New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Jacob Leaves Secretly for Canaan

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

2 Jacob saw theattitude of Laban, and behold, it was notfriendlytoward him as formerly.

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

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

5 and said to them, “I see your father’s attitude, that it is notfriendlytoward me as formerly, but the God of my father has been with me.

6 You know that I have served your father with all my strength.

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

8 If he spoke thus, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth speckled; and if he spoke thus, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth striped.

9 Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock and giventhemto me.

10 And it came about at the time when the flock were mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which were matingwerestriped, speckled, and mottled.

11 Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’

12 He said, ‘Lift up now your eyes and seethatall the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.

13 I am the GodofBethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.'”

14 Rachel and Leah said to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance in our father’s house?

15 Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also entirely consumed our purchase price.

16 Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you.”

17 Then Jacob arose and put his children and his wives upon camels;

18 and he drove away all his livestock and all his property which he had gathered, his acquired livestock which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac.

19 When Laban had gone to shear his flock, then Rachel stole the household idols that were her father’s.

20 And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing.

21 So he fled with all that he had; and he arose and crossed theEuphratesRiver, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.

Laban Pursues Jacob

22 When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled,

23 then he took his kinsmen with him and pursued hima distance ofseven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.

24 God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night and said to him, “Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.”

25 Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen camped in the hill country of Gilead.

26 Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done by deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword?

27 Why did you flee secretly and deceive me, and did not tell me so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with timbrel and with lyre;

28 and did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now you have done foolishly.

29 It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to speak either good or bad to Jacob.’

30 Now you have indeed gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house;butwhy did you steal my gods?”

31 Then Jacob replied to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force.

32 The one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our kinsmen point out what is yours among my belongings and takeitfor yourself.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

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

34 Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel’s saddle, and she sat on them. And Laban felt through all the tent but did not findthem.

35 She said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the household idols.

36 Then Jacob became angry and contended with Laban; and Jacob said to Laban, “What is my transgression? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me?

37 Though you have felt through all my goods, what have you found of all your household goods? Setithere before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two.

38 These twenty years Ihave beenwith you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks.

39 That which was tornof beastsI did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself. You required it of my handwhetherstolen by day or stolen by night.

40 ThusI was: by day the heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.

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

42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night.”

The Covenant of Mizpah

43 Then Laban replied to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne?

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

45 Then Jacob took a stone and set it upasa pillar.

46 Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap.

47 Now Laban called itJegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called itGaleed.

48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore it was named Galeed,

49 andMizpah, for he said, “May the Lordwatch between you and me when we are absent one from the other.

50 If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters,althoughno man is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.”

51 Laban said to Jacob, “Behold this heap and behold the pillar which I have set between you and me.

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

53 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.

54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his kinsmen to the meal; and they ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.

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

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/31-d1a1dd6670d49a435edecd6cd7193944.mp3?version_id=100—

Jacob’s Fear of Esau

1 Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him.

2 Jacob said when he saw them, “This is God’scamp.” So he named that placeMahanaim.

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

4 He also commanded them saying, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, “I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now;

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

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

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

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

9 Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,’

10 I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staffonlyI crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.

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

12 For You said, ‘I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.'”

13 So he spent the night there. Then he selected from what he had with him a present for his brother Esau:

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

15 thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.

16 He deliveredtheminto the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on before me, and put a space between droves.”

17 He commanded the one in front, saying, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do theseanimalsin front of you belong?’

18 then you shall say, ‘Thesebelong to your servant Jacob; it is a present sent to my lord Esau. And behold, he also is behind us.'”

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

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

21 So the present passed on before him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.

22 Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

23 He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had.

Jacob Wrestles

24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.

25 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

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

28 He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, butIsrael; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.”

29 Then Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there.

30 So Jacob named the placePeniel, forhe said,”I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.”

31 Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh.

32 Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/32-bb5385c6e9a882a25d2bea36fb70405b.mp3?version_id=100—

Jacob Meets Esau

1 Then Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids.

2 He put the maids and their children in front, and Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.

3 But he himself passed on ahead of them and bowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

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

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

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

7 Leah likewise came near with her children, and they bowed down; and afterward Joseph came near with Rachel, and they bowed down.

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

9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother; let what you have be your own.”

10 Jacob said, “No, please, if now I have found favor in your sight, then take my present from my hand, for I see your face as one sees the face of God, and you have received me favorably.

11 Please take my gift which has been brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have plenty.” Thus he urged him and he tookit.

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

13 But he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds which are nursing are a care to me. And if they are driven hard one day, all the flocks will die.

14 Please let my lord pass on before his servant, and I will proceed at my leisure, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at Seir.”

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

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

17 Jacob journeyed toSuccoth, and built for himself a house and made booths for his livestock; therefore the place is named Succoth.

Jacob Settles in Shechem

18 Now Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram, and camped before the city.

19 He bought the piece of land where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money.

20 Then he erected there an altar and called itEl-Elohe-Israel.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/33-1b156b7b3b4bbb26a7d3f1485a64469b.mp3?version_id=100—

The Treachery of Jacob’s Sons

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

2 When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.

3 He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her.

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

5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in.

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

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

8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage.

9 Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves.

10 Thus you shall live with us, and the land shall beopenbefore you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.”

11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “If I find favor in your sight, then I will give whatever you say to me.

12 Ask me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; but give me the girl in marriage.”

13 But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.

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

15 Only on thisconditionwill we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that every male of you be circumcised,

16 then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people.

17 But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”

18 Now their words seemed reasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.

19 The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father.

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

21 “These men are friendly with us; therefore let them live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters in marriage, and give our daughters to them.

22 Only on thisconditionwill the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised.

23 Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will live with us.”

24 All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

25 Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male.

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

27 Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister.

28 They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field;

29 and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all thatwasin the houses.

30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household.”

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

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/34-98e6f2b7ee5d2bdaf06f1d7508321f23.mp3?version_id=100—

Jacob Moves to Bethel

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

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

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

4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which they had and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was near Shechem.

5 As they journeyed, there was a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

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

7 He built an altar there, and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother.

8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; it was namedAllon-bacuth.

Jacob Is Named Israel

9 Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him.

10 God said to him,

“Your name is Jacob;

You shall no longer be called Jacob,

But Israel shall be your name.”

Thus He called him Israel.

11 God also said to him,

“I am God Almighty;

Be fruitful and multiply;

A nation and a company of nations shall come from you,

And kings shall come forth from you.

12 “The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac,

I will give it to you,

And I will give the land to your descendants after you.”

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

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

15 So Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him,Bethel.

16 Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe labor.

17 When she was in severe labor the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for now you have another son.”

18 It came about as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named himBen-oni; but his father called himBenjamin.

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

20 Jacob set up a pillar over her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.

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

22 It came about while Israel was dwelling in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heardof it.

The Sons of Israel

Now there were twelve sons of Jacob-

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

24 the sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin;

25 and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali;

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

27 Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre of Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned.

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

29 Isaac breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, an old man of ripe age; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/35-69e2681715b2da0f8e1e9b4edf496d90.mp3?version_id=100—

Esau Moves

1 Now these arethe records ofthe generations of Esau (that is, Edom).

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

3 also Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.

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

5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush and Jalam and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

6 Then Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters and all his household, and his livestock and all his cattle and all his goods which he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went toanotherland away from his brother Jacob.

7 For their property had become too great for them to live together, and the land where they sojourned could not sustain them because of their livestock.

8 So Esau lived in the hill country of Seir; Esau is Edom.

Descendants of Esau

9 These then arethe records ofthe generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.

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

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

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

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

14 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon: she bore to Esau, Jeush and Jalam and Korah.

15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau, are chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz,

16 chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah.

17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

18 These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These are the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.

20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan and Shobal and Zibeon and Anah,

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

22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna.

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

24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah-he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness when he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.

25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon, and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

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

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

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

29 These are the chiefs descended from the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah,

30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These are the chiefs descended from the Horites, according to theirvariouschiefs in the land of Seir.

31 Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the sons of Israel.

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

33 Then Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah became king in his place.

34 Then Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites became king in his place.

35 Then Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the field of Moab, became king in his place; and the name of his city was Avith.

36 Then Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah became king in his place.

37 Then Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on theEuphratesRiver became king in his place.

38 Then Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor became king in his place.

39 Then Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar became king in his place; and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.

40 Now these are the names of the chiefs descended from Esau, according to their familiesandtheir localities, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth,

41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon,

42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar,

43 chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of the Edomites), according to their habitations in the land of their possession.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/36-4eb56df4adc9d473911098b84aa5d2ff.mp3?version_id=100—

Joseph’s Dream

1 Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.

2 These arethe records ofthe generations of Jacob.

Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he wasstilla youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him avaricolored tunic.

4 His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; andsothey hated him and could not speak to himon friendly terms.

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

6 He said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have had;

7 for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

8 Then his brothers said to him, “Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

9 Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, “Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

10 He relateditto his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?”

11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the sayingin mind.

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

13 Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturingthe flockin Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “I will go.”

14 Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

15 A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “What are you looking for?”

16 He said, “I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturingthe flock.”

17 Then the man said, “They have moved from here; for I heardthemsay, ‘Let us go to Dothan.'” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

The Plot against Joseph

18 When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death.

19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer!

20 Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!”

21 But Reuben heardthisand rescued him out of their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.”

22 Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him”-that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father.

23 So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him;

24 and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.

25 Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bringthemdown to Egypt.

26 Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?

27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, ourownflesh.” And his brothers listenedto him.

28 Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulledhimup and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twentyshekelsof silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.

29 Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his garments.

30 He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is notthere;as for me, where am I to go?”

31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood;

32 and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examineittoseewhether it is your son’s tunic or not.”

33 Then he examined it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”

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

35 Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.

36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/37-0e8044e2a32d5ec66ee1041dfb95d023.mp3?version_id=100—

Judah and Tamar

1 And it came about at that time, that Judah departed from his brothers and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.

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

3 So she conceived and bore a son and he named him Er.

4 Then she conceived again and bore a son and named him Onan.

5 She bore still another son and named him Shelah; and it was at Chezib that she bore him.

6 Now Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her namewasTamar.

7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lordtook his life.

8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.”

9 Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother’s wife, he wasted his seed on the ground in order not to give offspring to his brother.

10 But what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord; so He took his life also.

11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”; for he thought, “I am afraidthat he too may die like his brothers.” So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

12 Now after a considerable time Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died; and when the time of mourning was ended, Judah went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

13 It was told to Tamar, “Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”

14 So she removed her widow’s garments and coveredherselfwith aveil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gateway of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him as a wife.

15 When Judah saw her, he thought shewasa harlot, for she had covered her face.

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

17 He said, therefore, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” She said, moreover, “Will you give a pledge until you sendit?”

18 He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” And she said, “Your seal and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gavethemto her and went in to her, and she conceived by him.

19 Then she arose and departed, and removed her veil and put on her widow’s garments.

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

21 He asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is the temple prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?” But they said, “There has been no temple prostitute here.”

22 So he returned to Judah, and said, “I did not find her; and furthermore, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no temple prostitute here.'”

23 Then Judah said, “Let her keep them, otherwise we will become a laughingstock. After all, I sent this young goat, but you did not find her.”

24 Now it was about three months later that Judah was informed, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the harlot, and behold, she is also with child by harlotry.” Then Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”

25 It was while she was being brought out that she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “I am with child by the man to whom these things belong.” And she said, “Please examine and see, whose signet ring and cords and staff are these?”

26 Judah recognizedthem,and said, “She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not have relations with her again.

27 It came about at the time she was giving birth, that behold, there were twins in her womb.

28 Moreover, it took place while she was giving birth, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarletthreadon his hand, saying, “This one came out first.”

29 But it came about as he drew back his hand, that behold, his brother came out. Then she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” So he was namedPerez.

30 Afterward his brother came out who had the scarletthreadon his hand; and he was namedZerah.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/38-c48f21b47a79374ccaa8a4ec970db316.mp3?version_id=100—

Joseph’s Success in Egypt

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

2 The Lordwas with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.

3 Now his master saw that the Lordwas with him andhowthe Lordcaused all that he did to prosper in his hand.

4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge.

5 It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the Lordblessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus the Lord’sblessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field.

6 So he left everything he owned in Joseph’s charge; and with himtherehe did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate.

Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

7 It came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”

8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, with mehere,my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge.

9 There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?”

10 As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside herorbe with her.

11 Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside.

12 She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside.

13 When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside,

14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I screamed.

15 When he heard that I raised my voice andscreamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.”

16 So she left his garment beside her until his master came home.

17 Then she spoke to him with these words, “The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to make sport of me;

18 and as I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.”

Joseph Imprisoned

19 Now when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your slave did to me,” his anger burned.

20 So Joseph’s master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail.

21 But the Lordwas with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.

22 The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was responsiblefor it.

23 The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge because the Lordwas with him; and whatever he did, the Lordmade to prosper.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/39-894cb2c0a7149d5de458d0c7e7e7e095.mp3?version_id=100—

Joseph Interprets a Dream

1 Then it came about after these things, the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt.

2 Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.

3 So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, in the jail, thesameplace where Joseph was imprisoned.

4 The captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them, and he took care of them; and they were in confinement for some time.

5 Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in jail, both had a dream the same night, each man with hisowndreamandeach dream with itsowninterpretation.

6 When Joseph came to them in the morning and observed them, behold, they were dejected.

7 He asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in confinement in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so sad today?”

8 Then they said to him, “We have had a dream and there is no one to interpret it.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tellitto me, please.”

9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream, behold,there wasa vine in front of me;

10 and on the vinewerethree branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out,andits clusters produced ripe grapes.

11 Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”

12 Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days;

13 within three more days Pharaoh willlift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer.

14 Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house.

15 For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.”

16 When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, “I alsosawin my dream, and behold,there werethree baskets of white bread on my head;

17 and in the top basketthere weresome of all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

18 Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days;

19 within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”

20 Thus it came about on the third day,which wasPharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.

21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand;

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

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

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/GEN/40-b02202a62ce45282b7f7f3bfa5a90113.mp3?version_id=100—