Jacob’s Vow at Bethel

¹⁰ Now Jacob ^(A)went out from Beersheba and went toward ^(B)Haran. ¹¹ So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. ¹² Then he ^(C)dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there ^(D)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

^13 (E)And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: ^(F)“I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; ^(G)the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. ¹⁴ Also your ^(H)descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad ^(I)to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and ^(J)in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. ¹⁵ Behold, ^(K)I am with you and will ^(L)keep^[a] you wherever you go, and will ^(M)bring you back to this land; for ^(N)I will not leave you ^(O)until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in ^(P)this place, and I did not know it.” ¹⁷ And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

¹⁸ Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, ^(Q)set it up as a pillar, ^(R)and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ And he called the name of ^(S)that place ^[b]Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. ^20 (T)Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If ^(U)God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me ^(V)bread to eat and clothing to put on, ²¹ so that ^(W)I come back to my father’s house in peace, ^(X)then the Lord shall be my God. ²² And this stone which I have set as a pillar ^(Y)shall be God’s house, ^(Z)and of all that You give me I will surely give a ^[c]tenth to You.”

Glory and Universality of the Messiah’s Reign

A Psalm ^(A)of Solomon.

The Heavenly Hope

¹³ These all died in faith, ^(A)not having received the ^(B)promises, but ^(C)having seen them afar off ^[a]were assured of them, embraced them and ^(D)confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. ¹⁴ For those who say such things ^(E)declare plainly that they seek a homeland. ¹⁵ And truly if they had called to mind ^(F)that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed ^(G)to be called their God, for He has ^(H)prepared a city for them.

The Faith of the Patriarchs^(I)

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, ^(J)when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, ^18 [b]of whom it was said, ^(K)“In Isaac your seed shall be called,” ¹⁹ concluding that God ^(L)was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

²⁰ By faith ^(M)Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, ^(N)blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

²² By faith ^(O)Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.