Genesis 26–27; Matthew 8

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Genesis 26–27

God’s Promise to Isaac

Now there was a famine in the land, besides uthe former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to vAbimelech king of the wPhilistines. And the Lord appeared to him and said, Do not go down to Egypt; dwell xin the land of which I shall tell you. ySojourn in this land, and zI will be with you and will bless you, for ato you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish bthe oath that I swore to Abraham your father. cI will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And din your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because eAbraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Isaac and Abimelech

So Isaac settled in Gerar. When the men of the place asked him about his wife, fhe said, She is my sister, for ghe feared to say, My wife, thinking, lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah, because hshe was attractive in appearance. When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with1 Rebekah his wife. So Abimelech called Isaac and said, Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, She is my sister? Isaac said to him, Because I thought, Lest I die because of her. 10 Abimelech said, What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and iyou would have brought guilt upon us. 11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord jblessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines kenvied him. 15 (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells lthat his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.

17 So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And mhe gave them the names that his father had given them. 19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar nquarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, The water is ours. So he called the name of the well Esek,2 because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah.3 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth,4 saying, For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, oI am the God of Abraham your father. pFear not, for qI am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake. 25 So he rbuilt an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

26 When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and sPhicol the commander of his army, 27 Isaac said to them, Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and thave sent me away from you? 28 They said, We see plainly that the Lord has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. uYou are now the blessed of the Lord. 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they rose early and vexchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. 32 That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, We have found water. 33 He called it Shibah;5 therefore the name of the city is wBeersheba to this day.

34 When Esau was forty years old, he took xJudith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35 and ythey made life bitter6 for Isaac and Rebekah.

Isaac Blesses Jacob

When Isaac was old and zhis eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, My son; and he answered, Here I am. He said, Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. aNow then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul bmay bless you before I die.

Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die. Now therefore, my son, cobey my voice as I command you. Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. 10 And you shall bring it to your father to eat, dso that he may bless you before he dies. 11 But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, emy brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12 Perhaps my father fwill feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring ga curse upon myself and not a blessing. 13 His mother said to him, hLet your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.

14 So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the ibest garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18 So he went in to his father and said, My father. And he said, Here I am. Who are you, my son? 19 Jacob said to his father, I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me. 20 But Isaac said to his son, How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son? He answered, Because the Lord your God granted me success. 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, Please come near, that I jmay feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not. 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23 And he did not recognize him, because khis hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands. lSo he blessed him. 24 He said, Are you really my son Esau? He answered, I am. 25 Then he said, Bring it near to me, mthat I may eat of my son’s game and bless you. So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

26 Then his father Isaac said to him, Come near and kiss me, my son. 27 So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments land blessed him and said,

See, nthe smell of my son

is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed!

28  May God give you of othe dew of heaven

and of the fatness of the earth

and pplenty of grain and wine.

29  Let peoples serve you,

and nations qbow down to you.

rBe lord over your brothers,

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

sCursed be everyone who curses you,

and blessed be everyone who blesses you!

30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me. 32 His father Isaac said to him, Who are you? He answered, I am your son, your firstborn, Esau. 33 Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed. 34 As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, the cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father! 35 But he said, Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing. 36 Esau said, uIs he not rightly named Jacob?7 For he has cheated me these two times. vHe took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing. Then he said, Have you not reserved a blessing for me? 37 Isaac answered and said to Esau, Behold, wI have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and xwith grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son? 38 Esau said to his father, Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father. And tEsau lifted up his voice and wept.

39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

Behold, yaway from8 the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be,

and away from9 the dew of heaven on high.

40  By your sword you shall live,

and you zshall serve your brother;

but when you grow restless

ayou shall break his yoke from your neck.

41 Now Esau bhated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, cThe days of mourning for my father are approaching; dthen I will kill my brother Jacob. 42 But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran 44 and stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury turns away 45 until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?

46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, eI loathe my life because of the Hittite women.10 fIf Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?


Matthew 8

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

When he came down from the mountain, dgreat crowds followed him. eAnd behold, a leper1 came to him and fknelt before him, saying, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. And Jesus2 stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, I will; be clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, gSee that you say nothing to anyone, but go, hshow yourself to the priest and ioffer the gift that Moses commanded, jfor a proof to them.

The Faith of a Centurion

kWhen he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly. And he said to him, I will come and heal him. But the centurion replied, Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but lonly say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes, and to another, Come, and he comes, and to my servant,3 Do this, and he does it. 10 When Jesus heard this, mhe marveled and said to those who followed him, Truly, I tell you, with nno one in Israel4 have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, omany will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 pwhile the sons of the kingdom qwill be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place rthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, Go; let it be done for you sas you have believed. tAnd the servant was healed at that very moment.

Jesus Heals Many

14 uAnd when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw vhis mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He wtouched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16 That evening they brought to him many who were xoppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits ywith a word and healed all who were sick. 17 zThis was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: aHe took our illnesses and bore our diseases.

The Cost of Following Jesus

18 Now bwhen Jesus saw a crowd around him, che gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 dAnd a scribe came up and said to him, Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. 20 And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. 21 Another of the disciples said to him, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. 22 And Jesus said to him, Follow me, and leave ethe dead to bury their own dead.

Jesus Calms a Storm

23 fAnd when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but ghe was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, hSave us, Lord; we are perishing. 26 And he said to them, Why are you iafraid, jO you of little faith? Then he rose and krebuked the winds and the sea, and lthere was a great calm. 27 And the men mmarveled, saying, What sort of man is this, that even nwinds and sea obey him?

Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons

28 oAnd when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes,5 two pdemon-possessed6 men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they qcried out, What have you to do with us, rO Son of God? Have you come here to torment us sbefore the time? 30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, saying, If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs. 32 And he said to them, Go. So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the tdemon-possessed men. 34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, uthey begged him to leave their region.