Isaac Blesses Jacob

27 When Isaac was old and ^(A)his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” ² He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. ^3 (B)Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, ⁴ and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul ^(C)may bless you before I die.”

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, ⁶ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ⁷ ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.’ ⁸ Now therefore, my son, ^(D)obey my voice as I command you. ⁹ Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. ¹⁰ And you shall bring it to your father to eat, ^(E)so that he may bless you before he dies.” ¹¹ But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, ^(F)my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. ¹² Perhaps my father ^(G)will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring ^(H)a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” ¹³ His mother said to him, ^(I)“Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.”

¹⁴ So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the ^(J)best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. ¹⁶ And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

¹⁸ So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” ¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” ²⁰ But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” ²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I ^(K)may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” ²² So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ²³ And he did not recognize him, because ^(L)his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. ^(M)So he blessed him. ²⁴ He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” ²⁵ Then he said, “Bring it near to me, ^(N)that I may eat of my son's game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments ^(O)and blessed him and said,

³⁰ As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. ³¹ He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that you may bless me.” ³² His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” ³³ Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” ³⁴ As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, ^(V)he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” ³⁵ But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” ³⁶ Esau said, ^(W)“Is he not rightly named Jacob?^[a] For he has cheated me these two times. ^(X)He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” ³⁷ Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, ^(Y)I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and ^(Z)with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” ³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And ^(AA)Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

³⁹ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

⁴¹ Now Esau ^(AE)hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, ^(AF)“The days of mourning for my father are approaching; ^(AG)then I will kill my brother Jacob.” ⁴² But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. ⁴³ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran ⁴⁴ and stay with him a while, until your brother's fury turns away— ⁴⁵ until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?”

⁴⁶ Then Rebekah said to Isaac, ^(AH)“I loathe my life because of the Hittite women.^{[d] (AI)}If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

Jacob Sent to Laban

28 Then Isaac called Jacob ^(AJ)and blessed him and directed him, ^(AK)“You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. ^2 (AL)Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of ^(AM)Bethuel your mother's father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother. ^3 (AN)God Almighty^[e] bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. ⁴ May he give ^(AO)the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of ^(AP)the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” ⁵ Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

Esau Marries an Ishmaelite

⁶ Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” ⁷ and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. ⁸ So when Esau saw ^(AQ)that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, ⁹ Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, ^(AR)Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of ^(AS)Nebaioth.

Jacob's Dream

¹⁰ Jacob left ^(AT)Beersheba and went toward ^(AU)Haran. ¹¹ And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. ¹² And he ^(AV)dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder^[f] set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, ^(AW)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! ¹³ And behold, ^(AX)the Lord stood above it^[g] and said, ^(AY)“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. ^(AZ)The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. ¹⁴ Your offspring shall be like ^(BA)the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and ^(BB)your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. ¹⁵ Behold, ^(BC)I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and ^(BD)will bring you back to this land. For I will ^(BE)not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” ¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is ^(BF)in this place, and I did not know it.” ¹⁷ And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

¹⁸ So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up ^(BG)for a pillar ^(BH)and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹ He called the name of that place ^(BI)Bethel,^[h] but the name of the city was Luz at the first. ²⁰ Then Jacob ^(BJ)made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, ^21 (BK)so that I come again to my father's house in peace, ^(BL)then the Lord shall be my God, ²² and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, ^(BM)shall be God's house. And ^(BN)of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

Teaching About Divorce

10 ^(A)And he left there and went ^(B)to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.

² And Pharisees came up and in order ^(C)to test him asked, ^(D)“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” ³ He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, ^(E)“Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” ⁵ And Jesus said to them, “Because of your ^(F)hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ⁶ But ^(G)from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them ^(H)male and female.’ ^7 (I)‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,^{[a] 8} and ^(J)the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. ^9 (K)What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

¹⁰ And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. ¹¹ And he said to them, ^(L)“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, ¹² and ^(M)if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Let the Children Come to Me

^13 (N)And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples ^(O)rebuked them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ^(P)“Let the children come to me; ^(Q)do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ^15 (R)Truly, I say to you, whoever does not ^(S)receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” ¹⁶ And ^(T)he took them in his arms and blessed them, ^(U)laying his hands on them.

The Rich Young Man

^17 (V)And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and ^(W)knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to ^(X)inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ^(Y)‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰ And he said to him, “Teacher, ^(Z)all these I have kept from my youth.” ²¹ And Jesus, ^(AA)looking at him, ^(AB)loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, ^(AC)sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have ^(AD)treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ^22 (AE)Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

²³ And Jesus ^(AF)looked around and said to his disciples, ^(AG)“How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter ^(AH)the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples ^(AI)were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, ^(AJ)“Children, ^(AK)how difficult it is^[b] to enter ^(AL)the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter ^(AM)the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,^[c] “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Jesus ^(AN)looked at them and said, ^(AO)“With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” ²⁸ Peter began to say to him, “See, ^(AP)we have left everything and followed you.” ²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, ^(AQ)there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and ^(AR)for the gospel, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold ^(AS)now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, ^(AT)with persecutions, and in ^(AU)the age to come eternal life. ³¹ But ^(AV)many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

^32 (AW)And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and ^(AX)Jesus was walking ahead of them. And ^(AY)they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, ³³ saying, “See, ^(AZ)we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will ^(BA)condemn him to death and ^(BB)deliver him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴ And they will ^(BC)mock him and ^(BD)spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And ^(BE)after three days he will rise.”

The Request of James and John

^35 (BF)And James and John, ^(BG)the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us ^(BH)whatever we ask of you.” ³⁶ And he said to them, ^(BI)“What do you want me to do for you?” ³⁷ And they said to him, “Grant us ^(BJ)to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, ^(BK)in your glory.” ³⁸ Jesus said to them, ^(BL)“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^(BM)to drink the cup that I drink, or ^(BN)to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” ³⁹ And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, ^(BO)“The cup that I drink ^(BP)you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, ^(BQ)you will be baptized, ⁴⁰ but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, ^(BR)but it is for those for whom it has been ^(BS)prepared.” ⁴¹ And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. ^42 (BT)And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles ^(BU)lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ⁴³ But ^(BV)it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,^{[d] 44} and whoever would be first among you must be ^(BW)slave^[e] of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but ^(BX)to serve, and ^(BY)to give his life as a ransom for ^(BZ)many.”

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

^46 (CA)And they came to Jericho. And ^(CB)as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, ^(CC)a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. ⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was ^(CD)Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸ And many ^(CE)rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹ And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, ^(CF)“Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” ⁵⁰ And throwing off his ^(CG)cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ And Jesus said to him, ^(CH)“What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, ^(CI)“Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” ⁵² And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; ^(CJ)your faith has ^(CK)made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.