Abram and Lot Separate

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

² Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. ³ He journeyed on by stages from the Negeb as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,^{(B) 4} to the place where he had made an altar at the first, and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.^{(C) 5} Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, ⁶ and the land could not support both of them living together because their possessions were so great that they could not live together. ⁷ Thus strife arose between the herders of Abram’s livestock and the herders of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites lived in the land.^(D)

⁸ Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me and between your herders and my herders, for we are kindred.^{(E) 9} 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 Lot looked about him and saw that the plain of the Jordan was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar; this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.^{(F) 11} So Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward, and they separated from each other. ¹² Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom.^{(G) 13} Now the people of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.^(H)

¹⁴ The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Raise your eyes now, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward,^{(I) 15} for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.^{(J) 16} I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.^{(K) 17} Rise up, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”^{(L) 18} So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks^[a] of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.^(M)

Jacob Meets Rachel

29 Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.^{(A) 2} As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying there 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 on the mouth of the well.

⁴ Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, “We are from Haran.”^{(B) 5} He said to them, “Do you know Laban son of Nahor?” They said, “We do.”^{(C) 6} He said to them, “Is it well with him?” “Yes,” they replied, “and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with the sheep.”^{(D) 7} He said, “Look, it is still broad daylight; it is not time for the animals 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, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she kept them.^{(E) 10} Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban.^{(F) 11} Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. ¹² And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father.^(G)

¹³ When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him; he embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob^[a] told Laban all these things,^{(H) 14} and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.^(I)

Jacob Marries Laban’s Daughters

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 elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah’s eyes were weak,^[b] but Rachel was graceful and beautiful. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”^{(J) 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 served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.

9 ¹ And after getting into a boat he crossed the sea and came to his own town.^(A)

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

² And some people were carrying to him a paralyzed man lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, child; your sins are forgiven.”^{(B) 3} Then some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” ⁴ But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?^{(C) 5} For which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? ⁶ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Stand up, take your bed, and go to your home.” ⁷ And he stood up and went to his home. ⁸ When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings.^(D)

The Call of Matthew

⁹ As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.

¹⁰ And as he sat at dinner^[a] in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting^[b] with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”^{(E) 12} But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³ Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”^(F)

The Question about Fasting

¹⁴ Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often,^[c] but your disciples do not fast?”^{(G) 15} And Jesus said to them, “The wedding attendants cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.^{(H) 16} No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. ¹⁷ Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are ruined, but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

Jesus the Great High Priest

¹⁴ Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.^{(A) 15} For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested^[a] as we are, yet without sin.^{(B) 16} Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

5 Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ² He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness,^{(C) 3} and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. ⁴ And one does not presume to take this honor but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.^(D)

⁵ So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest but was appointed by^[b] the one who said to him,

⁶ as he says also in another place,

⁷ In the days of his flesh, Jesus^[c] offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.^{(G) 8} Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered,^{(H) 9} and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,^{(I) 10} having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.