Put Not Your Trust in Princes

³⁰ As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. ³¹ He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that you may bless me.” ³² His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” ³³ Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” ³⁴ As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, ^(A)he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” ³⁵ But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” ³⁶ Esau said, ^(B)“Is he not rightly named Jacob?^[a] For he has cheated me these two times. ^(C)He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” ³⁷ Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, ^(D)I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and ^(E)with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” ³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And ^(F)Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

³⁹ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

⁴¹ Now Esau ^(J)hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, ^(K)“The days of mourning for my father are approaching; ^(L)then I will kill my brother Jacob.” ⁴² But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. ⁴³ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran ⁴⁴ and stay with him a while, until your brother's fury turns away— ⁴⁵ until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?”

Marks of the True Christian

^9 (A)Let love be genuine. ^(B)Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ^10 (C)Love one another with brotherly affection. ^(D)Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, ^(E)be fervent in spirit,^{[a] (F)}serve the Lord. ^12 (G)Rejoice in hope, ^(H)be patient in tribulation, ^(I)be constant in prayer. ^13 (J)Contribute to the needs of the saints and ^(K)seek to show hospitality.

^14 (L)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ^15 (M)Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ^16 (N)Live in harmony with one another. ^(O)Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.^{[b] (P)}Never be wise in your own sight. ^17 (Q)Repay no one evil for evil, but ^(R)give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, ^(S)live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, ^(T)never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[c] to the wrath of God, for it is written, ^(U)“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ To the contrary, ^(V)“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

²¹ So he said to them again, ^(A)“I am going away, and ^(B)you will seek me, and ^(C)you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” ²² So the Jews said, ^(D)“Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” ²³ He said to them, ^(E)“You are from below; I am from above. ^(F)You are of this world; ^(G)I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you ^(H)would die in your sins, for ^(I)unless you believe that ^(J)I am he you will die in your sins.” ²⁵ So they said to him, ^(K)“Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. ²⁶ I have much to say about you and much to judge, but ^(L)he who sent me is true, and I declare ^(M)to the world ^(N)what I have heard from him.” ²⁷ They did not understand that ^(O)he had been speaking to them about the Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “When you have ^(P)lifted up the Son of Man, ^(Q)then you will know that ^(R)I am he, and that ^(S)I do nothing on my own authority, but ^(T)speak just as the Father taught me. ²⁹ And ^(U)he who sent me is with me. ^(V)He has not left me alone, for ^(W)I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” ³⁰ As he was saying these things, ^(X)many believed in him.

The Truth Will Set You Free

³¹ So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ^(Y)“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will ^(Z)know the truth, and the truth ^(AA)will set you free.”