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The Generations of Jacob
37 Now Jacob lived in (A)the land [a]where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob.
Joseph, when (B)seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with (C)the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back an (D)evil report about them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was (E)the son of his old age; and he made him a [b](F)varicolored tunic. 4 And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and so they (G)hated him and could not speak to him in peace.
Joseph’s Dreams
5 Then Joseph [c](H)had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; so they hated him even more. 6 And he said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have [d]had: 7 Indeed, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf rose up and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and (I)bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 Then his brothers said to him, “(J)Are you really going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
9 Then he [e]had still another dream and recounted it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have [f]had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 And he recounted it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have [g]had? Shall I and your mother and (K)your brothers really come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?” 11 (L)And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father (M)kept the saying in mind.
12 Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in (N)Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “[h]I will go.” 14 Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of (O)Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 And a man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “[i]What are you seeking?” 16 And he said, “I am seeking my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 Then the man said, “They have journeyed from here; for I heard them saying, ‘Let us go to (P)Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
Joseph Sold by His Brothers
18 And they saw him from a distance, and before he came close to them, they (Q)plotted against him to put him to death. 19 Then they said to one another, “[j]Here comes this dreamer! 20 So now, come and let us kill him and cast him into one of the pits; and (R)we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!” 21 But (S)Reuben heard this and delivered him out of their hands and said, “Let us not strike down his life.” 22 Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not put forth your hands against him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands to return him to his father. 23 Now it happened, when Joseph [k]reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his [l]tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him; 24 and they took him and cast him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.
25 And they sat down to eat [m]a meal. Then they lifted up their eyes and saw, and behold, a caravan of (T)Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing [n](U)aromatic gum and [o](V)balm and [p]myrrh, going to bring them down to Egypt. 26 And Judah said to his brothers, “What gain is it that we kill our brother and (W)cover up his blood? 27 (X)Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened. 28 Then some (Y)Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit and (Z)sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for [q]twenty shekels of silver. Thus (AA)they brought Joseph into Egypt.
29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he (AB)tore his garments. 30 Then he returned to his brothers and said, “(AC)The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?” 31 So (AD)they took Joseph’s tunic and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood; 32 and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please recognize it—whether it is your son’s tunic or not.” 33 And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. (AE)A wild beast has devoured him; (AF)Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 34 So Jacob (AG)tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will (AH)go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile, the [r]Midianites (AI)sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.
Judah and Tamar
38 Now it happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain (AJ)Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was (AK)Shua; and he took her and went in to her. 3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he named him (AL)Er. 4 Then she conceived again and bore a son, and she named him (AM)Onan. 5 And she bore still another son, and she named him (AN)Shelah; and it was at Chezib [s]that she bore him.
6 Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But (AO)Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of Yahweh, so Yahweh put him to death. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, “(AP)Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up a seed for your brother.” 9 And Onan knew that the (AQ)seed would not be his; and it happened that when he went in to his brother’s wife, he wasted it on the ground in order not to give seed to his brother. 10 But what he did was displeasing in the sight of Yahweh; so He (AR)put him to death also. 11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “(AS)Live as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”; for he [t]thought, “I am afraid lest he also die like his brothers.” So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
12 And [u]after a considerable time, Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Then Judah was comforted, and he went up to his sheepshearers at (AT)Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 Then it was told to Tamar, “[v]Behold, your father-in-law is going up to (AU)Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 So she removed her widow’s garments from herself and (AV)covered herself with a [w]veil and wrapped herself. And she sat at the entrance of [x]Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and (AW)she had not been given to him as a wife. 15 Then Judah saw her, and he thought she was a harlot, for she had covered her face. 16 So he turned aside to her by the road and said, “Here now, let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” 17 He said, therefore, “I will send you a [y]young goat from the flock.” She said, moreover, “Will you give a pledge until you send it?” 18 Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?” And she said, “(AX)Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. 19 Then she arose and went. And she removed her [z]veil from herself and put on her widow’s garments.
20 Then Judah sent the [aa]young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take the pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her. 21 So he asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is the cult prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?” But they said, “There has been no cult prostitute here.” 22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I did not find her; and furthermore, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’” 23 Then Judah said, “Let her [ab]keep them, lest we become a laughingstock. Behold, I sent this young goat, but you did not find her.”
24 Now it happened about three months later that it was told to Judah saying, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the harlot, and behold, she is also with child by harlotry.” Then Judah said, “Bring her out and (AY)let her be burned!” 25 It was while she was being brought out that she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “I am with child by the man to whom these things belong.” And she said, “(AZ)Please recognize this and see, whose signet ring and cords and staff are these?” 26 And Judah recognized them and said, “(BA)She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as (BB)I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not [ac]know her again.
27 Now it happened at the time she was giving birth, that behold, there were (BC)twins in her womb. 28 And it happened, while she was giving birth, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 And then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that behold, his brother came out. So she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” So he was named [ad](BD)Perez. 30 Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand; and he was named [ae](BE)Zerah.
A Kingdom Divided
22 (A)Then a (B)demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to [a]Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23 And all the crowds were astounded, and were saying, “Can this man really be the (C)Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man does not (D)cast out demons except by [b]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
25 (E)And (F)knowing their thoughts He said to them, “[c]Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and [d]any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 And if (G)Satan casts out Satan, he [e]is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I (H)by [f]Beelzebul cast out demons, (I)by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But (J)if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
30 (K)He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
31 “(L)Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 (M)And whoever [g]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever [h]speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in (N)this age or in the age to come.
The Heart Is Revealed by Words
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for (O)the tree is known by its fruit. 34 (P)You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak [i]what is good? (Q)For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 (R)The good man brings out of his good treasure [j]what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure [k]what is evil. 36 But I tell you that every [l]careless word that people [m]speak, they shall give an accounting for it in (S)the day of judgment. 37 For [n]by your words you will be justified, and [o]by your words you will be condemned.”
The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered and said to Him, “Teacher, (T)we want to see [p]a sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “(U)An evil and adulterous generation eagerly seeks for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as (V)Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will (W)the Son of Man be (X)three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 (Y)The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because (Z)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, (AA)something greater than Jonah is here. 42 (AB)The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, (AC)something greater than Solomon is here.
43 “(AD)Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and (AE)the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
You Will Not Forsake My Soul
A [a]Mikhtam of David.
16 (A)Keep me, O God, for (B)I take refuge in You.
2 O my soul, you have said to Yahweh, “You are [b]my Lord;
I (C)have no good without You.”
3 As for the [c](D)saints who are in the earth,
They are the majestic ones (E)in whom is all my delight.
4 The [d](F)pains of those who have [e]bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of (G)blood,
Nor will I (H)take their names upon my lips.
5 Yahweh is the (I)portion of my inheritance and my (J)cup;
You support my (K)lot.
6 The (L)lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my inheritance is (M)beautiful to me.
7 I will bless Yahweh who has (N)counseled me;
Indeed, my [f](O)mind instructs me in the night.
8 (P)I have (Q)set Yahweh continually before me;
Because He is (R)at my right hand, (S)I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore (T)my heart is glad and (U)my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will (V)dwell securely.
10 For You (W)will not forsake my soul to Sheol;
You will not (X)give Your [g]Holy One over to see [h]corruption.
11 You will make known to me (Y)the path of life;
In (Z)Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are (AA)pleasures forever.
27 (A)Do not withhold good from [a]those to whom it is due,
When it is in your hand to do it.
28 (B)Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it,”
When it is there with you.
29 (C)Do not devise [b]harm against your neighbor,
While he lives securely beside you.
30 (D)Do not contend with a man without cause,
If he has dealt you no [c]harm.
31 (E)Do not envy a man of violence
And do not choose any of his ways.
32 For the (F)devious one is an abomination to Yahweh;
But His (G)secret council is with the upright.
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