Jacob Blesses His Sons

¹wThen Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you xin days to come.

²“Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob,

listen to Israel your father.

³“Reuben, you are ymy firstborn,

my might, and the zfirstfruits of my strength,

preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.

⁴Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,

because you awent up to your father's bed;

then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!

⁵b“Simeon and Levi are brothers;

weapons cof violence are their swords.

⁶Let my soul come not into their council;

dO my glory, ebe not joined to their company.

For in their anger they killed men,

and in their willfulness they fhamstrung oxen.

⁷Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,

and their wrath, for it is cruel!

I will gdivide them in Jacob

and scatter them in Israel.

⁸“Judah, hyour brothers shall praise you;

iyour hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;

jyour father's sons shall bow down before you.

⁹Judah is ka lion's cub;

from the prey, my son, you have gone up.

lHe stooped down; he crouched as a lion

and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?

¹⁰The mscepter shall not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler's staff nfrom between his feet,

until tribute comes to him;1

and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

¹¹Binding his foal to the vine

and his donkey's colt to the choice vine,

he has washed his garments in wine

and his vesture in the blood of grapes.

¹²His oeyes are darker than wine,

and his teeth whiter than milk.

¹³p“Zebulun shall dwell at the qshore of the sea;

he shall become a haven for ships,

and his border shall be at Sidon.

¹⁴r“Issachar is a strong donkey,

crouching between the sheepfolds.2

¹⁵He saw that a resting place was good,

and that the land was pleasant,

so he bowed his shoulder to bear,

and sbecame a servant at forced labor.

¹⁶t“Dan shall ujudge his people

as one of the tribes of Israel.

¹⁷Dan vshall be a serpent in the way,

a viper by the path,

that bites the horse's heels

so that his rider falls backward.

¹⁸I wwait for your salvation, O Lord.

¹⁹x“Raiders shall raid yGad,3

but he shall raid at their heels.

²⁰z“Asher's food shall be rich,

and he shall yield royal delicacies.

²¹a“Naphtali is a doe let loose

that bears beautiful fawns.4

²²“Joseph is ba fruitful bough,

a fruitful bough by a spring;

his branches run over the wall.5

²³The archers cbitterly attacked him,

shot at him, and harassed him severely,

²⁴yet dhis bow remained unmoved;

his arms6 were made agile

by the hands of the eMighty One of Jacob

(from there is fthe Shepherd,7 gthe Stone of Israel),

²⁵hby the God of your father who will help you,

by ithe Almighty8 jwho will bless you

with blessings of heaven above,

blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,

blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

²⁶The blessings of your father

are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents,

up to the bounties kof the everlasting hills.9

May they be lon the head of Joseph,

and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.

²⁷m“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,

in the morning devouring the prey

and at evening ndividing the spoil.”

Jacob's Death and Burial

²⁸All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. ²⁹Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am to be ogathered to my people; pbury me with my fathers qin the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, rwhich Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. ³¹sThere they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There tthey buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— ³²the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.” ³³When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and uwas gathered to his people.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

¹In those days la decree went out from mCaesar Augustus that all the world should be nregistered. ²This was the first nregistration when1 Quirinius owas governor of Syria. ³And all went to be registered, each to his own town. ⁴And Joseph also went up pfrom Galilee, from the town of qNazareth, to Judea, to rthe city of David, which is called sBethlehem, tbecause he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,2 who was with child. ⁶And twhile they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn son and uwrapped him in swaddling cloths and vlaid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in wthe inn.3

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And an angel of the Lord xappeared to them, and ythe glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all zthe people. ¹¹For aunto you is born this day in bthe city of David ca Savior, who is dChrist ethe Lord. ¹²And fthis will be a sign for you: you will find a baby gwrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel ha multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁴i“Glory to God jin the highest,

jand on earth kpeace lamong those with whom he is pleased!”4

¹⁵When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby mlying in a manger. ¹⁷And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹But nMary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰And the shepherds returned, oglorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

²¹And pat the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, qhe was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

²²And rwhen the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem sto present him to the Lord ²³(as it is written in tthe Law of the Lord, u“Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) ²⁴and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in tthe Law of the Lord, v“a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” ²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was wrighteous and xdevout, ywaiting for zthe consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not asee death before he had seen bthe Lord's Christ. ²⁷And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when cthe parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸he took him up in his arms and dblessed God and said,

²⁹“Lord, now you are letting your servant5 depart ein peace,

faccording to your word;

³⁰for gmy eyes have seen your hsalvation

³¹ithat you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

³²ja light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and kfor glory to lyour people Israel.”

³³And mhis father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed nfor the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign othat is opposed ³⁵(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶And there was pa prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, ³⁷and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.6 She did not depart from the temple, qworshiping with rfasting and prayer night and day. ³⁸And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were swaiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

The Return to Nazareth

³⁹And when they had performed everything according to tthe Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of uNazareth. ⁴⁰vAnd the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

The Boy Jesus in the Temple

⁴¹Now whis parents went xto Jerusalem every year at ythe Feast of the Passover. ⁴²And when he was twelve years old, zthey went up according to custom. ⁴³And when the feast awas ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. wHis parents did not know it, ⁴⁴but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, ⁴⁵and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. ⁴⁶After three days they found him in the temple, bsitting among cthe teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸And when his parents7 saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, dyour father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” ⁴⁹And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that eI must be in fmy Father's house?”8 ⁵⁰And gthey did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. ⁵¹And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And hhis mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

⁵²And Jesus iincreased in wisdom and in stature9 and in ifavor with God and man.

Eliphaz Accuses: Job Does Not Fear God

¹Then qEliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

²“Should ra wise man answer with swindy knowledge,

and fill his tbelly with uthe east wind?

³Should he argue in unprofitable talk,

or in words with which he can do no good?

⁴But you are doing away with the fear of God1

and hindering meditation before God.

⁵For your iniquity teaches your mouth,

and you choose the tongue of the crafty.

⁶Your vown mouth condemns you, and not I;

wyour own lips testify against you.

⁷x“Are you the first man who was born?

Or ywere you brought forth zbefore the hills?

⁸Have you listened in athe council of God?

And do you limit wisdom to yourself?

⁹bWhat do you know that we do not know?

What do you understand that is not clear to us?

¹⁰cBoth the gray-haired and the aged are among us,

older than your father.

¹¹Are the comforts of God too small for you,

or the word that deals gently with you?

¹²Why does your heart carry you away,

and why do your eyes flash,

¹³that you turn your dspirit against God

and bring such words out of your mouth?

¹⁴eWhat is man, fthat he can be pure?

Or he who is gborn of a woman, that he can be righteous?

¹⁵Behold, God2 hputs no trust in his iholy ones,

and the heavens are not pure in his sight;

¹⁶jhow much less one who is abominable and kcorrupt,

a man who ldrinks injustice like water!

¹⁷“I will show you; hear me,

and what I have seen I will declare

¹⁸(what wise men have told,

without hiding it mfrom their fathers,

¹⁹to whom alone the land was given,

and no nstranger passed among them).

²⁰The wicked man writhes in pain all his days,

through all the oyears that are laid up for pthe ruthless.

²¹qDreadful sounds are in his ears;

in rprosperity the destroyer will come upon him.

²²He does not believe that he will return out of darkness,

and he is marked for the sword.

²³He swanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’

He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand;

²⁴distress and anguish terrify him;

they tprevail against him, like a king ready for battle.

²⁵Because he has stretched out his hand against God

and defies the Almighty,

²⁶urunning vstubbornly against him

with a thickly bossed shield;

²⁷because he has wcovered his face with his fat

and gathered fat upon his waist

²⁸and has lived in desolate cities,

in houses that none should inhabit,

which were ready to become heaps of ruins;

²⁹he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure,

nor will his possessions spread over the earth;3

³⁰he will not depart from darkness;

the flame will dry up his shoots,

and by xthe breath of his mouth he will depart.

³¹Let him not ytrust in emptiness, deceiving himself,

for emptiness will be his payment.

³²It will be paid in full zbefore his time,

and his branch will not be green.

³³He will shake off his unripe grape like the vine,

and cast off his blossom like the olive tree.

³⁴For athe company of the godless is barren,

and bfire consumes the tents of bribery.

³⁵They cconceive trouble and give birth to evil,

and their dwomb prepares deceit.”

Divisions in the Church

¹But I, brothers,1 could not address you as aspiritual people, but as bpeople of the flesh, as cinfants in Christ. ²dI fed you with milk, not solid food, for eyou were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, ³for you are still of the flesh. For while there is fjealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? ⁴For gwhen one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” hare you not being merely human?

⁵What then is Apollos? What is Paul? iServants through whom you believed, jas the Lord assigned to each. ⁶kI planted, lApollos watered, mbut God gave the growth. ⁷So nneither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸He who plants and he who waters are one, and each owill receive his wages according to his labor. ⁹For we are pGod's fellow workers. You are God's field, qGod's building.

¹⁰rAccording to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled2 master builder I laid a sfoundation, and tsomeone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. ¹¹For no one can lay a ufoundation other vthan that which is laid, wwhich is Jesus Christ. ¹²Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ¹³xeach one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed yby fire, and zthe fire will test what sort of work each one has done. ¹⁴If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, ahe will receive a reward. ¹⁵If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, bbut only as through fire.

¹⁶cDo you not know that you3 are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? ¹⁷If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For dGod's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

¹⁸eLet no one deceive himself. fIf anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹For gthe wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, h“He catches the wise in their craftiness,” ²⁰and again, i“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” ²¹So jlet no one boast in men. For kall things are yours, ²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, ²³and lyou are Christ's, and mChrist is God's.