Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the East.

²And he looked, and saw a well in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well’s mouth.

³Now all the flocks would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from the well’s mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well’s mouth.

⁴And Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.”

⁵Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.”

⁶So he said to them, “Is he well?” And they said, “He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.”

⁷Then he said, “Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.”

⁸But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.”

⁹Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.

¹⁰And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.

¹¹Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept.

¹²And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s relative and that he was Rebekah’s son. So she ran and told her father.

¹³Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things.

¹⁴And Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month.

¹⁵Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?”

¹⁶Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

¹⁷Leah’s eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.

¹⁸Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”

¹⁹And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.”

²⁰So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.

²¹Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her.”

²²And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast.

²³Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her.

²⁴And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid.

²⁵So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?”

²⁶And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

²⁷Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.”

²⁸Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also.

²⁹And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid.

³⁰Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.

³¹When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.

³²So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The LORD has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.”

³³Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.

³⁴She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.

³⁵And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

¹Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!”

²And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

³So she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her.”

⁴Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her.

⁵And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

⁶Then Rachel said, “God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.

⁷And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

⁸Then Rachel said, “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.

⁹When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife.

¹⁰And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

¹¹Then Leah said, “A troop comes!” So she called his name Gad.

¹²And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

¹³Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.” So she called his name Asher.

¹⁴Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” And Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night.

¹⁷And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

¹⁸Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.

¹⁹Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.

²⁰And Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.

²¹Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

²²Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

²³And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.”

²⁴So she called his name Joseph, and said, “The LORD shall add to me another son.”

²⁵And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country.

²⁶Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for you.”

²⁷And Laban said to him, “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake.”

²⁸Then he said, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.”

²⁹So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me.

³⁰For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the LORD has blessed you since my coming. And now, when shall I also provide for my own house?”

³¹So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks:

³²Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and these shall be my wages.

³³So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come, when the subject of my wages comes before you: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, will be considered stolen, if it is with me.”

³⁴And Laban said, “Oh, that it were according to your word!”

³⁵So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons.

³⁶Then he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

³⁷Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods.

³⁸And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink.

³⁹So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted.

⁴⁰Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban; but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban’s flock.

⁴¹And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

⁴²But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s.

⁴³Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

¹Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this wealth.”

²And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before.

³Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.”

⁴So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock,

⁵and said to them, “I see your father’s countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me.

⁶And you know that with all my might I have served your father.

⁷Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me.

⁸If he said thus: ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The streaked shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked.

⁹So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

¹⁰“And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted.

¹¹Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’

¹²And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.

¹³I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ ”

¹⁴Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house?

¹⁵Are we not considered strangers by him? For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money.

¹⁶For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.”

¹⁷Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels.

¹⁸And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

¹⁹Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s.

²⁰And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee.

²¹So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead.

²²And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled.

²³Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead.

²⁴But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”

²⁵So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.

²⁶And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword?

²⁷Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp?

²⁸And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing.

²⁹It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’

³⁰And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?”

³¹Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’

³²With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

³³And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.

³⁴Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them.

³⁵And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the household idols.

³⁶Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me?

³⁷Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both!

³⁸These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock.

³⁹That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

⁴⁰There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.

⁴¹Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.

⁴²Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”

⁴³And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne?

⁴⁴Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”

⁴⁵So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.

⁴⁶Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap.

⁴⁷Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.

⁴⁸And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed,

⁴⁹also Mizpah, because he said, “May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent one from another.

⁵⁰If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!”

⁵¹Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me.

⁵²This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.

⁵³The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

⁵⁴Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain.

⁵⁵And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

¹So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

²When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

³Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

⁴And he commanded them, saying, “Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now.

⁵I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.” ’ ”

⁶Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

⁷So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies.

⁸And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”

⁹Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’:

¹⁰I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies.

¹¹Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children.

¹²For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

¹³So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother:

¹⁴two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,

¹⁵thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals.

¹⁶Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.”

¹⁷And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’

¹⁸then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ ”

¹⁹So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;

²⁰and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”

²¹So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

²²And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok.

²³He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.

²⁴Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.

²⁵Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.

²⁶And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”

²⁷So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.”

²⁸And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

²⁹Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.

³⁰So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”

³¹Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip.

³²Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle that shrank.

¹Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants.

²And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last.

³Then he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

⁴But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

⁵And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.”

⁶Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down.

⁷And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down.

⁸Then Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company which I met?” And he said, “These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.”

⁹But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”

¹⁰And Jacob said, “No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me.

¹¹Please, take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” So he urged him, and he took it.

¹²Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.”

¹³But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die.

¹⁴Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, are able to endure, until I come to my lord in Seir.”

¹⁵And Esau said, “Now let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”

¹⁶So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir.

¹⁷And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

¹⁸Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city.

¹⁹And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money.

²⁰Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.

¹Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

²And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her.

³His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman.

⁴So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.”

⁵And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Jacob held his peace until they came.

⁶Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.

⁷And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.

⁸But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.

⁹And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves.

¹⁰So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.”

¹¹Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give.

¹²Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.”

¹³But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.

¹⁴And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us.

¹⁵But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised,

¹⁶then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.

¹⁷But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.”

¹⁸And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.

¹⁹So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He was more honorable than all the household of his father.

²⁰And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying:

²¹“These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For indeed the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us as wives, and let us give them our daughters.

²²Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised.

²³Will not their livestock, their property, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.”

²⁴And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

²⁵Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males.

²⁶And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went out.

²⁷The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled.

²⁸They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what was in the city and what was in the field,

²⁹and all their wealth. All their little ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that was in the houses.

³⁰Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.”

³¹But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?”

¹Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”

²And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.

³Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.”

⁴So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.

⁵And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

⁶So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.

⁷And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

⁸Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.

⁹Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him.

¹⁰And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel.

¹¹Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.

¹²The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.”

¹³Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him.

¹⁴So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it.

¹⁵And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

¹⁶Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor.

¹⁷Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear; you will have this son also.”

¹⁸And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin.

¹⁹So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

²⁰And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.

²¹Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

²²And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

²³the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun;

²⁴the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin;

²⁵the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali;

²⁶and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

²⁷Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt.

²⁸Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.

²⁹So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

¹Now this is the genealogy of Esau, who is Edom.

²Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite; Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;

³and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth.

⁴Now Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel.

⁵And Aholibamah bore Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

⁶Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob.

⁷For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock.

⁸So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom.

⁹And this is the genealogy of Esau the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir.

¹⁰These were the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, and Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau.

¹¹And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

¹²Now Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife.

¹³These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.

¹⁴These were the sons of Aholibamah, Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon. And she bore to Esau: Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah.

¹⁵These were the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn son of Esau, were Chief Teman, Chief Omar, Chief Zepho, Chief Kenaz,

¹⁶Chief Korah, Chief Gatam, and Chief Amalek. These were the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. They were the sons of Adah.

¹⁷These were the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: Chief Nahath, Chief Zerah, Chief Shammah, and Chief Mizzah. These were the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.

¹⁸And these were the sons of Aholibamah, Esau’s wife: Chief Jeush, Chief Jaalam, and Chief Korah. These were the chiefs who descended from Aholibamah, Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah.

¹⁹These were the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these were their chiefs.

²⁰These were the sons of Seir the Horite who inhabited the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

²¹Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir, in the land of Edom.

²²And the sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam. Lotan’s sister was Timna.

²³These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

²⁴These were the sons of Zibeon: both Ajah and Anah. This was the Anah who found the water in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon.

²⁵These were the children of Anah: Dishon and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah.

²⁶These were the sons of Dishon:Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

²⁷These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

²⁸These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

²⁹These were the chiefs of the Horites: Chief Lotan, Chief Shobal, Chief Zibeon, Chief Anah,

³⁰Chief Dishon, Chief Ezer, and Chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir.

³¹Now these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel:

³²Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah.

³³And when Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place.

³⁴When Jobab died, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.

³⁵And when Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who attacked Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place. And the name of his city was Avith.

³⁶When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.

³⁷And when Samlah died, Saul of Rehoboth-by-the-River reigned in his place.

³⁸When Saul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.

³⁹And when Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, Hadar reigned in his place; and the name of his city was Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

⁴⁰And these were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families and their places, by their names: Chief Timnah, Chief Alvah, Chief Jetheth,

⁴¹Chief Aholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon,

⁴²Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar,

⁴³Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession. Esau was the father of the Edomites.

¹Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

²This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.

³Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors.

⁴But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

⁵Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.

⁶So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed:

⁷There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

⁸And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

¹⁰So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?”

¹¹And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

¹²Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.

¹³And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.”

¹⁴Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.

¹⁵Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”

¹⁶So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”

¹⁷And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

¹⁸Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him.

¹⁹Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming!

²⁰Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

²¹But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.”

²²And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.

²³So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him.

²⁴Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt.

²⁶So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

²⁷Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened.

²⁸Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

²⁹Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes.

³⁰And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”

³¹So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood.

³²Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?”

³³And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.”

³⁴Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

³⁵And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.

³⁶Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

¹It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah.

²And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her.

³So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er.

⁴She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.

⁵And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him.

⁶Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

⁷But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him.

⁸And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.”

⁹But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother.

¹⁰And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore He killed him also.

¹¹Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.

¹²Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

¹³And it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”

¹⁴So she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife.

¹⁵When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face.

¹⁶Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. So she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”

¹⁷And he said, “I will send a young goat from the flock.” So she said, “Will you give me a pledge till you send it?”

¹⁸Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?” So she said, “Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him.

¹⁹So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood.

²⁰And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her.

²¹Then he asked the men of that place, saying, “Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?” And they said, “There was no harlot in this place.”

²²So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place.”

²³Then Judah said, “Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her.”

²⁴And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.” So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”

²⁵When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” And she said, “Please determine whose these are—the signet and cord, and staff.”

²⁶So Judah acknowledged them and said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he never knew her again.

²⁷Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb.

²⁸And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.”

²⁹Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, “How did you break through? This breach be upon you!” Therefore his name was called Perez.

³⁰Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called Zerah.

¹Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there.

²The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

³And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand.

⁴So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.

⁵So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field.

⁶Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

⁷And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”

⁸But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand.

⁹There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

¹⁰So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.

¹¹But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside,

¹²that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.

¹³And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside,

¹⁴that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice.

¹⁵And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”

¹⁶So she kept his garment with her until his master came home.

¹⁷Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me;

¹⁸so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.”

¹⁹So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused.

²⁰Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison.

²¹But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

²²And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing.

²³The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.

¹It came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt.

²And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker.

³So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined.

⁴And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while.

⁵Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation.

⁶And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad.

⁷So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”

⁸And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”

⁹Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me,

¹⁰and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes.

¹¹Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

¹²And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days.

¹³Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler.

¹⁴But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.

¹⁵For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”

¹⁶When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three white baskets on my head.

¹⁷In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸So Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days.

¹⁹Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”

²⁰Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.

²¹Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.

²²But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.

²³Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

¹Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river.

²Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow.

³Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river.

⁴And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke.

⁵He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good.

⁶Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them.

⁷And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream.

⁸Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

⁹Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “I remember my faults this day.

¹⁰When Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker,

¹¹we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.

¹²Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his own dream.

¹³And it came to pass, just as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.”

¹⁴Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh.

¹⁵And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.”

¹⁶So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

¹⁷Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold, in my dream I stood on the bank of the river.

¹⁸Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow.

¹⁹Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt.

²⁰And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows.

²¹When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke.

²²Also I saw in my dream, and suddenly seven heads came up on one stalk, full and good.

²³Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them.

²⁴And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

²⁵Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do:

²⁶The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one.

²⁷And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine.

²⁸This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.

²⁹Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt;

³⁰but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land.

³¹So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe.

³²And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

³³“Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt.

³⁴Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years.

³⁵And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.

³⁶Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.”

³⁷So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.

³⁸And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”

³⁹Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.

⁴⁰You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”

⁴¹And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

⁴²Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

⁴³And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁴Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

⁴⁵And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁷Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly.

⁴⁸So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them.

⁴⁹Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.

⁵⁰And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him.

⁵¹Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.”

⁵²And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended,

⁵⁴and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

⁵⁵So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do.”

⁵⁶The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt.

⁵⁷So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.

¹When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?”

²And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.”

³So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.

⁴But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.”

⁵And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

⁶Now Joseph was governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth.

⁷Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”

⁸So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

⁹Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!”

¹⁰And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food.

¹¹We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.”

¹²But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”

¹³And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.”

¹⁴But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’

¹⁵In this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

¹⁶Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!”

¹⁷So he put them all together in prison three days.

¹⁸Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God:

¹⁹If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses.

²⁰And bring your young est brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so.

²¹Then they said to one another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.”

²²And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.”

²³But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter.

²⁴And he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

²⁵Then Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for them.

²⁶So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there.

²⁷But as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack.

²⁸So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!” Then their hearts failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”

²⁹Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying:

³⁰“The man who is lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.

³¹But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies.

³²We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’

³³Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone.

³⁴And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’ ”

³⁵Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.

³⁶And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.”

³⁷Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”

³⁸But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”