²⁹ Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man, to the spring.^{(A) 30} As soon as he had seen the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man, and there he was, standing by the camels at the spring. ³¹ He said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside when I have prepared the house and a place for the camels?”^{(B) 32} So the man came into the house, and Laban unloaded the camels and gave him straw and fodder for the camels and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.^{(C) 33} Then food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told my errand.” He said, “Speak on.”

³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys.^{(D) 36} And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and he has given him all that he has.^{(E) 37} 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, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’^{(F) 39} I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’^{(G) 40} But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you and make your way successful. You shall get a wife for my son from my kindred, from my father’s house.^{(H) 41} Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my kindred; even if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’^(I)

⁴² “I came today to the spring and said, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going!^{(J) 43} I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,”^{(K) 44} and who will say to me, “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 speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’^{(L) 46} She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels.^{(M) 47} Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms.^{(N) 48} Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son.^{(O) 49} Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left.”^(P)

⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you anything bad or good.^{(Q) 51} Look, Rebekah is 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 bowed himself to the ground before the Lord.^{(R) 53} And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold and garments and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments.^{(S) 54} Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they rose in the morning, he said, “Send me back to my master.”^{(T) 55} Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.” ⁵⁶ But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has made my journey successful; let me go that I may go to my master.” ⁵⁷ They said, “We will call the young woman and ask her.” ⁵⁸ And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will.” ⁵⁹ So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men.^{(U) 60} And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man, and the servant took Rebekah and went his way.

⁶² Now Isaac had come from^[a] Beer-lahai-roi and was settled in the Negeb.^{(W) 63} Isaac went out in the evening to walk^[b] in the field, and, looking up, he saw camels coming.^{(X) 64} And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel ⁶⁵ and said to the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. ⁶⁶ And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.^(Y)

¹⁵ And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them, and after that his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶ When the report was heard in Pharaoh’s house, “Joseph’s brothers have come,” Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. ¹⁷ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your animals and go back to the land of Canaan. ¹⁸ Take your father and your households and come to me, so that I may give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you may enjoy the fat of the land.’^{(A) 19} You are further charged to say, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. ²⁰ Give no thought to your possessions, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ ”

²¹ The sons of Israel did so. Joseph gave them wagons according to the instruction of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey. ²² To each one of them he gave a set of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of garments.^{(B) 23} To his father he sent the following: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. ²⁴ Then he sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving he said to them, “Do not quarrel^[a] along the way.”

²⁵ So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. ²⁶ And they told him, “Joseph is still alive! He is even ruler over all the land of Egypt.” He was stunned; he could not believe them. ²⁷ But when they told him all the words of Joseph that he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. ²⁸ Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I must go and see him before I die.”

Jacob Brings His Whole Family to Egypt

46 When Israel set out on his journey with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.^{(C) 2} God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.”^{(D) 3} Then he said, “I am God,^[b] the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.^{(E) 4} I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s own hand shall close your eyes.”^(F)

⁵ Then Jacob set out from Beer-sheba, and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him.^{(G) 6} They also took their livestock and the goods that they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him,^{(H) 7} his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters; all his offspring he brought with him into Egypt.

Jesus before Pilate

15 As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.^{(A) 2} Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.” ³ Then the chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴ Pilate asked him again, “Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.” ⁵ But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.^(B)

Pilate Hands Jesus Over to Be Crucified

⁶ Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked.^{(C) 7} Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder during the insurrection. ⁸ So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. ⁹ Then he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰ For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead.^{(D) 12} Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do^[a] with the man you call^[b] the King of the Jews?” ¹³ They shouted back, “Crucify him!” ¹⁴ Pilate asked them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” ¹⁵ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them, and after flogging Jesus he handed him over to be crucified.^(E)

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

¹⁶ Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole cohort.^{(F) 17} And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and after twisting some thorns into a crown they put it on him. ¹⁸ And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. ²⁰ After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

²¹ They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.^(G)

Jesus before Pilate

23 Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus^[a] before Pilate.^{(A) 2} They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man inciting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.”^{[b](B) 3} Then Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He answered, “You say so.”^{(C) 4} Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for an accusation against this man.”^{(D) 5} But they were insistent and said, “He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.”

Jesus before Herod

⁶ When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. ⁷ And when he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.^{(E) 8} When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign.^{(F) 9} He questioned him at some length, but Jesus^[c] gave him no answer. ¹⁰ The chief priests and the scribes stood by vehemently accusing him. ¹¹ Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him and sent him back to Pilate.^{(G) 12} That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies.^(H)

Jesus Sentenced to Death

¹³ Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people ¹⁴ and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people, and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him.^{(I) 15} Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶ I will therefore have him flogged and release him.”^[d](J)

¹⁸ Then they all shouted out together, “Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!”^{(K) 19} (This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city and for murder.) ²⁰ Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again, ²¹ but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” ²² A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.”^{(L) 23} But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified, and their voices prevailed. ²⁴ So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. ²⁵ He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.