Judah and Tamar

38 It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and ^(A)turned aside to a certain ^(B)Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. ² There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was ^(C)Shua. He took her and went in to her, ³ and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name ^(D)Er. ⁴ She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name ^(E)Onan. ⁵ Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name ^(F)Shelah. Judah^[a] was in Chezib when she bore him.

⁶ And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. ⁷ But Er, Judah's firstborn, ^(G)was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. ⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to ^(H)your brother's wife and ^(I)perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” ⁹ But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother's wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. ¹⁰ And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also. ¹¹ Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, ^(J)“Remain a widow in your father's house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained ^(K)in her father's house.

¹² In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua's daughter, died. When Judah ^(L)was comforted, he went up to ^(M)Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. ¹³ And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” ¹⁴ she took off her widow's garments ^(N)and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to ^(O)Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, ^(P)and she had not been given to him in marriage. ¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. ¹⁶ He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” ¹⁷ He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—” ¹⁸ He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, ^(Q)“Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹ Then she arose and went away, and taking off ^(R)her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

²⁰ When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman's hand, he did not find her. ²¹ And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute^[b] who was at ^(S)Enaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.” ²² So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here.’” ²³ And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.”

²⁴ About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law ^(T)has been immoral.^[c] Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.”^[d] And Judah said, “Bring her out, and ^(U)let her be burned.” ²⁵ As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, ^(V)the signet and the cord and the staff.” ²⁶ Then Judah identified them and said, ^(W)“She is more righteous than I, since ^(X)I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.

²⁷ When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. ²⁸ And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called ^(Y)Perez.^{[e] 30} Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called ^(Z)Zerah.

Joseph and Potiphar's Wife

39 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and ^(AA)Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, ^(AB)had bought him from the ^(AC)Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. ^2 (AD)The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. ³ His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord ^(AE)caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. ⁴ So Joseph ^(AF)found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house ^(AG)and put him in charge of all that he had. ⁵ From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house ^(AH)for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. ⁶ So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.

Now Joseph was ^(AI)handsome in form and appearance. ⁷ And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” ⁸ But he refused and said to his master's wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and ^(AJ)he has put everything that he has in my charge. ⁹ He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and ^(AK)sin against God?” ¹⁰ And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he ^(AL)would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.

¹¹ But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, ^12 (AM)she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. ¹³ And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, ¹⁴ she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. ¹⁵ And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” ¹⁶ Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, ¹⁷ and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. ¹⁸ But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”

¹⁹ As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. ²⁰ And Joseph's master took him and ^(AN)put him into the ^(AO)prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. ²¹ But ^(AP)the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love ^(AQ)and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. ²² And the keeper of the prison ^(AR)put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. ²³ The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because ^(AS)the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.

Joseph Interprets Two Prisoners' Dreams

40 Some time after this, the ^(AT)cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. ² And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, ^3 (AU)and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. ⁴ The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.

⁵ And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. ⁶ When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. ⁷ So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, ^(AV)“Why are your faces downcast today?” ⁸ They said to him, ^(AW)“We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, ^(AX)“Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

⁹ So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, ¹⁰ and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. ¹¹ Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.” ¹² Then Joseph said to him, ^(AY)“This is its interpretation: ^(AZ)the three branches are three days. ¹³ In three days Pharaoh will ^(BA)lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. ¹⁵ For ^(BB)I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and ^(BC)here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”

¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, ¹⁷ and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” ¹⁸ And Joseph answered and said, ^(BD)“This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. ^19 (BE)In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and ^(BF)hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you.”

²⁰ On the third day, which was Pharaoh's ^(BG)birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and ^(BH)lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. ^21 (BI)He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and ^(BJ)he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. ²² But he ^(BK)hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. ²³ Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

14 ^(A)It was now two days before ^(B)the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes ^(C)were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, ² for they said, “Not during the feast, ^(D)lest there be an uproar from the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

^3 (E)And while he was at ^(F)Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,^[a] as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. ⁴ There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? ⁵ For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii^[b] and ^(G)given to the poor.” And they ^(H)scolded her. ⁶ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ For ^(I)you always have the poor with you, and whenever ^(J)you want, you can do good for them. But ^(K)you will not always have me. ^8 (L)She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand ^(M)for burial. ⁹ And truly, I say to you, wherever ^(N)the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told ^(O)in memory of her.”

Judas to Betray Jesus

^10 (P)Then ^(Q)Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, ^(R)went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. ¹¹ And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to ^(S)betray him.

The Passover with the Disciples

^12 (T)And on ^(U)the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they ^(V)sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ¹³ And he sent ^(W)two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, ¹⁴ and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ^(X)‘The Teacher says, Where is ^(Y)my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵ And he will show you ^(Z)a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” ¹⁶ And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

^17 (AA)And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. ¹⁸ And as they were reclining at table and eating, ^(AB)Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, ^(AC)one who is eating with me.” ¹⁹ They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” ²⁰ He said to them, “It is ^(AD)one of the twelve, ^(AE)one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. ²¹ For the Son of Man goes ^(AF)as it is written of him, but ^(AG)woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! ^(AH)It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

Institution of the Lord's Supper

^22 (AI)And as they were eating, he took bread, and after ^(AJ)blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; ^(AK)this is my body.” ²³ And he took a cup, and when he had ^(AL)given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. ²⁴ And he said to them, ^(AM)“This is my ^(AN)blood of the^[c] covenant, which is poured out for ^(AO)many. ²⁵ Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

^26 (AP)And when they had sung a hymn, ^(AQ)they went out to ^(AR)the Mount of Olives. ²⁷ And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will ^(AS)strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ ²⁸ But after I am raised up, ^(AT)I will go before you to Galilee.” ^29 (AU)Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” ³⁰ And ^(AV)Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before ^(AW)the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” ³¹ But ^(AX)he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

^32 (AY)And they went ^(AZ)to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³ And he took with him ^(BA)Peter and James and John, and began ^(BB)to be greatly distressed and troubled. ³⁴ And he said to them, ^(BC)“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and ^(BD)watch.”^{[d] 35} And going a little farther, he fell on the ground ^(BE)and prayed that, if it were possible, ^(BF)the hour might pass from him. ³⁶ And he said, ^(BG)“Abba, Father, ^(BH)all things are possible for you. Remove ^(BI)this cup from me. ^(BJ)Yet not what I will, but what you will.” ³⁷ And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? ^38 (BK)Watch and ^(BL)pray that you may not ^(BM)enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹ And again he went away and prayed, ^(BN)saying the same words. ⁴⁰ And again he came and found them sleeping, for ^(BO)their eyes were very heavy, and ^(BP)they did not know what to answer him. ⁴¹ And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? ^(BQ)It is enough; ^(BR)the hour has come. ^(BS)The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

^43 (BT)And immediately, while he was still speaking, ^(BU)Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. ⁴⁴ Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” ⁴⁵ And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, ^(BV)“Rabbi!” And he ^(BW)kissed him. ⁴⁶ And they laid hands on him and seized him. ⁴⁷ But one of those who stood by drew his ^(BX)sword and struck the servant^[e] of the high priest and cut off his ear. ⁴⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? ^49 (BY)Day after day I was with you in the temple ^(BZ)teaching, and you did not seize me. But ^(CA)let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” ^50 (CB)And they all left him and fled.

A Young Man Flees

⁵¹ And a young man followed him, with nothing but ^(CC)a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, ⁵² but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

Jesus Before the Council

^53 (CD)And ^(CE)they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. ^54 (CF)And ^(CG)Peter had followed him at a distance, ^(CH)right into ^(CI)the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with ^(CJ)the guards and ^(CK)warming himself at the fire. ⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and the whole council^[f] were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. ^56 (CL)For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony ^(CM)did not agree. ⁵⁷ And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, ^58 (CN)“We heard him say, ^(CO)‘I will destroy this temple ^(CP)that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, ^(CQ)not made with hands.’” ⁵⁹ Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. ⁶⁰ And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”^{[g] 61} But ^(CR)he remained silent and made no answer. ^(CS)Again the high priest asked him, “Are you ^(CT)the Christ, the Son of ^(CU)the Blessed?” ⁶² And Jesus said, “I am, and ^(CV)you will see the Son of Man ^(CW)seated at the right hand of Power, and ^(CX)coming with the clouds of heaven.” ⁶³ And the high priest ^(CY)tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? ⁶⁴ You have heard ^(CZ)his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they ^(DA)all condemned him as ^(DB)deserving death. ^65 (DC)And some began ^(DD)to spit on him and ^(DE)to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him ^(DF)with blows.

Peter Denies Jesus

^66 (DG)And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, ⁶⁷ and seeing Peter ^(DH)warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” ⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway^[h] and ^(DI)the rooster crowed.^{[i] 69} And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” ⁷⁰ But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” ⁷¹ But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” ⁷² And immediately the rooster crowed ^(DJ)a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, ^(DK)“Before the rooster crows twice, you will ^(DL)deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.^[j]