The Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah

24 Now Abraham was old, advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.^{(A) 2} Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh,^{(B) 3} and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live,^{(C) 4} but will go to my country and to my kindred and get a wife for my son Isaac.”^{(D) 5} The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land; must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” ⁶ Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. ⁷ 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 swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.^{(E) 8} But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.^(F)

¹⁰ Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all kinds of choice gifts from his master, and he set out and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor.^{(G) 11} He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water; it was toward evening, the time when women go out to draw water.^{(H) 12} And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.^{(I) 13} I am standing here by the spring of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.^{(J) 14} Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please offer your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”^(K)

¹⁵ Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, coming out with her water jar on her shoulder.^{(L) 16} The young woman was very fair to look upon, a virgin, whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up.^{(M) 17} Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me sip a little water from your jar.” ¹⁸ “Drink, my lord,” she said and quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink.^{(N) 19} When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”^{(O) 20} So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. ²¹ The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.^(P)

²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose ring weighing a half shekel and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels^{(Q) 23} and said, “Tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” ²⁴ She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.”^{(R) 25} She added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder and a place to spend the night.” ²⁶ The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord^{(S) 27} and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the way to the house of my master’s kin.”^(T)

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

Joseph Detains Benjamin

44 Then he commanded the steward of his house, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the top of his sack.^{(A) 2} Put my cup, the silver cup, in the top of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph told him. ³ As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. ⁴ When they had gone only a short distance from the city, Joseph said to his steward, “Go, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you returned evil for good? Why have you stolen my silver cup?^{[a] 5} Is it not from this that my lord drinks? Does he not indeed use it for divination? You have done wrong in doing this.’ ”^(B)

⁶ When he overtook them, he repeated these words to them. ⁷ They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants that they should do such a thing! ⁸ Look, the money that we found at the top of our sacks, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan; why then would we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?^{(C) 9} Should it be found with any one of your servants, let him die; moreover, the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”^{(D) 10} He said, “Even so; in accordance with your words, let it be: he with whom it is found shall become my slave, but the rest of you shall go free.” ¹¹ Then each one quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack. ¹² He searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. ¹³ At this they tore their clothes. Then each one loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.^(E)

¹⁴ Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house while he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him.^{(F) 15} Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that one such as I can practice divination?”^{(G) 16} And Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; here we are then, my lord’s slaves, both we and also the one in whose possession the cup has been found.”^{(H) 17} But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the one in whose possession the cup was found shall be my slave, but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

Judah Pleads for Benjamin’s Release

¹⁸ Then Judah stepped up to him and said, “O my lord, let your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and do not be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself.^{(I) 19} My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ ²⁰ And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead; he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’^{(J) 21} Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, so that I may set my eyes on him.’ ²² We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ ²³ Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.’^{(K) 24} When we went back to your servant my father we told him the words of my lord. ²⁵ And when our father said, ‘Go again; buy us a little food,’ ²⁶ we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother goes with us will we 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 my wife bore me two sons; ²⁸ one left me, and I said, Surely he has been torn to pieces, and I have never seen him since.^{(L) 29} If you take this one also from me and harm comes to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in sorrow to Sheol.’^{(M) 30} Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy’s life, ³¹ when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. ³² For your servant became surety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame in the sight of my father all my life.’^{(N) 33} Now therefore, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord in place of the boy, and let the boy go back with his brothers. ³⁴ For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the suffering that would come upon my father.”

Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers

45 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.^{(O) 2} And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it.^{(P) 3} Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.^(Q)

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.^{(R) 5} And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.^{(S) 6} For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. ⁷ God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors. ⁸ So it was not you who sent me here but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.^(T)

Jesus before the Council

⁵³ They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. ⁵⁴ Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest, and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire.^{(A) 55} Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. ⁵⁶ For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. ⁵⁷ Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying, ⁵⁸ “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’ ”^{(B) 59} But even on this point their testimony did not agree. ⁶⁰ Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” ⁶¹ But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah,^[a] the Son of the Blessed One?”^{(C) 62} Jesus said, “I am, and

⁶³ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses?^{(E) 64} You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?” All of them condemned him as deserving death.^{(F) 65} Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him and beat him.^(G)

Peter Denies Jesus

⁶⁶ While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the female servants of the high priest came by.^{(H) 67} When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, “You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.”^{(I) 68} But he denied it, saying, “I do not know or understand what you are talking about.” And he went out into the forecourt.^[b] Then the cock crowed.^{[c](J) 69} And the female servant, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” ⁷⁰ But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean, and you talk like one.”^{[d](K) 71} But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know this man you are talking about.” ⁷² At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.^(L)

Peter Denies Jesus

⁵⁴ Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance.^{(A) 55} When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. ⁵⁶ Then a female servant, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man also was with him.” ⁵⁷ But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” ⁵⁸ A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” ⁵⁹ Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, “Surely this man also was with him, for he is a Galilean.” ⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. ⁶¹ The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.”^{(B) 62} And he went out and wept bitterly.

The Mocking and Beating of Jesus

⁶³ Now the men who were holding Jesus^[a] began to mock him and beat him;^{(C) 64} they also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it who struck you?” ⁶⁵ They kept heaping many other insults on him.

Jesus before the Council

⁶⁶ When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council.^{(D) 67} They said, “If you are the Messiah,^[b] tell us.” He replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe,^{(E) 68} and if I question you, you will not answer.^{[c] 69} But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” ⁷⁰ All of them asked, “Are you, then, the Son of God?” He said to them, “You say that I am.”^{(F) 71} Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!”