Jacob Returns to Bethel

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel^(A) and settle there, and build an altar^(B) there to God,^(C) who appeared to you^(D) when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”^(E)

² So Jacob said to his household^(F) and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods^(G) you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.^{(H) 3} Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God,^(I) who answered me in the day of my distress^(J) and who has been with me wherever I have gone.^(K)” ⁴ So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears,^(L) and Jacob buried them under the oak^(M) at Shechem.^{(N) 5} Then they set out, and the terror of God^(O) fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.^(P)

⁶ Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz^(Q) (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.^{(R) 7} There he built an altar,^(S) and he called the place El Bethel,^[a](T) because it was there that God revealed himself to him^(U) when he was fleeing from his brother.^(V)

⁸ Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse,^(W) died and was buried under the oak^(X) outside Bethel.^(Y) So it was named Allon Bakuth.^[b]

⁹ After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram,^[c](Z) God appeared to him again and blessed him.^{(AA) 10} God said to him, “Your name is Jacob,^[d] but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.^[e]”^(AB) So he named him Israel.

¹¹ And God said to him, “I am God Almighty^[f];^(AC) be fruitful and increase in number.^(AD) A nation^(AE) and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants.^{(AF) 12} The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.^(AG)”^{(AH) 13} Then God went up from him^(AI) at the place where he had talked with him.

¹⁴ Jacob set up a stone pillar^(AJ) at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering^(AK) on it; he also poured oil on it.^{(AL) 15} Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.^[g](AM)

The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac^(AN)

¹⁶ Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath,^(AO) Rachel^(AP) began to give birth and had great difficulty. ¹⁷ And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife^(AQ) said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.”^{(AR) 18} As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni.^[h](AS) But his father named him Benjamin.^[i](AT)

¹⁹ So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath^(AU) (that is, Bethlehem^(AV)). ²⁰ Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day^(AW) that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.^(AX)

²¹ Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.^{(AY) 22} While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine^(AZ) Bilhah,^(BA) and Israel heard of it.

Jacob had twelve sons:

These were the sons of Jacob,^(BM) who were born to him in Paddan Aram.^(BN)

²⁷ Jacob came home to his father Isaac^(BO) in Mamre,^(BP) near Kiriath Arba^(BQ) (that is, Hebron),^(BR) where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.^{(BS) 28} Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years.^{(BT) 29} Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people,^(BU) old and full of years.^(BV) And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.^(BW)

Esau’s Descendants^(BX)(BY)

36 This is the account^(BZ) of the family line of Esau (that is, Edom).^(CA)

⁹ This is the account^(CQ) of the family line of Esau the father of the Edomites^(CR) in the hill country of Seir.

¹⁵ These were the chiefs^(DC) among Esau’s descendants:

¹⁹ These were the sons of Esau^(DM) (that is, Edom),^(DN) and these were their chiefs.^(DO)

²⁰ These were the sons of Seir the Horite,^(DP) who were living in the region:

The Rulers of Edom^(DZ)

³¹ These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king^(EA) reigned:

⁴⁰ These were the chiefs^(EG) descended from Esau, by name, according to their clans and regions:

This is the family line of Esau, the father of the Edomites.^(EH)

Joseph’s Dreams

37 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed,^(EI) the land of Canaan.^(EJ)

² This is the account^(EK) of Jacob’s family line.

Joseph,^(EL) a young man of seventeen,^(EM) was tending the flocks^(EN) with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah^(EO) and the sons of Zilpah,^(EP) his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report^(EQ) about them.

³ Now Israel^(ER) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons,^(ES) because he had been born to him in his old age;^(ET) and he made an ornate^[o] robe^(EU) for him.^{(EV) 4} When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him^(EW) and could not speak a kind word to him.

⁵ Joseph had a dream,^(EX) and when he told it to his brothers,^(EY) they hated him all the more.^{(EZ) 6} He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁷ We were binding sheaves^(FA) of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”^(FB)

⁸ His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?”^(FC) And they hated him all the more^(FD) because of his dream and what he had said.

⁹ Then he had another dream,^(FE) and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars^(FF) were bowing down to me.”^(FG)

¹⁰ When he told his father as well as his brothers,^(FH) his father rebuked^(FI) him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”^{(FJ) 11} His brothers were jealous of him,^(FK) but his father kept the matter in mind.^(FL)

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

¹² Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,^{(FM) 13} and Israel^(FN) said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem.^(FO) Come, I am going to send you to them.”

“Very well,” he replied.

¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers^(FP) and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.^(FQ)

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶ He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

¹⁷ “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.^(FR)’”

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. ¹⁸ But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.^(FS)

¹⁹ “Here comes that dreamer!^(FT)” they said to each other. ²⁰ “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns^(FU) and say that a ferocious animal^(FV) devoured him.^(FW) Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”^(FX)

²¹ When Reuben^(FY) heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.^{(FZ) 22} “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern^(GA) here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.^(GB)

²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe^(GC) he was wearing— ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the cistern.^(GD) The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵ As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites^(GE) coming from Gilead.^(GF) Their camels were loaded with spices, balm^(GG) and myrrh,^(GH) and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.^(GI)

²⁶ Judah^(GJ) said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?^{(GK) 27} Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother,^(GL) our own flesh and blood.^(GM)” His brothers agreed.

²⁸ So when the Midianite^(GN) merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern^(GO) and sold^(GP) him for twenty shekels^[p] of silver^(GQ) to the Ishmaelites,^(GR) who took him to Egypt.^(GS)

²⁹ When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.^{(GT) 30} He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”^(GU)

³¹ Then they got Joseph’s robe,^(GV) slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.^{(GW) 32} They took the ornate robe^(GX) back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

³³ He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal^(GY) has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”^(GZ)

³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes,^(HA) put on sackcloth^(HB) and mourned for his son many days.^{(HC) 35} All his sons and daughters came to comfort him,^(HD) but he refused to be comforted.^(HE) “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son^(HF) in the grave.^(HG)” So his father wept for him.

³⁶ Meanwhile, the Midianites^[q](HH) sold Joseph^(HI) in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.^(HJ)

Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer^(A)(B)

11 One day Jesus was praying^(C) in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord,^(D) teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

² He said to them, “When you pray, say:

⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; ⁶ a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ ⁷ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity^[e] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.^(H)

⁹ “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you;^(I) seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

¹¹ “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for^[f] a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebul^(J)(K)

¹⁴ Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.^{(L) 15} But some of them said, “By Beelzebul,^(M) the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.”^{(N) 16} Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.^(O)

¹⁷ Jesus knew their thoughts^(P) and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. ¹⁸ If Satan^(Q) is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if I drive out demons by the finger of God,^(R) then the kingdom of God^(S) has come upon you.

²¹ “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. ²² But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.

²³ “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.^(T)

²⁴ “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ ²⁵ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”^(U)

²⁷ As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”^(V)

²⁸ He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God^(W) and obey it.”^(X)

The Sign of Jonah^(Y)

²⁹ As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign,^(Z) but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.^{(AA) 30} For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. ³¹ The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom;^(AB) and now something greater than Solomon is here. ³² The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah;^(AC) and now something greater than Jonah is here.

The Lamp of the Body^(AD)

³³ “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.^{(AE) 34} Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy,^[g] your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy,^[h] your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. ³⁶ Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

Woes on the Pharisees and the Experts in the Law

³⁷ When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table.^{(AF) 38} But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.^(AG)

³⁹ Then the Lord^(AH) said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.^{(AI) 40} You foolish people!^(AJ) Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor,^(AK) and everything will be clean for you.^(AL)

⁴² “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth^(AM) of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God.^(AN) You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.^(AO)

⁴³ “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.^(AP)

⁴⁴ “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves,^(AQ) which people walk over without knowing it.”

⁴⁵ One of the experts in the law^(AR) answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”

⁴⁶ Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.^(AS)

⁴⁷ “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.^{(AT) 49} Because of this, God in his wisdom^(AU) said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’^{(AV) 50} Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel^(AW) to the blood of Zechariah,^(AX) who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.^(AY)

⁵² “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”^(AZ)

⁵³ When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, ⁵⁴ waiting to catch him in something he might say.^(BA)