Genesis 28–29; Matthew 8

red bookmark icon blue bookmark icon gold bookmark icon
Genesis 28–29

Jacob Sent to Laban

Then Isaac called Jacob gand blessed him and directed him, fYou must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. hArise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of iBethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. jGod Almighty1 bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. May he give kthe blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of lthe land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham! Thus 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

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, and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. So when Esau saw mthat the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, nMahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of oNebaioth.

Jacob’s Dream

10 Jacob left pBeersheba and went toward qHaran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because 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 rdreamed, and behold, there was a ladder2 set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, sthe angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, tthe Lord stood above it3 and said, uI am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. vThe land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like wthe dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and xyour offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, yI am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and zwill bring you back to this land. For I will anot leave you until I have done what I have promised you. 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is bin 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 set it up cfor a pillar dand poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place eBethel,4 but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob fmade 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 gso that I come again to my father’s house in peace, hthen the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, ishall be God’s house. And jof all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.

Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

Then Jacob went on his journey and came to kthe land of the people of the east. As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.

Jacob said to them, My brothers, where do you come from? They said, lWe are from Haran. He said to them, Do you know Laban the son of Nahor? They said, We know him. He said to them, Is it well with him? They said, It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep! He said, Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them. But they said, We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.

While he was still speaking with them, mRachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was nher father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son, oand she ran and told her father.

13 As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, ohe ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, 14 and Laban said to him, pSurely you are my bone and my flesh! And he stayed with him a month.

15 Then Laban said to Jacob, Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be? 16 Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were weak,5 but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. 18 Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, qI will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel. 19 Laban said, It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me. 20 So Jacob qserved seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

21 Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed. 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and rmade a feast. 23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. 24 (Laban gave6 shis female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 25 And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me? 26 Laban said, It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 tComplete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years. 28 Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29 (Laban gave uhis female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban vfor another seven years.

Jacob’s Children

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was whated, xhe opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben,7 for she said, Because the Lord yhas looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me. 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also. And she called his name Simeon.8 34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, Now this time my husband will be zattached to me, because I have borne him three sons. Therefore his name was called Levi.9 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, This time I will praise the Lord. Therefore she called his name aJudah.10 Then she ceased bearing.


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.