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Genesis 25-26
The Message
Genesis 25-26
The Message
25 1-2 Abraham married a second time; his new wife was named Keturah. She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
3 Jokshan had Sheba and Dedan.
Dedan’s descendants were the Asshurim, the Letushim, and the Leummim.
4 Midian had Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah—all from the line of Keturah.
5-6 But Abraham gave everything he possessed to Isaac. While he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons he had by his concubines, but then sent them away to the country of the east, putting a good distance between them and his son Isaac.
7-11 Abraham lived 175 years. Then he took his final breath. He died happy at a ripe old age, full of years, and was buried with his family. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, next to Mamre. It was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried next to his wife Sarah. After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac lived at Beer Lahai Roi.
The Family Tree of Ishmael
12 This is the family tree of Ishmael son of Abraham, the son that Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maid, bore to Abraham.
13-16 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons in the order of their births: Nebaioth, Ishmael’s firstborn, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah—all the sons of Ishmael. Their settlements and encampments were named after them. Twelve princes with their twelve tribes.
17-18 Ishmael lived 137 years. When he breathed his last and died he was buried with his family. His children settled down all the way from Havilah near Egypt eastward to Shur in the direction of Assyria. The Ishmaelites didn’t get along with any of their kin.
Jacob and Esau
19-20 This is the family tree of Isaac son of Abraham: Abraham had Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan Aram. She was the sister of Laban the Aramean.
21-23 Isaac prayed hard to God for his wife because she was barren. God answered his prayer and Rebekah became pregnant. But the children tumbled and kicked inside her so much that she said, “If this is the way it’s going to be, why go on living?” She went to God to find out what was going on. God told her,
Two nations are in your womb,
two peoples butting heads while still in your body.
One people will overpower the other,
and the older will serve the younger.
24-26 When her time to give birth came, sure enough, there were twins in her womb. The first came out reddish, as if snugly wrapped in a hairy blanket; they named him Esau (Hairy). His brother followed, his fist clutched tight to Esau’s heel; they named him Jacob (Heel). Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.
27-28 The boys grew up. Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman. Jacob was a quiet man preferring life indoors among the tents. Isaac loved Esau because he loved his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29-30 One day Jacob was cooking a stew. Esau came in from the field, starved. Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stew—I’m starved!” That’s how he came to be called Edom (Red).
31 Jacob said, “Make me a trade: my stew for your rights as the firstborn.”
32 Esau said, “I’m starving! What good is a birthright if I’m dead?”
33-34 Jacob said, “First, swear to me.” And he did it. On oath Esau traded away his rights as the firstborn. Jacob gave him bread and the stew of lentils. He ate and drank, got up and left. That’s how Esau shrugged off his rights as the firstborn.
* * *
26 There was a famine in the land, as bad as the famine during the time of Abraham. And Isaac went down to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
2-5 God appeared to him and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt; stay where I tell you. Stay here in this land and I’ll be with you and bless you. I’m giving you and your children all these lands, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I’ll make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky and give them all these lands. All the nations of the Earth will get a blessing for themselves through your descendants. And why? Because Abraham obeyed my summons and kept my charge—my commands, my guidelines, my teachings.”
6 So Isaac stayed put in Gerar.
7 The men of the place questioned him about his wife. He said, “She’s my sister.” He was afraid to say “She’s my wife.” He was thinking, “These men might kill me to get Rebekah, she’s so beautiful.”
8-9 One day, after they had been there quite a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac fondling his wife Rebekah. Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So, she’s your wife. Why did you tell us ‘She’s my sister’?”
Isaac said, “Because I thought I might get killed by someone who wanted her.”
10 Abimelech said, “But think of what you might have done to us! Given a little more time, one of the men might have slept with your wife; you would have been responsible for bringing guilt down on us.”
11 Then Abimelech gave orders to his people: “Anyone who so much as lays a hand on this man or his wife dies.”
12-15 Isaac planted crops in that land and took in a huge harvest. God blessed him. The man got richer and richer by the day until he was very wealthy. He accumulated flocks and herds and many, many servants, so much so that the Philistines began to envy him. They got back at him by throwing dirt and debris into all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham, clogging up all the wells.
16 Finally, Abimelech told Isaac: “Leave. You’ve become far too big for us.”
17-18 So Isaac left. He camped in the valley of Gerar and settled down there. Isaac dug again the wells which were dug in the days of his father Abraham but had been clogged up by the Philistines after Abraham’s death. And he renamed them, using the original names his father had given them.
19-24 One day, as Isaac’s servants were digging in the valley, they came on a well of spring water. The shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s shepherds, claiming, “This water is ours.” So Isaac named the well Esek (Quarrel) because they quarreled over it. They dug another well and there was a difference over that one also, so he named it Sitnah (Accusation). He went on from there and dug yet another well. But there was no fighting over this one so he named it Rehoboth (Wide-Open Spaces), saying, “Now God has given us plenty of space to spread out in the land.” From there he went up to Beersheba. That very night God appeared to him and said,
I am the God of Abraham your father;
don’t fear a thing because I’m with you.
I’ll bless you and make your children flourish
because of Abraham my servant.
25 Isaac built an altar there and prayed, calling on God by name. He pitched his tent and his servants started digging another well.
26-27 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his advisor and Phicol the head of his troops. Isaac asked them, “Why did you come to me? You hate me; you threw me out of your country.”
28-29 They said, “We’ve realized that God is on your side. We’d like to make a deal between us—a covenant that we maintain friendly relations. We haven’t bothered you in the past; we treated you kindly and let you leave us in peace. So—God’s blessing be with you!”
30-31 Isaac laid out a feast and they ate and drank together. Early in the morning they exchanged oaths. Then Isaac said good-bye and they parted as friends.
32-33 Later that same day, Isaac’s servants came to him with news about the well they had been digging, “We’ve struck water!” Isaac named the well Sheba (Oath), and that’s the name of the city, Beersheba (Oath-Well), to this day.
* * *
34-35 When Esau was forty years old he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. They turned out to be thorns in the sides of Isaac and Rebekah.
* * *
Genesis 25-26
New International Version
Genesis 25-26
New International Version
The Death of Abraham(A)
25 Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran,(B) Jokshan, Medan, Midian,(C) Ishbak and Shuah.(D) 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba(E) and Dedan;(F) the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah,(G) Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.
5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.(H) 6 But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines(I) and sent them away from his son Isaac(J) to the land of the east.(K)
7 Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years.(L) 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age,(M) an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.(N) 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him(O) in the cave of Machpelah(P) near Mamre,(Q) in the field of Ephron(R) son of Zohar the Hittite,(S) 10 the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites.[a](T) There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac,(U) who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.(V)
Ishmael’s Sons(W)
12 This is the account(X) of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar(Y) the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.(Z)
13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth(AA) the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar,(AB) Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah,(AC) Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema,(AD) Jetur,(AE) Naphish and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers(AF) according to their settlements and camps.(AG) 17 Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people.(AH) 18 His descendants(AI) settled in the area from Havilah to Shur,(AJ) near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward[b] all the tribes related to them.(AK)
Jacob and Esau
19 This is the account(AL) of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.
Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old(AM) when he married Rebekah(AN) daughter of Bethuel(AO) the Aramean from Paddan Aram[c](AP) and sister of Laban(AQ) the Aramean.(AR)
21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless.(AS) The Lord answered his prayer,(AT) and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.(AU)
23 The Lord said to her,
“Two nations(AV) are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.(AW)”
24 When the time came for her to give birth,(AX) there were twin boys in her womb.(AY) 25 The first to come out was red,(AZ) and his whole body was like a hairy garment;(BA) so they named him Esau.[d](BB) 26 After this, his brother came out,(BC) with his hand grasping Esau’s heel;(BD) so he was named Jacob.[e](BE) Isaac was sixty years old(BF) when Rebekah gave birth to them.
27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter,(BG) a man of the open country,(BH) while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game,(BI) loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.(BJ)
29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew,(BK) Esau came in from the open country,(BL) famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew!(BM) I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.[f])(BN)
31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.(BO)”
32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”
33 But Jacob said, “Swear(BP) to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright(BQ) to Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew.(BR) He ate and drank, and then got up and left.
So Esau despised his birthright.
Isaac and Abimelek(BS)
26 Now there was a famine in the land(BT)—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines(BU) in Gerar.(BV) 2 The Lord appeared(BW) to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt;(BX) live in the land where I tell you to live.(BY) 3 Stay in this land for a while,(BZ) and I will be with you(CA) and will bless you.(CB) For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands(CC) and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.(CD) 4 I will make your descendants(CE) as numerous as the stars in the sky(CF) and will give them all these lands,(CG) and through your offspring[g] all nations on earth will be blessed,[h](CH) 5 because Abraham obeyed me(CI) and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees(CJ) and my instructions.(CK)” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.(CL)
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,(CM)” 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(CN) 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’?(CO)”
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?(CP) 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(CQ) this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”(CR)
12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold,(CS) because the Lord blessed him.(CT) 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.(CU) 14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants(CV) that the Philistines envied him.(CW) 15 So all the wells(CX) that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up,(CY) filling them with earth.
16 Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us;(CZ) you have become too powerful for us.(DA)”
17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar,(DB) where he settled. 18 Isaac reopened the wells(DC) 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(DD) with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!”(DE) So he named the well Esek,[i] because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled(DF) over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.[j] 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,[k](DG) saying, “Now the Lord has given us room(DH) and we will flourish(DI) in the land.”
23 From there he went up to Beersheba.(DJ) 24 That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham.(DK) Do not be afraid,(DL) for I am with you;(DM) I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants(DN) for the sake of my servant Abraham.”(DO)
25 Isaac built an altar(DP) there and called on the name of the Lord.(DQ) There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.(DR)
26 Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces.(DS) 27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?(DT)”
28 They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you;(DU) so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty(DV) with you 29 that you will do us no harm,(DW) 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.”(DX)
30 Isaac then made a feast(DY) for them, and they ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning the men swore an oath(DZ) 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(EA) they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” 33 He called it Shibah,[l] and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.[m](EB)
Jacob Takes Esau’s Blessing
34 When Esau was forty years old,(EC) he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.(ED) 35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.(EE)
Footnotes
- Genesis 25:10 Or the descendants of Heth
- Genesis 25:18 Or lived to the east of
- Genesis 25:20 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
- Genesis 25:25 Esau may mean hairy.
- Genesis 25:26 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he deceives.
- Genesis 25:30 Edom means red.
- Genesis 26:4 Or seed
- Genesis 26:4 Or and all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)
- Genesis 26:20 Esek means dispute.
- Genesis 26:21 Sitnah means opposition.
- Genesis 26:22 Rehoboth means room.
- Genesis 26:33 Shibah can mean oath or seven.
- Genesis 26:33 Beersheba can mean well of the oath and well of seven.
Matthew 8:1-17
The Message
Matthew 8:1-17
The Message
He Carried Our Diseases
8 1-2 Jesus came down the mountain with the cheers of the crowd still ringing in his ears. Then a leper appeared and dropped to his knees before Jesus, praying, “Master, if you want to, you can heal my body.”
3-4 Jesus reached out and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be clean.” Then and there, all signs of the leprosy were gone. Jesus said, “Don’t talk about this all over town. Just quietly present your healed body to the priest, along with the appropriate expressions of thanks to God. Your cleansed and grateful life, not your words, will bear witness to what I have done.”
5-6 As Jesus entered the village of Capernaum, a Roman captain came up in a panic and said, “Master, my servant is sick. He can’t walk. He’s in terrible pain.”
7 Jesus said, “I’ll come and heal him.”
8-9 “Oh, no,” said the captain. “I don’t want to put you to all that trouble. Just give the order and my servant will be fine. I’m a man who takes orders and gives orders. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10-12 Taken aback, Jesus said, “I’ve yet to come across this kind of simple trust in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know all about God and how he works. This man is the vanguard of many outsiders who will soon be coming from all directions—streaming in from the east, pouring in from the west, sitting down at God’s kingdom banquet alongside Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then those who grew up ‘in the faith’ but had no faith will find themselves out in the cold, outsiders to grace and wondering what happened.”
13 Then Jesus turned to the captain and said, “Go. What you believed could happen has happened.” At that moment his servant became well.
14-15 By this time they were in front of Peter’s house. On entering, Jesus found Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed, burning up with fever. He touched her hand and the fever was gone. No sooner was she up on her feet than she was fixing dinner for him.
16-17 That evening a lot of demon-afflicted people were brought to him. He relieved the inwardly tormented. He cured the bodily ill. He fulfilled Isaiah’s well-known revelation:
He took our illnesses,
He carried our diseases.
Matthew 8:1-17
New International Version
Matthew 8:1-17
New International Version
Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy(A)
8 When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with leprosy[a](B) came and knelt before him(C) and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone.(D) But go, show yourself to the priest(E) and offer the gift Moses commanded,(F) as a testimony to them.”
The Faith of the Centurion(G)
5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed,(H) suffering terribly.”
7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.(I) 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.(J) 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west,(K) and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.(L) 12 But the subjects of the kingdom(M) will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”(N)
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.”(O) And his servant was healed at that moment.
Jesus Heals Many(P)
14 When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.
16 When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.(Q) 17 This was to fulfill(R) what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
Footnotes
- Matthew 8:2 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
- Matthew 8:17 Isaiah 53:4 (see Septuagint)
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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