Jacob Returns to Bethel

35 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”^{(A) 2} So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes;^{(B) 3} then come, let us go up to Bethel, that I may make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”^{(C) 4} So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had and the rings that were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak that was near Shechem.^(D)

⁵ As they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities all around them, so that no one pursued them.^{(E) 6} Jacob came to Luz, that is, Bethel, which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him,^{(F) 7} and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel,^[a] because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.^{(G) 8} And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So it was called Allon-bacuth.^[b](H)

⁹ God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and he blessed him.^{(I) 10} God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall you be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he was called Israel.^{(J) 11} God said to him, “I am God Almighty:^[c] be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall spring from you.^{(K) 12} The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”^{(L) 13} Then God went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him.^{(M) 14} Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.^{(N) 15} So Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.^(O)

The Birth of Benjamin and the Death of Rachel

¹⁶ Then they journeyed from Bethel, and when they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel was in childbirth, and she had hard labor. ¹⁷ When she was in her hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid, for now you have another son.”^{(P) 18} As her soul was departing, for she was dying, she named him Ben-oni,^[d] but his father called him Benjamin.^{[e] 19} And Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem,^{(Q) 20} and Jacob set up a pillar at her grave; it is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day.^(R)

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “Immediately after the suffering of those days

³⁰ “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory.^{(B) 31} And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.^(C)

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

³² “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also, when you see all these things, you know that he^[a] is near, at the very gates. ³⁴ Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.^{(D) 35} Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.^(E)

The Necessity for Watchfulness

³⁶ “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,^[b] but only the Father. ³⁷ For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.^{(F) 38} For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so, too, will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Then two will be in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left.^{(G) 41} Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken, and one will be left. ⁴² Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day^[c] your Lord is coming.^{(H) 43} But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.^{(I) 44} Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.^(J)

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave

⁴⁵ “Who, then, is the faithful and wise slave whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves^[d] their allowance of food at the proper time?^{(K) 46} Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives.^{(L) 47} Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions.^{(M) 48} But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. ⁵¹ He will cut him in pieces^[e] and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.^(N)

Joseph Dreams of Greatness

37 Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan.^{(A) 2} These are the descendants of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. ³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children because he was the son of his old age, and he made him an ornamented robe.^{[a](B) 4} But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.^(C)

⁵ Once Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. ⁶ He said to them, “Listen to this dream that I dreamed. ⁷ There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright; then your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”^{(D) 8} His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Are you indeed to have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words.^(E)

⁹ He had another dream and told it to his brothers, saying, “Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” ¹⁰ But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What kind of dream is this that you have had? Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow to the ground before you?”^{(F) 11} So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.^(G)

Joseph Is Sold by His Brothers

¹² Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. ¹³ And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.” ¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron.

He came to Shechem,^{(H) 15} and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” ¹⁶ “I am seeking my brothers,” he said; “tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” ¹⁷ The man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.^{(I) 18} They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them they conspired to kill him.^{(J) 19} They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. ²⁰ Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” ²¹ But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.”^{(K) 22} Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. ²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the ornamented robe^[b] that he wore, ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵ Then they sat down to eat, and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.^{(L) 26} Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?^{(M) 27} Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed.^{(N) 28} When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.^(O)

²⁹ When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes.^{(P) 30} He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where can I turn?”^{(Q) 31} Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood.^{(R) 32} They had the ornamented robe^[c] taken to their father, and they said, “This we have found; see now whether it is your son’s robe or not.” ³³ He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A wild animal has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”^{(S) 34} Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.^{(T) 35} All his sons and all his daughters sought to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father bewailed him.^{(U) 36} Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.^(V)

Do Not Judge Another

14 Welcome those who are weak in faith^[a] but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions.^{(A) 2} Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables.^{(B) 3} Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat, for God has welcomed them. ⁴ Who are you to pass judgment on slaves of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord^[b] is able to make them stand.

⁵ Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. ⁶ Those who observe the day, observe it for the Lord. Also those who eat, eat for the Lord, since they give thanks to God, while those who abstain, abstain for the Lord and give thanks to God.^(C)

⁷ For we do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves.^{(D) 8} If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.^(E)

¹⁰ Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.^{[c](F) 11} For it is written,

¹² So then, each one of us will be held accountable.^[e](H)

Do Not Make Another Stumble

¹³ Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother or sister.^{(I) 14} I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who considers it unclean.^{(J) 15} If your brother or sister is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ So do not let your good be slandered. ¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.^{(K) 18} The one who serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and has human approval.^{(L) 19} Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.^{(M) 20} Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong to make someone stumble by what you eat; ²¹ it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble.^{[f](N) 22} Hold the conviction that you have as your own before God. Blessed are those who do not condemn themselves because of what they approve. ²³ But those who have doubts are condemned if they eat because they do not act from faith,^[g] for whatever does not proceed from faith^[h] is sin.^[i]