²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was ^(A)Laban; and Laban ran outside to the man at the spring. ³⁰ When he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s ^[a]wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “^[b]This is what the man said to me,” he went to the man; and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. ³¹ And he said, “^(B)Come in, ^(C)blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside, since ^(D)I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels?” ³² So the man entered the house. Then ^[c](E)Laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. ³³ But when food was set before him to eat, he said, “I will not eat until I have stated my business.” And he said, “Speak on.” ³⁴ So he said, “I am ^(F)Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has greatly ^(G)blessed my master, so that he has become ^[d]rich; and He has given him ^(H)flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and slave women, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ Now ^(I)my master’s wife Sarah bore a son to my master ^[e]in her old age, and ^(J)he has given him all that he has. ^37 (K)My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live; ³⁸ but you shall go to my father’s house and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.’ ³⁹ Then ^(L)I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman does not follow me.’ ⁴⁰ And he said to me, ‘^(M)The Lord, before whom I have ^(N)walked, will send ^(O)His angel with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father’s house; ^41 (P)then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’

⁴² “So ^(Q)I came today to the spring, and said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, if now You will make my journey on which I have been going ^(R)successful; ⁴³ behold, ^(S)I am standing by the ^[f]spring, and may it be that the ^[g]young unmarried woman who comes out to draw water, and to whom I say, “^(T)Please let me drink a little water from your jar”; ⁴⁴ and she says to me, “You drink, and I will draw for your camels also”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’

⁴⁵ “Before I had finished ^(U)speaking in my heart, behold, ^(V)Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder, and went down to the spring and drew water, and ^(W)I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ ⁴⁶ She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder, and said, ‘^(X)Drink, and I will water your camels also’; so I drank, and she watered the camels also. ^47 (Y)Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him’; and I put the ^(Z)ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her ^[h]wrists. ⁴⁸ And I ^(AA)bowed low and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, ^(AB)who had guided me in the right way to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ So now if you are going to ^[i](AC)deal kindly and truthfully with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me now, so that I may turn to the right or the left.”

⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “^(AD)The matter has come from the Lord; ^(AE)so we cannot speak to you bad or good. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”

⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he ^(AF)bowed himself to the ground ^[j]before the Lord. ⁵³ And the servant brought out ^(AG)articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. ⁵⁴ Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they got up in the morning, he said, “^(AH)Send me away to my master.” ⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother said, “^(AI)Let the young woman stay with us a few days, say ten; afterward she may go.” ⁵⁶ However, he said to them, “Do not delay me, since ^(AJ)the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away so that I may go to my master.” ⁵⁷ And they said, “We will call the young woman and ^[k]ask her.” ⁵⁸ Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” ⁵⁹ So they sent away their sister Rebekah and ^(AK)her nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

⁶¹ Then Rebekah got up with her female attendants, and they mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

Isaac Marries Rebekah

⁶² Now Isaac had come back from ^[m]a journey to ^(AN)Beer-lahai-roi; for he was living in ^(AO)the ^[n]Negev. ⁶³ Isaac went out ^(AP)to ^[o]meditate in the field toward evening; and ^(AQ)he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. ⁶⁴ Rebekah raised her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel. ⁶⁵ She said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master.” Then she took her ^[p]veil and covered herself. ⁶⁶ The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and ^(AR)he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and ^(AS)he loved her; so Isaac was comforted after ^(AT)his mother’s death.

¹⁵ And he kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶ Now when ^(A)the ^[a]news was heard in Pharaoh’s house ^[b]that Joseph’s brothers had come, it ^[c]pleased Pharaoh and his servants. ¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your livestock and ^[d]go to the land of Canaan, ¹⁸ and take your father and your households and come to me; and ^(B)I will give you the ^[e]best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.’ ¹⁹ Now you are ordered, ‘Do this: ^[f]take ^(C)wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come. ²⁰ And do not ^[g]concern yourselves with your property, for the ^[h]best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

²¹ Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them ^(D)wagons according to the ^[i]command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. ²² To ^[j]each of them he gave ^(E)changes of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and ^(F)five changes of garments. ²³ And to his father he sent ^[k]the following: ten male donkeys loaded with the ^[l]best things of Egypt, ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and sustenance for his father ^[m]on the journey.

²⁴ So he sent his brothers away, and ^[n]as they departed, he said to them, “Do not ^[o]quarrel on the journey.” ²⁵ Then they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan, to their father Jacob. ²⁶ And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But ^[p]he was stunned, for ^(G)he did not believe them. ²⁷ When they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and when he saw the ^(H)wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, then the spirit of their father Jacob revived. ²⁸ Then Israel said, “It is enough; my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Jacob Moves to Egypt

46 So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to ^(I)Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the ^(J)God of his father Isaac. ² And ^(K)God spoke to Israel ^[q]in visions of the night and said, “^(L)Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” ³ Then He said, “^(M)I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will ^(N)make you into a great nation there. ^4 (O)I will go down with you to Egypt, and ^(P)I will also assuredly bring you up again; and ^(Q)Joseph will ^[r]close your eyes.”

⁵ Then Jacob left Beersheba, and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives in the ^(R)wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. ⁶ They also took their livestock and their possessions, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and ^(S)came to Egypt, Jacob and all his ^[s]descendants with him: ⁷ his sons and his grandsons with him, his daughters and his granddaughters, and all his ^[t]descendants he brought with him to Egypt.

Jesus before Pilate

15 ^(A)Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders, scribes, and the entire ^[a](B)Council immediately held a consultation; and they bound Jesus and led Him away, and turned Him over to Pilate. ^2 (C)Pilate questioned Him: “So You are the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, “It is as you say.” ³ And the chief priests started accusing Him ^[b]of many things. ⁴ But Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You offer nothing in answer? See how many charges they are bringing against You!” ⁵ But Jesus ^(D)said nothing further in answer, so Pilate was amazed.

^6 (E)Now at the Passover Feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. ⁷ And the one named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder in the revolt. ⁸ And the crowd went up and began asking Pilate to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. ⁹ Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰ For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd ^(F)to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead. ¹² And responding again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” ¹³ They shouted ^[c]back, “Crucify Him!” ¹⁴ But Pilate said to them, “Why, what ^[d]evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” ¹⁵ Intent on satisfying the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus ^(G)flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^16 (H)Now the soldiers took Him away into ^(I)the ^[e]palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they *called together the whole Roman ^[f](J)cohort. ¹⁷ And they *dressed Him in ^[g]purple, and after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on Him; ¹⁸ and they began saluting Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ And they repeatedly beat His head with a ^[h]reed and spit on Him, and kneeling, they bowed down before Him. ²⁰ And after they had mocked Him, they took the ^[i]purple cloak off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.

^21 (K)And they *compelled a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and ^(L)Rufus), to carry His cross.

Jesus before Pilate

23 Then the entire assembly of them set out and ^(A)brought Him before Pilate. ^2 (B)And they began to bring charges against Him, saying, “We found this man ^(C)misleading our nation and ^(D)forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is ^[a]Christ, a King.” ³ Now Pilate asked Him, saying, “So You are the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “^(E)It is as you say.” ⁴ But Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “^(F)I find no grounds for charges in the case of this man.” ⁵ But they kept on insisting, saying, “He is stirring up the people, teaching all over Judea, ^(G)starting from Galilee, as far as this place!”

⁶ Now when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. ⁷ And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to ^(H)Herod, ^[b]since he also was in Jerusalem ^[c]at this time.

Jesus before Herod

⁸ Now Herod was overjoyed when he saw Jesus; for ^(I)he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some ^[d]sign performed by Him. ⁹ And he questioned Him ^[e]at some length; but ^(J)He offered him no answer at all. ¹⁰ Now the chief priests and the scribes stood there, vehemently charging Him. ¹¹ And Herod, together with his soldiers, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, ^(K)dressing Him in a brightly shining robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹² And so ^(L)Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for previously, they had been enemies toward each other.

Pilate Seeks Jesus’ Release

¹³ Now Pilate summoned to himself the chief priests, the ^[f](M)rulers, and the people, ¹⁴ and he said to them, “You brought this man to me on the ground that ^(N)he is inciting the people to revolt; and behold, after examining Him before you, I ^(O)have found no basis at all in the case of this man for the charges which you are bringing against Him. ¹⁵ No, nor has ^(P)Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him. ¹⁶ Therefore I will ^[g](Q)punish Him and release Him.” ¹⁷ [^[h]Now he was obligated to release to them at the feast one prisoner.]

¹⁸ But they cried out all together, saying, “^(R)Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas!” ¹⁹ (He was one who had been thrown into prison for a revolt that took place in the city, and for murder.) ²⁰ But Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again, ²¹ but they kept on crying out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him!” ²² And he said to them a third time, “Why, what has this man done wrong? I have found ^[i]in His case no grounds for a sentence of death; therefore I will ^[j](S)punish Him and release Him.” ²³ But they were insistent, with loud voices, demanding that He be crucified. And their voices began to prevail. ²⁴ And so Pilate decided to have their demand carried out. ²⁵ And he released the man for whom they were asking, who had been thrown into prison for a revolt and murder; but he handed Jesus over to their will.