Genesis 33 - 34, Matthew 24:32-25:46, Psalm 18:25-50

Jacob Meets Esau

33Then Jacob lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, ^aEsau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children ¹among Leah and Rachel and the two servant-women. ²And he put the servant-women and their children first, and Leah and her children after them, and Rachel and Joseph after them. ³But he himself passed on ahead of them and ^abowed down to the ground seven times, until he ^bcame near to his brother.

⁴Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and ^afell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. ⁵And he lifted up his eyes and saw the women and the children and said, “¹Who are these with you?” And he said, “^aThe children whom God has graciously given your servant.” ⁶Then the servant-women came near ¹with their children, and they bowed down. ⁷Leah likewise came near with her children, and they bowed down; and afterward Joseph came near with Rachel, and they bowed down. ⁸And he said, “What do you mean by ^aall ¹these camps which I have met?” And he said, “^bTo find favor in the sight of my lord.” ⁹But Esau said, “^aI have plenty, my brother; let what you have be your own.” ¹⁰And Jacob said, “No, please, if now I have found favor in your sight, then take my present from my hand, ¹for I see your face as one sees the face of God, and you have received me favorably. ¹¹“Please take my ^ablessing which has been brought to you, ^bbecause God has dealt graciously with me and because I have ¹everything.” Thus he urged him, and he took it.

¹²Then ¹Esau said, “Let us take our journey and go, and I will go before you.” ¹³But he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak and that the flocks and herds which are nursing are ¹a care to me. And if they are driven hard one day, all the flocks will die. ¹⁴“Please let my lord pass on before his servant, and I will lead on slowly, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at ^aSeir.”

¹⁵Then Esau said, “Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “Why do this? ^aLet me find favor in the sight of my lord.” ¹⁶So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. ¹⁷But Jacob journeyed to ¹^,^aSuccoth and built for himself a house and made booths for his livestock; therefore the place is named Succoth.

Jacob Camps in Shechem

¹⁸Now Jacob came safely to the city of ^aShechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from ^bPaddan-aram, and he camped before the city. ¹⁹^aThen he bought a portion of a field where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred ¹qesitah. ²⁰Then he set up there an altar and called it ¹El-Elohe-Israel.

Simeon and Levi Deceive Shechem

34Now ^aDinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. ²Then Shechem the son of Hamor ^athe Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her and took her and lay with her and violated her. ³¹And he was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke to the heart of the young woman. ⁴So Shechem ^aspoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl as a wife.” ⁵Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in. ⁶Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. ⁷Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a ¹^,^adisgraceful thing in Israel ²by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.

⁸But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him as a wife. ⁹“And intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰“Thus you shall ¹live with us, and ^athe land shall be open before you; ²live and ^btrade in it and ^ctake possession of property in it.” ¹¹And Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “If I find favor in your sight, then I will give whatever you say to me. ¹²“Ask me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; but give me the girl as a wife.”

¹³But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, and thus they spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. ¹⁴And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to ^aone who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us. ¹⁵“Only on this condition will we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that every male among you be circumcised, ¹⁶then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will ¹live with you and become one people. ¹⁷“But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”

¹⁸Now their words seemed good in the sight of Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. ¹⁹So the young man did not delay to do the thing because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more honored than all the household of his father. ²⁰So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the ^agate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, ²¹“These men are peaceful with us; therefore let them ¹live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is ²large enough for them. Let us take their daughters for us as wives and give our daughters to them. ²²“Only on this condition will the men consent to us to ¹live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. ²³“Will not their livestock and what they acquire and all their cattle be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will ¹live with us.” ²⁴^aAnd all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

²⁵Now it happened on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, ^aSimeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the unsuspecting city and killed every male. ²⁶And they killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and went away. ²⁷Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and plundered the city because they had defiled their sister. ²⁸They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; ²⁹and they captured and plundered all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses. ³⁰Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have ^abrought trouble on me by ^bmaking me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among ^cthe Canaanites and the Perizzites; and ¹^,^dmy men being few in number, they will gather together against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed, I and my household.” ³¹But they said, “Should he ¹treat our sister as a harlot?”

The Parable of the Fig Tree

³²“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; ³³so, you too, when you see all these things, ¹recognize that ²He is near, right ^aat the ³door. ³⁴“Truly I say to you, ^athis ¹generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³⁵“^aHeaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁶“But ^aof that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. ³⁷“For ^ajust as the days of Noah were, so the ^bcoming of the Son of Man will be. ³⁸“For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^amarrying and giving in marriage, until the day that ^bNoah entered the ark, ³⁹and they did not ¹understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the ^acoming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰“Then there will be two in the field; one ¹will be taken, and one ²will be left. ⁴¹“^aTwo women will be grinding grain at the ¹^,^bmill; one ²will be taken and one ³will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

⁴²“Therefore ^astay awake, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. ⁴³“But ¹be sure of this, that ^aif the head of the house had known ^bat what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be ²broken into. ⁴⁴“For this reason ^ayou also must be ready; for ^bthe Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

⁴⁵“^aWho then is the ^bfaithful and ^cprudent slave whom his ¹master ^dput in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶“Blessed is that slave whom his ¹master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷“Truly I say to you that ^ahe will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸“But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My ¹master ²is not coming for a long time,’ ⁴⁹and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; ⁵⁰the ¹master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, ⁵¹and will ¹cut him in pieces and ²assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be ^aweeping and gnashing of teeth.

Parable of Ten Virgins

25“Then ^athe kingdom of heaven may be compared to ten virgins, who took their ^blamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ²“Now five of them were foolish, and five were ^aprudent. ³“For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴but the ^aprudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. ⁵“Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. ⁶“But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷“Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸“And the foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹“But the ^aprudent answered, saying, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰“And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ^aready went in with him to ^bthe wedding feast; and ^cthe door was shut. ¹¹“And later the other virgins also *came, saying, ‘^aLord, lord, open up for us.’ ¹²“But he answered and said, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ ¹³“^aTherefore, stay awake, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

Parable of the Talents

¹⁴“^aFor it is just like a man ^babout to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and handed over his possessions to them. ¹⁵“And to one he gave five ¹^,^atalents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he ^bwent on his journey. ¹⁶“Immediately the one who had received the five ^atalents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. ¹⁷“In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. ¹⁸“But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his ¹master’s money.

¹⁹“Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *^asettled accounts with them. ²⁰“And the one who had received the five ^atalents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed five talents over to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ ²¹“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and ^afaithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will ^bput you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your ¹master.’

²²“Also the one who had received the two ^atalents came up and said, ‘Master, you handed two talents over to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ ²³“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and ^afaithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

²⁴“And the one also who had received the one ^atalent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. ²⁵‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

²⁶“But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. ²⁷‘Therefore, you ought to have put my money ¹in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. ²⁸‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

²⁹“^aFor to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. ³⁰“And throw out the worthless slave into ^athe outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Final Judgment

³¹“But when ^athe Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then ^bHe will sit on His glorious throne. ³²“And all the nations will be ^agathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, ^bas the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; ³³and He will put the sheep ^aon His right, and the goats ^bon the left.

³⁴“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, ^ainherit the kingdom, which has been prepared for you ^bfrom the foundation of the world. ³⁵‘For ^aI was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; ^bI was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ³⁶^anaked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you ^bvisited Me; ^cI was in prison, and you came to Me.’ ³⁷“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ³⁸‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ³⁹‘And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰“^aAnd the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, ^bto the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

⁴¹“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘^aDepart from Me, accursed ones, into the ^beternal fire which has been prepared for ^cthe devil and his angels; ⁴²for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; ⁴³I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴“Then they themselves also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not ¹take care of You?’ ⁴⁵“Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶“And these will go away into ^aeternal punishment, but the righteous into ^beternal life.”

²⁵With ^athe ¹kind You show Yourself kind;With the blameless ^bYou show Yourself blameless;²⁶With the pure You show Yourself ^apure,And with the crooked ^bYou show Yourself ¹astute.²⁷For You ^asave an afflicted people,But ^beyes which are lifted up, You bring down.²⁸For You ^alight my lamp;Yahweh my God ^billumines my darkness.²⁹For by You I can ¹^,^arun upon a troop;And by my God I can ^bleap over a wall.³⁰As for God, His way is ¹^,^ablameless;The ^bword of Yahweh is ²tried;He is a ^cshield to all who take refuge in Him.³¹For ^awho is God, but Yahweh?And who is a ^brock, except our God,³²The God who ^agirds me with strengthAnd ¹makes my way ²^,^bblameless?³³He ^amakes my feet like hinds’ feet,And ^bsets me upon my high places.³⁴He ^atrains my hands for battle,So that my arms can ^bbend a bow of bronze.³⁵You have also given me ^athe shield of Your salvation,And Your ^bright hand upholds me;And ^cYour ¹gentleness makes me great.³⁶You ^aenlarge my steps under me,And my ^bankles have not given way.³⁷I ^apursued my enemies and overtook them,And I did not turn back ^buntil they were consumed.³⁸I crushed them, so that they were ^anot able to rise;They fell ^bunder my feet.³⁹For You have ^agirded me with strength for battle;You have ¹^,^bsubdued under me those who rose up against me.⁴⁰¹You have also made my enemies ^aturn their backs to me,And I ²^,^bdestroyed those who hated me.⁴¹They cried for help, but there was ^anone to save,Even to Yahweh, but ^bHe did not answer them.⁴²Then I beat them fine as the ^adust before the wind;I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.⁴³You have delivered me from the ^acontentions of the people;You have placed me as ^bhead of the nations;A ^cpeople whom I have not known serve me.⁴⁴As soon as they hear, they obey me;Foreigners ¹^,^acower before me.⁴⁵Foreigners ^afade away,And ^bcome trembling out of their ¹fortresses.⁴⁶Yahweh ^alives, and blessed be ^bmy rock;And let ^cthe God of my salvation be lifted high,⁴⁷The God who ^aexecutes vengeance for me,And ^bsubdues peoples under me.⁴⁸Who ^adelivers me from my enemies;Surely You ^blift me above those who rise up against me;You rescue me from the ^cviolent man.⁴⁹Therefore I will ^agive thanks to You among the nations, O Yahweh,And I will ^bsing praises to Your name.⁵⁰He gives great ¹^,^asalvation to His king,And shows lovingkindness to ^bHis anointed,To David and ^chis seed forever.