Genesis 29

³Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,

¹²Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife—for a wife he tended sheep.

³³Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.

³²I run in the path of Your commandments, for You will enlarge my heart.

⁶⁰I hurried without hesitating to keep Your commandments.

⁷Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:

¹⁴But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”

⁶Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

¹⁰They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.

¹⁷For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

⁶Do not stare because I am dark, for the sun has gazed upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me a keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have neglected.

⁷Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?

¹³Here I am, standing beside the spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.

¹⁰Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.

⁴³So now, my son, obey my voice and flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran.

³¹And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there.

¹⁰Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all manner of good things from his master in hand. And he set out for Nahor’s hometown in Aram-naharaim.

²And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

⁴So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God brought him out of that place and into this land where you are now living.

²⁹Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he rushed out to the man at the spring.

²⁴She replied, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor.”

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

²⁷He asked if they were well, and then he asked, “How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?”

⁹“Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.

²²Then David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing.

⁷So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and went into the tent.

¹⁴Then Israel told him, “Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when Joseph arrived in Shechem,

⁵So David sent ten young men and instructed them, “Go up to Nabal at Carmel. Greet him in my name

¹⁶redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

⁹Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

¹⁰Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.

³They were asking one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?”

²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

¹⁴“We cannot do such a thing,” they said. “To give our sister to an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace to us.

³When all the flocks had been gathered there, the shepherds would roll away the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.

³²They separately served Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptians. They ate separately because the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews, since that was detestable to them.

²¹Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.

⁷Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?

⁸If you do not know, O fairest of women, follow the tracks of the flock, and graze your young goats near the tents of the shepherds.

¹⁵When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.

¹⁶Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock.

¹⁵Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.

¹⁷And when some shepherds came along and drove them away, Moses rose up to help them and watered their flock.

⁴Esau, however, ran to him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.

²But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household soon heard of it.

³⁰Joseph hurried out because he was moved to tears for his brother, and he went to a private room to weep.

¹⁴Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept as they embraced.

¹⁵Joseph kissed each of his brothers as he wept over them. And afterward his brothers talked with him.

¹³When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, where Jacob told him all that had happened.

⁷So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and went into the tent.

²⁸The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things.

⁸So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are kinsmen.

¹⁴And when Abram heard that his relative had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men born in his household, and they set out in pursuit as far as Dan.

¹⁵During the night, Abram divided his forces and routed Chedorlaomer’s army, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.

²⁹Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he rushed out to the man at the spring.

⁴⁵You did not greet Me with a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing My feet since I arrived.

³⁷They all wept openly as they embraced Paul and kissed him.

⁷So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and went into the tent.

¹⁵Joseph kissed each of his brothers as he wept over them. And afterward his brothers talked with him.

³⁹So all the people crossed the Jordan, and then the king crossed over. The king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and Barzillai returned home.

¹²You are my brothers, my own flesh and blood. So why should you be the last to restore the king?’

¹³And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from now on you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”

²³And the man said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.”

²“Please ask all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.”

¹Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.

¹²He told Rachel that he was Rebekah’s son, a relative of her father, and she ran and told her father.

⁵Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.

²⁸And he added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”

⁷And although he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, God has not allowed him to harm me.

¹¹“We are witnesses,” said the elders and all the people at the gate. “May the Lord make the woman entering your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you be prosperous in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem.

³¹There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah.

¹⁹Again Leah conceived and bore a sixth son to Jacob.

⁴So Jacob sent word and called Rachel and Leah to the field where his flocks were,

²⁵When morning came, there was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob said to Laban. “Wasn’t it for Rachel that I served you? Why have you deceived me?”

²⁶Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older.

²³The sons of Leah were Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

¹¹As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman,

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

²⁰Jacob set up a pillar on her grave; it marks Rachel’s tomb to this day.

¹⁸Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”

²When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you seek have been found, and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and started worrying about you, asking, “What should I do about my son?”’

²⁴The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

⁶So Potiphar left all that he owned in Joseph’s care; he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,

¹²Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife—for a wife he tended sheep.

¹⁶If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged in marriage and sleeps with her, he must pay the full dowry for her to be his wife.

¹⁷If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, the man still must pay an amount comparable to the bridal price of a virgin.

¹²Demand a high dowry and an expensive gift, and I will give you whatever you ask. Only give me the girl as my wife!”

²So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.

¹⁴Then David sent messengers to say to Ish-bosheth son of Saul, “Give me back my wife, Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for a hundred Philistine foreskins.”

²⁰So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.

¹¹Then I asked: “How long, O Lord?” And He replied: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left unoccupied and the land is desolate and ravaged,

⁵Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.”

²They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.

⁷It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

¹²Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife—for a wife he tended sheep.

²and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.

⁶Set me as a seal over your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as unrelenting as Sheol. Its sparks are fiery flames, the fiercest blaze of all.

⁷Mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, his offer would be utterly scorned.

⁶⁷And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah as his wife. And Isaac loved her and was comforted after his mother’s death.

²⁶Give me my wives and children for whom I have served you, that I may go on my way. You know how hard I have worked for you.”

¹Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. “I want to go to my wife in her room,” he said. But her father would not let him enter.

¹And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man,” she said.

¹⁶Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.” “What will you give me for sleeping with you?” she inquired.

¹⁸This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

⁴¹Thus for twenty years I have served in your household—fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks—and you have changed my wages ten times!

²⁰So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.

⁹Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

¹⁰Then his father went to visit the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as was customary for the bridegroom.

¹¹And when the Philistines saw him, they selected thirty men to accompany him.

¹“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

²“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.

³He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come.

¹⁰Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to raise up the name of the deceased through his inheritance, so that his name will not disappear from among his brothers or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.”

¹¹“We are witnesses,” said the elders and all the people at the gate. “May the Lord make the woman entering your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you be prosperous in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem.

¹On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,

²and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

⁵Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.

⁶⁵and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “It is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.

¹⁴she removed her widow’s garments, covered her face with a veil to disguise herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that although Shelah had grown up, she had not been given to him as a wife.

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

¹Now Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.

⁹When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.

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

¹⁸These are the sons of Jacob born to Zilpah—whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah—sixteen in all.

⁵⁹So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men.

²For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

³¹If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!

³⁵But Isaac replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”

³⁶So Esau declared, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice. He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

¹³his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work.

¹⁹Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.

¹⁸So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?

¹⁸You must not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.

¹²“Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can solve it for me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.

¹⁰Then his father went to visit the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as was customary for the bridegroom.

²And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.

³Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.

¹⁰Noah waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark.

¹¹And behold, the dove returned to him in the evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf in her beak. So Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.

¹⁵Has not the Lord made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

²⁴And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maidservant.

²²While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons:

³Then she said, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Sleep with her, that she may bear children for me, so that through her I too can build a family.”

⁴So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife, and he slept with her,

²⁵The sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali.

²This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

⁴¹Thus for twenty years I have served in your household—fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks—and you have changed my wages ten times!

²⁷And your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons.

³⁷Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;

²⁰So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.

¹⁸Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”

¹⁵Are we not regarded by him as outsiders? Not only has he sold us, but he has certainly squandered what was paid for us.

²¹So the Lord attended to Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.

³Children are indeed a heritage from the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.

¹⁸for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the Lord had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.

¹⁵If a man has two wives, one beloved and the other unloved, and both bear him sons, but the unloved wife has the firstborn son,

¹When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.

²Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”

⁵But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved her even though the Lord had closed her womb.

⁷So we called out to the Lord, the God of our fathers; and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, toil, and oppression.

³¹and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.

⁷The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.

¹¹And she made a vow, saying, “O Lord of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”

²⁷At the place where they lodged for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of the sack.

⁴⁴Nevertheless He heard their cry; He took note of their distress.

²⁵Three days later, while they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons (Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi) took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and slaughtered every male.

⁸Then Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali.

²⁴And he turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.

²³The sons of Leah were Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

⁶Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.

²⁰“God has given me a good gift,” she said. “This time my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” And she named him Zebulun.

²⁶So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered around him.

²⁷He told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each of you men is to fasten his sword to his side, go back and forth through the camp from gate to gate, and slay his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”

⁵Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.

⁶May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For they kill men in their anger, and hamstring oxen on a whim.

²But bring with you also your brothers from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and assist you and your sons before the Tent of the Testimony.

³And they shall attend to your duties and to all the duties of the Tent; but they must not come near to the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar, or both they and you will die.

¹¹The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

²⁵Three days later, while they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons (Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi) took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and slaughtered every male.

⁸Concerning Levi he said: “Give Your Thummim to Levi and Your Urim to Your godly one, whom You tested at Massah and contested at the waters of Meribah.

⁹He said of his father and mother, ‘I do not consider them.’ He disregarded his brothers and did not know his own sons, for he kept Your word and maintained Your covenant.

²Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

⁸Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you.

⁹Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?

²And though Judah prevailed over his brothers and a ruler came from him, the birthright belonged to Joseph.

²⁶And the sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

⁷And concerning Judah he said: “O Lord, hear the cry of Judah and bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause, but may You be a help against his foes.”

¹⁸Then Judah approached Joseph and said, “Sir, please let your servant speak personally to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh himself.

¹⁹My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’