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17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley.[a] 18 Isaac reopened[b] the wells that had been dug[c] back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up[d] after Abraham died. Isaac[e] gave these wells[f] the same names his father had given them.[g]
19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing[h] water there, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled[i] with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac[j] named the well Esek[k] because they argued with him about it.[l] 21 His servants[m] dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it[n] Sitnah.[o] 22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac[p] named it[q] Rehoboth,[r] saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
23 From there Isaac[s] went up to Beer Sheba. 24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped[t] the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well.[u]
26 Now Abimelech had come[v] to him from Gerar along with[w] Ahuzzah his friend[x] and Phicol the commander of his army. 27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me[y] and sent me away from you.” 28 They replied, “We could plainly see[z] that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be[aa] a pact between us[ab]—between us[ac] and you. Allow us to make[ad] a treaty with you 29 so that[ae] you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed[af] you, but have always treated you well[ag] before sending you away[ah] in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.”[ai]
30 So Isaac[aj] held a feast for them and they celebrated.[ak] 31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other.[al] Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms.[am]
32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported.[an] 33 So he named it Shibah;[ao] that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba[ap] to this day.
34 When[aq] Esau was forty years old,[ar] he married[as] Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety.[at]
Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing
27 When[au] Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind,[av] he called his older[aw] son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau[ax] replied. 2 Isaac[ay] said, “Since[az] I am so old, I could die at any time.[ba] 3 Therefore, take your weapons—your quiver and your bow—and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game[bb] for me. 4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then[bc] I will eat it so that I may bless you[bd] before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau.[be] When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back,[bf] 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat[bg] it and bless you[bh] in the presence of the Lord[bi] before I die.’ 8 Now then, my son, do exactly[bj] what I tell you![bk] 9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare[bl] them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 10 Then you will take[bm] it to your father. Thus he will eat it[bn] and[bo] bless you before he dies.”
11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin![bp] 12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him[bq] and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me,[br] my son! Just obey me![bs] Go and get them for me!”
14 So he went and got the goats[bt] and brought them to his mother. She[bu] prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She put the skins of the young goats[bv] on his hands[bw] and the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she handed[bx] the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac[by] replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?”[bz] 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up[ca] and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.”[cb] 20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world[cc] did you find it so quickly,[cd] my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,”[ce] he replied.[cf] 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you,[cg] my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.”[ch] 22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.” 23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob.[ci] 24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob[cj] replied. 25 Isaac[ck] said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son.[cl] Then I will bless you.”[cm] So Jacob[cn] brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac[co] drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27 So Jacob[cp] went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent[cq] of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,
“Yes,[cr] my son smells
like the scent of an open field
which the Lord has blessed.
28 May God give you
the dew of the sky[cs]
and the richness[ct] of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
You will be[cu] lord[cv] over your brothers,
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you.[cw]
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left[cx] his father’s[cy] presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt.[cz] 31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau[da] said to him, “My father, get up[db] and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.”[dc] 32 His father Isaac asked,[dd] “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,”[de] he replied, “Esau!” 33 Isaac began to shake violently[df] and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him.[dg] He will indeed be blessed!”
34 When Esau heard[dh] his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly.[di] He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 35 But Isaac[dj] replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away[dk] your blessing.” 36 Esau exclaimed, “Jacob is the right name for him![dl] He has tripped me up[dm] two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”
37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!”[dn] Then Esau wept loudly.[do]
39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“See here,[dp] your home will be by[dq] the richness[dr] of the earth,
and by the dew of the sky above.
40 You will live by your sword
but you will serve your brother.
When you grow restless,
you will tear off his yoke
from your neck.”[ds]
41 So Esau hated[dt] Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother.[du] Esau said privately,[dv] “The time[dw] of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill[dx] my brother Jacob!”
42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said,[dy] she quickly summoned[dz] her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you.[ea] 43 Now then, my son, do what I say.[eb] Run away immediately[ec] to my brother Laban in Haran. 44 Live with him for a little while[ed] until your brother’s rage subsides. 45 Stay there[ee] until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there.[ef] Why should I lose both of you in one day?”[eg]
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed[eh] because of the daughters of Heth.[ei] If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!”[ej]
Healing and Forgiving a Paralytic
9 After getting into a boat[a] he crossed to the other side and came to his own town.[b] 2 Just then[c] some people[d] brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.[e] When Jesus saw their[f] faith, he said to the paralytic, “Have courage, son! Your sins are forgiven.”[g] 3 Then[h] some of the experts in the law[i] said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!”[j] 4 When Jesus perceived their thoughts he said, “Why do you respond with evil in your hearts? 5 Which is easier,[k] to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know[l] that the Son of Man[m] has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then he said to the paralytic[n]—“Stand up, take your stretcher, and go home.”[o] 7 So[p] he stood up and went home.[q] 8 When[r] the crowd saw this, they were afraid[s] and honored God who had given such authority to men.[t]
The Call of Matthew; Eating with Sinners
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth.[u] “Follow me,” he said to him. So[v] he got up and followed him. 10 As[w] Jesus[x] was having a meal[y] in Matthew’s[z] house, many tax collectors[aa] and sinners came and ate with Jesus and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees[ab] saw this they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”[ac] 12 When[ad] Jesus heard this he said, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do.[ae] 13 Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’[af] For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The Superiority of the New
14 Then John’s[ag] disciples came to Jesus[ah] and asked, “Why do we and the Pharisees[ai] fast often,[aj] but your disciples don’t fast?” 15 Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests[ak] cannot mourn while the bridegroom[al] is with them, can they? But the days[am] are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them,[an] and then they will fast. 16 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, because the patch will pull away from the garment and the tear will be worse.[ao] 17 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins;[ap] otherwise the skins burst and the wine is spilled out and the skins are destroyed. Instead they put new wine into new wineskins[aq] and both are preserved.”
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