His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

Jacob's Dream

¹⁰ Jacob left ^(A)Beersheba and went toward ^(B)Haran. ¹¹ And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. ¹² And he ^(C)dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder^[a] set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, ^(D)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! ¹³ And behold, ^(E)the Lord stood above it^[b] and said, ^(F)“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. ^(G)The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. ¹⁴ Your offspring shall be like ^(H)the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and ^(I)your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. ¹⁵ Behold, ^(J)I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and ^(K)will bring you back to this land. For I will ^(L)not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” ¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is ^(M)in this place, and I did not know it.” ¹⁷ And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

¹⁸ So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up ^(N)for a pillar ^(O)and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹ He called the name of that place ^(P)Bethel,^[c] but the name of the city was Luz at the first. ²⁰ Then Jacob ^(Q)made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, ^21 (R)so that I come again to my father's house in peace, ^(S)then the Lord shall be my God, ²² and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, ^(T)shall be God's house. And ^(U)of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

¹³ These all died in faith, ^(A)not having received the things promised, but ^(B)having seen them and greeted them from afar, and ^(C)having acknowledged that they were ^(D)strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴ For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, ^(E)they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed ^(F)to be called their God, for ^(G)he has prepared for them a city.

¹⁷ By faith ^(H)Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, ¹⁸ of whom it was said, ^(I)“Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ^19 (J)He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. ²⁰ By faith ^(K)Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. ²¹ By faith ^(L)Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, ^(M)bowing in worship over the head of his staff. ²² By faith ^(N)Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

⁷ So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(A)I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by me, ^(B)he will be saved and will go in and out and ^(C)find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and ^(D)kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. ^11 (E)I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd ^(F)lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² He who is ^(G)a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ^(H)leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and ^(I)scatters them. ¹³ He flees because ^(J)he is a hired hand and ^(K)cares nothing for the sheep. ^14 (L)I am the good shepherd. ^(M)I know my own and ^(N)my own know me, ^15 (O)just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and ^(P)I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And ^(Q)I have other sheep that are not of this fold. ^(R)I must bring them also, and ^(S)they will listen to my voice. So there will be ^(T)one flock, ^(U)one shepherd. ^17 (V)For this reason the Father loves me, ^(W)because ^(X)I lay down my life that I may take it up again.