Now Abraham was old, advanced in age, and Yahweh had blessed Abraham in everything. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all he had, "Please put your hand under my thigh that I may make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose midst I am dwelling, but that you will go to my land and to my family, and take a wife for my son, for Isaac." And the servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land—must I then return your son to the land from whence you came?" Abraham said to him, "You must take care that you do not return my son there. Yahweh, the God of heaven who took me from the house of my father and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘to your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you shall be released from this oath of mine—only you must not return my son there." Then the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and he swore to him concerning this matter. And the servant took ten camels from his master’s camels, and he went with all kinds of his master’s good things in his hand. And he arose and went to Aram-Naharaim, to the city of Nahor. And he made the camels kneel outside the city at the well of water, at the time of evening, toward the time the women went out to draw water. And he said, "O Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show loyal love to my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are going out to draw water. And let it be that the girl to whom I shall say, ‘Please, offer your jar that I may drink’ and who says, ‘Drink—and I will also water your camels,’ she is the one you have chosen for your servant, for Isaac. By her I will know that you have shown loyal love to my master." And it happened that before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah—who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham—came out, and her jar was on her shoulder. Now the girl was very pleasing in appearance. She was a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her. And he said, "Please, let me drink a little of the water from your jar." And she said, "Drink, my lord." And she quickly lowered her jar in her hand and gave him a drink. When she finished giving him a drink she said, "I will also draw water for your camels until they finish drinking." And she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water. And she drew water for all his camels. And the man was gazing at her silently to know if Yahweh had made his journey successful or not. And it happened that as the camels finished drinking the man took a gold ring of a half shekel in weight and two bracelets for her arms, ten shekels in weight, and said, "Please tell me, whose daughter are you? Is there a place at the house of your father for us to spend the night?" And she said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor." Then she said to him, "We have both straw and fodder in abundance, as well as a place to spend the night." And the man knelt down and worshiped Yahweh. And he said, "Blessed be Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld his loyal love and his faithfulness from my master. I was on the way and Yahweh led me to the house of my master’s brother." Then the girl ran and reported these things to the household of her mother.

Now Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban. And Laban ran out to the man toward the spring. And when he saw the ring and the bracelets on the arms of his sister and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, who said, "Thus the man spoke to me," he went to the man. And behold, he was standing with the camels at the spring. And he said, "Come, O blessed one of Yahweh. Why do you stand outside? Now I have prepared the house and a place for the camels." And the man came to the house and unloaded the camels. And he gave straw and fodder to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. And food was placed before him to eat. And he said, "I will not eat until I have told my errand." And he said, "Speak." And he said, "I am the servant of Abraham. Now Yahweh has blessed my master exceedingly, and he has become great. He has given to him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male slaves and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. And Sarah, the wife of my master, has borne a son to my master after her old age. And he has given to him all that he has. And my master made me swear, saying, ‘Do not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I am living. But you shall go to the house of my father, and to my family, and you shall take a wife for my son.’ And I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ And he said to me, ‘Yahweh, before whom I have walked, shall send his angel with you and will make your journey successful. And you shall take a wife for my son from my family, and from the house of my father. Then you shall be released from my oath, when you come to my family. And if they will not give a woman to you, then you will be released from my oath.’ Then today I came to the spring, and I said, ‘O Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, if you would please make my journey successful, upon which I am going. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let it be that the young woman who comes out to draw water and to whom I say, "Please give me a little water to drink from your jar," let her say to me, "Drink; I will also draw water for your camels," she is the woman whom Yahweh has appointed for the son of my master.’ I had not yet finished speaking to myself when, behold, Rebekah was coming out with her jar on her shoulder. And she went down to the spring and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ And she hastened and let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will give a drink to your camels also.’ Then I drank and she gave a drink to the camels also. Then I asked her and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ And I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms. And I knelt down and worshiped Yahweh, and I praised Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right way, to take the daughter of the brother of my master for his son. So now, if you are going to deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, so that I may turn to the right or to the left." Then Laban and Bethuel answered, and they said, "The matter has gone out from Yahweh; we are not able to speak bad or good to you. Here is Rebekah before you. Take her and go; let her be a wife for the son of your master as Yahweh has spoken." And it happened that when the servant of Abraham heard their words he bowed down to the ground to Yahweh. And the servant brought out silver jewelry and gold jewelry, and garments, and he gave them to Rebekah. And he gave precious gifts to her brother and to her mother. And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night. And they got up in the morning, and he said, "Let me go to my master." And her brother and her mother said, "Let the girl remain with us ten days or so; after that she may go." And he said to them, "Do not delay me. Now, Yahweh has made my journey successful. Let me go. I must go to my master." And they said, "Let us call the girl and ask her opinion." And they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" And she said, "I will go." So they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and the servant of Abraham and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "You are our sister; may you become countless thousands; and may your offspring take possession of the gate of his enemies." And Rebekah and her maidservants arose, and they mounted the camels and followed the man. And the servant took Rebekah and left.

Now Isaac was coming from the direction of Beer-Lahai-Roi. And he was living in the land of the Negev. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field early in the evening, and he lifted up his eyes and saw—behold, camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac. And she got down from the camel. And she said to the servant, "Who is this man walking around in the field to meet us?" And the servant said, "That is my master." And she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. And Isaac brought her to the tent of Sarah his mother. And he took Rebekah, and she became his wife. And Isaac loved her and was comforted after the death of his mother.

Now Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bore to him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim and Letushim and Leummim. And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All of these were the children of Keturah. And Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. But to the sons of Abraham’s concubines Abraham gave gifts. And while he was still living he sent them away eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the east. Now these are the days of the years of the life of Abraham: one hundred and seventy-five years. And Abraham passed away and died in a good old age, old and full of years. And he was gathered to his people. And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, son of Zohar the Hittite, that was east of Mamre, the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried and Sarah his wife. And it happened that after the death of Abraham God blessed Isaac his son, and Isaac settled at Beer-Lahai-Roi.

Now these are the generations of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, that Hagar the Egyptian, the maidservant of Sarah, bore to Abraham. And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names according to their family records. The firstborn of Ishmael was Nebaioth, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their villages and by their encampments—12 leaders according to their tribes. Now these are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. And he passed away and died, and was gathered to his people. They settled from Havilah to Shur, which was opposite Egypt, going toward Asshur, opposite; he settled opposite all his brothers.

Now these are the generations of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac, And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-Aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, as his wife. And Isaac prayed to Yahweh on behalf of his wife, for she was barren. And Yahweh responded to his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children in her womb jostled each other, and she said, "If it is going to be like this, why be pregnant?" And she went to inquire of Yahweh. And Yahweh said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from birth shall be divided. And one people shall be stronger than the other. And the elder shall serve the younger." And when her days to give birth were completed, then—behold—twins were in her womb. And the first came out red, all his body was like a hairy coat, so they called his name Esau. And afterward his brother came out, and his hand grasped the heel of Esau, so his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old at their birth. And the boys grew up. And Esau was a skilled hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he could eat of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Once Jacob cooked a thick stew, and Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, "Give me some of that red stuff to gulp down, for I am exhausted!" (Therefore his name was called Edom). Then Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright first." And Esau said, "Look, I am going to die; now what is this birthright to me?" Then Jacob said, "Swear to me first." And he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread, and thick lentil stew, and he ate and drank. Then he got up and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.

For the music director; with stringed instruments. A psalm of David.

And he said to them, "Truly I say to you, that there are some of those standing here who will never experience death until they see the kingdom of God having come with power."

And after six days, Jesus took along Peter and James and John, and led them to a high mountain by themselves alone. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothing became radiant—extremely white, like no cloth refiner on earth can make so white. And Elijah appeared to them together with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good that we are here! And let us make three shelters, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." (For he did not know what he should answer, because they were terrified.) And a cloud came, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!" And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus alone.

And as they were coming down from the mountain, he ordered them that they should tell no one the things that they had seen, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. And they kept the matter to themselves, discussing what this rising from the dead meant. And they asked him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" And he said to them, "Elijah indeed does come first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that indeed Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him."

And when they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. And immediately the whole crowd, when they saw him, were amazed, and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, "What are you arguing about with them?" And one individual from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought to you my son who has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes paralyzed. And I told your disciples that they should expel it, and they were not able to do so. And he answered them and said, "O unbelieving generation! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me!" And they brought him to him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately convulsed him, and falling on the ground, he began to roll around, foaming at the mouth. And he asked his father how long it was since this had been happening to him. And he said, "From childhood. And often it has thrown him both into fire and into water, in order that it could destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have compassion on us and help us!" But Jesus said to him, "If you are able! All things are possible for the one who believes!" Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe! Help my unbelief!" Now when Jesus saw that a crowd was running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "Mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and enter into him no more!" And it came out, screaming and convulsing him greatly, and he became as if he were dead, so that most of them said, "He has died!" But Jesus took hold of his hand and raised him up, and he stood up. And after he had entered into the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why were we not able to expel it?" And he said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing except by prayer."

And from there they went out and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples and was telling them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise." But they did not understand the statement, and they were afraid to ask him.

And they came to Capernaum. And after he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" But they were silent, because they had argued with one another on the way about who was greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he will be last of all and servant of all." And he took a young child and had him stand among them. And taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of the young children such as these in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but the one who sent me."

John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone expelling demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not prevent him, because there is no one who does a miracle in my name and will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name because you are Christ’s, truly I say to you that he will never lose his reward.

"And whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it is better for him if instead a large millstone is placed around his neck and he is thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than, having two hands, to go into hell—into the unquenchable fire! And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life lame than, having two feet, to be thrown into hell! And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than, having two eyes, to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not extinguished.’ For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt becomes deprived of its salt content, by what can you make it salty? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another."