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52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 53 Then he[a] brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother. 54 After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight.[b]
When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.”[c] 55 But Rebekah’s[d] brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go.” 56 But he said to them, “Don’t detain me—the Lord[e] has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return[f] to my master.” 57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.”[g] 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want[h] to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”
59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 They blessed Rebekah with these words:[i]
“Our sister, may you become the mother[j] of thousands of ten thousands!
May your descendants possess the strongholds[k] of their enemies.”
61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with[l] the man. So Abraham’s servant[m] took Rebekah and left.
62 Now[n] Isaac came from[o] Beer Lahai Roi,[p] for[q] he was living in the Negev.[r] 63 He[s] went out to relax[t] in the field in the early evening.[u] Then he looked up[v] and saw that[w] there were camels approaching. 64 Rebekah looked up[x] and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 65 and asked[y] Abraham’s servant,[z] “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied.[aa] So she took her veil and covered herself.
66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah[ab] into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her[ac] as his wife and loved her.[ad] So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.[ae]
The Death of Abraham
25 Abraham had taken[af] another[ag] wife, named Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan.[ah] The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants[ai] of Keturah.
5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines[aj] and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac.[ak]
7 Abraham lived a total of[al] 175 years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life.[am] He joined his ancestors.[an] 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah[ao] near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hittite.[ap] 10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth.[aq] There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed[ar] his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi.[as]
The Sons of Ishmael
12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael,[at] whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.
13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records:[au] Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps—twelve princes[av] according to their clans.
17 Ishmael lived a total of[aw] 137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors.[ax] 18 His descendants[ay] settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next to[az] Egypt all the way[ba] to Asshur.[bb] They settled[bc] away from all their relatives.[bd]
Jacob and Esau
19 This is the account of Isaac,[be] the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac. 20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah,[bf] the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.[bg]
21 Isaac prayed[bh] to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 But the children struggled[bi] inside her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?”[bj] So she asked the Lord,[bk] 23 and the Lord said to her,
“Two nations[bl] are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth,[bm] there were[bn] twins in her womb. 25 The first came out reddish[bo] all over,[bp] like a hairy[bq] garment, so they named him Esau.[br] 26 When his brother came out with[bs] his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob.[bt] Isaac was sixty years old[bu] when they were born.
27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled[bv] hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents.[bw] 28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game,[bx] but Rebekah loved[by] Jacob.
29 Now Jacob cooked some stew,[bz] and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed[ca] me some of the red stuff—yes, this red stuff—because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called[cb] Edom.)[cc]
31 But Jacob replied, “First[cd] sell me your birthright.” 32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?”[ce] 33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.”[cf] So Esau[cg] swore an oath to him and sold his birthright[ch] to Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out.[ci] So Esau despised his birthright.[cj]
Isaac and Abimelech
26 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred[ck] in the days of Abraham.[cl] Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt;[cm] settle down in the land that I will point out to you.[cn] 3 Stay[co] in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you,[cp] for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants,[cq] and I will fulfill[cr] the solemn promise I made[cs] to your father Abraham. 4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them[ct] all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants.[cu] 5 All this will come to pass[cv] because Abraham obeyed me[cw] and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”[cx] 6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.”[cy] He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself,[cz] “The men of this place will kill me to get[da] Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
8 After Isaac[db] had been there a long time,[dc] Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed[dd] Isaac caressing[de] his wife Rebekah. 9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really[df] your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.”[dg]
10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us?[dh] One of the men[di] nearly took your wife to bed,[dj] and you would have brought guilt on us!” 11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches[dk] this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”[dl]
12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown,[dm] because the Lord blessed him.[dn] 13 The man became wealthy.[do] His influence continued to grow[dp] until he became very prominent. 14 He had[dq] so many sheep[dr] and cattle[ds] and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous of[dt] him. 15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up[du] all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.
16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere,[dv] for you have become much more powerful[dw] than we are.”
Challenging Professed Followers
18 Now when Jesus saw a large crowd[a] around him, he gave orders to go to the other side of the lake.[b] 19 Then[c] an expert in the law[d] came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”[e] 20 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens, and the birds in the sky[f] have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”[g] 21 Another[h] of the[i] disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”[j]
Stilling of a Storm
23 As he got into the boat,[k] his disciples followed him.[l] 24 And a great storm developed on the sea so that the waves began to swamp the boat.[m] But he was asleep. 25 So they came[n] and woke him up saying, “Lord, save us! We are about to die!” 26 But[o] he said to them, “Why are you cowardly, you people of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked[p] the winds and the sea,[q] and it was dead calm. 27 And the men[r] were amazed and said,[s] “What sort of person is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him!”[t]
Healing the Gadarene Demoniacs
28 When he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes,[u] two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were extremely violent, so that no one was able to pass by that way.[v] 29 They[w] cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone![x] Have you come here to torment us before the time?”[y] 30 A[z] large herd of pigs[aa] was feeding some distance from them. 31 Then the demons begged him,[ab] “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”[ac] 32 And he said,[ad] “Go!” So[ae] they came out and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned in the water.[af] 33 The[ag] herdsmen ran off, went into the town,[ah] and told everything that had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then[ai] the entire town[aj] came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.
Psalm 10[a]
10 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you pay no attention during times of trouble?[b]
2 The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed;[c]
the oppressed are trapped[d] by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up.[e]
3 Yes,[f] the wicked man[g] boasts because he gets what he wants;[h]
the one who robs others[i] curses[j] and[k] rejects the Lord.[l]
4 The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks,
“God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.”[m]
5 He is secure at all times.[n]
He has no regard for your commands;[o]
he disdains all his enemies.[p]
6 He says to himself,[q]
“I will never[r] be shaken,
because I experience no calamity.”[s]
7 His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words;[t]
his tongue injures and destroys.[u]
8 He waits in ambush near the villages;[v]
in hidden places he kills the innocent.
His eyes look for some unfortunate victim.[w]
9 He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket.[x]
He lies in ambush, waiting to catch[y] the oppressed;
he catches the oppressed[z] by pulling in his net.[aa]
10 His victims are crushed and beaten down;
they are trapped in his sturdy nets.[ab]
11 He says to himself,[ac]
“God overlooks it;
he does not pay attention;
he never notices.”[ad]
12 Rise up, Lord![ae]
O God, strike him down.[af]
Do not forget the oppressed.
13 Why does the wicked man reject God?[ag]
He says to himself,[ah] “You[ai] will not hold me accountable.”[aj]
14 You have taken notice,[ak]
for[al] you always see[am] one who inflicts pain and suffering.[an]
The unfortunate victim entrusts his cause to you;[ao]
you deliver[ap] the fatherless.[aq]
15 Break the arm[ar] of the wicked and evil man.
Hold him accountable for his wicked deeds,[as]
which he thought you would not discover.[at]
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