³⁶⁶  the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. ¹³⁶⁷  31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice ¹³⁶⁸  on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal. ¹³⁶⁹  They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.

31:55 ¹³⁷⁰  Early in the morning Laban kissed ¹³⁷¹  his grandchildren ¹³⁷²  and his daughters goodbye and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home. ¹³⁷³ 

32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God ¹³⁷⁴  met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, ¹³⁷⁵  “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. ¹³⁷⁶ 

32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead ¹³⁷⁷  to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region ¹³⁷⁸  of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant ¹³⁷⁹  Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now. 32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent ¹³⁸⁰  this message ¹³⁸¹  to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”

32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.” 32:7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels. 32:8 “If Esau attacks one camp,” ¹³⁸²  he thought, ¹³⁸³  “then the other camp will be able to escape.” ¹³⁸⁴ 

32:9 Then Jacob prayed, ¹³⁸⁵  “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said ¹³⁸⁶  to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ ¹³⁸⁷  32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love ¹³⁸⁸  you have shown ¹³⁸⁹  your servant. With only my walking stick ¹³⁹⁰  I crossed the Jordan, ¹³⁹¹  but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Rescue me, ¹³⁹²  I pray, from the hand ¹³⁹³  of my brother Esau, ¹³⁹⁴  for I am afraid he will come ¹³⁹⁵  and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. ¹³⁹⁶  32:12 But you ¹³⁹⁷  said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper ¹³⁹⁸  and will make ¹³⁹⁹  your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” ¹⁴⁰⁰ 

32:13 Jacob ¹⁴⁰¹  stayed there that night. Then he sent ¹⁴⁰²  as a gift ¹⁴⁰³  to his brother Esau 32:14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 32:15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 32:16 He entrusted them to ¹⁴⁰⁴  his servants, who divided them into herds. ¹⁴⁰⁵  He told his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep some distance between one herd and the next.” 32:17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd, ¹⁴⁰⁶  “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? ¹⁴⁰⁷  Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ ¹⁴⁰⁸  32:18 then you must say, ¹⁴⁰⁹  ‘They belong ¹⁴¹⁰  to your servant Jacob. ¹⁴¹¹  They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. ¹⁴¹²  In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” ¹⁴¹³ 

32:19 He also gave these instructions to the second and third servants, as well as all those who were following the herds, saying, “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ¹⁴¹⁴  32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ¹⁴¹⁵  Jacob thought, ¹⁴¹⁶  “I will first appease him ¹⁴¹⁷  by sending a gift ahead of me. ¹⁴¹⁸  After that I will meet him. ¹⁴¹⁹  Perhaps he will accept me.” ¹⁴²⁰  32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him ¹⁴²¹  while he spent that night in the camp. ¹⁴²² 

32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took ¹⁴²³  his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons ¹⁴²⁴  and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ¹⁴²⁵  32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. ¹⁴²⁶  32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man ¹⁴²⁷  wrestled ¹⁴²⁸  with him until daybreak. ¹⁴²⁹  32:25 When the man ¹⁴³⁰  saw that he could not defeat Jacob, ¹⁴³¹  he struck ¹⁴³²  the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

32:26 Then the man ¹⁴³³  said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” ¹⁴³⁴  “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, ¹⁴³⁵  “unless you bless me.” ¹⁴³⁶  32:27 The man asked him, ¹⁴³⁷  “What is your name?” ¹⁴³⁸  He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, ¹⁴³⁹  “but Israel, ¹⁴⁴⁰  because you have fought ¹⁴⁴¹  with God and with men and have prevailed.”

32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” ¹⁴⁴²  “Why ¹⁴⁴³  do you ask my name?” the man replied. ¹⁴⁴⁴  Then he blessed ¹⁴⁴⁵  Jacob ¹⁴⁴⁶  there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, ¹⁴⁴⁷  explaining, ¹⁴⁴⁸  “Certainly ¹⁴⁴⁹  I have seen God face to face ¹⁴⁵⁰  and have survived.” ¹⁴⁵¹ 

32:31 The sun rose ¹⁴⁵²  over him as he crossed over Penuel, ¹⁴⁵³  but ¹⁴⁵⁴  he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day ¹⁴⁵⁵  the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck ¹⁴⁵⁶  the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.

33:1 Jacob looked up ¹⁴⁵⁷  and saw that Esau was coming ¹⁴⁵⁸  along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. 33:2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. ¹⁴⁵⁹  33:3 But Jacob ¹⁴⁶⁰  himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached ¹⁴⁶¹  his brother. 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both wept. 33:5 When Esau ¹⁴⁶²  looked up ¹⁴⁶³  and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob ¹⁴⁶⁴  replied, “The children whom God has graciously given ¹⁴⁶⁵  your servant.” 33:6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down. ¹⁴⁶⁶  33:7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.

33:8 Esau ¹⁴⁶⁷  then asked, “What did you intend ¹⁴⁶⁸  by sending all these herds to meet me?” ¹⁴⁶⁹  Jacob ¹⁴⁷⁰  replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.” 33:9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother. Keep what belongs to you.” 33:10 “No, please take them,” Jacob said. ¹⁴⁷¹  “If I have found favor in your sight, accept ¹⁴⁷²  my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, ¹⁴⁷³  it is as if I have seen the face of God. ¹⁴⁷⁴  33:11 Please take my present ¹⁴⁷⁵  that was brought to you, for God has been generous ¹⁴⁷⁶  to me and I have all I need.” ¹⁴⁷⁷  When Jacob urged him, he took it. ¹⁴⁷⁸ 

33:12 Then Esau ¹⁴⁷⁹  said, “Let’s be on our way! ¹⁴⁸⁰  I will go in front of you.” 33:13 But Jacob ¹⁴⁸¹  said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young, ¹⁴⁸²  and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. ¹⁴⁸³  If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die. 33:14 Let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the herds and the children, ¹⁴⁸⁴  until I come to my lord at Seir.”

33:15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of my men with you.” ¹⁴⁸⁵  “Why do that?” Jacob replied. ¹⁴⁸⁶  “My lord has already been kind enough to me.” ¹⁴⁸⁷ 

33:16 So that same day Esau made his way back ¹⁴⁸⁸  to Seir. 33:17 But ¹⁴⁸⁹  Jacob traveled to Succoth ¹⁴⁹⁰  where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called ¹⁴⁹¹  Succoth. ¹⁴⁹² 

33:18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near ¹⁴⁹³  the city. 33:19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it ¹⁴⁹⁴  from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. ¹⁴⁹⁵  33:20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.” ¹⁴⁹⁶ 

34:1 Now Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went to meet ¹⁴⁹⁷  the young women ¹⁴⁹⁸  of the land. 34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, who ruled that area, saw her, he grabbed her, forced himself on her, ¹⁴⁹⁹  and sexually assaulted her. ¹⁵⁰⁰  34:3 Then he became very attached ¹⁵⁰¹  to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her. ¹⁵⁰²  34:4 Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Acquire this young girl as my wife.” ¹⁵⁰³  34:5 When ¹⁵⁰⁴  Jacob heard that Shechem ¹⁵⁰⁵  had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent ¹⁵⁰⁶  until they came in.

34:6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went to speak with Jacob about Dinah. ¹⁵⁰⁷  34:7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. ¹⁵⁰⁸  They ¹⁵⁰⁹  were offended ¹⁵¹⁰  and very angry because Shechem ¹⁵¹¹  had disgraced Israel ¹⁵¹²  by sexually assaulting ¹⁵¹³  Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. ¹⁵¹⁴ 

34:8 But Hamor made this appeal to them: “My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. ¹⁵¹⁵  Please give her to him as his wife. 34:9 Intermarry with us. ¹⁵¹⁶  Let us marry your daughters, and take our daughters as wives for yourselves. ¹⁵¹⁷  34:10 You may live ¹⁵¹⁸  among us, and the land will be open to you. ¹⁵¹⁹  Live in it, travel freely in it, ¹⁵²⁰  and acquire property in it.”

34:11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s ¹⁵²¹  father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and whatever you require of me ¹⁵²²  I’ll give. ¹⁵²³  34:12 You can make the bride price and the gift I must bring very expensive, ¹⁵²⁴  and I’ll give ¹⁵²⁵  whatever you ask ¹⁵²⁶  of me. Just give me the young woman as my wife!”

34:13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully when they spoke because Shechem ¹⁵²⁷  had violated their sister Dinah. 34:14 They said to them, “We cannot give ¹⁵²⁸  our sister to a man who is not circumcised, for it would be a disgrace ¹⁵²⁹  to us. 34:15 We will give you our consent on this one condition: You must become ¹⁵³⁰  like us by circumcising ¹⁵³¹  all your males. 34:16 Then we will give ¹⁵³²  you our daughters to marry, ¹⁵³³  and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 34:17 But if you do not agree to our terms ¹⁵³⁴  by being circumcised, then we will take ¹⁵³⁵  our sister ¹⁵³⁶  and depart.”

34:18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. ¹⁵³⁷  34:19 The young man did not delay in doing what they asked ¹⁵³⁸  because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah ¹⁵³⁹  badly. (Now he was more important ¹⁵⁴⁰  than anyone in his father’s household.) ¹⁵⁴¹  34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate ¹⁵⁴²  of their city and spoke to the men of their city, 34:21 “These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough ¹⁵⁴³  for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry. ¹⁵⁴⁴  34:22 Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand ¹⁵⁴⁵  that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 34:23 If we do so, ¹⁵⁴⁶  won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”

34:24 All the men who assembled at the city gate ¹⁵⁴⁷  agreed with ¹⁵⁴⁸  Hamor and his son Shechem. Every male who assembled at the city gate ¹⁵⁴⁹  was circumcised. 34:25 In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword ¹⁵⁵⁰  and went to the unsuspecting city ¹⁵⁵¹  and slaughtered every male. 34:26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. 34:27 Jacob’s sons killed them ¹⁵⁵²  and looted the city because their sister had been violated. ¹⁵⁵³  34:28 They took their flocks, herds, and donkeys, as well as everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. ¹⁵⁵⁴  34:29 They captured as plunder ¹⁵⁵⁵  all their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives, including everything in the houses.

34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought ruin ¹⁵⁵⁶  on me by making me a foul odor ¹⁵⁵⁷  among the inhabitants of the land – among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I ¹⁵⁵⁸  am few in number; they will join forces against me and attack me, and both I and my family will be destroyed!” 34:31 But Simeon and Levi replied, ¹⁵⁵⁹  “Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?”

35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once ¹⁵⁶⁰  to Bethel ¹⁵⁶¹  and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” ¹⁵⁶²  35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. ¹⁵⁶³  Purify yourselves and change your clothes. ¹⁵⁶⁴  35:3 Let us go up at once ¹⁵⁶⁵  to Bethel. Then I will make ¹⁵⁶⁶  an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress ¹⁵⁶⁷  and has been with me wherever I went.” ¹⁵⁶⁸ 

35:4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession ¹⁵⁶⁹  and the rings that were in their ears. ¹⁵⁷⁰  Jacob buried them ¹⁵⁷¹  under the oak ¹⁵⁷²  near Shechem 35:5 and they started on their journey. ¹⁵⁷³  The surrounding cities were afraid of God, ¹⁵⁷⁴  and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

35:6 Jacob and all those who were with him arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel) ¹⁵⁷⁵  in the land of Canaan. ¹⁵⁷⁶  35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel ¹⁵⁷⁷  because there God had revealed himself ¹⁵⁷⁸  to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 35:8 (Deborah, ¹⁵⁷⁹  Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named ¹⁵⁸⁰  Oak of Weeping.) ¹⁵⁸¹ 

35:9 God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan Aram and blessed him. 35:10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but your name will no longer be called Jacob; Israel will be your name.” So God named him Israel. ¹⁵⁸²  35:11 Then God said to him, “I am the sovereign God. ¹⁵⁸³  Be fruitful and multiply! A nation – even a company of nations – will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants! ¹⁵⁸⁴  35:12 The land I gave ¹⁵⁸⁵  to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. To your descendants ¹⁵⁸⁶  I will also give this land.” 35:13 Then God went up from the place ¹⁵⁸⁷  where he spoke with him. 35:14 So Jacob set up a sacred stone pillar in the place where God spoke with him. ¹⁵⁸⁸  He poured out a drink offering on it, and then he poured oil on it. ¹⁵⁸⁹  35:15 Jacob named the place ¹⁵⁹⁰  where God spoke with him Bethel. ¹⁵⁹¹ 

35:16 They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, ¹⁵⁹²  Rachel went into labor ¹⁵⁹³  – and her labor was hard. 35:17 When her labor was at its hardest, ¹⁵⁹⁴  the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you are having another son.” ¹⁵⁹⁵  35:18 With her dying breath, ¹⁵⁹⁶  she named him Ben-Oni. ¹⁵⁹⁷  But his father called him Benjamin instead. ¹⁵⁹⁸  35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ¹⁵⁹⁹  35:20 Jacob set up a marker ¹⁶⁰⁰  over her grave; it is ¹⁶⁰¹  the Marker of Rachel’s Grave to this day.

35:21 Then Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. ¹⁶⁰²  35:22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with ¹⁶⁰³  Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.

Jacob had twelve sons:

35:23 The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

35:24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

35:25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.

35:26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher.

These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.

35:27 So Jacob came back to his father Isaac in Mamre, ¹⁶⁰⁴  to Kiriath Arba ¹⁶⁰⁵  (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. ¹⁶⁰⁶  35:28 Isaac lived to be 180 years old. ¹⁶⁰⁷  35:29 Then Isaac breathed his last and joined his ancestors. ¹⁶⁰⁸  He died an old man who had lived a full life. ¹⁶⁰⁹  His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

36:1 What follows is the account of Esau (also known as Edom). ¹⁶¹⁰ 

36:2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: ¹⁶¹¹  Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter ¹⁶¹²  of Zibeon the Hivite, 36:3 in addition to Basemath the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

36:4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, 36:5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

36:6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, all the people in his household, his livestock, his animals, and all his possessions which he had acquired in the land of Canaan and went to a land some distance away from ¹⁶¹³  Jacob his brother 36:7 because they had too many possessions to be able to stay together and the land where they had settled ¹⁶¹⁴  was not able to support them because of their livestock. 36:8 So Esau (also known as Edom) lived in the hill country of Seir. ¹⁶¹⁵ 

36:9 This is the account of Esau, the father ¹⁶¹⁶  of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir.

36:10 These were the names of Esau’s sons:

Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath.

36:11 The sons of Eliphaz were:

Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

36:12 Timna, a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons ¹⁶¹⁷  of Esau’s wife Adah.

36:13 These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons ¹⁶¹⁸  of Esau’s wife Basemath.

36:14 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter ¹⁶¹⁹  of Zibeon: She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah to Esau.

36:15 These were the chiefs ¹⁶²⁰  among the descendants ¹⁶²¹  of Esau, the sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 36:16 chief Korah, ¹⁶²²  chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons ¹⁶²³  of Adah.

36:17 These were the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these were the sons ¹⁶²⁴  of Esau’s wife Basemath.

36:18 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

36:19 These were the sons of Esau (also known as Edom), and these were their chiefs.

36:20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, ¹⁶²⁵  who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 36:21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the descendants ¹⁶²⁶  of Seir in the land of Edom.

36:22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam; ¹⁶²⁷  Lotan’s sister was Timna.

36:23 These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, ¹⁶²⁸  and Onam.

36:24 These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah (who discovered the hot springs ¹⁶²⁹  in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon).

36:25 These were the children ¹⁶³⁰  of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

36:26 These were the sons of Dishon: ¹⁶³¹  Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

36:27 These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

36:28 These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

36:29 These were the chiefs of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, 36:30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chief lists in the land of Seir.

36:31 These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites: ¹⁶³² 

36:32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; the name of his city was Dinhabah.

36:33 When Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place.

36:34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.

36:35 When Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab, reigned in his place; the name of his city was Avith.

36:36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place.

36:37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth by the River ¹⁶³³  reigned in his place.

36:38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.

36:39 When Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, Hadad ¹⁶³⁴  reigned in his place; the name of his city was Pau. ¹⁶³⁵  His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.

36:40 These were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families, according to their places, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, 36:41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 36:42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, 36:43 chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements ¹⁶³⁶  in the land they possessed. This was Esau, the father of the Edomites.

37:1 But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, ¹⁶³⁷  in the land of Canaan. ¹⁶³⁸ 

37:2 This is the account of Jacob.

Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, ¹⁶³⁹  was taking care of ¹⁶⁴⁰  the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster ¹⁶⁴¹  working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. ¹⁶⁴²  Joseph brought back a bad report about them ¹⁶⁴³  to their father.

37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons ¹⁶⁴⁴  because he was a son born to him late in life, ¹⁶⁴⁵  and he made a special ¹⁶⁴⁶  tunic for him. 37:4 When Joseph’s ¹⁶⁴⁷  brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, ¹⁶⁴⁸  they hated Joseph ¹⁶⁴⁹  and were not able to speak to him kindly. ¹⁶⁵⁰ 

37:5 Joseph ¹⁶⁵¹  had a dream, ¹⁶⁵²  and when he told his brothers about it, ¹⁶⁵³  they hated him even more. ¹⁶⁵⁴  37:6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ¹⁶⁵⁵  37:7 There we were, ¹⁶⁵⁶  binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down ¹⁶⁵⁷  to it!” 37:8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?” ¹⁶⁵⁸  They hated him even more ¹⁶⁵⁹  because of his dream and because of what he said. ¹⁶⁶⁰ 

37:9 Then he had another dream, ¹⁶⁶¹  and told it to his brothers. “Look,” ¹⁶⁶²  he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 37:10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had? ¹⁶⁶³  Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?” ¹⁶⁶⁴  37:11 His brothers were jealous ¹⁶⁶⁵  of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said. ¹⁶⁶⁶ 

37:12 When his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 37:13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers ¹⁶⁶⁷  are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” “I’m ready,” ¹⁶⁶⁸  Joseph replied. ¹⁶⁶⁹  37:14 So Jacob ¹⁶⁷⁰  said to him, “Go now and check on ¹⁶⁷¹  the welfare ¹⁶⁷²  of your brothers and of the flocks, and bring me word.” So Jacob ¹⁶⁷³  sent him from the valley of Hebron.

37:15 When Joseph reached Shechem, ¹⁶⁷⁴  a man found him wandering ¹⁶⁷⁵  in the field, so the man asked him, “What are you looking for?” 37:16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell ¹⁶⁷⁶  me where they are grazing their flocks.” 37:17 The man said, “They left this area, ¹⁶⁷⁷  for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

37:18 Now Joseph’s brothers ¹⁶⁷⁸  saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 37:19 They said to one another, “Here comes this master of dreams! ¹⁶⁷⁹  37:20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild ¹⁶⁸⁰  animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!” ¹⁶⁸¹ 

37:21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph ¹⁶⁸²  from their hands, ¹⁶⁸³  saying, ¹⁶⁸⁴  “Let’s not take his life!” ¹⁶⁸⁵  37:22 Reuben continued, ¹⁶⁸⁶  “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” ¹⁶⁸⁷  (Reuben said this ¹⁶⁸⁸  so he could rescue Joseph ¹⁶⁸⁹  from them ¹⁶⁹⁰  and take him back to his father.)

37:23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him ¹⁶⁹¹  of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. 37:24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty; ¹⁶⁹²  there was no water in it.)

37:25 When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up ¹⁶⁹³  and saw ¹⁶⁹⁴  a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt. ¹⁶⁹⁵  37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 37:27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not lay a hand on him, ¹⁶⁹⁶  for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed. ¹⁶⁹⁷  37:28 So when the Midianite ¹⁶⁹⁸  merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled ¹⁶⁹⁹  him ¹⁷⁰⁰  out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites ¹⁷⁰¹  then took Joseph to Egypt.

37:29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! ¹⁷⁰²  He tore his clothes, 37:30 returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy isn’t there! And I, where can I go?” 37:31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a young goat, ¹⁷⁰³  and dipped the tunic in the blood. 37:32 Then they brought the special tunic to their father ¹⁷⁰⁴  and said, “We found this. Determine now whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”

37:33 He recognized it and exclaimed, “It is my son’s tunic! A wild animal has eaten him! ¹⁷⁰⁵  Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, ¹⁷⁰⁶  and mourned for his son many days. 37:35 All his sons and daughters stood by ¹⁷⁰⁷  him to console him, but he refused to be consoled. “No,” he said, “I will go to the grave mourning my son.” ¹⁷⁰⁸  So Joseph’s ¹⁷⁰⁹  father wept for him.

37:36 Now ¹⁷¹⁰  in Egypt the Midianites ¹⁷¹¹  sold Joseph ¹⁷¹²  to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. ¹⁷¹³ 

38:1 At that time Judah left ¹⁷¹⁴  his brothers and stayed ¹⁷¹⁵  with an Adullamite man ¹⁷¹⁶  named Hirah.

38:2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man ¹⁷¹⁷  named Shua. ¹⁷¹⁸  Judah acquired her as a wife ¹⁷¹⁹  and had marital relations with her. ¹⁷²⁰  38:3 She became pregnant ¹⁷²¹  and had a son. Judah named ¹⁷²²  him Er. 38:4 She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan. 38:5 Then she had ¹⁷²³  yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib. ¹⁷²⁴ 

38:6 Judah acquired ¹⁷²⁵  a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. 38:7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him.

38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with ¹⁷²⁶  your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise ¹⁷²⁷  up a descendant for your brother.” ¹⁷²⁸  38:9 But Onan knew that the child ¹⁷²⁹  would not be considered his. ¹⁷³⁰  So whenever ¹⁷³¹  he had sexual relations with ¹⁷³²  his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely ¹⁷³³  so as not to give his brother a descendant. 38:10 What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord ¹⁷³⁴  killed him too.

38:11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, ¹⁷³⁵  “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” ¹⁷³⁶  So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

38:12 After some time ¹⁷³⁷  Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along with ¹⁷³⁸  his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 38:13 Tamar was told, ¹⁷³⁹  “Look, your father-in-law is going up ¹⁷⁴⁰  to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 38:14 So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because ¹⁷⁴¹  she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.) ¹⁷⁴² 

38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute ¹⁷⁴³  because she had covered her face. 38:16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come on! I want to have sex with you.” ¹⁷⁴⁴  (He did not realize ¹⁷⁴⁵  it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?” ¹⁷⁴⁶  38:17 He replied, “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give me a pledge until you send it?” ¹⁷⁴⁷  38:18 He said, “What pledge should I give you?” She replied, “Your seal, your cord, and the staff that’s in your hand.” So he gave them to her and had sex with her. ¹⁷⁴⁸  She became pregnant by him. 38:19 She left immediately, ¹⁷⁴⁹  removed her veil, and put on her widow’s clothes.

38:20 Then Judah had his friend Hirah ¹⁷⁵⁰  the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, ¹⁷⁵¹  but Hirah ¹⁷⁵²  could not find her. 38:21 He asked the men who were there, ¹⁷⁵³  “Where is the cult prostitute ¹⁷⁵⁴  who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.” 38:22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. Moreover, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’” 38:23 Judah said, “Let her keep the things ¹⁷⁵⁵  for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. ¹⁷⁵⁶  I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”

38:24 After three months Judah was told, ¹⁷⁵⁷  “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, ¹⁷⁵⁸  and as a result she has become pregnant.” ¹⁷⁵⁹  Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” 38:25 While they were bringing her out, she sent word ¹⁷⁶⁰  to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” ¹⁷⁶¹  Then she said, “Identify ¹⁷⁶²  the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.” 38:26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright ¹⁷⁶³  than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have sexual relations with her ¹⁷⁶⁴  again.

38:27 When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 38:28 While she was giving birth, one child ¹⁷⁶⁵  put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 38:29 But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him. ¹⁷⁶⁶  She said, “How you have broken out of the womb!” ¹⁷⁶⁷  So he was named Perez. ¹⁷⁶⁸  38:30 Afterward his brother came out – the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand – and he was named Zerah. ¹⁷⁶⁹ 

39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. ¹⁷⁷⁰  An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, ¹⁷⁷¹  purchased him from ¹⁷⁷²  the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful ¹⁷⁷³  and lived ¹⁷⁷⁴  in the household of his Egyptian master. 39:3 His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful. ¹⁷⁷⁵  39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. ¹⁷⁷⁶  Potiphar appointed Joseph ¹⁷⁷⁷  overseer of his household and put him in charge ¹⁷⁷⁸  of everything he owned. 39:5 From the time ¹⁷⁷⁹  Potiphar ¹⁷⁸⁰  appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed ¹⁷⁸¹  the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both ¹⁷⁸²  in his house and in his fields. ¹⁷⁸³  39:6 So Potiphar ¹⁷⁸⁴  left ¹⁷⁸⁵  everything he had in Joseph’s care; ¹⁷⁸⁶  he gave no thought ¹⁷⁸⁷  to anything except the food he ate. ¹⁷⁸⁸ 

Now Joseph was well built and good-looking. ¹⁷⁸⁹  39:7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of ¹⁷⁹⁰  Joseph and said, “Have sex with me.” ¹⁷⁹¹  39:8 But he refused, saying ¹⁷⁹²  to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought ¹⁷⁹³  to his household with me here, ¹⁷⁹⁴  and everything that he owns he has put into my care. ¹⁷⁹⁵  39:9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do ¹⁷⁹⁶  such a great evil and sin against God?” 39:10 Even though she continued to speak ¹⁷⁹⁷  to Joseph day after day, he did not respond ¹⁷⁹⁸  to her invitation to have sex with her. ¹⁷⁹⁹ 

39:11 One day ¹⁸⁰⁰  he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants ¹⁸⁰¹  were there in the house. 39:12 She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Have sex with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran ¹⁸⁰²  outside. ¹⁸⁰³  39:13 When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside, 39:14 she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband brought ¹⁸⁰⁴  in a Hebrew man ¹⁸⁰⁵  to us to humiliate us. ¹⁸⁰⁶  He tried to have sex with me, ¹⁸⁰⁷  but I screamed loudly. ¹⁸⁰⁸  39:15 When he heard me raise ¹⁸⁰⁹  my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.”

39:16 So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. 39:17 This is what she said to him: ¹⁸¹⁰  “That Hebrew slave ¹⁸¹¹  you brought to us tried to humiliate me, ¹⁸¹²  39:18 but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.”

39:19 When his master heard his wife say, ¹⁸¹³  “This is the way ¹⁸¹⁴  your slave treated me,” ¹⁸¹⁵  he became furious. ¹⁸¹⁶  39:20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison, ¹⁸¹⁷  the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison. ¹⁸¹⁸ 

39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. ¹⁸¹⁹  He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden. ¹⁸²⁰  39:22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing. ¹⁸²¹  39:23 The warden did not concern himself ¹⁸²²  with anything that was in Joseph’s ¹⁸²³  care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.

40:1 After these things happened, the cupbearer ¹⁸²⁴  to the king of Egypt and the royal baker ¹⁸²⁵  offended ¹⁸²⁶  their master, the king of Egypt. 40:2 Pharaoh was enraged with his two officials, ¹⁸²⁷  the cupbearer and the baker, 40:3 so he imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard in the same facility where Joseph was confined. 40:4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be their attendant, and he served them. ¹⁸²⁸ 

They spent some time in custody. ¹⁸²⁹  40:5 Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream ¹⁸³⁰  the same night. ¹⁸³¹  Each man’s dream had its own meaning. ¹⁸³²  40:6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were looking depressed. ¹⁸³³  40:7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?” ¹⁸³⁴  40:8 They told him, “We both had dreams, ¹⁸³⁵  but there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph responded, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell them ¹⁸³⁶  to me.”

40:9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: ¹⁸³⁷  “In my dream, there was a vine in front of me. 40:10 On the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes. 40:11 Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes, squeezed them into his ¹⁸³⁸  cup, and put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” ¹⁸³⁹ 

40:12 “This is its meaning,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches represent ¹⁸⁴⁰  three days. 40:13 In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you ¹⁸⁴¹  and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did before ¹⁸⁴²  when you were cupbearer. 40:14 But remember me ¹⁸⁴³  when it goes well for you, and show ¹⁸⁴⁴  me kindness. ¹⁸⁴⁵  Make mention ¹⁸⁴⁶  of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison, ¹⁸⁴⁷  40:15 for I really was kidnapped ¹⁸⁴⁸  from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon.”

40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable, ¹⁸⁴⁹  he said to Joseph, “I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread ¹⁸⁵⁰  on my head. 40:17 In the top basket there were baked goods of every kind for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them from the basket that was on my head.”

40:18 Joseph replied, “This is its meaning: The three baskets represent ¹⁸⁵¹  three days. 40:19 In three more days Pharaoh will decapitate you ¹⁸⁵²  and impale you on a pole. Then the birds will eat your flesh from you.”

40:20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” ¹⁸⁵³  the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants. 40:21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his former position ¹⁸⁵⁴  so that he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand, 40:22 but the chief baker he impaled, just as Joseph had predicted. ¹⁸⁵⁵  40:23 But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph – he forgot him. ¹⁸⁵⁶ 

41:1 At the end of two full years ¹⁸⁵⁷  Pharaoh had a dream. ¹⁸⁵⁸  As he was standing by the Nile, 41:2 seven fine-looking, fat cows were coming up out of the Nile, ¹⁸⁵⁹  and they grazed in the reeds. 41:3 Then seven bad-looking, thin cows were coming up after them from the Nile, ¹⁸⁶⁰  and they stood beside the other cows at the edge of the river. ¹⁸⁶¹  41:4 The bad-looking, thin cows ate the seven fine-looking, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

41:5 Then he fell asleep again and had a second dream: There were seven heads of grain growing ¹⁸⁶²  on one stalk, healthy ¹⁸⁶³  and good. 41:6 Then ¹⁸⁶⁴  seven heads of grain, thin and burned by the east wind, were sprouting up after them. 41:7 The thin heads swallowed up the seven healthy and full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream. ¹⁸⁶⁵ 

41:8 In the morning he ¹⁸⁶⁶  was troubled, so he called for ¹⁸⁶⁷  all the diviner-priests ¹⁸⁶⁸  of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, ¹⁸⁶⁹  but no one could interpret ¹⁸⁷⁰  them for him. ¹⁸⁷¹  41:9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures. ¹⁸⁷²  41:10 Pharaoh was enraged with his servants, and he put me in prison in the house of the captain of the guards – me and the chief baker. 41:11 We each had a dream one night; each of us had a dream with its own meaning. ¹⁸⁷³  41:12 Now a young man, a Hebrew, a servant ¹⁸⁷⁴  of the captain of the guards, ¹⁸⁷⁵  was with us there. We told him our dreams, ¹⁸⁷⁶  and he interpreted the meaning of each of our respective dreams for us. ¹⁸⁷⁷  41:13 It happened just as he had said ¹⁸⁷⁸  to us – Pharaoh ¹⁸⁷⁹  restored me to my office, but he impaled the baker.” ¹⁸⁸⁰ 

41:14 Then Pharaoh summoned ¹⁸⁸¹  Joseph. So they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; he shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came before Pharaoh. 41:15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, ¹⁸⁸²  and there is no one who can interpret ¹⁸⁸³  it. But I have heard about you, that ¹⁸⁸⁴  you can interpret dreams.” ¹⁸⁸⁵  41:16 Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “It is not within my power, ¹⁸⁸⁶  but God will speak concerning ¹⁸⁸⁷  the welfare of Pharaoh.” ¹⁸⁸⁸ 

41:17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing ¹⁸⁸⁹  by the edge of the Nile. 41:18 Then seven fat and fine-looking cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds. ¹⁸⁹⁰  41:19 Then ¹⁸⁹¹  seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows ¹⁸⁹²  as these in all the land of Egypt! 41:20 The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven ¹⁸⁹³  fat cows. 41:21 When they had eaten them, ¹⁸⁹⁴  no one would have known ¹⁸⁹⁵  that they had done so, for they were just as bad-looking as before. Then I woke up. 41:22 I also saw in my dream ¹⁸⁹⁶  seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good. 41:23 Then ¹⁸⁹⁷  seven heads of grain, withered and thin and burned with the east wind, were sprouting up after them. 41:24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. So I told all this ¹⁸⁹⁸  to the diviner-priests, but no one could tell me its meaning.” ¹⁸⁹⁹ 

41:25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning. ¹⁹⁰⁰  God has revealed ¹⁹⁰¹  to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ¹⁹⁰²  41:26 The seven good cows represent seven years, and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years. Both dreams have the same meaning. ¹⁹⁰³  41:27 The seven lean, bad-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years, as do the seven empty heads of grain burned with the east wind. They represent ¹⁹⁰⁴  seven years of famine. 41:28 This is just what I told ¹⁹⁰⁵  Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 41:29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. 41:30 But seven years of famine will occur ¹⁹⁰⁶  after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate ¹⁹⁰⁷  the land. 41:31 The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered ¹⁹⁰⁸  because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. ¹⁹⁰⁹  41:32 The dream was repeated to Pharaoh ¹⁹¹⁰  because the matter has been decreed ¹⁹¹¹  by God, and God will make it happen soon. ¹⁹¹² 

41:33 “So now Pharaoh should look ¹⁹¹³  for a wise and discerning man ¹⁹¹⁴  and give him authority ¹⁹¹⁵  over all the land of Egypt. 41:34 Pharaoh should do ¹⁹¹⁶  this – he should appoint ¹⁹¹⁷  officials ¹⁹¹⁸  throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt ¹⁹¹⁹  during the seven years of abundance. 41:35 They should gather all the excess food ¹⁹²⁰  during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority ¹⁹²¹  they should store up grain so the cities will have food, ¹⁹²²  and they should preserve it. ¹⁹²³  41:36 This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine.” ¹⁹²⁴ 

41:37 This advice made sense to Pharaoh and all his officials. ¹⁹²⁵  41:38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find a man like Joseph, ¹⁹²⁶  one in whom the Spirit of God is present?” ¹⁹²⁷  41:39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning ¹⁹²⁸  as you are! 41:40 You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands. ¹⁹²⁹  Only I, the king, will be greater than you. ¹⁹³⁰ 

41:41 “See here,” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I place ¹⁹³¹  you in authority over all the land of Egypt.” ¹⁹³²  41:42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his own hand and put it on Joseph’s. He clothed him with fine linen ¹⁹³³  clothes and put a gold chain around his neck. 41:43 Pharaoh ¹⁹³⁴  had him ride in the chariot used by his second-in-command, ¹⁹³⁵  and they cried out before him, “Kneel down!” ¹⁹³⁶  So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. 41:44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission ¹⁹³⁷  no one ¹⁹³⁸  will move his hand or his foot ¹⁹³⁹  in all the land of Egypt.” 41:45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. ¹⁹⁴⁰  He also gave him Asenath ¹⁹⁴¹  daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, ¹⁹⁴²  to be his wife. So Joseph took charge of ¹⁹⁴³  all the land of Egypt.

41:46 Now Joseph was 30 years old ¹⁹⁴⁴  when he began serving ¹⁹⁴⁵  Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph was commissioned by ¹⁹⁴⁶  Pharaoh and was in charge of ¹⁹⁴⁷  all the land of Egypt. 41:47 During the seven years of abundance the land produced large, bountiful harvests. ¹⁹⁴⁸  41:48 Joseph ¹⁹⁴⁹  collected all the excess food ¹⁹⁵⁰  in the land of Egypt during the seven years and stored it in the cities. ¹⁹⁵¹  In every city he put the food gathered from the fields around it. 41:49 Joseph stored up a vast amount of grain, like the sand of the sea, ¹⁹⁵²  until he stopped measuring it because it was impossible to measure.

41:50 Two sons were born to Joseph before the famine came. ¹⁹⁵³  Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, was their mother. ¹⁹⁵⁴  41:51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, ¹⁹⁵⁵  saying, ¹⁹⁵⁶  “Certainly ¹⁹⁵⁷  God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s house.” 41:52 He named the second child Ephraim, ¹⁹⁵⁸  saying, ¹⁹⁵⁹  “Certainly ¹⁹⁶⁰  God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

41:53 The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end. 41:54 Then the seven years of famine began, ¹⁹⁶¹  just as Joseph had predicted. There was famine in all the other lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food. 41:55 When all the land of Egypt experienced the famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to all the people of Egypt, ¹⁹⁶²  “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”

41:56 While the famine was over all the earth, ¹⁹⁶³  Joseph opened the storehouses ¹⁹⁶⁴  and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt. 41:57 People from every country ¹⁹⁶⁵  came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain because the famine was severe throughout the earth.

42:1 When Jacob heard ¹⁹⁶⁶  there was grain in Egypt, he ¹⁹⁶⁷  said to his sons, “Why are you looking at each other?” ¹⁹⁶⁸  42:2 He then said, “Look, I hear that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us ¹⁹⁶⁹  so that we may live ¹⁹⁷⁰  and not die.” ¹⁹⁷¹ 

42:3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 42:4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, ¹⁹⁷²  for he said, ¹⁹⁷³  “What if some accident ¹⁹⁷⁴  happens ¹⁹⁷⁵  to him?” 42:5 So Israel’s sons came to buy grain among the other travelers, ¹⁹⁷⁶  for the famine was severe in the land of Canaan.

42:6 Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country. ¹⁹⁷⁷  Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down ¹⁹⁷⁸  before him with ¹⁹⁷⁹  their faces to the ground. 42:7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger ¹⁹⁸⁰  to them and spoke to them harshly. He asked, “Where do you come from?” They answered, ¹⁹⁸¹  “From the land of Canaan, to buy grain for food.” ¹⁹⁸² 

42:8 Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 42:9 Then Joseph remembered ¹⁹⁸³  the dreams he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see if our land is vulnerable!” ¹⁹⁸⁴ 

42:10 But they exclaimed, ¹⁹⁸⁵  “No, my lord! Your servants have come to buy grain for food! 42:11 We are all the sons of one man; we are honest men! Your servants are not spies.”

42:12 “No,” he insisted, “but you have come to see if our land is vulnerable.” ¹⁹⁸⁶  42:13 They replied, “Your servants are from a family of twelve brothers. ¹⁹⁸⁷  We are the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father at this time, ¹⁹⁸⁸  and one is no longer alive.” ¹⁹⁸⁹ 

42:14 But Joseph told them, “It is just as I said to you: ¹⁹⁹⁰  You are spies! 42:15 You will be tested in this way: As surely as Pharaoh lives, ¹⁹⁹¹  you will not depart from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 42:16 One of you must go and get ¹⁹⁹²  your brother, while ¹⁹⁹³  the rest of you remain in prison. ¹⁹⁹⁴  In this way your words may be tested to see if ¹⁹⁹⁵  you are telling the truth. ¹⁹⁹⁶  If not, then, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 42:17 He imprisoned ¹⁹⁹⁷  them all for three days. 42:18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do as I say ¹⁹⁹⁸  and you will live, ¹⁹⁹⁹  for I fear God. ²⁰⁰⁰  42:19 If you are honest men, leave one of your brothers confined here in prison ²⁰⁰¹  while the rest of you go ²⁰⁰²  and take grain back for your hungry families. ²⁰⁰³  42:20 But you must bring ²⁰⁰⁴  your youngest brother to me. Then ²⁰⁰⁵  your words will be verified ²⁰⁰⁶  and you will not die.” They did as he said. ²⁰⁰⁷ 

42:21 They said to one other, ²⁰⁰⁸  “Surely we’re being punished ²⁰⁰⁹  because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was ²⁰¹⁰  when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress ²⁰¹¹  has come on us!” 42:22 Reuben said to them, “Didn’t I say to you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy,’ but you wouldn’t listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!” ²⁰¹²  42:23 (Now ²⁰¹³  they did not know that Joseph could understand them, ²⁰¹⁴  for he was speaking through an interpreter.) ²⁰¹⁵  42:24 He turned away from them and wept. When he turned around and spoke to them again, ²⁰¹⁶  he had Simeon taken ²⁰¹⁷  from them and tied up ²⁰¹⁸  before their eyes.

42:25 Then Joseph gave orders to fill ²⁰¹⁹  their bags with grain, to return each man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. His orders were carried out. ²⁰²⁰  42:26 So they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. ²⁰²¹ 

42:27 When one of them ²⁰²²  opened his sack to get feed for his donkey at their resting place, ²⁰²³  he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. ²⁰²⁴  42:28 He said to his brothers, “My money was returned! Here it is in my sack!” They were dismayed; ²⁰²⁵  they turned trembling one to another ²⁰²⁶  and said, “What in the world has God done to us?” ²⁰²⁷ 

42:29 They returned to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him all the things that had happened to them, saying, 42:30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us ²⁰²⁸  as if we were ²⁰²⁹  spying on the land. 42:31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies! 42:32 We are from a family of twelve brothers; we are the sons of one father. ²⁰³⁰  One is no longer alive, ²⁰³¹  and the youngest is with our father at this time ²⁰³²  in the land of Canaan.’

42:33 “Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain ²⁰³³  for your hungry households and go. 42:34 But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know ²⁰³⁴  that you are honest men and not spies. ²⁰³⁵  Then I will give your brother back to you and you may move about freely in the land.’” ²⁰³⁶ 

42:35 When they were emptying their sacks, there was each man’s bag of money in his sack! When they and their father saw the bags of money, they were afraid. 42:36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You are making me childless! Joseph is gone. ²⁰³⁷  Simeon is gone. ²⁰³⁸  And now you want to take ²⁰³⁹  Benjamin! Everything is against me.”

42:37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may ²⁰⁴⁰  put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care ²⁰⁴¹  and I will bring him back to you.” 42:38 But Jacob ²⁰⁴²  replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. ²⁰⁴³  If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair ²⁰⁴⁴  in sorrow to the grave.” ²⁰⁴⁵ 

43:1 Now the famine was severe in the land. ²⁰⁴⁶  43:2 When they finished eating the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Return, buy us a little more food.”

43:3 But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned ²⁰⁴⁷  us, ‘You will not see my face ²⁰⁴⁸  unless your brother is with you.’ 43:4 If you send ²⁰⁴⁹  our brother with us, we’ll go down and buy food for you. 43:5 But if you will not send him, we won’t go down there because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”

43:6 Israel said, “Why did you bring this trouble ²⁰⁵⁰  on me by telling ²⁰⁵¹  the man you had one more brother?”

43:7 They replied, “The man questioned us ²⁰⁵²  thoroughly ²⁰⁵³  about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ ²⁰⁵⁴  So we answered him in this way. ²⁰⁵⁵  How could we possibly know ²⁰⁵⁶  that he would say, ²⁰⁵⁷  ‘Bring your brother down’?”

43:8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me and we will go immediately. ²⁰⁵⁸  Then we will live ²⁰⁵⁹  and not die – we and you and our little ones. 43:9 I myself pledge security ²⁰⁶⁰  for him; you may hold me liable. If I do not bring him back to you and place him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. ²⁰⁶¹  43:10 But if we had not delayed, we could have traveled there and back ²⁰⁶²  twice by now!”

43:11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and take a gift down to the man – a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds. 43:12 Take double the money with you; ²⁰⁶³  you must take back ²⁰⁶⁴  the money that was returned in the mouths of your sacks – perhaps it was an oversight. 43:13 Take your brother too, and go right away ²⁰⁶⁵  to the man. ²⁰⁶⁶  43:14 May the sovereign God ²⁰⁶⁷  grant you mercy before the man so that he may release ²⁰⁶⁸  your other brother ²⁰⁶⁹  and Benjamin! As for me, if I lose my children I lose them.” ²⁰⁷⁰ 

43:15 So the men took these gifts, and they took double the money with them, along with Benjamin. Then they hurried down to Egypt ²⁰⁷¹  and stood before Joseph. 43:16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant who was over his household, “Bring the men to the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon.” 43:17 The man did just as Joseph said; he ²⁰⁷²  brought the men into Joseph’s house. ²⁰⁷³ 

43:18 But the men were afraid when they were brought to Joseph’s house. They said, “We are being brought in because of ²⁰⁷⁴  the money that was returned in our sacks last time. ²⁰⁷⁵  He wants to capture us, ²⁰⁷⁶  make us slaves, and take ²⁰⁷⁷  our donkeys!” 43:19 So they approached the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 43:20 They said, “My lord, we did indeed come down ²⁰⁷⁸  the first time ²⁰⁷⁹  to buy food. 43:21 But when we came to the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his money – the full amount ²⁰⁸⁰  – in the mouth of his sack. So we have returned it. ²⁰⁸¹  43:22 We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We do not know who put the money in our sacks!”

43:23 “Everything is fine,” ²⁰⁸²  the man in charge of Joseph’s household told them. “Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. ²⁰⁸³  I had your money.” ²⁰⁸⁴  Then he brought Simeon out to them.

43:24 The servant in charge ²⁰⁸⁵  brought the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave food to their donkeys. 43:25 They got their gifts ready for Joseph’s arrival ²⁰⁸⁶  at noon, for they had heard ²⁰⁸⁷  that they were to have a meal ²⁰⁸⁸  there.

43:26 When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside, ²⁰⁸⁹  and they bowed down to the ground before him. 43:27 He asked them how they were doing. ²⁰⁹⁰  Then he said, “Is your aging father well, the one you spoke about? Is he still alive?” 43:28 “Your servant our father is well,” they replied. “He is still alive.” They bowed down in humility. ²⁰⁹¹ 

43:29 When Joseph looked up ²⁰⁹²  and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this your youngest brother, whom you told me about?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.” ²⁰⁹³  43:30 Joseph hurried out, for he was overcome by affection for his brother ²⁰⁹⁴  and was at the point of tears. ²⁰⁹⁵  So he went to his room and wept there.

43:31 Then he washed his face and came out. With composure he said, ²⁰⁹⁶  “Set out the food.” 43:32 They set a place for him, a separate place for his brothers, ²⁰⁹⁷  and another for the Egyptians who were eating with him. (The Egyptians are not able to eat with Hebrews, for the Egyptians think it is disgusting ²⁰⁹⁸  to do so.) ²⁰⁹⁹  43:33 They sat before him, arranged by order of birth, beginning with the firstborn and ending with the youngest. ²¹⁰⁰  The men looked at each other in astonishment. ²¹⁰¹  43:34 He gave them portions of the food set before him, ²¹⁰²  but the portion for Benjamin was five times greater than the portions for any of the others. They drank with Joseph until they all became drunk. ²¹⁰³ 

44:1 He instructed the servant who was over his household, “Fill the sacks of the men with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. 44:2 Then put ²¹⁰⁴  my cup – the silver cup – in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” He did as Joseph instructed. ²¹⁰⁵ 

44:3 When morning came, ²¹⁰⁶  the men and their donkeys were sent off. ²¹⁰⁷  44:4 They had not gone very far from the city ²¹⁰⁸  when Joseph said ²¹⁰⁹  to the servant who was over his household, “Pursue the men at once! ²¹¹⁰  When you overtake ²¹¹¹  them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? 44:5 Doesn’t my master drink from this cup ²¹¹²  and use it for divination? ²¹¹³  You have done wrong!’” ²¹¹⁴ 

44:6 When the man ²¹¹⁵  overtook them, he spoke these words to them. 44:7 They answered him, “Why does my lord say such things? ²¹¹⁶  Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! ²¹¹⁷  44:8 Look, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. Why then would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? 44:9 If one of us has it, ²¹¹⁸  he will die, and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves!”

44:10 He replied, “You have suggested your own punishment! ²¹¹⁹  The one who has it will become my slave, ²¹²⁰  but the rest of ²¹²¹  you will go free.” ²¹²²  44:11 So each man quickly lowered ²¹²³  his sack to the ground and opened it. 44:12 Then the man ²¹²⁴  searched. He began with the oldest and finished with the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack! 44:13 They all tore their clothes! Then each man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

44:14 So Judah and his brothers ²¹²⁵  came back to Joseph’s house. He was still there, ²¹²⁶  and they threw themselves to the ground before him. 44:15 Joseph said to them, “What did you think you were doing? ²¹²⁷  Don’t you know that a man like me can find out things like this by divination?” ²¹²⁸ 

44:16 Judah replied, “What can we say ²¹²⁹  to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves? ²¹³⁰  God has exposed the sin of your servants! ²¹³¹  We are now my lord’s slaves, we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”

44:17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do this! The man in whose hand the cup was found will become my slave, but the rest of ²¹³²  you may go back ²¹³³  to your father in peace.”

44:18 Then Judah approached him and said, “My lord, please allow your servant to speak a word with you. ²¹³⁴  Please do not get angry with your servant, ²¹³⁵  for you are just like Pharaoh. ²¹³⁶  44:19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 44:20 We said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old. ²¹³⁷  The boy’s ²¹³⁸  brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, ²¹³⁹  and his father loves him.’

44:21 “Then you told your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see ²¹⁴⁰  him.’ ²¹⁴¹  44:22 We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father. If he leaves his father, his father ²¹⁴²  will die.’ ²¹⁴³  44:23 But you said to your servants, ‘If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not see my face again.’ 44:24 When we returned to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.

44:25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’ 44:26 But we replied, ‘We cannot go down there. ²¹⁴⁴  If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go, ²¹⁴⁵  for we won’t be permitted to see the man’s face if our youngest brother is not with us.’

44:27 “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife gave me two sons. ²¹⁴⁶  44:28 The first disappeared ²¹⁴⁷  and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” I have not seen him since. 44:29 If you take ²¹⁴⁸  this one from me too and an accident happens to him, then you will bring down my gray hair ²¹⁴⁹  in tragedy ²¹⁵⁰  to the grave.’ ²¹⁵¹ 

44:30 “So now, when I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us – his very life is bound up in his son’s life. ²¹⁵²  44:31 When he sees the boy is not with us, ²¹⁵³  he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father in sorrow to the grave. 44:32 Indeed, ²¹⁵⁴  your servant pledged security for the boy with my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame before my father all my life.’

44:33 “So now, please let your servant remain as my lord’s slave instead of the boy. As for the boy, let him go back with his brothers. 44:34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t