Abram and Lot Separate

13 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, ^(A)into the Negeb.

^2 (B)Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. ³ And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, ⁴ to ^(C)the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord. ⁵ And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, ⁶ so that ^(D)the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, ^7 (E)and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time ^(F)the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.

⁸ Then Abram said to Lot, ^(G)“Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, ^(H)for we are kinsmen.^{[a] 9 (I)}Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” ¹⁰ And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the ^(J)Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like ^(K)the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of ^(L)Zoar. (This was before the Lord ^(M)destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. ¹² Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. ¹³ Now the men of Sodom ^(N)were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.

¹⁴ The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, ^(O)northward and southward and eastward and westward, ¹⁵ for all the land that you see I will give ^(P)to you and ^(Q)to your offspring forever. ^16 (R)I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. ¹⁷ Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” ¹⁸ So Abram moved his tent and came and ^(S)settled by the ^(T)oaks^[b] of Mamre, which ^(U)are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

29 Then Jacob went on his journey and came to ^(A)the land of the people of the east. ² As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well's mouth was large, ³ and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.

⁴ Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, ^(B)“We are from Haran.” ⁵ He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.” ⁶ He said to them, “Is it well with him?” They said, “It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!” ⁷ He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them.” ⁸ But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

⁹ While he was still speaking with them, ^(C)Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. ¹⁰ Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. ¹² And Jacob told Rachel that he was ^(D)her father's kinsman, and that he was Rebekah's son, ^(E)and she ran and told her father.

¹³ As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, ^(F)he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, ¹⁴ and Laban said to him, ^(G)“Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.

¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” ¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah's eyes were weak,^[a] but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, ^(H)“I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” ¹⁹ Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob ^(I)served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

9 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to ^(A)his own city. ^2 (B)And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus ^(C)saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ^(D)“Take heart, my son; ^(E)your sins are forgiven.” ³ And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, ^(F)“This man is blaspheming.” ⁴ But Jesus, ^(G)knowing^[a] their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵ For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? ⁶ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” ⁷ And he rose and went home. ⁸ When the crowds saw it, ^(H)they were afraid, and ^(I)they glorified God, who had ^(J)given such authority to men.

Jesus Calls Matthew

^9 (K)As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called ^(L)Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

¹⁰ And as Jesus^[b] reclined at table in the house, behold, many ^(M)tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹ And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ^(N)“Why does your teacher eat with ^(O)tax collectors and sinners?” ¹² But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³ Go and learn ^(P)what this means: ^(Q)‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For ^(R)I came not to call the righteous, ^(S)but sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

¹⁴ Then ^(T)the disciples of John came to him, saying, ^(U)“Why do we and ^(V)the Pharisees fast,^[c] but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁵ And Jesus said to them, ^(W)“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? ^(X)The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^(Y)then they will fast. ¹⁶ No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. ¹⁷ Neither is new wine put into old ^(Z)wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

Jesus the Great High Priest

¹⁴ Since then we have ^(A)a great high priest ^(B)who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, ^(C)let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest ^(D)who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been ^(E)tempted as we are, ^(F)yet without sin. ^16 (G)Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

5 For every high priest chosen from among men ^(H)is appointed to act on behalf of men ^(I)in relation to God, ^(J)to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ^2 (K)He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself ^(L)is beset with weakness. ³ Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins ^(M)just as he does for those of the people. ⁴ And ^(N)no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, ^(O)just as Aaron was.

⁵ So also Christ ^(P)did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

⁶ as he says also in another place,

⁷ In the days of his flesh, ^(S)Jesus^[a] offered up prayers and supplications, ^(T)with loud cries and tears, to him ^(U)who was able to save him from death, and ^(V)he was heard because of his reverence. ⁸ Although ^(W)he was a son, ^(X)he learned obedience through what he suffered. ⁹ And ^(Y)being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, ¹⁰ being designated by God a high priest ^(Z)after the order of Melchizedek.