Genesis 32:3–36:43; Hosea 11:7–12:12; Obadiah; 1 Corinthians 5; Hebrews 11; Revelation 7:1–12

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Genesis 32:3–36:43

And Jacob sent1 messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of vSeir, the country of Edom, instructing them, Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that wI may find favor in your sight.

And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to your brother Esau, and xhe is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him. Then Jacob was ygreatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, thinking, If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.

And Jacob said, zO God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who asaid to me, Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good, 10 bI am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for cI fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. 12 But dyou said, I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

13 So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took ea present for his brother Esau, 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove. 17 He instructed the first, When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you? 18 then you shall say, They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us. 19 He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him, 20 and you shall say, Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us. For he thought, I may appease him2 with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.3 21 So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

Jacob Wrestles with God

22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children,4 and crossed the ford of the fJabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And ga man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, Let me go, for the day has broken. But Jacob said, hI will not let you go unless you bless me. 27 And he said to him, What is your name? And he said, Jacob. 28 Then he said, iYour name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,5 for jyou have striven with God and kwith men, and have prevailed. 29 Then Jacob asked him, Please tell me your name. But he said, lWhy is it that you ask my name? And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel,6 saying, For mI have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered. 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed nPenuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.

Jacob Meets Esau

And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, oEsau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on before them, pbowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

qBut Esau ran to meet him and embraced him rand fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, Who are these with you? Jacob said, sThe children whom God has graciously given your servant. Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down. Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. Esau said, What do you mean by tall this company7 that I met? Jacob answered, uTo find favor in the sight of my lord. But Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself. 10 Jacob said, No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. vFor I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me. 11 Please accept my wblessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. Thus he xurged him, and he took it.

12 Then Esau said, Let us journey on our way, and I will go ahead of8 you. 13 But Jacob said to him, My lord knows that the children are frail, and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die. 14 Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord yin Seir.

15 So Esau said, Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me. But he said, What need is there? zLet me find favor in the sight of my lord. 16 So Esau returned that day on his way to aSeir. 17 But Jacob journeyed to bSuccoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.9

18 And Jacob came safely10 to the city of cShechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city. 19 And from the sons of dHamor, Shechem’s father, ehe bought for a hundred pieces of money11 the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent. 20 There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.12

The Defiling of Dinah

Now fDinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. And when Shechem the son of gHamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem hspoke to his father Hamor, saying, Get me this girl for my wife.

Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and ivery angry, because he jhad done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, kfor such a thing must not be done.

But Hamor spoke with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longs for your13 daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You shall dwell with us, and lthe land shall be open to you. Dwell and mtrade in it, and nget property in it. 11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, oLet me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12 Ask me for as great a pbride-price14 and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.

13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for qthat would be a disgrace to us. 15 Only on this condition will we agree with youthat you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. 16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.

18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. 19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. Now rhe was the most honored of all his father’s house. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem scame to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and ttrade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one peoplewhen every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us. 24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who uwent out of the gate of his city.

25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, vSimeon and Levi, wDinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.

30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, xYou have brought trouble on me yby making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, zthe Canaanites and the Perizzites. aMy numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household. 31 But they said, Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?

God Blesses and Renames Jacob

God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to bBethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you cwhen you fled from your brother Esau. So Jacob said to his dhousehold and to all who were with him, Put away ethe foreign gods that are among you and fpurify yourselves and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God gwho answers me in the day of my distress and hhas been with me wherever I have gone. So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under ithe terebinth tree that was near Shechem.

And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. And Jacob came to jLuz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel,15 because kthere God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. And lDeborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.16

God appeared17 to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, Your name is Jacob; mno longer shall your name be called Jacob, but nIsrael shall be your name. So he called his name Israel. 11 And God said to him, oI am God Almighty:18 be pfruitful and multiply. qA nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.19 12 rThe land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you. 13 Then God swent up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. 14 And Jacob tset up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15 So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him uBethel.

The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac

16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance20 from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. 17 And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, Do not fear, for vyou have another son. 18 And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni;21 wbut his father called him Benjamin.22 19 So xRachel died, and she was buried on the way to yEphrath (that is, Bethlehem), 20 and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is zthe pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day. 21 Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and alay with Bilhah his father’s concubine. And Israel heard of it.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. 23 The sons of Leah: bReuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

27 And Jacob came to his father Isaac at cMamre, or dKiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. 28 Now the days of Isaac were 180 years. 29 And Isaac breathed his last, and he died eand was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And fhis sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Esau’s Descendants

These are the generations of Esau (that is, gEdom). Esau htook his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, iOholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter23 of Zibeon the Hivite, and jBasemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. And Adah bore to Esau, kEliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel; and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob. lFor their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. mThe land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. So Esau settled in nthe hill country of Seir. (oEsau is Edom.)

These are the generations of Esau the father of pthe Edomites in the hill country of Seir. 10 These are the names of Esau’s sons: qEliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. 11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son; she bore rAmalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife. 13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. 14 These are the sons of sOholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

15 These are tthe chiefs of the sons of Esau. uThe sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 17 These are the sons of vReuel, Esau’s son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. 18 These are the sons of wOholibamah, Esau’s wife: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife. 19 These are the sons of Esau (xthat is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.

20 yThese are the sons of zSeir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. 23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father. 25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and aOholibamah the daughter of Anah. 26 These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These are the chiefs of the Horites: the bchiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir.

31 cThese are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. 32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. 33 Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. 34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 35 Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith. 36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. 37 Samlah died, and Shaul of dRehoboth on the Euphrates24 reigned in his place. 38 Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 39 Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.

40 These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, ePinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of fEdom), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession.


Hosea 11:7–12:12

My people are bent lon turning away from me,

and though mthey call out to the Most High,

he shall not raise them up at all.

How can I give you up, O Ephraim?

How can I hand you over, O Israel?

nHow can I make you olike Admah?

How can I treat you olike Zeboiim?

pMy heart recoils within me;

my compassion grows warm and tender.

I will not execute my burning anger;

I will not again destroy Ephraim;

qfor I am God and not a man,

rthe Holy One in your midst,

and I will not come in wrath.1

10  sThey shall go after the Lord;

the will roar like a lion;

when he roars,

his children shall come trembling ufrom the west;

11  they shall come trembling like birds vfrom Egypt,

and wlike doves xfrom the land of Assyria,

and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord.

12  2 Ephraim yhas surrounded me with lies,

and the house of Israel with deceit,

but Judah still walks with God

and is faithful to the Holy One.

Ephraim feeds on the wind

and pursues zthe east wind all day long;

they multiply yfalsehood and violence;

athey make a covenant with Assyria,

and boil is carried to Egypt.

The Lord’s Indictment of Israel and Judah

cThe Lord has an indictment against Judah

and will punish Jacob according to his ways;

he will repay him according to his deeds.

dIn the womb he took his brother by the heel,

and in his manhood he strove with God.

He strove with the angel and prevailed;

he wept and sought his favor.

eHe met God3 at Bethel,

and there God spoke with us

the Lord, the God of hosts,

fthe Lord is his memorial name:

So you, gby the help of your God, return,

hhold fast to love and justice,

and wait continually for your God.

A merchant, in whose hands are ifalse balances,

he loves jto oppress.

Ephraim has said, Ah, but kI am rich;

I have found wealth for myself;

in all my labors lthey cannot find in me iniquity or sin.

mI am the Lord your God

from the land of Egypt;

I will again make you ndwell in tents,

as in the days of the appointed feast.

10  oI spoke to the prophets;

it was I who multiplied pvisions,

and through the prophets gave parables.

11  qIf there is iniquity in Gilead,

they shall surely come to nothing:

rin Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;

stheir altars also are like stone heaps

ton the furrows of the field.

12  uJacob fled to the land of Aram;

there Israel vserved for a wife,

and for a wife he guarded sheep.


Obadiah

The vision of Obadiah.

Edom Will Be Humbled

Thus says the Lord God aconcerning Edom:

bWe have heard a report from the Lord,

and a messenger has been sent among the nations:

Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!

Behold, I will make you small among the nations;

you shall be utterly despised.1

cThe pride of your heart has deceived you,

you who live in the clefts of the rock,2

in your lofty dwelling,

dwho say in your heart,

Who will bring me down to the ground?

Though you soar aloft like the eagle,

though your nest is set among the stars,

from there I will bring you down,

declares the Lord.

If ethieves came to you,

if plunderers came by night

how you have been destroyed!

would they not steal only enough for themselves?

If egrape gatherers came to you,

would they not leave gleanings?

fHow Esau has been pillaged,

his treasures sought out!

All your allies have driven you to your border;

those at peace with you have deceived you;

they have prevailed against you;

gthose who eat your bread3 have set a trap beneath you

hyou have4 no understanding.

iWill I not on that day, declares the Lord,

destroy the wise men out of Edom,

and understanding out of jMount Esau?

And your mighty men shall be dismayed, kO Teman,

so that every man from jMount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.

Edom’s Violence Against Jacob

10  lBecause of the violence done to your brother Jacob,

shame shall cover you,

mand you shall be cut off forever.

11  nOn the day that you stood aloof,

oon the day that strangers carried off his wealth

and foreigners entered his gates

pand cast lots for Jerusalem,

you were like one of them.

12  qBut do not gloat over the day of your brother

in the day of his misfortune;

rdo not rejoice over the people of Judah

in the day of their ruin;

sdo not boast5

in the day of distress.

13  tDo not enter the gate of my people

in the day of their calamity;

tdo not gloat over his disaster

in the day of his calamity;

udo not loot his wealth

in the day of his calamity.

14  vDo not stand at the crossroads

to cut off his fugitives;

do not hand over his survivors

in the day of distress.

The Day of the Lord Is Near

15  For wthe day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.

xAs you have done, it shall be done to you;

your deeds shall return on your own head.

16  yFor as you have drunk on zmy holy mountain,

so all the nations shall drink continually;

they shall drink and swallow,

and shall be as though they had never been.

17  aBut in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,

and it shall be holy,

band the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.

18  cThe house of Jacob shall be a fire,

and the house of Joseph a flame,

and the house of Esau dstubble;

they shall burn them and consume them,

eand there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,

for the Lord has spoken.

The Kingdom of the Lord

19  Those of fthe Negeb bshall possess gMount Esau,

and those of the Shephelah shall possess hthe land of the Philistines;

they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of iSamaria,

and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.

20  The exiles of this host of the people of Israel

shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as jZarephath,

and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad

shall possess the cities of the Negeb.

21  kSaviors shall go up to Mount Zion

to rule gMount Esau,

and lthe kingdom shall be the Lord’s.


1 Corinthians 5

Sexual Immorality Defiles the Church

It is actually reported that there is wsexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, xfor a man has his father’s wife. And yyou are arrogant! Ought you znot rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

For though aabsent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled bin the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are cto deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so dthat his spirit may be saved ein the day of the Lord.1

fYour boasting is not good. Do you not know that ga little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, hnot with the old leaven, ithe leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

I wrote to you in my letter jnot to associate with sexually immoral people 10 knot at all meaning lthe sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, msince then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone nwho bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindlernot even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging ooutsiders? pIs it not those inside the church2 whom you are to judge? 13 God judges3 those outside. qPurge the evil person from among you.


Hebrews 11

By Faith

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of ethings not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by fthe word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of gthings that are visible.

By faith hAbel offered to God ia more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And jthrough his faith, though he died, he kstill speaks. By faith lEnoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God mmust believe that he exists and mthat he rewards those who seek him. By faith nNoah, being warned by God concerning oevents as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of pthe righteousness that comes by faith.

By faith qAbraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place rthat he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in sthe land of promise, as in a foreign land, tliving in tents uwith Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to vthe city that has wfoundations, xwhose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith ySarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered zhim faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and ahim as good as dead, were born descendants bas many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

13 These all died in faith, cnot having received the things promised, but dhaving seen them and greeted them from afar, and ehaving acknowledged that they were fstrangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, gthey would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed hto be called their God, for ihe has prepared for them a city.

17 By faith jAbraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, kThrough Isaac shall your offspring be named. 19 lHe considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. 20 By faith mIsaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith nJacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, obowing in worship over the head of his staff. 22 By faith pJoseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

23 By faith qMoses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of rthe king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, srefused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 tchoosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy uthe fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 vHe considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to wthe reward. 27 By faith he xleft Egypt, ynot being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured zas seeing him who is invisible. 28 By faith ahe kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

29 By faith bthe people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 30 By faith cthe walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith dRahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she ehad given a friendly welcome to the spies.

32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of fGideon, gBarak, hSamson, iJephthah, of jDavid and kSamuel and the prophets 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, lstopped the mouths of lions, 34 mquenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, nbecame mighty in war, nput foreign armies to flight. 35 oWomen received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even pchains and imprisonment. 37 qThey were stoned, they were sawn in two,1 rthey were killed with the sword. sThey went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated 38 of whom the world was not worthytwandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

39 And all these, uthough commended through their faith, udid not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, vthat apart from us they should not be made perfect.


Revelation 7:1–12

The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back uthe four winds of the earth, vthat no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending wfrom the rising of the sun, with xthe seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, yDo not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God zon their foreheads. And aI heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,

12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,

12,000 from the tribe of Gad,

12,000 from the tribe of Asher,

12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,

12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,

12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,

12,000 from the tribe of Levi,

12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,

12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,

12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,

12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

After this I looked, and behold, ba great multitude that no one could number, cfrom every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dclothed in white robes, with epalm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, fSalvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and gthe four living creatures, and they hfell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 isaying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.