Isaac Blesses Jacob

1 When Isaac was old and ^lhis 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.” 2 He said, ^m“Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, ⁿtake your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, 4 and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may ^obless you before I die.”

5 ^pNow Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. 9 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, so that he may bless you before he dies.” 11 But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a ^qhairy man, and I am a ^rsmooth man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and ^sbring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” 13 His mother said to him, “Let 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 best 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 may 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 ^trecognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands. So 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, that 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 ^ucame near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and ^vblessed him and said,

30 ^cAs 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 ^dhe shall be blessed.” 34 As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he 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 ^edeceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” 36 Esau said, ^f“Is he not rightly named Jacob?¹ For he has cheated me these two times. ^gHe 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, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with 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 Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

41 Now Esau ⁱhated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; ^jthen I will ^kkill 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, ^luntil 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. ^mWhy should I be bereft of you both in one day?”

46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, ⁿ“I loathe my life because of the Hittite women.⁴ If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

Jacob Sent to Laban

1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, ^o“You must not take a wife ^pfrom the Canaanite women. 2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. 3 God Almighty^{1 q}bless you and make you ^rfruitful and multiply you, that you may become a ^scompany of peoples. 4 May he give the ^tblessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” 5 ^uThus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

Esau Marries an Ishmaelite

6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 So when Esau saw ^vthat the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, 9 ^wEsau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.

Jacob’s Dream

10 ^xJacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, ^ybecause the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he ^zdreamed, and behold, there was a ladder² set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, ^athe angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, ^bthe Lord stood above it³ and said, ^c“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. ^dThe land on which you lie I will give to you and ^eto your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the ^fdust of the earth, and you shall ^gspread abroad ^hto the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and ⁱin you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, ^jI am with you and will ^kkeep you wherever you go, and ^lwill bring you back to this land. For I will not ^mleave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and ⁿset it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 ^oHe called the name of that place Bethel,⁴ but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob ^pmade a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then ^qthe Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will ^rgive a full ^stenth to you.”

Answer Me When I Call

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

The Lord’s Prayer

1 ^fNow Jesus¹ was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

5 And he said to them, ^l“Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence³ he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9 ^mAnd I tell you, ⁿask, and it will be given to you; ^oseek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for⁴ a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, ^phow much more ^qwill the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebul

14 ^rNow he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people ^smarveled. 15 But some of them said, ^t“He casts out demons by ^uBeelzebul, the prince of demons,” 16 while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. 17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. 18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if it is by the ^vfinger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a ^wstrong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; 22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. 23 ^xWhoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

24 ^y“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the ^zlast state of that person is worse than the first.”

True Blessedness

27 As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ^a“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” 28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who ^bhear the word of God and keep it!”

The Sign of Jonah

29 ^cWhen the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. ^dIt seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For ^eas Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for ^fshe came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for ^gthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

The Light in You

33 ^h“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

37 ⁱWhile Jesus⁵ was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. 38 The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first ^jwash before dinner. 39 And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of ^kgreed and wickedness. 40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, ^leverything is clean for you.

42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you ^mtithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect ⁿjustice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the ^obest seat in the synagogues and ^pgreetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! For you are like ^qunmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and ^ryou yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers ^skilled. 48 So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and ^tapostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of ^uAbel to the blood of ^vZechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. 52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, 54 lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.