Old/New Testament
Jacob Shows His Bravery
33 Jacob ·looked up [L raised his eyes] and saw Esau coming, and with him were four hundred men. So Jacob divided his children among Leah, Rachel, and the two slave girls. 2 Jacob put the slave girls with their children first, then Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph last [C least favorite to most favorite]. 3 Jacob himself ·went out [passed] in front of them and bowed down flat on the ground seven times ·as he was walking toward [or until he came near] his brother.
4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and ·put his arms around [hugged] him and ·hugged him [L fell on his neck]. Then Esau kissed him, and they both cried. 5 When ·Esau looked up [L he raised his eyes] and saw the women and children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?”
Jacob answered, “These are the children God has graciously given me, your servant.”
6 Then the two slave girls and their children came up to Esau and bowed down flat on the earth before him. 7 Leah and her children also came up to Esau and also bowed down flat on the earth. Last of all, Joseph and Rachel came up to Esau, and they, too, bowed down flat before him.
8 Esau said, “·I saw many herds as I was coming here. Why did you bring them [L What is all this camp that I encountered]?”
Jacob answered, “They were to ·please you, my master [L find grace/favor in the eyes of my master/lord].”
9 But Esau said, “I already have enough, my brother. Keep what you have.”
10 Jacob said, “No! Please! If I have ·pleased you [L found grace/favor in your eyes], then ·accept the gift I give you [L take my gift/tribute from my hand]. ·I am very happy to see your face again. It [L Seeing your face] is like seeing the face of God, because you have accepted me. 11 So I beg you to accept the ·gift [present; L blessing] I give you. God has been very ·good [gracious; favorable] to me, and I have ·more than [all that] I need.” And because ·Jacob begged [he urged him], Esau ·accepted [took] the gift.
12 Then Esau said, “Let us be going. I will travel with you.”
13 But Jacob said to him, “My ·master [L lord], you know that the children are ·weak [soft; frail]. And I must be careful with my flocks ·and their young ones [L and herds that are nursing]. If I ·force them to go too far [push them too fast] in one day, ·all the animals [the entire flock] will die. 14 So, my ·master [lord], you ·go [pass] on ahead of me, your servant. I will follow you slowly and let the animals and the children set the speed at which we travel. I will meet you, my ·master [lord], in ·Edom [L Seir; 14:6].”
15 So Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my people with you.”
“No, thank you,” said Jacob. “·I only want to please you, my master [L Why should I find such grace/favor in the eyes of my master/lord?].” 16 So that day Esau started back to ·Edom [L Seir; 14:6]. 17 But Jacob went to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and ·shelters [booths] for his animals. That is why the place was named Succoth [C sounds like “shelter” in Hebrew].
18 Jacob left ·northwestern Mesopotamia [L Paddan-aram] and arrived safely at the city of Shechem [12:6] in the land of Canaan. There he camped ·east of [L before] the city. 19 He bought a ·part [parcel; portion] of the field where he had camped from the sons of Hamor father of Shechem for one hundred ·pieces of silver [L qesitah; C an uncertain monetary unit; Josh. 24:32; John 4:5, 6, 12; Acts 7:16]. 20 He ·built [erected] an altar there and named it ·after God, the God of Israel [L El-Elohe-Israel].
Dinah Is Attacked
34 At this time Dinah, the daughter of Leah ·and [L whom she bore to] Jacob [30:21], went out to ·visit [see; or be seen with] the ·women [L daughters] of the land. 2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite [C one of the tribes that inhabited Canaan], the ·ruler [prince] of the land, saw her, he took her and ·forced her to have sexual relations with him [lay with her and humiliated/violated her]. 3 ·Shechem fell in love with Dinah [L His soul was bound to Dinah daugher of Jacob and he loved her], and he spoke kindly to her. 4 He told his father, Hamor, “Please get this girl for me ·so I can marry her [L as a wife].”
5 Jacob ·learned how [L heard that] ·Shechem [L he] had ·disgraced [defiled; made unclean] his daughter, but since his sons were out in the field with the cattle, Jacob ·said nothing [was silent] until they came home. 6 While he waited, Hamor father of Shechem went to talk with Jacob.
7 When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they came in from the field. They were [L upset/shocked/pained and] very angry that Shechem had done ·such a wicked thing [sacrilege; L folly] to Israel. It was wrong for him to ·have sexual relations [L lie] with Jacob’s daughter; a thing like this should not be done.
8 But Hamor talked to Dinah’s brothers and said, “My son Shechem is deeply ·in love with [attached/bound to] Dinah. Please ·let him marry her [L give her to him as a wife]. 9 ·Marry [Make marriages/Intermarry with] our people. Give your women [L daughters] to ·our men as wives [L us] and take our ·women [L daughters] for ·your men as wives [L yourselves]. 10 You can live in the same land with us. You will be free to own land and to trade here.”
11 Shechem also talked to ·Jacob [L her father] and to Dinah’s brothers and said, “·Please accept my offer [L Let me find grace/favor in your eyes]. I will give anything you ask. 12 Ask as much as you want for the ·payment for the bride [bridal payment and gift; C traditional payments to the family], and I will give it to you. Just ·let me marry Dinah [L give me the girl as a wife].”
13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father ·with lies [deceitfully; with duplicity], because Shechem had ·disgraced [defiled; made unclean] their sister Dinah. 14 The brothers said to them, “We cannot allow you [L to do this thing] to ·marry our sister [L give our sister as a wife], because you are not circumcised. That would be a ·disgrace [reproach; shame] to us. 15 But we will ·allow you to marry her [L consent] if you do this one thing: Every man in your town must be circumcised like us [17:10]. 16 Then ·your men can marry our women [L we will give our daughers to you], and ·our men can marry your women [L we will take your daughters for ourselves], and we will live in your land and become one people. 17 If you ·refuse [L do not listen/obey us] to be circumcised, we will take ·Dinah [L our daughter] and ·leave [go].”
18 What they asked seemed fair to Hamor and Shechem [L the son of Hamor]. 19 So ·Shechem quickly went to be circumcised [L the man did not delay to do this thing] because he ·loved [delighted in] Jacob’s daughter.
Now Shechem was the most ·respected [honored] man in ·his family [L his father’s house]. 20 So Hamor and Shechem [L his son] went to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 “These people want to be friends with us. So let them live in our land and trade here. ·There is enough land [L The land is broad on both sides] for all of us. Let us ·marry their women [L take their daughters as wives for ourselves], and ·we can let them marry our women [L give them our daughters]. 22 But we must agree to one thing: All our men must be circumcised as they are. Then they will agree to live in our land, and we will be one people. 23 If we do this, their cattle and their animals will belong to us. Let us do what they say, and they will stay in our land.” 24 All the people who had come to the city gate heard this. They agreed with Hamor and Shechem [L his son], and every man was circumcised.
25 Three days later the men who were circumcised were still in pain. Two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi (Dinah’s brothers), took their swords and made a ·surprise [or bold] attack on the city, killing all the men there. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem and then took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and left. 27 Jacob’s sons came upon the dead bodies and ·stole everything that was in [plundered] the city, ·to pay them back for what Shechem had done to [L because they had disgraced/defiled/made unclean] their sister. 28 So the brothers took the flocks, herds, and donkeys, and everything in the city and in the fields. 29 They ·took [L captured and plundered] every valuable thing the people owned, even their wives and children and everything in the houses.
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have caused me a lot of trouble. ·Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites who live in the land will hate me [L I will be a stench among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites]. Since there are only a few of us, if they join together to attack us, my people and I will be destroyed.”
31 But the brothers said, “·We will not allow our sister to be treated [Should they treat our sister…?] like a ·prostitute [whore].”
Jacob in Bethel
35 God said to Jacob, “·Go [L Rise up and go up] to the city of Bethel [12:8] and live there. Make an altar to the God who appeared to you there when you were ·running away [fleeing] from your brother Esau [28:1–22].”
2 So Jacob said to his ·family [household] and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods you have, and ·make yourselves clean [purify yourselves], and change your clothes. 3 We will ·leave here and go [L rise up and go up] to Bethel. There I will build an altar to God, who ·has helped [L answered] me ·during my time of trouble [L in the day of my distress]. He has been with me [C an indication of a covenant relationship] everywhere I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods ·they had [in their possession; L in their hands], and the earrings ·they were wearing [L on their ears], and he hid them under the ·great tree [L oak; or terebinth; 12:6] near the town of Shechem. 5 Then Jacob and his sons left there. But ·God caused the people in the nearby cities to be afraid [L the terror of God was on the surrounding cities], so they did not ·follow [pursue] them. 6 And Jacob and all the people who were with him went to Luz, which is now called Bethel, in the land of Canaan. 7 There Jacob built an altar and named the place ·Bethel, after God [El-Bethel; or “God of Bethel”], because God had appeared to him there when he was ·running [fleeing] from his brother.
8 Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak tree at Bethel, so they named that place ·Oak of Crying [L Allon-bacuth].
Jacob’s New Name
9 When Jacob came back from ·northwestern Mesopotamia [L Paddan-aram], God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. Your new name will be Israel.” So he called him Israel [32:28]. 11 God said to him, “I am ·God Almighty [L El Shaddai]. ·Have many children [L Be fruitful] and ·grow in number [L multiply; 1:22] as a nation. ·You will be the ancestor of many nations [L A company/assembly of nations will come from you] and kings [L will spring from your loins]. 12 The same land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you and your ·descendants [L seed; 12:2].” 13 Then God ·left him [L went up from him in the place where he spoke with him]. 14 Jacob set up a ·stone on edge [L pillar, a stone pillar] in that place where God had talked to him, and he poured a drink offering and olive oil on it to make it special for God. 15 And Jacob named the place Bethel [C “house of God”].
Rachel Dies Giving Birth
16 ·Jacob and his group [L They] ·left [departed from] Bethel. ·Before they came to [or While still some distance from] Ephrath [C near Bethlehem four miles south of Jerusalem; 35:19], Rachel began giving birth to her baby [L and had hard labor], 17 but she was having ·much trouble [hard labor]. When ·Rachel’s nurse [L the midwife] saw this, she said, “Don’t be afraid, Rachel. You are giving birth to another son.” 18 Rachel gave birth to the son, but she herself died. As she lay dying, she named the boy ·Son of My Suffering [Ben-oni], but Jacob called him Benjamin [C “son of my right hand/the south”].
19 Rachel was buried on the road to Ephrath, ·a district of [or which is] Bethlehem, 20 and Jacob set up a pillar on her grave. It is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day. 21 Then Israel [C Jacob’s new name] continued his journey and ·camped [L pitched his tent] just south of ·Migdal Eder [or the tower of Eder; C Eder means “the flock”; perhaps located near Jerusalem; Mic. 4:8].
22 While Israel was there, Reuben ·had sexual relations [L lay] with Israel’s ·slave woman [concubine] Bilhah, and Israel heard about it [49:3–4].
The Family of Israel
Jacob had twelve sons. 23 He had six sons by his wife Leah: Reuben, his ·first son [firstborn], then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
24 He had two sons by his wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
25 He had two sons by Rachel’s slave girl Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali.
26 And he had two sons by Leah’s slave girl Zilpah: Gad and Asher.
These are Jacob’s sons who were born in ·northwestern Mesopotamia [L Paddan-aram].
27 Jacob went to his father Isaac at Mamre near Hebron [13:18; 18:1; 23:17–18; 25:9], where Abraham and Isaac had ·lived [sojourned; lived as an alien]. 28 Isaac lived one hundred eighty years. 29 So Isaac breathed his last breath and died [L and was gathered to his people/relatives; 25:8] when he was very old [L and full of days], and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Jesus Sends Out His Apostles(A)
10 Jesus called his twelve ·followers [disciples] together and gave them authority to drive [force; cast] out ·evil [defiling; L unclean] spirits and to heal every kind of disease and sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (also called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who ·turned against [betrayed] Jesus.
5 Jesus sent out these twelve men with the following ·order [instructions]: “Don’t go ·to [L on the way/road of] the ·Gentiles [non-Jewish people] or ·to [L enter] any town where the Samaritans live. 6 But go to the ·people of Israel, who are like lost sheep [L lost sheep of the house of Israel]. 7 When you go, ·preach [announce; proclaim] this: ‘The kingdom of heaven is ·near [at hand].’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead to life again, ·heal [L cleanse] ·those who have skin diseases [T the lepers; see 8:2], and ·force demons out of people [L cast out demons]. ·I give you these powers freely, so help other people freely [L Freely you have received, freely give]. 9 Don’t ·carry [or acquire] any money ·with you [L in your belts]—gold or silver or copper. 10 Don’t carry a ·bag [traveler’s bag; or beggar’s purse] or ·extra clothes [L two tunics] or sandals or a ·walking stick [staff]. Workers ·should be given what they need [deserve to be supported; L deserve their food/sustenance].
11 “When you enter a city or town, ·find [seek out] some ·worthy [honorable; respected] person there and stay in that home until you leave. 12 When you enter that home, ·give it your blessing [L greet it; C typically, “Peace be with you”; see Luke 10:5]. 13 If the ·people there welcome you [L house is worthy], let your peace ·stay there [L come upon it]. But if ·they don’t welcome you [L it is not worthy], ·take back the peace you wished for them [L let your peace return to you]. 14 And if ·a home or town [L anyone] refuses to welcome you or ·listen to you [heed your words/message], leave that ·place [L home or town] and shake its dust off your feet [C in protest and as a warning of judgment]. 15 I tell you the truth, on the judgment day it will be ·better [more bearable/tolerable] for the ·towns [L land] of Sodom and Gomorrah [C evil cities destroyed by God; Gen. 19] than for the people of that town.
Jesus Warns His Apostles(B)
16 “·Listen [L Look; T Behold], I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as ·clever [wise; shrewd; cunning] as ·snakes [serpents] and as ·innocent [harmless] as doves. 17 ·Be careful of [Beware of; Watch out for] people, because they will ·arrest you and take you to court [hand you over to the courts/councils; C local councils associated with Jewish synagogues] and ·whip [flog; scourge] you in their synagogues. 18 ·Because of me [On my account; For my sake] you will be taken to stand before governors and kings, ·and you will tell them and the Gentiles about me [L as a witness/testimony to them and to the Gentiles]. 19 When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say or how to say it. [L For] At that time you will be given the things to say. 20 It will not really be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking ·through [in] you.
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