Abraham’s Other Wife and Sons

25 Now Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah,^{(A) 2} and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³ Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s sons were the Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. ⁴ And Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were sons of Keturah. ⁵ Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac.^{(B) 6} And Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, but while he was still alive he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East.^(C)

Abraham’s Death

⁷ This is the length of Abraham’s life:^[a] 175 years. ⁸ He took his last breath and died at a ripe old age,^(D) old and contented,^[b] and he was gathered to his people.^{(E) 9} His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah^(F) near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. ¹⁰ This was the field that Abraham bought from the Hittites.^(G) Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah. ¹¹ After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.^(H)

Ishmael’s Family Records

¹² These are the family records^(I) of Abraham’s son Ishmael,^(J) whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Abraham. ¹³ These are the names of Ishmael’s sons; their names according to the family records are: Nebaioth, Ishmael’s firstborn, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These are Ishmael’s sons, and these are their names by their villages and encampments: 12 leaders^[c](K) of their clans.^{[d] 17} This is the length^[e] of Ishmael’s life: 137 years. He took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people. ¹⁸ And they^[f] settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you go toward Asshur. He^[g] lived in opposition to^[h] all his brothers.^(L)

The Birth of Jacob and Esau

¹⁹ These are the family records of Isaac son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac.^{(M) 20} Isaac was 40 years old when he took as his wife Rebekah^(N) daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram^(O) and sister of Laban the Aramean.^{(P) 21} Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless.^(Q) The Lord heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.^{(R) 22} But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?”^[i] So she went to inquire of the Lord.^{(S) 23} And the Lord said to her:

²⁴ When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. ²⁵ The first one came out red-looking,^[j] covered with hair^[k] like a fur coat, and they named him Esau.^{(V) 26} After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel with his hand.^(W) So he was named Jacob.^[l](X) Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

Esau Sells His Birthright

²⁷ When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman,^[m] but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.^{[n] 28} Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.^(Y)

²⁹ Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field exhausted. ³⁰ He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I’m exhausted.” That is why he was also named Edom.^[o]

³¹ Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

³² “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?”

³³ Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave bread and lentil stew to Esau; he ate, drank, got up, and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.^(Z)

How to Give

6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness^[a] in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. ² So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward!^{(A) 3} But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.^[b](B)

How to Pray

⁵ “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward!^{(C) 6} But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.^{[c](D) 7} When you pray, don’t babble like the idolaters,^[d] since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words.^{(E) 8} Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him.^(F)

The Model Prayer

⁹ “Therefore, you should pray like this:^(G)

¹⁴ “For if you forgive people their wrongdoing,^[i] your heavenly Father will forgive you as well.^{(M) 15} But if you don’t forgive people,^[j] your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.^[k]

How to Fast

¹⁶ “Whenever you fast, don’t be sad-faced like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive^[l](N) so their fasting is obvious to people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head, and wash your face,^{(O) 18} so that you don’t show your fasting to people but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.^[m]

God and Possessions

¹⁹ “Don’t collect for yourselves treasures^[n] on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.^{(P) 20} But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven,^(Q) where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²² “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness—how deep is that darkness!^(R)

²⁴ “No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money.^(S)

The Cure for Anxiety

²⁵ “This is why I tell you:^(T) Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?^{(U) 26} Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?^{(V) 27} Can any of you add a single cubit to his height^[o] by worrying? ²⁸ And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! ³⁰ If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you—you of little faith?^{(W) 31} So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³² For the idolaters^[p] eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God^[q](X) and His righteousness,^(Y) and all these things will be provided for you.^{(Z) 34} Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble^(AA) of its own.

Psalm 127

The Blessing of the Lord

A Solomonic song of ascents.