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1 Timothy 5:1-16
/RSS Feed1 Timothy 5:1-16
1 Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as to a father. Treat younger men as brothers,
2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
3 Honor the widows who are truly widows.
4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to show godliness to their own family and repay their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.
5 The widow who is truly in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers.
6 But she who lives for pleasure is dead even while she is still alive.
7 Give these instructions to the believers, so that they will be above reproach.
8 If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
9 A widow should be enrolled if she is at least sixty years old, the wife of one man,
10 and well known for good deeds such as bringing up children, entertaining strangers, washing the feet of the saints, imparting relief to the afflicted, and devoting herself to every good work.
11 But refuse to enroll younger widows. For when their passions draw them away from Christ, they will want to marry,
12 and thus will incur judgment because they are setting aside their first faith.
13 At the same time they will also learn to be idle, going from house to house and being not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, discussing things they should not mention.
14 So I advise the younger widows to marry, have children, and manage their households, denying the adversary occasion for slander.
15 For some have already turned aside to follow Satan.
16 If any believing woman has dependent widows, she must assist them and not allow the church to be burdened, so that it can help the widows who are truly in need. -
1 Timothy 3:8-16
/RSS Feed1 Timothy 3:8-16
8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued or given to much wine or greedy for money.
9 They must hold to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.
10 Additionally, they must first be tested. Then, if they are above reproach, let them serve as deacons.
11 In the same way, the women must be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in all things.
12 A deacon must be the husband of but one wife, a good manager of his children and of his own household.
13 For those who have served well as deacons acquire for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these things
15 in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
16 By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory. -
1 Timothy 3:1-7
/RSS Feed1 Timothy 3:1-7
1 This is a trustworthy saying: If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble task.
2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
3 not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.
4 An overseer must manage his own household well and keep his children under control, with complete dignity.
5 For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for the church of God?
6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same condemnation as the devil.
7 Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the snare of the devil. -
Genesis 29:14-30
/RSS FeedGenesis 29:14-30
14 Then Laban declared, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month,
15 Laban said to him, “Just because you are my relative, should you work for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”
16 Now Laban had two daughters; the older was named Leah, and the younger was named Rachel.
17 Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful.
18 Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”
19 Laban replied, “Better that I give her to you than to another. Stay here with me.”
20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.
21 Finally Jacob said to Laban, “Grant me my wife, for my time is complete, and I want to sleep with her.”
22 So Laban invited all the men of that place and prepared a feast.
23 But when evening came, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with her.
24 And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maidservant.
25 When morning came, there was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob said to Laban. “Wasn’t it for Rachel that I served you? Why have you deceived me?”
26 Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older.
27 Finish this week’s celebration, and we will give you the younger one in return for another seven years of work.”
28 And Jacob did just that. He finished the week’s celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife.
29 Laban also gave his servant girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant.
30 Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years. -
Genesis 28:1-9
/RSS FeedGenesis 28:1-9
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 24:62-67
/RSS FeedGenesis 24:62-67
62 Now Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi, for he was living in the Negev.
63 Early in the evening, Isaac went out to the field to meditate, and looking up, he saw the camels approaching.
64 And when Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she got down from her camel
65 and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “It is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.
66 Then the servant told Isaac all that he had done.
67 And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah as his wife. And Isaac loved her and was comforted after his mother’s death.
