Old/New Testament
25 In time, Abraham married another woman named Keturah. 2 Keturah gave birth to additional children: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s sons were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All of these were Keturah’s children and grandchildren. 5 In the end, though, Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac. 6 To the sons of his concubines, Abraham gave gifts while he was still alive. But then he sent them away to the east, far away from what would now be his son Isaac’s household.
7 Abraham lived a total of 175 years. 8 By the time Abraham took his last breath and joined his ancestors in death, he had reached a ripe old age and had lived a full life. 9 His sons, Isaac and Ishmael, buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron (the son of Zohar the Hittite) to the east of Mamre. 10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites. Here he was buried with his wife Sarah by his side. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac settled into his home at Beer-lahai-roi.
12 This is how the lineage of the two brothers progressed. Ishmael, Abraham’s son born to Hagar the Egyptian (Sarah’s slave girl), 13 fathered sons in this order: Nebaioth (his firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the names of Ishmael’s 12 sons; they became the princes of 12 villages and camps named after them. 17 Ishmael lived to the age of 137. When he breathed his last and died, he joined his ancestors in death. 18 His descendants settled into the regions from Havilah to Shur, opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. They lived on the fringes of civilization, at odds with all his relatives.
19 This is the lineage of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham was of course his father, 20 and Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah (the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean). 21 Isaac prayed to the Eternal One on behalf of his wife because she wasn’t becoming pregnant. The Eternal granted his prayer, and Rebekah conceived after 20 years. 22 But the children she carried struggled and fought with each other until, in great pain, she exclaimed, “What is going on? Why is this happening to me?” In frustration she inquired of the Eternal One why this civil war was occurring inside of her.
23 Eternal One (to Rebekah): Two nations are growing inside of your womb,
and the two peoples will be divided in the future.
One will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.[a]
24 When it was time for Rebekah to give birth, she saw that she was carrying twins. 25 The first came out red—his entire body like a hairy blanket—so they named him Esau. 26 His brother followed with his hand clutching Esau’s heel, so they named him Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when Rebekah gave birth to the twins.
27 When the boys grew up, they could not have been more different. Esau became a skillful hunter and preferred to be outdoors. Jacob, on the other hand, grew up to be a contemplative man, content to stay at home. 28 Esau was Isaac’s favorite because he was fond of good meat, but Jacob was Rebekah’s favorite.
29 One day, while Jacob was cooking a stew for dinner, Esau came in from the field. He was tired and hungry.
Esau (to Jacob): 30 Please let me have some of that red stew you have there. I’m famished!
(That’s why he was nicknamed Edom, which means “red.”)
Jacob sees Esau’s weakness and decides to take advantage of the situation.
Jacob: 31 First, you have to sell me your birthright.
Esau: 32 Look! I am about to die of starvation! What good is my birthright to me if I am dead?
Jacob: 33 Swear to me first!
And so Esau swore to Jacob and handed over his rights as the firstborn son. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank. When he was satisfied, Esau went his way as if nothing had happened. Esau treated his valuable birthright contemptuously.
26 Once again, a famine spread through the land, similar to the one that occurred in Abraham’s time. Isaac went to the land of Gerar to appeal to King Abimelech of the Philistines. 2 The Eternal appeared in a vision to Isaac.
Eternal One: Don’t go down to Egypt, Isaac. Instead settle in the land I will show you. 3 Live in this land as a foreigner, but don’t worry. I will be there with you. I will put a blessing on you, and I will one day bestow this land on you and your descendants. You can be assured that I will honor the solemn vow I made to your father, Abraham: 4 I will make your children and their children’s children as numerous as the stars in the sky. One day I will give them all of these lands. Through your descendants all the peoples of the earth will discover true blessing,[b] 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice, stayed loyal to Me, and kept My commands, statutes, and teachings.[c]
6 So Isaac settled into the land of Gerar. 7 When the men of the area asked him about his wife, he was afraid to say, “Rebekah is my wife,” because he thought, “The men here might kill me in order to have her for themselves. She is after all an attractive woman.” So Isaac said instead, “She is my sister.” 8 After they had lived there for a while, King Abimelech of the Philistines looked out of his window one day and saw Isaac affectionately touching and caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 So Abimelech called Isaac to his court.
Abimelech: I see that she is your wife! Why did you say then, “She is my sister”?
Isaac: Because I thought I might die because of her!
Abimelech: 10 What’s the matter with you? What have you done to us? One of my people might easily have slept with your wife. Then you would have brought great shame and guilt upon me and my kingdom!
11 (warning his people) Whoever so much as touches this man or his wife will be put to death.
Isaac repeats the ruse his father used in Egypt and Gerar many years earlier. Abraham told another Abimelech (likely the father or grandfather of this Philistine king) that Sarah was his sister to avoid being killed. Isaac tries the same trick for the same reason but is soon found out. Many rulers in that day would have killed or severely punished a man for telling such tales and jeopardizing their reign. Somehow, however, Abraham and Isaac not only survive, but they grow rich from the experiences.
12 Isaac settled in and made a place for himself in the land, sowing seeds and reaping one hundred times what he had planted that year. The Eternal One indeed put a blessing on him, 13 and Isaac became very rich. He prospered more and more until he became enormously wealthy. 14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines began to envy him. 15 (For spite, some of the Philistines filled with dirt all of the wells his father’s servants had dug in the days when Abraham was living there.) 16 Even Abimelech was threatened by his prosperity.
Abimelech (to Isaac): It is best you leave our land. Your success has made you more powerful than we are. You can’t live here any longer.
17 Isaac left there, set up camp in the valley of Gerar, and decided to live there for a while.
18 Isaac had to re-dig all of the water wells that his father had installed because the Philistines had filled them in after Abraham’s death. He renamed them with the names his father had given them. 19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a new well of fresh water, 20 the herders of Gerar began quarreling with Isaac’s herders.
Herders of Gerar: This water is ours!
So Isaac named this well Esek, which means “contention,” because of the arguments he had with the herders. 21 Isaac’s men dug another well, and the water wars started again. So Isaac called it Sitnah, which means “enmity.” 22 Isaac didn’t want any more trouble, so he moved on from there and dug yet another well. At last, they didn’t quarrel over this one, so Isaac named this well Rehoboth, which means “wide spaces.”
Isaac (explaining): Now the Eternal One has provided this wide space for us. We will become numerous and prosperous in this land.
23 From there, Isaac traveled to Beersheba. 24 The night they arrived, the Eternal One appeared to him.
Eternal One: I am the God of your father, Abraham. Don’t be afraid because I am there with you. I will bless you with many descendants according to the promise I made to My servant, Abraham.
25 Inspired by this vision, Isaac built an altar at that place. He invoked the name of the Eternal and sacrificed to Him there, pitched his tent, and directed his servants to dig a well.
26 One day Abimelech came from Gerar to see him along with Ahuzzath, his advisor, and Phicol, the commander of his army.
Isaac: 27 Why are you coming to see me? You made it clear that you hate me and want me banished from your kingdom.
Abimelech and His Advisors: 28 It is not hard to see that the Eternal One is with you. So we agreed among ourselves that it is in our best interests for us to enter into a binding treaty with you. Let us make a covenant 29 that you would pledge to do us no harm, just as we have not harmed you. We have behaved honorably toward you and sent you away in peace. You clearly have the hand of the Eternal resting on you.
Isaac agreed to take the oath. 30 He prepared them a feast, and they all ate and drank. 31 In the morning, they got up early and exchanged oaths. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left in peace. 32 That very same day, Isaac’s servants came and excitedly told him about a new well they had dug.
Servants: We found water!
33 Isaac named this well Shibah, which means “oath,” and that’s why the name of the city there is called Beersheba to this day.
34 Meanwhile Esau (Isaac’s son) was turning 40. He married Judith (the daughter of Beeri the Hittite) and also Basemath (the daughter of Elon the Hittite). 35 They would make life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.
This teaching is different. Usually rabbis cite generations of rabbis before them when making claims about the meaning of Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus honors the law, but He is clear—the law must be read in a new way.
8 Large crowds followed Jesus when He came down from the mountain. 2 And as Jesus was going along, a leper approached Him and knelt down before Him.
Leper: Lord, if You wish to, please heal me and make me clean!
Jesus (stretching out His hand): 3 Of course I wish to. Be clean.
Immediately the man was healed.
Jesus: 4 Don’t tell anyone what just happened. Rather, go to the priest, show yourself to him, and give a wave offering as Moses commanded. Your actions will tell the story of what happened here today.
5 Eventually Jesus came to the little town of Capernaum. In Capernaum a military officer came to Him and asked Him for help.
Officer: 6 Lord, I have a servant who is lying at home in agony, paralyzed.
Jesus: 7 I will come to your house, and I will heal him.
Officer: 8 Lord, I don’t deserve to have You in my house. And, in truth, I know You don’t need to be with my servant to heal him. Just say the word, and he will be healed. 9 That, after all, is how authority works. My troops obey me whether I am next to them or not—similarly, this sickness will obey You.
10 Jesus was stunned by the depth of the officer’s faith.
Jesus (to His followers): This is the plain truth: I have not met a single person in Israel with as much faith as this officer. 11 It will not be just the children of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob who celebrate at their heavenly banquet at the end of time. No, people will come from the East and the West—and those who recognize Me, regardless of their lineage, will sit with Me at that feast. 12 But those who have feigned their faith will be cast out into outer darkness where people weep and grind their teeth.
13 Then Jesus turned to the Centurion.[a]
Jesus: You may go home. For it is as you say it is; it is as you believe.
And the officer’s servant was healed, right then.
What happens next seems to embody the officer’s wise opinion about authority: over and over Jesus shows just what His authority means.
14 Jesus went to Peter’s house, and there He saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed, sick and burning up with a fever. 15 Jesus touched her hand, and then she was healed—the fever vanished. She got up from bed and began to wait on Him.
16 Toward nighttime many people who were possessed by demons were brought to Jesus, and He said one word of command and drove the demons out, healing everyone who was sick. 17 These miraculous healings fulfilled what the prophet Isaiah had predicted:
He took our infirmities upon Himself,
and He bore our diseases.[b]
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.