Judah and Tamar

¹It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and oturned aside to a certain pAdullamite, whose name was Hirah. ²There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was qShua. He took her and went in to her, ³and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name rEr. ⁴She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name rOnan. ⁵Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name rShelah. Judah1 was in Chezib when she bore him.

⁶And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. ⁷But Er, Judah's firstborn, swas wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. ⁸Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to tyour brother's wife and uperform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” ⁹But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother's wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. ¹⁰And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also. ¹¹Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, v“Remain a widow in your father's house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained win her father's house.

¹²In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua's daughter, died. When Judah xwas comforted, he went up to yTimnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. ¹³And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” ¹⁴she took off her widow's garments zand covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to aEnaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, band she had not been given to him in marriage. ¹⁵When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. ¹⁶He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” ¹⁷He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—” ¹⁸He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, c“Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹Then she arose and went away, and taking off dher veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

²⁰When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman's hand, he did not find her. ²¹And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute2 who was at eEnaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.” ²²So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here.’” ²³And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.”

²⁴About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law fhas been immoral.3 Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.”4 And Judah said, “Bring her out, and glet her be burned.” ²⁵As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, hthe signet and the cord and the staff.” ²⁶Then Judah identified them and said, i“She is more righteous than I, since jI did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.

²⁷When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. ²⁸And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” ²⁹But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called kPerez.5 ³⁰Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called kZerah.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

¹lIn those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, ²m“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. ³And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” ⁴And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” ⁵And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, n“Seven.” ⁶And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and ohaving given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. ⁷And they had a few small fish. And phaving blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. ⁸And qthey ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, nseven baskets full. ⁹And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. ¹⁰And immediately he got into rthe boat with his disciples and went to the district of sDalmanutha.1

The Pharisees Demand a Sign

¹¹tThe Pharisees came and began to argue with him, useeking from him va sign from heaven wto test him. ¹²And xhe sighed deeply yin his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” ¹³And zhe left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod

¹⁴Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; abeware of bthe leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of cHerod.”2 ¹⁶And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. ¹⁷And dJesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? eDo you not yet perceive for understand? fAre your hearts hardened? ¹⁸gHaving eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? ¹⁹When I broke hthe five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” ²⁰“And ithe seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” ²¹And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

²²And they came jto Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. ²³And khe took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when khe had lspit on his eyes and mlaid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” ²⁵Then Jesus3 laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶And he sent him to his home, saying, n“Do not even enter the village.”

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

²⁷oAnd Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸And they told him, p“John the Baptist; and others say, qElijah; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, r“You are sthe Christ.” ³⁰tAnd he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

³¹uAnd he began to teach them that vthe Son of Man must wsuffer many things and xbe rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and yafter three days rise again. ³²And he said this zplainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, a“Get behind me, Satan! For you bare not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

³⁴And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him cdeny himself and dtake up his cross and follow me. ³⁵For dwhoever would save his life4 will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake eand the gospel's will save it. ³⁶fFor what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? ³⁷For gwhat can a man give in return for his soul? ³⁸For hwhoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this iadulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed jwhen he comes in the glory of his Father with kthe holy angels.”

Eliphaz Speaks: The Innocent Prosper

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

²“If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?

Yet who can keep from speaking?

³Behold, you have instructed many,

and you have astrengthened the weak hands.

⁴Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,

and you have amade firm the feeble knees.

⁵But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;

it touches you, and you are dismayed.

⁶bIs not your fear of God1 your cconfidence,

and the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷“Remember: dwho that was innocent ever perished?

Or where were the upright cut off?

⁸As I have seen, those who eplow iniquity

and sow trouble reap the same.

⁹By fthe breath of God they perish,

and by gthe blast of his anger they are consumed.

¹⁰The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,

hthe teeth of the young lions are broken.

¹¹The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,

and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

¹²“Now a word was brought to me stealthily;

my ear received ithe whisper of it.

¹³Amid jthoughts from kvisions of the night,

when kdeep sleep falls on men,

¹⁴dread came upon me, and trembling,

which made all my bones shake.

¹⁵A spirit glided past my face;

the hair of my flesh stood up.

¹⁶It stood still,

but I could not discern its appearance.

lA form was before my eyes;

there was silence, then I heard ma voice:

¹⁷n‘Can mortal man be in the right before2 God?

Can a man be pure before his Maker?

¹⁸Even in his servants ohe puts no trust,

and his angels he charges with error;

¹⁹how much more those who dwell in houses of pclay,

whose foundation is in qthe dust,

who are crushed like3 rthe moth.

²⁰Between smorning and evening they are beaten to pieces;

they perish forever twithout anyone regarding it.

²¹Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,

udo they not die, and that without wisdom?’

Life in the Spirit

¹There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.1 ²For the law of hthe Spirit of life ihas set you2 free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. ³For jGod has done what the law, kweakened by the flesh, lcould not do. mBy sending his own Son nin the likeness of sinful flesh and ofor sin,3 he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴in order that pthe righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, qwho walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵For rthose who live according to the flesh set their minds on sthe things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on tthe things of the Spirit. ⁶For to set uthe mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷For the mind that is set on the flesh is vhostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; windeed, it cannot. ⁸Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact xthe Spirit of God dwells in you. yAnyone who does not have zthe Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹If the Spirit of ahim who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus4 from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies bthrough his Spirit who dwells in you.

Heirs with Christ

¹²So then, brothers,5 we are debtors, cnot to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you dput to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴For all who are eled by the Spirit of God are fsons6 of God. ¹⁵For gyou did not receive hthe spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of iadoption as sons, by whom we cry, j“Abba! Father!” ¹⁶kThe Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then lheirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, mprovided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Future Glory

¹⁸For I consider that the sufferings of this present time nare not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for othe revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰For the creation pwas subjected to futility, not willingly, but qbecause of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹that rthe creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²²For we know that sthe whole creation thas been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ²³And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have uthe firstfruits of the Spirit, vgroan inwardly as wwe wait eagerly for adoption as sons, xthe redemption of our bodies. ²⁴For yin this hope we were saved. Now zhope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we await for it with patience.

²⁶Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For bwe do not know what to pray for as we ought, but cthe Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ²⁷And dhe who searches hearts knows what is ethe mind of the Spirit, because7 the Spirit fintercedes for the saints gaccording to the will of God. ²⁸And we know that for those who love God all things work together hfor good,8 for ithose who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹For those whom he jforeknew he also kpredestined lto be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be mthe firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also njustified, and those whom he justified he also oglorified.

God's Everlasting Love

³¹What then shall we say to these things? pIf God is for us, who can be9 against us? ³²qHe who did not spare his own Son but rgave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? sIt is God who justifies. ³⁴tWho is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—uwho is at the right hand of God, vwho indeed is interceding for us.10 ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶As it is written,

w“For your sake xwe are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷No, in all these things we are more than yconquerors through zhim who loved us. ³⁸For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.