January 1st, 2004   Genesis 1:1-3:24

Genesis 1


The Beginning

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

³ And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day.
⁶ And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." ⁷ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸ God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning-the second day.
⁹ And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.
¹¹ Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. ¹² The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening, and there was morning-the third day.
¹⁴ And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. ¹⁶ God made two great lights-the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening, and there was morning-the fourth day.
²⁰ And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." ²¹ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." ²³ And there was evening, and there was morning-the fifth day.
²⁴ And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
²⁶ Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
²⁹ Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-everything that has the breath of life in it-I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the sixth day.

Genesis 2
¹ Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

² By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.


Adam and Eve
⁴ This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- ⁵ and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, ⁶ but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- ⁷ the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
⁸ Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹ And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground-trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
¹⁰ A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. ¹¹ The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) ¹³ The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
¹⁵ The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶ And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
¹⁸ The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
¹⁹ Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. ²¹ So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. ²² Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
²³ The man said,

"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called 'woman, '
for she was taken out of man."

²⁴ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
²⁵ The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Genesis 3


The Fall of Man

¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
² The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
⁴ "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
¹⁰ He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
¹¹ And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
¹² The man said, "The woman you put here with me-she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
¹³ Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
¹⁴ So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,

"Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
¹⁵ And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel."

¹⁶ To the woman he said,

"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you."

¹⁷ To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'

"Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.
¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return."

²⁰ Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
²¹ The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. ²² And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." ²³ So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴ After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

January 2, 2004-Genesis 4:1-6:22

Genesis 4


Cain and Abel

¹ Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." ² Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. ³ In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD . ⁴ But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵ but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
⁶ Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? ⁷ If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
⁸ Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
⁹ Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"
¹⁰ The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. ¹¹ Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. ¹² When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."
¹³ Cain said to the LORD , "My punishment is more than I can bear. ¹⁴ Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."
¹⁵ But the LORD said to him, "Not so ; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. ¹⁶ So Cain went out from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
¹⁷ Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. ¹⁸ To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.
¹⁹ Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. ²⁰ Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. ²¹ His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. ²² Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain's sister was Naamah.
²³ Lamech said to his wives,

"Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for injuring me.
²⁴ If Cain is avenged seven times,
then Lamech seventy-seven times."

²⁵ Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, "God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him." ²⁶ Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.
At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD .

Genesis 5


From Adam to Noah

¹ This is the written account of Adam's line.

When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. ² He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them "man. "
³ When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. ⁴ After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁵ Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.
⁶ When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. ⁷ And after he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁸ Altogether, Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.
⁹ When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. ¹⁰ And after he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹¹ Altogether, Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.
¹² When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. ¹³ And after he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁴ Altogether, Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.
¹⁵ When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. ¹⁶ And after he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁷ Altogether, Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.
¹⁸ When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. ¹⁹ And after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁰ Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.
²¹ When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. ²² And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. ²³ Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. ²⁴ Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
²⁵ When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. ²⁶ And after he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁷ Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.
²⁸ When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. ²⁹ He named him Noah and said, "He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed." ³⁰ After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. ³¹ Altogether, Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died.
³² After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Genesis 6


The Flood

¹ When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. ³ Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal ; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."
⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days-and also afterward-when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
⁵ The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. ⁶ The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. ⁷ So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth-men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air-for I am grieved that I have made them." ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD .

⁹ This is the account of Noah.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. ¹⁰ Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. ¹² God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. ¹³ So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. ¹⁴ So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. ¹⁵ This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. ¹⁶ Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. ¹⁷ I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. ¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark-you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. ¹⁹ You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. ²⁰ Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. ²¹ You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."
²² Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

January 3, 2004-Genesis 7:1-9:29


Genesis 7
¹ The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. ² Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, ³ and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. ⁴ Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."
⁵ And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.
⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. ⁷ And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. ⁸ Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, ⁹ male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. ¹⁰ And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.
¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month-on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. ¹² And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
¹³ On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. ¹⁴ They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. ¹⁵ Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. ¹⁶ The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.
¹⁷ For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. ¹⁹ They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. ²⁰ The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. , ²¹ Every living thing that moved on the earth perished-birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. ²² Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. ²³ Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
²⁴ The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

Genesis 8
¹ But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. ² Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. ³ The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, ⁴ and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. ⁵ The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.
⁶ After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark ⁷ and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. ⁸ Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. ⁹ But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. ¹⁰ He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. ¹¹ When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. ¹² He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.
¹³ By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. ¹⁴ By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.
¹⁵ Then God said to Noah, ¹⁶ "Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. ¹⁷ Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you-the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground-so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it."
¹⁸ So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives. ¹⁹ All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds-everything that moves on the earth-came out of the ark, one kind after another.
²⁰ Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. ²¹ The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

²² "As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease."

Genesis 9


God's Covenant With Noah

¹ Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. ² The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. ³ Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
⁴ "But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. ⁵ And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.

⁶ "Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made man.

⁷ As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it."
⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: ⁹ "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you ¹⁰ and with every living creature that was with you-the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you-every living creature on earth. ¹¹ I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."
¹² And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶ Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."
¹⁷ So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth."


The Sons of Noah
¹⁸ The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) ¹⁹ These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the earth.
²⁰ Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. ²¹ When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. ²² Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. ²³ But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness.
²⁴ When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, ²⁵ he said,

"Cursed be Canaan!
The lowest of slaves
will he be to his brothers."

²⁶ He also said,

"Blessed be the LORD , the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem.
²⁷ May God extend the territory of Japheth ;
may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,
and may Canaan be his slave."

²⁸ After the flood Noah lived 350 years. ²⁹ Altogether, Noah lived 950 years, and then he died.

January 4, 2004-Genesis 10:1-11:26

Genesis 10


The Table of Nations

¹ This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah's sons, who themselves had sons after the flood. The Japhethites
² The sons of Japheth:
Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras.
³ The sons of Gomer:
Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.
⁴ The sons of Javan:
Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim. ⁵ (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.) The Hamites
⁶ The sons of Ham:
Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan.
⁷ The sons of Cush:
Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteca.
The sons of Raamah:
Sheba and Dedan.

⁸ Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. ⁹ He was a mighty hunter before the LORD ; that is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD ." ¹⁰ The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh, in Shinar. ¹¹ From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah ¹² and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

¹³ Mizraim was the father of
the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, ¹⁴ Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.
¹⁵ Canaan was the father of
Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites, ¹⁶ Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, ¹⁷ Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, ¹⁸ Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.

Later the Canaanite clans scattered ¹⁹ and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
²⁰ These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations. The Semites
²¹ Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.

²² The sons of Shem:
Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.
²³ The sons of Aram:
Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshech.
²⁴ Arphaxad was the father of Shelah,
and Shelah the father of Eber.
²⁵ Two sons were born to Eber:
One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.
²⁶ Joktan was the father of
Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²⁷ Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²⁸ Obal, Abimael, Sheba, ²⁹ Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.

³⁰ The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.
³¹ These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.

³² These are the clans of Noah's sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.

Genesis 11


The Tower of Babel

¹ Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
³ They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
⁵ But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. ⁶ The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
⁸ So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel -because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.


From Shem to Abram
¹⁰ This is the account of Shem.

Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. ¹¹ And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
¹² When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. ¹³ And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
¹⁴ When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. ¹⁵ And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
¹⁶ When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. ¹⁷ And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
¹⁸ When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. ¹⁹ And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
²⁰ When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. ²¹ And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
²² When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. ²³ And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
²⁴ When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. ²⁵ And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
²⁶ After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.

²⁷ This is the account of Terah.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. ²⁸ While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. ²⁹ Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. ³⁰ Now Sarai was barren; she had no children.
³¹ Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.
³² Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.

January 5, 2004 Job 11-3:26

Job 1


Prologue

¹ In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. ² He had seven sons and three daughters, ³ and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
⁴ His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵ When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.


Job's First Test
⁶ One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD , and Satan also came with them. ⁷ The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the LORD , "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
⁸ Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
⁹ "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. ¹⁰ "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. ¹¹ But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
¹² The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD .
¹³ One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, ¹⁴ a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, ¹⁵ and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
¹⁷ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
¹⁸ While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, ¹⁹ when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
²⁰ At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ²¹ and said:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised."

²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Job 2


Job's Second Test

¹ On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD , and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. ² And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the LORD , "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
³ Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason."
⁴ "Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. ⁵ But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face."
⁶ The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."
⁷ So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. ⁸ Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
⁹ His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"
¹⁰ He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.


Job's Three Friends
¹¹ When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. ¹² When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. ¹³ Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

Job 3


Job Speaks

¹ After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. ² He said:

³ "May the day of my birth perish,
and the night it was said, 'A boy is born!'
⁴ That day-may it turn to darkness;
may God above not care about it;
may no light shine upon it.
⁵ May darkness and deep shadow claim it once more;
may a cloud settle over it;
may blackness overwhelm its light.
⁶ That night-may thick darkness seize it;
may it not be included among the days of the year
nor be entered in any of the months.
⁷ May that night be barren;
may no shout of joy be heard in it.
⁸ May those who curse days curse that day,
those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.
⁹ May its morning stars become dark;
may it wait for daylight in vain
and not see the first rays of dawn,
¹⁰ for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
to hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹ "Why did I not perish at birth,
and die as I came from the womb?
¹² Why were there knees to receive me
and breasts that I might be nursed?
¹³ For now I would be lying down in peace;
I would be asleep and at rest
¹⁴ with kings and counselors of the earth,
who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,
¹⁵ with rulers who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.
¹⁶ Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child,
like an infant who never saw the light of day?
¹⁷ There the wicked cease from turmoil,
and there the weary are at rest.
¹⁸ Captives also enjoy their ease;
they no longer hear the slave driver's shout.
¹⁹ The small and the great are there,
and the slave is freed from his master.

²⁰ "Why is light given to those in misery,
and life to the bitter of soul,
²¹ to those who long for death that does not come,
who search for it more than for hidden treasure,
²² who are filled with gladness
and rejoice when they reach the grave?
²³ Why is life given to a man
whose way is hidden,
whom God has hedged in?
²⁴ For sighing comes to me instead of food;
my groans pour out like water.
²⁵ What I feared has come upon me;
what I dreaded has happened to me.
²⁶ I have no peace, no quietness;
I have no rest, but only turmoil."

January 6, 2004 Job 4:1-7:21

Job 4


Eliphaz

¹ Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

² "If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
But who can keep from speaking?
³ Think how you have instructed many,
how you have strengthened feeble hands.
⁴ Your words have supported those who stumbled;
you have strengthened faltering knees.
⁵ But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;
it strikes you, and you are dismayed.
⁶ Should not your piety be your confidence
and your blameless ways your hope?

⁷ "Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?
Where were the upright ever destroyed?
⁸ As I have observed, those who plow evil
and those who sow trouble reap it.
⁹ At the breath of God they are destroyed;
at the blast of his anger they perish.
¹⁰ The lions may roar and growl,
yet the teeth of the great lions are broken.
¹¹ The lion perishes for lack of prey,
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

¹² "A word was secretly brought to me,
my ears caught a whisper of it.
¹³ Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
when deep sleep falls on men,
¹⁴ fear and trembling seized me
and made all my bones shake.
¹⁵ A spirit glided past my face,
and the hair on my body stood on end.
¹⁶ It stopped,
but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
and I heard a hushed voice:
¹⁷ 'Can a mortal be more righteous than God?
Can a man be more pure than his Maker?
¹⁸ If God places no trust in his servants,
if he charges his angels with error,
¹⁹ how much more those who live in houses of clay,
whose foundations are in the dust,
who are crushed more readily than a moth!
²⁰ Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
unnoticed, they perish forever.
²¹ Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,
so that they die without wisdom?'

Job 5
¹ "Call if you will, but who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
² Resentment kills a fool,
and envy slays the simple.
³ I myself have seen a fool taking root,
but suddenly his house was cursed.
⁴ His children are far from safety,
crushed in court without a defender.
⁵ The hungry consume his harvest,
taking it even from among thorns,
and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
⁶ For hardship does not spring from the soil,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground.
⁷ Yet man is born to trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.

⁸ "But if it were I, I would appeal to God;
I would lay my cause before him.
⁹ He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.
¹⁰ He bestows rain on the earth;
he sends water upon the countryside.
¹¹ The lowly he sets on high,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
¹² He thwarts the plans of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
¹³ He catches the wise in their craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
¹⁴ Darkness comes upon them in the daytime;
at noon they grope as in the night.
¹⁵ He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth;
he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
¹⁶ So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.

¹⁷ "Blessed is the man whom God corrects;
so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
¹⁸ For he wounds, but he also binds up;
he injures, but his hands also heal.
¹⁹ From six calamities he will rescue you;
in seven no harm will befall you.
²⁰ In famine he will ransom you from death,
and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
²¹ You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,
and need not fear when destruction comes.
²² You will laugh at destruction and famine,
and need not fear the beasts of the earth.
²³ For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
²⁴ You will know that your tent is secure;
you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.
²⁵ You will know that your children will be many,
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
²⁶ You will come to the grave in full vigor,
like sheaves gathered in season.

²⁷ "We have examined this, and it is true.
So hear it and apply it to yourself."

Job 6


Job

¹ Then Job replied:

² "If only my anguish could be weighed
and all my misery be placed on the scales!
³ It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas-
no wonder my words have been impetuous.
⁴ The arrows of the Almighty are in me,
my spirit drinks in their poison;
God's terrors are marshaled against me.
⁵ Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass,
or an ox bellow when it has fodder?
⁶ Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
or is there flavor in the white of an egg ?
⁷ I refuse to touch it;
such food makes me ill.

⁸ "Oh, that I might have my request,
that God would grant what I hope for,
⁹ that God would be willing to crush me,
to let loose his hand and cut me off!
¹⁰ Then I would still have this consolation-
my joy in unrelenting pain-
that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹ "What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
What prospects, that I should be patient?
¹² Do I have the strength of stone?
Is my flesh bronze?
¹³ Do I have any power to help myself,
now that success has been driven from me?

¹⁴ "A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends,
even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
¹⁵ But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,
as the streams that overflow
¹⁶ when darkened by thawing ice
and swollen with melting snow,
¹⁷ but that cease to flow in the dry season,
and in the heat vanish from their channels.
¹⁸ Caravans turn aside from their routes;
they go up into the wasteland and perish.
¹⁹ The caravans of Tema look for water,
the traveling merchants of Sheba look in hope.
²⁰ They are distressed, because they had been confident;
they arrive there, only to be disappointed.
²¹ Now you too have proved to be of no help;
you see something dreadful and are afraid.
²² Have I ever said, 'Give something on my behalf,
pay a ransom for me from your wealth,
²³ deliver me from the hand of the enemy,
ransom me from the clutches of the ruthless'?

²⁴ "Teach me, and I will be quiet;
show me where I have been wrong.
²⁵ How painful are honest words!
But what do your arguments prove?
²⁶ Do you mean to correct what I say,
and treat the words of a despairing man as wind?
²⁷ You would even cast lots for the fatherless
and barter away your friend.

²⁸ "But now be so kind as to look at me.
Would I lie to your face?
²⁹ Relent, do not be unjust;
reconsider, for my integrity is at stake.
³⁰ Is there any wickedness on my lips?
Can my mouth not discern malice?

Job 7
¹ "Does not man have hard service on earth?
Are not his days like those of a hired man?
² Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,
or a hired man waiting eagerly for his wages,
³ so I have been allotted months of futility,
and nights of misery have been assigned to me.
⁴ When I lie down I think, 'How long before I get up?'
The night drags on, and I toss till dawn.
⁵ My body is clothed with worms and scabs,
my skin is broken and festering.

⁶ "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle,
and they come to an end without hope.
⁷ Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;
my eyes will never see happiness again.
⁸ The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
you will look for me, but I will be no more.
⁹ As a cloud vanishes and is gone,
so he who goes down to the grave does not return.
¹⁰ He will never come to his house again;
his place will know him no more.

¹¹ "Therefore I will not keep silent;
I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit,
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
¹² Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep,
that you put me under guard?
¹³ When I think my bed will comfort me
and my couch will ease my complaint,
¹⁴ even then you frighten me with dreams
and terrify me with visions,
¹⁵ so that I prefer strangling and death,
rather than this body of mine.
¹⁶ I despise my life; I would not live forever.
Let me alone; my days have no meaning.

¹⁷ "What is man that you make so much of him,
that you give him so much attention,
¹⁸ that you examine him every morning
and test him every moment?
¹⁹ Will you never look away from me,
or let me alone even for an instant?
²⁰ If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
O watcher of men?
Why have you made me your target?
Have I become a burden to you?
²¹ Why do you not pardon my offenses
and forgive my sins?
For I will soon lie down in the dust;
you will search for me, but I will be no more."

January 7, 2004-Job 8:1-10:22

Job 8


Bildad

¹ Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

² "How long will you say such things?
Your words are a blustering wind.
³ Does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
⁴ When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.
⁵ But if you will look to God
and plead with the Almighty,
⁶ if you are pure and upright,
even now he will rouse himself on your behalf
and restore you to your rightful place.
⁷ Your beginnings will seem humble,
so prosperous will your future be.

⁸ "Ask the former generations
and find out what their fathers learned,
⁹ for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,
and our days on earth are but a shadow.
¹⁰ Will they not instruct you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?
¹¹ Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
Can reeds thrive without water?
¹² While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.
¹³ Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
so perishes the hope of the godless.
¹⁴ What he trusts in is fragile ;
what he relies on is a spider's web.
¹⁵ He leans on his web, but it gives way;
he clings to it, but it does not hold.
¹⁶ He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots over the garden;
¹⁷ it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.
¹⁸ But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns it and says, 'I never saw you.'
¹⁹ Surely its life withers away,
and from the soil other plants grow.

²⁰ "Surely God does not reject a blameless man
or strengthen the hands of evildoers.
²¹ He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.
²² Your enemies will be clothed in shame,
and the tents of the wicked will be no more."

Job 9


Job

¹ Then Job replied:

² "Indeed, I know that this is true.
But how can a mortal be righteous before God?
³ Though one wished to dispute with him,
he could not answer him one time out of a thousand.
⁴ His wisdom is profound, his power is vast.
Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?
⁵ He moves mountains without their knowing it
and overturns them in his anger.
⁶ He shakes the earth from its place
and makes its pillars tremble.
⁷ He speaks to the sun and it does not shine;
he seals off the light of the stars.
⁸ He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads on the waves of the sea.
⁹ He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
¹⁰ He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.
¹¹ When he passes me, I cannot see him;
when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.
¹² If he snatches away, who can stop him?
Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'
¹³ God does not restrain his anger;
even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.

¹⁴ "How then can I dispute with him?
How can I find words to argue with him?
¹⁵ Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;
I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.
¹⁶ Even if I summoned him and he responded,
I do not believe he would give me a hearing.
¹⁷ He would crush me with a storm
and multiply my wounds for no reason.
¹⁸ He would not let me regain my breath
but would overwhelm me with misery.
¹⁹ If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty!
And if it is a matter of justice, who will summon him ?
²⁰ Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me;
if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.

²¹ "Although I am blameless,
I have no concern for myself;
I despise my own life.
²² It is all the same; that is why I say,
'He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'
²³ When a scourge brings sudden death,
he mocks the despair of the innocent.
²⁴ When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,
he blindfolds its judges.
If it is not he, then who is it?

²⁵ "My days are swifter than a runner;
they fly away without a glimpse of joy.
²⁶ They skim past like boats of papyrus,
like eagles swooping down on their prey.
²⁷ If I say, 'I will forget my complaint,
I will change my expression, and smile,'
²⁸ I still dread all my sufferings,
for I know you will not hold me innocent.
²⁹ Since I am already found guilty,
why should I struggle in vain?
³⁰ Even if I washed myself with soap
and my hands with washing soda,
³¹ you would plunge me into a slime pit
so that even my clothes would detest me.

³² "He is not a man like me that I might answer him,
that we might confront each other in court.
³³ If only there were someone to arbitrate between us,
to lay his hand upon us both,
³⁴ someone to remove God's rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.
³⁵ Then I would speak up without fear of him,
but as it now stands with me, I cannot.

Job 10
¹ "I loathe my very life;
therefore I will give free rein to my complaint
and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.
² I will say to God: Do not condemn me,
but tell me what charges you have against me.
³ Does it please you to oppress me,
to spurn the work of your hands,
while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?
⁴ Do you have eyes of flesh?
Do you see as a mortal sees?
⁵ Are your days like those of a mortal
or your years like those of a man,
⁶ that you must search out my faults
and probe after my sin-
⁷ though you know that I am not guilty
and that no one can rescue me from your hand?

⁸ "Your hands shaped me and made me.
Will you now turn and destroy me?
⁹ Remember that you molded me like clay.
Will you now turn me to dust again?
¹⁰ Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese,
¹¹ clothe me with skin and flesh
and knit me together with bones and sinews?
¹² You gave me life and showed me kindness,
and in your providence watched over my spirit.

¹³ "But this is what you concealed in your heart,
and I know that this was in your mind:
¹⁴ If I sinned, you would be watching me
and would not let my offense go unpunished.
¹⁵ If I am guilty-woe to me!
Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head,
for I am full of shame
and drowned in my affliction.
¹⁶ If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion
and again display your awesome power against me.
¹⁷ You bring new witnesses against me
and increase your anger toward me;
your forces come against me wave upon wave.

¹⁸ "Why then did you bring me out of the womb?
I wish I had died before any eye saw me.
¹⁹ If only I had never come into being,
or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!
²⁰ Are not my few days almost over?
Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy
²¹ before I go to the place of no return,
to the land of gloom and deep shadow,
²² to the land of deepest night,
of deep shadow and disorder,
where even the light is like darkness."

January 8, 2004-Job 11:1-14:22

Job 11


Zophar

¹ Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

² "Are all these words to go unanswered?
Is this talker to be vindicated?
³ Will your idle talk reduce men to silence?
Will no one rebuke you when you mock?
⁴ You say to God, 'My beliefs are flawless
and I am pure in your sight.'
⁵ Oh, how I wish that God would speak,
that he would open his lips against you
⁶ and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.

⁷ "Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
⁸ They are higher than the heavens-what can you do?
They are deeper than the depths of the grave -what can you know?
⁹ Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.

¹⁰ "If he comes along and confines you in prison
and convenes a court, who can oppose him?
¹¹ Surely he recognizes deceitful men;
and when he sees evil, does he not take note?
¹² But a witless man can no more become wise
than a wild donkey's colt can be born a man.

¹³ "Yet if you devote your heart to him
and stretch out your hands to him,
¹⁴ if you put away the sin that is in your hand
and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
¹⁵ then you will lift up your face without shame;
you will stand firm and without fear.
¹⁶ You will surely forget your trouble,
recalling it only as waters gone by.
¹⁷ Life will be brighter than noonday,
and darkness will become like morning.
¹⁸ You will be secure, because there is hope;
you will look about you and take your rest in safety.
¹⁹ You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid,
and many will court your favor.
²⁰ But the eyes of the wicked will fail,
and escape will elude them;
their hope will become a dying gasp."

Job 12


Job

¹ Then Job replied:

² "Doubtless you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!
³ But I have a mind as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know all these things?

⁴ "I have become a laughingstock to my friends,
though I called upon God and he answered-
a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!
⁵ Men at ease have contempt for misfortune
as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.
⁶ The tents of marauders are undisturbed,
and those who provoke God are secure-
those who carry their god in their hands.

⁷ "But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
⁸ or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish of the sea inform you.
⁹ Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the LORD has done this?
¹⁰ In his hand is the life of every creature
and the breath of all mankind.
¹¹ Does not the ear test words
as the tongue tastes food?
¹² Is not wisdom found among the aged?
Does not long life bring understanding?

¹³ "To God belong wisdom and power;
counsel and understanding are his.
¹⁴ What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;
the man he imprisons cannot be released.
¹⁵ If he holds back the waters, there is drought;
if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.
¹⁶ To him belong strength and victory;
both deceived and deceiver are his.
¹⁷ He leads counselors away stripped
and makes fools of judges.
¹⁸ He takes off the shackles put on by kings
and ties a loincloth around their waist.
¹⁹ He leads priests away stripped
and overthrows men long established.
²⁰ He silences the lips of trusted advisers
and takes away the discernment of elders.
²¹ He pours contempt on nobles
and disarms the mighty.
²² He reveals the deep things of darkness
and brings deep shadows into the light.
²³ He makes nations great, and destroys them;
he enlarges nations, and disperses them.
²⁴ He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;
he sends them wandering through a trackless waste.
²⁵ They grope in darkness with no light;
he makes them stagger like drunkards.

Job 13
¹ "My eyes have seen all this,
my ears have heard and understood it.
² What you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.
³ But I desire to speak to the Almighty
and to argue my case with God.
⁴ You, however, smear me with lies;
you are worthless physicians, all of you!
⁵ If only you would be altogether silent!
For you, that would be wisdom.
⁶ Hear now my argument;
listen to the plea of my lips.
⁷ Will you speak wickedly on God's behalf?
Will you speak deceitfully for him?
⁸ Will you show him partiality?
Will you argue the case for God?
⁹ Would it turn out well if he examined you?
Could you deceive him as you might deceive men?
¹⁰ He would surely rebuke you
if you secretly showed partiality.
¹¹ Would not his splendor terrify you?
Would not the dread of him fall on you?
¹² Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;
your defenses are defenses of clay.

¹³ "Keep silent and let me speak;
then let come to me what may.
¹⁴ Why do I put myself in jeopardy
and take my life in my hands?
¹⁵ Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;
I will surely defend my ways to his face.
¹⁶ Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance,
for no godless man would dare come before him!
¹⁷ Listen carefully to my words;
let your ears take in what I say.
¹⁸ Now that I have prepared my case,
I know I will be vindicated.
¹⁹ Can anyone bring charges against me?
If so, I will be silent and die.

²⁰ "Only grant me these two things, O God,
and then I will not hide from you:
²¹ Withdraw your hand far from me,
and stop frightening me with your terrors.
²² Then summon me and I will answer,
or let me speak, and you reply.
²³ How many wrongs and sins have I committed?
Show me my offense and my sin.
²⁴ Why do you hide your face
and consider me your enemy?
²⁵ Will you torment a windblown leaf?
Will you chase after dry chaff?
²⁶ For you write down bitter things against me
and make me inherit the sins of my youth.
²⁷ You fasten my feet in shackles;
you keep close watch on all my paths
by putting marks on the soles of my feet.

²⁸ "So man wastes away like something rotten,
like a garment eaten by moths.

Job 14
¹ "Man born of woman
is of few days and full of trouble.
² He springs up like a flower and withers away;
like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.
³ Do you fix your eye on such a one?
Will you bring him before you for judgment?
⁴ Who can bring what is pure from the impure?
No one!
⁵ Man's days are determined;
you have decreed the number of his months
and have set limits he cannot exceed.
⁶ So look away from him and let him alone,
till he has put in his time like a hired man.

⁷ "At least there is hope for a tree:
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its new shoots will not fail.
⁸ Its roots may grow old in the ground
and its stump die in the soil,
⁹ yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put forth shoots like a plant.
¹⁰ But man dies and is laid low;
he breathes his last and is no more.
¹¹ As water disappears from the sea
or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,
¹² so man lies down and does not rise;
till the heavens are no more, men will not awake
or be roused from their sleep.

¹³ "If only you would hide me in the grave
and conceal me till your anger has passed!
If only you would set me a time
and then remember me!
¹⁴ If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my hard service
I will wait for my renewal to come.
¹⁵ You will call and I will answer you;
you will long for the creature your hands have made.
¹⁶ Surely then you will count my steps
but not keep track of my sin.
¹⁷ My offenses will be sealed up in a bag;
you will cover over my sin.

¹⁸ "But as a mountain erodes and crumbles
and as a rock is moved from its place,
¹⁹ as water wears away stones
and torrents wash away the soil,
so you destroy man's hope.
²⁰ You overpower him once for all, and he is gone;
you change his countenance and send him away.
²¹ If his sons are honored, he does not know it;
if they are brought low, he does not see it.
²² He feels but the pain of his own body
and mourns only for himself."

January 9, 2004-Job 15:1-18:21

Job 15


Eliphaz

¹ Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

² "Would a wise man answer with empty notions
or fill his belly with the hot east wind?
³ Would he argue with useless words,
with speeches that have no value?
⁴ But you even undermine piety
and hinder devotion to God.
⁵ Your sin prompts your mouth;
you adopt the tongue of the crafty.
⁶ Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
your own lips testify against you.

⁷ "Are you the first man ever born?
Were you brought forth before the hills?
⁸ Do you listen in on God's council?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
⁹ What do you know that we do not know?
What insights do you have that we do not have?
¹⁰ The gray-haired and the aged are on our side,
men even older than your father.
¹¹ Are God's consolations not enough for you,
words spoken gently to you?
¹² Why has your heart carried you away,
and why do your eyes flash,
¹³ so that you vent your rage against God
and pour out such words from your mouth?

¹⁴ "What is man, that he could be pure,
or one born of woman, that he could be righteous?
¹⁵ If God places no trust in his holy ones,
if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,
¹⁶ how much less man, who is vile and corrupt,
who drinks up evil like water!

¹⁷ "Listen to me and I will explain to you;
let me tell you what I have seen,
¹⁸ what wise men have declared,
hiding nothing received from their fathers
¹⁹ (to whom alone the land was given
when no alien passed among them):
²⁰ All his days the wicked man suffers torment,
the ruthless through all the years stored up for him.
²¹ Terrifying sounds fill his ears;
when all seems well, marauders attack him.
²² He despairs of escaping the darkness;
he is marked for the sword.
²³ He wanders about-food for vultures ;
he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
²⁴ Distress and anguish fill him with terror;
they overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack,
²⁵ because he shakes his fist at God
and vaunts himself against the Almighty,
²⁶ defiantly charging against him
with a thick, strong shield.

²⁷ "Though his face is covered with fat
and his waist bulges with flesh,
²⁸ he will inhabit ruined towns
and houses where no one lives,
houses crumbling to rubble.
²⁹ He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,
nor will his possessions spread over the land.
³⁰ He will not escape the darkness;
a flame will wither his shoots,
and the breath of God's mouth will carry him away.
³¹ Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless,
for he will get nothing in return.
³² Before his time he will be paid in full,
and his branches will not flourish.
³³ He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,
like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.
³⁴ For the company of the godless will be barren,
and fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes.
³⁵ They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;
their womb fashions deceit."

Job 16


Job

¹ Then Job replied:

² "I have heard many things like these;
miserable comforters are you all!
³ Will your long-winded speeches never end?
What ails you that you keep on arguing?
⁴ I also could speak like you,
if you were in my place;
I could make fine speeches against you
and shake my head at you.
⁵ But my mouth would encourage you;
comfort from my lips would bring you relief.

⁶ "Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved;
and if I refrain, it does not go away.
⁷ Surely, O God, you have worn me out;
you have devastated my entire household.
⁸ You have bound me-and it has become a witness;
my gauntness rises up and testifies against me.
⁹ God assails me and tears me in his anger
and gnashes his teeth at me;
my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes.
¹⁰ Men open their mouths to jeer at me;
they strike my cheek in scorn
and unite together against me.
¹¹ God has turned me over to evil men
and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.
¹² All was well with me, but he shattered me;
he seized me by the neck and crushed me.
He has made me his target;
¹³ his archers surround me.
Without pity, he pierces my kidneys
and spills my gall on the ground.
¹⁴ Again and again he bursts upon me;
he rushes at me like a warrior.

¹⁵ "I have sewed sackcloth over my skin
and buried my brow in the dust.
¹⁶ My face is red with weeping,
deep shadows ring my eyes;
¹⁷ yet my hands have been free of violence
and my prayer is pure.

¹⁸ "O earth, do not cover my blood;
may my cry never be laid to rest!
¹⁹ Even now my witness is in heaven;
my advocate is on high.
²⁰ My intercessor is my friend
as my eyes pour out tears to God;
²¹ on behalf of a man he pleads with God
as a man pleads for his friend.

²² "Only a few years will pass
before I go on the journey of no return.

Job 17
¹ My spirit is broken,
my days are cut short,
the grave awaits me.
² Surely mockers surround me;
my eyes must dwell on their hostility.

³ "Give me, O God, the pledge you demand.
Who else will put up security for me?
⁴ You have closed their minds to understanding;
therefore you will not let them triumph.
⁵ If a man denounces his friends for reward,
the eyes of his children will fail.

⁶ "God has made me a byword to everyone,
a man in whose face people spit.
⁷ My eyes have grown dim with grief;
my whole frame is but a shadow.
⁸ Upright men are appalled at this;
the innocent are aroused against the ungodly.
⁹ Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways,
and those with clean hands will grow stronger.

¹⁰ "But come on, all of you, try again!
I will not find a wise man among you.
¹¹ My days have passed, my plans are shattered,
and so are the desires of my heart.
¹² These men turn night into day;
in the face of darkness they say, 'Light is near.'
¹³ If the only home I hope for is the grave,
if I spread out my bed in darkness,
¹⁴ if I say to corruption, 'You are my father,'
and to the worm, 'My mother' or 'My sister,'
¹⁵ where then is my hope?
Who can see any hope for me?
¹⁶ Will it go down to the gates of death ?
Will we descend together into the dust?"

Job 18


Bildad

¹ Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

² "When will you end these speeches?
Be sensible, and then we can talk.
³ Why are we regarded as cattle
and considered stupid in your sight?
⁴ You who tear yourself to pieces in your anger,
is the earth to be abandoned for your sake?
Or must the rocks be moved from their place?

⁵ "The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out;
the flame of his fire stops burning.
⁶ The light in his tent becomes dark;
the lamp beside him goes out.
⁷ The vigor of his step is weakened;
his own schemes throw him down.
⁸ His feet thrust him into a net
and he wanders into its mesh.
⁹ A trap seizes him by the heel;
a snare holds him fast.
¹⁰ A noose is hidden for him on the ground;
a trap lies in his path.
¹¹ Terrors startle him on every side
and dog his every step.
¹² Calamity is hungry for him;
disaster is ready for him when he falls.
¹³ It eats away parts of his skin;
death's firstborn devours his limbs.
¹⁴ He is torn from the security of his tent
and marched off to the king of terrors.
¹⁵ Fire resides in his tent;
burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling.
¹⁶ His roots dry up below
and his branches wither above.
¹⁷ The memory of him perishes from the earth;
he has no name in the land.
¹⁸ He is driven from light into darkness
and is banished from the world.
¹⁹ He has no offspring or descendants among his people,
no survivor where once he lived.
²⁰ Men of the west are appalled at his fate;
men of the east are seized with horror.
²¹ Surely such is the dwelling of an evil man;
such is the place of one who knows not God."

January 10, 2004-Job 19:1-21:34

Job 19


Job

¹ Then Job replied:

² "How long will you torment me
and crush me with words?
³ Ten times now you have reproached me;
shamelessly you attack me.
⁴ If it is true that I have gone astray,
my error remains my concern alone.
⁵ If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me
and use my humiliation against me,
⁶ then know that God has wronged me
and drawn his net around me.

⁷ "Though I cry, 'I've been wronged!' I get no response;
though I call for help, there is no justice.
⁸ He has blocked my way so I cannot pass;
he has shrouded my paths in darkness.
⁹ He has stripped me of my honor
and removed the crown from my head.
¹⁰ He tears me down on every side till I am gone;
he uproots my hope like a tree.
¹¹ His anger burns against me;
he counts me among his enemies.
¹² His troops advance in force;
they build a siege ramp against me
and encamp around my tent.

¹³ "He has alienated my brothers from me;
my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
¹⁴ My kinsmen have gone away;
my friends have forgotten me.
¹⁵ My guests and my maidservants count me a stranger;
they look upon me as an alien.
¹⁶ I summon my servant, but he does not answer,
though I beg him with my own mouth.
¹⁷ My breath is offensive to my wife;
I am loathsome to my own brothers.
¹⁸ Even the little boys scorn me;
when I appear, they ridicule me.
¹⁹ All my intimate friends detest me;
those I love have turned against me.
²⁰ I am nothing but skin and bones;
I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth.

²¹ "Have pity on me, my friends, have pity,
for the hand of God has struck me.
²² Why do you pursue me as God does?
Will you never get enough of my flesh?

²³ "Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,
²⁴ that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead,
or engraved in rock forever!
²⁵ I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.
²⁶ And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
²⁷ I myself will see him
with my own eyes-I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!

²⁸ "If you say, 'How we will hound him,
since the root of the trouble lies in him, '
²⁹ you should fear the sword yourselves;
for wrath will bring punishment by the sword,
and then you will know that there is judgment. "

Job 20


Zophar

¹ Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

² "My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer
because I am greatly disturbed.
³ I hear a rebuke that dishonors me,
and my understanding inspires me to reply.

⁴ "Surely you know how it has been from of old,
ever since man was placed on the earth,
⁵ that the mirth of the wicked is brief,
the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.
⁶ Though his pride reaches to the heavens
and his head touches the clouds,
⁷ he will perish forever, like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, 'Where is he?'
⁸ Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found,
banished like a vision of the night.
⁹ The eye that saw him will not see him again;
his place will look on him no more.
¹⁰ His children must make amends to the poor;
his own hands must give back his wealth.
¹¹ The youthful vigor that fills his bones
will lie with him in the dust.

¹² "Though evil is sweet in his mouth
and he hides it under his tongue,
¹³ though he cannot bear to let it go
and keeps it in his mouth,
¹⁴ yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;
it will become the venom of serpents within him.
¹⁵ He will spit out the riches he swallowed;
God will make his stomach vomit them up.
¹⁶ He will suck the poison of serpents;
the fangs of an adder will kill him.
¹⁷ He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
¹⁸ What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;
he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.
¹⁹ For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute;
he has seized houses he did not build.

²⁰ "Surely he will have no respite from his craving;
he cannot save himself by his treasure.
²¹ Nothing is left for him to devour;
his prosperity will not endure.
²² In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;
the full force of misery will come upon him.
²³ When he has filled his belly,
God will vent his burning anger against him
and rain down his blows upon him.
²⁴ Though he flees from an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.
²⁵ He pulls it out of his back,
the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors will come over him;
²⁶ total darkness lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire unfanned will consume him
and devour what is left in his tent.
²⁷ The heavens will expose his guilt;
the earth will rise up against him.
²⁸ A flood will carry off his house,
rushing waters on the day of God's wrath.
²⁹ Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by God."

Job 21


Job

¹ Then Job replied:

² "Listen carefully to my words;
let this be the consolation you give me.
³ Bear with me while I speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.

⁴ "Is my complaint directed to man?
Why should I not be impatient?
⁵ Look at me and be astonished;
clap your hand over your mouth.
⁶ When I think about this, I am terrified;
trembling seizes my body.
⁷ Why do the wicked live on,
growing old and increasing in power?
⁸ They see their children established around them,
their offspring before their eyes.
⁹ Their homes are safe and free from fear;
the rod of God is not upon them.
¹⁰ Their bulls never fail to breed;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.
¹¹ They send forth their children as a flock;
their little ones dance about.
¹² They sing to the music of tambourine and harp;
they make merry to the sound of the flute.
¹³ They spend their years in prosperity
and go down to the grave in peace.
¹⁴ Yet they say to God, 'Leave us alone!
We have no desire to know your ways.
¹⁵ Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
What would we gain by praying to him?'
¹⁶ But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
so I stand aloof from the counsel of the wicked.

¹⁷ "Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?
How often does calamity come upon them,
the fate God allots in his anger?
¹⁸ How often are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff swept away by a gale?
¹⁹ It is said, 'God stores up a man's punishment for his sons.'
Let him repay the man himself, so that he will know it!
²⁰ Let his own eyes see his destruction;
let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
²¹ For what does he care about the family he leaves behind
when his allotted months come to an end?

²² "Can anyone teach knowledge to God,
since he judges even the highest?
²³ One man dies in full vigor,
completely secure and at ease,
²⁴ his body well nourished,
his bones rich with marrow.
²⁵ Another man dies in bitterness of soul,
never having enjoyed anything good.
²⁶ Side by side they lie in the dust,
and worms cover them both.

²⁷ "I know full well what you are thinking,
the schemes by which you would wrong me.
²⁸ You say, 'Where now is the great man's house,
the tents where wicked men lived?'
²⁹ Have you never questioned those who travel?
Have you paid no regard to their accounts-
³⁰ that the evil man is spared from the day of calamity,
that he is delivered from the day of wrath?
³¹ Who denounces his conduct to his face?
Who repays him for what he has done?
³² He is carried to the grave,
and watch is kept over his tomb.
³³ The soil in the valley is sweet to him;
all men follow after him,
and a countless throng goes before him.

³⁴ "So how can you console me with your nonsense?
Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!"

January 11, 2004-Job 22:1-26:14

Job 22


Eliphaz

¹ Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

² "Can a man be of benefit to God?
Can even a wise man benefit him?
³ What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?
What would he gain if your ways were blameless?

⁴ "Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
and brings charges against you?
⁵ Is not your wickedness great?
Are not your sins endless?
⁶ You demanded security from your brothers for no reason;
you stripped men of their clothing, leaving them naked.
⁷ You gave no water to the weary
and you withheld food from the hungry,
⁸ though you were a powerful man, owning land-
an honored man, living on it.
⁹ And you sent widows away empty-handed
and broke the strength of the fatherless.
¹⁰ That is why snares are all around you,
why sudden peril terrifies you,
¹¹ why it is so dark you cannot see,
and why a flood of water covers you.

¹² "Is not God in the heights of heaven?
And see how lofty are the highest stars!
¹³ Yet you say, 'What does God know?
Does he judge through such darkness?
¹⁴ Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us
as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.'
¹⁵ Will you keep to the old path
that evil men have trod?
¹⁶ They were carried off before their time,
their foundations washed away by a flood.
¹⁷ They said to God, 'Leave us alone!
What can the Almighty do to us?'
¹⁸ Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,
so I stand aloof from the counsel of the wicked.

¹⁹ "The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;
the innocent mock them, saying,
²⁰ 'Surely our foes are destroyed,
and fire devours their wealth.'

²¹ "Submit to God and be at peace with him;
in this way prosperity will come to you.
²² Accept instruction from his mouth
and lay up his words in your heart.
²³ If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:
If you remove wickedness far from your tent
²⁴ and assign your nuggets to the dust,
your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
²⁵ then the Almighty will be your gold,
the choicest silver for you.
²⁶ Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
and will lift up your face to God.
²⁷ You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
²⁸ What you decide on will be done,
and light will shine on your ways.
²⁹ When men are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!'
then he will save the downcast.
³⁰ He will deliver even one who is not innocent,
who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."

Job 23


Job

¹ Then Job replied:

² "Even today my complaint is bitter;
his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning.
³ If only I knew where to find him;
if only I could go to his dwelling!
⁴ I would state my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
⁵ I would find out what he would answer me,
and consider what he would say.
⁶ Would he oppose me with great power?
No, he would not press charges against me.
⁷ There an upright man could present his case before him,
and I would be delivered forever from my judge.

⁸ "But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I do not find him.
⁹ When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
¹⁰ But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
¹¹ My feet have closely followed his steps;
I have kept to his way without turning aside.
¹² I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

¹³ "But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?
He does whatever he pleases.
¹⁴ He carries out his decree against me,
and many such plans he still has in store.
¹⁵ That is why I am terrified before him;
when I think of all this, I fear him.
¹⁶ God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me.
¹⁷ Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,
by the thick darkness that covers my face.

Job 24
¹ "Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment?
Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?
² Men move boundary stones;
they pasture flocks they have stolen.
³ They drive away the orphan's donkey
and take the widow's ox in pledge.
⁴ They thrust the needy from the path
and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
⁵ Like wild donkeys in the desert,
the poor go about their labor of foraging food;
the wasteland provides food for their children.
⁶ They gather fodder in the fields
and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
⁷ Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.
⁸ They are drenched by mountain rains
and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.
⁹ The fatherless child is snatched from the breast;
the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.
¹⁰ Lacking clothes, they go about naked;
they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
¹¹ They crush olives among the terraces ;
they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
¹² The groans of the dying rise from the city,
and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.
But God charges no one with wrongdoing.

¹³ "There are those who rebel against the light,
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths.
¹⁴ When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up
and kills the poor and needy;
in the night he steals forth like a thief.
¹⁵ The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk;
he thinks, 'No eye will see me,'
and he keeps his face concealed.
¹⁶ In the dark, men break into houses,
but by day they shut themselves in;
they want nothing to do with the light.
¹⁷ For all of them, deep darkness is their morning ;
they make friends with the terrors of darkness.

¹⁸ "Yet they are foam on the surface of the water;
their portion of the land is cursed,
so that no one goes to the vineyards.
¹⁹ As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,
so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.
²⁰ The womb forgets them,
the worm feasts on them;
evil men are no longer remembered
but are broken like a tree.
²¹ They prey on the barren and childless woman,
and to the widow show no kindness.
²² But God drags away the mighty by his power;
though they become established, they have no assurance of life.
²³ He may let them rest in a feeling of security,
but his eyes are on their ways.
²⁴ For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
they are cut off like heads of grain.

²⁵ "If this is not so, who can prove me false
and reduce my words to nothing?"

Job 25


Bildad

¹ Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

² "Dominion and awe belong to God;
he establishes order in the heights of heaven.
³ Can his forces be numbered?
Upon whom does his light not rise?
⁴ How then can a man be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?
⁵ If even the moon is not bright
and the stars are not pure in his eyes,
⁶ how much less man, who is but a maggot-
a son of man, who is only a worm!"

Job 26


Job

¹ Then Job replied:

² "How you have helped the powerless!
How you have saved the arm that is feeble!
³ What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
And what great insight you have displayed!
⁴ Who has helped you utter these words?
And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?

⁵ "The dead are in deep anguish,
those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
⁶ Death is naked before God;
Destruction lies uncovered.
⁷ He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing.
⁸ He wraps up the waters in his clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
⁹ He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds over it.
¹⁰ He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters
for a boundary between light and darkness.
¹¹ The pillars of the heavens quake,
aghast at his rebuke.
¹² By his power he churned up the sea;
by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
¹³ By his breath the skies became fair;
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.
¹⁴ And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?"

January 12, 2004-Job 27:1-29:25

Job 27
¹ And Job continued his discourse:

² "As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,
the Almighty, who has made me taste bitterness of soul,
³ as long as I have life within me,
the breath of God in my nostrils,
⁴ my lips will not speak wickedness,
and my tongue will utter no deceit.
⁵ I will never admit you are in the right;
till I die, I will not deny my integrity.
⁶ I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it;
my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.

⁷ "May my enemies be like the wicked,
my adversaries like the unjust!
⁸ For what hope has the godless when he is cut off,
when God takes away his life?
⁹ Does God listen to his cry
when distress comes upon him?
¹⁰ Will he find delight in the Almighty?
Will he call upon God at all times?

¹¹ "I will teach you about the power of God;
the ways of the Almighty I will not conceal.
¹² You have all seen this yourselves.
Why then this meaningless talk?

¹³ "Here is the fate God allots to the wicked,
the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:
¹⁴ However many his children, their fate is the sword;
his offspring will never have enough to eat.
¹⁵ The plague will bury those who survive him,
and their widows will not weep for them.
¹⁶ Though he heaps up silver like dust
and clothes like piles of clay,
¹⁷ what he lays up the righteous will wear,
and the innocent will divide his silver.
¹⁸ The house he builds is like a moth's cocoon,
like a hut made by a watchman.
¹⁹ He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;
when he opens his eyes, all is gone.
²⁰ Terrors overtake him like a flood;
a tempest snatches him away in the night.
²¹ The east wind carries him off, and he is gone;
it sweeps him out of his place.
²² It hurls itself against him without mercy
as he flees headlong from its power.
²³ It claps its hands in derision
and hisses him out of his place.

Job 28
¹ "There is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
² Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
³ Man puts an end to the darkness;
he searches the farthest recesses
for ore in the blackest darkness.
⁴ Far from where people dwell he cuts a shaft,
in places forgotten by the foot of man;
far from men he dangles and sways.
⁵ The earth, from which food comes,
is transformed below as by fire;
⁶ sapphires come from its rocks,
and its dust contains nuggets of gold.
⁷ No bird of prey knows that hidden path,
no falcon's eye has seen it.
⁸ Proud beasts do not set foot on it,
and no lion prowls there.
⁹ Man's hand assaults the flinty rock
and lays bare the roots of the mountains.
¹⁰ He tunnels through the rock;
his eyes see all its treasures.
¹¹ He searches the sources of the rivers
and brings hidden things to light.

¹² "But where can wisdom be found?
Where does understanding dwell?
¹³ Man does not comprehend its worth;
it cannot be found in the land of the living.
¹⁴ The deep says, 'It is not in me';
the sea says, 'It is not with me.'
¹⁵ It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
nor can its price be weighed in silver.
¹⁶ It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,
with precious onyx or sapphires.
¹⁷ Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,
nor can it be had for jewels of gold.
¹⁸ Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention;
the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
¹⁹ The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it;
it cannot be bought with pure gold.

²⁰ "Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?
²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
concealed even from the birds of the air.
²² Destruction and Death say,
'Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.'
²³ God understands the way to it
and he alone knows where it dwells,
²⁴ for he views the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
²⁵ When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,
²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain
and a path for the thunderstorm,
²⁷ then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.
²⁸ And he said to man,
'The fear of the Lord-that is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.'

Job 29
¹ Job continued his discourse:

² "How I long for the months gone by,
for the days when God watched over me,
³ when his lamp shone upon my head
and by his light I walked through darkness!
⁴ Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
when God's intimate friendship blessed my house,
⁵ when the Almighty was still with me
and my children were around me,
⁶ when my path was drenched with cream
and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.

⁷ "When I went to the gate of the city
and took my seat in the public square,
⁸ the young men saw me and stepped aside
and the old men rose to their feet;
⁹ the chief men refrained from speaking
and covered their mouths with their hands;
¹⁰ the voices of the nobles were hushed,
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
¹¹ Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
and those who saw me commended me,
¹² because I rescued the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to assist him.
¹³ The man who was dying blessed me;
I made the widow's heart sing.
¹⁴ I put on righteousness as my clothing;
justice was my robe and my turban.
¹⁵ I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
¹⁶ I was a father to the needy;
I took up the case of the stranger.
¹⁷ I broke the fangs of the wicked
and snatched the victims from their teeth.

¹⁸ "I thought, 'I will die in my own house,
my days as numerous as the grains of sand.
¹⁹ My roots will reach to the water,
and the dew will lie all night on my branches.
²⁰ My glory will remain fresh in me,
the bow ever new in my hand.'

²¹ "Men listened to me expectantly,
waiting in silence for my counsel.
²² After I had spoken, they spoke no more;
my words fell gently on their ears.
²³ They waited for me as for showers
and drank in my words as the spring rain.
²⁴ When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;
the light of my face was precious to them.
²⁵ I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;
I dwelt as a king among his troops;
I was like one who comforts mourners.

January 13, 2004 Job 30:1-31:40

Job 30
¹ "But now they mock me,
men younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
to put with my sheep dogs.
² Of what use was the strength of their hands to me,
since their vigor had gone from them?
³ Haggard from want and hunger,
they roamed the parched land
in desolate wastelands at night.
⁴ In the brush they gathered salt herbs,
and their food was the root of the broom tree.
⁵ They were banished from their fellow men,
shouted at as if they were thieves.
⁶ They were forced to live in the dry stream beds,
among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
⁷ They brayed among the bushes
and huddled in the undergrowth.
⁸ A base and nameless brood,
they were driven out of the land.

⁹ "And now their sons mock me in song;
I have become a byword among them.
¹⁰ They detest me and keep their distance;
they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
¹¹ Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me,
they throw off restraint in my presence.
¹² On my right the tribe attacks;
they lay snares for my feet,
they build their siege ramps against me.
¹³ They break up my road;
they succeed in destroying me-
without anyone's helping them.
¹⁴ They advance as through a gaping breach;
amid the ruins they come rolling in.
¹⁵ Terrors overwhelm me;
my dignity is driven away as by the wind,
my safety vanishes like a cloud.

¹⁶ "And now my life ebbs away;
days of suffering grip me.
¹⁷ Night pierces my bones;
my gnawing pains never rest.
¹⁸ In his great power God becomes like clothing to me ;
he binds me like the neck of my garment.
¹⁹ He throws me into the mud,
and I am reduced to dust and ashes.

²⁰ "I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer;
I stand up, but you merely look at me.
²¹ You turn on me ruthlessly;
with the might of your hand you attack me.
²² You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;
you toss me about in the storm.
²³ I know you will bring me down to death,
to the place appointed for all the living.

²⁴ "Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man
when he cries for help in his distress.
²⁵ Have I not wept for those in trouble?
Has not my soul grieved for the poor?
²⁶ Yet when I hoped for good, evil came;
when I looked for light, then came darkness.
²⁷ The churning inside me never stops;
days of suffering confront me.
²⁸ I go about blackened, but not by the sun;
I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
²⁹ I have become a brother of jackals,
a companion of owls.
³⁰ My skin grows black and peels;
my body burns with fever.
³¹ My harp is tuned to mourning,
and my flute to the sound of wailing.

Job 31
¹ "I made a covenant with my eyes
not to look lustfully at a girl.
² For what is man's lot from God above,
his heritage from the Almighty on high?
³ Is it not ruin for the wicked,
disaster for those who do wrong?
⁴ Does he not see my ways
and count my every step?

⁵ "If I have walked in falsehood
or my foot has hurried after deceit-
⁶ let God weigh me in honest scales
and he will know that I am blameless-
⁷ if my steps have turned from the path,
if my heart has been led by my eyes,
or if my hands have been defiled,
⁸ then may others eat what I have sown,
and may my crops be uprooted.

⁹ "If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door,
¹⁰ then may my wife grind another man's grain,
and may other men sleep with her.
¹¹ For that would have been shameful,
a sin to be judged.
¹² It is a fire that burns to Destruction ;
it would have uprooted my harvest.

¹³ "If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants
when they had a grievance against me,
¹⁴ what will I do when God confronts me?
What will I answer when called to account?
¹⁵ Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?

¹⁶ "If I have denied the desires of the poor
or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,
¹⁷ if I have kept my bread to myself,
not sharing it with the fatherless-
¹⁸ but from my youth I reared him as would a father,
and from my birth I guided the widow-
¹⁹ if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,
or a needy man without a garment,
²⁰ and his heart did not bless me
for warming him with the fleece from my sheep,
²¹ if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,
knowing that I had influence in court,
²² then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
let it be broken off at the joint.
²³ For I dreaded destruction from God,
and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.

²⁴ "If I have put my trust in gold
or said to pure gold, 'You are my security,'
²⁵ if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,
the fortune my hands had gained,
²⁶ if I have regarded the sun in its radiance
or the moon moving in splendor,
²⁷ so that my heart was secretly enticed
and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,
²⁸ then these also would be sins to be judged,
for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.

²⁹ "If I have rejoiced at my enemy's misfortune
or gloated over the trouble that came to him-
³⁰ I have not allowed my mouth to sin
by invoking a curse against his life-
³¹ if the men of my household have never said,
'Who has not had his fill of Job's meat?'-
³² but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,
for my door was always open to the traveler-
³³ if I have concealed my sin as men do,
by hiding my guilt in my heart
³⁴ because I so feared the crowd
and so dreaded the contempt of the clans
that I kept silent and would not go outside

³⁵ ("Oh, that I had someone to hear me!
I sign now my defense-let the Almighty answer me;
let my accuser put his indictment in writing.
³⁶ Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,
I would put it on like a crown.
³⁷ I would give him an account of my every step;
like a prince I would approach him.)-

³⁸ "if my land cries out against me
and all its furrows are wet with tears,
³⁹ if I have devoured its yield without payment
or broken the spirit of its tenants,
⁴⁰ then let briers come up instead of wheat
and weeds instead of barley."

The words of Job are ended.

January 14, 2004 Job 32:1-34:37

Job 32


Elihu

¹ So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. ² But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. ³ He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him. ⁴ Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. ⁵ But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.
⁶ So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said:

"I am young in years,
and you are old;
that is why I was fearful,
not daring to tell you what I know.
⁷ I thought, 'Age should speak;
advanced years should teach wisdom.'
⁸ But it is the spirit in a man,
the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.
⁹ It is not only the old who are wise,
not only the aged who understand what is right.

¹⁰ "Therefore I say: Listen to me;
I too will tell you what I know.
¹¹ I waited while you spoke,
I listened to your reasoning;
while you were searching for words,
¹² I gave you my full attention.
But not one of you has proved Job wrong;
none of you has answered his arguments.
¹³ Do not say, 'We have found wisdom;
let God refute him, not man.'
¹⁴ But Job has not marshaled his words against me,
and I will not answer him with your arguments.

¹⁵ "They are dismayed and have no more to say;
words have failed them.
¹⁶ Must I wait, now that they are silent,
now that they stand there with no reply?
¹⁷ I too will have my say;
I too will tell what I know.
¹⁸ For I am full of words,
and the spirit within me compels me;
¹⁹ inside I am like bottled-up wine,
like new wineskins ready to burst.
²⁰ I must speak and find relief;
I must open my lips and reply.
²¹ I will show partiality to no one,
nor will I flatter any man;
²² for if I were skilled in flattery,
my Maker would soon take me away.

Job 33
¹ "But now, Job, listen to my words;
pay attention to everything I say.
² I am about to open my mouth;
my words are on the tip of my tongue.
³ My words come from an upright heart;
my lips sincerely speak what I know.
⁴ The Spirit of God has made me;
the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
⁵ Answer me then, if you can;
prepare yourself and confront me.
⁶ I am just like you before God;
I too have been taken from clay.
⁷ No fear of me should alarm you,
nor should my hand be heavy upon you.

⁸ "But you have said in my hearing-
I heard the very words-
⁹ 'I am pure and without sin;
I am clean and free from guilt.
¹⁰ Yet God has found fault with me;
he considers me his enemy.
¹¹ He fastens my feet in shackles;
he keeps close watch on all my paths.'

¹² "But I tell you, in this you are not right,
for God is greater than man.
¹³ Why do you complain to him
that he answers none of man's words ?
¹⁴ For God does speak-now one way, now another-
though man may not perceive it.
¹⁵ In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men
as they slumber in their beds,
¹⁶ he may speak in their ears
and terrify them with warnings,
¹⁷ to turn man from wrongdoing
and keep him from pride,
¹⁸ to preserve his soul from the pit,
his life from perishing by the sword.
¹⁹ Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain
with constant distress in his bones,
²⁰ so that his very being finds food repulsive
and his soul loathes the choicest meal.
²¹ His flesh wastes away to nothing,
and his bones, once hidden, now stick out.
²² His soul draws near to the pit,
and his life to the messengers of death.

²³ "Yet if there is an angel on his side
as a mediator, one out of a thousand,
to tell a man what is right for him,
²⁴ to be gracious to him and say,
'Spare him from going down to the pit ;
I have found a ransom for him'-
²⁵ then his flesh is renewed like a child's;
it is restored as in the days of his youth.
²⁶ He prays to God and finds favor with him,
he sees God's face and shouts for joy;
he is restored by God to his righteous state.
²⁷ Then he comes to men and says,
'I sinned, and perverted what was right,
but I did not get what I deserved.
²⁸ He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit,
and I will live to enjoy the light.'

²⁹ "God does all these things to a man-
twice, even three times-
³⁰ to turn back his soul from the pit,
that the light of life may shine on him.

³¹ "Pay attention, Job, and listen to me;
be silent, and I will speak.
³² If you have anything to say, answer me;
speak up, for I want you to be cleared.
³³ But if not, then listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom."

Job 34
¹ Then Elihu said:

² "Hear my words, you wise men;
listen to me, you men of learning.
³ For the ear tests words
as the tongue tastes food.
⁴ Let us discern for ourselves what is right;
let us learn together what is good.

⁵ "Job says, 'I am innocent,
but God denies me justice.
⁶ Although I am right,
I am considered a liar;
although I am guiltless,
his arrow inflicts an incurable wound.'
⁷ What man is like Job,
who drinks scorn like water?
⁸ He keeps company with evildoers;
he associates with wicked men.
⁹ For he says, 'It profits a man nothing
when he tries to please God.'

¹⁰ "So listen to me, you men of understanding.
Far be it from God to do evil,
from the Almighty to do wrong.
¹¹ He repays a man for what he has done;
he brings upon him what his conduct deserves.
¹² It is unthinkable that God would do wrong,
that the Almighty would pervert justice.
¹³ Who appointed him over the earth?
Who put him in charge of the whole world?
¹⁴ If it were his intention
and he withdrew his spirit and breath,
¹⁵ all mankind would perish together
and man would return to the dust.

¹⁶ "If you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I say.
¹⁷ Can he who hates justice govern?
Will you condemn the just and mighty One?
¹⁸ Is he not the One who says to kings, 'You are worthless,'
and to nobles, 'You are wicked,'
¹⁹ who shows no partiality to princes
and does not favor the rich over the poor,
for they are all the work of his hands?
²⁰ They die in an instant, in the middle of the night;
the people are shaken and they pass away;
the mighty are removed without human hand.

²¹ "His eyes are on the ways of men;
he sees their every step.
²² There is no dark place, no deep shadow,
where evildoers can hide.
²³ God has no need to examine men further,
that they should come before him for judgment.
²⁴ Without inquiry he shatters the mighty
and sets up others in their place.
²⁵ Because he takes note of their deeds,
he overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.
²⁶ He punishes them for their wickedness
where everyone can see them,
²⁷ because they turned from following him
and had no regard for any of his ways.
²⁸ They caused the cry of the poor to come before him,
so that he heard the cry of the needy.
²⁹ But if he remains silent, who can condemn him?
If he hides his face, who can see him?
Yet he is over man and nation alike,
³⁰ to keep a godless man from ruling,
from laying snares for the people.

³¹ "Suppose a man says to God,
'I am guilty but will offend no more.
³² Teach me what I cannot see;
if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.'
³³ Should God then reward you on your terms,
when you refuse to repent?
You must decide, not I;
so tell me what you know.

³⁴ "Men of understanding declare,
wise men who hear me say to me,
³⁵ 'Job speaks without knowledge;
his words lack insight.'
³⁶ Oh, that Job might be tested to the utmost
for answering like a wicked man!
³⁷ To his sin he adds rebellion;
scornfully he claps his hands among us
and multiplies his words against God."

January 15, 2004 Job 35:1-37:24

Job 35
¹ Then Elihu said:

² "Do you think this is just?
You say, 'I will be cleared by God. '
³ Yet you ask him, 'What profit is it to me,
and what do I gain by not sinning?'

⁴ "I would like to reply to you
and to your friends with you.
⁵ Look up at the heavens and see;
gaze at the clouds so high above you.
⁶ If you sin, how does that affect him?
If your sins are many, what does that do to him?
⁷ If you are righteous, what do you give to him,
or what does he receive from your hand?
⁸ Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself,
and your righteousness only the sons of men.

⁹ "Men cry out under a load of oppression;
they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful.
¹⁰ But no one says, 'Where is God my Maker,
who gives songs in the night,
¹¹ who teaches more to us than to the beasts of the earth
and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?'
¹² He does not answer when men cry out
because of the arrogance of the wicked.
¹³ Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea;
the Almighty pays no attention to it.
¹⁴ How much less, then, will he listen
when you say that you do not see him,
that your case is before him
and you must wait for him,
¹⁵ and further, that his anger never punishes
and he does not take the least notice of wickedness.
¹⁶ So Job opens his mouth with empty talk;
without knowledge he multiplies words."

Job 36
¹ Elihu continued:

² "Bear with me a little longer and I will show you
that there is more to be said in God's behalf.
³ I get my knowledge from afar;
I will ascribe justice to my Maker.
⁴ Be assured that my words are not false;
one perfect in knowledge is with you.

⁵ "God is mighty, but does not despise men;
he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.
⁶ He does not keep the wicked alive
but gives the afflicted their rights.
⁷ He does not take his eyes off the righteous;
he enthrones them with kings
and exalts them forever.
⁸ But if men are bound in chains,
held fast by cords of affliction,
⁹ he tells them what they have done-
that they have sinned arrogantly.
¹⁰ He makes them listen to correction
and commands them to repent of their evil.
¹¹ If they obey and serve him,
they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity
and their years in contentment.
¹² But if they do not listen,
they will perish by the sword
and die without knowledge.

¹³ "The godless in heart harbor resentment;
even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help.
¹⁴ They die in their youth,
among male prostitutes of the shrines.
¹⁵ But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering;
he speaks to them in their affliction.

¹⁶ "He is wooing you from the jaws of distress
to a spacious place free from restriction,
to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.
¹⁷ But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked;
judgment and justice have taken hold of you.
¹⁸ Be careful that no one entices you by riches;
do not let a large bribe turn you aside.
¹⁹ Would your wealth
or even all your mighty efforts
sustain you so you would not be in distress?
²⁰ Do not long for the night,
to drag people away from their homes.
²¹ Beware of turning to evil,
which you seem to prefer to affliction.

²² "God is exalted in his power.
Who is a teacher like him?
²³ Who has prescribed his ways for him,
or said to him, 'You have done wrong'?
²⁴ Remember to extol his work,
which men have praised in song.
²⁵ All mankind has seen it;
men gaze on it from afar.
²⁶ How great is God-beyond our understanding!
The number of his years is past finding out.

²⁷ "He draws up the drops of water,
which distill as rain to the streams ;
²⁸ the clouds pour down their moisture
and abundant showers fall on mankind.
²⁹ Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds,
how he thunders from his pavilion?
³⁰ See how he scatters his lightning about him,
bathing the depths of the sea.
³¹ This is the way he governs the nations
and provides food in abundance.
³² He fills his hands with lightning
and commands it to strike its mark.
³³ His thunder announces the coming storm;
even the cattle make known its approach.

Job 37
¹ "At this my heart pounds
and leaps from its place.
² Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice,
to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
³ He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven
and sends it to the ends of the earth.
⁴ After that comes the sound of his roar;
he thunders with his majestic voice.
When his voice resounds,
he holds nothing back.
⁵ God's voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.
⁶ He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,'
and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.'
⁷ So that all men he has made may know his work,
he stops every man from his labor.
⁸ The animals take cover;
they remain in their dens.
⁹ The tempest comes out from its chamber,
the cold from the driving winds.
¹⁰ The breath of God produces ice,
and the broad waters become frozen.
¹¹ He loads the clouds with moisture;
he scatters his lightning through them.
¹² At his direction they swirl around
over the face of the whole earth
to do whatever he commands them.
¹³ He brings the clouds to punish men,
or to water his earth and show his love.

¹⁴ "Listen to this, Job;
stop and consider God's wonders.
¹⁵ Do you know how God controls the clouds
and makes his lightning flash?
¹⁶ Do you know how the clouds hang poised,
those wonders of him who is perfect in knowledge?
¹⁷ You who swelter in your clothes
when the land lies hushed under the south wind,
¹⁸ can you join him in spreading out the skies,
hard as a mirror of cast bronze?

¹⁹ "Tell us what we should say to him;
we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness.
²⁰ Should he be told that I want to speak?
Would any man ask to be swallowed up?
²¹ Now no one can look at the sun,
bright as it is in the skies
after the wind has swept them clean.
²² Out of the north he comes in golden splendor;
God comes in awesome majesty.
²³ The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;
in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.
²⁴ Therefore, men revere him,
for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart? "

January 16, 2004 Job 38:1-39:30

Job 38


The LORD Speaks

¹ Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:

² "Who is this that darkens my counsel
with words without knowledge?
³ Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.

⁴ "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
⁵ Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
⁶ On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone-
⁷ while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?

⁸ "Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
⁹ when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
¹⁰ when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
¹¹ when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt'?

¹² "Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
¹³ that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
¹⁴ The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
¹⁵ The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.

¹⁶ "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
¹⁷ Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death ?
¹⁸ Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.

¹⁹ "What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
²⁰ Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
²¹ Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!

²² "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
²³ which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
²⁴ What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
²⁵ Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,
²⁶ to water a land where no man lives,
a desert with no one in it,
²⁷ to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?
²⁸ Does the rain have a father?
Who fathers the drops of dew?
²⁹ From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
³⁰ when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?

³¹ "Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades?
Can you loose the cords of Orion?
³² Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons
or lead out the Bear with its cubs?
³³ Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God's dominion over the earth?

³⁴ "Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
³⁵ Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, 'Here we are'?
³⁶ Who endowed the heart with wisdom
or gave understanding to the mind ?
³⁷ Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
³⁸ when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?

³⁹ "Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
⁴⁰ when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?
⁴¹ Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?

Job 39
¹ "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
² Do you count the months till they bear?
Do you know the time they give birth?
³ They crouch down and bring forth their young;
their labor pains are ended.
⁴ Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
they leave and do not return.

⁵ "Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who untied his ropes?
⁶ I gave him the wasteland as his home,
the salt flats as his habitat.
⁷ He laughs at the commotion in the town;
he does not hear a driver's shout.
⁸ He ranges the hills for his pasture
and searches for any green thing.

⁹ "Will the wild ox consent to serve you?
Will he stay by your manger at night?
¹⁰ Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness?
Will he till the valleys behind you?
¹¹ Will you rely on him for his great strength?
Will you leave your heavy work to him?
¹² Can you trust him to bring in your grain
and gather it to your threshing floor?

¹³ "The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork.
¹⁴ She lays her eggs on the ground
and lets them warm in the sand,
¹⁵ unmindful that a foot may crush them,
that some wild animal may trample them.
¹⁶ She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers;
she cares not that her labor was in vain,
¹⁷ for God did not endow her with wisdom
or give her a share of good sense.
¹⁸ Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
she laughs at horse and rider.

¹⁹ "Do you give the horse his strength
or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?
²⁰ Do you make him leap like a locust,
striking terror with his proud snorting?
²¹ He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength,
and charges into the fray.
²² He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
he does not shy away from the sword.
²³ The quiver rattles against his side,
along with the flashing spear and lance.
²⁴ In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground;
he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
²⁵ At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!'
He catches the scent of battle from afar,
the shout of commanders and the battle cry.

²⁶ "Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
and spread his wings toward the south?
²⁷ Does the eagle soar at your command
and build his nest on high?
²⁸ He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
a rocky crag is his stronghold.
²⁹ From there he seeks out his food;
his eyes detect it from afar.
³⁰ His young ones feast on blood,
and where the slain are, there is he."

January 17, 2004 Job 40:1-42:17

Job 40
¹ The LORD said to Job:

² "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let him who accuses God answer him!"

³ Then Job answered the LORD :

⁴ "I am unworthy-how can I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
⁵ I spoke once, but I have no answer-
twice, but I will say no more."

⁶ Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm:

⁷ "Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.

⁸ "Would you discredit my justice?
Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
⁹ Do you have an arm like God's,
and can your voice thunder like his?
¹⁰ Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.
¹¹ Unleash the fury of your wrath,
look at every proud man and bring him low,
¹² look at every proud man and humble him,
crush the wicked where they stand.
¹³ Bury them all in the dust together;
shroud their faces in the grave.
¹⁴ Then I myself will admit to you
that your own right hand can save you.

¹⁵ "Look at the behemoth,
which I made along with you
and which feeds on grass like an ox.
¹⁶ What strength he has in his loins,
what power in the muscles of his belly!
¹⁷ His tail sways like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are close-knit.
¹⁸ His bones are tubes of bronze,
his limbs like rods of iron.
¹⁹ He ranks first among the works of God,
yet his Maker can approach him with his sword.
²⁰ The hills bring him their produce,
and all the wild animals play nearby.
²¹ Under the lotus plants he lies,
hidden among the reeds in the marsh.
²² The lotuses conceal him in their shadow;
the poplars by the stream surround him.
²³ When the river rages, he is not alarmed;
he is secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth.
²⁴ Can anyone capture him by the eyes,
or trap him and pierce his nose?

Job 41
¹ "Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook
or tie down his tongue with a rope?
² Can you put a cord through his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?
³ Will he keep begging you for mercy?
Will he speak to you with gentle words?
⁴ Will he make an agreement with you
for you to take him as your slave for life?
⁵ Can you make a pet of him like a bird
or put him on a leash for your girls?
⁶ Will traders barter for him?
Will they divide him up among the merchants?
⁷ Can you fill his hide with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?
⁸ If you lay a hand on him,
you will remember the struggle and never do it again!
⁹ Any hope of subduing him is false;
the mere sight of him is overpowering.
¹⁰ No one is fierce enough to rouse him.
Who then is able to stand against me?
¹¹ Who has a claim against me that I must pay?
Everything under heaven belongs to me.

¹² "I will not fail to speak of his limbs,
his strength and his graceful form.
¹³ Who can strip off his outer coat?
Who would approach him with a bridle?
¹⁴ Who dares open the doors of his mouth,
ringed about with his fearsome teeth?
¹⁵ His back has rows of shields
tightly sealed together;
¹⁶ each is so close to the next
that no air can pass between.
¹⁷ They are joined fast to one another;
they cling together and cannot be parted.
¹⁸ His snorting throws out flashes of light;
his eyes are like the rays of dawn.
¹⁹ Firebrands stream from his mouth;
sparks of fire shoot out.
²⁰ Smoke pours from his nostrils
as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds.
²¹ His breath sets coals ablaze,
and flames dart from his mouth.
²² Strength resides in his neck;
dismay goes before him.
²³ The folds of his flesh are tightly joined;
they are firm and immovable.
²⁴ His chest is hard as rock,
hard as a lower millstone.
²⁵ When he rises up, the mighty are terrified;
they retreat before his thrashing.
²⁶ The sword that reaches him has no effect,
nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.
²⁷ Iron he treats like straw
and bronze like rotten wood.
²⁸ Arrows do not make him flee;
slingstones are like chaff to him.
²⁹ A club seems to him but a piece of straw;
he laughs at the rattling of the lance.
³⁰ His undersides are jagged potsherds,
leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
³¹ He makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron
and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.
³² Behind him he leaves a glistening wake;
one would think the deep had white hair.
³³ Nothing on earth is his equal-
a creature without fear.
³⁴ He looks down on all that are haughty;
he is king over all that are proud."

Job 42


Job

¹ Then Job replied to the LORD :

² "I know that you can do all things;
no plan of yours can be thwarted.
³ You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?'
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.

⁴ "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.'
⁵ My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
⁶ Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes."



Epilogue
⁷ After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. ⁸ So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." ⁹ So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job's prayer.
¹⁰ After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. ¹¹ All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.
¹² The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. ¹³ And he also had seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴ The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. ¹⁵ Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
¹⁶ After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. ¹⁷ And so he died, old and full of years.

January 18, 2004 Genesis 11:1-15:21

Genesis 11


The Tower of Babel

¹ Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
³ They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
⁵ But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. ⁶ The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
⁸ So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel -because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.


From Shem to Abram
¹⁰ This is the account of Shem.

Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. ¹¹ And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
¹² When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. ¹³ And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
¹⁴ When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. ¹⁵ And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
¹⁶ When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. ¹⁷ And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
¹⁸ When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. ¹⁹ And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
²⁰ When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. ²¹ And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
²² When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. ²³ And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
²⁴ When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. ²⁵ And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
²⁶ After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.

²⁷ This is the account of Terah.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. ²⁸ While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. ²⁹ Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. ³⁰ Now Sarai was barren; she had no children.
³¹ Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.
³² Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.

Genesis 12


The Call of Abram

¹ The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

² "I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you."

⁴ So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. ⁵ He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
⁶ Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷ The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD , who had appeared to him.
⁸ From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD . ⁹ Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.


Abram in Egypt
¹⁰ Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. ¹¹ As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. ¹³ Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."
¹⁴ When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. ¹⁵ And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. ¹⁶ He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
¹⁷ But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. ¹⁸ So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" ²⁰ Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Genesis 13


Abram and Lot Separate

¹ So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. ² Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
³ From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier ⁴ and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD .
⁵ Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. ⁶ But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. ⁷ And quarreling arose between Abram's herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
⁸ So Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. ⁹ Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left."
¹⁰ Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD , like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: ¹² Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. ¹³ Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD .
¹⁴ The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. ¹⁵ All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. ¹⁶ I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. ¹⁷ Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."
¹⁸ So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD .

Genesis 14


Abram Rescues Lot

¹ At this time Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim ² went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ³ All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (the Salt Sea ). ⁴ For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
⁵ In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim ⁶ and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. ⁷ Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.
⁸ Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim ⁹ against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar-four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. ¹¹ The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. ¹² They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.
¹³ One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. ¹⁶ He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
¹⁷ After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).
¹⁸ Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, ¹⁹ and he blessed Abram, saying,

"Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
²⁰ And blessed be God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand."

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself."
²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD , God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath ²³ that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' ²⁴ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me-to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share."

Genesis 15


God's Covenant With Abram

¹ After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:

"Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward. "

² But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD , what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" ³ And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
⁴ Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." ⁵ He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars-if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
⁶ Abram believed the LORD , and he credited it to him as righteousness.
⁷ He also said to him, "I am the LORD , who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."
⁸ But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD , how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
⁹ So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."
¹⁰ Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. ¹¹ Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
¹² As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. ¹³ Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
¹⁷ When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates- ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, ²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."

January 19, 2004 Genesis 16:1-18:33

Genesis 16


Hagar and Ishmael

¹ Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; ² so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her."
Abram agreed to what Sarai said. ³ So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. ⁴ He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.
When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me."
⁶ "Your servant is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
⁷ The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. ⁸ And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?"
"I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered.
⁹ Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." ¹⁰ The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."
¹¹ The angel of the LORD also said to her:

"You are now with child
and you will have a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,
for the LORD has heard of your misery.
¹² He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone's hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers."

¹³ She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." ¹⁴ That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi ; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
¹⁵ So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Genesis 17


The Covenant of Circumcision

¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty ; walk before me and be blameless. ² I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."
³ Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, ⁴ "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. ⁵ No longer will you be called Abram ; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. ⁷ I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁸ The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."
⁹ Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. ¹⁰ This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹² For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner-those who are not your offspring. ¹³ Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
¹⁵ God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. ¹⁶ I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."
¹⁷ Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"
¹⁹ Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. ²⁰ And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. ²¹ But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year." ²² When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
²³ On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. ²⁴ Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, ²⁵ and his son Ishmael was thirteen; ²⁶ Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. ²⁷ And every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

Genesis 18


The Three Visitors

¹ The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. ² Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
³ He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. ⁴ Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. ⁵ Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way-now that you have come to your servant."
"Very well," they answered, "do as you say."
⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread."
⁷ Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. ⁸ He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
⁹ "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him.
"There, in the tent," he said.
¹⁰ Then the LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. ¹² So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"
¹³ Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the LORD ? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."
¹⁵ Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."
But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."


Abraham Pleads for Sodom
¹⁶ When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. ¹⁷ Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ¹⁸ Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. ¹⁹ For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
²⁰ Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous ²¹ that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."
²² The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD . ²³ Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? ²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing-to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
²⁶ The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
²⁷ Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, ²⁸ what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?"
"If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."
²⁹ Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?"
He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."
³⁰ Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?"
He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."
³¹ Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?"
He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it."
³² Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?"
He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."
³³ When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

January 20, 2004 Genesis 19:1-21:34

Genesis 19


Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

¹ The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. ² "My lords," he said, "please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning."
"No," they answered, "we will spend the night in the square."
³ But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. ⁴ Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom-both young and old-surrounded the house. ⁵ They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."
⁶ Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him ⁷ and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. ⁸ Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof."
⁹ "Get out of our way," they replied. And they said, "This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We'll treat you worse than them." They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
¹⁰ But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. ¹¹ Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.
¹² The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here-sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, ¹³ because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."
¹⁴ So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, "Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
¹⁵ With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished."
¹⁶ When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. ¹⁷ As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!"
¹⁸ But Lot said to them, "No, my lords, please! ¹⁹ Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can't flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I'll die. ²⁰ Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it-it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared."
²¹ He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. ²² But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it." (That is why the town was called Zoar. )
²³ By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. ²⁴ Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah-from the LORD out of the heavens. ²⁵ Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities-and also the vegetation in the land. ²⁶ But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
²⁷ Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD . ²⁸ He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
²⁹ So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.


Lot and His Daughters
³⁰ Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. ³¹ One day the older daughter said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man around here to lie with us, as is the custom all over the earth. ³² Let's get our father to drink wine and then lie with him and preserve our family line through our father."
³³ That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and lay with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
³⁴ The next day the older daughter said to the younger, "Last night I lay with my father. Let's get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and lie with him so we can preserve our family line through our father." ³⁵ So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went and lay with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
³⁶ So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. ³⁷ The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab ; he is the father of the Moabites of today. ³⁸ The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi ; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.

Genesis 20


Abraham and Abimelech

¹ Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, ² and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
³ But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman."
⁴ Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? ⁵ Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister,' and didn't she also say, 'He is my brother'? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands."
⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die."
⁸ Early the next morning Abimelech summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. ⁹ Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said, "What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done." ¹⁰ And Abimelech asked Abraham, "What was your reason for doing this?"
¹¹ Abraham replied, "I said to myself, 'There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' ¹² Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. ¹³ And when God had me wander from my father's household, I said to her, 'This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, "He is my brother." ' "
¹⁴ Then Abimelech brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. ¹⁵ And Abimelech said, "My land is before you; live wherever you like."
¹⁶ To Sarah he said, "I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated."
¹⁷ Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they could have children again, ¹⁸ for the LORD had closed up every womb in Abimelech's household because of Abraham's wife Sarah.

Genesis 21


The Birth of Isaac

¹ Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. ² Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. ³ Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. ⁴ When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. ⁵ Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
⁶ Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." ⁷ And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."


Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away
⁸ The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. ⁹ But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, ¹⁰ and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."
¹¹ The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. ¹² But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. ¹³ I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring."
¹⁴ Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.
¹⁵ When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. ¹⁶ Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, "I cannot watch the boy die." And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob.
¹⁷ God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. ¹⁸ Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."
¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
²⁰ God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. ²¹ While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.


The Treaty at Beersheba
²² At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do. ²³ Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you are living as an alien the same kindness I have shown to you."
²⁴ Abraham said, "I swear it."
²⁵ Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized. ²⁶ But Abimelech said, "I don't know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today."
²⁷ So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a treaty. ²⁸ Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, ²⁹ and Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?"
³⁰ He replied, "Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well."
³¹ So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there.
³² After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines. ³³ Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD , the Eternal God. ³⁴ And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.

January 21, 2004 Genesis 22:1-24:67

Genesis 22


Abraham Tested

¹ Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
² Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
³ Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."
⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
⁸ Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
¹² "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
¹⁵ The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶ and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD , that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
¹⁹ Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.


Nahor's Sons
²⁰ Some time later Abraham was told, "Milcah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: ²¹ Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), ²² Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel." ²³ Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to Abraham's brother Nahor. ²⁴ His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maacah.

Genesis 23


The Death of Sarah

¹ Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. ² She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
³ Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, ⁴ "I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead."
⁵ The Hittites replied to Abraham, ⁶ "Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead."
⁷ Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. ⁸ He said to them, "If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf ⁹ so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you."
¹⁰ Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. ¹¹ "No, my lord," he said. "Listen to me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead."
¹² Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land ¹³ and he said to Ephron in their hearing, "Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there."
¹⁴ Ephron answered Abraham, ¹⁵ "Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between me and you? Bury your dead."
¹⁶ Abraham agreed to Ephron's terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.
¹⁷ So Ephron's field in Machpelah near Mamre-both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field-was deeded ¹⁸ to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. ¹⁹ Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.

Genesis 24


Isaac and Rebekah

¹ Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. ² He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh. ³ I want you to swear by the LORD , the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, ⁴ but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac."
⁵ The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?"
⁶ "Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said. ⁷ "The LORD , the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land'-he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. ⁸ If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there." ⁹ So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
¹⁰ Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. ¹¹ He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.
¹² Then he prayed, "O LORD , God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."
¹⁵ Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor. ¹⁶ The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever lain with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.
¹⁷ The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar."
¹⁸ "Drink, my lord," she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
¹⁹ After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking." ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. ²¹ Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful.
²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. ²³ Then he asked, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"
²⁴ She answered him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor." ²⁵ And she added, "We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night."
²⁶ Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD , ²⁷ saying, "Praise be to the LORD , the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."
²⁸ The girl ran and told her mother's household about these things. ²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. ³⁰ As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. ³¹ "Come, you who are blessed by the LORD ," he said. "Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels."
³² So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet. ³³ Then food was set before him, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say."
"Then tell us," Laban said.
³⁴ So he said, "I am Abraham's servant. ³⁵ The LORD has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ My master's wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. ³⁷ And my master made me swear an oath, and said, 'You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, ³⁸ but go to my father's family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.'
³⁹ "Then I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not come back with me?'
⁴⁰ "He replied, 'The LORD , before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father's family. ⁴¹ Then, when you go to my clan, you will be released from my oath even if they refuse to give her to you-you will be released from my oath.'
⁴² "When I came to the spring today, I said, 'O LORD , God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. ⁴³ See, I am standing beside this spring; if a maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar," ⁴⁴ and if she says to me, "Drink, and I'll draw water for your camels too," let her be the one the LORD has chosen for my master's son.'
⁴⁵ "Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.'
⁴⁶ "She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too.' So I drank, and she watered the camels also.
⁴⁷ "I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?'
"She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.'
"Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, ⁴⁸ and I bowed down and worshiped the LORD . I praised the LORD , the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master's brother for his son. ⁴⁹ Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn."
⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, "This is from the LORD ; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has directed."
⁵² When Abraham's servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD . ⁵³ Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. ⁵⁴ Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.
When they got up the next morning, he said, "Send me on my way to my master."
⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother replied, "Let the girl remain with us ten days or so; then you may go."
⁵⁶ But he said to them, "Do not detain me, now that the LORD has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master."
⁵⁷ Then they said, "Let's call the girl and ask her about it." ⁵⁸ So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?"
"I will go," she said.
⁵⁹ So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham's servant and his men. ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

"Our sister, may you increase
to thousands upon thousands;
may your offspring possess
the gates of their enemies."

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her maids got ready and mounted their camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.
⁶² Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. ⁶³ He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. ⁶⁴ Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel ⁶⁵ and asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?"
"He is my master," the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.
⁶⁶ Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. ⁶⁷ Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

January 22, 2004 Genesis 25:1-26:35  and 1 Chronicles 1:32-34

Genesis 25


The Death of Abraham

¹ Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. ² She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. ³ Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. ⁴ The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

1 Chronicles 1

³² The sons born to Keturah, Abraham's concubine:
Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah.
The sons of Jokshan:
Sheba and Dedan.
³³ The sons of Midian:
Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah.
All these were descendants of Keturah. Descendants of Sarah

Genesis 25

⁵ Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. ⁶ But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.

1 Chronicles 1

³⁴ Abraham was the father of Isaac.
The sons of Isaac:
Esau and Israel.

Genesis 25

Jacob and Esau
¹⁹ This is the account of Abraham's son Isaac.

Abraham became the father of Isaac, ²⁰ and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.
²¹ Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. ²² The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD .
²³ The LORD said to her,

"Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger."

²⁴ When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. ²⁵ The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. ²⁶ After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

⁷ Altogether, Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. ⁸ Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. ⁹ His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, ¹⁰ the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. ¹¹ After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.

²⁷ The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. ²⁸ Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
²⁹ Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. ³⁰ He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom. )
³¹ Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."
³² "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?"
³³ But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.
So Esau despised his birthright.

Genesis 26


Isaac and Abimelech

¹ Now there was a famine in the land-besides the earlier famine of Abraham's time-and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. ² The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. ³ Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. ⁴ I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, ⁵ because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws." ⁶ So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
⁷ When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," because he was afraid to say, "She is my wife." He thought, "The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful."
⁸ When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. ⁹ So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, "She is really your wife! Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?"
Isaac answered him, "Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her."
¹⁰ Then Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us."
¹¹ So Abimelech gave orders to all the people: "Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall surely be put to death."
¹² Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. ¹³ The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. ¹⁴ He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. ¹⁵ So all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.
¹⁶ Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us."
¹⁷ So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. ¹⁸ Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
¹⁹ Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. ²⁰ But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. ²¹ Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. ²² He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, "Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land."
²³ From there he went up to Beersheba. ²⁴ That night the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham."
²⁵ Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD . There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.
²⁶ Meanwhile, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces. ²⁷ Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?"
²⁸ They answered, "We saw clearly that the LORD was with you; so we said, 'There ought to be a sworn agreement between us'-between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you ²⁹ that you will do us no harm, just as we did not molest you but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD ."
³⁰ Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.
³² That day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, "We've found water!" ³³ He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.
³⁴ When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵ They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

January 23, 2004 Genesis 27:1-28:9, Genesis 36:1-43, 1 Chronicles 1:35-54

Genesis 27


Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessing

¹ When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, "My son."
"Here I am," he answered.
² Isaac said, "I am now an old man and don't know the day of my death. ³ Now then, get your weapons-your quiver and bow-and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. ⁴ Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die."
⁵ Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, ⁶ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, ⁷ 'Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the LORD before I die.' ⁸ Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: ⁹ Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. ¹⁰ Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies."
¹¹ Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "But my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I'm a man with smooth skin. ¹² What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing."
¹³ His mother said to him, "My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me."
¹⁴ So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. ¹⁶ She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. ¹⁷ Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.
¹⁸ He went to his father and said, "My father."
"Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it?"
¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing."
²⁰ Isaac asked his son, "How did you find it so quickly, my son?"
"The LORD your God gave me success," he replied.
²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not."
²² Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." ²³ He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. ²⁴ "Are you really my son Esau?" he asked.
"I am," he replied.
²⁵ Then he said, "My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing."
Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. ²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come here, my son, and kiss me."
²⁷ So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said,

"Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field
that the LORD has blessed.
²⁸ May God give you of heaven's dew
and of earth's richness-
an abundance of grain and new wine.
²⁹ May nations serve you
and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed
and those who bless you be blessed."

³⁰ After Isaac finished blessing him and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. ³¹ He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, "My father, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing."
³² His father Isaac asked him, "Who are you?"
"I am your son," he answered, "your firstborn, Esau."
³³ Isaac trembled violently and said, "Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him-and indeed he will be blessed!"
³⁴ When Esau heard his father's words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me-me too, my father!"
³⁵ But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing."
³⁶ Esau said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob ? He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he's taken my blessing!" Then he asked, "Haven't you reserved any blessing for me?"
³⁷ Isaac answered Esau, "I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?"
³⁸ Esau said to his father, "Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!" Then Esau wept aloud.
³⁹ His father Isaac answered him,

"Your dwelling will be
away from the earth's richness,
away from the dew of heaven above.
⁴⁰ You will live by the sword
and you will serve your brother.
But when you grow restless,
you will throw his yoke
from off your neck."



Jacob Flees to Laban
⁴¹ Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob."
⁴² When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, "Your brother Esau is consoling himself with the thought of killing you. ⁴³ Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran. ⁴⁴ Stay with him for a while until your brother's fury subsides. ⁴⁵ When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I'll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?"
⁴⁶ Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living."

Genesis 28
¹ So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: "Do not marry a Canaanite woman. ² Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. ³ May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. ⁴ May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham." ⁵ Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
⁶ Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman," ⁷ and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. ⁸ Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; ⁹ so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.

Genesis 36


Esau's Descendants

¹ This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom).

² Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite- ³ also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.
⁴ Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, ⁵ and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in Canaan.
⁶ Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. ⁷ Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock. ⁸ So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir.

⁹ This is the account 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:
Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz.
¹² Esau's son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna, who bore him Amalek. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Adah.
¹³ The sons of Reuel:
Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath.
¹⁴ The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon, whom she bore to Esau:
Jeush, Jalam and Korah.

¹⁵ These were the chiefs among Esau's descendants:
The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau:
Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ¹⁶ Korah, Gatam and Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in Edom; they were grandsons of Adah.
¹⁷ The sons of Esau's son Reuel:
Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in Edom; they were grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath.
¹⁸ The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah:
Chiefs Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah.
¹⁹ These were the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these were their chiefs.

²⁰ These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the region:
Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ²¹ Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom were Horite chiefs.
²² The sons of Lotan:
Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan's sister.
²³ The sons of Shobal:
Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
²⁴ The sons of Zibeon:
Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.
²⁵ The children of Anah:
Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah.
²⁶ The sons of Dishon :
Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran.
²⁷ The sons of Ezer:
Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan.
²⁸ The sons of Dishan:
Uz and Aran.
²⁹ These were the Horite chiefs:
Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ³⁰ Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These were the Horite chiefs, according to their divisions, in the land of Seir.


The Rulers of Edom
³¹ These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned :
³² Bela son of Beor became king of Edom. His city was named Dinhabah.
³³ When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah succeeded him as king.
³⁴ When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king.
³⁵ When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king. His city was named Avith.
³⁶ When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king.
³⁷ When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king.
³⁸ When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Acbor succeeded him as king.
³⁹ When Baal-Hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad succeeded him as king. His city was named Pau, and his wife's name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.

⁴⁰ These were the chiefs descended from Esau, by name, according to their clans and regions:
Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ⁴¹ Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁴² Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁴³ Magdiel and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they occupied.

This was Esau the father of the Edomites.

1 Chronicles 1

Esau's Sons
³⁵ The sons of Esau:
Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam and Korah.
³⁶ The sons of Eliphaz:
Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz;
by Timna: Amalek.
³⁷ The sons of Reuel:
Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. The People of Seir in Edom
³⁸ The sons of Seir:
Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan.
³⁹ The sons of Lotan:
Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan's sister.
⁴⁰ The sons of Shobal:
Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
The sons of Zibeon:
Aiah and Anah.
⁴¹ The son of Anah:
Dishon.
The sons of Dishon:
Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran.
⁴² The sons of Ezer:
Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan.
The sons of Dishan :
Uz and Aran. The Rulers of Edom
⁴³ These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned :
Bela son of Beor, whose city was named Dinhabah.
⁴⁴ When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah succeeded him as king.
⁴⁵ When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king.
⁴⁶ When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king. His city was named Avith.
⁴⁷ When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king.
⁴⁸ When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king.
⁴⁹ When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Acbor succeeded him as king.
⁵⁰ When Baal-Hanan died, Hadad succeeded him as king. His city was named Pau, and his wife's name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab. ⁵¹ Hadad also died.

The chiefs of Edom were:
Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ⁵² Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁵³ Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁵⁴ Magdiel and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom.

January 24, 2004 Genesis 28:10-30:43

Genesis 28

Jacob's Dream at Bethel
¹⁰ Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. ¹¹ When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. ¹² He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ There above it stood the LORD , and he said: "I am the LORD , the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. ¹⁴ Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. ¹⁵ I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
¹⁶ When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." ¹⁷ He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."
¹⁸ Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.
²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear ²¹ so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God ²² and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."

Genesis 29


Jacob Arrives in Paddan Aram

¹ Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. ² There he saw a well in the field, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large. ³ When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well's mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.
⁴ Jacob asked the shepherds, "My brothers, where are you from?"
"We're from Haran," they replied.
⁵ He said to them, "Do you know Laban, Nahor's grandson?"
"Yes, we know him," they answered.
⁶ Then Jacob asked them, "Is he well?"
"Yes, he is," they said, "and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep."
⁷ "Look," he said, "the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture."
⁸ "We can't," they replied, "until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep."
⁹ While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. ¹⁰ When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and Laban's sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle's sheep. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. ¹² He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father.
¹³ As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things. ¹⁴ Then Laban said to him, "You are my own flesh and blood."


Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, ¹⁵ Laban said to him, "Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be."
¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful. ¹⁸ Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, "I'll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel."
¹⁹ Laban said, "It's better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me." ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.
²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her."
²² So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. ²³ But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her. ²⁴ And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter as her maidservant.
²⁵ When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?"
²⁶ Laban replied, "It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. ²⁷ Finish this daughter's bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work."
²⁸ And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ²⁹ Laban gave his servant girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant. ³⁰ Jacob lay with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.


Jacob's Children
³¹ When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. ³² Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now."
³³ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon.
³⁴ Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." So he was named Levi.
³⁵ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "This time I will praise the LORD ." So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.

Genesis 30
¹ When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I'll die!"
² Jacob became angry with her and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?"
³ Then she said, "Here is Bilhah, my maidservant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and that through her I too can build a family."
⁴ So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, ⁵ and she became pregnant and bore him a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son." Because of this she named him Dan.
⁷ Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Then Rachel said, "I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won." So she named him Naphtali.
⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her maidservant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, "What good fortune!" So she named him Gad.
¹² Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. ¹³ Then Leah said, "How happy I am! The women will call me happy." So she named him Asher.
¹⁴ During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."
¹⁵ But she said to her, "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?"
"Very well," Rachel said, "he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes."
¹⁶ So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me," she said. "I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he slept with her that night.
¹⁷ God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Then Leah said, "God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband." So she named him Issachar.
¹⁹ Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. ²⁰ Then Leah said, "God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun.
²¹ Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
²² Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb. ²³ She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, "God has taken away my disgrace." ²⁴ She named him Joseph, and said, "May the LORD add to me another son."


Jacob's Flocks Increase
²⁵ After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. ²⁶ Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I've done for you."
²⁷ But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you." ²⁸ He added, "Name your wages, and I will pay them."
²⁹ Jacob said to him, "You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. ³⁰ The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?"
³¹ "What shall I give you?" he asked.
"Don't give me anything," Jacob replied. "But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: ³² Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. ³³ And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen."
³⁴ "Agreed," said Laban. "Let it be as you have said." ³⁵ That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. ³⁶ Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban's flocks.
³⁷ Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. ³⁸ Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, ³⁹ they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. ⁴⁰ Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban's animals. ⁴¹ Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, ⁴² but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. ⁴³ In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.

January 25, 2004 Genesis 31:1-32:32

Genesis 31


Jacob Flees From Laban

¹ Jacob heard that Laban's sons were saying, "Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father." ² And Jacob noticed that Laban's attitude toward him was not what it had been.
³ Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you."
⁴ So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. ⁵ He said to them, "I see that your father's attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. ⁶ You know that I've worked for your father with all my strength, ⁷ yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. ⁸ If he said, 'The speckled ones will be your wages,' then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, 'The streaked ones will be your wages,' then all the flocks bore streaked young. ⁹ So God has taken away your father's livestock and has given them to me.
¹⁰ "In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. ¹¹ The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I answered, 'Here I am.' ¹² And he said, 'Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. ¹³ I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.' "
¹⁴ Then Rachel and Leah replied, "Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father's estate? ¹⁵ Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. ¹⁶ Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you."
¹⁷ Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, ¹⁸ and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.
¹⁹ When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household gods. ²⁰ Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. ²¹ So he fled with all he had, and crossing the River, he headed for the hill country of Gilead.


Laban Pursues Jacob
²² On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. ²³ Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁴ Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad."
²⁵ Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too. ²⁶ Then Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done? You've deceived me, and you've carried off my daughters like captives in war. ²⁷ Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn't you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of tambourines and harps? ²⁸ You didn't even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters good-by. You have done a foolish thing. ²⁹ I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, 'Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.' ³⁰ Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?"
³¹ Jacob answered Laban, "I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. ³² But if you find anyone who has your gods, he shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it." Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods.
³³ So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent and into the tent of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. After he came out of Leah's tent, he entered Rachel's tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel's saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing.
³⁵ Rachel said to her father, "Don't be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I'm having my period." So he searched but could not find the household gods.
³⁶ Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. "What is my crime?" he asked Laban. "What sin have I committed that you hunt me down? ³⁷ Now that you have searched through all my goods, what have you found that belongs to your household? Put it here in front of your relatives and mine, and let them judge between the two of us.
³⁸ "I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. ³⁹ I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night. ⁴⁰ This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. ⁴¹ It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. ⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you."
⁴³ Laban answered Jacob, "The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne? ⁴⁴ Come now, let's make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us."
⁴⁵ So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. ⁴⁶ He said to his relatives, "Gather some stones." So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. ⁴⁷ Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.
⁴⁸ Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me today." That is why it was called Galeed. ⁴⁹ It was also called Mizpah, because he said, "May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. ⁵⁰ If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me."
⁵¹ Laban also said to Jacob, "Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me. ⁵² This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me. ⁵³ May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us."
So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there.
⁵⁵ Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home.

Genesis 32


Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

¹ Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. ² When Jacob saw them, he said, "This is the camp of God!" So he named that place Mahanaim.
³ Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. ⁴ He instructed them: "This is what you are to say to my master Esau: 'Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. ⁵ I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, menservants and maidservants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.' "
⁶ When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, "We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him."
⁷ In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. ⁸ He thought, "If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape."
⁹ Then Jacob prayed, "O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O LORD , who said to me, 'Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,' ¹⁰ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups. ¹¹ Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. ¹² But you have said, 'I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.' "
¹³ He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. ¹⁶ He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, "Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds."
¹⁷ He instructed the one in the lead: "When my brother Esau meets you and asks, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?' ¹⁸ then you are to say, 'They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.' "
¹⁹ He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: "You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ²⁰ And be sure to say, 'Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.' " For he thought, "I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me." ²¹ So Jacob's gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.


Jacob Wrestles With God
²² That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak."
But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
²⁷ The man asked him, "What is your name?"
"Jacob," he answered.
²⁸ Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."
²⁹ Jacob said, "Please tell me your name."
But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there.
³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."
³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon.

January 26, 2004 Genesis 33:1-35:29

Genesis 33


Jacob Meets Esau

¹ Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two maidservants. ² He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. ³ He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
⁴ But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. ⁵ Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. "Who are these with you?" he asked.
Jacob answered, "They are the children God has graciously given your servant."
⁶ Then the maidservants and their children approached and bowed down. ⁷ Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.
⁸ Esau asked, "What do you mean by all these droves I met?"
"To find favor in your eyes, my lord," he said.
⁹ But Esau said, "I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself."
¹⁰ "No, please!" said Jacob. "If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. ¹¹ Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need." And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it.
¹² Then Esau said, "Let us be on our way; I'll accompany you."
¹³ But Jacob said to him, "My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. ¹⁴ So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the droves before me and that of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir."
¹⁵ Esau said, "Then let me leave some of my men with you."
"But why do that?" Jacob asked. "Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord."
¹⁶ So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. ¹⁷ Jacob, however, went to Succoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Succoth.
¹⁸ After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. ¹⁹ For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. ²⁰ There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.

Genesis 34


Dinah and the Shechemites

¹ Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. ² When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her. ³ His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. ⁴ And Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl as my wife."
⁵ When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he kept quiet about it until they came home.
⁶ Then Shechem's father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. ⁷ Now Jacob's sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter-a thing that should not be done.
⁸ But Hamor said to them, "My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. ⁹ Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰ You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it."
¹¹ Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. ¹² Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I'll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the girl as my wife."
¹³ Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob's sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. ¹⁴ They said to them, "We can't do such a thing; we can't give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. ¹⁵ We will give our consent to you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. ¹⁶ Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We'll settle among you and become one people with you. ¹⁷ But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we'll take our sister and go."
¹⁸ Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. ¹⁹ The young man, who was the most honored of all his father's household, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. ²⁰ So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to their fellow townsmen. ²¹ "These men are friendly toward us," they said. "Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. ²² But the men will consent to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. ²³ Won't their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us give our consent to them, and they will settle among us."
²⁴ All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.
²⁵ Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. ²⁶ They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem's house and left. ²⁷ The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. ²⁸ They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. ²⁹ They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses.
³⁰ Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed."
³¹ But they replied, "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?"

Genesis 35


Jacob Returns to Bethel

¹ Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau."
² So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. ³ Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone." ⁴ So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. ⁵ Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.
⁶ Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. ⁷ There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
⁸ Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth.
⁹ After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. ¹⁰ God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel. " So he named him Israel.
¹¹ And God said to him, "I am God Almighty ; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. ¹² The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you." ¹³ Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.
¹⁴ Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. ¹⁵ Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.


The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac
¹⁶ Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. ¹⁷ And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for you have another son." ¹⁸ As she breathed her last-for she was dying-she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.
¹⁹ So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ²⁰ Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel's tomb.
²¹ Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. ²² While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it.

Jacob had twelve sons:
²³ The sons of Leah:
Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
²⁴ The sons of Rachel:
Joseph and Benjamin.
²⁵ The sons of Rachel's maidservant Bilhah:
Dan and Naphtali.
²⁶ The sons of Leah's maidservant Zilpah:
Gad and Asher.
These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.

²⁷ Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. ²⁸ Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. ²⁹ Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

January 27, 2004 Genesis 37:1-39:23

Genesis 37


Joseph's Dreams

¹ Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.

² This is the account of Jacob.

Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. ⁴ When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
⁵ Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. ⁶ He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: ⁷ We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it."
⁸ His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
⁹ Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."
¹⁰ When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" ¹¹ His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.


Joseph Sold by His Brothers
¹² Now his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem, ¹³ and Israel said to Joseph, "As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them."
"Very well," he replied.
¹⁴ So he said to him, "Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me." Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.
When Joseph arrived at Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, "What are you looking for?"
¹⁶ He replied, "I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?"
¹⁷ "They have moved on from here," the man answered. "I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.' "
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. ¹⁸ But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
¹⁹ "Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other. ²⁰ "Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams."
²¹ When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. "Let's not take his life," he said. ²² "Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him." Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.
²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe-the richly ornamented robe he was wearing- ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
²⁵ As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
²⁶ Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? ²⁷ Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed.
²⁸ So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
²⁹ When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. ³⁰ He went back to his brothers and said, "The boy isn't there! Where can I turn now?"
³¹ Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. ³² They took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, "We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son's robe."
³³ He recognized it and said, "It is my son's robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces."
³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. "No," he said, "in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son." So his father wept for him.
³⁶ Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard.

Genesis 38


Judah and Tamar

¹ At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. ² There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and lay with her; ³ she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. ⁴ She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. ⁵ She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.
⁶ Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. ⁷ But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the Lord's sight; so the LORD put him to death.
⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, "Lie with your brother's wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother." ⁹ But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother's wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother. ¹⁰ What he did was wicked in the Lord's sight; so he put him to death also.
¹¹ Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Live as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up." For he thought, "He may die too, just like his brothers." So Tamar went to live in her father's house.
¹² After a long time Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.
¹³ When Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep," ¹⁴ she took off her widow's clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.
¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. ¹⁶ Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, "Come now, let me sleep with you."
"And what will you give me to sleep with you?" she asked.
¹⁷ "I'll send you a young goat from my flock," he said.
"Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?" she asked.
¹⁸ He said, "What pledge should I give you?"
"Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand," she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. ¹⁹ After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow's clothes again.
²⁰ Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her. ²¹ He asked the men who lived there, "Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?"
"There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here," they said.
²² So he went back to Judah and said, "I didn't find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, 'There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here.' "
²³ Then Judah said, "Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn't find her."
²⁴ About three months later Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant."
Judah said, "Bring her out and have her burned to death!"
²⁵ As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. "I am pregnant by the man who owns these," she said. And she added, "See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are."
²⁶ Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah." And he did not sleep with her again.
²⁷ When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. ²⁸ As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, "This one came out first." ²⁹ But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, "So this is how you have broken out!" And he was named Perez. ³⁰ Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out and he was given the name Zerah.

Genesis 39


Joseph and Potiphar's Wife

¹ Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
² The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. ³ When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, ⁴ Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. ⁵ From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. ⁶ So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, ⁷ and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"
⁸ But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. ⁹ No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" ¹⁰ And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
¹¹ One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. ¹² She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
¹³ When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, ¹⁴ she called her household servants. "Look," she said to them, "this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. ¹⁵ When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."
¹⁶ She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she told him this story: "That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. ¹⁸ But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."
¹⁹ When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he burned with anger. ²⁰ Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, ²¹ the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. ²² So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. ²³ The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

January 28, 2004 Genesis 40:1-41:57

Genesis 40


The Cupbearer and the Baker

¹ Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. ² Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, ³ and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. ⁴ The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.
After they had been in custody for some time, ⁵ each of the two men-the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison-had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.
⁶ When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. ⁷ So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him in his master's house, "Why are your faces so sad today?"
⁸ "We both had dreams," they answered, "but there is no one to interpret them."
Then Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams."
⁹ So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, "In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, ¹⁰ and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. ¹¹ Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and put the cup in his hand."
¹² "This is what it means," Joseph said to him. "The three branches are three days. ¹³ Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. ¹⁵ For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon."
¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, "I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. ¹⁷ In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head."
¹⁸ "This is what it means," Joseph said. "The three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat away your flesh."
²⁰ Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: ²¹ He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand, ²² but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.
²³ The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

Genesis 41


Pharaoh's Dreams

¹ When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, ² when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. ³ After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. ⁴ And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
⁵ He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. ⁶ After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted-thin and scorched by the east wind. ⁷ The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.
⁸ In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
⁹ Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. ¹⁰ Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. ¹¹ Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. ¹² Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. ¹³ And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged. "
¹⁴ So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.
¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."
¹⁶ "I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."
¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, ¹⁸ when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. ¹⁹ After them, seven other cows came up-scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰ The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. ²¹ But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.
²² "In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. ²³ After them, seven other heads sprouted-withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. ²⁴ The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none could explain it to me."
²⁵ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. ²⁷ The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.
²⁸ "It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁹ Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, ³⁰ but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. ³¹ The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. ³² The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.
³³ "And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. ³⁵ They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. ³⁶ This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine."
³⁷ The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. ³⁸ So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God ?"
³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰ You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you."


Joseph in Charge of Egypt
⁴¹ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt." ⁴² Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, "Make way !" Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.
⁴⁴ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt." ⁴⁵ Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.
⁴⁶ Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh's presence and traveled throughout Egypt. ⁴⁷ During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully. ⁴⁸ Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it. ⁴⁹ Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.
⁵⁰ Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. ⁵¹ Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, "It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." ⁵² The second son he named Ephraim and said, "It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering."
⁵³ The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, ⁵⁴ and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. ⁵⁵ When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph and do what he tells you."
⁵⁶ When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. ⁵⁷ And all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the world.

January 29, 2004 Genesis 42:1-44:34

Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt

¹ When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why do you just keep looking at each other?" ² He continued, "I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die."
³ Then ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. ⁵ So Israel's sons were among those who went to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also.
⁶ Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. ⁷ As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. "Where do you come from?" he asked.
"From the land of Canaan," they replied, "to buy food."
⁸ Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. ⁹ Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected."
¹⁰ "No, my lord," they answered. "Your servants have come to buy food. ¹¹ We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies."
¹² "No!" he said to them. "You have come to see where our land is unprotected."
¹³ But they replied, "Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more."
¹⁴ Joseph said to them, "It is just as I told you: You are spies! ¹⁵ And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!" ¹⁷ And he put them all in custody for three days.
¹⁸ On the third day, Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God: ¹⁹ If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. ²⁰ But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die." This they proceeded to do.
²¹ They said to one another, "Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us."
²² Reuben replied, "Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood." ²³ They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.
²⁴ He turned away from them and began to weep, but then turned back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.
²⁵ Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man's silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them, ²⁶ they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left.
²⁷ At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack. ²⁸ "My silver has been returned," he said to his brothers. "Here it is in my sack."
Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, "What is this that God has done to us?"
²⁹ When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, ³⁰ "The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. ³¹ But we said to him, 'We are honest men; we are not spies. ³² We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.'
³³ "Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, 'This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go. ³⁴ But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.' "
³⁵ As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man's sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. ³⁶ Their father Jacob said to them, "You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!"
³⁷ Then Reuben said to his father, "You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back."
³⁸ But Jacob said, "My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow."

Genesis 43


The Second Journey to Egypt

¹ Now the famine was still severe in the land. ² So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Go back and buy us a little more food."
³ But Judah said to him, "The man warned us solemnly, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.' ⁴ If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you. ⁵ But if you will not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.' "
⁶ Israel asked, "Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?"
⁷ They replied, "The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. 'Is your father still living?' he asked us. 'Do you have another brother?' We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, 'Bring your brother down here'?"
⁸ Then Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die. ⁹ I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. ¹⁰ As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice."
¹¹ Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift-a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. ¹² Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake. ¹³ Take your brother also and go back to the man at once. ¹⁴ And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved."
¹⁵ So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph. ¹⁶ When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare dinner; they are to eat with me at noon."
¹⁷ The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph's house. ¹⁸ Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, "We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys."
¹⁹ So they went up to Joseph's steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. ²⁰ "Please, sir," they said, "we came down here the first time to buy food. ²¹ But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver-the exact weight-in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us. ²² We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don't know who put our silver in our sacks."
²³ "It's all right," he said. "Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver." Then he brought Simeon out to them.
²⁴ The steward took the men into Joseph's house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys. ²⁵ They prepared their gifts for Joseph's arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there.
²⁶ When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground. ²⁷ He asked them how they were, and then he said, "How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?"
²⁸ They replied, "Your servant our father is still alive and well." And they bowed low to pay him honor.
²⁹ As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son, he asked, "Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?" And he said, "God be gracious to you, my son." ³⁰ Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.
³¹ After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, "Serve the food."
³² They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians. ³³ The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. ³⁴ When portions were served to them from Joseph's table, Benjamin's portion was five times as much as anyone else's. So they feasted and drank freely with him.

Genesis 44


A Silver Cup in a Sack

¹ Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: "Fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man's silver in the mouth of his sack. ² Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one's sack, along with the silver for his grain." And he did as Joseph said.
³ As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. ⁴ They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, "Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid good with evil? ⁵ Isn't this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.' "
⁶ When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. ⁷ But they said to him, "Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! ⁸ We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master's house? ⁹ If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord's slaves."
¹⁰ "Very well, then," he said, "let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame."
¹¹ Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. ¹² Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. ¹³ At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.
¹⁴ Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. ¹⁵ Joseph said to them, "What is this you have done? Don't you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?"
¹⁶ "What can we say to my lord?" Judah replied. "What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants' guilt. We are now my lord's slaves-we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup."
¹⁷ But Joseph said, "Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace."
¹⁸ Then Judah went up to him and said: "Please, my lord, let your servant speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself. ¹⁹ My lord asked his servants, 'Do you have a father or a brother?' ²⁰ And we answered, 'We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother's sons left, and his father loves him.'
²¹ "Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.' ²² And we said to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.' ²³ But you told your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.' ²⁴ When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.
²⁵ "Then our father said, 'Go back and buy a little more food.' ²⁶ But we said, 'We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.'
²⁷ "Your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two sons. ²⁸ One of them went away from me, and I said, "He has surely been torn to pieces." And I have not seen him since. ²⁹ If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.'
³⁰ "So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy's life, ³¹ sees that the boy isn't there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. ³² Your servant guaranteed the boy's safety to my father. I said, 'If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!'
³³ "Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord's slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. ³⁴ How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come upon my father."

January 30, 2004 Genesis 45:1-46:9 1 Chronicles 5:1-6 Genesis 46:10-12 1 Chronicles 2:18-55

Genesis 45


Joseph Makes Himself Known

¹ Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, "Have everyone leave my presence!" So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. ² And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard about it.
³ Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still living?" But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.
⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵ And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. ⁶ For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. ⁷ But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
⁸ "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. ⁹ Now hurry back to my father and say to him, 'This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don't delay. ¹⁰ You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me-you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. ¹¹ I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.'
¹² "You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. ¹³ Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly."
¹⁴ Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. ¹⁵ And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.
¹⁶ When the news reached Pharaoh's palace that Joseph's brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased. ¹⁷ Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Tell your brothers, 'Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan, ¹⁸ and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.'
¹⁹ "You are also directed to tell them, 'Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come. ²⁰ Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.' "
²¹ So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them carts, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he also gave them provisions for their journey. ²² To each of them he gave new clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes. ²³ And this is what he sent to his father: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey. ²⁴ Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, "Don't quarrel on the way!"
²⁵ So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. ²⁶ They told him, "Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt." Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. ²⁷ But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. ²⁸ And Israel said, "I'm convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."

Genesis 46


Jacob Goes to Egypt

¹ So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
² And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, "Jacob! Jacob!"
"Here I am," he replied.
³ "I am God, the God of your father," he said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. ⁴ I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes."
⁵ Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel's sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. ⁶ They also took with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan, and Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt. ⁷ He took with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters-all his offspring.

⁸ These are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt:

Reuben the firstborn of Jacob.
⁹ The sons of Reuben:
Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.

1 Chronicles 5


Reuben

¹ The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father's marriage bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel; so he could not be listed in the genealogical record in accordance with his birthright, ² and though Judah was the strongest of his brothers and a ruler came from him, the rights of the firstborn belonged to Joseph)- ³ the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel:
Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.
⁴ The descendants of Joel:
Shemaiah his son, Gog his son,
Shimei his son, ⁵ Micah his son,
Reaiah his son, Baal his son,
⁶ and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria took into exile. Beerah was a leader of the Reubenites.

Genesis 46


¹⁰ The sons of Simeon:
Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.
¹¹ The sons of Levi:
Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
¹² The sons of Judah:
Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan).
The sons of Perez:
Hezron and Hamul.

1 Chronicles 2

¹⁸ Caleb son of Hezron had children by his wife Azubah (and by Jerioth). These were her sons: Jesher, Shobab and Ardon. ¹⁹ When Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrath, who bore him Hur. ²⁰ Hur was the father of Uri, and Uri the father of Bezalel.
²¹ Later, Hezron lay with the daughter of Makir the father of Gilead (he had married her when he was sixty years old), and she bore him Segub. ²² Segub was the father of Jair, who controlled twenty-three towns in Gilead. ²³ (But Geshur and Aram captured Havvoth Jair, as well as Kenath with its surrounding settlements-sixty towns.) All these were descendants of Makir the father of Gilead.

²⁴ After Hezron died in Caleb Ephrathah, Abijah the wife of Hezron bore him Ashhur the father of Tekoa. Jerahmeel Son of Hezron
²⁵ The sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron:
Ram his firstborn, Bunah, Oren, Ozem and Ahijah. ²⁶ Jerahmeel had another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam.
²⁷ The sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel:
Maaz, Jamin and Eker.
²⁸ The sons of Onam:
Shammai and Jada.
The sons of Shammai:
Nadab and Abishur.
²⁹ Abishur's wife was named Abihail, who bore him Ahban and Molid.
³⁰ The sons of Nadab:
Seled and Appaim. Seled died without children.
³¹ The son of Appaim:
Ishi, who was the father of Sheshan.
Sheshan was the father of Ahlai.
³² The sons of Jada, Shammai's brother:
Jether and Jonathan. Jether died without children.
³³ The sons of Jonathan:
Peleth and Zaza.
These were the descendants of Jerahmeel.
³⁴ Sheshan had no sons-only daughters.
He had an Egyptian servant named Jarha. ³⁵ Sheshan gave his daughter in marriage to his servant Jarha, and she bore him Attai.
³⁶ Attai was the father of Nathan,
Nathan the father of Zabad,
³⁷ Zabad the father of Ephlal,
Ephlal the father of Obed,
³⁸ Obed the father of Jehu,
Jehu the father of Azariah,
³⁹ Azariah the father of Helez,
Helez the father of Eleasah,
⁴⁰ Eleasah the father of Sismai,
Sismai the father of Shallum,
⁴¹ Shallum the father of Jekamiah,
and Jekamiah the father of Elishama. The Clans of Caleb
⁴² The sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel:
Mesha his firstborn, who was the father of Ziph, and his son Mareshah, who was the father of Hebron.
⁴³ The sons of Hebron:
Korah, Tappuah, Rekem and Shema. ⁴⁴ Shema was the father of Raham, and Raham the father of Jorkeam. Rekem was the father of Shammai. ⁴⁵ The son of Shammai was Maon, and Maon was the father of Beth Zur.
⁴⁶ Caleb's concubine Ephah was the mother of Haran, Moza and Gazez. Haran was the father of Gazez.
⁴⁷ The sons of Jahdai:
Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah and Shaaph.
⁴⁸ Caleb's concubine Maacah was the mother of Sheber and Tirhanah. ⁴⁹ She also gave birth to Shaaph the father of Madmannah and to Sheva the father of Macbenah and Gibea. Caleb's daughter was Acsah. ⁵⁰ These were the descendants of Caleb.

The sons of Hur the firstborn of Ephrathah:
Shobal the father of Kiriath Jearim, ⁵¹ Salma the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth Gader.
⁵² The descendants of Shobal the father of Kiriath Jearim were:
Haroeh, half the Manahathites, ⁵³ and the clans of Kiriath Jearim: the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites and Mishraites. From these descended the Zorathites and Eshtaolites.
⁵⁴ The descendants of Salma:
Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth Beth Joab, half the Manahathites, the Zorites, ⁵⁵ and the clans of scribes who lived at Jabez: the Tirathites, Shimeathites and Sucathites. These are the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Recab.

January 31, 2004 1 Chronicles 4:1-23, Genesis 46:13, 1 Chronicles 7:1-5, Genesis 46:14-18, 1 Chronicles 7:30-40, Genesis 46:19-25, 1 Chronicles 7:6-12, Genesis 46:23-25, 1 Chronicles 7:13, Genesis 46:26-47:12

1 Chronicles 4


Other Clans of Judah

¹ The descendants of Judah:
Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur and Shobal.
² Reaiah son of Shobal was the father of Jahath, and Jahath the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the Zorathites.
³ These were the sons of Etam:
Jezreel, Ishma and Idbash. Their sister was named Hazzelelponi. ⁴ Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah.
These were the descendants of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah and father of Bethlehem.
⁵ Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.
⁶ Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni and Haahashtari. These were the descendants of Naarah.
⁷ The sons of Helah:
Zereth, Zohar, Ethnan, ⁸ and Koz, who was the father of Anub and Hazzobebah and of the clans of Aharhel son of Harum.

⁹ Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain." ¹⁰ Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.

¹¹ Kelub, Shuhah's brother, was the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton. ¹² Eshton was the father of Beth Rapha, Paseah and Tehinnah the father of Ir Nahash. These were the men of Recah.

¹³ The sons of Kenaz:
Othniel and Seraiah.
The sons of Othniel:
Hathath and Meonothai. ¹⁴ Meonothai was the father of Ophrah.
Seraiah was the father of Joab,
the father of Ge Harashim. It was called this because its people were craftsmen.
¹⁵ The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh:
Iru, Elah and Naam.
The son of Elah:
Kenaz.
¹⁶ The sons of Jehallelel:
Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria and Asarel.
¹⁷ The sons of Ezrah:
Jether, Mered, Epher and Jalon. One of Mered's wives gave birth to Miriam, Shammai and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. ¹⁸ (His Judean wife gave birth to Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.) These were the children of Pharaoh's daughter Bithiah, whom Mered had married.
¹⁹ The sons of Hodiah's wife, the sister of Naham:
the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maacathite.
²⁰ The sons of Shimon:
Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan and Tilon.
The descendants of Ishi:
Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth.
²¹ The sons of Shelah son of Judah:
Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah and the clans of the linen workers at Beth Ashbea, ²² Jokim, the men of Cozeba, and Joash and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and Jashubi Lehem. (These records are from ancient times.) ²³ They were the potters who lived at Netaim and Gederah; they stayed there and worked for the king.

Genesis 46

¹³ The sons of Issachar:
Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron.

1 Chronicles 7


Issachar

¹ The sons of Issachar:
Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron-four in all.
² The sons of Tola:
Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam and Samuel-heads of their families. During the reign of David, the descendants of Tola listed as fighting men in their genealogy numbered 22,600.
³ The son of Uzzi:
Izrahiah.
The sons of Izrahiah:
Michael, Obadiah, Joel and Isshiah. All five of them were chiefs. ⁴ According to their family genealogy, they had 36,000 men ready for battle, for they had many wives and children.
⁵ The relatives who were fighting men belonging to all the clans of Issachar, as listed in their genealogy, were 87,000 in all.

Genesis 46

¹⁴ The sons of Zebulun:
Sered, Elon and Jahleel.
¹⁵ These were the sons Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, besides his daughter Dinah. These sons and daughters of his were thirty-three in all.

¹⁶ The sons of Gad:
Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli.
¹⁷ The sons of Asher:
Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah.
Their sister was Serah.
The sons of Beriah:
Heber and Malkiel.
¹⁸ These were the children born to Jacob by Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah-sixteen in all.

1 Chronicles 7

Asher
³⁰ The sons of Asher:
Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah. Their sister was Serah.
³¹ The sons of Beriah:
Heber and Malkiel, who was the father of Birzaith.
³² Heber was the father of Japhlet, Shomer and Hotham and of their sister Shua.
³³ The sons of Japhlet:
Pasach, Bimhal and Ashvath.
These were Japhlet's sons.
³⁴ The sons of Shomer:
Ahi, Rohgah, Hubbah and Aram.
³⁵ The sons of his brother Helem:
Zophah, Imna, Shelesh and Amal.
³⁶ The sons of Zophah:
Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, ³⁷ Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran and Beera.
³⁸ The sons of Jether:
Jephunneh, Pispah and Ara.
³⁹ The sons of Ulla:
Arah, Hanniel and Rizia.
⁴⁰ All these were descendants of Asher-heads of families, choice men, brave warriors and outstanding leaders. The number of men ready for battle, as listed in their genealogy, was 26,000.

Genesis 46

¹⁹ The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel:
Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁰ In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
²¹ The sons of Benjamin:
Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.
²² These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob-fourteen in all.

²³ The son of Dan:
Hushim.
²⁴ The sons of Naphtali:
Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.
²⁵ These were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel-seven in all.

1 Chronicles 7

Benjamin
⁶ Three sons of Benjamin:
Bela, Beker and Jediael.
⁷ The sons of Bela:
Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth and Iri, heads of families-five in all. Their genealogical record listed 22,034 fighting men.
⁸ The sons of Beker:
Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Beker. ⁹ Their genealogical record listed the heads of families and 20,200 fighting men.
¹⁰ The son of Jediael:
Bilhan.
The sons of Bilhan:
Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Kenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish and Ahishahar. ¹¹ All these sons of Jediael were heads of families. There were 17,200 fighting men ready to go out to war.
¹² The Shuppites and Huppites were the descendants of Ir, and the Hushites the descendants of Aher.

Genesis 46

²³ The son of Dan:
Hushim.
²⁴ The sons of Naphtali:
Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.
²⁵ These were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel-seven in all.

1 Chronicles 7

Naphtali
¹³ The sons of Naphtali:
Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem -the descendants of Bilhah.

Genesis 46 

²⁶ All those who went to Egypt with Jacob-those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons' wives-numbered sixty-six persons. ²⁷ With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob's family, which went to Egypt, were seventy in all.

²⁸ Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When they arrived in the region of Goshen, ²⁹ Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time.
³⁰ Israel said to Joseph, "Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive."
³¹ Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household, who were living in the land of Canaan, have come to me. ³² The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.' ³³ When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, 'What is your occupation?' ³⁴ you should answer, 'Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.' Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians."

Genesis 47
¹ Joseph went and told Pharaoh, "My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen." ² He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.
³ Pharaoh asked the brothers, "What is your occupation?"
"Your servants are shepherds," they replied to Pharaoh, "just as our fathers were." ⁴ They also said to him, "We have come to live here awhile, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants' flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen."
⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you, ⁶ and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock."
⁷ Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, ⁸ Pharaoh asked him, "How old are you?"
⁹ And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers." ¹⁰ Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.
¹¹ So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. ¹² Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their children.