Genesis 49

New American Standard Bible

Jacob’s Prophecy concerning His Sons

49 Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves, so that I may tell you what will happen to you ^(A)in the ^[a]days to come.

²Gather together and listen, sons of Jacob;
Yes, ^(B)listen to Israel your father.

³“Reuben, you are my firstborn,
My might and ^(C)the beginning of my strength,
Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
⁴^[b]Uncontrollable as water, you shall not have preeminence,
^(D)Because you went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.

⁵“^(E)Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Their ^[c]swords are implements of violence.
⁶^(F)May my soul not enter into their council;
May my glory not be united with their assembly;
For in their anger they killed ^[d]men,
And in their self-will they lamed ^[e]oxen.
⁷Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel.
^(G)I will scatter them in Jacob,
And disperse them among Israel.

⁸“As for you, Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
^(H)Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
⁹Judah is a ^(I)lion’s cub;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
^(J)He ^[f]crouches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a ^[g]lion, who ^[h]dares to stir him up?
¹⁰^(K)The scepter will not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
^[i]Until Shiloh comes,
And ^(L)to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
¹¹^(M)He ties his foal to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine;
^(N)He washes his garments in wine,
And his robes in the blood of grapes.
¹²His eyes are ^[j]dull from wine,
And his teeth ^[k]white from milk.

¹³“^(O)Zebulun will reside at the seashore;
And he shall be ^[l]a harbor for ships,
And his flank shall be toward Sidon.

¹⁴“Issachar is a ^[m]strong donkey,
^(P)Lying down between the sheepfolds.
¹⁵When he saw that a resting place was good
And that the land was pleasant,
He bowed his shoulder to carry burdens,
And became a slave at forced labor.

¹⁶“^(Q)Dan shall ^(R)judge his people,
As one of the tribes of Israel.
¹⁷Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
A horned viper in the path,
That bites the horse’s heels,
So that its rider falls backward.
¹⁸^(S)For Your salvation I wait, Lord.

¹⁹“^(T)As for Gad, a band of raiders shall attack him,
But he will attack at their ^[n]heels.

²⁰“^[o]^(U)As for ^(V)Asher, his ^[p]food shall be ^[q]rich,
And he will yield royal delicacies.

²¹“^(W)Naphtali is a doe let loose;
He utters beautiful words.

²²“^(X)Joseph is a fruitful ^[r]branch,
A fruitful ^[s]branch by a spring;
Its ^[t]branches hang over a wall.
²³The archers provoked him,
And shot at him and were hostile toward him;
²⁴But his ^(Y)bow remained ^[u]firm,
And ^[v]^(Z)his arms were agile,
From the hands of the ^(AA)Mighty One of Jacob
(From there is ^(AB)the Shepherd, ^(AC)the Stone of Israel),
²⁵From ^(AD)the God of your father who helps you,
And ^[w]^(AE)by the ^[x]Almighty who blesses you
With ^(AF)blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
²⁶The blessings of your father
Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors
Up to the ^[y]furthest boundary of ^(AG)the everlasting hills;
May they be on the head of Joseph,
And on the top of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.

²⁷“Benjamin is a ^[z]ravenous wolf;
In the morning he devours the prey,
And in the evening he divides the spoils.”

²⁸All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them ^[aa]when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one ^[ab]with the blessing appropriate to him.

Jacob Dies

²⁹Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am about to be ^(AH)gathered to my people; ^(AI)bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in ^(AJ)the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰in the ^(AK)cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a ^[ac]burial site. ³¹There they buried ^(AL)Abraham and his wife ^(AM)Sarah, there they buried ^(AN)Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah— ³²the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.” ³³When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and ^(AO)breathed his last, and was ^(AP)gathered to his people.

Footnotes

Genesis 49:1 Lit end of the days
Genesis 49:4 Or Gushing over
Genesis 49:5 Or plans; meaning uncertain
Genesis 49:6 Lit a man
Genesis 49:6 Lit an ox
Genesis 49:9 Lit bows down
Genesis 49:9 Lit lioness
Genesis 49:9 Lit shall
Genesis 49:10 Or Until he comes to Shiloh; or Until he comes to whom it belongs
Genesis 49:12 Or darker than
Genesis 49:12 Or whiter than
Genesis 49:13 Lit a shore of ships
Genesis 49:14 Lit donkey of bone
Genesis 49:19 Lit heel
Genesis 49:20 Lit From
Genesis 49:20 Or bread
Genesis 49:20 Lit fat
Genesis 49:22 Lit son
Genesis 49:22 Lit son
Genesis 49:22 Lit daughters
Genesis 49:24 I.e., in an unyielding position
Genesis 49:24 Lit the arms of his hands
Genesis 49:25 Or with
Genesis 49:25 Heb Shaddai
Genesis 49:26 Lit limit; or desire
Genesis 49:27 Lit a wolf that tears
Genesis 49:28 Lit and
Genesis 49:28 Lit according to his blessing
Genesis 49:30 Lit possession of a burial place

Luke 2

New American Standard Bible

Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem

2 Now in those days a decree went out from ^(A)Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of ^(B)all ^[a]the inhabited earth. ²^[b]This was the first census taken while ^[c]Quirinius was governor of ^(C)Syria. ³And all the people were on their way to register for the census, each to his own city. ⁴Now Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because ^(D)he was of the house and family of David, ⁵in order to register along with Mary, who was ^[d]betrothed to him, and was pregnant. ⁶While they were there, the ^[e]time came for her to give birth. ⁷And she ^(E)gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a ^[f]manger, because there was no ^[g]room for them in the inn.

⁸In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night. ⁹And ^(F)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^(G)stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰And so the angel said to them, “^(H)Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; ¹¹for today in the city of David there has been born for you a ^(I)Savior, who is ^[h]^(J)Christ ^(K)the Lord. ¹²And ^(L)this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a ^[i]manger.” ¹³And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly ^[j]army of angels praising God and saying,

¹⁴“^(M)Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among people ^[k]^(N)with whom He is pleased.”

¹⁵When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶And they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the ^[l]manger. ¹⁷When they had seen Him, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. ¹⁸And all who heard it were amazed about the things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹But Mary ^(O)treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰And the shepherds went back, ^(P)glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

²¹And when ^(Q)eight days were completed ^[m]so that it was time for His circumcision, ^(R)He was also named Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

²²^(S)And when the days for ^[n]their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord ²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “^(T)Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), ²⁴and to offer a sacrifice according to what has been stated in the Law of the Lord: “^(U)A pair of turtledoves or two young doves.”

²⁵And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was ^(V)righteous and devout, ^(W)looking forward to the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶And ^(X)it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^(Y)see death before he had seen the Lord’s ^[o]Christ. ²⁷And he came ^[p]by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, ^[q]^(Z)to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, ²⁸then he took Him in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

²⁹“Now, Lord, You are letting Your bond-servant depart in peace,
^(AA)According to Your word;
³⁰For my eyes have ^(AB)seen Your salvation,
³¹Which You have prepared in the presence of all the peoples:
³²^(AC)A light for revelation ^[r]for the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”

³³And His father and ^(AD)mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. ³⁴And Simeon blessed them and said to ^(AE)His mother Mary, “Behold, this Child is appointed for ^(AF)the fall and ^[s]rise of many in Israel, and as a sign to be ^[t]opposed— ³⁵and a sword will pierce your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶And there was a ^(AG)prophetess, ^[u]Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of ^(AH)the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in ^[v]years ^(AI)and had lived with her husband for seven years after her ^[w]marriage, ³⁷and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the temple grounds, serving night and day with ^(AJ)fasts and prayers. ³⁸And at that very ^[x]moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak about Him to all those who were ^(AK)looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Return to Nazareth

³⁹And when His parents had completed everything in accordance with the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to ^(AL)their own city of Nazareth. ⁴⁰^(AM)Now the Child continued to grow and to become strong, ^[y]increasing in wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him.

Visit to Jerusalem

⁴¹His parents went to Jerusalem every year at ^(AN)the Feast of the Passover. ⁴²And when He was twelve years old, they went up there according to the custom of the feast; ⁴³and as they were returning, after spending the ^(AO)full number of days required, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents were unaware of it. ⁴⁴Instead, they thought that He was somewhere in the caravan, and they went a day’s journey; and then they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him. ⁴⁶Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷And all who heard Him ^(AP)were amazed at His understanding and His answers. ⁴⁸When Joseph and Mary saw Him, they were bewildered; and ^(AQ)His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, ^(AR)Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You!” ⁴⁹And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that ^(AS)I had to be in My Father’s ^[z]house?” ⁵⁰And yet ^(AT)they on their part did not understand the statement which He had ^[aa]made to them. ⁵¹And He went down with them and came to ^(AU)Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them; and ^(AV)His mother ^(AW)treasured all these ^[ab]things in her heart.

⁵²And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and ^[ac]stature, and in ^(AX)favor with God and people.

Footnotes

Luke 2:1 I.e., the Roman Empire
Luke 2:2 Or This took place as a first census
Luke 2:2 Gr Kyrenios
Luke 2:5 Unlike engagement, a betrothed couple was considered married, but did not yet live together
Luke 2:6 Lit days were completed
Luke 2:7 Or feeding trough
Luke 2:7 Or space
Luke 2:11 I.e., the Messiah
Luke 2:12 Or feeding trough
Luke 2:13 Or host
Luke 2:14 Lit of good pleasure; or of goodwill
Luke 2:16 Or feeding trough
Luke 2:21 Lit so as to circumcise Him
Luke 2:22 I.e., Mary’s, with Joseph’s support
Luke 2:26 I.e., Messiah
Luke 2:27 Or in
Luke 2:27 Lit to do for Him according to
Luke 2:32 Lit of the Gentiles
Luke 2:34 Or resurrection
Luke 2:34 Or refused
Luke 2:36 Or Hannah
Luke 2:36 Lit days
Luke 2:36 Lit virginity
Luke 2:38 Lit hour
Luke 2:40 Lit becoming full of
Luke 2:49 Or affairs; or business; lit in the things of My Father
Luke 2:50 Lit spoken
Luke 2:51 Lit words
Luke 2:52 Or age

Job 15

New American Standard Bible

Eliphaz Says Job Presumes Much

15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

²“Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge,
^(A)And fill ^[a]himself with the east wind?
³Should he argue with useless talk,
Or with words which do not benefit?
⁴Indeed, you do away with ^[b]reverence,
And hinder meditation before God.
⁵For ^(B)your wrongdoing teaches your mouth,
And you choose the language of ^(C)the cunning.
⁶Your ^(D)own mouth condemns you, and not I;
And your own lips testify against you.

⁷“Were you the first person to be born,
Or ^(E)were you brought forth before the hills?
⁸Do you hear the ^(F)secret discussion of God,
And limit wisdom to yourself?
⁹^(G)What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that ^[c]we do not?
¹⁰Both the ^(H)gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Older than your father.
¹¹Are ^(I)the consolations of God too little for you,
Or the ^(J)word spoken gently to you?
¹²Why does your ^(K)heart take you away?
And why do your eyes wink,
¹³That you can turn your spirit against God
And produce such words from your mouth?
¹⁴What is man, that ^(L)he would be pure,
Or ^(M)he who is born of a woman, that he would be righteous?
¹⁵Behold, He has no trust in His ^(N)holy ones,
And the ^(O)heavens are not pure in His sight;
¹⁶How much less one who is ^(P)detestable and corrupt:
A person who ^(Q)drinks ^[d]malice like water!

What Eliphaz Has Seen of Life

¹⁷“I will tell you, listen to me;
And what I have seen I will also declare;
¹⁸What wise people have told,
And have not concealed from ^(R)their fathers,
¹⁹To whom alone the land was given,
And no stranger passed among them.
²⁰The wicked person writhes ^(S)in pain all his days,
And the ^[e]years ^(T)reserved for the ruthless are numbered.
²¹^[f]Sounds of ^(U)terror are in his ears;
^(V)While he is at peace the destroyer comes upon him.
²²He does not believe that he will ^(W)return from darkness,
And he is destined for ^(X)the sword.
²³He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of ^(Y)darkness is ^[g]at hand.
²⁴Distress and anguish terrify him,
They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
²⁵Because he has reached out with his hand against God,
And is ^(Z)arrogant toward ^[h]the Almighty.
²⁶He rushes ^[i]headlong at Him
With his ^[j]massive shield.
²⁷For he has ^(AA)covered his face with his fat,
And ^[k]put fat on his waist.
²⁸He has ^(AB)lived in desolate cities,
In houses no one would inhabit,
Which are destined to become ^[l]ruins.
²⁹He ^(AC)will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
And his property will not stretch out on the earth.
³⁰He will ^(AD)not ^[m]escape from darkness;
The ^(AE)flame will dry up his shoot,
And he will go away by ^(AF)the breath of His mouth.
³¹Let him not ^(AG)trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For his ^[n]reward will be emptiness.
³²It will be accomplished ^(AH)before his time,
And his palm ^(AI)branch will not be green.
³³He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,
And will ^(AJ)cast off his flower like the olive tree.
³⁴For the company of ^(AK)the godless is barren,
And fire consumes ^(AL)the tents of ^[o]the corrupt.
³⁵They ^(AM)conceive ^[p]harm and give birth to wrongdoing,
And their ^[q]mind prepares deception.”

Footnotes

Job 15:2 Lit his belly
Job 15:4 Lit fear
Job 15:9 Lit is not within us?
Job 15:16 Or injustice
Job 15:20 Lit number of years are reserved for
Job 15:21 Lit A sound of terrors is
Job 15:23 Lit ready at his hand
Job 15:25 Heb Shaddai
Job 15:26 Lit with a stiff neck
Job 15:26 Lit thick-bossed shields
Job 15:27 Lit made
Job 15:28 Or heaps
Job 15:30 Lit turn aside
Job 15:31 Lit exchange
Job 15:34 Lit a bribe
Job 15:35 Or pain
Job 15:35 Lit belly

1 Corinthians 3

New American Standard Bible

Foundations for Living

3 And I, brothers and sisters, could not speak to you as ^(A)spiritual people, but only as ^(B)fleshly, as to ^(C)infants in Christ. ²I gave you ^(D)milk to drink, not solid food; for you ^(E)were not yet able to consume it. But even now you are not yet able, ³for you are still fleshly. For since there is ^(F)jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking ^(G)like ordinary people? ⁴For when ^(H)one person says, “I am ^[a]with Paul,” and another, “I am ^[b]with Apollos,” are you not ordinary ^(I)people?

⁵What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? ^(J)Servants through whom you believed, even ^(K)as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. ⁶^(L)I planted, ^(M)Apollos watered, but ^(N)God was causing the growth. ⁷So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. ⁸Now the one who plants and the one who waters are one; but each will ^(O)receive his own ^[c]reward according to his own labor. ⁹For we are God’s ^(P)fellow workers; you are God’s ^[d]^(Q)field, God’s ^(R)building.

¹⁰According to ^(S)the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder ^(T)I laid a foundation, and ^(U)another is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it. ¹¹For no one can lay a ^(V)foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹²Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, ¹³^(W)each one’s work will become evident; for ^(X)the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test ^[e]the quality of each one’s work. ¹⁴If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will ^(Y)receive a reward. ¹⁵If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only ^(Z)so as through fire.

¹⁶^(AA)Do you not know that ^(AB)you are a ^[f]temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷If anyone destroys the ^[g]temple of God, God will destroy ^[h]that person; for the ^[i]temple of God is holy, ^[j]and that is what you are.

¹⁸^(AC)Take care that no one deceives himself. ^(AD)If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in ^(AE)this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. ¹⁹For ^(AF)the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God. For it is written: “He is ^(AG)the one who catches the wise by their craftiness”; ²⁰and again, “^(AH)The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are useless.” ²¹So then, ^(AI)no one is to be boasting in people. For ^(AJ)all things belong to you, ²²^(AK)whether Paul or Apollos or ^[k]Cephas, or the world or ^(AL)life or death, or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, ²³and ^(AM)you belong to Christ, and ^(AN)Christ belongs to God.