Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.”

Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

“Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth.

Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”

The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.”

“Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”

And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the cities of their enemies.”

But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him.

Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one.

Jacob Flees From Laban

Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.”

Then Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate?

Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.”

But if you find anyone who has your gods, that person shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods.

Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.”

Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves.

They said to them, “We can’t do such a thing; we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us.

Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We’ll settle among you and become one people with you.

But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our sister and go.”

“These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours.

But the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are.

Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us.”

But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”

Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?