Old/New Testament
The Family Line of Esau
36 Here is the story of the family line of Esau. Esau was also called Edom.
2 Esau got his wives from among the women of Canaan. He married Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. He also married Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite. 3 And he married Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth.
4 Adah had Eliphaz by Esau. Basemath had Reuel. 5 Oholibamah had Jeush, Jalam and Korah. All of them were Esau’s sons. They were born in Canaan.
6 Esau moved to a land far away from his brother Jacob. Esau took with him his wives, his sons and daughters, and all the people who lived with him. He also took his livestock and all his other animals. He took everything he had acquired in Canaan. 7 Jacob and Esau owned so much that they couldn’t remain together. There wasn’t enough land for both of them. They had too much livestock. 8 So Esau made his home in the hill country of Seir. Esau was also called Edom.
9 Here is the story of the family line of Esau. He’s the father of the people of Edom. They live in the hill country of Seir.
10 Here are the names of Esau’s sons.
They are Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath.
11 The sons of Eliphaz were
Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz. 12 Esau’s son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna. She had Amalek by Eliphaz. They were grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah.
13 The sons of Reuel were
Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. They were grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.
14 Esau’s wife Oholibamah was the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon.
She had Jeush, Jalam and Korah by Esau.
15 Here are the chiefs among Esau’s sons.
Eliphaz was Esau’s oldest son. The sons of Eliphaz were
Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam and Amalek. They were the chiefs in Edom who were sons of Eliphaz. They were Adah’s grandsons.
17 The sons of Esau’s son Reuel were
Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. They were the chiefs in Edom who were sons of Reuel. They were grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.
18 The sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah were
Chiefs Jeush, Jalam and Korah. They were the chiefs who were sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah. She was Anah’s daughter.
19 That was the family line of Esau. And these were the chiefs. Esau was also called Edom.
20 Seir, the Horite, had sons living in the same area.
They were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom were Horite chiefs.
22 The sons of Lotan were
Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan’s sister.
23 The sons of Shobal were
Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
24 The sons of Zibeon were
Aiah and Anah. He was the Anah who discovered the hot springs of water in the desert. He found them while he was taking care of the donkeys that belonged to his father Zibeon.
25 The children of Anah were
Dishon and Oholibamah. Oholibamah was the daughter of Anah.
26 The sons of Dishon were
Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran.
27 The sons of Ezer were
Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan.
28 The sons of Dishan were
Uz and Aran.
29 The Horite chiefs were
Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan.
They were the Horite chiefs in the land of Seir. They are listed tribe by tribe.
The Rulers of Edom
31 Before Israel had a king, there were kings who ruled in Edom.
32 Bela became the king of Edom. Bela was the son of Beor. Bela’s city was called Dinhabah.
33 When Bela died, Jobab became the next king. Jobab was the son of Zerah from Bozrah.
34 When Jobab died, Husham became the next king. Husham was from the land of the Temanites.
35 When Husham died, Hadad became the next king. Hadad was the son of Bedad. Hadad had won the battle over Midian in the country of Moab. Hadad’s city was called Avith.
36 When Hadad died, Samlah became the next king. Samlah was from Masrekah.
37 When Samlah died, Shaul became the next king. Shaul was from Rehoboth on the river.
38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan became the next king. Baal-Hanan was the son of Akbor.
39 When Baal-Hanan died, Hadad became the next king. Hadad’s city was called Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel. She was Matred’s daughter. Matred was the daughter of Me-Zahab.
40 Here are the chiefs in the family line of Esau. They are listed by name as chiefs in charge of their tribes and territories. They are
Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,
41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,
42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,
43 Magdiel and Iram.
They were the chiefs of Edom. They ruled over their settlements in the land where they lived.
That’s the end of the story of the family line of Esau. He was the father of the people of Edom.
Joseph Has Two Dreams
37 Jacob lived in the land of Canaan. It’s the land where his father had stayed.
2 Here is the story of the family line of Jacob.
Joseph was a young man. He was 17 years old. He was taking care of the flocks with some of his brothers. They were the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father Jacob. Joseph brought their father a bad report about his brothers.
3 Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons. That’s because Joseph had been born to him when he was old. Israel made him a beautiful robe. 4 Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them. So they hated Joseph. They couldn’t even speak one kind word to him.
5 Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to the dream I had. 7 We were tying up bundles of grain out in the field. Suddenly my bundle stood up straight. Your bundles gathered around my bundle and bowed down to it.”
8 His brothers said to him, “Do you plan to be king over us? Will you really rule over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream. They didn’t like what he had said.
9 Then Joseph had another dream. He told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said. “I had another dream. This time the sun and moon and 11 stars were bowing down to me.”
10 He told his father as well as his brothers. Then his father rebuked him. He said, “What about this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers really do that? Will we really come and bow down to the ground in front of you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him. But his father kept the dreams in mind.
Joseph Is Sold by His Brothers
12 Joseph’s brothers had gone to take care of their father’s flocks near Shechem. 13 Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are taking care of the flocks near Shechem. Come. I’m going to send you to them.”
“All right,” Joseph replied.
14 So Israel said to him, “Go to your brothers. See how they are doing. Also see how the flocks are doing. Then come back and tell me.” So he sent him away from the Hebron Valley.
Joseph arrived at Shechem. 15 A man found him wandering around in the fields. He asked Joseph, “What are you looking for?”
16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are taking care of their flocks?”
17 “They’ve moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ”
So Joseph went to look for his brothers. He found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him a long way off. Before he reached them, they made plans to kill him.
19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another. 20 “Come. Let’s kill him. Let’s throw him into one of these empty wells. Let’s say that a wild animal ate him up. Then we’ll see whether his dreams will come true.”
21 Reuben heard them talking. He tried to save Joseph from them. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. 22 “Don’t spill any of his blood. Throw him into this empty well here in the desert. But don’t harm him yourselves.” Reuben said that to save Joseph from them. He was hoping he could take him back to his father.
23 When Joseph came to his brothers, he was wearing his beautiful robe. They took it away from him. 24 And they threw him into the well. The well was empty. There wasn’t any water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat their meal. As they did, they saw some Ishmaelite traders coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, lotion and myrrh. They were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and try to cover up what we’ve done? 27 Come. Let’s sell him to these traders. Let’s not harm him ourselves. After all, he’s our brother. He’s our own flesh and blood.” Judah’s brothers agreed with him.
28 The traders from Midian came by. Joseph’s brothers pulled him up out of the well. They sold him to the Ishmaelite traders for eight ounces of silver. Then the traders took him to Egypt.
29 Later, Reuben came back to the empty well. He saw that Joseph wasn’t there. He was so upset that he tore his clothes. 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Now what should I do?”
31 Then they got Joseph’s beautiful robe. They killed a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 They took the robe back to their father. They said, “We found this. Take a look at it. See if it’s your son’s robe.”
33 Jacob recognized it. He said, “It’s my son’s robe! A wild animal has eaten him up. Joseph must have been torn to pieces.”
34 Jacob tore his clothes. He put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. Then he mourned for his son many days. 35 All Jacob’s other sons and daughters came to comfort him. But they weren’t able to. He said, “I will continue to mourn until I go down into the grave to be with my son.” So Joseph’s father mourned for him.
36 But the traders from Midian sold Joseph to Potiphar in Egypt. Potiphar was one of Pharaoh’s officials. He was the captain of the palace guard.
Judah and Tamar
38 At that time, Judah left his brothers. He went down to stay with a man named Hirah from the town of Adullam. 2 There Judah met the daughter of a man from Canaan. His name was Shua. Judah married her and slept with her. 3 She became pregnant and had a son. They named him Er. 4 She became pregnant again and had another son. She named him Onan. 5 She had still another son. She named him Shelah. He was born at Kezib.
6 Judah got a wife for his oldest son Er. Her name was Tamar. 7 But Judah’s oldest son Er was evil in the Lord’s eyes. So the Lord put him to death.
8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. After all, you are her brother-in-law. So carry out your duty to her. Provide children for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the children wouldn’t belong to him. So every time he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground. He did it so he wouldn’t provide children for his brother. 10 What he did was evil in the Lord’s eyes. So the Lord put him to death also.
11 Then Judah spoke to his daughter-in-law Tamar. He said, “Live as a widow in your father’s home. Wait there until my son Shelah grows up.” Judah was thinking, “Shelah might die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s home.
12 After a long time Judah’s wife died. She was the daughter of Shua. When Judah got over his sadness, he went up to Timnah. His friend Hirah from Adullam went with him. Men were clipping the wool from Judah’s sheep at Timnah.
13 Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to clip the wool from his sheep.” 14 So she took off her widow’s clothes. She covered her face with a veil so people wouldn’t know who she was. Then she sat down at the entrance to Enaim. Enaim is on the road to Timnah. Tamar knew that Shelah had grown up. But she hadn’t been given to him as his wife.
15 Judah saw her. He thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face with a veil. 16 He didn’t realize that she was his daughter-in-law. He went over to her by the side of the road. He said, “Come. Let me sleep with you.”
“What will you give me to sleep with you?” she asked.
17 “I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” he said.
“Will you give me something that belongs to you?” she asked. “I’ll keep it until you send the goat.”
18 He said, “What should I give you?”
“Give me your official seal and the string that it hangs from,” she answered. “And give me your walking stick.” So he gave them to her. Then he slept with her. And she became pregnant by him. 19 After she left, she took off her veil. She put on her widow’s clothes again.
20 Judah sent his friend Hirah with the young goat he had promised. He wanted to get back what he had given to the woman. But his friend Hirah couldn’t find her. 21 He asked the men who lived at Enaim, “Where’s the temple prostitute? She used to sit beside the road here.”
“There hasn’t been any temple prostitute here,” they said.
22 So Hirah went back to Judah. He said, “I couldn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there didn’t know anything about her. They said, ‘There hasn’t been any temple prostitute here.’ ”
23 Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has. I don’t want people making fun of us. After all, I did send her this young goat. We can’t help it if you couldn’t find her.”
24 About three months later people brought word to Judah. They said, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of being a prostitute. Now she’s pregnant.”
Judah said, “Bring her out! Have her burned to death!”
25 As Tamar was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. She said, “I am pregnant by the man who owns these.” She continued, “Do you recognize this seal and string and walking stick? Do you know who they belong to?”
26 Judah recognized them. He said, “She’s a better person than I am. I should have given her to my son Shelah, but I didn’t.” Judah never slept with Tamar again.
27 The time came for Tamar to have her baby. There were twin boys inside her. 28 As the babies were being born, one of them stuck out his hand. So the woman helping Tamar took a bright red thread. The woman tied it on the baby’s wrist. She said, “This one came out first.” 29 But he pulled his hand back, and his brother came out first instead. She said, “Just look at how you have forced your way out!” So he was called Perez. 30 Then his brother, who had the red thread on his wrist, came out. So he was named Zerah.
21 “Brothers will hand over brothers to be killed. Fathers will hand over their children. Children will rise up against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me. But anyone who remains strong in the faith will be saved. 23 When people attack you in one place, escape to another. What I’m about to tell you is true. You will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 “The student is not better than the teacher. A slave is not better than his master. 25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers. And it is enough for slaves to be like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, what can the others who live there expect?
26 “So don’t be afraid of your enemies. Everything that is secret will be brought out into the open. Everything that is hidden will be uncovered. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight. What is whispered in your ear, shout from the rooftops. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for only a penny? But not one of them falls to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30 He even counts every hair on your head! 31 So don’t be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.
32 “What if someone says in front of others that they know me? I will also say in front of my Father who is in heaven that I know them. 33 But what if someone says in front of others that they don’t know me? I will say in front of my Father who is in heaven that I don’t know them.
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace to the earth. I didn’t come to bring peace. I came to bring a sword. 35 I have come to turn
“ ‘sons against their fathers.
Daughters will refuse to obey their mothers.
Daughters-in-law will be against their mothers-in-law.
36 A man’s enemies will be the members of his own family.’ (Micah 7:6)
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not pick up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it. Whoever loses their life because of me will find it.
40 “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me. And anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Suppose someone welcomes a prophet as a prophet. They will receive a prophet’s reward. And suppose someone welcomes a godly person as a godly person. They will receive a godly person’s reward. 42 Suppose someone gives even a cup of cold water to a little one who follows me. What I’m about to tell you is true. That person will certainly be rewarded.”
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.