ESV: Chronological

Reading: Genesis 32-34 Reading: Genesis 32-34 Genesis 32-34 Back to top Genesis 32-34 Jacob Fears Esau 32 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 And when Jacob saw them he said, “This is God's camp!” So he called the name of that place Mahanaim.1 3 And Jacob sent2 messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom, 4 instructing them, “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, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.’” 6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.” 7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, 8 thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.” 9 And 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 kindred, that I may do you good,’ 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. 12 But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’” 13 So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took 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 calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove.” 17 He instructed the first, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?’ 18 then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.’” 19 He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him, 20 and you shall say, ‘Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he thought, “I may appease him3 with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.”4 21 So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp. Jacob Wrestles with God 22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children,5 and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,6 for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the plac

Reading: Genesis 30-31 Reading: Genesis 30-31 Genesis 30-31 Back to top Genesis 30-31 30 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” 2 Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf,1 that even I may have children2 through her.” 4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.3 7 Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings4 I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.5 9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad.6 12 Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.7 14 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 that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.8 19 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.9 21 Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah. 22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. 23 She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” 24 And she called his name Joseph,10 saying, “May the LORD add to me another son!” Jacob's Prosperity 25 As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. 26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you.” 27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that11 the LORD has blessed me because of you. 28 Name your wages, and I will give it.” 29 Jacob said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me. 30 For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?” 31 He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it: 32 let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. 33 So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among th

Reading: Genesis 27-29 Reading: Genesis 27-29 Genesis 27-29 Back to top Genesis 27-29 Isaac Blesses Jacob 27 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, 4 and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” 5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the LORD before I die.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. 9 Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. 10 And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” 11 But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” 13 His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.” 14 So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 18 So he went in 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; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” 20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the LORD your God granted me success.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. So he blessed him. 24 He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” 25 Then he said, “Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son's game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” 27 So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said,   “See, the smell of my son     is as the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed! 28   May God give you of the dew of heaven     and of the fatness of the earth     and plenty of grain and wine. 29   Let peoples serve you,     and nations bow down to you.   Be lord over your brothers,     and may your mother's sons bow down to you.   Cursed be everyone who curses you,     and blessed be everyone who blesses you!” 30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau

Reading: Genesis 25-26 Reading: Genesis 25-26 Genesis 25-26 Back to top Genesis 25-26 Abraham's Death and His Descendants 25 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country. 7 These are the days of the years of Abraham's life, 175 years. 8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10 the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife. 11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi. 12 These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. 17 (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) 18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled1 over against all his kinsmen. The Birth of Esau and Jacob 19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered 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 And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?”2 So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her,   “Two nations are in your womb,     and two peoples from within you3 shall be divided;   the one shall be stronger than the other,     the older shall serve the younger.” 24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob.4 Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Esau Sells His Birthright 29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.5) 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” 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 his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. God's Promise to Isaac 26 Now there was a famine in the land,

Reading: Genesis 22-24 Reading: Genesis 22-24 Genesis 22-24 Back to top Genesis 22-24 The Sacrifice of Isaac 22 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy1 will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And 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 they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. 9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”;2 as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”3 15 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his4 enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth 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 after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 (Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. 24 Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. Sarah's Death and Burial 23 Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites,5 4 “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God6 among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.” 7

Reading: Genesis 19-21 Reading: Genesis 19-21 Genesis 19-21 Back to top Genesis 19-21 God Rescues Lot 19 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” 6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door. 12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting. 15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” 18 And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.1 God Destroys Sodom 23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the

Reading: Genesis 16-18 Reading: Genesis 16-18 Genesis 16-18 Back to top Genesis 16-18 Sarai and Hagar 16 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children1 by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.2 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. 7 The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the LORD also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the LORD said to her,   “Behold, you are pregnant     and shall bear a son.   You shall call his name Ishmael,3     because the LORD has listened to your affliction. 12   He shall be a wild donkey of a man,     his hand against everyone     and everyone's hand against him,   and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” 13 So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,”4 for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”5 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;6 it lies between Kadesh and Bered. 15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram. Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision 17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty;7 walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram,8 but your name shall be Abraham,9 for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” 9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male thro

Reading: Genesis 12-15 Reading: Genesis 12-15 Genesis 12-15 Back to top Genesis 12-15 The Call of Abram 12 Now the LORD said1 to Abram, “Go from your country2 and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”3 4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak4 of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. 9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb. Abram and Sarai in Egypt 10 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” 14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 16 And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17 But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” 20 And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had. Abram and Lot Separate 13 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. 2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the LORD. 5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, 7 and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. 8 Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen.5 9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” 10 And Lot lifted up his

Reading: Job 40-42 Reading: Job 40-42 Job 40-42 Back to top Job 40-42 40 And the LORD said to Job: 2   “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?     He who argues with God, let him answer it.” Job Promises Silence 3 Then Job answered the LORD and said: 4   “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?     I lay my hand on my mouth. 5   I have spoken once, and I will not answer;     twice, but I will proceed no further.” The Lord Challenges Job 6 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 7   “Dress for action1 like a man;     I will question you, and you make it known to me. 8   Will you even put me in the wrong?     Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? 9   Have you an arm like God,     and can you thunder with a voice like his? 10   “Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;     clothe yourself with glory and splendor. 11   Pour out the overflowings of your anger,     and look on everyone who is proud and abase him. 12   Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low     and tread down the wicked where they stand. 13   Hide them all in the dust together;     bind their faces in the world below.2 14   Then will I also acknowledge to you     that your own right hand can save you. 15   “Behold, Behemoth,3     which I made as I made you;     he eats grass like an ox. 16   Behold, his strength in his loins,     and his power in the muscles of his belly. 17   He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;     the sinews of his thighs are knit together. 18   His bones are tubes of bronze,     his limbs like bars of iron. 19   “He is the first of the works4 of God;     let him who made him bring near his sword! 20   For the mountains yield food for him     where all the wild beasts play. 21   Under the lotus plants he lies,     in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh. 22   For his shade the lotus trees cover him;     the willows of the brook surround him. 23   Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;     he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth. 24   Can one take him by his eyes,5     or pierce his nose with a snare? 41   6 “Can you draw out Leviathan7 with a fishhook     or press down his tongue with a cord? 2   Can you put a rope in his nose     or pierce his jaw with a hook? 3   Will he make many pleas to you?     Will he speak to you soft words? 4   Will he make a covenant with you     to take him for your servant forever? 5   Will you play with him as with a bird,     or will you put him on a leash for your girls? 6   Will traders bargain over him?     Will they divide him up among the merchants? 7   Can you fill his skin with harpoons     or his head with fishing spears? 8   Lay your hands on him;     remember the battle—you will not do it again! 9   8 Behold, the hope of a man is false;     he is laid low even at the sight of him. 10   No one is so fierce that he dares to stir h

Reading: Job 38-39 Reading: Job 38-39 Job 38-39 Back to top Job 38-39 The Lord Answers Job 38 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 2   “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3   Dress for action1 like a man;     I will question you, and you make it known to me. 4   “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?     Tell me, if you have understanding. 5   Who determined its measurements—surely you know!     Or who stretched the line upon it? 6   On what were its bases sunk,     or who laid its cornerstone, 7   when the morning stars sang together     and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8   “Or who shut in the sea with doors     when it burst out from the womb, 9   when I made clouds its garment     and thick darkness its swaddling band, 10   and prescribed limits for it     and set bars and doors, 11   and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,     and here shall your proud waves be stayed’? 12   “Have you commanded the morning since your days began,     and caused the dawn to know its place, 13   that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,     and the wicked be shaken out of it? 14   It is changed like clay under the seal,     and its features stand out like a garment. 15   From the wicked their light is withheld,     and their uplifted arm is broken. 16   “Have you entered into the springs of the sea,     or walked in the recesses of the deep? 17   Have the gates of death been revealed to you,     or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? 18   Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?     Declare, if you know all this. 19   “Where is the way to the dwelling of light,     and where is the place of darkness, 20   that you may take it to its territory     and that you may discern the paths to its home? 21   You know, for you were born then,     and the number of your days is great! 22   “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,     or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, 23   which I have reserved for the time of trouble,     for the day of battle and war? 24   What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,     or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth? 25   “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain     and a way for the thunderbolt, 26   to bring rain on a land where no man is,     on the desert in which there is no man, 27   to satisfy the waste and desolate land,     and to make the ground sprout with grass? 28   “Has the rain a father,     or who has begotten the drops of dew? 29   From whose womb did the ice come forth,     and who has given birth to the frost of heaven? 30   The waters become hard like stone,     and the face of the deep is frozen. 31   “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades     or loose the cords of Orion? 32   Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth2 in their season,     or can you guide the Bear with its children? 33  &nbsp

Reading: Job 35-37 Reading: Job 35-37 Job 35-37 Back to top Job 35-37 Elihu Condemns Job 35 And Elihu answered and said: 2   “Do you think this to be just?     Do you say, ‘It is my right before God,’ 3   that you ask, ‘What advantage have I?     How am I better off than if I had sinned?’ 4   I will answer you     and your friends with you. 5   Look at the heavens, and see;     and behold the clouds, which are higher than you. 6   If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him?     And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him? 7   If you are righteous, what do you give to him?     Or what does he receive from your hand? 8   Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself,     and your righteousness a son of man. 9   “Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out;     they call for help because of the arm of the mighty.1 10   But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker,     who gives songs in the night, 11   who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth     and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’ 12   There they cry out, but he does not answer,     because of the pride of evil men. 13   Surely God does not hear an empty cry,     nor does the Almighty regard it. 14   How much less when you say that you do not see him,     that the case is before him, and you are waiting for him! 15   And now, because his anger does not punish,     and he does not take much note of transgression,2 16   Job opens his mouth in empty talk;     he multiplies words without knowledge.” Elihu Extols God's Greatness 36 And Elihu continued, and said: 2   “Bear with me a little, and I will show you,     for I have yet something to say on God's behalf. 3   I will get my knowledge from afar     and ascribe righteousness to my Maker. 4   For truly my words are not false;     one who is perfect in knowledge is with you. 5   “Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any;     he is mighty in strength of understanding. 6   He does not keep the wicked alive,     but gives the afflicted their right. 7   He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous,     but with kings on the throne     he sets them forever, and they are exalted. 8   And if they are bound in chains     and caught in the cords of affliction, 9   then he declares to them their work     and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly. 10   He opens their ears to instruction     and commands that they return from iniquity. 11   If they listen and serve him,     they complete their days in prosperity,     and their years in pleasantness. 12   But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword     and die without knowledge. 13   “The godless in heart cherish anger;     they do not cry for help when he binds them. 14   They die in youth,     and their life ends among the cult prostitutes. 15   He delivers the afflicted by their affliction     and opens their ear by adversity. 16   He al

Reading: Job 32-34 Reading: Job 32-34 Job 32-34 Back to top Job 32-34 Elihu Rebukes Job's Three Friends 32 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. 3 He burned with anger also at Job's three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong. 4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. 5 And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he burned with anger. 6 And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said:   “I am young in years,     and you are aged;   therefore I was timid and afraid     to declare my opinion to you. 7   I said, ‘Let days speak,     and many years teach wisdom.’ 8   But it is the spirit in man,     the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand. 9   It is not the old1 who are wise,     nor the aged who understand what is right. 10   Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;     let me also declare my opinion.’ 11   “Behold, I waited for your words,     I listened for your wise sayings,     while you searched out what to say. 12   I gave you my attention,     and, behold, there was none among you who refuted Job     or who answered his words. 13   Beware lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom;     God may vanquish him, not a man.’ 14   He has not directed his words against me,     and I will not answer him with your speeches. 15   “They are dismayed; they answer no more;     they have not a word to say. 16   And shall I wait, because they do not speak,     because they stand there, and answer no more? 17   I also will answer with my share;     I also will declare my opinion. 18   For I am full of words;     the spirit within me constrains me. 19   Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent;     like new wineskins ready to burst. 20   I must speak, that I may find relief;     I must open my lips and answer. 21   I will not show partiality to any man     or use flattery toward any person. 22   For I do not know how to flatter,     else my Maker would soon take me away. Elihu Rebukes Job 33   “But now, hear my speech, O Job,     and listen to all my words. 2   Behold, I open my mouth;     the tongue in my mouth speaks. 3   My words declare the uprightness of my heart,     and what my lips know they speak sincerely. 4   The Spirit of God has made me,     and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. 5   Answer me, if you can;     set your words in order before me; take your stand. 6   Behold, I am toward God as you are;     I too was pinched off from a piece of clay. 7   Behold, no fear of me need terrify you;     my pressure will not be heavy upon you. 8   “Surely you have spoken in my ears,     and I have heard the sound of your words. 9   You say, ‘I am pure, without transgression;     I am clean, and there is no iniquit

Reading: Job 29-31 Reading: Job 29-31 Job 29-31 Back to top Job 29-31 Job's Summary Defense 29 And Job again took up his discourse, and said: 2   “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,     as in the days when God watched over me, 3   when his lamp shone upon my head,     and by his light I walked through darkness, 4   as I was in my prime,1     when the friendship of God was upon my tent, 5   when the Almighty was yet with me,     when my children were all around me, 6   when my steps were washed with butter,     and the rock poured out for me streams of oil! 7   When I went out to the gate of the city,     when I prepared my seat in the square, 8   the young men saw me and withdrew,     and the aged rose and stood; 9   the princes refrained from talking     and laid their hand on their mouth; 10   the voice of the nobles was hushed,     and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth. 11   When the ear heard, it called me blessed,     and when the eye saw, it approved, 12   because I delivered the poor who cried for help,     and the fatherless who had none to help him. 13   The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me,     and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. 14   I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;     my justice was like a robe and a turban. 15   I was eyes to the blind     and feet to the lame. 16   I was a father to the needy,     and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know. 17   I broke the fangs of the unrighteous     and made him drop his prey from his teeth. 18   Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,     and I shall multiply my days as the sand, 19   my roots spread out to the waters,     with the dew all night on my branches, 20   my glory fresh with me,     and my bow ever new in my hand.’ 21   “Men listened to me and waited     and kept silence for my counsel. 22   After I spoke they did not speak again,     and my word dropped upon them. 23   They waited for me as for the rain,     and they opened their mouths as for the spring rain. 24   I smiled on them when they had no confidence,     and the light of my face they did not cast down. 25   I chose their way and sat as chief,     and I lived like a king among his troops,     like one who comforts mourners. 30   “But now they laugh at me,     men who are younger than I,   whose fathers I would have disdained     to set with the dogs of my flock. 2   What could I gain from the strength of their hands,     men whose vigor is gone? 3   Through want and hard hunger     they gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation; 4   they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,     and the roots of the broom tree for their food.2 5   They are driven out from human company;     they shout after them as after a thief. 6   In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell,     in holes of the earth and of the rocks. 7   Among th

Reading: Job 24-28 Reading: Job 24-28 Job 24-28 Back to top Job 24-28 24   “Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty,     and why do those who know him never see his days? 2   Some move landmarks;     they seize flocks and pasture them. 3   They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;     they take the widow's ox for a pledge. 4   They thrust the poor off the road;     the poor of the earth all hide themselves. 5   Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert     the poor1 go out to their toil, seeking game;     the wasteland yields food for their children. 6   They gather their2 fodder in the field,     and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man. 7   They lie all night naked, without clothing,     and have no covering in the cold. 8   They are wet with the rain of the mountains     and cling to the rock for lack of shelter. 9   (There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast,     and they take a pledge against the poor.) 10   They go about naked, without clothing;     hungry, they carry the sheaves; 11   among the olive rows of the wicked3 they make oil;     they tread the winepresses, but suffer thirst. 12   From out of the city the dying groan,     and the soul of the wounded cries for help;     yet God charges no one with wrong. 13   “There are those who rebel against the light,     who are not acquainted with its ways,     and do not stay in its paths. 14   The murderer rises before it is light,     that he may kill the poor and needy,     and in the night he is like a thief. 15   The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight,     saying, ‘No eye will see me’;     and he veils his face. 16   In the dark they dig through houses;     by day they shut themselves up;     they do not know the light. 17   For deep darkness is morning to all of them;     for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness. 18   “You say, ‘Swift are they on the face of the waters;     their portion is cursed in the land;     no treader turns toward their vineyards. 19   Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;     so does Sheol those who have sinned. 20   The womb forgets them;     the worm finds them sweet;   they are no longer remembered,     so wickedness is broken like a tree.’ 21   “They wrong the barren, childless woman,     and do no good to the widow. 22   Yet God4 prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;     they rise up when they despair of life. 23   He gives them security, and they are supported,     and his eyes are upon their ways. 24   They are exalted a little while, and then are gone;     they are brought low and gathered up like all others;     they are cut off like the heads of grain. 25   If it is not so, who will prove me a liar     and show that there is nothing in what I say?” Bildad Speaks: Man Cannot Be Righteous 25 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2   “Dominion and fear are with God;5   &nbs

Reading: Job 21-23 Reading: Job 21-23 Job 21-23 Back to top Job 21-23 Job Replies: The Wicked Do Prosper 21 Then Job answered and said: 2   “Keep listening to my words,     and let this be your comfort. 3   Bear with me, and I will speak,     and after I have spoken, mock on. 4   As for me, is my complaint against man?     Why should I not be impatient? 5   Look at me and be appalled,     and lay your hand over your mouth. 6   When I remember, I am dismayed,     and shuddering seizes my flesh. 7   Why do the wicked live,     reach old age, and grow mighty in power? 8   Their offspring are established in their presence,     and their descendants before their eyes. 9   Their houses are safe from fear,     and no rod of God is upon them. 10   Their bull breeds without fail;     their cow calves and does not miscarry. 11   They send out their little boys like a flock,     and their children dance. 12   They sing to the tambourine and the lyre     and rejoice to the sound of the pipe. 13   They spend their days in prosperity,     and in peace they go down to Sheol. 14   They say to God, ‘Depart from us!     We do not desire the knowledge of your ways. 15   What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?     And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’ 16   Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand?     The counsel of the wicked is far from me. 17   “How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out?     That their calamity comes upon them?     That God1 distributes pains in his anger? 18   That they are like straw before the wind,     and like chaff that the storm carries away? 19   You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’     Let him pay it out to them, that they may know it. 20   Let their own eyes see their destruction,     and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty. 21   For what do they care for their houses after them,     when the number of their months is cut off? 22   Will any teach God knowledge,     seeing that he judges those who are on high? 23   One dies in his full vigor,     being wholly at ease and secure, 24   his pails2 full of milk     and the marrow of his bones moist. 25   Another dies in bitterness of soul,     never having tasted of prosperity. 26   They lie down alike in the dust,     and the worms cover them. 27   “Behold, I know your thoughts     and your schemes to wrong me. 28   For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince?     Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?’ 29   Have you not asked those who travel the roads,     and do you not accept their testimony 30   that the evil man is spared in the day of calamity,     that he is rescued in the day of wrath? 31   Who declares his way to his face,     and who repays him for what he has done? 32   When he is carried to the grave,     watch is kept over his tomb. 33   The clods of the valley are sweet to him; &