They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth

A Song of ^mAscents.

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, ^u“Is he not rightly named Jacob?¹ 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:

41 Now Esau ^bhated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, ^c“The 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?”

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 ladder¹ 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 it² and said, ^u“I 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,³ 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.”

1 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not ^ltaste death ^muntil they see the kingdom of God after it has come ⁿwith power.”

The Transfiguration

2 ^oAnd after six days Jesus took with him ^pPeter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was ^qtransfigured before them, 3 and ^rhis clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one¹ on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, ^s“Rabbi,² it is good that we are here. Let us make three ^ttents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For ^uhe did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And ^va cloud overshadowed them, and ^va voice came out of the cloud, ^w“This is my beloved Son;^{3 x}listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.

9 ^yAnd as they were coming down the mountain, ^zhe charged them to tell no one what they had seen, ^auntil the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 ^bSo they kept the matter to themselves, ^cquestioning what this rising from the dead might mean. 11 And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say ^dthat first Elijah must come?” 12 And he said to them, “Elijah does come first ^eto restore all things. And ^fhow is it written of the Son of Man that he should ^gsuffer many things and ^hbe treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and ⁱthey did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”