The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation

Of David.

Isaac Blesses Jacob

27 When Isaac was old and ^(A)his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” ² He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. ^3 (B)Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, ⁴ and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul ^(C)may bless you before I die.”

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, ⁶ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ⁷ ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.’ ⁸ Now therefore, my son, ^(D)obey my voice as I command you. ⁹ Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. ¹⁰ And you shall bring it to your father to eat, ^(E)so that he may bless you before he dies.” ¹¹ But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, ^(F)my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. ¹² Perhaps my father ^(G)will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring ^(H)a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” ¹³ His mother said to him, ^(I)“Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.”

¹⁴ So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the ^(J)best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. ¹⁶ And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

¹⁸ So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” ¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” ²⁰ But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” ²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I ^(K)may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” ²² So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ²³ And he did not recognize him, because ^(L)his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. ^(M)So he blessed him. ²⁴ He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” ²⁵ Then he said, “Bring it near to me, ^(N)that I may eat of my son's game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments ^(O)and blessed him and said,

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, ^(V)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, ^(W)“Is he not rightly named Jacob?^[a] For he has cheated me these two times. ^(X)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, ^(Y)I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and ^(Z)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 ^(AA)Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

³⁹ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

⁴¹ Now Esau ^(AE)hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, ^(AF)“The days of mourning for my father are approaching; ^(AG)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?”

⁴⁶ Then Rebekah said to Isaac, ^(AH)“I loathe my life because of the Hittite women.^{[d] (AI)}If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

13 ^(A)And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” ² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? ^(B)There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

³ And as he sat on ^(C)the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, ^(D)Peter and James and John and ^(E)Andrew asked him ^(F)privately, ⁴ “Tell us, ^(G)when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” ⁵ And Jesus began to say to them, ^(H)“See that no one leads you astray. ^6 (I)Many will come in my name, saying, ^(J)‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. ⁷ And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, ^(K)do not be alarmed. This ^(L)must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁸ For ^(M)nation will rise against nation, and ^(N)kingdom against kingdom. There will be ^(O)earthquakes in various places; there will be ^(P)famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

^9 (Q)“But ^(R)be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten ^(S)in synagogues, and you will stand before ^(T)governors and ^(U)kings for my sake, ^(V)to bear witness before them. ¹⁰ And the gospel must first be proclaimed ^(W)to all nations. ¹¹ And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, ^(X)do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say ^(Y)whatever is given you in that hour, ^(Z)for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. ^12 (AA)And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. ^13 (AB)And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. ^(AC)But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁴ “But when you see ^(AD)the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (^(AE)let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ^15 (AF)Let the one who is on ^(AG)the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, ¹⁶ and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. ¹⁷ And ^(AH)alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! ¹⁸ Pray that it may not happen in winter. ¹⁹ For in those days there will be ^(AI)such ^(AJ)tribulation as has not been ^(AK)from the beginning of the creation that ^(AL)God created until now, and never will be. ²⁰ And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for ^(AM)the sake of the elect, whom ^(AN)he chose, he shortened the days. ²¹ And ^(AO)then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. ^22 (AP)For false christs and false prophets will arise and ^(AQ)perform signs and wonders, ^(AR)to lead astray, if possible, ^(AS)the elect. ²³ But ^(AT)be on guard; ^(AU)I have told you all things beforehand.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁴ “But in those days, after ^(AV)that tribulation, ^(AW)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, ²⁵ and ^(AX)the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ And then they will see ^(AY)the Son of Man coming in clouds ^(AZ)with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then ^(BA)he will send out the angels and ^(BB)gather ^(BC)his elect from ^(BD)the four winds, from ^(BE)the ends of the earth ^(BF)to the ends of heaven.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

²⁸ “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, ^(BG)at the very gates. ^30 (BH)Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^31 (BI)Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^(BJ)my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day or Hour

³² “But concerning that day or that hour, ^(BK)no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, ^(BL)nor the Son, ^(BM)but only the Father. ^33 (BN)Be on guard, ^(BO)keep awake.^[a] For you do not know when the time will come. ^34 (BP)It is like a man ^(BQ)going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants^[b] in charge, ^(BR)each with his work, and commands ^(BS)the doorkeeper to stay awake. ^35 (BT)Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, ^(BU)in the evening, or ^(BV)at midnight, or ^(BW)when the rooster crows,^[c] or ^(BX)in the morning— ³⁶ lest ^(BY)he come suddenly and ^(BZ)find you asleep. ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: ^(CA)Stay awake.”