²⁴ A disciple is not above his teacher, nor is a servant or slave above his master.

²⁵ It is sufficient for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant or slave like his master. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub [^[a]master of the dwelling], how much more will they speak evil of those of His household.^(A)

²⁶ So have no fear of them; for nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, or kept secret that will not become known.

²⁷ What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim upon the housetops.

²⁸ And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna).

²⁹ Are not two ^[b]little sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s leave (consent) and notice.

³⁰ But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

³¹ Fear not, then; you are of more value than many sparrows.

³² Therefore, everyone who acknowledges Me before men and confesses Me [^[c]out of a state of oneness with Me], I will also acknowledge him before My Father Who is in heaven and ^[d]confess [that I am abiding in] him.

³³ But whoever denies and disowns Me before men, I also will deny and disown him before My Father Who is in heaven.

³⁴ Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

³⁵ For I have come to part asunder a man from his father, and a daughter from her mother, and a ^[e]newly married wife from her mother-in-law—

³⁶ And a man’s foes will be they of his own household.^(B)

³⁷ He who loves [and ^[f]takes more pleasure in] father or mother more than [in] Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves [and takes more pleasure in] son or daughter more than [in] Me is not worthy of Me;

³⁸ And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me [^[g]cleave steadfastly to Me, conforming wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also] is not worthy of Me.

³⁹ Whoever finds his [^[h]lower] life will lose it [the higher life], and whoever loses his [lower] life on My account will find it [the higher life].

⁴⁰ He who receives and welcomes and accepts you receives and welcomes and accepts Me, and he who receives and welcomes and accepts Me receives and welcomes and accepts Him Who sent Me.

⁴¹ He who receives and welcomes and accepts a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward, and he who receives and welcomes and accepts a righteous man because he is a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.

⁴² And whoever gives to one of these little ones [in rank or influence] even a cup of cold water because he is My disciple, surely I declare to you, he shall not lose his reward.

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34 Now Dinah daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out [unattended] to see the girls of the place.

² And when Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he seized her, lay with her, and humbled, defiled, and disgraced her.

³ But his soul longed for and clung to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke comfortingly to her young heart’s wishes.

⁴ And Shechem said to his father Hamor, Get me this girl to be my wife.

⁵ Jacob heard that [Shechem] had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field. So Jacob held his peace until they came.

⁶ But Hamor father of Shechem went out to Jacob to have a talk with him.

⁷ When Jacob’s sons heard it, they came from the field; and they were distressed and grieved and very angry, for [Shechem] had done a vile thing to Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter, which ought not to be done.

⁸ And Hamor conferred with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem craves your daughter [and sister]. I beg of you give her to him to be his wife.

⁹ And make marriages with us and give your daughters to us and take our daughters to you.

¹⁰ You shall dwell with us; the country will be open to you; live and trade and get your possessions in it.

¹¹ And Shechem said to [Dinah’s] father and to her brothers, Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask of me.

¹² Ask me ever so much dowry and [marriage] gift, and I will give according to what you tell me; only give me the girl to be my wife.

¹³ The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, [justifying their intended action by saying, in effect, we are going to do this] because Shechem had defiled and disgraced their sister Dinah.

¹⁴ They said to them, We cannot do this thing and give our sister to one who is not circumcised, for that would be a reproach and disgrace to us.

¹⁵ But we do consent to do this: if you will become as we are and every male among you be circumcised,

¹⁶ Then we will give our daughters to you and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you and become one people.

¹⁷ But if you will not listen to us and consent to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.

¹⁸ Their words pleased Hamor and his son Shechem.

¹⁹ And the young man did not delay to do the thing, for he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He was honored above all his family [so, ranking first, he acted first].

²⁰ Then Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their [enclosed] town and discussed the matter with the citizens, saying,

²¹ These men are peaceable with us; so let them dwell in the land and trade in it; for the land is large enough [for us and] for them; let us take their daughters for wives and let us give them our daughters.

²² But the men will consent to our request that they live among us and be one people only on condition that every male among us be circumcised, as they are.

²³ Shall not their cattle and their possessions and all their beasts be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell here with us.

²⁴ And all the people who went out of the town gate listened and heeded what Hamor and Shechem said; and every male was circumcised who was a resident of that town.

²⁵ But on the third day [after the circumcision] when [all the men] were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s [full] brothers, took their swords, boldly entered the city [without danger], and slew all the males.

²⁶ And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house [where she had been all this time] and departed.

²⁷ [Then the rest of] Jacob’s [eleven] sons came upon the slain and plundered the town, because there their sister had been defiled and disgraced.

²⁸ They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the town and in the field;

²⁹ All their wealth and all their little ones and their wives they took captive, making spoil even of all [they found] in the houses.

³⁰ And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, You have ruined me, making me infamous and embroiling me with the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites! And we are few in number, and they will gather together against me and attack me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my household.

³¹ And they said, Should he [be permitted to] deal with our sister as with a harlot?

35 And God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. And make there an altar to God Who appeared to you [in a distinct manifestation] when you fled from the presence of Esau your brother.^(A)

² Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, Put away the [images of] strange gods that are among you, and purify yourselves and change [into fresh] garments;

³ Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make there an altar to God Who answered me in the day of my distress and was with me wherever I went.

⁴ So they [both young men and women] gave to Jacob all the strange gods they had and their earrings which were [worn as charms against evil] in their ears; and Jacob buried and hid them under the oak near Shechem.

⁵ And they journeyed and a terror from God fell on the towns round about them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

⁶ So Jacob came to Luz, that is, Bethel, which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people with him.

⁷ There he built an altar, and called the place El-bethel [God of Bethel], for there God revealed Himself to him when he fled from the presence of his brother.

⁸ But Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried below Bethel under an oak; and the name of it was called Allon-bacuth [oak of weeping].

⁹ And God [in a distinctly visible manifestation] appeared to Jacob again when he came out of Padan-aram, and declared a blessing on him.^(B)

¹⁰ Again God said to him, Your name is Jacob [supplanter]; you shall not be called Jacob any longer, but Israel shall be your name. So He called him Israel [contender with God].

¹¹ And God said to him, I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you and kings shall be born of your stock;

¹² The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and to your descendants after you I will give the land.

¹³ Then God ascended from him in the place where He talked with him.

¹⁴ And Jacob set up a pillar (monument) in the place where he talked with [God], 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 had talked with him Bethel [house of God].

¹⁶ And they journeyed from Bethel and had but a little way to go to Ephrath [Bethlehem] when Rachel suffered the pangs of childbirth and had hard labor.

¹⁷ When she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, Do not be afraid; you shall have this son also.

¹⁸ And as her soul was departing, for she died, she called his name Ben-oni [son of my sorrow]; but his father called him Benjamin [son of the right hand].

¹⁹ So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.

²⁰ And Jacob set a pillar (monument) on her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.

²¹ Then Israel journeyed on and spread his tent on the other side of the tower of Edar.

²² When Israel dwelt there, Reuben [his eldest son] went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it. Now Jacob’s sons were twelve.

²³ The sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

²⁴ The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

²⁵ The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali.

²⁶ And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob born to him in Padan-aram.

²⁷ And Jacob came to Isaac his father at Mamre or Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned.

²⁸ Now the days of Isaac were 180 years.

²⁹ And Isaac’s spirit departed; he died and was gathered to his people, being an old man, satisfied and satiated with days; his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.