Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

19 Jesus entered Jericho^(A) and was passing through. ² A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. ³ He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig^(B) tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.^(C)

⁵ When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

⁷ All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”^(D)

⁸ But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord,^(E) “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything,^(F) I will pay back four times the amount.”^(G)

⁹ Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.^{(H) 10} For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”^(I)

The Parable of the Ten Minas^(J)

¹¹ While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God^(K) was going to appear at once.^{(L) 12} He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. ¹³ So he called ten of his servants^(M) and gave them ten minas.^[a] ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’

¹⁴ “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

¹⁵ “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

¹⁶ “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’

¹⁷ “‘Well done, my good servant!’^(N) his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’^(O)

¹⁸ “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’

¹⁹ “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

²⁰ “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. ²¹ I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’^(P)

²² “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words,^(Q) you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?^{(R) 23} Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’

²⁴ “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

²⁵ “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

²⁶ “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.^{(S) 27} But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King^(T)(U)

²⁸ After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.^{(V) 29} As he approached Bethphage and Bethany^(W) at the hill called the Mount of Olives,^(X) he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ³⁰ “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

³² Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.^{(Y) 33} As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

³⁴ They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

³⁵ They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. ³⁶ As he went along, people spread their cloaks^(Z) on the road.

³⁷ When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives,^(AA) the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

³⁹ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”^(AD)

⁴⁰ “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”^(AE)

⁴¹ As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it^{(AF) 42} and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.^{(AG) 44} They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls.^(AH) They will not leave one stone on another,^(AI) because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming^(AJ) to you.”

Jesus at the Temple^(AK)

⁴⁵ When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. ⁴⁶ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’^[c];^(AL) but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’^[d]”^(AM)

⁴⁷ Every day he was teaching at the temple.^(AN) But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him.^{(AO) 48} Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.

Joseph’s Dreams

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

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

Joseph,^(D) a young man of seventeen,^(E) was tending the flocks^(F) with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah^(G) and the sons of Zilpah,^(H) his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report^(I) about them.

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

⁵ Joseph had a dream,^(P) and when he told it to his brothers,^(Q) they hated him all the more.^{(R) 6} He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁷ We were binding sheaves^(S) 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.”^(T)

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

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

¹⁰ When he told his father as well as his brothers,^(Z) his father rebuked^(AA) 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?”^{(AB) 11} His brothers were jealous of him,^(AC) but his father kept the matter in mind.^(AD)

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

¹² Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,^{(AE) 13} and Israel^(AF) said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem.^(AG) 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^(AH) and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.^(AI)

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.^(AJ)’”

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.^(AK)

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

²¹ When Reuben^(AQ) heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.^{(AR) 22} “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern^(AS) 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.^(AT)

²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe^(AU) he was wearing— ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the cistern.^(AV) 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^(AW) coming from Gilead.^(AX) Their camels were loaded with spices, balm^(AY) and myrrh,^(AZ) and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.^(BA)

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

²⁸ So when the Midianite^(BF) merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern^(BG) and sold^(BH) him for twenty shekels^[b] of silver^(BI) to the Ishmaelites,^(BJ) who took him to Egypt.^(BK)

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

³¹ Then they got Joseph’s robe,^(BN) slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.^{(BO) 32} They took the ornate robe^(BP) 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^(BQ) has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”^(BR)

³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes,^(BS) put on sackcloth^(BT) and mourned for his son many days.^{(BU) 35} All his sons and daughters came to comfort him,^(BV) but he refused to be comforted.^(BW) “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son^(BX) in the grave.^(BY)” So his father wept for him.

³⁶ Meanwhile, the Midianites^[c](BZ) sold Joseph^(CA) in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.^(CB)

Judah and Tamar

38 At that time, Judah^(CC) left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam^(CD) named Hirah.^{(CE) 2} There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua.^(CF) He married her and made love to her; ³ she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er.^{(CG) 4} She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan.^{(CH) 5} She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah.^(CI) It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.

⁶ Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.^{(CJ) 7} But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight;^(CK) so the Lord put him to death.^(CL)

⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.”^{(CM) 9} But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. ¹⁰ What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.^(CN)

¹¹ Judah then said to his daughter-in-law^(CO) Tamar,^(CP) “Live as a widow in your father’s household^(CQ) until my son Shelah^(CR) grows up.”^(CS) For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.

¹² After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua,^(CT) died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah,^(CU) to the men who were shearing his sheep,^(CV) and his friend Hirah the Adullamite^(CW) went with him.

¹³ When Tamar^(CX) was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,”^{(CY) 14} she took off her widow’s clothes,^(CZ) covered herself with a veil^(DA) to disguise herself, and then sat down^(DB) at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah.^(DC) For she saw that, though Shelah^(DD) had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.

¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute,^(DE) for she had covered her face. ¹⁶ Not realizing^(DF) that she was his daughter-in-law,^(DG) he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”^(DH)

“And what will you give me to sleep with you?”^(DI) she asked.

¹⁷ “I’ll send you a young goat^(DJ) from my flock,” he said.

“Will you give me something as a pledge^(DK) until you send it?” she asked.

¹⁸ He said, “What pledge should I give you?”

“Your seal^(DL) and its cord, and the staff^(DM) in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.^{(DN) 19} After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes^(DO) again.

²⁰ Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite^(DP) in order to get his pledge^(DQ) back from the woman, but he did not find her. ²¹ He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute^(DR) who was beside the road at Enaim?”

“There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said.

²² So he went back to Judah and said, “I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, ‘There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here.’”

²³ Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has,^(DS) or we will become a laughingstock.^(DT) After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her.”

²⁴ About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.”

Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”^(DU)

²⁵ As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”^(DV)

²⁶ Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I,^(DW) since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.^(DX)” And he did not sleep with her again.

²⁷ When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.^{(DY) 28} As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife^(DZ) took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist^(EA) and said, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out,^(EB) and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez.^{[d](EC) 30} Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist,^(ED) came out. And he was named Zerah.^[e](EE)