Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.

For the music director; for ^[a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.

The Lord Exalted for His Goodness.

A Psalm of Praise, of David.

Isaac’s Sons

¹⁹ Now these are the records of ^(A)the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac; ²⁰ and Isaac was forty years old when he took ^(B)Rebekah, the ^(C)daughter of Bethuel the ^[a]Aramean of Paddan-aram, the ^(D)sister of Laban the ^[b]Aramean, to be his wife. ²¹ Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children; and ^(E)the Lord ^[c]answered him, and his wife Rebekah ^(F)conceived. ²² But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why am I in this condition?” So she went to ^(G)inquire of the Lord. ²³ And the Lord said to her,

²⁴ When her days leading to the delivery were at an end, behold, there were twins in her womb. ²⁵ Now the first came out red, ^(K)all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. ²⁶ Afterward his brother came out with ^(L)his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so ^(M)he was named ^[d]Jacob; and Isaac was ^(N)sixty years old when she gave birth to them.

²⁷ When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a ^[e]civilized man, ^(O)living in tents. ²⁸ Now Isaac loved Esau because ^[f]he had ^(P)a taste for game; ^(Q)but Rebekah loved Jacob. ²⁹ When Jacob had cooked a ^(R)stew one day, Esau came in from the field and he was exhausted; ³⁰ and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a mouthful of ^[g]that red stuff there, for I am exhausted.” Therefore he was called ^[h]Edom by name. ³¹ But Jacob said, “^[i]First sell me your ^(S)birthright.” ³² Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” ³³ And Jacob said, “^[j]First swear to me”; so he swore an oath to him, and ^(T)sold his birthright to Jacob. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and got up and went on his way. So Esau despised his birthright.

The Changeless Christ

13 Let ^(A)love of the brothers and sisters continue. ² Do not neglect ^(B)hospitality to strangers, for by this some have ^(C)entertained angels without knowing it. ^3 (D)Remember ^(E)the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are badly treated, since you yourselves also are in the body. ^4 (F)Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; ^(G)for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. ⁵ Make sure that your character is ^(H)free from the love of money, ^(I)being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “^(J)I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,” ⁶ so that we confidently say,

⁷ Remember ^(L)those who led you, who spoke ^(M)the word of God to you; and considering the ^[a]result of their way of life, ^(N)imitate their faith. ^8 (O)Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever. ^9 (P)Do not be misled by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to ^(Q)be strengthened by grace, not by ^(R)foods, ^(S)through which those who ^[b]were so occupied were not benefited. ¹⁰ We have an altar ^(T)from which those ^(U)who serve the ^[c]tabernacle have no right to eat. ¹¹ For ^(V)the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the Holy Place by the high priest as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp. ¹² Therefore Jesus also suffered ^(W)outside the gate, ^(X)that He might sanctify the people ^(Y)through His own blood. ¹³ So then, let us go out to Him outside the camp, ^(Z)bearing His reproach. ¹⁴ For here ^(AA)we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking ^(AB)the city which is to come.

God-pleasing Sacrifices

^15 (AC)Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a ^(AD)sacrifice of praise to God, that is, ^(AE)the fruit of lips praising His name. ¹⁶ And do not neglect doing good and ^(AF)sharing, for ^(AG)with such sacrifices God is pleased.

³⁷ Now on ^(A)the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “^(B)If anyone is thirsty, ^[a]let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ The one who believes in Me, ^(C)as the Scripture said, ‘^[b]From his innermost being will flow rivers of ^(D)living water.’” ³⁹ But this He said ^(E)in reference to the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for ^(F)the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet ^(G)glorified.

People’s Division over Jesus

⁴⁰ Some of the people therefore, after they heard these words, were saying, “This truly is ^(H)the Prophet.” ⁴¹ Others were saying, “This is the ^[c]Christ.” But others were saying, “^(I)Surely the ^[d]Christ is not coming from Galilee, is He? ⁴² Has the Scripture not said that the Christ comes from ^(J)the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” ⁴³ So ^(K)a dissension occurred in the crowd because of Him. ⁴⁴ And ^(L)some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

⁴⁵ The ^(M)officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?” ⁴⁶ The ^(N)officers answered, “^(O)Never has a man spoken in this way!” ⁴⁷ The Pharisees then replied to them, “^(P)You have not been led astray too, have you? ^48 (Q)Not one of ^(R)the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? ⁴⁹ But this crowd that does not know the Law is accursed!” ^50 (S)Nicodemus (the one who came to Him before, being one of them) *said to them, ⁵¹ “^(T)Our Law does not judge the person unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” ⁵² They answered and said to him, “^(U)You are not from Galilee as well, are you? Examine the Scriptures, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.”