Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

¹Then Jacob went on his journey and came to kthe land of the people of the east. ²As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well's mouth was large, ³and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.

⁴Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, l“We are from Haran.” ⁵He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.” ⁶He said to them, “Is it well with him?” They said, “It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!” ⁷He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them.” ⁸But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

⁹While he was still speaking with them, mRachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. ¹⁰Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. ¹¹Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. ¹²And Jacob told Rachel that he was nher father's kinsman, and that he was Rebekah's son, oand she ran and told her father.

¹³As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, ohe ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, ¹⁴and Laban said to him, p“Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.

¹⁵Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” ¹⁶Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷Leah's eyes were weak,1 but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. ¹⁸Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, q“I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” ¹⁹Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” ²⁰So Jacob qserved seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

²¹Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” ²²So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and rmade a feast. ²³But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. ²⁴(Laban gave2 shis female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) ²⁵And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” ²⁶Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. ²⁷tComplete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” ²⁸Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ²⁹(Laban gave uhis female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) ³⁰So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban vfor another seven years.

Jacob's Children

³¹When the Lord saw that Leah was whated, xhe opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. ³²And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben,3 for she said, “Because the Lord yhas looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” ³³She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.4 ³⁴Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be zattached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.5 ³⁵And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name aJudah.6 Then she ceased bearing.

The Resurrection

¹mNow after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and nthe other Mary went to see the tomb. ²And behold, there was a great earthquake, for oan angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³pHis appearance was like lightning, and qhis clothing white as snow. ⁴And for fear of him the guards trembled and rbecame like dead men. ⁵But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶He is not here, for he has risen, sas he said. Come, see the place where he1 lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, the is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” ⁸So they departed quickly from the tomb uwith fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹And behold, Jesus vmet them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and wtook hold of his feet and xworshiped him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; ygo and tell zmy brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The Report of the Guard

¹¹While they were going, behold, some of athe guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. ¹²And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers ¹³and said, “Tell people, b‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴And if this comes to cthe governor's ears, we will dsatisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews eto this day.

The Great Commission

¹⁶Now the eleven disciples fwent to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷And when they saw him they gworshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, h“All authority iin heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹jGo therefore and kmake disciples of lall nations, jbaptizing them min2 nthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them oto observe all that pI have commanded you. And behold, qI am with you always, to rthe end of the age.”

Esther Prepares a Banquet

¹yOn the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in zthe inner court of the king's palace, in front of the king's quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. ²And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, ashe won favor in his sight, band he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. ³And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even cto the half of my kingdom.” ⁴And Esther said, “If it please the king,1 let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.” ⁵Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther has asked.” So the king and Haman came to the feast that Esther had prepared. ⁶dAnd as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king said to Esther, e“What is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? cEven to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”2 ⁷Then Esther answered, “My wish and my request is: ⁸fIf I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king3 to grant my wish and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to gthe feast that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.”

Haman Plans to Hang Mordecai

⁹And Haman went out that day hjoyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai iin the king's gate, jthat he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. ¹⁰Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and khis wife Zeresh. ¹¹And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, lthe number of his sons, all the promotions with which mthe king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. ¹²Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king. ¹³Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting iat the king's gate.” ¹⁴Then khis wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, n“Let a gallows4 fifty cubits5 high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.

Paul on Malta

¹After we were brought safely through, lwe then learned that mthe island was called Malta. ²nThe native people1 showed us unusual okindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. ³When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. ⁴When pthe native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, q“No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, rJustice2 has not allowed him to live.” ⁵He, however, sshook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. ⁶They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, tthey changed their minds and usaid that he was a god.

⁷Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. ⁸It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and vprayed, and wputting his hands on him, healed him. ⁹And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. ¹⁰They also honored us greatly,3 and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

Paul Arrives at Rome

¹¹After three months we set sail in xa ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods4 as a figurehead. ¹²Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. ¹³And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. ¹⁴There we found ybrothers5 and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵And ythe brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, zPaul thanked God and took courage. ¹⁶And when we came into Rome, aPaul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.

Paul in Rome

¹⁷After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, bthough I had done nothing against our people or cthe customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. ¹⁸When they had examined me, they dwished to set me at liberty, ebecause there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. ¹⁹But because the Jews objected, I was compelled fto appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against gmy nation. ²⁰For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is hbecause of ithe hope of Israel that I am wearing jthis kchain.” ²¹And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of lthe brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. ²²But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this msect we know that everywhere nit is spoken against.”

²³When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening ohe expounded to them, testifying to pthe kingdom of God and qtrying to convince them about Jesus rboth from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. ²⁴And ssome were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. ²⁵And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: t“The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁶u“‘Go to this people, and say,

v“You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

²⁷wFor this people's heart has grown dull,

and with their ears they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed;

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and xturn, and I would heal them.’

²⁸Therefore let it be known to you that ythis zsalvation of God ahas been sent to the Gentiles; bthey will listen.”6

³⁰He lived there two whole years at his own expense,7 and cwelcomed all who came to him, ³¹dproclaiming ethe kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ fwith all boldness and gwithout hindrance.