Isaac Blesses Jacob

27 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was ^(A)old and ^(B)his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”

And he answered him, “Here I am.”

² Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I ^(C)do not know the day of my death. ^3 (D)Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. ⁴ And make me ^[a]savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul ^(E)may bless you before I die.”

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. ⁶ So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, ⁷ ‘Bring me game and make ^[b]savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ ⁸ Now therefore, my son, ^(F)obey my voice according to what I command you. ⁹ Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make ^(G)savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. ¹⁰ Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he ^(H)may bless you before his death.”

¹¹ And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, ^(I)Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. ¹² Perhaps my father will ^(J)feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring ^(K)a curse on myself and not a blessing.”

¹³ But his mother said to him, ^(L)“Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” ¹⁴ And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother ^(M)made ^[c]savory food, such as his father loved. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took ^(N)the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. ¹⁶ And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

¹⁸ So he went 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 just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, ^(O)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?”

And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”

²¹ Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I ^(P)may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” ²² So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he 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 ^(Q)his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.

²⁴ Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?”

He said, “I am.”

²⁵ He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so ^(R)that my soul may 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 now and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ And he came near and ^(S)kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:

Esau’s Lost Hope^(AB)

³⁰ Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. ³¹ He also had made ^[d]savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and ^(AC)eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.”

³² And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”

So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”

³³ Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—^(AD)and indeed he shall be blessed.”

³⁴ When Esau heard the words of his father, ^(AE)he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”

³⁵ But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”

³⁶ And Esau said, ^(AF)“Is he not rightly named ^[e]Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

³⁷ Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, ^(AG)“Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with ^(AH)grain and wine I have ^[f]sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”

³⁸ And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice ^(AI)and wept.

³⁹ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

Jacob Escapes from Esau

⁴¹ So Esau ^(AM)hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, ^(AN)“The days of mourning for my father ^[h]are at hand; ^(AO)then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

⁴² And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau ^(AP)comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. ⁴³ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban ^(AQ)in Haran. ⁴⁴ And stay with him a ^(AR)few days, 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 bereaved also of you both in one day?”

⁴⁶ And Rebekah said to Isaac, ^(AS)“I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; ^(AT)if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

Jacob Sent to His Uncle Laban

28 Then Isaac called Jacob and ^(AU)blessed him, and ^[i]charged him, and said to him: ^(AV)“You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. ^2 (AW)Arise, go to ^(AX)Padan Aram, to the house of ^(AY)Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of ^(AZ)Laban your mother’s brother.

⁵ So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Esau Marries Mahalath

⁶ Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” ⁷ and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram. ⁸ Also Esau saw ^(BE)that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. ⁹ So Esau went to Ishmael and ^(BF)took ^(BG)Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, ^(BH)the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.

Jacob’s Vow at Bethel

¹⁰ Now Jacob ^(BI)went out from Beersheba and went toward ^(BJ)Haran. ¹¹ So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. ¹² Then he ^(BK)dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there ^(BL)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

^13 (BM)And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: ^(BN)“I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; ^(BO)the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. ¹⁴ Also your ^(BP)descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad ^(BQ)to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and ^(BR)in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. ¹⁵ Behold, ^(BS)I am with you and will ^(BT)keep^[k] you wherever you go, and will ^(BU)bring you back to this land; for ^(BV)I will not leave you ^(BW)until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in ^(BX)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 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, ^(BY)set it up as a pillar, ^(BZ)and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ And he called the name of ^(CA)that place ^[l]Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. ^20 (CB)Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If ^(CC)God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me ^(CD)bread to eat and clothing to put on, ²¹ so that ^(CE)I come back to my father’s house in peace, ^(CF)then the Lord shall be my God. ²² And this stone which I have set as a pillar ^(CG)shall be God’s house, ^(CH)and of all that You give me I will surely give a ^[m]tenth to You.”

Many Women Minister to Jesus

8 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and ^[a]bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, ² and ^(A)certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and ^[b]infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, ^(B)out of whom had come seven demons, ³ and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for ^[c]Him from their ^[d]substance.

The Parable of the Sower^(C)

^4 (D)And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: ⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶ Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. ⁸ But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded ^[e]a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, ^(E)“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Purpose of Parables^(F)

^9 (G)Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”

¹⁰ And He said, “To you it has been given to know the ^[f]mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

The Parable of the Sower Explained^(I)

^11 (J)“Now the parable is this: The seed is the ^(K)word of God. ¹² Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. ¹³ But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of ^[g]temptation fall away. ¹⁴ Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, ^(L)riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. ¹⁵ But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with ^(M)patience.^[h]

The Parable of the Revealed Light^(N)

^16 (O)“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the ^(P)light. ^17 (Q)For nothing is secret that will not be ^(R)revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸ Therefore take heed how you hear. ^(S)For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he ^[i]seems to ^(T)have will be taken from him.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers Come to Him^(U)

^19 (V)Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. ²⁰ And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.”

²¹ But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

Wind and Wave Obey Jesus^(W)

^22 (X)Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. ²³ But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in ^[j]jeopardy. ²⁴ And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”

Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. ²⁵ But He said to them, ^(Y)“Where is your faith?”

And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, ^(Z)“Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

A Demon-Possessed Man Healed^(AA)

^26 (AB)Then they sailed to the country of the ^[k]Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons ^[l]for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he ^(AC)cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, ^(AD)“What have I to do with ^(AE)You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” ²⁹ For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.

³⁰ Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?”

And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. ³¹ And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out ^(AF)into the abyss.

³² Now a herd of many ^(AG)swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. ³³ Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.

³⁴ When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. ³⁵ Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, ^(AH)sitting at the ^(AI)feet of Jesus, clothed and in his ^(AJ)right mind. And they were afraid. ³⁶ They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was ^[m]healed. ^37 (AK)Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the ^[n]Gadarenes ^(AL)asked Him to ^(AM)depart from them, for they were seized with great ^(AN)fear. And He got into the boat and returned.

³⁸ Now ^(AO)the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

⁴⁰ So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. ^41 (AP)And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house, ⁴² for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she ^(AQ)was dying.

But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. ^43 (AR)Now a woman, having a ^(AS)flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, ⁴⁴ came from behind and ^(AT)touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.

⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”

When all denied it, Peter ^[o]and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, ^[p]and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived ^(AU)power going out from Me.” ⁴⁷ Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

⁴⁸ And He said to her, “Daughter, ^[q]be of good cheer; ^(AV)your faith has made you well. ^(AW)Go in peace.”

^49 (AX)While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the ^[r]Teacher.”

⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; ^(AY)only believe, and she will be made well.” ⁵¹ When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go ^[s]in except ^[t]Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. ⁵² Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, ^(AZ)“Do not weep; she is not dead, ^(BA)but sleeping.” ⁵³ And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.

⁵⁴ But He ^[u]put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, ^(BB)arise.” ⁵⁵ Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. ⁵⁶ And her parents were astonished, but ^(BC)He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

The Safety of the Faithful

To the ^[a]Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.