Jacob’s dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Jacob left Beer-sheba and set out for Haran. ¹¹ He reached a certain place and spent the night there. When the sun had set, he took one of the stones at that place and put it near his head. Then he lay down there. ¹² He dreamed and saw a raised staircase, its foundation on earth and its top touching the sky, and God’s messengers were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ Suddenly the Lord was standing on it^[a] and saying, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. ¹⁴ Your descendants will become like the dust of the earth; you will spread out to the west, east, north, and south. Every family of earth will be blessed because of you and your descendants. ¹⁵ I am with you now, I will protect you everywhere you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done everything that I have promised you.”

¹⁶ When Jacob woke from his sleep, he thought to himself, The Lord is definitely in this place, but I didn’t know it. ¹⁷ He was terrified and thought, This sacred place is awesome. It’s none other than God’s house and the entrance to heaven. ¹⁸ After Jacob got up early in the morning, he took the stone that he had put near his head, set it up as a sacred pillar, and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹ He named that sacred place Bethel,^[b] though Luz was the city’s original name.

Psalm 139

For the music leader. Of David. A song.

¹² So then, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but it isn’t an obligation to ourselves to live our lives on the basis of selfishness. ¹³ If you live on the basis of selfishness, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the actions of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters. ¹⁵ You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The same Spirit agrees with our spirit, that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ But if we are children, we are also heirs. We are God’s heirs and fellow heirs with Christ, if we really suffer with him so that we can also be glorified with him.

Our suffering and our hope

¹⁸ I believe that the present suffering is nothing compared to the coming glory that is going to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ The whole creation waits breathless with anticipation for the revelation of God’s sons and daughters. ²⁰ Creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice—it was the choice of the one who subjected it—but in the hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be set free from slavery to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of God’s children. ²² We know that the whole creation is groaning together and suffering labor pains up until now. ²³ And it’s not only the creation. We ourselves who have the Spirit as the first crop of the harvest also groan inside as we wait to be adopted and for our bodies to be set free. ²⁴ We were saved in hope. If we see what we hope for, that isn’t hope. Who hopes for what they already see? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we don’t see, we wait for it with patience.

Parable of the weeds

²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like someone who planted good seed in his field. ²⁵ While people were sleeping, an enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat and went away. ²⁶ When the stalks sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷ “The servants of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Master, didn’t you plant good seed in your field? Then how is it that it has weeds?’

²⁸ “‘An enemy has done this,’ he answered.

“The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’

²⁹ “But the landowner said, ‘No, because if you gather the weeds, you’ll pull up the wheat along with them. ³⁰ Let both grow side by side until the harvest. And at harvesttime I’ll say to the harvesters, “First gather the weeds and tie them together in bundles to be burned. But bring the wheat into my barn.”’”

Explanation of the parable of the weeds

³⁶ Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

³⁷ Jesus replied, “The one who plants the good seed is the Human One.^{[a] 38} The field is the world. And the good seeds are the followers of the kingdom. But the weeds are the followers of the evil one. ³⁹ The enemy who planted them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the present age. The harvesters are the angels. ⁴⁰ Just as people gather weeds and burn them in the fire, so it will be at the end of the present age. ⁴¹ The Human One^[b] will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that cause people to fall away and all people who sin. ⁴² He will throw them into a burning furnace. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Those who have ears should hear.”