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Genesis 49:1-28
/RSS FeedGenesis 49:1-28
1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come:
2 Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
3 Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.
4 Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it.
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.
6 May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For they kill men in their anger, and hamstring oxen on a whim.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
9 Judah 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?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
11 He ties his donkey to the vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore and become a harbor for ships; his border shall extend to Sidon.
14 Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds.
15 He saw that his resting place was good and that his land was pleasant, so he bent his shoulder to the burden and submitted to labor as a servant.
16 Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 He will be a snake by the road, a viper in the path that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
18 I await Your salvation, O LORD.
19 Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.
20 Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies.
21 Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
22 Joseph is a fruitful vine— a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.
23 The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
24 Yet he steadied his bow, and his strong arms were tempered by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and womb.
26 The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince of his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
28 These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing. -
Genesis 48:1-22
/RSS FeedGenesis 48:1-22
1 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he set out with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
2 When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up in bed.
3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me
4 and told me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you; I will make you a multitude of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’
5 And now your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here shall be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
6 Any children born to you after them shall be yours, and they shall be called by the names of their brothers in the territory they inherit.
7 Now as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way in the land of Canaan, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).
8 When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?”
9 Joseph said to his father, “They are the sons God has given me in this place.” So Jacob said, “Please bring them to me, that I may bless them.”
10 Now Israel’s eyesight was poor because of old age; he could hardly see. Joseph brought his sons to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.
11 “I never expected to see your face again,” Israel said to Joseph, “but now God has let me see your children as well.”
12 Then Joseph removed his sons from his father’s knees and bowed facedown.
13 And Joseph took both of them—with Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand—and brought them close to him.
14 But Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger; and crossing his hands, he put his left on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was the firstborn.
15 Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,
16 the angel who has redeemed me from all harm— may He bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.”
17 When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he was displeased and took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s.
18 “Not so, my father!” Joseph said. “This one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”
19 But his father refused. “I know, my son, I know!” he said. “He too shall become a people, and he too shall be great; nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.”
20 So that day Jacob blessed them and said: “By you shall Israel pronounce this blessing: ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” So he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.
22 And to you, as one who is above your brothers, I give the ridge of land that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.” -
Genesis 45:16-28
/RSS FeedGenesis 45:16-28
16 When the news reached Pharaoh’s house that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and his servants were pleased.
17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do as follows: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan.
18 Then bring your father and your families and return to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat from the fat of the land.’
19 You are also directed to tell them: ‘Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your young children and your wives, and bring your father and come back.
20 But pay no regard to your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”
21 So the sons of Israel did as they were told. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had instructed, and he also gave them provisions for their journey.
22 He gave new garments to each of them, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes.
23 And he sent to his father the following: ten donkeys loaded with the best of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and provisions for his father’s journey.
24 Then Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way!”
25 So the brothers went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.
26 “Joseph is still alive,” they said, “and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” But Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them.
27 However, when they relayed all that Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob was revived.
28 “Enough!” declared Israel. “My son Joseph is still alive! I will go to see him before I die.” -
Genesis 39:13-23
/RSS FeedGenesis 39:13-23
13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,
14 she called her household servants. “Look,” she said, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, but I screamed as loud as I could.
15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
16 So Potiphar’s wife kept Joseph’s cloak beside her until his master came home.
17 Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me,
18 but when I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is what your slave did to me,” he burned with anger.
20 So Joseph’s master took him and had him thrown into the prison where the king’s prisoners were confined. While Joseph was there in the prison,
21 the LORD was with him and extended kindness to him, granting him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
22 And the warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care, so that he was responsible for all that was done in the prison.
23 The warden did not concern himself with anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. -
Genesis 39:1-12
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1 Meanwhile, Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, where an Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.
3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and made him prosper in all he did,
4 Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household and entrusted him with everything he owned.
5 From the time that he put Joseph in charge of his household and all he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s household on account of him. The LORD’s blessing was on everything he owned, both in his house and in his field.
6 So 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,
7 and after some time his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.”
8 But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has entrusted everything he owns to my care.
9 No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?”
10 Although Potiphar’s wife spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be near her.
11 One day, however, Joseph went into the house to attend to his work, and not a single household servant was inside.
12 She grabbed Joseph by his cloak and said, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his cloak in her hand, he escaped and ran outside. -
Genesis 28:1-9
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1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded.
2 “Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel, and take a wife from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.
3 May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples.
4 And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”
5 So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife there, commanding him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,”
7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram.
8 And seeing that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women,
9 Esau went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, in addition to the wives he already had. -
Genesis 27:30-46
/RSS FeedGenesis 27:30-46
30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing him and Jacob had left his father’s presence, his brother Esau returned from the hunt.
31 He too made some tasty food, brought it to his father, and said to him, “My father, sit up and eat of your son’s game, so that you may bless me.”
32 But his father Isaac replied, “Who are you?” “I am Esau, your firstborn son,” he answered.
33 Isaac began to tremble violently and said, “Who was it, then, who hunted the game and brought it to me? Before you came in, I ate it all and blessed him—and indeed, he will be blessed!”
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, O my father!”
35 But Isaac replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
36 So 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?”
37 But Isaac answered Esau: “Look, I have made him your master and given him all his relatives as servants; I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?”
38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, O my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.
39 His father Isaac answered him: “Behold, your dwelling place shall be away from the richness of the land, away from the dew of heaven above.
40 You shall live by the sword and serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will tear his yoke from your neck.”
41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
42 When the words of her older son Esau were relayed to Rebekah, she sent for her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you.
43 So now, my son, obey my voice and flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran.
44 Stay with him for a while, until your brother’s fury subsides—
45 until your brother’s rage against you wanes and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a Hittite wife from among them, what good is my life?” -
Genesis 27:1-29
/RSS FeedGenesis 27:1-29
1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” Esau replied.
2 “Look,” said Isaac, “I am now old, and I do not know the day of my death.
3 Take your weapons—your quiver and bow—and go out into the field to hunt some game for me.
4 Then prepare a tasty dish that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah was listening to what Isaac told his son Esau. So when Esau went into the field to hunt game and bring it back,
6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I overheard your father saying to your brother Esau,
7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare me a tasty dish to eat, so that I may bless you in the presence of the LORD before I die.’
8 Now, my son, listen to my voice and do exactly as I tell you.
9 Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so that I can make them into a tasty dish for your father—the kind he loves.
10 Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.”
11 Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am smooth-skinned.
12 What if my father touches me? Then I would be revealed to him as a deceiver, and I would bring upon myself a curse rather than a blessing.”
13 His mother replied, “Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey my voice and go get them for me.”
14 So Jacob went and got two goats and brought them to his mother, who made the tasty food his father loved.
15 And Rebekah took the finest clothes in the house that belonged to her older son Esau, and she put them on her younger son Jacob.
16 She also put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.
17 Then she handed her son Jacob the tasty food and bread she had made.
18 So Jacob went to his father and said, “My father.” “Here I am!” he answered. “Which one are you, my son?”
19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may bless me.”
20 But Isaac asked his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?” “Because the LORD your God brought it to me,” he replied.
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau, or not?”
22 So Jacob came close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”
23 Isaac did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.
24 Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he replied, “I am.”
25 “Serve me,” said Isaac, “and let me eat some of my son’s game, so that I may bless you.” Jacob brought it to him, and he ate; then he brought him wine, and he drank.
26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come near and kiss me, my son.”
27 So he came near and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothing, he blessed him and said: “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed.
28 May God give to you the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth— an abundance of grain and new wine.
29 May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed.” -
Genesis 26:1-11
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1 Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.
2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you.
3 Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.
4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,
5 because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.
7 But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is so beautiful.”
8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.
9 Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”
10 “What is this you have done to us?” asked Abimelech. “One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”
11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” -
Genesis 25:1-11
/RSS FeedGenesis 25:1-11
1 Now Abraham had taken another wife, named Keturah,
2 and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites, and the Leummites.
4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.
5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.
6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
7 Abraham lived a total of 175 years.
8 And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.
9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.
10 This was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah.
11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.
