Abraham’s Death and His Descendants

1 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 ^lShe bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 ^mAbraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he ⁿsent them away from his son Isaac, eastward ^oto the east country.

7 These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life, 175 years. 8 Abraham ^pbreathed his last and ^qdied in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 Isaac and Ishmael ^rhis sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10 the field ^sthat Abraham purchased from the Hittites. ^tThere Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife. 11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at ^uBeer-lahai-roi.

12 These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, ^vwhom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham. 13 ^wThese are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: ^xNebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and ^xKedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, ^yTema, ^zJetur, ^zNaphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, ^atwelve princes according to their tribes. 17 (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He ^bbreathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) 18 ^cThey settled from Havilah to ^dShur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled¹ over against all his kinsmen.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: ^eAbraham fathered Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, ^fthe daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of ^gPaddan-aram, ^hthe sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And ⁱthe Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?”² So she went ^jto inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her,

24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, ⁿall his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with ^ohis hand holding Esau’s heel, so ^phis name was called Jacob.⁴ Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau was ^qa skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, ^rdwelling in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because ^she ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.⁵) 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and ^tsold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

1 ^tJesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, ^uthere will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

3 As he sat on ^vthe Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him ^wprivately, saying, “Tell us, ^xwhen will these things be, and what will be the sign of your ^ycoming and of ^zthe end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, ^a“See that no one leads you astray. 5 For ^bmany will come in my name, saying, ‘I am ^cthe Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you ^dare not alarmed, for this ^emust take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For ^fnation will rise against nation, and ^gkingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^hfamines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of ⁱthe birth pains.

9 “Then ^jthey will deliver you up ^kto tribulation and ^lput you to death, and ^myou will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away¹ and ⁿbetray one another and hate one another. 11 And many ^ofalse prophets will arise ^pand lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, ^qthe love of many will grow cold. 13 ^rBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom ^swill be proclaimed throughout the whole world ^tas a testimony ^uto all nations, and ^vthen the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation ^wspoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in ^xthe holy place (^ylet the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 ^zLet the one who is on ^athe housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And ^balas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be ^cgreat tribulation, ^dsuch as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for ^ethe sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 ^fThen if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For ^gfalse christs and ^hfalse prophets will arise and ⁱperform great signs and wonders, ^hso as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, ^jI have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, ^khe is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 ^lFor as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be ^mthe coming of the Son of Man. 28 ⁿWherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 “Immediately after ^othe tribulation of those days ^pthe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^qthe stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then ^rwill appear in heaven ^sthe sign of the Son of Man, and then ^tall the tribes of the earth will mourn, and ^uthey will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven ^vwith power and great glory. 31 And ^whe will send out his angels with a loud ^xtrumpet call, and they will ^ygather ^zhis elect from ^athe four winds, ^bfrom one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, ^cat the very gates. 34 ^dTruly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 ^eHeaven and earth will pass away, but ^fmy words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

36 “But concerning that day and hour ^gno one knows, not even the angels of heaven, ^hnor the Son,^{2 i}but the Father only. 37 ^jFor as were the days of Noah, ^kso will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 ^jFor as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^lmarrying and giving in marriage, until ^mthe day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, ^kso will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 ⁿTwo women will be grinding ^oat the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, ^pstay awake, for you do not know on what day ^qyour Lord is coming. 43 ^rBut know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night ^sthe thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ^tready, for ^uthe Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

45 “Who then is ^vthe faithful and ^wwise servant,³ whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 ^xBlessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, ^yhe will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master ^zis delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants⁴ and eats and drinks with ^adrunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come ^bon a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place ^cthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The King’s Banquets

1 Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned ^afrom India to Ethiopia over ^b127 provinces, 2 in those days when King Ahasuerus ^csat on his royal throne in ^dSusa, the citadel, 3 in the third year of his reign ^ehe gave a feast for all his officials and servants. The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the provinces were before him, 4 while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days, 180 days. 5 And when these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in Susa the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of ^fthe garden of the king’s palace. 6 There were white cotton curtains and violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods¹ and marble pillars, and also ^gcouches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones. 7 Drinks were served in golden vessels, vessels of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king. 8 And drinking was according to this edict: “There is no compulsion.” For the king had given orders to all the staff of his palace to do as each man desired. 9 Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus.

Queen Vashti’s Refusal

10 On the seventh day, ^hwhen the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, ⁱHarbona, ^jBigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, 11 to bring Queen Vashti before the king with ^kher royal crown,² in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. At this the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him.

13 Then the king said to ^lthe wise men ^mwho knew the times (for this was the king’s procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, 14 the men next to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and ⁿMemucan, ^othe seven princes of Persia and Media, ^pwho saw the king’s face, and sat first in the kingdom): 15 “According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?” 16 Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, “Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 17 For the queen’s behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt,³ since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’ 18 This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will say the same to all the king’s officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty. 19 If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so ^qthat it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. 20 So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, ^rall women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike.” 21 This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed. 22 He sent letters to all the royal provinces, ^sto every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his people.

Paul Before Felix at Caesarea

1 And ^safter five days the high priest ^tAnanias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before ^uthe governor their case against Paul. 2 And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:

“Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, ^vmost excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, 3 in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. 4 But, to detain¹ you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. 5 For we have found this man a plague, ^wone who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of ^xthe sect of the Nazarenes. 6 ^yHe even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him.² 8 By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”

9 The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.

10 And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied:

“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. 11 You can verify that ^zit is not more than twelve days since I ^awent up ^bto worship in Jerusalem, 12 and ^cthey did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. 13 ^dNeither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. 14 But this I confess to you, that according to ^ethe Way, which they call ^fa sect, ^gI worship ^hthe God of our fathers, believing everything ⁱlaid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15 ^jhaving ^ka hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be ^la resurrection ^mof both the just and the unjust. 16 So I always ⁿtake pains to have a ^oclear conscience toward both God and man. 17 Now ^pafter several years ^qI came to bring alms to ^rmy nation and to present ^sofferings. 18 While I was doing this, they found me ^tpurified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But ^usome Jews from Asia— 19 ^vthey ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. 20 Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, 21 other than this one thing ^wthat I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’”

Paul Kept in Custody

22 But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of ^xthe Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” 23 Then he gave orders to the centurion that he ^yshould be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that ^znone of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.

24 After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about ^afaith ^bin Christ Jesus. 25 And as he reasoned ^cabout righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. ^dWhen I get an opportunity I will summon you.” 26 At the same time he hoped ^ethat money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. 27 When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius ^fFestus. And ^gdesiring to do the Jews a favor, ^hFelix left Paul in prison.