Isaac and Rebekah

24 Abraham was now very old,^(A) and the Lord had blessed^(B) him in every way.^{(C) 2} He said to the senior servant^(D) in his household, the one in charge of all that he had,^(E) “Put your hand under my thigh.^{(F) 3} I want you to swear^(G) by the Lord, the God of heaven^(H) and the God of earth,^(I) that you will not get a wife for my son^(J) from the daughters of the Canaanites,^(K) among whom I am living,^{(L) 4} but will go to my country and my own relatives^(M) and get a wife for my son Isaac.^(N)”

⁵ The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land?^(O) Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?^(P)”

⁶ “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,”^(Q) Abraham said. ⁷ “The Lord, the God of heaven,^(R) who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land^(S) and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring^[a](T) I will give this land’^(U)—he will send his angel before you^(V) so that you can get a wife for my son from there. ⁸ If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath^(W) of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”^{(X) 9} So the servant put his hand under the thigh^(Y) of his master^(Z) Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels^(AA) loaded with all kinds of good things^(AB) from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim^[b](AC) and made his way to the town of Nahor.^{(AD) 11} He had the camels kneel down near the well^(AE) outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.^(AF)

¹² Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham,^(AG) make me successful^(AH) today, and show kindness^(AI) to my master Abraham. ¹³ See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.^{(AJ) 14} May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink,^(AK) and I’ll water your camels too’^(AL)—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac.^(AM) By this I will know^(AN) that you have shown kindness to my master.”

¹⁵ Before he had finished praying,^(AO) Rebekah^(AP) came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel^(AQ) son of Milkah,^(AR) who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.^{(AS) 16} The woman was very beautiful,^(AT) a virgin;^(AU) no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

3 These are the nations the Lord left to test^(A) all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan ² (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): ³ the five^(B) rulers of the Philistines,^(C) all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites^(D) living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon^(E) to Lebo Hamath.^{(F) 4} They were left to test^(G) the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.

⁵ The Israelites lived^(H) among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,^(I) Hivites and Jebusites.^{(J) 6} They took their daughters^(K) in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.^(L)

Othniel

⁷ The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord^(M) their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.^{(N) 8} The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold^(O) them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim^(P) king of Aram Naharaim,^[a](Q) to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. ⁹ But when they cried out^(R) to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer,^(S) Othniel^(T) son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. ¹⁰ The Spirit of the Lord came on him,^(U) so that he became Israel’s judge^[b] and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim^(V) king of Aram^(W) into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. ¹¹ So the land had peace^(X) for forty years,^(Y) until Othniel son of Kenaz^(Z) died.

²² Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed^(S) Abraham,^(T) says to the descendants of Jacob:

Woe to the Obstinate Nation

⁶ A prophecy^(AR) concerning the animals of the Negev:^(AS)

Job

21 Then Job replied:

³³ “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.^{(A) 34} You brood of vipers,^(B) how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks^(C) what the heart is full of. ³⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. ³⁶ But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. ³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”^(D)

The Sign of Jonah^(E)(F)

³⁸ Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign^(G) from you.”^(H)

³⁹ He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.^{(I) 40} For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish,^(J) so the Son of Man^(K) will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.^{(L) 41} The men of Nineveh^(M) will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah,^(N) and now something greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came^(O) from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.^(P) That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Peter’s Miraculous Escape From Prison

12 It was about this time that King Herod^(A) arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. ² He had James, the brother of John,^(B) put to death with the sword.^{(C) 3} When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews,^(D) he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.^{(E) 4} After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.^(F)

⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.^(G)

⁶ The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains,^(H) and sentries stood guard at the entrance. ⁷ Suddenly an angel^(I) of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.^(J)

⁸ Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. ⁹ Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.^{(K) 10} They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself,^(L) and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

¹¹ Then Peter came to himself^(M) and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me^(N) from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”