New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Isaac Is Born

1 Then the Lordtook note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lorddid for Sarah as He had promised.

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

3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.

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

5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

6 Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.”

7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

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

Sarah Turns against Hagar

9 Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.

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

11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son.

12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named.

13 And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant.”

14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gavethemto Hagar, puttingthemon her shoulder, andgave herthe boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.

15 When the water in the skin was used up, she left the boy under one of the bushes.

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

17 God heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.

18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.”

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

20 God was with the lad, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer.

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

Covenant with Abimelech

22 Now it came about at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do;

23 now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned.”

24 Abraham said, “I swear it.”

25 But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well of water which the servants of Abimelech had seized.

26 And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor did I hear of it until today.”

27 Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.

28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

29 Abimelech said to Abraham, “What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves?”

30 He said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness to me, that I dug this well.”

31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because there the two of them took an oath.

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

33 Abrahamplanted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.

34 And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines for many days.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/21-f493b97411375ecab354c5cdb2865be1.mp3?version_id=100—

The Offering of Isaac

1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

2 He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”

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

4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.

5 Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.”

6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.

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

8 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

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

10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

11 But the angel of the Lordcalled to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

12 He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behindhima ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.

14 Abraham called the name of that place The LordWill Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lordit will be provided.”

15 Then the angel of the Lordcalled to Abraham a second time from heaven,

16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son,

17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.

18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba.

20 Now it came about after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:

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

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

23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah; these eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.

24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/22-46bce9625a2c95841f9636144768d2d8.mp3?version_id=100—

Death and Burial of Sarah

1 Now Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years;these werethe years of the life of Sarah.

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

3 Then Abraham rose from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,

4 “I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me a burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,

6 “Hear us, my lord, you are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave for burying your dead.”

7 So Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Heth.

8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wishfor meto bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and approach Ephron the son of Zohar for me,

9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he owns, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in your presence for a burial site.”

10 Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth;evenof all who went in at the gate of his city, saying,

11 “No, my lord, hear me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.”

12 And Abraham bowed before the people of the land.

13 He spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will only please listen to me; I will give the price of the field, acceptitfrom me that I may bury my dead there.”

14 Then Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,

15 “My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”

16 Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, commercial standard.

17 So Ephron’s field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were within all the confines of its border, were deeded over

18 to Abraham for a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.

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

20 So the field and the cave that is in it, were deeded over to Abraham for a burial site by the sons of Heth.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/23-d11b34b1b6f48f87cd23d2985d6242be.mp3?version_id=100—

A Bride for Isaac

1 Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lordhad blessed Abraham in every way.

2 Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, “Please place your hand under my thigh,

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

4 but you will go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

5 The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came?”

6 Then Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there!

7 The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there.

8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this my oath; only do not take my son back there.”

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

10 Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and set out with a variety of good things of his master’s in his hand; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.

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

12 He said, “O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham.

13 Behold, I am standing by the spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water;

14 now may it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’-mayshebe the onewhom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.”

Rebekah Is Chosen

15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder.

16 The girl was very beautiful, a virgin, and no man had had relations with her; and she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up.

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

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

19 Now when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking.”

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

21 Meanwhile, the man was gazing at her in silence, to know whether the Lordhad made his journey successful or not.

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

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

24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.”

25 Again she said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to lodge in.”

26 Then the man bowed low and worshiped the Lord.

27 He said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, the Lordhas guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”

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

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

30 When he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “This is what the man said to me,” he went to the man; and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.

31 And he said, “Come in, blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside since I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels?”

32 So the man entered the house. Then Laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

33 But whenfoodwas set before him to eat, he said, “I will not eat until I have told my business.” And he said, “Speak on.”

34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.

35 The Lordhas greatly blessed my master, so that he has become rich; and He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and maids, and camels and donkeys.

36 Now Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master in her old age, and he has given him all that he has.

37 My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live;

38 but you shall go to my father’s house and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.’

39 I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman does not follow me.’

40 He said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father’s house;

41 then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’

42 “So I came today to the spring, and said, ‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now You will make my journey on which I go successful;

43 behold, I am standing by the spring, and may it be that the maiden who comes out to draw, and to whom I say, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar”;

44 and she will say to me, “You drink, and I will draw for your camels also”; let her be the woman whom the Lordhas appointed for my master’s son.’

45 “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder, and went down to the spring and drew, and I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’

46 She quickly lowered her jar from hershoulder,and said, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’; so I drank, and she watered the camels also.

47 Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him’; and I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her wrists.

48 And I bowed low and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had guided me in the right way to take the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son.

49 So now if you are going todeal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, let me know, that I may turn to the right hand or the left.”

50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “The matter comes from the Lord;sowe cannot speak to you bad or good.

51 Here is Rebekah before you, takeherand go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lordhas spoken.”

52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground before the Lord.

53 The servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.

54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they arose in the morning, he said, “Send me away to my master.”

55 But her brother and her mother said, “Let the girl stay with usa fewdays, say ten; afterward she may go.”

56 He said to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lordhas prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.”

57 And they said, “We will call the girl and consult her wishes.”

58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.”

59 Thus they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men.

60 They blessed Rebekah and said to her,

“May you, our sister,

Become thousands of ten thousands,

And may your descendants possess

The gate of those who hate them.”

61 Then Rebekah arose with her maids, and they mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

Isaac Marries Rebekah

62 Now Isaac had come from going to Beer-lahai-roi; for he was living in the Negev.

63 Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming.

64 Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from the camel.

65 She said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master.” Then she took her veil and covered herself.

66 The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.

67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/24-e65be6c6548d893d16ce90f46248129c.mp3?version_id=100—

Abraham’s Death

1 Now Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.

2 She bore to him Zimran and Jokshan and Medan and Midian and Ishbak and Shuah.

3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim and Letushim and Leummim.

4 The sons of MidianwereEphah and Epher and Hanoch and Abida and Eldaah. All thesewerethe sons of Keturah.

5 Now Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac;

6 but to the sons of his concubines, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the east.

7 These are all the years of Abraham’s life that he lived, one hundred and seventy-five years.

8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfiedwith life;and he was gathered to his people.

9 Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre,

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

11 It came about after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac lived by Beer-lahai-roi.

Descendants of Ishmael

12 Now these arethe records ofthe generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maid, bore to Abraham;

13 and these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael, and Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam

14 and Mishma and Dumah and Massa,

15 Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah.

16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages, and by their camps; twelve princes according to their tribes.

17 These are the years of the life of Ishmael, one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.

18 They settled from Havilah to Shur which is east of Egypt as one goes toward Assyria; he settled in defiance of all his relatives.

Isaac’s Sons

19 Now these arethe records ofthe generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham became the father of Isaac;

20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.

21 Isaac prayed to the Lordon behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lordanswered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.

22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am Ithis way?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

23 The Lordsaid to her,

“Two nations are in your womb;

And two peoples will be separated from your body;

And one people shall be stronger than the other;

And the older shall serve the younger.”

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

25 Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau.

26 Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so his name was calledJacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents.

28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished;

30 and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was calledEdom.

31 But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.”

32 Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of whatusethen is the birthright to me?”

33 And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/25-7616efa9300353963989ea931a6d846b.mp3?version_id=100—

Isaac Settles in Gerar

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

2 The Lordappeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you.

3 Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham.

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

5 because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.”

6 So Isaac lived in Gerar.

7 When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “my wife,”thinking,”the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is beautiful.”

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

9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, certainly she is your wife! How then did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘I might die on account of her.'”

10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

11 So Abimelech charged all the people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

12 Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the Lordblessed him,

13 and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy;

14 for he had possessions of flocks and herds and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him.

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

16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are too powerful for us.”

17 And Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and settled there.

Quarrel over the Wells

18 Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the same names which his father had given them.

19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water,

20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him.

21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named it Sitnah.

22 He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said, “At last the Lordhas made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba.

24 The Lordappeared to him the same night and said,

“I am the God of your father Abraham;

Do not fear, for I am with you.

I will bless you, and multiply your descendants,

For the sake of My servant Abraham.”

25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

Covenant with Abimelech

26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army.

27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”

28 They said, “We see plainly that the Lordhas been with you; so we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us,evenbetween you and us, and let us make a covenant with you,

29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.'”

30 Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.

31 In the morning they arose early and exchanged oaths; then Isaac sent them away and they departed from him in peace.

32 Now it came about on the same day, that Isaac’s servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.”

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

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

35 and theybrought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/26-01eeb561f8b17207d549fc3d8662fc9d.mp3?version_id=100—

Jacob’s Deception

1 Now it came about, when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he said to him, “Here I am.”

2 Isaac said, “Behold now, I am oldandI do not know the day of my death.

3 Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me;

4 and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.”

5 Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bringhome,

6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying,

7 ‘Bring mesomegame and prepare a savory dish for me, that I may eat, and bless you in the presence of the Lordbefore my death.’

8 Now therefore, my son, listen to me as I command you.

9 Go now to the flock and bring me two choice young goats from there, that I may prepare themasa savory dish for your father, such as he loves.

10 Then you shall bringitto your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.”

11 Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man.

12 Perhaps my father will feel me, then I will be as a deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.”

13 But his mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, getthemfor me.”

14 So he went and gotthem,and broughtthemto his mother; and his mother made savory food such as his father loved.

15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son.

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

17 She also gave the savory food and the bread, which she had made, to her son Jacob.

18 Then he came to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Get up, please, sit and eat of my game, that you may bless me.”

20 Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you haveitso quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lordyour God causeditto happen to me.”

21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come close, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.”

22 So Jacob came close to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”

23 He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.

24 And he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.”

25 So he said, “Bringitto me, and I will eat of my son’s game, that I may bless you.” And he broughtitto him, and he ate; he also brought him wine and he drank.

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

27 So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said,

“See, the smell of my son

Is like the smell of a field which the Lordhas blessed;

28 Now may God give you of the dew of heaven,

And of the fatness of the earth,

And an abundance of grain and new wine;

29 May peoples serve you,

And nations bow down to you;

Be master of your brothers,

And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.

Cursed be those who curse you,

And blessed be those who bless you.”

The Stolen Blessing

30 Now it came about, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had hardly gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

31 Then he also made savory food, and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me.”

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

33 Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, “Who was he then that hunted game and broughtitto me, so that I ate of allof itbefore you came, and blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.”

34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me,evenme also, O my father!”

35 And he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.”

36 Then he said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob, for he has supplanted me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

37 But Isaac replied to Esau, “Behold, I have made him your master, and all his relatives I have given to him as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. Now as for you then, what can I do, my son?”

38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me,evenme also, O my father.” So Esau lifted his voice and wept.

39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, “Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of heaven from above.

40 “By your sword you shall live,

And your brother you shall serve;

But it shall come about when you become restless,

That you will break his yoke from your neck.”

41 So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

42 Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, “Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning youby planningto kill you.

43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee to Haran, to my brother Laban!

44 Stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury subsides,

45 until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?”

46 Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/27-4def531d7ac23d59812ce08db48ca0b6.mp3?version_id=100—

Jacob Is Sent Away

1 So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, and said to him, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.

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

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

4 May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham.”

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

6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take to himself a wife from there,and thatwhen he blessed him he charged him, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,”

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

8 So Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan displeased his father Isaac;

9 and Esau went to Ishmael, and married, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.

Jacob’s Dream

10 Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran.

11 He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place.

12 He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

13 And behold, the Lordstood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.

14 Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lordis in this place, and I did not know it.”

17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top.

19 He called the name of that placeBethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz.

20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear,

21 and I return to my father’s house in safety, then the Lordwill be my God.

22 This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/28-a2a07a6de2288e319669a34b99de6ed5.mp3?version_id=100—

Jacob Meets Rachel

1 Then Jacobwent on his journey, and came to the land of the sons of the east.

2 He looked, and saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for from that well they watered the flocks. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large.

3 When all the flocks were gathered there, they would then roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.

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

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

6 And he said to them, “Is it well with him?” And they said, “It is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.”

7 He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.”

8 But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

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

10 When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.

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

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

13 So when Laban heard the news of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then he related to Laban all these things.

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

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

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

17 And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful of form and face.

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

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

20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.

Laban’s Treachery

21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Givememy wife, for my time is completed, that I may go in to her.”

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

23 Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah, and brought her to him; andJacobwent in to her.

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

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

26 But Laban said, “It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the firstborn.

27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which you shall serve with me for another seven years.”

28 Jacob did so and completed her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife.

29 Laban also gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid.

30 SoJacobwent in to Rachel also, and indeed he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with Laban for another seven years.

31 Now the Lordsaw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

32 Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lordhas seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.”

33 Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Because the Lordhas heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me thissonalso.” So she named him Simeon.

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

35 And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/29-fba4fda5794ee9019a81109e532834e4.mp3?version_id=100—

The Sons of Jacob

1 Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die.”

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

3 She said, “Here is my maid Bilhah, go in to her that she may bear on my knees, that through her I too may have children.”

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

5 Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him Dan.

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

8 So Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister,andI have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.

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

10 Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

11 Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.

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

13 Then Leah said, “Happy am I! For women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

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

15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he may lie with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”

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

17 God gave heed to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

18 Then Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my maid to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.

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

20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.

21 Afterward she bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

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

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

24 She named him Joseph, saying, “May the Lordgive me another son.”

Jacob Prospers

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

26 Givememy wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me depart; for you yourself know my service which I have rendered you.”

27 But Laban said to him, “If nowit pleases you,stay with me;I have divined that the Lordhas blessed me on your account.”

28 He continued, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.”

29 But he said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you and how your cattle have fared with me.

30 For you had little before I came and it has increased to a multitude, and the Lordhas blessed you wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?”

31 So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do thisonething for me, I will again pastureandkeep your flock:

32 let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted sheep and every black one among the lambs and the spotted and speckled among the goats; andsuchshall be my wages.

33 So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs,if foundwith me, will be considered stolen.”

34 Laban said, “Good, let it be according to your word.”

35 So he removed on that day the striped and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats, every one with white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the care of his sons.

36 And he puta distance ofthree days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37 Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white whichwasin the rods.

38 He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the gutters,evenin the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink.

39 So the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted.

40 Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he put his own herds apart, and did not put them with Laban’s flock.

41 Moreover, whenever the stronger of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters, so that they might mate by the rods;

42 but when the flock was feeble, he did not putthemin; so the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s.

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

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/30-704f9771b901baea8671a8247266f0bd.mp3?version_id=100—