Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; Your reward [for obedience] shall be very great."

²Abram said, "Lord GOD, what reward will You give me, since I am [leaving this world] childless, and he who will be the owner and heir of my house is this [servant] Eliezer from Damascus?"

³And Abram continued, "Since You have given no child to me, one (a servant) born in my house is my heir."

⁴Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man [Eliezer] will not be your heir but he who shall come from your own body shall be your heir."

⁵And the LORD brought Abram outside [his tent into the night] and said, "Look now toward the heavens and count the stars—if you are able to count them." Then He said to him, "So [numerous] shall your descendants be."

⁶Then Abram believed in (affirmed, trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the LORD; and He counted (credited) it to him as righteousness (doing right in regard to God and man).

⁷And He said to him, "I am the [same] LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land as an inheritance."

⁸But Abram said, "Lord GOD, by what [proof] will I know that I will inherit it?"

⁹So God said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."

¹⁰So Abram brought all these to Him and cut them down the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds.

¹¹The birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

¹²When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram; and a horror (terror, shuddering fear, nightmare) of great darkness overcame him.

¹³God said to Abram, "Know for sure that your descendants will be strangers [living temporarily] in a land (Egypt) that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.

¹⁴But on that nation whom your descendants will serve I will bring judgment, and afterward they will come out [of that land] with great possessions.

¹⁵As for you, you shall [die and] go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.

¹⁶Then in the fourth generation your descendants shall return here [to Canaan, the land of promise], for the wickedness and guilt of the Amorites is not yet complete (finished)."

¹⁷When the sun had gone down and a [deep] darkness had come, there appeared a smoking brazier and a flaming torch which passed between the [divided] pieces [of the animals].

¹⁸On the same day the LORD made a covenant (promise, pledge) with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates—

¹⁹[the land of] the Kenites and the Kenizzites and the Kadmonites

²⁰and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Rephaim,

²¹the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Girgashites and the Jebusites."

¹Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had not borne him any children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.

²So Sarai said to Abram, "See here, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. I am asking you to go in to [the bed of] my maid [so that she may bear you a child]; perhaps I will obtain children by her." And Abram listened to Sarai and did as she said.

³After Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years, Abram's wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian [maid], and gave her to her husband Abram to be his [secondary] wife.

⁴He went in to [the bed of] Hagar, and she conceived; and when she realized that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress [regarding Sarai as insignificant because of her infertility].

⁵Then Sarai said to Abram, "May [the responsibility for] the wrong done to me [by the arrogant behavior of Hagar] be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, and when she realized that she had conceived, I was despised and looked on with disrespect. May the LORD judge [who has done right] between you and me."

⁶But Abram said to Sarai, "Look, your maid is entirely in your hands and subject to your authority; do as you please with her." So Sarai treated her harshly and humiliated her, and Hagar fled from her.

⁷But the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, on the road to [Egypt by way of] Shur.

⁸And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where did you come from and where are you going?" And she said, "I am running away from my mistress Sarai."

⁹The Angel of the LORD said to her, "Go back to your mistress, and submit humbly to her authority."

¹⁰Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, "I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count."

¹¹The Angel of the LORD continued, "Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall name him Ishmael (God hears), Because the LORD has heard and paid attention to your persecution (suffering).

¹²"He (Ishmael) will be a wild donkey of a man; His hand will be against every man [continually fighting] And every man's hand against him; And he will dwell in defiance of all his brothers."

¹³Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You are God Who Sees"; for she said, "Have I not even here [in the wilderness] remained alive after seeing Him [who sees me with understanding and compassion]?"

¹⁴Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi (Well of the Living One Who Sees Me); it is between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵So Hagar gave birth to Abram's son; and Abram named his son, to whom Hagar gave birth, Ishmael (God hears).

¹⁶Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

¹When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; Walk [habitually] before Me [with integrity, knowing that you are always in My presence], and be blameless and complete [in obedience to Me].

²"I will establish My covenant (everlasting promise) between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly [through your descendants]."

³Then Abram fell on his face [in worship], and God spoke with him, saying,

⁴"As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And [as a result] you shall be the father of many nations.

⁵"No longer shall your name be Abram (exalted father), But your name shall be Abraham (father of a multitude); For I will make you the father of many nations.

⁶I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

⁷I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.

⁸I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger [moving from place to place], all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession [of property]; and I will be their God."

⁹Further, God said to Abraham, "As for you [your part of the agreement], you shall keep and faithfully obey [the terms of] My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.

¹⁰This is [the sign of] My covenant, which you shall keep and faithfully obey, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

¹¹And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be the sign (symbol, memorial) of the covenant between Me and you.

¹²Every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, [including] a servant whether born in the house or one who is purchased with [your] money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants.

¹³A servant who is born in your house or one who is purchased with your money must be circumcised; and [the sign of] My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

¹⁴And the male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."

¹⁵Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai (my princess), but her name will be Sarah ( Princess).

¹⁶I will bless her, and indeed I will also give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."

¹⁷Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"

¹⁸And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael [my firstborn] might live before You!"

¹⁹But God said, "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed, and you shall name him Isaac (laughter); and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and with his descendants after him.

²⁰As for Ishmael, I have heard and listened to you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will greatly multiply him [through his descendants]. He will be the father of twelve princes (chieftains, sheiks), and I will make him a great nation.

²¹But My covenant [My promise, My solemn pledge], I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year."

²²And God finished speaking with him and went up from Abraham.

²³Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all the servants who were born in his house and all who were purchased with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin the very same day, as God had said to him.

²⁴So Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised.

²⁵And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised.

²⁶On the very same day Abraham was circumcised, as well as Ishmael his son.

²⁷All the men [servants] of his household, both those born in the house and those purchased with money from a foreigner, were circumcised along with him [as the sign of God's covenant with Abraham].

¹Now the LORD appeared to Abraham by the terebinth trees of Mamre [in Hebron], while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.

²When he raised his eyes and looked up, behold, three men were standing [a little distance] from him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed down [with his face] to the ground,

³and Abraham said, "My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass by your servant [without stopping to visit].

⁴Please let a little water be brought [by one of my servants] and [you may] wash your feet, and recline and rest comfortably under the tree.

⁵And I will bring a piece of bread to refresh and sustain you; after that you may go on, since you have come to your servant." And they replied, "Do as you have said."

⁶So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Quickly, get ready three measures of fine meal, knead it and bake cakes."

⁷Abraham also ran to the herd and brought a calf, tender and choice, and he gave it to the servant [to butcher], and he hurried to prepare it.

⁸Then he took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before the men; and he stood beside them under the tree while they ate.

⁹Then they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "There, in the tent."

¹⁰He said, "I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.

¹¹Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in years; she was past [the age of] childbearing.

¹²So Sarah laughed to herself [when she heard the Lord's words], saying, "After I have become old, shall I have pleasure and delight, my lord (husband) being also old?"

¹³And the LORD asked Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh [to herself], saying, 'Shall I really give birth [to a child] when I am so old?'

¹⁴Is anything too difficult or too wonderful for the LORD? At the appointed time, when the season [for her delivery] comes, I will return to you and Sarah will have a son."

¹⁵Then Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh"; because she was afraid. And He (the LORD) said, "No, but you did laugh."

¹⁶Then the men got up from there, and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham walked with them to send them on the way.

¹⁷The LORD said, "Shall I keep secret from Abraham [My friend and servant] what I am going to do,

¹⁸since Abraham is destined to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him?

¹⁹For I have known (chosen, acknowledged) him [as My own], so that he may teach and command his children and [the sons of] his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is righteous and just, so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised him."

²⁰And the LORD said, "The outcry [of the sin] of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.

²¹I will go down now, and see whether they have acted [as vilely and wickedly] as the outcry which has come to Me [indicates]; and if not, I will know."

²²Now the [two] men (angelic beings) turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.

²³Abraham approached [the LORD] and said, "Will You really sweep away the righteous (those who do right) with the wicked (those who do evil)?

²⁴Suppose there are fifty righteous [people] within the city; will You really sweep it away and not spare it for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?

²⁵Far be it from You to do such a thing—to strike the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right [by executing just and righteous judgment]?"

²⁶So the LORD said, "If I find within the city of Sodom fifty righteous [people], then I will spare the entire place for their sake."

²⁷Abraham answered, "Now behold, I who am but dust [in origin] and ashes have decided to speak to the Lord.

²⁸If five of the fifty righteous are lacking, will You destroy the entire city for lack of five?" And He said, "If I find [at least] forty-five [righteous people] there, I will not destroy it."

²⁹Abraham spoke to Him yet again and said, "Suppose [only] forty are found there." And He said, "I will not do it for the sake of the forty [who are righteous]."

³⁰Then Abraham said [to Him], "Oh, may the Lord not be angry, and I will speak; suppose thirty [righteous people] are found there?" And He said, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."

³¹And he said, "Now behold, I have decided to speak to the Lord [again]. Suppose [only] twenty [righteous people] are found there?" And the Lord said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty."

³²Then Abraham said, "Oh may the Lord not be angry [with me], and I will speak only this once; suppose ten [righteous people] are found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten."

³³As soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham the LORD departed, and Abraham returned to his own place.

¹It was evening when the two angels came to Sodom. Lot was sitting at Sodom's [ city] gate. Seeing them, Lot got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.

²And he said, "See here, my lords, please turn aside and come into your servant's house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may get up early and go on your way." But they said, "No, we shall spend the night in the open plaza [of the city]."

³However, Lot strongly urged them, so they turned aside and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them [with wine], and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

⁴But before they lay down [to sleep], the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house, all the men from every quarter;

⁵and they called out to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may know them [intimately]."

⁶But Lot went out of the doorway to the men, and shut the door after him,

⁷and said, "Please, my brothers, do not do something so wicked.

⁸See here, I have two daughters who have not known a man [intimately]; please let me bring them out to you [instead], and you can do as you please with them; only do nothing to these men, because they have in fact come under the shelter of my roof [for protection]."

⁹But they said, "Get out of the way!" And they said, "This man (Lot) came [as an outsider] to live here temporarily, and now he is acting like a judge. Now we will treat you worse than your visitors!" So they rushed forward and pressed violently against Lot and came close to breaking down the door [of his house].

¹⁰But the men (angels) reached out with their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door [after him].

¹¹They struck (punished) the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, from the young men to the old men, so that they exhausted themselves trying to find the doorway.

¹²And the [two] men (angels) asked Lot, "Have you any others here [in Sodom]—a son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters? Whomever you have in the city, take them out of here;

¹³for we are destroying this place, because the outcry [for judgment] against them has grown so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy and ruin it."

¹⁴So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were [betrothed, and legally promised] to marry his daughters, and said, "Get up, get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy this city!" But to his sons-in-law he appeared to be joking.

¹⁵When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot [to hurry], saying, "Get up! Take your wife and two daughters who are here [and go], or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city."

¹⁶But Lot hesitated and lingered. The men took hold of his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, because the LORD was merciful to him [for Abraham's sake]; and they brought him out, and left him outside the city [with his family].

¹⁷When they had brought them outside, one [of the angels] said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, or stop anywhere in the entire valley; escape to the mountains [of Moab], or you will be consumed and swept away."

¹⁸But Lot said to them, "Oh no, [not that place] my lords!

¹⁹Please listen, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness (mercy) to me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, because the disaster will overtake me and I will be killed.

²⁰Now look, this town [in the distance] is near enough for us to flee to, and it is small [with only a few people]. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) so that my life will be saved."

²¹And the angel said to him, "Behold, I grant you this request also; I will not destroy this town of which you have spoken.

²²Hurry and take refuge there, for I cannot do anything [to punish Sodom] until you arrive there." For this reason the town was named Zoar (few, small).

²³The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar.

²⁴Then the LORD rained down brimstone (flaming sulfur) and fire on Sodom and on Gomorrah from the LORD out of heaven,

²⁵and He overthrew (demolished, ended) those cities, and the entire valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground.

²⁶But Lot's wife, from behind him, [foolishly, longingly] looked [back toward Sodom in an act of disobedience], and she became a pillar of salt.

²⁷Abraham started out early the next morning to the place where he [only the day before] had stood before the LORD;

²⁸and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley [of the Dead Sea]; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a kiln (pottery furnace).

²⁹Now when God ravaged and destroyed the cities of the plain [of Siddim], He remembered Abraham [and for that reason], and He sent [Abraham's nephew] Lot out of the midst of the destruction, when He destroyed the cities in which Lot had lived.

³⁰Now Lot went up from Zoar, and lived in the mountain together with his two daughters, for he was afraid to stay [any longer] in Zoar; and he lived in a cave with his two daughters.

³¹The firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is aging, and there is not a man on earth [available] to be intimate with us in the customary way [so that we may have children].

³²Come, let us make our father drunk with wine, and we will lie with him so that we may preserve our family through our father."

³³So they gave their father wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she got up [because he was completely intoxicated].

³⁴Then the next day, the firstborn said to the younger, "Behold, I lay with my father last night; let us make him drunk with wine tonight also, and then you go in and lie with him, so that we may preserve our family through our father."

³⁵So they gave their father wine that night also, and the younger got up and lay with him; and again he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

³⁶Thus both the daughters of Lot conceived by their father.

³⁷The firstborn gave birth to a son, and named him Moab (from father); he is the father of the Moabites to this day.

³⁸The younger also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-ammi (son of my people); he is the father of the Ammonites to this day.

¹Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the Negev (the South country), and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he lived temporarily in Gerar.

²Abraham said [again] of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah [into his harem].

³But God came to Abimelech in a dream during the night, and said, "Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken [as your wife], for she is another man's wife."

⁴Now Abimelech had not yet come near her; so he said, "Lord, will you kill a people who are righteous and innocent and blameless [regarding Sarah]?

⁵Did Abraham not tell me, 'She is my sister?' And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this."

⁶Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this in the integrity of your heart, for it was I who kept you back and spared you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not give you an opportunity to touch her.

⁷So 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 [to him], know that you shall die, you and all who are yours (your household)."

⁸So Abimelech got up early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things; and the men were terrified.

⁹Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? And how have I offended you that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me what ought not to be done [to anyone]."

¹⁰And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What have you encountered or seen [in us or our customs], that you have done this [unjust] thing?"

¹¹Abraham said, "Because I thought, 'Surely there is no fear or reverence of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.'

¹²Besides, she actually is my [half] sister; she is the daughter of my father [Terah], but not of my mother; and she became my wife.

¹³When God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, 'This kindness and loyalty you can show me: at every place we stop, say of me, "He is my brother."'"

¹⁴Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen and male and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him [as God commanded].

¹⁵So Abimelech said, "Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please."

¹⁶Then to Sarah he said, "Look, I have given this brother of yours a thousand pieces of silver; it is to compensate you [for all that has happened] and to vindicate your honor before all who are with you; before all men you are cleared and compensated."

¹⁷So Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, and they again gave birth to children,

¹⁸for the LORD had securely closed the wombs of all [the women] in Abimelech's household because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

¹The LORD graciously remembered and visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for her as He had promised.

²So Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.

³Abraham named his son Isaac (laughter), the son to whom Sarah gave birth.

⁴So Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, just as God had commanded him.

⁵Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born.

⁶Sarah said, "God has made me laugh; all who hear [about our good news] will laugh with me."

⁷And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have given birth to a son by him in his old age."

⁸The child [Isaac] grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

⁹Now [as time went on] Sarah saw [Ishmael] the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking [Isaac].

¹⁰Therefore she said to Abraham, "Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac."

¹¹The situation distressed Abraham greatly because of his son [Ishmael].

¹²God said to Abraham, "Do not let it distress you because of Ishmael and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her and do what she asks, for your descendants will be named through Isaac.

¹³And I will also make a nation of [Ishmael] the son of the maid, because he is your descendant."

¹⁴So Abraham got up early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she left [but lost her way] and wandered [aimlessly] in the Wilderness of Beersheba.

¹⁵When the water in the skin was all gone, Hagar abandoned the boy under one of the bushes.

¹⁶Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, "Do not let me see the boy die." And as she sat down opposite him, she raised her voice and wept.

¹⁷God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from where he is [resting].

¹⁸Get up, help the boy up, and hold him by the hand, for I will make him a great nation."

¹⁹Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the [empty] skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

²⁰God was with Ishmael, and he grew and developed; and he lived in the wilderness and became an [expert] archer.

²¹He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

²²Now at that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do;

²³so now, swear to me here by God that you will not deal unfairly with me [by breaking any agreements we have] or with my son or with my descendants, but as I have treated you with kindness, you shall do the same to me and to the land in which you have sojourned (temporarily lived)."

²⁴And Abraham said, "I will swear."

²⁵Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water which the servants of Abimelech had [violently] seized [from him],

²⁶Abimelech said, "I do not know who did this thing. Indeed, you did not tell me, and I did not hear of it until today."

²⁷So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant (binding agreement).

²⁸Then Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs of the flock,

²⁹and Abimelech said to Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set apart?"

³⁰Abraham said, "You are to accept these seven ewe lambs from me as a witness for me, that I dug this well."

³¹Therefore that place was called Beersheba (Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), because there the two of them swore an oath.

³²So they made a covenant at Beersheba; then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, got up and returned to the land of the Philistines.

³³Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD [in prayer], the Eternal God.

³⁴And Abraham lived [as a resident alien] in the land of the Philistines for many days.

¹Now after these things, God tested [the faith and commitment of] Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he answered, "Here I am."

²God said, "Take now your son, your only son [of promise], whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

³So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and then he got up and went to the place of which God had told him.

⁴On the third day [of travel] Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

⁵Abraham said to his servants, "Settle down and stay here with the donkey; the young man and I will go over there and worship [God], and we will come back to you."

⁶Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on [the shoulders of] Isaac his son, and he took the fire (firepot) in his own hand and the [sacrificial] knife; and the two of them walked on together.

⁷And Isaac said to Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Isaac said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

⁸Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself a lamb for the burnt offering." So the two walked on together.

⁹When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood, and bound Isaac his son and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood.

¹⁰Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.

¹¹But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" He answered, "Here I am."

¹²The LORD said, "Do not reach out [with the knife in] your hand against the boy, and do nothing to [harm] him; for now I know that you fear God [with reverence and profound respect], since you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son [of promise]."

¹³Then Abraham looked up and glanced around, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering (ascending sacrifice) instead of his son.

¹⁴So Abraham named that place The LORD Will Provide. And it is said to this day, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be seen and provided."

¹⁵The Angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time

¹⁶and said, "By Myself (on the basis of Who I Am) I have sworn [an oath], declares the LORD, that since you have done this thing and have not withheld [from Me] your son, your only son [of promise],

¹⁷indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies [as conquerors].

¹⁸Through your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have heard and obeyed My voice."

¹⁹So Abraham returned to his servants, and they got up and went with him to Beersheba; and Abraham settled in Beersheba.

²⁰Now after these things Abraham was told, "Milcah has borne children to your brother Nahor:

²¹Uz the firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram,

²²Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel."

²³Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These eight [children] Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

²⁴Nahor's concubine, whose name was Reumah, gave birth to Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah.

¹Sarah lived a hundred and twenty-seven years; this was the length of the life of Sarah.

²Sarah died in Kiriath-arba(that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

³Then Abraham stood up before his dead [wife's body], and spoke to the sons of Heth (Hittites), saying,

⁴"I am a stranger and a sojourner (resident alien) among you; give (sell) me property for a burial place among you so that I may bury my dead [in the proper manner]."

⁵The Hittites replied to Abraham,

⁶"Listen to us, my lord; you are a prince of God [a mighty prince] among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave or hinder you from burying your dead [wife]."

⁷So Abraham stood up and bowed to the people of the land, the Hittites.

⁸And Abraham said to them, "If you are willing to grant my dead a [proper] burial, listen to me, and plead with Ephron the son of Zohar for me,

⁹so that he may give (sell) me the cave of Machpelah which he owns—it is at the end of his field; let him give it to me here in your presence for the full price as a burial site [which I may keep forever among you]."

¹⁰Now Ephron was present there among the sons of Heth; so within the hearing of all the sons of Heth and all who were entering the gate of his city, Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham, saying,

¹¹"No, my lord, hear me; I give you the [entire] field, and I also give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the men of my people I give (sell) it to you; bury your dead [there]."

¹²Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.

¹³He said to Ephron in the presence of the people of the land, "If you will only please listen to me and accept my offer. I will give you the price of the field; accept it from me and I will bury my dead there."

¹⁴Ephron replied to Abraham,

¹⁵"My lord, listen to me. The land [you seek] is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that between you and me? So bury your dead."

¹⁶So Abraham listened to Ephron [and agreed to his terms]; and he weighed out for Ephron the [amount of] silver which he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

¹⁷So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre (Hebron)—the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and in all its borders around it—were deeded over [legally]

¹⁸to Abraham as his possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who were entering at the gate of his city.

¹⁹After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah to the east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

²⁰The field and the cave in it were deeded over to Abraham by the Hittites as a [permanent] possession and burial place.

¹Now Abraham was old, [well] advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.

²Abraham said to his servant [Eliezer of Damascus], the oldest of his household, who had charge over all that Abraham owned, "Please, put your hand under my thigh [as is customary for affirming a solemn oath],

³and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live,

⁴but you will [instead] go to my [former] country (Mesopotamia) and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac [the heir of the covenant promise]."

⁵The servant said to him, "Suppose the woman will not be willing to follow me back to this country; should I take your son back to the country from which you came?"

⁶Abraham said to him, "See to it that you do not take my son back there!

⁷The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, from the land of my family and my birth, who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, 'To your descendants I will give this land'—He will send His angel before you [to guide you], and you will take a wife from there for my son [and bring her here].

⁸If the woman is not willing to follow you [to this land], then you will be free from this my oath and blameless; only you must never take my son back there."

⁹So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰Then the servant took ten of his master's camels, and set out, taking some of his master's good things with him; so he got up and journeyed to Mesopotamia [between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers], to the city of Nahor [the home of Abraham's brother].

¹¹He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of the evening when women go out to draw water.

¹²And he said, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show lovingkindness (faithfulness) to my master Abraham.

¹³Behold, I stand here at the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water;

¹⁴now let it be that the girl to whom I say, 'Please, let down your jar so that I may [have a] drink,' and she replies, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels water to drink'—may she be the one whom You have selected [as a wife] for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness (faithfulness) to my master."

¹⁵Before Eliezer had finished speaking (praying), Rebekah came out with her [water] jar on her shoulder. Rebekah was the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.

¹⁶The girl was very beautiful, a virgin and unmarried; and she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up.

¹⁷Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar."

¹⁸And she said, "Drink, my lord"; and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink.

¹⁹When she had given Eliezer a drink, she said, "I will also draw water for your camels until they have finished drinking."

²⁰So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran again to the well and drew water for all his camels.

²¹Meanwhile, the man stood gazing at Rebekah in [reverent] silence, [waiting] to know if the LORD had made his trip successful or not.

²²When the camels had finished drinking, Eliezer took a gold ring weighing a half-shekel and two bracelets for her hands weighing ten shekels in gold,

²³and said, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to lodge?"

²⁴And she said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah's son, whom she bore to [her husband] Nahor."

²⁵Again she said to him, "We have plenty of both straw and feed, and also room to lodge."

²⁶The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD.

²⁷He said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not denied His lovingkindness and His truth to my master. As for me, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brothers."

²⁸Then the girl ran and told her mother's household what had happened.

²⁹Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran out to the man at the well.

³⁰When he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and when he heard Rebekah his sister, saying, "The man said this to me," he went to Eliezer and found him standing by the camels at the spring.

³¹And Laban said, "Come in, blessed of the LORD! Why do you stand outside since I have made the house ready and have prepared a place for the camels?"

³²So the man came into the house, and Laban unloaded his camels and gave them straw and feed, and [he gave] water to [Eliezer to] wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

³³But when food was set before him, he said, "I will not eat until I have stated my business." And Laban said, "Speak on."

³⁴So he said, "I am Abraham's servant.

³⁵The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great (wealthy, powerful); He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and maids, and camels and donkeys.

³⁶Now Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was in her old age, and he has given everything that he has to him.

³⁷My master made me swear [an oath], saying, 'You must not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live;

³⁸but you shall [instead] go to my father's house and to my family and take a wife for my son [Isaac].'

³⁹Then I said to my master, 'But suppose the woman will not follow me [back to this land].'

⁴⁰He said to me, 'The LORD, before whom I walk [habitually and obediently], will send His angel with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father's house;

⁴¹then you will be free of my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will [also] be free of my oath.'

⁴²"I came today to the spring, and said, 'O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if now You will make my journey on which I go successful;

⁴³please look, I am standing by the spring of water; now let it be that when the maiden [whom You have chosen for Isaac] comes out to draw [water], and to whom I say, "Please, give me a little water to drink from your jar";

⁴⁴and if she says to me, "You drink, and I will also draw [water] for your camels"; let that woman be the one whom the LORD has selected and chosen [as a wife] for my master's son.'

⁴⁵"Before I had finished praying in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her [water] jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. And I said to her, 'Please, let me have a drink.'

⁴⁶And she quickly let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I will also water your camels'; so I drank, and she also watered the camels.

⁴⁷Then I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him'; and I put the ring in her nose, and the bracelets on her arms.

⁴⁸And I bowed down my head and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take the daughter of my master's brother to his son [as a wife].

⁴⁹So now if you are going to show kindness and truth to my master [being faithful to him], tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right or to the left [and go on my way]."

⁵⁰Then Laban and Bethuel answered, "The matter has come from the LORD; so we dare not speak bad or good [to you about it—we cannot interfere].

⁵¹Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has spoken."

⁵²When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground [in worship] before the LORD.

⁵³Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and articles of clothing, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and her mother.

⁵⁴Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night [there]. In the morning when they got up, he said, "Now send me back to my master."

⁵⁵But Rebekah's brother and mother said, "Let the girl stay with us a few days—at least ten; then she may go."

⁵⁶But Eliezer said to them, "Do not delay me, since the LORD has prospered my way. Send me away, so that I may go back to my master."

⁵⁷And they said, "We will call the girl and ask her what she prefers."

⁵⁸So they called Rebekah and said, "Will you go with this man?" And she answered, "I will go."

⁵⁹So they sent off their sister Rebekah and her nurse [Deborah, as her attendant] and Abraham's servant [Eliezer] and his men.

⁶⁰They blessed Rebekah and said to her, "May you, our sister, Become [the mother of] thousands of ten thousands, And may your descendants possess (conquer) The [city] gate of those who hate them."

⁶¹Then Rebekah and her attendants stood, and they mounted camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went on his way.

⁶²Now Isaac had returned from going to Beer-lahai-roi (Well of the Living One Who Sees Me), for he was living in the Negev.

⁶³Isaac went out to bow down [in prayer] in the field in the [early] evening; he raised his eyes and looked, and camels were coming.

⁶⁴Rebekah also raised her eyes and looked, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from her camel.

⁶⁵She said to the servant, "Who is that man there walking across the field to meet us?" And the servant said, "He is my master [Isaac]." So she took a veil and covered herself [as was customary].

⁶⁶The servant told Isaac everything that he had done.

⁶⁷Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and he took Rebekah [in marriage], and she became his wife, and he loved her; therefore Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

¹Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.

²She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

³Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.

⁴The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah.

⁵Now Abraham gave everything that he had to Isaac;

⁶but to the sons of his concubines [Hagar and Keturah], Abraham gave gifts while he was still living and he sent them to the east country, away from Isaac his son [of promise].

⁷The days of Abraham's life were a hundred and seventy-five years.

⁸Then Abraham breathed his last and he died at a good old age, an old man who was satisfied [with life]; and he was gathered to his people [who had preceded him in death].

⁹So his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is east of Mamre,

¹⁰the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth; there Abraham was buried with Sarah his wife.

¹¹Now after the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac lived at Beer-lahai-roi.

¹²Now these are the records of the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's maid, bore to Abraham;

¹³and these are the names of the [twelve] sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their births: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael, and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

¹⁴Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

¹⁵Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

¹⁶These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their settlements, and by their encampments (sheepfolds); twelve princes (sheiks) according to their tribes.

¹⁷Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years; then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people [who had preceded him in death].

¹⁸Ishmael's sons (descendants) settled from Havilah to Shur which is east of Egypt as one goes toward Assyria; he settled opposite (east) of all his relatives.

¹⁹Now these are the records of the descendants of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham was the father of Isaac.

²⁰Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean (Syrian) of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean.

²¹Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was unable to conceive children; and the LORD granted his prayer and Rebekah his wife conceived [twins].

²²But the children struggled together within her [kicking and shoving one another]; and she said, "If it is so [that the LORD has heard our prayer], why then am I this way?" So she went to inquire of the LORD [praying for an answer].

²³The LORD said to her, "[The founders of] two nations are in your womb; And the separation of two nations has begun in your body; The one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger."

²⁴When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

²⁵The first came out reddish all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau (hairy).

²⁶Afterward his brother came out, and his hand grasped Esau's heel, so he was named Jacob ( one who grabs by the heel, supplanter). Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

²⁷When the boys grew up, Esau was an able and skilled hunter, a man of the outdoors, but Jacob was a quiet and peaceful man, living in tents.

²⁸Now Isaac loved [and favored] Esau, because he enjoyed eating his game, but Rebekah loved [and favored] Jacob.

²⁹Jacob had cooked [reddish-brown lentil] stew [one day], when Esau came from the field and was famished;

³⁰and Esau said to Jacob, "Please, let me have a quick swallow of that red stuff there, because I am exhausted and famished." For that reason Esau was [also] called Edom (Red).

³¹Jacob answered, "First sell me your birthright (the rights of a firstborn)."

³²Esau said, "Look, I am about to die [if I do not eat soon]; so of what use is this birthright to me?"

³³Jacob said, "Swear [an oath] to me today [that you are selling it to me for this food]"; so he swore [an oath] to him, and sold him his birthright.

³⁴Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and got up and went on his way. In this way Esau scorned his birthright.

¹Now there was a famine in the land [of Canaan], besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines.

²The LORD appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I will tell you.

³Live temporarily [as a resident] in this land and I will be with you and will bless and favor you, for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, and I will establish and carry out the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.

⁴I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of the heavens, and will give to your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,

⁵because Abraham listened to and obeyed My voice and [consistently] kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

⁶So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

⁷The men of the place asked him about his wife, and he said, "She is my sister," for he was afraid to say, "my wife"—thinking, "the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, since she is very beautiful."

⁸It happened when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah his wife.

⁹Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, "See here, Rebekah is in fact your wife! How did you [dare to] say to me, 'She is my sister'?" And Isaac said to him, "Because I thought I might be killed because of her [desirability]."

¹⁰Abimelech said, "What is this that you have done to us? One of the men [among our people] might easily have been intimate with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us [before God]."

¹¹Then Abimelech commanded all his people, "Whoever touches this man [Isaac] or his wife [Rebekah] shall without exception be put to death."

¹²Then Isaac planted [seed] in that land [as a farmer] and reaped in the same year a hundred times [as much as he had planted], and the LORD blessed and favored him.

¹³And the man [Isaac] became great and gained more and more until he became very wealthy and extremely distinguished;

¹⁴he owned flocks and herds and a great household [with a number of servants], and the Philistines envied him.

¹⁵Now all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up by filling them with dirt.

¹⁶Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from here, because you are far too powerful for us."

¹⁷So Isaac left that region and camped in the Valley of Gerar, and settled there.

¹⁸Now Isaac again dug [and reopened] the wells of water which had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, because the Philistines had filled them up [with dirt] after the death of Abraham; and he gave the wells the same names that his father had given them.

¹⁹But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing [spring] water,

²⁰the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, "The water is ours!" So Isaac named the well Esek (quarreling), because they quarreled with him.

²¹Then his servants dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so Isaac named it Sitnah (enmity).

²²He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over that one; so he named it Rehoboth (broad places), saying, "For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be prosperous in the land."

²³Then he went up from there to Beersheba.

²⁴The LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father; Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless and favor you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham."

²⁵So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD [in prayer]. He pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.

²⁶Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, his [close friend and confidential] adviser, and Phicol, the commander of his army.

²⁷Isaac said to them, "Why have you [people] come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?"

²⁸They said, "We see clearly that the LORD has been with you; so we said, 'There should now be an oath between us [with a curse for the one who breaks it], that is, between you and us, and let us make a covenant (binding agreement, solemn promise) with you,

²⁹that you will not harm us, just as we have not touched you and have done nothing but good to you and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed and favored of the LORD!'"

³⁰Then Isaac held a [formal] banquet (covenant feast) for them, and they ate and drank.

³¹They got up early in the morning and swore oaths [pledging to do nothing but good to each other]; and Isaac sent them on their way and they left him in peace.

³²Now on the same day, Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they had dug, saying, "We have found water."

³³So he named the well Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

³⁴When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite as his wives;

³⁵and they were a source of grief to [Esau's parents] Isaac and Rebekah.

¹Now when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, he called his elder [and favorite] son Esau and said to him, "My son." And Esau answered him, "Here I am."

²Isaac said, "See here, I am old; I do not know when I may die.

³So now, please take your [hunting] gear, your quiver [of arrows] and your bow, and go out into the open country and hunt game for me;

⁴and make me a savory and delicious dish [of meat], the kind I love, and bring it to me to eat, so that my soul may bless you [as my firstborn son] before I die."

⁵But Rebekah overheard what Isaac said to Esau his son; and when Esau had gone to the open country to hunt for game that he might bring back,

⁶Rebekah said to Jacob her [younger and favorite] son, "Listen carefully: I heard your father saying to Esau your brother,

⁷'Bring me some game and make me a savory and delicious dish [of meat], so that I may eat it, and declare my blessing on you in the presence of the LORD before my death.'

⁸So now, my son, listen [carefully] to me [and do exactly] as I command you.

⁹Go now to the flock and bring me two good and suitable young goats, and I will make them into a savory dish [of meat] for your father, the kind he loves [to eat].

¹⁰Then you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before his death."

¹¹Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "Listen, Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth [skinned] man.

¹²Suppose my father touches me and feels my skin; then I will be seen by him as a cheat (imposter), and I will bring his curse on me and not a blessing."

¹³But his mother said to him, "May your curse be on me, my son; only listen and obey me, and go, bring the young goats to me."

¹⁴So Jacob went and got the two young goats, and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared a delicious dish of food [with a delightful aroma], the kind his father loved [to eat].

¹⁵Then Rebekah took her elder son Esau's best clothes, which were with her in her house, and put them on Jacob her younger son.

¹⁶And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.

¹⁷Then she gave her son Jacob the delicious meat and the bread which she had prepared.

¹⁸So he went to his father and said, "My father." And Isaac said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?"

¹⁹Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn; I have done what you told me to do. Now please, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may bless me."

²⁰Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found the game so quickly, my son?" And he said, "Because the LORD your God caused it to come to me."

²¹But Isaac [wondered and] said to Jacob, "Please come close [to me] so that I may touch you, my son, and determine if you are really my son Esau or not."

²²So Jacob approached Isaac, and his father touched him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau."

²³He could not recognize him [as Jacob], because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him.

²⁴But he said, "Are you really my son Esau?" Jacob answered, "I am."

²⁵Then Isaac said, "Bring the food to me, and I will eat some of my son's game, so that I may bless you." He brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine and he drank.

²⁶Then his father Isaac said to him, "Please come, my son, and kiss me."

²⁷So he came and kissed him; and Isaac smelled his clothing and blessed him and said, "The scent of my son [Esau] Is like the aroma of a field which the LORD has blessed;

²⁸Now may God give you of the dew of heaven [to water your land], And of the fatness (fertility) of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine;

²⁹May peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be lord and master over your brothers, And may your mother's sons bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, And may those who bless you be blessed."

³⁰Now as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

³¹Esau also made a delicious dish [of meat] and brought it to his father and said to him, "Let my father get up and eat some of his son's game, so that you may bless me."

³²Isaac his father said to him, "Who are you?" And he replied, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau."

³³Then Isaac trembled violently, and he said, "Then who was the one [who was just here] who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I blessed him. Yes, and he [in fact] shall be (shall remain) blessed."

³⁴When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with a great and extremely bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!"

³⁵Isaac said, "Your brother came deceitfully and has [fraudulently] taken away your blessing [for himself]."

³⁶Esau replied, "Is he not rightly named Jacob (the supplanter)? For he has supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my blessing. Have you not reserved a blessing for me?"

³⁷But Isaac replied to Esau, "Listen carefully: I have made Jacob your lord and master; I have given him all his brothers and relatives as servants; and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then, can I do for you, my son?"

³⁸Esau said to his father, "Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." Then Esau [no longer able to restrain himself] raised his voice and wept [loudly].

³⁹Then Isaac his father answered and [prophesied and] said to him, "Your dwelling shall be away from the fertility of the earth And away from the dew of heaven above;

⁴⁰But you shall live by your sword, And serve your brother; However it shall come to pass when you break loose [from your anger and hatred], That you will tear his yoke off your neck [and you will be free of him]."

⁴¹So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are very near; then I will kill my brother Jacob."

⁴²When these words of her elder son Esau were repeated to Rebekah, she sent for Jacob her younger son, and said to him, "Listen carefully, your brother Esau is comforting himself concerning you by planning to kill you.

⁴³So now, my son, listen and do what I say; go, escape to my brother Laban in Haran!

⁴⁴Stay with him for a while, until your brother's anger subsides.

⁴⁵When your brother's anger toward you subsides and he forgets what you did to him, then I will send and bring you back from there. Why should I be deprived of you both in a single day?"

⁴⁶Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth [these insolent wives of Esau]. If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?"

¹So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, and said to him, "You shall not marry one of the women of Canaan.

²Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father; and take from there as a wife for yourself one of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.

³May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a [great] company of peoples.

⁴May He also give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the [promised] land of your sojournings, which He gave to Abraham."

⁵Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

⁶Now Esau noticed that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife for himself from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a prohibition, saying, "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,"

⁷and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan-aram.

⁸So Esau realized that [his two wives] the daughters of Canaan displeased Isaac his father;

⁹and [to appease his parents] Esau went to [the family of] Ishmael and took as his wife, in addition to the wives he [already] had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth [Ishmael's firstborn son].

¹⁰Now Jacob left Beersheba [never to see his mother again] and traveled toward Haran.

¹¹And he came to a certain place and stayed overnight there because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down there [to sleep].

¹²He dreamed that there was a ladder (stairway) placed on the earth, and the top of it reached [out of sight] toward heaven; and [he saw] the angels of God ascending and descending on it [going to and from heaven].

¹³And behold, the LORD stood above and around him and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your [father's] father and the God of Isaac; I will give to you and to your descendants the land [of promise] on which you are lying.

¹⁴Your descendants shall be as [countless as] the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and the east and the north and the south; and all the families (nations) of the earth shall be blessed through you and your descendants.

¹⁵Behold, I am with you and will keep [careful watch over you and guard] you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back to this [promised] land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

¹⁶Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and he said, "Without any doubt the LORD is in this place, and I did not realize it."

¹⁷So he was afraid and said, "How fearful and awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gateway to heaven."

¹⁸So Jacob got up early in the morning, and took the stone he had put under his head and he set it up as a pillar [that is, a monument to the vision in his dream], and he poured [olive] oil on the top of it [to consecrate it].

¹⁹He named that place Bethel (the house of God); the previous name of that city was Luz (Almond Tree).

²⁰Then Jacob made a vow (promise), saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and clothing to wear,

²¹and if [He grants that] I return to my father's house in safety, then the LORD will be my God.

²²This stone which I have set up as a pillar (monument, memorial) will be God's house [a sacred place to me], and of everything that You give me I will give the tenth to You [as an offering to signify my gratitude and dependence on You]."