¹⁶ “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

¹⁸ For John came ^(A)neither eating ^(B)nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came ^(C)eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^(D)a friend of ^(E)tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”^[a]

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

^25 (A)At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, ^(B)Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(C)you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ^(D)revealed them to little children; ²⁶ yes, Father, for such was your ^(E)gracious will.^{[a] 27 (F)}All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son ^(G)except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone ^(H)to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ^28 (I)Come to ^(J)me, all who labor and are ^(K)heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and ^(L)learn from me, for I am ^(M)gentle and lowly in heart, and ^(N)you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For ^(O)my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham's servant. ³⁵ The Lord ^(A)has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. ³⁶ And Sarah my master's wife ^(B)bore a son to my master when she was old, and ^(C)to him he has given all that he has. ^37 (D)My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell, ³⁸ but you shall go to my father's house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.’

⁵⁸ And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.” ⁵⁹ So they sent away Rebekah their sister and ^(A)her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men. ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way.

⁶² Now Isaac had returned from ^(D)Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb. ⁶³ And Isaac went out ^(E)to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming. ⁶⁴ And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel ⁶⁵ and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. ⁶⁶ And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was ^(F)comforted after his mother's ^(G)death.

¹⁵ For I do not understand my own actions. For ^(A)I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with ^(B)the law, that it is good. ¹⁷ So now ^(C)it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells ^(D)in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. ^19 (E)For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want, ^(F)it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

²¹ So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. ²² For ^(G)I delight in the law of God, ^(H)in my inner being, ²³ but I see in my members ^(I)another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from ^(J)this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.