God Blesses and Renames Jacob

35 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to ^(A)Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you ^(B)when you fled from your brother Esau.” ² So Jacob said to his ^(C)household and to all who were with him, “Put away ^(D)the foreign gods that are among you and ^(E)purify yourselves and change your garments. ³ Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God ^(F)who answers me in the day of my distress and ^(G)has been with me wherever I have gone.” ⁴ So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under ^(H)the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.

⁵ And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. ⁶ And Jacob came to ^(I)Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, ⁷ and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel,^[a] because ^(J)there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. ⁸ And ^(K)Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.^[b]

⁹ God appeared^[c] to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. ¹⁰ And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; ^(L)no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but ^(M)Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. ¹¹ And God said to him, ^(N)“I am God Almighty:^[d] be ^(O)fruitful and multiply. ^(P)A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.^{[e] 12 (Q)}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.” ¹³ Then God ^(R)went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. ¹⁴ And Jacob ^(S)set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. ¹⁵ So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him ^(T)Bethel.

The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac

¹⁶ Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance^[f] from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. ¹⁷ And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for ^(U)you have another son.” ¹⁸ And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni;^{[g] (V)}but his father called him Benjamin.^{[h] 19} So ^(W)Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to ^(X)Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), ²⁰ and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is ^(Y)the pillar of Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “Immediately after ^(A)the tribulation of those days ^(B)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(C)the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then ^(D)will appear in heaven ^(E)the sign of the Son of Man, and then ^(F)all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and ^(G)they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven ^(H)with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(I)he will send out his angels with a loud ^(J)trumpet call, and they will ^(K)gather ^(L)his elect from ^(M)the four winds, ^(N)from one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

³² “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, ^(O)at the very gates. ^34 (P)Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^35 (Q)Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^(R)my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

³⁶ “But concerning that day and hour ^(S)no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, ^(T)nor the Son,^{[a] (U)}but the Father only. ^37 (V)For as were the days of Noah, ^(W)so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ^38 (X)For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^(Y)marrying and giving in marriage, until ^(Z)the day when Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, ^(AA)so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. ^41 (AB)Two women will be grinding ^(AC)at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴² Therefore, ^(AD)stay awake, for you do not know on what day ^(AE)your Lord is coming. ^43 (AF)But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night ^(AG)the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ^(AH)ready, for ^(AI)the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

⁴⁵ “Who then is ^(AJ)the faithful and ^(AK)wise servant,^[b] whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? ^46 (AL)Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly, I say to you, ^(AM)he will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master ^(AN)is delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants^[c] and eats and drinks with ^(AO)drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come ^(AP)on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know ⁵¹ and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place ^(AQ)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Joseph's Dreams

37 Jacob lived in ^(A)the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.

² These are the generations of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought ^(B)a bad report of them to their father. ³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was ^(C)the son of his old age. And he made him ^(D)a robe of many colors.^{[a] 4} But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

⁵ Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. ⁶ He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: ⁷ Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, ^(E)my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and ^(F)bowed down to my sheaf.” ⁸ His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹ Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, 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 is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and ^(G)your mother and your brothers indeed come ^(H)to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” ¹¹ And ^(I)his brothers were jealous of him, ^(J)but his father kept the saying in mind.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

¹² Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near ^(K)Shechem. ¹³ And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “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 me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of ^(L)Hebron, and he came to Shechem. ¹⁵ And a man found him wandering in the fields. And 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 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to ^(M)Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at ^(N)Dothan.

¹⁸ They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them ^(O)they conspired against him to kill him. ¹⁹ They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. ²⁰ Come now, ^(P)let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits.^[b] Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” ²¹ But when ^(Q)Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” ²² And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—^(R)that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. ²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, ^(S)the robe of many colors that he wore. ²⁴ And they took him and ^(T)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 ^(U)caravan of ^(V)Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing ^(W)gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. ²⁶ Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it ^(X)if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? ²⁷ Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and ^(Y)let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. ²⁸ Then ^(Z)Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and ^(AA)sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels^[c] of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

²⁹ When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he ^(AB)tore his clothes ³⁰ and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy ^(AC)is gone, and I, where shall I go?” ³¹ Then they took ^(AD)Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. ³² And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not.” ³³ And he identified it and said, “It is my son's robe. ^(AE)A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” ³⁴ Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ All his sons and all his daughters ^(AF)rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, ^(AG)I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. ³⁶ Meanwhile ^(AH)the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, ^(AI)the captain of the guard.

Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another

14 As for ^(A)the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. ^2 (B)One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. ³ Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and ^(C)let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. ^4 (D)Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master^[a] that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

^5 (E)One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. ^(F)Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since ^(G)he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For ^(H)none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. ⁸ For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, ^(I)whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. ⁹ For to this end Christ ^(J)died and lived again, that he might be Lord both ^(K)of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰ Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For ^(L)we will all stand before ^(M)the judgment seat of God; ¹¹ for it is written,

¹² So then ^(O)each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Do Not Cause Another to Stumble

^13 (P)Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide ^(Q)never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. ¹⁴ I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus ^(R)that nothing is unclean in itself, ^(S)but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. ¹⁵ For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, ^(T)you are no longer walking in love. ^(U)By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. ^16 (V)So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. ^17 (W)For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but ^(X)of righteousness and ^(Y)peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ Whoever thus serves Christ is ^(Z)acceptable to God and approved by men. ¹⁹ So then let us ^(AA)pursue what makes for peace and for ^(AB)mutual upbuilding.

^20 (AC)Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. ^(AD)Everything is indeed clean, but ^(AE)it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. ^21 (AF)It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.^{[c] 22} The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. ^(AG)Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. ²³ But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.^[d]