unfoldingWord_en_BP_Paratext/UST/01GENust.SFM

\id GEN EN_UST en_English_ltr Sat May 27 2023 15:53:50 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time) tc
\usfm 3.0
\ide UTF-8
\h Genesis
\toc1 The Book of Genesis
\toc2 Genesis
\toc3 Gen
\mt1 Genesis
\c 1
\s1 How God Created the Universe and Everything in It
\sr 1:1-2:3
\p
\v 1 \add This is how everything\add* began: God created the heavens and the earth. 
\v 2 \add At first after that,\add* the earth did not have \add its present\add* form, and there was nothing \add living\add* on it. It was \add totally\add* dark, there was deep water \add everywhere\add*, and God’s Spirit was moving above the water. 
\v 3 Then God said, “I command light to start shining!” And \add immediately\add* light started shining. 
\v 4 God observed that the light \add was\add* excellent. Then he divided the light from the darkness \add so that each had its own time\add*. 
\v 5 He named the light Daytime, and the darkness he named Nighttime. Then evening came, and \add later\add* morning came, \add and that was\add* \add the end of\add* the first day.
\p
\v 6 Then God said, “I command there to be a large space in the middle of the water, so that it divides the water into two separate places.” 
\v 7 That is how God made a large space and used it to divide the water that \add was\add* below the space from the water that \add was\add* above it. Everything happened \add exactly\add* as he commanded, 
\v 8 and he named the space Sky. Then evening came, and \add later\add* morning came, \add and that was\add* \add the end of\add* the second day.
\p
\v 9 Then God said, “I command the water \add that is\add* below the sky to come together in one place so that there is dry ground.” And that is \add exactly\add* what happened. 
\v 10 Then God named the ground that had dried off Land, and he named the water which had gathered together Ocean. And he observed that \add what he had made was\add* excellent.
\p
\v 11 Then God said, “I command the land to produce \add green\add* plants all over the earth, \add including\add* \add all types of\add* plants that produce seeds \add and\add* \add all types of\add* fruit trees that produce their own type of fruit with seeds inside.” And that is \add exactly\add* what happened. 
\v 12 The land started producing \add green\add* plants, \add including\add* \add all types of\add* plants that produce their own type of seeds and \add all types of\add* trees that produce their own type of fruit with seeds inside. God observed that \add what he had made was\add* excellent. 
\v 13 Then evening came, and \add later\add* morning came, \add and that was\add* \add the end of\add* the third day.
\p
\v 14 Then God said, “I command there to be sources of light in the sky that divide the day\add time\add* from the night\add time\add*. They must also mark when important things happen, and \add they must\add* show when seasons, days and years begin \add and end\add*. 
\v 15 They must function as lights in the sky that shine \add light\add* on the earth.” And that is \add exactly\add* what happened. 
\v 16 That is how God made the two bright lights, the brighter light to shine during the day\add time\add*, and the weaker light to shine during the night\add time\add*. \add That is\add* also \add when he made\add* the stars. 
\v 17 He put those lights in the sky to shine light on the earth, 
\v 18 to shine during the day\add time\add* or during the night\add time\add*, and to divide the light from the darkness. God observed that \add what he had made was\add* excellent. 
\v 19 Then evening came, and \add later\add* morning came, \add and that was\add* \add the end of\add* the fourth day.
\p
\v 20 Then God said, “I command there to be large groups of \add water\add* animals that live everywhere in the water.  I also command there to be birds that fly in the sky above the earth.” 
\v 21 That is how God made the huge sea animals and all \add the other\add* \add types of\add* animals that live all over the place in the water, \add each\add* having its own type of young. \add That is\add* also \add how he made\add* all \add the different types of\add* birds, \add each\add* having its own type of young. God observed that \add what he had made was\add* excellent. 
\v 22 Then he blessed them \add all\add* by saying \add to them\add*, “You \add water animals\add* must have many young so that you increase \add greatly\add* \add in number\add* and live all over the place in the ocean. \add You\add* birds must \add also\add* increase \add greatly\add* \add in number\add* all over the earth.” 
\v 23 Then evening came, and \add later\add* morning came, \add and that was\add* \add the end of\add* the fifth day.
\p
\v 24 Then God said, “I command the land to produce \add all types of\add* animals, \add each\add* having its own type of young, \add including\add* domestic animals, \add all types of\add* animals that crawl and \add all\add* the \add other types of\add* wild animals, \add each\add* having its own type of young.” And that is \add exactly\add* what happened. 
\v 25 That is how God made \add all the different types of\add* wild animals, \add each\add* having its own type of young, and \add all\add* the domestic animals, \add each\add* having its own type of young, and all \add different types of\add* animals that crawl on the ground, \add each\add* having its own type of young. God observed that \add what he had made was\add* excellent.
\p
\v 26 Then God said \add to himself\add*, “\add Now\add* we should make human beings to be like us and act like us, and let us put them in charge of the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, the domestic animals, and the entire earth, including all the animals that live on the earth.” 
\v 27 So God created human beings to be like himself. \add Yes,\add* he made them to be like himself. He \add also\add* created them \add to be\add* male or female.
\p
\v 28 Then God blessed them by saying to them, “Have many children so that you \add and your descendants\add* increase \add greatly\add* \add in number\add* and live all over the earth and take control of it. You are in charge of the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that live on the land.” 
\v 29 Then he \add also\add* said \add to them\add*, “Listen, I am \add now\add* giving to you \add for food\add* all \add the different types of\add* plants that produce seeds and grow anywhere on the earth, as well as all the \add different types of\add* trees that \add produce\add* fruit with seeds inside it. \add All of\add* them are yours to eat from. 
\v 30 In the same way, \add I give\add* every \add type of\add* green plant for food to all the \add wild\add* animals \add that live\add* on the earth, and all the birds \add that fly\add* in the sky, and all the \add other\add* animals \add that live\add* on the land and breathe \add air\add*.” And that is how it was.
\p
\v 31 Then God looked at everything that he had made, and he observed that it was \add all\add* very excellent. Then evening came, and \add later\add* morning came, \add and that was\add* \add the end of\add* the sixth day.
\c 2
\p
\v 1 That is how God finished \add creating\add* the heavens and the earth, including all the many things that are in them. 
\v 2 By the seventh day he had finished the work he had been doing, so he rested on that day from all that work. 
\v 3 Then God established the seventh day \add as a day\add* to bless \add people\add*, by setting it apart as a special time \add to rest and worship him\add*. \add He did that\add* because on that day he no longer did the work that he had been doing, creating \add everything\add*.
\s1 How Yahweh Created the First Man and First Woman
\sr 2:4-25
\p
\v 4 What follows tells \add more details about\add* the history of what \add God\add* did when he created the heavens and the earth: During the time \add when\add* Yahweh \add who is\add* God made the earth and the heavens, 
\v 5 \add for a while\add* there were not yet any bushes \add growing\add* in the fields on the earth, and there were not any \add other\add* plants that had sprouted yet. \add That was\add* because God had not \add yet\add* sent rain to water the earth, and human beings did not exist \add yet\add* to cultivate the ground. 
\v 6 \add During that time\add* mist kept seeping up from the earth and supplied water to the entire surface of the ground.  
\v 7 Then Yahweh \add who is\add* God \add took\add* \add some\add* dirt from the ground \add and\add* formed a man \add out of it\add*. Then he blew his breath into the man’s nostrils to make him live, so that the man became alive.
\p
\v 8 Now Yahweh God had planted a \add large\add* garden in \add the region of\add* Eden, \add which was\add* in the east, and that is where he put the man whom he had formed. 
\v 9 \add There\add* Yahweh had caused all \add types of\add* trees to grow from the ground that are beautiful to look at and \add that grow fruit that is\add* good to eat. In the middle of the garden was the tree whose fruit makes people live \add forever\add*, as well as the tree whose fruit enables people to know \add what is\add* good and \add what is\add* evil.
\p
\v 10 There was a river flowing through \add the region of\add* Eden that provided water for the garden. From there the river divided into four \add smaller\add* rivers. 
\v 11 The first \add river\add* \add was\add* the Pishon \add River\add*, which flowed around through the entire region of Havilah, \add a place\add* where \add there was\add* \add much\add* gold. 
\v 12 In fact, the gold from that region \add was\add* \add very\add* pure. A \add type of\add* fragrant resin and \add valuable\add* onyx gemstones \add were\add* \add also\add* in that region. 
\v 13 The second river \add was\add* the Gihon \add River\add*, which flowed around through the entire region of Cush. 
\v 14 The third river \add was\add* the Tigris \add River\add*, which flowed east of \add the region of\add* Assyria, and the fourth river \add was\add* the Euphrates \add River\add*.
\p
\v 15 After Yahweh God put the man in Eden Garden to cultivate it and take care of it, 
\v 16 he commanded him, “You may eat as much \add fruit\add* as you want \add to eat\add* from any tree in the garden, 
\v 17 except I forbid you to eat \add any fruit\add* from the tree whose fruit enables people to know \add what is\add* good and \add what is\add* evil. If you eat \add fruit\add* from that tree, on that \add same\add* day you will definitely die.”
\p
\v 18 Then Yahweh \add who is\add* God said, “\add It is\add* not good \add for\add* the man to live by himself. \add So\add* I will create  a suitable companion to help him.” 
\v 19 Now \add previously,\add* Yahweh had used \add dirt\add* from the ground to form all \add the different types of\add* wild animals and all \add the different types of\add* birds \add that fly\add* in the sky. So he brought \add them all\add* to the man to hear what he would name them. Whatever name the man gave to each \add kind of\add* animal, that \add became\add* the name for that kind of animal. 
\v 20 The man gave names to all the \add different kinds of\add* livestock and to \add all\add* the \add different kinds of\add* birds \add that fly\add* in the sky, and to all the \add different kinds of\add* wild animals, but none of them was a suitable companion to help him.
\p
\v 21 So Yahweh God caused the man to sleep deeply. Then while the man was asleep, God took a rib \add out of the man’s body\add* and filled in the place where it had been with flesh \add and healed it\add*. 
\v 22 Next Yahweh God made a woman from the rib which he had taken out of the man\add ’s body\add*, and he took her to the man. 
\v 23 \add When the man saw her,\add* he exclaimed, 
\q1 “Finally! Here is someone \add like me\add*
\q2 who has bones and flesh from me!
\q1 I will call her ‘woman,’
\q2 because \add it was\add* from \add the body of\add* a man \add that\add* \add God\add* took her.”
\m
\v 24 Because of that, \add when a man gets married,\add* he must leave \add the home of\add* his father and mother, and he must unite with his wife, so that they become completely united.
\p
\v 25 \add During that time\add* the man and his wife did not wear any clothes, but \add yet\add* they were not ashamed \add about it\add*.
\c 3
\s1 Adam and Eve Sin against Yahweh, and He Judges Them
\sr 3:1-24
\p
\v 1 Now the snake was the craftiest of all the animals that Yahweh God had created.  \add One day\add* he asked the woman, “Did God really command you to not eat \add fruit\add* from any of the trees in the garden?” 
\v 2 The woman answered him, “\add No,\add* \add God said that\add* we may eat fruit from \add any of\add* the tree\add s\add* in the garden, 
\v 3 except fruit from the tree that is in the center of the garden. He commanded \add us\add* to not eat that fruit or even touch it, because if we do, we will die!” 
\v 4 But the snake said to the woman, “\add That is not true.\add* You will not die. 
\v 5 Actually, God knows that as soon as you eat \add fruit\add* from that tree, you will understand new things, so that you will know \add what is\add* right and \add what is\add* wrong just like God does.” 
\v 6 The woman saw that the tree\add ’s fruit\add* \add looked\add* good to eat and that the tree \add itself\add* was \add very\add* beautiful. She also wanted \add to eat\add* the fruit so that it would make her wise. So she picked some of the fruit \add off the tree\add* and ate it. She also gave \add some of the fruit\add* to her husband, \add who was\add* \add there\add* with her, and he ate \add it\add* \add too\add*. 
\v 7 Suddenly they both understood new things, and they realized that their bodies \add were\add* bare. So they sewed \add some\add* fig \add tree\add* leaves together and made clothes for themselves \add to cover their nakedness\add*.
\p
\v 8 \add Late that afternoon,\add* during the cool time of the day, the man and his wife heard Yahweh God’s voice as he walked in the garden, but they hid from him behind some tree\add s\add* in the garden. 
\v 9 So Yahweh God called \add out\add* to the man, “\add Adam,\add* where are you?” 
\v 10 The man replied, “I heard the sound of you \add walking\add* in the garden, but I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid \add from you\add*.” 
\v 11 Then Yahweh God asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you \add disobey me and\add* eat \add fruit\add* from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 
\v 12 The man replied, “The woman whom you put here \add to be\add* with me, she \add is the one who\add* gave me some of that fruit, so I ate \add it\add*.” 
\v 13 Then Yahweh God asked the woman, “What did you do?” The woman replied, “The snake tricked me, so I ate \add some of the fruit\add*.” 
\v 14 So Yahweh God said to the snake, “Because you did that,
\q1 I am cursing you more \add severely\add* than all the livestock
\q2 and all the animals in the fields!
\q1 \add As a result,\add* you must crawl \add along the ground\add* on your belly,
\q2 and you will eat dust \add with your food\add*
\q2 for as long as you live. \q1  
\v 15 Besides that, I will cause you and your descendants to be enemies
\q2 with the woman and her descendants.
\q1 \add In fact,\add* her descendant will crush your head,
\q2 and you will bite his heel.”
\p
\v 16 \add Then\add* God said to the woman,
\q1 “I will greatly increase how much you suffer when you bear children,
\q2 \add yes,\add* you will suffer \add much pain\add* when you give birth.
\q1 But you will \add still\add* desire \add to be with\add* your husband,
\q2 and he will dominate you.”
\p
\v 17 Then God said to Adam, “You did what your wife said and ate \add fruit\add* from the tree that I commanded you not to eat \add any fruit\add* from. 
\q1 Because of what you did, I have cursed the ground. 
\q2 \add As a result,\add* for as long as you live,
\q2 you will have to work \add very\add* hard and suffer \add to grow enough food\add* to eat.  \q1  
\v 18 In fact, thorn plants and thistle plants \add and other weeds\add* will grow from the ground
\q2 \add and make it difficult\add* for you to grow \add enough\add* crops in your fields for food. \q1  
\v 19 You will have to \add work hard and\add* sweat a lot
\q2 in order to \add produce\add* \add enough\add* food to eat,
\q1 until you \add die and\add* again become dirt,
\q2 which I created you from.
\q1 Yes, \add I created\add* you out of dirt,
\q2 so dirt is what you will become again \add after you die\add*.”
\p
\v 20 Then Adam named his wife Eve, \add which means “living,”\add* because she would be the mother of everyone who would ever live. 
\v 21 Then Yahweh God made \add some\add* clothes out of \add animal\add* skins for Adam and his wife, and he put the clothes on them.
\p
\v 22 Then Yahweh God said \add to himself\add*, “Look! The man \add and his wife\add* have become like one of us, so that they know \add what is\add* good and \add what is\add* evil. So now we must do something so that they do not also pick and eat \add fruit\add* from the tree that gives people \add eternal\add* life, which will make them live forever!” 
\v 23 Then Yahweh God expelled the man \add and his wife\add* from Eden Garden to work the ground which he had made them from. 
\v 24 After he expelled them, he stationed to the east \add side\add* of the garden \add some\add* \add powerful\add* cherubim \add angels\add* and a burning sword that was swinging around in all directions to keep everyone away from the path to the tree whose fruit makes people live \add forever\add*.
\c 4
\s1 Cain Kills Abel — the First Murder
\sr 4:1-16
\p
\v 1 Then Adam had \add marital\add* relations with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to \add a son they named\add* Cain, \add which means “obtained.”\add* \add They named him that\add* because she said, “Yahweh has enabled me to obtain a son!” 
\v 2 Then Eve also gave birth to Cain’s brother \add whom they named\add* Abel. \add When they grew up,\add* Abel became a shepherd, and Cain became a \add crop\add* farmer. 
\v 3 As time went by, one day Cain gave some of the crops \add that he had grown\add* in his fields to Yahweh as a gift \add to honor him\add*. 
\v 4 Abel also gave \add a gift\add* \add to Yahweh\add*, \add but what he gave was\add* some of the firstborn animals from his flock\add s\add*, including some of their best parts. Yahweh was pleased with Abel and his gift. 
\v 5 However, he was not pleased with Cain or his gift. So Cain became extremely angry, and he frowned. 
\v 6 Then Yahweh asked him, “Why are you so angry? And why are you frowning? 
\v 7 If you do \add what is\add* right, I will accept \add you\add* \add and your offering\add*. But if you do not do \add what is\add* right, then sin \add is like a fierce animal that\add* is waiting outside your door \add to attack you\add*.  It wants \add to control\add* you, but you must control it \add so that you do not sin\add*.”
\p
\v 8 But \add after that,\add* Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field \add to work\add* \add together\add*.” So \add they went out\add* to the field, and while they were there, Cain attacked his brother and murdered him.
\p
\v 9 Later Yahweh asked Cain, “Where \add is\add* your brother Abel?” Cain responded, “I don’t know \add where he is\add*. Is it my job to take care of my brother?” 
\v 10 Then Yahweh said \add to him\add*, “You have done a terrible thing! I see your brother’s blood on the ground, and I must punish you \add for killing him\add*! 
\v 11 So from now on I am cursing you \add so that you will not be able to grow food\add* from the ground, which is where your brother’s blood spilled out when you murdered him. 
\v 12 Whenever you \add try to\add* farm the ground, it will no longer produce good crops for you. \add From now on,\add* you will be an outcast who wanders around on the earth \add without a permanent home\add*.”
\p
\v 13 Cain replied to Yahweh, “You are punishing me more \add severely\add* than I can endure. 
\v 14 Look, you have now banished me from \add farming\add* the ground, and I will be far away from you. I will be a homeless fugitive on the earth, so that whoever sees me will kill me!” 
\v 15 Yahweh replied to him, “So then, \add I will warn everyone that\add* I will take vengeance on whoever kills you \add and punish him\add* seven times more \add severely\add* \add than I am punishing you\add*!” Then he put a mark on Cain to warn everyone who met him not to kill him. 
\v 16 Then Cain left Yahweh’s presence and lived in the region of Nod, \add which means “wandering,”\add* \add which was\add* east of \add the region of\add* Eden.
\s1 Cain’s Descendants
\sr 4:17-24
\p
\v 17 Then Cain had \add marital\add* relations with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to \add a son they named\add* Enoch. \add At that time\add* Cain was building a city, so he named the city after his son Enoch. 
\v 18 When Enoch \add grew up,\add* he had \add a son named\add* Irad. Then Irad had \add a son named\add* Mehujael. Then Mehujael had \add a son named\add* Methushael. Then Methushael had \add a son named\add* Lamech.
\p
\v 19 When Lamech \add grew up,\add* he married two wives. His first wife’s name was Adah, and his other wife’s name was Zillah.   
\v 20 Adah gave birth to \add a son named\add* Jabal. He \add grew up and\add* became the first of \add all\add* those who live \add in\add* tents and raise livestock \add for a living\add*. 
\v 21 His brother’s name was Jubal. He became the first of all \add those\add* who play harps and flutes.
\p
\v 22 \add Lamech’s other wife\add* Zillah also gave birth to \add a son named\add* Tubal Cain. He \add was the first of all those who\add* make all \add kinds\add* of tools \add and other things\add* out of bronze and iron. Tubal Cain had a sister \add whose name was\add* Naamah.
\p
\v 23 \add One day,\add* Lamech bragged to his \add two\add* wives, 
\q1 “Adah and Zillah, listen to what I have to say.
\q2 My wives, listen to this:
\q1 I killed a young man for wounding me!
\q2 In fact, \add I killed\add* that man \add just\add* because he bruised me. \q1  
\v 24 God will avenge Cain seven times,
\q2 but \add I,\add* Lamech \add avenge myself\add* 77 times!”
\s1 People Start to Worship God Using His Name Yahweh
\sr 4:25-26
\p
\v 25 Then Adam had \add marital\add* relations with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son, and she named him Seth, \add which means “given.”\add* \add She named him that\add* because \add when he was born,\add* \add she had said\add*, “God has given me another child to replace Abel, whom Cain killed.” 
\v 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.
\p During that time people began to worship \add God\add* by using His name Yahweh.
\c 5
\s1 The Descendants from Adam to Noah
\sr 5:1-32 
\r 1 Chronicles 1:1-4
\p
\v 1 Here \add is\add* the \add family\add* record of Adam and his descendants: On the day when God created human beings, he made them to be like himself. 
\v 2 He \add also\add* created them \add to be\add* male and female, and on the \add same\add* day that he created them, he blessed them and named them “human beings.”
\p
\v 3 When Adam was 130 years old, he had \add a son\add* who was like him in many ways, and he named him Seth. 
\v 4 After Seth’s birth, Adam lived \add another\add* 800 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons as well as daughters. 
\v 5 So Adam lived a total of 930 years, and \add then\add* he died.
\p
\v 6 When Seth was 105 years old, he had \add a son  named\add* Enosh. 
\v 7 After Enosh’s birth, Seth lived \add another\add* 807 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons as well as daughters. 
\v 8 So Seth lived a total of 912 years, and \add then\add* he died.
\p
\v 9 When Enosh was ninety years old, he had \add a son named\add* Kenan. 
\v 10 After Kenan’s birth, Enosh lived \add another\add* 815 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons as well as daughters. 
\v 11 So Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and \add then\add* he died.
\p
\v 12 When Kenan was seventy years old, he had \add a son named\add* Mahalalel. 
\v 13 After Mahalalel’s birth, Kenan lived \add another\add* 840 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons as well as daughters. 
\v 14 So Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and \add then\add* he died.
\p
\v 15 When Mahalalel was sixty-five years old, he had \add a son named\add* Jared. 
\v 16 After Jared’s birth, Mahalalel lived \add another\add* 830 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons as well as daughters. 
\v 17 So Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and \add then\add* he died.
\p
\v 18 When Jared was 162 years old, he had \add a son named\add* Enoch. 
\v 19 After Enoch’s birth, Jared lived \add another\add* 800 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons as well as daughters. 
\v 20 So Jared lived a total of 962 years, and \add then\add* he died.
\p
\v 21 When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he had \add a son named\add* Methuselah. 
\v 22 After Methuselah’s birth, Enoch lived \add in a close relationship\add* with God for \add another\add* 300 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons as well as daughters. 
\v 23 So Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 
\v 24 Then while he was \add still\add* living \add in a close relationship\add* with God, \add suddenly\add* he was no longer \add on earth\add*, because God had taken him away \add to be with him\add*.
\p
\v 25 When Methuselah was 187 years old, he had \add a son named\add* Lamech. 
\v 26 After Lamech’s birth, Methuselah lived \add another\add* 782 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons as well as daughters. 
\v 27 So Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and \add then\add* he died.
\p
\v 28 When Lamech was 182 years old, he had a son, 
\v 29 and he named him Noah \add which means “rest,”\add* \add because\add* he said, “This \add son\add* will give us rest from the difficult work that we have to do because Yahweh has cursed the ground.” 
\v 30 After Noah’s birth, Lamech lived \add another\add* 595 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons as well as daughters. 
\v 31 So Lamech lived a total of 777 years, \add and\add* then he died.
\p
\v 32 After Noah was 500 years old, he had \add sons whose names were\add* Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
\c 6
\s1 God Destroys the World with a Flood
\sr 6:1-9:29
\p
\s1 People on the Earth Become More and More Evil
\sr 6:1-8
\p
\v 1 Now it happened that people began to multiply \add in number\add* all over the earth, and they were having daughters. 
\v 2 \add When those girls grew up,\add* the sons of God saw that they \add were\add* beautiful, so they chose any \add of them\add* that they wanted and married them. 
\v 3 Then Yahweh said \add to himself\add*, “My Spirit will not put up with human beings forever, because they \add are\add* very corrupt. I will give them 120 years \add to repent\add*.”
\p
\v 4 \add People called\add* the Nephilim lived on the earth during that time and also later on. \add That happened\add* when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of human beings, and those women gave birth to children for them. Their children were \add the Nephilim, who were\add* the famous mighty men who lived long ago.
\p
\v 5 Yahweh saw that the people on the earth had become very evil, and that everything they thought about and desired \add was\add* completely evil all the time. 
\v 6 As a result, he regretted that he had made them \add to live\add* on the earth, and he felt very sad. 
\v 7 So he said \add to himself\add*, “I will completely destroy from the earth \add all\add* the people whom I created. \add In fact\add*, \add I will destroy\add* \add not only\add* \add all\add* the people, but also \add all\add* the animals, including the creatures that crawl \add on the ground\add* and the birds \add that fly\add* in the sky, because I regret that I \add ever\add* made them.” 
\v 8 But Yahweh was pleased with Noah.
\s1 Noah Prepares for the Flood
\sr 6:9-22
\p
\v 9 Here is \add more of\add* the history about Noah and his descendants: Noah \add was\add* a man who did what was right. Out of all the people living at that time, he was the only one \add whom God considered\add* blameless, \add and\add* he lived in a close relationship with God. 
\v 10 Eventually Noah had \add his\add* three sons, \add whose names were\add* Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
\p
\v 11 Now \add the people on\add* the earth had become wicked according to God’s standards, and all over the earth they were doing violent things. 
\v 12 God saw how wicked \add everyone on\add* the earth had become, because all the people on the earth were \add continually\add* behaving in evil ways. 
\v 13 So he said to Noah, “I am going to destroy all people, because all over the earth they are doing violent things. In fact, I am going to destroy them and \add everything else on\add* the earth \add too\add*. 
\v 14 \add Therefore\add* \add you must\add* build a \add very\add* large boat for yourself \add and your family\add* out of the best wood \add for building boats\add*. Build rooms inside the boat, and seal it inside and outside with tar \add to keep water out\add*. 
\v 15 You must make the boat like this: It \add must be\add* 140 meters long, twenty-three meters wide, and fourteen meters high. 
\v 16 Make a half-meter high opening between the top of the walls of the ark and its roof \add all the way around\add*, \add to let light and air in\add*. Put a door in the side of the boat, and build three levels \add on the inside\add*. 
\v 17 Listen \add carefully\add* to me: I am going to bring a flood over the \add whole\add* earth, which will destroy all the creatures under the sky that breathe \add air\add*. \add As a result,\add* every \add living\add* thing that \add is\add* on land will die! 
\v 18 But I will make a \add special\add* agreement between me and you, so you must get on board the boat, and \add take\add* your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. 
\v 19 You must also take into the boat two of every \add kind of\add* living creature, including every \add kind of\add* animal, so that they stay alive with you. Each pair must include \add one\add* male and \add one\add* female. 
\v 20 Pairs of every kind of bird and every kind of animal, including every kind of creature that moves on the ground, will come to you so that you keep them alive \add in the boat\add*. 
\v 21 You must \add also\add* gather all the different kinds of food that people and animals eat and store it \add on the boat\add* with you, so that there will be \add enough\add* food for you \add and your family\add* and for \add all\add* the animals.” 
\v 22 So, \add that is what\add* Noah did; he did everything exactly as God had commanded him \add to do\add*.
\c 7
\s1 Yahweh Sends the Flood
\sr 7:1-23
\p
\v 1 Then \add after they had finished building the boat,\add* Yahweh commanded Noah, “You and your entire family must go into the boat, because I know \add that\add* you \add are\add* \add the only one\add* among the people living today \add who is\add* living rightly according to my standards. 
\v 2 Take with you seven male and female pairs of every \add kind of\add* pure animal, and \add one\add* male and female pair of \add every kind of\add* impure animal. 
\v 3 Also \add take\add* seven male and female pairs of \add every kind of\add* bird \add that flies\add* in the sky, so that \add later\add* their offspring will live all over the earth. 
\v 4 \add You must do that,\add* because seven days from today I will make it rain \add continuously\add* \add all\add* over the earth \add for\add* forty days and nights. In that way, I will completely destroy from the earth every living creature that I have made.” 
\v 5 Then Noah did everything \add exactly\add* as Yahweh had commanded him \add to do\add*.
\p
\v 6 Noah was 600 years old when the flood covered the earth. 
\v 7 \add That is when\add* he and his wife, and his sons and their wives went together into the boat so that they would not die in the flood. 
\v 8 \add Also,\add* \add every kind of\add* pure animal and \add every kind of\add* impure animal and \add every kind of\add* bird, \add including\add* every \add kind of creature\add* that lives on land, 
\v 9 came in pairs to Noah \add and went\add* into the boat. \add They were\add* male and female \add pairs\add*, which was exactly what God had commanded him \add to take along\add*.
\p
\v 10 So it happened \add that\add* when the seven days \add that God had spoken about\add* had passed, water started to flood the earth. 
\v 11 When Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month \add of the year\add*, on that \add very\add* day all the springs in the deep ocean started pouring out water. \add God also caused\add* the water in the sky to start pouring down, as if he had opened \add huge\add* floodgates \add in the sky\add*, 
\v 12 so that it rained \add continuously\add* \add all\add* over the earth \add for\add* forty days and nights.
\p
\v 13 \add So it was that\add* on the same day \add that the flood started\add*, Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, along with his wife and his sons’ three wives \add all\add* entered the boat. 
\v 14 They had with them every kind of living creature, including every kind of livestock and every \add other\add* kind of creature that lives on the land, and every kind of bird \add and\add* everything \add else\add* that flies. 
\v 15 Pairs of every \add kind of\add* living thing that breathes \add air\add* came to Noah \add and went\add* into the boat. 
\v 16 The animals that went into \add the boat\add* \add were\add* male and female \add pairs\add* from every \add kind of\add* living thing, which was exactly what God had commanded Noah \add to take along\add*. Then \add after they were all inside,\add* Yahweh closed the door \add of the boat\add* behind them.
\p
\v 17 \add For\add* forty days \add and forty nights\add* the flood kept getting deeper and deeper \add all\add* over the earth, and as the water rose, it lifted up the boat so that it floated \add on the water\add* above the ground. 
\v 18 So the floodwaters continued to rise and get much deeper \add all\add* over the earth, while the boat floated \add safely\add* on the water. 
\v 19 Eventually the water became so deep on the earth that \add even\add* all the highest mountains everywhere under the sky were under water. 
\v 20 \add In fact,\add* the water rose \add at least\add* seven meters above \add the tops of\add* the \add highest\add* mountains, so that they were \add completely\add* under water. 
\v 21 Then all the creatures that lived on land died. \add That\add* included \add all\add* the birds, the livestock, and the \add other\add* living creatures, including every \add kind of\add* creature that lived in large groups on the earth, as well as all the people. 
\v 22 Every living creature that breathed air and \add lived\add* on dry land died. 
\v 23 That is how Yahweh completely destroyed all the living creatures that \add were\add* on the earth, including \add all\add* people and livestock and \add all the other\add* creatures that lived \add on the land\add* and also the birds \add that flew\add* in the sky. Yes, he completely destroyed everything \add that lived\add* on the earth, so that the only ones who were still alive were Noah and his family and the animals that were with them in the boat. 
\s1 God Causes the Flood to Go Away
\sr 7:24-8:19
\p
\v 24 \add Deep\add* water continued to cover the \add entire\add* world \add for\add* 150 days.
\c 8
\p
\v 1 But God never forgot Noah \add and his family\add* and all the animals, both wild and tame, that \add were\add* with them in the boat. So he caused a wind to blow over \add the water that was covering\add* the earth, so that the water \add started to\add* go down. 
\v 2 \add He also caused\add* the springs in the deep \add ocean\add* to stop \add gushing out water\add*, and \add he caused\add* the water to stop pouring from the sky, so that it stopped raining. 
\v 3 Then the water steadily went down from \add the surface of\add* the land. After the 150 days \add had passed\add*, the water had gone down 
\v 4 so \add much\add* that on the seventeenth day of the seventh month \add of the year\add*, the boat came to rest on \add one of\add* the mountains in the Ararat \add mountain range\add*. 
\v 5 The floodwaters continued to go down until on the first \add day\add* of the tenth month \add of the year\add*, the peaks of the \add surrounding\add* mountains became visible \add above the water\add*.
\p
\v 6 After forty \add more\add* days \add had passed\add*, Noah opened a window in the boat that he had made, 
\v 7 and he released a raven, which kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up \add more\add* from the land. 
\v 8 Meanwhile Noah \add also\add* released a dove from the boat to find out if the water had gone down from the land. 
\v 9 But water was \add still\add* covering the entire earth, so the dove did not find anywhere to land and rest. Then it returned to Noah in the boat, and Noah reached out, caught it, and brought it \add back\add* into the boat. 
\v 10 Noah waited seven more days, then he released the dove from the boat again. 
\v 11 That evening the dove returned to him, and he saw that \add it had\add* a fresh green olive \add tree\add* leaf in its beak! That is how Noah realized that the water had gone down \add further\add* from the land. 
\v 12 Then he waited seven more days and he released the dove \add again\add*, but \add this time\add* it did not come back to him again.
\p
\v 13 So it was, when \add Noah was\add* 601 years old, on the first \add day\add* of the first month \add of the year\add*, the water had \add almost\add* dried up from the land. So Noah took off \add part of\add* the roof of the boat and looked \add around\add*, and he saw that \add much of\add* the land’s surface was \add almost\add* dry. 
\v 14 Then by the twenty-seventh day of the second month \add of the year\add*, the land had dried off.
\p
\v 15 Then God commanded Noah,  
\v 16 “Come out of the boat, together with your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives. 
\v 17 Bring out all the animals that \add are\add* with you, all of them, including the birds, tame animals, and every \add other\add* animal that moves on land. Then they can live all over the earth; \add yes,\add* they will have many young and increase \add in number\add* \add all\add* over the earth.” 
\v 18 So Noah came out \add of the boat\add*, along with his wife and his sons and their wives. 
\v 19 All the animals, \add including\add* all the animals that crawl and all the birds \add and\add* everything \add else\add* that lives on land, \add also\add* came out of the boat in groups of their own kind.
\s1 Yahweh Makes a Covenant with Mankind and All Other Living Things
\sr 8:20-9:17
\p
\v 20 Then Noah made an altar \add out of large stones\add* \add to offer sacrifices\add* to Yahweh. Next he chose \add some\add* of every \add kind of\add* animal and bird that is acceptable to sacrifice, and he \add killed them and\add* burned \add their bodies\add* on the altar as an offering \add to Yahweh\add* \add to worship him\add*. 
\v 21 Yahweh smelled the aroma \add of the offerings\add* and was pleased, and he thought to himself, “Never again will I curse the ground because of mankind\add ’s sins\add*, \add even\add* though everything they desire and think about \add is\add* evil from the time they are children. And never again will I destroy all living \add creatures\add* the way I \add just\add* did. \q1  
\v 22 As long as the earth \add still\add* exists,
\q2 \add each year\add* there will always be a season to plant seeds and a season to harvest \add crops\add*,
\q2 as well as cold weather and hot weather,
\q2 summer and winter,
\q2 and day and night.”
\c 9
\p
\v 1 Then God caused Noah and his sons to prosper by saying to them, “Have many children so that you \add and your descendants\add* will become numerous and live all over the earth. 
\v 2 Every living creature on the earth will be afraid and terrified of you, including every bird \add that flies\add* in the sky, \add along\add* with every creature that moves on land, and all the fish in the ocean. I have put them \add all\add* under your authority. 
\v 3 \add From now on\add* every creature that is alive and moves is yours \add to eat\add* as food. In the same way that \add I provided you\add* green plants \add for food\add*, \add now\add* I provide you everything \add for food\add*. 
\v 4 However, you must never eat meat that still has its blood \add in it\add*, which made it live. 
\v 5 Also, I definitely require that anyone who murders someone must die. \add In fact,\add* if any animal \add kills a human being\add*, I require that it must die. \add That is also true\add* for human beings: If anyone \add murders\add* another person, I require that he must die. \q1  
\v 6 \add That’s right,\add* you must put to death
\q2 anyone who murders a human being,
\q1 because God made human beings
\q2 to be like himself.
\p
\v 7 “Now \add as for\add* you, have many children so that you \add and your descendants\add* will become numerous. Spread out all over the earth and become numerous everywhere.”
\p
\v 8 Then God said to Noah and his sons, 
\v 9 “Listen \add carefully\add* to me: I am making my agreement with you and your descendants. 
\v 10 \add It is\add* also with all the living creatures that \add are\add* with you, including the birds, the livestock, and all the \add other\add* living creatures on the earth \add that are\add* with you. \add That includes\add* all \add those\add* that came out of the ark and all the living creatures \add that will ever live\add* on the earth. 
\v 11 My agreement that I’m establishing with you is that never again will all living things die from a flood. “That’s right, never again will \add I use\add* a flood to destroy \add everything on\add* the earth.”
\p
\v 12 Then God continued, “This \add is\add* how I will show \add everyone\add* that I have made this agreement with you and with all the living creatures that \add are\add* with you, as well as with all the people and animals that will ever live: 
\v 13 I will put my rainbow among the clouds \add in the sky\add* to remind \add everyone\add* that I have made this agreement with \add every creature that lives on\add* the earth. 
\v 14 So whenever I cause clouds to form \add in the sky\add* above the earth and a rainbow appears in the clouds, 
\v 15 then I will not forget \add to keep\add* my agreement that I have established with you and all living creatures of every kind. \add I promise\add* that I will never again use a flood to destroy all living creatures. 
\v 16 Yes, whenever a rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and keep \add my\add* permanent agreement which I have established with all people and all animals that \add live\add* on the earth.”
\p
\v 17 Then God \add concluded\add* by saying to Noah, “A rainbow \add is\add* what I will use to remind \add everyone\add* that I have made this agreement with all the people and animals that \add live\add* on the earth.”
\s1 Noah and His Three Sons After the Flood
\sr 9:18-29
\p
\v 18 Noah’s sons who came out of the boat \add after the flood\add* were Shem, Ham, and Japheth; it was Ham who \add was\add* Canaan’s father. 
\v 19 It was the descendants of Noah’s three sons who populated the entire earth \add again\add*.
\p
\v 20 After a while, Noah, who was a farmer, planted \add some\add* grape vines \add and made wine from the grapes\add*. 
\v 21 Then \add one day\add* he drank \add too much of\add* the wine, so that he became drunk and was \add lying\add* naked inside his tent. 
\v 22 Ham, \add who was\add* Canaan’s father, saw that his father was naked, and he went outside and told his two brothers \add about it\add*. 
\v 23 However, Shem and Japheth took a robe, and held it \add between them\add* at shoulder level and walked backward \add into the tent\add* and covered their father’s naked body \add with it\add*. \add As they did that,\add* they kept their faces turned away \add from him\add* so that they would not see him naked.
\p
\v 24 Later Noah woke up from being drunk, and he found out that his youngest son \add Ham\add* had dishonored him. 
\v 25 So he exclaimed \add about him\add*,
\q1 “I \add ask God to\add* curse \add Ham’s son\add* Canaan!
\q2 Canaan will be the lowest servant for his relatives.”
\m
\v 26 Then Noah said,
\q1 “Praise Yahweh, \add who is\add* the God \add who takes care\add* of Shem!
\q2 May God cause Canaan to be Shem’s servant. \q1  
\v 27 I \add also\add* ask God to give Japheth much \add land\add*
\q2 and enable him to live together \add in peace\add* with Shem.
\q2 May God \add also\add* cause Canaan to be Japheth’s servant.”
\p
\v 28 From \add the time that\add* the flood \add began\add*, Noah lived \add another\add* 350 years, 
\v 29 so that he lived a total of 950 years before he died.
\c 10
\s1 The Descendants of Noah’s Sons
\sr 10:1-32
\r 1 Chronicles 1:4-23
\p
\v 1 This is the record of \add the names of\add* Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and the descendants they had after the flood \add was over\add*.
\s1 Japheth’s Descendants
\p
\v 2 Japheth’s sons \add were\add* Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
\p
\v 3 Gomer’s sons \add were\add* Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
\p
\v 4 Javan’s sons \add were\add* Elishah and Tarshish, \add and he was the ancestor of\add* the Kittites and the Dodanites.
\p
\v 5 From Japheth’s \add descendants\add* came the people groups who lived \add in regions\add* near the \add Mediterranean\add* Sea. They moved to different places \add and settled\add* in their \add own\add* territories, and each \add group\add* spoke its own language. They each had their \add own\add* families, which \add grew and\add* became their own people groups.
\s1 Ham’s Descendants
\p
\v 6 Ham’s sons \add were\add* Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
\p
\v 7 Cush’s sons \add were\add* Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtecah. And Raamah’s sons \add were\add* Sheba and Dedan. 
\v 8 Cush \add also\add* had \add a son named\add* Nimrod, who was the first \add person\add* on earth to be a powerful \add ruler\add*. 
\v 9 He was \add also\add* a great hunter whom Yahweh blessed. That is why people say \add about other great men\add*, “\add That man is\add* like Nimrod, a great hunter whom Yahweh blessed.” 
\v 10 Nimrod started ruling as king \add over\add* \add the cities of\add* Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, \add which were\add* \add all\add* \add located\add* in the region of Shinar. 
\v 11 From there he went to \add the region of\add* Assyria, where he built \add the cities of\add* Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, 
\v 12 and Resen, \add which is located\add* between \add the cities of\add* Nineveh and the great city of Calah.
\p
\v 13 Mizraim was the ancestor of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 
\v 14 Pathrusites, Casluhites, and Caphtorites. The Philistines descended from the Casluhites.
\p
\v 15 Canaan had Sidon \add who was\add* his firstborn \add son\add*. \add He was\add* also \add the ancestor of\add* the Hittites, 
\v 16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 
\v 17 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 
\v 18 Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. Later, those families \add that descended\add* from Canaan spread out, 
\v 19 so that the territory where they lived reached from \add the city of\add* Sidon \add in the north\add*, all the way \add south\add* toward \add the city of\add* Gerar to \add the city of\add* Gaza, \add then\add* as far \add east\add* as \add the cities of\add* Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, all the way to \add the city of\add* Lasha.
\p
\v 20 Those \add people\add* \add were\add* Ham’s descendants and each one had his own family. Each family \add grew and\add* became its own people group that spoke its own language and lived in its own territory.
\s1 Shem’s Descendants
\p
\v 21 Shem also had \add some\add* sons. He \add was\add* the ancestor of all the descendants of Eber, and his older brother was Japheth. 
\v 22 Shem’s sons \add were\add* Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.
\p
\v 23 Aram’s sons \add were\add* Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.
\p
\v 24 Arpachshad had \add a son named\add* Shelah, then Shelah had \add a son named\add* Eber. 
\v 25 Then Eber had two sons. The name of the first \add one\add* \add was\add* Peleg, \add which means “division,”\add* because during his lifetime \add the people on\add* the earth divided \add into separate groups\add* \add and spread out everywhere\add*. Peleg’s \add younger\add* brother’s name \add was\add* Joktan. 
\v 26 Joktan had \add sons named\add* Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 
\v 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 
\v 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 
\v 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. Those \add were\add* all Joktan’s sons. 
\v 30 The region where they \add and their descendants\add* lived reached from \add the city of\add* Mesha \add in the west\add* all the way to \add the city of\add* Sephar, \add which is in\add* the hill country in the east.
\p
\v 31 Those \add people\add* \add are\add* Shem’s descendants and each one had his own family. Each family \add grew and\add* became its own people group that spoke its own language and lived in its own territory.
\p
\v 32 \add All\add* those family groups descended from Noah’s sons. Each family group had its own descendants and became its own people group. In fact, after the flood \add all\add* the people groups on the earth descended from them and spread out everywhere.
\c 11
\s1 The Tower of Babel
\sr 11:1-9
\p
\v 1 Now \add at first,\add* all \add the people on\add* the earth spoke the same language, so that everyone understood each other. 
\v 2 As time passed, they moved from the eastern \add regions\add* and \add eventually\add* came to a wide, flat valley in the region of Shinar and stayed there. 
\v 3 Then they urged each other, “Come on, let us \add work together and\add* make bricks \add from clay\add* and put them in fire to make them hard.” They used bricks \add to build with\add* instead of stone, and they used tar \add between the bricks\add* instead of mortar. 
\v 4 Then they urged \add each other\add*, “Come on, we should \add work together and\add* build a city for us \add to live in\add* that has a \add very\add* tall building that reaches high into the sky. \add That way\add* we will become famous, and we will not separate from each other \add and live\add* all over the earth.”
\p
\v 5 But \add one day\add* Yahweh came down \add from heaven\add* and looked at the city and the \add very\add* tall building that the people were building. 
\v 6 Then he said, “Look, they are one people \add group\add*, and they all speak the same language. This \add is\add* \add only\add* the beginning of what they can do \add together\add*. Soon they will be able to do anything they plan to do. 
\v 7 \add So\add* we must go down there \add now\add* and mix up their language so that they are not able to understand what they say to each other.” 
\v 8 In that way, Yahweh caused the people to leave from there and live in different places all over the world, so that they had to stop building the city \add and the tall building\add*. 
\v 9 That is why the name of the city is Babel, \add which means “mixed up,”\add* because that is where Yahweh mixed up the language that everyone on the earth shared, and \add in that way\add* he made them spread out from there all over the earth.
\s1 The History about Abraham 11:10-25:18
\p
\s1 Shem’s Descendants down to Abram
\sr 11:10-26
\r 1 Chronicles 1:24-27
\p
\v 10 This is the record of Shem’s descendants:
\p Two years after the flood \add began\add*, when Shem was 100 years old, he had \add a son named\add* Arpachshad. 
\v 11 After Arpachshad was born, Shem lived \add another\add* 500 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons, as well as daughters.
\p
\v 12 When Arpachshad was thirty-five years old, he had \add a son named\add* Shelah. 
\v 13 After Shelah was born, Arpachshad lived \add another\add* 403 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons, as well as daughters.
\p
\v 14 When Shelah was thirty years old, he had \add a son named\add* Eber. 
\v 15 After Eber was born, Shelah lived \add another\add* 403 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons, as well as daughters.
\p
\v 16 When Eber was thirty-four years old, he had \add a son named\add* Peleg. 
\v 17 After Peleg was born, Eber lived \add another\add* 430 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons, as well as daughters.
\p
\v 18 When Peleg was thirty years old, he had \add a son named\add* Reu. 
\v 19 After Reu was born, Peleg lived \add another\add* 209 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons, as well as daughters.
\p
\v 20 When Reu was thirty-two years old, he had \add a son named\add* Serug. 
\v 21 After Serug was born, Reu lived \add another\add* 207 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons, as well as daughters.
\p
\v 22 When Serug was thirty years old, he had \add a son named\add* Nahor. 
\v 23 After Nahor was born, Serug lived \add another\add* 200 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons, as well as daughters.
\p
\v 24 When Nahor was twenty-nine years old, he had \add a son named\add* Terah. 
\v 25 After Terah was born, Nahor lived \add another\add* 119 years. He \add also\add* had \add other\add* sons, as well as daughters.
\p
\v 26 After Terah was seventy years old, he had \add sons whose names were\add* Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
\s1 Terah’s Children, including Abram
\sr 11:27-32
\p
\v 27 Here is the history about Terah and his descendants: Terah’s sons were Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran had a son \add whose name was\add* Lot. 
\v 28 While his father was still alive, Haran died in the land where he was born, in \add the city of\add* Ur where the Chaldean people lived. 
\v 29 Meanwhile Abram and Nahor each married a wife. Abram’s wife was named Sarai, and Nahor’s wife was Milcah. Milcah and \add her sister\add* Iscah were the daughters of \add Nahor’s brother\add* Haran. 
\v 30 But Sarai was not able to become pregnant, \add so\add* she did not have any children.
\p
\v 31 Then \add one day,\add* Terah gathered his son Abram and his grandson Lot, \add who was\add* Haran’s son, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, who was Abram’s wife, and they \add all\add* left from \add the city of\add* Ur where the Chaldean people lived to travel to the region of Canaan. But when they arrived at \add the city of\add* Haran, they decided to live there \add instead\add*. 
\v 32 Then \add many years later,\add* when Terah was 205 years old, he died \add there\add* in \add the city of\add* Haran.
\c 12
\s1 God Tells Abram to Move to Canaan
\sr 12:1-9
\p
\v 1 \add One day\add* Yahweh commanded Abram, “You must move away from your homeland and your relatives, including your father’s family, \add and move\add* to the land that I will guide you to.  \q1  
\v 2 I will make you \add and your descendants\add* become an important people group,
\q2 and I will cause you \add all\add* to prosper.
\q1 I will make you well-known,
\q2 and you \add and your descendants\add* will bless \add many people\add*. \q1  
\v 3 I will bless everyone who blesses you,
\q2 but I will curse anyone who curses you.
\q1 I will use you \add and your descendants\add*
\q2 to bless all the people on the earth.”
\p
\v 4 So Abram left \add the city of Haran\add* exactly as Yahweh had commanded him \add to do\add*, and \add his nephew\add* Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left from there. 
\v 5 He took \add with him\add* his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot and everything that they owned, including servants \add and everything else\add* they had acquired in \add the city of\add* Haran, and they \add all\add* started traveling to the region of Canaan. When they arrived there, 
\v 6 they traveled through that region as far as the city of Shechem, to Moreh’s oak tree. At that time the Canaanites were \add still living\add* in that land, 
\v 7 but Yahweh came to Abram and said \add to him\add*, “I will give this land to your descendants.” So Abram built an altar \add out of large stones\add* in that place \add and burned sacrifices on it\add* to worship Yahweh, because Yahweh had appeared to him \add there\add*.
\p
\v 8 From \add the city of\add* Shechem, Abram \add and his family\add* moved \add south\add* to the hill country that was east of \add the town of\add* Bethel. They set up their tents between Bethel to the west and \add the town of\add* Ai to the east. There Abram built another altar \add and burned sacrifices on it\add* to worship Yahweh, and he addressed Yahweh by \add his\add* name as he worshiped him. 
\v 9 Then Abram \add and his family\add* moved from place to place \add southward\add* until they reached the Negev \add Desert\add*.
\s1 Abram and Sarai Go to \add the Country of\add* Egypt \add to Escape a Famine\add*
\sr 12:10-20
\p
\v 10 Now there was a serious food shortage in that region, that was so severe that Abram \add and his family\add* \add left there and\add* went down to \add the country of\add* Egypt to live for a while. 
\v 11 Just before they arrived in Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, “Please listen \add to me\add*: you \add are\add* a very beautiful woman. 
\v 12 When the people in Egypt see you \add with me\add*, they will say that you are my wife. Then they will kill me and let you live \add so that they can take you\add*. 
\v 13 \add So\add* please tell people \add that\add* you \add are\add* my sister so that they will treat me well because of you and let me live.”
\p
\v 14 That is \add exactly\add* what happened: When Abram \add and his family\add* arrived in \add the country of\add* Egypt, the people there noticed that Sarai was \add truly\add* very beautiful. 
\v 15 When some officers under Pharaoh \add the king of Egypt\add* noticed her, they highly recommended her to him. So he had them bring her to his palace \add to be one of his wives\add*. 
\v 16 The king thought that Abram was Sarai’s brother, so he treated him well. He gave him many sheep and cattle, as well as men and women servants, male and female donkeys, and camels.
\p
\v 17 But since \add King\add* Pharaoh had taken Abram’s wife Sarai, Yahweh afflicted the king and his family \add with\add* severe illnesses. 
\v 18 So the king summoned Abram \add before him\add* and said \add to him\add*, “You have treated me very badly! You should have told me that Sarai \add is\add* your wife! 
\v 19 You should not have said that she \add is\add* your sister, so that I ended up taking her to be my wife! So now, here is your wife. Take \add her\add* and leave \add my country\add*!” 
\v 20 Then \add King\add* Pharaoh ordered \add some of\add* his soldiers to make sure that Abram left, so they forced him to leave \add the country\add*, along with his wife and everything that he owned.
\c 13
\s1 Abram and Lot Go Separate Ways
\sr 13:1-13
\p
\v 1 So Abram left \add the country of\add* Egypt \add and traveled\add* \add back\add* to the Negev \add Desert\add*. \add He took\add* with him his wife and everything that they owned, and also \add his nephew\add* Lot. 
\v 2 \add By that time\add* Abram \add had become\add* very rich, so that he owned \add many\add* livestock and \add much\add* silver and gold. 
\v 3 From the Negev \add Desert\add* he \add and his family\add* traveled from place to place \add northward\add* \add until they came\add* to \add the town of\add* Bethel, to the place where he had lived in tents before, between \add the towns of\add* Bethel and Ai. 
\v 4 \add That was\add* the \add same\add* place where he had previously built an altar. There \add again\add* he \add sacrificed animals on the altar and\add* worshiped Yahweh by name.
\p
\v 5 Lot was traveling with \add his uncle\add* Abram, and he \add and his family\add* also owned many sheep and cattle, as well as \add many\add* tents. 
\v 6 In fact, there was not enough land to have enough food and water for both families \add and their animals\add* if they lived in the same area. They each owned so many servants and animals that it was not possible for them to \add all\add* live near each other. 
\v 7 As a result, the men who took care of Abram’s livestock and the men who took care of Lot’s livestock started to argue with each other. Besides that, the Canaanites and the Perizzites were \add also\add* living in that land at that time.
\p
\v 8 Finally \add one day\add* Abram said to Lot, “Please, since we \add are\add* close relatives, we need to do something so that you and I and our herdsmen will not argue. 
\v 9 Look, the entire land is available to you \add to choose from\add*. Please \add choose where you want to live, and\add* let’s live in separate places. If \add you choose\add* \add the land to\add* the left \add of here\add*, then I will take \add the land to\add* the right. Or if \add you choose\add* \add the land to\add* the right \add of here\add*, then I will take \add the land to\add* the left.”
\p
\v 10 Lot looked \add all\add* around and he noticed that the entire Jordan \add River\add* Valley, all the way to \add the town of\add* Zoar, had plenty of water. \add It was lush and green\add* like the garden that Yahweh had planted or like the country of Egypt. \add That is what it was like\add* before Yahweh destroyed \add the cities of\add* Sodom and Gomorrah \add which were also in that valley\add*. 
\v 11 So Lot chose the entire Jordan \add River\add* Valley for himself. Then he \add left Abram and\add* moved to the east \add to live there\add*. That is how Abram and Lot ended up living in different places. 
\v 12 Abram stayed \add where he was\add* in the region of Canaan, while Lot lived \add in another part of the region\add* among the cities in the \add Jordan River\add* valley and \add eventually\add* moved his tents to \add the city of\add* Sodom \add and stayed there\add*. 
\v 13 But the people \add who lived\add* in \add the city of\add* Sodom \add were\add* extremely wicked and were \add always\add* sinning against Yahweh.
\s1 God Promises to Give Abram \add the Land of\add* Canaan and Many Descendants
\sr 13:14-18
\p
\v 14 After Lot had left Abram, Yahweh said to Abram, “Look \add all\add* around you from the place where you \add live\add*. Look north, south, east, and west. 
\v 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your descendants \add to own\add* forever. 
\v 16 In fact, I will give you so many descendants that they will be as \add numerous as\add* the \add specks of\add* dust on the earth. No one will be able to count how many descendants you have, just as no one can count how many \add specks of\add* dust there are. 
\v 17 \add So now,\add* start walking through the land \add in all directions\add*. Go throughout the entire land \add and look it over\add*, because I am giving it \add all\add* to you.” 
\v 18 Then Abram \add obeyed Yahweh and\add* moved his tents and settled near the oak trees \add on the land\add* owned by \add a man named\add* Mamre, near \add the city of\add* Hebron. There he built an altar \add out of stones\add* \add and burned sacrifices on it\add* to \add thank and\add* worship Yahweh.
\c 14
\s1 Abram Rescues Lot from Four Kings
\sr 14:1-16
\p
\v 1 During that time Amraphel was the king over \add the land of\add* Shinar, Arioch was the king over \add the city of\add* Ellasar, Chedorlaomer was the king over \add the land of\add* Elam, and Tidal was the king over the Goyim \add people\add*. 
\v 2 Those \add four\add* kings \add joined forces and\add* went to war against \add five other kings, including\add* Bera \add who was\add* the king over \add the city of\add* Sodom, Birsha \add who was\add* the king over \add the city of\add* Gomorrah, Shinab \add who was\add* the king over \add the city of\add* Admah, Shemeber \add who was\add* the king over \add the city of\add* Zeboyim, and the king over \add the town of\add* Bela, which \add is also called\add* Zoar. 
\v 3 Those \add five kings\add* all united their armies \add as allies\add* \add and fought against the four kings\add* in the Siddim Valley, where the Salt Sea \add is now\add*.
\p
\v 4 \add For\add* twelve years the five kings had paid tribute to \add King\add* Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they started to rebel \add against him\add*. 
\v 5 Then during the fourteenth year \add King\add* Chedorlaomer and the \add three\add* kings who \add were\add* his allies \add united their armies and\add* went \add to war\add* \add against all their enemies\add*. \add First\add* they defeated the Rephaites in \add the city of\add* Ashteroth-Karnaim, then the Zuzites in \add the city of\add* Ham, the Emites in \add the city of\add* Shaveh-Kiriathaim, 
\v 6 and the Horites \add who lived\add* in the Seir Mountains \add all the way\add* to \add the city of\add* El Paran, which \add is located\add* near the desert. 
\v 7 Next those \add four\add* kings \add and their armies\add* turned around and went to \add the city of\add* En Mishpat, which \add is also called\add* Kadesh. They conquered the entire territory where the Amalekites lived, as well as the Amorites, who lived in \add the city of\add* Hazezon Tamar.
\p
\v 8 Then the king over \add the city of\add* Sodom, the king over \add the city of\add* Gomorrah, the king over \add the city of\add* Admah, the king over \add the city of\add* Zeboyim, and the king over \add the town of\add* Bela, which \add is also called\add* Zoar, marched out \add with their armies\add* into the Siddim Valley and got ready to fight 
\v 9 against Chedorlaomer \add who was\add* the king over \add the land of\add* Elam, Tidal \add who was\add* the king over the Goyim, Amraphel \add who was\add* the king over \add the land of\add* Shinar, and Arioch \add who was\add* the king over \add the kingdom of\add* Ellasar. \add Then\add* the four kings attacked the five \add kings\add* \add and started defeating them\add*.
\p
\v 10 Now there were many tar pits in the Siddim Valley. As the kings over \add the cities of\add* Sodom and Gomorrah \add and their soldiers\add* were running away \add from the battle\add*, some \add of their soldiers\add* died there \add in the tar pits\add*. Those who escaped ran away to the mountains \add to hide\add*. 
\v 11 Then the four kings seized all the \add people’s\add* belongings in \add the cities of\add* Sodom and Gomorrah, including all their food, and carried it away. 
\v 12 They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his belongings, since he was living in \add the city of\add* Sodom.
\p
\v 13 But someone \add from Sodom\add* escaped \add from the battle\add* and went to Abram the Hebrew and reported \add to him\add* \add what had happened\add*. \add At that time\add* Abram was \add still\add* living near the oak trees that were owned by Mamre the Amorite, \add who was\add* the brother of Eshcol and Aner. Those \add three\add* men had made a pact with Abram \add to be his allies\add*. 
\v 14 When Abram heard that \add the four kings\add* had captured his nephew \add Lot\add*, he called together 318 of his servants who had been born in his household and were skilled warriors. Then \add together with his allies\add* they chased after \add the four kings and their armies\add* all the way to \add the town of\add* Dan. 
\v 15 There during the night Abram and his men divided \add into groups\add*, \add surprise\add* attacked the \add four\add* kings \add and their soldiers\add*, and defeated them. Then they chased them as far as \add the town of\add* Hobah, which \add is located\add* north of \add the city of\add* Damascus. 
\v 16 As a result, Abram recovered all the \add people’s\add* belongings \add that the four kings had taken\add*. He also rescued his nephew Lot and his belongings, as well as the women and \add all\add* the other people \add whom the kings had captured\add*.
\s1 Melchizedek Blesses Abram
\sr 14:17-24
\p
\v 17 After Abram defeated \add King\add* Chedorlaomer and the \add other\add* \add three\add* kings who were Chedorlaomer’s allies, he started to return \add home\add*. When he reached the Shaveh Valley, which \add is also called\add* the King’s Valley, the king over \add the city of\add* Sodom came there and welcomed him. 
\v 18 Melchizedek \add who was\add* the king over \add the city of\add* Salem \add also came there, and he\add* brought food and wine \add for Abram and his men to eat and drink\add*. \add King\add* Melchizedek \add was also\add* a priest who served the God who is greater \add than all other gods\add*. 
\v 19 So he blessed Abram by saying \add to him\add*,
\q1 “May the greatest God, who owns heaven and earth, bless you. \q1  
\v 20 Praise the greatest God,
\q2 because he enabled you to defeat your enemies!”
\m Then Abram gave \add King\add* Melchizedek ten percent of everything \add that he had recovered in the battle\add*.
\v 21 After that, the king over \add the city of\add* Sodom said to Abram, “\add Please\add* return to me the people \add whom you rescued\add*, but keep for yourself \add their\add* belongings \add that you recovered\add*.” 
\v 22 But Abram replied to him, “I raise my hand \add and swear\add* to Yahweh, \add who is\add* the greatest God \add and\add* the One who owns heaven and earth, 
\v 23 \add that\add* I will not \add accept\add* anything that is yours \add or your people’s\add*, not even a \add piece of\add* string or the strap from a sandal. That way you can never say that you \add were the one who\add* made me rich. 
\v 24 \add So\add* I \add will\add* only \add keep\add* what my warriors ate and the part \add of the plunder\add* that Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre deserve for being my allies. \add Please\add* let them have their part \add of the plunder\add*.”
\c 15
\s1 God Makes a Covenant with Abram
\sr 15:1-21
\p
\v 1 After that, Yahweh said to Abram in a vision,
\q1 “Abram, do not be afraid.
\q2 I will protect you,
\q2 \add and\add* I will give you a very great reward.” 
\v 2 But Abram said \add to him\add*, “Yahweh my Master, even if you reward me greatly, \add that will not benefit me\add*, since I still have no children. So \add when I die,\add* the one who will inherit all that I have \add is\add* \add my servant\add* Eliezer \add who is\add* \add a foreigner\add* from \add the city of\add* Damascus.” 
\v 3 Then Abram continued, “That’s right, you have not given me any children, so that now \add when I die\add*, \add one of\add* my household servants will inherit everything I own!” 
\v 4 But immediately Yahweh said to Abram, “\add No,\add* your servant \add Eliezer\add* will not inherit your property, rather it will be your very own \add biological\add* son who will inherit it.” 
\v 5 Then Yahweh took Abram outside \add his tent\add* and said \add to him\add*, “Look \add up\add* at the \add night\add* sky and count how many stars there are, if \add in fact\add* you are able to count them \add all\add*.” \add While Abram was looking at the stars,\add* Yahweh said to him, “That is how many descendants you will have.”
\p
\v 6 Abram trusted Yahweh, and because of that, Yahweh considered him to be righteous. 
\v 7 Then Yahweh said to him, “I am Yahweh who brought you \add here\add* from \add the city of\add* Ur that the Chaldeans rule, to give this land to you to own.” 
\v 8 But Abram asked \add him\add*, “Yahweh my Master, how can I be sure that this land will be mine?” 
\v 9 Yahweh replied, “Bring me a heifer, a female goat and a male sheep, each of which is three years old, as well as a dove and a young pigeon.” 
\v 10 So \add the next day\add* Abram brought all those \add animals\add* to Yahweh \add and killed them\add*. Then he cut the animals’ bodies in half lengthwise and placed each half a short space across from the other half \add in two rows\add*, except for the birds, which he did not cut in half. 
\v 11 Then \add some\add* vultures flew down \add and landed\add* on the \add animal\add* bodies \add to eat them\add*, but Abram chased them away.
\p
\v 12 Later as the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly, it became completely dark, and he became terrified. 
\v 13 Then Yahweh said to him, “I want you to know that your descendants will live as foreigners in a country that is not their own. They will serve the people \add of that country\add* \add as slaves\add*, and those people will treat them cruelly for 400 years. 
\v 14 But I will punish those people whom they serve. After that, your descendants will leave \add that country\add* and take many possessions with them. 
\v 15 As for you, after you have lived a good long life, you will die peacefully and join your ancestors \add who have died before you\add*. 
\v 16 Then four generations later, your descendants will return here \add to live\add*, because that is when the Amorites will have sinned as much as I will allow \add before I take away their land and give it to your descendants\add*.
\p
\v 17 When the sun had set, it became \add very\add* dark. Then suddenly a \add clay\add* pot \add appeared\add* \add that was full\add* of burning coals and had smoke coming from it, and also a blazing torch, and they \add both\add* went between the \add animal\add* halves. 
\v 18 At that time Yahweh made a \add special\add* agreement with Abram and said, “I am giving your descendants this land, \add which extends\add* from Egypt’s river \add in the south\add* to the great Euphrates River \add in the north\add*. 
\v 19 \add That includes\add* \add the land which belongs to\add* the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 
\v 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 
\v 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
\c 16
\s1 Abram and \add Sarai’s Servant\add* Hagar Have \add a Son Named\add* Ishmael
\sr 16:1-16
\p
\v 1 Now Abram’s wife Sarai had \add still\add* not given birth \add to any children\add* for him, but she owned an Egyptian servant woman whose name was Hagar. 
\v 2 So she told Abram, “Please listen \add to this\add*: \add As you know,\add* Yahweh has not allowed me to have \add any\add* children, \add so\add* please have \add marital\add* relations with my servant woman \add Hagar\add* \add so that\add* maybe I can have a family through her \add children\add*.” Abram agreed to do what Sarai requested. 
\v 3 So Abram’s wife Sarai gave her Egyptian servant Hagar to her husband Abram to be his \add second\add* wife. \add This happened\add* after Abram \add and Sarai\add* had lived in the region of Canaan for ten years.
\p
\v 4 Then Abram had \add marital\add* relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when she realized that she was pregnant, she started to disrespect her mistress \add Sarai\add*. 
\v 5 So Sarai complained to Abram, “It is your fault that I am suffering! I gave my servant to you \add to sleep with\add*, but now that she realizes that she is pregnant, she disrespects me! I ask Yahweh to judge whether it is you or I who is responsible \add for this\add*!” 
\v 6 Abram replied to her, “Listen, you are in charge of your servant. Do with her what\add ever\add* you think is best.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she ran away \add from home to get away\add* from her.
\p
\v 7 Then one of Yahweh’s angels came to Hagar by a spring of water in the desert. It was the spring by the road to \add the city of\add* Shur. 
\v 8 And the angel asked \add her\add*, “Hagar, who serves Sarai, where are you coming from, and where are you headed?” She answered \add him\add*, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.” 
\v 9 But Yahweh’s angel told her, “Go back \add home\add* to your mistress and \add humbly\add* obey her \add as her servant\add*.”
\p
\v 10 Then the angel added, “I \add Yahweh\add* will give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them all, because there will be so many of them.”
\p
\v 11 Then the angel \add also\add* told her,
\q1 “Listen, \add as you know,\add* you are pregnant.
\q2 You will have a son,
\q1 and you are to name him Ishmael, \add which means “God listens,”\add*
\q2 because Yahweh listened to you when you were suffering \add and has helped you\add*. \q1  
\v 12 \add When Ishmael grows up,\add* he will be \add proud and free\add* \add like\add* a wild donkey.
\q2 He will fight against everyone,
\q2 and everyone will fight against him.
\q1 In fact, he will \add even\add* be hostile
\q2 toward all his relatives.”
\p
\v 13 After Yahweh spoke to Hagar, she called him El Roi, \add which means “the God who sees.”\add* \add She named him that,\add* because she had exclaimed \add to herself\add*, “I just now saw the back of \add God who\add* sees me!” 
\v 14 That is why the name of that well is Beer Lahai Roi, \add which means “Well of the Living One, who sees me.”\add* It is \add still\add* there between \add the cities of\add* Kadesh and Bered.
\p
\v 15 Then Hagar \add returned home and\add* gave birth to a son for Abram, and Abram named his son Ishmael. 
\v 16 Abram \add was\add* 86 years old when Hagar had Ishmael for him.
\c 17
\s1 More Details about God’s Agreement with Abram, including Circumcision
\sr 17:1-27
\p
\v 1 \add Years\add* later, when Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh came to him and told him, “I \add am\add* God \add who is\add* all-powerful. Live in a way that pleases me so that you will be blameless. 
\v 2 I will establish my agreement with you, and I will increase \add the number of\add* your descendants so that they are very numerous.”
\p
\v 3 \add When\add* Abram \add heard that, he\add* bowed with his face to the ground \add before God\add* \add to show respect\add*, and God continued speaking to him, 
\v 4 “Listen, this is what I will do to fulfill my agreement with you: I will make you the ancestor of many people groups. 
\v 5 So your name will no longer be Abram. Rather, \add from now on\add* it will be Abraham, because you will be the ancestor of many people groups. 
\v 6 Yes, I will give you many, many descendants, so that you will become \add the ancestor of many\add* people groups. In fact, some of your descendants will be kings. 
\v 7 I will establish my agreement with you and \add all\add* your descendants \add who live\add* after you for \add all\add* generations to come. It will be an agreement that never ends, that I will be your God and \add the God\add* of \add all\add* your descendants. 
\v 8 I will also give to you and your descendants this land where you have been living as a foreigner, \add yes,\add* the entire region of Canaan. They will own it forever, and I will be their God.”
\p
\v 9 Then God continued, “Now as for your part \add in this agreement\add*, you must obey me. \add That applies to\add* you as well as \add all\add* your descendants for \add all\add* generations to come. 
\v 10 This is \add what I require in\add* my agreement with you and your descendants, which you \add all\add* must obey: You must circumcise all males \add who live\add* among you. 
\v 11 Yes, you must circumcise the foreskins of \add all the males among\add* you, and that \add custom\add* will remind \add you all\add* that \add I made\add* this agreement with you. 
\v 12 For all \add future\add* generations you must circumcise \add every\add* baby boy who is eight days old, \add as well as\add* all \add other\add* males among your people. \add That includes\add* males from your own family as well as those who \add are\add* not your descendants but \add are servants whom you\add* bought from foreigners. 
\v 13 \add Yes,\add* you must definitely circumcise \add all of\add* them, \add regardless of whether\add* they are sons from your own family or servants whom you have bought. That is how you must mark my agreement on your bodies to show that it is an agreement that never ends. 
\v 14 In fact, if any man refuses to let you circumcise him, you must \add send him away and\add* not allow him to associate with my people, \add because\add* he has disobeyed \add what I require in\add* my agreement.”
\p
\v 15 God \add also\add* told Abraham, “\add As for\add* your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai \add anymore\add*. Rather, \add from now on\add* her name will be Sarah. 
\v 16 I will bless her, and I will definitely enable her to bear a son for you. In fact, I will bless her so that she will \add have many descendants that will\add* become \add many\add* people groups, and some of her descendants will \add even\add* be kings \add who rule\add* over people groups.”
\p
\v 17 \add When\add* Abraham \add heard that, he\add* bowed with his face to the ground \add before God\add* \add to respect him\add*, but he laughed \add silently\add* and thought to himself, “How can a hundred-year-old man \add like me\add* father a child? And how can Sarah who is ninety years old \add still\add* have a baby?” 
\v 18 So Abraham said to God, “Please let Ishmael be the one whom you bless \add as my heir\add*!” 
\v 19 God replied, “Yes, but \add it is\add* your wife Sarah \add who\add* will give birth to a son for you. You must name him Isaac. He \add is the one\add* I will establish my agreement with, as a permanent agreement \add that I will also keep\add* with \add all\add* his descendants \add who live\add* after him.
\p
\v 20 “I also heard what you asked me to do for Ishmael. \add So\add* this is what I will do: I will \add also\add* bless him, and I will give him many children and greatly increase \add the number of\add* his descendants. \add In fact,\add* he will be the father of twelve \add sons who become\add* \add powerful\add* leaders, and I will make him \add the ancestor of\add* a large people group. 
\v 21 But I will establish my agreement with \add your son\add* Isaac. Sarah will give birth to him at this time next year.” 
\v 22 After he had finished talking to Abraham, God left him and ascended \add to heaven\add*.
\p
\v 23 Then Abraham gathered his son Ishmael and all the \add other\add* males who were born in his household and all \add his male servants\add* whom he had bought, \add yes,\add* every male in his household. Then on that same day he circumcised them, exactly as God had commanded him \add to do\add*. 
\v 24 Abraham \add was\add* 99 years old when he was circumcised, 
\v 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when \add Abraham\add* circumcised him. 
\v 26 \add So it was,\add* on that same day \add both\add* Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 
\v 27 And all the \add other\add* males in Abraham’s household, \add including\add* those \add who had been\add* born in his household as well as those \add whom he had\add* bought \add as servants\add* from foreigners, were also circumcised.
\c 18
\s1 Yahweh Promises to Abraham and Sarah That They Will Have a Son
\sr 18:1-15
\p
\v 1 Then \add one day\add* Yahweh appeared \add again\add* to Abraham at the oak trees on Mamre’s land, while he was sitting \add at\add* the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day. 
\v 2 Abraham looked up and saw that there were three men standing a short distance away. As soon as he saw \add them\add*, he \add jumped up and\add* hurried \add to them\add* to greet them. Then he bowed \add before them\add* \add with his face\add* to the ground \add to show respect\add*, 
\v 3 and he said \add to them\add*, “Sirs, if you consider me worthy \add to be your host\add*, please do not leave here without letting me serve you \add as my guests\add*. 
\v 4 Please let me bring \add you\add* some water, so that you \add all\add* can wash \add the dust off\add* your feet, and then rest under \add the shade of\add* this tree. 
\v 5 Since you are here with me, let me \add also\add* bring some food \add for you\add* \add to eat\add*. That way you can regain your strength before you continue on your way.” They replied \add to him\add*, “Okay, do what you have proposed.”
\p
\v 6 So Abraham quickly went to Sarah inside their tent and told her, “Quickly \add get\add* three batches of our best flour and bake \add some\add* bread.” 
\v 7 Then he ran \add outside\add* to his herd \add of cattle\add* and chose one of his best calves that would be good to eat. Then he took it to one of his servants, and the servant quickly butchered it and cooked it. 
\v 8 Then Abraham brought \add some\add* yogurt and milk and the meat that his servant had prepared, and he put it \add all\add* before his \add three\add* guests \add to eat\add*. Then he stood nearby them \add where they were sitting\add* under the tree \add and served them\add* while they ate.
\p
\v 9 Then \add one of\add* the men asked Abraham, “Where \add is\add* your wife Sarah?” Abraham answered, “\add She is\add* there in the tent.” 
\v 10 Then the man said \add to Abraham\add*, “I will definitely come back \add here\add* to visit you at this time next year. When I do, your wife Sarah will have a \add baby\add* son.” Now Sarah was listening inside the entrance of the tent, which was behind the man. 
\v 11 She and Abraham were \add already\add* very old, so that Sarah was \add far\add* past the age that she could have children. 
\v 12 So she laughed to herself \add in disbelief\add* and said \add to herself\add*, “It doesn’t seem possible that I could experience the pleasure \add of having a child\add* now that I am too old \add to conceive\add*. Besides that, my husband is \add also\add* \add very\add* old!” 
\v 13 But Yahweh asked Abraham, “Sarah should not have laughed and said \add to herself\add* that she is too old to have a child! 
\v 14 Nothing is too difficult for Yahweh \add to do\add*! At the time that I have set, I will return to you \add here\add*. \add Yes, I will come\add* at this time next year, and Sarah will \add already\add* have a son.” 
\v 15 \add When Sarah heard that,\add* she was afraid, so she lied \add to him\add* and said, “I did not laugh.” But Yahweh replied, “That is not true. You did laugh.”
\s1 Abraham Tries to Save the People of Sodom from Being Destroyed by Yahweh
\sr 18:16-33
\p
\v 16 \add When they had finished eating,\add* the \add three\add* men got up \add to leave\add* and started walking down toward \add the city of\add* Sodom. Abraham escorted them \add for a while\add* to see them on their way. 
\v 17 Then Yahweh thought \add to himself\add*, “Should I keep secret from Abraham what I am about to do \add to the city of Sodom\add*? 
\v 18 After all, he \add and his descendants\add* will definitely become a great and powerful people group, and through them I will bless all the people groups in the world. 
\v 19 In fact, I have chosen him so that he will train his children and his descendants, so that they will live the way I want them to live and do what is right and treat people justly. Therefore I will do for him everything I have promised him \add that I will do\add*.”
\p
\v 20 So Yahweh said \add to Abraham\add*, “I have heard that \add the people of\add* \add the cities of\add* Sodom and Gomorrah have become very evil, and they are sinning very terribly. 
\v 21 I must go down \add to those cities\add* now to determine whether \add or not\add* they are guilty of everything that I have heard against them. If \add they are\add* not \add guilty\add*, \add then\add* I will know \add it\add* \add and I will not punish them\add*.”
\p
\v 22 Then the \add other two\add* men left and continued walking toward \add the city of\add* Sodom, while Abraham remained \add there\add* with Yahweh. 
\v 23 Then Abraham stepped closer \add to Yahweh\add* and asked \add him\add*, “Certainly you will not destroy righteous \add people\add* \add along\add* with wicked \add people\add*, will you? 
\v 24 What \add will you do\add* if there are fifty righteous \add people\add* \add living\add* in the city \add of Sodom\add*? Will you really \add still\add* destroy \add all the people in\add* the city rather than let them all live because of the fifty righteous \add people\add* who live there? 
\v 25 Certainly you would never do such a thing as kill righteous \add people\add* \add together\add* with evil \add people\add*, so that you are treating them both the same way! Certainly you would never do such a thing! As the Judge over everyone on the earth, certainly you will treat people justly.” 
\v 26 Yahweh replied \add to him\add*, “If there are fifty righteous \add people\add* \add living\add* in the city of Sodom, then I will spare the whole city \add and everyone who lives there\add* because of them.”
\p
\v 27 Then Abraham spoke up \add again\add* and asked \add Yahweh\add*, “My Lord, please excuse me for speaking to you so boldly, even though I am \add as insignificant as\add* dirt and ashes \add compared to you\add*. 
\v 28 \add But\add* what \add will you do\add* if there are only forty-five righteous \add people\add* \add in the city\add* instead of fifty? Will you destroy the whole city \add and everyone in it\add* if there are five people too few \add who are righteous\add*?” Yahweh answered, “I will not destroy the city if there are forty-five \add righteous people\add* \add living\add* there.”
\p
\v 29 Then Abraham spoke again to Yahweh and asked, “What \add will you do\add* if there are \add only\add* forty \add righteous people\add* in the city? \add Will you destroy it then?\add*” Yahweh answered, “I will not destroy \add the city\add*, in order to save the forty \add righteous people\add*.”
\p
\v 30 Then Abraham pleaded \add with him\add*, “My Lord, please do not be angry \add with me\add*, but let me ask \add you\add* \add another question\add*: What \add will you do\add* if there are \add only\add* thirty \add righteous people\add* \add living\add* there?” He replied, “I will not destroy \add the city\add* if there are thirty \add righteous people\add* there.” 
\p
\v 31 Then Abraham asked \add him\add*, “My Lord, please excuse me for speaking to you so boldly. What \add will you do\add* if there are \add only\add* twenty \add righteous people\add* \add living\add* in the city?” Yahweh replied, “I will not destroy the city, in order to save the twenty \add righteous people\add*.”
\p
\v 32 Then Abraham said, “My Lord, please do not be angry \add with me\add*, but let me ask \add you\add* just one more thing: What \add will you do\add* if there are \add only\add* ten \add righteous people\add* in the city?” Yahweh answered \add him\add*, “I will not destroy \add the city\add*, in order to save the ten \add righteous people\add*.” 
\v 33 When Yahweh had finished talking with Abraham, he left \add him\add*, and Abraham returned home.
\c 19
\s1 Yahweh Destroys Sodom and Gomorrah
\sr 19:1-29
\p
\v 1 That evening the two angels arrived at \add the city of\add* Sodom, while Lot was sitting at the gate of the city. When Lot saw them, he stood up and greeted them and \add then\add* bowed \add before them\add* with \add his\add* face to the ground \add to show respect\add*. 
\v 2 Then he said \add to them\add*, “Sirs, please listen \add to this\add*: Please come to my house so that I can serve you and you can lodge for the night \add there\add*. \add That way\add* too \add you can\add* wash \add the dust off\add* your feet. Then \add tomorrow morning\add* you can get up early and continue traveling.” But the two angels replied, “Thank you, but we will \add just\add* stay in the public square tonight.” 
\v 3 However Lot continued to urgently invite them until they \add finally agreed and\add* went with him to his house. Then Lot prepared a big meal for them, including \add some\add* flat bread, and they \add sat down and\add* ate \add the meal\add*.
\p
\v 4 \add But\add* \add after supper,\add* before they could lie down \add to sleep\add*, \add all\add* the men in the city of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house, including men of all ages. \add In fact,\add* all the people from every part \add of the city were there\add*. 
\v 5 Then they shouted to Lot, “Where \add are\add* the \add two\add* men who came to lodge with you tonight? Bring them outside to us so that we can have relations with them!” 
\v 6 But Lot went outside near the doorway \add to talk\add* to them, and he closed the door \add of the house\add* behind him. 
\v 7 Then he pleaded \add with them\add*, “I beg you, my friends, do not do such an evil thing! 
\v 8 Listen \add to this\add* please: My two daughters have never had \add marital\add* relations with a man. Allow me to bring them out to you \add instead\add* so that you can do with them whatever you want. But do not harm these men, because they are my guests and I am responsible for their safety.” 
\v 9 But the men of Sodom shouted \add at him\add*, “Get out of our way!” Then they complained \add to each other\add*, “This guy came \add here\add* as a foreigner, and now he thinks that he can judge \add us\add*!” \add Then they shouted at Lot,\add* “We will do worse things to you than \add we do\add* to your \add two\add* guests!” Then they started shoving hard against Lot and surged forward to break through the door \add of his house\add*. 
\v 10 But Lot’s \add two\add* guests \add opened the door\add*, reached outside and \add quickly\add* pulled him \add back\add* into the house with them and closed the door. 
\v 11 Then those two men \add who were angels\add* caused the men who \add were at\add* the door of the house to be blind, including every last one of them, so that they exhausted themselves \add groping around\add* trying to find the door.
\p
\v 12 Then the \add two\add* angels asked Lot, “Do you have any other relatives here in Sodom? \add If you have\add* sons-in-law or sons or daughters or any \add other\add* members of your family here, \add then\add* \add quickly\add* get them away from this city, 
\v 13 because we are about to destroy it. Yahweh has heard that the people of this city are guilty of serious sins, so he has sent us to destroy the city.” 
\v 14 So Lot went to his \add future\add* sons-in-law who were engaged to his daughters, and he warned them, “Hurry up \add and\add* leave this city, because Yahweh is about to destroy it!” But his sons-in-law thought that he was joking, \add so they ignored him\add*.
\p
\v 15 Early the next morning, the \add two\add* angels urged Lot, “Hurry up \add and\add* take your wife and your two daughters \add out of the city\add* so that you will not die when \add God\add* punishes \add the people of\add* the city.” 
\v 16 Lot hesitated, but Yahweh was being merciful to him, so the \add two\add* men took hold of Lot’s hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and led them out of the city. 
\v 17 As \add soon as\add* the angels had taken them outside \add the city\add*, one of them said \add to Lot\add*, “Run away from here as fast as you can! Do not look behind you, and do not delay in the valley for any reason! Go quickly to the hill country, or else you will die!” 
\v 18 But Lot replied to them, “I beg you, sirs, do not \add make us do that\add*. 
\v 19 Listen \add to me\add* please: You have treated me well even though I am unimportant, and you have been very kind to me and saved my life. But I am not able to run \add all the way\add* to the mountains before the disaster occurs and kills me. 
\v 20 \add So\add* listen \add to this\add* please: That town up ahead \add is\add* near \add enough\add* to run to \add in time\add*, and it \add is\add* \add just\add* a small \add town\add*. Please let us run there, \add and do not destroy it\add*. \add After all,\add* it is very small. Then we can stay alive.” 
\v 21 The angel replied to Lot, “Alright, I will allow you to go to the \add small\add* town that you’re talking about, and I will not destroy it. 
\v 22 \add But\add* hurry up \add now and\add* run there, because I cannot destroy anything until you get there.” Since Lot said the town was small, the name of the town is Zoar \add which means “small”\add*.
\p
\v 23 The sun was rising over the land as Lot \add and his family\add* reached \add the town of\add* Zoar. 
\v 24 Then Yahweh caused fire and burning rocks to fall like \add heavy\add* rain from the sky on \add the cities of\add* Sodom and Gomorrah. 
\v 25 In that way, he \add completely\add* destroyed those \add two\add* cities and the rest of the valley, including everyone who lived in the cities and \add all\add* the plants in the area.  
\v 26 But Lot’s wife, \add who was\add* \add walking\add* behind him, glanced back \add at the city\add*, and \add immediately\add* she turned into a statue of \add solid\add* salt \add rock\add*.
\p
\v 27 Early that same morning, Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood with Yahweh \add the previous day\add*. 
\v 28 He looked down at \add the cities of\add* Sodom and Gomorrah and all \add the rest of\add* the valley. There in front of him, he saw that \add lots of thick\add* smoke was billowing up over the land like smoke from a \add huge\add* fire. 
\v 29 When God destroyed the cities in the valley, he did not forget Abraham \add or his request\add*. So he saved Lot from the catastrophe that he had sent to \add completely\add* destroy the cities where Lot had been living.
\s1 Lot’s Descendants from His Daughters
\sr 19:30-38
\p
\v 30 After that, Lot was afraid to stay in \add the town of\add* Zoar, so he and his two daughters moved from there to the mountains, where they lived in a cave. 
\v 31 Then \add one day\add* \add his\add* older \add daughter\add* said to \add his\add* younger \add daughter\add*, “Our father is elderly, and there are not any men around here to marry us, which \add is\add* the custom \add that people have\add* everywhere else in the world. 
\v 32 \add So\add* come on, we should get our father drunk on wine. Then we can have \add sexual\add* relations with him so that we can continue our family line with him.” 
\v 33 So that night Lot’s daughters got their father drunk on wine. Then the older \add daughter\add* went \add to him\add* and had relations with him. But \add he was so drunk that\add* he was not \add even\add* aware that she got in bed \add with him\add* or that she left.
\p
\v 34 The next day \add Lot’s\add* older \add daughter\add* said to \add his\add* younger \add daughter\add*, “Listen, last night I had \add sexual\add* relations with our father. Tonight we should get him drunk on wine again. Then you \add also\add* should go \add and\add* have relations with him so that we can continue our family line with him.” 
\v 35 So that night Lot’s daughters got their father drunk on wine again. Then the younger \add daughter\add* went \add to him\add* and had relations with him. And \add once again\add* \add he was so drunk that\add* he was not aware that she got in bed \add with him\add* or that she left.
\p
\v 36 In that way, both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant from \add having relations with\add* their father. 
\v 37 Later his older \add daughter\add* gave birth to a son, and she named him Moab, \add which means “from my father.”\add* He \add became\add* the ancestor of the Moabite people \add who are still living\add* today. 
\v 38 Lot’s younger \add daughter\add* also gave birth to a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi, \add which means “son of my people.”\add* He \add became\add* the ancestor of the Ammonite people \add who are still living\add* today.
\c 20
\s1 King Abimelech Takes Sarah to Be His Wife
\sr 20:1-18
\p
\v 1 Meanwhile Abraham \add and his family\add* left from the place where they were living \add and moved south\add* to the Negev \add Desert\add* area. There they lived between \add the cities of\add* Kadesh and Shur, and they stayed for a while in \add the city of\add* Gerar. 
\v 2 \add While they were there,\add* Abraham told \add people\add* that his wife Sarah \add was\add* his sister. So \add one day\add* Abimelech, \add who was\add* the king of Gerar, had \add some of his servants\add* bring Sarah \add to his home\add* \add to be his wife\add*. 
\v 3 But that night God appeared to \add King\add* Abimelech in a dream and warned him, “Listen, you are about to die because the woman whom you have taken \add to be your wife\add* is \add already\add* married to someone else!” 
\v 4 However Abimelech had not \add yet\add* slept with Sarah, so he asked \add God\add*, “Lord, will you kill \add me and\add* my people even if \add we are\add* innocent? 
\v 5 Abraham himself told me that Sarah was his sister. And she herself also said that he was her brother. \add So\add* I took her \add to be my wife\add* with a pure conscience, and I did not know that I was doing anything wrong!” 
\v 6 God replied to him in the dream, “Yes, I realize that \add it was\add* with a pure conscience that you took Sarah \add to be your wife\add*. In fact, I \add am the one who\add* kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you sleep with her. 
\v 7 Now then, you must give Abraham’s wife back \add to him\add*. He is a spokesman \add for me\add*, so he will ask me to be merciful to you, so that you will not die. However, if you refuse to give Sarah back \add to him\add*, you can be sure that you and all your people will definitely die!”
\p
\v 8 Early the next morning \add King\add* Abimelech got up and called together all of his officials. He told them everything that had happened, and they were very afraid \add that God would punish them\add*. 
\v 9 Then the king summoned Abraham and scolded him \add by saying\add*, “You have treated us very badly! I never did anything wrong to you, and yet you have caused me and the people whom I rule to be guilty of sinning terribly! You have wronged me in ways that should never be done \add to anyone\add*!” 
\v 10 Finally, \add King\add* Abimelech asked him, “What motivated you to do what you did?” 
\v 11 Abraham answered \add him\add*, “\add I did it,\add* because I thought that there was certainly no one in this city who revered God, so \add I was afraid\add* they would kill me to get my wife \add for themselves\add*. 
\v 12 Besides that, Sarah actually \add is\add* my half-sister. We have the same father, but different mothers, and \add after we grew up,\add* we got married. 
\v 13 \add Years\add* later when God told me to leave my father’s family, I asked her to do me a favor and tell people wherever we go that I \add am\add* her brother.”
\p
\v 14 Then \add King\add* Abimelech brought \add many\add* sheep and cattle and male and female servants \add to Abraham\add* and gave \add them all\add* to him. He \add also\add* gave Abraham’s wife Sarah back to him. 
\v 15 Then \add King\add* Abimelech said \add to him\add*, “Look, my land \add is\add* available to you. Live \add wherever\add* you decide \add is\add* best.” 
\v 16 Then he \add turned\add* to Sarah \add and\add* said, “Listen, I have given 1, 000 \add pieces of\add* silver to your brother. I’m doing this so that everyone knows you did nothing wrong, and to compensate you for everything \add that has happened to you\add*.” 
\v 17 Then Abraham asked God \add to be merciful to the king\add*. So God healed \add King\add* Abimelech, as well as his wife and his female servants, and they were able to have children \add again\add*. 
\v 18 \add Previously\add* Yahweh had kept all the women in Abimelech’s household from conceiving because he had taken Abraham’s wife Sarah.
\c 21
\s1 Isaac’s Birth and Circumcision
\sr 21:1-7
\p
\v 1 Then Yahweh blessed Sarah \add just\add* as he had said \add he would\add*. Yes, he did for her \add exactly\add* what he had promised \add to do\add*. 
\v 2 So Sarah became pregnant and at the time \add God had\add* appointed, she gave birth to a son for Abraham when he was old, just as God had promised him \add that she would\add*. 
\v 3 Then Abraham named his son Isaac, \add the son\add* whom Sarah had given birth to. 
\v 4 Also, when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, which was exactly what God had commanded him \add to do\add*.
\p
\v 5 Abraham \add was\add* 100 years old when his son Isaac was born. 
\v 6 \add When he was born,\add* Sarah exclaimed, “God has made me laugh \add for joy\add*! Everyone who hears \add about this\add* will laugh \add for joy\add* with me!” 
\v 7 She also exclaimed, “No one would have \add even thought of\add* telling Abraham \add that\add* I would have children. Yet I have given birth to a son \add for him\add* when he is old!”
\s1 Sarah Has Abraham Send Hagar and Ishmael Away
\sr 21:8-21
\p
\v 8 Isaac grew as a child and reached the age when his mother stopped nursing him. When that happened, Abraham held a big feast \add to celebrate\add*. 
\v 9 But \add during the feast\add* Sarah noticed that \add Ishmael,\add* the son of \add her\add* Egyptian \add handmaid\add* Hagar and Abraham, was making fun of \add Isaac\add*. 
\v 10 So she \add was angry and\add* told Abraham, “Get rid of that servant woman and her son! Her son must never share \add any part of\add* what my son Isaac inherits \add from you\add*!” 
\v 11 Abraham was very upset about that, because \add Ishmael\add* was \add also\add* his son \add and he cared about him too\add*.  
\v 12 But God told him, “Do not be upset about the boy or your servant woman. \add Rather,\add* listen to everything Sarah tells you \add to do\add*, \add and do it,\add* because Isaac is the one who will be the ancestor of your descendants \add whom I promised to you\add*. 
\v 13 But I will also make your servant woman’s son become \add the ancestor of\add* a \add large\add* people group, because he is your son.”
\p
\v 14 Early the next morning Abraham got up, brought \add some\add* food and a leather container \add full\add* of water to Hagar \add and\add* put them on her back. Then he sent her off with the boy, and they left and wandered \add around\add* in the desert near \add the city of\add* Beersheba. 
\v 15 When they had finished \add all\add* the water in the container, she left her son under \add the shade of\add* a bush. 
\v 16 She thought \add to herself\add*, “I cannot \add bear to\add* watch my son die.” So she went \add away from him\add* and sat down by herself, about as far away as someone can shoot an arrow. Then she started crying loudly.
\p
\v 17 God \add also\add* heard the boy crying, so one of his angels called to Hagar from heaven and said, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid. God has heard the boy crying over there \add and will take care of him\add*. 
\v 18 \add So\add* go help the boy to get up, and take care of him, because I \add Yahweh\add* will make him become \add the ancestor of\add* a large people group.” 
\v 19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a water well. So she went over \add to the well\add*, filled her \add water\add* container \add with\add* water, and gave her son some water to drink.
\p
\v 20 As the boy grew up, God was with him \add and helped him\add*. He lived in the \add Paran\add* Desert and learned to hunt skillfully with a bow \add and arrows\add*. 
\v 21 While he was there, his mother found a wife for him \add who was\add* from the country of Egypt.
\s1 King Abimelech Makes a Treaty with Abraham
\sr 21:22-34
\p
\v 22 Meanwhile, one day \add King\add* Abimelech \add came\add* with his army captain Phicol to Abraham \add and\add* said to him, “\add I have noticed that\add* God \add is\add* with you \add and helps you\add* in everything that you do. 
\v 23 Now then, \add please\add* vow to me here in God’s presence that you will never \add again\add* deceive me or my children or my descendants. \add Instead,\add* just as I have treated you kindly, \add vow that\add* you will \add also\add* be kind to me and \add my people in\add* this country where you are living.” 
\v 24 Abraham replied \add to him\add*, “I vow \add that I will do those things\add*.”
\p
\v 25 Then Abraham \add also\add* confronted \add King\add* Abimelech about a water well that Abimelech’s servants had taken control of \add from Abraham’s servants\add*. 
\v 26 But Abimelech responded, “I have no idea who did that. Besides that, you did not tell me \add about it\add* \add before\add*, and so today is the first that I have heard about it.” 
\p
\v 27 Then Abraham gave \add some of his\add* sheep and cattle to Abimelech, and he and Abimelech made a \add peace\add* treaty \add with one another\add*. 
\v 28 Abraham \add also\add* separated seven female lambs from the rest of the flock. 
\v 29 So Abimelech asked him, “Why did you separate those seven lambs \add from the rest of the flock\add*?” 
\v 30 Abraham replied, “Because I want you to accept them from me, to show \add everyone\add* that you agree with me that I dug this well \add and it belongs to me\add*.” 
\v 31 \add Abimelech accepted the lambs,\add* so Abraham named that place Beersheba, \add which means “Well of the Seven” or “Well of the Vow,”\add* because that’s where they both vowed \add to live at peace with one another\add*.
\p
\v 32 After Abraham and \add King\add* Abimelech made their \add peace\add* treaty at Beersheba, Abimelech and his army captain Phicol left \add from there\add* and went back to \add their homes in\add* the Philistines’ territory \add that Abimelech ruled over\add*. 
\v 33 Then Abraham planted an \add evergreen\add* tree \add named\add* tamarisk at \add the place called\add* Beersheba, and there he worshiped Yahweh, \add who is\add* the God who lives forever. 
\v 34 After that, Abraham lived \add there\add* in the Philistines’ territory for many years.
\c 22
\s1 God Tests Abraham’s Trust in Him
\sr 22:1-19
\p
\v 1 Sometime later God \add decided to\add* test Abraham. So he called to him, “Abraham!” Abraham replied, “Yes, \add Lord\add*?” 
\v 2 Then God commanded \add him\add*, “Take your son \add with you\add*, \add yes,\add* your only son Isaac whom you love, and travel \add with him\add* to the region of Moriah. There you are to burn him up \add on an altar\add* as a sacrifice \add to me\add*, on one of the mountains that I will show to you.”
\p
\v 3 So the next morning Abraham got up early and put a \add pack\add* saddle on his donkey \add to get it ready\add* \add for the trip\add*. Then he got his son Isaac and two of his servants, and they chopped \add some\add* \add fire\add*wood that they would use to burn the sacrifice \add and loaded it on the donkey\add*. Then they started traveling to the place that God had told Abraham \add to go to\add*. 
\v 4 Three days later Abraham looked \add ahead\add* and in the distance he could see the mountain \add where they were headed\add*. 
\v 5 Then he told his servants, “You \add two\add* stay here with the donkey, while my son and I go \add to the mountain\add* over there and worship \add God\add*. Then we will come back to you.”
\p
\v 6 Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering \add off the donkey\add* and loaded \add it\add* on his son Isaac\add ’s shoulder\add* \add to carry\add*. He \add himself\add* carried a fire \add pot\add* \add with hot coals in it\add* and a knife \add to kill the sacrifice\add*. Then the two of them walked on together. 
\v 7 \add As they walked,\add* Isaac said to Abraham, “Father?” Abraham replied, “Yes, my son?” Then Isaac asked \add him\add*, “I see \add that we have\add* the fire \add coals\add* and the \add fire\add*wood, but where \add is\add* the lamb that \add we\add* will burn as a sacrifice \add to God\add*?” 
\v 8 Abraham answered \add him\add*, “My son, God himself will provide a lamb for us to burn as a sacrifice \add to him\add*.” Then they continued walking together \add toward the mountain\add*.
\p
\v 9 When they reached the place that God had told him \add to go to\add*, Abraham built a \add stone\add* altar there and put the wood \add on top of it\add*. Then he tied his son Isaac\add ’s arms and legs\add* \add with rope\add* and laid him on top of the wood on the altar. 
\v 10 Then he picked up the knife \add in order\add* to kill his son. 
\v 11 But one of Yahweh’s angels called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” And he replied, “Yes, \add Lord\add*?” 
\v 12 Then the angel told \add him\add*, “Do not harm your son or do anything \add else\add* to him. Now I know that you revere me, since you \add obeyed me and\add* did not refuse to sacrifice your son to me, \add even though he is\add* your only son.”
\p
\v 13 Then Abraham looked around and there behind \add him\add* he saw a ram that had its horns stuck in a bush. So he \add released Isaac,\add* went \add over to the ram\add* and untangled it. \add Then he killed it\add* and burned it \add on the altar\add* as a sacrifice \add to God\add* in place of his son. 
\v 14 That is why Abraham named that place Yahweh-Yireh, \add which means “Yahweh will provide”\add*. \add Even\add* today people \add still\add* say, “On Yahweh’s mountain he will provide what you need.”
\p
\v 15 Then Yahweh’s angel called to Abraham from heaven again. 
\v 16 He said, “This is what Yahweh declares \add to you\add*: ‘With myself \add as my own witness\add*, I vow \add to you\add* that since you have obeyed me and did not hold back your son \add from me\add*, \add yes,\add* your only son, 
\v 17 I will abundantly bless you. In fact, I will give you so many descendants \add that they will be\add* \add as numerous\add* as the stars in the sky and \add as numerous\add* as the \add grains of\add* sand on the seashore. They will defeat their enemies and rule over them. 
\v 18 Through your descendants \add I\add* will bless all the people groups on the earth. \add I will do that\add* because you obeyed me.’ ”
\p
\v 19 After that, Abraham returned \add with Isaac\add* to his \add two\add* servants. Then together they \add all\add* traveled \add back\add* \add home\add* to \add the city of\add* Beersheba, and Abraham \add and his family\add* stayed there.
\s1 Abraham’s Brother Nahor’s Twelve Sons
\sr 22:20-24
\p
\v 20 Sometime later someone told Abraham, “I have news \add for you\add*: Your brother Nahor and \add his wife\add* Milcah also have \add some\add* sons, 
\v 21 The oldest son \add is\add* Uz, \add the second is\add* Buz, and \add the third is\add* Kemuel, \add who is\add* the father of Aram. 
\v 22 \add They also have sons named\add* Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 
\v 23 Bethuel had \add a daughter named\add* Rebekah. Those \add are\add* the eight \add sons\add* \add that\add* Milcah had for Abraham’s brother Nahor. 
\v 24 Besides that, Nahor and his servant-wife Reumah also had \add some sons, including\add* Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
\c 23
\s1 Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys Some Land to Bury Her Body
\sr 23:1-20
\p
\v 1 Sarah lived to be 127 years old. That is how old she was 
\v 2 when she died in \add the city of\add* Kiriath Arba, which is \add now called\add* Hebron, in the region of Canaan. Abraham went \add to her\add* and cried and mourned for her. 
\v 3 Later he stood up from \add mourning\add* beside her and \add went\add* to \add the leaders of\add* the Hittites \add at the city gates\add* and said to them, 
\v 4 “\add As you know,\add* I \add am\add* a foreigner who is living among you \add so I do not own any property here\add*. \add Please\add* sell me some of your land so I have a place to bury \add the body of\add* my wife who has died.” 
\v 5 \add The leaders of\add* the Hittites responded to Abraham, 
\v 6 “Sir, \add please\add* listen to what we propose: You are a powerful man \add living\add* among us. \add So\add* \add you may\add* bury \add the body of\add* your wife who has died in \add any\add* one of our best burial sites. All of us are willing for you to use \add any of\add* our burial sites to bury her.”
\p
\v 7 Abraham stood up and bowed \add in respect\add* in front of \add the leaders of\add* the Hittites, who owned the land \add in the area\add*. 
\v 8 Then he said to them, “If you are willing \add for me\add* to bury my deceased \add wife\add* \add here\add*, \add please\add* help me by asking Ephron the son of Zohar 
\v 9 to sell me his cave that is at the edge of his field in the Machpelah \add area\add*. Ask him to sell it to me for its full price, with \add all of\add* you \add here\add* to witness \add the sale\add*. That way I will have a place where I can bury \add my wife who has died\add*.” 
\v 10 Now Ephron the Hittite was sitting \add there at the meeting\add* among the \add other\add* Hittite leaders, so he replied to Abraham as the \add other\add* leaders listened, including everyone who had gathered \add there\add* at the city gate. He said, 
\v 11 “That’s not necessary, sir. \add Please\add* accept this offer: I \add hereby\add* give you the \add entire\add* field, including the cave that \add is\add* in it. I am giving it to you \add now\add* as the leaders of my people watch. \add You may\add* bury your deceased \add wife\add* \add there\add*.”
\p
\v 12 Then Abraham bowed \add again\add* before the leaders who owned the land \add in the area\add*. 
\v 13 As they listened, he said to Ephron, “Rather \add than that\add*, since you are willing \add to let me have the field\add*, please accept my offer. I want to pay \add you\add* the \add full\add* price for the field. \add Please\add* let me buy it from you, so that \add it will be mine and\add* I can bury \add my wife\add* there who has died.” 
\v 14 Ephron responded to Abraham, 
\v 15 “Sir, \add please\add* listen to me. The land \add is worth\add* 400 shekels of silver. \add However\add* since you and I are friends, there is no need for that. \add Go ahead and\add* bury your deceased \add wife\add* \add there\add*.” 
\v 16 Abraham agreed with Ephron’s price, and he paid Ephron the \add amount of\add* silver that he had suggested while \add the rest of\add* the Hittites listened. \add Abraham weighed the\add* 400 shekels of silver using the standard weights that sellers used \add at that time\add*.
\p
\v 17 So Ephron sold his field \add to Abraham\add*, including the cave that \add was\add* in the field, as well as all the trees that \add were\add* inside its boundaries. The field was in the Machpelah \add area\add* near \add the city of\add* Mamre. \add Ephron sold that field\add* 
\v 18 to Abraham, and it became his property while the Hittites watched, including everyone who had gathered at the city gate. 
\v 19 After that, Abraham put \add the body of\add* his wife Sarah in the cave in that field in the Machpelah \add area\add* east of \add the city of\add* Mamre, that is, Hebron, in the region of Canaan. 
\v 20 So \add that is how\add* that field, including the cave that \add was\add* in the field, was \add officially\add* sold to Abraham by the Hittites, so that he had a place where he could bury \add his wife who had died\add*.
\c 24
\s1 Abraham Finds a Wife for Isaac
\sr 24:1-67
\p
\v 1 Abraham had lived a long time and was \add now\add* \add very\add* old, and Yahweh had blessed him in every way. 
\v 2 \add One day\add* Abraham said to his chief household servant, who managed his entire estate for him, “Please put your hand under my thigh \add to show that you will do what I ask\add*. 
\v 3 I want you to vow \add to me\add*, with Yahweh the God who rules the heavens and the earth as your witness, that you will not arrange for my son \add Isaac\add* to marry \add any of\add* the Canaanite women who live around us here. 
\v 4 Rather, you must go to the country where I grew up, to my relatives \add who live there\add*, and find a wife for him \add from there\add*.”
\p
\v 5 But \add Abraham’s\add* servant asked him, “What \add should I do\add* if the \add young\add* woman \add I find\add* refuses to come \add back\add* with me to this land \add to live\add*? Do you want me to take your son back \add there\add* to your home country \add to marry her\add* \add and live there\add*?” 
\v 6 Abraham answered him, “\add No,\add* be sure that you never take my son back there \add to live\add*, 
\v 7 \add because\add* Yahweh, the God who rules the heavens, brought me \add here\add* from my father’s household and from the land where \add the rest of\add* my relatives live, and he vowed to me that he will give this land to my descendants. He will send one of his angels ahead of you \add to help you\add*, so that you will find a woman from my home land for my son \add to marry\add*. 
\v 8 But if the woman \add you find\add* refuses to come back \add here\add* with you, then you will be free from \add keeping\add* this vow that you are making to me \add now\add*. But \add no matter what happens,\add* never take my son back to my home country!”
\p
\v 9 So \add Abraham’s\add* servant put his hand under his master’s thigh and vowed to him that he would do what Abraham had requested him to do. 
\v 10 Then he got ten of his master’s camels ready \add for the trip\add*, and after he loaded them with all kinds of valuable things from his master \add to use as gifts\add*, he left \add with some other servants\add* and made the \add long\add* trip to \add the region of\add* Aram Naharaim, to the city where Nahor lived. 
\v 11 \add When they arrived there,\add* Abraham’s servant had the camels kneel down \add to rest\add* outside the city near the well \add that was there\add*. It was evening time, when the \add young\add* women \add of the city\add* were starting to come out \add to the well\add* to draw water.
\p
\v 12 Then Abraham’s servant prayed, “\add Dear\add* Yahweh, \add who is\add* the God \add who takes care\add* of my master Abraham, please help me succeed today and \add in that way\add* be kind to my master. 
\v 13 As you see, I am standing by this well, and young women from the city are coming \add here\add* to draw water. 
\v 14 \add Please\add* make it happen \add that\add* when I say to one of the young women, ‘Please lower your jug so that I can have a drink,’ she will say \add to me\add*, ‘Have a drink and I will also draw water for your camels.’ \add Then I will know that\add* she \add is the one\add* you have chosen to be the wife of Isaac who serves you, and that you have been kind to my master.”
\p
\v 15 Before Abraham’s servant had \add even\add* finished praying, he saw \add a young woman named\add* Rebekah coming out \add of the city\add* carrying a water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, \add who was\add* the son of Milcah and Abraham’s brother Nahor. 
\v 16 She was a very beautiful unmarried young woman, who had never had \add marital\add* relations with a man. She walked down to the well, filled her jug \add with water\add* and came \add back\add* up \add carrying it on her shoulder\add*.
\p
\v 17 Then \add Abraham’s\add* servant ran to meet her and said \add to her\add*, “Please let me have a little water to drink from your jug.” 
\v 18 She replied, “\add Please\add* have a drink, sir.” Then she quickly lowered her jug \add from her shoulder\add* to her hands and let him drink \add some water\add* \add from it\add*. 
\v 19 After that, she said \add to him\add*, “I will also draw water for your camels until they have had enough to drink.” 
\v 20 Then she quickly emptied \add the rest of the water from\add* her jug into the \add animal drinking\add* trough \add that was there\add* and ran back \add and forth\add* to the well to draw \add more water\add*, until she had drawn \add enough\add* for all of the camels. 
\v 21 Meanwhile \add Abraham’s\add* servant silently watched Rebekah \add and waited\add* to find out whether or not Yahweh had made him successful on his journey \add to find a wife for Isaac\add*.
\p
\v 22 Finally, when the camels had finished drinking, the servant \add gave Rebekah\add* a gold nose ring that weighed one beka, and two gold bracelets for her wrists that weighed ten shekels \add each\add*. 
\v 23 Then he asked \add her\add*, “Please tell me who your father \add is\add*. \add Also,\add* is there room at his house for me and my men to spend the night \add there\add*?” 
\v 24 Rebekah answered him, “My father \add is\add* Bethuel, \add and he is\add* one of Nahor and Milcah’s sons.” 
\v 25 Then she added, “We have plenty of both straw and \add other\add* feed \add at our house\add* \add for the camels to eat\add*, \add and there is\add* also \add enough\add* room \add for you all\add* to stay \add there\add* tonight.” 
\v 26 Then the servant bowed to the ground and worshiped Yahweh, 
\v 27 by saying, “Praise Yahweh, the God \add who takes care\add* of my master Abraham! He has never stopped being kind and faithful to my master, and he has guided me on \add my\add* journey \add here\add* \add to\add* the home of my master’s relatives!”
\p
\v 28 Then Rebekah hurried \add home\add* and told her mother’s family about what had happened. 
\v 29 Rebekah had a brother whose name \add was\add* Laban, and he rushed out to the well where Abraham’s servant was. 
\v 30 As soon as Laban had seen the nose ring \add that his sister was wearing\add* and the bracelets on her arms and had heard her announce what the servant had said to her, he went \add out\add* to meet him. He found him standing with \add his\add* camels at the well. 
\v 31 Then Laban said \add to him\add*, “Come \add with me\add*, you whom Yahweh has blessed. There is no need for you to stand out here. I have gotten our house ready \add for you and your men to stay with us\add* and \add there is also\add* a place for \add your\add* camels \add to stay\add*.”
\p
\v 32 So Abraham’s servant went home \add with Laban\add*. \add When they arrived there,\add* Laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and \add other\add* feed to them \add to eat\add*. \add He\add* also \add gave\add* water \add to the servant\add* and the men who \add were\add* with him to wash their feet. 
\v 33 Then \add Laban’s family\add* served them a meal to eat, but the servant said \add to them\add*, “Before I can eat, I need to tell \add you\add* why I am here.” Laban responded \add to him\add*, “\add Please\add* tell \add us\add* \add what you have to say\add*.”
\p
\v 34 So the servant told \add them\add*, “I am Abraham’s servant. 
\v 35 Yahweh has abundantly blessed my master, so that he has become wealthy. Yahweh has given him \add many\add* sheep and cattle, \add much\add* silver and gold, \add many\add* male and female servants, and \add many\add* camels and donkeys. 
\v 36 Besides that, my master’s wife Sarah gave birth to a son for him when she was old, and my master has given him everything that he owns. 
\v 37 \add Before I came here,\add* my master made me vow \add to do something for him\add*. He said, ‘You must not arrange for my son \add Isaac\add* to marry \add any of\add* the Canaanite women whose land we have been living in. 
\v 38 Rather, go to my father’s family, to my \add own\add* relatives, and find a wife for my son \add from among them\add*.’ 
\v 39 So I asked my master, ‘What \add should I do\add* if the \add young\add* woman \add I find\add* refuses to come \add back\add* \add here\add* with me?’ 
\v 40 He answered me, ‘Yahweh whom I serve will send one of his angels with you. He will make you succeed on your journey, so that you will find a wife for my son from \add among\add* my relatives, \add someone\add* from my father’s family. 
\v 41 At that time you will be free from \add keeping\add* the vow \add you are making\add* to me: If you find a wife for Isaac but my family refuses to let her go with you, then you will be free from \add keeping\add* your vow to me.’
\p
\v 42 “Then today when I came to \add your city’s\add* well, I prayed, ‘\add Dear\add* Yahweh, \add who is\add* the God \add who takes care\add* of my master Abraham, if you are willing, please give me success on this journey that I have made. 
\v 43 As you see, I am standing \add here\add* near \add this\add* well. \add Please\add* make it happen \add that\add* when a young woman comes out \add of the city\add* to draw water and I ask her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jug,” 
\v 44 if she replies, “\add Yes,\add* have a drink and I will also draw water for your camels,” \add then\add* \add let\add* her \add be\add* the woman whom \add you\add* Yahweh have chosen to be the wife of my master’s son.’
\p
\v 45 “Before I had \add even\add* finished praying quietly, suddenly I saw Rebekah coming out \add of the city\add* carrying her \add empty\add* \add water\add* jug on her shoulder. She walked down to the well and filled her jug with water, so I asked her, ‘May I please have a drink \add of water\add*?’ 
\v 46 She quickly lowered her jug from her \add shoulder\add* and said, ‘Have a drink, and I will also draw water for your camels.’ So I took a drink \add from her jug\add*, and she also gave water to my camels. 
\v 47 Then I asked her, ‘Who \add is\add* your father?’ She answered, ‘My father is Bethuel, \add who is\add* one of Nahor and Milcah’s sons.’ After that I gave her a nose ring and bracelets to wear. 
\v 48 Then I bowed \add to the ground\add* and worshiped and praised Yahweh, the God \add who takes care\add* of my master Abraham, because he guided me right where I should go to find the granddaughter of my master’s brother \add to be the wife\add* for my master’s son. 
\v 49 So now, \add please\add* tell me whether or not you are willing to be kind and faithful to my master \add by letting her come with me\add*, so that I can decide what to do \add next\add*.”
\p
\v 50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered \add Abraham’s servant\add*, “\add It is clear that\add* Yahweh has made \add all\add* this happen, \add so\add* it is not our place to tell you anything different. 
\v 51 Look, here \add is\add* Rebekah. Take \add her with you\add* and return \add home\add* so that she can marry your master’s son as Yahweh has guided.” 
\v 52 When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed to the ground \add and thanked\add* Yahweh. 
\v 53 Then he took out \add expensive gifts, including\add* silver and gold jewelry, and \add also\add* \add beautiful\add* clothing, and gave \add them\add* to Rebekah. He \add also\add* gave \add valuable\add* gifts to her brother and mother.
\p
\v 54 Then Abraham’s servant and his men ate \add supper\add* and slept \add there\add* that night. \add Early\add* the next morning after everyone got up, Abraham’s servant said \add to Rebekah’s family\add*, “\add Please\add* let me return \add home\add* \add now\add* to my master.” 
\v 55 But Rebekah’s brother and her mother replied, “\add Please\add* let the young woman stay \add here\add* with us \add for another\add* ten days or so. Then you can go and take her \add with you\add*.” 
\v 56 But the servant said to them, “\add Please\add* do not  delay me. Now that Yahweh has made my journey successful, let me go so that I can return to my master.” 
\v 57 So they replied, “Let’s call Rebekah and ask her what she wants to do.”
\p
\v 58 So they called for her and asked her, “Do you want to go \add now\add* with this man?” She answered \add them\add*, “\add Yes,\add* I will go \add now\add*.” 
\v 59 So they \add agreed to\add* send their sister Rebekah and her \add personal\add* servant \add who had helped raise her\add*, with Abraham’s servant and his companions. 
\v 60 They blessed Rebekah by saying to her,
\q1 “Sister, we pray that God will give you
\q2 countless thousands \add of descendants\add*,
\q1 and that he will help them conquer
\q2 \add all\add* their enemies and rule over them!”
\v 61 After Rebekah and her servants \add who were going with her\add* packed their things, they got up on the camels \add they were going to ride\add* and went with Abraham’s servant. So \add Abraham’s\add* servant took Rebekah \add with him\add* and started the journey \add back\add* \add home\add*.
\p
\v 62 Meanwhile Isaac returned \add home\add* from visiting \add the place called\add* Beer Lahai Roi. \add At that time\add* he was living in the Negev \add Wilderness\add*. 
\v 63 \add One day\add* as it was becoming evening, he went to the field to pray. \add As he was praying,\add* he looked up and suddenly he saw \add in the distance\add* \add some\add* camels coming \add toward him\add*. 
\v 64 Rebekah \add also\add* looked up and saw Isaac. Immediately she got down from the camel \add that she was riding\add*, 
\v 65 and asked \add Abraham’s\add* servant, “Who is that man in the field who is walking \add this way\add* to greet us?” The servant answered \add her\add*, “He \add is\add* my master \add Isaac\add*.” So she covered her face with a veil \add to show modesty\add*.
\p
\v 66 Then the servant told Isaac everything that he had done \add on the journey\add*. 
\v 67 Then Isaac took Rebekah into the tent where his mother Sarah had lived, and he married her, so that she became his wife. Isaac loved her, and he was happy again after \add mourning for\add* his mother \add who had died\add*.
\c 25
\s1 Abraham and Keturah’s Descendants
\sr 25:1-6
\r 1 Chronicles 1:32-33
\p
\v 1 Then Abraham got married again, and his wife’s name \add was\add* Keturah. 
\v 2 She had sons with him \add whom they named\add* Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 
\v 3 \add Her son\add* Jokshan had \add sons named\add* Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants became \add people groups named\add* the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 
\v 4 \add Keturah’s son\add* Midian had sons \add named\add* Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All of those \add were\add* Keturah’s descendants \add whom she had with Abraham\add*.
\p
\v 5 Abraham gave everything that he owned to Isaac. 
\v 6 He also gave \add valuable\add* gifts to the sons that his servant wives had \add with him\add*, but after that he made them move away to the east country \add so that they would live\add* far away from his son Isaac.
\s1 Abraham Dies and Is Buried
\sr 25:7-11
\p
\v 7 Abraham lived to be 175 years old. 
\v 8 Then he took his last breath and died at a very old age. After he had lived a long and satisfying life, he joined his ancestors \add who had already died\add*. 
\v 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael put his body in the cave of Machpelah \add which was\add* in the field that had belonged to Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of \add the city of\add* Mamre. 
\v 10 \add That is\add* the \add same\add* field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. That is \add the cave\add* where his sons buried his body next to \add the body of\add* his wife Sarah \add whom he had buried there before\add*. 
\v 11 After Abraham died, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near \add the well\add* Beer Lahai Roi.
\s1 Ishmael’s Descendants
\sr 25:12-18
\p
\v 12 What follows \add is\add* a record of the descendants of Abraham’s son Ishmael, the son Abraham had with Sarah’s Egyptian slave woman Hagar. 
\v 13 Here is \add a list of\add* the names of Ishmael’s sons, \add given\add* in the order that they were born: His oldest \add son\add* \add was\add* Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 
\v 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 
\v 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedermah. 
\v 16 Those were Ishmael’s \add twelve\add* sons, who became the leaders of twelve tribes that were named after them, and each tribe lived in its \add own\add* towns and villages. 
\v 17 Ishmael lived a total of 137 years. Then he took his last breath and died, and he joined his ancestors \add who had died before him\add*. 
\v 18 His descendants lived \add throughout the area that extended\add* from \add the region of\add* Havilah to \add the wilderness of\add* Shur that \add is\add* east of \add the country of\add* Egypt as you head \add from there\add* to \add the city of\add* Asshur. They lived as enemies against all their relatives.
\s1 The Birth of Isaac’s Twin Sons Jacob and Esau
\sr 25:19-26
\p
\v 19 Here \add is\add* \add more of\add* the history about Abraham’s son Isaac and his descendants: \add After\add* Abraham had Isaac, 
\v 20 Isaac \add grew up and\add* married Rebekah when he was forty years old. \add She was\add* a daughter of Bethuel, \add who was\add* an Aramean from \add the region of\add* Paddan Aram, and her brother was Laban \add who was also\add* an Aramean. 
\v 21 However \add for many years\add* Rebekah was not able to become pregnant, so Isaac prayed that Yahweh would give her children. Yahweh did what Isaac prayed for, so that she became pregnant \add with twins\add*. 
\v 22 But the \add two\add* babies wrestled with each other inside her, so she asked, “Why is this happening to me?” Then she asked Yahweh about it. 
\v 23 Yahweh answered her,
\q1 “\add The ancestors of\add* two \add future\add* people groups \add are\add* inside you.
\q2 They will be enemies \add starting now\add* even before they are born.
\q1 One of them will be more powerful than the other,
\q2 so that the older \add son’s descendants\add* will serve the younger \add son’s descendants\add*.”
\p
\v 24 Later when it was time \add for Rebekah\add* to give birth, sure enough, \add there were\add* twin boys inside her! 
\v 25 The first \add one\add* who was born was completely covered with thick red hair. So his parents named him Esau, \add which means “hairy.”\add* 
\v 26 Next his brother was born, with his hand grabbing on \add tightly\add* to Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob, \add which means “heel-grabber.”\add* Isaac \add was\add* sixty years old when Esau and Jacob were born.
\s1 Esau Sells His Rights as the Firstborn Son to Jacob
\sr 25:27-34
\p
\v 27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled hunter and he enjoyed \add being\add* in the open country, but Jacob had a quiet personality and \add preferred\add* to work at home. 
\v 28 Isaac’s favorite son was Esau, because he liked to eat the meat of wild animals \add that Esau hunted\add*, whereas Rebekah’s favorite son was Jacob.
\p
\v 29 \add One day\add* when Jacob was making \add some\add* soup, Esau came home from \add hunting out in\add* the open country and he \add felt\add* weak \add and hungry\add*. 
\v 30 So Esau requested from Jacob, “Please let me have some of that very red soup because I \add feel\add* weak \add and hungry\add*!” That is why Esau’s nickname was Edom, \add which means “red.”\add* 
\v 31 But Jacob replied, “First trade your rights as the oldest son to me \add for the soup,\add* \add then I will give you some\add*.” 
\v 32 Esau responded, “Look, I am about to die \add from hunger\add*! So my birthright is of no use to me \add right now\add*.” 
\v 33 Jacob insisted, “\add First\add* make a vow to me today \add before God\add* \add that your rights are now mine\add*!” So Esau vowed to Jacob that he had traded his rights as the oldest son to him \add for the soup\add*. 
\v 34 Then Jacob gave Esau \add some of\add* the lentil soup with \add some\add* bread, and Esau \add quickly\add* ate the meal and left. In that way, Esau treated his birthright \add carelessly\add* as if it had no value.
\c 26
\s1 God Establishes His Covenant with Isaac
\sr 26:1-5
\p
\v 1 Now there was \add another\add* severe food shortage in the region. \add This was\add* a different shortage from the one that had happened \add years\add* before, while Abraham was still alive. So Isaac \add and his family\add* went to \add the city of\add* Gerar to \add ask for help from\add* King Abimelech, who ruled over the Philistines. 
\v 2 Then Yahweh appeared to Isaac and commanded \add him\add*, “Do not go to \add the country of\add* Egypt, \add rather\add* stay in this land where I tell you \add to live\add*. 
\v 3 Live \add as a foreigner\add* in this region, and I will stay with you and prosper you. In fact, I will give all the \add surrounding\add* regions to you and your descendants, and I will continue \add to keep\add* the vow that I made to your father Abraham 
\v 4 that I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. I will also give them all these regions. In fact, through your descendants \add I\add* will bless all the people groups on the earth. 
\v 5 \add I will do all that\add* because Abraham obeyed me and did everything that I ever commanded \add him\add* \add to do\add*.”
\s1 Isaac Lies about His Wife Rebekah to the Philistines
\sr 26:6-11
\p
\v 6 Then Isaac \add did what God said and\add* settled \add with his family\add* in \add the city of\add* Gerar. 
\v 7 Now Rebekah \add was\add* very beautiful, so the men in that city started asking \add Isaac\add* about her. Isaac was afraid they might kill him in order to have her, so he \add lied and\add* told \add them\add* she \add was\add* his sister. 
\v 8 \add One day\add* after Isaac had lived there a long time, the Philistines’ King Abimelech looked down from a window \add of his palace\add* and saw to his surprise that Isaac was showing affection to his wife Rebekah. 
\v 9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and scolded \add him\add*, “It is obvious that Rebekah \add is\add* actually your wife! So why did you tell us that she \add is\add* your sister?” Isaac answered him, “\add I said that\add* because I thought someone might kill me in order to have her \add as a wife\add*.” 
\v 10 Then Abimelech scolded \add him\add* \add further\add*, “You have treated us very badly! Sooner or later, one of my men could have slept with your wife, and you would have caused us to be guilty \add of adultery\add*!” 
\v 11 Then \add King\add* Abimelech warned all \add his\add* people, “I will definitely execute anyone who harms Isaac or his wife!”
\s1 Isaac Has Conflict with the Philistines over His Wells
\sr 26:12-33
\p
\v 12 Isaac planted crops in that area, and that year he gathered \add a huge harvest that was\add* a hundred times \add more than what he had planted\add*. Yahweh continued to bless him, 
\v 13 so that he became richer and richer until he was extremely wealthy. 
\v 14 He owned many sheep and cattle and \add he also owned\add* many servants. As a result, the Philistines were jealous of Isaac. 
\v 15 So they filled up with dirt all the wells that the servants of his father Abraham had dug while he was \add still\add* alive.
\p
\v 16 Then \add King\add* Abimelech said to Isaac, “\add Please\add* move away from us, because you are so powerful \add that you are a threat\add* to us.” 
\v 17 So Isaac moved from \add the city of\add* Gerar and pitched his tents in the Gerar Valley and stayed there \add for a while\add*. 
\v 18 Then Isaac \add had his servants\add* dig the dirt out of the wells that Abraham’s servants had dug and \add that\add* the Philistines had \add just\add* filled \add with dirt\add*. He gave the wells the same names that his father had given them.
\p
\v 19 Next Isaac’s servants dug \add at a new place\add* in the valley and discovered a source of fresh water there. 
\v 20 But the herdsmen from \add the city of\add* Gerar argued with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “That well is ours!” So Isaac named the well Esek, \add which means “argument,”\add* because they argued with him \add about it\add*. 
\v 21 Then Isaac’s servants dug another well, but Gerar’s herdsmen argued \add with them\add* about that one too, so Isaac named it Sitnah, \add which means “hostility.”\add* 
\v 22 Then Isaac \add and his family\add* moved from there and he \add had his servants\add* dig a third well. \add This time\add* Gerar’s herdsmen did not argue about it, so he named it Rehoboth, \add which means “space,”\add* because he said, “Finally Yahweh has provided space for us, so that we will prosper in the land.”
\p
\v 23 From there Isaac \add and his family\add* went south to \add the city of\add* Beersheba. 
\v 24 That night Yahweh appeared to him and said \add to him\add*, “I \add am\add* the God whom your father Abraham serves. Do not be afraid, because I \add will always be\add* with you. I will bless you and make your descendants numerous, just as \add I promised\add* to Abraham, who serves me.” 
\v 25 So Isaac built an altar there \add at Beersheba\add* and worshiped Yahweh by name. He also set up his tents there, and his servants started digging \add another\add* well there \add too\add*.
\p
\v 26 Then \add King\add* Abimelech went to Isaac from \add the city of\add* Gerar with his adviser Ahuzzath and his army commander Phicol. 
\v 27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, \add especially\add* since you have been hostile toward me and forced me to move away from you?” 
\v 28 They answered \add him\add*, “It is very obvious to us that Yahweh is with you \add and blessing you\add*, and we decided that we should make a vow with you \add to live in peace with one another\add*. So \add please\add* let us make a \add peace\add* treaty with you, 
\v 29 that you will never harm us, just as we never harmed you, but only treated you well and sent you away in peace. \add As a result,\add* Yahweh has now blessed you.” 
\v 30 Then Isaac prepared a feast, and they \add all\add* ate and drank \add together\add*. 
\v 31 Early the next morning they got up and made vows to one another \add that they would keep their treaty\add*. Then Isaac said goodbye to them, and they went home from him in peace.
\p
\v 32 That \add same\add* day Isaac’s servants came to inform him about the well that they had been digging and announced, “We have struck water!” 
\v 33 So Isaac named the well Shebah, \add which means “vow.”\add* That is why \add even\add* today the name of that city \add is\add* still Beersheba, \add which means “well of the vow.”\add*
\s1 Esau’s Foreign Wives
\sr 26:34-35
\p
\v 34 When Esau was forty years old, he married \add two\add* Hittite women: Judith, whose father was Beeri, and Basemath, whose father was Elon. 
\v 35 Isaac and Rebekah were very distressed that their son had married foreign women \add rather than a woman from their own religion and people group\add*.
\c 27
\s1 Jacob Steals Esau’s Blessing from Their Father Isaac
\sr 27:1-29
\p
\v 1 One day when Isaac was an old man and he could no longer see, he sent for his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” Esau answered him, “Yes, \add sir\add*?” 
\v 2 Then Isaac told \add him\add*, “Please listen \add closely\add*: I am an old man \add now\add* \add and\add* I do not know when I will die. 
\v 3 So then, get your bow and arrows, go out in the open country and hunt \add some\add* deer \add meat\add* for me. 
\v 4 Next \add use the meat to\add* cook a delicious meal for me the way that I like it, and bring it to me to eat so that I can bless you before I die.”
\p
\v 5 Rebekah overheard what Isaac said to his son Esau. So after Esau had gone out to the open country to hunt, 
\v 6 she said to her son Jacob, “Listen, I \add just\add* overheard your father tell your brother Esau 
\v 7 to get him \add some\add* deer \add meat\add* and \add use it to\add* cook a delicious meal for him to eat. Then before he dies, he wants to bless Esau with Yahweh as his witness. 
\v 8 So then, my son, listen to me and do what I tell you \add to do\add*. 
\v 9 Please go \add out\add* to our flock \add of goats\add* and get for me two of the best young goats. I will \add use the meat from them to\add* cook a delicious meal for your father, \add just\add* the way that he likes it. 
\v 10 Then you can take the meal to your father to eat, so that he will bless you before he dies.”
\p
\v 11 But Jacob responded to his mother, “As you know, my brother Esau has hairy skin, but I have smooth skin. 
\v 12 What if my father feels my skin? He will \add recognize me and\add* realize that I am trying to deceive him. Then he will curse me instead of blessing me.” 
\v 13 But his mother replied, “\add If that happens,\add* may God curse me instead of you, my son. Just listen to me, and go get \add two goats\add* for me!” 
\v 14 So Jacob went \add to the flock\add* and selected \add two goats\add* and took \add them\add* to her. Then she cooked a delicious meal the way that his father liked it. 
\v 15 She also got her older son Esau’s finest clothes that she had in the house and had her younger son Jacob put them on. 
\v 16 And she used the goat skins to cover Jacob’s arms and the part of his neck that had no hair \add on it\add*.
\p
\v 17 Then she handed the delicious meal to Jacob, including some bread that she had baked. 
\v 18 He took the meal to his father and said, “Father.” His father answered, “Yes? Which of my sons \add are\add* you?” 
\v 19 Jacob replied to his father, “I am Esau, your oldest son. I have done what you requested me \add to do\add*. \add So now\add* please sit up and eat some of the deer \add meat\add* that I have cooked \add for you\add*, so that you can bless me.” 
\v 20 But Isaac asked him, “How were you able to find \add the deer\add* so quickly, my son?” Jacob answered, “Yahweh, \add who is\add* the God who takes care of you, helped me to succeed.”
\p
\v 21 Then Isaac said to him, “My son, please come here so that I can feel you and make sure that you are really my son Esau.” 
\v 22 So Jacob stepped closer to his father Isaac, and his father felt him and thought \add to himself\add*, “\add Hmm,\add* his voice \add sounds like\add* Jacob’s voice, but \add his\add* arms \add feel like\add* Esau’s arms.” 
\v 23 So Isaac was not able to identify who Jacob was because his arms felt hairy like his brother Esau’s. Isaac was about to bless Jacob, 
\v 24 but \add first\add* \add he wanted to be completely sure, so\add* he asked \add him\add*, “Are you really my son Esau?” Jacob answered, “\add Yes,\add* I am.” 
\v 25 So Isaac said \add to him\add*, “Serve me \add the meal\add* so that I can eat some of your deer meat and bless you.” Then Jacob served \add the meal\add* to his father and he ate \add it\add*. Jacob also served him wine and he drank \add it\add*.
\p
\v 26 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 
\v 27 So Jacob went over \add to his father\add* and kissed him \add on the cheeks\add*. \add As he did that,\add* his father recognized the fragrance of Esau’s clothes, so he blessed him and said,
\q1 “Ahh, my son, you smell \add wonderful\add*
\q2 like the fragrance of a field
\q2 that Yahweh has caused to flourish!  \q1  
\v 28 I ask God to provide you \add and your descendants\add* \add plenty of\add* rain from the sky \add for your crops and animals\add*
\q2 and riches from the earth,
\q2 including abundant harvests and \add much\add* wine. \q1  
\v 29 I also ask God to cause nations to serve
\q2 and honor you \add and your descendants\add*.
\q1 You will rule over your brother’s descendants,
\q2 and they will \add submit to you and\add* bow down to you.
\q1 Whoever curses you \add God\add* will curse,
\q2 but whoever blesses you \add he\add* will bless.”
\s1 Esau Gets “Blessed” Too by His Father Isaac
\sr 27:30-40
\p
\v 30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and right after Jacob had left his father’s presence, Jacob’s brother Esau returned \add home\add* from hunting. 
\v 31 Then he too cooked a delicious meal, and he took \add it\add* to his father \add Isaac\add* and said to him, “Father, \add please\add* sit up and eat some of your son’s deer meat so that you can bless me.” 
\v 32 But his father asked him, “Which son \add are\add* you?” Esau answered, “I \add am\add* your oldest son Esau.” 
\v 33 Then Isaac \add became so upset that his body\add* shook very violently, and he asked \add Esau\add*, “Who \add was\add* it then that hunted deer meat and brought a meal to me? I finished eating it just before you came, and I blessed him. So God will definitely bless him.” 
\v 34 When Esau heard what his father said, he shouted out with a very loud and distressed shout and begged his father, “\add Please\add* bless me too, father!” 
\v 35 But his father responded, “Your brother came \add to me\add* and tricked \add me\add* and stole the blessing that I was planning to give you.” 
\v 36 Then Esau exclaimed, “The name Jacob fits him exactly, because he has tricked me like this two times \add now\add*! \add First\add* he stole my rights as the oldest son, and now look \add what he has done\add*: he has stolen my blessing!”
\p Then Esau begged \add his father\add*, “Is there still a way you can \add ask God to\add* bless me?” 
\v 37 Isaac answered, “Listen, I have \add already\add* appointed Jacob to be your master. In fact, I have asked \add God to make it so\add* that you and all your descendants will serve him \add and his descendants\add*. Besides that, I have \add also\add* blessed him with \add abundant\add* harvests and wine. So then, there is no way left for me to bless you, my son!” 
\v 38 But Esau continued to beg his father \add and say\add*, “Father, isn’t there \add just\add* one more way that you can bless \add me\add*? \add Please\add* bless me too, father!” Then Esau started crying loudly. 
\v 39 Finally his father said to him,
\q1 “Listen, you \add and your descendants\add* will live
\q2 in a place where the land is not good \add for farming\add*
\q2 and where there is not much rain. \q1  
\v 40 You \add and your descendants\add* will have to fight battles to stay alive,
\q2 and you will serve your brother \add and his descendants\add*.
\q1 But when you rebel \add against them\add*,
\q2 you will get free from their control over you.”
\s1 Jacob Flees from Esau
\sr 27:41-28:5
\p
\v 41 After that Esau held a grudge against Jacob because their father had blessed him. So Esau thought to himself, “Soon my father will die; then after we \add bury him and\add* mourn for him, I will kill my brother Jacob.” 
\v 42 But Rebekah heard about what her oldest son Esau was planning, so she sent for her youngest son Jacob and told him, “Listen, your brother Esau is planning to take revenge on you and kill you. 
\v 43 So then, my son, listen to me: Hurry \add and\add* escape to \add the city of\add* Haran to my brother Laban! 
\v 44 Live with him for a short time until your brother is no longer angry \add with you\add*. 
\v 45 When he is not angry with you anymore and he forgets what you did to him, I will send word that it is safe for you to come \add back home\add* from there. I do not want to lose both of you \add on\add* the same day!”
\p
\v 46 Then Rebekah complained to Isaac, “My life is \add very\add* miserable because of our Hittite daughters-in-law \add whom Esau married\add*! If Jacob were to \add also\add* marry a local Hittite woman like that, I would not want to keep on living!”
\c 28
\p
\v 1 So Isaac summoned Jacob, blessed him and told him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman. 
\v 2 \add Instead\add* you must go right away to \add the region of\add* Paddan Aram, to the home of your mother’s father, Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters. 
\v 3 I pray that God, \add who is\add* all-powerful, will bless you and give you many children and increase \add the number of\add* your descendants, so that you become \add the ancestor of\add* many people groups. 
\v 4 I \add also\add* pray that he will bless you and your descendants the same way that he blessed Abraham, so that you will own this land where you have been living as a foreigner, \add the same land\add* which God gave to him.” 
\v 5 Then Isaac sent Jacob \add on his way\add*, so Jacob started traveling to Laban\add ’s house which was\add* in \add the region of\add* Paddan Aram. \add Laban was\add* the son of Bethuel the Aramean and \add also\add* the brother of Rebekah, \add who was\add* Jacob and Esau’s mother.
\s1 Esau Marries Another Wife
\sr 28:6-9
\p
\v 6 Now Esau had seen Isaac bless Jacob and send him to \add the region of\add* Paddan Aram to marry a woman from there. As Isaac was blessing him, \add Esau heard\add* him tell Jacob to not marry a Canaanite woman. 
\v 7 \add Esau also saw that\add* Jacob obeyed their father and mother and started traveling to Paddan Aram. 
\v 8 That is when Esau realized that his father Isaac did not approve of \add his sons marrying\add* Canaanite women. 
\v 9 So in addition to the \add two\add* wives he already had, Esau went to \add the family of\add* Abraham’s son Ishmael and married Ishmael’s daughter Mahalath, whose brother was Nebaioth.
\s1 Jacob Dreams about a Stairway to Heaven
\sr 28:10-22
\p
\v 10 \add After\add* Jacob left from \add his family’s home\add* \add in the city of\add* Beersheba, he started traveling to \add the city of\add* Haran. 
\v 11 \add That evening\add* he reached a \add good\add* place \add to sleep\add*, so he stopped there \add for the night\add* because the sun had set. He chose \add one\add* of the stones that was there and used it as a pillow. Then he lay down and went to sleep. 
\v 12 While he was dreaming, he saw a stairway. The bottom of the stairway was on the ground and its top reached up to heaven, and he saw God’s angels going up and coming down on the stairway. 
\v 13 And there standing at the top \add of the stairway\add* was Yahweh, and he said \add to Jacob\add*, “I \add am\add* Yahweh, the God whom your ancestors Abraham and Isaac serve. I will give you and your descendants this land that you are lying on. 
\v 14 They will be \add as numerous\add* as the dust \add specks\add* on the ground, so that they live throughout this land in every direction. Because of you and your descendants, I will bless all the families in the world. 
\v 15 Remember that I \add will always be\add* with you. I will protect you wherever you go, and I will lead you back to this land. In fact, I will never leave you and I will do everything that I have promised you \add that I will do\add*.”
\p
\v 16 Suddenly Jacob woke up from his dream and exclaimed \add to himself\add*, “Yahweh definitely lives in this place, but I did not know \add it\add* \add before now\add*!” 
\v 17 He was afraid, so he \add also\add* exclaimed, “This is a terrifying place! This can only be God’s house! It \add must be\add* the entrance to heaven!”
\p
\v 18 Early the next morning Jacob got up, took the stone that he had used as a pillow and set it up \add on its end\add* to mark the place \add where God had appeared to him\add*. Then he poured \add some\add* \add olive\add* oil on top of the stone \add to dedicate the place to God\add*. 
\v 19 He named that place Bethel, \add which means “house of God.”\add* Previously the name of that town had been Luz.
\p
\v 20 Then Jacob made a vow \add to God\add* and said, “God, if \add you\add* will stay with me and protect me as I travel on this journey and if you provide me food to eat and clothes to wear, 
\v 21 so that I return safely to my father’s home, then Yahweh, \add you\add* will be the God whom I serve. 
\v 22 This stone that I have set up will be your house and mark the place \add that you appeared to me\add*, and I will give back to you a tenth of everything that you give to me.”
\c 29
\s1 Jacob Meets Rachel and Laban in the City of Haran
\sr 29:1-14
\p
\v 1 Then Jacob left \add Bethel\add* and continued traveling \add until he came\add* to the land in the east where various people groups lived. 
\v 2 \add When he arrived there,\add* he looked \add around\add*, and he saw a well in an \add open\add* field. There were three flocks of sheep lying near the well \add waiting for water\add*. That was the well that flocks drank water from, but there was a \add heavy,\add* large stone covering the top of the well. 
\v 3 \add Every day\add* shepherds would bring all the flocks \add of sheep\add* there. They would \add work together to\add* remove the stone from the top of the well and draw water for the sheep. Then they would put the stone back over the top of the well.
\p
\v 4 Jacob asked the shepherds, “My friends, where do you live?” They replied, “We \add are\add* from \add the city of\add* Haran.” 
\v 5 So Jacob asked them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?” They answered, “\add Yes,\add* we do.” 
\v 6 So Jacob asked, “Is he doing well?” They answered \add him\add*, “\add Yes,\add* \add he is\add* well. In fact, here comes his daughter Rachel \add now\add*, bringing \add his\add* sheep.” 
\v 7 Then Jacob urged \add them\add*, “Look, the sun is still bright, and \add it is\add* too early to gather the flocks \add for the night\add*. \add You ought to\add* draw water for them and take \add them\add* back out \add to the fields\add* to graze \add some more\add*.” 
\v 8 But they replied, “We can’t \add do that\add* until all the shepherds are here with their flocks. Then \add together\add* we will move the stone away from the top of the well and draw water for the sheep.”
\p
\v 9 While Jacob was still talking with the shepherds, Rachel arrived \add at the well\add* with her father \add Laban\add*’s sheep; it was her job to take care of them. 
\v 10 As soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of his uncle Laban with her father’s sheep, he walked over \add to the well\add*, removed the stone that covered it, and drew water for his uncle’s sheep.  
\v 11 Then he kissed Rachel \add on her cheek\add* and \add he was so happy that\add* he started crying. 
\v 12 Then he told her that he \add was\add* her father’s nephew, the son of \add her aunt\add* Rebekah. So she ran home and told her father \add the news\add*.
\p
\v 13 When Laban heard about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran \add out\add* to greet him. Then he hugged him and kissed him \add on the cheeks\add* and took him to his house. Then Jacob told Laban \add about himself and\add* everything that had happened, 
\v 14 and Laban exclaimed to him, “There is no doubt that you \add are\add* a close relative of my family!”
\s1 Jacob Works for Laban to Marry Rachel and Leah
\sr 29:14b-30
\p After Jacob had stayed with Laban \add and worked for him\add* \add for\add* an entire month, 
\v 15 Laban said to him, “\add Just\add* because you are my nephew, \add that does not mean that\add* you should \add have to\add* work for me for free! Tell me what you want me to pay you.” 
\v 16 Now Laban had two daughters: The name of the older \add one\add* \add was\add* Leah, and the younger \add one\add* was Rachel. 
\v 17 Leah had pretty eyes, but Rachel was extremely beautiful in every way. 
\v 18 Jacob was in love with Rachel, so he said \add to Laban\add*, “I will work seven years for you if you will let me marry your younger daughter Rachel.” 
\v 19 Laban replied, “\add I agree to your terms.\add* I would \add much\add* rather give her to you \add to marry\add* than give her to someone else. \add So\add* stay here \add and work for me\add*.” 
\v 20 So Jacob worked seven years \add for Laban\add* so that he could marry Rachel, but he loved her so \add much\add* that to him the time seemed \add to pass quickly\add* like \add only\add* a few days.
\p
\v 21 \add When the seven years were over,\add* Jacob said to Laban, “\add Please\add* let me marry \add your daughter\add* \add Rachel\add* \add now\add* so that I can live with her \add as\add* my wife, because I have finished my \add seven\add* years \add of work\add* \add for you\add*.” 
\v 22 So Laban invited all the local people and held a \add wedding\add* feast. 
\v 23 But that evening Laban \add tricked Jacob and\add* brought his daughter Leah \add to Jacob’s tent\add* \add instead of Rachel\add*, so that he had marital relations with her. 
\v 24 Laban also gave his female servant Zilpah to Leah \add to be\add* \add her\add* \add personal\add* servant.
\p
\v 25 But the next morning Jacob was shocked to see that it was Leah \add he had married\add*! So he complained to Laban, “You have treated me very badly! \add You know that\add* Rachel is the one I served you for! So why did you trick me?” 
\v 26 Laban replied, “It is not our custom here for the younger \add daughter\add* to marry before the older \add daughter\add* \add marries\add*. 
\v 27 \add So then,\add* \add keep Leah as your wife and\add* finish this week of celebrating your marriage to her. Then our family will also give you \add my\add* younger daughter \add to marry\add* if you will work for me for another seven years.”
\p
\v 28 So Jacob \add agreed with Laban and\add* did what he said: he finished celebrating his marriage to Leah that week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to marry. 
\v 29 Laban \add also\add* gave his servant Bilhah to Rachel to be her servant. 
\v 30 Then Jacob had marital relations with Rachel, and he loved her more than \add he loved\add* Leah. Then he \add started\add* working for Laban for seven more years.
\s1 Jacob’s Children
\sr 29:31-30:24
\p
\v 31 Now Yahweh knew that Jacob did not love Leah, so he made it possible for her to have children, but Rachel was not able to conceive. 
\v 32 Then Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, \add which means “See, a son!”\add* because she exclaimed, “Now that Yahweh has seen that I am suffering \add and helped me\add*, surely my husband will love me!”
\p
\v 33 Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to \add another\add* son. She exclaimed, “Since Yahweh heard that my husband does not love me, he has given me this child also.” So she named him Simeon, \add which means “he hears.”\add*
\p
\v 34 Then Leah became pregnant \add yet\add* again and gave birth to another son, and she exclaimed, “Now finally my husband will want to be with me because I have given him three sons!” That is why his name was Levi, \add which means “be with.”\add*
\p
\v 35 Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son, and she exclaimed, “Now I will praise Yahweh!” That is why she named him Judah, \add which means “praise.”\add* Then Leah stopped having children \add for a while\add*.
\c 30
\p
\v 1 Meanwhile \add when\add* Rachel realized that she was not able to bear \add any\add* \add children\add* for Jacob, she was jealous of her sister, and she demanded of Jacob, “Help me have children, or else I want to die!” 
\v 2 Jacob became very angry with Rachel and responded, “I am not God! He is the one who has prevented you from having children!” 
\v 3 Then Rachel told \add him\add*, “You can have my servant woman Bilhah \add as a wife\add*. Have \add marital\add* relations with her so that she will have children for me, so that I too can have a family.” 
\v 4 So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah to be \add another\add* wife \add for him\add*, and Jacob had \add marital\add* relations with her.
\p
\v 5 Then Bilhah became pregnant and had a son for Jacob, 
\v 6 and Rachel exclaimed, “God has judged in my favor! Yes indeed, he has answered my prayer and given me a son!” That is why she named the baby Dan, \add which means “he judged in my favor.”\add*
\p
\v 7 Then Rachel’s servant Bilhah became pregnant again and had a second son for Jacob. 
\v 8 Then Rachel exclaimed, “I have had a difficult contest with my sister, and \add now\add* I have defeated her!” Then she named that son Naphtali, \add which means “my contest.”\add*
\p
\v 9 Now when Leah realized that she had stopped having children, she brought her servant Zilpah \add to Jacob\add* and gave her to him to be \add another\add* wife \add for him\add*. 
\v 10 Then Zilpah had a son for Jacob, 
\v 11 and Leah exclaimed, “I am so fortunate!” So she named him Gad, \add which means “fortunate.”\add*
\p
\v 12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah had a second son for Jacob, 
\v 13 and Leah exclaimed, “\add God\add* has truly blessed me! Now \add other\add* women will know that \add God\add* has blessed me.” So she named that son Asher, \add which means “blessed.”\add*
\p
\v 14 Then \add one day\add* during the season when people were harvesting wheat, Leah’s son Reuben went out in a field and found \add some\add* fertility plants, and he gave them to his mother. \add When Rachel found out about the plants,\add* she begged Leah, “Please give me some of the fertility plants that your son found.” 
\v 15 But Leah replied to her, “\add No!\add* It was \add bad\add* enough that you stole my husband \add from me\add*! And \add now\add* you even want to take my son’s fertility plants!” Rachel replied, “Alright then, Jacob can sleep with you tonight if you will give me your son’s fertility plants.”
\p
\v 16 That evening when Jacob came \add home\add* from \add working in\add* the field, Leah went out to greet him and told \add him\add*, “You must sleep with me \add tonight\add*, because I have traded my son’s fertility plants for time with you.” So Jacob spent that night with Leah. 
\v 17 God answered \add the prayers of\add* Leah, so that she became pregnant and had a fifth son for Jacob. 
\v 18 Then she said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband \add as a wife\add*.” So she named that son Issachar, \add which means “reward.”\add*
\p
\v 19 Then Leah became pregnant again and had a sixth son for Jacob. 
\v 20 Then she said, “God has given me a valuable gift, \add so that\add* now my husband will honor me because I have had six sons for him.” So she named their son Zebulun, \add which means “honor.”\add*
\p
\v 21 \add Sometime\add* after that, Leah had a daughter and named her Dinah.
\p
\v 22 God had not forgotten Rachel, so he answered her \add prayers\add* and made it possible for her to have children. 
\v 23 Then she became pregnant and had a son, and she exclaimed, “God has made it so that I am no longer ashamed!” 
\v 24 She named her son Joseph, \add which means “may he give another,”\add* \add because\add* she said, “I pray that Yahweh will give me another son.”
\s1 Jacob Becomes Very Rich Working for Laban
\sr 30:25-43
\p
\v 25 After Rachel had Joseph, Jacob requested of Laban, “\add Please\add* allow me to leave \add here\add*, so that I can return to my \add own\add* home in my \add own\add* country. 
\v 26 Let me take my wives and my children, whom I have earned by working for you, so that I can leave \add with them\add*. You yourself know how \add well\add* I have worked for you.”
\p
\v 27 But Laban responded to him, “Please be kind to me \add and stay\add*, \add because\add* I have found out from observing signs that Yahweh has blessed me because you \add are here with me\add*.” 
\v 28 Then he added, “Tell me what you want your pay to be, and that is what I will pay you.” 
\v 29 Jacob replied to him, “You yourself know how \add hard\add* I have worked for you and how \add well\add* your animals have prospered under my care. 
\v 30 The few that you owned before I came have multiplied dramatically. Yes, Yahweh has blessed you because of me. But now, I need to also provide for my \add own\add* family!”
\p
\v 31 So Laban asked \add him\add*, “What can I pay you \add to persuade you\add* \add to stay here\add*?” Jacob answered, “Do not pay me anything. Just do this \add one\add* thing for me, and I will continue taking care of your flock\add s\add*: 
\v 32 Let me look through all your flock\add s\add* today and separate out from them all the lambs that are speckled, spotted or dark-colored, and \add all\add* the young goats that are spotted or speckled. They will be my pay. 
\v 33 That way \add too\add*, in the future it will be easy \add for you\add* to know whether \add or not\add* I am being honest whenever you check the animals you have paid me. \add If you see that I have\add* any \add sheep or\add* goats that are not speckled or spotted or any lambs \add that are not\add* dark-colored, \add you will know that\add* I stole them \add from you\add*.”
\p
\v 34 Laban replied, “I agree, let’s do exactly as you have suggested.” 
\v 35 But that \add same\add* day, Laban separated \add from his flocks\add* \add all\add* the he-goats that had stripes or spots, and all the she-goats that had speckles or spots, all that \add had any\add* white \add marks\add* on them, together with all the dark-colored lambs. Then he told his sons to take care of \add them\add*, 
\v 36 and he \add and his sons\add* took \add those animals\add* a three-day walking-distance away from Jacob. Meanwhile Jacob continued taking care of the rest of Laban’s flock\add s\add*.
\p
\v 37 Then Jacob cut \add some\add* branches from poplar \add trees\add*, almond \add trees\add*, and chestnut \add trees\add*, and made white streaks on them \add by peeling off long strips of bark\add*, which exposed the white \add wood\add* that was inside the branches. 
\v 38 Then he put those \add streaked\add* branches in all the drinking troughs that the flock\add s\add* would come to drink from, so that the flock\add s\add* would see the branches. \add That way, whenever\add* the animals that were ready to mate came \add to the troughs\add* to drink, 
\v 39 they would see the branches as they were mating. As a result, they would have \add young that were\add* striped or speckled or spotted. 
\v 40 Then Jacob separated those young animals \add from Laban’s flocks\add* \add to form new flocks for himself\add*, and he put \add the rest of\add* the flock\add s\add* with the striped and dark-colored \add animals\add* in Laban’s flock\add s\add* \add so that they would mate and have young that were striped or dark-colored\add*. In that way, \add over time\add* he created separate flocks \add of sheep and goats\add* for himself that he kept separate from Laban’s flock\add s\add*.
\p
\v 41 Whenever the stronger female animals were ready to mate, Jacob put the \add streaked\add* branches in the \add drinking\add* troughs in front of those animals so that they would see the branches as they were mating. 
\v 42 But whenever the weaker female animals \add were ready to mate\add*, Jacob did not put \add the branches\add* \add in the troughs\add*. In that way, \add the young from\add* the weaker \add animals\add* were Laban’s and \add the young from\add* the stronger \add animals\add* were Jacob’s. 
\v 43 So Jacob became extremely wealthy. He owned large flock\add s\add* \add of sheep and goats\add*, and \add many\add* male and female servants and \add many\add* camels and donkeys.
\c 31
\s1 Jacob and His Family Flee from Laban
\sr 31:1-21
\p
\v 1 Then \add one day\add* Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were \add complaining and\add* saying, “Jacob has taken \add for himself\add* everything that our father owned. In fact, he has gotten all his riches by taking \add the animals\add* that were our father’s!” 
\v 2 Jacob also noticed that Laban no longer acted friendly toward him the way he did in the past. 
\v 3 Then Yahweh told Jacob, “Return to your ancestors’ homeland, where your relatives live, and I will stay with you \add and help you\add*.”
\p
\v 4 So Jacob sent a message to Rachel and Leah that they should meet him at the field \add where he was with\add* his flock\add s\add* \add of sheep and goats\add*. 
\v 5 \add When they arrived,\add* he said to them, “I have noticed that your father no longer acts friendly toward me the way he did in the past, but the God whom my father serves has stayed with me \add and has helped me\add*. 
\v 6 You \add both\add* know how I have worked for your father as hard as I could, 
\v 7 but he has cheated me by changing what he pays me ten times. However, God has not permitted him to hurt me. 
\v 8 \add For example,\add* every time that he told \add me\add* that the speckled \add animals\add* would be my pay, all \add the female animals in\add* the flock\add s\add* gave birth to speckled \add young\add*. But whenever he \add changed his mind and\add* told \add me\add* that the striped animals would be my pay, then they all gave birth to streaked \add young\add*. 
\v 9 In that way, God has taken your father’s animals \add from him\add* and has given \add them\add* to me.
\p
\v 10 “One time during the season when the flock\add s\add* \add of sheep and goats\add* were mating, I had a dream. \add In the dream\add* I looked around and was surprised to see that the \add only\add* male goats \add and sheep\add* that were mating with the female goats \add and sheep\add* \add were\add* striped, speckled, or blotched. 
\v 11 Then an angel from God called to me in the dream, ‘Jacob!’ and I answered, ‘Yes, \add Lord\add*?’ 
\v 12 Then he said \add to me\add*, ‘Look around and notice \add that\add* all the male goats \add and sheep\add* that are mating with the female goats \add and sheep\add* \add are\add* striped, speckled, or blotched. \add I have caused that to happen,\add* because I have noticed all \add the wrong things\add* that Laban has been doing to you. 
\v 13 I am the God \add who appeared to you\add* at \add the town of\add* Bethel, where you poured oil on top of a memorial stone \add to dedicate the place to me\add*, \add and\add* where you made an oath to me. \add So\add* then, get ready \add and\add* leave this land \add immediately\add*, and go back to your home land.’ ”
\p
\v 14 Then Rachel and Leah responded to Jacob, “We will not inherit anything from our father \add when he dies\add*! 
\v 15 It is obvious that he treats us like strangers \add and not family\add*. For example, he sold us \add to you\add*, and then he spent all the money that should have been ours. 
\v 16 In fact, all the wealth that God has taken from our father \add rightfully\add* \add belongs\add* to us and our children. So then, \add you should\add* do everything that God has told you \add to do\add*.”
\p
\v 17 So Jacob \add quickly\add* got ready \add for the journey\add* and helped his wives and his children \add get up\add* onto some camels. 
\v 18 Then he \add started\add* herding \add the camels and\add* all his \add other\add* animals toward the region of Canaan where his father Isaac lived. \add He took with him\add* all his possessions that he had accumulated, \add including\add* all the livestock that he had acquired \add while living\add* in \add the region of\add* Paddan Aram.
\p
\v 19 Now \add before that,\add* Laban \add the Aramean\add* had gone away \add for several days\add* to shear his sheep. \add While her father was gone,\add* Rachel \add entered his tent and\add* stole his idols \add that he worshiped\add*. 
\v 20 At the same time, Jacob \add also\add* deceived Laban by fleeing \add secretly\add* without telling him that he was leaving. 
\v 21 So \add in that way\add* Jacob ran away \add with his family\add* and \add took\add* everything that they owned. They quickly crossed the \add Euphrates\add* River and headed toward the hill country of Gilead.
\s1 Laban Chases After Jacob and His Family
\sr 31:22-42
\p
\v 22 Three days later someone informed Laban that Jacob had run away. 
\v 23 So Laban took \add some of\add* his relatives with him and chased after Jacob \add and his family\add* for seven days until they overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. 
\v 24 But that night God appeared to Laban in a dream and warned him, “Be sure that you do not threaten Jacob in any way.”
\p
\v 25 \add By the time that\add* Laban caught up with Jacob, Jacob had \add already\add* set up his tents in the hill country \add of Gilead\add*, so Laban and his relatives \add also\add* set up camp there \add at a place nearby\add*. 
\v 26 Then \add the next day\add* Laban \add met with Jacob and\add* complained to him, “Look what you have done! You have deceived me and dragged away my daughters like prisoners of war! 
\v 27 You should not have deceived me and secretly run away! You should have told me \add you were leaving\add*! \add If I had known,\add* we could have \add held a feast and\add* sung joyful songs \add and danced\add* together, with tambourines and lyres playing, before sending you \add on your way\add*. 
\v 28 You did not \add even\add* let me kiss my daughters and my grandchildren \add before they left\add*! What you have done is foolish! 
\v 29 I have the power to harm \add all of\add* you, but last night \add in a dream\add* the God whom your father serves warned me not to threaten you in any way. 
\v 30 Now then, \add I understand that\add* you left because you were so homesick to return to your father’s family, \add but\add* why did you steal my gods?”
\p
\v 31 Jacob answered Laban, “\add We left secretly\add* because I was afraid. I thought that \add if I told you we were leaving,\add* you might take your \add two\add* daughters from me \add by force\add*. 
\v 32 \add However we did not take your gods. In fact,\add* if you find your gods with anyone \add here\add*, that person will die \add for stealing them\add*! \add So\add* while our relatives are watching, \add go ahead and\add* search \add all\add* my belongings for yourself. \add If you find\add* anything that is yours, take it.” \add When Jacob said that,\add* he did not know that Rachel \add was the one who\add* had stolen the idols.
\p
\v 33 So Laban started searching in Jacob’s tent. Then \add he searched\add* through Leah’s tent and through the two servant women’s tent, but he did not find \add anything\add* \add that belonged to him\add*. Next after he left those tents, he went into Rachel’s tent. 
\v 34 Now Rachel had hidden the idols inside \add her\add* camel saddlebag, and she was sitting on them. So although Laban searched through everything \add else\add* in the tent, he could not find them. 
\v 35 \add As he was searching,\add* Rachel said to him, “Sir, \add please\add* do not be upset that I am not able to get up to greet you, because it’s that time of the month \add when I feel weak\add*.” \add That is also why\add* he could not find \add his\add* idols when he searched \add her tent\add*.
\p
\v 36 Then Jacob became \add very\add* angry \add at Laban\add* and confronted him by saying to him, “Tell me my crime! Tell me what sin I have done \add against you\add* that gives you the right to chase after me! 
\v 37 Now that you have searched through all my things, did you find anything \add that anyone took\add* from your household? \add If so,\add* put \add it\add* here in front of our relatives, so that they can decide which one of us is right!
\p
\v 38 “For twenty years I \add have worked\add* for you! \add During all that time\add* your sheep and your goats had no trouble bearing young, and I have never \add killed and\add* eaten \add any\add* animals from your flocks. 
\v 39 Whenever wild animals killed \add any of\add* your animals, I never brought \add the dead animal\add* to you \add to prove I was innocent\add*. \add Rather,\add* I replaced them at my own expense. \add Besides that,\add* you required me to pay for \add any\add* animals \add that anyone ever\add* stole \add at any time of\add* day or night. 
\v 40 That was my situation! During the days, I suffered from the hot sun, and during the nights it was so cold that I could not sleep. 
\v 41 \add It was like\add* that for me \add during the entire\add* twenty years that I was with you. I worked for you for fourteen years in order to marry your two daughters, and \add I worked\add* \add another\add* six years to earn flocks \add of animals\add* from you, even though you changed my pay ten times. 
\v 42 If God, whom my ancestors Abraham and Isaac serve and revere, had not been with me \add to take care of me\add*, there is no doubt that I would now be leaving \add here\add* with \add absolutely\add* nothing. \add But\add* God knows how \add much\add* you have mistreated me and how hard I have worked \add for you\add*, so last night he rebuked \add you\add*.”
\s1 Jacob and Laban Establish a Peace Treaty with Each Other
\sr 31:43-55
\p
\v 43 Then Laban responded to Jacob, “These women \add are\add* my daughters, and their children \add are\add* my grandchildren, and these flock\add s\add* \add are\add* \add also\add* mine. In fact, all that you see \add here\add* is mine! But there is nothing I can do today to keep my daughters or their children near me \add any longer\add*! 
\v 44 So then, you and I should make a \add peace\add* treaty \add with each other\add*, and there should be something to remind us \add to keep that treaty\add*.” 
\v 45 So Jacob picked out a \add large\add* stone and set it up \add on its end\add* \add as\add* a monument \add to mark the place where they made their treaty\add*. 
\v 46 Then he told his relatives, “Gather \add some more\add* stones.” So they \add all\add* gathered stones and put them in a \add large\add* pile. Then everyone ate \add a meal together\add* there next to the pile \add of stones\add*. 
\v 47 Laban gave the pile the \add Aramaic\add* name Jegar Sahadutha, \add which means “pile that reminds,”\add* while Jacob gave it the \add Hebrew\add* name Galeed, \add which has the same meaning\add*. 
\v 48 Laban said \add to him\add*, “\add Starting\add* today this pile \add of stones\add* will remind you and me \add about our peace treaty\add*.” That is why the name of that place is Galeed. 
\v 49 \add Another name for the place is\add* Mizpah, \add which means “watchtower,”\add* because Laban said \add to Jacob\add*, “May Yahweh watch both of us \add to make sure that we keep our treaty\add* while we are apart from each other. 
\v 50 If you treat my daughters badly, or if you marry \add other\add* wives besides them, remember \add that\add* \add even if\add* no one \add else\add* is watching us, God is \add always\add* watching both of us \add to hold us accountable\add*.”
\p
\v 51 Then Laban \add also\add* said to Jacob, “Here is this pile \add of stones\add*, and here is this monument which we stood up between us \add to remind us about our peace treaty\add*. 
\v 52 This pile \add of stones\add* and this monument \add both\add* remind us that I must never go past this pile \add to attack you\add*, and that you must never go past this pile and this monument to attack me. 
\v 53 May \add your grandfather\add* Abraham’s God and \add my grandfather\add* Nahor’s gods, \add which were also\add* their father \add Terah\add*’s gods, judge between us \add and punish us if we break this agreement\add*!” But Jacob made a vow by the God whom his father Isaac revered \add that he would keep their treaty\add*, 
\v 54 and he burned \add the body of\add* an animal \add on an altar\add* as a sacrifice \add to God\add* on the mountain. Then he invited his relatives to eat a meal \add together\add* \add there\add*. So they \add all\add* ate the meal \add together\add* and spent the night there.
\p
\v 55 Early the next morning Laban got up and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters \add goodbye\add* \add on the cheeks\add* and asked God to bless them. Then he \add and his men\add* left \add from there\add* and returned home.
\c 32
\s1 Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau
\sr 32:1-21
\p
\v 1 Meanwhile Jacob continued on his journey \add toward home\add* \add with his family\add*, and \add some\add* angels from God met him. 
\v 2 When Jacob saw the angels, he exclaimed, “This is God’s army!” So he named that place Mahanaim, \add which means “two armies.”\add*
\p
\v 3 Then Jacob sent \add some\add* messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau \add who was living\add* in the region of Seir, \add which was also called\add* the country of Edom. 
\v 4 \add Before they left,\add* he ordered them, “This \add is what\add* you must tell my master Esau: ‘I, your servant Jacob, want you to know that I have been staying with \add our uncle\add* Laban all this time. 
\v 5 I \add now\add* own \add many\add* cattle, donkeys, and flocks, as well as \add many\add* male and female servants. I have sent this message to \add you,\add* sir, hoping that you will be kind \add to me\add* \add when I arrive\add*.’ ”
\p
\v 6 \add After the messengers delivered Jacob’s message,\add* they returned to Jacob and reported \add to him\add*, “We went \add and spoke\add* to your brother Esau. Now he is on his way \add here\add* to meet you, but \add there are\add* \add also\add* 400 men \add coming\add* with him!” 
\v 7 \add When Jacob heard that,\add* he was very frightened and worried. So he put \add all\add* the people \add and animals\add* that were with him into two \add large\add* groups, including \add his family, his servants and\add* \add all\add* his flocks \add of sheep and goats\add*, herds \add of cattle\add* and camels. 
\v 8 \add He did that\add* because he thought, “If Esau \add and his men\add* come and attack one group, then the other group might \add be able to\add* escape.”
\p
\v 9 Then he prayed, “\add Dear\add* Yahweh, the God whom my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac served, you told me to go back to my country where my relatives live, and that you would cause me to prosper. 
\v 10 I am not worthy of how kind and faithful you have always been to \add me\add* as I have served you. When I \add first\add* crossed this Jordan \add River\add*, all that I owned was my walking stick, but now my family and belongings are enough to form two \add large\add* groups. 
\v 11 Please rescue me \add now\add* from my brother Esau, because I am afraid that he \add and his men\add* will come and attack me \add as well as\add* \add these\add* mothers and \add our\add* children! 
\v 12 But you promised me that you would greatly prosper me, and that you would make my descendants \add as numerous\add* as \add the grains of\add* sand on the seashore, which are so numerous that no one can count them all.”
\p
\v 13 Then Jacob spent the night there, and \add during that time\add* he selected many of his animals to give to his brother Esau, 
\v 14 \add including\add* 200 female goats and twenty male goats, 200 female sheep and twenty male sheep, 
\v 15 thirty mother camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, \add and\add* twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 
\v 16 Jacob put his servants in charge of the animals, with each kind \add of animal\add* in a separate group. Then he ordered his servants, “Go ahead of me, \add one group at a time,\add* and keep \add some\add* distance between each group \add of animals\add*.” 
\v 17 He \add also\add* ordered the servant in charge of the first group \add of animals\add*, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, ‘Who is your master, and where are you headed? And who do these \add animals\add* belong to \add that you are driving\add* ahead of you?’ 
\v 18 then you are to tell \add him\add*, ‘Esau, sir, these \add animals\add* belong to Jacob who \add humbly\add* serves you. He has sent them to you as a gift. In fact, he is following us \add here\add*.’ ”
\p
\v 19 In the same way, Jacob ordered the servants who were in charge of the second and third groups \add of animals\add*, and all \add the servants\add* who were in charge of the \add other\add* groups, “When you meet Esau, tell him the same thing \add that I told the first servant\add*. 
\v 20 Especially be sure to tell \add him\add* that his servant Jacob is following you \add there\add*.” \add Jacob did all that,\add* because he thought that if he sent the gifts \add of animals\add* ahead of himself \add to Esau\add*, then Esau would stop being angry at him. He was hoping that when Esau saw the gifts, he would \add forgive him and\add* welcome him when they met in person. 
\v 21 So Jacob’s servants \add went\add* ahead of Jacob with the \add animal\add* gifts \add for Esau\add*, while Jacob \add and his family\add* stayed \add behind\add* in the camp that night.
\s1 Jacob Wrestles with God, Who Names Him Israel
\sr 32:22-32
\p
\v 22 \add Later\add* that \add same\add* night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives and his eleven sons across a shallow place in the Jabbok \add Stream\add*. 
\v 23 \add After\add* he had taken them across the stream, he \add went back and\add* had his servants take \add all\add* his \add animals and other\add* belongings across \add the stream\add* \add too\add*. 
\v 24 Then Jacob was \add there\add* by himself \add for a while\add*, and a man \add came and\add* fought with him until daybreak. 
\v 25 When the man realized that he was not able to defeat Jacob, he struck him on his hip, so that it went out of place as they fought with each other. 
\v 26 Then the man said \add to him\add*, “Let go of me, because it is daybreak!” But Jacob replied, “\add No!\add* I will not let go of you until you \add first\add* bless me!” 
\v 27 So the man asked him, “What \add is\add* your name?” He answered, “\add My name is\add* Jacob.” 
\v 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but \add rather it will be\add* Israel, \add which means “he who wrestles with God,”\add* because you have wrestled with God and with people, and you have won.”
\p
\v 29 Then Jacob asked \add the man\add* to tell him his name. But he replied, “There is no need for you to ask \add me\add* what my name is!” Then the man blessed Jacob there. 
\v 30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, \add which means “God’s face,”\add* because \add he exclaimed\add*, “I saw God’s face \add here\add*, but \add yet\add* he allowed me to live!”
\p
\v 31 The sun was shining as Jacob left Penuel \add and returned to his family\add*. He was limping \add as he walked\add* because of his hip \add injury\add*. 
\v 32 That is why even today the people of Israel do not eat meat that comes from an \add animal’s\add* hip joint, because that is the place on Jacob’s hip that God struck \add and injured\add*.
\c 33
\s1 Jacob Reunites with Esau and Settles in \add the City of\add* Shechem
\sr 33:1-20
\p
\v 1 Then Jacob looked and saw \add in the distance\add* that Esau was coming \add toward him\add*, and with him \add were\add* 400 men! So Jacob \add quickly\add* divided up \add his\add* children among Leah, Rachel and \add his\add* two servant wives. 
\v 2 He put his servant wives and their children first \add in line\add*, then Leah with her children behind them, and Rachel with \add her son\add* Joseph last. 
\v 3 Then Jacob himself went ahead of them \add all\add* \add toward his brother\add*. As he got closer to him, he bowed \add with his face\add* to the ground seven times \add to show respect\add*.
\p
\v 4 But Esau ran to greet Jacob and hugged him. He held him tightly and kissed him \add on the cheeks\add*, as they \add both\add* cried \add for joy\add*. 
\v 5 Then Esau looked ahead and noticed the women and children \add who were there\add*, so he asked \add Jacob\add*, “Who \add are\add* these \add people\add*? \add Do they belong\add* to you?” Jacob answered \add him\add*, “\add They are\add* \add the wives and\add* the children whom God has kindly given to me, sir.” 
\v 6 Then the \add two\add* servant wives with their children came forward, and they \add all\add* bowed \add to the ground\add* \add in front of Esau\add* \add to show respect\add*. 
\v 7 Next Leah and her children also came forward and bowed \add to the ground\add*. Then last \add of all\add*, Joseph and \add his mother\add* Rachel came forward, and they \add also\add* bowed \add to the ground\add*.
\p
\v 8 Then Esau asked \add Jacob\add*, “Why did you send all those herds \add of animals\add* that I encountered?” Jacob answered \add him\add*, “\add They are gifts for you\add* so that you will be kind to me, sir.” 
\v 9 But Esau replied, “My brother, I \add already\add* have enough \add animals\add*, \add so\add* keep them for yourself.” 
\v 10 But Jacob insisted, “Please do not refuse \add my gifts\add*. \add Rather,\add* if you want to be kind to me, then \add please\add* accept these gifts from me. After all, for me to see your face is like seeing God’s face, especially since you have welcomed me \add so kindly\add*. 
\v 11 \add So\add* please accept my gift \add of animals\add* that I sent to you, because God has been kind to me, so that I have all \add that I need\add*.” Jacob kept insisting \add that Esau accept the animals from him\add* until \add finally\add* he accepted \add them\add*.
\p
\v 12 Then Esau suggested \add to Jacob\add*, “Let’s start traveling \add home\add*, and I will accompany you.” 
\v 13 But Jacob replied to him, “Sir, as you know, \add my\add* children \add are\add* fragile, and I need \add to be careful with\add* \add all\add* the sheep and cattle that are nursing \add their young\add*. If I force the animals to go too far \add for\add* \add even\add* one day, all of them will die. 
\v 14 \add So then,\add* sir, please go on \add home\add* ahead of me, sir. I will travel along slowly at a safe pace for the animals and the children that are with me, until we reach you in \add the region of\add* Seir.”
\p
\v 15 So Esau responded, “\add Okay, then\add* please let me leave with you some of my men \add to escort you\add*.” But Jacob replied, “There is no need \add for you\add* to do that. \add Just\add* please \add continue to\add* be kind to me, sir.” 
\v 16 So that \add same\add* day Esau \add and his men\add* started on their way back \add home\add* to \add the land of\add* Seir. 
\v 17 Meanwhile, \add instead of going to Seir,\add* Jacob \add and his family\add* traveled to \add the town of\add* Succoth. There he \add and his men\add* built houses for himself \add and his family\add*, and they built \add some\add* shelters for his animals. That is why the name of that place is Succoth, \add which means “shelters.”\add*
\p
\v 18 \add After that,\add*  Jacob \add and his family\add* continued their journey \add home\add* from Paddan Aram, until they arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the region of Canaan. Then they set up their tents \add in a field\add* near that city. 
\v 19 \add While he was there,\add* he bought the land where he had set up his tents for a hundred pieces \add of silver\add* from the descendants of Hamor, \add who was\add* the father of Shechem. 
\v 20 Jacob \add also\add* built an altar \add out of stones\add* on that land, and he named it El Elohe Israel, \add which means “God is the God of Israel.”\add*
\c 34
\s1 Shechem Rapes Dinah, and Jacob’s Sons Take Revenge
\sr 34:1-31
\p
\v 1 Then \add one day\add* Dinah, \add who was\add* the daughter of Jacob and Leah, went out to visit with \add some of\add* the local women. 
\v 2 The chief of that region was a Hivite named Hamor. His son Shechem saw \add how beautiful\add* Dinah was, so he grabbed \add hold of\add* her and raped her. 
\v 3 Shechem admired Jacob’s daughter Dinah so much that he fell in love with her and spoke sweetly to her \add to try to woo her\add*. 
\v 4 Then Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Negotiate \add things\add* for me so that I can marry this girl.”
\p
\v 5 When Jacob found out that Shechem had dishonored his daughter Dinah, his sons were \add still\add* \add out\add* in the fields taking care of his animals, so he didn’t say anything \add about it\add* until they returned \add home\add*. 
\v 6 Meanwhile, \add Shechem and\add* his father Hamor went to talk to Jacob. 
\v 7 Soon Jacob’s sons returned \add home\add* from the fields. When they heard \add what had happened\add*, they were shocked and extremely angry that Shechem had dishonored \add the people of\add* Israel by raping Jacob’s daughter. No one should ever do such a \add horrible\add* thing! 
\v 8 But Hamor urged Jacob and his sons, “My son Shechem deeply loves your daughter \add and sister\add*. \add So\add* please allow him to marry her. 
\v 9 \add In fact,\add* let’s allow marriage between our two people groups, \add so that\add* your daughters can marry our \add young men\add* and your \add young men\add* can marry our daughters. 
\v 10 You can live among us. The land is available for you \add to choose what you want\add*; live \add in it\add* \add wherever you want\add*. You can \add also\add* trade \add freely\add* here, and you can buy \add your own\add* \add land\add*.”
\p
\v 11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “\add Please\add* be kind to me \add and let me marry her\add*. Then I will pay \add you\add* whatever you request from me \add for her\add*. 
\v 12 Set the bride-price and \add marriage\add* gifts \add that I must pay\add* \add for her\add* as high as you want, and I will pay \add you\add* whatever you ask from me. \add Just please\add* give the young woman to me to marry.”
\p
\v 13 But since Shechem had dishonored their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons replied to him and his father Hamor in a deceitful way. 
\v 14 They said to them, “It would not be acceptable for us to let our sister marry a man \add like you\add* who is not circumcised, because that would dishonor our family! 
\v 15 The only way that we can agree with your proposal \add is\add* if \add first\add* you \add and your people\add* become like us by circumcising all of your males. 
\v 16 \add If you do that,\add* then we will allow your \add young\add* men to marry our daughters, and \add we will allow\add* your daughters to marry our \add young men\add*. We will \add also\add* live among you \add in this land\add*, so that we become one people group. 
\v 17 However if you refuse to agree with our requirement that you circumcise \add your people\add*, then we will take our sister and move \add somewhere else\add*.”
\p
\v 18 What Jacob’s sons said seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 
\v 19 So right away Shechem, who was the most respected member in his family, started to do what they required, because he was thrilled with Jacob’s daughter. 
\v 20 In fact, he and his father Hamor went \add straight\add* to their city entrance \add for a town meeting\add*, and they told the elders of their city \add about Jacob and his sons\add*, 
\v 21 “These people are friendly toward us, so \add let’s\add* allow them to live in \add our\add* land and trade \add freely\add* here. After all, there is more than enough space in the land for them \add too\add*. \add Besides that,\add* \add then\add* our \add young\add* men can marry their daughters, and their \add young\add* men can marry our daughters. 
\v 22 There is just one thing: They will only agree to live among us and become one people group \add with us\add* if we circumcise all our males so that we are like them. 
\v 23 \add But if we do that,\add* \add all\add* their property, \add including\add* their livestock and all their \add other\add* animals will belong to us! \add So\add* let’s just agree to do what they require so that they will live among us!”
\p
\v 24 All \add the men\add* who were leaders of the city agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, so they circumcised every male in the city, including themselves.
\p
\v 25 Three days later, when the men of \add the city of\add* Shechem were \add all\add* \add still\add* sore \add from being circumcised\add*, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, \add who were\add* Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the city, with no one opposing them. They killed all the men \add there\add* 
\v 26 with their swords, including Hamor and his son Shechem. Then they got Dinah from Shechem’s house and left \add the city\add*. 
\v 27 \add Next\add* \add all\add* Jacob’s sons went \add into the city\add* and took everything valuable from the dead bodies and from \add the rest of\add* the city. \add They did that,\add* because \add that was where\add* Shechem had dishonored their sister. 
\v 28 They plundered whatever was in the city and in the \add surrounding\add* fields, including the people’s flocks \add of sheep and goats\add*, their herds \add of cattle\add* and their donkeys. 
\v 29 They carried away all the valuable things the people of Shechem had owned, including everything that was in their houses. They also captured their women and children.
\p
\v 30 Later Jacob scolded Simeon and Levi \add by saying\add*, “You have brought me \add serious\add* trouble by causing the Canaanites and Perizzites who live in this land to hate us!” I \add only\add* have a few men \add to defend us\add*, so if they \add all\add* join \add forces\add* against us and attack us, they will destroy us and \add the rest of\add* our family!” 
\v 31 But Simeon and Levi responded, “Shechem should not have treated our sister like a whore!”
\c 35
\s1 God Blesses Jacob at \add the Town of\add* Bethel
\sr 35:1-15
\p
\v 1 Then God commanded Jacob, “Leave here and move to \add the town of\add* Bethel. Build an altar there \add and offer sacrifices on it\add* to worship \add me as\add* the God who appeared to you \add there\add* when you were running away from your brother Esau.” 
\v 2 So Jacob told his family and everyone else who \add was\add* with him, “Get rid of the idols you have that other people groups worship. Also wash and make yourselves clean and put on clean clothes. 
\v 3 Then we will leave here and move to \add the town of\add* Bethel. There we will build an altar and worship God because he helped me during the time when I was in trouble. He has \add always\add* been with us \add and taken care of us\add* everywhere that we have gone.” 
\v 4 So they gave Jacob all their idols and \add all\add* their earrings. Then Jacob buried all those things at the base of the oak tree that \add was\add* near \add the city of\add* Shechem.
\p
\v 5 Then Jacob and everyone with him left that place, and God caused \add the people in\add* the surrounding towns to be terrified, so that they did not attack Jacob’s family. 
\v 6 He and his family \add continued traveling\add* in the region of Canaan, and they arrived at \add the town of\add* Luz, which \add also has the name\add* Bethel. 
\v 7 There Jacob built an altar, and he named the place El Bethel, \add which means “the God of Bethel,”\add* because that is where God had \add first\add* appeared to him when he was running away from his brother.
\p
\v 8 \add While they were there,\add* Deborah died. She was the servant that had helped raise \add Jacob’s mother\add* Rebekah \add when she was young\add*. Jacob buried her body at the base of an oak tree, \add in the valley\add* near \add the town of\add* Bethel. So he named the place Allon Bacuth, \add which means “oak tree of mourning.”\add*
\p
\v 9 Now that Jacob had returned from \add the region of\add* Paddan Aram, God appeared to him \add at Bethel\add* again. \add There\add* God blessed him 
\v 10 and said to him, “\add Although\add* your name \add has been\add* Jacob, that will no longer be your name. Rather, you will have the name Israel!” So \add once again\add* God gave Jacob the name Israel.
\p
\v 11 Then God \add also\add* said to Jacob, “I am Almighty God. Have many children so that you \add and your descendants\add* become \add very\add* numerous. Your descendants will become many people groups, and some of your descendants will be kings. 
\v 12 \add Besides that,\add* the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I \add also\add* give to you and your descendants \add who live\add* after you.” 
\v 13 After God finished talking to Jacob, he left him there and went up \add to heaven\add*.
\p
\v 14 Then Jacob stood a \add large\add* stone up \add on its end\add* at the place where God had talked to him, to mark the place \add as special\add*. Then he poured some wine and some \add olive\add* oil on the stone marker \add to thank God and dedicate the place to him\add*. 
\v 15 Since God had talked to Jacob at that place, Jacob named it Bethel, \add which means “God’s house.”\add*
\s1 Rachel Dies Giving Birth to Benjamin
\sr 35:16-20
\p
\v 16 Later Jacob and his family moved on from Bethel and headed for \add the town of\add* Ephrath. While they were still some distance from there, \add his wife\add* Rachel went into labor, but she was experiencing great difficulty. 
\v 17 Then when her labor pain was at its worst, \add the baby was born and\add* the woman who was helping her deliver exclaimed to her, “Do not despair! You \add now\add* have another son!” 
\v 18 But Rachel was dying, and as her spirit was leaving her body, she named her baby Benoni \add which means “son of my sorrow”\add*. But \add later,\add* his father \add Jacob\add* changed his name to Benjamin, \add which means “son of my right hand.”\add*
\p
\v 19 After Rachel died, they buried her body beside the road to \add the town of\add* Ephrath, which \add also has the name\add* Bethlehem. 
\v 20 Jacob stood a stone up \add on its end\add* on her grave \add to mark where it was\add*. \add In fact,\add* that \add same\add* stone still marks Rachel’s grave today.
\s1 Jacob’s Twelve Sons
\sr 35:21-26
\p
\v 21 Then Israel \add and his family\add* moved on \add from there\add* and set up their tents on the south side of the tower of Eder. 
\v 22 While they were living in that area, \add Israel’s son\add* Reuben committed adultery with his father’s servant-wife Bilhah, and Israel found out \add about it\add*.
\p \add With the birth of Benjamin,\add* Jacob \add now\add* had \add a total of\add* twelve sons. 
\v 23 The sons \add he had\add* with Leah \add were\add* Reuben, \add who was\add* his oldest \add child\add*, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 
\v 24 The sons \add he had\add* with Rachel \add were\add* Joseph and Benjamin. 
\v 25 The sons \add he had\add* with Rachel’s servant Bilhah \add were\add* Dan and Naphtali. 
\v 26 And the sons \add he had\add* with Leah’s servant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. \add All\add* those \add are\add* the sons Jacob had \add starting from the time that he lived\add* in \add the region of\add* Paddan Aram.
\s1 Isaac Dies
\sr 35:27-29
\p
\v 27 Then Jacob went \add home\add* to his father Isaac \add in the city of\add* Mamre, which \add also has the name\add* Kiriath Arba or Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac \add and their families\add* had lived for a while \add as foreigners\add*. 
\v 28 Isaac lived to be 180 years old. 
\v 29 Then, after living a long, full life, he took his last breath and died, and he joined his ancestors \add who had died before him\add*. Then his sons Esau and Jacob buried his body.
\c 36
\s1 Esau’s Descendants
\sr 36:1-19
\r 1 Chronicles 1:34-54
\p
\v 1 Here \add is\add* a record about the descendants of Esau, whose \add name\add* was \add also\add* Edom. 
\v 2 Esau had married \add two\add* Canaanite women. \add Their names were\add* Adah, \add who was\add* the daughter of a Hittite \add man\add* named Elon, and Oholibamah, whose father was Anah and whose grandfather was a Hivite named Zibeon. 
\v 3 \add Esau also married\add* Basemath, \add who was\add* Ishmael’s daughter and Nebaioth’s sister.
\p
\v 4 Adah had \add a son\add* with Esau \add whom they named\add* Eliphaz, while Basemath had \add a son named\add* Reuel. 
\v 5 Oholibamah had \add sons named\add* Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. \add All\add* those \add were\add* Esau’s sons whom he and his wives had \add while they lived\add* in the region of Canaan.
\p
\v 6 Later Esau moved away from his brother Jacob. He took \add with him\add* his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the \add other\add* members of his household, as well as his livestock and all \add the rest of\add* his animals and all the \add other\add* belongings that he had gotten in the region of Canaan. 
\v 7 The reason \add he moved away\add* is that he and Jacob \add both\add* owned so many animals that they could not live together \add in the same area\add*. The land where they were staying was \add just\add* not big enough to support them \add both\add* because they had so many livestock. 
\v 8 That is how Esau \add and his family\add* ended up living in the Seir Mountains. \add That is the record about\add* Esau, that \add is\add*, Edom.
\p
\v 9 Here \add is\add* a \add more detailed\add* record of the descendants of Esau, \add who was\add* the ancestor of the Edomites \add who live\add* in the Seir Mountains. 
\v 10 \add Two of\add* Esau’s sons \add were\add* Eliphaz, whom he had with his wife Adah, and Reuel, whom he had with his wife Basemath. 
\v 11 Eliphaz \add and his wife\add* had sons \add they named\add* Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 
\v 12 Eliphaz and his servant-wife Timna had \add a son they named\add* Amalek. Eliphaz’s sons \add were\add* \add all\add* grandsons of \add Esau and\add* his wife Adah.
\p
\v 13 Reuel’s sons \add were\add* Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. They were the grandsons of \add Esau and\add* his wife Basemath.
\p
\v 14 Esau and his wife Oholibamah had sons \add whom they named\add* Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. \add Oholibamah was\add* the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon. 
\p
\v 15 Here \add is\add* \add a record of\add* the descendants of Esau \add who became\add* clan leaders: The sons of his firstborn \add son\add* Eliphaz \add who became\add* clan leaders \add were\add* Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 
\v 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. They \add were\add* the clan leaders \add who descended\add* from Eliphaz \add and lived\add* in the land of Edom. They \add were\add* \add all\add* grandsons of Adah \add and Esau\add*.
\p
\v 17 The sons of Esau’s son Reuel \add who became\add* clan leaders \add were\add* Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. They \add were\add* the clan leaders \add who descended\add* from Reuel \add and lived\add* in the land of Edom. They \add were\add* \add all\add* grandsons of \add Esau and\add* his wife Basemath.
\p
\v 18 The sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah \add who became\add* clan leaders were Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. They \add were\add* the clan leaders \add who descended\add* from \add Esau and\add* his wife Oholibamah, \add who was\add* Anah’s daughter.
\p
\v 19 \add All\add* those \add clan leaders\add* \add were\add* the descendants of Esau, that \add is\add*, Edom, and each one led his own family group.
\s1 Seir’s Descendants
\sr 36:20-30
\p
\v 20 Here is \add a record of\add* the descendants of Seir the Horite who were \add also\add* living in that land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 
\v 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. They were the descendants of Seir \add who became\add* clan leaders over the Horites in the land of Edom.
\p
\v 22 Lotan’s sons were Hori and Hemam, and his sister \add was\add* Timna.
\p
\v 23 Shobal’s sons \add were\add* Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
\p
\v 24 Zibeon’s sons \add were\add* Aiah and Anah. This \add is\add* \add the same\add* Anah who discovered some hot springs while he was \add out\add* in the desert grazing his father’s donkeys. 
\v 25 Anah’s children \add were\add* \add his son\add* Dishon and his daughter Oholibamah. 
\v 26 Dishon’s sons \add were\add* Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.
\p
\v 27 Ezer’s sons \add were\add* Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.
\p
\v 28 Dishan’s sons \add were\add* Uz and Aran.
\p
\v 29 The Horites \add who became\add* clan leaders \add were\add* Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 
\v 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. Those \add were\add* the Horite clan leaders. They led their own family groups \add and lived\add* in the land of Seir.
\s1 The Rulers over the Land of Edom
\sr 36:31-43
\r 1 Chronicles 1:43-54
\p
\v 31 Here \add is\add* \add a record of\add* the kings who ruled over \add the people of\add* the land of Edom before the Israelites had their own king. 
\v 32 Bela, \add who was\add* the son of Beor, was the \add first\add* king to rule over \add the people of\add* \add the land of\add* Edom. The name of his hometown \add that he ruled from\add* \add was\add* Dinhabah. 
\v 33 When \add King\add* Bela died, Jobab, \add who was\add* the son of Zerah, replaced him as king \add and ruled\add* from \add his hometown of\add* Bozrah. 
\v 34 When \add King\add* Jobab died, Husham replaced him as king \add and ruled\add* from \add his hometown, which was in\add* the land where the Temanites lived. 
\v 35 When \add King\add* Husham died, Hadad, \add who was\add* the son of Bedad, replaced him as king. \add King Hadad is the one\add* who defeated the Midianites \add in battle\add* in the land of Moab. The name of his hometown \add that he ruled from\add* \add was\add* Avith. 
\v 36 When \add King\add* Hadad died, Samlah replaced him as king \add and ruled\add* from \add his hometown of\add* Masrekah. 
\v 37 When \add King\add* Samlah died, Shaul replaced him as king \add and ruled\add* from \add his hometown of\add* Rehoboth beside the \add Euphrates\add* River. 
\v 38 When \add King\add* Shaul died, Baal-Hanan, \add who was\add* the son of Acbor, replaced him as king. 
\v 39 When \add King\add* Baal-Hanan died, Hadar replaced him as king, and the name of his hometown \add that he ruled from\add* \add was\add* Pau. His wife’s name \add was\add* Mehetabel, \add who was\add* the daughter of Matred \add and\add* the granddaughter of Me-Zahab.
\p
\v 40 Here \add are\add* the names of \add more of\add* the clan leaders \add who descended\add* from Esau; \add each clan leader led\add* his own family group and ruled his own region that was named after him: Timna, Alvan, Jetheth, 
\v 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 
\v 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 
\v 43 Magdiel, \add and\add* Iram. \add All of\add* those \add were\add* clan leaders over the Edomites; they \add all\add* led their own settlements in the land that they controlled. This \add concludes the record about\add* Esau, \add who was\add* the ancestor of \add all\add* the Edomites.
\c 37
\s1 Joseph’s Dreams Anger His Brothers
\sr 37:1–11
\p
\v 1 Jacob continued to live in the region of Canaan where his father \add Isaac\add* had lived for a while \add as a foreigner\add*. 
\v 2 Here is \add more of\add* the record about Jacob and his family: \add One day\add* \add his\add* seventeen-year-old son Joseph was taking care of the \add family’s\add* flocks \add of sheep and goats\add*. Joseph was helping his brothers \add who were\add* the sons of his father’s \add servant\add* wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he told their father about the bad things they were doing.
\p
\v 3 Now Israel, \add that is, Jacob,\add* loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he was born to him when he was old. So he made a \add special\add* robe for Joseph that had many colors. 
\v 4 When Joseph’s brothers realized that their father loved Joseph more than the rest of them, they hated him so much that they would not talk to him in a friendly manner.
\p
\v 5 \add One night\add* Joseph had a dream, and he told his brothers about it. That made them hate him even more \add than before\add*. 
\v 6 \add This is what\add* he told them, “Please listen to this dream that I had: 
\v 7 \add In it\add* I saw us \add working\add* out in a field \add cutting and\add* tying bundles \add of grain stalks\add*. Then suddenly the bundle that I had made stood up straight. Then I saw that the bundles you had made stood around \add my bundle\add* and bowed down to my bundle \add to show respect\add*.” 
\v 8 His brothers responded to him, “Do you really expect to be our king? You will never rule over us!” So they hated him even more \add intensely\add* \add than they did before\add* because of what he had said \add to them\add* about his dreams.
\p
\v 9 Then Joseph had another dream that he \add also\add* told to his brothers. He said, “Listen, I \add just\add* had another dream, and \add in it\add* I saw that the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down \add to the ground\add* before me \add to show respect\add*.” 
\v 10 Later Joseph told \add the same dream\add* to \add both\add* his father and his brothers, but his father scolded him by saying, “That \add is\add* a strange dream that you had! Do you really expect your mother and me and your brothers to bow down before you?” 
\v 11 So Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him, but his father continued to think about what it all could mean.
\s1 Joseph’s Brothers Sell Him as a Slave and He Is Taken to \add the Country of\add* Egypt
\sr 37:12-36
\p
\v 12 Sometime after that, Joseph’s brothers took their father’s flock\add s\add* \add of sheep and goats\add* to graze \add in the fields\add* near \add the city of\add* Shechem. 
\v 13 Then \add one day\add* Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are tending \add our flocks\add* near \add the city of\add* Shechem. Get ready so that I can send you to them.” Joseph responded, “I’m ready \add to go\add*.” 
\v 14 Then Israel told him, “Please go and check on how your brothers and the flock\add s\add* are doing. Then report back to me \add what you find out\add*.” So Israel sent him \add on his way\add* from \add their home in\add* the valley near \add the city of\add* Hebron, and Joseph traveled to \add the city of\add* Shechem. 
\v 15 \add When he arrived there,\add* a man saw him searching around in the \add nearby\add* fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?” 
\v 16 He replied, “I am looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are tending \add their flocks\add*?” 
\v 17 The man answered, “They were here and then left, but I overheard them say that they were going to \add the town of\add* Dothan.”
\p So Joseph followed his brothers and caught up with them near \add the town of\add* Dothan. 
\v 18 But they saw him while he was still some distance away, and before he reached them, they made plans to kill him. 
\v 19 They said to each other \add about him\add*, “Look, here comes that expert dreamer! 
\v 20 Come on, let’s kill him and throw his body into one of the pits \add here\add*. Then we can tell \add people\add* that a vicious animal ate him up, and we will watch if his dreams come true!”
\p
\v 21 But Reuben heard \add their plan\add*, so he \add tried to\add* rescue Joseph from them by urging them, “We should not kill him.” 
\v 22 Then he continued, “You must not take his life. \add Instead\add* put him into this pit \add here\add* in the desert, but you must not harm him.” Reuben was planning to rescue Joseph from them and take him back \add home\add* to their father.
\p
\v 23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they \add took hold of him and\add* ripped off the colorful robe that he was wearing. 
\v 24 Then they grabbed him and put him into the pit. The pit \add was\add* empty and \add completely\add* dry inside.
\p
\v 25 Then \add some of\add* Joseph’s brothers sat down to eat a meal. \add While they were eating,\add* they looked around and noticed \add that\add* a \add large\add* group of Ishmaelite \add traders\add* was traveling \add toward them\add* from \add the region of\add* Gilead. Their camels were loaded with \add expensive\add* spices, healing salve, and incense \add that\add* they were taking down to \add the country of\add* Egypt \add to sell there\add*. 
\v 26 So Judah urged to his brothers, “We will not gain anything by killing our brother and trying to hide it! 
\v 27 \add Instead,\add* come on, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite \add traders\add* \add over there\add* so that we will not be guilty of harming him. After all, he \add is\add* a member of our family, our own brother.” Judah’s brothers agreed \add with him\add*. 
\v 28 So when the Midianite \add (that is, Ishmaelite)\add* traders came by \add them\add*, \add some of\add* Joseph’s brothers pulled Joseph up out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty \add pieces of\add* silver. Then the Ishmaelites took him to \add the country of\add* Egypt.
\p
\v 29 Later Reuben came back to the pit, and he was shocked to see that Joseph was not there! So he tore his clothes \add to show distress\add*. 
\v 30 Then he went to his brothers and exclaimed \add to them\add*, “Joseph is gone! Now I do not know what to do!” 
\v 31 So Joseph’s brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in the \add goat’s\add* blood.
\p
\v 32 Then they had someone take the colorful robe back to their father and say \add to him\add* \add for them\add*, “We found this \add robe\add*. Please look at it \add to see\add* whether or not it is your son’s.” 
\v 33 Jacob recognized the robe and exclaimed, “\add This is\add* my son \add Joseph\add*’s robe! Clearly a fierce animal has torn him to bits and eaten him up!” 
\v 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes \add in grief\add*, put on mourning clothes, and for many days he mourned that his son had died. 
\v 35 All Jacob’s sons and daughters came \add to him\add* \add and tried\add* to console him, but he did not let them comfort him. Instead he said \add to them\add*, “\add No,\add* I will continue to mourn \add for my son\add* until I \add die and\add* go down to be with him in the afterworld.” So Joseph’s father continued to mourn for him.
\p
\v 36 Meanwhile, in \add the country of\add* Egypt, the Midianite \add traders\add* sold Joseph to Potiphar, \add who was\add* an officer under Pharaoh \add the king of Egypt\add*; \add he was\add* the captain over the \add palace\add* guards.
\c 38
\s1 Judah and His Daughter-in-law Tamar
\sr 38:1-30
\p
\v 1 About that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to \add the town of\add* Adullam and stayed near \add the home of\add* a man from there whose name \add was\add* Hirah. 
\v 2 \add While he was living\add* there, he met a Canaanite woman whose father \add was\add* Shua, and he married her. Then he had \add marital\add* relations with her, 
\v 3 and she became pregnant. When she gave birth, she had a son, whom Judah named Er. 
\v 4 Then Judah’s wife became pregnant again and gave birth to \add another\add* son, and she named him Onan. 
\v 5 Then she \add became pregnant\add* yet again and gave birth to another son, and she named him Shelah. When she gave birth to Shelah, Judah was at \add the town of\add* Kezib.
\p
\v 6 When Judah’s oldest son Er \add grew up\add*, Judah arranged for him to marry a woman whose name \add was\add* Tamar. 
\v 7 But Er did things that Yahweh considered to be evil, so Yahweh caused him to die.
\p
\v 8 After that, Judah told \add his son\add* Onan, “Marry your brother’s widow \add Tamar\add* \add according to our custom\add* so that you fulfill your obligation to her \add as her brother-in-law\add* and have children \add with her\add* for your \add deceased\add* brother.” 
\v 9 However Onan knew that the children \add they would  have together\add* would not belong to him. So whenever he had \add marital\add* relations with Tamar, he wasted \add his semen\add* on the ground to keep her from \add getting pregnant and\add* having \add any\add* children for his brother. 
\v 10 Yahweh considered what Onan did to be evil, so he caused him to die too.
\p
\v 11 Then Judah told his daughter-in-law Tamar, “\add Go and\add* live at your father’s house, and do not marry again until my son Shelah is old enough \add to marry you\add*.” \add Actually Judah did not want Shelah to marry Tamar\add* because he was afraid \add that if he did,\add* he would also die like his brothers had. So Tamar went \add home\add* to her father’s house and stayed there.
\p
\v 12 After a long time, Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah finished mourning \add for her\add*, \add one day\add* he \add decided to\add* go to \add the town of\add* Timnah \add to work\add* with \add the men\add* who were shearing his sheep \add there\add*. He and his friend Hirah, \add who was\add* from \add the town of\add* Adullam, \add started traveling there together\add*. 
\v 13 Meanwhile someone told Tamar, “Listen, your father-in-law \add Judah\add* is on his way to \add the town of\add* Timnah to shear his sheep.” 
\v 14 So she changed from her clothes that showed she was a widow and covered her face with a \add thin\add* headscarf and dressed herself \add like a prostitute\add*. Then \add she went\add* toward \add the town of\add* Timnah and sat down near the gateway of \add the town of\add* Enaim, which \add was\add* along the way. \add She did that\add* because she had noticed that Shelah was now old enough \add to marry\add*, but Judah had not given her to him to marry \add as he was supposed to do\add*.
\p
\v 15 \add As Judah was traveling to Timnah,\add* he saw Tamar \add beside the road\add*, but since she had veiled her face \add with a scarf\add*, \add he could not see who she was, and\add* he assumed that she was a prostitute. 
\v 16 So he went over to where she was \add sitting\add* beside the road and said \add to her\add*, “Let me have sex with you.” \add He did that\add* because he did not recognize that she was his daughter-in-law \add Tamar\add*. So she asked \add him\add*, “What will you pay me so that you can have sex with me?” 
\v 17 He answered \add her\add*, “I will send \add you\add* a young goat from my flock.” She replied, “\add I will agree,\add* if you will give \add me\add* something \add valuable\add* \add of yours\add* to keep until you deliver \add the goat to me\add*.” 
\v 18 So Judah asked, “What do you want me to leave with you?” She answered \add him\add*, “\add Leave me\add* your name seal with its cord \add that you have around your neck\add*, and your walking stick that you are holding.” So he gave \add those things\add* to her. Then he had \add sexual\add* relations with her, and she became pregnant from him. 
\v 19 After that, Tamar left \add Judah\add* and returned \add home\add*. Then she took off her scarf and put on her clothes that showed she was a widow.
\p
\v 20 Meanwhile Judah sent a young goat with his friend \add Hirah\add*, \add who was\add* from \add the town of\add* Adullam, to reclaim his things from the prostitute \add whom he had given them to\add*. But \add when Hirah looked for her,\add* he was not able to find her. 
\v 21 So he asked \add some\add* men \add who lived\add* near the place where she had been, “Where \add is\add* the temple prostitute who was \add sitting\add* beside the road near \add the town of\add* Enaim?” But they answered \add him\add*, “There has never been a temple prostitute around here.” 
\v 22 So Hirah returned to Judah and told \add him\add*, “I was not able to find the prostitute. In fact, the men who live near that town claim \add that\add* there has never been a temple prostitute around there.” 
\v 23 Then Judah said, “\add Stop looking for her and\add* let her keep \add my things\add* for herself. Otherwise everyone will make fun of us. Besides that, I \add did try to\add* send this goat \add to her\add*, but you were not able to find her.”
\p
\v 24 About three months later, someone told Judah, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has acted like a prostitute. In fact, look, \add she is\add* \add now\add* pregnant from doing that!” Judah responded \add angrily\add*, “Take her outside \add the town\add* and burn her \add to death\add*!” 
\v 25 \add So they went to get her, but\add* as they were taking her out \add of the town\add*, she sent \add a messenger\add* to her father-in-law \add along with his things\add* and told the messenger to say, “The man who owns these things is the one who got me pregnant. Please identify \add the man\add* who owns this name seal with its cord and this walking stick.” 
\v 26 Judah recognized \add his things\add* and confessed, “Tamar is right, and I am wrong, because I refused to have my son Shelah marry her \add as I was supposed to\add*!” \add So they released Tamar,\add* and \add after that\add* Judah never had \add sexual\add* relations with her again.
\p
\v 27 Months later, when Tamar was ready to give birth, they realized that \add there were\add* twins inside her! 
\v 28 While she was in labor, \add one of them\add* stuck out \add his\add* hand. So the midwife \add who was there\add* tied a \add bright\add* red string around his wrist and said, “This \add baby\add* was born first.” 
\v 29 But then the baby pulled his hand back inside, and suddenly his brother was born \add first\add* \add instead\add*. So the midwife exclaimed \add to the baby\add*, “What a dramatic way for you to burst out!” That is why he was named Perez, \add which means “break out.”\add* 
\v 30 After that, his brother, who \add had\add* the \add bright\add* red string on his wrist, came out. So he was named Zerah, \add which means “brightness.”\add*
\c 39
\s1 Potiphar’s Wife Tries to Seduce Joseph
\sr 39:1-23
\p
\v 1 Now \add as you know,\add* \add some\add* Ishmaelite traders had taken Joseph down to \add the country of\add* Egypt, and an Egyptian \add named\add* Potiphar had bought him \add as a servant\add* from them. Potiphar \add was\add* \add one of\add* \add King\add* Pharaoh’s officers, the captain over the king’s \add personal\add* guards. 
\v 2 As Joseph worked in his Egyptian owner’s house, Yahweh was with him \add and helped him\add*, so that he succeeded in everything he did. 
\v 3 His owner realized that Yahweh \add was\add* with him and was helping him to succeed in everything that he did. 
\v 4 So Potiphar was pleased with Joseph and made him his personal servant. He also put him in charge of managing his household and taking care of everything \add else\add* \add that\add* he owned. 
\v 5 From the time \add that\add* Joseph’s Egyptian owner did that, Yahweh blessed the household of that Egyptian \add man\add* for Joseph’s sake. He blessed everything that belonged to him, \add including\add* \add everything\add* in \add his\add* home and in \add his\add* fields. 
\v 6 In fact, after Joseph’s owner put him in charge of everything that he owned, he did not \add need to\add* concern himself with anything \add in his household\add* except for \add personal matters like\add* \add deciding\add* what \add kind of\add* food \add he wanted\add* to eat.
\p Joseph was well-built and good-looking. 
\v 7 So after a while, his owner’s wife started looking at him \add with desire\add* and told \add him\add*, “Come to bed with me!” 
\v 8 But Joseph refused and said to her, “Listen, because of me, my owner does not \add have to\add* concern himself with anything that \add is\add* in \add his\add* house. In fact, he has put me in charge of everything that he owns, 
\v 9 \add so that\add* he has no one in his household who has more authority than I do. He has given me freedom with everything \add in his household\add*, except you, \add of course,\add* because you \add are\add* his wife. So there is no way I would \add ever\add* sin against God by doing such an evil thing!” 
\v 10 Day after day Potiphar’s wife kept pressuring Joseph to go to bed with her, but he refused her requests and stayed away from her.
\p
\v 11 Then one day Joseph went to \add his owner’s\add* house \add as usual\add* to do his work, but no other menservants from the household were there. 
\v 12 So Potiphar’s wife \add saw her chance and\add* grabbed \add hold of\add* Joseph by his robe \add and\add* demanded, “Come to bed with me!” But \add immediately\add* he fled and left his robe in her hands as he ran outdoors. 
\v 13 As soon as she saw that Joseph had run outdoors and left his robe \add behind\add* in her hands, 
\v 14 she summoned the \add other\add* menservants from her household. Then \add when they arrived,\add* she exclaimed to them, “Look, my husband brought \add this\add* Hebrew servant \add here\add* among us to make fools of us! He came here to rape me, but I screamed loudly \add for help\add*! 
\v 15 Then as soon as he heard me scream like that, he left his robe with me and ran outdoors!”
\p
\v 16 So Potiphar’s wife kept Joseph’s robe with her until \add her husband,\add* Joseph’s owner, returned home. 
\v 17 Then she told him the same story. She said, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought among us came here to make a fool of me! 
\v 18 But as soon as I screamed loudly, he left his robe with me and ran outdoors!” 
\v 19 When Joseph’s owner heard what his wife said his servant had done to her, he became very angry. 
\v 20 So he \add had soldiers\add* arrest Joseph and put him in the prison where they kept people who had committed crimes against the king. 
\p Joseph remained there in prison,  
\v 21 but Yahweh was with him and was kind to him and caused the prison warden to be pleased with him, \add so that he treated him well\add*. 
\v 22 So \add before long\add* the warden put Joseph in charge of all the \add other\add* prisoners who \add were\add* in that prison, so that he \add was the one who\add* managed everything that they did there. 
\v 23 The warden did not \add need to\add* pay attention to anything at all that Joseph was in charge of, because Yahweh was with Joseph and enabled him to succeed at everything he did.
\c 40
\s1 The Head Wine-server’s and Head Baker’s Dreams
\sr 40:1-23
\p
\v 1 Sometime after that, the \add head\add* wine-server and the \add head\add* baker disobeyed their master, \add who was\add* \add Pharaoh,\add* the king of Egypt. 
\v 2 As a result, \add King\add* Pharaoh was furious with those two officers. 
\v 3 So he \add had his soldiers arrest them and\add* put them in prison at the captain over the guards’ house, in the same prison where Joseph was. 
\v 4 \add There\add* the captain over the guards appointed Joseph to \add take care of\add* them, so he served them, and they remained in prison \add for\add* some time.
\p
\v 5 One night the king of Egypt’s wine server and baker each had a dream while they were in prison. Each \add one’s\add* dream had its own meaning. 
\v 6 The next morning, when Joseph came to \add serve\add* them, he noticed that they looked sad. 
\v 7 So he asked them, “Why do you look \add so\add* unhappy today?” 
\v 8 They answered him, “We \add each\add* had a dream \add last night\add*, but there is no one \add here\add* who can tell \add us\add* what our dreams mean.” Joseph replied, “God is the \add only\add* one who gives someone the ability to interpret \add the meaning of dreams\add*. Please tell me \add what you dreamed\add*.”
\p
\v 9 Then the head wine-server told Joseph what was in his dream. He said, “While I was dreaming, I saw a vine in front of me 
\v 10 that had three branches. Soon buds started forming \add on the branches\add*. \add Then\add* \add the buds\add* became flowers, \add and the flowers\add* became bunches of ripe grapes. 
\v 11 Next I was holding \add King\add* Pharaoh’s cup, and I picked grapes \add from the vine\add* and squeezed juice from them into the cup. Then I handed the cup to Pharaoh \add and he drank from it\add*.”
\p
\v 12 Joseph said to him, “This \add is\add* what your dream means: The three branches \add represent\add* three days. 
\v 13 In three days \add King\add* Pharaoh will summon you and give you back your job, so that you will \add again\add* serve wine to him, as you used to do when you were his wine-server. 
\v 14 When \add you are out of prison and\add* everything is going well for you, please remember that I was \add here\add* with you, and please be kind to me and mention my situation to \add King\add* Pharaoh so that he releases me from this prison. 
\v 15 People brought me \add here\add* by force from the land where \add my people,\add* the Hebrews, live. Even here \add in Egypt\add* I have done nothing \add wrong\add* to deserve being in a dungeon.”
\p
\v 16 When the head baker heard the positive meaning that Joseph gave \add for the first dream\add*, he told him, “I also \add had a dream\add*, and while I was dreaming, I saw three bread baskets \add stacked\add* on my head. 
\v 17 In the top basket \add there were\add* many \add kinds\add* of bread and cakes for \add King\add* Pharaoh \add to eat\add*, but \add some\add* birds were gobbling them \add up\add* from the basket.”
\p
\v 18 Joseph said \add to him\add*, “This \add is\add* what your dream means: The three baskets \add represent\add* three days. 
\v 19 In three days \add King\add* Pharaoh will \add have his soldiers\add* chop off your head and impale your body on a \add sharp\add* pole, where vultures will eat \add all\add* your flesh off your bones.”
\p
\v 20 Then sure enough, three days later \add it was\add* \add King\add* Pharaoh’s birthday, and he invited all his officers to attend a banquet. \add During the banquet,\add* he \add had soldiers\add* bring \add his\add* head wine-server and head baker \add to the banquet\add* in front of \add all\add* his \add other\add* officers. 
\v 21 Then he returned the head wine-server to his \add former\add* work, so that he \add again\add* served wine to him. 
\v 22 But he \add had his soldiers execute\add* the head baker \add and\add* impale \add his body on a pole\add*. \add Everything happened\add* exactly the way Joseph had explained \add their dreams\add* to them.
\p
\v 23 However the head wine-server \add completely\add* forgot about Joseph and did not remember \add to tell Pharaoh about\add* him.
\c 41
\s1 Joseph Explains the Meaning of Pharaoh’s Dreams
\sr 41:1-36
\p
\v 1 Two whole years later, \add King\add* Pharaoh had a dream. \add In the dream\add* he saw himself standing beside the \add Nile\add* River. 
\v 2 Suddenly, seven healthy-looking, fat cows walked up out of the river and started eating the tall grass \add beside the river\add*. 
\v 3 Next he saw that seven sickly-looking, scrawny cows walked up out of the river and stood next to the \add first\add* cows on the river bank. 
\v 4 Then the sickly-looking, scrawny cows devoured the seven healthy-looking, fat cows. \add Just\add* then Pharaoh woke up.
\p
\v 5 Then he went \add back\add* to sleep and had a second \add dream\add*. \add This time\add* he saw seven plump, well-formed heads of grain growing on the same plant. 
\v 6 Suddenly, seven small heads of grain that the \add hot\add* desert wind had dried out started growing \add on the same plant\add* beside the first heads. 
\v 7 Next, the small heads of grain gobbled up the seven big, well-formed heads. At that point, Pharaoh woke up and realized that \add he had been\add* dreaming.
\p
\v 8 The next morning Pharaoh was upset \add about the dreams\add*, so he had \add servants\add* summon all the sorcerers and \add other\add* scholars in \add the country of\add* Egypt. \add When they arrived,\add* he told them what he had dreamed, but none of them was able to explain to him \add what\add* the dreams \add meant\add*. 
\v 9 Then the head wine-server said to Pharaoh, “\add Sir,\add* today I remember \add the time\add* when I offended \add you\add*. 
\v 10 \add Some time ago,\add* \add King\add* Pharaoh, you were angry with your officials, \add including\add* me and the head baker, and you put us in prison at the captain of the guards’ house. 
\v 11 \add While we were there,\add* one night we \add each\add* had a dream, \add and\add* each of our dreams had a different meaning.   
\v 12 There was a young Hebrew man with us \add who was\add* a servant for the captain over the guards. After we told him \add our dreams\add*, he explained them to us. He told us what each of our dreams meant. 
\v 13 And sure enough, everything happened exactly the way he had explained \add the dreams\add* to us: you returned me to my \add former\add* work \add as your wine-server\add*, and you \add had your soldiers\add* execute the baker.”
\p
\v 14 \add When Pharaoh heard that,\add* \add immediately\add* he had \add servants\add* summon Joseph. So they went right away and got him out of the prison. Then after he shaved \add his head and face\add* and changed into appropriate clothing, he went before Pharaoh. 
\v 15 Then Pharaoh said to him, “I had a dream, but no one has been able to explain \add to me\add* what it means. But someone told me about you, \add that\add* when you hear a dream, \add you are able\add* to explain what it means.” 
\v 16 Joseph replied to him, “\add Sir,\add* I do not have that ability \add on my own\add*, \add but\add* God will explain \add your dream\add* so that \add you,\add* \add King\add* Pharaoh, will have peace \add in your heart\add*.”
\p
\v 17 So Pharaoh told Joseph, “As I was dreaming, I saw myself standing beside the \add Nile\add* River. 
\v 18 Then suddenly, seven fat, healthy-looking cows walked up out of the river \add onto the bank\add* and started eating the tall grass \add that was there\add*. 
\v 19 Suddenly seven other cows walked up \add out of the river\add* behind the first cows; \add they were\add* in terrible condition, very sickly-looking and scrawny. \add In fact,\add* I have never seen such awful-looking \add cows\add* anywhere in the land of Egypt! 
\v 20 Then the scrawny, sickly cows devoured the seven fat ones. 
\v 21 But \add even\add* after they had swallowed them, no one would \add ever\add* know that they had devoured them, because they \add still\add* looked just as terrible as before. That’s when I woke up.
\p
\v 22 “Then I \add went back to sleep and\add* had \add another\add* dream. \add This time\add* I saw that there were seven big, well-formed heads of grain growing on the same plant. 
\v 23 Then suddenly, seven small heads of grain sprouted \add on the same plant\add* next to the first heads. \add These had\add* wilted because the \add hot\add* desert wind had dried them out. 
\v 24 Then the small heads of grain gobbled up the seven well-formed ones. I told \add my dreams\add* to \add my\add* sorcerers, but none of them could explain to me \add what the dreams meant\add*.”
\p
\v 25 Then Joseph told \add King\add* Pharaoh, “\add Your Majesty,\add* \add both of\add* your dreams mean the same thing. \add Through them,\add* God is revealing to you what he is going to do. 
\v 26 The seven healthy cows \add represent\add* seven years, and the seven well-formed heads of grain \add represent\add* \add the same\add* seven years. \add Both\add* dreams mean the same thing. 
\v 27 The seven scrawny and sickly cows that walked up \add out of the river\add* behind the first cows \add represent\add* \add a different\add* seven years, and \add so do\add* the seven small heads of grain that the desert wind had dried out. \add They both mean that\add* there will be a famine that lasts seven years. 
\v 28 \add King\add* Pharaoh, that \add is\add* what I was talking about \add when I told\add* you \add that\add* God is revealing to you what he is going to do. 
\v 29 Listen, \add first\add* there will be seven years when people will have more than enough food \add to eat\add* throughout the entire country of Egypt. 
\v 30 But after that, there will be a famine that lasts seven years. As a result, the people in Egypt will forget what it was like in their country during all the years when they had more than enough \add food\add* \add to eat\add*, because the famine will devastate the country \add so that many people will starve\add*. 
\v 31 That’s right, people will completely forget about the years when there was plenty of food, because the famine \add that comes\add* after that \add will be\add* so severe. 
\v 32 The fact that you, \add King\add* Pharaoh, had two \add different\add* dreams that mean the same thing shows that God has decided what he is going to do, and he will make it happen soon.
\p
\v 33 “So now, \add your Majesty,\add* I recommend that you look for a man \add who is\add* intelligent and knows what to do, and put him in charge over the country of Egypt. 
\v 34 Sir, you should \add also\add* appoint \add regional\add* administrators in charge of the country, and \add have them\add* collect one-fifth of \add the crops that people harvest throughout\add* the country during the seven years when harvests are plentiful. 
\v 35 Have them collect all that \add surplus\add* grain during the prosperous years ahead \add when there will be plenty of food\add*. Using your authority, \add King\add* Pharaoh, have them stockpile \add that\add* grain \add in storehouses\add* in the cities and \add have soldiers\add* guard it, so that there will be food \add for the people\add*. 
\v 36 That food should stay in storage for \add the people of\add* the country \add to eat\add* during the famine that will last seven years in the country of Egypt, so that they will not starve to death because of the severe lack of food.”
\s1 Joseph Becomes the Governor over the Country of Egypt and Stores Up Food
\sr 41:37-57
\p
\v 37 What Joseph proposed seemed like a good plan to Pharaoh and all his officials. 
\v 38 So Pharaoh exclaimed to them, “\add Certainly\add* we cannot find anyone else more qualified than this man whom God’s Spirit guides!” 
\v 39 Then he said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, no one \add else\add* is \add as\add* intelligent as you \add are\add* or knows what to do \add in this situation\add*. 
\v 40 \add So\add* I am putting you in charge of my household \add and my kingdom\add*, so that all the people in my country must obey whatever you command. Only I who am king will have higher authority than you.” 
\v 41 Then Pharaoh said, “Listen, I hereby put you in charge of the whole country of Egypt.” 
\v 42 Then he took off his \add official\add* identification ring and put it on Joseph’s finger \add to show that he had appointed him\add*. He \add also\add* gave Joseph \add expensive\add* linen clothes to wear and put a chain \add made\add* of gold around his neck. 
\v 43 Then Pharaoh had Joseph ride \add around\add* in the chariot that showed he was the second highest ruler in the country. \add As he rode,\add* messengers \add walked\add* \add in the road\add* ahead of him calling out \add to everyone\add*, “Make way!” In that way, Pharaoh \add officially\add* appointed Joseph to be in charge of the whole country of Egypt.
\p
\v 44 Pharaoh \add also\add* told Joseph, “I, Pharaoh, \add hereby command\add* that throughout the whole country of Egypt, everyone must only do what you tell them to do!” 
\v 45 Then Pharaoh gave Joseph the \add Egyptian\add* name Zaphenath-Paneah, \add which means “the one who explains/reveals secrets,”\add* and he gave him \add a woman named\add* Asenath to be \add his\add* wife. \add She was\add* the daughter of Potiphera, \add who was\add* a priest \add at the temple\add* in \add the city of\add* On. Then Joseph \add started his duties and\add* traveled throughout the country of Egypt.
\p
\v 46 Joseph \add was\add* thirty years old when he \add started\add* serving Pharaoh, the king over Egypt. \add After Pharaoh appointed him,\add* Joseph left him and traveled throughout the whole country of Egypt \add doing his work\add*. 
\v 47 During the seven years when food was plentiful, the land produced huge amounts of grain. 
\v 48 So Joseph \add had his helpers\add* collect all the \add surplus\add* grain \add that people harvested\add* during \add those\add* seven years in the country of Egypt, and he \add had them\add* stockpile \add that\add* grain in the cities. In each city he \add had them\add* store the grain \add that people harvested\add* from the surrounding fields. 
\v 49 In that way, Joseph stockpiled so much grain that it was as \add plentiful as\add* the \add grains of\add* sand on the seashore. \add In fact,\add* it was so plentiful that he stopped keeping records \add of it\add* because it was too much to keep track of.
\p
\v 50 Before the \add seven\add* famine years started, Joseph had two sons with \add his wife\add* Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, \add who was\add* a priest in \add the city of\add* On. 
\v 51 Joseph named \add his\add* oldest \add son\add* Manasseh, \add which means “forget,”\add* \add and he explained,\add* “\add It is\add* because God has helped me to forget \add about\add* all my troubles and about \add how much I have missed\add* my father and the rest of my family \add back home\add*.” 
\v 52 And he named \add his\add* second son Ephraim, \add which means “twice prosperous,”\add* \add and he explained,\add* “\add It is\add* because God has helped me to prosper in the country where I have suffered \add so much\add*.”
\p
\v 53 Finally the seven years were over when food was plentiful in the country of Egypt. 
\v 54 Then the seven years began when there was a severe lack of food, which is exactly what Joseph had predicted \add would happen\add*. The famine spread to every country, but throughout the whole country of Egypt there was \add still\add* food \add in the storehouses\add*. 
\v 55 When everyone in Egypt became very hungry \add because of the famine\add*, they begged \add King\add* Pharaoh for food. So he commanded them, “Go ask Joseph \add for help\add*, \add and\add* do whatever he commands you \add to do\add*.” 
\v 56 Since the severe food shortage was affecting the whole country, Joseph \add had his helpers\add* open up all the storehouses \add full of grain\add*, and he started selling \add the grain\add* to the people of Egypt. Then the famine became worse \add and worse\add* throughout the country of Egypt. 
\v 57 In fact, \add people from\add* all over the world started coming to Egypt to buy \add grain\add* from Joseph, because the food shortage was \add so\add* terrible throughout the whole world.
\c 42
\s1 Joseph’s Brothers Come to Egypt to Buy Grain
\sr 42:1-38
\p
\v 1 Meanwhile \add back in the region of Canaan\add*, \add when\add* Jacob heard that there was grain \add for sale\add* in \add the country of\add* Egypt, he told his sons, “Do not just \add stand around\add* doing nothing! 
\v 2 Listen \add to this\add*! I heard that there is grain \add for sale\add* in \add the country of\add* Egypt. \add So\add* go down there and buy \add some\add* for us \add and our families\add* \add to eat\add*, so that we can stay alive and not starve to death.” 
\v 3 So Joseph’s ten \add older\add* brothers \add left home and\add* traveled down to Egypt to buy \add some\add* grain \add there\add*. 
\v 4 But Jacob did not allow Joseph’s \add younger\add* brother Benjamin to go \add to Egypt\add* with \add the rest of\add* his brothers, because Jacob was afraid that something bad might happen to him.
\p
\v 5 Israel’s sons arrived \add in Egypt\add* along with \add many\add* other people who were coming \add there\add* to buy \add food\add*, because the severe food shortage was \add also\add* \add affecting everyone\add* in the region of Canaan. 
\v 6 \add Since\add* Joseph \add was\add* the administrator over the country \add of Egypt\add*, he \add was\add* the one selling \add grain\add* to people \add who came to him\add* from all over the country. So Joseph’s brothers \add also\add* went before him \add like everyone else\add* and bowed down \add with\add* \add their\add* faces to the ground \add to show him respect\add*. 
\v 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended that he did not \add know\add* \add them\add*. In fact, he spoke to them sternly and asked them, “What country are you from?” They answered \add him\add*, “\add Sir,\add* \add we are\add* from the region of Canaan to buy \add some\add* grain.” 
\v 8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not realize who he was.
\p
\v 9 Then Joseph remembered what he had dreamed about his brothers \add long ago\add*, so he accused them, “You are secretly gathering information \add about our country\add*! You came \add here\add* to find out where \add our\add* country is weak!” 
\v 10 But his brothers replied to him, “Sir, we are not \add spies\add*. Rather, \add we are\add* humble men \add who\add* have come \add here\add* \add only\add* to buy \add some\add* grain. 
\v 11 We \add are\add* all brothers who have the same father. We \add are\add* humble, trustworthy men, not spies.”
\p
\v 12 But Joseph accused them, “\add That is\add* not \add true\add*! You have definitely come \add here\add* to find out where \add our\add* country is weak!” 
\v 13 But they replied \add to him\add*, “Sir, \add there were\add* twelve of us brothers. We \add are\add* sons of the same father \add who lives\add* in the region of Canaan. \add Our\add* youngest \add brother\add* \add is\add* with our father right now, but \add our other\add* brother has died.”
\p
\v 14 But Joseph accused them, “What I told you is true! You are spying \add on our country\add*! 
\v 15 \add So now,\add* this is how I will verify whether \add or not\add* you \add told me the truth\add*: As certain as \add King\add* Pharaoh lives, \add I swear that\add* you will \add definitely\add* never leave Egypt until your youngest brother is here. 
\v 16 \add So\add* one of you must go \add back home\add* and bring your \add youngest\add* brother back \add here\add*. \add The rest of\add* you must stay here in prison. That way I can verify \add whether\add* you told me the truth. But if you are lying, as certain as \add King\add* Pharaoh lives, \add that means\add* you really are spying \add on our country\add*!” 
\v 17 Then Joseph \add had his soldiers\add* lock up his brothers in prison \add for\add* three days.
\p
\v 18 Three days later, Joseph said to them, “I am a man who reveres God. So if you do what I say, \add I will let\add* you live. 
\v 19 Since you \add claim to be\add* trustworthy men, I will make \add just\add* one of you brothers stay where you have been, in prison. \add The rest of\add* you \add may\add* go \add and\add* carry food back \add home\add* \add for\add* your hungry families. 
\v 20 But you \add must\add* bring your youngest brother \add back\add* \add here\add* to me. That way I will know that you are telling the truth, and I will let you live.” So Joseph’s brothers \add agreed to\add* do what he said.
\p
\v 21 \add While they were still standing there,\add* they said to each other, “Surely what we did to our brother \add Joseph\add* \add long ago\add* was \add very\add* wrong. We saw how he was suffering when he begged us \add not to harm him\add*, but we refused to listen \add to him\add*. That is why we are suffering now.” 
\v 22 Reuben scolded them by saying, “I told you \add that\add* you should not do anything bad to him! But you refused to listen \add to me\add*, and now look, God is holding us responsible for causing him to die!” 
\v 23 Joseph’s brothers did not realize that he \add could\add* understand \add what they were saying to each other\add*, because he had been speaking to them using a translator \add as if he did not know their language\add*. 
\v 24 \add When Joseph heard what they were saying,\add* he turned his back to them and started crying. Then \add after he recovered,\add* he turned back around and spoke to them \add again\add*. Then he chose Simeon from \add among\add* them and \add had his soldiers\add* bind him \add with chains\add* while they watched.
\p
\v 25 Then Joseph told \add his servants\add* to fill his brothers’ sacks \add with\add* grain. \add He\add* also \add told them\add* to \add secretly\add* put in each brother’s sack the money \add they had paid for the grain\add* and to provide them \add with\add* food to eat on their trip \add home\add*. After Joseph did that for his brothers, 
\v 26 his brothers loaded their \add sacks of\add* grain onto their donkeys’ \add backs\add* and started traveling \add home\add*.
\p
\v 27 Later, \add when they stopped\add* at a place to stay for the night, one \add of them\add* opened his sack to get \add some\add* grain to feed his donkey. There in the top of his sack he saw the money that he had used \add to buy grain\add*! 
\v 28 So he exclaimed to the others, “Somebody has returned my money \add to me\add*! Here it is in my sack!” \add When they saw it,\add* they were \add completely\add* shocked, and they shook \add with fear\add*. They asked each other, “Why is God doing this to us?”
\p
\v 29 \add When\add* they reached \add their home in\add* the region of Canaan where their father Jacob was, they told him everything they had experienced. They said, 
\v 30 “The man who governs the country \add of Egypt\add* spoke to us sternly and accused us of spying \add on\add* \add their\add* country! 
\v 31 But we told him, ‘We \add are\add* trustworthy \add men\add*; not spies. 
\v 32 \add There were\add* twelve of us brothers, \add and\add* \add we are\add* the sons of the same father. One \add of our brothers\add* has died, and the youngest \add brother\add* \add is\add* \add at home\add* with our father right now in the region of Canaan.’
\p
\v 33 “But the man who governs the country told us, ‘This is how I will know if you \add are\add* trustworthy \add men\add*: You must leave one of you \add here\add* with me, and \add the rest of you\add* go \add home\add* with \add food for\add* your starving families. 
\v 34 But bring your youngest brother \add back\add* \add here\add* to me. Then I will know that you \add are\add* trustworthy \add men\add* and not spies. \add Then\add* I will return your brother to you \add from prison\add*, and you can travel around my country \add and trade\add* \add freely\add*.’ ”
\p
\v 35 Then Joseph’s brothers started emptying their sacks \add of grain\add*, and there inside each man’s sack was his bag of money \add that he had paid for the grain\add*! \add When\add* they and their father \add Jacob\add* saw the \add money\add* bags, they were terrified. 
\v 36 Then their father exclaimed to them, “You have caused me \add terrible\add* loss! Joseph is gone! Simeon is gone! And \add now\add* you \add want to\add* take Benjamin \add away\add* \add from me\add* \add too\add*! Everything is going terribly for me!”
\p
\v 37 Reuben replied, “\add Father,\add* let me be responsible for \add taking\add* Benjamin \add down to Egypt\add*. If I fail to bring him \add back\add* to you \add safely\add*, you can \add punish me by\add* killing my two sons.” 
\v 38 But his father replied, “\add No,\add* I will not let my son \add Benjamin\add* go down \add to Egypt\add* with you. His brother is dead, so he is the only son \add I have\add* left \add from his mother\add*. So if anything bad happened to him on \add your\add* journey, you would cause me, your elderly father, to grieve so badly that I would \add die and\add* go down to the afterworld!”
\c 43
\s1 Joseph’s Brothers, including Benjamin, Return to the Country of Egypt
\sr 43:1-34
\p
\v 1 The famine \add continued to be\add* severe in the region \add of Canaan\add*. 
\v 2 So when Jacob and his family finished eating \add all\add* the grain that his sons had brought from \add the country of\add* Egypt, he said to them, “Go back \add to Egypt\add* \add and\add* buy some \add more\add* grain for us \add and our families\add*.” 
\v 3 But \add his son\add* Judah replied to him, “The governor \add there\add* sternly warned us that we cannot go to him \add again\add* \add to buy grain\add* if our \add youngest\add* brother \add is\add* not with us. 
\v 4 \add So\add* if you will allow our \add youngest\add* brother to go with us, \add then\add* we can go \add to Egypt\add* and buy \add more\add* grain for you. 
\v 5 However if you refuse to let him go \add with us\add*, we cannot go \add there\add*, because the governor warned us that we cannot go to him \add again\add* if our \add youngest\add* brother \add is\add* not with us.”
\p
\v 6 Then \add their father\add* Israel asked \add them\add*, “Why did you cause trouble for me by telling the governor that you have a younger brother?” 
\v 7 They answered \add him\add*, “The governor asked \add us\add* many questions about ourselves and about our family. He asked \add us\add* if our father was still alive and if we had \add another\add* brother. We \add just\add* answered his questions honestly. There is no way we could have known that he would require us to take our brother down \add there\add* \add to him\add*!”
\p
\v 8 Then Judah urged his father Israel \add about Benjamin\add*, “Entrust the young man to me \add to take care of\add* so that we can go immediately \add to Egypt\add* \add to buy grain\add*. Then all of us, including our children, can survive and not starve to death. 
\v 9 I personally promise to keep him safe. You can hold me responsible for him, \add so that\add* if I do not bring him \add back\add* to you safely, I will be guilty of this sin against you for the rest of my life. 
\v 10 \add In any case,\add* if we had not waited \add this long\add*, we could have made two \add round\add* trips \add there and back\add* by now.” 
\v 11 Then their father Israel said to them, “Since that is how it must be, then do this: Put \add some\add* of the best things from \add our\add* land in your sacks, and take \add them\add* to the governor \add as\add* gifts. \add Include\add* some healing salve, some honey, \add some\add* spices and incense, \add and\add* \add some\add* pistachio nuts and almonds. 
\v 12 \add Also\add* take with you twice \add as much\add* money \add as you took the first time\add*, because you must take back the money that someone gave back \add to you\add* in your sacks. Maybe they did that by mistake. 
\v 13 So \add now,\add* take your \add youngest\add* brother and immediately go back to the governor. 
\v 14 I pray that God \add who is\add* all-powerful will cause him to treat you kindly so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come \add back\add* \add home\add* with you. But \add if not, and\add* if I \add must\add* lose them and grieve \add for them\add*, \add then\add* I \add will\add* grieve.”
\p
\v 15 Then the brothers packed those gifts \add in their sacks\add* along with twice as much money \add as the grain would cost\add*. Then they \add took\add* Benjamin \add with them\add* and quickly traveled down to \add the country of\add* Egypt and went directly to Joseph. 
\v 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with his \add other\add* brothers, he commanded his head house-servant, “Escort these men to \add my\add* house. Then butcher a calf and prepare \add a feast\add*, because \add I want\add* them to eat with me \add today\add* at noon.”
\p
\v 17 The servant did exactly what Joseph \add had\add* told \add him to do\add* and escorted the brothers to Joseph’s house. 
\v 18 But when the brothers \add saw\add* that he had taken them to Joseph’s house, they were afraid, and they said \add to each other\add*, “He has taken us here because of \add our\add* money that someone gave back to us in our sacks \add on\add* \add our\add* first trip \add here\add*. \add He intends\add* to \add have his soldiers\add* attack us and overpower us and make us \add his\add* servants, along with our donkeys!”
\p
\v 19 Then they approached Joseph’s head house-servant \add outside\add* the door to \add his\add* house to speak to him. 
\v 20 and said, “Excuse us, sir, one time before this, we traveled all the way down \add here\add* \add to Egypt\add* to buy \add some\add* grain. 
\v 21 But \add on our way home,\add* when we arrived at the place where we lodged for the night, we opened our sacks. There in the top of each of our sacks \add was\add* the money \add we had paid to you\add* \add for the grain\add*! The money was all there! So we brought it \add all\add* back with us \add to give to you\add*. 
\v 22 We have \add also\add* brought more money with us so that we can buy \add some more\add* grain \add now\add*. We have no idea who put the money in our sacks.” 
\v 23 But Joseph’s servant replied \add to them\add*, “It is all right, \add so\add* do not worry \add about it\add*. The God whom you and your father serve must have put the money in your sacks, \add because\add* I \add definitely\add* received your money \add that you paid for the grain\add*.” Then Joseph’s servant brought Simeon out \add of prison\add* to his brothers.
\p
\v 24 Then Joseph’s servant brought the brothers into Joseph’s house and provided \add them\add* with water to wash \add the road dust off\add* their feet. He also fed their donkeys. 
\v 25 \add Meanwhile,\add* Joseph’s brothers got \add their\add* gifts ready to give to Joseph when he came home at noon, because they had heard that they were going to eat a meal \add with him\add* there.
\p
\v 26 When Joseph came home, his brothers \add gave\add* to him the gifts that they had brought with them into the house, and they bowed down before him \add with their faces\add* to the ground \add to show respect\add*. 
\v 27 Then Joseph asked them how they were doing, and he asked \add them\add*, “Is your elderly father well whom you mentioned \add to me\add*? Is he still living?” 
\v 28 They answered \add him\add*, “\add Yes sir,\add* our father, who highly respects you, is still alive and well.” Then they bowed \add their heads\add* and bowed down \add to the ground\add* \add again\add*.
\p
\v 29 Then Joseph looked around and saw his brother Benjamin, who had the same mother that he had, and he said \add to them\add*, “So this must be your youngest brother whom you told me about.” Then he said \add to Benjamin\add*, “I pray that God will be kind to you, young man.” 
\v 30 Suddenly Joseph rushed out \add of the room\add* because he felt overwhelmed with emotions about his brother and was about to cry. So he went to his bedroom, where he cried \add privately\add*.
\p
\v 31 After he had gotten control of his emotions \add and stopped crying\add*, he washed \add the tears off\add* his face and came back out \add of his room\add*. Then he commanded \add his servants\add*, “Serve the food \add to us\add*.” 
\v 32 So they served \add food\add* to Joseph at his own table, and his brothers at their own table, and the Egyptians who were eating with him at their own table. Egyptians do not eat at the same table as Hebrew people, because Egyptians consider it unacceptable \add to do that\add*. 
\v 33 Joseph’s brothers were sitting \add at a table\add* facing his table in the order of their ages, from the oldest to the youngest. \add When they noticed that,\add* they were amazed \add and stared\add* at one another. 
\v 34 Then Joseph \add had his servants\add* serve food to his brothers from his table, but he \add had them\add* serve Benjamin five times more \add food\add* than \add they\add* served to any of the rest \add of his brothers\add*. Then his brothers feasted and drank \add wine\add* freely with him.
\c 44
\s1 Joseph Tests His Brothers
\sr 44:1-17
\p
\v 1 Later Joseph ordered his head house-servant, “Fill the men’s \add grain\add* bags with as much grain as they can take \add with them\add*, and in the top of their bags, put the money that each \add of them\add* paid \add for the grain\add* . 
\v 2 Also put my silver cup in the top of the youngest \add one\add*’s bag, along with the money that he paid for the grain.” So the servant did exactly what Joseph had ordered \add him to do\add*.
\p
\v 3 Early the next morning, \add Joseph\add* sent the brothers \add on their way\add*, along with their donkeys. 
\v 4 \add But\add* they had not gone very far out of the city when he ordered his head servant, “Hurry \add and\add* pursue those men. When you catch up with them, ask them, ‘Why have you treated \add my master\add* so badly \add after he was\add* so good \add to you\add*? 
\v 5 The cup \add you stole\add* is \add the cup\add* that my master drinks from. He \add also\add* uses it to find out secret things! What you have done is \add very\add* wrong!’ ”
\p
\v 6 Then the servant \add left, and when he\add* caught up with the men, he repeated to them what Joseph had told him \add to say\add*. 
\v 7 But they replied, “Sir, why do you say such things? \add We assure you,\add* sir, \add that\add* we would never do anything like that! 
\v 8 Remember that we returned to you the money that we discovered in our \add grain\add* bags \add last time\add*. \add We brought it\add* \add all the way\add* from \add our home in\add* the region of Canaan! So we would never steal silver \add things\add* or gold \add things\add* \add or anything else\add* from your master’s house! 
\v 9 \add In fact,\add* sir, if you find that one of us does have the cup, then \add you may\add* execute that person, and \add the rest of\add* us, sir, will become your slaves.”
\p
\v 10 Joseph’s servant replied \add to them\add*, “Okay then, I will do as you suggest \add except for this\add*: The one whom I find with my master’s cup \add is the only one who\add* will become my slave. \add The rest of\add* you will be innocent \add and free to go\add*.” 
\v 11 So each of the brothers quickly took his \add grain\add* bag \add off his donkey\add* and put it on the ground, and each of them opened his \add own\add* bag. 
\v 12 Then Joseph’s servant searched \add their bags\add*. He started with the oldest \add brother\add* and continued until he came to the youngest \add brother\add*, and \add there\add* he found the cup in Benjamin’s bag! 
\v 13 In response \add to that\add*, the brothers tore their clothes \add in distress\add*. Then each \add of them\add* put his bag \add back\add* on his \add own\add* donkey, and they \add all\add* \add turned around and\add* went back to the city.
\p
\v 14 When Judah and his brothers arrived at Joseph’s house, Joseph was there \add waiting for them\add*. So they prostrated themselves on the ground before him \add to show respect\add*. 
\v 15 Then Joseph exclaimed to them, “What you have done is terrible! You should have known that someone in my position knows how to discover the secret things \add that people do\add*!” 
\v 16 Judah replied \add to him\add*, “Sir, there is nothing \add convincing\add* that we can say \add to you\add*. There is no way that we can explain \add this\add*. There is no way we can prove \add to you\add* that we are innocent. God is punishing us for our \add past\add* sin. \add So now,\add* sir, we are \add all\add* here to be your slaves, including \add the one\add* whom \add your house-servant\add* found with your cup \add in his bag\add*.” 
\v 17 But Joseph told \add them\add*, “\add No,\add* I would never \add even\add* consider doing such a thing! \add Rather\add* \add only\add* the man whom \add my servant\add* found with my cup \add in his bag\add* will be my slave. \add The rest of\add* you are free to go \add back\add* home to your father.”
\s1 Judah Begs Joseph to Set Benjamin Free
\sr 44:18-34
\p
\v 18 Then Judah approached Joseph and said \add to him\add*, “Please, sir, I humbly ask you to let me speak freely to you. Please do not be angry with me, \add especially\add* since you \add are\add* as \add powerful as\add* \add King\add* Pharaoh \add himself\add*. 
\v 19 Sir, \add previously\add* you asked us if our father was \add still\add* alive and if we had \add any other\add* brothers. 
\v 20 And we told you, sir, \add that\add* we have an elderly father and \add also\add* a younger brother who was born when our father was \add already\add* old. That brother’s mother only had one other son, who is now dead. So our father \add especially\add* loves our youngest brother.
\p
\v 21 “Then you told us, sir, to bring our youngest brother \add here\add* to you, so that you could see him for yourself. 
\v 22 But we told you, sir, that the young man should not leave his father \add and come here\add*, because if he did, his father would die \add from anxiety\add*. 
\v 23 But then, sir, you told us \add that\add* unless our youngest brother came with us, we could never see you again.
\p
\v 24 “When we returned \add home\add* to our father, who highly respects you, we reported to him what you told \add us\add*. 
\v 25 \add Months\add* later our father told \add us\add*, ‘Go back \add to Egypt\add* \add and\add* buy some \add more\add* grain for us.’ 
\v 26 But we replied \add to him\add*, ‘We cannot go \add there\add* unless our youngest brother is with us. Then we can go. The governor \add who sells grain there\add* will not allow us to see him \add again\add* if our youngest brother is not with us.’ 
\v 27 Then our father said to us, ‘As you know, my wife \add Rachel\add* and I \add only\add* had two \add sons\add* together. 
\v 28 One \add of her sons\add* left here \add one day\add*, and I have not seen him since then. I am sure that \add a wild animal\add* must have \add killed him and\add* torn him apart. 
\v 29 So if you also take her other son \add away\add* from me, and anything harms him, you will cause me, your gray-haired father, so much grief that I will \add die and\add* go down to the afterworld.
\p
\v 30 “So now, \add sir,\add* if we go \add home\add* to our father without his youngest son, since our father’s life depends on his son’s life, 
\v 31 if he sees that his son is gone, he will die! \add Yes,\add* we will cause our gray-haired father so much grief that he will \add die and\add* go to the afterworld! 
\v 32 Besides that, sir, I promised my father that I would return his son to him safely. I told \add him\add* that if I did not bring his son \add back\add* to him, I would be guilty of sinning against him forever.
\p
\v 33 “So then, sir, I beg you to let me stay \add here\add* and be your slave in place of our youngest \add brother\add*, and let him go back \add home\add* with his \add other\add* brothers. 
\v 34 There is no way I can go back to my father if his youngest \add son\add* is not with me! I could not bear to see how terribly my father would suffer!”
\c 45
\s1 Joseph Reveals Who He Is to His Brothers
\sr 45:1-28
\p
\v 1 \add When Joseph heard that,\add* he could no \add longer\add* keep himself from crying in front of all his servants, so he shouted \add to them\add*, “All of you leave my presence!” \add Immediately the servants left the room,\add* so that no one else was with Joseph when he told his brothers who he was. 
\v 2 But he started crying so loudly that \add many\add* Egyptians heard \add him\add*, including Pharaoh’s family. 
\v 3 Then he exclaimed to his brothers \add in their language\add*, “I \add am\add* \add your brother\add* Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But Joseph’s brothers could not reply to him, because they felt very afraid to be standing in front of him.
\p
\v 4 So Joseph said to them, “Please come here next to me.” After they went closer \add to him\add*, he said \add to them\add*, “I \add really am\add* your brother Joseph, whom you sold \add to be a slave\add* in \add the country of\add* Egypt. 
\v 5 But now, do not be upset or angry with yourselves for selling me, because \add it was actually\add* God \add who\add* sent me \add here\add* before you came, to save \add many people’s\add* lives. 
\v 6 For two years \add now\add* \add there has been\add* a famine throughout this region, and for another five years \add it will be so severe that\add* no one will \add be able to\add* plant \add seeds\add* or harvest \add crops\add*. 
\v 7 That is why God sent me \add here\add* before you came, to save your lives in this amazing way so that you will survive and have descendants on the earth. 
\v 8 So then, you \add were\add* not \add the ones\add* \add who\add* caused me to come here, but \add rather\add* \add it was\add* God \add who sent me\add*. He has \add also\add* made me \add like a\add* father to \add King\add* Pharaoh, so that I am the one in charge of his entire household and \add also\add* the governor over the entire country of Egypt.
\p
\v 9 “Hurry back to our father and tell him that his son Joseph has sent him this message: ‘God has appointed me governor over the entire \add country of\add* Egypt. \add So\add* \add please\add* come down \add here\add* \add to live\add* near me, \add and\add* do not delay. 
\v 10 You can live in Goshen Province. That way you will live close to me with your children and your grandchildren, along with your flocks \add of sheep and goats\add*, your herds \add of cattle\add* and everything \add else\add* that you own. 
\v 11 I will take care of you there, since the famine will last five \add more\add* years. \add Please come\add* so that \add the famine\add* will not cause you and your family to lose everything you own \add and die\add*.” ’
\p
\v 12 \add Then Joseph said to his brothers,\add* “Look! \add All of\add* you, including my brother Benjamin, \add can\add* see that \add it really is\add* me, \add Joseph,\add* who is talking to you. 
\v 13 So \add go and\add* tell our father all \add about\add* how powerful I am in Egypt and \add about\add* everything \add else\add* that you have seen \add here\add*. Then quickly bring him down here \add to me\add*.”
\p
\v 14 Then Joseph hugged his brother Benjamin \add tightly\add* and cried \add for joy\add*, and Benjamin \add also\add* cried as he hugged Joseph. 
\v 15 Then Joseph kissed all his brothers \add on their cheeks\add* as he continued to cry \add for joy\add*. After \add he did\add* that, his brothers started talking with him.
\p
\v 16 When Pharaoh’s household heard the news that Joseph’s brothers had come \add there\add*, Pharaoh and \add all\add* his servants were happy. 
\v 17 So Pharaoh told Joseph, “Give your brothers this message \add from me\add*: ‘Load your donkeys \add with grain\add* and go quickly \add back\add* to Canaan. 
\v 18 Then bring your father and your families \add back\add* \add here\add* to me. I will give you the best \add area\add* in the country of Egypt \add to live in\add*, so that you will live well with the best of everything in the country.’
\p
\v 19 \add Then Pharaoh said to Joseph,\add* “I also want you \add to tell them\add* to take \add some of\add* \add my\add* wagons with them from the country of Egypt for their wives and \add young\add* children \add to travel in\add*. Then \add tell them\add* to bring their father \add back\add* \add here to live\add*. 
\v 20 They should not worry about \add leaving some of\add* their belongings \add behind\add*, because the best \add things\add* in all the country of Egypt \add will be\add* theirs.”
\p
\v 21 So Israel’s sons \add agreed to\add* do that. Then Joseph gave them wagons \add to use\add* as \add King\add* Pharaoh had commanded, and he supplied them with food to eat as they traveled \add home\add*. 
\v 22 He \add also\add* gave a \add new\add* set of clothes to each one of his brothers, but to Benjamin he gave five \add new\add* sets of clothes and 300 \add pieces\add* of silver \add money\add*. 
\v 23 He also gave \add them\add* the following gifts to give to his father: ten male donkeys that were carrying \add some of\add* the best \add things\add* from Egypt, and ten female donkeys that were carrying grain, bread, and \add other\add* food for him \add and his family\add* to eat as they traveled \add to Egypt\add*. 
\v 24 Then Joseph sent his brothers off \add on their way home\add*. As they were leaving, he told them, “Do not argue \add with each other\add* on the way.”
\p
\v 25 Then Joseph’s brothers left Egypt and traveled \add home\add* to their father Jacob in the region of Canaan. 
\v 26 \add When they arrived,\add* they announced to him, “Joseph \add is\add* still alive! In fact, he \add is\add* the governor over the entire country of Egypt!” \add When their father heard that news,\add* he was stunned \add and silent\add*, because he could not believe them. 
\v 27 But \add after\add* they told him everything that Joseph had said to them, and \add after\add* he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him \add and his family\add* \add to Egypt\add*, he recovered \add from the shock\add*. 
\v 28 Then he exclaimed \add to them\add*, “\add That’s\add* enough! \add It must be true!\add* My son Joseph really is alive! I must go \add now\add* and see him \add again\add* before I die.”
\c 46
\s1 Jacob and His Family Move to \add the Country of\add* Egypt
\sr 46:1-27
\p
\v 1 So Israel \add and his family\add* started traveling \add toward Egypt\add* with all their belongings.  When they reached \add the city of\add* Beersheba, he offered some of his animals \add on an altar\add* \add there\add* as sacrifices to God, whom his father Isaac had worshiped. 
\v 2 During the night God called to Israel in a vision, “Jacob! Jacob!” Jacob replied, “Yes, \add Lord\add*?” 
\v 3 Then God said \add to him\add*, “I \add am\add* God, the God whom your father worshiped. Don’t be afraid of moving down to \add the country of\add* Egypt, because I will make your descendants \add multiply and\add* become a large people group \add while they live\add* there. 
\v 4 I will personally go with you down to Egypt \add and take care of you there\add*. Later I will definitely bring your descendants \add back\add* \add here to Canaan\add*. When you die, Joseph will be with you.”
\p
\v 5 After that, Jacob left \add the city of\add* Beersheba, and his sons took him and their wives and children in the wagons that \add King\add* Pharaoh had provided for them to ride in \add to Egypt\add*. 
\v 6 They \add also\add* brought \add with them\add* their livestock and their \add other\add* belongings that they had gotten in the region of Canaan. Then Jacob and all of his descendants arrived in Egypt. 
\v 7 He brought his entire \add extended\add* family with him to Egypt, \add including\add* his sons and daughters, \add and\add* his grandsons and granddaughters.
\p
\v 8 Here is a list of the names of Israel’s descendants who came \add with him\add* to Egypt, \add that is, the names of\add* Jacob’s descendants: Reuben, \add who was\add* his oldest \add son\add*, 
\v 9 and Reuben’s sons, \add who were\add*  Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 
\v 10 \add Simeon and\add* Simeon’s sons, \add who were\add* Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, who had a Canaanite mother. 
\v 11 \add Levi and\add* Levi’s sons, \add who were\add* Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 
\v 12 \add Judah and\add* Judah’s sons, \add who were\add* Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; actually, Er and Onan had \add already\add* died in the region of Canaan. Perez’s sons were Hezron and Hamul. 
\v 13 \add Issachar and\add* Issachar’s sons, \add who were\add* Tola, Puvah, Job, and Shimron. 
\v 14 \add Zebulun and\add* Zebulun’s sons, \add who were\add* Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 
\v 15 Those \add were\add* the sons \add and grandsons\add* whom Jacob and \add his wife\add* Leah had together in \add the region of\add* Paddan Aram. \add They\add* also \add had\add* a daughter \add named\add* Dinah. The total number of those descendants \add was\add* thirty-three.
\p
\v 16 \add Jacob’s other descendants who came with him included\add* \add his son Gad and\add* Gad’s sons, \add who were\add* Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. 
\v 17 \add He also took\add* \add his son Asher and\add* Asher’s sons, \add who were\add* Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and their sister Serah. Beriah’s sons \add were\add* Heber and Malkiel. 
\v 18 Those \add were\add* the children \add and grandchildren\add* \add that Jacob had\add* with Zilpah, \add who was the servant woman\add* that Laban had given to his daughter Leah. \add Those descendants that\add* Zilpah and Jacob had together \add totaled\add* sixteen persons.
\p
\v 19 The sons that Jacob had with his wife Rachel \add were\add* Joseph and Benjamin. 
\v 20 Joseph’s \add sons\add* who were born in \add the country of\add* Egypt \add were\add* Manasseh and Ephraim. Their mother was \add Joseph’s wife\add* Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, \add who was\add* the priest at \add the city of\add* On. 
\v 21 Benjamin’s sons \add were\add* Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 
\v 22 Those \add were\add* the sons \add and grandsons\add* whom Jacob and \add his wife\add* Rachel had together, a total of fourteen descendants.
\p
\v 23 \add Other descendants who came with Jacob included:\add* \add his son Dan and\add* Dan’s son Hushim. 
\v 24 \add Naphtali and\add* Naphtali’s sons, \add who were\add* Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 
\v 25 Those \add were all\add* the sons \add and grandsons\add* that Jacob had with Bilhah, \add the servant woman\add* whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel. The total number of those descendants \add was\add* seven.
\p
\v 26 Altogether Jacob had sixty-six blood relatives who went with him to Egypt. That \add number\add* does not include \add his wives or\add* his sons’ wives. 
\v 27 \add If you include\add* \add Jacob, Joseph, and\add* Joseph’s two sons, who were born in Egypt, \add then\add* there was a total of seventy members of Jacob’s family in Egypt.
\s1 Jacob Reunites with His Son Joseph and Meets \add King\add* Pharaoh
\sr 46:28-47:12
\p
\v 28 \add When they reached Egypt,\add* Jacob had Judah go to Joseph ahead of them to get directions \add from him\add* to Goshen \add Province\add*. After that, Jacob’s family traveled to Goshen. 
\v 29 Then Joseph got his chariot ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. \add There\add*  Joseph greeted his father and hugged him \add tightly\add* and cried \add for joy\add* on his shoulder \add for\add* a long time. 
\v 30 Then Israel exclaimed to Joseph, “Now when I die \add I will be at peace\add*, because I have seen you in person \add and know\add* that you are still alive!”
\p
\v 31 Then Joseph announced to his brothers and \add the rest of\add* his father’s family, “I will go to \add King\add* Pharaoh and inform him, ‘My brothers and \add the rest of\add* my father’s family have traveled \add here\add* from the region of Canaan to live near me. 
\v 32 The men \add of my family\add* raise sheep \add and goats\add*. In fact, they raise \add all kinds of\add* livestock \add for a living\add*, and they have brought \add with them\add* \add all\add* their sheep \add and goats\add* and cattle, and everything \add else\add* that they own.’ 
\v 33 So then, when the king summons you and asks \add you\add* what your occupation is, 
\v 34 you should tell \add him\add*, ‘Sir, ever since the time we were young until now, we have been raising livestock, \add which is\add* the same occupation that our ancestors had.’ That way \add he will allow\add* you to live \add separately\add* in Goshen Province, \add especially\add* since Egyptians despise everyone who raises sheep.”
\c 47
\p
\v 1 So Joseph went to \add King\add* Pharaoh and informed \add him\add*, “My father and my brothers \add and their families\add* have come \add to Egypt\add* from the region of Canaan and \add are\add* now in Goshen Province. \add They brought with them\add* their sheep, \add goats,\add* cattle, and everything \add else\add* that they own.” 
\v 2 Then Joseph brought five of his brothers before Pharaoh and introduced them \add to him\add*. 
\v 3 Then Pharaoh asked them, “What \add is\add* your occupation?” They answered him, “Your Majesty, we raise sheep \add for a living\add*, just like our ancestors did.” 
\v 4 They \add also\add* said to him, “We have come \add here\add* to live for a while in \add your\add* country. The famine is so severe In the region of Canaan \add where we come from\add* that there is not enough grass \add in the fields\add* for our flocks.  So then, sir, please let us live in Goshen Province.”
\p
\v 5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “\add Now that\add* your father and brothers have come \add to live\add* near you, 
\v 6 you may choose any part of the land of Egypt \add for them to live in\add*. \add In fact,\add* they may live in the best land \add in the country\add*, in Goshen Province. And if you know that some of them are especially  talented \add at raising livestock\add*, then put them in charge of raising my livestock \add also\add*.”
\p
\v 7 Then Joseph took his father Jacob and introduced him to \add King\add* Pharaoh, and Jacob \add asked God to\add* bless Pharaoh. 
\v 8 Then Pharaoh asked Jacob, “\add Sir,\add* how old are you now?” 
\v 9 Jacob answered him, “I have been living \add in this world\add* for 130 years. My life has been short, with many hardships. In fact, I have not lived \add nearly\add* as long as my ancestors did during their time on earth.” 
\v 10 Then Jacob \add again\add* \add asked God to\add* bless Pharaoh and left him.
\p
\v 11 After that, Joseph did what Pharaoh had told him \add to do\add*: He helped his father and brothers settle in the country of Egypt. He gave them the choicest property \add in Egypt\add*, which was in \add Goshen Province, also known as\add* Rameses Province. 
\v 12 Joseph \add also\add* provided his father and brothers and all \add the rest of\add* his father’s family \add with\add* as much food as \add each family\add* needed to feed \add all\add* the people in their family.
\s1 How Joseph Ruled Egypt During the Rest of the Famine
\sr 47:13-26
\p
\v 13 Now \add after a while,\add* the famine became so severe in the entire world that there was very little food \add available\add* \add anywhere\add*. \add The people of\add* the country of Egypt and the region of Canaan were suffering badly because they did not have enough to eat. 
\v 14 So they bought grain from Joseph until there was no more money left in the country of Egypt or the region of Canaan. Joseph \add had his servants\add* take the money to Pharaoh’s palace. 
\v 15 When \add the people in\add* Egypt and Canaan had spent all their money, \add people from\add* all over Egypt went to Joseph and begged \add him\add*, “\add Sir,\add* we have no more money! Please give us food so that we do not starve to death!” 
\v 16 Joseph responded, “Since your money is gone, bring \add me\add* your livestock to pay for the food that I will give you.” 
\v 17 So the people brought their livestock to Joseph. They gave him \add their\add* horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys to pay for the food that he gave them. In that way Joseph supplied the people with food that year, \add and they gave him\add* all their livestock \add to pay\add* for it.
\p
\v 18 After that year was over, the people went to Joseph \add again\add* in the following year and pleaded with him, “Sir, as you know, \add our\add* money is gone and \add all\add* \add our\add* livestock \add belong\add* to you. The only way we can pay you \add for food\add* is to give you our farmland and work for you, sir. 
\v 19 Please do not \add just\add* watch us die or let our land \add become wasteland\add*. \add Instead,\add* \add please\add* take us and our land \add in exchange\add* for food. Then we will be \add King\add* Pharaoh’s slaves, and our land \add will also be his\add*. \add Please\add* give \add us\add* seeds \add to plant\add* so that we can stay alive and not \add starve\add* to death, and \add so that\add* the land will not become a desert!”
\p
\v 20 So Joseph \add agreed and\add* acquired all the land in \add the country of\add* Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold their fields \add to him\add* \add in exchange for food\add*, because the food shortage was \add so\add* severe. In that way, \add all\add* the land became Pharaoh’s \add property\add*. 
\v 21 Joseph \add also\add* relocated the people to the cities throughout the entire \add country of\add* Egypt. 
\v 22 The only land that he did not buy was the priests’ \add land\add*, because they regularly received a certain amount \add of food\add* from Pharaoh, and they had enough to eat from what he gave to them. That is why they did not \add need to\add* sell their land \add to buy food\add*.
\p
\v 23 Next Joseph announced to the \add Egyptian\add* people, “Listen, now that you and your farmland belong to \add King\add* Pharaoh, here \add are\add* \add some\add* seeds for you so that you can plant \add them in\add* the fields. 
\v 24 Then every harvest season, you must give him one-fifth \add of the crops you harvest\add*. The rest \add of what you harvest\add* will be yours \add to use\add* to plant \add in\add* the fields and as food for you and your families, including your children.” 
\v 25 The people replied \add to him\add*, “You have saved our lives! Please \add continue to\add* be kind to us, sir, and we will \add agree to\add* be \add King\add* Pharaoh’s servants.” 
\v 26 So Joseph made a law \add that required\add* \add people to give\add* to Pharaoh one-fifth \add of all the crops they harvested\add* from the fields in Egypt. \add That law\add* is still \add in effect\add* today. The priests’ land was the only \add land\add* \add in Egypt\add* that did not belong to Pharaoh.
\s1 Jacob Asks His Son Joseph to Bury His Body in the Land of Canaan
\sr 47:27-31
\p
\v 27 Now \add Jacob, whose other name was\add* Israel, was living \add with his family\add* in Goshen Province in the country of Egypt, and they acquired \add many possessions\add* there. They had many children and became very numerous. 
\v 28 \add After\add* Jacob had lived in the country of Egypt \add for\add* seventeen years, he was 147 years old. 
\v 29 \add When\add* it was almost time for him to die, he summoned his son Joseph and urged him, “Please do this favor for me: Put your hand under my leg, and  \add promise me that\add* \add after I die,\add* you will be kind and faithful to me. Please \add promise that\add* you will not bury my body \add here\add* in \add the country of\add* Egypt. 
\v 30 Rather, after I die and join my ancestors \add who have died\add*, take my body out of Egypt \add to the region of Canaan\add* and bury it in the same burial place where their bodies are.” Joseph promised \add him\add*, “I will do what you requested.” 
\v 31 But his father insisted, “Vow to me \add before God\add* \add that you will do it\add*.” So Joseph vowed \add that he would do it\add*. Then \add his father\add* Israel bowed \add down\add* \add to worship God\add* beside \add his\add* bed.
\c 48
\s1 Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons Ephraim and Manasseh
\sr 48:1-22
\p
\v 1 \add Some time\add* after those things happened, \add someone\add* told Joseph, “Listen, your father is sick.” So Joseph \add went to visit his father and\add* took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 
\v 2 \add When they got there,\add* someone informed Jacob, “Look, your son Joseph has come to visit you.” \add Immediately\add* Israel exerted himself and sat up at \add the head of\add* \add his\add* bed \add and they greeted each other\add*. 
\v 3 Then Jacob told Joseph, “God \add who is\add* all-powerful appeared to me \add long ago\add* in the region of Canaan at \add the town of\add* Luz. He blessed me \add there\add* 
\v 4 by saying to me, ‘Listen, I will give you many descendants who will increase \add in number\add* and become many people groups. I will \add also\add* give this land to your descendants to own forever.’ ”
\p
\v 5 \add Then Jacob said to Joseph,\add* “Now then, your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you \add here\add* in the country of Egypt before I joined you here, \add I will treat as\add* my sons, just like my sons Reuben and Simeon. 
\v 6 If you have any more children, they will be yours, \add so that\add* what they inherit \add from me\add* will be some of what their brothers \add Ephraim and Manasseh\add* inherit \add from me\add*. 
\v 7 I \add am doing this because\add* as our family was returning \add home\add* from \add the region of\add* Paddan \add Aram\add*, \add your mother\add* Rachel died beside me in the region of Canaan while we were still traveling and some distance away from \add the town of\add* Ephrath. \add As you know,\add* I buried her body there by the road that goes to Ephrath, which \add now has the name\add* Bethlehem.”
\p
\v 8 Then Israel noticed Joseph’s \add two\add* sons and asked \add him\add*, “Who \add are\add* these \add young men\add*?” 
\v 9 Joseph answered him, “These \add are\add* my sons whom God gave to me here \add in Egypt\add*.” Then Israel said \add to Joseph\add*, “Please bring them \add closer\add* to me so that I can \add ask God to\add* bless them.” 
\v 10 Now Israel was almost blind because of old age, \add so that\add* he could not see \add very clearly\add*. So Joseph took his sons \add closer\add* to his father, and his father kissed them \add on the cheeks\add* and hugged them. 
\v 11 Then Israel exclaimed to Joseph, “I never thought I would see you \add again\add*, but \add now\add* look, God has even let me meet your children!” 
\v 12 Then Joseph had his sons move away from beside his father’s knees, and he bowed \add before his father\add* and touched the ground with his forehead \add to show him respect\add*.
\p
\v 13 Then he brought his sons close to his father \add again\add*. He had Ephraim stand in front of Israel’s left \add side\add*, and he had Manasseh stand in front of Israel’s right \add side\add*. 
\v 14 But Israel \add intentionally\add* reached out his right hand and put \add it\add* on Ephraim’s head, even though Ephraim \add was\add* \add Joseph’s\add* younger \add son\add*. Then he crossed his arms and \add put\add* his left hand on Manasseh’s head, \add even\add* though Manasseh \add was\add* \add Joseph’s\add* oldest \add son\add*. 
\v 15 Then Israel blessed Joseph \add and his sons\add* by saying,
\q1 “I pray that the God whom my ancestors Abraham and Isaac served \add will bless your sons\add*.
\q1 He is the God who has taken care of me my entire life. \q1  
\v 16 \add He is also\add* the Angel who saved me \add continually\add* from every harm.
\q1 I pray that he will cause \add these\add* young men to prosper \add greatly\add*,
\q1 so that my family line and the family line of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac will continue through them
\q1 and so that they will have many descendants on the earth.”
\p
\v 17 \add When\add* Joseph noticed that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he thought it was a mistake. So he took hold of his father’s hand \add in order\add* to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 
\v 18 Then he said to his father, “That is the wrong son, Father. The other \add one\add* \add is\add* \add my\add* oldest son. \add So\add* \add you need to\add* have your right hand on his head.” 
\v 19 But his father would not \add move his hands\add* and replied, “I know \add it\add*, my son, I know \add what I am doing\add*. \add In fact,\add* your oldest son will also be a great man, and he will become \add the ancestor of\add* a people group. However, his younger brother will be \add even\add* greater than he \add will be\add*, and his \add younger\add* brother’s descendants will become many people groups.” 
\v 20 So Israel blessed Ephraim and Manasseh that day by saying \add to them\add*,
\q1 “\add The people of\add* Israel will use your names when they bless \add people\add* and say,
\q2 ‘May God prosper you like \add he prospered\add* Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ”
\p In that way, Israel made Ephraim greater than Manasseh.
\p
\v 21 After that, Israel \add turned\add* to Joseph \add and\add* said \add to him\add*, “As you can see, I am about to die, but God will \add always\add* be with you and your brothers \add and all your descendants\add* \add to help you\add*. He will also take you back to the land that \add he gave\add* to your ancestors. 
\v 22 Besides that, \add as part of your inheritance from me,\add* I \add hereby\add* give you \add the city of\add* Shechem, \add which\add* I captured from the Amorite\add s\add* when I defeated them in battle. This is more \add land\add* than I am giving to your brothers.”
\c 49
\s1 Jacob’s Last Words to His Twelve Sons
\sr 49:1-28
\p
\v 1 Then Jacob summoned \add all\add* his sons. He said \add to them\add*, “Come together \add here\add*, so that I can tell you what will happen to you \add and your descendants\add* in the years ahead. \q1  
\v 2 My sons, gather around \add me,\add* \add your father\add* Jacob, and listen \add to me\add*.
\q2 \add I,\add* your father Israel, have something \add important\add* to tell you.
\b \q1  
\v 3 “Reuben, you \add are\add* my oldest \add son\add*,
\q2 \add the result of\add* my strength and the first child I had as a young man.
\q2 \add You had\add* high status and great authority \add in our family\add*. \q1  
\v 4 \add However,\add* \add you are\add* unstable like \add rushing\add* water, \add so\add* you will no longer have your important status \add in our family\add*,
\q2 because you got \add into\add* my bed \add with my concubine\add*
\q2 \add and\add* dishonored me! You \add actually\add* climbed \add into\add* my couch!
\b \q1  
\v 5 “Simeon and Levi, \add you are\add* partners.
\q2 You use your swords to do violent things \add together\add*. \q1  
\v 6 I will never participate with you when you plan \add evil\add* things!
\q2 I refuse to make \add evil\add* plans with you,
\q1 because you became angry and murdered \add many\add* people,
\q2 and \add just\add* to entertain yourselves you crippled \add some\add* cattle. \q1  
\v 7 May God curse you for being so fiercely angry
\q2 and malicious!
\q1 I \add ask God to\add* scatter you \add and your descendants\add* among \add the descendants of\add* Jacob.
\q2 That’s right, I \add ask him to\add* scatter you throughout \add the land of\add* Israel.
\b \q1  
\v 8 “Judah, your brothers \add and their descendants\add* will \add highly\add* praise you \add and your descendants\add*.
\q2 You will conquer your enemies.
\q2 \add Then\add* my \add other\add* sons will prostrate themselves before you \add and your descendants\add* \add in respect\add*. \q1  
\v 9 Judah, my son, \add you are\add* \add powerful\add* \add like\add* a young lion
\q2 that has returned \add to its den\add* after \add killing\add* \add its\add* prey.
\q1 It stretches out \add and\add* lies down \add to sleep\add*.
\q2 No one dares to disturb that lion. \q1  
\v 10 Judah, there will always be one of your descendants ruling as king.
\q2 In fact, your descendants will rule
\q1 until the \add highest\add* king comes
\q2 and the peoples \add of the earth\add* obey him. \q1  
\v 11 You \add and your descendants\add* will \add be so wealthy that you could\add* tie your donkey\add s\add* to \add your\add* \add grape\add*vine\add s\add* \add to eat the valuable fruit\add*.
\q2 \add It will not matter if\add* your donkeys’ colts eat \add your\add* best \add grapevine\add* branch\add es\add*.
\q1 \add You will still have so much wine from other vines
\q2 that\add* you could \add even\add* use it like water to wash your clothes. \q1  
\v 12 \add Your\add* eyes \add will be\add* bright from \add drinking\add* \add abundant\add* wine,
\q2 and \add your\add* teeth \add will be\add* white from \add drinking\add* \add abundant\add* milk.
\b \q1  
\v 13 “Zebulun, \add you\add* \add and your descendants\add* will live near the coast,
\q2 where there will be a \add safe\add* harbor for ships.
\q2 Your territory \add will extend\add* as far \add north\add* as \add the city of\add* Sidon.
\b \q1  
\v 14 “Issachar, \add you\add* \add and your descendants\add* \add will be\add* \add like\add* a sturdy donkey
\q2 \add that is\add* resting \add on the ground\add* between two loads. \q1  
\v 15 You will have a good place to rest, 
\q2 in a land that is pleasant,
\q1 but you will work hard and carry \add heavy loads\add*.
\q2 You will have to work \add very\add* hard \add for others\add* as slaves.
\b \q1  
\v 16 “Dan, you \add and your descendants\add* will rule your \add own\add* people group
\q2 and have equal status with \add the rest of\add* the tribes of Israel. \q1  
\v 17 You will be \add like\add* a poisonous snake
\q2 \add lying\add* beside a road
\q1 that strikes the feet of \add its enemy’s\add* horse,
\q2 so that \add it rears up and\add* the enemy falls off backward \add to the ground\add*.”
\b \q1  
\v 18 \add Then Jacob paused and exclaimed,\add* “Yahweh, I am looking expectantly to you to save \add me\add*!”
\b \q1  
\v 19 \add Then he continued,\add* “\add As for you,\add* Gad, a group of robbers will attack you \add and your descendants\add*,
\q2 but you will chase them \add and defeat them\add*.
\b \q1  
\v 20 “Asher, \add you\add* \add and your descendants\add* will \add be wealthy and\add* eat the best food.
\q2 In fact, you will produce delicious foods \add that are fit\add* for kings \add to eat\add*.
\b \q1  
\v 21 “Naphtali, \add you\add* \add and your descendants\add* \add will be\add* \add swift\add* \add like\add* a deer that is free to run wherever it wants.
\q2 You will \add also\add* speak eloquently.
\b \q1  
\v 22 “Joseph, \add you\add* \add and your descendants\add* \add will become\add* very numerous \add like\add* \add fruit on\add* a productive \add tree\add*
\q2 \add that is growing\add* next to a stream \add of water\add*, 
\q2 \add with\add* branches \add full of fruit\add* that hang over a \add nearby\add* wall. \q1  
\v 23 Enemy warriors will \add fiercely\add* attack you \add and your descendants\add*
\q2 and shoot \add arrows\add* \add at you\add* and try to destroy you. \q1  
\v 24 But the Mighty \add God\add* whom I worship will keep you strong
\q2 and help you use your weapons well \add as you fight back\add*.
\q1 He takes care of \add his people\add* the way a shepherd takes care of his sheep.
\q2 \add He is\add* \add like\add* a rock \add fortress\add* who protects Israel \add and his descendants\add*. \q1  
\v 25 \add That strength/power comes\add* from the God \add who has always taken care\add* of \add me,\add* your father.
\q2 He is the all-powerful \add God\add* who will help you \add and your descendants\add*
\q1 and bless you \add all\add* \add with\add* rain from above
\q2 and water from deep in the ground. \q2 He will \add also\add* bless \add you\add* with many children \add and much livestock\add*. \q1  
\v 26 \add God\add* has blessed me more
\q2 than he blessed my ancestors.
\q2 \add He has blessed me with riches that are\add* greater than the riches \add that come\add* from the ancient mountains.
\q1 I pray that \add God\add* will abundantly bless \add you too,\add* Joseph,
\q2 as the one he chose to set apart \add and honor\add* above your brothers.
\b \q1  
\v 27 “Benjamin \add you and your descendants\add* \add will be\add* \add like\add* a fierce wolf.
\q2 You will always defeat your enemies
\q2 and take their possessions and wealth.”
\p
\v 28 Those \add twelve sons\add* \add are\add* \add the ancestors of\add* the twelve tribes that descended from Israel, and those \add were\add* the blessings that their father spoke to them. He blessed each one of them with blessings that were appropriate for them \add and their descendants\add*.
\s1 Jacob Dies and Is Buried
\sr 49:29-50:14
\p
\v 29 Then Jacob instructed his sons by saying to them, “I am about to \add die and\add* join my ancestors \add who have already died\add*. Bury my body next to their \add bodies\add* inside the cave that \add is\add* in the field that Ephron the Hittite used to own. 
\v 30 That cave and field are in the Machpelah \add area\add* that is near \add the city of\add* Mamre in the region of Canaan. \add That is the cave\add* that \add my grandfather\add* Abraham bought, along with the field, from Ephron the Hittite, in order to have a place to bury \add his dead relatives\add*. 
\v 31 That is where \add the bodies of\add* Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, \add and\add* where \add the bodies of\add* Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and that is where I buried \add the body of\add* \add my wife\add* Leah. 
\v 32 \add Abraham\add* bought that field and cave from the Hittites.” 
\v 33 When Jacob had finished giving those instructions to his sons, he \add lay down and\add* pulled his feet \add up\add* into \add his\add* bed. Then he took his last breath \add and died\add* and joined his ancestors \add who had died before him\add*.
\c 50
\p
\v 1 Then Joseph hugged his father \add in sorrow\add*, and he cried over him and kissed him \add goodbye\add* \add on the cheek\add*. 
\v 2 Then he ordered his doctors who served him to prepare his father\add ‘s body\add* for burial. So they did that. 
\v 3 The process took forty days, which is how long it \add normally\add* takes to prepare a body. The people in Egypt mourned for Israel \add for\add* seventy days.
\p
\v 4 After that time of mourning Israel’s death, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s officials, “Please do this favor for me: please take a message to \add King\add* Pharaoh \add for me\add* and tell \add him\add* 
\v 5 that when my father was about to die, he had me vow to him that I would bury his body in the region of Canaan, in a tomb that he had prepared for himself there. So \add ask the king to\add* please let me go \add to Canaan\add* and bury my father\add ‘s body\add* \add there\add*. After that, I will come back \add here\add*.” 
\v 6 \add When Pharaoh heard Joseph’s message,\add* he replied, “\add Tell Joseph that\add* he may go \add to Canaan\add* and bury his father\add ’s body\add* just as his father made him vow \add that he would do\add*.”
\p
\v 7 So Joseph started the trip \add to Canaan\add* to bury his father\add ’s body\add*, and all Pharaoh’s officials escorted him, \add including\add* the important leaders from Pharaoh’s court and all the \add other\add* important leaders in the country of Egypt. 
\v 8 All of Joseph’s family also \add went with him,\add* including his brothers and \add the rest of\add* his father’s family. They only left \add behind\add* their children and their livestock in Goshen Province. 
\v 9 \add Many\add* soldiers also escorted Joseph, \add including\add* those \add who were\add* riding chariots and those \add who were\add* riding horses, so that the \add entire\add* group was very large.
\p
\v 10 They traveled to the other side of the Jordan \add River\add* and stopped at a \add grain\add* threshing place owned by \add a man named\add* Atad. There Joseph \add and the others\add* mourned for his father very loudly and sorrowfully for seven days. 
\v 11 When the Canaanites who lived in the area saw them mourning \add like that\add* at Atad’s threshing place, they exclaimed \add to each other\add*, “\add Wow!\add* Those people from Egypt are mourning \add very\add* sorrowfully \add for someone who died\add*!” That is why the name of that place on the other side of the Jordan \add River\add* is Abel Mizraim, \add which means “Egyptians’ mourning place.”\add* 
\p
\v 12 Jacob’s sons did \add everything\add* for him just as he had instructed them \add to do\add*: 
\v 13 They took his body to the region of Canaan and buried it in the cave \add that is\add* in the field in the Machpelah \add area\add*, near \add the city of\add* Mamre. \add It was\add* the field \add and cave\add* that Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite as a place to bury his dead \add relatives\add*. 
\v 14 After Joseph buried his father\add ’s body\add*, he returned to \add the country of\add* Egypt, along with his brothers and everyone \add else\add* who had accompanied him to his father’s funeral.
\s1 Joseph Reassures His Brothers That He Has Forgiven Them
\sr 50:15-21
\p
\v 15 Now that their father was no longer alive, Joseph’s brothers \add were worried and\add* said \add to each other\add*, ”If Joseph is angry at us for the terrible way that we treated him, he might punish us severely for what we did.” 
\v 16 So they sent \add a messenger\add* to Joseph to tell \add him\add*, “Before our father died, he told \add us\add* 
\v 17 to ask you to please forgive \add us\add*, your brothers, for sinning \add against you\add* and treating you so badly. So then, as servants of God whom our father worshiped, we beg you to forgive us for sinning \add against you\add*.” When Joseph heard his brothers’ message to him, he \add was very sad and\add* cried. 
\v 18 Then his brothers came \add to him\add*, prostrated themselves before him \add to show respect\add*, and said \add to him\add*, “Here we are, we \add will be\add* your servants!” 
\v 19 But Joseph replied to them, “You do not need to be afraid. After all, I am not God! \add So I have no right to punish you.\add* 
\v 20 \add It is true that\add* you planned to harm me, \add but\add* God is using that to benefit \add us all\add*. Right now he is doing what he planned, to keep many people from dying. 
\v 21 So then, you do not need to be afraid. I \add myself\add* will provide \add everything\add* that you and your children need.” In that way, Joseph assured them \add that he had forgiven them\add*, and he \add also\add* said \add other\add* things to encourage them.
\s1 Joseph Dies in Egypt
\sr 50:22-26
\p
\v 22 Joseph continued to live in \add the country of\add* Egypt, along with \add the rest of\add* his father \add Jacob\add*’s family, until he was 110 years old. 
\v 23 He lived \add long enough\add* to see \add his son\add* Ephraim’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. The children of \add his grandson\add* Machir, \add who was\add* Manasseh’s son, also grew up during his lifetime.
\p
\v 24 Then \add one day\add* Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will definitely help you and take you \add and your descendants\add* from this country to the land that he vowed \add to give\add* to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
\v 25 When God does that, you must take my body back \add to Canaan\add* \add with you\add* \add and bury it there\add*.” Then Joseph had \add his brothers and\add* \add the rest of\add* the descendants of Israel vow \add that they would do that\add*.
\p
\v 26 So Joseph died at the age of 110 years. Then his doctors prepared his body for burial, and they put it in a burial box in \add the country of\add* Egypt.