Sex In The City

20 So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. 21 I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.” 22 The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham. 23 Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? 24 Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? 25 Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” 26 And the Lord replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.” 27 Then Abraham spoke again. “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.” 29 Then Abraham pressed his request further. “Suppose there are only forty?” And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty.” 30 “Please don’t be angry, my Lord,” Abraham pleaded. “Let me speak—suppose only thirty righteous people are found?” And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty.” 31 Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?” And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.” 32 Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?” And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.” 33 When the Lord had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent. 1 That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. 2 “My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.” “Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.” 3 But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate. 4 But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. 5 They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!” 6 So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. 7 “Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.” 9 “Stand back!” they shouted. “This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you far worse than those other men!” And they lunged toward Lot to break down the door. 10 But the two angels reached out, pulled Lot into the house, and bolted the door. 11 Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside. 12 Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. 13 For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking. 15 At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!” 16 When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful. 17 When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!” 18 “Oh no, my lord!” Lot begged. 19 “You have been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you have shown such great kindness. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die. 20 See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don’t you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.” 21 “All right,” the angel said, “I will grant your request. I will not destroy the little village. 22 But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.” (This explains why that village was known as Zoar, which means “little place.”) 23 Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon. 24 Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25 He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. 26 But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt. 27 Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s presence. 28 He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace. 29 But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain. 30 Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters. 31 One day the older daughter said to her sister, “There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can’t get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have children. 32 Come, let’s get him drunk with wine, and then we will have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.” 33 So that night they got him drunk with wine, and the older daughter went in and had intercourse with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again. 34 The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, “I had sex with our father last night. Let’s get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So that night they got him drunk with wine again, and the younger daughter went in and had intercourse with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again. 36 As a result, both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their own father. 37 When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites. 38 When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites. 1 Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a while between Kadesh and Shur, and then he moved on to Gerar. While living there as a foreigner, 2 Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace. 3 But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!” 4 But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.” 6 In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.” 8 Abimelech got up early the next morning and quickly called all his servants together. When he told them what had happened, his men were terrified. 9 Then Abimelech called for Abraham. “What have you done to us?” he demanded. “What crime have I committed that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? No one should ever do what you have done! 10 Whatever possessed you to do such a thing?” 11 Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘This is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.’ 12 And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I married her. 13 When God called me to leave my father’s home and to travel from place to place, I told her, ‘Do me a favor. Wherever we go, tell the people that I am your brother.’ ” 14 Then Abimelech took some of his sheep and goats, cattle, and male and female servants, and he presented them to Abraham. He also returned his wife, Sarah, to him. 15 Then Abimelech said, “Look over my land and choose any place where you would like to live.” 16 And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving your ‘brother’ 1,000 pieces of silver in the presence of all these witnesses. This is to compensate you for any wrong I may have done to you. This will settle any claim against me, and your reputation is cleared.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, so they could have children. 18 For the Lord had caused all the women to be infertile because of what happened with Abraham’s wife, Sarah. 1 The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. 2 She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. 3 And Abraham named their son Isaac. 4 Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. 5 Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. 6 And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me. 7 Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!” 8 When Isaac grew up and was about to be weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion. 9 But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac. 10 So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won’t have it!” 11 This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son. 12 But God told Abraham, “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. 13 But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too.” 14 So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food and a container of water, and strapped them on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her away with their son, and she wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba. 15 When the water was gone, she put the boy in the shade of a bush. 16 Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards away. “I don’t want to watch the boy die,” she said, as she burst into tears. 17 But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.” 19 Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy as he grew up in the wilderness. He became a skillful archer, 21 and he settled in the wilderness of Paran. His mother arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of Egypt. 22 About this time, Abimelech came with Phicol, his army commander, to visit Abraham. “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,” Abimelech said. 23 “Swear to me in God’s name that you will never deceive me, my children, or any of my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so now swear that you will be loyal to me and to this country where you are living as a foreigner.” 24 Abraham replied, “Yes, I swear to it!” 25 Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech’s servants had taken by force from Abraham’s servants. 26 “This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Abimelech answered. “I have no idea who is responsible. You have never complained about this before.” 27 Abraham then gave some of his sheep, goats, and cattle to Abimelech, and they made a treaty. 28 But Abraham also took seven additional female lambs and set them off by themselves. 29 Abimelech asked, “Why have you set these seven apart from the others?” 30 Abraham replied, “Please accept these seven lambs to show your agreement that I dug this well.” 31 Then he named the place Beersheba (which means “well of the oath”), because that was where they had sworn the oath. 32 After making their covenant at Beersheba, Abimelech left with Phicol, the commander of his army, and they returned home to the land of the Philistines. 33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he worshiped the Lord, the Eternal God. 34 And Abraham lived as a foreigner in Philistine country for a long time. 1 Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” 2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” 3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” 6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. 9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” 12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” 15 Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. 16 “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. 18 And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.” 19 Then they returned to the servants and traveled back to Beersheba, where Abraham continued to live. 20 Soon after this, Abraham heard that Milcah, his brother Nahor’s wife, had borne Nahor eight sons. 21 The oldest was named Uz, the next oldest was Buz, followed by Kemuel (the ancestor of the Arameans), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. 23 (Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) In addition to these eight sons from Milcah, 24 Nahor had four other children from his concubine Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. 1 When Sarah was 127 years old, 2 she died at Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron) in the land of Canaan. There Abraham mourned and wept for her. 3 Then, leaving her body, he said to the Hittite elders, 4 “Here I am, a stranger and a foreigner among you. Please sell me a piece of land so I can give my wife a proper burial.” 5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 “Listen, my lord, you are an honored prince among us. Choose the finest of our tombs and bury her there. No one here will refuse to help you in this way.” 7 Then Abraham bowed low before the Hittites 8 and said, “Since you are willing to help me in this way, be so kind as to ask Ephron son of Zohar 9 to let me buy his cave at Machpelah, down at the end of his field. I will pay the full price in the presence of witnesses, so I will have a permanent burial place for my family.” 10 Ephron was sitting there among the others, and he answered Abraham as the others listened, speaking publicly before all the Hittite elders of the town. 11 “No, my lord,” he said to Abraham, “please listen to me. I will give you the field and the cave. Here in the presence of my people, I give it to you. Go and bury your dead.” 12 Abraham again bowed low before the citizens of the land, 13 and he replied to Ephron as everyone listened. “No, listen to me. I will buy it from you. Let me pay the full price for the field so I can bury my dead there.” 14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “My lord, please listen to me. The land is worth 400 pieces of silver, but what is that between friends? Go ahead and bury your dead.” 16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price and paid the amount he had suggested—400 pieces of silver, weighed according to the market standard. The Hittite elders witnessed the transaction. 17 So Abraham bought the plot of land belonging to Ephron at Machpelah, near Mamre. This included the field itself, the cave that was in it, and all the surrounding trees. 18 It was transferred to Abraham as his permanent possession in the presence of the Hittite elders at the city gate. 19 Then Abraham buried his wife, Sarah, there in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre (also called Hebron). 20 So the field and the cave were transferred from the Hittites to Abraham for use as a permanent burial place. 1 Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh. 3 Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. 4 Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home? Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?” 6 “No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there. 7 For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son. 8 If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath of mine. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there.” 9 So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham’s instructions. 10 Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled. 11 He made the camels kneel beside a well just outside the town. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water. 12 “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham. 13 See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water. 14 This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.” 15 Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah. 16 Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again. 17 Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.” 18 “Yes, my lord,” she answered, “have a drink.” And she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink. 19 When she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough to drink.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw water for all his camels. 21 The servant watched her in silence, wondering whether or not the Lord had given him success in his mission. 22 Then at last, when the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets for her wrists. 23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “And please tell me, would your father have any room to put us up for the night?” 24 “I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she replied. “My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah. 25 Yes, we have plenty of straw and feed for the camels, and we have room for guests.” 26 The man bowed low and worshiped the Lord. 27 “Praise the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “The Lord has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s relatives.” 28 The young woman ran home to tell her family everything that had happened. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, who ran out to meet the man at the spring. 30 He had seen the nose-ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man had said. So he rushed out to the spring, where the man was still standing beside his camels. 31 Laban said to him, “Come and stay with us, you who are blessed by the Lord! Why are you standing here outside the town when I have a room all ready for you and a place prepared for the camels?” 32 So the man went home with Laban, and Laban unloaded the camels, gave him straw for their bedding, fed them, and provided water for the man and the camel drivers to wash their feet. 33 Then food was served. But Abraham’s servant said, “I don’t want to eat until I have told you why I have come.” “All right,” Laban said, “tell us.” 34 “I am Abraham’s servant,” he explained. 35 “And the Lord has greatly blessed my master; he has become a wealthy man. The Lord has given him flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, a fortune in silver and gold, and many male and female servants and camels and donkeys. 36 “When Sarah, my master’s wife, was very old, she gave birth to my master’s son, and my master has given him everything he owns. 37 And my master made me take an oath. He said, ‘Do not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. 38 Go instead to my father’s house, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son.’ 39 “But I said to my master, ‘What if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to go back with me?’ 40 He responded, ‘The Lord, in whose presence I have lived, will send his angel with you and will make your mission successful. Yes, you must find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 41 Then you will have fulfilled your obligation. But if you go to my relatives and they refuse to let her go with you, you will be free from my oath.’ 42 “So today when I came to the spring, I prayed this prayer: ‘O Lord, God of my master, Abraham, please give me success on this mission. 43 See, I am standing here beside this spring. This is my request. When a young woman comes to draw water, I will say to her, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.” 44 If she says, “Yes, have a drink, and I will draw water for your camels, too,” let her be the one you have selected to be the wife of my master’s son.’ 45 “Before I had finished praying in my heart, I saw Rebekah coming out 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.’ 46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’ So I drank, and then she watered the camels. 47 “Then I asked, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel, and my grandparents are Nahor and Milcah.’ So I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 “Then I bowed low and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me straight to my master’s niece to be his son’s wife. 49 So tell me—will you or won’t you show unfailing love and faithfulness to my master? Please tell me yes or no, and then I’ll know what to do next.” 50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “The Lord has obviously brought you here, so there is nothing we can say. 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.” 52 When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord. 53 Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothing and presented them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother. 54 Then they ate their meal, and the servant and the men with him stayed there overnight. But early the next morning, Abraham’s servant said, “Send me back to my master.” 55 “But we want Rebekah to stay with us at least ten days,” her brother and mother said. “Then she can go.” 56 But he said, “Don’t delay me. The Lord has made my mission successful; now send me back so I can return to my master.” 57 “Well,” they said, “we’ll call Rebekah and ask her what she thinks.” 58 So they called Rebekah. “Are you willing to go with this man?” they asked her. And she replied, “Yes, I will go.” 59 So they said good-bye to Rebekah and sent her away with Abraham’s servant and his men. The woman who had been Rebekah’s childhood nurse went along with her. 60 They gave her this blessing as she parted: “Our sister, may you become the mother of many millions! May your descendants be strong and conquer the cities of their enemies.” 61 Then Rebekah and her servant girls mounted the camels and followed the man. So Abraham’s servant took Rebekah and went on his way. 62 Meanwhile, Isaac, whose home was in the Negev, had returned from Beer-lahai-roi. 63 One evening as he was walking and meditating in the fields, he looked up and saw the camels coming. 64 When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel. 65 “Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” she asked the servant. And he replied, “It is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil. 66 Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done. 67 And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother. 1 Abraham married another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 4 Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah. 5 Abraham gave everything he owned to his son Isaac. 6 But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to a land in the east, away from Isaac. 7 Abraham lived for 175 years, 8 and he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying life. He breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. 10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites and where he had buried his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who settled near Beer-lahai-roi in the Negev. 12 This is the account of the family of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant. 13 Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael’s descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes named after them, listed according to the places they settled and camped. 17 Ishmael lived for 137 years. Then he breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. 18 Ishmael’s descendants occupied the region from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. There they lived in open hostility toward all their relatives. 19 This is the account of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. 20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. 22 But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked. 23 And the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.” 24 And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! 25 The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau. 26 Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born. 27 As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”) 31 “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.” 32 “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” 33 But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn. 1 A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived. 2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you. 3 Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father. 4 I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. 5 I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar. 7 When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “They will kill me to get her, because she is so beautiful.” 8 But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah. 9 Immediately, Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, “She is obviously your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” “Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me,” Isaac replied. 10 “How could you do this to us?” Abimelech exclaimed. “One of my people might easily have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin.” 11 Then Abimelech issued a public proclamation: “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death!” 12 When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him. 13 He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow. 14 He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him. 15 So the Philistines filled up all of Isaac’s wells with dirt. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham. 16 Finally, Abimelech ordered Isaac to leave the country. “Go somewhere else,” he said, “for you have become too powerful for us.” 17 So Isaac moved away to the Gerar Valley, where he set up their tents and settled down. 18 He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham’s death. Isaac also restored the names Abraham had given them. 19 Isaac’s servants also dug in the Gerar Valley and discovered a well of fresh water. 20 But then the shepherds from Gerar came and claimed the spring. “This is our water,” they said, and they argued over it with Isaac’s herdsmen. So Isaac named the well Esek (which means “argument”). 21 Isaac’s men then dug another well, but again there was a dispute over it. So Isaac named it Sitnah (which means “hostility”). 22 Abandoning that one, Isaac moved on and dug another well. This time there was no dispute over it, so Isaac named the place Rehoboth (which means “open space”), for he said, “At last the Lord has created enough space for us to prosper in this land.” 23 From there Isaac moved to Beersheba, 24 where the Lord appeared to him on the night of his arrival. “I am the God of your father, Abraham,” he said. “Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant.” 25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug another well. 26 One day King Abimelech came from Gerar with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander. 27 “Why have you come here?” Isaac asked. “You obviously hate me, since you kicked me off your land.” 28 They replied, “We can plainly see that the Lord is with you. So we want to enter into a sworn treaty with you. Let’s make a covenant. 29 Swear that you will not harm us, just as we have never troubled you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the Lord has blessed you!” 30 So Isaac prepared a covenant feast to celebrate the treaty, and they ate and drank together. 31 Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath not to interfere with each other. Then Isaac sent them home again, and they left him in peace. 32 That very day Isaac’s servants came and told him about a new well they had dug. “We’ve found water!” they exclaimed. 33 So Isaac named the well Shibah (which means “oath”). And to this day the town that grew up there is called Beersheba (which means “well of the oath”). 34 At the age of forty, Esau married two Hittite wives: Judith, the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon. 35 But Esau’s wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah. 1 One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, “My son.” “Yes, Father?” Esau replied. 2 “I am an old man now,” Isaac said, “and I don’t know when I may die. 3 Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die.” 5 But Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to his son Esau. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, 6 she said to her son Jacob, “Listen. I overheard your father say to Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me a delicious meal. Then I will bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ 8 Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you. 9 Go out to the flocks, and bring me two fine young goats. I’ll use them to prepare your father’s favorite dish. 10 Then take the food to your father so he can eat it and bless you before he dies.” 11 “But look,” Jacob replied to Rebekah, “my brother, Esau, is a hairy man, and my skin is smooth. 12 What if my father touches me? He’ll see that I’m trying to trick him, and then he’ll curse me instead of blessing me.” 13 But his mother replied, “Then let the curse fall on me, my son! Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats for me!” 14 So Jacob went out and got the young goats for his mother. Rebekah took them and prepared a delicious meal, just the way Isaac liked it. 15 Then she took Esau’s favorite clothes, which were there in the house, and gave them to her younger son, Jacob. 16 She covered his arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young goats. 17 Then she gave Jacob the delicious meal, including freshly baked bread. 18 So Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said. “Yes, my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are you—Esau or Jacob?” 19 Jacob replied, “It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.” 20 Isaac asked, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?” “The Lord your God put it in my path!” Jacob replied. 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you and make sure that you really are Esau.” 22 So Jacob went closer to his father, and Isaac touched him. “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s,” Isaac said. 23 But he did not recognize Jacob, because Jacob’s hands felt hairy just like Esau’s. So Isaac prepared to bless Jacob. 24 “But are you really my son Esau?” he asked. “Yes, I am,” Jacob replied. 25 Then Isaac said, “Now, my son, bring me the wild game. Let me eat it, and then I will give you my blessing.” So Jacob took the food to his father, and Isaac ate it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. 26 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come a little closer and kiss me, my son.” 27 So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, “Ah! The smell of my son is like the smell of the outdoors, which the Lord has blessed! 28 “From the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth, may God always give you abundant harvests of grain and bountiful new wine. 29 May many nations become your servants, and may they bow down to you. May you be the master over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. All who curse you will be cursed, and all who bless you will be blessed.” 30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunt. 31 Esau prepared a delicious meal and brought it to his father. Then he said, “Sit up, my father, and eat my wild game so you can give me your blessing.” 32 But Isaac asked him, “Who are you?” Esau replied, “It’s your son, your firstborn son, Esau.” 33 Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, “Then who just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him just before you came. And yes, that blessing must stand!” 34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry. “Oh my father, what about me? Bless me, too!” he begged. 35 But Isaac said, “Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing.” 36 Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?” 37 Isaac said to Esau, “I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine—what is left for me to give you, my son?” 38 Esau pleaded, “But do you have only one blessing? Oh my father, bless me, too!” Then Esau broke down and wept. 39 Finally, his father, Isaac, said to him, “You will live away from the richness of the earth, and away from the dew of the heaven above. 40 You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you decide to break free, you will shake his yoke from your neck.” 41 From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.” 42 But Rebekah heard about Esau’s plans. So she sent for Jacob and told him, “Listen, Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you. 43 So listen carefully, my son. Get ready and flee to my brother, Laban, in Haran. 44 Stay there with him until your brother cools off. 45 When he calms down and forgets what you have done to him, I will send for you to come back. Why should I lose both of you in one day?” 46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick and tired of these local Hittite women! I would rather die than see Jacob marry one of them.” 1 So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, “You must not marry any of these Canaanite women. 2 Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters. 3 May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations! 4 May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.” 5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother’s brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean. 6 Esau knew that his father, Isaac, had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that he had warned Jacob, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 7 He also knew that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 It was now very clear to Esau that his father did not like the local Canaanite women. 9 So Esau visited his uncle Ishmael’s family and married one of Ishmael’s daughters, in addition to the wives he already had. His new wife’s name was Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. 10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. 12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. 13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” 17 But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!” 18 The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. 19 He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz. 20 Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. 22 And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.” 1 Then Jacob hurried on, finally arriving in the land of the east. 2 He saw a well in the distance. Three flocks of sheep and goats lay in an open field beside it, waiting to be watered. But a heavy stone covered the mouth of the well. 3 It was the custom there to wait for all the flocks to arrive before removing the stone and watering the animals. Afterward the stone would be placed back over the mouth of the well. 4 Jacob went over to the shepherds and asked, “Where are you from, my friends?” “We are from Haran,” they answered. 5 “Do you know a man there named Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” he asked. “Yes, we do,” they replied. 6 “Is he doing well?” Jacob asked. “Yes, he’s well,” they answered. “Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the flock now.” 7 Jacob said, “Look, it’s still broad daylight—too early to round up the animals. Why don’t you water the sheep and goats so they can get back out to pasture?” 8 “We can’t water the animals until all the flocks have arrived,” they replied. “Then the shepherds move the stone from the mouth of the well, and we water all the sheep and goats.” 9 Jacob was still talking with them when Rachel arrived with her father’s flock, for she was a shepherd. 10 And because Rachel was his cousin—the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother—and because the sheep and goats belonged to his uncle Laban, Jacob went over to the well and moved the stone from its mouth and watered his uncle’s flock. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and he wept aloud. 12 He explained to Rachel that he was her cousin on her father’s side—the son of her aunt Rebekah. So Rachel quickly ran and told her father, Laban. 13 As soon as Laban heard that his nephew Jacob had arrived, he ran out to meet him. He embraced and kissed him and brought him home. When Jacob had told him his story, 14 Laban exclaimed, “You really are my own flesh and blood!” After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a month, 15 Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.” 16 Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel. 17 There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. 18 Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.” 19 “Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.” 20 So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days. 21 Finally, the time came for him to marry her. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her.” 22 So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast. 23 But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. 24 (Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.) 25 But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?” 26 “It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied. 27 “But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel, too—provided you promise to work another seven years for me.” 28 So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too. 29 (Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.) 30 So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years. 31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive. 32 So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me.” 33 She soon became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon, for she said, “The Lord heard that I was unloved and has given me another son.” 34 Then she became pregnant a third time and gave birth to another son. He was named Levi, for she said, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!” 35 Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!” And then she stopped having children. 1 When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” 2 Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has kept you from having children!” 3 Then Rachel told him, “Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me, and through her I can have a family, too.” 4 So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. 5 Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son. 6 Rachel named him Dan, for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.” 7 Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. 8 Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!” 9 Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn’t getting pregnant anymore, so she took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Soon Zilpah presented him with a son. 11 Leah named him Gad, for she said, “How fortunate I am!” 12 Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah named him Asher, for she said, “What joy is mine! Now the other women will celebrate with me.” 14 One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But Leah angrily replied, “Wasn’t it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son’s mandrakes, too?” Rachel answered, “I will let Jacob sleep with you tonight if you give me some of the mandrakes.” 16 So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. “You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found.” So that night he slept with Leah. 17 And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. 18 She named him Issachar, for she said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.” 19 Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. 20 She named him Zebulun, for she said, “God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons.” 21 Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. 22 Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said. 24 And she named him Joseph, for she said, “May the Lord add yet another son to my family.” 25 Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Please release me so I can go home to my own country. 26 Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them by serving you, and let me be on my way. You certainly know how hard I have worked for you.” 27 “Please listen to me,” Laban replied. “I have become wealthy, for the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 Tell me how much I owe you. Whatever it is, I’ll pay it.” 29 Jacob replied, “You know how hard I’ve worked for you, and how your flocks and herds have grown under my care. 30 You had little indeed before I came, but your wealth has increased enormously. The Lord has blessed you through everything I’ve done. But now, what about me? When can I start providing for my own family?” 31 “What wages do you want?” Laban asked again. Jacob replied, “Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your flocks. 32 Let me inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep. Give these to me as my wages. 33 In the future, when you check on the animals you have given me as my wages, you’ll see that I have been honest. If you find in my flock any goats without speckles or spots, or any sheep that are not black, you will know that I have stolen them from you.” 34 “All right,” Laban replied. “It will be as you say.” 35 But that very day Laban went out and removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted or had white patches, and all the black sheep. He placed them in the care of his own sons, 36 who took them a three-days’ journey from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for the rest of Laban’s flock. 37 Then Jacob took some fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of bark, making white streaks on them. 38 Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that was where they mated. 39 And when they mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40 Jacob separated those lambs from Laban’s flock. And at mating time he turned the flock to face Laban’s animals that were streaked or black. This is how he built his own flock instead of increasing Laban’s. 41 Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob would place the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of them. Then they would mate in front of the branches. 42 But he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s. 43 As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, female and male servants, and many camels and donkeys. 1 But Jacob soon learned that Laban’s sons were grumbling about him. “Jacob has robbed our father of everything!” they said. “He has gained all his wealth at our father’s expense.” 2 And Jacob began to notice a change in Laban’s attitude toward him. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you.” 4 So Jacob called Rachel and Leah out to the field where he was watching his flock. 5 He said to them, “I have noticed that your father’s attitude toward me has changed. But the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know how hard I have worked for your father, 7 but he has cheated me, changing my wages ten times. But God has not allowed him to do me any harm. 8 For if he said, ‘The speckled animals will be your wages,’ the whole flock began to produce speckled young. And when he changed his mind and said, ‘The striped animals will be your wages,’ then the whole flock produced striped young. 9 In this way, God has taken your father’s animals and given them to me. 10 “One time during the mating season, I had a dream and saw that the male goats mating with the females were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 11 Then in my dream, the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ And I replied, ‘Yes, here I am.’ 12 “The angel said, ‘Look up, and you will see that only the streaked, speckled, and spotted males are mating with the females of your flock. For I have seen how Laban has treated you. 13 I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, the place where you anointed the pillar of stone and made your vow to me. Now get ready and leave this country and return to the land of your birth.’ ” 14 Rachel and Leah responded, “That’s fine with us! We won’t inherit any of our father’s wealth anyway. 15 He has reduced our rights to those of foreign women. And after he sold us, he wasted the money you paid him for us. 16 All the wealth God has given you from our father legally belongs to us and our children. So go ahead and do whatever God has told you.” 17 So Jacob put his wives and children on camels, 18 and he drove all his livestock in front of him. He packed all the belongings he had acquired in Paddan-aram and set out for the land of Canaan, where his father, Isaac, lived. 19 At the time they left, Laban was some distance away, shearing his sheep. Rachel stole her father’s household idols and took them with her. 20 Jacob outwitted Laban the Aramean, for they set out secretly and never told Laban they were leaving. 21 So Jacob took all his possessions with him and crossed the Euphrates River, heading for the hill country of Gilead. 22 Three days later, Laban was told that Jacob had fled. 23 So he gathered a group of his relatives and set out in hot pursuit. He caught up with Jacob seven days later in the hill country of Gilead. 24 But the previous night God had appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream and told him, “I’m warning you—leave Jacob alone!” 25 Laban caught up with Jacob as he was camped in the hill country of Gilead, and he set up his camp not far from Jacob’s. 26 “What do you mean by deceiving me like this?” Laban demanded. “How dare you drag my daughters away like prisoners of war? 27 Why did you slip away secretly? Why did you deceive me? And why didn’t you say you wanted to leave? I would have given you a farewell feast, with singing and music, accompanied by tambourines and harps. 28 Why didn’t you let me kiss my daughters and grandchildren and tell them good-bye? You have acted very foolishly! 29 I could destroy you, but the God of your father appeared to me last night and warned me, ‘Leave Jacob alone!’ 30 I can understand your feeling that you must go, and your intense longing for your father’s home. But why have you stolen my gods?” 31 “I rushed away because I was afraid,” Jacob answered. “I thought you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 But as for your gods, see if you can find them, and let the person who has taken them die! And if you find anything else that belongs to you, identify it before all these relatives of ours, and I will give it back!” But Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the household idols. 33 Laban went first into Jacob’s tent to search there, then into Leah’s, and then the tents of the two servant wives—but he found nothing. Finally, he went into Rachel’s tent. 34 But Rachel had taken the household idols and hidden them in her camel saddle, and now she was sitting on them. When Laban had thoroughly searched her tent without finding them, 35 she said to her father, “Please, sir, forgive me if I don’t get up for you. I’m having my monthly period.” So Laban continued his search, but he could not find the household idols. 36 Then Jacob became very angry, and he challenged Laban. “What’s my crime?” he demanded. “What have I done wrong to make you chase after me as though I were a criminal? 37 You have rummaged through everything I own. Now show me what you found that belongs to you! Set it out here in front of us, before our relatives, for all to see. Let them judge between us! 38 “For twenty years I have been with you, caring for your flocks. In all that time your sheep and goats never miscarried. In all those years I never used a single ram of yours for food. 39 If any were attacked and killed by wild animals, I never showed you the carcass and asked you to reduce the count of your flock. No, I took the loss myself! You made me pay for every stolen animal, whether it was taken in broad daylight or in the dark of night. 40 “I worked for you through the scorching heat of the day and through cold and sleepless nights. 41 Yes, for twenty years I slaved in your house! I worked for fourteen years earning your two daughters, and then six more years for your flock. And you changed my wages ten times! 42 In fact, if the God of my father had not been on my side—the God of Abraham and the fearsome God of Isaac—you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen your abuse and my hard work. That is why he appeared to you last night and rebuked you!” 43 Then Laban replied to Jacob, “These women are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks are my flocks—in fact, everything you see is mine. But what can I do now about my daughters and their children? 44 So come, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and it will be a witness to our commitment.” 45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a monument. 46 Then he told his family members, “Gather some stones.” So they gathered stones and piled them in a heap. Then Jacob and Laban sat down beside the pile of stones to eat a covenant meal. 47 To commemorate the event, Laban called the place Jegar-sahadutha (which means “witness pile” in Aramaic), and Jacob called it Galeed (which means “witness pile” in Hebrew). 48 Then Laban declared, “This pile of stones will stand as a witness to remind us of the covenant we have made today.” This explains why it was called Galeed—“Witness Pile.” 49 But it was also called Mizpah (which means “watchtower”), for Laban said, “May the Lord keep watch between us to make sure that we keep this covenant when we are out of each other’s sight. 50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you marry other wives, God will see it even if no one else does. He is a witness to this covenant between us. 51 “See this pile of stones,” Laban continued, “and see this monument I have set between us. 52 They stand between us as witnesses of our vows. I will never pass this pile of stones to harm you, and you must never pass these stones or this monument to harm me. 53 I call on the God of our ancestors—the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of my grandfather Nahor—to serve as a judge between us.” So Jacob took an oath before the fearsome God of his father, Isaac, to respect the boundary line. 54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice to God there on the mountain and invited everyone to a covenant feast. After they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain. 55 Laban got up early the next morning, and he kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home. 1 As Jacob started on his way again, angels of God came to meet him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, “This is God’s camp!” So he named the place Mahanaim. 3 Then Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother, Esau, who was living in the region of Seir in the land of Edom. 4 He told them, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘Humble greetings from your servant Jacob. Until now I have been living with Uncle Laban, 5 and now I own cattle, donkeys, flocks of sheep and goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform my lord of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to me.’ ” 6 After delivering the message, the messengers returned to Jacob and reported, “We met your brother, Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you—with an army of 400 men!” 7 Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups. 8 He thought, “If Esau meets one group and attacks it, perhaps the other group can escape.” 9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ 10 I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! 11 O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. 12 But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’ ” 13 Jacob stayed where he was for the night. Then he selected these gifts from his possessions to present to his brother, Esau: 14 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 15 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys. 16 He divided these animals into herds and assigned each to different servants. Then he told his servants, “Go ahead of me with the animals, but keep some distance between the herds.” 17 He gave these instructions to the men leading the first group: “When my brother, Esau, meets you, he will ask, ‘Whose servants are you? Where are you going? Who owns these animals?’ 18 You must reply, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob, but they are a gift for his master Esau. Look, he is coming right behind us.’ ” 19 Jacob gave the same instructions to the second and third herdsmen and to all who followed behind the herds: “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And be sure to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’ ” Jacob thought, “I will try to appease him by sending gifts ahead of me. When I see him in person, perhaps he will be friendly to me.” 21 So the gifts were sent on ahead, while Jacob himself spent that night in the camp. 22 During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. 23 After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions. 24 This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. 25 When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 “What is your name?” the man asked. He replied, “Jacob.” 28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.” 29 “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said. “Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. 30 Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” 31 The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip. 32 (Even today the people of Israel don’t eat the tendon near the hip socket because of what happened that night when the man strained the tendon of Jacob’s hip.) 1 Then Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and his two servant wives. 2 He put the servant wives and their children at the front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 Then Jacob went on ahead. As he approached his brother, he bowed to the ground seven times before him. 4 Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept. 5 Then Esau looked at the women and children and asked, “Who are these people with you?” “These are the children God has graciously given to me, your servant,” Jacob replied. 6 Then the servant wives came forward with their children and bowed before him. 7 Next came Leah with her children, and they bowed before him. Finally, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed before him. 8 “And what were all the flocks and herds I met as I came?” Esau asked. Jacob replied, “They are a gift, my lord, to ensure your friendship.” 9 “My brother, I have plenty,” Esau answered. “Keep what you have for yourself.” 10 But Jacob insisted, “No, if I have found favor with you, please accept this gift from me. And what a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God! 11 Please take this gift I have brought you, for God has been very gracious to me. I have more than enough.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau finally accepted the gift. 12 “Well,” Esau said, “let’s be going. I will lead the way.” 13 But Jacob replied, “You can see, my lord, that some of the children are very young, and the flocks and herds have their young, too. If they are driven too hard, even for one day, all the animals could die. 14 Please, my lord, go ahead of your servant. We will follow slowly, at a pace that is comfortable for the livestock and the children. I will meet you at Seir.” 15 “All right,” Esau said, “but at least let me assign some of my men to guide and protect you.” Jacob responded, “That’s not necessary. It’s enough that you’ve received me warmly, my lord!” 16 So Esau turned around and started back to Seir that same day. 17 Jacob, on the other hand, traveled on to Succoth. There he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was named Succoth (which means “shelters”). 18 Later, having traveled all the way from Paddan-aram, Jacob arrived safely at the town of Shechem, in the land of Canaan. There he set up camp outside the town. 19 Jacob bought the plot of land where he camped from the family of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver. 20 And there he built an altar and named it El-Elohe-Israel. 1 One day Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, went to visit some of the young women who lived in the area. 2 But when the local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw Dinah, he seized her and raped her. 3 But then he fell in love with her, and he tried to win her affection with tender words. 4 He said to his father, Hamor, “Get me this young girl. I want to marry her.” 5 Soon Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter, Dinah. But since his sons were out in the fields herding his livestock, he said nothing until they returned. 6 Hamor, Shechem’s father, came to discuss the matter with Jacob. 7 Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the field as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious that their sister had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob’s family, something that should never be done. 8 Hamor tried to speak with Jacob and his sons. “My son Shechem is truly in love with your daughter,” he said. “Please let him marry her. 9 In fact, let’s arrange other marriages, too. You give us your daughters for our sons, and we will give you our daughters for your sons. 10 And you may live among us; the land is open to you! Settle here and trade with us. And feel free to buy property in the area.” 11 Then Shechem himself spoke to Dinah’s father and brothers. “Please be kind to me, and let me marry her,” he begged. “I will give you whatever you ask. 12 No matter what dowry or gift you demand, I will gladly pay it—just give me the girl as my wife.” 13 But since Shechem had defiled their sister, Dinah, Jacob’s sons responded deceitfully to Shechem and his father, Hamor. 14 They said to them, “We couldn’t possibly allow this, because you’re not circumcised. It would be a disgrace for our sister to marry a man like you! 15 But here is a solution. If every man among you will be circumcised like we are, 16 then we will give you our daughters, and we’ll take your daughters for ourselves. We will live among you and become one people. 17 But if you don’t agree to be circumcised, we will take her and be on our way.” 18 Hamor and his son Shechem agreed to their proposal. 19 Shechem wasted no time in acting on this request, for he wanted Jacob’s daughter desperately. Shechem was a highly respected member of his family, 20 and he went with his father, Hamor, to present this proposal to the leaders at the town gate. 21 “These men are our friends,” they said. “Let’s invite them to live here among us and trade freely. Look, the land is large enough to hold them. We can take their daughters as wives and let them marry ours. 22 But they will consider staying here and becoming one people with us only if all of our men are circumcised, just as they are. 23 But if we do this, all their livestock and possessions will eventually be ours. Come, let’s agree to their terms and let them settle here among us.” 24 So all the men in the town council agreed with Hamor and Shechem, and every male in the town was circumcised. 25 But three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, who were Dinah’s full brothers, took their swords and entered the town without opposition. Then they slaughtered every male there, 26 including Hamor and his son Shechem. They killed them with their swords, then took Dinah from Shechem’s house and returned to their camp. 27 Meanwhile, the rest of Jacob’s sons arrived. Finding the men slaughtered, they plundered the town because their sister had been defiled there. 28 They seized all the flocks and herds and donkeys—everything they could lay their hands on, both inside the town and outside in the fields. 29 They looted all their wealth and plundered their houses. They also took all their little children and wives and led them away as captives. 30 Afterward Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have ruined me! You’ve made me stink among all the people of this land—among all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will join forces and crush us. I will be ruined, and my entire household will be wiped out!” 31 “But why should we let him treat our sister like a prostitute?” they retorted angrily. 1 Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.” 2 So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing. 3 We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem. 5 As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob’s family. 6 Eventually, Jacob and his household arrived at Luz (also called Bethel) in Canaan. 7 Jacob built an altar there and named the place El-bethel (which means “God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau. 8 Soon after this, Rebekah’s old nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried beneath the oak tree in the valley below Bethel. Ever since, the tree has been called Allon-bacuth (which means “oak of weeping”). 9 Now that Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel. God blessed him, 10 saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel. 11 Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! 12 And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” 13 Then God went up from the place where he had spoken to Jacob. 14 Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil. 15 And Jacob named the place Bethel (which means “house of God”), because God had spoken to him there. 16 Leaving Bethel, Jacob and his clan moved on toward Ephrath. But Rachel went into labor while they were still some distance away. Her labor pains were intense. 17 After a very hard delivery, the midwife finally exclaimed, “Don’t be afraid—you have another son!” 18 Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named the baby Ben-oni (which means “son of my sorrow”). The baby’s father, however, called him Benjamin (which means “son of my right hand”). 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Jacob set up a stone monument over Rachel’s grave, and it can be seen there to this day. 21 Then Jacob traveled on and camped beyond Migdal-eder. 22 While he was living there, Reuben had intercourse with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Jacob soon heard about it. These are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob: 23 The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher. These are the names of the sons who were born to Jacob at Paddan-aram. 27 So Jacob returned to his father, Isaac, in Mamre, which is near Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had both lived as foreigners. 28 Isaac lived for 180 years. 29 Then he breathed his last and died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death. And his sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him. 1 This is the account of the descendants of Esau (also known as Edom). 2 Esau married two young women from Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite. 3 He also married his cousin Basemath, who was the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah gave birth to a son named Eliphaz for Esau. Basemath gave birth to a son named Reuel. 5 Oholibamah gave birth to sons named Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. All these sons were born to Esau in the land of Canaan. 6 Esau took his wives, his children, and his entire household, along with his livestock and cattle—all the wealth he had acquired in the land of Canaan—and moved away from his brother, Jacob. 7 There was not enough land to support them both because of all the livestock and possessions they had acquired. 8 So Esau (also known as Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir. 9 This is the account of Esau’s descendants, the Edomites, who lived in the hill country of Seir. 10 These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah; and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. 11 The descendants of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 Timna, the concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, gave birth to a son named Amalek. These are the descendants of Esau’s wife Adah. 13 The descendants of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the descendants of Esau’s wife Basemath. 14 Esau also had sons through Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon. Their names were Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. 15 These are the descendants of Esau who became the leaders of various clans: The descendants of Esau’s oldest son, Eliphaz, became the leaders of the clans of Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These are the clan leaders in the land of Edom who descended from Eliphaz. All these were descendants of Esau’s wife Adah. 17 The descendants of Esau’s son Reuel became the leaders of the clans of Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the clan leaders in the land of Edom who descended from Reuel. All these were descendants of Esau’s wife Basemath. 18 The descendants of Esau and his wife Oholibamah became the leaders of the clans of Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the clan leaders who descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. 19 These are the clans descended from Esau (also known as Edom), identified by their clan leaders. 20 These are the names of the tribes that descended from Seir the Horite. They lived in the land of Edom: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the Horite clan leaders, the descendants of Seir, who lived in the land of Edom. 22 The descendants of Lotan were Hori and Hemam. Lotan’s sister was named Timna. 23 The descendants of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 The descendants of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. (This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the wilderness while he was grazing his father’s donkeys.) 25 The descendants of Anah were his son, Dishon, and his daughter, Oholibamah. 26 The descendants of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. 27 The descendants of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 The descendants of Dishan were Uz and Aran. 29 So these were the leaders of the Horite clans: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. The Horite clans are named after their clan leaders, who lived in the land of Seir. 31 These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites: 32 Bela son of Beor, who ruled in Edom from his city of Dinhabah. 33 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah became king in his place. 34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites became king in his place. 35 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad became king in his place and ruled from the city of Avith. He was the one who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab. 36 When Hadad died, Samlah from the city of Masrekah became king in his place. 37 When Samlah died, Shaul from the city of Rehoboth-on-the-River became king in his place. 38 When Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Acbor became king in his place. 39 When Baal-hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad became king in his place and ruled from the city of Pau. His wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Me-zahab. 40 These are the names of the leaders of the clans descended from Esau, who lived in the places named for them: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram. These are the leaders of the clans of Edom, listed according to their settlements in the land they occupied. They all descended from Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites.

Genesis 18:22–Genesis 36 NCV

22 So the men turned and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood there before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham approached him and asked, “Do you plan to destroy the good people along with the evil ones? 24 What if there are fifty good people in that city? Will you still destroy it? Surely you will save the city for the fifty good people living there. 25 Surely you will not destroy the good people along with the evil ones; then they would be treated the same. You are the judge of all the earth. Won’t you do what is right?” 26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty good people in the city of Sodom, I will save the whole city because of them.” 27 Then Abraham said, “Though I am only dust and ashes, I have been brave to speak to the Lord. 28 What if there are only forty-five good people in the city? Will you destroy the whole city for the lack of five good people?” The Lord said, “If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy the city.” 29 Again Abraham said to him, “If you find only forty good people there, will you destroy the city?” The Lord said, “If I find forty, I will not destroy it.” 30 Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me, but let me ask you this. If you find only thirty good people in the city, will you destroy it?” He said, “If I find thirty good people there, I will not destroy the city.” 31 Then Abraham said, “I have been brave to speak to the Lord. But what if there are twenty good people in the city?” He answered, “If I find twenty there, I will not destroy the city.” 32 Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me, but let me bother you this one last time. What if you find ten there?” He said, “If I find ten there, I will not destroy it.” 33 When the Lord finished speaking to Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home. 1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting near the city gate. When he saw them, he got up and went to them and bowed facedown on the ground. 2 Lot said, “Sirs, please come to my house and spend the night. There you can wash your feet, and then tomorrow you may continue your journey.” The angels answered, “No, we will spend the night in the city’s public square.” 3 But Lot begged them to come, so they agreed and went to his house. Then Lot prepared a meal for them. He baked bread without yeast, and they ate it. 4 Before bedtime, men both young and old and from every part of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the two men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sexual relations with them.” 6 Lot went outside to them, closing the door behind him. 7 He said, “No, my brothers! Do not do this evil thing. 8 Look! I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. I will give them to you, and you may do anything you want with them. But please don’t do anything to these men. They have come to my house, and I must protect them.” 9 The men around the house answered, “Move out of the way!” Then they said to each other, “This man Lot came to our city as a stranger, and now he wants to tell us what to do!” They said to Lot, “We will do worse things to you than to them.” They started pushing him back and were ready to break down the door. 10 But the two men staying with Lot opened the door, pulled him back inside the house, and then closed the door. 11 They struck those outside the door with blindness, so the men, both young and old, could not find the door. 12 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have any other relatives in this city? Do you have any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or any other relatives? If you do, tell them to leave now, 13 because we are about to destroy this city. The Lord has heard of all the evil that is here, so he has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his future sons-in-law who were pledged to marry his daughters, “Hurry and leave this city! The Lord is about to destroy it!” But they thought Lot was joking. 15 At dawn the next morning, the angels begged Lot to hurry. They said, “Go! Take your wife and your two daughters with you so you will not be destroyed when the city is punished.” 16 But Lot delayed. So the two men took the hands of Lot, his wife, and his two daughters and led them safely out of the city. So the Lord was merciful to Lot and his family. 17 After they brought them out of the city, one of the men said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Run to the mountains, or you will be destroyed.” 18 But Lot said to one of them, “Sir, please don’t force me to go so far! 19 You have been merciful and kind to me and have saved my life. But I can’t run to the mountains. The disaster will catch me, and I will die. 20 Look, that little town over there is not too far away. Let me run there. It’s really just a little town, and I’ll be safe there.” 21 The angel said to Lot, “Very well, I will allow you to do this also. I will not destroy that town. 22 But run there fast, because I cannot destroy Sodom until you are safely in that town.” (That town is named Zoar, because it is little.) 23 The sun had already come up when Lot entered Zoar. 24 The Lord sent a rain of burning sulfur down from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah 25 and destroyed those cities. He also destroyed the whole Jordan Valley, everyone living in the cities, and even all the plants. 26 At that point Lot’s wife looked back. When she did, she became a pillar of salt. 27 Early the next morning, Abraham got up and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the Jordan Valley and saw smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace. 29 God destroyed the cities in the valley, but he remembered what Abraham had asked. So God saved Lot’s life, but he destroyed the city where Lot had lived. 30 Lot was afraid to continue living in Zoar, so he and his two daughters went to live in the mountains in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old. Everywhere on the earth women and men marry, but there are no men around here for us to marry. 32 Let’s get our father drunk and have sexual relations with him. We can use him to have children and continue our family.” 33 That night the two girls got their father drunk, and the older daughter went and had sexual relations with him. But Lot did not know when she lay down or when she got up. 34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I had sexual relations with my father. Let’s get him drunk again tonight so you can go and have sexual relations with him, too. In this way we can use our father to have children to continue our family.” 35 So that night they got their father drunk again, and the younger daughter went and had sexual relations with him. Again, Lot did not know when she lay down or when she got up. 36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the ancestor of all the Moabite people who are still living today. 38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. He is the father of all the Ammonite people who are still living today. 1 Abraham left Hebron and traveled to southern Canaan where he stayed awhile between Kadesh and Shur. When he moved to Gerar, 2 he told people that his wife Sarah was his sister. Abimelech king of Gerar heard this, so he sent some servants to take her. 3 But one night God spoke to Abimelech in a dream and said, “You will die. The woman you took is married.” 4 But Abimelech had not gone near Sarah, so he said, “Lord, would you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Abraham himself told me, ‘This woman is my sister,’ and she also said, ‘He is my brother.’ I am innocent. I did not know I was doing anything wrong.” 6 Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know you did not realize what you were doing. So I did not allow you to sin against me and touch her. 7 Give Abraham his wife back. He is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will not die. But if you do not give Sarah back, you and all your family will surely die.” 8 So early the next morning, Abimelech called all his officers and told them everything that had happened in the dream. They were very afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham to him and said, “What have you done to us? What wrong did I do against you? Why did you bring this trouble to my kingdom? You should not have done these things to me. 10 What were you thinking that caused you to do this?” 11 Then Abraham answered, “I thought no one in this place respected God and that someone would kill me to get Sarah. 12 And it is true that she is my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but she is not the daughter of my mother. 13 When God told me to leave my father’s house and wander in many different places, I told Sarah, ‘You must do a special favor for me. Everywhere we go tell people I am your brother.’ ” 14 Then Abimelech gave Abraham some sheep, cattle, and male and female slaves. He also gave Sarah, Abraham’s wife, back to him 15 and said, “Look around you at my land. You may live anywhere you want.” 16 Abimelech said to Sarah, “I gave your brother Abraham twenty-five pounds of silver to make up for any wrong that people may think about you. I want everyone to know that you are innocent.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his servant girls so they could have children. 18 The Lord had kept all the women in Abimelech’s house from having children as a punishment on Abimelech for taking Abraham’s wife Sarah. 1 The Lord cared for Sarah as he had said and did for her what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. Everything happened at the time God had said it would. 3 Abraham named his son Isaac, the son Sarah gave birth to. 4 He circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old as God had commanded. 5 Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me. 7 No one thought that I would be able to have Abraham’s child, but even though Abraham is old I have given him a son.” 8 Isaac grew, and when he became old enough to eat food, Abraham gave a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw Ishmael making fun of Isaac. (Ishmael was the son of Abraham by Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian slave.) 10 So Sarah said to Abraham, “Throw out this slave woman and her son. Her son should not inherit anything; my son Isaac should receive it all.” 11 This troubled Abraham very much because Ishmael was also his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Don’t be troubled about the boy and the slave woman. Do whatever Sarah tells you. The descendants I promised you will be from Isaac. 13 I will also make the descendants of Ishmael into a great nation because he is your son, too.” 14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a leather bag full of water. He gave them to Hagar and sent her away. Carrying these things and her son, Hagar went and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. 15 Later, when all the water was gone from the bag, Hagar put her son under a bush. 16 Then she went away a short distance and sat down. She thought, “My son will die, and I cannot watch this happen.” She sat there and began to cry. 17 God heard the boy crying, and God’s angel called to Hagar from heaven. He said, “What is wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid! God has heard the boy crying there. 18 Help him up and take him by the hand. I will make his descendants into a great nation.” 19 Then God showed Hagar a well of water. So she went to the well and filled her bag with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy as he grew up. Ishmael lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 He lived in the Desert of Paran, and his mother found a wife for him in Egypt. 22 Then Abimelech came with Phicol, the commander of his army, and said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. 23 So make a promise to me here before God that you will be fair with me and my children and my descendants. Be kind to me and to this land where you have lived as a stranger—as kind as I have been to you.” 24 And Abraham said, “I promise.” 25 Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about Abimelech’s servants who had seized a well of water. 26 But Abimelech said, “I don’t know who did this. You never told me about this before today.” 27 Then Abraham gave Abimelech some sheep and cattle, and they made an agreement. 28 Abraham also put seven female lambs in front of Abimelech. 29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “Why did you put these seven female lambs by themselves?” 30 Abraham answered, “Accept these lambs from me to prove that you believe I dug this well.” 31 So that place was called Beersheba because they made a promise to each other there. 32 After Abraham and Abimelech made the agreement at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, went back to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba and prayed to the Lord, the God who lives forever. 34 And Abraham lived as a stranger in the land of the Philistines for a long time. 1 After these things God tested Abraham’s faith. God said to him, “Abraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.” 2 Then God said, “Take your only son, Isaac, the son you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Kill him there and offer him as a whole burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” 3 Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey. He took Isaac and two servants with him. After he cut the wood for the sacrifice, they went to the place God had told them to go. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey. My son and I will go over there and worship, and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the sacrifice and gave it to his son to carry, but he himself took the knife and the fire. So he and his son went on together. 7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” Abraham answered, “Yes, my son.” Isaac said, “We have the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb we will burn as a sacrifice?” 8 Abraham answered, “God will give us the lamb for the sacrifice, my son.” So Abraham and his son went on together 9 and came to the place God had told him about. Abraham built an altar there. He laid the wood on it and then tied up his son Isaac and laid him on the wood on the altar. 10 Then Abraham took his knife and was about to kill his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!” Abraham answered, “Yes.” 12 The angel said, “Don’t kill your son or hurt him in any way. Now I can see that you trust God and that you have not kept your son, your only son, from me.” 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a male sheep caught in a bush by its horns. So Abraham went and took the sheep and killed it. He offered it as a whole burnt offering to God, and his son was saved. 14 So Abraham named that place The Lord Provides. Even today people say, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” 15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “The Lord says, ‘Because you did not keep back your son, your only son, from me, I make you this promise by my own name: 17 I will surely bless you and give you many descendants. They will be as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, and they will capture the cities of their enemies. 18 Through your descendants all the nations on the earth will be blessed, because you obeyed me.’ ” 19 Then Abraham returned to his servants. They all traveled back to Beersheba, and Abraham stayed there. 20 After these things happened, someone told Abraham: “Your brother Nahor and his wife Milcah have children now. 21 The first son is Uz, and the second is Buz. The third son is Kemuel (the father of Aram). 22 Then there are Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah was the mother of these eight sons, and Nahor, Abraham’s brother, was the father. 24 Also Nahor had four other sons by his slave woman Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. 1 Sarah lived to be one hundred twenty-seven years old. 2 She died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham was very sad and cried because of her. 3 After a while he got up from the side of his wife’s body and went to talk to the Hittites. He said, 4 “I am only a stranger and a foreigner here. Sell me some of your land so that I can bury my dead wife.” 5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “Sir, you are a great leader among us. You may have the best place we have to bury your dead. You may have any of our burying places that you want, and none of us will stop you from burying your dead wife.” 7 Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 He said to them, “If you truly want to help me bury my dead wife here, speak to Ephron, the son of Zohar for me. 9 Ask him to sell me the cave of Machpelah at the edge of his field. I will pay him the full price. You can be the witnesses that I am buying it as a burial place.” 10 Ephron was sitting among the Hittites at the city gate. He answered Abraham, 11 “No, sir. I will give you the land and the cave that is in it, with these people as witnesses. Bury your dead wife.” 12 Then Abraham bowed down before the Hittites. 13 He said to Ephron before all the people, “Please let me pay you the full price for the field. Accept my money, and I will bury my dead there.” 14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Sir, the land is worth ten pounds of silver, but I won’t argue with you over the price. Take the land, and bury your dead wife.” 16 Abraham agreed and paid Ephron in front of the Hittite witnesses. He weighed out the full price, ten pounds of silver, and they counted the weight as the traders normally did. 17 So Ephron’s field in Machpelah, east of Mamre, was sold. Abraham became the owner of the field, the cave in it, and all the trees that were in the field. The sale was made at the city gate, with the Hittites as witnesses. 19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. (Mamre was later called Hebron in the land of Canaan.) 20 So Abraham bought the field and the cave in it from the Hittites to use as a burying place. 1 Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 Abraham said to his oldest servant, who was in charge of everything he owned, “Put your hand under my leg. 3 Make a promise to me before the Lord, the God of heaven and earth. Don’t get a wife for my son from the Canaanite girls who live around here. 4 Instead, go back to my country, to the land of my relatives, and get a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “What if this woman does not want to return with me to this land? Then, should I take your son with me back to your homeland?” 6 Abraham said to him, “No! Don’t take my son back there. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and the land of my relatives. And he promised me, “I will give this land to your descendants.’ The Lord will send his angel before you to help you get a wife for my son there. 8 If the girl won’t come back with you, you will be free from this promise. But you must not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under his master’s leg and made a promise to Abraham about this. 10 The servant took ten of Abraham’s camels and left, carrying with him many different kinds of beautiful gifts. He went to Northwest Mesopotamia to Nahor’s city. 11 In the evening, when the women come out to get water, he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city. 12 The servant said, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, allow me to find a wife for his son today. Please show this kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Here I am, standing by the spring, and the girls from the city are coming out to get water. 14 I will say to one of them, ‘Please put your jar down so I can drink.’ Then let her say, ‘Drink, and I will also give water to your camels.’ If that happens, I will know she is the right one for your servant Isaac and that you have shown kindness to my master.” 15 Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, came out of the city. (Bethuel was the son of Milcah and Nahor, Abraham’s brother.) Rebekah was carrying her water jar on her shoulder. 16 She was very pretty, a virgin; she had never had sexual relations with a man. She went down to the spring and filled her jar, then came back up. 17 The servant ran to her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.” 18 Rebekah said, “Drink, sir.” She quickly lowered the jar from her shoulder and gave him a drink. 19 After he finished drinking, Rebekah said, “I will also pour some water for your camels.” 20 So she quickly poured all the water from her jar into the drinking trough for the camels. Then she kept running to the well until she had given all the camels enough to drink. 21 The servant quietly watched her. He wanted to be sure the Lord had made his trip successful. 22 After the camels had finished drinking, he gave Rebekah a gold ring weighing one-fifth of an ounce and two gold arm bracelets weighing about four ounces each. 23 He asked, “Who is your father? Is there a place in his house for me and my men to spend the night?” 24 Rebekah answered, “My father is Bethuel, the son of Milcah and Nahor.” 25 Then she said, “And, yes, we have straw for your camels and a place for you to spend the night.” 26 The servant bowed and worshiped the Lord 27 and said, “Blessed is the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. The Lord has been kind and truthful to him and has led me to my master’s relatives.” 28 Then Rebekah ran and told her mother’s family about all these things. 29 She had a brother named Laban, who ran out to Abraham’s servant, who was still at the spring. 30 Laban had heard what she had said and had seen the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms. So he ran out to the well, and there was the man standing by the camels at the spring. 31 Laban said, “Sir, you are welcome to come in; you don’t have to stand outside. I have prepared the house for you and also a place for your camels.” 32 So Abraham’s servant went into the house. After Laban unloaded the camels and gave them straw and food, he gave water to Abraham’s servant so he and the men with him could wash their feet. 33 Then Laban gave the servant food, but the servant said, “I will not eat until I have told you why I came.” So Laban said, “Then tell us.” 34 He said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord has greatly blessed my master in everything, and he has become a rich man. The Lord has given him many flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, camels, and horses. 36 Sarah, my master’s wife, gave birth to a son when she was old, and my master has given everything he owns to that son. 37 My master had me make a promise to him and said, ‘Don’t get a wife for my son from the Canaanite girls who live around here. 38 Instead, you must go to my father’s people and to my family. There you must get a wife for my son.’ 39 I said to my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’ 40 But he said, ‘I serve the Lord, who will send his angel with you and will help you. You will get a wife for my son from my family and my father’s people. 41 Then you will be free from the promise. But if they will not give you a wife for my son, you will be free from this promise.’ 42 “Today I came to this spring. I said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, please make my trip successful. 43 I am standing by this spring. I will wait for a young woman to come out to get water, and I will say, “Please give me water from your jar to drink.” 44 Then let her say, “Drink this water, and I will also get water for your camels.” By this I will know the Lord has chosen her for my master’s son.’ 45 “Before I finished my silent prayer, Rebekah came out of the city with her water jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and got water. I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46 She quickly lowered the jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink this. I will also get water for your camels.’ So I drank, and she gave water to my camels too. 47 When I asked her, ‘Who is your father?’ she answered, ‘My father is Bethuel son of Milcah and Nahor.’ Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, 48 and I bowed my head and thanked the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, because he led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Now, tell me, will you be kind and truthful to my master? And if not, tell me so. Then I will know what I should do.” 50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is clearly from the Lord, and we cannot change what must happen. 51 Rebekah is yours. Take her and go. Let her marry your master’s son as the Lord has commanded.” 52 When Abraham’s servant heard these words, he bowed facedown on the ground before the Lord. 53 Then he gave Rebekah gold and silver jewelry and clothes. He also gave expensive gifts to her brother and mother. 54 The servant and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, the servant said, “Now let me go back to my master.” 55 Rebekah’s mother and her brother said, “Let Rebekah stay with us at least ten days. After that she may go.” 56 But the servant said to them, “Do not make me wait, because the Lord has made my trip successful. Now let me go back to my master.” 57 Rebekah’s brother and mother said, “We will call Rebekah and ask her what she wants to do.” 58 They called her and asked her, “Do you want to go with this man now?” She said, “Yes, I do.” 59 So they allowed Rebekah and her nurse to go with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 They blessed Rebekah and said, “Our sister, may you be the mother of thousands of people, and may your descendants capture the cities of their enemies.” 61 Then Rebekah and her servant girls got on the camels and followed the servant and his men. So the servant took Rebekah and left. 62 At this time Isaac had left Beer Lahai Roi and was living in southern Canaan. 63 One evening when he went out to the field to think, he looked up and saw camels coming. 64 Rebekah also looked and saw Isaac. Then she jumped down from the camel 65 and asked the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” The servant answered, “That is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil. 66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent of Sarah, his mother, and she became his wife. Isaac loved her very much, and so he was comforted after his mother’s death. 1 Abraham married again, and his new wife was Keturah. 2 She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the people of Assyria, Letush, and Leum. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. 5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6 But before Abraham died, he did give gifts to the sons of his other wives, then sent them to the East to be away from Isaac. 7 Abraham lived to be one hundred seventy-five years old. 8 He breathed his last breath and died at an old age, after a long and satisfying life. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron east of Mamre. (Ephron was the son of Zohar the Hittite.) 10 So Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah in the same field that he had bought from the Hittites. 11 After Abraham died, God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac was now living at Beer Lahai Roi. 12 This is the family history of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. (Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant, was Ishmael’s mother.) 13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons in the order they were born: Nebaioth, the first son, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These were Ishmael’s sons, and these are the names of the tribal leaders listed according to their settlements and camps. 17 Ishmael lived one hundred thirty-seven years and then breathed his last breath and died. 18 His descendants lived from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt stretching toward Assyria. They often attacked the descendants of his brothers. 19 This is the family history of Isaac. Abraham had a son named Isaac. 20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, who came from Northwest Mesopotamia. She was Bethuel’s daughter and the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac’s wife could not have children, so Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. The Lord heard Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant. 22 While she was pregnant, the babies struggled inside her. She asked, “Why is this happening to me?” Then she went to get an answer from the Lord. 23 The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your body, and two groups of people will be taken from you. One group will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” 24 When the time came, Rebekah gave birth to twins. 25 The first baby was born red. Since his skin was like a hairy robe, he was named Esau. 26 When the second baby was born, he was holding on to Esau’s heel, so that baby was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born. 27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled hunter. He loved to be out in the fields. But Jacob was a quiet man and stayed among the tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he hunted the wild animals that Isaac enjoyed eating. But Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 One day Jacob was boiling a pot of vegetable soup. Esau came in from hunting in the fields, weak from hunger. 30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red soup, because I am weak with hunger.” (That is why people call him Edom. ) 31 But Jacob said, “You must sell me your rights as the firstborn son.” 32 Esau said, “I am almost dead from hunger. If I die, all of my father’s wealth will not help me.” 33 But Jacob said, “First, promise me that you will give it to me.” So Esau made a promise to Jacob and sold his part of their father’s wealth to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and vegetable soup, and he ate and drank, and then left. So Esau showed how little he cared about his rights as the firstborn son. 1 Now there was a time of hunger in the land, besides the time of hunger that happened during Abraham’s life. So Isaac went to the town of Gerar to see Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt, but live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I will give you and your descendants all these lands, and I will keep the oath I made to Abraham your father. 4 I will give you many descendants, as hard to count as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands. Through your descendants all the nations on the earth will be blessed. 5 I will do this because your father Abraham obeyed me. He did what I said and obeyed my commands, my teachings, and my rules.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar. 7 His wife Rebekah was very beautiful, and the men of that place asked Isaac about her. Isaac said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to tell them she was his wife. He thought they might kill him so they could have her. 8 Isaac lived there a long time. One day as Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out his window, he saw Isaac holding his wife Rebekah tenderly. 9 Abimelech called for Isaac and said, “This woman is your wife. Why did you say she was your sister?” Isaac said to him, “I was afraid you would kill me so you could have her.” 10 Abimelech said, “What have you done to us? One of our men might have had sexual relations with your wife. Then we would have been guilty of a great sin.” 11 So Abimelech warned everyone, “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death.” 12 Isaac planted seed in that land, and that year he gathered a great harvest. The Lord blessed him very much, 13 and he became rich. He gathered more wealth until he became a very rich man. 14 He had so many slaves and flocks and herds that the Philistines envied him. 15 So they stopped up all the wells the servants of Isaac’s father Abraham had dug. (They had dug them when Abraham was alive.) The Philistines filled those wells with dirt. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave our country because you have become much more powerful than we are.” 17 So Isaac left that place and camped in the Valley of Gerar and lived there. 18 Long before this time Abraham had dug many wells, but after he died, the Philistines filled them with dirt. So Isaac dug those wells again and gave them the same names his father had given them. 19 Isaac’s servants dug a well in the valley, from which a spring of water flowed. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar argued with them and said, “This water is ours.” So Isaac named that well Argue because they argued with him. 21 Then his servants dug another well. When the people also argued about it, Isaac named that well Fight. 22 He moved from there and dug another well. No one argued about this one, so he named it Room Enough. Isaac said, “Now the Lord has made room for us, and we will be successful in this land.” 23 From there Isaac went to Beersheba. 24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid, because I am with you. I will bless you and give you many descendants because of my servant Abraham.” 25 So Isaac built an altar and worshiped the Lord there. He also made a camp there, and his servants dug a well. 26 Abimelech came from Gerar to see Isaac. He brought with him Ahuzzath, who advised him, and Phicol, the commander of his army. 27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to see me? You were my enemy and forced me to leave your country.” 28 They answered, “Now we know that the Lord is with you. Let us swear an oath to each other. Let us make an agreement with you 29 that since we did not hurt you, you will not hurt us. We were good to you and sent you away in peace. Now the Lord has blessed you.” 30 So Isaac prepared food for them, and they all ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them away, and they left in peace. 32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug, saying, “We found water in that well.” 33 So Isaac named it Shibah and that city is called Beersheba even now. 34 When Esau was forty years old, he married two Hittite women—Judith daughter of Beeri and Basemath daughter of Elon. 35 These women brought much sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah. 1 When Isaac was old, his eyesight was poor, so he could not see clearly. One day he called his older son Esau to him and said, “Son.” Esau answered, “Here I am.” 2 Isaac said, “I am old and don’t know when I might die. 3 So take your bow and arrows and go hunting in the field for an animal for me to eat. 4 When you prepare the tasty food that I love, bring it to me, and I will eat. Then I will bless you before I die.” 5 So Esau went out in the field to hunt. Rebekah was listening as Isaac said this to his son Esau. 6 She said to her son Jacob, “Listen, I heard your father saying to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Kill an animal and prepare some tasty food for me to eat. Then I will bless you in the presence of the Lord before I die.’ 8 So obey me, my son, and do what I tell you. 9 Go out to our goats and bring me two of the best young ones. I will prepare them just the way your father likes them. 10 Then you will take the food to your father, and he will bless you before he dies.” 11 But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “My brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am smooth! 12 If my father touches me, he will know I am not Esau. Then he will not bless me but will place a curse on me because I tried to trick him.” 13 So Rebekah said to him, “If your father puts a curse on you, I will accept the blame. Just do what I said. Go get the goats for me.” 14 So Jacob went out and got two goats and brought them to his mother, and she cooked them in the special way Isaac enjoyed. 15 She took the best clothes of her older son Esau that were in the house and put them on the younger son Jacob. 16 She also took the skins of the goats and put them on Jacob’s hands and neck. 17 Then she gave Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made. 18 Jacob went in to his father and said, “Father.” And his father said, “Yes, my son. Who are you?” 19 Jacob said to him, “I am Esau, your first son. I have done what you told me. Now sit up and eat some meat of the animal I hunted for you. Then bless me.” 20 But Isaac asked his son, “How did you find and kill the animal so quickly?” Jacob answered, “Because the Lord your God helped me to find it.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son. Then I will know if you are really my son Esau.” 22 So Jacob came near to Isaac his father. Isaac touched him and said, “Your voice sounds like Jacob’s voice, but your hands are hairy like the hands of Esau.” 23 Isaac did not know it was Jacob, because his hands were hairy like Esau’s hands, so Isaac blessed him. 24 Isaac asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” Jacob answered, “Yes, I am.” 25 Then Isaac said, “Bring me the food, and I will eat it and bless you.” So Jacob gave him the food, and he ate. Jacob gave him wine, and he drank. 26 Then Isaac said to him, “My son, come near and kiss me.” 27 So Jacob went to his father and kissed him. When Isaac smelled Esau’s clothes, he blessed him and said, “The smell of my son is like the smell of the field that the Lord has blessed. 28 May God give you plenty of rain and good soil so that you will have plenty of grain and new wine. 29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. May you be master over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. May everyone who curses you be cursed, and may everyone who blesses you be blessed.” 30 Isaac finished blessing Jacob. Then, just as Jacob left his father Isaac, Esau came in from hunting. 31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. He said, “Father, rise and eat the food that your son killed for you and then bless me.” 32 Isaac asked, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son—your firstborn son—Esau.” 33 Then Isaac trembled greatly and said, “Then who was it that hunted the animals and brought me food before you came? I ate it, and I blessed him, and it is too late now to take back my blessing.” 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he let out a loud and bitter cry. He said to his father, “Bless me—me, too, my father!” 35 But Isaac said, “Your brother came and tricked me. He has taken your blessing.” 36 Esau said, “Jacob is the right name for him. He has tricked me these two times. He took away my share of everything you own, and now he has taken away my blessing.” Then Esau asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?” 37 Isaac answered, “I gave Jacob the power to be master over you, and all his brothers will be his servants. And I kept him strong with grain and new wine. There is nothing left to give you, my son.” 38 But Esau continued, “Do you have only one blessing, Father? Bless me, too, Father!” Then Esau began to cry out loud. 39 Isaac said to him, “You will live far away from the best land, far from the rain. 40 You will live by using your sword, and you will be a slave to your brother. But when you struggle, you will break free from him.” 41 After that Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing from Isaac. He thought to himself, “My father will soon die, and I will be sad for him. Then I will kill Jacob.” 42 Rebekah heard about Esau’s plan to kill Jacob. So she sent for Jacob and said to him, “Listen, your brother Esau is comforting himself by planning to kill you. 43 So, my son, do what I say. My brother Laban is living in Haran. Go to him at once! 44 Stay with him for a while, until your brother is not so angry. 45 In time, your brother will not be angry, and he will forget what you did to him. Then I will send a servant to bring you back. I don’t want to lose both of my sons on the same day.” 46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of these Hittite women here in this land, I want to die.” 1 Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman. 2 Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, in Northwest Mesopotamia. Laban, your mother’s brother, lives there. Marry one of his daughters. 3 May God Almighty bless you and give you many children, and may you become a group of many peoples. 4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing of Abraham so that you may own the land where you are now living as a stranger, the land God gave to Abraham.” 5 So Isaac sent Jacob to Northwest Mesopotamia, to Laban the brother of Rebekah. Bethuel the Aramean was the father of Laban and Rebekah, and Rebekah was the mother of Jacob and Esau. 6 Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Northwest Mesopotamia to find a wife there. He also learned that Isaac had commanded Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Northwest Mesopotamia. 8 So Esau saw that his father Isaac did not want his sons to marry Canaanite women. 9 Now Esau already had wives, but he went to Ishmael son of Abraham, and he married Mahalath, Ishmael’s daughter. Mahalath was the sister of Nebaioth. 10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11 When he came to a place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. He found a stone and laid his head on it to go to sleep. 12 Jacob dreamed that there was a ladder resting on the earth and reaching up into heaven, and he saw angels of God going up and coming down the ladder. 13 Then Jacob saw the Lord standing above the ladder, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your grandfather, and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are now sleeping. 14 Your descendants will be as many as the dust of the earth. They will spread west and east, north and south, and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 I am with you and will protect you everywhere you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not know it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “This place frightens me! It is surely the house of God and the gate of heaven.” 18 Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone he had slept on and set it up on its end. Then he poured olive oil on the top of it. 19 At first, the name of that city was Luz, but Jacob named it Bethel. 20 Then Jacob made a promise. He said, “I want God to be with me and to protect me on this journey. I want him to give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so I will be able to return in peace to my father’s house. If the Lord does these things, he will be my God. 22 This stone which I have set up on its end will be the house of God. And I will give God one-tenth of all he gives me.” 1 Then Jacob continued his journey and came to the land of the people of the East. 2 He looked and saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying nearby, because they drank water from this well. A large stone covered the mouth of the well. 3 When all the flocks would gather there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place. 4 Jacob said to the shepherds there, “My brothers, where are you from?” They answered, “We are from Haran.” 5 Then Jacob asked, “Do you know Laban, grandson of Nahor?” They answered, “We know him.” 6 Then Jacob asked, “How is he?” They answered, “He is well. Look, his daughter Rachel is coming now with his sheep.” 7 Jacob said, “But look, it is still the middle of the day. It is not time for the sheep to be gathered for the night, so give them water and let them go back into the pasture.” 8 But they said, “We cannot do that until all the flocks are gathered. Then we will roll away the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep.” 9 While Jacob was talking with the shepherds, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, because it was her job to care for the sheep. 10 When Jacob saw Laban’s daughter Rachel and Laban’s sheep, he went to the well and rolled the stone from its mouth and watered Laban’s sheep. Now Laban was the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s mother. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and cried. 12 He told her that he was from her father’s family and that he was the son of Rebekah. So Rachel ran home and told her father. 13 When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him. Laban hugged him and kissed him and brought him to his house, where Jacob told Laban everything that had happened. 14 Then Laban said, “You are my own flesh and blood.” Jacob stayed there a month. 15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “You are my relative, but it is not right for you to work for me without pay. What would you like me to pay you?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters. The older was Leah, and the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was very beautiful. 18 Jacob loved Rachel, so he said to Laban, “Let me marry your younger daughter Rachel. If you will, I will work seven years for you.” 19 Laban said, “It would be better for her to marry you than someone else, so stay here with me.” 20 So Jacob worked for Laban seven years so he could marry Rachel. But they seemed like just a few days to him because he loved Rachel very much. 21 After seven years Jacob said to Laban, “Give me Rachel so that I may marry her. The time I promised to work for you is over.” 22 So Laban gave a feast for all the people there. 23 That evening he brought his daughter Leah to Jacob, and they had sexual relations. 24 (Laban gave his slave girl Zilpah to his daughter to be her servant.) 25 In the morning when Jacob saw that he had had sexual relations with Leah, he said to Laban, “What have you done to me? I worked hard for you so that I could marry Rachel! Why did you trick me?” 26 Laban said, “In our country we do not allow the younger daughter to marry before the older daughter. 27 But complete the full week of the marriage ceremony with Leah, and I will give you Rachel to marry also. But you must serve me another seven years.” 28 So Jacob did this, and when he had completed the week with Leah, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife. 29 (Laban gave his slave girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 30 So Jacob had sexual relations with Rachel also, and Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years. 31 When the Lord saw that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, he made it possible for Leah to have children, but not Rachel. 32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, because she said, “The Lord has seen my troubles. Surely now my husband will love me.” 33 Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon and said, “The Lord has heard that I am not loved, so he has given me this son.” 34 Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Levi and said, “Now, surely my husband will be close to me, because I have given him three sons.” 35 Then Leah gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, because she said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Then Leah stopped having children. 1 When Rachel saw that she was not having children for Jacob, she envied her sister Leah. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” 2 Jacob became angry with her and said, “Can I do what only God can do? He is the one who has kept you from having children.” 3 Then Rachel said, “Here is my slave girl Bilhah. Have sexual relations with her so she can give birth to a child for me. Then I can have my own family through her.” 4 So Rachel gave Bilhah, her slave girl, to Jacob as a wife, and he had sexual relations with her. 5 She became pregnant and gave Jacob a son. 6 Rachel said, “God has judged me innocent. He has listened to my prayer and has given me a son,” so she named him Dan. 7 Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. 8 Rachel said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I have won.” So she named that son Naphtali. 9 Leah saw that she had stopped having children, so she gave her slave girl Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 10 When Zilpah had a son, 11 Leah said, “I am lucky,” so she named him Gad. 12 Zilpah gave birth to another son, 13 and Leah said, “I am very happy! Now women will call me happy,” so she named him Asher. 14 During the wheat harvest Reuben went into the field and found some mandrake plants and brought them to his mother Leah. But Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 Leah answered, “You have already taken away my husband, and now you are trying to take away my son’s mandrakes.” But Rachel answered, “If you will give me your son’s mandrakes, you may sleep with Jacob tonight.” 16 When Jacob came in from the field that night, Leah went out to meet him. She said, “You will have sexual relations with me tonight because I have paid for you with my son’s mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with her that night. 17 Then God answered Leah’s prayer, and she became pregnant again. She gave birth to a fifth son 18 and said, “God has given me what I paid for, because I gave my slave girl to my husband.” So Leah named her son Issachar. 19 Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son. 20 She said, “God has given me a fine gift. Now surely Jacob will honor me, because I have given him six sons,” so she named him Zebulun. 21 Later Leah gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. 22 Then God remembered Rachel and answered her prayer, making it possible for her to have children. 23 When she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, she said, “God has taken away my shame,” 24 and she named him Joseph. Rachel said, “I wish the Lord would give me another son.” 25 After the birth of Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Now let me go to my own home and country. 26 Give me my wives and my children and let me go. I have earned them by working for you, and you know that I have served you well.” 27 Laban said to him, “If I have pleased you, please stay. I know the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 Tell me what I should pay you, and I will give it to you.” 29 Jacob answered, “You know that I have worked hard for you, and your flocks have grown while I cared for them. 30 When I came, you had little, but now you have much. Every time I did something for you, the Lord blessed you. But when will I be able to do something for my own family?” 31 Laban asked, “Then what should I give you?” Jacob answered, “I don’t want you to give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I will come back and take care of your flocks. 32 Today let me go through all your flocks. I will take every speckled or spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. That will be my pay. 33 In the future you can easily see if I am honest. When you come to look at my flocks, if I have any goat that isn’t speckled or spotted or any lamb that isn’t black, you will know I stole it.” 34 Laban answered, “Agreed! We will do what you ask.” 35 But that day Laban took away all the male goats that had streaks or spots, all the speckled and spotted female goats (all those that had white on them), and all the black sheep. He told his sons to watch over them. 36 Then he took these animals to a place that was three days’ journey away from Jacob. Jacob took care of all the flocks that were left. 37 So Jacob cut green branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off some of the bark so that the branches had white stripes on them. 38 He put the branches in front of the flocks at the watering places. When the animals came to drink, they also mated there, 39 so the flocks mated in front of the branches. Then the young that were born were streaked, speckled, or spotted. 40 Jacob separated the young animals from the others, and he made them face the streaked and dark animals in Laban’s flock. Jacob kept his animals separate from Laban’s. 41 When the stronger animals in the flock were mating, Jacob put the branches before their eyes so they would mate near the branches. 42 But when the weaker animals mated, Jacob did not put the branches there. So the animals born from the weaker animals were Laban’s, and those born from the stronger animals were Jacob’s. 43 In this way Jacob became very rich. He had large flocks, many male and female servants, camels, and donkeys. 1 One day Jacob heard Laban’s sons talking. They said, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned, and in this way he has become rich.” 2 Then Jacob noticed that Laban was not as friendly as he had been before. 3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land where your ancestors lived, and I will be with you.” 4 So Jacob told Rachel and Leah to meet him in the field where he kept his flocks. 5 He said to them, “I have seen that your father is not as friendly with me as he used to be, but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You both know that I have worked as hard as I could for your father, 7 but he cheated me and changed my pay ten times. But God has not allowed your father to harm me. 8 When Laban said, ‘You can have all the speckled animals as your pay,’ all the animals gave birth to speckled young ones. But when he said, ‘You can have all the streaked animals as your pay,’ all the flocks gave birth to streaked babies. 9 So God has taken the animals away from your father and has given them to me. 10 “I had a dream during the season when the flocks were mating. I saw that the only male goats who were mating were streaked, speckled, or spotted. 11 The angel of God spoke to me in that dream and said, ‘Jacob!’ I answered, ‘Yes!’ 12 The angel said, ‘Look! Only the streaked, speckled, or spotted male goats are mating. I have seen all the wrong things Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, where you poured olive oil on the stone you set up on end and where you made a promise to me. Now I want you to leave here and go back to the land where you were born.’ ” 14 Rachel and Leah answered Jacob, “Our father has nothing to give us when he dies. 15 He has treated us like strangers. He sold us to you, and then he spent all of the money you paid for us. 16 God took all this wealth from our father, and now it belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you to do.” 17 So Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, 18 and they began their journey back to Isaac, his father, in the land of Canaan. All the flocks of animals that Jacob owned walked ahead of them. He carried everything with him that he had gotten while he lived in Northwest Mesopotamia. 19 While Laban was gone to cut the wool from his sheep, Rachel stole the idols that belonged to him. 20 And Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was leaving. 21 Jacob and his family left quickly, crossed the Euphrates River, and traveled toward the mountains of Gilead. 22 Three days later Laban learned that Jacob had run away, 23 so he gathered his relatives and began to chase him. After seven days Laban found him in the mountains of Gilead. 24 That night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and said, “Be careful! Do not say anything to Jacob, good or bad.” 25 So Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had made his camp in the mountains, so Laban and his relatives set up their camp in the mountains of Gilead. 26 Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You cheated me and took my daughters as if you had captured them in a war. 27 Why did you run away secretly and trick me? Why didn’t you tell me? Then I could have sent you away with joy and singing and with the music of tambourines and harps. 28 You did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters good-bye. You were very foolish to do this! 29 I have the power to harm you, but last night the God of your father spoke to me and warned me not to say anything to you, good or bad. 30 I know you want to go back to your home, but why did you steal my idols?” 31 Jacob answered Laban, “I left without telling you, because I was afraid you would take your daughters away from me. 32 If you find anyone here who has taken your idols, that person will be killed! Your relatives will be my witnesses. You may look for anything that belongs to you and take anything that is yours.” (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen Laban’s idols.) 33 So Laban looked in Jacob’s tent, in Leah’s tent, and in the tent where the two slave women stayed, but he did not find his idols. When he left Leah’s tent, he went into Rachel’s tent. 34 Rachel had hidden the idols inside her camel’s saddle and was sitting on them. Although Laban looked through the whole tent, he did not find them. 35 Rachel said to her father, “Father, don’t be angry with me. I am not able to stand up before you because I am having my monthly period.” So Laban looked through the camp, but he did not find his idols. 36 Then Jacob became very angry and said, “What wrong have I done? What law have I broken to cause you to chase me? 37 You have looked through everything I own, but you have found nothing that belongs to you. If you have found anything, show it to everyone. Put it in front of your relatives and my relatives, and let them decide which one of us is right. 38 I have worked for you now for twenty years. During all that time none of the lambs and kids died during birth, and I have not eaten any of the male sheep from your flocks. 39 Any time an animal was killed by wild beasts, I did not bring it to you, but made up for the loss myself. You made me pay for any animal that was stolen during the day or night. 40 In the daytime the sun took away my strength, and at night I was cold and could not sleep. 41 I worked like a slave for you for twenty years—the first fourteen to get your two daughters and the last six to earn your flocks. During that time you changed my pay ten times. 42 But the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac, was with me. Otherwise, you would have sent me away with nothing. But he saw the trouble I had and the hard work I did, and last night he corrected you.” 43 Laban said to Jacob, “These girls are my daughters. Their children belong to me, and these flocks are mine. Everything you see here belongs to me, but I can do nothing to keep my daughters and their children. 44 Let us make an agreement, and let us set up a pile of stones to remind us of it.” 45 So Jacob took a large rock and set it up on its end. 46 He told his relatives to gather rocks, so they took the rocks and piled them up; then they ate beside the pile. 47 Laban named that place in his language A Pile to Remind Us, and Jacob gave the place the same name in Hebrew. 48 Laban said to Jacob, “This pile of rocks will remind us of the agreement between us.” That is why the place was called A Pile to Remind Us. 49 It was also called Mizpah, because Laban said, “Let the Lord watch over us while we are separated from each other. 50 Remember that God is our witness even if no one else is around us. He will know if you harm my daughters or marry other women. 51 Here is the pile of rocks that I have put between us and here is the rock I set up on end. 52 This pile of rocks and this rock set on end will remind us of our agreement. I will never go past this pile to hurt you, and you must never come to my side of them to hurt me. 53 Let the God of Abraham, who is the God of Nahor and the God of their ancestors, punish either of us if we break this agreement.” So Jacob made a promise in the name of the God whom his father Isaac worshiped. 54 Then Jacob killed an animal and offered it as a sacrifice on the mountain, and he invited his relatives to share in the meal. After they finished eating, they spent the night on the mountain. 55 Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them, and then he left to return home. 1 When Jacob also went his way, the angels of God met him. 2 When he saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. 3 Jacob’s brother Esau was living in the area called Seir in the country of Edom. Jacob sent messengers to Esau, 4 telling them, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘This is what Jacob, your servant, says: I have lived with Laban and have remained there until now. 5 I have cattle, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants. I send this message to you and ask you to accept us.’ ” 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.” 7 Then Jacob was very afraid and worried. He divided the people who were with him and all the flocks, herds, and camels into two camps. 8 Jacob thought, “Esau might come and destroy one camp, but the other camp can run away and be saved.” 9 Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham! God of my father Isaac! Lord, you told me to return to my country and my family. You said that you would treat me well. 10 I am not worthy of the kindness and continual goodness you have shown me. The first time I traveled across the Jordan River, I had only my walking stick, but now I own enough to have two camps. 11 Please save me from my brother Esau. I am afraid he will come and kill all of us, even the mothers with the children. 12 You said to me, ‘I will treat you well and will make your children as many as the sand of the seashore. There will be too many to count.’ ” 13 Jacob stayed there for the night and prepared a gift for Esau from what he had with him: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred female sheep and twenty male sheep, 15 thirty female camels and their young, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys. 16 Jacob gave each separate flock of animals to one of his servants and said to them, “Go ahead of me and keep some space between each herd.” 17 Jacob gave them their orders. To the servant with the first group of animals he said, “My brother Esau will come to you and ask, ‘Whose servant are you? Where are you going and whose animals are these?’ 18 Then you will answer, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. He sent them as a gift to you, my master Esau, and he also is coming behind us.’ ” 19 Jacob ordered the second servant, the third servant, and all the other servants to do the same thing. He said, “Say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 Say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’ ” Jacob thought, “If I send these gifts ahead of me, maybe Esau will forgive me. Then when I see him, perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So Jacob sent the gifts to Esau, but he himself stayed that night in the camp. 22 During the night Jacob rose and crossed the Jabbok River at the crossing, taking with him his two wives, his two slave girls, and his eleven sons. 23 He sent his family and everything he had across the river. 24 So Jacob was alone, and a man came and wrestled with him until the sun came up. 25 When the man saw he could not defeat Jacob, he struck Jacob’s hip and put it out of joint. 26 Then he said to Jacob, “Let me go. The sun is coming up.” But Jacob said, “I will let you go if you will bless me.” 27 The man said to him, “What is your name?” And he answered, “Jacob.” 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. Your name will now be Israel, because you have wrestled with God and with people, and you have won.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But the man said, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there. 30 So Jacob named that place Peniel, saying, “I have seen God face to face, but my life was saved.” 31 Then the sun rose as he was leaving that place, and Jacob was limping because of his leg. 32 So even today the people of Israel do not eat the muscle that is on the hip joint of animals, because Jacob was touched there. 1 Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming, and with him were four hundred men. So Jacob divided his children among Leah, Rachel, and the two slave girls. 2 Jacob put the slave girls with their children first, then Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 Jacob himself went out in front of them and bowed down flat on the ground seven times as he was walking toward his brother. 4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and put his arms around him and hugged him. Then Esau kissed him, and they both cried. 5 When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob answered, “These are the children God has given me. God has been good to me, your servant.” 6 Then the two slave girls and their children came up to Esau and bowed down flat on the earth before him. 7 Leah and her children also came up to Esau and also bowed down flat on the earth. Last of all, Joseph and Rachel came up to Esau, and they, too, bowed down flat before him. 8 Esau said, “I saw many herds as I was coming here. Why did you bring them?” Jacob answered, “They were to please you, my master.” 9 But Esau said, “I already have enough, my brother. Keep what you have.” 10 Jacob said, “No! Please! If I have pleased you, then accept the gift I give you. I am very happy to see your face again. It is like seeing the face of God, because you have accepted me. 11 So I beg you to accept the gift I give you. God has been very good to me, and I have more than I need.” And because Jacob begged, Esau accepted the gift. 12 Then Esau said, “Let us be going. I will travel with you.” 13 But Jacob said to him, “My master, you know that the children are weak. And I must be careful with my flocks and their young ones. If I force them to go too far in one day, all the animals will die. 14 So, my master, you go on ahead of me, your servant. I will follow you slowly and let the animals and the children set the speed at which we travel. I will meet you, my master, in Edom.” 15 So Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my people with you.” “No, thank you,” said Jacob. “I only want to please you, my master.” 16 So that day Esau started back to Edom. 17 But Jacob went to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and shelters for his animals. That is why the place was named Succoth. 18 Jacob left Northwest Mesopotamia and arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan. There he camped east of the city. 19 He bought a part of the field where he had camped from the sons of Hamor father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver. 20 He built an altar there and named it after God, the God of Israel. 1 At this time Dinah, the daughter of Leah and Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. 2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of the land, saw her, he took her and forced her to have sexual relations with him. 3 Shechem fell in love with Dinah, and he spoke kindly to her. 4 He told his father, Hamor, “Please get this girl for me so I can marry her.” 5 Jacob learned how Shechem had disgraced his daughter, but since his sons were out in the field with the cattle, Jacob said nothing until they came home. 6 While he waited, Hamor father of Shechem went to talk with Jacob. 7 When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they came in from the field. They were very angry that Shechem had done such a wicked thing to Israel. It was wrong for him to have sexual relations with Jacob’s daughter; a thing like this should not be done. 8 But Hamor talked to Dinah’s brothers and said, “My son Shechem is deeply in love with Dinah. Please let him marry her. 9 Marry our people. Give your women to our men as wives and take our women for your men as wives. 10 You can live in the same land with us. You will be free to own land and to trade here.” 11 Shechem also talked to Jacob and to Dinah’s brothers and said, “Please accept my offer. I will give anything you ask. 12 Ask as much as you want for the payment for the bride, and I will give it to you. Just let me marry Dinah.” 13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father with lies, because Shechem had disgraced their sister Dinah. 14 The brothers said to them, “We cannot allow you to marry our sister, because you are not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. 15 But we will allow you to marry her if you do this one thing: Every man in your town must be circumcised like us. 16 Then your men can marry our women, and our men can marry your women, and we will live in your land and become one people. 17 If you refuse to be circumcised, we will take Dinah and leave.” 18 What they asked seemed fair to Hamor and Shechem. 19 So Shechem quickly went to be circumcised because he loved Jacob’s daughter. Now Shechem was the most respected man in his family. 20 So Hamor and Shechem went to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 “These people want to be friends with us. So let them live in our land and trade here. There is enough land for all of us. Let us marry their women, and we can let them marry our women. 22 But we must agree to one thing: All our men must be circumcised as they are. Then they will agree to live in our land, and we will be one people. 23 If we do this, their cattle and their animals will belong to us. Let us do what they say, and they will stay in our land.” 24 All the people who had come to the city gate heard this. They agreed with Hamor and Shechem, and every man was circumcised. 25 Three days later the men who were circumcised were still in pain. Two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi (Dinah’s brothers), took their swords and made a surprise attack on the city, killing all the men there. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem and then took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and left. 27 Jacob’s sons came upon the dead bodies and stole everything that was in the city, to pay them back for what Shechem had done to their sister. 28 So the brothers took the flocks, herds, and donkeys, and everything in the city and in the fields. 29 They took every valuable thing the people owned, even their wives and children and everything in the houses. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have caused me a lot of trouble. Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites who live in the land will hate me. Since there are only a few of us, if they join together to attack us, my people and I will be destroyed.” 31 But the brothers said, “We will not allow our sister to be treated like a prostitute.” 1 God said to Jacob, “Go to the city of Bethel and live there. Make an altar to the God who appeared to you there when you were running away from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his family and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods you have, and make yourselves clean, and change your clothes. 3 We will leave here and go to Bethel. There I will build an altar to God, who has helped me during my time of trouble. He has been with me everywhere I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had, and the earrings they were wearing, and he hid them under the great tree near the town of Shechem. 5 Then Jacob and his sons left there. But God caused the people in the nearby cities to be afraid, so they did not follow them. 6 And Jacob and all the people who were with him went to Luz, which is now called Bethel, in the land of Canaan. 7 There Jacob built an altar and named the place Bethel, after God, because God had appeared to him there when he was running from his brother. 8 Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak tree at Bethel, so they named that place Oak of Crying. 9 When Jacob came back from Northwest Mesopotamia, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. Your new name will be Israel.” So he called him Israel. 11 God said to him, “I am God Almighty. Have many children and grow in number as a nation. You will be the ancestor of many nations and kings. 12 The same land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you and your descendants.” 13 Then God left him. 14 Jacob set up a stone on edge in that place where God had talked to him, and he poured a drink offering and olive oil on it to make it special for God. 15 And Jacob named the place Bethel. 16 Jacob and his group left Bethel. Before they came to Ephrath, Rachel began giving birth to her baby, 17 but she was having much trouble. When Rachel’s nurse saw this, she said, “Don’t be afraid, Rachel. You are giving birth to another son.” 18 Rachel gave birth to the son, but she herself died. As she lay dying, she named the boy Son of My Suffering, but Jacob called him Benjamin. 19 Rachel was buried on the road to Ephrath, a district of Bethlehem, 20 and Jacob set up a rock on her grave to honor her. That rock is still there. 21 Then Israel continued his journey and camped just south of Migdal Eder. 22 While Israel was there, Reuben had sexual relations with Israel’s slave woman Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons. 23 He had six sons by his wife Leah: Reuben, his first son, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 He had two sons by his wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 He had two sons by Rachel’s slave girl Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali. 26 And he had two sons by Leah’s slave girl Zilpah: Gad and Asher. These are Jacob’s sons who were born in Northwest Mesopotamia. 27 Jacob went to his father Isaac at Mamre near Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had lived. 28 Isaac lived one hundred eighty years. 29 So Isaac breathed his last breath and died when he was very old, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. 1 This is the family history of Esau (also called Edom). 2 Esau married women from the land of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon the Hivite; 3 and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah gave birth to Eliphaz for Esau. Basemath gave him Reuel, 5 and Oholibamah gave him Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were Esau’s sons who were born in the land of Canaan. 6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the people who lived with him, his herds and other animals, and all the belongings he had gotten in Canaan, and he went to a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 Esau and Jacob’s belongings were becoming too many for them to live in the same land. The land where they had lived could not support both of them, because they had too many herds. 8 So Esau lived in the mountains of Edom. (Esau is also named Edom.) 9 This is the family history of Esau. He is the ancestor of the Edomites, who live in the mountains of Edom. 10 Esau’s sons were Eliphaz, son of Adah and Esau, and Reuel, son of Basemath and Esau. 11 Eliphaz had five sons: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 Eliphaz also had a slave woman named Timna, and Timna and Eliphaz gave birth to Amalek. These were Esau’s grandsons by his wife Adah. 13 Reuel had four sons: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were Esau’s grandsons by his wife Basemath. 14 Esau’s third wife was Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. (Anah was the son of Zibeon.) Esau and Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. 15 These were the leaders that came from Esau: Esau’s first son was Eliphaz. From him came these leaders: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These were the leaders that came from Eliphaz in the land of Edom. They were the grandsons of Adah. 17 Esau’s son Reuel was the father of these leaders: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the leaders that came from Reuel in the land of Edom. They were the grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath. 18 Esau’s wife Oholibamah gave birth to these leaders: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the leaders that came from Esau’s wife Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. 19 These were the sons of Esau (also called Edom), and these were their leaders. 20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These sons of Seir were the leaders of the Horites in Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam. (Timna was Lotan’s sister.) 23 The sons of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 The sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. Anah is the man who found the hot springs in the desert while he was caring for his father’s donkeys. 25 The children of Anah were Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah. 26 The sons of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. 27 The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran. 29 These were the names of the Horite leaders: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These men were the leaders of the Horite families who lived in the land of Edom. 31 These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before the Israelites ever had a king: 32 Bela son of Beor was the king of Edom. He came from the city of Dinhabah. 33 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah became king. Jobab was from Bozrah. 34 When Jobab died, Husham became king. He was from the land of the Temanites. 35 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who had defeated Midian in the country of Moab, became king. Hadad was from the city of Avith. 36 When Hadad died, Samlah became king. He was from Masrekah. 37 When Samlah died, Shaul became king. He was from Rehoboth on the Euphrates River. 38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Acbor became king. 39 When Baal-Hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad became king. He was from the city of Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, who was the daughter of Me-Zahab. 40 These Edomite leaders, listed by their families and regions, came from Esau. Their names were Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram. They were the leaders of Edom. (Esau was the father of the Edomites.) The area where each of these families lived was named after that family.

Genesis 18:23–Genesis 36 NCV

23 Then Abraham approached him and asked, “Do you plan to destroy the good people along with the evil ones? 24 What if there are fifty good people in that city? Will you still destroy it? Surely you will save the city for the fifty good people living there. 25 Surely you will not destroy the good people along with the evil ones; then they would be treated the same. You are the judge of all the earth. Won’t you do what is right?” 26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty good people in the city of Sodom, I will save the whole city because of them.” 27 Then Abraham said, “Though I am only dust and ashes, I have been brave to speak to the Lord. 28 What if there are only forty-five good people in the city? Will you destroy the whole city for the lack of five good people?” The Lord said, “If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy the city.” 29 Again Abraham said to him, “If you find only forty good people there, will you destroy the city?” The Lord said, “If I find forty, I will not destroy it.” 30 Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me, but let me ask you this. If you find only thirty good people in the city, will you destroy it?” He said, “If I find thirty good people there, I will not destroy the city.” 31 Then Abraham said, “I have been brave to speak to the Lord. But what if there are twenty good people in the city?” He answered, “If I find twenty there, I will not destroy the city.” 32 Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me, but let me bother you this one last time. What if you find ten there?” He said, “If I find ten there, I will not destroy it.” 33 When the Lord finished speaking to Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home. 1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting near the city gate. When he saw them, he got up and went to them and bowed facedown on the ground. 2 Lot said, “Sirs, please come to my house and spend the night. There you can wash your feet, and then tomorrow you may continue your journey.” The angels answered, “No, we will spend the night in the city’s public square.” 3 But Lot begged them to come, so they agreed and went to his house. Then Lot prepared a meal for them. He baked bread without yeast, and they ate it. 4 Before bedtime, men both young and old and from every part of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the two men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sexual relations with them.” 6 Lot went outside to them, closing the door behind him. 7 He said, “No, my brothers! Do not do this evil thing. 8 Look! I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. I will give them to you, and you may do anything you want with them. But please don’t do anything to these men. They have come to my house, and I must protect them.” 9 The men around the house answered, “Move out of the way!” Then they said to each other, “This man Lot came to our city as a stranger, and now he wants to tell us what to do!” They said to Lot, “We will do worse things to you than to them.” They started pushing him back and were ready to break down the door. 10 But the two men staying with Lot opened the door, pulled him back inside the house, and then closed the door. 11 They struck those outside the door with blindness, so the men, both young and old, could not find the door. 12 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have any other relatives in this city? Do you have any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or any other relatives? If you do, tell them to leave now, 13 because we are about to destroy this city. The Lord has heard of all the evil that is here, so he has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his future sons-in-law who were pledged to marry his daughters, “Hurry and leave this city! The Lord is about to destroy it!” But they thought Lot was joking. 15 At dawn the next morning, the angels begged Lot to hurry. They said, “Go! Take your wife and your two daughters with you so you will not be destroyed when the city is punished.” 16 But Lot delayed. So the two men took the hands of Lot, his wife, and his two daughters and led them safely out of the city. So the Lord was merciful to Lot and his family. 17 After they brought them out of the city, one of the men said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Run to the mountains, or you will be destroyed.” 18 But Lot said to one of them, “Sir, please don’t force me to go so far! 19 You have been merciful and kind to me and have saved my life. But I can’t run to the mountains. The disaster will catch me, and I will die. 20 Look, that little town over there is not too far away. Let me run there. It’s really just a little town, and I’ll be safe there.” 21 The angel said to Lot, “Very well, I will allow you to do this also. I will not destroy that town. 22 But run there fast, because I cannot destroy Sodom until you are safely in that town.” (That town is named Zoar, because it is little.) 23 The sun had already come up when Lot entered Zoar. 24 The Lord sent a rain of burning sulfur down from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah 25 and destroyed those cities. He also destroyed the whole Jordan Valley, everyone living in the cities, and even all the plants. 26 At that point Lot’s wife looked back. When she did, she became a pillar of salt. 27 Early the next morning, Abraham got up and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the Jordan Valley and saw smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace. 29 God destroyed the cities in the valley, but he remembered what Abraham had asked. So God saved Lot’s life, but he destroyed the city where Lot had lived. 30 Lot was afraid to continue living in Zoar, so he and his two daughters went to live in the mountains in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old. Everywhere on the earth women and men marry, but there are no men around here for us to marry. 32 Let’s get our father drunk and have sexual relations with him. We can use him to have children and continue our family.” 33 That night the two girls got their father drunk, and the older daughter went and had sexual relations with him. But Lot did not know when she lay down or when she got up. 34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I had sexual relations with my father. Let’s get him drunk again tonight so you can go and have sexual relations with him, too. In this way we can use our father to have children to continue our family.” 35 So that night they got their father drunk again, and the younger daughter went and had sexual relations with him. Again, Lot did not know when she lay down or when she got up. 36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the ancestor of all the Moabite people who are still living today. 38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. He is the father of all the Ammonite people who are still living today. 1 Abraham left Hebron and traveled to southern Canaan where he stayed awhile between Kadesh and Shur. When he moved to Gerar, 2 he told people that his wife Sarah was his sister. Abimelech king of Gerar heard this, so he sent some servants to take her. 3 But one night God spoke to Abimelech in a dream and said, “You will die. The woman you took is married.” 4 But Abimelech had not gone near Sarah, so he said, “Lord, would you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Abraham himself told me, ‘This woman is my sister,’ and she also said, ‘He is my brother.’ I am innocent. I did not know I was doing anything wrong.” 6 Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know you did not realize what you were doing. So I did not allow you to sin against me and touch her. 7 Give Abraham his wife back. He is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will not die. But if you do not give Sarah back, you and all your family will surely die.” 8 So early the next morning, Abimelech called all his officers and told them everything that had happened in the dream. They were very afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham to him and said, “What have you done to us? What wrong did I do against you? Why did you bring this trouble to my kingdom? You should not have done these things to me. 10 What were you thinking that caused you to do this?” 11 Then Abraham answered, “I thought no one in this place respected God and that someone would kill me to get Sarah. 12 And it is true that she is my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but she is not the daughter of my mother. 13 When God told me to leave my father’s house and wander in many different places, I told Sarah, ‘You must do a special favor for me. Everywhere we go tell people I am your brother.’ ” 14 Then Abimelech gave Abraham some sheep, cattle, and male and female slaves. He also gave Sarah, Abraham’s wife, back to him 15 and said, “Look around you at my land. You may live anywhere you want.” 16 Abimelech said to Sarah, “I gave your brother Abraham twenty-five pounds of silver to make up for any wrong that people may think about you. I want everyone to know that you are innocent.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his servant girls so they could have children. 18 The Lord had kept all the women in Abimelech’s house from having children as a punishment on Abimelech for taking Abraham’s wife Sarah. 1 The Lord cared for Sarah as he had said and did for her what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. Everything happened at the time God had said it would. 3 Abraham named his son Isaac, the son Sarah gave birth to. 4 He circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old as God had commanded. 5 Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me. 7 No one thought that I would be able to have Abraham’s child, but even though Abraham is old I have given him a son.” 8 Isaac grew, and when he became old enough to eat food, Abraham gave a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw Ishmael making fun of Isaac. (Ishmael was the son of Abraham by Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian slave.) 10 So Sarah said to Abraham, “Throw out this slave woman and her son. Her son should not inherit anything; my son Isaac should receive it all.” 11 This troubled Abraham very much because Ishmael was also his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Don’t be troubled about the boy and the slave woman. Do whatever Sarah tells you. The descendants I promised you will be from Isaac. 13 I will also make the descendants of Ishmael into a great nation because he is your son, too.” 14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a leather bag full of water. He gave them to Hagar and sent her away. Carrying these things and her son, Hagar went and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. 15 Later, when all the water was gone from the bag, Hagar put her son under a bush. 16 Then she went away a short distance and sat down. She thought, “My son will die, and I cannot watch this happen.” She sat there and began to cry. 17 God heard the boy crying, and God’s angel called to Hagar from heaven. He said, “What is wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid! God has heard the boy crying there. 18 Help him up and take him by the hand. I will make his descendants into a great nation.” 19 Then God showed Hagar a well of water. So she went to the well and filled her bag with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy as he grew up. Ishmael lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 He lived in the Desert of Paran, and his mother found a wife for him in Egypt. 22 Then Abimelech came with Phicol, the commander of his army, and said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. 23 So make a promise to me here before God that you will be fair with me and my children and my descendants. Be kind to me and to this land where you have lived as a stranger—as kind as I have been to you.” 24 And Abraham said, “I promise.” 25 Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about Abimelech’s servants who had seized a well of water. 26 But Abimelech said, “I don’t know who did this. You never told me about this before today.” 27 Then Abraham gave Abimelech some sheep and cattle, and they made an agreement. 28 Abraham also put seven female lambs in front of Abimelech. 29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “Why did you put these seven female lambs by themselves?” 30 Abraham answered, “Accept these lambs from me to prove that you believe I dug this well.” 31 So that place was called Beersheba because they made a promise to each other there. 32 After Abraham and Abimelech made the agreement at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, went back to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba and prayed to the Lord, the God who lives forever. 34 And Abraham lived as a stranger in the land of the Philistines for a long time. 1 After these things God tested Abraham’s faith. God said to him, “Abraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.” 2 Then God said, “Take your only son, Isaac, the son you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Kill him there and offer him as a whole burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” 3 Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey. He took Isaac and two servants with him. After he cut the wood for the sacrifice, they went to the place God had told them to go. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey. My son and I will go over there and worship, and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the sacrifice and gave it to his son to carry, but he himself took the knife and the fire. So he and his son went on together. 7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” Abraham answered, “Yes, my son.” Isaac said, “We have the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb we will burn as a sacrifice?” 8 Abraham answered, “God will give us the lamb for the sacrifice, my son.” So Abraham and his son went on together 9 and came to the place God had told him about. Abraham built an altar there. He laid the wood on it and then tied up his son Isaac and laid him on the wood on the altar. 10 Then Abraham took his knife and was about to kill his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!” Abraham answered, “Yes.” 12 The angel said, “Don’t kill your son or hurt him in any way. Now I can see that you trust God and that you have not kept your son, your only son, from me.” 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a male sheep caught in a bush by its horns. So Abraham went and took the sheep and killed it. He offered it as a whole burnt offering to God, and his son was saved. 14 So Abraham named that place The Lord Provides. Even today people say, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” 15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “The Lord says, ‘Because you did not keep back your son, your only son, from me, I make you this promise by my own name: 17 I will surely bless you and give you many descendants. They will be as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, and they will capture the cities of their enemies. 18 Through your descendants all the nations on the earth will be blessed, because you obeyed me.’ ” 19 Then Abraham returned to his servants. They all traveled back to Beersheba, and Abraham stayed there. 20 After these things happened, someone told Abraham: “Your brother Nahor and his wife Milcah have children now. 21 The first son is Uz, and the second is Buz. The third son is Kemuel (the father of Aram). 22 Then there are Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah was the mother of these eight sons, and Nahor, Abraham’s brother, was the father. 24 Also Nahor had four other sons by his slave woman Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. 1 Sarah lived to be one hundred twenty-seven years old. 2 She died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham was very sad and cried because of her. 3 After a while he got up from the side of his wife’s body and went to talk to the Hittites. He said, 4 “I am only a stranger and a foreigner here. Sell me some of your land so that I can bury my dead wife.” 5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “Sir, you are a great leader among us. You may have the best place we have to bury your dead. You may have any of our burying places that you want, and none of us will stop you from burying your dead wife.” 7 Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 He said to them, “If you truly want to help me bury my dead wife here, speak to Ephron, the son of Zohar for me. 9 Ask him to sell me the cave of Machpelah at the edge of his field. I will pay him the full price. You can be the witnesses that I am buying it as a burial place.” 10 Ephron was sitting among the Hittites at the city gate. He answered Abraham, 11 “No, sir. I will give you the land and the cave that is in it, with these people as witnesses. Bury your dead wife.” 12 Then Abraham bowed down before the Hittites. 13 He said to Ephron before all the people, “Please let me pay you the full price for the field. Accept my money, and I will bury my dead there.” 14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Sir, the land is worth ten pounds of silver, but I won’t argue with you over the price. Take the land, and bury your dead wife.” 16 Abraham agreed and paid Ephron in front of the Hittite witnesses. He weighed out the full price, ten pounds of silver, and they counted the weight as the traders normally did. 17 So Ephron’s field in Machpelah, east of Mamre, was sold. Abraham became the owner of the field, the cave in it, and all the trees that were in the field. The sale was made at the city gate, with the Hittites as witnesses. 19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. (Mamre was later called Hebron in the land of Canaan.) 20 So Abraham bought the field and the cave in it from the Hittites to use as a burying place. 1 Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 Abraham said to his oldest servant, who was in charge of everything he owned, “Put your hand under my leg. 3 Make a promise to me before the Lord, the God of heaven and earth. Don’t get a wife for my son from the Canaanite girls who live around here. 4 Instead, go back to my country, to the land of my relatives, and get a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “What if this woman does not want to return with me to this land? Then, should I take your son with me back to your homeland?” 6 Abraham said to him, “No! Don’t take my son back there. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and the land of my relatives. And he promised me, “I will give this land to your descendants.’ The Lord will send his angel before you to help you get a wife for my son there. 8 If the girl won’t come back with you, you will be free from this promise. But you must not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under his master’s leg and made a promise to Abraham about this. 10 The servant took ten of Abraham’s camels and left, carrying with him many different kinds of beautiful gifts. He went to Northwest Mesopotamia to Nahor’s city. 11 In the evening, when the women come out to get water, he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city. 12 The servant said, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, allow me to find a wife for his son today. Please show this kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Here I am, standing by the spring, and the girls from the city are coming out to get water. 14 I will say to one of them, ‘Please put your jar down so I can drink.’ Then let her say, ‘Drink, and I will also give water to your camels.’ If that happens, I will know she is the right one for your servant Isaac and that you have shown kindness to my master.” 15 Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, came out of the city. (Bethuel was the son of Milcah and Nahor, Abraham’s brother.) Rebekah was carrying her water jar on her shoulder. 16 She was very pretty, a virgin; she had never had sexual relations with a man. She went down to the spring and filled her jar, then came back up. 17 The servant ran to her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.” 18 Rebekah said, “Drink, sir.” She quickly lowered the jar from her shoulder and gave him a drink. 19 After he finished drinking, Rebekah said, “I will also pour some water for your camels.” 20 So she quickly poured all the water from her jar into the drinking trough for the camels. Then she kept running to the well until she had given all the camels enough to drink. 21 The servant quietly watched her. He wanted to be sure the Lord had made his trip successful. 22 After the camels had finished drinking, he gave Rebekah a gold ring weighing one-fifth of an ounce and two gold arm bracelets weighing about four ounces each. 23 He asked, “Who is your father? Is there a place in his house for me and my men to spend the night?” 24 Rebekah answered, “My father is Bethuel, the son of Milcah and Nahor.” 25 Then she said, “And, yes, we have straw for your camels and a place for you to spend the night.” 26 The servant bowed and worshiped the Lord 27 and said, “Blessed is the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. The Lord has been kind and truthful to him and has led me to my master’s relatives.” 28 Then Rebekah ran and told her mother’s family about all these things. 29 She had a brother named Laban, who ran out to Abraham’s servant, who was still at the spring. 30 Laban had heard what she had said and had seen the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms. So he ran out to the well, and there was the man standing by the camels at the spring. 31 Laban said, “Sir, you are welcome to come in; you don’t have to stand outside. I have prepared the house for you and also a place for your camels.” 32 So Abraham’s servant went into the house. After Laban unloaded the camels and gave them straw and food, he gave water to Abraham’s servant so he and the men with him could wash their feet. 33 Then Laban gave the servant food, but the servant said, “I will not eat until I have told you why I came.” So Laban said, “Then tell us.” 34 He said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord has greatly blessed my master in everything, and he has become a rich man. The Lord has given him many flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, camels, and horses. 36 Sarah, my master’s wife, gave birth to a son when she was old, and my master has given everything he owns to that son. 37 My master had me make a promise to him and said, ‘Don’t get a wife for my son from the Canaanite girls who live around here. 38 Instead, you must go to my father’s people and to my family. There you must get a wife for my son.’ 39 I said to my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’ 40 But he said, ‘I serve the Lord, who will send his angel with you and will help you. You will get a wife for my son from my family and my father’s people. 41 Then you will be free from the promise. But if they will not give you a wife for my son, you will be free from this promise.’ 42 “Today I came to this spring. I said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, please make my trip successful. 43 I am standing by this spring. I will wait for a young woman to come out to get water, and I will say, “Please give me water from your jar to drink.” 44 Then let her say, “Drink this water, and I will also get water for your camels.” By this I will know the Lord has chosen her for my master’s son.’ 45 “Before I finished my silent prayer, Rebekah came out of the city with her water jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and got water. I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46 She quickly lowered the jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink this. I will also get water for your camels.’ So I drank, and she gave water to my camels too. 47 When I asked her, ‘Who is your father?’ she answered, ‘My father is Bethuel son of Milcah and Nahor.’ Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, 48 and I bowed my head and thanked the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, because he led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Now, tell me, will you be kind and truthful to my master? And if not, tell me so. Then I will know what I should do.” 50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is clearly from the Lord, and we cannot change what must happen. 51 Rebekah is yours. Take her and go. Let her marry your master’s son as the Lord has commanded.” 52 When Abraham’s servant heard these words, he bowed facedown on the ground before the Lord. 53 Then he gave Rebekah gold and silver jewelry and clothes. He also gave expensive gifts to her brother and mother. 54 The servant and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, the servant said, “Now let me go back to my master.” 55 Rebekah’s mother and her brother said, “Let Rebekah stay with us at least ten days. After that she may go.” 56 But the servant said to them, “Do not make me wait, because the Lord has made my trip successful. Now let me go back to my master.” 57 Rebekah’s brother and mother said, “We will call Rebekah and ask her what she wants to do.” 58 They called her and asked her, “Do you want to go with this man now?” She said, “Yes, I do.” 59 So they allowed Rebekah and her nurse to go with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 They blessed Rebekah and said, “Our sister, may you be the mother of thousands of people, and may your descendants capture the cities of their enemies.” 61 Then Rebekah and her servant girls got on the camels and followed the servant and his men. So the servant took Rebekah and left. 62 At this time Isaac had left Beer Lahai Roi and was living in southern Canaan. 63 One evening when he went out to the field to think, he looked up and saw camels coming. 64 Rebekah also looked and saw Isaac. Then she jumped down from the camel 65 and asked the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” The servant answered, “That is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil. 66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent of Sarah, his mother, and she became his wife. Isaac loved her very much, and so he was comforted after his mother’s death. 1 Abraham married again, and his new wife was Keturah. 2 She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the people of Assyria, Letush, and Leum. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. 5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6 But before Abraham died, he did give gifts to the sons of his other wives, then sent them to the East to be away from Isaac. 7 Abraham lived to be one hundred seventy-five years old. 8 He breathed his last breath and died at an old age, after a long and satisfying life. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron east of Mamre. (Ephron was the son of Zohar the Hittite.) 10 So Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah in the same field that he had bought from the Hittites. 11 After Abraham died, God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac was now living at Beer Lahai Roi. 12 This is the family history of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. (Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant, was Ishmael’s mother.) 13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons in the order they were born: Nebaioth, the first son, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These were Ishmael’s sons, and these are the names of the tribal leaders listed according to their settlements and camps. 17 Ishmael lived one hundred thirty-seven years and then breathed his last breath and died. 18 His descendants lived from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt stretching toward Assyria. They often attacked the descendants of his brothers. 19 This is the family history of Isaac. Abraham had a son named Isaac. 20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, who came from Northwest Mesopotamia. She was Bethuel’s daughter and the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac’s wife could not have children, so Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. The Lord heard Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant. 22 While she was pregnant, the babies struggled inside her. She asked, “Why is this happening to me?” Then she went to get an answer from the Lord. 23 The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your body, and two groups of people will be taken from you. One group will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” 24 When the time came, Rebekah gave birth to twins. 25 The first baby was born red. Since his skin was like a hairy robe, he was named Esau. 26 When the second baby was born, he was holding on to Esau’s heel, so that baby was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born. 27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled hunter. He loved to be out in the fields. But Jacob was a quiet man and stayed among the tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he hunted the wild animals that Isaac enjoyed eating. But Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 One day Jacob was boiling a pot of vegetable soup. Esau came in from hunting in the fields, weak from hunger. 30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red soup, because I am weak with hunger.” (That is why people call him Edom. ) 31 But Jacob said, “You must sell me your rights as the firstborn son.” 32 Esau said, “I am almost dead from hunger. If I die, all of my father’s wealth will not help me.” 33 But Jacob said, “First, promise me that you will give it to me.” So Esau made a promise to Jacob and sold his part of their father’s wealth to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and vegetable soup, and he ate and drank, and then left. So Esau showed how little he cared about his rights as the firstborn son. 1 Now there was a time of hunger in the land, besides the time of hunger that happened during Abraham’s life. So Isaac went to the town of Gerar to see Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt, but live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I will give you and your descendants all these lands, and I will keep the oath I made to Abraham your father. 4 I will give you many descendants, as hard to count as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands. Through your descendants all the nations on the earth will be blessed. 5 I will do this because your father Abraham obeyed me. He did what I said and obeyed my commands, my teachings, and my rules.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar. 7 His wife Rebekah was very beautiful, and the men of that place asked Isaac about her. Isaac said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to tell them she was his wife. He thought they might kill him so they could have her. 8 Isaac lived there a long time. One day as Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out his window, he saw Isaac holding his wife Rebekah tenderly. 9 Abimelech called for Isaac and said, “This woman is your wife. Why did you say she was your sister?” Isaac said to him, “I was afraid you would kill me so you could have her.” 10 Abimelech said, “What have you done to us? One of our men might have had sexual relations with your wife. Then we would have been guilty of a great sin.” 11 So Abimelech warned everyone, “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death.” 12 Isaac planted seed in that land, and that year he gathered a great harvest. The Lord blessed him very much, 13 and he became rich. He gathered more wealth until he became a very rich man. 14 He had so many slaves and flocks and herds that the Philistines envied him. 15 So they stopped up all the wells the servants of Isaac’s father Abraham had dug. (They had dug them when Abraham was alive.) The Philistines filled those wells with dirt. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave our country because you have become much more powerful than we are.” 17 So Isaac left that place and camped in the Valley of Gerar and lived there. 18 Long before this time Abraham had dug many wells, but after he died, the Philistines filled them with dirt. So Isaac dug those wells again and gave them the same names his father had given them. 19 Isaac’s servants dug a well in the valley, from which a spring of water flowed. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar argued with them and said, “This water is ours.” So Isaac named that well Argue because they argued with him. 21 Then his servants dug another well. When the people also argued about it, Isaac named that well Fight. 22 He moved from there and dug another well. No one argued about this one, so he named it Room Enough. Isaac said, “Now the Lord has made room for us, and we will be successful in this land.” 23 From there Isaac went to Beersheba. 24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid, because I am with you. I will bless you and give you many descendants because of my servant Abraham.” 25 So Isaac built an altar and worshiped the Lord there. He also made a camp there, and his servants dug a well. 26 Abimelech came from Gerar to see Isaac. He brought with him Ahuzzath, who advised him, and Phicol, the commander of his army. 27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to see me? You were my enemy and forced me to leave your country.” 28 They answered, “Now we know that the Lord is with you. Let us swear an oath to each other. Let us make an agreement with you 29 that since we did not hurt you, you will not hurt us. We were good to you and sent you away in peace. Now the Lord has blessed you.” 30 So Isaac prepared food for them, and they all ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them away, and they left in peace. 32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug, saying, “We found water in that well.” 33 So Isaac named it Shibah and that city is called Beersheba even now. 34 When Esau was forty years old, he married two Hittite women—Judith daughter of Beeri and Basemath daughter of Elon. 35 These women brought much sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah. 1 When Isaac was old, his eyesight was poor, so he could not see clearly. One day he called his older son Esau to him and said, “Son.” Esau answered, “Here I am.” 2 Isaac said, “I am old and don’t know when I might die. 3 So take your bow and arrows and go hunting in the field for an animal for me to eat. 4 When you prepare the tasty food that I love, bring it to me, and I will eat. Then I will bless you before I die.” 5 So Esau went out in the field to hunt. Rebekah was listening as Isaac said this to his son Esau. 6 She said to her son Jacob, “Listen, I heard your father saying to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Kill an animal and prepare some tasty food for me to eat. Then I will bless you in the presence of the Lord before I die.’ 8 So obey me, my son, and do what I tell you. 9 Go out to our goats and bring me two of the best young ones. I will prepare them just the way your father likes them. 10 Then you will take the food to your father, and he will bless you before he dies.” 11 But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “My brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am smooth! 12 If my father touches me, he will know I am not Esau. Then he will not bless me but will place a curse on me because I tried to trick him.” 13 So Rebekah said to him, “If your father puts a curse on you, I will accept the blame. Just do what I said. Go get the goats for me.” 14 So Jacob went out and got two goats and brought them to his mother, and she cooked them in the special way Isaac enjoyed. 15 She took the best clothes of her older son Esau that were in the house and put them on the younger son Jacob. 16 She also took the skins of the goats and put them on Jacob’s hands and neck. 17 Then she gave Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made. 18 Jacob went in to his father and said, “Father.” And his father said, “Yes, my son. Who are you?” 19 Jacob said to him, “I am Esau, your first son. I have done what you told me. Now sit up and eat some meat of the animal I hunted for you. Then bless me.” 20 But Isaac asked his son, “How did you find and kill the animal so quickly?” Jacob answered, “Because the Lord your God helped me to find it.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son. Then I will know if you are really my son Esau.” 22 So Jacob came near to Isaac his father. Isaac touched him and said, “Your voice sounds like Jacob’s voice, but your hands are hairy like the hands of Esau.” 23 Isaac did not know it was Jacob, because his hands were hairy like Esau’s hands, so Isaac blessed him. 24 Isaac asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” Jacob answered, “Yes, I am.” 25 Then Isaac said, “Bring me the food, and I will eat it and bless you.” So Jacob gave him the food, and he ate. Jacob gave him wine, and he drank. 26 Then Isaac said to him, “My son, come near and kiss me.” 27 So Jacob went to his father and kissed him. When Isaac smelled Esau’s clothes, he blessed him and said, “The smell of my son is like the smell of the field that the Lord has blessed. 28 May God give you plenty of rain and good soil so that you will have plenty of grain and new wine. 29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. May you be master over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. May everyone who curses you be cursed, and may everyone who blesses you be blessed.” 30 Isaac finished blessing Jacob. Then, just as Jacob left his father Isaac, Esau came in from hunting. 31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. He said, “Father, rise and eat the food that your son killed for you and then bless me.” 32 Isaac asked, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son—your firstborn son—Esau.” 33 Then Isaac trembled greatly and said, “Then who was it that hunted the animals and brought me food before you came? I ate it, and I blessed him, and it is too late now to take back my blessing.” 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he let out a loud and bitter cry. He said to his father, “Bless me—me, too, my father!” 35 But Isaac said, “Your brother came and tricked me. He has taken your blessing.” 36 Esau said, “Jacob is the right name for him. He has tricked me these two times. He took away my share of everything you own, and now he has taken away my blessing.” Then Esau asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?” 37 Isaac answered, “I gave Jacob the power to be master over you, and all his brothers will be his servants. And I kept him strong with grain and new wine. There is nothing left to give you, my son.” 38 But Esau continued, “Do you have only one blessing, Father? Bless me, too, Father!” Then Esau began to cry out loud. 39 Isaac said to him, “You will live far away from the best land, far from the rain. 40 You will live by using your sword, and you will be a slave to your brother. But when you struggle, you will break free from him.” 41 After that Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing from Isaac. He thought to himself, “My father will soon die, and I will be sad for him. Then I will kill Jacob.” 42 Rebekah heard about Esau’s plan to kill Jacob. So she sent for Jacob and said to him, “Listen, your brother Esau is comforting himself by planning to kill you. 43 So, my son, do what I say. My brother Laban is living in Haran. Go to him at once! 44 Stay with him for a while, until your brother is not so angry. 45 In time, your brother will not be angry, and he will forget what you did to him. Then I will send a servant to bring you back. I don’t want to lose both of my sons on the same day.” 46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of these Hittite women here in this land, I want to die.” 1 Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman. 2 Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, in Northwest Mesopotamia. Laban, your mother’s brother, lives there. Marry one of his daughters. 3 May God Almighty bless you and give you many children, and may you become a group of many peoples. 4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing of Abraham so that you may own the land where you are now living as a stranger, the land God gave to Abraham.” 5 So Isaac sent Jacob to Northwest Mesopotamia, to Laban the brother of Rebekah. Bethuel the Aramean was the father of Laban and Rebekah, and Rebekah was the mother of Jacob and Esau. 6 Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Northwest Mesopotamia to find a wife there. He also learned that Isaac had commanded Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Northwest Mesopotamia. 8 So Esau saw that his father Isaac did not want his sons to marry Canaanite women. 9 Now Esau already had wives, but he went to Ishmael son of Abraham, and he married Mahalath, Ishmael’s daughter. Mahalath was the sister of Nebaioth. 10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11 When he came to a place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. He found a stone and laid his head on it to go to sleep. 12 Jacob dreamed that there was a ladder resting on the earth and reaching up into heaven, and he saw angels of God going up and coming down the ladder. 13 Then Jacob saw the Lord standing above the ladder, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your grandfather, and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are now sleeping. 14 Your descendants will be as many as the dust of the earth. They will spread west and east, north and south, and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 I am with you and will protect you everywhere you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not know it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “This place frightens me! It is surely the house of God and the gate of heaven.” 18 Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone he had slept on and set it up on its end. Then he poured olive oil on the top of it. 19 At first, the name of that city was Luz, but Jacob named it Bethel. 20 Then Jacob made a promise. He said, “I want God to be with me and to protect me on this journey. I want him to give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so I will be able to return in peace to my father’s house. If the Lord does these things, he will be my God. 22 This stone which I have set up on its end will be the house of God. And I will give God one-tenth of all he gives me.” 1 Then Jacob continued his journey and came to the land of the people of the East. 2 He looked and saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying nearby, because they drank water from this well. A large stone covered the mouth of the well. 3 When all the flocks would gather there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place. 4 Jacob said to the shepherds there, “My brothers, where are you from?” They answered, “We are from Haran.” 5 Then Jacob asked, “Do you know Laban, grandson of Nahor?” They answered, “We know him.” 6 Then Jacob asked, “How is he?” They answered, “He is well. Look, his daughter Rachel is coming now with his sheep.” 7 Jacob said, “But look, it is still the middle of the day. It is not time for the sheep to be gathered for the night, so give them water and let them go back into the pasture.” 8 But they said, “We cannot do that until all the flocks are gathered. Then we will roll away the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep.” 9 While Jacob was talking with the shepherds, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, because it was her job to care for the sheep. 10 When Jacob saw Laban’s daughter Rachel and Laban’s sheep, he went to the well and rolled the stone from its mouth and watered Laban’s sheep. Now Laban was the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s mother. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and cried. 12 He told her that he was from her father’s family and that he was the son of Rebekah. So Rachel ran home and told her father. 13 When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him. Laban hugged him and kissed him and brought him to his house, where Jacob told Laban everything that had happened. 14 Then Laban said, “You are my own flesh and blood.” Jacob stayed there a month. 15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “You are my relative, but it is not right for you to work for me without pay. What would you like me to pay you?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters. The older was Leah, and the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was very beautiful. 18 Jacob loved Rachel, so he said to Laban, “Let me marry your younger daughter Rachel. If you will, I will work seven years for you.” 19 Laban said, “It would be better for her to marry you than someone else, so stay here with me.” 20 So Jacob worked for Laban seven years so he could marry Rachel. But they seemed like just a few days to him because he loved Rachel very much. 21 After seven years Jacob said to Laban, “Give me Rachel so that I may marry her. The time I promised to work for you is over.” 22 So Laban gave a feast for all the people there. 23 That evening he brought his daughter Leah to Jacob, and they had sexual relations. 24 (Laban gave his slave girl Zilpah to his daughter to be her servant.) 25 In the morning when Jacob saw that he had had sexual relations with Leah, he said to Laban, “What have you done to me? I worked hard for you so that I could marry Rachel! Why did you trick me?” 26 Laban said, “In our country we do not allow the younger daughter to marry before the older daughter. 27 But complete the full week of the marriage ceremony with Leah, and I will give you Rachel to marry also. But you must serve me another seven years.” 28 So Jacob did this, and when he had completed the week with Leah, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife. 29 (Laban gave his slave girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 30 So Jacob had sexual relations with Rachel also, and Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years. 31 When the Lord saw that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, he made it possible for Leah to have children, but not Rachel. 32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, because she said, “The Lord has seen my troubles. Surely now my husband will love me.” 33 Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon and said, “The Lord has heard that I am not loved, so he has given me this son.” 34 Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Levi and said, “Now, surely my husband will be close to me, because I have given him three sons.” 35 Then Leah gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, because she said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Then Leah stopped having children. 1 When Rachel saw that she was not having children for Jacob, she envied her sister Leah. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” 2 Jacob became angry with her and said, “Can I do what only God can do? He is the one who has kept you from having children.” 3 Then Rachel said, “Here is my slave girl Bilhah. Have sexual relations with her so she can give birth to a child for me. Then I can have my own family through her.” 4 So Rachel gave Bilhah, her slave girl, to Jacob as a wife, and he had sexual relations with her. 5 She became pregnant and gave Jacob a son. 6 Rachel said, “God has judged me innocent. He has listened to my prayer and has given me a son,” so she named him Dan. 7 Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. 8 Rachel said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I have won.” So she named that son Naphtali. 9 Leah saw that she had stopped having children, so she gave her slave girl Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 10 When Zilpah had a son, 11 Leah said, “I am lucky,” so she named him Gad. 12 Zilpah gave birth to another son, 13 and Leah said, “I am very happy! Now women will call me happy,” so she named him Asher. 14 During the wheat harvest Reuben went into the field and found some mandrake plants and brought them to his mother Leah. But Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 Leah answered, “You have already taken away my husband, and now you are trying to take away my son’s mandrakes.” But Rachel answered, “If you will give me your son’s mandrakes, you may sleep with Jacob tonight.” 16 When Jacob came in from the field that night, Leah went out to meet him. She said, “You will have sexual relations with me tonight because I have paid for you with my son’s mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with her that night. 17 Then God answered Leah’s prayer, and she became pregnant again. She gave birth to a fifth son 18 and said, “God has given me what I paid for, because I gave my slave girl to my husband.” So Leah named her son Issachar. 19 Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son. 20 She said, “God has given me a fine gift. Now surely Jacob will honor me, because I have given him six sons,” so she named him Zebulun. 21 Later Leah gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. 22 Then God remembered Rachel and answered her prayer, making it possible for her to have children. 23 When she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, she said, “God has taken away my shame,” 24 and she named him Joseph. Rachel said, “I wish the Lord would give me another son.” 25 After the birth of Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Now let me go to my own home and country. 26 Give me my wives and my children and let me go. I have earned them by working for you, and you know that I have served you well.” 27 Laban said to him, “If I have pleased you, please stay. I know the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 Tell me what I should pay you, and I will give it to you.” 29 Jacob answered, “You know that I have worked hard for you, and your flocks have grown while I cared for them. 30 When I came, you had little, but now you have much. Every time I did something for you, the Lord blessed you. But when will I be able to do something for my own family?” 31 Laban asked, “Then what should I give you?” Jacob answered, “I don’t want you to give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I will come back and take care of your flocks. 32 Today let me go through all your flocks. I will take every speckled or spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. That will be my pay. 33 In the future you can easily see if I am honest. When you come to look at my flocks, if I have any goat that isn’t speckled or spotted or any lamb that isn’t black, you will know I stole it.” 34 Laban answered, “Agreed! We will do what you ask.” 35 But that day Laban took away all the male goats that had streaks or spots, all the speckled and spotted female goats (all those that had white on them), and all the black sheep. He told his sons to watch over them. 36 Then he took these animals to a place that was three days’ journey away from Jacob. Jacob took care of all the flocks that were left. 37 So Jacob cut green branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off some of the bark so that the branches had white stripes on them. 38 He put the branches in front of the flocks at the watering places. When the animals came to drink, they also mated there, 39 so the flocks mated in front of the branches. Then the young that were born were streaked, speckled, or spotted. 40 Jacob separated the young animals from the others, and he made them face the streaked and dark animals in Laban’s flock. Jacob kept his animals separate from Laban’s. 41 When the stronger animals in the flock were mating, Jacob put the branches before their eyes so they would mate near the branches. 42 But when the weaker animals mated, Jacob did not put the branches there. So the animals born from the weaker animals were Laban’s, and those born from the stronger animals were Jacob’s. 43 In this way Jacob became very rich. He had large flocks, many male and female servants, camels, and donkeys. 1 One day Jacob heard Laban’s sons talking. They said, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned, and in this way he has become rich.” 2 Then Jacob noticed that Laban was not as friendly as he had been before. 3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land where your ancestors lived, and I will be with you.” 4 So Jacob told Rachel and Leah to meet him in the field where he kept his flocks. 5 He said to them, “I have seen that your father is not as friendly with me as he used to be, but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You both know that I have worked as hard as I could for your father, 7 but he cheated me and changed my pay ten times. But God has not allowed your father to harm me. 8 When Laban said, ‘You can have all the speckled animals as your pay,’ all the animals gave birth to speckled young ones. But when he said, ‘You can have all the streaked animals as your pay,’ all the flocks gave birth to streaked babies. 9 So God has taken the animals away from your father and has given them to me. 10 “I had a dream during the season when the flocks were mating. I saw that the only male goats who were mating were streaked, speckled, or spotted. 11 The angel of God spoke to me in that dream and said, ‘Jacob!’ I answered, ‘Yes!’ 12 The angel said, ‘Look! Only the streaked, speckled, or spotted male goats are mating. I have seen all the wrong things Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, where you poured olive oil on the stone you set up on end and where you made a promise to me. Now I want you to leave here and go back to the land where you were born.’ ” 14 Rachel and Leah answered Jacob, “Our father has nothing to give us when he dies. 15 He has treated us like strangers. He sold us to you, and then he spent all of the money you paid for us. 16 God took all this wealth from our father, and now it belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you to do.” 17 So Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, 18 and they began their journey back to Isaac, his father, in the land of Canaan. All the flocks of animals that Jacob owned walked ahead of them. He carried everything with him that he had gotten while he lived in Northwest Mesopotamia. 19 While Laban was gone to cut the wool from his sheep, Rachel stole the idols that belonged to him. 20 And Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was leaving. 21 Jacob and his family left quickly, crossed the Euphrates River, and traveled toward the mountains of Gilead. 22 Three days later Laban learned that Jacob had run away, 23 so he gathered his relatives and began to chase him. After seven days Laban found him in the mountains of Gilead. 24 That night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and said, “Be careful! Do not say anything to Jacob, good or bad.” 25 So Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had made his camp in the mountains, so Laban and his relatives set up their camp in the mountains of Gilead. 26 Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You cheated me and took my daughters as if you had captured them in a war. 27 Why did you run away secretly and trick me? Why didn’t you tell me? Then I could have sent you away with joy and singing and with the music of tambourines and harps. 28 You did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters good-bye. You were very foolish to do this! 29 I have the power to harm you, but last night the God of your father spoke to me and warned me not to say anything to you, good or bad. 30 I know you want to go back to your home, but why did you steal my idols?” 31 Jacob answered Laban, “I left without telling you, because I was afraid you would take your daughters away from me. 32 If you find anyone here who has taken your idols, that person will be killed! Your relatives will be my witnesses. You may look for anything that belongs to you and take anything that is yours.” (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen Laban’s idols.) 33 So Laban looked in Jacob’s tent, in Leah’s tent, and in the tent where the two slave women stayed, but he did not find his idols. When he left Leah’s tent, he went into Rachel’s tent. 34 Rachel had hidden the idols inside her camel’s saddle and was sitting on them. Although Laban looked through the whole tent, he did not find them. 35 Rachel said to her father, “Father, don’t be angry with me. I am not able to stand up before you because I am having my monthly period.” So Laban looked through the camp, but he did not find his idols. 36 Then Jacob became very angry and said, “What wrong have I done? What law have I broken to cause you to chase me? 37 You have looked through everything I own, but you have found nothing that belongs to you. If you have found anything, show it to everyone. Put it in front of your relatives and my relatives, and let them decide which one of us is right. 38 I have worked for you now for twenty years. During all that time none of the lambs and kids died during birth, and I have not eaten any of the male sheep from your flocks. 39 Any time an animal was killed by wild beasts, I did not bring it to you, but made up for the loss myself. You made me pay for any animal that was stolen during the day or night. 40 In the daytime the sun took away my strength, and at night I was cold and could not sleep. 41 I worked like a slave for you for twenty years—the first fourteen to get your two daughters and the last six to earn your flocks. During that time you changed my pay ten times. 42 But the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac, was with me. Otherwise, you would have sent me away with nothing. But he saw the trouble I had and the hard work I did, and last night he corrected you.” 43 Laban said to Jacob, “These girls are my daughters. Their children belong to me, and these flocks are mine. Everything you see here belongs to me, but I can do nothing to keep my daughters and their children. 44 Let us make an agreement, and let us set up a pile of stones to remind us of it.” 45 So Jacob took a large rock and set it up on its end. 46 He told his relatives to gather rocks, so they took the rocks and piled them up; then they ate beside the pile. 47 Laban named that place in his language A Pile to Remind Us, and Jacob gave the place the same name in Hebrew. 48 Laban said to Jacob, “This pile of rocks will remind us of the agreement between us.” That is why the place was called A Pile to Remind Us. 49 It was also called Mizpah, because Laban said, “Let the Lord watch over us while we are separated from each other. 50 Remember that God is our witness even if no one else is around us. He will know if you harm my daughters or marry other women. 51 Here is the pile of rocks that I have put between us and here is the rock I set up on end. 52 This pile of rocks and this rock set on end will remind us of our agreement. I will never go past this pile to hurt you, and you must never come to my side of them to hurt me. 53 Let the God of Abraham, who is the God of Nahor and the God of their ancestors, punish either of us if we break this agreement.” So Jacob made a promise in the name of the God whom his father Isaac worshiped. 54 Then Jacob killed an animal and offered it as a sacrifice on the mountain, and he invited his relatives to share in the meal. After they finished eating, they spent the night on the mountain. 55 Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them, and then he left to return home. 1 When Jacob also went his way, the angels of God met him. 2 When he saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. 3 Jacob’s brother Esau was living in the area called Seir in the country of Edom. Jacob sent messengers to Esau, 4 telling them, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘This is what Jacob, your servant, says: I have lived with Laban and have remained there until now. 5 I have cattle, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants. I send this message to you and ask you to accept us.’ ” 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.” 7 Then Jacob was very afraid and worried. He divided the people who were with him and all the flocks, herds, and camels into two camps. 8 Jacob thought, “Esau might come and destroy one camp, but the other camp can run away and be saved.” 9 Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham! God of my father Isaac! Lord, you told me to return to my country and my family. You said that you would treat me well. 10 I am not worthy of the kindness and continual goodness you have shown me. The first time I traveled across the Jordan River, I had only my walking stick, but now I own enough to have two camps. 11 Please save me from my brother Esau. I am afraid he will come and kill all of us, even the mothers with the children. 12 You said to me, ‘I will treat you well and will make your children as many as the sand of the seashore. There will be too many to count.’ ” 13 Jacob stayed there for the night and prepared a gift for Esau from what he had with him: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred female sheep and twenty male sheep, 15 thirty female camels and their young, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys. 16 Jacob gave each separate flock of animals to one of his servants and said to them, “Go ahead of me and keep some space between each herd.” 17 Jacob gave them their orders. To the servant with the first group of animals he said, “My brother Esau will come to you and ask, ‘Whose servant are you? Where are you going and whose animals are these?’ 18 Then you will answer, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. He sent them as a gift to you, my master Esau, and he also is coming behind us.’ ” 19 Jacob ordered the second servant, the third servant, and all the other servants to do the same thing. He said, “Say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 Say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’ ” Jacob thought, “If I send these gifts ahead of me, maybe Esau will forgive me. Then when I see him, perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So Jacob sent the gifts to Esau, but he himself stayed that night in the camp. 22 During the night Jacob rose and crossed the Jabbok River at the crossing, taking with him his two wives, his two slave girls, and his eleven sons. 23 He sent his family and everything he had across the river. 24 So Jacob was alone, and a man came and wrestled with him until the sun came up. 25 When the man saw he could not defeat Jacob, he struck Jacob’s hip and put it out of joint. 26 Then he said to Jacob, “Let me go. The sun is coming up.” But Jacob said, “I will let you go if you will bless me.” 27 The man said to him, “What is your name?” And he answered, “Jacob.” 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. Your name will now be Israel, because you have wrestled with God and with people, and you have won.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But the man said, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there. 30 So Jacob named that place Peniel, saying, “I have seen God face to face, but my life was saved.” 31 Then the sun rose as he was leaving that place, and Jacob was limping because of his leg. 32 So even today the people of Israel do not eat the muscle that is on the hip joint of animals, because Jacob was touched there. 1 Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming, and with him were four hundred men. So Jacob divided his children among Leah, Rachel, and the two slave girls. 2 Jacob put the slave girls with their children first, then Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 Jacob himself went out in front of them and bowed down flat on the ground seven times as he was walking toward his brother. 4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and put his arms around him and hugged him. Then Esau kissed him, and they both cried. 5 When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob answered, “These are the children God has given me. God has been good to me, your servant.” 6 Then the two slave girls and their children came up to Esau and bowed down flat on the earth before him. 7 Leah and her children also came up to Esau and also bowed down flat on the earth. Last of all, Joseph and Rachel came up to Esau, and they, too, bowed down flat before him. 8 Esau said, “I saw many herds as I was coming here. Why did you bring them?” Jacob answered, “They were to please you, my master.” 9 But Esau said, “I already have enough, my brother. Keep what you have.” 10 Jacob said, “No! Please! If I have pleased you, then accept the gift I give you. I am very happy to see your face again. It is like seeing the face of God, because you have accepted me. 11 So I beg you to accept the gift I give you. God has been very good to me, and I have more than I need.” And because Jacob begged, Esau accepted the gift. 12 Then Esau said, “Let us be going. I will travel with you.” 13 But Jacob said to him, “My master, you know that the children are weak. And I must be careful with my flocks and their young ones. If I force them to go too far in one day, all the animals will die. 14 So, my master, you go on ahead of me, your servant. I will follow you slowly and let the animals and the children set the speed at which we travel. I will meet you, my master, in Edom.” 15 So Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my people with you.” “No, thank you,” said Jacob. “I only want to please you, my master.” 16 So that day Esau started back to Edom. 17 But Jacob went to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and shelters for his animals. That is why the place was named Succoth. 18 Jacob left Northwest Mesopotamia and arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan. There he camped east of the city. 19 He bought a part of the field where he had camped from the sons of Hamor father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver. 20 He built an altar there and named it after God, the God of Israel. 1 At this time Dinah, the daughter of Leah and Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. 2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of the land, saw her, he took her and forced her to have sexual relations with him. 3 Shechem fell in love with Dinah, and he spoke kindly to her. 4 He told his father, Hamor, “Please get this girl for me so I can marry her.” 5 Jacob learned how Shechem had disgraced his daughter, but since his sons were out in the field with the cattle, Jacob said nothing until they came home. 6 While he waited, Hamor father of Shechem went to talk with Jacob. 7 When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they came in from the field. They were very angry that Shechem had done such a wicked thing to Israel. It was wrong for him to have sexual relations with Jacob’s daughter; a thing like this should not be done. 8 But Hamor talked to Dinah’s brothers and said, “My son Shechem is deeply in love with Dinah. Please let him marry her. 9 Marry our people. Give your women to our men as wives and take our women for your men as wives. 10 You can live in the same land with us. You will be free to own land and to trade here.” 11 Shechem also talked to Jacob and to Dinah’s brothers and said, “Please accept my offer. I will give anything you ask. 12 Ask as much as you want for the payment for the bride, and I will give it to you. Just let me marry Dinah.” 13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father with lies, because Shechem had disgraced their sister Dinah. 14 The brothers said to them, “We cannot allow you to marry our sister, because you are not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. 15 But we will allow you to marry her if you do this one thing: Every man in your town must be circumcised like us. 16 Then your men can marry our women, and our men can marry your women, and we will live in your land and become one people. 17 If you refuse to be circumcised, we will take Dinah and leave.” 18 What they asked seemed fair to Hamor and Shechem. 19 So Shechem quickly went to be circumcised because he loved Jacob’s daughter. Now Shechem was the most respected man in his family. 20 So Hamor and Shechem went to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 “These people want to be friends with us. So let them live in our land and trade here. There is enough land for all of us. Let us marry their women, and we can let them marry our women. 22 But we must agree to one thing: All our men must be circumcised as they are. Then they will agree to live in our land, and we will be one people. 23 If we do this, their cattle and their animals will belong to us. Let us do what they say, and they will stay in our land.” 24 All the people who had come to the city gate heard this. They agreed with Hamor and Shechem, and every man was circumcised. 25 Three days later the men who were circumcised were still in pain. Two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi (Dinah’s brothers), took their swords and made a surprise attack on the city, killing all the men there. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem and then took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and left. 27 Jacob’s sons came upon the dead bodies and stole everything that was in the city, to pay them back for what Shechem had done to their sister. 28 So the brothers took the flocks, herds, and donkeys, and everything in the city and in the fields. 29 They took every valuable thing the people owned, even their wives and children and everything in the houses. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have caused me a lot of trouble. Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites who live in the land will hate me. Since there are only a few of us, if they join together to attack us, my people and I will be destroyed.” 31 But the brothers said, “We will not allow our sister to be treated like a prostitute.” 1 God said to Jacob, “Go to the city of Bethel and live there. Make an altar to the God who appeared to you there when you were running away from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his family and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods you have, and make yourselves clean, and change your clothes. 3 We will leave here and go to Bethel. There I will build an altar to God, who has helped me during my time of trouble. He has been with me everywhere I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had, and the earrings they were wearing, and he hid them under the great tree near the town of Shechem. 5 Then Jacob and his sons left there. But God caused the people in the nearby cities to be afraid, so they did not follow them. 6 And Jacob and all the people who were with him went to Luz, which is now called Bethel, in the land of Canaan. 7 There Jacob built an altar and named the place Bethel, after God, because God had appeared to him there when he was running from his brother. 8 Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak tree at Bethel, so they named that place Oak of Crying. 9 When Jacob came back from Northwest Mesopotamia, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. Your new name will be Israel.” So he called him Israel. 11 God said to him, “I am God Almighty. Have many children and grow in number as a nation. You will be the ancestor of many nations and kings. 12 The same land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you and your descendants.” 13 Then God left him. 14 Jacob set up a stone on edge in that place where God had talked to him, and he poured a drink offering and olive oil on it to make it special for God. 15 And Jacob named the place Bethel. 16 Jacob and his group left Bethel. Before they came to Ephrath, Rachel began giving birth to her baby, 17 but she was having much trouble. When Rachel’s nurse saw this, she said, “Don’t be afraid, Rachel. You are giving birth to another son.” 18 Rachel gave birth to the son, but she herself died. As she lay dying, she named the boy Son of My Suffering, but Jacob called him Benjamin. 19 Rachel was buried on the road to Ephrath, a district of Bethlehem, 20 and Jacob set up a rock on her grave to honor her. That rock is still there. 21 Then Israel continued his journey and camped just south of Migdal Eder. 22 While Israel was there, Reuben had sexual relations with Israel’s slave woman Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons. 23 He had six sons by his wife Leah: Reuben, his first son, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 He had two sons by his wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 He had two sons by Rachel’s slave girl Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali. 26 And he had two sons by Leah’s slave girl Zilpah: Gad and Asher. These are Jacob’s sons who were born in Northwest Mesopotamia. 27 Jacob went to his father Isaac at Mamre near Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had lived. 28 Isaac lived one hundred eighty years. 29 So Isaac breathed his last breath and died when he was very old, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. 1 This is the family history of Esau (also called Edom). 2 Esau married women from the land of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon the Hivite; 3 and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah gave birth to Eliphaz for Esau. Basemath gave him Reuel, 5 and Oholibamah gave him Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were Esau’s sons who were born in the land of Canaan. 6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the people who lived with him, his herds and other animals, and all the belongings he had gotten in Canaan, and he went to a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 Esau and Jacob’s belongings were becoming too many for them to live in the same land. The land where they had lived could not support both of them, because they had too many herds. 8 So Esau lived in the mountains of Edom. (Esau is also named Edom.) 9 This is the family history of Esau. He is the ancestor of the Edomites, who live in the mountains of Edom. 10 Esau’s sons were Eliphaz, son of Adah and Esau, and Reuel, son of Basemath and Esau. 11 Eliphaz had five sons: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 Eliphaz also had a slave woman named Timna, and Timna and Eliphaz gave birth to Amalek. These were Esau’s grandsons by his wife Adah. 13 Reuel had four sons: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were Esau’s grandsons by his wife Basemath. 14 Esau’s third wife was Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. (Anah was the son of Zibeon.) Esau and Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. 15 These were the leaders that came from Esau: Esau’s first son was Eliphaz. From him came these leaders: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These were the leaders that came from Eliphaz in the land of Edom. They were the grandsons of Adah. 17 Esau’s son Reuel was the father of these leaders: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the leaders that came from Reuel in the land of Edom. They were the grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath. 18 Esau’s wife Oholibamah gave birth to these leaders: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the leaders that came from Esau’s wife Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. 19 These were the sons of Esau (also called Edom), and these were their leaders. 20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These sons of Seir were the leaders of the Horites in Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam. (Timna was Lotan’s sister.) 23 The sons of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 The sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. Anah is the man who found the hot springs in the desert while he was caring for his father’s donkeys. 25 The children of Anah were Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah. 26 The sons of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. 27 The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran. 29 These were the names of the Horite leaders: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These men were the leaders of the Horite families who lived in the land of Edom. 31 These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before the Israelites ever had a king: 32 Bela son of Beor was the king of Edom. He came from the city of Dinhabah. 33 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah became king. Jobab was from Bozrah. 34 When Jobab died, Husham became king. He was from the land of the Temanites. 35 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who had defeated Midian in the country of Moab, became king. Hadad was from the city of Avith. 36 When Hadad died, Samlah became king. He was from Masrekah. 37 When Samlah died, Shaul became king. He was from Rehoboth on the Euphrates River. 38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Acbor became king. 39 When Baal-Hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad became king. He was from the city of Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, who was the daughter of Me-Zahab. 40 These Edomite leaders, listed by their families and regions, came from Esau. Their names were Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram. They were the leaders of Edom. (Esau was the father of the Edomites.) The area where each of these families lived was named after that family.

Gen 18:22:36

Gen 18:23-

Genesis 18:24–Genesis 36 NLT

24 Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? 25 Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” 26 And the Lord replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.” 27 Then Abraham spoke again. “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.” 29 Then Abraham pressed his request further. “Suppose there are only forty?” And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty.” 30 “Please don’t be angry, my Lord,” Abraham pleaded. “Let me speak—suppose only thirty righteous people are found?” And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty.” 31 Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?” And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.” 32 Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?” And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.” 33 When the Lord had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent. 1 That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. 2 “My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.” “Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.” 3 But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate. 4 But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. 5 They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!” 6 So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. 7 “Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.” 9 “Stand back!” they shouted. “This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you far worse than those other men!” And they lunged toward Lot to break down the door. 10 But the two angels reached out, pulled Lot into the house, and bolted the door. 11 Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside. 12 Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. 13 For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking. 15 At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!” 16 When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful. 17 When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!” 18 “Oh no, my lord!” Lot begged. 19 “You have been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you have shown such great kindness. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die. 20 See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don’t you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.” 21 “All right,” the angel said, “I will grant your request. I will not destroy the little village. 22 But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.” (This explains why that village was known as Zoar, which means “little place.”) 23 Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon. 24 Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25 He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. 26 But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt. 27 Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s presence. 28 He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace. 29 But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain. 30 Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters. 31 One day the older daughter said to her sister, “There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can’t get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have children. 32 Come, let’s get him drunk with wine, and then we will have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.” 33 So that night they got him drunk with wine, and the older daughter went in and had intercourse with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again. 34 The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, “I had sex with our father last night. Let’s get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So that night they got him drunk with wine again, and the younger daughter went in and had intercourse with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again. 36 As a result, both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their own father. 37 When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites. 38 When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites. 1 Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a while between Kadesh and Shur, and then he moved on to Gerar. While living there as a foreigner, 2 Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace. 3 But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!” 4 But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.” 6 In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.” 8 Abimelech got up early the next morning and quickly called all his servants together. When he told them what had happened, his men were terrified. 9 Then Abimelech called for Abraham. “What have you done to us?” he demanded. “What crime have I committed that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? No one should ever do what you have done! 10 Whatever possessed you to do such a thing?” 11 Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘This is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.’ 12 And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I married her. 13 When God called me to leave my father’s home and to travel from place to place, I told her, ‘Do me a favor. Wherever we go, tell the people that I am your brother.’ ” 14 Then Abimelech took some of his sheep and goats, cattle, and male and female servants, and he presented them to Abraham. He also returned his wife, Sarah, to him. 15 Then Abimelech said, “Look over my land and choose any place where you would like to live.” 16 And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving your ‘brother’ 1,000 pieces of silver in the presence of all these witnesses. This is to compensate you for any wrong I may have done to you. This will settle any claim against me, and your reputation is cleared.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, so they could have children. 18 For the Lord had caused all the women to be infertile because of what happened with Abraham’s wife, Sarah. 1 The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. 2 She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. 3 And Abraham named their son Isaac. 4 Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. 5 Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. 6 And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me. 7 Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!” 8 When Isaac grew up and was about to be weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion. 9 But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac. 10 So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won’t have it!” 11 This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son. 12 But God told Abraham, “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. 13 But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too.” 14 So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food and a container of water, and strapped them on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her away with their son, and she wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba. 15 When the water was gone, she put the boy in the shade of a bush. 16 Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards away. “I don’t want to watch the boy die,” she said, as she burst into tears. 17 But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.” 19 Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy as he grew up in the wilderness. He became a skillful archer, 21 and he settled in the wilderness of Paran. His mother arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of Egypt. 22 About this time, Abimelech came with Phicol, his army commander, to visit Abraham. “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,” Abimelech said. 23 “Swear to me in God’s name that you will never deceive me, my children, or any of my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so now swear that you will be loyal to me and to this country where you are living as a foreigner.” 24 Abraham replied, “Yes, I swear to it!” 25 Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech’s servants had taken by force from Abraham’s servants. 26 “This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Abimelech answered. “I have no idea who is responsible. You have never complained about this before.” 27 Abraham then gave some of his sheep, goats, and cattle to Abimelech, and they made a treaty. 28 But Abraham also took seven additional female lambs and set them off by themselves. 29 Abimelech asked, “Why have you set these seven apart from the others?” 30 Abraham replied, “Please accept these seven lambs to show your agreement that I dug this well.” 31 Then he named the place Beersheba (which means “well of the oath”), because that was where they had sworn the oath. 32 After making their covenant at Beersheba, Abimelech left with Phicol, the commander of his army, and they returned home to the land of the Philistines. 33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he worshiped the Lord, the Eternal God. 34 And Abraham lived as a foreigner in Philistine country for a long time. 1 Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” 2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” 3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” 6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. 9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” 12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” 15 Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. 16 “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. 18 And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.” 19 Then they returned to the servants and traveled back to Beersheba, where Abraham continued to live. 20 Soon after this, Abraham heard that Milcah, his brother Nahor’s wife, had borne Nahor eight sons. 21 The oldest was named Uz, the next oldest was Buz, followed by Kemuel (the ancestor of the Arameans), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. 23 (Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) In addition to these eight sons from Milcah, 24 Nahor had four other children from his concubine Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. 1 When Sarah was 127 years old, 2 she died at Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron) in the land of Canaan. There Abraham mourned and wept for her. 3 Then, leaving her body, he said to the Hittite elders, 4 “Here I am, a stranger and a foreigner among you. Please sell me a piece of land so I can give my wife a proper burial.” 5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 “Listen, my lord, you are an honored prince among us. Choose the finest of our tombs and bury her there. No one here will refuse to help you in this way.” 7 Then Abraham bowed low before the Hittites 8 and said, “Since you are willing to help me in this way, be so kind as to ask Ephron son of Zohar 9 to let me buy his cave at Machpelah, down at the end of his field. I will pay the full price in the presence of witnesses, so I will have a permanent burial place for my family.” 10 Ephron was sitting there among the others, and he answered Abraham as the others listened, speaking publicly before all the Hittite elders of the town. 11 “No, my lord,” he said to Abraham, “please listen to me. I will give you the field and the cave. Here in the presence of my people, I give it to you. Go and bury your dead.” 12 Abraham again bowed low before the citizens of the land, 13 and he replied to Ephron as everyone listened. “No, listen to me. I will buy it from you. Let me pay the full price for the field so I can bury my dead there.” 14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “My lord, please listen to me. The land is worth 400 pieces of silver, but what is that between friends? Go ahead and bury your dead.” 16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price and paid the amount he had suggested—400 pieces of silver, weighed according to the market standard. The Hittite elders witnessed the transaction. 17 So Abraham bought the plot of land belonging to Ephron at Machpelah, near Mamre. This included the field itself, the cave that was in it, and all the surrounding trees. 18 It was transferred to Abraham as his permanent possession in the presence of the Hittite elders at the city gate. 19 Then Abraham buried his wife, Sarah, there in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre (also called Hebron). 20 So the field and the cave were transferred from the Hittites to Abraham for use as a permanent burial place. 1 Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh. 3 Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. 4 Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home? Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?” 6 “No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there. 7 For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son. 8 If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath of mine. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there.” 9 So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham’s instructions. 10 Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled. 11 He made the camels kneel beside a well just outside the town. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water. 12 “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham. 13 See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water. 14 This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.” 15 Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah. 16 Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again. 17 Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.” 18 “Yes, my lord,” she answered, “have a drink.” And she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink. 19 When she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough to drink.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw water for all his camels. 21 The servant watched her in silence, wondering whether or not the Lord had given him success in his mission. 22 Then at last, when the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets for her wrists. 23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “And please tell me, would your father have any room to put us up for the night?” 24 “I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she replied. “My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah. 25 Yes, we have plenty of straw and feed for the camels, and we have room for guests.” 26 The man bowed low and worshiped the Lord. 27 “Praise the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “The Lord has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s relatives.” 28 The young woman ran home to tell her family everything that had happened. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, who ran out to meet the man at the spring. 30 He had seen the nose-ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man had said. So he rushed out to the spring, where the man was still standing beside his camels. 31 Laban said to him, “Come and stay with us, you who are blessed by the Lord! Why are you standing here outside the town when I have a room all ready for you and a place prepared for the camels?” 32 So the man went home with Laban, and Laban unloaded the camels, gave him straw for their bedding, fed them, and provided water for the man and the camel drivers to wash their feet. 33 Then food was served. But Abraham’s servant said, “I don’t want to eat until I have told you why I have come.” “All right,” Laban said, “tell us.” 34 “I am Abraham’s servant,” he explained. 35 “And the Lord has greatly blessed my master; he has become a wealthy man. The Lord has given him flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, a fortune in silver and gold, and many male and female servants and camels and donkeys. 36 “When Sarah, my master’s wife, was very old, she gave birth to my master’s son, and my master has given him everything he owns. 37 And my master made me take an oath. He said, ‘Do not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. 38 Go instead to my father’s house, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son.’ 39 “But I said to my master, ‘What if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to go back with me?’ 40 He responded, ‘The Lord, in whose presence I have lived, will send his angel with you and will make your mission successful. Yes, you must find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 41 Then you will have fulfilled your obligation. But if you go to my relatives and they refuse to let her go with you, you will be free from my oath.’ 42 “So today when I came to the spring, I prayed this prayer: ‘O Lord, God of my master, Abraham, please give me success on this mission. 43 See, I am standing here beside this spring. This is my request. When a young woman comes to draw water, I will say to her, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.” 44 If she says, “Yes, have a drink, and I will draw water for your camels, too,” let her be the one you have selected to be the wife of my master’s son.’ 45 “Before I had finished praying in my heart, I saw Rebekah coming out 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.’ 46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’ So I drank, and then she watered the camels. 47 “Then I asked, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel, and my grandparents are Nahor and Milcah.’ So I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 “Then I bowed low and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me straight to my master’s niece to be his son’s wife. 49 So tell me—will you or won’t you show unfailing love and faithfulness to my master? Please tell me yes or no, and then I’ll know what to do next.” 50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “The Lord has obviously brought you here, so there is nothing we can say. 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.” 52 When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord. 53 Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothing and presented them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother. 54 Then they ate their meal, and the servant and the men with him stayed there overnight. But early the next morning, Abraham’s servant said, “Send me back to my master.” 55 “But we want Rebekah to stay with us at least ten days,” her brother and mother said. “Then she can go.” 56 But he said, “Don’t delay me. The Lord has made my mission successful; now send me back so I can return to my master.” 57 “Well,” they said, “we’ll call Rebekah and ask her what she thinks.” 58 So they called Rebekah. “Are you willing to go with this man?” they asked her. And she replied, “Yes, I will go.” 59 So they said good-bye to Rebekah and sent her away with Abraham’s servant and his men. The woman who had been Rebekah’s childhood nurse went along with her. 60 They gave her this blessing as she parted: “Our sister, may you become the mother of many millions! May your descendants be strong and conquer the cities of their enemies.” 61 Then Rebekah and her servant girls mounted the camels and followed the man. So Abraham’s servant took Rebekah and went on his way. 62 Meanwhile, Isaac, whose home was in the Negev, had returned from Beer-lahai-roi. 63 One evening as he was walking and meditating in the fields, he looked up and saw the camels coming. 64 When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel. 65 “Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” she asked the servant. And he replied, “It is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil. 66 Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done. 67 And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother. 1 Abraham married another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 4 Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah. 5 Abraham gave everything he owned to his son Isaac. 6 But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to a land in the east, away from Isaac. 7 Abraham lived for 175 years, 8 and he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying life. He breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. 10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites and where he had buried his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who settled near Beer-lahai-roi in the Negev. 12 This is the account of the family of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant. 13 Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael’s descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes named after them, listed according to the places they settled and camped. 17 Ishmael lived for 137 years. Then he breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. 18 Ishmael’s descendants occupied the region from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. There they lived in open hostility toward all their relatives. 19 This is the account of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. 20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. 22 But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked. 23 And the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.” 24 And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! 25 The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau. 26 Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born. 27 As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”) 31 “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.” 32 “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” 33 But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn. 1 A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived. 2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you. 3 Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father. 4 I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. 5 I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar. 7 When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “They will kill me to get her, because she is so beautiful.” 8 But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah. 9 Immediately, Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, “She is obviously your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” “Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me,” Isaac replied. 10 “How could you do this to us?” Abimelech exclaimed. “One of my people might easily have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin.” 11 Then Abimelech issued a public proclamation: “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death!” 12 When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him. 13 He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow. 14 He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him. 15 So the Philistines filled up all of Isaac’s wells with dirt. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham. 16 Finally, Abimelech ordered Isaac to leave the country. “Go somewhere else,” he said, “for you have become too powerful for us.” 17 So Isaac moved away to the Gerar Valley, where he set up their tents and settled down. 18 He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham’s death. Isaac also restored the names Abraham had given them. 19 Isaac’s servants also dug in the Gerar Valley and discovered a well of fresh water. 20 But then the shepherds from Gerar came and claimed the spring. “This is our water,” they said, and they argued over it with Isaac’s herdsmen. So Isaac named the well Esek (which means “argument”). 21 Isaac’s men then dug another well, but again there was a dispute over it. So Isaac named it Sitnah (which means “hostility”). 22 Abandoning that one, Isaac moved on and dug another well. This time there was no dispute over it, so Isaac named the place Rehoboth (which means “open space”), for he said, “At last the Lord has created enough space for us to prosper in this land.” 23 From there Isaac moved to Beersheba, 24 where the Lord appeared to him on the night of his arrival. “I am the God of your father, Abraham,” he said. “Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant.” 25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug another well. 26 One day King Abimelech came from Gerar with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander. 27 “Why have you come here?” Isaac asked. “You obviously hate me, since you kicked me off your land.” 28 They replied, “We can plainly see that the Lord is with you. So we want to enter into a sworn treaty with you. Let’s make a covenant. 29 Swear that you will not harm us, just as we have never troubled you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the Lord has blessed you!” 30 So Isaac prepared a covenant feast to celebrate the treaty, and they ate and drank together. 31 Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath not to interfere with each other. Then Isaac sent them home again, and they left him in peace. 32 That very day Isaac’s servants came and told him about a new well they had dug. “We’ve found water!” they exclaimed. 33 So Isaac named the well Shibah (which means “oath”). And to this day the town that grew up there is called Beersheba (which means “well of the oath”). 34 At the age of forty, Esau married two Hittite wives: Judith, the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon. 35 But Esau’s wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah. 1 One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, “My son.” “Yes, Father?” Esau replied. 2 “I am an old man now,” Isaac said, “and I don’t know when I may die. 3 Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die.” 5 But Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to his son Esau. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, 6 she said to her son Jacob, “Listen. I overheard your father say to Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me a delicious meal. Then I will bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ 8 Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you. 9 Go out to the flocks, and bring me two fine young goats. I’ll use them to prepare your father’s favorite dish. 10 Then take the food to your father so he can eat it and bless you before he dies.” 11 “But look,” Jacob replied to Rebekah, “my brother, Esau, is a hairy man, and my skin is smooth. 12 What if my father touches me? He’ll see that I’m trying to trick him, and then he’ll curse me instead of blessing me.” 13 But his mother replied, “Then let the curse fall on me, my son! Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats for me!” 14 So Jacob went out and got the young goats for his mother. Rebekah took them and prepared a delicious meal, just the way Isaac liked it. 15 Then she took Esau’s favorite clothes, which were there in the house, and gave them to her younger son, Jacob. 16 She covered his arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young goats. 17 Then she gave Jacob the delicious meal, including freshly baked bread. 18 So Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said. “Yes, my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are you—Esau or Jacob?” 19 Jacob replied, “It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.” 20 Isaac asked, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?” “The Lord your God put it in my path!” Jacob replied. 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you and make sure that you really are Esau.” 22 So Jacob went closer to his father, and Isaac touched him. “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s,” Isaac said. 23 But he did not recognize Jacob, because Jacob’s hands felt hairy just like Esau’s. So Isaac prepared to bless Jacob. 24 “But are you really my son Esau?” he asked. “Yes, I am,” Jacob replied. 25 Then Isaac said, “Now, my son, bring me the wild game. Let me eat it, and then I will give you my blessing.” So Jacob took the food to his father, and Isaac ate it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. 26 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come a little closer and kiss me, my son.” 27 So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, “Ah! The smell of my son is like the smell of the outdoors, which the Lord has blessed! 28 “From the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth, may God always give you abundant harvests of grain and bountiful new wine. 29 May many nations become your servants, and may they bow down to you. May you be the master over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. All who curse you will be cursed, and all who bless you will be blessed.” 30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunt. 31 Esau prepared a delicious meal and brought it to his father. Then he said, “Sit up, my father, and eat my wild game so you can give me your blessing.” 32 But Isaac asked him, “Who are you?” Esau replied, “It’s your son, your firstborn son, Esau.” 33 Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, “Then who just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him just before you came. And yes, that blessing must stand!” 34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry. “Oh my father, what about me? Bless me, too!” he begged. 35 But Isaac said, “Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing.” 36 Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?” 37 Isaac said to Esau, “I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine—what is left for me to give you, my son?” 38 Esau pleaded, “But do you have only one blessing? Oh my father, bless me, too!” Then Esau broke down and wept. 39 Finally, his father, Isaac, said to him, “You will live away from the richness of the earth, and away from the dew of the heaven above. 40 You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you decide to break free, you will shake his yoke from your neck.” 41 From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.” 42 But Rebekah heard about Esau’s plans. So she sent for Jacob and told him, “Listen, Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you. 43 So listen carefully, my son. Get ready and flee to my brother, Laban, in Haran. 44 Stay there with him until your brother cools off. 45 When he calms down and forgets what you have done to him, I will send for you to come back. Why should I lose both of you in one day?” 46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick and tired of these local Hittite women! I would rather die than see Jacob marry one of them.” 1 So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, “You must not marry any of these Canaanite women. 2 Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters. 3 May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations! 4 May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.” 5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother’s brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean. 6 Esau knew that his father, Isaac, had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that he had warned Jacob, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 7 He also knew that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 It was now very clear to Esau that his father did not like the local Canaanite women. 9 So Esau visited his uncle Ishmael’s family and married one of Ishmael’s daughters, in addition to the wives he already had. His new wife’s name was Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. 10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. 12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. 13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” 17 But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!” 18 The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. 19 He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz. 20 Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. 22 And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.” 1 Then Jacob hurried on, finally arriving in the land of the east. 2 He saw a well in the distance. Three flocks of sheep and goats lay in an open field beside it, waiting to be watered. But a heavy stone covered the mouth of the well. 3 It was the custom there to wait for all the flocks to arrive before removing the stone and watering the animals. Afterward the stone would be placed back over the mouth of the well. 4 Jacob went over to the shepherds and asked, “Where are you from, my friends?” “We are from Haran,” they answered. 5 “Do you know a man there named Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” he asked. “Yes, we do,” they replied. 6 “Is he doing well?” Jacob asked. “Yes, he’s well,” they answered. “Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the flock now.” 7 Jacob said, “Look, it’s still broad daylight—too early to round up the animals. Why don’t you water the sheep and goats so they can get back out to pasture?” 8 “We can’t water the animals until all the flocks have arrived,” they replied. “Then the shepherds move the stone from the mouth of the well, and we water all the sheep and goats.” 9 Jacob was still talking with them when Rachel arrived with her father’s flock, for she was a shepherd. 10 And because Rachel was his cousin—the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother—and because the sheep and goats belonged to his uncle Laban, Jacob went over to the well and moved the stone from its mouth and watered his uncle’s flock. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and he wept aloud. 12 He explained to Rachel that he was her cousin on her father’s side—the son of her aunt Rebekah. So Rachel quickly ran and told her father, Laban. 13 As soon as Laban heard that his nephew Jacob had arrived, he ran out to meet him. He embraced and kissed him and brought him home. When Jacob had told him his story, 14 Laban exclaimed, “You really are my own flesh and blood!” After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a month, 15 Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.” 16 Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel. 17 There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. 18 Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.” 19 “Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.” 20 So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days. 21 Finally, the time came for him to marry her. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her.” 22 So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast. 23 But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. 24 (Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.) 25 But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?” 26 “It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied. 27 “But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel, too—provided you promise to work another seven years for me.” 28 So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too. 29 (Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.) 30 So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years. 31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive. 32 So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me.” 33 She soon became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon, for she said, “The Lord heard that I was unloved and has given me another son.” 34 Then she became pregnant a third time and gave birth to another son. He was named Levi, for she said, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!” 35 Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!” And then she stopped having children. 1 When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” 2 Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has kept you from having children!” 3 Then Rachel told him, “Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me, and through her I can have a family, too.” 4 So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. 5 Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son. 6 Rachel named him Dan, for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.” 7 Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. 8 Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!” 9 Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn’t getting pregnant anymore, so she took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Soon Zilpah presented him with a son. 11 Leah named him Gad, for she said, “How fortunate I am!” 12 Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah named him Asher, for she said, “What joy is mine! Now the other women will celebrate with me.” 14 One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But Leah angrily replied, “Wasn’t it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son’s mandrakes, too?” Rachel answered, “I will let Jacob sleep with you tonight if you give me some of the mandrakes.” 16 So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. “You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found.” So that night he slept with Leah. 17 And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. 18 She named him Issachar, for she said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.” 19 Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. 20 She named him Zebulun, for she said, “God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons.” 21 Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. 22 Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said. 24 And she named him Joseph, for she said, “May the Lord add yet another son to my family.” 25 Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Please release me so I can go home to my own country. 26 Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them by serving you, and let me be on my way. You certainly know how hard I have worked for you.” 27 “Please listen to me,” Laban replied. “I have become wealthy, for the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 Tell me how much I owe you. Whatever it is, I’ll pay it.” 29 Jacob replied, “You know how hard I’ve worked for you, and how your flocks and herds have grown under my care. 30 You had little indeed before I came, but your wealth has increased enormously. The Lord has blessed you through everything I’ve done. But now, what about me? When can I start providing for my own family?” 31 “What wages do you want?” Laban asked again. Jacob replied, “Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your flocks. 32 Let me inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep. Give these to me as my wages. 33 In the future, when you check on the animals you have given me as my wages, you’ll see that I have been honest. If you find in my flock any goats without speckles or spots, or any sheep that are not black, you will know that I have stolen them from you.” 34 “All right,” Laban replied. “It will be as you say.” 35 But that very day Laban went out and removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted or had white patches, and all the black sheep. He placed them in the care of his own sons, 36 who took them a three-days’ journey from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for the rest of Laban’s flock. 37 Then Jacob took some fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of bark, making white streaks on them. 38 Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that was where they mated. 39 And when they mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40 Jacob separated those lambs from Laban’s flock. And at mating time he turned the flock to face Laban’s animals that were streaked or black. This is how he built his own flock instead of increasing Laban’s. 41 Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob would place the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of them. Then they would mate in front of the branches. 42 But he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s. 43 As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, female and male servants, and many camels and donkeys. 1 But Jacob soon learned that Laban’s sons were grumbling about him. “Jacob has robbed our father of everything!” they said. “He has gained all his wealth at our father’s expense.” 2 And Jacob began to notice a change in Laban’s attitude toward him. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you.” 4 So Jacob called Rachel and Leah out to the field where he was watching his flock. 5 He said to them, “I have noticed that your father’s attitude toward me has changed. But the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know how hard I have worked for your father, 7 but he has cheated me, changing my wages ten times. But God has not allowed him to do me any harm. 8 For if he said, ‘The speckled animals will be your wages,’ the whole flock began to produce speckled young. And when he changed his mind and said, ‘The striped animals will be your wages,’ then the whole flock produced striped young. 9 In this way, God has taken your father’s animals and given them to me. 10 “One time during the mating season, I had a dream and saw that the male goats mating with the females were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 11 Then in my dream, the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ And I replied, ‘Yes, here I am.’ 12 “The angel said, ‘Look up, and you will see that only the streaked, speckled, and spotted males are mating with the females of your flock. For I have seen how Laban has treated you. 13 I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, the place where you anointed the pillar of stone and made your vow to me. Now get ready and leave this country and return to the land of your birth.’ ” 14 Rachel and Leah responded, “That’s fine with us! We won’t inherit any of our father’s wealth anyway. 15 He has reduced our rights to those of foreign women. And after he sold us, he wasted the money you paid him for us. 16 All the wealth God has given you from our father legally belongs to us and our children. So go ahead and do whatever God has told you.” 17 So Jacob put his wives and children on camels, 18 and he drove all his livestock in front of him. He packed all the belongings he had acquired in Paddan-aram and set out for the land of Canaan, where his father, Isaac, lived. 19 At the time they left, Laban was some distance away, shearing his sheep. Rachel stole her father’s household idols and took them with her. 20 Jacob outwitted Laban the Aramean, for they set out secretly and never told Laban they were leaving. 21 So Jacob took all his possessions with him and crossed the Euphrates River, heading for the hill country of Gilead. 22 Three days later, Laban was told that Jacob had fled. 23 So he gathered a group of his relatives and set out in hot pursuit. He caught up with Jacob seven days later in the hill country of Gilead. 24 But the previous night God had appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream and told him, “I’m warning you—leave Jacob alone!” 25 Laban caught up with Jacob as he was camped in the hill country of Gilead, and he set up his camp not far from Jacob’s. 26 “What do you mean by deceiving me like this?” Laban demanded. “How dare you drag my daughters away like prisoners of war? 27 Why did you slip away secretly? Why did you deceive me? And why didn’t you say you wanted to leave? I would have given you a farewell feast, with singing and music, accompanied by tambourines and harps. 28 Why didn’t you let me kiss my daughters and grandchildren and tell them good-bye? You have acted very foolishly! 29 I could destroy you, but the God of your father appeared to me last night and warned me, ‘Leave Jacob alone!’ 30 I can understand your feeling that you must go, and your intense longing for your father’s home. But why have you stolen my gods?” 31 “I rushed away because I was afraid,” Jacob answered. “I thought you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 But as for your gods, see if you can find them, and let the person who has taken them die! And if you find anything else that belongs to you, identify it before all these relatives of ours, and I will give it back!” But Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the household idols. 33 Laban went first into Jacob’s tent to search there, then into Leah’s, and then the tents of the two servant wives—but he found nothing. Finally, he went into Rachel’s tent. 34 But Rachel had taken the household idols and hidden them in her camel saddle, and now she was sitting on them. When Laban had thoroughly searched her tent without finding them, 35 she said to her father, “Please, sir, forgive me if I don’t get up for you. I’m having my monthly period.” So Laban continued his search, but he could not find the household idols. 36 Then Jacob became very angry, and he challenged Laban. “What’s my crime?” he demanded. “What have I done wrong to make you chase after me as though I were a criminal? 37 You have rummaged through everything I own. Now show me what you found that belongs to you! Set it out here in front of us, before our relatives, for all to see. Let them judge between us! 38 “For twenty years I have been with you, caring for your flocks. In all that time your sheep and goats never miscarried. In all those years I never used a single ram of yours for food. 39 If any were attacked and killed by wild animals, I never showed you the carcass and asked you to reduce the count of your flock. No, I took the loss myself! You made me pay for every stolen animal, whether it was taken in broad daylight or in the dark of night. 40 “I worked for you through the scorching heat of the day and through cold and sleepless nights. 41 Yes, for twenty years I slaved in your house! I worked for fourteen years earning your two daughters, and then six more years for your flock. And you changed my wages ten times! 42 In fact, if the God of my father had not been on my side—the God of Abraham and the fearsome God of Isaac—you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen your abuse and my hard work. That is why he appeared to you last night and rebuked you!” 43 Then Laban replied to Jacob, “These women are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks are my flocks—in fact, everything you see is mine. But what can I do now about my daughters and their children? 44 So come, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and it will be a witness to our commitment.” 45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a monument. 46 Then he told his family members, “Gather some stones.” So they gathered stones and piled them in a heap. Then Jacob and Laban sat down beside the pile of stones to eat a covenant meal. 47 To commemorate the event, Laban called the place Jegar-sahadutha (which means “witness pile” in Aramaic), and Jacob called it Galeed (which means “witness pile” in Hebrew). 48 Then Laban declared, “This pile of stones will stand as a witness to remind us of the covenant we have made today.” This explains why it was called Galeed—“Witness Pile.” 49 But it was also called Mizpah (which means “watchtower”), for Laban said, “May the Lord keep watch between us to make sure that we keep this covenant when we are out of each other’s sight. 50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you marry other wives, God will see it even if no one else does. He is a witness to this covenant between us. 51 “See this pile of stones,” Laban continued, “and see this monument I have set between us. 52 They stand between us as witnesses of our vows. I will never pass this pile of stones to harm you, and you must never pass these stones or this monument to harm me. 53 I call on the God of our ancestors—the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of my grandfather Nahor—to serve as a judge between us.” So Jacob took an oath before the fearsome God of his father, Isaac, to respect the boundary line. 54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice to God there on the mountain and invited everyone to a covenant feast. After they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain. 55 Laban got up early the next morning, and he kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home. 1 As Jacob started on his way again, angels of God came to meet him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, “This is God’s camp!” So he named the place Mahanaim. 3 Then Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother, Esau, who was living in the region of Seir in the land of Edom. 4 He told them, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘Humble greetings from your servant Jacob. Until now I have been living with Uncle Laban, 5 and now I own cattle, donkeys, flocks of sheep and goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform my lord of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to me.’ ” 6 After delivering the message, the messengers returned to Jacob and reported, “We met your brother, Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you—with an army of 400 men!” 7 Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups. 8 He thought, “If Esau meets one group and attacks it, perhaps the other group can escape.” 9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ 10 I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! 11 O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. 12 But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’ ” 13 Jacob stayed where he was for the night. Then he selected these gifts from his possessions to present to his brother, Esau: 14 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 15 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys. 16 He divided these animals into herds and assigned each to different servants. Then he told his servants, “Go ahead of me with the animals, but keep some distance between the herds.” 17 He gave these instructions to the men leading the first group: “When my brother, Esau, meets you, he will ask, ‘Whose servants are you? Where are you going? Who owns these animals?’ 18 You must reply, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob, but they are a gift for his master Esau. Look, he is coming right behind us.’ ” 19 Jacob gave the same instructions to the second and third herdsmen and to all who followed behind the herds: “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And be sure to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’ ” Jacob thought, “I will try to appease him by sending gifts ahead of me. When I see him in person, perhaps he will be friendly to me.” 21 So the gifts were sent on ahead, while Jacob himself spent that night in the camp. 22 During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. 23 After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions. 24 This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. 25 When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 “What is your name?” the man asked. He replied, “Jacob.” 28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.” 29 “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said. “Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. 30 Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” 31 The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip. 32 (Even today the people of Israel don’t eat the tendon near the hip socket because of what happened that night when the man strained the tendon of Jacob’s hip.) 1 Then Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and his two servant wives. 2 He put the servant wives and their children at the front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 Then Jacob went on ahead. As he approached his brother, he bowed to the ground seven times before him. 4 Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept. 5 Then Esau looked at the women and children and asked, “Who are these people with you?” “These are the children God has graciously given to me, your servant,” Jacob replied. 6 Then the servant wives came forward with their children and bowed before him. 7 Next came Leah with her children, and they bowed before him. Finally, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed before him. 8 “And what were all the flocks and herds I met as I came?” Esau asked. Jacob replied, “They are a gift, my lord, to ensure your friendship.” 9 “My brother, I have plenty,” Esau answered. “Keep what you have for yourself.” 10 But Jacob insisted, “No, if I have found favor with you, please accept this gift from me. And what a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God! 11 Please take this gift I have brought you, for God has been very gracious to me. I have more than enough.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau finally accepted the gift. 12 “Well,” Esau said, “let’s be going. I will lead the way.” 13 But Jacob replied, “You can see, my lord, that some of the children are very young, and the flocks and herds have their young, too. If they are driven too hard, even for one day, all the animals could die. 14 Please, my lord, go ahead of your servant. We will follow slowly, at a pace that is comfortable for the livestock and the children. I will meet you at Seir.” 15 “All right,” Esau said, “but at least let me assign some of my men to guide and protect you.” Jacob responded, “That’s not necessary. It’s enough that you’ve received me warmly, my lord!” 16 So Esau turned around and started back to Seir that same day. 17 Jacob, on the other hand, traveled on to Succoth. There he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was named Succoth (which means “shelters”). 18 Later, having traveled all the way from Paddan-aram, Jacob arrived safely at the town of Shechem, in the land of Canaan. There he set up camp outside the town. 19 Jacob bought the plot of land where he camped from the family of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver. 20 And there he built an altar and named it El-Elohe-Israel. 1 One day Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, went to visit some of the young women who lived in the area. 2 But when the local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw Dinah, he seized her and raped her. 3 But then he fell in love with her, and he tried to win her affection with tender words. 4 He said to his father, Hamor, “Get me this young girl. I want to marry her.” 5 Soon Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter, Dinah. But since his sons were out in the fields herding his livestock, he said nothing until they returned. 6 Hamor, Shechem’s father, came to discuss the matter with Jacob. 7 Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the field as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious that their sister had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob’s family, something that should never be done. 8 Hamor tried to speak with Jacob and his sons. “My son Shechem is truly in love with your daughter,” he said. “Please let him marry her. 9 In fact, let’s arrange other marriages, too. You give us your daughters for our sons, and we will give you our daughters for your sons. 10 And you may live among us; the land is open to you! Settle here and trade with us. And feel free to buy property in the area.” 11 Then Shechem himself spoke to Dinah’s father and brothers. “Please be kind to me, and let me marry her,” he begged. “I will give you whatever you ask. 12 No matter what dowry or gift you demand, I will gladly pay it—just give me the girl as my wife.” 13 But since Shechem had defiled their sister, Dinah, Jacob’s sons responded deceitfully to Shechem and his father, Hamor. 14 They said to them, “We couldn’t possibly allow this, because you’re not circumcised. It would be a disgrace for our sister to marry a man like you! 15 But here is a solution. If every man among you will be circumcised like we are, 16 then we will give you our daughters, and we’ll take your daughters for ourselves. We will live among you and become one people. 17 But if you don’t agree to be circumcised, we will take her and be on our way.” 18 Hamor and his son Shechem agreed to their proposal. 19 Shechem wasted no time in acting on this request, for he wanted Jacob’s daughter desperately. Shechem was a highly respected member of his family, 20 and he went with his father, Hamor, to present this proposal to the leaders at the town gate. 21 “These men are our friends,” they said. “Let’s invite them to live here among us and trade freely. Look, the land is large enough to hold them. We can take their daughters as wives and let them marry ours. 22 But they will consider staying here and becoming one people with us only if all of our men are circumcised, just as they are. 23 But if we do this, all their livestock and possessions will eventually be ours. Come, let’s agree to their terms and let them settle here among us.” 24 So all the men in the town council agreed with Hamor and Shechem, and every male in the town was circumcised. 25 But three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, who were Dinah’s full brothers, took their swords and entered the town without opposition. Then they slaughtered every male there, 26 including Hamor and his son Shechem. They killed them with their swords, then took Dinah from Shechem’s house and returned to their camp. 27 Meanwhile, the rest of Jacob’s sons arrived. Finding the men slaughtered, they plundered the town because their sister had been defiled there. 28 They seized all the flocks and herds and donkeys—everything they could lay their hands on, both inside the town and outside in the fields. 29 They looted all their wealth and plundered their houses. They also took all their little children and wives and led them away as captives. 30 Afterward Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have ruined me! You’ve made me stink among all the people of this land—among all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will join forces and crush us. I will be ruined, and my entire household will be wiped out!” 31 “But why should we let him treat our sister like a prostitute?” they retorted angrily. 1 Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.” 2 So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing. 3 We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem. 5 As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob’s family. 6 Eventually, Jacob and his household arrived at Luz (also called Bethel) in Canaan. 7 Jacob built an altar there and named the place El-bethel (which means “God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau. 8 Soon after this, Rebekah’s old nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried beneath the oak tree in the valley below Bethel. Ever since, the tree has been called Allon-bacuth (which means “oak of weeping”). 9 Now that Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel. God blessed him, 10 saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel. 11 Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! 12 And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” 13 Then God went up from the place where he had spoken to Jacob. 14 Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil. 15 And Jacob named the place Bethel (which means “house of God”), because God had spoken to him there. 16 Leaving Bethel, Jacob and his clan moved on toward Ephrath. But Rachel went into labor while they were still some distance away. Her labor pains were intense. 17 After a very hard delivery, the midwife finally exclaimed, “Don’t be afraid—you have another son!” 18 Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named the baby Ben-oni (which means “son of my sorrow”). The baby’s father, however, called him Benjamin (which means “son of my right hand”). 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Jacob set up a stone monument over Rachel’s grave, and it can be seen there to this day. 21 Then Jacob traveled on and camped beyond Migdal-eder. 22 While he was living there, Reuben had intercourse with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Jacob soon heard about it. These are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob: 23 The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher. These are the names of the sons who were born to Jacob at Paddan-aram. 27 So Jacob returned to his father, Isaac, in Mamre, which is near Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had both lived as foreigners. 28 Isaac lived for 180 years. 29 Then he breathed his last and died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death. And his sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him. 1 This is the account of the descendants of Esau (also known as Edom). 2 Esau married two young women from Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite. 3 He also married his cousin Basemath, who was the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah gave birth to a son named Eliphaz for Esau. Basemath gave birth to a son named Reuel. 5 Oholibamah gave birth to sons named Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. All these sons were born to Esau in the land of Canaan. 6 Esau took his wives, his children, and his entire household, along with his livestock and cattle—all the wealth he had acquired in the land of Canaan—and moved away from his brother, Jacob. 7 There was not enough land to support them both because of all the livestock and possessions they had acquired. 8 So Esau (also known as Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir. 9 This is the account of Esau’s descendants, the Edomites, who lived in the hill country of Seir. 10 These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah; and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. 11 The descendants of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 Timna, the concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, gave birth to a son named Amalek. These are the descendants of Esau’s wife Adah. 13 The descendants of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the descendants of Esau’s wife Basemath. 14 Esau also had sons through Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon. Their names were Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. 15 These are the descendants of Esau who became the leaders of various clans: The descendants of Esau’s oldest son, Eliphaz, became the leaders of the clans of Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These are the clan leaders in the land of Edom who descended from Eliphaz. All these were descendants of Esau’s wife Adah. 17 The descendants of Esau’s son Reuel became the leaders of the clans of Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the clan leaders in the land of Edom who descended from Reuel. All these were descendants of Esau’s wife Basemath. 18 The descendants of Esau and his wife Oholibamah became the leaders of the clans of Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the clan leaders who descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. 19 These are the clans descended from Esau (also known as Edom), identified by their clan leaders. 20 These are the names of the tribes that descended from Seir the Horite. They lived in the land of Edom: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the Horite clan leaders, the descendants of Seir, who lived in the land of Edom. 22 The descendants of Lotan were Hori and Hemam. Lotan’s sister was named Timna. 23 The descendants of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 The descendants of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. (This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the wilderness while he was grazing his father’s donkeys.) 25 The descendants of Anah were his son, Dishon, and his daughter, Oholibamah. 26 The descendants of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. 27 The descendants of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 The descendants of Dishan were Uz and Aran. 29 So these were the leaders of the Horite clans: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. The Horite clans are named after their clan leaders, who lived in the land of Seir. 31 These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites: 32 Bela son of Beor, who ruled in Edom from his city of Dinhabah. 33 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah became king in his place. 34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites became king in his place. 35 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad became king in his place and ruled from the city of Avith. He was the one who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab. 36 When Hadad died, Samlah from the city of Masrekah became king in his place. 37 When Samlah died, Shaul from the city of Rehoboth-on-the-River became king in his place. 38 When Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Acbor became king in his place. 39 When Baal-hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad became king in his place and ruled from the city of Pau. His wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Me-zahab. 40 These are the names of the leaders of the clans descended from Esau, who lived in the places named for them: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram. These are the leaders of the clans of Edom, listed according to their settlements in the land they occupied. They all descended from Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites.

Genesis 18:20–33 NLT

Introduction:

Even though this text says nothing about Lot, this story has everything to do with Lot.

Lot’s grand father Terah was God’s first choice but he had a settling spirit.

Genesis 11:27–32 NLT

27 This is the account of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. 28 But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living. 29 Meanwhile, Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah were daughters of Nahor’s brother Haran.) 30 But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children. 31 One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. 32 Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.

Lot’s Uncle was called by God to leave his country, his relatives and his fathers family and go to a land he would show him. & Lot went with him, Abram followed God and everywhere he went he built alters to worship the Lord.

States Lot, who was traveling with Abram, had also become very wealthy with flocks of sheep and goat, herds of cattle, and many tents.

6 But the land could not support both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and herds living so close together. 7 So disputes broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot, 8 Finally Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives! 9 The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.” 1

Lot had a few options,

he could have said Unc where you go i go. I will fire some of these jokers before i leave you.

He could have said pray with me so i will go the way the Lord would have us to go.

He could have said Unc if you where in my shoes which way would you go?

He could have built an alter for the Lord and enquired of the Lord where should he go.

10 verse Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram.

Genesis 13:12–13 AV

12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

He set his sights and the sights of everyone connected to him to the most wicked city in the world.

–15

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Lot then gets caught up in a fight that he didn’t start but gets kidnapped.

Genesis 14:11–13 NCV

11 Now Kedorlaomer and his armies took everything the people of Sodom and Gomorrah owned, including their food. 12 They took Lot, Abram’s nephew who was living in Sodom, and everything he owned. Then they left. 13 One of the men who was not captured went to Abram, the Hebrew, and told him what had happened. At that time Abram was camped near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite. Mamre was a brother of Eshcol and Aner, and they had all made an agreement to help Abram.

Gen 14;14-16

Genesis 14:14–16 NCV

14 When Abram learned that Lot had been captured, he called out his 318 trained men who had been born in his camp. He led the men and chased the enemy all the way to the town of Dan. 15 That night he divided his men into groups, and they made a surprise attack against the enemy. They chased them all the way to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Then Abram brought back everything the enemy had stolen, the women and the other people, and Lot, and everything Lot owned.

Genesis 14:14–16 NCV

Genesis 14:11–13 NCV

Gen

So this is grace, you lost everything, your a captive and a slave. And God comes in sets you free gives you back everything you lost!!!

What should you do?

Offer up a sacrifice to God for his Loving Kindness towards you, build him an alter and surrender the rest of your life to God.

Thank God for his uncle and ask his uncle can i at least live next to you? I can’t break away from you ever again.

Nope.. He goes right back into the slime, the dirt, the filth, the sinful city just like many of us have done after God showed Grace and got us out of some stuff.

We go right back in it. He might have a different name, she might be taller with a bigger butt & a smile. But its still Sodom..

#1 Point The Power Of Intercession

Genesis 18:20–22 AV

20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. 22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

Gen 18

Intercessory Prayer - What is it?

Intercessory prayer is prayer for others. An intercessor is one who takes the place of another or pleads another's case. One study Bible defines intercession as "holy, believing, persevering prayer whereby someone pleads with God on behalf of another or others who desperately need God's intervention."

Genesis 18:23–24 AV

23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?

Abraham drew near...approached him, came closer and asked, he confronted him.

Abraham is the first Intercessor

Genesis 20:6–7 NCV

6 Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know you did not realize what you were doing. So I did not allow you to sin against me and touch her. 7 Give Abraham his wife back. He is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will not die. But if you do not give Sarah back, you and all your family will surely die.”

God confirms the power on intercession through his Prophet..

Numbers 14:1–4 NCV

1 That night all the people in the camp began crying loudly. 2 All the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron, and all the people said to them, “We wish we had died in Egypt or in this desert. 3 Why is the Lord bringing us to this land to be killed with swords? Our wives and children will be taken away. We would be better off going back to Egypt.” 4 They said to each other, “Let’s choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

Numbers 14:1-

Many people you intercede for don’t want to change or leave the sinful lifestyle. Egypt represent’s bondage. So they will be attracted to people who can lead them to Egypt.

Num

Numbers 14:5–9 NCV

5 Then Moses and Aaron bowed facedown in front of all the Israelites gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who had explored the land, tore their clothes. 7 They said to all of the Israelites, “The land we explored is very good. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land and give us that fertile land. 9 Don’t turn against the Lord! Don’t be afraid of the people in that land! We will chew them up. They have no protection, but the Lord is with us. So don’t be afraid of them.”

Numbers 14:10–12 NLT

10 But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle. 11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? 12 I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!”

Numbers 14:13–25 AV

13 And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;) 14 And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, 16 Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness. 17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, 18 The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. 19 Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. 20 And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word: 21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. 22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; 23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: 24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it. 25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.

Numbers 14:26–33 NCV

26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 27 “How long will these evil people complain about me? I have heard the grumbling and complaining of these Israelites. 28 So tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says. I heard what you said, and as surely as I live, I will do those very things to you: 29 You will die in this desert. Every one of you who is twenty years old or older and who was counted with the people—all of you who complained against me—will die. 30 Not one of you will enter the land where I promised you would live; only Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun will go in. 31 You said that your children would be taken away, but I will bring them into the land to enjoy what you refused. 32 As for you, you will die in this desert. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years. Because you were not loyal, they will suffer until you lie dead in the desert.

Intercession doesn’t mean God isn’t going to deal with the sinful behavior, But he shows Mercy and Grace in areas where he could have killed us. The only reason why 98% of us are alive is because someone was willing to draw near to God and ask him to help us in our sinful lifestyle…

God promises Abraham if 10 righteous live in the city he will spare it, Lot had lived in Sodom for 20 years and was incapable of interceding & converting his daughters, son in-laws and his employees. He also had little influence with the community to convert anyone.

This sounds a lot like many Christians today ( the curse of Lot ) what do you do when you got more Sodom in you than you think.

Compromise: accept standards that are lower than is desirable.

#Point 2 The Righteous Living With The Wicked

Lot knew early on that Sodom was a sinful city.

Still, the Bible tells us that, even though he was aware of their sin, he remained among them (). In fact, the Bible indicates that Lot was drawn ever closer to the city as time went by. First, he “pitched his tent toward Sodom” (), then he “dwelt in Sodom” (), and finally he lived in the city and “sat in the gate of Sodom” ().

I want to talk about Sodom and Gomorrah

What did these two cities represent?

Sodom And Gomorrah

LinksDictionaryHolman Bible DictionarySodom and GomorrahHastings' Dictionary of the NTSodom and GomorrahEncyclopedia(ssah' dahm, gah mohr' rah) Place names of uncertain meaning. Two cities in Palestine at the time of Abraham. Sodom and Gomorrah were among the five “cities of the valley” ( ; ; KJV, “plain”) of Abraham's time. Exact locations are unknown, but they were probably situated in the Valley of Siddim ( ,, ,, ) near the Dead Sea, perhaps the area now covered by the Sea's shallow southern end. Lot moved to this area, eventually settling in Sodom ( ; ; ).

Sodom and Gomorrah were renowned for their wickedness (). Despite Abraham's successful plea ( ) not even ten righteous men could be found in Sodom, and the cities were judged by the Lord, then destroyed by “brimstone and fire” ( ; NIV, “burning sulfur”).

The unnatural lusts of the men of Sodom ( ; ) have given us the modern term sodomy, : anal or oral copulation with a member of the same or opposite sex also : copulation with an animal but the city was guilty of a full spectrum of sins including pride, oppression of the poor, haughtiness, and “abominable things” ( ). Together, Sodom and Gomorrah provided a point of comparison for the sinfulness of Israel and other nations ( ; ; ). The memory of their destruction provided a picture of God's judgment ( ; ; ; ) and made them an example to be avoided ( ; ).

There is a list of Sexual Immoral Sins:

Sexual Immorality:

The person that accepts an evil thought always believes that they will not commit such an act; but when the devil presents them the opportunity, then they fulfill it, because they had already accepted it in their mind. ()

1. Masturbation opens doors for an impure lascivious spirit to come and then it is difficult to be liberated, unless Jesus sets us free. Masturbation is a sin, a lust that is associated with sexual fantasies; it is egocentric...

2. Problems caused by incest, abuse or have been molested cause the person who was a victim to feel betrayed, provoking to become emotionally cold and to retract from people even themselves. Some victims of these types of abuse, even when married, they feel guilty or become sexually frigid. The majority of individuals that have been abused and molested sexually end up destroying their home and even their own life...

3. Promiscuity by choice includes sexual acts such as fornication, adultery, masturbation, oral sex, and the practice of sexual masoquism. ()

- Fornication is a sexual relation between two people who are not married.

- Adultery is a sexual relation with someone who is not your spouse, it is outside of marriage; infidelity.

- Masturbation the stimulation of your own genitals is an act of lust. Some people practice this as an alternative to experiment sexual pleasure without the risk of pregnancy.

- Oral Sex is the stimulation of the genitals through the use of the mouth, an act of lascivity.

The main reason for which oral sex is forbidden by the word of God, is because:"God created each organ of the human body to complete specific functions. God made the mouth to speak, to worship Him and to bless Him; not to have sex." This goes against nature established by God. For this reason, God created man and woman with sexual organs to complete those specific functions.

- The practice of sexual masochism is a sexual perversion where violence and pain is used to obtain pleasure. This practice dishonors the body, perverts the nature of human relations and offends God.

4. Sexual fantasies precipitate immoral activity. Jesus warned us that man is guilty of sin, of both the mind and physical act. For this reason pornography, in nay form, must be avoided. Because it can lead to sexual promiscuity and filthy acts of all kind. We cannot play with sexual fantasies in our minds... ()

5. Pornography leads to many consequences such as the increase of rape and crimes related to sex, divorces caused by pornographic materials taken to the home, introducing children to masturbation and the necessity to experiment their sexuality...

6. Homosexuality and lesbianism has led the church of Christ to judge and criticize instead of helping and bringing them to know the truth. We have isolated them from the church. Even those people who have been delivered have been judged and mistreated, until the point of leaving their church. We must stand firm in disagreement with the sin of homosexuality. In other words, we must love the person but we must help them abandon their path of sin. ()

Some causes are: genrational curses, rejection of the baby's gender, rebellion against parents, sexual abuse, paternal or maternal domination, and the voluntary homosexual relations.

7. Bestiality is when people, both women and men, have sexual fantasies with animals. In some cases, this occurs because their parents have practiced acts of bestialism. In others, it is people whose parents never gave them love and fell into sin. I have known cases in which people have had sexual relations with dogs, horses, cows, etcetera... ()

8. Abortions cause in women and men, who have practiced abortion, must be delivered from the spirit of murder. Unfortunately, the majority of the doctors say that the fetus does not have life, meaning no one is dying. But, the word of God says that He already gave them breath of life, and they are human beings that feel pain, rejection, love and hate...

9. Anal sex can lead people to practice homosexuality. Soem women feel so ashamed that they cannot speak about this in a meeting or session of counseling or deliverance. People who practice or have practiced anal sex have a great necessity to be liberated from spirits of lascivity, homosexuality, degradation, depravation, perversion, guilt, shame and low self-esteem...

10. Sexual activities with demons, through history, there have been frequent cases discovered of demons who come to a woman or a man to have sex with them. There are two spirits involved in this type of practice: spirit "incubus:" a demon with a masculine appearance that stimulates and leads a woman to have sexual pleasure. Spirit "incubus:" a demon with a feminine appearance that leads a man to ejaculate. ()

Demons will use any path to enter the life of a person. Once the demos enter an individual through the continuous practice of sin, they will control them and dominate until they enslave them and ultimately kill them.

We have to close every door to every unclean spirit and be delivered through Jesus!

If we play with sin, we’ll be pulled in a little at a time, without noticing it until we’re in too deep . The best way to avoid sin is to follow the bible instructions.

2 Corinthians 6:17 NCV

17 “Leave those people, and be separate, says the Lord. Touch nothing that is unclean, and I will accept you.”

2Corinthians

Paul quotes this passage from Isaiah in reference to the Corinthian church. He is taking familiar wording and giving it meaning in a fresh context. Just as the Israelites in exile were to put off any idolatry they may have picked up while living in Egypt, so the Corinthian believers are to lay aside the idolatry and sexual immorality that they were steeped in by virtue of living in Corinth. They must be separate from the sin of the world.

In To Deep

Sronghold: A stronghold is a fortified place, setup and guarded by satan.

Luke 15:11-16

Luke 15:11–16 NCV

11 Then Jesus said, “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son said to his father, ‘Give me my share of the property.’ So the father divided the property between his two sons. 13 Then the younger son gathered up all that was his and traveled far away to another country. There he wasted his money in foolish living. 14 After he had spent everything, a time came when there was no food anywhere in the country, and the son was poor and hungry. 15 So he got a job with one of the citizens there who sent the son into the fields to feed pigs. 16 The son was so hungry that he wanted to eat the pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

Pearls Before Swine

Riches to Rags

Matthew 7:6 NCV

6 “Don’t give holy things to dogs, and don’t throw your pearls before pigs. Pigs will only trample on them, and dogs will turn to attack you.

Lot was a righteous man living in an unrighteous city

It was the sin that epitomized the gross wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah—the "grave," "ungodly," "lawless," "sensual conduct of unprincipled men" that tormented Lot as he "saw and heard" it "day after day," the "corrupt desire" of those that went after "strange flesh," which is sexual immorality.

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.

But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler “not even to eat with such a one.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

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