Bible in 90 Days
20 Then Jacob (A)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 (B)so that I come again to my father's house in peace, (C)then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, (D)shall be God's house. And (E)of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
29 Then Jacob went on his journey and came to (F)the land of the people of the east. 2 As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well's mouth was large, 3 and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.
4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, (G)“We are from Haran.” 5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.” 6 He said to them, “Is it well with him?” They said, “It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!” 7 He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them.” 8 But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”
9 While he was still speaking with them, (H)Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was (I)her father's kinsman, and that he was Rebekah's son, (J)and she ran and told her father.
13 As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, (K)he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, 14 and Laban said to him, (L)“Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah's eyes were weak,[a] but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. 18 Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, (M)“I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob (N)served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and (O)made a feast. 23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. 24 (Laban gave[b] (P)his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 25 And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” 26 Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 (Q)Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” 28 Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29 (Laban gave (R)his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban (S)for another seven years.
Jacob's Children
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was (T)hated, (U)he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben,[c] for she said, “Because the Lord (V)has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.[d] 34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be (W)attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.[e] 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name (X)Judah.[f] Then she ceased bearing.
30 When Rachel saw that (Y)she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” 2 Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, (Z)who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 Then she said, “Here is my servant (AA)Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth (AB)on my behalf,[g] that even I may have children[h] through her.” 4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has (AC)judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.[i] 7 Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings[j] I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name (AD)Naphtali.[k]
9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and (AE)gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, (AF)“Good fortune has come!” so she called his name (AG)Gad.[l] 12 Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women (AH)have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.[m]
14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found (AI)mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.[n]
19 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name (AJ)Zebulun.[o] 21 Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.
22 Then God (AK)remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and (AL)opened her womb. 23 She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away (AM)my reproach.” 24 And she called his name Joseph,[p] saying, (AN)“May the Lord add to me another son!”
Jacob's Prosperity
25 As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. 26 Give me my wives and my children (AO)for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you.” 27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that[q] the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 (AP)Name your wages, and I will give it.” 29 Jacob said to him, (AQ)“You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me. 30 For you had little before I came, (AR)and it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I (AS)provide for my own household also?” 31 He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it: 32 let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and (AT)they shall be my wages. 33 So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.” 34 Laban said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.” 35 But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in the charge of his sons. 36 And he set a distance of three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban's flock.
37 Then (AU)Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. 38 He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the (AV)watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, 39 the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. 40 And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban's flock. 41 Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks, 42 but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. 43 Thus the man (AW)increased greatly and (AX)had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.
Jacob Flees from Laban
31 Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has gained all this wealth.” 2 And Jacob saw (AY)that Laban did not regard him with favor as before. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, (AZ)“Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was 5 and said to them, (BA)“I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father (BB)has been with me. 6 (BC)You know that I have served your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages (BD)ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me. 8 If he said, (BE)‘The spotted shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. 9 Thus God has (BF)taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. 10 In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. 11 Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ 12 And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for (BG)I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, (BH)where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now (BI)arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.’” 14 Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there (BJ)any portion or inheritance left to us in our father's house? 15 Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For (BK)he has sold us, and he has indeed devoured our money. 16 All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do.”
17 So Jacob arose and set his sons and his wives on camels. 18 He drove away all his livestock, all his property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in (BL)Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. 19 Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father's (BM)household gods. 20 And Jacob tricked[r] Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that he intended to flee. 21 He fled with all that he had and arose and crossed the (BN)Euphrates,[s] and (BO)set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.
22 When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, 23 he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days and followed close after him into the hill country of Gilead. 24 But God came to Laban the Aramean (BP)in a dream by night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, (BQ)either good or bad.”
25 And Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen pitched tents in the hill country of Gilead. 26 And Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, that you have (BR)tricked me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword? 27 Why did you flee secretly (BS)and trick me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre? 28 And why did you not permit me (BT)to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? Now you have done foolishly. 29 It is (BU)in my power to do you harm. But the (BV)God of your[t] father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, (BW)either good or bad.’ 30 And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father's house, but why did you (BX)steal my gods?” 31 Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 (BY)Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsmen point out what I have that is yours, and take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
33 So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find them. And he went out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's. 34 Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel's saddle and sat on them. Laban felt all about the tent, but did not find them. 35 And she said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot (BZ)rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the household gods.
36 Then Jacob became angry and berated Laban. Jacob said to Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me? 37 For you have felt through all my goods; what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and (CA)your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two. 38 These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. 39 What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. (CB)From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41 These twenty years I have been in your house. (CC)I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and (CD)you have changed my wages ten times. 42 (CE)If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the (CF)Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. (CG)God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and (CH)rebuked you last night.”
43 Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne? 44 Come now, (CI)let us make a covenant, you and I. (CJ)And let it be a witness between you and me.” 45 So Jacob (CK)took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 And Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha,[u] but Jacob called it Galeed.[v] 48 Laban said, (CL)“This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore he named it Galeed, 49 (CM)and Mizpah,[w] for he said, “The Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of one another's sight. 50 If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, (CN)God is witness between you and me.”
51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. 52 (CO)This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm. 53 The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the (CP)Fear of his father Isaac, 54 and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called (CQ)his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.
55 [x] Early in the morning Laban arose and kissed (CR)his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned home.
Jacob Fears Esau
32 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 And when Jacob saw them he said, “This is God's (CS)camp!” So he called the name of that place (CT)Mahanaim.[y]
3 And Jacob sent[z] messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of (CU)Seir, the country of Edom, 4 instructing them, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. 5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that (CV)I may find favor in your sight.’”
6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and (CW)he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.” 7 Then Jacob was (CX)greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, 8 thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.”
9 And Jacob said, (CY)“O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who (CZ)said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ 10 (DA)I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for (DB)I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. 12 But (DC)you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”
13 So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took (DD)a present for his brother Esau, 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove.” 17 He instructed the first, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?’ 18 then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.’” 19 He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him, 20 and you shall say, ‘Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he thought, “I may appease him[aa] with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.”[ab] 21 So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.
Jacob Wrestles with God
22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children,[ac] and crossed the ford of the (DE)Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And (DF)a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, (DG)“I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, (DH)“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,[ad] for (DI)you have striven with God and (DJ)with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, (DK)“Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel,[ae] saying, “For (DL)I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed (DM)Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.
Jacob Meets Esau
33 And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, (DN)Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. 2 And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. 3 He himself went on before them, (DO)bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
4 (DP)But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him (DQ)and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. 5 And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, (DR)“The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down. 7 Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. 8 Esau said, “What do you mean by (DS)all this company[af] that I met?” Jacob answered, (DT)“To find favor in the sight of my lord.” 9 But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” 10 Jacob said, “No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. (DU)For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me. 11 Please accept my (DV)blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” Thus he (DW)urged him, and he took it.
12 Then Esau said, “Let us journey on our way, and I will go ahead of[ag] you.” 13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die. 14 Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord (DX)in Seir.”
15 So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? (DY)Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” 16 So Esau returned that day on his way to (DZ)Seir. 17 But Jacob journeyed to (EA)Succoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.[ah]
18 And Jacob came safely[ai] to the city of (EB)Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city. 19 And from the sons of (EC)Hamor, Shechem's father, (ED)he bought for a hundred pieces of money[aj] the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent. 20 There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.[ak]
The Defiling of Dinah
34 Now (EE)Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of (EF)Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. 3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4 So Shechem (EG)spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.”
5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7 The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and (EH)very angry, because he (EI)had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, (EJ)for such a thing must not be done.
8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your[al] daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. 9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You shall dwell with us, and (EK)the land shall be open to you. Dwell and (EL)trade in it, and (EM)get property in it.” 11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, (EN)“Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12 Ask me for as great a (EO)bride-price[am] and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.”
13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for (EP)that would be a disgrace to us. 15 Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. 16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.”
18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor's son Shechem. 19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. Now (EQ)he was the most honored of all his father's house. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem (ER)came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and (ES)trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.” 24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who (ET)went out of the gate of his city.
25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, (EU)Simeon and Levi, (EV)Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house and went away. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, (EW)“You have brought trouble on me (EX)by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, (EY)the Canaanites and the Perizzites. (EZ)My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” 31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”
God Blesses and Renames Jacob
35 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to (FA)Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you (FB)when you fled from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his (FC)household and to all who were with him, “Put away (FD)the foreign gods that are among you and (FE)purify yourselves and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God (FF)who answers me in the day of my distress and (FG)has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under (FH)the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.
5 And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 And Jacob came to (FI)Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, 7 and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel,[an] because (FJ)there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. 8 And (FK)Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.[ao]
9 God appeared[ap] to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; (FL)no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but (FM)Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. 11 And God said to him, (FN)“I am God Almighty:[aq] be (FO)fruitful and multiply. (FP)A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.[ar] 12 (FQ)The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” 13 Then God (FR)went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. 14 And Jacob (FS)set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15 So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him (FT)Bethel.
The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac
16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance[as] from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. 17 And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for (FU)you have another son.” 18 And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni;[at] (FV)but his father called him Benjamin.[au] 19 So (FW)Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to (FX)Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), 20 and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is (FY)the pillar of Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day. 21 Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.
22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and (FZ)lay with Bilhah his father's concubine. And Israel heard of it.
Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. 23 The sons of Leah: (GA)Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
27 And Jacob came to his father Isaac at (GB)Mamre, or (GC)Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. 28 Now the days of Isaac were 180 years. 29 And Isaac breathed his last, and he died (GD)and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And (GE)his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Esau's Descendants
36 These are the generations of Esau (that is, (GF)Edom). 2 Esau (GG)took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, (GH)Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter[av] of Zibeon the Hivite, 3 and (GI)Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. 4 And Adah bore to Esau, (GJ)Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel; 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 (GK)For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. (GL)The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau settled in (GM)the hill country of Seir. ((GN)Esau is Edom.)
9 These are the generations of Esau the father of (GO)the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. 10 These are the names of Esau's sons: (GP)Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. 11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son; she bore (GQ)Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife. 13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 14 These are the sons of (GR)Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
15 These are (GS)the chiefs of the sons of Esau. (GT)The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 17 These are the sons of (GU)Reuel, Esau's son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 18 These are the sons of (GV)Oholibamah, Esau's wife: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. 19 These are the sons of Esau ((GW)that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.
20 (GX)These are the sons of (GY)Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna. 23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father. 25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and (GZ)Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. 26 These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These are the chiefs of the Horites: the (HA)chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir.
31 (HB)These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. 32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. 33 Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. 34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 35 Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith. 36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. 37 Samlah died, and Shaul of (HC)Rehoboth on the Euphrates[aw] reigned in his place. 38 Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 39 Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.
40 These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, (HD)Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of (HE)Edom), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession.
Joseph's Dreams
37 Jacob lived in (HF)the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.
2 These are the generations of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought (HG)a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was (HH)the son of his old age. And he made him (HI)a robe of many colors.[ax] 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, (HJ)my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and (HK)bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and (HL)your mother and your brothers indeed come (HM)to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” 11 And (HN)his brothers were jealous of him, (HO)but his father kept the saying in mind.
Joseph Sold by His Brothers
12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near (HP)Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of (HQ)Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to (HR)Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at (HS)Dothan.
18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them (HT)they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, (HU)let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits.[ay] Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when (HV)Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—(HW)that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, (HX)the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and (HY)threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a (HZ)caravan of (IA)Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing (IB)gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it (IC)if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and (ID)let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then (IE)Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and (IF)sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels[az] of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he (IG)tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy (IH)is gone, and I, where shall I go?” 31 Then they took (II)Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not.” 33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son's robe. (IJ)A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters (IK)rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, (IL)I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile (IM)the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, (IN)the captain of the guard.
Judah and Tamar
38 It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and (IO)turned aside to a certain (IP)Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was (IQ)Shua. He took her and went in to her, 3 and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name (IR)Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name (IS)Onan. 5 Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name (IT)Shelah. Judah[ba] was in Chezib when she bore him.
6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah's firstborn, (IU)was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to (IV)your brother's wife and (IW)perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother's wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. 10 And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also. 11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, (IX)“Remain a widow in your father's house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained (IY)in her father's house.
12 In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua's daughter, died. When Judah (IZ)was comforted, he went up to (JA)Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” 14 she took off her widow's garments (JB)and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to (JC)Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, (JD)and she had not been given to him in marriage. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16 He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” 17 He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—” 18 He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, (JE)“Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. 19 Then she arose and went away, and taking off (JF)her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.
20 When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman's hand, he did not find her. 21 And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute[bb] who was at (JG)Enaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.” 22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here.’” 23 And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.”
24 About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law (JH)has been immoral.[bc] Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.”[bd] And Judah said, “Bring her out, and (JI)let her be burned.” 25 As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, (JJ)the signet and the cord and the staff.” 26 Then Judah identified them and said, (JK)“She is more righteous than I, since (JL)I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.
27 When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. 28 And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called (JM)Perez.[be] 30 Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called (JN)Zerah.
Joseph and Potiphar's Wife
39 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and (JO)Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, (JP)had bought him from the (JQ)Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2 (JR)The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord (JS)caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4 So Joseph (JT)found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house (JU)and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house (JV)for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.
Now Joseph was (JW)handsome in form and appearance. 7 And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master's wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and (JX)he has put everything that he has in my charge. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and (JY)sin against God?” 10 And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he (JZ)would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.
11 But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, 12 (KA)she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. 13 And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, 14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” 16 Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. 18 But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”
19 As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. 20 And Joseph's master took him and (KB)put him into the (KC)prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21 But (KD)the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love (KE)and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison (KF)put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because (KG)the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.
Joseph Interprets Two Prisoners' Dreams
40 Some time after this, the (KH)cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 (KI)and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.
5 And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. 7 So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, (KJ)“Why are your faces downcast today?” 8 They said to him, (KK)“We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, (KL)“Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”
9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, 10 and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.