Genesis 25–26
1 Then Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 And she bore to him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites, and the Leummites. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
5 Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. 6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living, he sent them away from his son Isaac eastward to the east country.
7 These are the years of Abraham’s life that he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10 the field that Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac lived at Beer Lahai Roi.
12 These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham.
13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth, and then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their peoples. 17 These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died; and he was gathered to his people. 18 They lived from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt, as you go toward Assyria. He died in the presence of all his relatives.
19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son.
Abraham was the father of Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as his wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Paddan Aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her, and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.
23 Then the Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from your body;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
24 Now when the time of her delivery came, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red all over, like a hairy garment, and they called his name Esau. 26 After that his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
27 So the boys grew. Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a calm man, living in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field and he was famished. 30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me some of that red stew, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom.
31 Then Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.”
32 Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; of what use is the birthright to me?”
33 Then Jacob said, “Swear to me this day.” So he swore to him, and he sold his birthright to Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew. Then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way.
Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Chapter 26
1 There was a famine in the land, in addition to the first famine that was during the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land of which I will tell you. 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you; for I will give to you and all your descendants all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of the heavens and will give your descendants all these lands. By your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” 6 So Isaac lived in Gerar.
7 The men of the place asked him about his wife. And he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” thinking, “The men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful in appearance.”
8 When he had been there a long time, Abimelek the king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah his wife. 9 Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is surely your wife, so how is it you said, ‘She is my sister’?”
Then Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘I might die on account of her.’”
10 Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might have easily lain with your wife, and you might have brought guilt upon us!”
11 Abimelek charged all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; the Lord blessed him. 13 The man became rich and continued to prosper until he became very wealthy. 14 For he had possessions of flocks and herds and a great number of servants so that the Philistines envied him. 15 For the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father by filling them with dirt.
16 Abimelek said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much more powerful than we are.”
17 So Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called their names after the names his father had called them.
19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of running water there, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar contended with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. 21 They dug another well and quarreled over that also. So he called the name of it Sitnah. 22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called the name of it Rehoboth, for he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”
23 He went up from there to Beersheba. 24 The Lord appeared to him that same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.”
25 He built an altar there, called on the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
26 Then Abimelek went to him from Gerar, along with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phicol the commander of his army. 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”
28 And they said, “We saw plainly that the Lord was with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, 29 so that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you, and have done you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’”
30 Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 They rose up early in the morning and swore an oath with one another. Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
32 That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 And he called it Shibah. Therefore, the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.
34 Esau was forty years old when he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35 and they brought grief to Isaac and to Rebekah.
Matthew 8:1–17
1 When He came down from the mountains, large crowds followed Him. 2 And then a leper came and worshipped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
3 Jesus reached out His hand and touched him, saying, “I will. Be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one. But go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded as a testimony to them.”
5 And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, entreating Him, 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home, sick with paralysis, terribly tormented.”
7 Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But speak the word only, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this man, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard it, He was amazed and said to those who followed, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, no, not in Israel. 11 And I say to you that many will come from the east and west and will dine with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way. And as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that very moment.
14 When Jesus entered Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother, lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she rose and served them.
16 When the evening came, they brought to Him many who were possessed with demons. And He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all who were sick, 17 to fulfill what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet,
“He Himself took our infirmities
and bore our sicknesses.”