Old/New Testament
Jacob’s Prophecy concerning His Sons
49 Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves, so that I may tell you what will happen to you (A)in the [a]days to come.
2 Gather together and listen, sons of Jacob;
Yes, (B)listen to Israel your father.
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
My might and (C)the beginning of my strength,
Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
4 [b]Uncontrollable as water, you shall not have preeminence,
(D)Because you went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.
5 “(E)Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Their [c]swords are implements of violence.
6 (F)May my soul not enter into their council;
May my glory not be united with their assembly;
For in their anger they killed [d]men,
And in their self-will they lamed [e]oxen.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel.
(G)I will scatter them in Jacob,
And disperse them among Israel.
8 “As for you, Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
(H)Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
9 Judah is a (I)lion’s cub;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
(J)He [f]crouches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a [g]lion, who [h]dares to stir him up?
10 (K)The scepter will not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
[i]Until Shiloh comes,
And (L)to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11 (M)He ties his foal to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine;
(N)He washes his garments in wine,
And his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are [j]dull from wine,
And his teeth [k]white from milk.
13 “(O)Zebulun will reside at the seashore;
And he shall be [l]a harbor for ships,
And his flank shall be toward Sidon.
14 “Issachar is a [m]strong donkey,
(P)Lying down between the sheepfolds.
15 When he saw that a resting place was good
And that the land was pleasant,
He bowed his shoulder to carry burdens,
And became a slave at forced labor.
16 “(Q)Dan shall (R)judge his people,
As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
A horned viper in the path,
That bites the horse’s heels,
So that its rider falls backward.
18 (S)For Your salvation I wait, Lord.
21 “(W)Naphtali is a doe let loose;
He utters beautiful words.
22 “(X)Joseph is a fruitful [r]branch,
A fruitful [s]branch by a spring;
Its [t]branches hang over a wall.
23 The archers provoked him,
And shot at him and were hostile toward him;
24 But his (Y)bow remained [u]firm,
And [v](Z)his arms were agile,
From the hands of the (AA)Mighty One of Jacob
(From there is (AB)the Shepherd, (AC)the Stone of Israel),
25 From (AD)the God of your father who helps you,
And [w](AE)by the [x]Almighty who blesses you
With (AF)blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father
Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors
Up to the [y]furthest boundary of (AG)the everlasting hills;
May they be on the head of Joseph,
And on the top of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.
27 “Benjamin is a [z]ravenous wolf;
In the morning he devours the prey,
And in the evening he divides the spoils.”
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them [aa]when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one [ab]with the blessing appropriate to him.
Jacob Dies
29 Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am about to be (AH)gathered to my people; (AI)bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in (AJ)the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the (AK)cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a [ac]burial site. 31 There they buried (AL)Abraham and his wife (AM)Sarah, there they buried (AN)Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah— 32 the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and (AO)breathed his last, and was (AP)gathered to his people.
Jacob Is Buried
50 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him and kissed him. 2 Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians (AQ)embalmed Israel. 3 Now forty days were [ad]required for [ae]it, for [af]such is the period required for embalming. And the Egyptians (AR)wept for him seventy days.
4 When the days of [ag]mourning for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please speak [ah]to Pharaoh, saying, 5 ‘(AS)My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am about to die; in my grave (AT)which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now then, please let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’” 6 Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 and all the household of Joseph and his brothers and his father’s household; they left only their little ones and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen. 9 Chariots with teams of horses also went up with him; and it was a very great company. 10 When they came to the [ai]threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they (AU)mourned there with a very great and [aj]sorrowful lamentation; and he [ak]observed seven days of mourning for his father. 11 Now when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at [al]the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a [am]grievous [an]mourning for the Egyptians.” Therefore it was named [ao]Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.
Burial at Machpelah
12 And so his sons did for him as he had commanded them; 13 for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in (AV)the cave of the field of Machpelah opposite Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a [ap]burial site from Ephron the Hittite. 14 And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.
15 When Joseph’s brothers had seen that their father was dead, they said, “(AW)What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!” 16 So they sent instructions to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded us before he died, saying, 17 ‘This is what you shall say to Joseph: “Please forgive, I beg you, the offense of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.”’ And now, please forgive the offense of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also came and (AX)fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? 20 As for you, (AY)you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about [aq]this present result, to keep many people alive. 21 So therefore, do not be afraid; (AZ)I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke [ar]kindly to them.
Death of Joseph
22 Now Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived 110 years. 23 Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s sons; also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were (BA)born on Joseph’s knees. 24 Joseph said to his brothers, “(BB)I am about to die, but God will assuredly [as]take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He [at]promised on oath to (BC)Abraham, to (BD)Isaac, and to (BE)Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will assuredly [au]take care of you, and (BF)you shall carry my bones up from here.” 26 So Joseph died at the age of 110 years; and they (BG)embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt.
The Mustard Seed
31 He presented another parable to them, saying, “(A)The kingdom of heaven is like (B)a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field; 32 and this is smaller than all the other seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that (C)the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”
The Leaven
33 He spoke another parable to them: “(D)The kingdom of heaven is like [a]leaven, which a woman took and hid in (E)three [b]sata of flour until it was all leavened.”
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak anything to them (F)without a parable. 35 This was so that what was spoken through the prophet would be [c]fulfilled:
“(G)I will open My mouth in parables;
I will proclaim things hidden since the foundation of the world.”
The Weeds Explained
36 Then He left the crowds and went into (H)the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “(I)Explain to us the parable of the [d]weeds of the field.” 37 And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is (J)the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are (K)the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are (L)the sons of (M)the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is (N)the [e]end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at (O)the [f]end of the age. 41 (P)The Son of Man (Q)will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom [g]all (R)stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and they (S)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place (T)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 (U)Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. (V)The one who has ears, [h]let him hear.
Hidden Treasure
44 “(W)The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from [i]joy over it he goes and (X)sells everything that he has, and buys that field.
A Costly Pearl
45 “Again, (Y)the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it.
A Dragnet
47 “Again, (Z)the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; 48 and when it was filled, they pulled it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49 So it will be at (AA)the [j]end of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and they (AB)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place (AC)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” 52 And [k]Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure new things and old.”
Jesus Revisits Nazareth
53 (AD)When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. 54 And (AE)He came to [l]His hometown and (AF)began teaching them in their synagogue, with the result that (AG)they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man acquire this wisdom and these [m]miraculous powers? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is (AH)His mother not called Mary, and His (AI)brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 And (AJ)His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man acquire all these things?” 57 And they took (AK)offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “(AL)A prophet is not dishonored except in his [n]hometown and in his own household.” 58 And He did not do many [o]miracles there because of their unbelief.
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