Jesus Forbids Oaths

³³ “Again you have heard that ^(A)it was said to those of ^[a]old, ^(B)‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^(C)shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, ^(D)do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is ^(E)God’s throne; ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of ^(F)the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. ^37 (G)But let ^[b]your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Go the Second Mile^(H)

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ^(I)‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ^39 (J)But I tell you not to resist an evil person. ^(K)But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰ If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹ And whoever ^(L)compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² Give to him who asks you, and ^(M)from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Love Your Enemies^(N)

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ^(O)‘You shall love your neighbor ^(P)and hate your enemy.’ ^44 [c]But I say to you, ^(Q)love your enemies, bless those who curse you, ^(R)do good to those who hate you, and pray ^(S)for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for ^(T)He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ^46 (U)For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your ^[d]brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the ^[e]tax collectors do so? ^48 (V)Therefore you shall be perfect, just ^(W)as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Saul Persecutes the Church

8 Now Saul was consenting to his death.

At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and ^(A)they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ² And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and ^(B)made great lamentation over him.

³ As for Saul, ^(C)he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

Christ Is Preached in Samaria

⁴ Therefore ^(D)those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. ⁵ Then ^(E)Philip went down to ^[a]the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. ⁶ And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. ⁷ For ^(F)unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸ And there was great joy in that city.

The Sorcerer’s Profession of Faith

⁹ But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously ^(G)practiced ^[b]sorcery in the city and ^(H)astonished the ^[c]people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, ¹⁰ to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” ¹¹ And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his ^[d]sorceries for a long time. ¹² But when they believed Philip as he preached the things ^(I)concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. ¹³ Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

The Sorcerer’s Sin

¹⁴ Now when the ^(J)apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, ¹⁵ who, when they had come down, prayed for them ^(K)that they might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ For ^(L)as yet He had fallen upon none of them. ^(M)They had only been baptized in ^(N)the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then ^(O)they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰ But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because ^(P)you thought that ^(Q)the gift of God could be purchased with money! ²¹ You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your ^(R)heart is not right in the sight of God. ²² Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God ^(S)if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are ^(T)poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

²⁴ Then Simon answered and said, ^(U)“Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”

²⁵ So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

Trust in the Salvation of the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

Jacob Flees from Laban

31 Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this ^(A)wealth.” ² And Jacob saw the ^(B)countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not ^(C)favorable toward him as before. ³ Then the Lord said to Jacob, ^(D)“Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will ^(E)be with you.”

⁴ So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, ⁵ and said to them, ^(F)“I see your father’s ^[a]countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father ^(G)has been with me. ⁶ And ^(H)you know that with all my might I have served your father. ⁷ Yet your father has deceived me and ^(I)changed my wages ^(J)ten times, but God ^(K)did not allow him to hurt me. ⁸ If he said thus: ^(L)‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The streaked shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked. ⁹ So God has ^(M)taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

¹⁰ “And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. ¹¹ Then ^(N)the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ ¹² And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for ^(O)I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. ¹³ I am the God of Bethel, ^(P)where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now ^(Q)arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ ”

¹⁴ Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, ^(R)“Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? ¹⁵ Are we not considered strangers by him? For ^(S)he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money. ¹⁶ For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.”

¹⁷ Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. ¹⁸ And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of ^(T)Canaan. ¹⁹ Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the ^(U)household^[b] idols that were her father’s. ²⁰ And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. ²¹ So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and ^(V)headed^[c] toward the mountains of Gilead.

Laban Pursues Jacob

²² And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. ²³ Then he took ^(W)his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. ²⁴ But God ^(X)had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you ^(Y)speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”

²⁵ So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.

²⁶ And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and ^(Z)carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? ²⁷ Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? ²⁸ And you did not allow me ^(AA)to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now ^(AB)you have done foolishly in so doing. ²⁹ It is in my power to do you harm, but the ^(AC)God of your father spoke to me ^(AD)last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’ ³⁰ And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you ^(AE)steal my gods?”

³¹ Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was ^(AF)afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’ ³² With whomever you find your gods, ^(AG)do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

³³ And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the ^[d]household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban ^[e]searched all about the tent but did not find them. ³⁵ And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot ^(AH)rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the ^[f]household idols.

³⁶ Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my ^[g]trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me? ³⁷ Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both! ³⁸ These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. ^39 (AI)That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. ^(AJ)You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. ⁴⁰ There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. ⁴¹ Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I ^(AK)served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and ^(AL)you have changed my wages ten times. ^42 (AM)Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and ^(AN)the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. ^(AO)God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and ^(AP)rebuked you last night.”

Laban’s Covenant with Jacob

⁴³ And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? ⁴⁴ Now therefore, come, ^(AQ)let us make a ^[h]covenant, ^(AR)you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”

⁴⁵ So Jacob ^(AS)took a stone and set it up as a pillar. ⁴⁶ Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. ⁴⁷ Laban called it ^[i]Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it ^[j]Galeed. ⁴⁸ And Laban said, ^(AT)“This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, ⁴⁹ also ^(AU)Mizpah,^[k] because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. ⁵⁰ If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!”

⁵¹ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. ⁵² This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. ⁵³ The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father ^(AV)judge between us.” And Jacob ^(AW)swore by ^(AX)the ^[l]Fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. ⁵⁵ And early in the morning Laban arose, and ^(AY)kissed his sons and daughters and ^(AZ)blessed them. Then Laban departed and ^(BA)returned to his place.