Jacob Flees from Laban

31 Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this ^(A)wealth.” ² And Jacob saw the ^(B)countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not ^(C)favorable toward him as before. ³ Then the Lord said to Jacob, ^(D)“Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will ^(E)be with you.”

⁴ So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, ⁵ and said to them, ^(F)“I see your father’s ^[a]countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father ^(G)has been with me. ⁶ And ^(H)you know that with all my might I have served your father. ⁷ Yet your father has deceived me and ^(I)changed my wages ^(J)ten times, but God ^(K)did not allow him to hurt me. ⁸ If he said thus: ^(L)‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The streaked shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked. ⁹ So God has ^(M)taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

¹⁰ “And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. ¹¹ Then ^(N)the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ ¹² And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for ^(O)I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. ¹³ I am the God of Bethel, ^(P)where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now ^(Q)arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ ”

¹⁴ Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, ^(R)“Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? ¹⁵ Are we not considered strangers by him? For ^(S)he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money. ¹⁶ For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.”

¹⁷ Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. ¹⁸ And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of ^(T)Canaan. ¹⁹ Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the ^(U)household^[b] idols that were her father’s. ²⁰ And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. ²¹ So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and ^(V)headed^[c] toward the mountains of Gilead.

Laban Pursues Jacob

²² And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. ²³ Then he took ^(W)his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. ²⁴ But God ^(X)had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you ^(Y)speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”

²⁵ So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.

²⁶ And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and ^(Z)carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? ²⁷ Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? ²⁸ And you did not allow me ^(AA)to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now ^(AB)you have done foolishly in so doing. ²⁹ It is in my power to do you harm, but the ^(AC)God of your father spoke to me ^(AD)last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’ ³⁰ And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you ^(AE)steal my gods?”

³¹ Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was ^(AF)afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’ ³² With whomever you find your gods, ^(AG)do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

³³ And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the ^[d]household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban ^[e]searched all about the tent but did not find them. ³⁵ And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot ^(AH)rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the ^[f]household idols.

³⁶ Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my ^[g]trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me? ³⁷ Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both! ³⁸ These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. ^39 (AI)That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. ^(AJ)You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. ⁴⁰ There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. ⁴¹ Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I ^(AK)served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and ^(AL)you have changed my wages ten times. ^42 (AM)Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and ^(AN)the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. ^(AO)God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and ^(AP)rebuked you last night.”

Laban’s Covenant with Jacob

⁴³ And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? ⁴⁴ Now therefore, come, ^(AQ)let us make a ^[h]covenant, ^(AR)you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”

⁴⁵ So Jacob ^(AS)took a stone and set it up as a pillar. ⁴⁶ Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. ⁴⁷ Laban called it ^[i]Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it ^[j]Galeed. ⁴⁸ And Laban said, ^(AT)“This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, ⁴⁹ also ^(AU)Mizpah,^[k] because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. ⁵⁰ If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!”

⁵¹ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. ⁵² This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. ⁵³ The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father ^(AV)judge between us.” And Jacob ^(AW)swore by ^(AX)the ^[l]Fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. ⁵⁵ And early in the morning Laban arose, and ^(AY)kissed his sons and daughters and ^(AZ)blessed them. Then Laban departed and ^(BA)returned to his place.

Solomon’s Additional Achievements^(A)

8 It ^(B)came to pass at the end of ^(C)twenty years, when Solomon had built the house of the Lord and his own house, ² that the cities which ^[a]Hiram had given to Solomon, Solomon built them; and he settled the children of Israel there. ³ And Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and seized it. ^4 (D)He also built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the storage cities which he built in ^(E)Hamath. ⁵ He built Upper Beth Horon and ^(F)Lower Beth Horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars, ⁶ also Baalath and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities and the cities of the cavalry, and all that Solomon ^(G)desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

^7 (H)All the people who were left of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of Israel— ⁸ that is, their descendants who were left in the land after them, whom the children of Israel did not destroy—from these Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to this day. ⁹ But Solomon did not make the children of Israel ^[b]servants for his work. Some were men of war, captains of his officers, captains of his chariots, and his cavalry. ¹⁰ And others were chiefs of the officials of King Solomon: ^(I)two hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people.

¹¹ Now Solomon ^(J)brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the house he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places to which the ark of the Lord has come are holy.”

¹² Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord which he had built before the vestibule, ¹³ according to the ^(K)daily rate, offering according to the commandment of Moses, for the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the ^(L)three appointed yearly ^(M)feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. ¹⁴ And, according to the ^[c]order of David his father, he appointed the ^(N)divisions of the priests for their service, ^(O)the Levites for their duties (to praise and serve before the priests) as the duty of each day required, and the ^(P)gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate; for so David the man of God had commanded. ¹⁵ They did not depart from the command of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter or concerning the ^(Q)treasuries.

¹⁶ Now all the work of Solomon was well-ordered ^[d]from the day of the foundation of the house of the Lord until it was finished. So the house of the Lord was completed.

¹⁷ Then Solomon went to ^(R)Ezion Geber and ^[e]Elath on the seacoast, in the land of Edom. ^18 (S)And Hiram sent him ships by the hand of his servants, and servants who knew the sea. They went with the servants of Solomon to ^(T)Ophir, and acquired four hundred and fifty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.

He Is Risen^(A)

24 Now ^(B)on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, ^[a]and certain other women with them, came to the tomb ^(C)bringing the spices which they had prepared. ^2 (D)But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. ^3 (E)Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ And it happened, as they were ^[b]greatly perplexed about this, that ^(F)behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. ⁵ Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but is risen! ^(G)Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, ⁷ saying, ‘The Son of Man must be ^(H)delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”

⁸ And ^(I)they remembered His words. ^9 (J)Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, ^(K)Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. ^11 (L)And their words seemed to them like ^[c]idle tales, and they did not believe them. ^12 (M)But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths ^[d]lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

The Road to Emmaus^(N)

^13 (O)Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was ^[e]seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And they talked together of all these things which had happened. ¹⁵ So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that ^(P)Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. ¹⁶ But ^(Q)their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

¹⁷ And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you ^[f]walk and are sad?”

¹⁸ Then the one ^(R)whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”

¹⁹ And He said to them, “What things?”

So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, ^(S)who was a Prophet ^(T)mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ^20 (U)and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. ²¹ But we were hoping ^(V)that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. ²² Yes, and ^(W)certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. ²³ When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. ²⁴ And ^(X)certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”

²⁵ Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ^26 (Y)Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His ^(Z)glory?” ²⁷ And beginning at ^(AA)Moses and ^(AB)all the Prophets, He ^[g]expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

The Disciples’ Eyes Opened

²⁸ Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and ^(AC)He ^[h]indicated that He would have gone farther. ²⁹ But ^(AD)they constrained Him, saying, ^(AE)“Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.

³⁰ Now it came to pass, as ^(AF)He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

³² And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” ³³ So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and ^(AG)has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was ^[i]known to them in the breaking of bread.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples^(AH)

^36 (AI)Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” ³⁷ But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen ^(AJ)a spirit. ³⁸ And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹ Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. ^(AK)Handle Me and see, for a ^(AL)spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”

^40 [j]When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. ⁴¹ But while they still did not believe ^(AM)for joy, and marveled, He said to them, ^(AN)“Have you any food here?” ⁴² So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish ^[k]and some honeycomb. ^43 (AO)And He took it and ate in their presence.

The Scriptures Opened

⁴⁴ Then He said to them, ^(AP)“These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” ⁴⁵ And ^(AQ)He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

⁴⁶ Then He said to them, ^(AR)“Thus it is written, ^[l]and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance and ^(AS)remission of sins should be preached in His name ^(AT)to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ And ^(AU)you are witnesses of these things. ^49 (AV)Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city ^[m]of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

The Ascension^(AW)

⁵⁰ And He led them out ^(AX)as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. ^51 (AY)Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. ^52 (AZ)And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³ and were continually ^(BA)in the temple ^[n]praising and blessing God. ^[o]Amen.

The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God

A Psalm of David ^(A)when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.