Genesis 25-39

New Life Version

The Death of Abraham

25 Abraham took another wife whose name was Keturah. ² She gave birth to his sons, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³ Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. ⁴ The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah.

⁵ Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. ⁶ But while he was still living, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the women he kept who acted as his wives. And he sent them to the land of the East, away from his son Isaac. ⁷ Abraham lived 175 years. ⁸ Then Abraham breathed his last and died, after living a long and full life of many good years, and was buried with his people. ⁹ His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the grave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre. ¹⁰ This was the field that Abraham bought from the sons of Heth. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah. ¹¹ After the death of Abraham, God brought good to his son Isaac. And Isaac lived at Beerlahairoi.

¹² These are the children and their children’s children of Abraham’s son Ishmael, who was born to Abraham and Hagar, who was Sarah’s woman servant. ¹³ These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, the names of the first-born to the last: Nebaioth, Ishmael’s first-born, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their towns and by their groups of tents, twelve rulers and their families.

¹⁷ Ishmael lived 137 years. Then he breathed his last and died, and was buried with his people. ¹⁸ His people lived from Havilah as far as Shur, east of Egypt on the way toward Assyria. He lived away from all his brothers.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ These are the children and their children’s children of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham was the father of Isaac. ²⁰ Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Paddan-aram, and the sister of Laban the Syrian. ²¹ Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she could not give birth and the Lord answered him. Rebekah was able to give birth. ²² But the babies within her fought together. And she said, “If this is so, why am I like this?” She went to ask the Lord why. ²³ The Lord said to her, “Two nations are within you. Two peoples will be divided from your body. One will be stronger than the other. And the older will serve the younger.”

²⁴ When the day came for her to give birth, there were two babies to be born. ²⁵ The first to come out was red and he had hair all over his body. They gave him the name of Esau. ²⁶ Then the brother was born. His hand was holding Esau’s heel. So he was given the name of Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

Esau Sells His Birth-Right

²⁷ When the boys grew older, Esau became a good hunter, a man of the field. But Jacob was a man of peace, living in tents. ²⁸ Isaac showed favor to Esau, because he liked to eat the meat of the animals Esau killed. But Rebekah showed favor to Jacob.

²⁹ As Jacob was getting food ready one day, Esau came in from the field and was very hungry. ³⁰ Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red meat, for I am very hungry.” That is why his name was called Edom. ³¹ But Jacob said, “First, sell me your birth-right.” ³² Esau said, “See, I am about to die. So what good is my birth-right to me?” ³³ Jacob said, “First give me your promise.” So Esau promised, and sold his birth-right to Jacob. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau bread and vegetables, and Esau ate and drank. Then Esau stood up and went on his way. So Esau hated his birth-right.

Isaac and Abimelech

26 Now there was another time when there was no food in the land, after the time of no food in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. ² The Lord showed Himself to Isaac, and said, “Do not go to Egypt. Stay in the land I will tell you about. ³ Live in this land and I will be with you and bring good to you. For I will give all these lands to you and your children. I will keep the promise I made to your father Abraham. ⁴ I will make your children and all your children’s children as many as the stars of heaven. I will give these lands to them. ⁵ For Abraham obeyed Me. He did what I told him to do. He kept My Word and My Law.”

⁶ So Isaac stayed in Gerar. ⁷ When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought to himself, “The men of this place might kill me because of Rebekah, for she is beautiful.”

⁸ When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of the window. And he saw Isaac loving his wife Rebekah. ⁹ So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “See, she is your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought I would die because of her.” ¹⁰ Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might have lain with your wife. And you would have brought guilt upon us.” ¹¹ So Abimelech told all the people, “Whoever touches this man or his wife will be put to death.”

¹² Isaac planted seeds in that land. And he gathered in the same year a hundred times as much as he had planted. The Lord brought good to him. ¹³ Isaac became rich and kept getting richer until he became a great man. ¹⁴ For he had flocks and many cattle and many people working in his house. The Philistines became jealous of him. ¹⁵ They filled all the wells with dirt that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham. ¹⁶ Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us. For you are too powerful for us.”

¹⁷ So Isaac left that place. He put up his tents in the valley of Gerar, and lived there. ¹⁸ And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham. For the Philistines had closed them up after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the same names that his father had given them. ¹⁹ Now Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of flowing water there. ²⁰ The men who took care of the cattle of Gerar argued with the men who took care of Isaac’s cattle. They said, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac gave the well the name Esek, because they argued with him. ²¹ Then his servants dug another well. And they argued about it also. So he gave it the name Sitnah. ²² He moved away from there and dug another well. And they did not argue about it. So he gave it the name Rehoboth. For he said, “Now the Lord has made a large place for us. We will grow much in this land.”

²³ Then he went from there to Beersheba. ²⁴ The Lord showed Himself to Isaac that same night, and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring good to you, and add many to the number of your children and their children’s children, because of My servant Abraham.” ²⁵ So Isaac built an altar there. And he called upon the name of the Lord. He put up his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

²⁶ Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar, with his friend Ahuzzath, and Phicol, the leader of his army. ²⁷ Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me when you hate me and have sent me away from you?” ²⁸ They said, “It is easy for us to see that the Lord is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be a promise between us, between you and us. Let us make an agreement with you, ²⁹ that you will not hurt us in any way. For we have not touched you, and have done nothing to you but good. We sent you away in peace. And you now have the Lord’s favor.’” ³⁰ So Isaac made a special supper for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ They got up early in the morning and made promises to each other. Then Isaac sent them away, and they left him in peace.

³² That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said to him, “We have found water.” ³³ So he gave the well the name Shibah. So the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

³⁴ When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵ And they made life full of sorrow for Isaac and Rebekah.

Isaac Prays for Good to Come to Jacob

27 Isaac was now old, and had become blind. He called to his older son Esau, saying, “My son.” And Esau answered, “Here I am.” ² Isaac said, “See, I am old. I do not know when I will die. ³ Take your bow and arrows, and go out to the field to get meat for me. ⁴ Get some food ready for me that I love. Bring it to me to eat, so that before I die I will pray that good will come to you.”

⁵ And Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for meat to bring home, ⁶ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father talking to your brother Esau. He said, ⁷ ’Bring me some meat. Make good-tasting food for me to eat. And before I die I will pray to the Lord for good to come to you.’ ⁸ So now, my son, listen to what I tell you to do. ⁹ Go to the flock and bring me two fat young goats. I will cook them into good-tasting food, just what your father loves to eat. ¹⁰ Then you will take it to your father for him to eat. So before he dies he will pray for good to come to you.”

¹¹ Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “But my brother Esau has much hair. And my skin is smooth. ¹² If my father touches me, he will think of me as one trying to fool him. Then he will bring a curse upon me instead of good.” ¹³ His mother said to him, “The curse will come upon me instead of you, my son. You do what I say, and go get them for me.” ¹⁴ So Jacob went and got them, and brought them to his mother. And his mother made good-tasting food, just what his father loved to eat. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the best clothes that belonged to her older son Esau, that were with her in the house. And she put them on her younger son Jacob. ¹⁶ She put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ And she gave her son Jacob the bread and the good-tasting food she had made.

¹⁸ Then he went to his father and said, “My father.” Isaac said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” ¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your first-born. I have done as you told me. Sit up and eat the meat I brought, so you will pray that good will come to me.” ²⁰ But Isaac said to his son, “How have you found it so fast, my son?” And Jacob said, “Because the Lord your God made it happen.”

²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know for sure if you are my son Esau or not.” ²² So Jacob came near his father Isaac. Isaac touched him, and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice. But the hands are Esau’s hands.” ²³ He did not know who he was, because his hands were covered with hair like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac prayed that good would come to him. ²⁴ Isaac said, “Is it true that you are my son Esau?” Jacob answered, “I am.” ²⁵ So Isaac said, “Bring it to me so I may eat the meat my son has made ready. And I will pray that good will come to you.” He brought it to him, and he ate. He brought him wine also, and he drank.

²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ So Jacob came near and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothes, he prayed that good would come to him. He said, “The smell of my son is like the smell of a field that has received good from the Lord. ²⁸ May God give you from heaven water on the grass in the early morning, and the riches of the earth, and more than enough grain and new wine. ²⁹ May nations serve you, and the people bow down in front of you. Be the ruler of your brothers. May your mother’s sons bow down in front of you. Cursed be those who curse you, and may good come to those who honor you.”

³⁰ When Isaac had finished praying that good would come to Jacob, Jacob left his father Isaac. Just then his brother Esau came in from hunting. ³¹ Then Esau made good-tasting food and brought it to his father, and said, “Sit up, my father, and eat the meat your son has made ready, so you will pray that good will come to me.” ³² His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your first-born, Esau.” ³³ Then Isaac shook all over, and he said, “Who was it then who killed an animal and brought meat to me? I ate all of it before you came! And I prayed that good would come to him! Yes, and good will come to him!”

³⁴ When he heard what his father said, Esau cried out with a loud and sad cry. He said to his father, “Pray that good will come to me also, O my father!” ³⁵ But Isaac said, “Your brother came in and fooled me. He has taken away the good that was to come to you.”

³⁶ Then Esau said, “Was it not right that he was given the name Jacob? Two times now he has taken what should have been mine. He took away my right as a first-born. And now he has taken away the good that was to come to me.” Then he said, “Can you not pray that good will come to me also?”

³⁷ Isaac answered Esau, “See, I have made him to rule over you. I have given him all his brothers as servants. I have given him grain and new wine to keep him alive and well. What then can I do for you, my son?”

³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one prayer for good to come, my father? Pray that good will come to me also, O my father.” And Esau gave out a loud cry. ³⁹ Then his father Isaac answered him: “See, the place where you live will be away from the riches of the earth, and away from the water on the grass in the early morning. ⁴⁰ You will live by your sword and you will serve your brother. But when you break loose, you will throw his load off your back.”

Jacob Goes to Laban

⁴¹ Esau hated Jacob because his father had prayed that good would come to Jacob. Esau said to himself, “The days when I will have sorrow for the loss of my father are soon. Then I will kill my brother Jacob.” ⁴² But the words of her older son Esau were told to Rebekah. She called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, “See, your brother Esau comforts himself by planning to kill you. ⁴³ So now, my son, do what I tell you. Get ready, and go at once to my brother Laban at Haran. ⁴⁴ Stay with him for a few days, until your brother’s anger goes away. ⁴⁵ When your brother’s anger against you is gone and he forgets what you did to him, then I will send for you and have you return from there. Why should I have sorrow for both of you in one day?”

⁴⁶ Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob marries one of the daughters of Heth, like these, from the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

28 So Isaac called Jacob and prayed that good would come to him. He said to him, “Do not marry one of the daughters of Canaan. ² Get ready, and go to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel in Paddan-aram. Take a wife for yourself from the daughters of your mother’s brother Laban. ³ May the All-powerful God bring good to you and give you many children until you become many nations. ⁴ May He give you and your children after you the same gift that He gave Abraham. May He give you the land that He gave Abraham, the land where you are now a stranger.” ⁵ Then Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob and Esau’s mother.

⁶ Now Esau saw that Isaac had prayed for good to come to Jacob and that he had sent him away to Paddan-aram to find a wife. Esau knew that his father had prayed for good to come to Jacob and said, “Do not marry one of the daughters of Canaan,” ⁷ and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan-aram. ⁸ Esau knew that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. ⁹ So Esau went to Ishmael, and married Mahalath the daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, the sister of Nebaioth. He added her to the wives he already had.

Jacob’s Dream

¹⁰ Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹ He came to a certain place and stayed the night there, because the sun had gone down. He took one of the stones there and put it under his head for a pillow. ¹² And he had a dream. He saw steps going up from the earth to heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and down these steps. ¹³ And he saw the Lord standing above them. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham, and the God of Isaac. I will give to you and your children after you the land where you are lying. ¹⁴ They will be like the dust of the earth. You will spread out to the west and the east and the north and the south. Good will come to all the families of the earth because of you and your children. ¹⁵ See, I am with you. I will care for you everywhere you go. And I will bring you again to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done all the things I promised you.” ¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “For sure the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.” ¹⁷ He was afraid and said, “This place is so different! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

¹⁸ So Jacob got up early in the morning. He took the stone he had used as a pillow, and set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹ He gave that place the name Bethel. Its name had been Luz before. ²⁰ Then Jacob made a promise. He said, “If God will be with me and take care of me as I go, and if He will give me food to eat and clothes to wear, ²¹ so that I return in peace to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God. ²² I have set up this stone as a pillar to be God’s house. And I will give You a tenth part of all You give to me.”

Jacob Finds Laban

29 Then Jacob went on his way and came to the land of the people of the east. ² He looked up and saw a well in the field where three flocks of sheep were lying beside it. The people gave water to the flocks from that well. The stone covering the top of the well was large. ³ When all the flocks were gathered there, the men would roll the stone from the top of the well. Then after giving water to the sheep, they would put the stone again in its place on top of the well.

⁴ Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They said, “We are from Haran.” ⁵ He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.” ⁶ He asked them, “Is he well?” They said, “He is well. And see, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.” ⁷ Jacob said, “See, the sun is still high. It is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Give water to the sheep, and return them to their field.” ⁸ But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered and they roll the stone from the top of the well. Then we will give the sheep water.”

⁹ He was still talking with them when Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she cared for them. ¹⁰ When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the top of the well. And he gave water to the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to cry for joy. ¹² Jacob told Rachel that he was of her father’s family, the son of Rebekah. And she ran and told her father.

¹³ When Laban heard the news of his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him. He put his arms around him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Then Jacob told Laban all these things. ¹⁴ Laban said to him, “For sure you are my bone and my flesh.” And Jacob stayed with him a month.

Jacob Works for Laban

¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are one of my family, should you serve me for nothing? Tell me, what do you want to be paid?” ¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger one was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah’s eyes were weak. But Rachel was beautiful in body and face. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel. So he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” ¹⁹ Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to another man. Stay with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob worked seven years for Rachel. It was only like a few days to him, because of his love for her.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife so I may go in to her. For my time is finished.” ²² And Laban gathered all the men of the place together, and made a special supper. ²³ But in the evening he took his daughter Leah to him. Jacob went in to her. ²⁴ Laban also took Zilpah, a woman who served him, and gave her to his daughter Leah, to serve her.

²⁵ When the morning came, Jacob saw that it was Leah. He said to Laban, “What have you done to me? Did I not work for you for Rachel? Why have you fooled me?” ²⁶ Laban said, “It is not allowed in our country to give the younger in marriage before the first-born. ²⁷ Complete the wedding week of this one. Then we will give you the other one also if you work for me seven years more.” ²⁸ Jacob did so and completed her wedding week. And Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. ²⁹ Laban also took Bilhah, a woman who served him, and gave her to his daughter Rachel, to serve her. ³⁰ So Jacob went in to Rachel also. He loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban seven years more.

Jacob’s Children

³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, He made her able to give birth. But Rachel could not give birth. ³² Leah was able to have a child and she gave birth to a son. She gave him the name Reuben. For she said, “The Lord has seen my trouble. Now my husband will love me.” ³³ Then she was going to have another child and she gave birth to a son. She said, “The Lord has given me this son also, because He has heard that I am not loved.” So she gave him the name Simeon. ³⁴ She was going to have another child and she gave birth to a son. She said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me because I have given birth to his three sons.” So she gave him the name Levi. ³⁵ She was going to have another child and she gave birth to a son. And she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she gave him the name of Judah. Then she stopped giving birth.

30 When Rachel saw that she had not given birth to any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I am going to die!” ² Then Jacob became angry with Rachel. He said, “Am I taking God’s place, Who has kept you from giving birth?” ³ Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, the woman who serves me. Go in to her, and let her give birth for me. Even I may have children through her.” ⁴ So she gave Bilhah to him for a wife, the woman who served her. And Jacob went in to her. ⁵ Bilhah was going to have a child and she gave birth to a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has done the right thing for me. He has heard my voice and has given me a son.” So she gave him the name Dan. ⁷ Bilhah, the woman who served Rachel, was going to have another child. And she gave birth to another son for Jacob. ⁸ So Rachel said, “I have fought a hard fight with my sister, and I have won.” She gave him the name Naphtali.

⁹ Leah saw that she had stopped giving birth. So she took Zilpah, the woman who served her, and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ And a son was born to Jacob through Zilpah, the woman who served Leah. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “Good things have happened to me!” So she gave him the name Gad. ¹² A second son was born to Jacob through Zilpah, the woman who served Leah. ¹³ Then Leah said, “I am happy! For women will say that I am happy.” So she gave him the name Asher.

¹⁴ During the time of gathering grain, Reuben went out in the field and found some fruit. He brought it to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s fruit.” ¹⁵ But Leah said, “Is it not enough to take my husband? Would you take my son’s fruit also?” So Rachel said, “Jacob may lie with you tonight if you give me your son’s fruit.”

¹⁶ When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went to meet him. She said, “You must sleep with me tonight. For I have paid for you with my son’s fruit.” So he lay with her that night. ¹⁷ And God heard Leah and she gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. ¹⁸ Leah said, “God has given me my pay because I gave my husband the woman who serves me.” So she gave him the name Issachar. ¹⁹ Leah was going to have another child and she gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. ²⁰ Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will live with me, because I have given birth to six sons.” So she gave him the name of Zebulun. ²¹ Later she gave birth to a daughter, and gave her the name Dinah.

²² Then God remembered Rachel. God listened to her, and made her able to have a child, ²³ and she gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” ²⁴ She gave him the name Joseph, saying, “May the Lord give me another son.”

²⁵ When Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, so I may go to my own place and my own country. ²⁶ Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served. Let me leave, for you know how much I have served you.”

²⁷ But Laban said to him, “If now it pleases you, stay with me. I have learned that the Lord has brought good to me because of you.” ²⁸ Then he said, “Tell me what you want to be paid, and I will pay it.”

²⁹ Jacob said to him, “You know how much I have served you and how I have cared for your cattle. ³⁰ For you had little before I came. But now it has become very much. The Lord has brought good to you everywhere I turned. But when will I be able to give much to those of my own house also?”

³¹ Laban said, “What should I pay you?” Jacob said, “Do not pay me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again feed and take care of your flock. ³² Let me go through your whole flock today. Let me take out of it every sheep and every goat that has spots, and every black lamb. These will be my pay. ³³ So my fair actions will answer for me later, when you come to look at what I have been paid. If you find any sheep or goat without spots or any lamb that is not black, you may think of them as stolen.” ³⁴ And Laban said, “Good! Let it be done as you say.” ³⁵ That day Laban took out all the male goats with spots and all the female goats with spots, every one with white on it, and every black sheep. And he put them into the care of his sons. ³⁶ Then he traveled three days away from Jacob. And Jacob was left to care for the rest of Laban’s flocks.

³⁷ Then Jacob took green sticks of three kinds of trees. And he cut white marks in them, showing the white which was in the sticks. ³⁸ He took these sticks which he had cut and set them in front of the flocks, in the place where the flocks came to drink. And the animals mated when they came to drink. ³⁹ So the flocks mated in front of the sticks. And the young that were born had spots. ⁴⁰ Then Jacob divided the lambs. He made the flocks look toward Laban’s flock of the animals which were black or with spots. And he put his own flocks by themselves. He did not put them with Laban’s flock. ⁴¹ When the stronger animals of the flock were mating, Jacob would put the sticks in the water in front of the flock so they would mate by the sticks. ⁴² But when the flock was weak, Jacob did not put the sticks in. So the weaker animals went to Laban and the stronger ones went to Jacob. ⁴³ Jacob became very rich. He had large flocks and camels and donkeys, and men and women servants.

Jacob Leaves Laban

31 Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that our father had. He has become rich with what had belonged to our father.” ² Jacob saw that Laban did not show him as much favor as he did before. ³ Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to those of your family. And I will be with you.”

⁴ So Jacob called Rachel and Leah to come to his flock in the field. ⁵ He said to them, “I see that your father does not show me as much favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. ⁶ You know that I have worked for your father with all my strength. ⁷ Yet your father has not been fair with me. He has changed my pay ten times. But God did not let him hurt me. ⁸ If he said, ‘The animals that have spots will be your pay,’ then all the flock gave birth to young ones with spots. If he said, ‘The animals with black marks will be your pay,’ then all the flock gave birth to young ones with black marks. ⁹ So God has taken away your father’s animals and has given them to me. ¹⁰ I had a dream at the time the flocks were mating. I looked up and saw that the male goats which were mating with the female goats had black marks and spots. ¹¹ Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’ ¹² He said, ‘Look and see how all the male goats that are mating with the others have black marks and spots. For I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. ¹³ I am the God of Bethel, where you set up a stone in honor to Me, and where you made a promise to Me. Now get up, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.’”

¹⁴ Rachel and Leah answered him, “Do we still have any part or share in our father’s house? ¹⁵ Does he not think of us as strangers? For he has sold us. And he has used all the money that was paid for us. ¹⁶ All the riches that God has taken away from our father belong to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you to do.”

¹⁷ Then Jacob got up and put his children and his wives on camels. ¹⁸ He took away all his animals, all the riches he had gathered and all the cattle he had gathered in Paddan-aram. And he left to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. ¹⁹ Laban had gone to cut the wool from his flock. And Rachel stole the gods of her father’s house. ²⁰ Jacob fooled Laban the Syrian by not telling him that he was going. ²¹ So he left with all he had. He went and crossed the Euphrates River, and turned toward the hill country of Gilead.

Laban Follows after Jacob

²² But Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had gone. ²³ So he took the men of his family with him, and followed Jacob for seven days. He found him in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁴ But God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night. He said to him, “Be careful that you do not speak good or bad to Jacob.”

²⁵ Then Laban came to Jacob. Now Jacob had put up his tent in the hill country. Laban and the men of his family put up their tents in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁶ Laban said to Jacob, “What do you mean by fooling me and carrying away my daughters as if they were taken by the sword? ²⁷ Why did you leave in secret and fool me? Why did you not tell me, so I would have sent you away with joy and with songs and with sounds of joy on the timbrel and harp. ²⁸ Why did you not let me kiss my grandchildren and daughters good-bye? Now you have been foolish. ²⁹ I have the power to hurt you. But the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to speak good or bad to Jacob.’ ³⁰ Now you have gone away because you had a desire for your father’s house. But why did you steal my gods?”

³¹ Jacob answered Laban, “Because I was afraid you might take your daughters from me and make them stay. ³² The one with whom you find your gods will not live. In front of those of our family, look for what I have that is yours, and take it.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

³³ So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two women who served Rachel and Leah. But he did not find his gods. Then he went from Leah’s tent into Rachel’s tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the gods of Laban’s house and put them in the seat that was used on the camel’s back. And she sat upon them. Laban looked through the whole tent, but did not find them. ³⁵ She said to her father, “My lord, do not be angry that I cannot rise in front of you. For the way of women is upon me.” So he looked, but could not find the gods.

³⁶ Then Jacob became angry and argued with Laban. Jacob said to Laban, “What have I done wrong? What is my sin that made you run after me? ³⁷ What things of your house have you found by looking through all that belongs to me? Set it here in front of my brothers and your brothers, so they may judge between us. ³⁸ During these twenty years I have been with you, your female goats and sheep have not lost a young one. And I have not eaten the sheep of your flocks. ³⁹ I did not bring to you those that were torn by wild animals. I took the loss upon myself. You had me pay for what was carried away during the day or during the night. ⁴⁰ This is the way it was for me. I suffered from heat during the day, and from cold during the night. And I could not sleep. ⁴¹ I have been in your house twenty years. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock. And you changed my pay ten times. ⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac, had not been with me, for sure you would have sent me away with nothing. God has seen my suffering and the work of my hands. So He spoke sharp words to you last night.”

⁴³ Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters. The children are my children. And the flocks are my flocks. All that you see is mine. But what can I do today to these my daughters or to their children who were born to them? ⁴⁴ So come now, let us make an agreement, you and I. And let us do something to show we have an agreement between us.”

⁴⁵ So Jacob took a stone and set it up in honor of the agreement. ⁴⁶ Then Jacob said to the men of his family, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and put them on top of each other. And they ate there by all the stones. ⁴⁷ Laban gave the stones the name of Jegar-sahadutha. But Jacob gave them the name Galeed. ⁴⁸ Laban said, “These stones are to stand for the agreement between you and me today.” So they were given the name Galeed. ⁴⁹ They were given the name of Mizpah also. For Laban said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are apart from each other. ⁵⁰ If you hurt my daughters, or if you take wives other than my daughters, no man may see it. But God sees what happens between you and me.” ⁵¹ Laban said to Jacob, “See these stones that have been set up between you and me. ⁵² These stones that have been set up will stand for our agreement. I will not pass by these stones to hurt you. And you will not pass by these stones to hurt me. ⁵³ The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob promised by the fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ Then Jacob gave a gift in worship to God on the mountain. Then he called his brothers to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed the night on the mountain.

⁵⁵ Laban got up early in the morning and kissed his grandchildren and daughters. He prayed that good would come to them. Then Laban left and returned home.

Esau Comes to Meet Jacob

32 Jacob went on his way, and God’s angels met him. ² When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp!” So he gave the place the name Mahanaim.

³ Jacob sent men to carry news before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. ⁴ He told them, “Say this to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, “I have been living with Laban, and stayed there until now. ⁵ I have cattle and donkeys and flocks and men and women servants. And I have sent to tell my lord, hoping to find favor in your eyes.’” ⁶ The men that carried the news returned to Jacob and said, “We came to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

⁷ Then Jacob was afraid and troubled. And he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and cattle and camels, into two groups. ⁸ For he said, “If Esau comes to the one group and destroys it, then the other group will get away.” ⁹ Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, Who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to those of your family, and I will bring good to you.’ ¹⁰ I have not earned any of the loving-kindness and faith which You have shown to your servant. For I had crossed this Jordan with only my walking stick. And now I have become two large groups. ¹¹ Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the power of Esau. For I am afraid of him. I am afraid he will come and kill us all, the mothers with the children. ¹² But You said, ‘I will bring good to you. I will make your children like the sand of the sea. There will be too many to number.’”

¹³ So Jacob stayed there that night. Then he chose a gift from what he had for his brother Esau: ¹⁴ Two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred female sheep, twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milk camels and their young ones, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. ¹⁶ He put them into the care of his servants, every group of animals by itself. Then he said to his servants, “Go in front of me. And keep the groups of animals apart.” ¹⁷ He told the one in front, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and who owns these animals in front of you?’ ¹⁸ then you say, ‘These belong to your servant Jacob. It is a gift sent to my lord Esau. And he is coming behind us.’” ¹⁹ He also told the second and the third and all those who followed the animals, “This is what you are to say to Esau when you meet him. ²⁰ And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he said, “I will take away his anger with the gift that goes in front of me. Then when I meet him, he might receive me.” ²¹ So the gift went in front of him, while he stayed that night in the tent.

Jacob’s Name Is Changed to Israel

²² But he got up that same night and crossed the Jabbok River, with his two wives, the two women who served him, and his eleven children. ²³ He took them and sent them to the other side of the river with all that he had. ²⁴ Then Jacob was left alone. And a man fought with him until morning. ²⁵ When the man saw that he was not winning he touched the joint of Jacob’s thigh. And Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint while he fought with him. ²⁶ The man said, “Let me go. For the morning has come.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you pray that good will come to me.” ²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” ²⁸ And the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel. For you have fought with God and with men, and have won.” ²⁹ Then Jacob asked him, “Tell me, what is your name?” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he prayed that good would come to Jacob. ³⁰ So Jacob gave the place the name of Peniel. For he said, “I have seen God face to face, and yet I am still alive.”

³¹ The sun rose upon him as he passed through Peniel. It was hard to walk on his leg. ³² So to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the meat from inside the joint of the thigh, because he touched this part of the joint on Jacob’s leg.

Jacob Meets Esau

33 Then Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two women who served him. ² He put the women who served him and their children in front, and Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. ³ Then Jacob went before them. He bowed to the ground seven times, until he came near his brother. ⁴ But Esau ran to meet him and put his arms around him and kissed him. And they cried.

⁵ Then Esau looked up and saw the women and the children. He said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “They are the children whom God, in His loving-favor, has given your servant.” ⁶ Then the women who served Jacob came near with their children, and they bowed to the ground. ⁷ Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed to the ground. Then Joseph and Rachel came near and bowed to the ground.

⁸ Esau said, “What do you mean by all these animals I have met?” And Jacob said, “They are a gift so I may find favor in the eyes of my lord.” ⁹ But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.” ¹⁰ But Jacob said, “No, I ask of you, if I have found favor in your eyes, then receive my gift. For I see your face as one sees the face of God. You have received me with favor. ¹¹ Take my gift that has been brought to you. For God has shown loving-kindness to me, and I have all I need.” So he begged him until he took it.

¹² Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way. I will go with you.” ¹³ But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak. And there are young ones in my flocks that need milk. If they are made to go a long way in one day, all the flocks will die. ¹⁴ Let my lord go in front of his servant. And I will be slow in coming to my lord at Seir. I will go as fast as the cattle in front of me and as the children are able.” ¹⁵ So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But Jacob said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.” ¹⁶ So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. ¹⁷ But Jacob traveled to Succoth. He built his house there, and put up small buildings for his animals. So the name of the place is Succoth.

¹⁸ Now Jacob came in peace from Paddan-aram to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan. And he put up his tents near the city. ¹⁹ He bought the piece of land where he had put up his tents for one hundred pieces of money from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father. ²⁰ He built an altar there, and gave it the name El-Elohe-Israel.

Dinah and Shechem

34 Now Leah’s daughter Dinah, who was born to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. ² And she was seen by Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of the land. He took her and made her lay with him, and she was put to shame. ³ He had much desire for Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the girl and spoke kind words to her. ⁴ So Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this young girl for a wife.”

⁵ Now Jacob heard that Shechem had put his daughter Dinah to shame. But his sons were with the flocks in the field, so Jacob kept quiet until they returned. ⁶ Then Shechem’s father Hamor went to speak with Jacob. ⁷ Jacob’s sons returned from the field when they heard what had happened. They were full of sorrow and were angry. For Shechem had put Israel to shame by lying with Jacob’s daughter. Such a thing should not be done. ⁸ But Hamor said to them, “The soul of my son Shechem has much desire for your daughter. I ask of you, give her to him in marriage. ⁹ Marry with our people. Give your daughters to us. And take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰ May you live with us. And the land will be open to you. Live and trade in it, and buy land in it.”

¹¹ Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes. I will give you whatever you ask. ¹² Make your price and wedding gift as much as you want. I will give you as much as you ask. Only give me the girl to be my wife.”

¹³ But Jacob’s sons lied in their answer to Shechem and his father Hamor because he had put their sister Dinah to shame. ¹⁴ They said to them, “We cannot do this. We cannot give our sister to one who has not gone through the religious act of having his flesh cut. For that would be a shame to us. ¹⁵ We will give you our sister only if you become like us. Every man among you must have this religious act done. ¹⁶ Then we will give our daughters to you. And we will marry your daughters. We will live with you and become one people. ¹⁷ But if you will not listen to us and have this religious act done, then we will take our daughter and go.”

¹⁸ Their words pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. ¹⁹ The young man did not wait to do what they asked, because he was in love with Jacob’s daughter. And he was the most honored of all his family. ²⁰ So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city. And they said to the men of their city, ²¹ “These men want to be at peace with us. Let them live in the land and trade in it. For, see, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters in marriage, and give our daughters to them. ²² But the men will be willing to live with us and become one people only if every man among us goes through the religious act that they have gone through. ²³ Will not their cattle and all they own, all their animals, be ours? Let us just do what they ask, and they will live with us.” ²⁴ All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem. And every man went through the religious act of having his flesh cut, all who went out of the gate of his city.

²⁵ But on the third day, when all the men were in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and went into the city in secret. And they killed every man. ²⁶ They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword. And they took Dinah from Shechem’s house and went away. ²⁷ Then Jacob’s sons went over the dead men and robbed the city of its riches because its men had put their sister to shame. ²⁸ They took their flocks and cattle and donkeys and whatever was in the city and in the field. ²⁹ They took all their riches, their little ones, their wives, even all that was in the houses.

³⁰ Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me hated by the people of the land, the Canaanites and Perizzites. My men are few in number. And these people will gather together against me and fight me. I and those of my house will be destroyed.” ³¹ But they said, “Should he act towards our sister as if she were a woman who sells the use of her body?”

Jacob Returns to Bethel

35 God said to Jacob, “Get ready and go to Bethel to live. Make an altar there to God, Who showed Himself to you when you ran away from your brother Esau.” ² So Jacob said to those of his house and all who were with him, “Put away the strange gods that are among you. Make yourselves clean and change your clothes. ³ Then let us get ready and go to Bethel. I will make an altar there to God, Who answered me in the day of my trouble, and was with me every place I went.” ⁴ So they gave to Jacob all the strange gods they had, and the gold objects which they wore in their ears. And Jacob hid them under the tree near Shechem. ⁵ As they traveled, much fear from God came upon the cities around them. So the people of the land did not go against the sons of Jacob.

⁶ So Jacob and all the people who were with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. ⁷ He built an altar there, and gave the place the name El-bethel. Because God had shown Himself to him there, when Jacob ran away from his brother. ⁸ Then Rebekah’s nurse Deborah died. She was buried below Bethel under a tree. It was given the name of Allon-bacuth.

⁹ When Jacob came from Paddan-aram, God showed Himself to him again and brought good to him. ¹⁰ God said to him, “Your name is Jacob. You will not be called Jacob any longer, but Israel will be your name.” So his name was Israel. ¹¹ Then God said to him, “I am the All-powerful God. Have many children and add to your number. A nation and a group of nations will come from you. Kings will come from you. ¹² I will give you the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac. This land I will give to your children and their children’s children after you.” ¹³ Then God went up from him in the place where He had spoken with him. ¹⁴ Jacob set up a pillar of stone in the place where He had spoken with him. And he poured a drink offering and also oil on it. ¹⁵ So Jacob gave the place where God had spoken with him the name Bethel.

¹⁶ Then they traveled from Bethel. When there was still a long way to go before coming to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth. She suffered much pain. ¹⁷ And while she was suffering, the woman who was helping her said to her, “Do not be afraid. For now you have another son.” ¹⁸ As Rachel’s soul was leaving, for she died, she gave him the name Benoni. But his father gave him the name Benjamin. ¹⁹ So Rachel died, and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ²⁰ Jacob set up a stone on her grave. And that is the stone of Rachel’s grave to this day.

²¹ Then Israel traveled on, and put up his tent on the other side of the tall building of Eder. ²² While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, the woman who acted as his father’s wife. And Israel heard about it.

The Sons of Jacob

There were twelve sons of Jacob. ²³ The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s first-born, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. ²⁴ The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁵ The sons of Bilhah, the woman who served Rachel, were Dan and Naphtali. ²⁶ The sons of Zilpah, the woman who served Leah, were Gad and Asher. These are the sons who were born to Jacob in Paddan-aram.

The Death of Isaac

²⁷ Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre of Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had been living. ²⁸ Now Isaac had lived 180 years. ²⁹ And Isaac breathed his last and died, and was joined to his people who died before him. He was an old man who had a long life, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

The Families of Esau

36 These are the children of Esau (that is, Edom).

² Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite, ³ and Ishmael’s daughter Basemath, the sister of Nebaioth. ⁴ Adah gave birth to Esau’s son Eliphaz. Basemath gave birth to Reuel. ⁵ And Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These are the sons who were born to Esau in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Then Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all those of his house, and his flocks and cattle, and all his riches from the land of Canaan. And he went to another land away from his brother Jacob. ⁷ For they owned too much for them to live together. The land where they were staying could not keep them alive, because of all their animals. ⁸ So Esau lived in the hill country of Seir. Esau is Edom.

⁹ These are the children, and their children, of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. ¹⁰ These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. ¹¹ The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. ¹² Timna acted as the wife of Esau’s son Eliphaz. And she gave birth to Eliphaz’s son Amalek. These are the sons of Esau’s wife Adah. ¹³ These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. They are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

¹⁴ These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon: She gave birth to Esau’s sons, Jeush, Jalam and Korah.

¹⁵ These are the leaders of the sons of Esau. The sons of Esau’s first-born, Eliphaz, are leaders Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ¹⁶ Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These are the leaders of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. They are the sons of Adah.

¹⁷ These are the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: Leaders Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the leaders of Reuel in the land of Edom. They are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

¹⁸ These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: Leaders Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These are the leaders of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. ¹⁹ These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their leaders.

²⁰ These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who lived in that land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ²¹ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the leaders of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom.

²² The sons of Lotan are Hori and Hemam. Lotan’s sister was Timna. ²³ The sons of Shobal are Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. ²⁴ The sons of Zibeon are Aiah and Anah. He is the Anah who found the hot water well in the desert when he was caring for the donkeys of his father Zibeon. ²⁵ The children of Anah are Dishon and Oholibamah, Anah’s daughter. ²⁶ The sons of Dishon are Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. ²⁷ The sons of Ezer are Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan. ²⁸ And the sons of Dishan are Uz and Aran.

²⁹ These are the leaders of the Horites: Leaders Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ³⁰ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the leaders of the Horites, by their families in the land of Seir.

The Kings of Edom

³¹ These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before any king ruled the sons of Israel. ³² Bela the son of Beor ruled in Edom. The name of his city was Dinhabah. ³³ Then Bela died. And Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah became king in his place. ³⁴ Then Jobab died. And Husham of the land of the Temanites became king in his place. ³⁵ Then Husham died. And Hadad the son of Bedad, who won the fight against Midian in the field of Moab, became king in his place. The name of his city was Avith. ³⁶ Then Hadad died. And Samlah of Masrekah became king in his place. ³⁷ Then Samlah died. And Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates River became king in his place. ³⁸ Then Shaul died. And Achbor’s son Baalhanan became king in his place. ³⁹ Then Achbor’s son died. And Hadar became king in his place. The name of his city was Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.

⁴⁰ These are the names of the leaders of Esau, by family, place and name: Leaders Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ⁴¹ Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁴² Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁴³ Magdiel, and Iram. These are the leaders of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of the Edomites), who lived in the land that belonged to them.

Joseph’s Dream

37 Jacob lived in the land where his father had lived as a stranger, in the land of Canaan. ² This is the story of the children of Jacob and of their children.

When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was caring for the flock with his brothers. The boy was with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph told his father about how bad they were. ³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because Joseph was born when he was an old man. And Israel made him a long coat of many colors. ⁴ His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers. So they hated Joseph and could not speak a kind word to him.

⁵ Then Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. ⁶ He said to them, “Listen to the dream that I have had. ⁷ We were gathering grain in the field. My bundle of grain stood up. Your bundles of grain gathered around it and bowed down to my bundle.” ⁸ Then his brothers said to him, “Are you going to be our king? Are you going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for what he said.

⁹ Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. He said, “I have had another dream. The sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” ¹⁰ He told it to his father and to his brothers. His father spoke sharp words to him, saying, “What is this dream you have had? Will I and your mother and brothers come to bow ourselves down to the ground in front of you?” ¹¹ Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him. But his father thought about what he said.

Joseph Is Sold and Taken to Egypt

¹² Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. ¹³ Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And Joseph said to him, “I will go.” ¹⁴ Then Israel said, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock. Then come and tell me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. ¹⁵ A man found him walking through a field, and asked him, “What are you looking for?” ¹⁶ Joseph said, “I am looking for my brothers. Tell me where they are feeding the flock.” ¹⁷ And the man said, “They have moved from here. For I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph followed his brothers and found them at Dothan.

¹⁸ When they saw him far away, before he came near them, they made plans to kill him. ¹⁹ They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer! ²⁰ Now come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the deep holes. Then we will say that a wild animal ate him. And we will see what becomes of his dreams!”

²¹ But Reuben heard this and saved him from their hands, saying, “Let us not kill him.” ²² Reuben then said, “Do not put him to death. Throw him into this hole here in the desert. But do not lay a hand on him.” He wanted to be able to save Joseph and return him to his father.

²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they tore off his coat, the coat of many colors that he was wearing. ²⁴ And they took him and threw him into the hole. The hole was empty and had no water in it.

²⁵ Then they sat down to eat. When they looked up, they saw a group of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. They were taking spices and perfumes on their camels to Egypt. ²⁶ Judah said to his brothers, “What do we get by killing our brother and covering his blood? ²⁷ Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him. For he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. ²⁸ Some Midianite traders were passing by. So the brothers pulled Joseph up out of the hole. And they sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver, and they took Joseph to Egypt.

²⁹ Then Reuben returned to the hole. When he saw that Joseph was not in the hole, he tore his clothes. ³⁰ He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is not there! What can I do?” ³¹ So they took Joseph’s coat, killed a male goat, and put the blood on the coat. ³² They sent the coat of many colors to their father. And they said, “We found this. Is it your son’s coat or not?”

³³ Jacob looked at it and said, “It is my son’s coat! A wild animal has eaten him! For sure Joseph has been torn to pieces!” ³⁴ So Jacob tore his clothes and dressed in clothes made from hair. He had sorrow for his son many days. ³⁵ All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him. But he would not be comforted. He said, “I will go down to the grave in sorrow for my son.” And his father cried for him.

³⁶ The Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, the head of the soldiers of Pharaoh’s house.

Judah and Tamar

38 Judah went away from his brothers at that time. He visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. ² There Judah saw a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her as his wife and lived with her. ³ And she was going to have a child and gave birth to a son. He gave him the name Er. ⁴ Then she was going to have another child and she gave birth to a son. She gave him the name Onan. ⁵ Then she gave birth to another son at Chezib. And she gave him the name Shelah.

⁶ Judah chose a wife for his first-born son Er. Her name was Tamar. ⁷ But Er, Judah’s first-born, was sinful in the eyes of the Lord. So the Lord took his life. ⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife. Do your duty as her brother-in-law. Have children for your brother.” ⁹ But Onan knew that the children would not be his. So when he went in to his brother’s wife, he wasted his seed on the ground to keep his brother from having children. ¹⁰ What he did was sinful in the eyes of the Lord. So the Lord took his life also. ¹¹ Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Stay in your father’s house as a woman whose husband has died, until my son Shelah is grown.” For he thought, “I am afraid that he also may die like his brothers.” So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

¹² Now after a long time, Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. And after the time of sorrow, Judah and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went to the men who cut the wool from his sheep at Timnah. ¹³ It was told to Tamar, “Your father-in-law is going to Timnah to cut the wool from his sheep.” ¹⁴ So she took off the clothes of a woman whose husband has died and put on other clothes and covered her face with cloth. Then she sat in the gate of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown, and she had not been given to him for a wife. ¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a woman who sold the use of her body. For she had covered her face. ¹⁶ He went to her at the side of the road, and said, “Here now, let me come in to you.” He did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, “What will you give me to come in to me?” ¹⁷ He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give something as a promise until you send it?” ¹⁸ He said, “What should I give you as a promise?” And she said, “The ring you use to mark your name, and its string, and the stick that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her. And she was going to have a baby by him. ¹⁹ Then she got up and left. She took off the cloth that covered her, and put on the clothes worn by a woman whose husband has died.

²⁰ Judah sent his friend the Adullamite to bring the young goat to the woman and take from her the things he had given as a promise. But he did not find her. ²¹ He asked the men of the place, “Where is the woman who was selling the use of her body beside the road at Enaim?” They said, “There has been no woman selling the use of her body here.” ²² So he returned to Judah, and said, “I did not find her. The men of the place said, ‘There has been no woman selling the use of her body here.’” ²³ Then Judah said, “Let her keep the things, or else we will be laughed at. I sent the young goat, and you did not find her.”

²⁴ About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has sold the use of her body. She is going to have a baby by doing this sinful thing.” Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” ²⁵ When she was brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “I am going to have a baby by the man who owns these things.” She said, “Look and see, who owns this ring for marking a name, and this string and stick?” ²⁶ Judah saw that they belonged to him. He said, “She is more right than I, because I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not lie with her again.

²⁷ When the time came for Tamar to give birth, there were two babies. ²⁸ While she was giving birth, one put out a hand. The nurse took his hand and tied a red string around it, saying, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ But when he pulled away his hand, his brother was born. Then she said, “What an opening you have made for yourself!” So he was given the name of Perez. ³⁰ After that, his brother came out with the red string around his hand. He was given the name Zerah.

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt by the Ishmaelites. And Potiphar, an Egyptian leader, the head of the soldiers of Pharaoh’s house, bought him from the Ishmaelites. ² The Lord was with Joseph, and all went well with him. He was in the house of his boss the Egyptian. ³ Now his boss saw that the Lord was with him. He saw how the Lord made all that Joseph did go well. ⁴ So Joseph found favor in his eyes, and worked only for him. Potiphar made him the one to watch over his house and take care of all that he owned. ⁵ And from the time that he watched over his house and all he owned, the Lord brought good to the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph. The Lord brought good upon all that he owned in the house and in the field. ⁶ So he put all he owned in Joseph’s care. Having Joseph near, he did not need to think about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was strong and good-looking. ⁷ The time came when his boss’s wife saw him, and she said, “Lie with me.” ⁸ But he would not do it. He said to his boss’s wife, “See, with me near, my boss does not worry about anything in the house. He has put all he owns in my care. ⁹ There is no one more important in this house than I. And he has held nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this sinful thing, and sin against God?”