Old/New Testament
Esau’s Genealogies
36 This is a record of Esau’s genealogy, that is, of Edom. 2 Esau had married Canaanite women, including Elon the Hittite’s daughter Adah, Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah (who was Zibeon the Hivite’s daughter), and 3 Ishamael’s daughter Basemath (who was Nebaioth’s sister). 4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, and 5 Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were Esau’s sons, who were born to him in the territory of Canaan.
6 Later, Esau took his wives, his children, everyone in his household, his livestock, all his animals, and all his possessions that he had acquired in the territory of Canaan and moved far away from his brother Jacob, 7 because their holdings were too vast to allow them to stay together, since the land where they had settled was not able to support all of their livestock. 8 So Esau lived in Mount Seir.[a] (Esau was also known as Edom.)
9 This is a record of the family history of Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites of Mount Seir. 10 The names of Esau’s sons were Eliphaz (the son of Esau’s wife Adah) and Reuel (the son of Esau’s wife Basemath).
11 Eliphaz’s sons were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 Timnah was a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz. She bore Amalek to Eliphaz.
13 Reuel’s sons were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.
14 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, who was the daughter of Zibeon. She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah for Esau.
Leaders of Esau’s Descendants
15 These were the tribal leaders of Esau’s descendants; that is, the children of Eliphaz, who was Esau’s firstborn: tribal leaders[b] Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These were the tribal leaders who descended[c] from Eliphaz in the territory of Edom. These were Adah’s sons.
17 These were the descendants of Esau’s son Reuel: tribal leaders Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the tribal leaders who descended from Reuel in the territory of Edom. These were the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.
18 These were the descendants of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: tribal leaders Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These tribal leaders descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, Anah’s daughter. 19 These were the descendants of Esau (also known as Edom) and their tribal leaders.
Leaders of Seir’s Descendants
20 These were the descendants of Seir the Horite, who lived in the territory: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the tribal leaders who descended from the Horites, the descendants of Seir in the territory of Edom.
22 Lotan’s children were Hori and Hemam. Lotan’s sister was Timna.
23 Shobal’s children were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
24 Zibeon’s children were Aiah and Anah. Anah discovered the hot springs in the wilderness while grazing his father Zibeon’s donkeys.
25 Anah’s children were Dishon and Anah’s daughter Oholibamah.
26 Dishon’s children were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.
27 Ezer’s children were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.
28 Dishan’s children were Uz and Aran.
29 These were the tribal leaders who descended from the Horites: tribal leaders Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the tribal leaders who descended from the Horites, according to their tribal leaders in the territory of Seir.
31 This is a list of the kings who ruled the territory of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelis. 32 Beor’s son Bela ruled over Edom. His city’s name was Dinhabah.
33 After Bela died, Zerah’s son Jobab from Bozrah ruled in his place.
34 After Jobab died, Husham from the territory of the Temanites ruled in his place.
35 After Husham died, Bedad’s son Hadad, who killed Midian in the field of Moab, ruled in his place. His city’s name was Avith.
36 After Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah ruled in his place.
37 After Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth by the river ruled in his place.
38 After Shaul died, Achbor’s son Baal-hanan ruled in his place.
39 After Achbor’s son Baal-hanan died, Hadar ruled in his place. His city’s name was Pau. And his wife’s name was Mehetabel, who was the daughter of Matred, and granddaughter of Me-zahab.
40 These were the names of the chiefs who descended from Esau according to their clans, territories, and names: tribal leaders Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram. These were the chiefs who descended from Edom, according to their territories in their own land.[d] This was the dynasty of Esau, who was the ancestor of the Edomites.
Joseph’s Life before His Captivity
37 Jacob continued to live in the land they were occupying, where his father had journeyed in the territory of Canaan. 2 This is a record of Jacob’s descendants.
When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was helping his brothers tend their flocks. He was a young man at that time, as were the children of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. But Joseph would come back and tell his father that his brothers were doing bad things. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his brothers, since he was born to him in his old age, so he had made a richly-embroidered[e] tunic for him. 4 When Joseph’s[f] brothers realized that their father loved him more than all of his brothers, they hated him so much that they were unable to speak politely to him.
Joseph’s Dreams
5 Right about this time, Joseph had a dream and then told it to his brothers. As a result, his brothers hated him all the more! 6 “Let me tell you about this dream that I had!” he said. 7 “We were tying sheaves together out in the middle of the fields, when all of a sudden, my sheaf stood up erect! And then your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf!”
8 At this, his brothers replied, “Do you really think you’re going to rule us or lord it over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his interpretations of them.
9 But then he had another dream, and he proceeded to tell his brothers about that one, too. “I had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven of the stars were bowing down before me!”
10 When Joseph told his father about this, his father rebuked him and asked him, “What kind of dream is that? Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come to you and bow down to the ground in front of you?” 11 As a result, his brothers became more envious of him. But his father kept thinking about all of this.
Joseph is Sent to Visit His Brothers
12 Some time later, his brothers left to tend their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel instructed Joseph, “Your brothers are tending the flock in Shechem. Come here, because I’m going to send you to them.”
“Here I am!” he responded.
14 “Go and see how things are with your brothers,” Israel[g] ordered him. “And see how things are with the flock. Bring back a report for me.” Then he sent Joseph[h] from the valley of Hebron.
When Joseph reached Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in a field. So the man asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 “I’m searching for my brothers,” he responded. “Tell me, where are they tending the flock?”[i]
17 “They’ve already left,” the man answered. “I heard them saying that they were headed to Dothan.” So Joseph followed his brothers to Dothan and found them there.
Joseph’s Brothers Plot to Kill Him
18 Now as soon as they saw him approaching from a distance, before he arrived they plotted together to kill him. 19 “Look!” they said. “Here comes the Dream Master! 20 Come on! Let’s kill him and toss him into one of the cisterns. Then we’ll report that some wild animal devoured him and wait to see what becomes of his dreams!”
21 When Reuben heard about it, he tried to save Joseph[j] from their plot. “Let’s not do any killing,”[k] 22 Reuben told them. “And no blood shedding, either. Instead, let’s toss him into this cistern that’s way out here in the wilderness. But don’t lay a hand on him.” (Reuben[l] intended to free Joseph[m] and return him to his father.)
Joseph is Sold into Slavery
23 As it was, when Joseph arrived where his brothers were, they stripped off the tunic that Jacob had given him—that is, the richly-embroidered[n] tunic that he was wearing. 24 They grabbed him and tossed him into the cistern, but the cistern was empty. (There was no water in it.) 25 After this, while they were seated, eating their food, they looked around and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with camels carrying spices, balm, and myrrh for sale down in Egypt.
26 Then Judah suggested to his brothers, “Where’s the profit in just killing our brother and shedding his blood? 27 Come on! Let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites! That way, we won’t have laid our hands on him. After all, he’s our brother, our own flesh.”
So Judah’s[o] brothers listened to him. 28 As the Midianite merchants were passing through, they extracted Joseph from the cistern and sold Joseph for 20 pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who then took Joseph down to Egypt.
29 Later, when Reuben returned to the cistern, Joseph wasn’t there! In mounting panic, he tore his clothes, 30 returned to his brothers, and shouted, “He’s[p] not there! Now what? Where am I to go?”
31 So they took Joseph’s coat, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the coat in the blood. 32 Then they stretched out the richly-embroidered[q] tunic to dry,[r] and brought it to their father.
“We’ve found this,” they reported. “Look at it and see if this is or isn’t your son’s tunic.”
33 Examining it, he cried out, “It’s my son’s tunic! A wild animal has no doubt torn Joseph to pieces.”
34 So Jacob tore his clothes, dressed himself in sackcloth, and then mourned many days for his son. 35 All his sons and daughters showed[s] up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He kept saying, “Leave me alone! I’ll go down to the next world,[t] still mourning for my son.” So Joseph’s father wept for him.
Joseph is Enslaved to Potiphar
36 Meanwhile, down in Egypt, the Midianites sold Joseph[u] to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s court officials, who was also Commander-in-Chief of the imperial guards.
Judah’s Life among the Adullamites
38 Right about then, Judah left his brothers and went to live with an Adullamite man named Hirah. 2 There Judah met[v] the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married[w] her, had sexual relations with her, 3 and she conceived, bore a son, and named him Er. 4 Later, she conceived again, bore another son, and named him Onan. 5 Then she bore yet another son and named him Shelah. Judah was living in Kezib when she bore him.
6 Judah found a wife for his oldest son Er. Her name was Tamar. 7 But the Lord considered Er, Judah’s oldest son, to be wicked—so he put him to death. 8 So Judah instructed Onan, “You are to have sexual relations with your dead brother’s wife, performing the duty of a brother-in-law with her, and have offspring for your brother.”
9 But Onan knew that the offspring wouldn’t be his own heir, so whenever he had sexual relations with his brother’s wife, he would spill his semen on the ground to avoid fathering offspring for his brother. 10 The Lord considered what Onan was doing to be evil, so he put him to death, too.
11 After this, Judah told his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Go live as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up.” But he was really thinking, “…otherwise, Shelah[x] might die like his brothers.” So Tamar left and lived in her father’s house. 12 Some years later, Shua’s daughter (that is, Judah’s wife) died. As Judah was grieving, he visited the shearers of his flock in Timnah, accompanied by his Adullamite friend Hirah.
Tamar Avenges Judah’s Treachery
13 “Look!” somebody reported to Tamar, “Your father-in-law is going to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 So she took off her mourning apparel, covered herself with a shawl, and concealed her outward appearance. Then she went out and sat at the entrance of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah, because she knew that even though Shelah had grown up, she wasn’t being given to him as his wife.
15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, since she had concealed her face. 16 So on the way, he turned aside, approached her, and said, “Come on! Let’s have some sex!” But he didn’t realize that he was talking to his own daughter-in-law.
“What will you give me,” she asked, “in order to have sex with me?”
17 “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock,” he responded.
But she pressed him, asking, “What security will you put up until you’ve sent it?”
18 Then he asked, “What pledge do you want me to give you?”
“Your signet ring, cord, and the staff in your hand,” she suggested. So he gave them to her, had sex with her, and she became pregnant by him. 19 Then she got up and left. Later, she took off her shawl and put on her mourning clothes.
20 Later on, Judah sent his Adullamite friend to take her a young goat, intending to retrieve what he had put up as security from the woman, but he could not find her. 21 He asked the men who lived in that area, “Where’s that temple prostitute who was sitting alongside the road at Enaim?”
But they replied, “There’s been no temple prostitute here.”
22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I haven’t found her. Also, the men who are from there said, ‘There’s been no prostitute here.’”
23 Then Judah said, “Let her have those things.[y] Otherwise, we’ll become contemptible. I sent this young goat, but you didn’t find her.”
Tamar’s Pregnancy Rebukes Judah
24 Three months later, it was reported to Judah, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution![z] And look! She’s pregnant because of it!”
“Bring her out,” Judah responded. “Let’s burn her to death!”
25 While they were bringing her out, she sent this message to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these things belong. Furthermore,” she added, “tell me to whom this signet ring, cord, and staff belongs.”
26 When Judah recognized them, he admitted, “She is more upright than I, because I never did give her my son Shelah.” And he never had sex with her again.
27 Later, when it was time for Tamar[aa] to give birth, she was carrying twins in her womb! 28 While she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand, so the midwife grabbed it and tied something scarlet around his hand, observing, “This one came out first.”
29 As it was, he withdrew his hand, and then his brother was born. Amazed, the midwife[ab] cried out loud, “What’s this? A breach birth?” So that boy[ac] was named Perez.[ad] 30 Afterwards, his brother came out, and around his hand was the scarlet. So they named him Zerah.[ae]
21 “Brother will hand brother over for execution, and a father his child. Children will rebel against parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the person who endures to the end will be saved. 23 So when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, because I tell all of you[a] with certainty that you will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, and a slave is not above his master. 25 It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher and a slave to be like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul,[b] how much more will they do the same to[c] those of his household!”
Fear God(A)
26 “So never be afraid of them, because there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing secret that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in darkness you must speak in the daylight, and what is whispered[d] in your ear you must shout from the housetops. 28 Stop being[e] afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.[f]
29 “Two sparrows are sold for a penny, aren’t they? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s permission.[g] 30 Indeed, even the hairs on your head have all been counted! 31 So stop being[h] afraid. You are worth more than a bunch of sparrows.”
Acknowledging the Messiah(B)
32 “Therefore, everyone who acknowledges me before people I, too, will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies me before people I, too, will deny before my Father in heaven.”
Not Peace, but Division(C)
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword![i] 35 I came to turn
‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36 A person’s enemies will include members of his own family.’[j]
The Cost of Discipleship(D)
37 “The one who loves his father or mother more than me isn’t worthy of me, and the one who loves a son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me. 38 The one who doesn’t take up his cross and follow me isn’t worthy of me. 39 The one who finds his life will lose it, and the one who loses his life because of me will find it.”
Rewards(E)
40 “The one who receives you receives me, and the one who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet as[k] a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person as[l] a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 I tell all of you[m] with certainty, whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is[n] a disciple will never lose his reward.”
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.