Jacob’s Return to Bethel

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to ^(A)Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, ^(B)who appeared to you ^(C)when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”

² And Jacob said to his ^(D)household and to all who were with him, “Put away ^(E)the foreign gods that are among you, ^(F)purify yourselves, and change your garments. ³ Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, ^(G)who answered me in the day of my distress ^(H)and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” ⁴ So they gave Jacob all the foreign ^[a]gods which were in their hands, and the ^(I)earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under ^(J)the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.

⁵ And they journeyed, and ^(K)the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. ⁶ So Jacob came to ^(L)Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. ⁷ And he ^(M)built an altar there and called the place ^[b]El Bethel, because ^(N)there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

⁸ Now ^(O)Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called ^[c]Allon Bachuth.

⁹ Then ^(P)God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and ^(Q)blessed him. ¹⁰ And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; ^(R)your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, ^(S)but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. ¹¹ Also God said to him: ^(T)“I am God Almighty. ^(U)Be fruitful and multiply; ^(V)a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. ¹² The ^(W)land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” ¹³ Then God ^(X)went^[d] up from him in the place where He talked with him. ¹⁴ So Jacob ^(Y)set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. ¹⁵ And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, ^(Z)Bethel.

Death of Rachel

¹⁶ Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. ¹⁷ Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear; ^(AA)you will have this son also.” ¹⁸ And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name ^[e]Ben-Oni; but his father called him ^[f]Benjamin. ¹⁹ So ^(AB)Rachel died and was buried on the way to ^(AC)Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ²⁰ And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave ^(AD)to this day.

²¹ Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond ^(AE)the tower of Eder. ²² And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and ^(AF)lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it.

Jacob’s Twelve Sons

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: ²³ the sons of Leah were ^(AG)Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; ²⁴ the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; ²⁵ the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; ²⁶ and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

Death of Isaac

²⁷ Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at ^(AH)Mamre, or ^(AI)Kirjath Arba^[g] (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt. ²⁸ Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. ²⁹ So Isaac breathed his last and died, and ^(AJ)was ^[h]gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And ^(AK)his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

The Family of Esau^(AL)

36 Now this is the genealogy of Esau, ^(AM)who is Edom. ^2 (AN)Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the ^(AO)Hittite; ^(AP)Aholibamah^[i] the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; ³ and ^(AQ)Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth. ⁴ Now ^(AR)Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel. ⁵ And ^[j]Aholibamah bore Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob. ^7 (AS)For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and ^(AT)the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock. ⁸ So Esau dwelt in ^(AU)Mount Seir. ^(AV)Esau is Edom.

⁹ And this is the genealogy of Esau the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir. ¹⁰ These were the names of Esau’s sons: ^(AW)Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, and Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. ¹¹ And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, ^[k]Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

¹² Now Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son, and she bore ^(AX)Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife.

¹³ These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.

¹⁴ These were the sons of ^[l]Aholibamah, Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon. And she bore to Esau: Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah.

The Chiefs of Edom

¹⁵ These were the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn son of Esau, were Chief Teman, Chief Omar, Chief Zepho, Chief Kenaz, ^16 [m]Chief Korah, Chief Gatam, and Chief Amalek. These were the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. They were the sons of Adah.

¹⁷ These were the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: Chief Nahath, Chief Zerah, Chief Shammah, and Chief Mizzah. These were the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.

¹⁸ And these were the sons of ^[n]Aholibamah, Esau’s wife: Chief Jeush, Chief Jaalam, and Chief Korah. These were the chiefs who descended from Aholibamah, Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah. ¹⁹ These were the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these were their chiefs.

The Sons of Seir

^20 (AY)These were the sons of Seir ^(AZ)the Horite who inhabited the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ²¹ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir, in the land of Edom.

²² And the sons of Lotan were Hori and ^[o]Hemam. Lotan’s sister was Timna.

²³ These were the sons of Shobal: ^[p]Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, ^[q]Shepho, and Onam.

²⁴ These were the sons of Zibeon: both Ajah and Anah. This was the Anah who found the ^[r]water in the wilderness as he pastured ^(BA)the donkeys of his father Zibeon. ²⁵ These were the children of Anah: Dishon and ^[s]Aholibamah the daughter of Anah.

²⁶ These were the sons of ^[t]Dishon: ^[u]Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. ²⁷ These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and ^[v]Akan. ²⁸ These were the sons of Dishan: ^(BB)Uz and Aran.

²⁹ These were the chiefs of the Horites: Chief Lotan, Chief Shobal, Chief Zibeon, Chief Anah, ³⁰ Chief Dishon, Chief Ezer, and Chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir.

The Kings of Edom

^31 (BC)Now these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel: ³² Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. ³³ And when Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. ³⁴ When Jobab died, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. ³⁵ And when Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who attacked Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place. And the name of his city was Avith. ³⁶ When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. ³⁷ And when Samlah died, Saul of ^(BD)Rehoboth-by-the-River reigned in his place. ³⁸ When Saul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. ³⁹ And when Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, ^[w]Hadar reigned in his place; and the name of his city was ^[x]Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

The Chiefs of Esau

⁴⁰ And these were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families and their places, by their names: Chief Timnah, Chief ^[y]Alvah, Chief Jetheth, ⁴¹ Chief ^[z]Aholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon, ⁴² Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar, ⁴³ Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession. Esau was the father of ^[aa]the Edomites.

Joseph Dreams of Greatness

37 Now Jacob dwelt in the land ^(BE)where his father was a ^[ab]stranger, in the land of Canaan. ² This is the history of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought ^(BF)a bad report of them to his father.

³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was ^(BG)the son of his old age. Also he ^(BH)made him a tunic of many colors. ⁴ But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they ^(BI)hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

⁵ Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. ⁶ So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: ^7 (BJ)There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

⁸ And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹ Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, ^(BK)the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

¹⁰ So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and ^(BL)your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” ¹¹ And ^(BM)his brothers envied him, but his father ^(BN)kept the matter in mind.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

¹² Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in ^(BO)Shechem. ¹³ And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.”

So he said to him, “Here I am.”

¹⁴ Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of ^(BP)Hebron, and he went to Shechem.

¹⁵ Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”

¹⁶ So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. ^(BQ)Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”

¹⁷ And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in ^(BR)Dothan.

¹⁸ Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, ^(BS)they conspired against him to kill him. ¹⁹ Then they said to one another, “Look, this ^[ac]dreamer is coming! ^20 (BT)Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

²¹ But ^(BU)Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” ²² And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.

²³ So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they ^(BV)stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. ²⁴ Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

^25 (BW)And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of ^(BX)Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, ^(BY)balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. ²⁶ So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and ^(BZ)conceal his blood? ²⁷ Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and ^(CA)let not our hand be upon him, for he is ^(CB)our brother and ^(CC)our flesh.” And his brothers listened. ²⁸ Then ^(CD)Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, ^(CE)and sold him to the Ishmaelites for ^(CF)twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

²⁹ Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he ^(CG)tore his clothes. ³⁰ And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad ^(CH)is no more; and I, where shall I go?”

³¹ So they took ^(CI)Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. ³² Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?”

³³ And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A ^(CJ)wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” ³⁴ Then Jacob ^(CK)tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and ^(CL)mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ And all his sons and all his daughters ^(CM)arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For ^(CN)I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.

³⁶ Now ^(CO)the ^[ad]Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

The Model Prayer^(A)

11 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

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

A Friend Comes at Midnight

⁵ And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; ⁶ for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷ and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? ⁸ I say to you, ^(D)though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking^(E)

^9 (F)“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; ^(G)seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ^11 (H)If a son asks for ^[e]bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, being evil, know how to give ^(I)good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

A House Divided Cannot Stand^(J)

^14 (K)And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. ¹⁵ But some of them said, ^(L)“He casts out demons by ^[f]Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

¹⁶ Others, testing Him, ^(M)sought from Him a sign from heaven. ^17 (N)But ^(O)He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. ¹⁸ If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if I cast out demons ^(P)with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. ^21 (Q)When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. ²² But ^(R)when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his ^[g]spoils. ^23 (S)He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

An Unclean Spirit Returns^(T)

^24 (U)“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and ^(V)the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

Keeping the Word

²⁷ And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, ^(W)“Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”

²⁸ But He said, ^(X)“More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Seeking a Sign^(Y)

^29 (Z)And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a ^(AA)sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah ^[h]the prophet. ³⁰ For as ^(AB)Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. ^31 (AC)The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a ^(AD)greater than Solomon is here. ³² The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for ^(AE)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

The Lamp of the Body^(AF)

^33 (AG)“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a ^(AH)basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. ^34 (AI)The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is ^[i]good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is ^[j]bad, your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. ³⁶ If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”

Woe to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷ And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat. ^38 (AJ)When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.

^39 (AK)Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but ^(AL)your inward part is full of ^[k]greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰ Foolish ones! Did not ^(AM)He who made the outside make the inside also? ^41 (AN)But rather give alms of ^[l]such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.

^42 (AO)“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and ^(AP)pass by justice and the ^(AQ)love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. ^43 (AR)Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the ^[m]best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ^44 (AS)Woe to you, ^[n]scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ^(AT)For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.”

⁴⁵ Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also.”

⁴⁶ And He said, “Woe to you also, lawyers! ^(AU)For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (AV)Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. ⁴⁸ In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ^(AW)‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰ that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, ^51 (AX)from the blood of Abel to ^(AY)the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.

^52 (AZ)“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.”

^53 [o]And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, ⁵⁴ lying in wait for Him, ^[p]and ^(BA)seeking to catch Him in something He might say, ^[q]that they might accuse Him.