Genesis 23 - 24 - Legacy Standard Bible

Genesis 23 - 24

Sarah’s Death and Burial

And Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 Then Abraham rose from before his dead and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, 4 “I am a sojourner and a foreign resident among you; give me a possession for a burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6 “Hear us, my lord, you are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial sites; none of us will refuse you his burial sites for burying your dead.” 7 So Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your desire for me to bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which belongs to him, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in your presence as a possession for a burial site.” 10 Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth, even of all who went in at the gate of his city, saying, 11 “No, my lord, hear me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.” 12 And Abraham bowed before the people of the land. 13 And he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will only please hear me; I will give the silver for the field, accept it from me that I may bury my dead there.” 14 Then Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 “My lord, hear me; a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.” 16 So Abraham heard Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, commercial standard. 17 So Ephron’s field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were within all the confines of its border, were deeded over 18 to Abraham as purchased in the sight of the sons of Heth, before all who came in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded over to Abraham for a possession for a burial site by the sons of Heth.

A Wife for Isaac

Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and Yahweh had blessed Abraham in every way. 2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who ruled over all that he owned, “Please place your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, 4 but you will go to my land and to my kin, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 And the servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I indeed take your son back to the land from where you came?” 6 Then Abraham said to him, “Beware lest you take my son back there! 7 Yahweh, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kin, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘To your seed I will give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter. 10 Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and he went with all kinds of good things of his master’s in his hand. So he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. 11 And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at evening time, the time when the women go out to draw water. 12 And he said, “O Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, please cause this to happen before me today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; 14 now may it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will give water to your camels to drink also’—may she be the one whom You have decided for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.”

Rebekah Goes with Abraham’s Servant

15 And before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, was coming out with her jar on her shoulder. 16 Now the young woman was very beautiful in appearance, a virgin, and no man had known her; and she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” 18 And she said, “Drink, my lord”; and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand and gave him a drink. 19 Now when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she hurried and emptied her jar into the watering channel and ran again to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. 21 Meanwhile, the man was gazing at her in silence, to know whether Yahweh had made his journey successful or not. 22 Now it happened that when the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half-shekel and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels in gold, 23 and said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there a place for us to lodge in your father’s house?” 24 And she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 And she said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and a place to lodge in.” 26 Then the man bowed low and worshiped Yahweh. 27 And he said, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, Yahweh has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.” 28 Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran outside to the man at the spring. 30 Now it happened, when he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “This is what the man said to me,” he came out to the man; and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. 31 And he said, “Come in, blessed of Yahweh! Why do you stand outside since I have prepared the house and a place for the camels?” 32 So the man came into the house. Then Laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Then food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have spoken my words.” And he said, “Speak!” 34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 And Yahweh has greatly blessed my master, so he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and male slaves and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. 36 Now Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master in her old age, and he has given him all that he has. 37 And my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live; 38 but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’ 39 Then I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman does not follow me.’ 40 And he said to me, ‘Yahweh, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you and will make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house. 41 Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives. Now if they do not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’ 42 “So I came today to the spring and said, ‘O Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, if now You will make my journey on which I go successful; 43 behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and may it be that the maiden who comes out to draw, and to whom I say, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar”; 44 and she will say to me, “You drink, and I will draw for your camels also”; she is the woman whom Yahweh has decided upon for my master’s son.’ 45 “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah was coming out with her jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46 Then she hurried and lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will also give water to your camels to drink’; so I drank, and she also gave water to the camels to drink. 47 Then I asked her and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him’; and I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 And I bowed low and worshiped Yahweh; and I blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who had guided me in the true way to take the daughter of my master’s relative for his son. 49 So now if you are going to show lovingkindness and truth with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right or to the left.” 50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The matter comes from Yahweh; so we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51 Behold, Rebekah is before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as Yahweh has spoken.” 52 Now it happened that when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground before Yahweh. 53 The servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. And then they arose in the morning, and he said, “Send me away to my master.” 55 But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, or even ten; afterward she will go.” 56 And he said to them, “Do not delay me, since Yahweh has made my way successful. Send me away that I may go to my master.” 57 And they said, “We will call the young woman and ask about her wishes.” 58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” 59 Thus they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

“May you, our sister,

Become thousands of ten thousands,

And may your seed possess

The gate of those who hate him.”

61 Then Rebekah arose with her young women, and they mounted the camels and went after the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went.

Rebekah Becomes Isaac’s Wife

62 Now Isaac had come from going to Beer-lahai-roi, for he was living in the land of the Negev. 63 And Isaac went out to muse in the field toward evening; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. 64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac and dismounted from the camel. 65 Then she said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master.” Then she took her veil and covered herself. 66 And the servant recounted to Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. Thus, Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

Matthew 17:1 - 18:14

The Transfiguration

And six days later Jesus *brought with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three booths here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” 6 And when the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” 8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone. 9 And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” 10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; 12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

Jesus Casts Out a Demon

14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and suffers terribly; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” 17 And Jesus answered and said, “O you unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 And He *said to them, “Because of your little faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. 21 [But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”] 22 And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; 23 and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

The Temple Tax

24 Now when they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” 25 He *said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect tolls or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?” 26 And when Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. 27 However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a stater. Take that and give it to them for Me and you.”

Who Is Greatest in Heaven?

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever therefore will humble himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; nevertheless, woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! 8 “And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than, having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into the fiery hell. 10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 [For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

12 “What do you think? If any man has one hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? 13 And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 14 In this way, it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Psalm 12 - 13

Yahweh Will Set the Needy in Safety

For the choir director. According to the Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

Save, O Yahweh, for the holy man ceases to be,

For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

They speak worthlessness to one another;

With a flattering lip and with a double heart they speak.

May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips,

The tongue that speaks great things;

Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;

Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”

“Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,

Now I will arise,” says Yahweh; “I will set him in the safety for which he longs.”

The words of Yahweh are pure words;

As silver tried in a furnace on the ground, refined seven times.

You, O Yahweh, will keep them;

You will guard him from this generation forever.

The wicked strut about on every side

When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

How Long, O Yahweh?

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

How long, O Yahweh? Will You forget me forever?

How long will You hide Your face from me?

How long shall I take counsel in my soul,

Having sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Look and answer me, O Yahweh my God;

Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,

Lest my enemy says, “I have overcome him,”

And my adversaries rejoice that I am shaken.

But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;

My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

I will sing to Yahweh,

Because He has dealt bountifully with me.