A Bride for Isaac

24 Now ^(A)Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had ^(B)blessed Abraham in every way. ² Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household who was in ^(C)charge of all that he owned, “^(D)Please place your hand under my thigh, ³ and I will make you swear by the Lord, ^(E)the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you ^(F)shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of ^(G)the Canaanites, among whom I live; ⁴ but you will go to ^(H)my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” ⁵ The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came?” ⁶ Then Abraham said to him, “^(I)Beware that you do not take my son back there! ^7 (J)The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘^(K)To your ^[a]descendants I will give this land’—He will send ^(L)His angel ahead of you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. ⁸ But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will ^(M)be free of this oath of mine; ^(N)only do not take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant ^(O)placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham, and swore to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and went out with a variety of ^(P)good things of his master’s in his hand; so he set out and went to ^[b]Mesopotamia, to ^(Q)the city of Nahor. ¹¹ He made the camels kneel down outside the city by ^(R)the well of water ^[c]when it was evening, ^(S)the time when women go out to draw water. ¹² And he said, “^(T)Lord, God of my master Abraham, please ^[d](U)grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, ^(V)I am standing by the ^[e]spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; ¹⁴ now may it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and ^[f]who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

Rebekah Is Chosen

¹⁵ And it came about, ^(W)before he had finished speaking, that behold, ^(X)Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of ^(Y)Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. ¹⁶ The young woman was ^(Z)very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ^[g]had relations with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. ¹⁷ Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, “^(AA)Please let me drink a little water from your jar.” ¹⁸ And ^(AB)she said, “Drink, my lord”; then she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ Now when she had finished giving him a drink, ^(AC)she said, “I will also draw water for your camels until they have finished drinking.” ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. ^21 (AD)Meanwhile, the man was taking a close look at her ^[h]in silence, to find out whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not.

²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a ^(AE)gold ring weighing a ^[i]half-shekel, and two bracelets for her ^[j]wrists weighing ten shekels in gold, ²³ and he said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room for us to stay overnight at your father’s house?” ²⁴ She said to him, “^(AF)I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ Again she said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to stay overnight.” ²⁶ Then the man ^(AG)bowed low and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ And he said, “^(AH)Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned ^(AI)His kindness and His trustworthiness toward my master; as for me, ^(AJ)the Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”

²⁸ Then ^(AK)the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.

The Brothers Are Brought Back

44 ^(A)Then he commanded his house steward, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the opening of his sack. ² And put my cup, the silver cup, in the opening of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain.” And he did ^[a]as Joseph had told him. ^3 [b]As soon as it was light, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys. ⁴ They had just left ^(B)the city, and were not far away, when Joseph said to his house steward, “Up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? ⁵ Is this not that from which my lord drinks, and which he indeed uses for ^(C)divination? You have done wrong in doing this!’”

⁶ So ^[c]he overtook them and spoke these words to them. ⁷ And they said to him, “Why does my lord say such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! ⁸ Behold, ^(D)the money which we found in the opening of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? ^9 (E)With whomever of your servants it is found, he shall die, and we also shall be my lord’s ^(F)slaves.” ¹⁰ So he said, “Now let it indeed be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, but the rest of you shall be considered innocent.” ¹¹ Then they hurried, each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. ¹² And he searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest; and ^(G)the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. ¹³ Then they ^(H)tore their clothes in grief, and when each man had loaded his donkey, they returned to ^(I)the city.

¹⁴ When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there, and ^(J)they fell down to the ground before him. ¹⁵ Joseph said to them, “What is this thing that you have done? Do you not know that a man who is like me can indeed practice ^(K)divination?” ¹⁶ So Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What words can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s ^(L)slaves, both we and the one in whose ^[d]possession the cup has been found.” ¹⁷ But he said, “Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose ^[e]possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

¹⁸ Then Judah approached him and said, “Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and ^[f](M)do not be angry with your servant; for ^(N)you are equal to Pharaoh. ^19 (O)My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ ²⁰ And we said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and ^(P)a little boy born in our father’s old age. Now ^(Q)his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’ ²¹ Then you said to your servants, ‘^(R)Bring him down to me so that I may set my eyes on him.’ ²² But we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, ^[g]his father would die.’ ²³ You said to your servants, however, ‘^(S)Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’ ²⁴ So it came about when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. ²⁵ And ^(T)our father said, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’ ²⁶ But we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ ²⁷ Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that ^(U)my wife bore me two sons; ²⁸ and the one left me, and ^(V)I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since. ²⁹ If you also take this one from ^[h]me, and harm happens to him, you will ^(W)bring my gray hair down to Sheol in ^[i]sorrow.’ ³⁰ So now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us—since ^[j](X)our father’s life is so attached to the boy’s life— ³¹ when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. So your servants will ^(Y)bring the gray hair of your servant, our father, down to Sheol in sorrow. ³² For your servant ^(Z)accepted responsibility for the boy from my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then ^[k]my father can let me take the blame forever.’ ³³ So now, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go up with his brothers. ³⁴ For how shall I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear that I may see the evil that would ^[l]overtake my father.”

Joseph Deals Kindly with His Brothers

45 Then Joseph could not control himself in front of everyone standing before him, and he shouted, “Have everyone leave me!” So there ^[m]was no one with him ^(AA)when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. ² Then ^(AB)he ^[n]wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard about it. ³ And Joseph said to his brothers, “^(AC)I am Joseph! ^(AD)Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for ^(AE)they were terrified in his presence.

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come ^[o]closer to me.” And they came ^[p]closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you ^(AF)sold to Egypt. ⁵ Now do not be grieved or angry ^[q]with yourselves because ^(AG)you sold me here, for ^(AH)God sent me ahead of you ^[r]to save lives. ⁶ For the famine has been in the land ^(AI)these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. ⁷ So ^(AJ)God sent me ahead of you to ensure for you a remnant on the earth, and to ^[s]keep you alive by a great deliverance. ⁸ Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a ^(AK)father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Jesus before His Accusers

^53 (A)They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes *gathered together. ⁵⁴ And Peter had followed Him at a distance, ^(B)right into ^(C)the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the ^[a]officers and ^(D)warming himself at the ^[b]fire. ⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and the entire ^[c](E)Council were trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. ⁵⁶ For many people were giving false testimony against Him, and so their testimonies were not consistent. ⁵⁷ And then some stood up and began giving false testimony against Him, saying, ⁵⁸ “We heard Him say, ‘^(F)I will destroy this ^[d]temple that was made by hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.’” ⁵⁹ And not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. ⁶⁰ And then the high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not offer any answer for what these men are testifying against You?” ^61 (G)But He kept silent and did not offer any answer. ^(H)Again the high priest was questioning Him, and *said to Him, “Are You the ^[e]Christ, the Son of ^[f]the Blessed One?” ⁶² And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see ^(I)the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and ^(J)coming with the clouds of heaven.” ^63 (K)Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? ⁶⁴ You have heard the ^(L)blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him as deserving of death. ⁶⁵ And some began to ^(M)spit on Him, and ^[g](N)to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists and say to Him, “^(O)Prophesy!” Then the officers took custody of Him ^[h]and slapped Him in the face.

Peter’s Denials

^66 (P)And while Peter was below in ^(Q)the courtyard, one of the slave women of the high priest *came, ⁶⁷ and seeing Peter ^(R)warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You were with Jesus the ^(S)Nazarene as well.” ⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he ^(T)went out onto the ^[i]porch.^{[j] 69} The slave woman saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them!” ⁷⁰ But again ^(U)he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “You really are one of them, ^(V)for you are a Galilean as well.” ⁷¹ But he began to ^[k]curse himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak!” ⁷² And immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before ^(W)a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And ^[l]he hurried on and began to weep.

Jesus’ Arrest

^54 (A)Now they arrested Him and led Him away, and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but ^(B)Peter was following at a distance. ^55 (C)After they kindled a fire in the middle of ^(D)the courtyard and sat down together, Peter was sitting among them. ⁵⁶ And a slave woman, seeing him as he sat in the firelight, and staring at him, said, “This man was with Him as well.” ⁵⁷ But he denied it, saying, “I do not know Him, woman!” ⁵⁸ And a little later, ^(E)another person saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” ⁵⁹ And after about an hour had passed, some other man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, ^(F)for he, too, is a Galilean.” ⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” And immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. ⁶¹ And then ^(G)the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “^(H)Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” ⁶² And he went out and wept bitterly.

^63 (I)The men who were holding ^[a]Jesus in custody began mocking Him and beating Him, ⁶⁴ and they blindfolded Him and repeatedly asked Him, saying, “^(J)Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?” ⁶⁵ And they were saying many other things against Him, ^(K)blaspheming.

Jesus before the Sanhedrin

^66 (L)When it was day, ^(M)the ^[b]Council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their ^(N)council chamber, saying, ⁶⁷ “^(O)If You are the ^[c]Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; ⁶⁸ and if I ask a question, you will not answer. ^69 (P)But from now on ^(Q)the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” ⁷⁰ And they all said, “So You are ^(R)the Son of God?” And He said to them, “^(S)You say correctly that I am.” ⁷¹ And then they said, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth!”