English: Unlocked Literal Bible for Genesis

Formatted for Translators

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Bible Text: The English Unlocked Literal Bible (ULB)
©2017 Wycliffe Associates
Available at https://bibleineverylanguage.org/translations
The English Unlocked Literal Bible is based on the unfoldingWord® Literal Text, CC BY-SA 4.0. The original work of the unfoldingWord® Literal Text is available at https://unfoldingword.bible/ult/.
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Notes: English ULB Translation Notes
©2017 Wycliffe Associates
Available at https://bibleineverylanguage.org/translations
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Genesis

1

¹In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.²The earth was without form and empty. Darkness was upon the surface of the deep. The Spirit of God was moving above the surface of the waters.

³God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.⁴God saw the light, that it was good. He divided the light from the darkness.⁵God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

⁶God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."⁷God made the expanse and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse. It was so.⁸God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

⁹God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear." It was so.¹⁰God called the dry land "earth," and the gathered waters he called "seas." He saw that it was good.

¹¹God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation: plants yielding seed and fruit trees bearing fruit whose seed is in the fruit, each according to its own kind." It was so.¹²The earth produced vegetation, plants producing seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit whose seed was in it, after their kind. God saw that it was good.¹³And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

¹⁴God said, "Let there be lights in the sky to divide the day from the night and let them be as signs, for seasons, for days and years.¹⁵Let them be lights in the sky to give light upon the earth." It was so.

¹⁶God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.¹⁷God set them in the sky to give light upon the earth,¹⁸to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.¹⁹And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

²⁰God said, "Let the waters be filled with great numbers of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the expanse of the sky."²¹God created the great sea creatures, as well as every living creature after its kind, creatures that move and which fill the waters everywhere, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.

²²God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas. Let birds multiply on the earth."²³And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

²⁴God said, "Let the earth produce living creatures, each according to its own kind, livestock, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its own kind." It was so.²⁵God made the wild animals after their kind, the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground after its kind. He saw that it was good.

²⁶God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." ¹

²⁷God created man in his own image. In his own image he created him. Male and female he created them.

²⁸God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful, and multiply. Fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."

²⁹God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the surface of all the earth, and every tree with fruit which has seed in it. They will be food to you.

³⁰To every beast of the earth, to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creeps upon the earth, and to every creature that has the breath of life I have given every green plant for food." It was so.

³¹God saw everything that he had made. Behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

¹Some ancient copies have: ... over the livestock, over all the animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

2

¹Then the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the living things that filled them.

²On the seventh day God came to the end of his work which he had done, and so he rested on the seventh day from all his work.³God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had created and made.

⁴This is the account of the heavens and the earth, when they were created, on the day that Yahweh God made the earth and the heavens.

⁵No bush of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.⁶But a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.

⁷Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.⁸Yahweh God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

⁹Out of the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. This included the tree of life that was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.¹⁰A river went out of Eden to water the garden. From there it divided and became four rivers.

¹¹The name of the first is Pishon. It is the one which flows throughout the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.¹²The gold of that land is good. There are also bdellium and the onyx stone.

¹³The name of the second river is Gihon. This one flows throughout the whole land of Cush.¹⁴The name of the third river is Tigris, and it flows east of Ashur. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵Yahweh God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to work it and to maintain it.¹⁶Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, "From every tree in the garden you may freely eat.¹⁷But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you must not eat, for on the day that you eat from it, you will surely die."

¹⁸Then Yahweh God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helper suitable for him."¹⁹Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky. Then he brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.²⁰The man gave names to all the livestock, to all the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field. But for the man himself there was found no helper suitable for him.

²¹Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, so the man slept. Yahweh God took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh where he took the rib.²²With the rib that Yahweh God had taken from the man, he made a woman and brought her to the man.²³The man said,

"This time, this one is bone of my bones,

and flesh of my flesh.

She will be called 'woman,'

because she was taken out of man."

²⁴Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, he will be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.²⁵They were both naked, the man and his wife, but were not ashamed.

3

¹Now the serpent was more shrewd than any other beast of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, "Has God really said, 'You must not eat from any tree of the garden'?"²The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit from the trees of the garden,³but concerning the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You must not eat it, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"

⁴The serpent said to the woman, "You will surely not die.⁵For God knows that the day you eat it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."⁶When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. Then she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

⁷The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for their loins.⁸They heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, so the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.

⁹Yahweh God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?"¹⁰The man said, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked. So I hid myself."¹¹God said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"

¹²The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it."¹³Yahweh God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

¹⁴Yahweh God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,

cursed are you alone among all the livestock

and all the beasts of the field.

It is on your stomach that you will go,

and it is dust that you will eat

all the days of your life.

¹⁵I will put hostility between you and the woman,

and between your seed and her seed.

He will bruise your head,

and you will bruise his heel."

¹⁶To the woman he said,

"I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth;

it is in pain that you will give birth to children.

Your desire will be for your husband,

but he will rule over you."

¹⁷To Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree, concerning which I commanded you, saying, 'You may not eat from it,'

Cursed is the ground because of you;

through painful work you will eat from it

all the days of your life.

¹⁸It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

and you will eat the plants of the field.

¹⁹By the sweat of your face

you will eat bread,

until you return to the ground,

for out of it you were taken.

For dust you are,

and to dust you will return."

²⁰The man called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all the living.²¹Yahweh God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

²²Yahweh God said, "Now the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. So now he must not be allowed to reach out with his hand, take from the tree of life, eat it, and live forever."²³Therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken.²⁴So God drove the man out of the garden, and he placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword that turned every way, in order to guard the way to the tree of life.

4

¹The man knew Eve his wife and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, "I have produced a man with Yahweh's help."²Then she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel became a keeper of flocks, but Cain cultivated the soil.

³It came about that in the course of time Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground as an offering to Yahweh.⁴As for Abel, he brought some of the firstborn of his flock and some of the fat. Yahweh accepted Abel and his offering,⁵but Cain and his offering he did not accept. So Cain was very angry, and he scowled.

⁶Yahweh said to Cain, "Why are you angry and why are you scowling?⁷If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin crouches at the door and desires to control you, but you must rule over it."

⁸Cain spoke to Abel his brother. It came about that while they were in the fields, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. ¹

⁹Then Yahweh said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"

¹⁰Yahweh said, "What have you done? Your brother's blood is calling out to me from the ground.¹¹Now cursed are you from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.¹²When you cultivate the ground, from now on it will not yield to you its strength. A fugitive and a wanderer you will be in the earth."

¹³Cain said to Yahweh, "My punishment is greater than I can bear.¹⁴Indeed, you have driven me out this day from this ground, and I will be hidden from your face. I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."¹⁵Yahweh said to him, "If anyone kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold." Then Yahweh put a mark on Cain, so that if anyone found him, that person would not attack him.

¹⁶So Cain went out from the presence of Yahweh and lived in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.¹⁷Cain knew his wife and she conceived. She gave birth to Enoch. He built a city and named it after his son Enoch.

¹⁸To Enoch was born Irad. Irad became the father of Mehujael. Mehujael became the father of Methushael. Methushael became the father of Lamech.¹⁹Lamech took for himself two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other was Zillah.

²⁰Adah gave birth to Jabal. He was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock.²¹His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of those who play the harp and pipe.²²As for Zillah, she bore Tubal-Cain, the forger of tools of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

²³Lamech said to his wives,

"Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice;

you wives of Lamech, listen to my words.

For I have killed a man for wounding me,

a young man for bruising me.

²⁴If Cain is avenged seven times,

then Lamech will be avenged seventy-seven times."

²⁵Adam knew his wife again, and she bore another son. She called his name Seth and said, "God has given me another son in the place of Abel, for Cain killed him."²⁶A son was born to Seth and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of Yahweh.

¹The best ancient copies read in this way. However, some old translations and some modern translations read Cain said to Abel his brother, "Let us go into the fields." It came about that while they were in the fields, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

5

¹This is the record of the descendants of Adam. On the day that God created mankind, he made them in his own likeness.²Male and female he created them. He blessed them and named them mankind when they were created.

³When Adam had lived 130 years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and he called his name Seth.⁴After Adam became the father of Seth, he lived eight hundred years. He became the father of more sons and daughters.⁵Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.

⁶When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh.⁷After he became the father of Enosh, he lived 807 years and became the father of more sons and daughters.⁸Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.

⁹When Enosh had lived ninety years, he became the father of Kenan.¹⁰After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years. He became the father of more sons and daughters.¹¹Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.

¹²When Kenan had lived seventy years, he became the father of Mahalalel.¹³After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years. He became the father of more sons and daughters.¹⁴Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.

¹⁵When Mahalalel had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Jared.¹⁶After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years. He became the father of more sons and daughters.¹⁷Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.

¹⁸When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch.¹⁹After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years. He became the father of more sons and daughters.²⁰Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.

²¹When Enoch had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Methuselah.²²Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah. He became the father of more sons and daughters.²³Enoch lived 365 years.²⁴Enoch walked with God, and then he was gone, for God took him.

²⁵When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech.²⁶After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years. He became the father of more sons and daughters.²⁷Methuselah lived 969 years. Then he died.

²⁸When Lamech had lived 182 years, he became the father of a son.²⁹He called his name Noah, saying, "This one will give us rest from our work and from the painful labor of our hands, which we must do because of the ground that Yahweh has cursed."

³⁰Lamech lived 595 years after he became the father of Noah. He became the father of more sons and daughters.³¹Lamech lived 777 years. Then he died.

³²After Noah had lived five hundred years, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

6

¹It came about when mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them,²that the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were attractive. They took for themselves wives, any of them that they chose.³Yahweh said, "My spirit will not remain in mankind forever, for they are flesh. They will live 120 years."

⁴The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward. This happened when the sons of God married daughters of men, and they had children with them. These were the mighty men of old, men of renown.

⁵Yahweh saw that the wickedness of mankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.⁶Yahweh regretted that he had made mankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

⁷So Yahweh said, "I will wipe away mankind whom I have created from the surface of the earth—mankind and animals, and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I regret that I have made them."⁸But Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.

⁹This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, and blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God.¹⁰Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹¹The earth was corrupt before God, and it was filled with violence.¹²God saw the earth; behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.

¹³God said to Noah, "I can see that it is time to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Indeed, I will destroy them with the earth.¹⁴Make for yourself an ark of cypress wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch within and without.¹⁵This is how you will make it: The length of the ark is to be three hundred cubits; the breadth of it is to be fifty cubits, and the height of it is to be thirty cubits.

¹⁶Make a roof for the ark, and finish it at a cubit from the top of the side. Place a door in the side of the ark and make a lower, a second, and a third deck.¹⁷Listen, I am about to bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh that has in it the breath of life from under heaven. Everything that is on the earth will die.

¹⁸But I will establish my covenant with you. You will come into the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons' wives with you.¹⁹Of every living creature of all flesh, two of every kind you must bring into the ark, to keep them alive with you, both male and female.

²⁰Of the birds after their kind, and of animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort will come to you to keep them alive.²¹Gather for yourself every kind of food that is eaten and store it, so that it will be food for you and for them."²²So Noah did this. According to all that God commanded him, so he did.

7

¹Yahweh said to Noah, "Come, you and all your household, into the ark, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.²Of every clean animal you will bring with you seven males and seven females. From the animals that are not clean, of them bring two, the male and his mate.³Also of the birds of the sky, bring seven males and seven females, to keep their offspring alive upon the surface of all the earth.

⁴For in seven days I will cause it to rain upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. I will destroy from off the surface of the ground every living thing that I have made."⁵Noah did all that Yahweh commanded him.

⁶Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came upon the earth.⁷Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives went into the ark together because of the waters of the flood.

⁸Clean animals and unclean animals, birds, and everything that creeps upon the ground,⁹two by two, male and female, came to Noah and went into the ark, just as God had commanded Noah.¹⁰It came about that after the seven days, the waters of the flood came upon the earth.

¹¹In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day, all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the windows of heaven were opened.¹²The rain began and fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights.

¹³On that very same day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, entered into the ark.¹⁴They entered along with each wild animal according to its kind, and each sort of livestock according to its kind, and each creeping thing that creeps upon the earth according to its kind, and every sort of bird according to its kind, each kind of creature with wings.

¹⁵Two of all flesh in which was the breath of life came to Noah and entered into the ark.¹⁶The animals that went in were male and female of all flesh; they entered in just as God had commanded him. Then Yahweh shut the door after them.

¹⁷Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted the ark and raised it above the earth.¹⁸The waters completely covered over the earth, and the ark floated upon the surface of the water.

¹⁹The waters rose greatly on the earth so that all the high mountains that were under the entire sky were covered.²⁰The waters rose fifteen cubits above the tops of the mountains.

²¹All living beings that moved upon the earth died—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the living creatures that lived in great numbers upon the earth, and all mankind.²²All living creatures who lived on the land, who breathed the breath of life through their noses, died.

²³So every living thing that was on the surface of the earth was wiped out, mankind and animals and creeping things and birds of the sky. They were all destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those with him in the ark were left.²⁴The waters stayed upon the earth for 150 days.

8

¹God remembered Noah, all the wild animals, and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters started going down.²The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were closed, and it stopped raining.³The flood waters went down slowly from the earth, and after the end of 150 days the waters had gone down.

⁴The ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.⁵The waters continued to go down until the tenth month. On the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains appeared.

⁶It came about after forty days that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made.⁷He sent out a raven and it flew back and forth until the waters were dried up from the earth.

⁸Then he sent out a dove to see if the waters had gone down from the surface of the earth,⁹but the dove found no place to rest her foot, and she returned to him in the ark, for the waters were still covering the whole earth. He reached out with his hand, and took and brought her into the ark with him.

¹⁰He waited another seven days and again he sent out the dove from the ark.¹¹The dove returned to him in the evening. Look! In her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had gone down from the earth.¹²He waited another seven days, and sent out the dove again. She did not return again to him.

¹³It came about in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from off the earth. Noah removed the covering of the ark, looked out, and saw that, behold, the surface of the ground was dry.¹⁴In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.

¹⁵God said to Noah,¹⁶"Go out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons' wives with you.¹⁷Take out with you every living creature of all flesh that is with you—the birds, the animals, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth—so that they may increase greatly on the earth, that they may be fruitful and multiply upon the earth."

¹⁸So Noah went out with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives with him.¹⁹Every living creature, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, according to their families, left the ark.

²⁰Noah built an altar to Yahweh. He took some of the clean animals and some of the clean birds, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.²¹Yahweh smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart, "I will not again curse the ground because of mankind, even though the intention of mankind's heart is evil from childhood. Nor will I again destroy everything living, as I have done.

²²While the earth remains,

seed time and harvest,

cold and heat,

summer and winter,

and day and night

will not cease."

9

¹Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.²The fear of you and the dread of you will be upon every living thing on the earth, upon every bird of the sky, upon everything that moves on the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.

³Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.⁴But you must not eat meat with its life—that is its blood—in it.

⁵But for your blood, the life that is in your blood, I will require payment. From the hand of every animal I will require it. From the hand of any man, that is, from the hand of one who has murdered his brother, I will require an accounting for the life of that man.

⁶Whoever sheds man's blood,

by man will his blood be shed,

for it was in the image of God that he made man.

⁷As for you, be fruitful and multiply, spread throughout the earth and multiply on it."

⁸Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying,⁹"As for me, listen! I am going to confirm my covenant with you and with your descendants after you,¹⁰and with every living creature that is with you, with the birds, the livestock, and every creature of the earth with you, from all that came out of the ark, to every living creature on the earth.

¹¹I hereby confirm my covenant with you, that never again will all flesh be destroyed by the waters of a flood. Never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."

¹²God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:¹³I have set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

¹⁴It will come about when I bring a cloud over the earth and the rainbow is seen in the cloud,¹⁵then I will call to mind my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. The waters will never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

¹⁶The rainbow will be in the clouds and I will see it, in order to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."

¹⁷Then God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have confirmed between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

¹⁸The sons of Noah that came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan.¹⁹These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.

²⁰Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.²¹He drank some of the wine and became drunk. He was lying uncovered in his tent.

²²Then Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.²³So Shem and Japheth took a robe and laid it upon both their shoulders, and walked backwards and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned the other way, so they did not see their father's nakedness.

²⁴When Noah awoke from his wine, he learned what his youngest son had done to him.²⁵So he said,

"Cursed be Canaan.

May he be a servant to his brothers' servants."

²⁶He also said,

"May Yahweh, the God of Shem, be blessed,

and may Canaan be his servant.

²⁷May God extend the territory of Japheth,

and let him make his home in the tents of Shem.

May Canaan be his servant."

²⁸After the flood, Noah lived three hundred fifty years.²⁹All the days of Noah were nine hundred fifty years, and then he died.

10

¹These were the descendants of the sons of Noah, that is, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.

²The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

³The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

⁴The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites,¹ and Dodanim.⁵From these the coastland peoples separated and went into their lands, every one with its own language, according to their clans, by their nations.

⁶The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

⁷The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteka. The sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

⁸Cush became the father of Nimrod, who was a mighty one on the earth.⁹He was a mighty hunter before Yahweh. That is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Yahweh."¹⁰The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad, and Kalneh, in the land of Shinar.

¹¹Out of that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah,¹²and Resen, which was between Nineveh and Calah. It was a large city.

¹³Mizraim became the father of the Ludites, the Anamites, the Lehabites, the Naphtuhites,¹⁴the Pathrusites, the Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.

¹⁵Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and of Heth,¹⁶also of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,¹⁷the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,¹⁸the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites spread out.

¹⁹The border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, in the direction of Gerar, as far as Gaza, and as one goes toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.²⁰These were the sons of Ham, by their clans, by their languages, in their lands, and in their nations.

²¹Sons also were born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth. Shem was also the ancestor of all the people of Eber.

²²The sons of Shem were Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

²³The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.

²⁴Arphaxad became the father of Shelah, and Shelah became the father of Eber.

²⁵Eber had two sons. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided. His brother's name was Joktan.

²⁶Joktan became the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,²⁷Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,²⁸Obal, Abimael, Sheba,²⁹Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.

³⁰Their territory was from Mesha, all the way to Sephar, the mountain of the east.³¹These were the sons of Shem, according to their clans and their languages, in their lands, according to their nations.

³²These were the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations. From these the nations separated and went over the earth after the flood.

¹Some modern English translations read, Kittim .

11

¹Now the whole earth used one language and had the same words.²As they journeyed in the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and they settled there.

³They said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They had brick instead of stone and tar as mortar.⁴They said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top will reach to the sky, and let us make a name for ourselves. If we do not, we will be scattered across the surface of the whole earth."

⁵So Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower which the descendants of Adam had built.⁶Yahweh said, "Look, they are one people with the same language, and they are beginning to do this! Soon nothing that they intend to do will be impossible for them.⁷Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they may not understand each other."

⁸So Yahweh scattered them from there across the surface of all the earth and they stopped building the city.⁹Therefore, its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of the whole earth and from there Yahweh scattered them abroad over the surface of all the earth.

¹⁰These were the descendants of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and he became the father of Arphaxad two years after the flood.¹¹Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arphaxad. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

¹²When Arphaxad had lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah.¹³Arphaxad lived 403 years after he became the father of Shelah. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

¹⁴When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber.¹⁵Shelah lived 403 years after he became the father of Eber. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

¹⁶When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg.¹⁷Eber lived 430 years after he became the father of Peleg. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

¹⁸When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Reu.¹⁹Peleg lived 209 years after he became the father of Reu. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

²⁰When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug.²¹Reu lived 207 years after he became the father of Serug. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

²²When Serug had lived thirty years, he became the father of Nahor.²³Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

²⁴When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah.²⁵Nahor lived 119 years after he became the father of Terah. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

²⁶After Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

²⁷Now these were the descendants of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran became the father of Lot.²⁸Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

²⁹Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai and the name of Nahor's wife was Milkah, a daughter of Haran, who was the father of Milkah and Iskah.³⁰Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.

³¹Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of his son Haran, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and together they left Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan. But they came to Haran and stayed there.³²Terah lived 205 years and then died in Haran.

12

¹Now Yahweh said to Abram, "Go from your country, and from your relatives, and from your father's household, to the land that I will show you.

²I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you,

and make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

³I will bless those who bless you, but whoever dishonors you I will curse.

Through you will all the families of the earth be blessed."

⁴So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him to do, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.⁵Abram took Sarai, his wife, Lot, his brother's son, all their possessions that they had accumulated, and the people that they had acquired in Haran. They left to go into the land of Canaan, and came to the land of Canaan.

⁶Abram passed through the land as far as Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites lived in the land.⁷Yahweh appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So there Abram built an altar to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.

⁸From there he moved to the hill country to the east of Bethel, where he pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and called on the name of Yahweh.⁹Then Abram continued journeying, going toward the Negev.

¹⁰There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down into Egypt to stay, for the famine was severe in the land.¹¹When he was about to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, "See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman.¹²When the Egyptians see you they will say, 'This is his wife,' and they will kill me, but they will keep you alive.¹³Say that you are my sister, so that it may be well with me because of you, and so that my life will be spared because of you."

¹⁴It came about that when Abram entered into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was very beautiful.¹⁵The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's household.¹⁶Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram received sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

¹⁷Then Yahweh afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.¹⁸Pharaoh summoned Abram, and said, "What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?¹⁹Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now therefore, here is your wife. Take her, and go your way."²⁰Then Pharaoh gave orders to his men concerning him, and they sent him away, along with his wife and all that he had.

13

¹So Abram went up from Egypt and went into the Negev, he, his wife, and all that he had. Lot also went with them.²Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.

³He continued on his journey from the Negev to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been before, between Bethel and Ai.⁴He went to the place where the altar was that he had built previously. Here he called on the name of Yahweh.

⁵Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents.⁶The land was not able to support them both living close together, because their possessions were very many, so that they could not stay together.⁷Also, there was a dispute between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.

⁸So Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; after all, we are family.⁹Is not the whole land before you? Go ahead and separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, then I will go to the right. Or if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."

¹⁰So Lot looked around, and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered everywhere all the way to Zoar, like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt. This was before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.¹¹So Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan and traveled east, and the relatives separated from each other.

¹²Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived among the cities of the plain. He set up his tents as far away as Sodom.¹³Now the men of Sodom were very wicked sinners against Yahweh.

¹⁴Yahweh said to Abram after Lot had departed from him, "Look from the place where you are standing to the north, south, east, and west.¹⁵All this land which you see, I will give to you and to your descendants forever.

¹⁶I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted.¹⁷Arise, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I will give it to you."¹⁸So Abram picked up his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there built an altar to Yahweh.

14

¹It came about in the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goyim,²that they made war against Bera, king of Sodom, Birsha, king of Gomorrah, Shinab, king of Admah, Shemeber, king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar).

³These latter five kings joined together in the Valley of Siddim (also called the Salt Sea).⁴Twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.⁵Then in the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim,⁶and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert.

⁷Then they turned and came to En Mishpat (also called Kadesh), and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who lived in Hazezon Tamar.

⁸Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar) went out and prepared for battle in the Valley of Siddim⁹against Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, Tidal, king of Goyim, Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar; four kings against the five.

¹⁰Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell in there. Those who were left fled to the mountains.¹¹So the kings took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions, and went their way.¹²When they went, they also took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who was living in Sodom, along with all his possessions.

¹³One who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. He was living by the oaks that belonged to Mamre, the Amorite, who was the brother of Eshkol and Aner, who were all allies of Abram.¹⁴Now when Abram heard that enemies had captured his relative, he led out his 318 trained men who had been born in his house, and he pursued them as far as Dan.

¹⁵He divided his men against them at night, he and his servants, and he pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.¹⁶Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his relative Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the other people.

¹⁷After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (also called the King's Valley).

¹⁸Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High.

¹⁹He blessed him saying,

"Blessed be Abram by God Most High,

Creator of heaven and earth.

²⁰Blessed be God Most High,

who has given your enemies into your hand."

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

²¹The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people, and take the goods for yourself."²²Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,²³that I will not take a thread, a sandal strap, or anything that is yours, so that you can never say, 'I have made Abram rich.'²⁴I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten and the share of the men that went with me. Let Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre take their portion."

15

¹After these things the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Fear not, Abram! I am your shield and your very great reward."

²Abram said, "Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"³Abram said, "Since you have given me no descendant, see, one born in my house will be my heir!"

⁴Then, behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but rather the one who will come from your own body will be your heir."⁵Then he brought him outside, and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So will your descendants be."

⁶He believed Yahweh, and he counted it to him as righteousness.⁷He said to him, "I am Yahweh, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it."⁸He said, "Lord Yahweh, how will I know that I will inherit it?"

⁹Then he said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a dove, and a young pigeon."¹⁰He brought him all these, and cut them in two, and placed each half opposite the other, but he did not divide the birds.¹¹When the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

¹²Then when the sun was going down, Abram fell sound asleep and, behold, a deep and terrifying darkness overwhelmed him.¹³Then Yahweh said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.

¹⁴I will judge that nation that they will serve, and afterward they will come out with abundant possessions.¹⁵But you will go to your fathers in peace, and you will be buried in a good old age.¹⁶In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit."

¹⁷When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between the pieces.¹⁸On that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I hereby give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—¹⁹the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,²⁰the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaites,²¹the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."

16

¹Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had not borne any children for him, but she had a female servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.²So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, Yahweh has kept me from having children. Please go to my servant. It may be that I will have children by her." Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.³It was after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan that Sarai, Abram's wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, to her husband as a wife.⁴So he went to Hagar, and she conceived. When she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

⁵Then Sarai said to Abram, "This wrong on me is because of you. I gave my servant woman into your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes. Let Yahweh judge between me and you."⁶But Abram said to Sarai, "See here, your servant woman is in your power, do to her what you think best." So Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

⁷The angel of Yahweh found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring that is on the way to Shur.⁸He said, "Hagar, Sarai's servant, where did you come from and where are you going?" Then she said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai."

⁹The angel of Yahweh said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority."¹⁰Then the angel of Yahweh said to her, "I will greatly multiply your descendants, so that they will be too numerous to count."

¹¹The angel of Yahweh also said to her,

"Behold, you are pregnant

and will bear a son,

and you will call his name Ishmael,

because Yahweh has heard your affliction.

¹²He will be a wild donkey of a man.

He will be hostile against every man,

and every man will be hostile to him,

and he will live apart from all his brothers."

¹³Then she gave this name to Yahweh who spoke to her, "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "Do I really continue to see, even after he has seen me?"¹⁴Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵Hagar gave birth to Abram's son, and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.¹⁶Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

17

¹When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty. Walk before me, and be blameless.²Then I will confirm my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly."

³Abram bowed low with his face to the ground and God talked with him, saying,⁴"As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations.⁵No longer will your name be Abram, but your name will be Abraham—for I appoint you to be the father of a multitude of nations.⁶I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.

⁷I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you, throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.⁸I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land where you have been sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God."

⁹Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.¹⁰This is my covenant, which you must keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you must be circumcised.¹¹You must be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.

¹²Every male among you that is eight days old must be circumcised, throughout your people's generations. This includes him who is born into your household and him who is bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants.¹³He who is born into your household and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised. Thus my covenant will be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.¹⁴Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant."

¹⁵God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, do not call her Sarai any more. Instead, her name will be Sarah.¹⁶I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will become the mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her."

¹⁷Then Abraham bowed low with his face to the ground, and laughed, and said in his heart, "Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? How can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a son?"¹⁸Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!"

¹⁹God said, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you must name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant with his descendants after him.²⁰As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and will multiply him abundantly. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him become a great nation.²¹But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time in the next year."

²²When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.²³Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all those who were born into his household, and all those who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in that same day, as God had said to him.

²⁴Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.²⁵Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.²⁶On the very same day Abraham and Ishmael his son were both circumcised.²⁷All the men of his household were circumcised with him, including those born into the household and those bought with money from a foreigner.

18

¹Yahweh appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent doorway in the heat of the day.²He looked up and, behold, he saw three men standing across from him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door and bowed low to the ground.

³He said, "My Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass by your servant."⁴Let a little water be brought, wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.⁵Let me bring a little food, so that you may refresh yourselves. Afterwards you can go your way, since you have come to your servant." They replied, "Do as you have said."

⁶Then Abraham quickly went into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Hurry, get three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and make bread."⁷Then Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf that was tender and good, and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it.⁸He took curds and milk, and the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food before them, and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

⁹They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" He replied, "There, in the tent."¹⁰He said, "I will certainly return to you in the springtime, and see, Sarah your wife will have a son." Sarah was listening in the tent doorway, which was behind him.

¹¹Now Abraham and Sarah were old, very advanced in age, and Sarah had passed the age when women could bear children.¹²So Sarah laughed to herself, saying to herself, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"

¹³Yahweh said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really bear a child, when I am old'?¹⁴Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the time appointed by me, in the spring, I will return to you. About this time next year Sarah will have a son."¹⁵Then Sarah denied it and said, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. He replied, "No, you did laugh."

¹⁶Then the men arose to leave and looked down toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way.¹⁷But Yahweh said, "Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,¹⁸since Abraham will indeed become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him?¹⁹For I have chosen him so that he may instruct his children and his household after him to keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice, so that Yahweh may bring upon Abraham what he has said to him."

²⁰Then Yahweh said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and because their sin is so serious,²¹I will now go down there and see the outcry against her that has come to me, whether they have really done it. If not, I will know."

²²So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before Yahweh.²³Then Abraham approached and said, "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

²⁴Perhaps there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are there?²⁵Far be it from you to do such a thing, killing the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be treated the same as the wicked. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"²⁶Yahweh said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place for their sake."

²⁷Abraham answered and said, "See now, I have undertaken to speak to my Lord, even though I am only dust and ashes!²⁸What if there are five less than fifty righteous? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" Then he said, "I will not destroy it, if I find there forty-five."

²⁹He spoke to him yet again, and said, "What if there are forty found there?" He replied, "I will not do it for the forty's sake."³⁰He said, "Please do not be angry, Lord, so I may speak. Perhaps thirty will be found there." He replied, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."³¹He said, "See now, I have undertaken to speak to my Lord! Perhaps twenty will be found there." He replied, "I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake."

³²He said, "Please do not be angry, Lord, and I will speak this one last time. Perhaps ten will be found there." Then he said, "I will not destroy it for the ten's sake."³³Yahweh went on his way as soon as he had finished talking with Abraham, and Abraham returned home.

19

¹The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, while Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. Lot saw them, arose to meet them, and bowed down with his face to the ground.²He said, "See now, my masters, please turn aside into your servant's house, stay for the night, and wash your feet. Then you can rise up early and go on your way." They replied, "No, we will spend the night in the town square."³But he urged them strongly, so they went with him, and entered into his house. He prepared a meal and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

⁴But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the men from every part of the city.⁵They called to Lot, and said to him, "Where are the men that came in to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them."

⁶So Lot went out the door to them and shut the door after himself.⁷He said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly.⁸See now, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Please let me bring them out to you, and you do to them whatever is good in your eyes. Only do nothing to these men, because they have come under the shadow of my roof."

⁹They said, "Stand back!" They also said, "This one came here to live as a foreigner, and now he has become our judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." They pressed hard against the man, against Lot, and came near to break down the door.

¹⁰But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door.¹¹Then Lot's visitors struck with blindness the men who were outside the door of the house, both small and great, so that they became exhausted when they were trying to find the door.

¹²Then the men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here? Any sons-in-law, your sons and your daughters, and whoever you have in the city, get them out of here.¹³For we are about to destroy this place, because the accusations against it before Yahweh have become so loud that he has sent us to destroy it."

¹⁴Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, the men who had promised to marry his daughters, and said, "Quick, get out of this place, for Yahweh is about to destroy the city." But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.¹⁵When dawn came, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Get going, take your wife and your two daughters that are here, so you are not swept away in the punishment of the city."

¹⁶But he lingered. So the men grabbed his hand, and the hand of his wife, and the hands of his two daughters, because Yahweh was merciful to him. They brought them out, and set them outside the city.¹⁷When they had brought them out, one of the men said, "Run for your lives! Do not look back, or stay anywhere on the plain. Escape to the mountains so you are not swept away."

¹⁸Lot said to them, "No, please, my masters!¹⁹See now, your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life, but I cannot escape to the mountains, because the disaster will overtake me, and I will die.²⁰See now, the city over there is a little one. Please, let me escape there—Is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved."

²¹He said to him, "Alright, I am granting this request also, that I will not destroy the city which you have mentioned.²²Hurry! Escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the city was named Zoar.

²³The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot reached Zoar.²⁴Then Yahweh rained down upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of the sky.²⁵He destroyed those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the plants that grew on the ground.

²⁶But Lot's wife, who was behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

²⁷Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before Yahweh.²⁸He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the plain. He looked and behold, smoke was rising from the land like the smoke of a furnace.

²⁹So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, God called Abraham to mind. He sent Lot out of the midst of the destruction when he destroyed the cities in which Lot had lived.

³⁰But Lot went up from Zoar to live in the mountains with his two daughters, because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave, he and his two daughters.

³¹The firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere to lie with us according to the way of all the world.³²Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, so that we may keep our family line alive through our father."³³So they made their father drink wine that night. Then the firstborn went in and lay with her father; he did not know when she lay down, nor when she got up.

³⁴The next day the firstborn said to the younger, "Listen, here I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you should go and lie with him, so that we may keep our family line alive through our father."³⁵So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger went and lay with him. He did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

³⁶So both the daughters of Lot conceived by their father.³⁷The firstborn gave birth to a son, and named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the Moabites of today.³⁸As for the younger daughter, she also gave birth to a son, and named him Ben-Ammi. He became the ancestor of the people of Ammon of today.

20

¹Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and lived between Kadesh and Shur. He was a foreigner living in Gerar.²Abraham said concerning Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." So Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.³But God came to Abimelek in a dream in the night, and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife."

⁴Now Abimelek had not come near her and he said, "Lord, would you kill even a righteous nation?⁵Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister?' Even she herself said, 'He is my brother.' I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands."

⁶Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I also know that in the integrity of your heart you did this, and I also kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not allow you to touch her.⁷Therefore, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you and all who are yours will surely die."

⁸Abimelek rose early in the morning and called all of his servants to himself. He told all these things to them, and the men were very afraid.⁹Then Abimelek called for Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me deeds that ought not to be done."

¹⁰Abimelek said to Abraham, "What prompted you to do this thing?"¹¹Abraham said, "Because I thought, 'Surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.'¹²Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

¹³When God caused me to leave my father's house and travel from place to place, I said to her, 'You must show me this faithfulness as my wife: At every place where we go, say about me, "He is my brother."'"¹⁴Then Abimelek took sheep and cattle, and male slaves and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham. Then he returned Sarah, Abraham's wife, to him.

¹⁵Abimelek said, "Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever it pleases you."¹⁶To Sarah he said, "Look, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is to cover any offense against you in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone, you are completely made right."

¹⁷Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife, and his female slaves so that they were able to have children.¹⁸For Yahweh had closed all the wombs of the household of Abimelek because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

21

¹Yahweh paid attention to Sarah as he had said he would, and Yahweh did for Sarah just as he had promised.²Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.³Abraham named his son, the one who had been born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.⁴Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, just as God had commanded him.

⁵Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.⁶Sarah said, "God has made me laugh; every one who hears will laugh with me."⁷She also said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children, and yet I have borne him a son in his old age!"

⁸The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.⁹Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.

¹⁰So she said to Abraham, "Drive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman will not be heir with my son, with Isaac."¹¹This thing was very grievous to Abraham because of his son.

¹²But God said to Abraham, "Do not be grieved because of the young man and because of your servant girl. Listen to Sarah's words in all she says to you about this matter, because it is through Isaac that your descendants will be named.¹³I will also make the son of the servant woman into a nation, because he is your descendant."

¹⁴Abraham rose up early in the morning, took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder. He gave her the boy and sent her away. She departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.¹⁵When the water in the waterskin was gone, she abandoned the child under one of the bushes.¹⁶Then she went, and sat down a short distance from him, about the distance of a bowshot away, for she said, "Let me not look upon the death of the child." As she sat there across from him, she lifted up her voice and wept.

¹⁷God heard the voice of the young man, and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the young man where he is.¹⁸Get up, raise up the young man, and encourage him; for I will make him into a great nation."

¹⁹Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water and gave the young man a drink.²⁰God was with the young man, and he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer.²¹He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

²²It came about at that time that Abimelek and Phicol the captain of his army spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do.²³Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my offspring, nor with my descendants. Show to me and to the land in which you have been staying the same covenant faithfulness that I have shown to you."²⁴Abraham said, "I swear."

²⁵Abraham also complained to Abimelek concerning a well of water that Abimelek's servants had seized from him.²⁶Abimelek said, "I do not know who has done this thing. You did not tell me before now; I have not heard of it until today."²⁷So Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and the two men made a covenant.

²⁸Then Abraham set seven female lambs of the flock by themselves.²⁹Abimelek said to Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven female lambs that you have set by themselves?"³⁰He replied, "These seven female lambs you will receive from my hand, so that it may be a witness for me, that I dug this well."

³¹So he called that place Beersheba, because there they both swore an oath.³²They made a covenant at Beersheba, and then Abimelek and Phicol, the captain of his army, returned to the land of the Philistines.

³³Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba. There he called on the name of Yahweh, the eternal God.³⁴Abraham remained as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines many days.

22

¹It came about after these things that God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" Abraham said, "Here I am."²Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains there, which I will tell you about."³So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, along with Isaac his son. He cut the wood for the burnt offering, then set out on his journey to the place that God had told him about.

⁴On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place afar off.⁵Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the young man will go over there. We will worship and come again to you."⁶Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on Isaac his son. He took in his own hand the fire and the knife; and they went both of them together.

⁷Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father," and he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "See, here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"⁸Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So they went on, both of them together.

⁹When they came to the place that God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood on it. Then he bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.¹⁰Abraham reached out with his hand and took up the knife to kill his son.

¹¹Then the angel of Yahweh called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" and he said, "Here I am."¹²He said, "Do not lay your hand upon the young man, nor do anything to harm him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."

¹³Abraham looked up and behold, behind him was a ram caught in the bushes by his horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up as a burnt offering instead of his son.¹⁴So Abraham named that place, "Yahweh will provide," and it is said to this day, "On the mountain of Yahweh it will be provided."

¹⁵The angel of Yahweh called to Abraham a second time from heaven¹⁶and said—this is Yahweh's declaration—by myself I have sworn that because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son,¹⁷I will surely bless you and I will greatly multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and your descendants will possess the gate of their enemies.

¹⁸Through your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice."¹⁹So Abraham returned to his young men, and they departed and went together to Beersheba, and he lived at Beersheba.

²⁰It came about after these things that Abraham was told, "Milkah has borne children, as well, to your brother Nahor."²¹They were Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,²²Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.

²³Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These were the eight children that Milkah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.²⁴His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maakah.

23

¹Sarah lived 127 years. These were the years of the life of Sarah.²Sarah died in Kiriath Arba, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Abraham mourned and wept for Sarah.

³Then Abraham rose up and went from his dead wife, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,⁴"I am a foreigner and sojourner among you. Please grant me a property for a burial place among you, so that I may bury my dead."

⁵The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying,⁶"Listen to us, my master. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb, so that you may bury your dead."

⁷Abraham arose and bowed down to the people of the land, to the sons of Heth.⁸He spoke to them, saying, "If you agree that I should bury my dead, then hear me and plead with Ephron son of Zohar, for me.⁹Ask him to sell me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns, which is at the end of his field. For the full price let him sell it to me publicly as a property for a burial place."

¹⁰Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth, of all those who had come into the gate of his city, saying,¹¹"No, my master, hear me. I give you the field, and the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you to bury your dead."

¹²Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.¹³He spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, "But if you are willing, please hear me. I will pay for the field. Take the money from me, and I will bury my dead there."

¹⁴Ephron answered Abraham, saying,¹⁵"Please, my master, listen to me. A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and you? Bury your dead."¹⁶Abraham listened to Ephron and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the amount of silver that he had spoken in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the standard measurement of the merchants.

¹⁷So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was next to Mamre, that is, the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, passed¹⁸to Abraham by purchase in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all those who had come into the gate of his city.

¹⁹After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which is next to Mamre, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan.²⁰So the field and the cave in it passed to Abraham as a property for a burial place from the sons of Heth.

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¹Now Abraham was very old and Yahweh had blessed Abraham in all things.²Abraham said to his servant, the one who was the oldest of his household and who was in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh³and I will make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I make my home.⁴But you will go to my country, and to my relatives, and get a wife for my son Isaac."

⁵The servant said to him, "What if the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land? Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?"⁶Abraham said to him, "Make sure that you do not take my son back there!⁷Yahweh, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my relatives, and who promised me with a solemn oath saying, 'To your descendants I will give this land,' he will send his angel before you, and you will get a wife for my son from there.

⁸But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine. Only you are not to take my son back there."⁹So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰The servant took ten of his master's camels and departed. He also took with him all kinds of goods from his master. He departed and went to the region of Aram Naharaim, to the city of Nahor.¹¹He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water. It was evening, the time that women go out to draw water.

¹²Then he said, "Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, grant me success today and show covenant faithfulness to my master Abraham.¹³Look, here I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.¹⁴Let it happen like this. When I say to a young woman, 'Please lower your pitcher so that I may drink,' and she says to me, 'Drink, and I will water your camels too,' then let her be the one that you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown covenant faithfulness to my master."

¹⁵It came about that even before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah came out with her water pitcher on her shoulder. Rebekah was born to Bethuel son of Milkah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother.¹⁶The young woman was very beautiful and a virgin. No man had ever known her. She went down to the spring, filled her pitcher and came up.

¹⁷Then the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a little drink of water from your pitcher."¹⁸She said, "Drink, my master," and she quickly let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him a drink.

¹⁹When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking."²⁰So she hurried and emptied her pitcher into the trough, then ran again to the well to draw water, and drew water for all his camels.

²¹The man watched her in silence to see whether Yahweh had prospered his journey or not.²²As the camels finished drinking, the man brought out a gold nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two gold bracelets for her arms weighing ten shekels,²³and asked, "Whose daughter are you? Tell me please, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"

²⁴She said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, whom she bore to Nahor."²⁵She also said to him, "We have plenty of both straw and feed, and also room for you to spend the night."

²⁶Then the man bowed down and worshiped Yahweh.²⁷He said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his covenant faithfulness and his trustworthiness toward my master. As for me, Yahweh has led me directly to the house of my master's relatives."

²⁸Then the young woman ran and told her mother's household about all of these things.²⁹Now Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban. Laban ran to the man who was out at the road by the spring.³⁰When he had seen the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and when he had heard the words of Rebekah his sister, "This is what the man said to me," he went to the man, and, behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.

³¹Then Laban said, "Come, you blessed of Yahweh. Why are you standing outside? I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels."³²So the man came to the house and he unloaded the camels. The camels were given straw and feed, and water was provided to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

³³They set food before him to eat, but he said, "I will not eat until I have said what I have to say." So Laban said, "Speak on."³⁴He said, "I am Abraham's servant.³⁵Yahweh has blessed my master very much and he has become great. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

³⁶Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master when she was old, and he has given everything that he owns to him.³⁷My master made me swear, saying, 'You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I make my home.³⁸Instead, you must go to my father's family, and to my relatives, and get a wife for my son.'

³⁹I said to my master, 'Perhaps the woman will not follow me.'⁴⁰But he said to me, 'Yahweh, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you and he will prosper your way, so that you will get a wife for my son from among my relatives and from my father's family line.⁴¹But you will be free from my oath if you come to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from my oath.'

⁴²So I arrived today at the spring, and said, 'O Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, please, if you do indeed intend to make my journey successful—⁴³here I am, standing by the spring of water—let the young woman who comes out to draw water, the woman to whom I say, "Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,"⁴⁴the woman who says to me, "Drink, and I will also draw water for your camels"—let her be the woman whom you, Yahweh, have chosen for my master's son.'

⁴⁵Even before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her pitcher on her shoulder and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.'⁴⁶She quickly lowered her pitcher from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I will give your camels water also.' So I drank, and she watered the camels also.

⁴⁷I asked her and said, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milkah bore to him.' Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms.⁴⁸Then I bowed down and worshiped Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the way that is right to find the daughter of my master's relative for his son.

⁴⁹Now therefore, if you are prepared to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me, so that I may turn to the right hand or to the left."

⁵⁰Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, "The thing has come from Yahweh; we cannot speak to you either bad or good.⁵¹Look, Rebekah is before you. Take her and go, so she may be the wife of your master's son, as Yahweh has spoken."

⁵²When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before Yahweh.⁵³The servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and to her mother.

⁵⁴Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank. They stayed there overnight, and when they arose in the morning, he said, "Send me away to my master."⁵⁵Her brother and her mother said, "Let the young woman stay with us for a few more days, at least ten. After that she may go."

⁵⁶But he said to them, "Do not hinder me, since Yahweh has prospered my way. Send me on my way so that I may go to my master."⁵⁷They said, "We will call the young woman and ask her."⁵⁸So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?" She replied, "I will go."

⁵⁹So they sent their sister Rebekah, along with her female servant, on her journey with Abraham's servant and his men.⁶⁰They blessed Rebekah, and said to her,

"Our sister, may you be the mother

of thousands of ten thousands,

and may your descendants possess

the gate of those who hate them."

⁶¹Then Rebekah arose, and she and her servant girls mounted the camels, and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

⁶²Now Isaac was living in the Negev, and had just returned from Beer Lahai Roi.

⁶³Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening. When he looked up and saw, behold, there were camels coming!⁶⁴Rebekah looked, and when she saw Isaac, she jumped down from the camel.⁶⁵She said to the servant, "Who is that man who is walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." So she took her veil, and covered herself.

⁶⁶The servant recounted to Isaac all the things that he had done.⁶⁷Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

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¹Abraham took another wife; her name was Keturah.²She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.³Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Assyrian people, the Letush people, and the Leum people.⁴Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were Keturah's descendants.

⁵Abraham gave all that he owned to Isaac.⁶However, while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them to the land of the east, away from Isaac, his son.

⁷These were the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, 175 years.⁸Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man with a full life, and he was gathered to his people.

⁹Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, which is near Mamre.¹⁰This field Abraham had bought from the sons of Heth. Abraham was buried there with Sarah his wife.¹¹After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son, and Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi.

¹²Now these were the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham.

¹³These were the names of Ishmael's sons, according to their birth order: Nebaioth—the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,¹⁴Mishma, Dumah, Massa,¹⁵Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.¹⁶These were Ishmael's sons, and these were their names, by their villages, and by their encampments; twelve princes according to their tribes.

¹⁷These were the years of the life of Ishmael, 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.¹⁸They lived from Havilah to Ashhur, which is near Egypt, as one goes toward Assyria. They lived in hostility with each other.

¹⁹This is the account of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham became the father of Isaac.²⁰Isaac was forty years old when he took as his wife Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan Aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean.

²¹Isaac prayed to Yahweh for his wife because she was barren, and Yahweh answered his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.²²The children struggled together within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" She went to ask Yahweh about this.

²³Yahweh said to her,

"Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples will be separated from within you.

One people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger."

²⁴When it was time for her to give birth, behold, there were twins in her womb.²⁵The first child came out red all over like a hairy garment. They called his name Esau.²⁶After that, his brother came out. His hand was grasping Esau's heel. He was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when his wife bore them.

²⁷The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a quiet man, who spent his time in the tents.²⁸Now Isaac loved Esau because he ate the animals that he had hunted, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

²⁹Jacob cooked some stew. Esau came in from the field, and he was weak from hunger.³⁰Esau said to Jacob, "Feed me with that red stew. Please, I am exhausted!" That is why his name was called Edom.

³¹Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright."³²Esau said, "Look, I am about to die. What good is the birthright to me?"³³Jacob said, "First swear to me," so Esau swore an oath and in that way he sold his birthright to Jacob.³⁴Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils. He ate and drank, then got up and went on his way. In this manner Esau despised his birthright.

26

¹Now a famine happened in the land, besides the first famine that had been in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelek, king of the Philistines at Gerar.

²Now Yahweh appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land that I tell you to live in.³Stay in this very land, and I will be with you and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants, I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.

⁴I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and will give to your descendants all these lands. Through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.⁵I will do this because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my instructions, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

⁶So Isaac settled in Gerar.⁷When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister." He feared to say, "She is my wife," because he thought, "The men of this place will kill me to get Rebekah, because she is so beautiful."⁸After Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines happened to look out of a window. He saw, behold, Isaac was caressing Rebekah, his wife.

⁹Abimelek called Isaac to him and said, "Look, certainly she is your wife. Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac said to him, "Because I thought someone might kill me to get her."¹⁰Abimelek said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us."¹¹So Abimelek commanded all the people and said, "Whoever touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death."

¹²Isaac planted crops in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold, because Yahweh blessed him.¹³The man became rich, and grew more and more until he became very great.¹⁴He had many sheep and cattle, and a large household. The Philistines envied him.

¹⁵Now all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them up by filling them with earth.¹⁶Abimelek said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we."¹⁷So Isaac departed from there and camped in the Valley of Gerar, and lived there.

¹⁸Once again Isaac dug out the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father. The Philistines had stopped them up after Abraham's death. Isaac called the wells by the same names that his father had called them.

¹⁹When Isaac's servants dug in the valley, they found there a well of flowing water.²⁰The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, and said, "This water is ours." So Isaac named that well "Esek," because they had quarreled with him.

²¹Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that, too, so he gave it the name of "Sitnah."²²He left there and dug yet another well, but they did not quarrel over that one. So he called it Rehoboth, and he said, "Now Yahweh has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land."

²³Then Isaac went up from there to Beersheba.²⁴Yahweh appeared to him that same night and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not fear, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your descendants, for my servant Abraham's sake."²⁵Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of Yahweh. There he pitched his tent, and his servants dug a well.

²⁶Then Abimelek went to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath, his friend, and Phicol, the captain of his army.²⁷Isaac said to them, "Why are you coming to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?"

²⁸Then they said, "We have clearly seen that Yahweh has been with you. So we decided that there should be an oath between us, yes, between us and you. So let us make a covenant with you,²⁹that you will do us no harm, just as we have not harmed you, and as we have treated you well and have sent you away in peace. Indeed, you are blessed by Yahweh."

³⁰So Isaac made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.³¹They rose early in the morning and swore an oath with each other. Then Isaac sent them away, and they left him in peace.

³²That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug. They said, "We have found water."³³He called the well Shibah, so the name of that city is Beersheba to this day.

³⁴When Esau was forty years old, he took a wife, Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.³⁵They brought sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah.

27

¹When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau, his older son, and said to him, "My son." Esau said to him, "Here I am,"²and Isaac said, "See now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death.

³Therefore take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me.⁴Make delicious food for me, the sort that I love, and bring it to me so I can eat it and bless you before I die."

⁵Now Rebekah heard it when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it back.⁶Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son and said, "See here, I heard your father speak to Esau your brother. He said,⁷'Bring me game and make me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of Yahweh before my death.'

⁸Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you.⁹Go to the flock, and bring me two good kids; and I will make delicious food from them for your father, just like he loves.¹⁰You will take it to your father, so that he may eat it, so that he may bless you before his death."

¹¹Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "See, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.¹²Perhaps my father will touch me, and I will seem to him as a deceiver. I will bring a curse upon me and not a blessing."

¹³His mother said to him, "My son, let any curse fall on me. Just obey my voice, and go, bring them to me."¹⁴So Jacob went and got the young goats and brought them to his mother, and his mother made delicious food, just like his father loved.

¹⁵Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau, her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son.¹⁶She put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.¹⁷She put the delicious food and the bread that she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob.

¹⁸Jacob went to his father and said, "My father." His father said, "Here I am; who are you, my son?"¹⁹Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you said to me. Now sit up and eat some of my game, that you may bless me."

²⁰Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" He said, "Because Yahweh your God brought it to me."²¹Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near me, so I may touch you, my son, and learn whether you are my true son Esau or not."

²²Jacob went over to Isaac his father; and Isaac touched him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau."²³Isaac did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau's hands, so Isaac blessed him.

²⁴He said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He replied, "I am."²⁵Isaac said, "Bring the food to me, and I will eat of your game, so that I may bless you." Jacob brought the food to him. Isaac ate, and Jacob brought him wine, and he drank.

²⁶Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near now and kiss me, my son."²⁷Jacob came near and kissed him, and he smelled the smell of his clothes and blessed him. He said,

"See, the smell of my son

is like the smell of a field

that Yahweh has blessed.

²⁸May God give you a portion of the dew of heaven,

a portion of the fatness of the earth,

and plenty of grain and new wine.

²⁹May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

Be master over your brothers,

and may your mother's sons bow down to you.

May every one who curses you be cursed;

may every one who blesses you be blessed."

³⁰As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting.³¹He also made delicious food and brought it to his father. He said to his father, "Father, get up and eat some of your son's game, so that you may bless me."

³²Isaac his father said to him, "Who are you?" He said, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau."³³Isaac trembled very much and said, "Who was it that hunted this game and brought it to me? I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed."

³⁴When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a very great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, me also, my father."³⁵Isaac said, "Your brother came here deceitfully and has taken away your blessing."

³⁶Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and, see, now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?"³⁷Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Look, I have made him your master, and I have given to him all his brothers as servants, and I have given him grain and new wine. What more can I do for you, my son?"

³⁸Esau said to his father, "Have you not even one blessing for me, my father? Bless me, even me too, my father." Esau wept loudly.

³⁹Isaac his father answered and said to him,

"Look, the place where you live will be

far from the richness of the earth,

away from the dew of the sky above.

⁴⁰By your sword you will live,

and you will serve your brother.

But when you rebel,

you will break his yoke off of your neck."

⁴¹Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing that his father had given him. Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are near; after that I will kill my brother Jacob."⁴²The words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, "See, your brother Esau is consoling himself about you by planning to kill you.

⁴³Now therefore, my son, obey me and flee to Laban, my brother, in Haran.⁴⁴Stay with him for a while, until your brother's fury subsides,⁴⁵until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you back from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?

⁴⁶Rebekah said to Isaac, "I abhor life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes one of the daughters of Heth as a wife, like these women, some of the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?"

28

¹Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, "You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women.²Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father, and take a wife from there, one of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.

³May God Almighty bless you, make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a community of peoples.⁴May he give you the blessing of Abraham, to you, and to your descendants after you, that you may inherit the land where you have been sojourning, which God gave to Abraham."

⁵So Isaac sent Jacob away. Jacob went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

⁶Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram, to take a wife from there. He also saw that Isaac had blessed him and given him a command, saying, "You must not take a wife from the women of Canaan."⁷Esau also saw that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother, and had gone to Paddan Aram.

⁸Esau saw that the women of Canaan did not please Isaac his father.⁹So he went to Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.

¹⁰Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.¹¹He came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones in that place, put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.

¹²He dreamed and saw a stairway set up on the earth. Its top reached to heaven and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.¹³Behold, Yahweh stood above it and said, "I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying, I will give to you and to your descendants.

¹⁴Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread far out to the west, to the east, to the north, and to the south. Through you and through your descendants will all the families of the earth be blessed.¹⁵Behold, I am with you, and I will keep you wherever you go. I will bring you into this land again; for I will not leave you. I will do all that I have promised to you."

¹⁶Jacob awoke out of his sleep, and he said, "Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I did not know it."¹⁷He was afraid and said, "How terrifying is this place! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven."

¹⁸Jacob arose early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his head. He set it up as a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it.¹⁹He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city originally was Luz.

²⁰Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will protect me on this road on which I am walking, and will give me bread to eat, and clothes to wear,²¹so that I return safely to my father's house, then Yahweh will be my God.²²Then this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be a sacred stone. From everything that you give me, I will surely give a tenth back to you."

29

¹Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.²As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and, behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there by it. For out of that well they would water the flocks, and the stone over the well's mouth was large.³When all the flocks had gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the well's mouth and water the sheep, and then put the stone again over the well's mouth, back in its place.

⁴Jacob said to them, "My brothers, where are you from?" They replied, "We are from Haran."⁵He said to them, "Do you know Laban son of Nahor?" They said, "We know him."⁶He said to them, "Is he well?" They said, "He is well, and, look there, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep."

⁷Jacob said, "See, it is the middle of the day. It is not the time for the flocks to be gathered together. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze."⁸They said, "We cannot water them until all the flocks are gathered together. The men will then roll the stone from the well's mouth, and we will water the sheep."

⁹While Jacob was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was tending them.¹⁰When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother, Jacob came over, rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban, his mother's brother.

¹¹Jacob kissed Rachel and wept loudly.¹²Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's relative, and that he was Rebekah's son. Then she ran and told her father.

¹³When Laban heard the news about Jacob his sister's son, he ran to meet him, embraced him, kissed him, and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things.¹⁴Laban said to him, "You are indeed my bone and my flesh." Then Jacob stayed with him for about one month.

¹⁵Then Laban said to Jacob, "Should you serve me for nothing because you are my relative? Tell me, what will your wages be?"¹⁶Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.¹⁷Leah's eyes were tender, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.¹⁸Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter."

¹⁹Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you, than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me."²⁰So Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed to him only a few days, for the love he had for her.

²¹Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my days have been completed—so that I may go to her!"²²So Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast.

²³In the evening, Laban took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob, who went to her.²⁴Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah, to be her servant.²⁵In the morning, behold, it was Leah! Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?"

²⁶Laban said, "It is not our custom to give the younger daughter before the firstborn.²⁷Complete the bridal week of this daughter, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years."

²⁸Jacob did so, and completed Leah's week. Then Laban gave him Rachel his daughter as his wife also.²⁹Laban also gave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel, to be her servant.³⁰So Jacob went to Rachel, too, but he loved Rachel more than Leah. So Jacob served Laban for seven more years.

³¹Yahweh saw that Leah was not loved, so he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.³²Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben. For she said, "Because Yahweh has looked upon my affliction; surely now my husband will love me."

³³Then she conceived again and bore a son. She said, "Because Yahweh has heard that I am unloved, he has therefore given me this son also," and she called his name Simeon.³⁴Then she conceived again and bore a son. She said, "Now this time will my husband be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi.

³⁵She conceived again and bore a son. She said, "This time I will praise Yahweh." Therefore she called his name Judah; then she stopped having children.

30

¹When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel was jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I will die."²Jacob's anger burned against Rachel. He said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"

³She said, "See, there is my servant Bilhah. Go to her, so she might give birth to children on my knees, and I will have children by her."⁴So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went to her.

⁵Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.⁶Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me, and he has heard my voice and given me a son." For this reason she called his name Dan.

⁷Bilhah, Rachel's servant, conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.⁸Rachel said, "With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister and have prevailed." She called his name Naphtali.

⁹When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took Zilpah, her servant, and gave her to Jacob as a wife.¹⁰Zilpah, Leah's servant, bore Jacob a son.¹¹Leah said, "This is fortunate!" so she called his name Gad.

¹²Then Zilpah, Leah's servant, bore Jacob a second son.¹³Leah said, "I am happy! For the daughters will call me happy." So she called his name Asher.

¹⁴Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field. He brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Give me some of your son's mandrakes."¹⁵Leah said to her, "Is it a small matter to you, that you have taken away my husband? Do you now want to take away my son's mandrakes, too?" Rachel said, "Then he will lie with you tonight, in exchange for your son's mandrakes."

¹⁶Jacob came from the field in the evening. Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must come to me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So Jacob lay with Leah that night.¹⁷God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.¹⁸Leah said, "God has given me my wages, because I gave my servant woman to my husband." She called his name Issachar.

¹⁹Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob.²⁰Leah said, "God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons." She called his name Zebulun.²¹Afterwards she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

²²God called Rachel to mind and listened to her. He caused her to become pregnant.²³She conceived and bore a son. She said, "God has taken away my shame."²⁴She called his name Joseph, saying, "Yahweh has added to me another son."

²⁵After Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away, so that I may go to my own home and to my country.²⁶Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go, for you know the service I have given you."

²⁷Laban said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, wait, because I have learned by using divination that Yahweh has blessed me for your sake."²⁸Then he said, "Name your wages, and I will pay them."

²⁹Jacob said to him, "You know how I have served you, and how your livestock have fared with me.³⁰For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly. Yahweh has blessed you wherever I worked. Now when will I provide for my own household also?"

³¹So Laban said, "What will I pay you?" Jacob said, "You will not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it.³²Let me walk through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep, and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. These will be my wages.

³³My integrity will testify for me later on, when you come to check on my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, if any are found with me, will be considered to be stolen."³⁴Laban said, "Agreed. Let it be according to your word."

³⁵That day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.³⁶Laban also put three days' journey between himself and Jacob. So Jacob kept tending the rest of Laban's flocks.

³⁷Jacob took fresh cut branches of the poplar, almond, and plane trees, and he peeled white streaks in them and made the white inner wood appear that was in the sticks.³⁸Then he set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks, in front of the watering troughs where they came to drink. They conceived when they came to drink.

³⁹The flocks bred in front of the sticks; and the flocks produced striped, speckled, and spotted young.⁴⁰Jacob separated out these lambs, but made the rest of them face toward the striped animals and all the black sheep in the flock of Laban. Then he separated out his flocks for himself alone and did not put them together with Laban's flocks.

⁴¹Whenever the stronger sheep in the flock were breeding, then Jacob would lay the sticks in the watering troughs before the eyes of the flock, so that they might conceive among the sticks.⁴²But when the feebler animals in the flock came, he did not put the sticks in front of them. So the feebler animals were Laban's, and the stronger were Jacob's.

⁴³The man became very prosperous. He had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

31

¹Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, that they said, "Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and it is from our father's possessions that he has gotten all this wealth."²Jacob saw the look on Laban's face. He saw that his attitude toward him had changed.³Then Yahweh said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you."

⁴Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field to his flock⁵and said to them, "I see your father's attitude toward me has changed, but the God of my father has been with me.⁶You know that it is with all my strength that I have served your father.

⁷Your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God has not permitted him to hurt me.⁸If he said, 'The speckled animals will be your wages,' then all the flock bore speckled young. If he said, 'The striped will be your wages,' then the whole flock bore striped young.⁹In this way God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

¹⁰Once at the time of breeding season, I saw in a dream the male goats that were mating with the flock. The male goats were striped, speckled, and spotted.¹¹The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I said, 'Here I am.'

¹²He said, 'Lift up your eyes and see all the male goats that are breeding with the flock. They are striped, speckled, and spotted, for I have seen everything that Laban is doing to you.¹³I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to me. Now rise up and leave this land and return to the land of your birth.'"

¹⁴Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, "Is there any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house?¹⁵Are we not treated by him as foreigners? For he has sold us and has also completely devoured our money.¹⁶For all the riches that God has taken away from our father are now ours and our children's. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do it."

¹⁷Then Jacob arose and placed his sons and his wives upon the camels.¹⁸He drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all his property, including the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram. Then he set out to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

¹⁹When Laban had gone to shear his flock, Rachel stole her father's household gods.²⁰Jacob also deceived Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that he was fleeing.²¹So he fled with all that he had and quickly passed over the River, and headed toward the hill country of Gilead.

²²On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled.²³So he took his relatives with him and pursued him for a seven days' journey. He overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.

²⁴Now God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad."²⁵Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country. Laban also camped with his relatives in the hill country of Gilead. ¹

²⁶Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done, that you deceived me and carried away my daughters like captives of the sword?²⁷Why did you flee secretly and trick me and did not tell me? I would have sent you away with celebration and with songs, with tambourine and with harps.²⁸You did not allow me to kiss my grandsons and my daughters good bye. Now you have acted foolishly.

²⁹It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night and said, 'Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.'³⁰Now you have gone away because you longed to return to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?"

³¹Jacob answered and said to Laban, "I fled secretly because I was afraid and thought that you would take your daughters from me by force.³²Whoever has stolen your gods will not continue to live. In the presence of our relatives, identify whatever with me is yours and take it." For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

³³Laban went into Jacob's tent, into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find them. He went out of Leah's tent and entered into Rachel's tent.

³⁴Now Rachel had taken the household gods, put them in a camel's saddle, and sat upon them. Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them.³⁵She said to her father, "Do not be angry, my master, that I cannot stand up before you, for I am having my period." So he searched but did not find his household gods.

³⁶Jacob was angry and argued with Laban. He said to him, "What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me?³⁷For you have searched all my possessions. What have you found of all your household goods? Set them here before our relatives, so that they may judge between the two of us.

³⁸For twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten any rams from your flocks.³⁹What was torn by beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it. You demanded payment from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.⁴⁰There I was; in the day the heat consumed me, and the frost by night; and I went without sleep.

⁴¹These twenty years I have been in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock. You have changed my wages ten times.⁴²Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the one Isaac fears, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and my toil, and he rebuked you last night."

⁴³Laban answered and said to Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, the grandchildren are my grandchildren, and the flocks are my flocks. All that you see is mine. But what can I do today to these my daughters, or to their children whom they have borne?⁴⁴So now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be for a witness between you and me."

⁴⁵So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.⁴⁶Jacob said to his relatives, "Gather stones." So they took stones and made a pile. Then they ate there by the pile.⁴⁷Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.

⁴⁸Laban said, "This pile is a witness between me and you today." Therefore its name was called Galeed.⁴⁹It is also called Mizpah, because Laban said, "May Yahweh watch between you and me, when we are out of sight one from another.⁵⁰If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take any wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, see, God is witness between you and me."

⁵¹Laban said to Jacob, "Look at this pile, and look at the pillar, which I have set between you and me.⁵²This pile is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this pile to you, and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to me, to do harm.⁵³May the God of Abraham, and the god of Nahor, the gods of their father, judge between us." Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

⁵⁴Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and called his relatives to eat a meal. They ate and spent the entire night on the mountain.⁵⁵Early in the morning Laban got up, kissed his grandsons and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home.

¹Some modern translations have Laban also camped in the hill country of Gilead .

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¹Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him.²When Jacob saw them, he said, "This is God's camp," so he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

³Jacob sent messengers on ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, in the region of Edom.⁴He commanded them, saying, "This is what you will say to my master Esau: This is what your servant Jacob says: 'I have been staying with Laban, and have delayed my return until now.⁵I have cattle and donkeys, and flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent this message to my master, so that I may find favor in your eyes.'"

⁶The messengers returned to Jacob and said, "We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him."⁷Then Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, and also the flocks, the herds, and the camels.⁸He said, "If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it, then the camp that remains will escape."

⁹Jacob said, "God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, Yahweh, who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, and I will prosper you,'¹⁰I am not worthy of all your acts of covenant faithfulness and of all the trustworthiness that you have done for your servant. For with only my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.

¹¹Please rescue me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children.¹²But you said, 'I will certainly make you prosper. I will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for their number.'"

¹³Jacob stayed there that night. He took some of what he had with him as a gift for Esau, his brother:¹⁴two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,¹⁵thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.¹⁶These he gave into the hand of his servants, every herd by itself. He said to his servants, "Go on ahead of me and put a space between each of the herds."

¹⁷He instructed the first servant, saying, "When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, 'To whom do you belong? Where are you going? Whose animals are these that are in front of you?'¹⁸Then you will say, 'They are your servant Jacob's. They are a gift sent to my master Esau. See, he is also coming after us.'"

¹⁹Jacob also gave instructions to the second group, the third, and all the men who followed the herds. He said, "You will say the same thing to Esau when you meet him.²⁰You must also say, 'Your servant Jacob is coming after us.'" For he thought, "I will appease him with the gifts that I am sending ahead of me. Then later, when I will see him, perhaps he will receive me."²¹So the gifts went on ahead of him. He himself stayed that night in the camp.

²²Jacob got up during the night, and he took his two wives, his two women servants, and his eleven sons. He sent them across the ford of the Jabbok.²³In this way he sent them across the stream along with all his possessions.

²⁴Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until dawn.²⁵When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob's hip, so that his hip was dislocated as he wrestled with him.²⁶The man said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

²⁷The man said to him, "What is your name?" Jacob said, "Jacob."²⁸The man said, "Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel. For you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed."

²⁹Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." He said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there.³⁰Jacob called the name of the place Peniel for he said, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is delivered."

³¹The sun rose on Jacob as he passed Peniel. He was limping because of his hip.³²That is why to this day the people of Israel do not eat the ligaments of the hip which are at the hip joint, because the man injured those ligaments while dislocating Jacob's hip.

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¹Jacob looked up and, behold, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. Jacob divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants.²Then he put the female servants and their children in front, followed by Leah and her children, and followed by Rachel and Joseph last of all.³He himself went on ahead of them. He bowed toward the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

⁴Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they wept.⁵When Esau looked up, he saw the women and the children. He said, "Who are these people with you?" Jacob said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant."

⁶Then the female servants came forward with their children, and they bowed down.⁷Next Leah also and her children came forward and bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.⁸Esau said, "What do you mean by all these groups that I met?" Jacob said, "To find favor in the sight of my master."

⁹Esau said, "I have enough, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself."¹⁰Jacob said, "No, please, if I have found favor in your eyes, then accept my gift from my hand, for indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me.¹¹Please accept my gift that was brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough." Thus Jacob urged him, and Esau accepted it.

¹²Then Esau said, "Let us be on our way. I will go before you."¹³Jacob said to him, "My master knows that the children are young, and that the sheep and the cattle are nursing their young. If they are driven hard even one day, all the animals will die.¹⁴Please let my master go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are before me, and at the pace of the children, until I come to my master in Seir."

¹⁵Esau said, "Let me leave with you some of my men who are with me." But Jacob said, "Why do that? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord."¹⁶So Esau that day started on his way back to Seir.¹⁷Jacob traveled to Sukkoth, built himself a house, and made shelters for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Sukkoth.

¹⁸When Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan. He camped near the city.¹⁹Then he bought the piece of ground where he had pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of silver.²⁰There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.

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¹Now Dinah, Leah's daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went out to meet the young women of the land.²Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her and lay with her, and he humiliated her.³He was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.

⁴Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, "Get this young woman for me as a wife."⁵Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. His sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came.

⁶Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.⁷The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard of the matter. The men were offended. They were very angry because he had disgraced Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing should not have been done.

⁸Hamor spoke with them, saying, "My son Shechem loves your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.⁹Intermarry with us, give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.¹⁰You will live with us, and the land will be open to you to live and trade in, and to acquire property."

¹¹Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you tell me I will give.¹²Ask me for as great a bride price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me, but give me the young woman as a wife."¹³The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit, because Shechem had defiled Dinah their sister.

¹⁴They said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to anyone who is uncircumcised; for that would be a disgrace to us.¹⁵Only on this condition will we agree with you: If you will become circumcised as we are, if every male among you is circumcised.¹⁶Then will we give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people.¹⁷But if you do not listen to us and become circumcised, then we will take our sister and we will leave."

¹⁸Their words pleased Hamor and his son Shechem.¹⁹The young man did not delay to do what they said, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter, and because he was the most honored person in all his father's household.

²⁰Hamor and Shechem his son went to the gate of their city and spoke with the men of their city, saying,²¹"These men are at peace with us, so let them live in the land and trade in it for, really, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters.

²²Only on this condition will the men agree to live with us and become one people: If every male among us is circumcised, as they are circumcised.²³Will not their livestock and their property—all their animals be ours? So let us agree with them, and they will live among us."

²⁴All who went out to the gates of his city listened to Hamor and Shechem, his son. All males were circumcised, all who went out to the gates of his city.²⁵On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of the sons of Jacob (Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers), each took his sword and they attacked the city that was certain of its security, and they killed all the males.²⁶They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword. They took Dinah from Shechem's house and went away.

²⁷The other sons of Jacob came to the dead bodies and plundered the city, because the people had defiled their sister.²⁸They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, and everything in the city and in the surrounding fields.²⁹They captured all their wealth, all their children, and their wives. They even plundered everything that was in the houses.

³⁰Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me, to make me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number. If they gather themselves together against me and attack me, then I will be destroyed, I and my household."³¹But Simeon and Levi said, "Should Shechem have dealt with our sister as with a prostitute?"

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¹God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there. Build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from Esau your brother."²Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your clothes.³Then let us depart and go up to Bethel. I will build an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and has been with me wherever I have gone."

⁴So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their hand, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob buried them under the oak that was near Shechem.⁵As they traveled, God made panic to fall on the cities that were around them, so those people did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

⁶So Jacob arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.⁷He built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him, when he was fleeing from his brother.⁸Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died. She was buried down from Bethel under the oak tree, so it was called Allon Bakuth.

⁹When Jacob came from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.¹⁰God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but your name will no longer be called Jacob. Your name will be Israel." So God called his name Israel.

¹¹God said to him, "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants.¹²The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you. To your descendants after you I also give the land."¹³God went up from him in the place where he spoke with him.

¹⁴Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken to him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering over it and poured oil on it.¹⁵Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

¹⁶They journeyed on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor. She had hard labor.¹⁷While she was in hardest labor, the midwife said to her, "Do not be afraid, for now you will have another son."¹⁸As she was dying, with her dying breath she named him Ben-Oni, but his father called him Benjamin.¹⁹Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).²⁰Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave. It is the marker of Rachel's grave to this day.

²¹Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond the watchtower of the flock.²²While Israel was living in that land, Reuben lay with Bilhah his father's concubine, and Israel heard of it.

Now Jacob had twelve sons.

²³His sons by Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

²⁴His sons by Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

²⁵His sons by Bilhah, Rachel's female servant, were Dan and Naphtali.

²⁶The sons of Zilpah, Leah's female servant, were Gad and Asher. All these were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.

²⁷Jacob came to Isaac, his father, in Mamre in Kiriath Arba (the same as Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had lived.

²⁸Isaac lived for one hundred eighty years.²⁹Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his ancestors, an old man full of days. Esau and Jacob, his sons, buried him.

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¹These were the descendants of Esau (also called Edom).

²Esau took his wives from the Canaanites. These were his wives: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite; Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite;³and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebaioth.

⁴Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel.⁵Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

⁶Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock—all his other animals, and all his possessions, which he had gathered in the land of Canaan, and went into a land away from his brother Jacob.⁷He did this because their possessions were too many for them to stay together. The land where they were sojourning could not support them because of their livestock.⁸So Esau, also known as Edom, settled in the hill country of Seir.

⁹These were the descendants of Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.

¹⁰These were the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz son of Adah, the wife of Esau; Reuel son of Basemath, the wife of Esau.

¹¹The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

¹²Timna, a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son, bore Amalek. These were the grandsons of Adah, Esau's wife.

¹³These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the grandsons of Basemath, Esau's wife.

¹⁴These were the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife, who was the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon. She bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

¹⁵These were the clans among Esau's descendants: the descendants of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,¹⁶Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These were the clans descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom. They were the grandsons of Adah.

¹⁷These were the clans from Reuel, Esau's son: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, Mizzah. These were the clans descended from Reuel in the land of Edom. They were the grandsons of Basemath, Esau's wife.

¹⁸These were the clans of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: Jeush, Jalam, Korah. These are the clans that descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah.¹⁹These were the sons of Esau (who was known as Edom), and these were their chiefs.

²⁰These were the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,²¹Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the clans of the Horites, the inhabitants of Seir in the land of Edom.

²²The sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman, and Timna was Lotan's sister.

²³These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

²⁴These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he was pasturing donkeys of Zibeon his father.

²⁵These were the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

²⁶These were the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

²⁷These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

²⁸These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

²⁹These were the clans of the Horites: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, and Anah,³⁰Dishon, Ezer, Dishan: These were clans of the Horites, according to their clan lists in the land of Seir.

³¹These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the sons of Israel:

³²Bela son of Beor, reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah.

³³When Bela died, then Jobab son of Zerah of Bozrah, reigned in his place.

³⁴When Jobab died, Husham who was of the land of the Temanites, reigned in his place.

³⁵When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab, reigned in his place. The name of his city was Avith.

³⁶When Hadad died, then Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.

³⁷When Samlah died, then Shaul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his place.

³⁸When Shaul died, then Baal-Hanan son of Akbor reigned in his place.

³⁹When Baal-Hanan son of Akbor died, then Hadar reigned in his place. The name of his city was Pau. His wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the granddaughter of Me-Zahab.

⁴⁰These were the names of the heads of clans from Esau's descendants, according to their clans and their regions, by their names: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,⁴¹Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,⁴²Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,⁴³Magdiel, and Iram. These were the clan heads of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they possessed. This was Esau, the father of the Edomites.

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¹Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.

²This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, who was a young man seventeen years old, was guarding the flock with his brothers. He was with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph brought an unfavorable report about them to their father.

³Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was the son of his old age. He made him a beautifully decorated garment.⁴His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers. They hated him and would not speak peaceably to him.

⁵Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told his brothers about it. They hated him even more.⁶He said to them, "Please listen to this dream which I dreamed.

⁷Behold, we were tying bundles of grain in the field and behold, my bundle rose and stood upright, and behold, your bundles came around and bowed down to my bundle."⁸His brothers said to him, "Will you really reign over us? Will you actually rule over us?" They hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹He dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers. He said, "Look, I have dreamed another dream: The sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me."¹⁰He told it to his father just as to his brothers, and his father rebuked him. He said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come to bow down to the ground to you?"¹¹His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

¹²His brothers went to tend their father's flock in Shechem.¹³Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers tending the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." Joseph said to him, "I am ready."¹⁴He said to him, "Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers and well with the flock, and bring me word." So Jacob sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and Joseph went to Shechem.

¹⁵A certain man found Joseph. Behold, Joseph was wandering in a field. The man asked him, "What do you seek?"¹⁶Joseph said, "I am seeking my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are tending the flock."¹⁷The man said, "They left this place, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

¹⁸They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they plotted against him to kill him.¹⁹His brothers said to one another, "Look, this master of dreams is approaching.²⁰Come now, therefore, let us kill him and cast him into one of the pits. We will say, 'A wild animal has devoured him.' We will see what will become of his dreams."

²¹Reuben heard it and rescued him from their hand. He said, "Let us not take his life."²²Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him"—that he might rescue him out of their hand to bring him back to his father.

²³It came about that when Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his beautifully decorated garment.²⁴They took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty with no water in it.

²⁵They sat down to eat bread. They lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh. They were traveling to carry them down to Egypt.²⁶Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?

²⁷Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands upon him. For he is our brother, our flesh." His brothers listened to him.²⁸The Midianite merchants passed by. His brothers drew Joseph up and lifted him up out of the pit. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites carried Joseph into Egypt.

²⁹Reuben returned to the pit, and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit. He tore his clothes.³⁰He returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is not there! And I, where can I go?"

³¹They slaughtered a goat and then took Joseph's garment and dipped it into the blood.³²Then they brought the beautifully decorated garment to their father and said, "We found this. Please see whether it is your son's garment or not."³³Jacob recognized it and said, "It is my son's clothing. A wild animal has devoured him. Joseph has certainly been torn to pieces."

³⁴Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth upon his loins. He mourned for his son many days.³⁵All his sons and daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, "Indeed I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son." His father wept for him.³⁶The Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard.

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¹It came about at that time that Judah left his brothers and stayed with a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.²He met there a daughter of a Canaanite man whose name was Shua. He took her and went to her.

³She conceived and had a son. He was named Er.⁴She conceived again and had a son. She called his name Onan.⁵She again had a son and called his name Shelah. It was at Kezib where she gave birth to him.

⁶Judah found a wife for Er, his firstborn. Her name was Tamar.⁷Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of Yahweh. Yahweh killed him.

⁸Judah said to Onan, "Go to your brother's wife. Do the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up a child for your brother."⁹Onan knew that the child would not be his. Whenever he went to his brother's wife, he wasted it on the ground so he would not have a child for his brother.¹⁰What he did was evil in the sight of Yahweh. Yahweh killed him also.

¹¹Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house until Shelah, my son, grows up." For he feared, "He might also die, just like his brothers." Tamar left and lived in her father's house.

¹²After a long time, Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted and went up to the shearers of his sheep at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.¹³Tamar was told, "Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep."¹⁴She took off the clothing of her widowhood and covered herself with her veil and wrapped herself. She sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah had grown up but she had not been given to him as a wife.

¹⁵When Judah saw her he thought that she was a prostitute because she had covered her face.¹⁶He went to her by the road and said, "Come, please let me come to you"—for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law—and she said, "What will you give me so you can come to me?"

¹⁷He said, "I will send you a young goat from the flock." She said, "Will you give me a pledge until you send it?"¹⁸He said, "What pledge can I give you?" She replied, "Your seal and cord, and the staff that is in your hand." He gave them to her and he went to her, and she conceived by him.

¹⁹She got up and went away. She took off her veil and put on the clothing of her widowhood.²⁰Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order that he might receive the pledge back from the woman's hand, but he did not find her.

²¹Then the Adullamite asked the men of the place, "Where is the cultic prostitute who was at Enaim by the road?" They said, "There has not been a cultic prostitute here."²²He returned to Judah and said, "I did not find her. Also, the men of the place said, 'There has not been a cultic prostitute here.'"²³Judah said, "Let her keep the things, that we not be put to shame. Indeed, I sent this young goat, but you did not find her."

²⁴It came about after about three months that it was told to Judah, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has committed prostitution, and indeed, she is pregnant by it." Judah said, "Bring her here and let her be burned."²⁵When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law a message, "By the man who owns these I am pregnant." She said, "Determine please whose these are, the seal and cords and staff."²⁶Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I am, since I did not give her as a wife to Shelah, my son." He did not know her again.

²⁷It came about at the time for her to give birth that, behold, twins were in her womb.²⁸It came about as she was giving birth one put out a hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand and said, "This one came out first."

²⁹But then he drew back his hand, and, behold, his brother came out first. The midwife said, "How you have broken out!" So he was named Perez.³⁰Then his brother came out, who had the scarlet thread upon his hand, and he was named Zerah.

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¹Joseph was brought down to Egypt. Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh who was captain of the guard and an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down there.²Yahweh was with Joseph and he became a prosperous man. He lived in the house of his Egyptian master.

³His master saw that Yahweh was with him and that Yahweh prospered everything that he did.⁴Joseph found favor in his sight. He served Potiphar. Potiphar made Joseph manager over his house, and everything that he possessed, he put under his care.

⁵It came about from the time that he made him manager over his house and over everything he possessed, that Yahweh blessed the Egyptian's house because of Joseph. The blessing of Yahweh was on everything that Potiphar had in the house and in the field.⁶Potiphar put everything that he had under Joseph's care. He did not have to think about anything except the food that he ate. Now Joseph was handsome and attractive.

⁷It came about after this that his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, "Lie with me."⁸But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Look, my master does not pay attention to what I do in the house, and he has put everything that he owns under my care.⁹No one is greater in this house than I am. He has not kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?"

¹⁰She spoke to Joseph day after day, but he refused to lie with her or to be with her.¹¹It came about one day that he went into the house to do his work. None of the men of the house were there in the house.¹²She caught him by his clothes and said, "Lie with me." He left his clothing in her hand, fled, and went outside.

¹³It came about, when she saw that he had left his clothing in her hand and had fled outside,¹⁴that she called to the men of her house and told them, "See, Potiphar has brought in a Hebrew to mock us. He came to me to lie with me, and I screamed.¹⁵It came about when he heard me scream, that he left his clothing with me, fled, and went outside."

¹⁶She set his clothing next to her until his master came home.¹⁷She told him this explanation, "The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us, came in to mock me.¹⁸It came about that when I screamed, he left his clothing with me and fled outside."

¹⁹It came about that, when his master heard the explanation his wife told him, "This is what your servant did to me," he became very angry.²⁰Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. He was there in the prison.

²¹But Yahweh was with Joseph and showed covenant faithfulness to him. He gave him favor in the sight of the prison warden.²²The prison warden gave into Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever they did there, Joseph was in charge of it.²³The prison warden did not worry about anything that was in his hand, because Yahweh was with him. Whatever he did, Yahweh prospered.

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¹It came about that after these things, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and king's baker offended their master, the king of Egypt.²Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief of the cupbearers and the chief of the bakers.³He put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined.

⁴The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to them, and he served them. They remained in custody for some time.⁵Both of them dreamed a dream—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt who were confined in the prison—each man had his own dream in the same night, and each dream had its own interpretation.

⁶Joseph came to them in the morning and saw them. Behold, they were upset.⁷He asked Pharaoh's officials who were with him in custody in his master's house, saying, "Why do you look so sad today?"⁸They said to him, "We have both dreamed a dream and no one can interpret it." Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me, please."

⁹The chief of the cupbearers told his dream to Joseph. He said to him, "In my dream, behold, a vine was in front of me.¹⁰In the vine were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms came out and the clusters of grapes ripened.¹¹Pharaoh's cup was in my hand. I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I placed the cup into Pharaoh's hand."

¹²Joseph said to him, "This is the interpretation of it. The three branches are three days.¹³Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh's cup into his hand, just as when you were his cupbearer.

¹⁴But think of me when it goes well with you, and please show kindness to me. Mention me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison.¹⁵For indeed I was abducted out of the land of the Hebrews. Here also have I done nothing that they should put me in this dungeon."

¹⁶When the chief of the bakers saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, "I also had a dream, and, behold, three baskets of bread were on my head.¹⁷In the top basket there were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds ate them out of the basket on my head."

¹⁸Joseph answered and said, "This is the interpretation. The three baskets are three days.¹⁹Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree. The birds will eat your flesh off you."

²⁰It came about on the third day that it was Pharaoh's birthday. He made a feast for all his servants. He lifted up the head of the chief of the cupbearers and the head of the chief of the bakers, among his servants.²¹He restored the chief of the cupbearers to his responsibility, and he put the cup into Pharaoh's hand again.²²But he hanged the chief of the bakers, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.²³Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot about him.

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¹It came about at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream. Behold, he stood by the Nile.²Behold, seven cows came up out of the Nile, desirable and fat, and they grazed in the reeds.³Behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the Nile, undesirable and thin. They stood by the other cows on the bank of the river.

⁴Then the undesirable and thin cows ate the seven desirable and fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.⁵Then he slept and dreamed a second time. Behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, wholesome and good.⁶Behold, seven heads, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them.

⁷The thin heads swallowed up the seven wholesome and full heads. Pharaoh woke up, and, behold, it was a dream.⁸It came about in the morning that his spirit was troubled. He sent and called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

⁹Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "I have remembered my sins today.¹⁰Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, the chief baker and me.¹¹We dreamed a dream the same night, he and I. We dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.

¹²There was with us there a young Hebrew man, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him and he interpreted for us our dreams. He interpreted for each of us according to his dream.¹³It came about as he interpreted for us, so it happened. Pharaoh restored me to my post, but the other one he hanged."

¹⁴Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph. They quickly took him out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came in to Pharaoh.¹⁵Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, but there is no interpreter for it. But I have heard about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."¹⁶Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me. God will answer Pharaoh with favor."

¹⁷Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, "In my dream, behold, I stood on the bank of the Nile.¹⁸Behold, seven cows came up out of the Nile, fat and desirable, and they grazed among the reeds.

¹⁹Behold, seven other cows came up after them, weak, very undesirable, and thin. I never saw in all the land of Egypt such undesirableness like them.²⁰The thin and undesirable cows ate up the first seven fat cows.²¹When they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them, for they were still as undesirable as before. Then I awoke.

²²I looked in my dream, and, behold, seven heads came up upon one stalk, full and good.²³Behold, seven more heads—withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind—sprang up after them.²⁴The thin heads swallowed up the seven good heads. I told these dreams to the magicians, but there was none that could explain it to me."

²⁵Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are the same. What God is about to do, he has declared to Pharaoh.²⁶The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years. The dreams are the same.

²⁷The seven thin and undesirable cows that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven thin heads scorched by the east wind will be seven years of famine.²⁸That is the thing which I spoke to Pharaoh. What God is about to do he has revealed to Pharaoh.²⁹Look, seven years of great abundance will come throughout all the land of Egypt.

³⁰Seven years of famine will come after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will devastate the land.³¹The abundance will not be remembered in the land because of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe.³²That the dream was repeated to Pharaoh is because the matter has been established by God, and God will soon do it.

³³Now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and put him over the land of Egypt.³⁴Let Pharaoh appoint officials over the land, and let them take a fifth of the crops of Egypt in the seven abundant years.

³⁵Let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, for food to be used in the cities. They should preserve it.³⁶The food will be a supply for the land for the seven years of famine which will be in the land of Egypt. In this way the land will not be devastated by the famine."

³⁷This advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.³⁸Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a man as this, in whom is the Spirit of God?"

³⁹So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you.⁴⁰You will be over my house, and according to your word will all my people be ruled. Only in the throne will I be greater than you."⁴¹Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have put you over all the land of Egypt."

⁴²Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it upon Joseph's hand. He clothed him with clothes of fine linen, and put a gold chain on his neck.⁴³He had him ride in the second chariot which he possessed. Men shouted before him, "Bend the knee." Pharaoh put him over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁴Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and apart from you, no man will lift his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt."⁴⁵Pharaoh called Joseph's name "Zaphenath-Paneah." He gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as a wife. Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.⁴⁷In the seven bountiful years the land produced abundantly.

⁴⁸He gathered up all the food of the seven years that was in the land of Egypt and put the food in the cities. He put into each city the food from the fields that surrounded it.⁴⁹Joseph stored up grain like the sand of the sea, so much that he stopped counting, because it was beyond counting.

⁵⁰Joseph had two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him.⁵¹Joseph called the name of his firstborn Manasseh, for he said, "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household."⁵²He called the name of the second son Ephraim, for he said, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."

⁵³The seven years of abundance that was in the land of Egypt came to an end.⁵⁴The seven years of famine began, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was food.

⁵⁵When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people loudly called on Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph and do what he says."⁵⁶The famine was over all the face of the whole land. Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. The famine was severe in the land of Egypt.⁵⁷All the earth was coming to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.

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¹Now Jacob became aware that there was grain in Egypt. He said to his sons, "Why do you look at one another?"²He said, "See here, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy for us from there so we may live and not die."³Joseph's ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.⁴But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with his brothers, for he said, "I fear that harm might come to him."

⁵The sons of Israel came to buy among those who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.⁶Now Joseph was the governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

⁷Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke severely with them. He said to them, "Where have you come from?" They said, "From the land of Canaan to buy food."⁸Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

⁹Then Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see the undefended parts of the land."¹⁰They said to him, "No, my master. Your servants have come to buy food.¹¹We are all one man's sons. We are honest men. Your servants are not spies."

¹²He said to them, "No, you have come to see the undefended parts of the land."¹³They said, "We your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. See, the youngest is this day with our father, and one brother is no longer alive."

¹⁴Joseph said to them, "It is what I said to you; you are spies.¹⁵By this you will be tested. By the life of Pharaoh, you will not leave here, unless your youngest brother comes here.¹⁶Send one of yourselves and let him get your brother. You will remain in prison, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies."¹⁷He put them all in custody for three days.

¹⁸Joseph said to them on the third day, "Do this and live, for I fear God.¹⁹If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in this prison, but you go, carry grain for the famine of your houses.²⁰Bring your youngest brother to me so your words will be verified and you will not die." So they did so.

²¹They said to one another, "We are truly guilty concerning our brother in that we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us and we would not listen. Therefore this distress has come upon us."²²Reuben answered them, "Did I not tell you, 'Do not sin against the boy,' but you would not listen? Now, see, his blood is required of us."

²³They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them.²⁴He turned from them and wept. He returned to them and spoke to them. He took Simeon from among them and bound him before their eyes.²⁵Then Joseph commanded his servants to fill his brothers' bags with grain, and to put every man's money back into his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. It was done for them.

²⁶The brothers loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed from there.²⁷As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed in the lodging place, he saw his money. Behold, it was in the opening of his sack.²⁸He said to his brothers, "My money has been put back. Look at it; it is in my sack." Their hearts sank and they turned trembling to one another, saying, "What is this that God has done to us?"

²⁹They went to Jacob, their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them. They said,³⁰"The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly with us and thought that we were spies in the land.³¹We said to him, 'We are honest men. We are not spies.³²We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no longer alive, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.'

³³The man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'By this I will know that you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, take grain for the famine in your houses, and go your way.³⁴Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. Then I will release your brother to you, and you will trade in the land.'"

³⁵It came about as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bag of silver was in his sack. When they and their father saw their bags of silver, they were afraid.³⁶Jacob their father said to them, "You have bereaved me of my children. Joseph is no longer alive, Simeon is gone, and you will take Benjamin away. All these things are against me."

³⁷Reuben spoke to his father, saying, "You may kill my two sons if I do not bring Benjamin back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him to you again."³⁸Jacob said, "My son will not go down with you. For his brother is dead and he alone is left. If harm comes to him on the road in which you go, then you will bring down my gray hair with sorrow to Sheol."

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¹The famine was severe in the land.²It came about when they had eaten the grain that they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, "Go again; buy us some food."

³Judah told him, "The man solemnly warned us, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.'⁴If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.⁵But if you do not send him, we will not go down. For the man said to us, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.'"

⁶Israel said, "Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man that you had another brother?"⁷They said, "The man asked details about us and our family. He said, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' We answered him according to these questions. How could we have known that he would say, 'Bring your brother down?'"

⁸Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy with me. We will rise and go that we may live and not die, both we, you, and also our children.⁹I will be a guarantee for him. You will hold me responsible. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.¹⁰For if we had not delayed, surely by now we would have come back here a second time."

¹¹Their father Israel said to them, "If it be so, now do this. Take some of the best products of the land in your bags. Carry down to the man a gift—some balm and honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.¹²Take double money in your hand. The money that was returned in the opening of your sacks, carry again in your hand. Perhaps it was a mistake.

¹³Take also your brother. Rise and go again to the man.¹⁴May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, so that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved."¹⁵The men took this gift, and in their hand they took double the amount of money, along with Benjamin. They got up and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

¹⁶When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Bring the men into the house, slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon."¹⁷The steward did as Joseph said. He brought the men to Joseph's house.

¹⁸The men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house. They said, "It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time we were brought in, that he may seek an opportunity against us. He might arrest us and take us as slaves, and take our donkeys."¹⁹They approached the steward of Joseph's house, and they spoke to him at the door of the house,²⁰saying, "My master, we came down the first time to buy food.

²¹It came about, when we reached the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the opening of his sack, our money in full weight. We have brought it back in our hands.²²Other money we have also brought down in our hand to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks."²³The steward said, "Peace be to you, do not fear. Your God and the God of your father must have put your money in your sacks. I received your money." The steward then brought Simeon out to them.

²⁴The steward took the men into Joseph's house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. He gave feed to their donkeys.²⁵They prepared the gifts for Joseph's coming at noon, for they had heard that they would eat there.

²⁶When Joseph came home, they brought the gifts which were in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the ground.²⁷He asked them about their welfare and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"

²⁸They said, "Your servant our father is well. He is still alive." And they bowed down and gave him honor.²⁹When he lifted up his eyes he saw Benjamin his brother, his mother's son, and he said, "Is this your youngest brother of whom you spoke to me?" Then he said, "May God be gracious to you, my son."

³⁰Joseph hurried to go out of the room, for he was deeply moved about his brother. He sought somewhere to weep. He went to his room and wept there.³¹He washed his face and came out. He controlled himself, saying, "Serve the food."

³²The servants served Joseph by himself and the brothers by themselves. The Egyptians there ate with him by themselves because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is detestable to the Egyptians.³³The brothers sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth. The men were astonished together.³⁴Joseph sent portions to them from the food in front of him. But Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of his brothers. They drank freely and were merry with him.

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¹Joseph commanded the steward of his house, saying, "Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's opening.²Put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's opening of the youngest, and also his money for the grain." The steward did as Joseph had said.

³The morning dawned, and the men were sent away, they and their donkeys.⁴When they were out of the city but were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, "Get up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, 'Why have you returned evil for good?⁵Is this not the cup from which my master drinks, and the cup that he uses for divination? You have done evil, this thing that you have done.'"

⁶The steward overtook them and spoke these words to them.⁷They said to him, "Why does my master speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants that they would do such a thing.

⁸Look, the money that we found in our sacks' openings, we brought again to you out of the land of Canaan. How then could we steal out of your master's house silver or gold?⁹If any of your servants is found with it, let him die, and we also will be my master's slaves."¹⁰The steward said, "Now also let it be according to your words. He with whom the cup is found will be my slave, and you others will be innocent."

¹¹Then each man hurried and brought his sack down to the ground, and each man opened his sack.¹²The steward searched. He began with the oldest and finished with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.¹³Then they tore their clothes. Each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city.

¹⁴Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house. He was still there, and they bowed before him to the ground.¹⁵Joseph said to them, "What is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me practices divination?"

¹⁶Judah said, "What can we say to my master? What can we speak? Or how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Look, we are my master's slaves, both we and he also in whose hand the cup was found."¹⁷Joseph said, "Far be it from me that I should do so. The man in whose hand the cup was found, that person will be my slave, but as for you others, go up in peace to your father."

¹⁸Then Judah came near to him and said, "My master, please let your servant speak a word in my master's ears, and do not let your anger burn against your servant, for you are just like Pharaoh.¹⁹My master asked his servants, saying, 'Do you have a father or a brother?'

²⁰We said to my master, 'We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one. But his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.'²¹Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me that I may see him.'²²After that, we said to my master, 'The boy cannot leave his father. For if he should leave his father his father would die.'

²³Then you said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.'²⁴Then it came about when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my master.²⁵Our father said, 'Go again, buy us some food.'²⁶Then we said, 'We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then will we go down, for we will not be able to see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.'

²⁷Your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two sons.²⁸One of them went out from me and I said, "Surely he is torn in pieces, and I have not seen him since."²⁹Now if you also take this one from me, and harm comes to him, you will bring down my gray hair with sorrow to Sheol.'

³⁰Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the young man is not with us, since his life is bound up in the boy's life,³¹it will come about, when he sees the boy is not with us, he will die. Your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol.³²For your servant became a guarantee for the boy to my father and said, 'If I do not bring him to you, then I will bear the guilt to my father forever.'

³³Now therefore, please let your servant stay instead of the boy as slave to my master, and let the boy go up with his brothers.³⁴For how can I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? I am afraid to see the evil that would come on my father."

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¹Then Joseph could not control himself before all the servants who stood by him. He said loudly, "Everyone must leave me." So no servant stood by him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.²He wept loudly, the Egyptians heard it, and the house of Pharaoh heard of it.³Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" His brothers could not answer him, for they were shocked in his presence.

⁴Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." They came near. He said, "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.⁵Do not be grieved or angry with yourselves that you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to preserve life.⁶For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.

⁷God sent me ahead of you to preserve you as a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.⁸So now it was not you who sent me here but God, and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, master of all his house, and ruler of all the land of Egypt.

⁹Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'This is what your son Joseph says, "God has made me master of all Egypt. Come down to me, do not delay.¹⁰You will live in the land of Goshen, and you will be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks and your herds, and all that you have.¹¹I will provide for you there, for there are still five years of famine, so that you do not come to poverty, you, your household, and all that you have."'

¹²Look, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaks to you.¹³You will tell my father about all my honor in Egypt and of all that you have seen. You will hurry and bring my father down here."

¹⁴He hugged his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.¹⁵He kissed all his brothers and wept over them. After that his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶The news of the matter was told in Pharaoh's house: "Joseph's brothers have come." It pleased Pharaoh and his servants very much.¹⁷Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this: Load your animals and go to the land of Canaan.¹⁸Get your father and your households and come to me. I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.'

¹⁹Now you are commanded, 'Do this, take carts out of the land of Egypt for your children and for your wives. Get your father and come.²⁰Do not be concerned about your possessions, for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.'"

²¹The sons of Israel did so. Joseph gave them carts, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey.²²To all of them he gave each man changes of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing.²³For his father he sent this: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt; and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and other supplies for his father for the journey.

²⁴So he sent his brothers away and they left. He said to them, "See that you do not quarrel on the journey."²⁵They went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan, to Jacob their father.²⁶They told him saying "Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." His heart was astonished, for he could not believe what they told him.

²⁷They told him all the words of Joseph that he had said to them. When Jacob saw the carts that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived.²⁸Israel said, "It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."

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¹Israel made his journey with all that he had and went to Beersheba. There he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.²God spoke to Israel in a vision at night, saying, "Jacob, Jacob." He said, "Here I am."³He said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not fear to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you a great nation.⁴I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will surely bring you up again and Joseph will close your eyes with his own hand."

⁵Jacob rose up from Beersheba. The sons of Israel transported Jacob their father, their children, and their wives, in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to carry him.⁶They took their livestock and their possessions that they had accumulated in the land of Canaan. They came into Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him.⁷He brought with him to Egypt his sons and his sons' sons, his daughters and his sons' daughters, and all his descendants.

⁸These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt: Jacob and his descendants, Reuben, Jacob's firstborn;

⁹the sons of Reuben, Hanok, Pallu, Hezron, and Karmi;

¹⁰the sons of Simeon, Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman;

¹¹and the sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹²The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

¹³The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.

¹⁴The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.¹⁵These were the sons of Leah whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, along with his daughter Dinah. His sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three.

¹⁶The sons of Gad were Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

¹⁷The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah; and Serah was their sister. The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel.¹⁸These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban had given to Leah his daughter. These sons she bore to Jacob—sixteen in all.

¹⁹The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.²⁰In Egypt Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On.

²¹The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.²²These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob—fourteen in all.

²³The son of Dan was Hushim.

²⁴The sons of Naphtali were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.²⁵These were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter—seven in all.

²⁶All those who went to Egypt with Jacob, who were his direct descendants, not counting Jacob's sons' wives, were sixty-six in all.²⁷With the two sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt, the people of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy in all.

²⁸Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him to Goshen, and they came to the land of Goshen.²⁹Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He saw him, hugged his neck, and wept on his neck a long time.³⁰Israel said to Joseph, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive."

³¹Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's house, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh, saying, 'My brothers and my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.³²The men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock. They have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.'

³³It will come about, when Pharaoh calls you and asks, 'What is your occupation?'³⁴that you should say, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth until now, both we, and our forefathers.' Do this so that you may live in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians."

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¹Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, "My father and my brothers, their flocks, their herds, and all that they own, have arrived from the land of Canaan. See, they are in the land of Goshen."²He took five of his brothers and introduced them to Pharaoh.

³Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" They said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, as our ancestors."⁴Then they said to Pharaoh, "We come as temporary residents in the land. There is no pasture for your servants' flocks, because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen."

⁵Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and your brothers have come to you.⁶The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best region, the land of Goshen. If you know any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock."

⁷Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and presented him to Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh.⁸Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How long have you lived?"⁹Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my sojourning are 130. The years of my life have been few and painful. They have not been as long as the days of my ancestors' sojourning."¹⁰Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.

¹¹Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers. He gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.¹²Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all his father's household, according to the number of their little ones.

¹³Now there was no food in all the land; for the famine was severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wasted away because of the famine.¹⁴Joseph gathered all the money that was in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, by selling grain to the inhabitants. Then Joseph brought the money to Pharaoh's palace.

¹⁵When all the money of the lands of Egypt and Canaan was spent, all the Egyptians came to Joseph saying, "Give us food! Why should we die in your presence because our money is gone?"¹⁶Joseph said, "If your money is gone, bring your livestock and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock."¹⁷So they brought their livestock to Joseph. Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, for the flocks, for the herds, and for the donkeys. He fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.

¹⁸When that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, "We will not hide from my master that our money is all gone, and the herds of cattle are my master's. There is nothing left in the sight of my master, except our bodies and our land.¹⁹Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate."

²⁰So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. For every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was very severe. In this way, the land became Pharaoh's.²¹As for the people, he made them slaves from one end of Egypt's border to the other end.²²It was only the land of the priests that Joseph did not buy, because the priests were given an allowance. They ate from the allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore they did not sell their land.

²³Then Joseph said to the people, "See, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you will plant the land.²⁴At the harvest, you must give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four parts will be your own, for seed of the field and for food for your households and your little ones."

²⁵They said, "You have saved our lives. May we find favor in your eyes. We will be Pharaoh's servants."²⁶So Joseph made it a statute which is in effect in the land of Egypt to this day, that one-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh's.

²⁷So Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. His people gained possessions there. They were fruitful and multiplied greatly.²⁸Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, so the years of Jacob's life were one hundred forty-seven years.

²⁹When the time approached for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh, and show me faithfulness and trustworthiness. Please do not bury me in Egypt.³⁰When I lie down with my fathers, you will carry me out of Egypt and bury me in my forefathers' burial place." Joseph said, "I will do as you have said."³¹Israel said, "Swear to me," and Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed down at the head of his bed.

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¹It came about after these things, that one said to Joseph, "Look, your father is sick." So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.²When Jacob was told, "Look, your son Joseph has arrived to see you," Israel gathered strength and sat up in bed.

³Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan. He blessed me⁴and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you. I will make of you an assembly of nations. I will give this land to your descendants as an everlasting possession.'

⁵Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, they are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.⁶The offspring who are born after them will be yours; they will be listed under the names of their brothers in their inheritance.⁷But as for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, while there was still some distance to go to Ephrath. I buried her there on the way to Ephrath" (that is, Bethlehem).

⁸When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Whose are these?"⁹Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." Israel said, "Bring them to me, that I may bless them."¹⁰Now Israel's eyes were failing because of his age, so he could not see. So Joseph brought them near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.

¹¹Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face again, but God has even allowed me to see your children."¹²Joseph brought them out from between Israel's knees, and then he bowed with his face to the earth.¹³Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them close to him.

¹⁴Israel reached out with his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head. He crossed his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn.¹⁵Israel blessed Joseph, saying,

"The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,

the God who has cared for me to this day,

¹⁶the angel who has protected me from all harm,

may he bless these boys.

May my name be named in them,

and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.

May they grow into a multitude on the earth."

¹⁷When Joseph saw his father place his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. He took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.¹⁸Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand upon his head."

¹⁹His father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. Yet his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a multitude of nations."²⁰Israel blessed them that day with these words,

"The people of Israel will pronounce blessings by your names saying,

'May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh'."

In this way, Israel put Ephraim before Manasseh.

²¹Israel said to Joseph, "See, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and will bring you back to the land of your fathers.²²To you, as one who is above your brothers, I give to you the mountain slope that I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow."

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¹Then Jacob called for his sons, and said:

"Gather yourselves together,

that I may tell you what will happen to you in the future.

²Assemble yourselves and listen, you sons of Jacob.

Listen to Israel, your father.

³Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might,

and the beginning of my strength,

outstanding in dignity, and outstanding in power.

⁴Uncontrollable as rushing water,

you will not have the preeminence,

because you went up to your father's bed.

Then you defiled it; you went up to my couch.

⁵Simeon and Levi are brothers.

Weapons of violence are their swords.

⁶O my soul, do not come into their council;

O my glory, do not join in their meetings.

For in their anger they killed men.

It was for pleasure that they hamstrung oxen.

⁷May their anger be cursed, for it was fierce

and their fury, for it was severe.

I will divide them in Jacob

and scatter them in Israel.

⁸Judah, your brothers will praise you.

Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies.

Your father's sons will bow down before you.

⁹Judah is a lion's cub.

My son, you have gone up from your victims.

He stooped down, he crouched like a lion, like a lioness.

Who would dare to awaken him?

¹⁰The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,

until Shiloh comes. The nations will obey him.

¹¹Binding his donkey to the vine,

and his donkey's colt to the choice vine,

he has washed his garments in wine,

and his robe in the blood of grapes.

¹²His eyes will be as dark as wine,

and his teeth as white as milk.

¹³Zebulun will live by the shore of the sea.

He will be a harbor for ships,

and his border will extend to Sidon.

¹⁴Issachar is a strong donkey,

lying down between the sheepfolds.

¹⁵He sees a good resting place

and the pleasant land.

He will bend his shoulder to the burden

and become a servant for forced labor.

¹⁶Dan will judge his people

as one of the tribes of Israel.

¹⁷Dan will be a snake beside the road,

a poisonous snake in the path

that bites the horse's heels,

so that his rider falls backward.

¹⁸I wait for your salvation, Yahweh.

¹⁹Gad—raiders will attack him,

but he will attack them at their heels.

²⁰Asher's food will be rich,

and he will provide royal delicacies.

²¹Naphtali is a doe let loose;

he will have beautiful fawns.

²²Joseph is a fruitful bough,

a fruitful bough near a spring,

whose branches climb over the wall.

²³The archers will attack him bitterly

and shoot at him with hostility.

²⁴But his bow will remain steady,

and his hands will be skillful

because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,

because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

²⁵The God of your father will help you

and the Almighty God will bless you

with blessings of the sky above,

blessings of the deep that lies beneath,

and blessings of the breasts and womb.

²⁶The blessings of your father are greater

than the blessings of the ancient mountains

or the desirable things of the ancient hills.

May they be on the head of Joseph,

even upon the crown of the head of the prince of his brothers.

²⁷Benjamin is a hungry wolf.

In the morning he will devour the prey,

and in the evening he will divide the plunder."

²⁸These are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. Each one he blessed with an appropriate blessing.²⁹Then he instructed them and said to them, "I am about to go to my people. Bury me with my forefathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,³⁰in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is near Mamre in the land of Canaan, the field that Abraham bought for a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.

³¹There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.³²The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the people of Heth."³³When Jacob finished these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and went to his people.

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¹Then Joseph was so distressed that he collapsed on the face of his father, and he wept over him, and he kissed him.²Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel.³They took forty days, for that was the full time for embalming. The Egyptians wept for him seventy days.

⁴When the days of weeping were over, Joseph spoke to the house of Pharaoh, saying, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak to Pharaoh, saying,⁵'My father made me swear, saying, "See, I am about to die. Bury me in my tomb that I dug for myself in the land of Canaan. There you will bury me." Now let me go up and bury my father, and then I will return.'"⁶Pharaoh answered, "Go and bury your father, as he made you swear."

⁷Joseph went up to bury his father. All the servants of Pharaoh went with him—the elders of his household, all the senior officials of the land of Egypt,⁸with all Joseph's household and his brothers, and his father's household. But their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen.⁹Chariots and horsemen also went with him. It was a very large group of people.

¹⁰When they came to the threshing floor of Atad on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned with very great and grievous sorrow. There Joseph made a seven-day mourning for his father.¹¹When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, "This is a very sad occasion for the Egyptians." That is why the name of the place was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

¹²So his sons did for Jacob just as he had instructed them.¹³His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. Abraham had bought the cave with the field for a burial place. He had bought it from Ephron the Hittite.¹⁴After he had buried his father, Joseph returned into Egypt, he, along with his brothers, and all who had accompanied him to bury his father.

¹⁵When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph continues to be angry against us and wants to repay us in full for all the evil we did to him?"¹⁶So they commanded the presence of Joseph, saying, "Your father gave instructions before he died, saying,¹⁷'Tell Joseph this, "Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin when they did evil to you."' Now please forgive the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

¹⁸His brothers also went and lay facedown before him. They said, "See, we are your servants."¹⁹But Joseph answered them, "Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God?²⁰As for you, you meant to harm me, but God meant it for good, to preserve the lives of many people, as you see today.²¹So now do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little children." He comforted them in this way and spoke kindly to their hearts.

²²Joseph lived in Egypt, together with his father's family. He lived one hundred ten years.²³Joseph saw Ephraim's children to the third generation. He also saw the children of Makir son of Manasseh, who were placed on the knees of Joseph.

²⁴Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die; but God will surely come to you and lead you up out of this land to the land which he swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."²⁵Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, "God will surely come to you. At that time you must carry up my bones from here."²⁶So Joseph died, 110 years old. They embalmed him and he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.