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The Death of Sarah
23 Sarah lived 127 years.[a] 2 Then she[b] died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.[c]
3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife[d] and said to the sons of Heth,[e] 4 “I am a foreign resident, a temporary settler,[f] among you. Grant[g] me ownership[h] of a burial site among you so that I may[i] bury my dead.”[j]
5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham,[k] 6 “Listen, sir,[l] you are a mighty prince[m] among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you[n] from burying your dead.”
7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people,[o] the sons of Heth. 8 Then he said to them, “If you agree[p] that I may bury my dead,[q] then hear me out.[r] Ask[s] Ephron the son of Zohar 9 if he will sell[t] me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly[u] for the full price,[v] so that I may own it as a burial site.”
10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hittite[w] replied to Abraham in the hearing[x] of the sons of Heth—before all who entered the gate[y] of his city— 11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell[z] you both the field and the cave that is in it.[aa] In the presence of my people[ab] I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”
12 Abraham bowed before the local people 13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay[ac] to you the price[ad] of the field. Take it from me so that I may[ae] bury my dead there.”
14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth[af] 400 pieces of silver,[ag] but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”
16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price[ah] and weighed out[ai] for him[aj] the price[ak] that Ephron had quoted[al] in the hearing of the sons of Heth—400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time.[am]
17 So Abraham secured[an] Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city.[ao]
19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site[ap] from the sons of Heth.
The Wife for Isaac
24 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years,[aq] and the Lord had blessed him[ar] in everything. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one[as] in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh[at] 3 so that I may make you solemnly promise[au] by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire[av] a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives[aw] to find[ax] a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me[ay] to this land? Must I then[az] take your son back to the land from which you came?”
6 “Be careful[ba] never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him.[bb] 7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives,[bc] promised me with a solemn oath,[bd] ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel[be] before you so that you may find[bf] a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you,[bg] you will be free[bh] from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!” 9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes.[bi]
10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal.[bj] He journeyed[bk] to the region of Aram Naharaim[bl] and the city of Nahor. 11 He made the camels kneel down by the well[bm] outside the city. It was evening,[bn] the time when the women would go out to draw water. 12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today.[bo] Be faithful[bp] to my master Abraham. 13 Here I am, standing by the spring,[bq] and the daughters of the people[br] who live in the town are coming out to draw water. 14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’[bs] In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.”[bt]
15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah[bu] with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor).[bv] 16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever been physically intimate with her.[bw] She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 17 Abraham’s servant[bx] ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering[by] her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 19 When she had done so,[bz] she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 20 She quickly emptied[ca] her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. 21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine[cb] if the Lord had made his journey successful[cc] or not.
22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka[cd] and two gold wrist bracelets weighing ten shekels[ce] and gave them to her.[cf] 23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked.[cg] “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”
24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.[ch] 25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added,[ci] “and room for you[cj] to spend the night.”
26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, 27 saying, “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love[ck] for my master! The Lord has led me[cl] to the house[cm] of my master’s relatives!”[cn]
28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about[co] these things. 29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.)[cp] Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring. 30 When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring[cq] and heard his sister Rebekah say,[cr] “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing[cs] by the camels near the spring. 31 Laban said to him,[ct] “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord![cu] Why are you standing out here when I have prepared[cv] the house and a place for the camels?”
32 So Abraham’s servant[cw] went to the house and unloaded[cx] the camels. Straw and feed were given[cy] to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet.[cz] 33 When food was served,[da] he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.”[db] “Tell us,” Laban said.[dc]
34 “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. 35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy.[dd] The Lord[de] has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him[df] when she was old,[dg] and my master[dh] has given him everything he owns. 37 My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find[di] a wife for my son.’ 39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go[dj] with me?’[dk] 40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked,[dl] will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 41 You will be free from your oath[dm] if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’ 42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful,[dn] may events unfold as follows:[do] 43 Here I am, standing by the spring.[dp] When[dq] the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jug.” 44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’
45 “Before I finished praying in my heart,[dr] along came Rebekah[ds] with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’[dt] I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter[du] of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.”[dv]
50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing.[dw] Our wishes are of no concern.[dx] 51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become[dy] the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.”[dz]
Cleansing a Leper
8 After he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. 2 And a leper[a] approached and bowed low before him,[b] saying, “Lord, if[c] you are willing, you can make me clean.” 3 He stretched out his hand and touched[d] him saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you do not speak to anyone,[e] but go, show yourself to the priest, and bring the offering[f] that Moses commanded,[g] as a testimony to them.”[h]
Healing the Centurion’s Servant
5 When he entered Capernaum,[i] a centurion[j] came to him asking for help:[k] 6 “Lord,[l] my servant[m] is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible anguish.” 7 Jesus[n] said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied,[o] “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof! Instead, just say the word and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.[p] I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes,[q] and to another ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave[r] ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”[s] 10 When[t] Jesus heard this he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “I tell you the truth,[u] I have not found such faith in anyone in Israel! 11 I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet[v] with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob[w] in the kingdom of heaven, 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness,[x] where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”[y] 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; just as you believed, it will be done for you.” And the servant[z] was healed at that hour.
Healings at Peter’s House
14 Now[aa] when Jesus entered Peter’s house,[ab] he saw his[ac] mother-in-law lying down,[ad] sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then[ae] she got up and began to serve them.[af] 16 When it was evening, many demon-possessed people were brought to him. He drove out the spirits with a word,[ag] and healed all who were sick.[ah] 17 In this way what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled:[ai]
“He took our weaknesses and carried our diseases.”[aj]
13 when they prayed:[a]
“Have mercy on me,[b] Lord!
See how I am oppressed by those who hate me,[c]
O one who can snatch me away[d] from the gates of death!
14 Then I will[e] tell about all your praiseworthy acts;[f]
in the gates of Daughter Zion[g] I will rejoice because of your deliverance.”[h]
15 The nations fell[i] into the pit they had made;
their feet were caught in the net they had hidden.[j]
16 The Lord revealed himself;
he accomplished justice.
The wicked were ensnared by their own actions.[k] (Higgaion.[l] Selah)
17 The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol;[m]
this is the destiny of[n] all the nations that ignore[o] God,
18 for the needy are not permanently ignored,[p]
the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed.[q]
19 Rise up, Lord![r]
Don’t let men be defiant.[s]
May the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Terrify them, Lord.[t]
Let the nations know they are mere mortals.[u] (Selah)
Exhortations to Seek Wisdom and Walk with the Lord[a]
3 My child,[b] do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep[c] my commandments,
2 for they will provide[d] a long and full life,[e]
and well-being[f] for you.
3 Do not let mercy and truth[g] leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.[h]
4 Then you will find[i] favor and good understanding,[j]
in the sight of God and people.[k]
5 Trust[l] in the Lord with all your heart,[m]
and do not rely[n] on your own understanding.[o]
6 Acknowledge[p] him in all your ways,[q]
and he will make your paths straight.[r]
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