GodsWord - Genesis

Chapter 1

1:1  In the beginning God created heaven and earth.

1:2  The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep water. The Spirit of God was hovering over the water.

1:3  Then God said, "Let there be light!" So there was light.

1:4  God saw the light was good. So God separated the light from the darkness.

1:5  God named the light day, and the darkness he named night. There was evening, then morning--the first day.

1:6  Then God said, "Let there be a horizon in the middle of the water in order to separate the water."

1:7  So God made the horizon and separated the water above and below the horizon. And so it was.

1:8  God named what was above the horizon sky. There was evening, then morning--a second day.

1:9  Then God said, "Let the water under the sky come together in one area, and let the dry land appear." And so it was.

1:10  God named the dry land earth. The water which came together he named sea. God saw that it was good.

1:11  Then God said, "Let the earth produce vegetation: plants bearing seeds, each according to its own type, and fruit trees bearing fruit with seeds, each according to its own type." And so it was.

1:12  The earth produced vegetation: plants bearing seeds, each according to its own type, and trees bearing fruit with seeds, each according to its own type. God saw that they were good.

1:13  There was evening, then morning--a third day.

1:14  Then God said, "Let there be lights in the sky to separate the day from the night. They will be signs and will mark religious festivals, days, and years.

1:15  They will be lights in the sky to shine on the earth." And so it was.

1:16  God made the two bright lights: the larger light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night. He also made the stars.

1:17  God put them in the sky to give light to the earth,

1:18  to dominate the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.

1:19  There was evening, then morning--a fourth day.

1:20  Then God said, "Let the water swarm with swimming creatures, and let birds fly through the sky over the earth."

1:21  So God created the large sea creatures, every type of creature that swims around in the water and every type of flying bird. God saw that they were good.

1:22  God blessed them and said, "Be fertile, increase in number, fill the sea, and let there be many birds on the earth."

1:23  There was evening, then morning--a fifth day.

1:24  Then God said, "Let the earth produce every type of living creature: every type of domestic animal, crawling animal, and wild animal." And so it was.

1:25  God made every type of wild animal, every type of domestic animal, and every type of creature that crawls on the ground. God saw that they were good.

1:26  Then God said, "Let us make humans in our image, in our likeness. Let them rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the domestic animals all over the earth, and all the animals that crawl on the earth."

1:27  So God created humans in his image. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female.

1:28  God blessed them and said, "Be fertile, increase in number, fill the earth, and be its master. Rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that crawl on the earth."

1:29  God said, "I have given you every plant with seeds on the face of the earth and every tree that has fruit with seeds. This will be your food.

1:30  I have given all green plants as food to every land animal, every bird in the sky, and every animal that crawls on the earth--every living, breathing animal." And so it was.

1:31  And God saw everything that he had made and that it was very good. There was evening, then morning--the sixth day.

Chapter 2

2:1  Heaven and earth and everything in them were finished.

2:2  By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing. On the seventh day he stopped the work he had been doing.

2:3  Then God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as holy, because on that day he stopped all his work of creation.

2:4  This is the account of heaven and earth when they were created, at the time when the LORD God made earth and heaven.

2:5  Wild bushes and plants were not on the earth yet because the LORD God hadn't sent rain on the earth. Also, there was no one to farm the land.

2:6  Instead, underground water would come up from the earth and water the entire surface of the ground.

2:7  Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the earth and blew the breath of life into his nostrils. The man became a living being.

2:8  The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. That's where he put the man whom he had formed.

2:9  The LORD God made all the trees grow out of the ground. These trees were nice to look at, and their fruit was good to eat. The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil grew in the middle of the garden.

2:10  A river flowed from Eden to water the garden. Outside the garden it divided into four rivers.

2:11  The name of the first river is Pishon. This is the one that winds throughout Havilah, where there is gold.

2:12  (The gold of that land is pure. Bdellium and onyx are also found there.)

2:13  The name of the second river is Gihon. This is the one that winds throughout Sudan.

2:14  The name of the third river is Tigris. This is the one that flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

2:15  Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to farm the land and to take care of it.

2:16  The LORD God commanded the man. He said, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden.

2:17  But you must never eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because when you eat from it, you will certainly die."

2:18  Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him."

2:19  The LORD God had formed all the wild animals and all the birds out of the ground. Then he brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called each creature became its name.

2:20  So the man named all the domestic animals, all the birds, and all the wild animals. But the man found no helper who was right for him.

2:21  So the LORD God caused him to fall into a deep sleep. While the man was sleeping, the LORD God took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.

2:22  Then the LORD God formed a woman from the rib that he had taken from the man. He brought her to the man.

2:23  The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She will be named woman because she was taken from man."

2:24  That is why a man will leave his father and mother and will be united with his wife, and they will become one flesh.

2:25  The man and his wife were both naked, but they weren't ashamed of it.

Chapter 3

3:1  The snake was more clever than all the wild animals the LORD God had made. He asked the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must never eat the fruit of any tree in the garden'?"

3:2  The woman answered the snake, "We're allowed to eat the fruit from any tree in the garden

3:3  except the tree in the middle of the garden. God said, 'You must never eat it or touch it. If you do, you will die!'"

3:4  "You certainly won't die!" the snake told the woman.

3:5  "God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened. You'll be like God, knowing good and evil."

3:6  The woman saw that the tree had fruit that was good to eat, nice to look at, and desirable for making someone wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

3:7  Then their eyes were opened, and they both realized that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together and made clothes for themselves.

3:8  In the cool of the evening, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking around in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees in the garden.

3:9  The LORD God called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?"

3:10  He answered, "I heard you in the garden. I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid."

3:11  God asked, "Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?"

3:12  The man answered, "That woman, the one you gave me, gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."

3:13  Then the LORD God asked the woman, "What have you done?" "The snake deceived me, and I ate," the woman answered.

3:14  So the LORD God said to the snake, "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all the wild or domestic animals. You will crawl on your belly. You will be the lowest of animals as long as you live.

3:15  I will make you and the woman hostile toward each other. I will make your descendants and her descendant hostile toward each other. He will crush your head, and you will bruise his heel."

3:16  He said to the woman, "I will increase your pain and your labor when you give birth to children. Yet, you will long for your husband, and he will rule you."

3:17  Then he said to the man, "You listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree, although I commanded you, 'You must never eat its fruit.' The ground is cursed because of you. Through hard work you will eat food that comes from it every day of your life.

3:18  The ground will grow thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat wild plants.

3:19  By the sweat of your brow, you will produce food to eat until you return to the ground, because you were taken from it. You are dust, and you will return to dust."

3:20  Adam named his wife Eve Life because she became the mother of every living person.

3:21  The LORD God made clothes from animal skins for the man and his wife and dressed them.

3:22  Then the LORD God said, "The man has become like one of us, since he knows good and evil. He must not reach out and take the fruit from the tree of life and eat. Then he would live forever."

3:23  So the LORD God sent the man out of the Garden of Eden to farm the ground from which the man had been formed.

3:24  After he sent the man out, God placed angels and a flaming sword that turned in all directions east of the Garden of Eden. He placed them there to guard the way to the tree of life.

Chapter 4

4:1  Adam made love to his wife Eve. She became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "I have gotten the man that the LORD promised."

4:2  Then she gave birth to another child, Abel, Cain's brother. Abel was a shepherd, and Cain was a farmer.

4:3  Later Cain brought some crops from the land as an offering to the LORD.

4:4  Abel also brought some choice parts of the firstborn animals from his flock. The LORD approved of Abel and his offering,

4:5  but he didn't approve of Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry and was disappointed.

4:6  Then the LORD asked Cain, "Why are you angry, and why do you look disappointed?

4:7  If you do well, won't you be accepted? But if you don't do well, sin is lying outside your door ready to attack. It wants to control you, but you must master it."

4:8  Cain talked to his brother Abel. Later, when they were in the fields, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

4:9  The LORD asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he answered. "Am I supposed to take care of my brother?"

4:10  The LORD asked, "What have you done? Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground.

4:11  So now you are cursed from the ground, which has received the blood of your brother whom you killed.

4:12  When you farm the ground, it will no longer yield its best for you. You will be a fugitive, a wanderer on the earth."

4:13  But Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can stand!

4:14  You have forced me off this land today. I have to hide from you and become a fugitive, a wanderer on the earth. Now anyone who finds me will kill me!"

4:15  So the LORD said to him, "Not so! Anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over." The LORD gave Cain a sign so that anyone meeting him would not kill him.

4:16  Then Cain left the LORD's presence and lived in Nod The Land of Wandering, east of Eden.

4:17  Cain made love to his wife. She became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named it Enoch after his son.

4:18  To Enoch was born Irad. Irad was the father of Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael. And Methushael was the father of Lamech.

4:19  Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.

4:20  Adah gave birth to Jabal. He was the first person to live in tents and have livestock.

4:21  His brother's name was Jubal. He was the first person to play the harp and the flute.

4:22  Zillah also had a son, Tubalcain, who made bronze and iron tools. Tubalcain's sister was Naamah.

4:23  Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to me! Wives of Lamech, hear what I say! I killed a man for bruising me, a young man for wounding me.

4:24  If Cain is avenged 7 times, then Lamech, 77 times."

4:25  Adam made love to his wife again. She gave birth to a son and named him Seth, because she said, "God has given me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him."

4:26  A son was also born to Seth, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to worship the LORD.

Chapter 5

5:1  This is the written account of Adam and his descendants. When God created humans, he made them in the likeness of God.

5:2  He created them male and female. He blessed them and called them humans when he created them.

5:3  When Adam was 130 years old, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, in his own image. He named him Seth.

5:4  After Adam became the father of Seth, he lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.

5:5  Adam lived a total of 930 years; then he died.

5:6  When Seth was 105 years old, he became the father of Enosh.

5:7  After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters.

5:8  Seth lived a total of 912 years; then he died.

5:9  When Enosh was 90 years old, he became the father of Kenan.

5:10  After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters.

5:11  Enosh lived a total of 905 years; then he died.

5:12  When Kenan was 70 years old, he became the father of Mahalalel.

5:13  After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters.

5:14  Kenan lived a total of 910 years; then he died.

5:15  When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he became the father of Jared.

5:16  After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters.

5:17  Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years; then he died.

5:18  When Jared was 162 years old, he became the father of Enoch.

5:19  After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.

5:20  Jared lived a total of 962 years; then he died.

5:21  When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah.

5:22  After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for 300 years and had other sons and daughters.

5:23  Enoch lived a total of 365 years.

5:24  Enoch walked with God; then he was gone because God took him.

5:25  When Methuselah was 187 years old, he became the father of Lamech.

5:26  After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters.

5:27  Methuselah lived a total of 969 years; then he died.

5:28  When Lamech was 182 years old, he became the father of a son.

5:29  He named him Noah Relief, and said, "This child will bring us relief from the work and painful labor of our hands since the LORD has cursed the ground."

5:30  After Lamech became the father of Noah, he lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters.

5:31  Lamech lived a total of 777 years; then he died.

5:32  When Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Chapter 6

6:1  The number of people increased all over the earth, and daughters were born to them.

6:2  The sons of God saw that the daughters of other humans were beautiful. So they married any woman they chose.

6:3  Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not struggle with humans forever, because they are flesh and blood. They will live 120 years."

6:4  The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, as well as later, when the sons of God slept with the daughters of other humans and had children by them. These children were famous long ago.

6:5  The LORD saw how evil humans had become on the earth. All day long their deepest thoughts were nothing but evil.

6:6  The LORD was sorry that he had made humans on the earth, and he was heartbroken.

6:7  So he said, "I will wipe off the face of the earth these humans that I created. I will wipe out not only humans, but also domestic animals, crawling animals, and birds. I'm sorry that I made them."

6:8  But the LORD was pleased with Noah.

6:9  This is the account of Noah and his descendants. Noah had God's approval and was a man of integrity among the people of his time. He walked with God.

6:10  He had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

6:11  The world was corrupt in God's sight and full of violence.

6:12  God saw the world and how corrupt it was because all people on earth lived evil lives.

6:13  God said to Noah, "I have decided to put an end to all people because the earth is full of their violence. Now I'm going to destroy them along with the earth.

6:14  Make yourself a ship of cypress wood. Make rooms in the ship and coat it inside and out with tar.

6:15  This is how you should build it: the ship is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

6:16  Make a roof for the ship, and leave an 18-inch-high opening at the top. Put a door in the side of the ship. Build the ship with lower, middle, and upper decks.

6:17  I'm about to send a flood on the earth to destroy all people under the sky--every living, breathing human. Everything on earth will die.

6:18  "But I will make my promise to you. You, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives will go into the ship.

6:19  Bring two of every living creature into the ship in order to keep them alive with you. They must be male and female.

6:20  Two of every type of bird, every type of domestic animal, and every type of creature that crawls on the ground will come to you to be kept alive.

6:21  Take every kind of food that can be eaten and store it. It will be food for you and the animals."

6:22  Noah did this. He did everything that God had commanded him.

Chapter 7

7:1  The LORD said to Noah, "Go into the ship with your whole family because I have seen that you alone are righteous among the people of today.

7:2  Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal (a male and a female of each) and one pair of every kind of unclean animal (a male and a female).

7:3  Also, take seven pairs of every kind of bird (a male and a female of each) to preserve animal life all over the earth after the flood.

7:4  In seven days I will send rain to the earth for 40 days and 40 nights. I will wipe off the face of the earth every living creature that I have made."

7:5  So Noah did everything that the LORD commanded him.

7:6  Noah was 600 years old when the flood came to the earth.

7:7  Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives went into the ship to escape the floodwaters.

7:8  Clean and unclean animals, birds, and creatures that crawl on the ground

7:9  came to Noah to go into the ship in pairs (a male and female of each) as God had commanded Noah.

7:10  Seven days later the flood came on the earth.

7:11  On the seventeenth day of the second month of the six hundredth year of Noah's life, all the deep springs burst open. The sky opened,

7:12  and rain came pouring down on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights.

7:13  On that same day Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, as well as Noah's wife and his three daughters-in-law went into the ship.

7:14  They had with them every type of wild animal, every type of domestic animal, every type of creature that crawls on the earth, and every type of bird (every creature with wings).

7:15  A pair of every living, breathing animal came to Noah to go into the ship.

7:16  A male and a female of every animal went in as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD closed the door behind them.

7:17  The flood continued for 40 days on the earth. The water increased and lifted the ship so that it rose high above the ground.

7:18  As the water rose and became very deep, the ship floated on top of the water.

7:19  The water rose very high above the earth. It covered all the high mountains everywhere under the sky.

7:20  It rose 23 feet above the mountaintops.

7:21  Every creature that crawls on the earth died, including birds, domestic and wild animals, and everything that swarms over the earth, along with every human.

7:22  Everything on dry land (every living, breathing creature) died.

7:23  Every living creature on the face of the earth was wiped out. Humans, domestic animals, crawling creatures, and birds were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those with him in the ship were left.

7:24  The floodwaters were on the earth for 150 days.

Chapter 8

8:1  God remembered Noah and all the wild and domestic animals with him in the ship. So God made a wind blow over the earth, and the water started to go down.

8:2  The deep springs and the sky had been shut, and the rain had stopped pouring.

8:3  The water began to recede from the land. At the end of 150 days the water had decreased.

8:4  On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ship came to rest in the mountains of Ararat.

8:5  The water kept decreasing until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains appeared.

8:6  After 40 more days Noah opened the window he had made in the ship

8:7  and sent out a raven. It kept flying back and forth until the water on the land had dried up.

8:8  Next, he sent out a dove to see if the water was gone from the surface of the ground.

8:9  The dove couldn't find a place to land because the water was still all over the earth. So it came back to Noah in the ship. He reached out and brought the dove back into the ship.

8:10  He waited seven more days and again sent the dove out of the ship.

8:11  The dove came to him in the evening, and in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf. Then Noah knew that the water was gone from the earth.

8:12  He waited seven more days and sent out the dove again, but it never came back to him.

8:13  By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the water on the land had dried up. Noah opened the top of the ship, looked out, and saw the surface of the ground.

8:14  By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the land was dry.

8:15  Then God spoke to Noah,

8:16  "Come out of the ship with your wife, your sons, and your sons' wives.

8:17  Bring out every animal that's with you: birds, domestic animals, and every creature that crawls on the earth. Be fertile, increase in number, and spread over the earth."

8:18  So Noah came out with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives.

8:19  Every animal, crawling creature, and bird--everything that moves on the earth--came out of the ship, one kind after another.

8:20  Noah built an altar to the LORD. On it he made a burnt offering of each type of clean animal and clean bird.

8:21  The LORD smelled the soothing aroma. He said to himself, "I will never again curse the ground because of humans, even though from birth their hearts are set on nothing but evil. I will never again kill every living creature as I have just done.

8:22  As long as the earth exists, planting and harvesting, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never stop."

Chapter 9

9:1  God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fertile, increase in number, and fill the earth.

9:2  All the wild animals and all the birds will fear you and be terrified of you. Every creature that crawls on the ground and all the fish in the sea have been put under your control.

9:3  Everything that lives and moves will be your food. I gave you green plants as food; I now give you everything else.

9:4  "But you are not to eat meat with blood in it. (Blood is life.)

9:5  In addition, I will demand your blood for your life. I will demand it from any animal or from any person. I will demand the life of any person who kills another person.

9:6  Whoever sheds human blood, by humans his blood will be shed, because in the image of God, God made humans.

9:7  Be fertile, and increase in number. Spread over the earth, and increase."

9:8  God also said to Noah and his sons,

9:9  "I am going to make my promise to you, your descendants,

9:10  and every living being that is with you--birds, domestic animals, and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ship--every living thing on earth.

9:11  I am making my promise to you. Never again will all life be killed by floodwaters. Never again will there be a flood that destroys the earth."

9:12  God said, "This is the sign of the promise I am giving to you and every living being that is with you for generations to come.

9:13  I will put my rainbow in the clouds to be a sign of my promise to the earth.

9:14  Whenever I form clouds over the earth, a rainbow will appear in the clouds.

9:15  Then I will remember my promise to you and every living animal. Never again will water become a flood to destroy all life.

9:16  Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember my everlasting promise to every living animal on earth."

9:17  So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the promise I am making to all life on earth."

9:18  Noah's sons, who came out of the ship, were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

9:19  These were Noah's three sons. From them the whole earth was populated. Ham was the father of Canaan.

9:20  Noah, a farmer, was the first person to plant a vineyard.

9:21  He drank some wine, got drunk, and lay naked inside his tent.

9:22  Ham, father of Canaan, saw his father naked. So he went outside and told his two brothers.

9:23  Shem and Japheth took a blanket and laid it over their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered their father's naked body. They turned their faces away so that they didn't see their father naked.

9:24  When Noah sobered up, he found out what his youngest son had done to him.

9:25  So he said, "Canaan is cursed! He will be the lowest slave to his brothers.

9:26  Praise the LORD, the God of Shem! Canaan will be his slave.

9:27  May God expand the territory of Japheth. May he live in the tents of Shem. Canaan will be his slave."

9:28  Noah lived 350 years after the flood.

9:29  Noah lived a total of 950 years; then he died.

Chapter 10

10:1  This is the account of Noah's sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their descendants. Shem, Ham and Japheth had children after the flood.

10:2  Japheth's descendants were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

10:3  Gomer's descendants were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

10:4  Javan's descendants were the people from Elishah, Tarshish, Cyprus, and Rhodes.

10:5  From these descendants the people of the coastlands spread into their own countries. Each nation had its own language and families.

10:6  Ham's descendants were Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.

10:7  Cush's descendants were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. Raamah's descendants were Sheba and Dedan.

10:8  Cush was the father of Nimrod, the first mighty warrior on the earth.

10:9  He was a mighty hunter whom the LORD blessed. That's why people used to say, "He's like Nimrod, a mighty hunter whom the LORD blessed."

10:10  The first cities in his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh in Shinar Babylonia.

10:11  He went from that land to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah,

10:12  and Resen, the great city between Nineveh and Calah.

10:13  Egypt was the ancestor of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites,

10:14  Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.

10:15  Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, then Heth,

10:16  also the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,

10:17  the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,

10:18  the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanite families scattered.

10:19  The border of the Canaanites extended from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim as far as Lasha.

10:20  These were Ham's descendants by families and languages within their countries and nations.

10:21  Shem, Japheth's older brother, also had children. Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.

10:22  Shem's descendants were Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.

10:23  Aram's descendants were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.

10:24  Arpachshad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah was the father of Eber.

10:25  Two sons were born to Eber. The name of the one was Peleg Division, because in his day the earth was divided. His brother's name was Joktan.

10:26  Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

10:27  Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,

10:28  Obal, Abimael, Sheba,

10:29  Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. These were Joktan's sons.

10:30  The region where they lived extended from Mesha toward Sephar in the eastern mountains.

10:31  These were Shem's descendants by families and languages within their countries according to their nations.

10:32  These were the families of Noah's sons listed by their genealogies, nation by nation. From these descendants the nations spread over the earth after the flood.

Chapter 11

11:1  The whole world had one language with a common vocabulary.

11:2  As people moved toward the east, they found a plain in Shinar Babylonia and settled there.

11:3  They said to one another, "Let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used bricks as stones and tar as mortar.

11:4  Then they said, "Let's build a city for ourselves and a tower with its top in the sky. Let's make a name for ourselves so that we won't become scattered all over the face of the earth."

11:5  The LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the descendants of Adam were building.

11:6  The LORD said, "They are one people with one language. This is only the beginning of what they will do! Now nothing they plan to do will be too difficult for them.

11:7  Let us go down there and mix up their language so that they won't understand each other."

11:8  So the LORD scattered them all over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city.

11:9  This is why it was named Babel, because there the LORD turned the language of the whole earth into babble. From that place the LORD scattered them all over the face of the earth.

11:10  This is the account of Shem and his descendants. Two years after the flood when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arpachshad.

11:11  After he became the father of Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

11:12  Arpachshad was 35 years old when he became the father of Shelah.

11:13  After he became the father of Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

11:14  Shelah was 30 years old when he became the father of Eber.

11:15  After he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

11:16  Eber was 34 years old when he became the father of Peleg.

11:17  After he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

11:18  Peleg was 30 years old when he became the father of Reu.

11:19  After he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

11:20  Reu was 32 years old when he became the father of Serug.

11:21  After he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

11:22  Serug was 30 years old when he became the father of Nahor.

11:23  After he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

11:24  Nahor was 29 years old when he became the father of Terah.

11:25  After he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

11:26  Terah was 70 years old when he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

11:27  This is the account of Terah and his descendants. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot.

11:28  While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, his native land.

11:29  Both Abram and Nahor married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, daughter of Haran. (Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah.)

11:30  Sarai was not able to have children.

11:31  Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, wife of his son Abram. They set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came as far as Haran, they stayed there.

11:32  Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran.

Chapter 12

12:1  The LORD said to Abram, "Leave your land, your relatives, and your father's home. Go to the land that I will show you.

12:2  I will make you a great nation, I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

12:3  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse. Through you every family on earth will be blessed."

12:4  So Abram left, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.

12:5  Abram set out for Canaan. He took along his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the servants they had acquired in Haran.

12:6  They arrived in Canaan, and Abram traveled through the land to the oak tree belonging to Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

12:7  Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "I'm going to give this land to your descendants." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

12:8  He moved on to the hills east of Bethel, and he put up his tent--with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He also built an altar to the LORD there and worshiped the LORD.

12:9  Abram kept moving toward the Negev.

12:10  There was a famine in the land. Abram went to Egypt to stay awhile because the famine was severe.

12:11  When he was about to enter Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, "I know that you're a beautiful woman.

12:12  When the Egyptians see you, they'll say, 'This is his wife!' Then they'll kill me but let you live.

12:13  Please say that you're my sister. Then everything will be alright for me, and because of you I will live."

12:14  When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians saw how very beautiful his wife was.

12:15  When Pharaoh's officials saw her, they raved about her to Pharaoh, so Sarai was taken to Pharaoh's palace.

12:16  Everything went well for Abram because of her, and he was given sheep, cattle, donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.

12:17  However, the LORD struck Pharaoh and his household with terrible plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.

12:18  Then Pharaoh called for Abram. "What have you done to me?" he asked. "Why didn't you tell me that she's your wife?

12:19  Why did you say, 'She's my sister' and allow me to take her for my wife? Here's your wife! Take her and go!"

12:20  Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram. They sent Abram away with his wife and everything that he had.

Chapter 13

13:1  Abram left Egypt with his wife and everything he had and went to the Negev. Lot was with him.

13:2  Abram was very rich because he had livestock, silver, and gold.

13:3  He traveled from place to place. He went from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the area between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been originally,

13:4  where he had first made an altar. There Abram worshiped the LORD.

13:5  Lot, who had been traveling with Abram, also had his own sheep, cattle, and tents.

13:6  There wasn't enough pastureland for both of them. They had so many possessions that they were unable to remain together.

13:7  Quarrels broke out between Abram's herders and Lot's herders. (Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in that area.)

13:8  Abram said to Lot, "Please, let's not have any more quarrels between us or between our herders. After all, we're relatives.

13:9  Isn't all this land yours also? Let's separate. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right, and if you go to the right, I'll go to the left."

13:10  Then Lot looked in the direction of Zoar as far as he could see. He saw that the whole Jordan Plain was well-watered like the LORD's garden or like Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

13:11  Lot chose the whole Jordan Plain for himself. He moved toward the east. They each went their own way.

13:12  Abram lived in Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain, moving his tents as far as Sodom.

13:13  (The people who lived in Sodom were very wicked. They committed terrible sins against the LORD.)

13:14  After Lot left, the LORD said to Abram, "Look north, south, east, and west of where you are.

13:15  I will give all the land you see to you and to your descendants for an indefinite period of time.

13:16  I will also give you as many descendants as the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust of the earth, then he could also count your descendants.

13:17  Go! Walk back and forth across the entire land because I will give it to you."

13:18  So Abram moved his tents and went to live by the oak trees belonging to Mamre at Hebron. There he built an altar for the LORD.

Chapter 14

14:1  At that time four kings--King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim--

14:2  went to war against five kings--King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

14:3  The five kings joined forces and met in the valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea).

14:4  For 12 years they had been subject to Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

14:5  In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and his allies came and defeated the Rephaim at Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim at Ham, the Emim at Shaveh Kiriathaim,

14:6  and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, going as far as El Paran on the edge of the desert.

14:7  On their way back, they came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites and also the Amorites who were living at Hazazon Tamar.

14:8  Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and prepared for battle in the valley of Siddim.

14:9  They fought against King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar--four kings against five.

14:10  The valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. As the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell because of the tar pits, but the other kings fled to the hills.

14:11  So the four kings took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as all their food, and left.

14:12  They also took Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions since he was living in Sodom.

14:13  Then a soldier who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew what had happened. He was living next to the oak trees belonging to Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner. (These men were Abram's allies.)

14:14  When Abram heard that his nephew had been captured, he armed his 318 trained men, born in his own household, and pursued the four kings all the way to Dan.

14:15  He split up his men to attack them at night. He defeated them, pursuing them all the way to Hobah, which is north of Damascus.

14:16  He brought back everything they had, including women and soldiers. He also brought back his relative Lot and his possessions.

14:17  After Abram came back from defeating Chedorlaomer and his allies, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Shaveh Valley (that is, the King's Valley).

14:18  Then King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of God Most High.

14:19  He blessed Abram, and said, "Blessed is Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth.

14:20  Blessed is God Most High, who has handed your enemies over to you." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

14:21  The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people, and keep everything else for yourself."

14:22  But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I now raise my hand and solemnly swear to the LORD God Most High, maker of heaven and earth,

14:23  that I won't take a thread or a sandal strap. I won't take anything that is yours so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.'

14:24  I won't take one single thing except what my men have eaten. But let my allies Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share."

Chapter 15

15:1  Later the LORD spoke his word to Abram in a vision. He said, "Abram, don't be afraid. I am your shield. Your reward will be very great."

15:2  Abram asked, "Almighty LORD, what will you give me? Since I'm going to die without children, Eliezer of Damascus will inherit my household.

15:3  You have given me no children, so this member of my household will be my heir."

15:4  Suddenly, the LORD spoke his word to Abram again. He said, "This man will not be your heir. Your own son will be your heir."

15:5  He took Abram outside and said, "Now look up at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them." He also said to him, "That's how many descendants you will have!"

15:6  Then Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD regarded that faith to be his approval of Abram.

15:7  Then the LORD said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land so that you will take possession of it."

15:8  Abram asked, "Almighty LORD, how can I be certain that I will take possession of it?"

15:9  He answered Abram, "Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a mourning dove, and a pigeon."

15:10  So Abram brought all these animals to him. He cut each of them in half and laid each half opposite the other. However, he did not cut the birds in half.

15:11  When birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

15:12  As the sun was just about to set, a deep sleep--a dreadful, deep darkness--came over Abram.

15:13  God said to Abram, "You can know for sure that your descendants will live in a land that is not their own, where they will be slaves, and they will be oppressed for 400 years.

15:14  But I will punish the nation they serve, and after that they will come out with many possessions.

15:15  But you will die in peace and be buried at a very old age.

15:16  In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, because the sin of the Amorites will not have run its course until then."

15:17  The sun had gone down, and it was dark. Suddenly a smoking oven and a flaming torch passed between the animal pieces.

15:18  At that time the LORD made a promise to Abram. He said, "I will give this land to your descendants. This is the land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.

15:19  It is the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

15:20  the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

15:21  the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."

Chapter 16

16:1  Sarai, Abram's wife, was not able to have children. She owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar.

16:2  So Sarai said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Why don't you sleep with my slave? Maybe I can build a family through her." Abram agreed with Sarai.

16:3  After Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years, Abram's wife Sarai took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

16:4  He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to be disrespectful to Sarai, her owner.

16:5  So Sarai complained to Abram, "I'm being treated unfairly! And it's your fault! I know that I gave my slave to you, but now that she's pregnant, she's being disrespectful to me. May the LORD decide who is right--you or me."

16:6  Abram answered Sarai, "Here, she's your slave. Do what you like with her." Then Sarai mistreated Hagar so much that she ran away.

16:7  The Messenger of the LORD found her by a spring in the desert, the spring on the way to Shur.

16:8  He said, "Hagar, Sarai's slave, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She answered, "I'm running away from my owner Sarai."

16:9  The Messenger of the LORD said to her, "Go back to your owner, and place yourself under her authority."

16:10  The Messenger of the LORD also said to her, "I will give you many descendants. No one will be able to count them because there will be so many."

16:11  Then the Messenger of the LORD said to her, "You are pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. You will name him Ishmael God Hears, because the LORD has heard your cry of distress.

16:12  He will be as free and wild as an untamed donkey. He will fight with everyone, and everyone will fight with him. He will have conflicts with all his relatives."

16:13  Hagar named the LORD, who had been speaking to her, "You Are the God Who Watches Over Me." She said, "This is the place where I watched the one who watches over me."

16:14  This is why the well is named Beer Lahai Roi Well of the Living One Who Watches Over Me. It is still there between Kadesh and Bered.

16:15  Hagar gave birth to Abram's son. Abram named him Ishmael.

16:16  Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

Chapter 17

17:1  When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to him. He said to Abram, "I am God Almighty. Live in my presence with integrity.

17:2  I will give you my promise, and I will give you very many descendants."

17:3  Immediately, Abram bowed with his face touching the ground, and again God spoke to him,

17:4  "My promise is still with you. You will become the father of many nations.

17:5  So your name will no longer be Abram Exalted Father, but Abraham Father of Many because I have made you a father of many nations.

17:6  I will give you many descendants. Many nations and kings will come from you.

17:7  I will make my promise to you and your descendants for generations to come as an everlasting promise. I will be your God and the God of your descendants.

17:8  I am also giving this land where you are living--all of Canaan--to you and your descendants as your permanent possession. And I will be your God."

17:9  God also said to Abraham, "You and your descendants in generations to come are to be faithful to my promise.

17:10  This is how you are to be faithful to my promise: Every male among you is to be circumcised.

17:11  All of you must be circumcised. That will be the sign of the promise from me to you.

17:12  For generations to come every male child who is eight days old must be circumcised, whether he is born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner who's not related to you.

17:13  Every male born in your household or bought with your money is to be circumcised without exception. So my promise will be a sign on your flesh, an everlasting promise.

17:14  Any uncircumcised male must be excluded from his people because he has rejected my promise."

17:15  God said to Abraham, "Don't call your wife by the name Sarai anymore. Instead, her name is Sarah Princess.

17:16  I will bless her, and I will also give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will become a mother of nations, and kings will come from her."

17:17  Immediately, Abraham bowed with his face touching the ground. He laughed as he thought to himself, "Can a son be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, have a child?"

17:18  Then Abraham said to God, "Why not let Ishmael be my heir?"

17:19  God replied, "No! Your wife Sarah will give you a son, and you will name him Isaac He Laughs. I will make an everlasting promise to him and his descendants.

17:20  I have heard your request about Ishmael. Yes, I will bless him, make him fertile, and increase the number of his descendants. He will be the father of 12 princes, and I will make him a great nation.

17:21  But I will make my promise to Isaac. Sarah will give birth to him at this time next year."

17:22  When God finished speaking with Abraham, he left him.

17:23  So Abraham took his son Ishmael, everyone born in his household, and everyone bought with money--every male in his household--and circumcised them that day, as God had told him.

17:24  Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised.

17:25  His son Ishmael was 13 years old when he was circumcised.

17:26  That same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised.

17:27  All the men of his household, whether born in the household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Chapter 18

18:1  The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oak trees belonging to Mamre as he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day.

18:2  Abraham looked up, and suddenly he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them, and he bowed with his face touching the ground.

18:3  "Please, sir," Abraham said, "stop by to visit me for a while.

18:4  Why don't we let someone bring a little water? After you wash your feet, you can stretch out and rest under the tree.

18:5  Let me bring some bread so that you can regain your strength. After that you can leave, since this is why you stopped by to visit me." They answered, "That's fine. Do as you say."

18:6  So Abraham hurried into the tent to find Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three measures of flour, knead it, and make bread."

18:7  Then Abraham ran to the herd and took one of his best calves. He gave it to his servant, who prepared it quickly.

18:8  Abraham took cheese and milk, as well as the meat, and set these in front of them. Then he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

18:9  They asked him, "Where is your wife Sarah?" He answered, "Over there, in the tent."

18:10  The LORD said, "I promise I'll come back to you next year at this time, and your wife Sarah will have a son." Sarah happened to be listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him.

18:11  Abraham and Sarah were old. Sarah was past the age of childbearing.

18:12  And so Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, "Now that I've become old, will I enjoy myself again? What's more, my husband is old!"

18:13  The LORD asked Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Can I really have a child now that I'm old?'

18:14  Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will come back to you next year at this time, and Sarah will have a son."

18:15  Because she was afraid, Sarah denied that she had laughed. But the LORD said, "Yes, you did laugh."

18:16  Then the men got up to leave. As Abraham was walking with them to see them off, they looked toward Sodom.

18:17  The LORD said, "I shouldn't hide what I am going to do from Abraham.

18:18  After all, Abraham is going to become a great and mighty nation and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

18:19  I have chosen him so that he will direct his children and his family after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just. In this way I, the LORD, will do what I have promised Abraham."

18:20  The LORD also said, "Sodom and Gomorrah have many complaints against them, and their sin is very serious.

18:21  I must go down and see whether these complaints are true. If not, I will know it."

18:22  From there the men turned and went on toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing in front of the LORD.

18:23  Abraham came closer and asked, "Are you really going to sweep away the innocent with the guilty?

18:24  What if there are 50 innocent people in the city? Are you really going to sweep them away? Won't you spare that place for the sake of the 50 innocent people who are in it?

18:25  It would be unthinkable for you to do such a thing, to treat the innocent and the guilty alike and to kill the innocent with the guilty. That would be unthinkable! Won't the judge of the whole earth do what is fair?"

18:26  The LORD said, "If I find 50 innocent people inside the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

18:27  Abraham asked, "Consider now, if I may be so bold as to ask you, although I'm only dust and ashes,

18:28  what if there are 45 innocent people? Will you destroy the whole city because of 5 fewer people?" The LORD answered, "I will not destroy it if I find 45 there."

18:29  Abraham asked him again, "What if 40 are found there?" He answered, "For the sake of the 40 I will not do it."

18:30  "Please don't be angry if I speak again," Abraham said. "What if 30 are found there?" He answered, "If I find 30 there, I will not do it."

18:31  "Look now, if I may be so bold as to ask you," Abraham said. "What if 20 are found there?" He answered, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the 20."

18:32  "Please don't be angry if I speak only one more time," Abraham said. "What if 10 are found there?" He answered, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the 10."

18:33  When the LORD finished speaking to Abraham, he left. Abraham returned home.

Chapter 19

19:1  The two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gateway. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed with his face touching the ground.

19:2  He said, "Please, gentlemen, why don't you come to my home and spend the night? You can wash your feet there. Then early tomorrow morning you can continue your journey." "No," they answered, "we'd rather spend the night in the city square."

19:3  But he insisted so strongly that they came with him and went into his home. He prepared a special dinner for them, baked some unleavened bread, and they ate.

19:4  Before they had gone to bed, all the young and old male citizens of Sodom surrounded the house.

19:5  They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."

19:6  Then Lot went outside and shut the door behind him.

19:7  "Please, my friends, don't be so wicked," he said.

19:8  "Look, I have two daughters who have never had sex. Why don't you let me bring them out to you? Do whatever you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, since I'm responsible for them."

19:9  But the men yelled, "Get out of the way! This man came here to stay awhile. Now he wants to be our judge! We're going to treat you worse than those men." They pushed hard against Lot and lunged forward to break down the door.

19:10  The men inside reached out, pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.

19:11  Then they struck all the men who were in the doorway of the house, young and old alike, with blindness so that they gave up trying to find the door.

19:12  Then the men asked Lot, "Do you have anyone else here--any in-laws, sons, daughters, or any other relatives in the city? Get them out of here

19:13  because we're going to destroy this place. The complaints to the LORD against its people are so loud that the LORD has sent us to destroy it."

19:14  So Lot went out and spoke to the men engaged to his daughters. He said, "Hurry! Get out of this place, because the LORD is going to destroy the city." But they thought he was joking.

19:15  As soon as it was dawn, the angels urged Lot by saying, "Quick! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you'll be swept away when the city is punished."

19:16  When he hesitated, the men grabbed him, his wife, and his two daughters by their hands, because the LORD wanted to spare Lot. They brought them safely outside the city.

19:17  As soon as they were outside, one of the angels said, "Run for your lives! Don't look behind you, and don't stop on the plain. Run for the hills, or you'll be swept away!"

19:18  Lot answered, "Oh no!

19:19  Even though you've been so good to me and though you've been very kind to me by saving my life, I can't run as far as the hills. This disaster will overtake me, and I'll die.

19:20  Look, there's a city near enough to flee to, and it's small. Why don't you let me run there? Isn't it small? Then my life will be saved."

19:21  The angel said to him, "Alright, I will grant you this request too. I will not destroy the city you're talking about.

19:22  Run there quickly, because I can't do anything until you get there." (The city is named Zoar Small.)

19:23  The sun had just risen over the land as Lot came to Zoar.

19:24  Then the LORD made burning sulfur and fire rain out of heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah.

19:25  He destroyed those cities, the whole plain, all who lived in the cities, and whatever grew on the ground.

19:26  Lot's wife looked back and turned into a column of salt.

19:27  Early the next morning Abraham came to the place where he had stood in front of the LORD.

19:28  When he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land in the plain, he saw smoke rising from the land like the thick smoke of a furnace.

19:29  When God destroyed the cities on the plain, he remembered Abraham. Lot was allowed to escape from the destruction that came to the cities where he was living.

19:30  Lot left Zoar because he was afraid to stay there. He and his two daughters settled in the mountains where they lived in a cave.

19:31  The older daughter said to the younger one, "Our father is old. No men are here. We can't get married as other people do.

19:32  Let's give our father wine to drink. Then we'll go to bed with him so that we'll be able to preserve our family line through our father."

19:33  That night they gave their father wine to drink. Then the older one went to bed with her father. He didn't know when she came to bed or when she got up.

19:34  The next day the older daughter said to the younger one, "I did it! Last night I went to bed with my father. Let's give him wine to drink again tonight. Then you go to bed with him so that we'll be able to preserve our family line through our father."

19:35  That night they gave their father wine to drink again. Then the younger one went to bed with him. He didn't know when she came to bed or when she got up.

19:36  So Lot's two daughters became pregnant by their father.

19:37  The older one gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today.

19:38  The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben Ammi. He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.

Chapter 20

20:1  Abraham moved to the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was living in Gerar,

20:2  Abraham told everyone that his wife Sarah was his sister. So King Abimelech of Gerar sent men to take Sarah.

20:3  God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, "You're going to die because of the woman that you've taken! She's a married woman!"

20:4  Abimelech hadn't come near her, so he asked, "Lord, will you destroy a nation even if it's innocent?

20:5  Didn't he tell me himself, 'She's my sister,' and didn't she even say, 'He's my brother'? I did this in all innocence and with a clear conscience."

20:6  "Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience," God said to him in the dream. "In fact, I kept you from sinning against me. That's why I didn't let you touch her.

20:7  Give the man's wife back to him now, because he's a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you don't give her back, you and all who belong to you are doomed to die."

20:8  Early in the morning Abimelech called together all his officials. He told them about all of this, and they were terrified.

20:9  Then Abimelech called for Abraham and asked him, "What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you that you would bring such a serious sin on me and my kingdom? You shouldn't have done this to me."

20:10  Abimelech also asked Abraham, "What were you thinking when you did this?"

20:11  Abraham said, "I thought that because there are no God-fearing people in this place, I'd be killed because of my wife.

20:12  Besides, she is my sister--my father's daughter but not my mother's. She is also my wife.

20:13  When God had me leave my father's home and travel around, I said to her, 'Do me a favor: Wherever we go, say that I'm your brother.'"

20:14  Then Abimelech took sheep, cattle, and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him.

20:15  Abimelech said, "Look, here's my land. Live anywhere you like."

20:16  He said to Sarah, "Don't forget, I've given your brother 25 pounds of silver. This is to silence any criticism against you from everyone with you. You're completely cleared."

20:17  Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could have children.

20:18  (The LORD had made it impossible for any woman in Abimelech's household to have children because of Abraham's wife Sarah.)

Chapter 21

21:1  The LORD came to help Sarah and did for her what he had promised.

21:2  So she became pregnant, and at the exact time God had promised, she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age.

21:3  Abraham named his newborn son Isaac.

21:4  When Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded.

21:5  Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born.

21:6  Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.

21:7  Who would have predicted to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet, I have given him a son in his old age."

21:8  The child grew and was weaned. On the day Isaac was weaned, Abraham held a big feast.

21:9  Sarah saw that Abraham's son by Hagar the Egyptian was laughing at Isaac.

21:10  She said to Abraham, "Get rid of this slave and her son, because this slave's son must never share the inheritance with my son Isaac."

21:11  Abraham was upset by this because of his son Ishmael.

21:12  But God said to Abraham, "Don't be upset about the boy and your slave. Listen to what Sarah says because through Isaac your descendants will carry on your name.

21:13  Besides, I will make the slave's son into a nation also, because he is your child."

21:14  Early the next morning Abraham took bread and a container of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder. He also gave her the boy and sent her on her way. So she left and wandered around in the desert near Beersheba.

21:15  When the water in the container was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes.

21:16  Then she went about as far away as an arrow can be shot and sat down. She said to herself, "I don't want to watch the boy die." So she sat down and sobbed loudly.

21:17  God heard the boy crying, and the Messenger of God called to Hagar from heaven. "What's the matter, Hagar?" he asked her. "Don't be afraid! God has heard the boy crying from the bushes.

21:18  Come on, help the boy up! Take him by the hand, because I'm going to make him into a great nation."

21:19  God opened her eyes. Then she saw a well. She filled the container with water and gave the boy a drink.

21:20  God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became a skilled archer.

21:21  He lived in the desert of Paran, and his mother got him a wife from Egypt.

21:22  At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do.

21:23  Now, swear an oath to me here in front of God that you will never cheat me, my children, or my descendants. Show me and the land where you've been living the same kindness that I have shown you."

21:24  Abraham said, "I so swear."

21:25  Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well which Abimelech's servants had seized.

21:26  Abimelech replied, "I don't know who did this. You didn't tell me, and I didn't hear about it until today."

21:27  Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made an agreement.

21:28  Then Abraham set apart seven female lambs from the flock.

21:29  Abimelech asked him, "What is the meaning of these seven female lambs you have set apart?"

21:30  Abraham answered, "Accept these lambs from me so that they may be proof that I dug this well."

21:31  This is why that place is called Beersheba, because both of them swore an oath there.

21:32  After they made the treaty at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and went back to the land of the Philistines.

21:33  Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba and worshiped the LORD, the Everlasting God, there.

21:34  Abraham lived a long time in the land of the Philistines.

Chapter 22

22:1  Later God tested Abraham and called to him, "Abraham!" "Yes, here I am!" he answered.

22:2  God said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will show you."

22:3  Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place that God had told him about.

22:4  Two days later Abraham saw the place in the distance.

22:5  Then Abraham said to his servants, "You stay here with the donkey while the boy and I go over there. We'll worship. After that we'll come back to you."

22:6  Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and gave it to his son Isaac. Abraham carried the burning coals and the knife. The two of them went on together.

22:7  Isaac spoke up and said, "Father?" "Yes, Son?" Abraham answered. Isaac asked, "We have the burning coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

22:8  Abraham answered, "God will provide a lamb for the burnt offering, Son." The two of them went on together.

22:9  When they came to the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied up his son Isaac and laid him on top of the wood on the altar.

22:10  Next, Abraham picked up the knife and took it in his hand to sacrifice his son.

22:11  But the Messenger of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Yes?" he answered.

22:12  "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you did not refuse to give me your son, your only son."

22:13  When Abraham looked around, he saw a ram behind him caught by its horns in a bush. So Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

22:14  Abraham named that place The LORD Will Provide. It is still said today, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

22:15  Then the Messenger of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time

22:16  and said, "I am taking an oath on my own name, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not refused to give me your son, your only son,

22:17  I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of their enemies' cities.

22:18  Through your descendant all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

22:19  Then Abraham returned to his servants, and together they left for Beersheba. Abraham remained in Beersheba.

22:20  Later Abraham was told, "Milcah has given birth to these children of your brother Nahor:

22:21  Uz (the firstborn), Buz (his brother), Kemuel (father of Aram),

22:22  Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.

22:23  Bethuel is the father of Rebekah. Milcah had these eight sons by Abraham's brother Nahor.

22:24  Nahor's concubine, whose name was Reumah, had the following children: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah."

Chapter 23

23:1  Sarah lived to be 127 years old. This was the length of her life.

23:2  She died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to cry about her death.

23:3  Then Abraham left the side of his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites,

23:4  "I'm a stranger with no permanent home. Let me have some of your property for a tomb so that I can bury my dead wife."

23:5  The Hittites answered Abraham,

23:6  "Listen to us, sir. You are a mighty leader among us. Bury your dead in one of our best tombs. Not one of us will withhold from you his tomb for burying your dead."

23:7  Abraham got up in front of the Hittites, the people of that region, and bowed with his face touching the ground.

23:8  He said to them, "If you are willing to let me bury my wife, listen to me. Encourage Ephron, son of Zohar,

23:9  to let me have the cave of Machpelah that he owns at the end of his field. He should sell it to me for its full price as my property to be used as a tomb among you."

23:10  Ephron was sitting among the Hittites. He answered Abraham so that everyone who was entering the city gate could hear him. He said,

23:11  "No, sir, listen to me. I'm giving you the field together with the cave that is in it. My people are witnesses that I'm giving it to you. Bury your wife!"

23:12  Abraham bowed down again in front of the people of that region.

23:13  He spoke to Ephron so that the people of that region could hear him. He said, "If you would only listen to me. I will pay you the price of the field. Take it from me so that I can bury my wife there."

23:14  Ephron answered Abraham,

23:15  "Sir, listen to me. The land is worth ten pounds of silver. What is that between us? Bury your wife!"

23:16  Abraham agreed to Ephron's terms. So he weighed out for Ephron the amount stated in front of the Hittites: ten pounds of silver at the current merchants' exchange rate.

23:17  So Ephron's field at Machpelah, east of Mamre, was sold

23:18  to Abraham. His property included the field with the cave in it as well as all the trees inside the boundaries of the field. The Hittites together with all who had entered the city gate were the official witnesses for the agreement.

23:19  After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre (that is, Hebron).

23:20  So the field and its cave were sold by the Hittites to Abraham as his property to be used as a tomb.

Chapter 24

24:1  By now Abraham was old, and the LORD had blessed him in every way.

24:2  So Abraham said to the senior servant of his household who was in charge of all that he owned, "Take a solemn oath.

24:3  I want you to swear by the LORD God of heaven and earth that you will not get my son a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I'm living.

24:4  Instead, you will go to the land of my relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac."

24:5  The servant asked him, "What if the woman doesn't want to come back to this land with me? Should I take your son all the way back to the land you came from?"

24:6  "Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said to him.

24:7  "The LORD God of heaven took me from my father's home and the land of my family. He spoke to me and swore this oath: 'I will give this land to your descendants.' "God will send his angel ahead of you, and you will get my son a wife from there.

24:8  If the woman doesn't want to come back with you, then you'll be free from this oath that you swear to me. But don't take my son back there."

24:9  So the servant did as his master Abraham commanded and swore the oath to him concerning this.

24:10  Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all of his master's best things. He traveled to Aram Naharaim, Nahor's city.

24:11  The servant had the camels kneel down outside the city by the well. It was evening, when the women would go out to draw water.

24:12  Then he prayed, "LORD, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today. Show your kindness to Abraham.

24:13  Here I am standing by the spring, and the girls of the city are coming out to draw water.

24:14  I will ask a girl, 'May I please have a drink from your jar?' If she answers, 'Have a drink, and I'll also water your camels,' let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. This way I'll know that you've shown your kindness to my master."

24:15  Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.

24:16  The girl was a very attractive virgin. No man had ever had sexual intercourse with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came back.

24:17  The servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a drink of water."

24:18  "Drink, sir," she said. She quickly lowered her jar to her hand and gave him a drink.

24:19  When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I'll also keep drawing water for your camels until they've had enough to drink."

24:20  So she quickly emptied her jar into the water trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.

24:21  The man was silently watching her to see whether or not the LORD had made his trip successful.

24:22  When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a fifth of an ounce and two gold bracelets weighing four ounces.

24:23  He asked, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me whether there is room in your father's house for us to spend the night."

24:24  She answered him, "I'm the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah and Nahor.

24:25  We have plenty of straw and feed for your camels and room for you to spend the night."

24:26  The man knelt, bowing to the LORD with his face touching the ground.

24:27  He said, "Praise the LORD, the God of my master Abraham. The LORD hasn't failed to be kind and faithful to my master. The LORD has led me on this trip to the home of my master's relatives."

24:28  The girl ran and told her mother's household about these things.

24:29  Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban.

24:30  He saw the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's wrists and heard her tell what the man had said to her. Immediately, Laban ran out to the man by the spring. He came to the man, who was standing with the camels by the spring.

24:31  He said, "Come in, you whom the LORD has blessed. Why are you standing out here? I have straightened up the house and made a place for the camels."

24:32  So the man went into the house. The camels were unloaded and given straw and feed. Then water was brought for him and his men to wash their feet.

24:33  When the food was put in front of him, he said, "I won't eat until I've said what I have to say." "Speak up," Laban said.

24:34  "I am Abraham's servant," he said.

24:35  "The LORD has blessed my master, and he has become wealthy. The LORD has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys.

24:36  My master's wife Sarah gave him a son in her old age, and my master has given that son everything he has.

24:37  My master made me swear this oath: 'Don't get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I'm living.

24:38  Instead, go to my father's home and to my relatives, and get my son a wife.'

24:39  "I asked my master, 'What if the woman won't come back with me?'

24:40  "He answered me, 'I have been living the way the LORD wants me to. The LORD will send his angel with you to make your trip successful. You will get my son a wife from my relatives and from my father's family.

24:41  Then you will be free from your oath to me. You will also be free of your oath to me if my relatives are not willing to do this when you go to them.'

24:42  "When I came to the spring today, I prayed, 'LORD God of my master Abraham, please make my trip successful.

24:43  I'm standing by the spring. I'll say to the young woman who comes out to draw water, "Please give me a drink of water."

24:44  If she says to me, "Not only may you have a drink, but I will also draw water for your camels," let her be the woman the LORD has chosen for my master's son.'

24:45  "Before I had finished praying, Rebekah came with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water. "So I asked her, 'May I have a drink?'

24:46  She quickly lowered her jar and said, 'Have a drink, and I'll water your camels too.' So I drank, and she also watered the camels.

24:47  "Then I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' "She answered, 'The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor and Milcah.' "I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.

24:48  I knelt, bowing down to the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham. The LORD led me in the right direction to get the daughter of my master's relative for his son.

24:49  Tell me whether or not you're going to show my master true kindness so that I will know what to do."

24:50  Laban and Bethuel answered, "This is from the LORD. We can't say anything to you one way or another.

24:51  Here's Rebekah! Take her and go! She will become the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has said."

24:52  When Abraham's servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the LORD.

24:53  The servant took out gold and silver jewelry and clothes and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother.

24:54  Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they got up in the morning, he said, "Let me go back to my master."

24:55  Her brother and mother replied, "Let the girl stay with us ten days or so. After that she may go."

24:56  He said to them, "Don't delay me now that the LORD has made my trip successful. Let me go back to my master."

24:57  So they said, "We'll call the girl and ask her."

24:58  They called for Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?" She said, "Yes, I'll go."

24:59  So they let their sister Rebekah and her nurse go with Abraham's servant and his men.

24:60  They gave Rebekah a blessing: "May you, our sister, become the mother of many thousands of children. May your descendants take possession of their enemies' cities."

24:61  Then Rebekah and her maids left. Riding on camels, they followed the man. The servant took Rebekah and left.

24:62  Isaac had just come back from Beer Lahai Roi, since he was living in the Negev.

24:63  Toward evening Isaac went out into the field to meditate. When he looked up, he saw camels coming.

24:64  When Rebekah saw Isaac, she got down from her camel.

24:65  She asked the servant, "Who is that man over there coming through the field to meet us?" "That is my master," the servant answered. Then she took her veil and covered herself.

24:66  The servant reported to Isaac everything he had done.

24:67  Isaac took her into his mother Sarah's tent. He married Rebekah. She became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

Chapter 25

25:1  Abraham married again, and his wife's name was Keturah.

25:2  Keturah gave birth to these sons of Abraham: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

25:3  Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan's descendants were the Assyrians, the Letushites, and the Leummites.

25:4  The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were the descendants of Keturah.

25:5  Abraham left everything he had to Isaac.

25:6  But while he was still living, Abraham had given gifts to the sons of his concubines. He sent them away from his son Isaac to a land in the east.

25:7  Abraham lived 175 years.

25:8  Then he took his last breath, and died at a very old age. After a long and full life, he joined his ancestors in death.

25:9  His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron, son of Zohar the Hittite. The cave is east of Mamre.

25:10  This was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah.

25:11  After Abraham died, God blessed his son Isaac, who settled near Beer Lahai Roi.

25:12  This is the account of the descendants of Abraham's son Ishmael. He was the son of Sarah's Egyptian slave Hagar and Abraham.

25:13  These are the names of the sons of Ishmael listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth (Ishmael's firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

25:14  Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

25:15  Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

25:16  These are the sons of Ishmael and their names listed by their settlements and camps--12 leaders of their tribes.

25:17  Ishmael lived 137 years. Then he took his last breath and died. He joined his ancestors in death.

25:18  His descendants lived as nomads from the region of Havilah to Shur, which is near Egypt, in the direction of Assyria. They all fought with each other.

25:19  This is the account of Abraham's son Isaac and his descendants. Abraham was the father of Isaac.

25:20  Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.

25:21  Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife because she was childless. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

25:22  When the children inside her were struggling with each other, she said, "If it's like this now, what will become of me?" So she went to ask the LORD.

25:23  The LORD said to her, "Two countries are in your womb. Two nations will go their separate ways from birth. One nation will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger."

25:24  When the time came for her to give birth, she had twins.

25:25  The first one born was red. His whole body was covered with hair, so they named him Esau Hairy.

25:26  Afterwards, his brother was born with his hand holding on to Esau's heel, and so he was named Jacob Heel. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

25:27  They grew up. Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman. Jacob remained a quiet man, staying around the tents.

25:28  Because Isaac liked to eat the meat of wild animals, he loved Esau. However, Rebekah loved Jacob.

25:29  Once, Jacob was preparing a meal when Esau, exhausted, came in from outdoors.

25:30  So Esau said to Jacob, "Let me have the whole pot of red stuff to eat--that red stuff--I'm exhausted." This is why he was called Edom.

25:31  Jacob responded, "First, sell me your rights as firstborn."

25:32  "I'm about to die." Esau said. "What good is my inheritance to me?"

25:33  "First, swear an oath," Jacob said. So Esau swore an oath to him and sold him his rights as firstborn.

25:34  Then Jacob gave Esau a meal of bread and lentils. He ate and drank, and then he got up and left. This is how Esau showed his contempt for his rights as firstborn.

Chapter 26

26:1  There was a famine in the land in addition to the earlier one during Abraham's time. So Isaac went to King Abimelech of the Philistines in Gerar.

26:2  The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Don't go to Egypt. Stay where I tell you.

26:3  Live here in this land for a while, and I will be with you and bless you. I will give all these lands to you and your descendants. I will keep the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.

26:4  I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and give all these lands to your descendants. Through your descendant all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

26:5  I will bless you because Abraham obeyed me and completed the duties, commands, laws, and instructions I gave him."

26:6  So Isaac lived in Gerar.

26:7  When the men of that place asked about his wife, Isaac answered, "She's my sister." He was afraid to say "my wife." He thought that the men of that place would kill him to get Rebekah, because she was an attractive woman.

26:8  When he had been there a long time, King Abimelech of the Philistines looked out of his window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

26:9  Abimelech called for Isaac and said, "So she's really your wife! How could you say, 'She's my sister'?" Isaac answered him, "I thought I would be killed because of her."

26:10  Then Abimelech said, "What have you done to us! One of the people might have easily gone to bed with your wife, and then you would have made us guilty of sin."

26:11  So Abimelech ordered his people, "Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death."

26:12  Isaac planted crops in that land. In that same year he harvested a hundred times as much as he had planted because the LORD had blessed him.

26:13  He continued to be successful, becoming very rich.

26:14  Because he owned so many flocks, herds, and servants, the Philistines became jealous of him.

26:15  So the Philistines filled in all the wells that his father's servants had dug during his father Abraham's lifetime.

26:16  Finally, Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us! You've become more powerful than we are."

26:17  So Isaac moved away. He set up his tents in the Gerar Valley and lived there.

26:18  He dug out the wells that had been dug during his father Abraham's lifetime. The Philistines had filled them in after Abraham's death. He gave them the same names that his father had given them.

26:19  Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found a spring-fed well.

26:20  The herders from Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herders, claiming, "This water is ours!" So Isaac named the well Esek Argument, because they had argued with him.

26:21  Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one too. So Isaac named it Sitnah Accusation.

26:22  He moved on from there and dug another well. They didn't quarrel over this one. So he named it Rehoboth Roomy and said, "Now the LORD has made room for us, and we will prosper in this land."

26:23  He went from there to Beersheba.

26:24  That night the LORD appeared to Isaac, and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Don't be afraid, because I am with you. I will bless you and increase the number of your descendants for my servant Abraham's sake."

26:25  So Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD. He also pitched his tent in that place, and his servants dug a well there.

26:26  Abimelech, his friend Ahuzzath, and Phicol, the commander of his army, came from Gerar to see Isaac.

26:27  Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me, since you hate me and sent me away from you?"

26:28  They answered, "We have seen that the LORD is with you. So we thought, 'There should be a solemn agreement between us.' We'd like to make an agreement with you

26:29  that you will not harm us, since we have not touched you. We have done only good to you and let you go in peace. Now you are blessed by the LORD."

26:30  Isaac prepared a special dinner for them, and they ate and drank.

26:31  Early the next morning they exchanged oaths. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left peacefully.

26:32  That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about a well they had dug. They said to him, "We've found water."

26:33  So he named it Shibah Oath. That is why the name of the city is still Beersheba today.

26:34  When Esau was 40 years old, he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite. He also married Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite.

26:35  These women brought Isaac and Rebekah a lot of grief.

Chapter 27

27:1  When Isaac was old and going blind, he called his older son Esau and said to him, "Son!" Esau answered, "Here I am."

27:2  Isaac said, "I'm old. I don't know when I'm going to die.

27:3  Now take your hunting equipment, your quiver and bow, and go out into the open country and hunt some wild game for me.

27:4  Prepare a good-tasting meal for me, just the way I like it. Bring it to me to eat so that I will bless you before I die."

27:5  Rebekah was listening while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau. When Esau went into the open country to hunt for some wild game to bring back,

27:6  Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "I've just heard your father speaking to your brother Esau.

27:7  He said, 'Bring me some wild game, and prepare a good-tasting meal for me to eat so that I will bless you in the presence of the LORD before I die.'

27:8  Now listen to me, Son, and do what I tell you.

27:9  Go to the flock, and get me two good young goats. I'll prepare them as a good-tasting meal for your father, just the way he likes it.

27:10  Then take it to your father to eat so that he will bless you before he dies."

27:11  Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, "My brother Esau is a hairy man, and my skin is smooth.

27:12  My father will feel my skin and think I'm mocking him. Then I'll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing."

27:13  His mother responded, "Let any curse on you fall on me, Son. Just obey me and go! Get me the young goats."

27:14  He went and got them and brought them to his mother. She prepared a good-tasting meal, just the way his father liked it.

27:15  Then Rebekah took her older son Esau's good clothes, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob.

27:16  She put the skins from the young goats on his hands and on the back of his neck.

27:17  Then she gave her son Jacob the good-tasting meal and the bread she had prepared.

27:18  He went to his father and said, "Father?" "Yes?" he answered. "Who are you, Son?"

27:19  Jacob answered his father, "I'm Esau, your firstborn. I've done what you told me. Sit up and eat this meat I've hunted for you so that you may bless me."

27:20  Isaac asked his son, "How did you find it so quickly, Son?" "The LORD your God brought it to me," he answered.

27:21  Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come over here so that I can feel your skin, Son, to find out whether or not you really are my son Esau."

27:22  So Jacob went over to his father. Isaac felt his skin. "The voice is Jacob's," he said, "but the hands are Esau's."

27:23  He didn't recognize Jacob, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. So he blessed him.

27:24  "Are you really my son Esau?" he asked him. "I am," Jacob answered.

27:25  Isaac said, "Bring me some of the game, and I will eat it, Son, so that I will bless you." Jacob brought it to Isaac, and he ate it. Jacob also brought him wine, and he drank it.

27:26  Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come here and give me a kiss, Son."

27:27  He went over and gave him a kiss. When Isaac smelled his clothes, he blessed him and said, "The smell of my son is like the smell of open country that the LORD has blessed.

27:28  May God give you dew from the sky, fertile fields on the earth, and plenty of fresh grain and new wine.

27:29  May nations serve you. May people bow down to you. Be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed. May those who bless you be blessed."

27:30  Isaac finished blessing Jacob. Jacob had barely left when his brother Esau came in from hunting.

27:31  He, too, prepared a good-tasting meal and brought it to his father. Then he said to his father, "Please, Father, eat some of the meat I've hunted for you so that you will bless me."

27:32  "Who are you?" his father Isaac asked him. "I'm your firstborn son Esau," he answered.

27:33  Trembling violently all over, Isaac asked, "Who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it before you came in. I blessed him, and he will stay blessed."

27:34  When Esau heard these words from his father, he shouted out a very loud and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me too, Father!"

27:35  Isaac said, "Your brother came and deceived me and has taken away your blessing."

27:36  Esau said, "Isn't that why he's named Jacob? He's cheated me twice already: He took my rights as firstborn, and now he's taken my blessing." So he asked, "Haven't you saved a blessing for me?"

27:37  Isaac answered Esau, "I have made him your master, and I have made all his brothers serve him. I've provided fresh grain and new wine for him. What is left for me to do for you, Son?"

27:38  Esau asked, "Do you have only one blessing, Father? Bless me too, Father!" And Esau sobbed loudly.

27:39  His father Isaac answered him, "The place where you live will lack the fertile fields of the earth and the dew from the sky above.

27:40  You will use your sword to live, and you will serve your brother. But eventually you will gain your freedom and break his yoke off your neck."

27:41  So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing that his father had given him. Esau said to himself, "The time to mourn for my father is near. Then I'll kill my brother Jacob."

27:42  When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, "Watch out! Your brother Esau is comforting himself by planning to kill you.

27:43  So now, Son, obey me. Quick! Run away to my brother Laban in Haran.

27:44  Stay with him awhile, until your brother's anger cools down.

27:45  When your brother's anger is gone and he has forgotten what you did to him, I'll send for you and get you back. Why should I lose both of you in one day?"

27:46  Rebekah said to Isaac, "I can't stand Hittite women! If Jacob marries a Hittite woman like one of those from around here, I might as well die."

Chapter 28

28:1  Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, "You are not to marry any of the Canaanite women.

28:2  Quick! Go to Paddan Aram. Go to the home of Bethuel, your mother's father, and get yourself a wife from there from the daughters of your uncle Laban.

28:3  May God Almighty bless you, make you fertile, and increase the number of your descendants so that you will become a community of people.

28:4  May he give to you and your descendants the blessing of Abraham so that you may take possession of the land where you are now living, the land that God gave to Abraham."

28:5  Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan Aram. Jacob went to live with Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah. She was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

28:6  Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him away to Paddan Aram to get a wife from there. He learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had commanded him not to marry any of the Canaanite women.

28:7  He also learned that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had left for Paddan Aram.

28:8  Esau realized that his father Isaac disapproved of Canaanite women.

28:9  So he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth, in addition to the wives he had.

28:10  Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran.

28:11  When he came to a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had gone down. He took one of the stones from that place, put it under his head, and lay down there.

28:12  He had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and coming down on it.

28:13  The LORD was standing above it, saying, "I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants.

28:14  Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Through you and through your descendant every family on earth will be blessed.

28:15  Remember, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land because I will not leave you until I do what I've promised you."

28:16  Then Jacob woke up from his sleep and exclaimed, "Certainly, the LORD is in this place, and I didn't know it!"

28:17  Filled with awe, he said, "How awe-inspiring this place is! Certainly, this is the house of God and the gateway to heaven!"

28:18  Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had put under his head. He set it up as a marker and poured olive oil on top of it.

28:19  He named that place Bethel House of God. Previously, the name of the city was Luz.

28:20  Then Jacob made a vow: "If God will be with me and will watch over me on my trip and give me food to eat and clothes to wear,

28:21  and if I return safely to my father's home, then the LORD will be my God.

28:22  This stone that I have set up as a marker will be the house of God, and I will surely give you a tenth of everything you give me."

Chapter 29

29:1  Jacob continued on his trip and came to the land in the east.

29:2  He looked around, and out in a field he saw a well with a large stone over the opening. Three flocks of sheep were lying down near it, because the flocks were watered from that well.

29:3  When all the flocks were gathered there, the stone would be rolled off the opening of the well so that the sheep could be watered. Then the stone would be put back in place over the opening of the well.

29:4  Jacob asked some people, "My friends, where are you from?" "We're from Haran," they replied.

29:5  He asked them, "Do you know Laban, Nahor's grandson?" They answered, "We do."

29:6  "How is he doing?" Jacob asked them. "He's fine," they answered. "Here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep."

29:7  "It's still the middle of the day," he said. "It isn't time yet to gather the livestock. Water the sheep. Then let them graze."

29:8  They replied, "We can't until all the flocks are gathered. When the stone is rolled off the opening of the well, we can water the sheep."

29:9  While he was still talking to them, Rachel arrived with her father's sheep, because she was a shepherd.

29:10  Jacob saw Rachel, daughter of his uncle Laban, with his uncle Laban's sheep. He came forward and rolled the stone off the opening of the well and watered his uncle Laban's sheep.

29:11  Then Jacob kissed Rachel and sobbed loudly.

29:12  When Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's nephew and that he was Rebekah's son, she ran and told her father.

29:13  As soon as Laban heard the news about his sister's son Jacob, he ran to meet him. He hugged and kissed him and brought him into his home. Then Jacob told Laban all that had happened.

29:14  Laban said to him, "You are my own flesh and blood." Jacob stayed with him for a whole month.

29:15  Then Laban said to him, "Just because you're my relative doesn't mean that you should work for nothing. Tell me what your wages should be."

29:16  Laban had two daughters. The name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger one was Rachel.

29:17  Leah had attractive eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and beautiful features.

29:18  Jacob loved Rachel. So he offered, "I'll work seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel."

29:19  Laban responded, "It's better that I give her to you than to any other man. Stay with me."

29:20  Jacob worked seven years in return for Rachel, but the years seemed like only a few days to him because he loved her.

29:21  At the end of the seven years Jacob said to Laban, "The time is up; give me my wife! I want to sleep with her."

29:22  So Laban invited all the people of that place and gave a wedding feast.

29:23  In the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob. Jacob slept with her. When morning came, he realized it was Leah.

29:24  (Laban had given his slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her slave.)

29:25  "What have you done to me?" Jacob asked Laban. "Didn't I work for you in return for Rachel? Why did you cheat me?"

29:26  Laban answered, "It's not our custom to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one.

29:27  Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you'll have to work for me another seven years."

29:28  That's what Jacob did. He finished the week with Leah. Then Laban gave his daughter Rachel to him as his wife.

29:29  (Laban had given his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave.)

29:30  Jacob slept with Rachel too. He loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.

29:31  When the LORD saw Leah was unloved, he made it possible for her to have children, but Rachel had none.

29:32  Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben Here's My Son, because she said, "Certainly, the LORD has seen my misery; now my husband will love me!"

29:33  She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, "Certainly, the LORD has heard that I'm unloved, and he also has given me this son." So she named him Simeon Hearing.

29:34  She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me because I've given him three sons." So she named him Levi Attached.

29:35  She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, "This time I will praise the LORD." So she named him Judah Praise. Then she stopped having children.

Chapter 30

30:1  Rachel saw that she could not have children for Jacob, and she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I'll die!"

30:2  Jacob became angry with Rachel and asked, "Can I take the place of God, who has kept you from having children?"

30:3  She said, "Here's my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her. She can have children for me, and I can build a family for myself through her."

30:4  So she gave him her slave Bilhah as his wife, and Jacob slept with her.

30:5  Bilhah became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Jacob.

30:6  Rachel said, "Now God has judged in my favor. He has heard my prayer and has given me a son." So she named him Dan He Judges.

30:7  Rachel's slave Bilhah became pregnant again and gave birth to a second son for Jacob.

30:8  Rachel said, "I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won!" So she named him Naphtali My Struggle.

30:9  When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as his wife.

30:10  Leah's slave Zilpah gave birth to a son for Jacob.

30:11  Leah said, "I've been lucky!" So she called him Gad Luck.

30:12  Leah's slave Zilpah gave birth to her second son for Jacob.

30:13  Leah said, "I've been blessed! Women will call me blessed." So she named him Asher Blessing.

30:14  During the wheat harvest Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrakes. He brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."

30:15  Leah replied, "Isn't it enough that you took my husband? Are you also going to take my son's mandrakes?" Rachel said, "Very well, Jacob can go to bed with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes."

30:16  As Jacob was coming in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. "You are to sleep with me," she said. "You are my reward for my son's mandrakes." So he went to bed with her that night.

30:17  God answered Leah's prayer. She became pregnant and gave birth to her fifth son for Jacob.

30:18  Leah said, "God has given me my reward because I gave my slave to my husband." So she named him Issachar Reward.

30:19  She became pregnant again and gave birth to her sixth son for Jacob.

30:20  Leah said, "God has presented me with a beautiful present. This time my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons." So she named him Zebulun Honor.

30:21  Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

30:22  Then God remembered Rachel. God answered her prayer and made it possible for her to have children.

30:23  So she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Then she said, "God has taken away my disgrace."

30:24  She named him Joseph May He Give Another and said, "May the LORD give me another son."

30:25  After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Let me go home to my own country.

30:26  Give me my wives and my children for whom I've worked, and let me go. You know how much work I've done for you."

30:27  Laban replied, "Listen to me. I've learned from the signs I've seen that the LORD has blessed me because of you."

30:28  So he offered, "Name your wages, and I'll pay them."

30:29  Jacob responded, "You know how much work I've done for you and what has happened to your livestock under my care.

30:30  The little that you had before I came has grown to a large amount. The LORD has blessed you wherever I've been. When can I do something for my own family?"

30:31  Laban asked, "What should I give you?" "Don't give me anything," Jacob answered. "Instead, do something for me, then I'll go back to taking care of and watching your flocks again.

30:32  Let me go through all of your flocks today and take every speckled or spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages.

30:33  My honesty will speak for itself whenever you come to check on my wages. Any goat I have that isn't speckled or spotted or any lamb that isn't black will be considered stolen."

30:34  Laban answered, "Agreed. We'll do as you've said."

30:35  However, that same day Laban took out the striped and spotted male goats, all the speckled and spotted female goats (every one with white on it), and every black lamb. He had his sons take charge of them.

30:36  He traveled three days away from Jacob. Jacob continued to take care of the rest of Laban's flocks.

30:37  Then Jacob took fresh-cut branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled the bark on them in strips of white, uncovering the white which was on the branches.

30:38  He placed the peeled branches in the troughs directly in front of the flocks, at the watering places where the flocks came to drink. When they were in heat and came to drink,

30:39  they mated in front of the branches. Then they gave birth to young that were striped, speckled, or spotted.

30:40  Jacob separated the rams from the flock and made the rest of the sheep face any that were striped or black in Laban's flocks. So he made separate herds for himself and did not add them to Laban's flocks.

30:41  Whenever the stronger of the flocks were in heat, Jacob would lay the branches in the troughs in front of them so that they would mate by the branches.

30:42  But when the flocks in heat were weak, he didn't lay down the branches. So the weaker ones belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob.

30:43  As a result, Jacob became very wealthy. He had large flocks, male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys.

Chapter 31

31:1  Jacob heard that Laban's sons were saying, "Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father and has gained all his wealth from him."

31:2  He also noticed that Laban did not appear as friendly to him as before.

31:3  Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Go back to the land of your ancestors and to your relatives, and I will be with you."

31:4  So Jacob sent a message to Rachel and Leah to come out to the open country where his flocks were.

31:5  He said to them, "I have seen that your father isn't as friendly to me as he was before, but the God of my father has been with me.

31:6  You know that I have worked as hard as I could for your father.

31:7  Your father has cheated me. He has changed my wages ten times. But God hasn't let him harm me.

31:8  Whenever he said, 'The speckled ones will be your wages,' all the flocks gave birth to speckled young. And whenever he said, 'The striped ones will be your wages,' all the flocks gave birth to striped young.

31:9  So God has taken away your father's livestock and has given them to me.

31:10  "During the mating season I had a dream: I looked up and saw that the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, or spotted.

31:11  In the dream the Messenger of God called to me, 'Jacob!' And I answered, 'Yes, here I am.'

31:12  He said, 'Look up and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, or spotted, because I have seen everything that Laban is doing to you.

31:13  I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, where you poured olive oil on a stone marker for a holy purpose and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land, and go back to the land of your relatives.'"

31:14  Rachel and Leah answered him, "Is there anything left in our father's household for us to inherit?

31:15  Doesn't he think of us as foreigners? Not only did he sell us, but he has used up the money that was paid for us.

31:16  Certainly, all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. Now do whatever God has told you."

31:17  Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels.

31:18  He drove all his livestock ahead of him and took all the possessions that he had accumulated. He took his own livestock that he had accumulated in Paddan Aram and went back to his father Isaac in Canaan.

31:19  When Laban went to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's idols.

31:20  Jacob also tricked Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was leaving.

31:21  So he left in a hurry with all that belonged to him. He crossed the Euphrates River and went toward the mountains of Gilead.

31:22  Two days later Laban was told that Jacob had left in a hurry.

31:23  He and his relatives pursued Jacob for seven days. Laban caught up with him in the mountains of Gilead.

31:24  God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "Be careful not to say anything at all to Jacob."

31:25  When Laban finally caught up with Jacob, Jacob had put up his tents in the mountains. So Laban and his relatives put up their tents in the mountains of Gilead.

31:26  Then Laban asked Jacob, "What have you done by tricking me? You've carried off my daughters like prisoners of war.

31:27  Why did you leave secretly and trick me? You didn't even tell me you were leaving. I would have sent you on your way rejoicing, with songs accompanied by tambourines and lyres.

31:28  You didn't even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters. You've done a foolish thing.

31:29  I have the power to harm you. Last night the God of your father said to me, 'Be careful not to say anything at all to Jacob.'

31:30  Now you have left for your father's home because you were so homesick. But why did you steal my gods?"

31:31  Jacob answered Laban, "I left because I was afraid. I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force.

31:32  If you find your gods, the one who has them will not be allowed to live. In the presence of our relatives, search as much as you want through what I have, and take what is yours." (Jacob didn't know that Rachel had stolen the gods.)

31:33  So Laban went into Jacob's tent, into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two slaves. But he found nothing. He came out of Leah's tent and went into Rachel's tent.

31:34  Rachel had taken the idols and had put them in her camel's saddle-bag and was sitting on them. Laban rummaged through the whole tent but found nothing.

31:35  Rachel said to her father, "Don't be angry, Father, but I can't get up to greet you; I'm having my period." So even though Laban had made a thorough search, he didn't find the idols.

31:36  Then Jacob became angry and confronted Laban. "What is my crime?" Jacob demanded of Laban. "What is my offense that you have come chasing after me?

31:37  Now that you've rummaged through all my things, did you find anything from your house? Put it here in front of all our relatives. Let them decide which one of us is right.

31:38  "I've been with you for 20 years. Your sheep and goats never miscarried, and I never ate any rams from your flocks.

31:39  I never brought you any of the flock that was killed by wild animals. I paid for the loss myself. That's what you demanded of me when any of the flock was stolen during the day or at night.

31:40  The scorching heat during the day and the cold at night wore me down, and I lost a lot of sleep.

31:41  I've been with your household 20 years now. I worked for you 14 years for your two daughters and 6 years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times.

31:42  If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would have sent me away empty-handed by now. God has seen my misery and hard work, and last night he made it right."

31:43  Then Laban answered Jacob, "These are my daughters, my grandchildren, and my flocks. Everything you see is mine! Yet, what can I do today for my daughters or for their children?

31:44  Now, let's make an agreement and let it stand as a witness between you and me."

31:45  Jacob took a stone and set it up as a marker.

31:46  Then Jacob said to his relatives, "Gather some stones." They took stones, put them into a pile, and ate there by the pile of stones.

31:47  In his language Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha Witness Pile, but Jacob called it Galeed.

31:48  Laban said, "This pile of stones stands as a witness between you and me today." This is why it was named Galeed

31:49  and also Mizpah Watchtower, because he said, "May the LORD watch between you and me when we're unable to see each other.

31:50  If you mistreat my daughters or marry other women behind my back, remember that God stands as a witness between you and me."

31:51  Laban said to Jacob, "Here is the pile of stones, and here is the marker that I have set up between you and me.

31:52  This pile of stones and this marker stand as witnesses that I will not go past the pile of stones to harm you, and that you will not go past the pile of stones or marker to harm me.

31:53  May the God of Abraham and Nahor--the God of their father--judge between us." So Jacob swore this oath by the Fear of his father Isaac

31:54  and offered a sacrifice on the mountain. He invited his relatives to eat the meal with him. They ate with him and spent the night on the mountain.

31:55  Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban left and went back home.

Chapter 32

32:1  As Jacob went on his way, God's angels met him.

32:2  When he saw them, Jacob said, "This is God's camp!" He named that place Mahanaim Two Camps.

32:3  Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in Seir, the country of Edom.

32:4  He commanded them to give this message to Esau, "Sir, this is what Jacob has to say, 'I've been living with Laban and have stayed until now.

32:5  I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, and male and female slaves. I've sent these messengers to tell you this news in order to win your favor.'"

32:6  When the messengers came back to Jacob, they said, "We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you with 400 men."

32:7  Jacob was terrified and distressed. So he divided the people, the sheep and goats, the cattle, and the camels into two camps.

32:8  He thought, "If Esau attacks the one camp, then the other camp will be able to escape."

32:9  Then Jacob prayed, "God of my grandfather Abraham and God of my father Isaac! LORD, you said to me, 'Go back to your land and to your relatives, and I will make you prosperous.'

32:10  I'm not worthy of all the love and faithfulness you have shown me. I only had a shepherd's staff when I crossed the Jordan River, but now I have two camps.

32:11  Please save me from my brother Esau, because I'm afraid of him. I'm afraid that he'll come and attack me and the mothers and children too.

32:12  But you did say, 'I will make sure that you are prosperous and that your descendants will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one will be able to count them because there are so many.'"

32:13  He stayed there that night. Then he prepared a gift for his brother Esau from what he had brought with him:

32:14  200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 female sheep and 20 male sheep,

32:15  30 female camels with their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys.

32:16  He placed servants in charge of each herd. Then he said to his servants, "Go ahead of me, and keep a distance between the herds."

32:17  He commanded the first servant, "When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and whose animals are these ahead of you?'

32:18  then say, 'Sir, they belong to your servant Jacob. This is a gift sent to you. Jacob is right behind us.'"

32:19  He also commanded the second servant, the third, and all the others who followed the herds. He said, "Say the same thing to Esau when you find him.

32:20  And be sure to add, 'Jacob is right behind us, sir.'" He thought, "I'll make peace with him by giving him this gift that I'm sending ahead of me. After that I will see him, and he'll welcome me back."

32:21  So Jacob sent the gift ahead of him while he stayed in the camp that night.

32:22  During that night he got up and gathered his two wives, his two slaves and his eleven children and crossed at the shallow part of the Jabbok River.

32:23  After he sent them across the stream, he sent everything else across.

32:24  So Jacob was left alone. Then a man wrestled with him until dawn.

32:25  When the man saw that he could not win against Jacob, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that it was dislocated as they wrestled.

32:26  Then the man said, "Let me go; it's almost dawn." But Jacob answered, "I won't let you go until you bless me."

32:27  So the man asked him, "What's your name?" "Jacob," he answered.

32:28  The man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob but Israel He Struggles With God, because you have struggled with God and with men--and you have won."

32:29  Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." The man answered, "Why do you ask for my name?" Then he blessed Jacob there.

32:30  So Jacob named that place Peniel Face of God, because he said, "I have seen God face to face, but my life was saved."

32:31  The sun rose as he passed Penuel. He was limping because of his hip.

32:32  (Therefore, even today the people of Israel do not eat the muscle of the thigh attached to the hip socket because God touched the socket of Jacob's hip at the muscle of the thigh.)

Chapter 33

33:1  Jacob saw Esau coming with 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two slaves.

33:2  He put the slaves and their children in front, Leah and her children after them, and Rachel and Joseph last.

33:3  He went on ahead of them and bowed seven times with his face touching the ground as he came near his brother.

33:4  Then Esau ran to meet Jacob. Esau hugged him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. They both cried.

33:5  When he saw the women and children, Esau asked, "Who are these people here with you?" "The children God has graciously given me, sir," Jacob answered.

33:6  Then the slaves and their children came forward and bowed down.

33:7  Likewise, Leah and her children came forward and bowed down. Finally, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.

33:8  Then Esau asked, "Why did you send this whole group of people and animals I met?" He answered, "To win your favor, sir."

33:9  Esau said, "I have enough. Keep what you have, Brother."

33:10  Jacob said, "No, please take the gift I'm giving you, because I've seen your face as if I were seeing the face of God, and yet you welcomed me so warmly.

33:11  Please take the present I've brought you, because God has been gracious to me and has given me all that I need." So Esau took it because Jacob insisted.

33:12  Then Esau said, "Let's get ready to go, and I'll go with you."

33:13  Jacob said to him, "Sir, you know that the children are frail and that I have to take care of the flocks and cattle that are nursing their young. If they're driven too hard for even one day, all the flocks will die.

33:14  Go ahead of me, sir. I will slowly and gently guide the herds that are in front of me at their pace and at the children's pace until I come to you in Seir."

33:15  Esau said, "Then let me leave some of my men with you." "Why do that?" Jacob asked. "I only want to win your favor, sir."

33:16  That day Esau started back to Seir.

33:17  But Jacob moved on to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is named Succoth Shelters.

33:18  So having come from Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in Canaan. He camped within sight of the city.

33:19  Then he bought the piece of land on which he had put up his tents. He bought it from the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver.

33:20  He set up an altar there and named it God Is the God of Israel.

Chapter 34

34:1  Dinah, daughter of Leah and Jacob, went out to visit some of the Canaanite women.

34:2  When Shechem, son of the local ruler Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her.

34:3  He became very fond of Jacob's daughter Dinah. He loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her.

34:4  So Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl for my wife."

34:5  Jacob heard that Shechem had dishonored his daughter Dinah. His sons were with his livestock out in the open country, so Jacob kept quiet until they came home.

34:6  So Shechem's father Hamor came to Jacob to speak with him.

34:7  Jacob's sons came in from the open country as soon as they heard the news. The men felt outraged and very angry because Shechem had committed such a godless act against Israel's family by raping Jacob's daughter. This shouldn't have happened.

34:8  Hamor told them. "My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please let her marry him.

34:9  Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take ours for yourselves.

34:10  You can live with us, and the land will be yours. Live here, move about freely in this area, and acquire property here."

34:11  Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and her brothers, "Do me this favor. I'll give you whatever you ask.

34:12  Set the price I must pay for the bride and the gift I must give her as high as you want. I'll pay exactly what you tell me. Give me the girl as my wife."

34:13  Then Jacob's sons gave Shechem and his father Hamor a misleading answer because he had dishonored their sister Dinah.

34:14  They said, "We can't do this. We can't give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised. That would be a disgrace to us!

34:15  We will give our consent to you only on one condition: Every male must be circumcised as we are.

34:16  Then we'll give our daughters to you and take yours for ourselves, and we'll live with you and become one people.

34:17  If you won't agree to be circumcised, we'll take our daughter and go."

34:18  Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem.

34:19  The young man didn't waste any time in doing what they said because he took such pleasure in Jacob's daughter. He was the most honored person in all his father's family.

34:20  So Hamor and his son Shechem went to their city gate to speak to the men of their city. They said,

34:21  "These people are friendly toward us, so let them live in our land and move about freely in the area. Look, there's plenty of room in this land for them. We can marry their daughters and let them marry ours.

34:22  These people will consent to live with us and become one nation on one condition: Every male must be circumcised as they are.

34:23  Won't their livestock, their personal property, and all their animals be ours? We only need to agree to do this for them. Then they'll live with us."

34:24  All the men who had come out to the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem. So they were all circumcised at the city gate.

34:25  Two days later, while the men were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and boldly attacked the city. They killed every man

34:26  including Hamor and his son Shechem. They took Dinah from Shechem's home and left.

34:27  Then Jacob's sons stripped the corpses and looted the city where their sister had been dishonored.

34:28  They took the sheep and goats, cattle, donkeys, and whatever else was in the city or out in the fields.

34:29  They carried off all the wealth and all the women and children and looted everything in the houses.

34:30  Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have caused me a lot of trouble! You've made the people living in the area, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, hate me. There are only a few of us. If they join forces against me and attack me, my family and I will be wiped out."

34:31  Simeon and Levi asked, "Should Shechem have been allowed to treat our sister like a prostitute?"

Chapter 35

35:1  Then God said to Jacob, "Go to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there. I am the God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau."

35:2  So Jacob said to his family and those who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods which you have, wash yourselves until you are ritually clean, and change your clothes.

35:3  Then let's go to Bethel. I will make an altar there to God, who answered me when I was troubled and who has been with me wherever I've gone."

35:4  So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that they had in their possession as well as the earrings that they had on. Jacob buried these things under the oak tree near Shechem.

35:5  As they moved on, God made the people of the cities that were all around them terrified so that no one pursued them.

35:6  Jacob and all the people who were with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.

35:7  He built an altar there and called that place El Bethel God of the House of God. That's where God had revealed himself to Jacob when he was fleeing from his brother.

35:8  Rebekah's nurse Deborah died and was buried under the oak tree outside Bethel. So Jacob called it the Tree of Crying.

35:9  Then God appeared once more to Jacob after he came back from Paddan Aram, and he blessed him.

35:10  God said to him, "Your name is Jacob. You will no longer be called Jacob, but your name will be Israel." So he named him Israel.

35:11  God also said to him, "I am God Almighty. Be fertile, and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from you.

35:12  I will give you the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac. I will also give this land to your descendants."

35:13  Then God went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him.

35:14  So Jacob set up a memorial, a stone marker, to mark the place where God had spoken with him. He poured a wine offering and olive oil on it.

35:15  Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him Bethel House of God.

35:16  Then they moved on from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor and was having severe labor pains.

35:17  During one of her pains, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid! You're having another son!"

35:18  Rachel was dying. As she took her last breath, she named her son Benoni Son of My Sorrow, but his father named him Benjamin Son of My Right Hand.

35:19  Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

35:20  Then Jacob set up a stone as a marker for her grave. The same marker is at Rachel's grave today.

35:21  Israel moved on again and put up his tent beyond Migdal Eder.

35:22  While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went to bed with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had 12 sons.

35:23  The sons of Leah were Jacob's firstborn Reuben, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

35:24  The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

35:25  The sons of Rachel's slave Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali.

35:26  The sons of Leah's slave Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These were Jacob's sons, who were born in Paddan Aram.

35:27  Jacob came home to his father Isaac to Mamre's city, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron). Abraham and Isaac had lived there for a while.

35:28  Isaac was 180 years old

35:29  when he took his last breath and died. He joined his ancestors in death at a very old age. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Chapter 36

36:1  This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom) and his descendants.

36:2  Esau chose his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite; Oholibamah, daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite;

36:3  also Basemath, daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

36:4  Adah gave birth to Eliphaz for Esau, and Basemath gave birth to Reuel.

36:5  Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born in Canaan.

36:6  Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, all the members of his household, his possessions, all his cattle, and everything he had accumulated in Canaan and went to another land away from his brother Jacob.

36:7  He did this because they had too many possessions to live together. There wasn't enough pastureland for all of their livestock.

36:8  So Esau, who was also known as Edom, lived in the mountains of Seir.

36:9  This is the account of Esau and his descendants. He was the father of the people of Edom in the mountains of Seir.

36:10  These were the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, son of Esau's wife Adah, and Reuel, son of Esau's wife Basemath.

36:11  The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

36:12  Timna was a concubine of Esau's son Eliphaz. She gave birth to Amalek for Eliphaz. These were the grandsons of Esau's wife Adah.

36:13  These were Reuel's sons: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath.

36:14  These were the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon. She gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah for Esau.

36:15  These were the tribal leaders among Esau's descendants: The sons of Eliphaz, Esau's firstborn, were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,

36:16  Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These were the tribal leaders descended from Eliphaz in Edom. They were the grandsons of Adah.

36:17  These were the tribal leaders among the descendants of Esau's son Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the tribal leaders descended from Reuel in Edom. They were the grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath.

36:18  These were the tribal leaders among the descendants of Esau's wife Oholibamah: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the tribal leaders descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah, Anah's daughter.

36:19  These were the descendants of Esau (that is, Edom), who were tribal leaders.

36:20  These were the sons of Seir the Horite, the people living in that land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

36:21  Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These Horite tribal leaders were the sons of Seir in Edom.

36:22  The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam. Lotan's sister was Timna.

36:23  These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

36:24  These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. (Anah found the hot springs in the desert while he was taking care of the donkeys that belonged to his father Zibeon.)

36:25  These were the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, daughter of Anah.

36:26  These were the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

36:27  These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

36:28  These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

36:29  These were the Horite tribal leaders: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

36:30  Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the Horite tribal leaders in the land of Seir.

36:31  These were the kings who ruled Edom before any king ruled the people of Israel:

36:32  Bela, son of Beor, ruled Edom. The name of his capital city was Dinhabah.

36:33  After Bela died, Jobab, son of Zerah from Bozrah, succeeded him as king.

36:34  After Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king.

36:35  After Husham died, Hadad, son of Bedad succeeded him as king. Hadad defeated the Midianites in the country of Moab. The name of his capital city was Avith.

36:36  After Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king.

36:37  After Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king.

36:38  After Shaul died, Baal Hanan, son of Achbor, succeeded him as king.

36:39  After Baal Hanan, son of Achbor, died, Hadar succeeded him as king, and the name of his capital city was Pau. His wife's name was Mehetabel, daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Mezahab.

36:40  These were the names of the tribal leaders descended from Esau, by family, place, and name: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,

36:41  Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,

36:42  Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,

36:43  Magdiel, and Iram. These were the tribal leaders of Edom listed by the places where they lived and the property they owned. Esau was the father of the people of Edom.

Chapter 37

37:1  Jacob continued to live in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived.

37:2  This is the account of Jacob and his descendants. Joseph was a seventeen-year-old young man. He took care of the flocks with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph told his father about the bad things his brothers were doing.

37:3  Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because Joseph had been born in Israel's old age. So he made Joseph a special robe with long sleeves.

37:4  Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them. They hated Joseph and couldn't speak to him on friendly terms.

37:5  Joseph had a dream and when he told his brothers, they hated him even more.

37:6  He said to them, "Please listen to the dream I had.

37:7  We were tying grain into bundles out in the field, and suddenly mine stood up. It remained standing while your bundles gathered around my bundle and bowed down to it."

37:8  Then his brothers asked him, "Are you going to be our king or rule us?" They hated him even more for his dreams and his words.

37:9  Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream: I saw the sun, the moon, and 11 stars bowing down to me."

37:10  When he told his father and his brothers, his father criticized him by asking, "What's this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers come and bow down in front of you?"

37:11  So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept thinking about these things.

37:12  His brothers had gone to take care of their father's flocks at Shechem.

37:13  Israel then said to Joseph, "Your brothers are taking care of the flocks at Shechem. I'm going to send you to them." Joseph responded, "I'll go."

37:14  So Israel said, "See how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and bring some news back to me." Then he sent Joseph away from the Hebron Valley. When Joseph came to Shechem,

37:15  a man found him wandering around in the open country. "What are you looking for?" the man asked.

37:16  Joseph replied, "I'm looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they're taking care of their flocks."

37:17  The man said, "They moved on from here. I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

37:18  They saw him from a distance. Before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

37:19  They said to each other, "Look, here comes that master dreamer!

37:20  Let's kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and say that a wild animal has eaten him. Then we'll see what happens to his dreams."

37:21  When Reuben heard this, he tried to save Joseph from their plot. "Let's not kill him," he said.

37:22  "Let's not have any bloodshed. Put him into that cistern that's out in the desert, but don't hurt him." Reuben wanted to rescue Joseph from them and bring him back to his father.

37:23  So when Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his special robe with long sleeves.

37:24  Then they took him and put him into an empty cistern. It had no water in it.

37:25  As they sat down to eat, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying the materials for cosmetics, medicine, and embalming. They were on their way to take them to Egypt.

37:26  Judah asked his brothers, "What will we gain by killing our brother and covering up his death?

37:27  Let's sell him to the Ishmaelites. Let's not hurt him, because he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed.

37:28  As the Midianite merchants were passing by, the brothers pulled Joseph out of the cistern. They sold him to the Ishmaelites for eight ounces of silver. The Ishmaelites took him to Egypt.

37:29  When Reuben came back to the cistern and saw that Joseph was no longer there, he tore his clothes in grief.

37:30  He went back to his brothers and said, "The boy isn't there! What am I going to do?"

37:31  So they took Joseph's robe, killed a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood.

37:32  Then they brought the special robe with long sleeves to their father and said, "We found this. You better examine it to see whether it's your son's robe or not."

37:33  He recognized it and said, "It is my son's robe! A wild animal has eaten him! Joseph must have been torn to pieces!"

37:34  Then, to show his grief, Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son a long time.

37:35  All his other sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, "No, I will mourn for my son until I die." This is how Joseph's father cried over him.

37:36  Meanwhile, in Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials and captain of the guard.

Chapter 38

38:1  About that time Judah left his brothers and went to stay with a man from Adullam whose name was Hirah.

38:2  There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man whose name was Shua. He married her and slept with her.

38:3  She became pregnant and gave birth to a son named Er.

38:4  She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son, whom she named Onan.

38:5  Then she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son, whom she named Shelah. He was born at Kezib.

38:6  Judah chose a wife for his firstborn son Er. Her name was Tamar.

38:7  Er angered the LORD. So the LORD took away his life.

38:8  Then Judah said to Onan, "Go sleep with your brother's widow. Do your duty for her as a brother-in-law, and produce a descendant for your brother."

38:9  But Onan knew that the descendant wouldn't belong to him, so whenever he slept with his brother's widow, he wasted his semen on the ground to avoid giving his brother a descendant.

38:10  What Onan did angered the LORD so much that the LORD took away Onan's life too.

38:11  Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Return to your father's home. Live as a widow until my son Shelah grows up." He thought that this son, too, might die like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in her father's home.

38:12  After a long time Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah from Adullam went to Timnah where the men were shearing Judah's sheep.

38:13  As soon as Tamar was told that her father-in-law was on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,

38:14  she took off her widow's clothes, covered her face with a veil, and disguised herself. Then she sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. (She did this because she realized that Shelah was grown up now, and she hadn't been given to him in marriage.)

38:15  When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face.

38:16  Since he didn't know she was his daughter-in-law, he approached her by the roadside and said, "Come on, let's sleep together!" She asked, "What will you pay to sleep with me?"

38:17  "I'll send you a young goat from the flock," he answered. She said, "First give me something as a deposit until you send it."

38:18  "What should I give you as a deposit?" he asked. "Your signet ring, its cord, and the shepherd's staff that's in your hand," she answered. So he gave them to her. Then he slept with her, and she became pregnant.

38:19  After she got up and left, she took off her veil and put her widow's clothes back on.

38:20  Judah sent his friend Hirah to deliver the young goat so that he could get back his deposit from the woman, but his friend couldn't find her.

38:21  He asked the men of that area, "Where's that prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?" "There's no prostitute here," they answered.

38:22  So he went back to Judah and said, "I couldn't find her. Even the men of that area said, 'There's no prostitute here.'"

38:23  Then Judah said, "Let her keep what I gave her, or we'll become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you couldn't find her."

38:24  About three months later Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar has been acting like a prostitute. What's more, because of it she's pregnant." Judah ordered, "Bring her out to be burned."

38:25  As she was brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law, "I'm pregnant by the man who owns these things. See if you recognize whose signet ring, cord, and shepherd's staff these are."

38:26  Judah recognized them and said, "She's not guilty. I am! She did this because I haven't given her my son Shelah." Judah never made love to her again.

38:27  The time came for Tamar to give birth, and she had twin boys.

38:28  When she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand. The midwife took a piece of red yarn, tied it on his wrist, and said, "This one came out first."

38:29  As he pulled back his hand, his brother was born. So she said, "Is this how you burst into the world!" He was named Perez Bursting Into.

38:30  After that his brother was born with the red yarn on his hand. He was named Zerah Sunrise.

Chapter 39

39:1  Joseph had been taken to Egypt. Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's Egyptian officials and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

39:2  The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. He worked in the house of his Egyptian master.

39:3  Joseph's master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made everything he did successful.

39:4  Potiphar liked Joseph so much that he made him his trusted servant. He put him in charge of his household and everything he owned.

39:5  From that time on the LORD blessed the Egyptian's household because of Joseph. Therefore, the LORD's blessing was on everything Potiphar owned in his house and in his fields.

39:6  So he left all that he owned in Joseph's care. He wasn't concerned about anything except the food he ate. Joseph was well-built and handsome.

39:7  After a while his master's wife began to desire Joseph, so she said, "Come to bed with me."

39:8  But Joseph refused and said to her, "My master doesn't concern himself with anything in the house. He trusts me with everything he owns.

39:9  No one in this house is greater than I. He's kept nothing back from me except you, because you're his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"

39:10  Although she kept asking Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or be with her.

39:11  One day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there.

39:12  She grabbed him by his clothes and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he ran outside and left his clothes in her hand.

39:13  When she realized that he had gone but had left his clothes behind,

39:14  she called her household servants and said to them, "Look! My husband brought this Hebrew here to fool around with us. He came in and tried to go to bed with me, but I screamed as loud as I could.

39:15  As soon as he heard me scream, he ran outside and left his clothes with me."

39:16  She kept Joseph's clothes with her until his master came home.

39:17  Then she told him the same story: "The Hebrew slave you brought here came in and tried to fool around with me.

39:18  But when I screamed, he ran outside and left his clothes with me."

39:19  When Potiphar heard his wife's story, especially when she said, "This is what your slave did to me," he became very angry.

39:20  So Joseph's master arrested him and put him in the same prison where the king's prisoners were kept. While Joseph was in prison,

39:21  the LORD was with him. The LORD reached out to him with his unchanging love and gave him protection. The LORD also put Joseph on good terms with the warden.

39:22  So the warden placed Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in that prison. Joseph became responsible for everything that they were doing.

39:23  The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care because the LORD was with Joseph and made whatever he did successful.

Chapter 40

40:1  Later the king's cupbearer and his baker offended their master, the king of Egypt.

40:2  Pharaoh was angry with his chief cupbearer and his chief baker.

40:3  He put them in the prison of the captain of the guard, the same place where Joseph was a prisoner.

40:4  The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he took care of them. After they had been confined for some time,

40:5  both prisoners--the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt--had dreams one night. Each man had a dream with its own special meaning.

40:6  When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were upset.

40:7  So he asked these officials of Pharaoh who were with him in his master's prison, "Why do you look so unhappy today?"

40:8  "We both had dreams," they answered him, "but there's no one to tell us what they mean." "Isn't God the only one who can tell what they mean?" Joseph asked them. "Why don't you tell me all about them."

40:9  So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said "In my dream a grapevine with three branches appeared in front of me.

40:10  Soon after it sprouted it blossomed. Then its clusters ripened into grapes.

40:11  Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes and squeezed them into it. I put the cup in Pharaoh's hand."

40:12  "This is what it means," Joseph said to him. "The three branches are three days.

40:13  In the next three days Pharaoh will release you and restore you to your position. You will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.

40:14  Remember me when things go well for you, and please do me a favor. Mention me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison.

40:15  I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I've done nothing to deserve being put in this prison."

40:16  The chief baker saw that the meaning Joseph had given to the cupbearer's dream was good. So he said to Joseph, "I had a dream too. In my dream three baskets of white baked goods were on my head.

40:17  The top basket contained all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head."

40:18  "This is what it means," Joseph replied. "The three baskets are three days.

40:19  In the next three days Pharaoh will cut off your head and hang your dead body on a pole. The birds will eat the flesh from your bones."

40:20  Two days later, on his birthday, Pharaoh had a special dinner prepared for all his servants. Of all his servants he gave special attention to the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.

40:21  He restored the chief cupbearer to his position. So the cupbearer put the cup in Pharaoh's hand.

40:22  But he hung the chief baker just as Joseph had said in his interpretation.

40:23  Nevertheless, the chief cupbearer didn't remember Joseph. He forgot all about him.

Chapter 41

41:1  After two full years Pharaoh had a dream. He dreamed he was standing by the Nile River.

41:2  Suddenly, seven nice-looking, well-fed cows came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds.

41:3  Seven other cows came up from the river behind them. These cows were sickly and skinny. They stood behind the first seven cows on the riverbank.

41:4  The cows that were sickly and skinny ate the seven nice-looking, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

41:5  He fell asleep again and had a second dream. Seven good, healthy heads of grain were growing on a single stalk.

41:6  Seven other heads of grain, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted behind them.

41:7  The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven full, healthy heads. Then Pharaoh woke up. It was only a dream.

41:8  In the morning he was so upset that he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could tell him what they meant.

41:9  Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, "I remember a promise I failed to keep.

41:10  Some time ago when Pharaoh was angry with his servants, he confined me and the chief baker to the captain of the guard's prison.

41:11  We both had dreams the same night. Each dream had its own meaning.

41:12  A young Hebrew, a slave of the captain of the guard, was with us. We told him our dreams, and he told each of us what they meant.

41:13  What he told us happened: Pharaoh restored me to my position, but he hung the baker on a pole."

41:14  Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and immediately he was brought from the prison. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came in front of Pharaoh.

41:15  Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can tell me what it means. I heard that when you are told a dream, you can say what it means."

41:16  Joseph answered Pharaoh, "I can't, but God can give Pharaoh the answer that he needs."

41:17  Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile.

41:18  Suddenly, seven nice-looking, well-fed cows came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds.

41:19  Seven other cows came up behind them. These cows were scrawny, very sick, and thin. I've never seen such sickly cows in all of Egypt!

41:20  The thin, sickly cows ate up the seven well-fed ones.

41:21  Even though they had eaten them, no one could tell they had eaten them. They looked just as sick as before. Then I woke up.

41:22  "In my second dream I saw seven good, full heads of grain growing on a single stalk.

41:23  Seven other heads of grain, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted behind them.

41:24  The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but no one could tell me what it meant."

41:25  Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "Pharaoh had the same dream twice. God has told Pharaoh what he's going to do.

41:26  The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. It's all the same dream.

41:27  The seven thin, sickly cows that came up behind them are seven years. The seven empty heads of grain scorched by the east wind are also seven years. Seven years of famine are coming.

41:28  "It's just as I said to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he's going to do.

41:29  Seven years are coming when there will be plenty of food in Egypt.

41:30  After them will come seven years of famine. People will forget that there was plenty of food in Egypt, and the famine will ruin the land.

41:31  People won't remember that there once was plenty of food in the land, because the coming famine will be so severe.

41:32  The reason Pharaoh has had a recurring dream is because the matter has been definitely decided by God, and he will do it very soon.

41:33  "Pharaoh should look for a wise and intelligent man and put him in charge of Egypt.

41:34  Make arrangements to appoint supervisors over the land to take a fifth of Egypt's harvest during the seven good years.

41:35  Have them collect all the food during these good years and store up grain under Pharaoh's control, to be kept for food in the cities.

41:36  This food will be a reserve supply for our country during the seven years of famine that will happen in Egypt. Then the land will not be ruined by the famine."

41:37  Pharaoh and all his servants liked the idea.

41:38  So Pharaoh asked his servants, "Can we find anyone like this--a man who has God's Spirit in him?"

41:39  Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Because God has let you know all this, there is no one as wise and intelligent as you.

41:40  You will be in charge of my palace, and all my people will do what you say. I will be more important than you, only because I'm Pharaoh."

41:41  Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I now put you in charge of Egypt."

41:42  Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring and put it on Joseph's finger. He had Joseph dressed in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

41:43  He had him ride in the chariot of the second-in-command. Men ran ahead of him and shouted, "Make way!" Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of Egypt.

41:44  He also said to Joseph, "Even though I am Pharaoh, no one anywhere in Egypt will do anything without your permission."

41:45  Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenathpaneah and gave him Asenath as his wife. She was the daughter of Potiphera, priest from the city of On. Joseph traveled around Egypt.

41:46  Joseph was 30 years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). He left Pharaoh and traveled all around Egypt.

41:47  During the seven good years the land produced large harvests.

41:48  Joseph collected all the food grown in Egypt during those seven years and put this food in the cities. In each city he put the food from the fields around it.

41:49  Joseph stored up grain in huge quantities like the sand on the seashore. He had so much that he finally gave up keeping any records because he couldn't measure it all.

41:50  Before the years of famine came, Joseph had two sons by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest from the city of On.

41:51  Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh He Helps Me Forget, because God helped him forget all his troubles and all about his father's family.

41:52  He named the second son Ephraim Blessed Twice With Children, because God gave him children in the land where he had suffered.

41:53  The seven years when there was plenty of food in Egypt came to an end.

41:54  Then the seven years of famine began as Joseph had said they would. All the other countries were experiencing famine. Yet, there was food in Egypt.

41:55  When everyone in Egypt began to feel the effects of the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. But Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph! Do what he tells you!"

41:56  When the famine had spread all over the country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians. He did this because the famine was severe in Egypt.

41:57  The whole world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, since the famine was so severe all over the world.

Chapter 42

42:1  When Jacob found out that grain was for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why do you keep looking at each other?

42:2  I've heard there's grain for sale in Egypt. Go there and buy some for us so that we won't starve to death."

42:3  Ten of Joseph's brothers went to buy grain in Egypt.

42:4  Jacob wouldn't send Joseph's brother Benjamin with the other brothers, because he was afraid that something would happen to him.

42:5  Israel's sons left with the others who were going to buy grain, because there was also famine in Canaan.

42:6  As governor of the country, Joseph was selling grain to everyone. So when Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed in front of him with their faces touching the ground.

42:7  As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them. But he acted as if he didn't know them and spoke harshly to them. "Where did you come from?" he asked them. "From Canaan, to buy food," they answered.

42:8  Even though Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn't recognize him.

42:9  Then he remembered the dreams he once had about them. "You're spies!" he said to them, "And you've come to find out where our country is unprotected."

42:10  "No, sir!" they answered him. "We've come to buy food.

42:11  We're all sons of one man. We're honest men, not spies."

42:12  He said to them, "No! You've come to find out where our country is unprotected."

42:13  They answered him, "We were 12 brothers, sons of one man in Canaan. The youngest brother stayed with our father, and the other one is no longer with us."

42:14  "It's just as I told you," Joseph said to them. "You're spies!

42:15  This is how you'll be tested: I solemnly swear, as surely as Pharaoh lives, that you won't leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

42:16  One of you must be sent to get your brother while the rest of you stay in prison. We'll see if you're telling the truth. If not, I solemnly swear, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!"

42:17  Then he put them in jail for three days.

42:18  On the third day Joseph said to them, "Do this, and you will live. I, too, fear God.

42:19  If you are honest men, you will let one of your brothers stay here in prison. The rest of you will go and take grain back to your starving families.

42:20  But you must bring me your youngest brother. This will show that you've been telling the truth. Then you won't die." So they agreed.

42:21  They said to each other, "We're surely being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw how troubled he was when he pleaded with us for mercy, but we wouldn't listen. That's why we're in trouble now."

42:22  Reuben said to them, "Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen. Now we must pay for this bloodshed."

42:23  They didn't know that Joseph could understand them, because he was speaking through an interpreter.

42:24  He stepped away from them to cry. When he could speak to them again, he came back. Then he picked Simeon and had him arrested right in front of their eyes.

42:25  Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain. He put each man's money back into his sack and gave them supplies for their trip. After their bags were filled,

42:26  they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left.

42:27  At the place where they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to feed his donkey. His money was right inside his sack.

42:28  He said to his brothers, "My money has been put back! It's right here in my sack!" They wanted to die. They trembled and turned to each other and asked, "What has God done to us?"

42:29  When they came to their father Jacob in Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said,

42:30  "The governor of that land spoke harshly to us and treated us like spies.

42:31  But we said to him, 'We're honest men, not spies.

42:32  We were 12 brothers, sons of the same father. One is no longer with us. The youngest brother stayed with our father in Canaan.'

42:33  "Then the governor of that land said to us, 'This is how I'll know that you're honest men: Leave one of your brothers with me. Take food for your starving families and go.

42:34  But bring me your youngest brother. Then I'll know that you're not spies but honest men. I'll give your brother back to you, and you'll be able to move about freely in this country.'"

42:35  As they were emptying their sacks, each man found his bag of money in his sack. When they and their father saw the bags of money, they were frightened.

42:36  Their father Jacob said to them, "You're going to make me lose all my children! Joseph is no longer with us, Simeon is no longer with us, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything's against me!"

42:37  So Reuben said to his father, "You may put my two sons to death if I don't bring him back to you. Let me take care of him, and I'll bring him back to you."

42:38  Jacob replied, "My son will not go with you. His brother is dead, and he's the only one left. If any harm comes to him on the trip you're taking, the grief would drive this gray-haired old man to his grave!"

Chapter 43

43:1  The famine was severe in the land.

43:2  When they finished eating the grain they had brought from Egypt, Israel said to his sons, "Go back and buy us a little more food."

43:3  Judah said to him, "The man gave us a severe warning: 'You won't be allowed to see me again unless your brother is with you.'

43:4  If you let our brother go with us, we'll go and buy food for you.

43:5  If you won't let him go, we won't go. The man said to us, 'You won't be allowed to see me again unless your brother is with you.'"

43:6  Israel asked, "Why have you made trouble for me by telling the man you had another brother?"

43:7  They answered, "The man kept asking about us and our family: 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' We simply answered his questions. How could we possibly know he would say, 'Bring your brother here'?"

43:8  Then Judah said to his father Israel, "Send the boy along with me. Let's get going so that we won't starve to death.

43:9  I guarantee that he will come back. You can hold me responsible for him. If I don't bring him back to you and place him here in front of you, you can blame me the rest of my life.

43:10  If we hadn't waited so long, we could have made this trip twice by now."

43:11  Then their father Israel said to them, "If that's the way it has to be, then take the man a gift. Put some of the best products of the land in your bags. Take a little balm, a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.

43:12  Take twice as much money with you. You must return the money that was put back in your sacks. Maybe it was a mistake.

43:13  Take your brother, and go back to the man.

43:14  May God Almighty make him merciful to you so that he will send your other brother and Benjamin home with you. If I lose my children, I lose my children."

43:15  The men took the gifts, twice as much money, and Benjamin. They went to Egypt, where they presented themselves to Joseph.

43:16  When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the man in charge of his house, "Take these men to my house. Butcher an animal, and prepare a meal, because they are going to eat with me at noon."

43:17  So the man did as Joseph said and took them to Joseph's house.

43:18  The men were frightened, because they had been brought to Joseph's house. They thought, "We've been brought here because of the money that was put back into our sacks the first time. They're going to attack us, overpower us, take our donkeys, and make us slaves."

43:19  So they came to the man in charge of Joseph's house and spoke to him at the door.

43:20  "Please, sir," they said, "we came here to buy food once before.

43:21  When we stopped for the night, we opened our sacks, and each man found all of his money inside. So we brought it back with us.

43:22  We also brought more money to buy food. We have no idea who put our money back in our sacks."

43:23  "It's alright," he said. "Don't be afraid! Your God, the God of your father, must have given you treasure in your sacks. I received your money." Then he brought Simeon out to them.

43:24  The man took the brothers into Joseph's house. He gave them water to wash their feet and feed for their donkeys.

43:25  They got their gifts ready for Joseph's return at noon, because they had heard they were going to eat there.

43:26  When Joseph came home, they gave him the gifts they had brought to the house. Then they bowed to him with their faces touching the ground.

43:27  He asked them how they were. Then he said, "You told me about your elderly father. How is he? Is he still alive?"

43:28  They answered, "Yes, sir. Our father is alive and well." Then they knelt, bowing down.

43:29  As Joseph looked around, he saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son. "Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?" he asked. "God be gracious to you, my son," he said.

43:30  Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, he hurried away, looking for a place to cry. He went into his private room and cried there.

43:31  Then he washed his face and came out. He was in control of his emotions when he said, "Serve the food."

43:32  He was served separately from his brothers. The Egyptians who were there with him were also served separately, because they found it offensive to eat with Hebrews.

43:33  The brothers were seated facing him according to their ages--from the oldest to the youngest. They looked at each other in amazement.

43:34  Joseph had portions of food brought to them from his table, but Benjamin's portion was five times more than any of the others. So they ate and drank with Joseph until they were drunk.

Chapter 44

44:1  Joseph commanded the man in charge of his house, "Fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry. Put each man's money in his sack.

44:2  Then put my silver cup in the youngest brother's sack along with the money for his grain." He did what Joseph told him.

44:3  At dawn the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.

44:4  They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to the man in charge of his house, "Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, 'Why have you paid me back with evil when I was good to you?

44:5  Isn't this the cup that my master drinks from and that he uses for telling the future? What you have done is evil!'"

44:6  When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them.

44:7  They answered him, "Sir, how can you say such things? We would never think of doing anything like that!

44:8  We brought the money we found in our sacks back from Canaan. So why would we steal any silver or gold from your master's house?

44:9  If one of us has it, he will die, and the rest of us will become your slaves."

44:10  "I agree," he said. "We'll do what you've said. The man who has the cup will be my slave, and the rest of you can go free."

44:11  Each one quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it.

44:12  Then the man made a thorough search. He began with the oldest and ended with the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin's sack.

44:13  When they saw this, they tore their clothes in grief. Then each one loaded his donkey and went back into the city.

44:14  Judah and his brothers arrived at Joseph's house while Joseph was still there. Immediately, they bowed with their faces touching the ground.

44:15  Joseph asked them, "What have you done? Don't you know that a man like me can find things out because he knows the future?"

44:16  "Sir, what can we say to you?" Judah asked. "How else can we explain it? How can we prove we're innocent? God has uncovered our guilt. Now all of us are your slaves, including the one who had the cup."

44:17  But Joseph said, "I would never think of doing that! Only the man who had the cup will be my slave. The rest of you can go back to your father in peace."

44:18  Then Judah went up to Joseph and said, "Please, sir, let me speak openly with you. Don't be angry with me, although you are equal to Pharaoh.

44:19  Sir, you asked us, 'Do you have a father or a brother?'

44:20  We answered, 'We have a father who is old and a younger brother born to him when he was already old. The boy's brother is dead, so he's the only one of his mother's sons left, and his father loves him.'

44:21  "Then you said to us, 'Bring him here to me so that I can see him myself.'

44:22  We replied, 'The boy can't leave his father. If the boy leaves him, his father will die.'

44:23  Then you told us, 'If your youngest brother doesn't come here with you, you will never be allowed to see me again.'

44:24  When we went back to our father, we told him what you had said.

44:25  "Then our father said, 'Go back and buy us a little more food.'

44:26  We answered, 'We can't go back. We can only go back if our youngest brother is with us. The man won't see us unless our youngest brother is with us.'

44:27  "Then our father said to us, 'You know that my wife Rachel gave me two sons.

44:28  One is gone, and I said, "He must have been torn to pieces!" I haven't seen him since.

44:29  If you take this one away from me too and anything happens to him, you'll drive this gray-haired old man to his grave.'

44:30  "Our father's life is wrapped up with the boy's life. If I come home without the boy

44:31  and he sees that the boy isn't with me, he'll die. The grief would drive our gray-haired old father to his grave.

44:32  "I guaranteed my father that the boy would come back. I said, 'If I don't bring him back to you, then you can blame me the rest of my life, Father.'

44:33  Sir, please let me stay and be your slave in the boy's place, and let the boy go back with his brothers.

44:34  How could I go back to my father if the boy isn't with me? I couldn't bear to see my father's misery!"

Chapter 45

45:1  Joseph could no longer control his emotions in front of everyone who was standing around him, so he cried out, "Have everyone leave me!" No one else was there when Joseph told his brothers who he was.

45:2  He cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard about it.

45:3  Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" His brothers could not answer him because they were afraid of him.

45:4  "Please come closer to me," Joseph said to his brothers. When they did so, he said, "I am Joseph, the brother you sold into slavery in Egypt!

45:5  Now, don't be sad or angry with yourselves that you sold me. God sent me ahead of you to save lives.

45:6  The famine has been in the land for two years. There will be five more years without plowing or harvesting.

45:7  God sent me ahead of you to make sure that you would have descendants on the earth and to save your lives in an amazing way.

45:8  It wasn't you who sent me here, but God. He has made me like a father to Pharaoh, lord over his entire household, and ruler of Egypt.

45:9  "Hurry back to my father, and say to him, 'This is what your son Joseph says, "God has made me lord of Egypt. Come here to me right away!

45:10  Live in the land of Goshen, where you will be near me. Live there with your children and your grandchildren, as well as your flocks, your herds, and everything you have.

45:11  I will provide for you in Egypt, since there will be five more years of famine. Then you, your family, and all who belong to you won't lose everything."'

45:12  "You and my brother Benjamin can see for yourselves that I am the one who is speaking to you.

45:13  Tell my father how greatly honored I am in Egypt and about everything you have seen. Hurry and bring my father here!"

45:14  He threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and cried with Benjamin, who was crying on his shoulder.

45:15  He kissed all his brothers and cried with them. After that his brothers talked with him.

45:16  When Pharaoh's household heard the news that Joseph's brothers had come, Pharaoh and his officials were pleased.

45:17  So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Load up your animals, and go back to Canaan.

45:18  Take your father and your families, and come to me. I will give you the best land in Egypt. Then you can enjoy the best food in the land.'

45:19  "Give them this order: 'Take wagons with you from Egypt for your children and your wives. Bring your father, and come back.

45:20  Don't worry about your belongings because the best of everything in Egypt is yours.'"

45:21  Israel's sons did as they were told. Joseph gave them wagons and supplies for their trip as Pharaoh had ordered.

45:22  He gave each of them a change of clothes, but he gave Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothes.

45:23  He sent his father ten male donkeys carrying Egypt's best products and ten female donkeys carrying grain, bread, and food for his father's trip.

45:24  So Joseph sent his brothers on their way. As they were leaving, he said to them, "Don't quarrel on your way back!"

45:25  So they left Egypt and came to their father Jacob in Canaan.

45:26  They told him, "Joseph is still alive! Yes, he is ruler of Egypt." Jacob was stunned and didn't believe them.

45:27  Yet, when they told their father everything Joseph had said to them and he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to bring him back, his spirits were lifted.

45:28  "You have convinced me!" Israel said. "My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."

Chapter 46

46:1  Israel moved with all he had. When he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

46:2  God spoke to Israel in a vision that night and said, "Jacob, Jacob!" "Here I am," he answered.

46:3  "I am God, the God of your father," he said. "Don't be afraid to go to Egypt, because I will make you a great nation there.

46:4  I will go with you to Egypt, and I will make sure you come back again. Joseph will close your eyes when you die."

46:5  So Jacob left Beersheba. Israel's sons put their father Jacob, their children, and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to bring him back.

46:6  They also took their livestock and the possessions they had accumulated in Canaan. Jacob and all his family arrived in Egypt.

46:7  He had brought his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters--his entire family.

46:8  These are the names of Israel's descendants (Jacob and his descendants) who arrived in Egypt. Reuben was Jacob's firstborn.

46:9  The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

46:10  The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.

46:11  The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

46:12  The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. (Er and Onan had died in Canaan.) The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

46:13  The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron.

46:14  The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

46:15  These were the descendants of the sons Leah gave to Jacob in Paddan Aram, in addition to his daughter Dinah. The total number of these sons and daughters was 33.

46:16  The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

46:17  The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel.

46:18  These were the descendants of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. She gave birth to these children for Jacob. The total was 16.

46:19  The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

46:20  In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest from the city of On.

46:21  The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

46:22  These were the descendants of Rachel who were born to Jacob. The total was 14.

46:23  The son of Dan was Hushim.

46:24  The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

46:25  These were the descendants of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She gave birth to these sons for Jacob. The total was 7.

46:26  The total number of Jacob's direct descendants who went with him to Egypt was 66. This didn't include the wives of Jacob's sons.

46:27  Joseph had two sons who were born in Egypt. The grand total of people in Jacob's household who went to Egypt was 70.

46:28  Israel sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When Israel's family arrived in the region of Goshen,

46:29  Joseph prepared his chariot and went to meet his father Israel. As soon as he saw his father, he threw his arms around him and cried on his shoulder a long time.

46:30  Israel said to Joseph, "Now that I've seen for myself that you're still alive, I'm ready to die."

46:31  Then Joseph said to his brothers and his father's family, "I'm going to Pharaoh to tell him, 'My brothers and my father's family, who were in Canaan, have come to me.

46:32  The men are shepherds. They take care of livestock. They've brought their flocks and herds and everything they own.'

46:33  Now, when Pharaoh calls for you and asks, 'What kind of work do you do?'

46:34  you must answer, 'We have taken care of herds all our lives, as our ancestors have done.' You must say this so that you may live in the region of Goshen, because all shepherds are disgusting to Egyptians."

Chapter 47

47:1  Joseph went and told Pharaoh, "My father and my brothers have arrived from Canaan with their flocks, herds, and everything they have. Now they are in Goshen."

47:2  Since he had taken five of his brothers with him, he presented them to Pharaoh.

47:3  Pharaoh asked the brothers, "What kind of work do you do?" They answered Pharaoh, "We are shepherds, as were our ancestors.

47:4  We have come to live in this land for a while. The famine is so severe in Canaan that there's no pasture for our flocks. So please let us live in Goshen."

47:5  Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you.

47:6  All of Egypt is available to you. Have your father and your brothers live in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. If they are qualified, put them in charge of my livestock."

47:7  Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and had him stand in front of Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

47:8  Pharaoh asked him, "How old are you?"

47:9  Jacob answered Pharaoh, "The length of my stay on earth has been 130 years. The years of my life have been few and difficult, fewer than my ancestors' years."

47:10  Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left.

47:11  As Pharaoh had ordered, Joseph had his father and his brothers live in the best part of Egypt, the region of Rameses. He gave them property there.

47:12  Joseph also provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's family with food based on the number of children they had.

47:13  The famine was so severe that there was no food anywhere. Neither Egypt nor Canaan were producing crops because of the famine.

47:14  Joseph collected all the money that could be found in Egypt and in Canaan as payment for the grain people bought. Then he took it to Pharaoh's palace.

47:15  When the money in Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph. "Give us food," they said. "Do you want us to die right in front of you? We don't have any more money!"

47:16  Joseph replied, "If you don't have any more money, give me your livestock, and I'll give you food in exchange."

47:17  So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. During that year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock.

47:18  When that year was over, they came to him the next year. "Sir," they said to him, "you know that our money is gone, and you have all our livestock. There's nothing left to bring you except our bodies and our land.

47:19  Do you want us to die right in front of you? Do you want the land to be ruined? Take us and our land in exchange for food. Then we will be Pharaoh's slaves and our land will be his property. But give us seed so that we won't starve to death and the ground won't become a desert."

47:20  Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his fields because the famine was so severe. The land became Pharaoh's.

47:21  All over Egypt Joseph moved the people to the cities.

47:22  But he didn't buy the priests' land because the priests received an income from Pharaoh, and they lived on that income. That's why they didn't sell their land.

47:23  Joseph said to the people, "Now that I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you. Plant crops in the land.

47:24  Every time you harvest, give one-fifth of the produce to Pharaoh. Four-fifths will be yours to use as seed for your fields and as food for your households."

47:25  "You have saved our lives," they said. "Please, sir, we are willing to be Pharaoh's slaves."

47:26  Joseph made a law concerning the land in Egypt which is still in force today: One-fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests didn't belong to Pharaoh.

47:27  So the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and had many children.

47:28  Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years, so he lived a total of 147 years.

47:29  Israel was about to die. He called for his son Joseph and said to him, "I want you to swear that you love me and are faithful to me. Please don't bury me here.

47:30  I want to rest with my ancestors. Take me out of Egypt, and bury me in their tomb." "I will do as you say," Joseph answered.

47:31  "Swear to me," he said. So Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed down in prayer with his face at the head of his bed.

Chapter 48

48:1  Later Joseph was told, "Your father is ill." So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim to see Jacob.

48:2  When Jacob was told, "Your son Joseph is here to see you," Israel gathered his strength and sat up in bed.

48:3  Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in Canaan and blessed me.

48:4  He said to me, 'I will make you fertile and increase the number of your descendants so that you will become a community of people. I will give this land to your descendants as a permanent possession.'

48:5  "So your two sons, who were born in Egypt before I came here, are my sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are.

48:6  Any other children you have after them will be yours. They will inherit the land listed under their brothers' names.

48:7  As I was coming back from Paddan, Rachel died in Canaan when we were still some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there on the way to Ephrath" (that is, Bethlehem).

48:8  When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he asked, "Who are they?"

48:9  "They are my sons, whom God has given me here in Egypt," Joseph answered his father. Then Israel said, "Please bring them to me so that I may bless them."

48:10  Israel's eyesight was failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to his father, and Israel hugged them and kissed them.

48:11  Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see you again, and now God has even let me see your sons."

48:12  Joseph took them off his father's lap and bowed with his face touching the ground.

48:13  Then Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right, facing Israel's left, and Manasseh on his left, facing Israel's right, and brought them close to him.

48:14  But Israel crossed his hands and reached out. He put his right hand on Ephraim's head, although Ephraim was the younger son. He put his left hand on Manasseh's head, although Manasseh was older.

48:15  Then Jacob blessed Joseph, "May God, in whose presence my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac walked, may God, who has been my shepherd all my life to this very day,

48:16  may the Messenger, who has rescued me from all evil, bless these boys. May they be called by my name and by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. May they have many children on the earth."

48:17  When Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim's head, he didn't like it. So he took his father's hand in order to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's.

48:18  Then he said to his father, "That's not right, Father! This is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head."

48:19  His father refused and said, "I know, Son, I know! Manasseh, too, will become a nation, and he, too, will be important. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be more important than he, and his descendants will become many nations."

48:20  That day he blessed them. He said, "Because of you, Israel will speak this blessing, 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!'" In this way Israel put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

48:21  Then Israel said to Joseph, "Now I'm about to die, but God will be with you. He will bring you back to the land of your fathers.

48:22  I'm giving you one more mountain ridge than your brothers. I took it from the Amorites with my own sword and bow."

Chapter 49

49:1  Jacob called for his sons and said, "Come here, and let me tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.

49:2  "Gather around and listen, sons of Jacob. Listen to your father Israel.

49:3  "Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the very first son I had, first in majesty and first in power.

49:4  You will no longer be first because you were out of control like a flood and you climbed into your father's bed. Then you dishonored it. He climbed up on my couch.

49:5  "Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence.

49:6  Do not let me attend their secret meetings. Do not let me join their assembly. In their anger they murdered men. At their whim they crippled cattle.

49:7  May their anger be cursed because it's so fierce. May their fury be cursed because it's so cruel. I will divide them among the sons of Jacob and scatter them among the tribes of Israel.

49:8  "Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons will bow down to you.

49:9  Judah, you are a lion cub. You have come back from the kill, my son. He lies down and rests like a lion. He is like a lioness. Who dares to disturb him?

49:10  A scepter will never depart from Judah nor a ruler's staff from between his feet until Shiloh comes and the people obey him.

49:11  He will tie his donkey to a grapevine, his colt to the best vine. He will wash his clothes in wine, his garments in the blood of grapes.

49:12  His eyes are darker than wine. His teeth are whiter than milk.

49:13  "Zebulun will live by the coast. He will have ships by the coast. His border will go as far as Sidon.

49:14  "Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the saddlebags.

49:15  When he sees that his resting place is good and that the land is pleasant, he will bend his back to the burden and will become a slave laborer.

49:16  "Dan will hand down decisions for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

49:17  Dan will be a snake on a road, a viper on a path, that bites a horse's heels so that its rider falls off backwards.

49:18  "I wait with hope for you to rescue me, O LORD.

49:19  "Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will strike back at their heels.

49:20  "Asher's food will be rich. He will provide delicacies fit for a king.

49:21  "Naphtali is a doe set free that has beautiful fawns.

49:22  "Joseph is a fruitful tree, a fruitful tree by a spring, with branches climbing over a wall.

49:23  Archers provoked him, shot at him, and attacked him.

49:24  But his bow stayed steady, and his arms remained limber because of the help of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

49:25  because of the God of your father who helps you, because of the Almighty who gives you blessings from the heavens above, blessings from the deep springs below the ground, blessings from breasts and womb.

49:26  The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the oldest mountains and the riches of the ancient hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the prince among his brothers.

49:27  "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning he devours his prey. In the evening he divides the plunder."

49:28  These are the 12 tribes of Israel and what their father said to them when he gave each of them his special blessing.

49:29  Then he gave them these instructions, "I am about to join my ancestors in death. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.

49:30  Abraham bought the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre in Canaan, from Ephron the Hittite to use as a tomb.

49:31  Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there. Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there. I also buried Leah there.

49:32  The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites."

49:33  When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet into his bed. He took his last breath and joined his ancestors in death.

Chapter 50

50:1  Joseph threw himself on his father, cried over him, and kissed him.

50:2  Then Joseph ordered the doctors in his service to embalm his father. So the doctors embalmed Israel.

50:3  The embalming was completed in the usual time--40 days. The Egyptians mourned for him 70 days.

50:4  When the time of mourning for Jacob was over, Joseph spoke to the Pharaoh's palace staff. He said, "Please speak directly to Pharaoh. Tell him,

50:5  'My father made me swear an oath. He said, "I'm about to die. Bury me in the tomb I bought for myself in Canaan." Please let me go there and bury my father; then I'll come back.'"

50:6  Pharaoh replied, "Go and bury your father, as you have promised him."

50:7  So Joseph left to bury his father. All Pharaoh's officials, the leaders in his palace staff, and all the leaders of Egypt went with him.

50:8  Joseph's household, his brothers, and his father's household also went with him. (Only their children, their flocks, and their cattle were left in Goshen.)

50:9  Chariots and horsemen went with him. It was a very large group.

50:10  When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is on the east side of the Jordan River, they began a great and solemn ceremony to mourn Jacob's death. Joseph took seven days to mourn his father's death.

50:11  When the Canaanites living there saw the funeral ceremonies at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, "These funeral ceremonies are taken very seriously by the Egyptians." That's why that place on the east side of the Jordan was named Abel Mizraim Egyptian Funeral Ceremonies.

50:12  Jacob's sons did for him what he had told them to do.

50:13  They carried him back to Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre. Abraham had bought this tomb from Ephron the Hittite.

50:14  After Joseph had buried his father, he went back to Egypt along with his brothers and everyone who had gone there with him to bury his father.

50:15  Joseph's brothers realized what their father's death could mean. So they thought, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us? What if he decides to pay us back for all the evil we did to him?"

50:16  They sent a messenger to Joseph to say, "Before your father died, he commanded us,

50:17  'This is what you should say to Joseph, "I'm begging you to forgive the crime and the sin your brothers committed against you. What they did to you was very evil."' So now, please forgive our crime, because we are servants of your father's God." Joseph cried when he got their message.

50:18  Then his brothers also came and immediately bowed down in front of him. "We are your slaves!" they said.

50:19  Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid! I can't take God's place.

50:20  Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it. This was to keep many people alive, as he is doing now.

50:21  Don't be afraid! I will provide for you and your children." In this way he reassured them, setting their minds at ease.

50:22  Joseph and his father's family stayed in Egypt. Joseph lived to be 110 years old.

50:23  He saw his grandchildren, Ephraim's children. Even the children of Machir, son of Manasseh, were adopted by Joseph at birth.

50:24  At last Joseph said to his brothers, "I'm about to die. God will definitely take care of you and take you out of this land to the land he swore with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

50:25  Joseph made Israel's sons swear an oath. He said, "God will definitely take care of you. So be sure to carry my bones back with you."

50:26  Joseph died when he was 110 years old. His body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.