¹³ When they had been gone for some time, Jacob said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Get ready, and I will send you to them.”

“I’m ready to go,” Joseph replied.

Children and Parents

6 Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord,^[a] for this is the right thing to do. ² “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: ³ If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”^[b]

¹³ “‘What will I do?’ the owner asked himself. ‘I know! I’ll send my cherished son. Surely they will respect him.’

¹⁶ “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.

¹⁷ One day Jesse said to David, “Take this basket^[a] of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers. ¹⁸ And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing.^[b]” ¹⁹ David’s brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.

²⁰ So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries.

¹⁶ But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.”

“Here I am,” Samuel replied.

⁸ So the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”

Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy.

⁴ Suddenly the Lord called out, “Samuel!”

“Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” ⁵ He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”

“I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So he did.

⁶ Then the Lord called out again, “Samuel!”

Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”

“I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.”

¹⁸ So Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said.

“Yes, my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are you—Esau or Jacob?”

Jacob Steals Esau’s Blessing

27 One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, “My son.”

“Yes, Father?” Esau replied.