The Berean Pursuit
Then God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau."
So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments. Then let us arise and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to God, who answered me in my day of distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone."
So they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and all their earrings, and Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem.
As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob's sons. So Jacob and everyone with him arrived in Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. There Jacob built an altar, and he called that place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed Himself to Jacob as he fled from his brother.
Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bachuth.
After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. And God said to him, "Though your name is Jacob, you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel." So God named him Israel.
And God told him, "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation-even a company of nations-shall come from you, and kings shall descend from you. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you."
Then God went up from the place where He had spoken with him.
So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him-a stone marker-and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil. Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.
Later, they set out from Bethel, and while they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult. During her severe labor, the midwife said to her, "Do not be afraid, for you are having another son."
And with her last breath-for she was dying-she named him Ben-oni. But his father called him Benjamin.
So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Jacob set up a pillar on her grave; it marks Rachel's tomb to this day.
Israel again set out and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Eder. While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.
Jacob had twelve sons:
The sons of Leah were Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
The sons of Rachel's maidservant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali.
And the sons of Leah's maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher.
These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
Jacob returned to his father Isaac at Mamre, near Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
And Isaac lived 180 years. Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom). Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. And Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath gave birth to Reuel, and Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
Later, Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the people of his household, along with his livestock, all his other animals, and all the property he had acquired in Canaan, and he moved to a land far away from his brother Jacob. For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together; the land where they stayed could not support them because of their livestock. So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the area of Mount Seir.
This is the account of Esau, the father of the Edomites, in the area of Mount Seir.
These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz son of Esau's wife Adah, and Reuel son of Esau's wife Basemath.
The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. Additionally, Timna, a concubine of Esau's son Eliphaz, gave birth to Amalek. These are the grandsons of Esau's wife Adah.
These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. They are the grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath.
These are the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah (daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon) whom she bore to Esau: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
These are the chiefs among the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. They are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom, and they are the grandsons of Adah.
These are the sons of Esau's son Reuel: Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. They are the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom, and they are the grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath.
These are the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah: Chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. They are the chiefs descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
All these are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and they were their chiefs.
These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. They are the chiefs of the Horites, the descendants of Seir in the land of Edom.
The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam. Timna was Lotan's sister.
These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. (This is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness as he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.)
These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah.
These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.
These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.
These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
These are the chiefs of the Horites: Chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. They are the chiefs of the Horites, according to their divisions in the land of Seir.
These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites:
Bela son of Beor reigned in Edom; the name of his city was Dinhabah.
When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place.
When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.
When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place. And the name of his city was Avith.
When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place.
When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place.
When Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Achbor reigned in his place.
When Baal-hanan son of Achbor died, Hadad reigned in his place. His city was named Pau, and his wife's name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab.
These are the names of Esau's chiefs, according to their families and regions, by their names: Chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they possessed. Esau was the father of the Edomites.
Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had resided, the land of Canaan.
This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors. When Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine."
"Do you intend to reign over us?" his brothers asked. "Will you actually rule us?" So they hated him even more because of his dream and his statements.
Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. "Look," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."
He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream that you have had? Will your mother and brothers and I actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.
Some time later, Joseph's brothers had gone to pasture their father's flocks near Shechem. Israel said to him, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flocks at Shechem? Get ready; I am sending you to them."
"I am ready," Joseph replied.
Then Israel told him, "Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me."
So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when Joseph arrived in Shechem, a man found him wandering in the field and asked, "What are you looking for?"
"I am looking for my brothers," Joseph replied. "Can you please tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?"
"They have moved on from here," the man answered. "I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'?" So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
Now Joseph's brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him. "Here comes that dreamer!" they said to one another. "Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!"
When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue Joseph from their hands. "Let us not take his life," he said. "Do not shed his blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him." Reuben said this so that he could rescue Joseph from their hands and return him to his father.
So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe-the robe of many colors he was wearing- and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it.
And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt.
Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh." And they agreed. So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes, returned to his brothers, and said, "The boy is gone! What am I going to do?"
Then they took Joseph's robe, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the robe in its blood. They sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, "We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son's robe or not."
His father recognized it and said, "It is my son's robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!" Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. "No," he said. "I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son." So his father wept for him.
Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
For the choirmaster. According to Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more;
the faithful have vanished from among men.
They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
May the LORD cut off all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue.
They say, "With our tongues we will prevail.
We own our lips-who can be our master?"
"For the cause of the oppressed
and for the groaning of the needy,
I will now arise," says the LORD.
"I will bring safety to him who yearns."
The words of the LORD are flawless,
like silver refined in a furnace,
like gold purified sevenfold.
You, O LORD, will keep us;
You will forever guard us from this generation.
The wicked wander freely,
and vileness is exalted among men.
Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were two days away, and the chief priests and scribes were looking for a covert way to arrest Jesus and kill Him. "But not during the feast," they said, "or there may be a riot among the people."
While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus' head.
Some of those present, however, expressed their indignation to one another: "Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for over three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor." And they scolded her.
But Jesus said, "Leave her alone; why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful deed to Me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me. She has done what she could to anoint My body in advance of My burial. And truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her."
Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this, and they promised to give him money.
So Judas began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed, Jesus' disciples asked Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"
So He sent two of His disciples and told them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jug of water will meet you. Follow him, and whichever house he enters, say to the owner, 'The Teacher asks: Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?' And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there."
So the disciples left and went into the city, where they found everything as Jesus had described. And they prepared the Passover.
When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. And while they were reclining and eating, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, one of you who is eating with Me will betray Me."
They began to be grieved and to ask Him one after another, "Surely not I?"
He answered, "It is one of the Twelve-the one who is dipping his hand into the bowl with Me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed! It would be better for him if he had not been born."
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, "Take it; this is My body."
Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, "This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Then Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away, for it is written:
'I will strike the Shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.'
But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."
Peter declared, "Even if all fall away, I never will."
"Truly I tell you," Jesus replied, "this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."
But Peter kept insisting, "Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You." And all the others said the same thing.
Then they came to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus told His disciples, "Sit here while I pray."
He took with Him Peter, James, and John, and began to be deeply troubled and distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch."
Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour would pass from Him. "Abba, Father," He said, "all things are possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will."
Then Jesus returned and found them sleeping. "Simon, are you asleep?" He asked. "Were you not able to keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
Again He went away and prayed, saying the same thing. And again Jesus returned and found them sleeping-for their eyes were heavy. And they did not know what to answer Him.
When Jesus returned the third time, He said, "Are you still sleeping and resting? That is enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go. See, My betrayer is approaching!"
While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, scribes, and elders.
Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The One I kiss is the man; arrest Him and lead Him away securely." Going directly to Jesus, he said, "Rabbi!" and kissed Him.
Then the men seized Jesus and arrested Him. And one of the bystanders drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
Jesus asked the crowd, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me. But this has happened that the Scriptures would be fulfilled."
Then everyone deserted Him and fled. One young man who had been following Jesus was wearing a linen cloth around his body. They caught hold of him, but he pulled free of the linen cloth and ran away naked.
They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders, and scribes assembled. Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the officers and warmed himself by the fire.
Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but they did not find any. For many bore false witness against Jesus, but their testimony was inconsistent.
Then some men stood up and testified falsely against Him: "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this man-made temple, and in three days I will build another that is made without hands.'?" But even their testimony was inconsistent.
So the high priest stood up before them and questioned Jesus, "Have You no answer? What are these men testifying against You?"
But Jesus remained silent and made no reply.
Again the high priest questioned Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"
"I am," said Jesus, "and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven."
At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, "Why do we need any more witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What is your verdict?"
And they all condemned Him as deserving of death.
Then some of them began to spit on Him. They blindfolded Him, struck Him with their fists, and said to Him, "Prophesy!" And the officers received Him with slaps in His face.
While Peter was in the courtyard below, one of the servant girls of the high priest came down and saw him warming himself there. She looked at Peter and said, "You also were with Jesus the Nazarene."
But he denied it. "I do not know or even understand what you are talking about," he said. Then he went out to the gateway, and the rooster crowed.
There the servant girl saw him and again said to those standing nearby, "This man is one of them."
But he denied it again.
After a little while, those standing nearby said once more to Peter, "Surely you are one of them, for you too are a Galilean."
But he began to curse and swear, "I do not know this man of whom you speak!" And immediately the rooster crowed a second time.
Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times." And he broke down and wept.