Genesis 34; Mark 5; Job 1; Romans 5

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Genesis 34

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 your1 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-price2 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?


Mark 5

Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon

uThey came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.1 And when Jesus2 had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. vHe lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and wfell down before him. And xcrying out with a loud voice, he said, What have you to do with me, Jesus, ySon of zthe Most High God? aI adjure you by God, do not torment me. For he was saying to him, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit! And Jesus asked him, What is your name? He replied, My name is bLegion, for we are many. 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, Send us to the pigs; let us enter them. 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.

14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed3 man, the one who had had cthe legion, sitting there, dclothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And ethey began to beg Jesus4 to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, Go home to your friends and ftell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you. 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in gthe Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus’s Daughter

21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22 hThen came one of ithe rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 and implored him earnestly, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and jlay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live. 24 And he went with him.

And a great crowd followed him and kthronged about him. 25 And there was a woman lwho had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, If I touch even his garments, I will be made well. 29 mAnd immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her ndisease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that opower had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, Who touched my garments? 31 And his disciples said to him, You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, Who touched me? 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, Daughter, pyour faith has made you well; pgo in peace, and be healed of your ndisease.

35 While he was still speaking, there came from qthe ruler’s house some who said, Your daughter is dead. Why rtrouble sthe Teacher any further? 36 But overhearing5 what they said, Jesus said to qthe ruler of the synagogue, Do not fear, only believe. 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except tPeter and James and uJohn the brother of James. 38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus6 saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, vWhy are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but wsleeping. 40 And they laughed at him. But he xput them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41 yTaking her by the hand he said to her, Talitha cumi, which means, Little girl, I say to you, zarise. 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And ahe strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.


Job 1

Job’s Character and Wealth

There was a man in the land of aUz whose name was bJob, and that man was cblameless and upright, one who dfeared God and eturned away from evil. There were born to him fseven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all gthe people of the east. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and hconsecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and ioffer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, It may be that my children have sinned, and jcursed1 God in their hearts. Thus Job did continually.

Satan Allowed to Test Job

Now there was a day when kthe sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and lSatan2 also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, From where have you come? Satan answered the Lord and said, From mgoing to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it. And the Lord said to Satan, Have you nconsidered my oservant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, pa blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? Then Satan answered the Lord and said, Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put qa hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have rblessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But sstretch out your hand and ttouch all that he has, and he will ucurse you vto your face. 12 And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand. So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Satan Takes Job’s Property and Children

13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 14 and there came a messenger to Job and said, The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and wthe Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants3 with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, xThe fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you. 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, yThe Chaldeans formed zthree groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you. 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, aYour sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 19 and behold, a great wind came across bthe wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.

20 Then Job arose and ctore his drobe and eshaved his head fand fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, gNaked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I hreturn. The Lord igave, and the Lord has taken away; jblessed be the name of the Lord.

22 kIn all this Job did not sin or charge God with lwrong.


Romans 5

Peace with God Through Faith

aTherefore, since we have been justified by faith, bwe1 have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also cobtained access by faith2 into this grace din which we stand, and ewe3 rejoice4 in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we frejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering gproduces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hhope does not put us to shame, because God’s love ihas been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

For jwhile we were still weak, at the right time kChrist died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous personthough perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die but lGod shows his love for us in that mwhile we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, nwe have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from othe wrath of God. 10 For if pwhile we were enemies qwe were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by rhis life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received sreconciliation.

Death in Adam, Life in Christ

12 Therefore, just as tsin came into the world through one man, and udeath through sin, and vso death spread to all men5 because wall sinned 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but xsin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not ylike the transgression of Adam, zwho was a type of athe one who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for bmany. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For cthe judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought djustification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness ereign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

18 Therefore, as one trespass6 led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness7 leads to justification and life for fall men. 19 For as by the one man’s gdisobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s hobedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now ithe law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, jgrace abounded all the more, 21 so that, kas sin reigned in death, lgrace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.