Psalm 26

Of David.

Isaac and Abimelek^(A)

26 Now there was a famine in the land^(B)—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines^(C) in Gerar.^{(D) 2} The Lord appeared^(E) to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt;^(F) live in the land where I tell you to live.^{(G) 3} Stay in this land for a while,^(H) and I will be with you^(I) and will bless you.^(J) For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands^(K) and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.^{(L) 4} I will make your descendants^(M) as numerous as the stars in the sky^(N) and will give them all these lands,^(O) and through your offspring^[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,^{[b](P) 5} because Abraham obeyed me^(Q) and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees^(R) and my instructions.^(S)” ⁶ So Isaac stayed in Gerar.^(T)

⁷ When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,^(U)” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”

⁸ When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines^(V) looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. ⁹ So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?^(W)”

Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”

¹⁰ Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us?^(X) One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

¹¹ So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms^(Y) this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”^(Z)

¹² Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold,^(AA) because the Lord blessed him.^{(AB) 13} The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.^{(AC) 14} He had so many flocks and herds and servants^(AD) that the Philistines envied him.^{(AE) 15} So all the wells^(AF) that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up,^(AG) filling them with earth.

¹⁶ Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us;^(AH) you have become too powerful for us.^(AI)”

¹⁷ So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar,^(AJ) where he settled. ¹⁸ Isaac reopened the wells^(AK) that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.

¹⁹ Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. ²⁰ But the herders of Gerar quarreled^(AL) with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!”^(AM) So he named the well Esek,^[c] because they disputed with him. ²¹ Then they dug another well, but they quarreled^(AN) over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.^{[d] 22} He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,^[e](AO) saying, “Now the Lord has given us room^(AP) and we will flourish^(AQ) in the land.”

²³ From there he went up to Beersheba.^{(AR) 24} That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham.^(AS) Do not be afraid,^(AT) for I am with you;^(AU) I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants^(AV) for the sake of my servant Abraham.”^(AW)

²⁵ Isaac built an altar^(AX) there and called on the name of the Lord.^(AY) There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.^(AZ)

²⁶ Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces.^{(BA) 27} Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?^(BB)”

²⁸ They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you;^(BC) so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty^(BD) with you ²⁹ that you will do us no harm,^(BE) just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.”^(BF)

³⁰ Isaac then made a feast^(BG) for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ Early the next morning the men swore an oath^(BH) to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully.

³² That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well^(BI) they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” ³³ He called it Shibah,^[f] and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.^[g](BJ)

Jacob Takes Esau’s Blessing

³⁴ When Esau was forty years old,^(BK) he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.^{(BL) 35} They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.^(BM)

Marriage at the Resurrection^(A)

¹⁸ Then the Sadducees,^(B) who say there is no resurrection,^(C) came to him with a question. ¹⁹ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.^{(D) 20} Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. ²¹ The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. ²² In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. ²³ At the resurrection^[a] whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

²⁴ Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures^(E) or the power of God? ²⁵ When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.^{(F) 26} Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’^[b]?^{(G) 27} He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

The Greatest Commandment^(H)

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law^(I) came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{[c] 30} Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’^{[d](J) 31} The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[e](K) There is no commandment greater than these.”

³² “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.^{(L) 33} To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”^(M)

³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”^(N) And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.^(O)

Whose Son Is the Messiah?^(P)(Q)

³⁵ While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts,^(R) he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David?^{(S) 36} David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit,^(T) declared:

³⁷ David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

The large crowd^(V) listened to him with delight.

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

³⁸ As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.^{(W) 40} They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

The Widow’s Offering^(X)

⁴¹ Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put^(Y) and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴² But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

⁴³ Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴ They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”^(Z)