Sarah’s Death and Burial

23 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. ² So Sarah died in ^(A)Kirjath Arba (that is, ^(B)Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

³ Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of ^(C)Heth, saying, ^4 (D)“I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. ^(E)Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

⁵ And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, ⁶ “Hear us, my lord: You are ^(F)a ^[a]mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.”

⁷ Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. ⁸ And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and ^[b]meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, ⁹ that he may give me the cave of ^(G)Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.”

¹⁰ Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who ^(H)entered at the gate of his city, saying, ^11 (I)“No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!”

¹² Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; ¹³ and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.”

¹⁴ And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, ¹⁵ “My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred ^(J)shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.” ¹⁶ And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham ^(K)weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.

¹⁷ So ^(L)the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded ¹⁸ to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.

¹⁹ And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ So the field and the cave that is in it ^(M)were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.

A Bride for Isaac

24 Now Abraham ^(N)was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord ^(O)had blessed Abraham in all things. ² So Abraham said ^(P)to the oldest servant of his house, who ^(Q)ruled over all that he had, “Please, ^(R)put your hand under my thigh, ³ and I will make you ^(S)swear^[c] by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that ^(T)you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; ^4 (U)but you shall go ^(V)to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

⁵ And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?”

⁶ But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. ⁷ The Lord God of heaven, who ^(W)took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ^(X)‘To your ^[d]descendants I give this land,’ ^(Y)He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. ⁸ And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then ^(Z)you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, ^(AA)for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to ^(AB)the city of Nahor. ¹¹ And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time ^(AC)when women go out to draw water. ¹² Then he ^(AD)said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please ^(AE)give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, here ^(AF)I stand by the well of water, and ^(AG)the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And ^(AH)by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

¹⁵ And it happened, ^(AI)before he had finished speaking, that behold, ^(AJ)Rebekah,^[e] who was born to Bethuel, son of ^(AK)Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. ¹⁶ Now the young woman ^(AL)was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. ¹⁷ And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”

^18 (AM)So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” ²⁰ Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. ²¹ And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether ^(AN)the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

²² So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden ^(AO)nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, ²³ and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us ^[f]to lodge?”

²⁴ So she said to him, ^(AP)“I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.”

²⁶ Then the man ^(AQ)bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ And he said, ^(AR)“Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken ^(AS)His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord ^(AT)led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” ²⁸ So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things.

²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was ^(AU)Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. ³⁰ So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. ³¹ And he said, “Come in, ^(AV)O blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.”

³² Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and ^(AW)provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to ^(AX)wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. ³³ Food was set before him to eat, but he said, ^(AY)“I will not eat until I have told about my errand.”

And he said, “Speak on.”

³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord ^(AZ)has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ And Sarah my master’s wife ^(BA)bore a son to my master when she was old; and ^(BB)to him he has given all that he has. ³⁷ Now my master ^(BC)made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; ^38 (BD)but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’ ^39 (BE)And I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ ^40 (BF)But he said to me, ‘The Lord, ^(BG)before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and ^[g]prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house. ^41 (BH)You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family; for if they will not give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’

⁴² “And this day I came to the well and said, ^(BI)‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go, ^43 (BJ)behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,” ⁴⁴ and she says to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’

^45 (BK)“But before I had finished ^(BL)speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah, coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ ⁴⁶ And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also. ⁴⁷ Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. ^48 (BM)And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to ^(BN)take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ Now if you will ^(BO)deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”

⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, ^(BP)“The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot ^(BQ)speak to you either bad or good. ^51 (BR)Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken.”

⁵² And it came to pass, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, that ^(BS)he worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. ⁵³ Then the servant brought out ^(BT)jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave ^(BU)precious things to her brother and to her mother.

⁵⁴ And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night. Then they arose in the morning, and he said, ^(BV)“Send me away to my master.”

⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, at least ten; after that she may go.”

⁵⁶ And he said to them, “Do not ^[h]hinder me, since the Lord has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.”

⁵⁷ So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.” ⁵⁸ Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”

And she said, “I will go.”

⁵⁹ So they sent away Rebekah their sister ^(BW)and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah and said to her:

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

⁶² Now Isaac came from the way of ^(BZ)Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South. ⁶³ And Isaac went out ^(CA)to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. ⁶⁴ Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac ^(CB)she dismounted from her camel; ⁶⁵ for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?”

The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself.

⁶⁶ And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he ^(CC)took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac ^(CD)was comforted after his mother’s death.

Sending Out the Twelve^(A)

9 Then ^(B)He called His twelve disciples together and ^(C)gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. ^2 (D)He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ^3 (E)And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.

^4 (F)“Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. ^5 (G)And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, ^(H)shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

^6 (I)So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Herod Seeks to See Jesus^(J)

^7 (K)Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, ⁸ and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. ⁹ Herod said, “John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?” ^(L)So he sought to see Him.

Feeding the Five Thousand^(M)

^10 (N)And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. ^(O)Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. ¹¹ But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. ^12 (P)When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.”

¹³ But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.”

And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ For there were about five thousand men.

Then He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.” ¹⁵ And they did so, and made them all sit down.

¹⁶ Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He ^(Q)blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. ¹⁷ So they all ate and were ^[a]filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ^(R)

^18 (S)And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

¹⁹ So they answered and said, ^(T)“John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.”

²⁰ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

^(U)Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection^(V)

^21 (W)And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, ²² saying, ^(X)“The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

Take Up the Cross and Follow Him^(Y)

^23 (Z)Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross ^[b]daily, and follow Me. ^24 (AA)For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. ^25 (AB)For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? ^26 (AC)For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ^(AD)ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. ^27 (AE)But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus Transfigured on the Mount^(AF)

^28 (AG)Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹ As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. ³⁰ And behold, two men talked with Him, who were ^(AH)Moses and ^(AI)Elijah, ³¹ who appeared in glory and spoke of His ^[c]decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³² But Peter and those with him ^(AJ)were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. ³³ Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three ^[d]tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.

³⁴ While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the ^(AK)cloud. ³⁵ And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ^(AL)“This is ^[e]My beloved Son. ^(AM)Hear Him!” ³⁶ When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. ^(AN)But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

A Boy Is Healed^(AO)

^37 (AP)Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him. ³⁸ Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, “Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. ³⁹ And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. ⁴⁰ So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”

⁴¹ Then Jesus answered and said, “O ^[f]faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and ^[g]bear with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.

Jesus Again Predicts His Death^(AQ)

⁴³ And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.

But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, ^44 (AR)“Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” ^45 (AS)But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.

Who Is the Greatest?^(AT)

^46 (AU)Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. ⁴⁷ And Jesus, ^(AV)perceiving the thought of their heart, took a ^(AW)little child and set him by Him, ⁴⁸ and said to them, ^(AX)“Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and ^(AY)whoever receives Me ^(AZ)receives Him who sent Me. ^(BA)For he who is least among you all will be great.”

Jesus Forbids Sectarianism^(BB)

^49 (BC)Now John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.”

⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him, for ^(BD)he who is not against ^[h]us is on ^[i]our side.”

A Samaritan Village Rejects the Savior

⁵¹ Now it came to pass, when the time had come for ^(BE)Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, ⁵² and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. ⁵³ But ^(BF)they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And when His disciples ^(BG)James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, ^[j]just as ^(BH)Elijah did?”

⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them, ^[k]and said, “You do not know what manner of ^(BI)spirit you are of. ^56 [l]For ^(BJ)the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

The Cost of Discipleship^(BK)

^57 (BL)Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”

⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man ^(BM)has nowhere to lay His head.”

^59 (BN)Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”

But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹ And another also said, “Lord, ^(BO)I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”

⁶² But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is ^(BP)fit for the kingdom of God.”