10:16 “I ¹  am sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves, ²  so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 10:17 Beware ³  of people, because they will hand you over to councils ⁴  and flog ⁵  you in their synagogues. ⁶  10:18 And you will be brought before governors and kings ⁷  because of me, as a witness to them and the Gentiles. 10:19 Whenever ⁸  they hand you over for trial, do not worry about how to speak or what to say, ⁹  for what you should say will be given to you at that time. ¹⁰  10:20 For it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

10:21 “Brother ¹¹  will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against ¹²  parents and have them put to death. 10:22 And you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 10:23 Whenever ¹³  they persecute you in one place, ¹⁴  flee to another. I tell you the truth, ¹⁵  you will not finish going through all the towns ¹⁶  of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

10:24 “A disciple is not greater than his teacher, nor a slave ¹⁷  greater than his master. 10:25 It is enough for the disciple to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much more will they defame the members of his household!

10:26 “Do ¹⁸  not be afraid of them, for nothing is hidden ¹⁹  that will not be revealed, ²⁰  and nothing is secret that will not be made known. 10:27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what is whispered in your ear, ²¹  proclaim from the housetops. ²²  10:28 Do ²³  not be afraid of those who kill the body ²⁴  but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁵  10:29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? ²⁶  Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ²⁷  10:30 Even all the hairs on your head are numbered. 10:31 So do not be afraid; ²⁸  you are more valuable than many sparrows.

10:32 “Whoever, then, acknowledges ²⁹  me before people, I will acknowledge ³⁰  before my Father in heaven. 10:33 But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven.

10:34 “Do not think that I have come to bring ³¹  peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword. 10:35 For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, 10:36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. ³² 

10:37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 10:38 And whoever does not take up his cross ³³  and follow me is not worthy of me. 10:39 Whoever finds his life ³⁴  will lose it, ³⁵  and whoever loses his life because of me ³⁶  will find it.

24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me ⁵  to this land? Must I then ⁶  take your son back to the land from which you came?”

24:6 “Be careful ⁷  never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. ⁸  24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, ⁹  promised me with a solemn oath, ¹⁰  ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel ¹¹  before you so that you may find ¹²  a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, ¹³  you will be free ¹⁴  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. ¹⁵ 

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. ¹⁶  He journeyed ¹⁷  to the region of Aram Naharaim ¹⁸  and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well ¹⁹  outside the city. It was evening, ²⁰  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. ²¹  Be faithful ²²  to my master Abraham. 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring, ²³  and the daughters of the people ²⁴  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.’ ²⁵  In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” ²⁶ 

24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah ²⁷  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). ²⁸  24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. ²⁹  She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 24:17 Abraham’s servant ³⁰  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 ³¹  her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 24:19 When she had done so, ³²  she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied ³³  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 ³⁴  if the Lord had made his journey successful ³⁵  or not.

24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka ³⁶  and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels ³⁷  and gave them to her. ³⁸  24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. ³⁹  “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. ⁴⁰  24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, ⁴¹  “and room for you ⁴²  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 ⁴³  for my master! The Lord has led me ⁴⁴  to the house ⁴⁵  of my master’s relatives!” ⁴⁶ 

24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about ⁴⁷  these things. 24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) ⁴⁸  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 ⁴⁹  and heard his sister Rebekah say, ⁵⁰  “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing ⁵¹  by the camels near the spring. 24:31 Laban said to him, ⁵²  “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! ⁵³  Why are you standing out here when I have prepared ⁵⁴  the house and a place for the camels?”