Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ Isaac was the son of Abraham, ²⁰ and he was 40 years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel. She was also the sister of Laban, the Aramean from northern Syria.^[a]

Almost 20 years later, ²¹ Rebekah still had no children. So Isaac asked the Lord to let her have a child, and the Lord answered his prayer.

²² Before Rebekah gave birth, she knew she was going to have twins, because she could feel them inside her, fighting each other. She thought, “Why is this happening to me?” Finally, she asked the Lord why her twins were fighting, ^23 (A) and he told her:

²⁴ When Rebekah gave birth, ²⁵ the first baby was covered with red hair, so he was named Esau.^{[c] 26} The second baby grabbed on to his brother's heel, so they named him Jacob.^[d] Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ As Jacob and Esau grew older, Esau liked the outdoors and became a good hunter, while Jacob lived the quiet life of a shepherd.^[e]

An Example from Marriage

7 My friends, you surely understand enough about law to know that laws only have power over people who are alive. ² For example, the Law says that a man's wife must remain his wife as long as he lives. But once her husband is dead, she is free ³ to marry someone else. However, if she goes off with another man while her husband is still alive, she is said to be unfaithful.

⁴ That is how it is with you, my friends. You are now part of the body of Christ and are dead to the power of the Law. You are free to belong to Christ, who was raised to life so we could serve God. ⁵ When we thought only of ourselves, the Law made us have sinful desires. It made every part of our bodies into slaves who are doomed to die. ⁶ But the Law no longer rules over us. We are like dead people, and it cannot have any power over us. Now we can serve God in a new way by obeying his Spirit, and not in the old way by obeying the written Law.