Bible in 90 Days

Proof of the Agreement

17 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. The Lord said, “I am God All-Powerful. Obey me and do what is right. ² I will make an agreement between us. I will make you the ancestor of many people.”

³ Then Abram bowed facedown on the ground. God said to him, ⁴ “I am making my agreement with you: I will make you the father of many nations. ⁵ I am changing your name from Abram^[a] to Abraham.^[b] This is because I am making you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will give you many descendants. New nations will be born from you. Kings will come from you. ⁷ And I will make an agreement between me and you and all your descendants from now on: I will be your God and the God of all your descendants. ⁸ You live in the land of Canaan now as a stranger. But I will give you and your descendants all this land forever. And I will be the God of your descendants.”

⁹ Then God said to Abraham, “You and your descendants must keep this agreement from now on. ¹⁰ This is my agreement with you and all your descendants: Every male among you must be circumcised. You must obey this agreement. ¹¹ Cut away the foreskin to show that you follow the agreement between me and you. ¹² From now on when a baby boy is eight days old, you will circumcise him. This includes any boy born among your people or any who is your slave. (He would not be one of your descendants.) ¹³ So circumcise every baby boy. Circumcise him whether he is born in your family or bought as a slave. Your bodies will be marked. This will show that you are part of my agreement that lasts forever. ¹⁴ Any male who is not circumcised will be separated from his people. He has broken my agreement.”

Isaac—the Promised Son

¹⁵ God said to Abraham, “I will change the name of Sarai,^[c] your wife. Her new name will be Sarah.^{[d] 16} I will bless her. I will give her a son, and you will be the father. She will be the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will come from her.”

¹⁷ Abraham bowed facedown on the ground and laughed. He said to himself, “Can a man have a child when he is 100 years old? Can Sarah give birth to a child when she is 90?” ¹⁸ Then Abraham said to God, “Please let Ishmael be the son you promised.”

¹⁹ God said, “No. Sarah your wife will have a son, and you will name him Isaac.^[e] I will make my agreement with him. It will be an agreement that continues forever with all his descendants.

²⁰ “You asked me about Ishmael, and I heard you. I will bless him. I will give him many descendants. And I will cause their numbers to grow very greatly. He will be the father of 12 great leaders. I will make him into a great nation. ²¹ But I will make my agreement with Isaac. He is the son whom Sarah will have at this same time next year.” ²² After God finished talking with Abraham, God rose and left him.

²³ Then Abraham gathered Ishmael and all the males born in his camp. He also gathered the slaves he had bought. So that day Abraham circumcised every man and boy in his camp. This was what God had told him to do. ²⁴ Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised. ²⁵ And Ishmael, his son, was 13 years old when he was circumcised. ²⁶ Abraham and his son were circumcised on that same day. ²⁷ Also on that day all the men in Abraham’s camp were circumcised. This included all those born in his camp and all the slaves he had bought from other nations.

The Three Visitors

18 Later, the Lord again appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre. At that time Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent. It was during the hottest part of the day. ² He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When Abraham saw them, he ran from his tent to meet them. He bowed facedown on the ground before them. ³ Abraham said, “Sir, if you think well of me, please stay awhile with me, your servant. ⁴ I will bring some water so all of you can wash your feet. You may rest under the tree. ⁵ I will get some bread for you, so you can regain your strength. Then you may continue your journey.”

The three men said, “That is fine. Do as you said.”

⁶ Abraham hurried to the tent where Sarah was. He said to her, “Hurry, prepare 20 quarts of fine flour. Make it into loaves of bread.” ⁷ Then Abraham ran to his cattle. He took one of his best calves and gave it to a servant. The servant hurried to kill the calf and to prepare it for food. ⁸ Abraham gave the three men the calf that had been cooked. He also gave them milk curds and milk. While the three men ate, he stood under the tree near them.

⁹ The men asked Abraham, “Where is your wife Sarah?”

“There, in the tent,” said Abraham.

¹⁰ Then the Lord said, “I will certainly return to you about this time a year from now. At that time your wife Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent which was behind him. ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were very old. Sarah was past the age when women normally have children. ¹² So she laughed to herself, “My husband and I are too old to have a baby.”

¹³ Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘I am too old to have a baby’? ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord? No! I will return to you at the right time a year from now. And Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁵ Sarah was afraid. So she lied and said, “I didn’t laugh.”

But the Lord said, “No. You did laugh.”

¹⁶ Then the men got up to leave and started out toward Sodom. Abraham walked along with them a short time to send them on their way.

Abraham’s Bargain with God

¹⁷ The Lord said, “Should I tell Abraham what I am going to do now? ¹⁸ Abraham’s children will certainly become a great and powerful nation. And all nations on earth will be blessed through him. ¹⁹ I have chosen him so he would command his children and his descendants to live the way the Lord wants them to. I did this so they would live right and be fair. Then I, the Lord, will give Abraham what I promised him.”

²⁰ Then the Lord said, “I have heard many things against the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. They are very evil. ²¹ So I will go down and see if they are as bad as I have heard.”

²² So the men turned and went toward Sodom. But Abraham stood there before the Lord. ²³ Then Abraham approached the Lord. Abraham asked, “Lord, do you plan to destroy the good persons along with the evil persons? ²⁴ What if there are 50 good people in that city? Will you still destroy it? Surely you will save the city for the 50 good people living there. ²⁵ Surely you will not destroy the good people along with the evil people. Then the good people and the evil people would be treated the same. You are the judge of all the earth. Won’t you do what is right?”

²⁶ Then the Lord said, “If I find 50 good people in the city of Sodom, I will save the whole city because of them.”

²⁷ Then Abraham said, “I am only dust and ashes. Yet I have been brave to speak to the Lord. ²⁸ What if there are only 45 good people in the city? Will you destroy the whole city for the lack of 5 good people?”

The Lord said, “If I find 45 good people there, I will not destroy the city.”

²⁹ Again Abraham said to the Lord, “If you find only 40 good people there, will you destroy the city?”

The Lord said, “If I find 40 good people, I will not destroy the city.”

³⁰ Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me. Let me ask you this. If you find only 30 good people in the city, will you destroy it?”

The Lord said, “If I find 30 good people there, I will not destroy the city.”

³¹ Then Abraham said, “I have been brave to speak to the Lord. But what if there are 20 good people in the city?”

The Lord answered, “If I find 20 good people there, I will not destroy the city.”

³² Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me. Let me bother you this one last time. What if you find 10 good people there?”

The Lord said, “If I find 10 good people there, I will not destroy it.”

³³ When the Lord finished speaking to Abraham, he left. And Abraham returned home.

Lot’s Visitors

19 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting near the city gate and saw them. He got up and went to them and bowed facedown on the ground. ² Lot said, “Sirs, please come to my house and spend the night. There you can wash your feet. Then tomorrow you may continue your journey.”

The angels answered, “No, we will spend the night in the city’s public square.”

³ But Lot begged them to come to his house. So they agreed and went to his house. Then Lot prepared a meal for them. He baked bread without yeast, and they ate it.

⁴ Before bedtime, all the men of the city surrounded Lot’s house. These men were both young and old and came from every part of Sodom. ⁵ They called to Lot, “Where are the two men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us. We want to force them to have physical relations with us.”

⁶ Lot went outside to them, closing the door behind him. ⁷ He said, “No, my brothers! Do not do this evil thing. ⁸ Look! I have two daughters. They have never slept with a man. I will give them to you. You may do anything you want with them. But please don’t do anything to these men. They have come to my house, and I must protect them.”

⁹ The men around the house answered, “Move out of the way!” Then they said to each other, “This man Lot came to our city as a stranger. Now he wants to tell us what to do!” They said to Lot, “We will do worse things to you than to them.” So they started pushing Lot back. They were ready to break down the door.

¹⁰ But the two men staying with Lot opened the door and pulled him back inside the house. Then they closed the door. ¹¹ The two men struck the men outside the door with blindness. So these men, both young and old, could not find the door.

¹² The two men said to Lot, “Do you have any other relatives in this city? Do you have any sons-in-law, sons, daughters or any other relatives? If you do, tell them to leave now. ¹³ We are about to destroy this city. The Lord has heard of all the evil that is here. So he has sent us to destroy it.”

¹⁴ So Lot went out and spoke to his future sons-in-law. They were pledged to marry his daughters. Lot said, “Hurry and leave this city! The Lord is about to destroy it!” But they thought Lot was joking.

¹⁵ At dawn the next morning, the angels begged Lot to hurry. They said, “Go! Take your wife and your two daughters with you. Then you will not be destroyed when the city is punished.”

¹⁶ But Lot delayed. So the two men took the hands of Lot, his wife and his two daughters. The men led them safely out of the city. So the Lord was merciful to Lot and his family. ¹⁷ The two men brought Lot and his family out of the city. Then one of the men said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Run to the mountains or you will be destroyed.”

¹⁸ But Lot said to one of them, “Sir, please don’t force me to go so far! ¹⁹ You have been merciful and kind to me. You have saved my life. But I can’t run to the mountains. The disaster will catch me, and I will die. ²⁰ Look, that little town over there is not too far away. Let me run there. It’s really just a little town. I’ll be safe there.”

²¹ The angel said to Lot, “Very well, I will allow you to do this also. I will not destroy that town. ²² But run there fast. I cannot destroy Sodom until you are safely in that town.” (That town is named Zoar,^[f] because it is little.)

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

²³ The sun had already come up when Lot entered Zoar. ²⁴ The Lord sent a rain of burning sulfur down from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. ²⁵ So the Lord destroyed those cities. He also destroyed the whole Jordan Valley, everyone living in the cities and even all the plants.

²⁶ At that point Lot’s wife looked back. When she did, she became a pillar of salt.

²⁷ Early the next morning, Abraham got up and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord. ²⁸ Abraham looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the Jordan Valley. He saw smoke rising from the land. It was like smoke from a furnace.

²⁹ God destroyed the cities in the valley. But he remembered what Abraham had asked. So God saved Lot’s life. But he destroyed the city where Lot had lived.

Lot and His Daughters

³⁰ Lot was afraid to continue living in Zoar. So he and his two daughters went to live in the mountains. They lived in a cave there. ³¹ One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old. Everywhere on the earth women and men marry. But there are no men around here for us to marry. ³² Let’s get our father drunk. Then we can have physical relations with him. We can use our father to have children. That way we can continue our family.”

³³ That night the two girls got their father drunk. Then the older daughter went and had physical relations with him. But Lot did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

³⁴ The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I had physical relations with my father. Let’s get him drunk again tonight. Then you can go and have physical relations with him, too. In this way we can use our father to have children to continue our family.” ³⁵ So that night they got their father drunk again. Then the younger daughter went and had physical relations with him. Again, Lot did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

³⁶ So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. ³⁷ The older daughter gave birth to a son. She named him Moab. Moab is the ancestor of all the Moabite people who are still living today. ³⁸ The younger daughter also gave birth to a son. She named him Ben-Ammi. He is the father of all the Ammonite people who are still living today.

Abraham and Abimelech

20 Abraham left Hebron and traveled to southern Canaan. He stayed awhile between Kadesh and Shur. Then he moved to Gerar. ² Abraham told people that his wife Sarah was his sister. Abimelech king of Gerar heard this. So he sent some servants to take her. ³ But one night God spoke to Abimelech in a dream. God said, “You will die. That woman you took is married.”

⁴ But Abimelech had not slept with Sarah. So he said, “Lord, would you destroy an innocent nation? ⁵ Abraham himself told me, ‘This woman is my sister.’ And she also said, ‘He is my brother.’ I am innocent. I did not know I was doing anything wrong.”

⁶ Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did not realize what you were doing. So I did not allow you to sin against me. I did not allow you to sleep with her. ⁷ Give Abraham his wife back. He is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will not die. But if you do not give Sarah back, you will die. And all your family will surely die.”

⁸ So early the next morning, Abimelech called all his officers. He told them everything that had happened in the dream. They were very much afraid. ⁹ Then Abimelech called Abraham to him. Abimelech said, “What have you done to us? What wrong did I do against you? Why did you bring this trouble to my kingdom? You should not have done these things to me. ¹⁰ What were you thinking that caused you to do this?”

¹¹ Then Abraham answered, “I thought no one in this place respected God. I thought someone would kill me to get Sarah. ¹² And it is true that she is my sister. She is the daughter of my father. But she is not the daughter of my mother. ¹³ God told me to leave my father’s house and wander in many different places. When that happened, I told Sarah, ‘You must do a special favor for me. Everywhere we go tell people I am your brother.’”

¹⁴ Then Abimelech gave Abraham some sheep, cattle and male and female slaves. Abimelech also gave Sarah, his wife, back to him. ¹⁵ And Abimelech said, “Look around you at my land. You may live anywhere you want.”

¹⁶ Abimelech said to Sarah, “I gave your brother Abraham 25 pounds of silver. I did this to make up for any wrong that people may think about you. I want everyone to know that you are innocent.”

¹⁷ Then Abraham prayed to God. And God healed Abimelech, his wife and his servant girls. Now they could have children. ¹⁸ The Lord had kept all the women in Abimelech’s house from having children. This was God’s punishment on Abimelech for taking Abraham’s wife Sarah.

A Baby for Sarah

21 The Lord cared for Sarah as he had said. He did for her what he had promised. ² Sarah became pregnant. And she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. Everything happened at the time God had said it would. ³ Abraham named his son Isaac. Sarah gave birth to this son of Abraham. ⁴ Abraham circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old as God had commanded.

⁵ Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born. ⁶ And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh.^[g] Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me. ⁷ No one thought that I would be able to have Abraham’s child. But I have given Abraham a son while he is old.”

Hagar and Ishmael

⁸ Isaac grew and became old enough to eat food. At that time Abraham gave a great feast. ⁹ But Sarah saw Ishmael making fun of Isaac. (Ishmael was the son of Abraham by Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian slave.) ¹⁰ So Sarah said to Abraham, “Throw out this slave woman and her son. When we die, our son Isaac will inherit everything we have. I don’t want her son to inherit any of our things.”

¹¹ This troubled Abraham very much because Ishmael was also his son. ¹² But God said to Abraham, “Don’t be troubled about the boy and the slave woman. Do whatever Sarah tells you. The descendants I promised you will be from Isaac. ¹³ I will also make the descendants of Ishmael into a great nation. I will do this because he is your son, too.”

¹⁴ Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a leather bag full of water. He gave them to Hagar and sent her away. Hagar carried these things and her son. She went and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.

¹⁵ Later, all the water was gone from the bag. So Hagar put her son under a bush. ¹⁶ Then she went away a short distance and sat down. Hagar thought, “My son will die. I cannot watch this happen.” She sat there and began to cry.

¹⁷ God heard the boy crying. And God’s angel called to Hagar from heaven. He said, “What is wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid! God has heard the boy crying there. ¹⁸ Help the boy up. Take him by the hand. I will make his descendants into a great nation.”

¹⁹ Then God showed Hagar a well of water. So she went to the well and filled her bag with water. Then she gave the boy a drink.

²⁰ God was with the boy as he grew up. Ishmael lived in the desert. He learned to shoot with a bow very well. ²¹ He lived in the Desert of Paran. His mother found a wife for him in Egypt.

Abraham’s Bargain with Abimelech

²² Then Abimelech came with Phicol, the commander of Abimelech’s army. They said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. ²³ So make a promise to me here before God. Promise that you will be fair with me and my children and my descendants. Be kind to me and to this land where you have lived as a stranger. Be as kind to me as I have been to you.”

²⁴ And Abraham said, “I promise.” ²⁵ Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about Abimelech’s servants. They had captured a well of water.

²⁶ But Abimelech said, “I don’t know who did this. You never told me about this before today.”

²⁷ Then Abraham gave Abimelech some sheep and cattle. And they made an agreement. ²⁸ Abraham also put seven female lambs in front of Abimelech.

²⁹ Abimelech asked Abraham, “Why did you put these seven female lambs by themselves?”

³⁰ Abraham answered, “Accept these lambs from me. That will prove that you believe I dug this well.”

³¹ So that place was called Beersheba^[h] because they made a promise to each other there.

³² So Abraham and Abimelech made an agreement at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, went back to the land of the Philistines.

³³ Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba. There Abraham prayed to the Lord, the God who lives forever. ³⁴ And Abraham lived as a stranger in the land of the Philistines for a long time.

God Tests Abraham

22 After these things God tested Abraham’s faith. God said to him, “Abraham!”

And he answered, “Here I am.”

² Then God said, “Take your only son, Isaac, the son you love. Go to the land of Moriah. There kill him and offer him as a whole burnt offering. Do this on one of the mountains there. I will tell you which one.”

³ Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took Isaac and two servants with him. He cut the wood for the sacrifice. Then they went to the place God had told them to go. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey. My son and I will go over there and worship. Then we will come back to you.”

⁶ Abraham took the wood for the sacrifice and gave it to his son to carry. Abraham took the knife and the fire. So Abraham and his son went on together.

⁷ Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!”

Abraham answered, “Yes, my son.”

Isaac said, “We have the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb we will burn as a sacrifice?”

⁸ Abraham answered, “God will give us the lamb for the sacrifice, my son.”

So Abraham and his son went on together. ⁹ They came to the place God had told him about. There, Abraham built an altar. He laid the wood on it. Then he tied up his son Isaac. And he laid Isaac on the wood on the altar. ¹⁰ Then Abraham took his knife and was about to kill his son.

¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven. The angel said, “Abraham! Abraham!”

Abraham answered, “Yes.”

¹² The angel said, “Don’t kill your son or hurt him in any way. Now I can see that you respect God. I see that you have not kept your son, your only son, from me.”

¹³ Then Abraham looked up and saw a male sheep. Its horns were caught in a bush. So Abraham went and took the sheep and killed it. He offered it as a whole burnt offering to God. Abraham’s son was saved. ¹⁴ So Abraham named that place The Lord Gives. Even today people say, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be given.”

¹⁵ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time. ¹⁶ The angel said, “The Lord says, ‘You did not keep back your son, your only son, from me. Because you did this, I make you this promise by my own name: ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and give you many descendants. They will be as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. And they will capture the cities of their enemies. ¹⁸ Through your descendants all the nations on the earth will be blessed. This is because you obeyed me.’”

¹⁹ Then Abraham returned to his servants. They all traveled back to Beersheba, and Abraham stayed there.

²⁰ After these things happened, someone told Abraham: “Your brother Nahor and his wife Milcah have children now. ²¹ The first son is Uz. The second son is Buz. The third son is Kemuel (the father of Aram). ²² Then there are Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.” ²³ Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah was the mother of these eight sons, and Nahor was the father. Nahor was Abraham’s brother. ²⁴ Also Nahor had four other sons by his slave woman Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maacah.

Sarah Dies

23 Sarah lived to be 127 years old. ² She died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham was very sad and cried because of her. ³ After a while Abraham got up from the side of his wife’s body. And he went to talk to the Hittites. He said, ⁴ “I am only a stranger and a foreigner here. Sell me some of your land so that I can bury my dead wife.”

⁵ The Hittites answered Abraham, ⁶ “Sir, you are a great leader among us. You may have the best place we have to bury your dead. You may have any of our burying places that you want. None of us will stop you from burying your dead wife.”

⁷ Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the Hittites. ⁸ Abraham said to them, “If you truly want to help me bury my dead wife here, speak to Ephron for me. He is the son of Zohar. ⁹ Ask him to sell me the cave of Machpelah. It is at the edge of his field. I will pay him the full price. You can be the witnesses that I am buying it as a burial place.”

¹⁰ Ephron was sitting among the Hittites at the city gate. Ephron answered Abraham, ¹¹ “No, sir. I will give you the land and the cave that is in it. I will give it to you with these people as witnesses. Bury your dead wife.”

¹² Then Abraham bowed down before the Hittites. ¹³ He said to Ephron before all the people, “Please let me pay you the full price for the field. Accept my money, and I will bury my dead there.”

¹⁴ Ephron answered Abraham, ¹⁵ “Sir, the land is worth ten pounds of silver. But I won’t argue with you over the price. Take the land, and bury your dead wife.”

¹⁶ Abraham agreed and paid Ephron in front of the Hittite witnesses. Abraham weighed out the full price: ten pounds of silver. They counted the weight as the traders normally did.

^17-18 So Ephron’s field in Machpelah, east of Mamre, was sold. Abraham became the owner of the field, the cave in it and all the trees that were in the field. The sale was made at the city gate, with the Hittites as witnesses. ¹⁹ After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave. It was in that field of Machpelah, near Mamre. (Mamre was later called Hebron in the land of Canaan.) ²⁰ Abraham bought the field and the cave on it from the Hittites. He used it as a burying place.

A Wife for Isaac

24 Abraham was now very old. The Lord had blessed him in every way. ² Abraham’s oldest servant was in charge of everything Abraham owned. Abraham called that servant to him and said, “Put your hand under my leg.^{[i] 3} Make a promise to me before the Lord, the God of heaven and earth. Don’t get a wife for my son from the Canaanite girls who live around here. ⁴ Instead, go back to my country, to the land of my relatives. Get a wife for my son Isaac from there.”

⁵ The servant said to him, “What if this woman does not want to return with me to this land? Then, should I take your son with me back to your homeland?”

⁶ Abraham said to him, “No! Don’t take my son back there. ⁷ The Lord is the God of heaven. He brought me from the home of my father and the land of my relatives. But the Lord promised me, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ The Lord will send his angel before you. The angel will help you get a wife for my son there. ⁸ But if the girl won’t come back with you, you will be free from this promise. But you must not take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant put his hand under his master’s leg. He made a promise to Abraham about this.

¹⁰ The servant took ten of Abraham’s camels and left. He carried with him many different kinds of beautiful gifts. He went to Northwest Mesopotamia to Nahor’s city. ¹¹ He made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city. It was in the evening when the women come out to get water.

¹² The servant said, “Lord, you are the God of my master Abraham. Allow me to find a wife for his son today. Please show this kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ Here I am, standing by the spring of water. The girls from the city are coming out to get water. ¹⁴ I will say to one of the girls, ‘Please put your jar down so I can drink.’ Then let her say, ‘Drink, and I will also give water to your camels.’ If that happens, I will know she is the right one for your servant Isaac. And I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”

¹⁵ Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah came out of the city. She was the daughter of Bethuel. (Bethuel was the son of Milcah and Nahor, Abraham’s brother.) Rebekah was carrying her water jar on her shoulder. ¹⁶ She was very pretty. She was a virgin; she had never had physical relations with a man. She went down to the spring and filled her jar. Then she came back up. ¹⁷ The servant ran to her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”

¹⁸ Rebekah said, “Drink, sir.” She quickly lowered the jar from her shoulder and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ After he finished drinking, Rebekah said, “I will also pour some water for your camels.” ²⁰ So she quickly poured all the water from her jar into the drinking trough for the camels. Then she kept running to the well until she had given all the camels enough to drink.

²¹ The servant quietly watched her. He wanted to be sure the Lord had made his trip successful. ²² After the camels had finished drinking, he gave Rebekah a gold ring weighing one-fifth of an ounce. He also gave her two gold arm bracelets weighing about four ounces each. ²³ The servant asked, “Who is your father? Is there a place in his house for me and my men to spend the night?”

²⁴ Rebekah answered, “My father is Bethuel. He is the son of Milcah and Nahor.” ²⁵ Then she said, “And, yes, we have straw for your camels. We have a place for you to spend the night.”

²⁶ The servant bowed and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ He said, “Blessed is the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. The Lord has been kind and truthful to him. He has led me to my master’s relatives.”

²⁸ Then Rebekah ran and told her mother’s family about all these things. ²⁹ She had a brother named Laban. He ran out to Abraham’s servant, who was still at the spring. ³⁰ Laban had heard what she had said. And he had seen the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms. So he ran out to the well. And there was the man standing by the camels at the spring. ³¹ Laban said, “Sir, you are welcome to come in. You don’t have to stand outside. I have prepared the house for you and also a place for your camels.”

³² So Abraham’s servant went into the house. Laban unloaded the camels and gave them straw and food. Then Laban gave water to Abraham’s servant so he and the men with him could wash their feet. ³³ Then Laban gave the servant food. But the servant said, “I will not eat until I have told you why I came.”

So Laban said, “Then tell us.”

³⁴ He said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has greatly blessed my master in everything. My master has become a rich man. The Lord has given him many flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. He has given Abraham silver and gold, male and female servants, camels and horses. ³⁶ Sarah, my master’s wife, gave birth to a son when she was old. My master has given everything he owns to that son. ³⁷ My master had me make a promise to him. He said, ‘Don’t get a wife for my son from the Canaanite girls who live around here. ³⁸ Instead you must go to my father’s people and to my family. There you must get a wife for my son.’ ³⁹ I said to my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’ ⁴⁰ But he said, ‘I serve the Lord. He will send his angel with you and will help you. You will get a wife for my son from my family and my father’s people. ⁴¹ Then you will be free from the promise. Or if they will not give you a wife for my son, you will be free from this promise.’

⁴² “Today I came to this spring. I said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, please make my trip successful. ⁴³ Look, I am standing by this spring of water. I will wait for a young woman to come out to get water. Then I will say, “Please give me water from your jar to drink.” ⁴⁴ Then let her say, “Drink this water. I will also get water for your camels.” By this I will know the Lord has chosen her for my master’s son.’

⁴⁵ “Before I finished my silent prayer, Rebekah came out of the city. She had her water jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and got water. I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ ⁴⁶ She quickly lowered the jar from her shoulder. She said, ‘Drink this. I will also get water for your camels.’ So I drank, and she gave water to my camels also. ⁴⁷ Then I asked her, ‘Who is your father?’ She answered, ‘My father is Bethuel son of Milcah and Nahor.’ Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms. ⁴⁸ At that time I bowed my head and thanked the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. I thanked him because he led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ Now, tell me, will you be kind and truthful to my master? And if not, tell me so. Then I will know what I should do.”

⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is clearly from the Lord. We cannot change what must happen. ⁵¹ Rebekah is yours. Take her and go. Let her marry your master’s son as the Lord has commanded.”

⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard these words, he bowed facedown on the ground before the Lord. ⁵³ Then the servant gave Rebekah gold and silver jewelry and clothes. He also gave expensive gifts to her brother and mother. ⁵⁴ The servant and the men with him ate and drank. And they spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, the servant said, “Now let me go back to my master.”

⁵⁵ Rebekah’s mother and her brother said, “Let Rebekah stay with us at least ten days. After that she may go.”

⁵⁶ But the servant said to them, “Do not make me wait. The Lord has made my trip successful. Now let me go back to my master.”

⁵⁷ Rebekah’s brother and mother said, “We will call Rebekah and ask her what she wants to do.” ⁵⁸ They called her and asked her, “Do you want to go with this man now?”

She said, “Yes, I do.”

⁵⁹ So they allowed Rebekah and her nurse to go with Abraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ They blessed Rebekah and said,

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her servant girls got on the camels and followed the servant and his men. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

⁶² At this time Isaac had left Beer Lahai Roi. He was living in southern Canaan. ⁶³ One evening he went out to the field to think. As he looked up, he saw camels coming. ⁶⁴ Rebekah looked and saw Isaac. Then she jumped down from the camel. ⁶⁵ She asked the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?”

The servant answered, “That is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil.

⁶⁶ The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent of Sarah, his mother. And she became his wife. Isaac loved her very much. So he was comforted after his mother’s death.

Abraham’s Family

25 Abraham married again. His new wife was Keturah. ² She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. ³ Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the people of Assyria, Letush and Leum. 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 before Abraham died, he did give gifts to the sons of his other wives. Abraham sent them to the East to be away from Isaac.

⁷ Abraham lived to be 175 years old. ⁸ He breathed his last breath and died at an old age. He had lived a long and satisfying life. ⁹ His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah. This cave is in the field of Ephron east of Mamre. Ephron was the son of Zohar the Hittite. ¹⁰ This is the same field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah. ¹¹ After Abraham died, God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac was now living at Beer Lahai Roi.

¹² This is the family history of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. (Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant, was Ishmael’s mother.) ¹³ These are the names of Ishmael’s sons in the order they were born. The first son was Nebaioth. Then came Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These were Ishmael’s sons. And these are the names of the tribal leaders. They are listed according to their settlements and camps. ¹⁷ Ishmael lived 137 years. Then he breathed his last breath and died. ¹⁸ Ishmael’s descendants lived from Havilah to Shur. This is east of Egypt stretching toward Assyria. Ishmael’s descendants often attacked the descendants of his brothers.

Isaac’s Family

¹⁹ This is the family history of Isaac. Abraham had a son named Isaac. ²⁰ When Isaac was 40 years old, he married Rebekah. Rebekah was from Northwest Mesopotamia. She was Bethuel’s daughter and the sister of Laban the Aramean. ²¹ Isaac’s wife could not have children. So Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. The Lord heard Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant.

²² While she was pregnant, the babies struggled inside her. She asked, “Why is this happening to me?” Then she went to get an answer from the Lord.

²³ The Lord said to her,

²⁴ And when the time came, Rebekah gave birth to twins. ²⁵ The first baby was born red. His skin was like a hairy robe. So he was named Esau.^{[j] 26} When the second baby was born, he was holding on to Esau’s heel. So that baby was named Jacob.^[k] Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

²⁷ When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled hunter. He loved to be out in the fields. But Jacob was a quiet man. He stayed among the tents. ²⁸ Isaac loved Esau. Esau hunted the wild animals that Isaac enjoyed eating. But Rebekah loved Jacob.

²⁹ One day Jacob was boiling a pot of vegetable soup. Esau came in from hunting in the fields. He was weak from hunger. ³⁰ So Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red soup. I am weak with hunger.” (That is why people call him Edom.^[l])

³¹ But Jacob said, “You must sell me your rights as the firstborn son.”^[m]

³² Esau said, “I am almost dead from hunger. If I die, all of my father’s wealth will not help me.”

³³ But Jacob said, “First, promise me that you will give it to me.” So Esau made a promise to Jacob. In this way he sold his part of their father’s wealth to Jacob. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau bread and vegetable soup. Esau ate and drank and then left. So Esau showed how little he cared about his rights as the firstborn son.

Isaac Lies to Abimelech

26 Once there was a time of hunger in the land. This was besides the time of hunger that happened during Abraham’s life. So Isaac went to the town of Gerar. He went to see Abimelech king of the Philistines. ² The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt. Live in the land where I tell you to live. ³ Stay in this land, and I will be with you. I will bless you. I will give you and your descendants all these lands. I will keep the agreement I made to Abraham your father. ⁴ I will give you many descendants. They will be as hard to count as the stars in the sky. And I will give them all these lands. Through your descendants all the nations on the earth will be blessed. ⁵ I will do this because your father Abraham obeyed me. He did what I said. He obeyed my commands, my teachings and my rules.”

⁶ So Isaac stayed in Gerar. ⁷ Isaac’s wife Rebekah was very beautiful. The men of that place asked Isaac about her. Isaac said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to tell them she was his wife. He thought they might kill him so they could have her.

⁸ Isaac lived there a long time. One day as Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out his window, he saw Isaac. Isaac was holding his wife Rebekah tenderly. ⁹ Abimelech called for Isaac and said, “This woman is your wife. Why did you say she was your sister?”

Isaac said to him, “I was afraid you would kill me so you could have her.”

¹⁰ Abimelech said, “What have you done to us? One of our men might have had physical relations with your wife. Then we would have been guilty of a great sin.”

¹¹ So Abimelech warned everyone. He said, “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death.”

Isaac Becomes Rich

¹² Isaac planted seed in that land. And that year he gathered a great harvest. The Lord blessed him very much. ¹³ Isaac became rich. He gathered more wealth until he became a very rich man. ¹⁴ He had many slaves and many flocks and herds. The Philistines envied him. ¹⁵ So they stopped up all the wells the servants of Isaac’s father Abraham had dug. (They had dug them when Abraham was alive.) The Philistines filled those wells with dirt. ¹⁶ And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave our country. You have become much more powerful than we are.”

¹⁷ So Isaac left that place. He camped in the Valley of Gerar and lived there. ¹⁸ Long before this time Abraham had dug many wells. After Abraham died, the Philistines filled them with dirt. So Isaac dug those wells again. He gave them the same names his father had given them. ¹⁹ Isaac’s servants dug a well in the valley. From it a spring of water flowed. ²⁰ But the men who herded sheep in Gerar argued with Isaac’s servants. They said, “This water is ours.” So Isaac named that well Argue because they argued with him. ²¹ Then Isaac’s servants dug another well. The people also argued about it. So Isaac named that well Fight. ²² Isaac moved from there and dug another well. No one argued about this one. So he named that well Room Enough. Isaac said, “Now the Lord has made room for us. We will be successful in this land.”

²³ From there Isaac went to Beersheba. ²⁴ The Lord appeared to Isaac that night. The Lord said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid because I am with you. I will bless you and give you many descendants. I will do this because of my servant Abraham.” ²⁵ So Isaac built an altar and worshiped the Lord there. He made a camp there, and his servants dug a well.

²⁶ Abimelech came from Gerar to see Isaac. Abimelech brought with him Ahuzzath, who advised him, and Phicol, the commander of his army. ²⁷ Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to see me? You were my enemy. You forced me to leave your country.”

²⁸ They answered, “Now we know that the Lord is with you. We will make a promise to you. And we would like you to make one to us. We would like to make an agreement with you. ²⁹ We did not hurt you. So promise you will not hurt us. And we were good to you, and we sent you away in peace. Now the Lord has blessed you.”

³⁰ So Isaac prepared food for them, and they all ate and drank. ³¹ Early the next morning the men made a promise to each other. Then Isaac sent them away, and they left in peace.

³² That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We found water in that well.” ³³ So Isaac named it Shibah^[n] and that city is still called Beersheba even now.

³⁴ When Esau was 40 years old, he married two Hittite women. One was Judith daughter of Beeri. The other was Basemath daughter of Elon. ³⁵ These women brought much sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah.

Jacob Tricks Isaac

27 When Isaac was old, his eyes were not good. He could not see clearly. One day he called his older son Esau to him. Isaac said, “Son.”

Esau answered, “Here I am.”

² Isaac said, “I am old. I don’t know when I might die. ³ So take your bow and arrows, and go hunting in the field. Kill an animal for me to eat. ⁴ Prepare the tasty food that I love. Bring it to me, and I will eat. Then I will bless you before I die.” ⁵ So Esau went out in the field to hunt.

Rebekah was listening as Isaac said this to his son Esau. ⁶ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Listen, I heard your father talking to your brother Esau. ⁷ Your father said, ‘Kill an animal. Prepare some tasty food for me to eat. Then I will bless you before the Lord before I die.’ ⁸ So obey me, my son. Do what I tell you. ⁹ Go out to our goats and bring me two young ones. I will prepare them just the way your father likes them. ¹⁰ Then you will take the food to your father. And he will bless you before he dies.”

¹¹ But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “My brother Esau is a hairy man. I am smooth! ¹² If my father touches me, he will know I am not Esau. Then he will not bless me. He will place a curse on me because I tried to trick him.”

¹³ So Rebekah said to him, “If your father puts a curse on you, I will accept the blame. Just do what I said. Go and get the goats for me.”

¹⁴ So Jacob went out and got two goats and brought them to his mother. Then she cooked them in the special way Isaac enjoyed. ¹⁵ She took the best clothes of her older son Esau that were in the house. She put them on the younger son Jacob. ¹⁶ She took the skins of the goats. And she put them on Jacob’s hands and neck. ¹⁷ Then she gave Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.

¹⁸ Jacob went in to his father and said, “Father.”

And his father said, “Yes, my son. Who are you?”

¹⁹ Jacob said to him, “I am Esau, your first son. I have done what you told me. Now sit up and eat some meat of the animal I hunted for you. Then bless me.”

²⁰ But Isaac asked his son, “How did you find and kill the animal so quickly?”

Jacob answered, “Because the Lord your God led me to find it.”

²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son. If I can touch you, I will know if you are really my son Esau.”

²² So Jacob came near to Isaac his father. Isaac touched him and said, “Your voice sounds like Jacob’s voice. But your hands are hairy like the hands of Esau.” ²³ Isaac did not know it was Jacob, because his hands were hairy like Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. ²⁴ Isaac asked, “Are you really my son Esau?”

Jacob answered, “Yes, I am.”

²⁵ Then Isaac said, “Bring me the food. I will eat it and bless you.” So Jacob gave him the food, and Isaac ate. Jacob gave him wine, and he drank. ²⁶ Then Isaac said to him, “My son, come near and kiss me.” ²⁷ So Jacob went to his father and kissed him. Isaac smelled Esau’s clothes and blessed him. Isaac said,

³⁰ Isaac finished blessing Jacob. Then, just as Jacob left his father Isaac, Esau came in from hunting. ³¹ Esau also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. He said, “Father, rise and eat the food that your son killed for you. Then bless me.”

³² Isaac asked, “Who are you?”

He answered, “I am your son—your firstborn son—Esau.”

³³ Then Isaac trembled greatly. He said, “Then who was it that hunted the animals and brought me food before you came? I ate it, and I blessed him. And it is too late now to take back my blessing.”

³⁴ When Esau heard the words of his father, he let out a loud and bitter cry. He said to his father, “Bless me—me, too, my father!”

³⁵ But Isaac said, “Your brother came and tricked me. He has taken your blessing.”

³⁶ Esau said, “Jacob^[o] is the right name for him. He has tricked me these two times. He took away my share of everything you own. And now he has taken away my blessing.” Then Esau asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

³⁷ Isaac answered, “I gave Jacob the power to be master over you. And all his brothers will be his servants. And I kept him strong with grain and wine. There is nothing left to give you, my son.”

³⁸ But Esau continued, “Do you have only one blessing, Father? Bless me, too, Father!” Then Esau began to cry out loud.

³⁹ Isaac said to him,

⁴¹ After that Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing from Isaac. Esau thought to himself, “My father will soon die, and I will be sad for him. After that I will kill Jacob.”

⁴² Rebekah heard about Esau’s plan to kill Jacob. So she sent for Jacob. She said to him, “Listen, your brother Esau is comforting himself by planning to kill you. ⁴³ So, son, do what I say. My brother Laban is living in Haran. Go to him at once! ⁴⁴ Stay with him for a while, until your brother is not so angry. ⁴⁵ In time, your brother will not be angry. He will forget what you did to him. Then I will send a servant to bring you back. I don’t want to lose both of my sons on the same day.”

⁴⁶ Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of these Hittite women here in this land, I want to die.”

Jacob Searches for a Wife

28 Isaac called Jacob and blessed him. Then Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman. ² Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, in Northwest Mesopotamia. Laban, your mother’s brother, lives there. Marry one of his daughters. ³ May God All-Powerful bless you and give you many children. May you become the father of many peoples. ⁴ May the Lord give you and your descendants the blessing of Abraham. Then you may own the land where you are now living as a stranger. This is the land God gave to Abraham.” ⁵ So Isaac sent Jacob to Northwest Mesopotamia. Jacob went to Laban, the brother of Rebekah. Bethuel, the Aramean, was the father of Laban and Rebekah. And Rebekah was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

⁶ Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Northwest Mesopotamia. Jacob went to find a wife there. Esau also learned that Isaac had commanded Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman. ⁷ And Esau learned that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother. He had gone to Northwest Mesopotamia. ⁸ So Esau saw that his father Isaac did not want his sons to marry Canaanite women. ⁹ Now Esau already had wives. But he went to Ishmael son of Abraham. And he married Mahalath, Ishmael’s daughter. Mahalath was the sister of Nebaioth.

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. ¹¹ He came to a place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He found a stone there and laid his head on it to go to sleep. ¹² Jacob dreamed that there was a ladder resting on the earth and reaching up into heaven. And he saw angels of God going up and coming down the ladder. ¹³ And then Jacob saw the Lord standing above the ladder. The Lord said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, your grandfather. And I am the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are now sleeping. ¹⁴ Your descendants will be as many as the dust of the earth. They will spread west and east, north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. ¹⁵ I am with you, and I will protect you everywhere you go. And I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

¹⁶ Then Jacob woke from his sleep. He said, “Surely the Lord is in this place. But I did not know it.” ¹⁷ Jacob was afraid. He said, “This place frightens me! It is surely the house of God and the gate of heaven.”

¹⁸ Jacob rose early in the morning. He took the stone he had slept on and set it up on its end. Then he poured olive oil on the top of it. ¹⁹ At first, the name of that city was Luz. But Jacob named it Bethel.^[p]