Genesis 4-50
2Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.
5but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
8Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”
14Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
16So Cain went out from the LORD ’s presence and lived in the land of Nod,
22Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of
23Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me.
From Adam to Noah
1This is the written account of Adam’s family line. When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God.
4After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
6When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father
8Altogether, Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died. 15When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. 23Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 30After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters.
4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
6The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.
12God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.
16Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit
4Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.”
5And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him. 6Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. 13On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.
16The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in. 22Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 4and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 6After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark 10He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. 13By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. 15Then God said to Noah, 16“Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 18So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives.
19All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, one kind after another. 2The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. 4“But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.
11I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 13I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 15I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.
The Sons of Noah 18The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 22Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. 29Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.
7The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.
10The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in
12and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.
15Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn,
18Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans scattered
20These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
25Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg,
The Tower of Babel 1Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 6The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.
11And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters. 12When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah.
15And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. 16When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg.
17And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters. 18When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu.
21And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters. 22When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor.
26After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.
Abram’s Family 27This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 29Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah.
30Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive. 32Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran. 6Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 11As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 14When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.
16He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. 17But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai.
Abram and Lot Separate 1So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 6But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. 8So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. 16I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.
17Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
6and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert.
9against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five.
11The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away.
2But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit
5He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring
6Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
13Then the LORD said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.
17When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.
18On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi
5Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.”
6“Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
8And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.”
13She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen
18And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”
22When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. 23On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. 24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,
The Three Visitors 1The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.
2Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. 4Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 13Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’
Abraham Pleads for Sodom 16When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way.
19For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
21that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” 23Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
25Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
32Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed 1The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 3But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. 6Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing.
8Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”
9“Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
11Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.
14So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry
15With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”
18But Lot said to them, “No, my lords,
29So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
Lot and His Daughters 30Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.
32Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”
35So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
37The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab
15And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.” 2Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 4When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him.
5Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
9But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking,
11The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son.
12But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring
The Treaty at Beersheba 22At that time Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.
24Abraham said, “I swear it.” 28Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock,
31So that place was called Beersheba,
Abraham Tested 1Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.
7Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
10Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
13Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram
14So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” 17I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,
19Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
21Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram),
24His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.
3Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.
4“I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.” 5The Hittites replied to Abraham, 8He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf
13and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”
14Ephron answered Abraham,
17So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded
3I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living,
7“The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring
16The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.
17The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”
21Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful.
22When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka
25And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.”
27saying, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.” 29Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. 32So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet.
33Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.” “Then tell us,” Laban said. 34So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35The LORD has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 37And my master made me swear an oath, and said, ‘You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, 42“When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘ LORD, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. 43See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,” 53Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother.
54Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.”
55But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you
58So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she said.
61Then Rebekah and her attendants got ready and mounted the camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.
62Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev.
63He went out to the field one evening to meditate,
The Death of Abraham 1Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah.
4The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. 8Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.
11After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi. 13These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 16These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. 17Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people.
Jacob and Esau 19This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, 24When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.
28Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
30He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.
31Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”
32“Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” 34Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright. 5because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.”
11So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” 12Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. 13The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.
15So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.
21Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.
24That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
25Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD . There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well. 26Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces.
27Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?” 30Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.
Jacob Takes Esau’s Blessing 34When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah. 2Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. 3Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me.
4Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.” 8Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: 9Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. 11Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin.
13His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.” 15Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob.
18He went to his father and said, “My father.” “Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”
19Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.” 22Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 30After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting.
34When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!”
37Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”
38Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.
41Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 46Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.”
1So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman.
3May God Almighty
3When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well’s mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.
4Jacob asked the shepherds, “My brothers, where are you from?” “We’re from Harran,” they replied.
5He said to them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?” “Yes, we know him,” they answered. 10When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. 11Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. 13As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things.
14Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.”
20So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her. 28And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.
30Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.
Jacob’s Children 31When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.
32Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,
1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
2Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her,
11Then Leah said, “What good fortune!”
18Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
20Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.
24She named him Joseph,
30The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?”
31“What shall I give you?” he asked. “Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied. “But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them:
33And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.” 34“Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”
36Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks. 39they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 41Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, 42but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob.
Jacob Flees From Laban 1Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” 4So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. 5He said to them, “I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. 6You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength, 7yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. 8If he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, ‘The streaked ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked young.
9So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me. 14Then Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? 15Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us.
21So he fled with all he had, crossed the Euphrates River, and headed for the hill country of Gilead. 23Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. 25Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too. 26Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You’ve deceived me, and you’ve carried off my daughters like captives in war. 27Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn’t you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of timbrels and harps? 31Jacob answered Laban, “I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force.
35Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I’m having my period.” So he searched but could not find the household gods. 36Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. “What is my crime?” he asked Laban. “How have I wronged you that you hunt me down? 38“I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 40This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. 46He said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 48Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” That is why it was called Galeed.
50If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.” 51Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me.
53May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac.
Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau
1
8He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group,
Jacob Wrestles With God 22That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.
26Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
29Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
31The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,
9But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”
11Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it.
12Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.”
14So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.”
15Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.” “But why do that?” Jacob asked. “Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.”
19For a hundred pieces of silver,
Dinah and the Shechemites 1Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. 3His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 6Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. 11Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. 13Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. 19The young man, who was the most honored of all his father’s family, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. 20So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to the men of their city. 22But the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are.
24All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.
25Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male.
27The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where
5Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.
7There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel,
18As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni.
22While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it. Jacob had twelve sons:
24The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 28Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years.
3also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. 6Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob.
11The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz.
15These were the chiefs among Esau’s descendants: The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,
21Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom were Horite chiefs.
22The sons of Lotan: Hori and Homam.
23The sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
24The sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs
25The children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah.
26The sons of Dishon
34When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king. 41Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,
13and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.” “Very well,” he replied.
15a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”
17“They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 19“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. 21When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. 23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing—
24and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it. 26Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?
27Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.
28So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels
30He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”
33He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.” 34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days.
35All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him. 2There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and made love to her; 8Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.” 9But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother.
11Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.
12After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him. 13When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,”
16Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.” “And what will you give me to sleep with you?” she asked.
19After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes again.
24About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.” Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”
25As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”
26Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with her again. 28As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, “This one came out first.” 3When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did,
7and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” 9No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”
12She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. 19When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger.
20Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 2Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,
5each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.
8“We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.” 9So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 13Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.
15I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.” 20Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: 3After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank.
4And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
7The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream. 10Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. 11Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.
14So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.
15Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 18when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. 19After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. 28“It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.
32The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. 44Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.”
45Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On,
49Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.
51Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh
5So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also. 8Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.
9Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” 15And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 18On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households.
20But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do. 22Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.”
23They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.
24He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.
26they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. 27At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack. 30“The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. 31But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. 33“Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go. 38But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”
5But if you will not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ ”
6Israel asked, “Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?” 9I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. 11Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. 13Take your brother also and go back to the man at once. 15So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph. 20“We beg your pardon, our lord,” they said, “we came down here the first time to buy food.
30Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there. 32They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians. 34When portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s. So they feasted and drank freely with him. 6When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. 7But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that!
9If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”
10“Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.” 19My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’
20And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’ 23But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’
26But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ 27“Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 31sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow.
32Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’ 33“Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. 34How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.”
3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.
7But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
15And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.
20Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.’ ” 23And this is what he sent to his father: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey.
24Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way!” 26They told him, “Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt.” Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. 27But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 6So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt, taking with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan.
13The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah,
16The sons of Gad: Zephon,
17The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malkiel.
23The son of Dan: Hushim. 26All those who went to Egypt with Jacob—those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six persons. 33When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’
3Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?” “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.”
7Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed
12Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.
Joseph and the Famine 13There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. 14Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.
15When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is all gone.”
22However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land. 23Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground.
2When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.
3Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty
8When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?”
11Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.” 12Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground.
16the Angel who has delivered me from all harm —may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly on the earth.”
17When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.
19But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.”
22And to you I give one more ridge of land
Jacob Blesses His Sons 1Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2“Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
6Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
9You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
13“Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.
15When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.
16“Dan
23With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility.
27“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
32The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.
5‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’ ”
6Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.” 10When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father.
11When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.” That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.
Joseph Reassures His Brothers 15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 20You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
The Death of Joseph 22Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years
23and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.