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17 So Isaac moved away from that place. He put his tents in the Valley of Gerar and he stayed there. 18 Isaac dug the dirt out of the wells that Abraham had dug. After Abraham died the Philistines had filled them with dirt. Isaac gave these wells the same names as his father had given them.
19 Isaac's servants went to dig in the valley. They found another well there. It was full of fresh water. 20 But the shepherds of Gerar quarrelled with Isaac's shepherds. They said, ‘The water belongs to us!’ So Isaac called that well Esek, because they quarrelled with him there.[a]
21 So Isaac's servants dug another well. But the shepherds of Gerar quarrelled about that one too. Isaac called that well Sitnah.[b]
22 Isaac moved away from Sitnah and he dug another well. No one quarrelled with him about this well. So he called it Rehoboth.[c] He said, ‘Now the Lord has given us a place to live. We will have many good things in this land.’
23 From that place, Isaac went to Beersheba. 24 That night the Lord appeared to him. The Lord said, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, because I am with you. I will bless you. I will give you many descendants because of my servant Abraham.’
25 Isaac built an altar there and he worshipped the Lord. He put up his tent there. His servants dug a well.
26 During that time, Abimelech came from Gerar to visit Isaac. He came with Ahuzzath his officer and with Phicol the leader of his army.[d]
27 Isaac asked them, ‘Why have you come to me? You hated me and you sent me away from you.’ 28 They replied, ‘We saw that the Lord is with you. So we said to one another, “There should be an agreement between us and you.” So let us promise to be friends. 29 Promise that you will not hurt us. We did not hurt you. We did only good things for you. We sent you away as friends. Now the Lord is blessing you.’
30 Then Isaac made a large meal for them. And they all ate happily together.[e] 31 Early the next morning, they promised each other to be friends. Then Isaac said ‘goodbye’ to them. They left as his friends.
32 The same day, Isaac's servants came to him. They told him about a well that they had dug. They said, ‘We have found water!’ 33 Isaac called the well Shibah. So the town is still called Beersheba.[f]
34 When Esau was 40 years old, he got married. He married Judith. She was the daughter of Beer the Hittite. He also married Basemath. She was the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 Esau's wives brought a lot of trouble to Isaac and Rebekah.[g]
Isaac blesses Jacob
27 Isaac became old. He could not see anything because his eyes were weak. He called for his older son, Esau. Isaac said, ‘My son.’ Esau replied, ‘Yes, I am here.’ 2 Isaac said, ‘I am an old man. I may die very soon. 3 Get your bow and your arrows.[h] Go out into the country and kill some wild animals for me. 4 Then prepare the food that I like to eat. Bring it to me so that I can eat it. Then I will give you my blessing before I die.’[i]
5 Rebekah listened to what Isaac said to Esau. She waited until Esau went out to the country to kill an animal and bring back the meat. 6 Then she said to Jacob, ‘I heard your father say this to Esau: 7 “Bring me some meat and prepare the food that I like to eat. When I have eaten it, I will give you my blessing. I will bless you in front of the Lord before I die.” 8 Now my son, listen carefully and do as I tell you. 9 Go out to the animals and bring two goats to me. They must be very good young goats. Then I will prepare some food that your father likes to eat. I will cook the meat in the way that he likes. 10 Then take the food to your father. When he has eaten it, he will give you his blessing before he dies.’
11 Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, ‘That will be difficult. Hair covers my brother's skin. But my skin does not have any hair. 12 My father may touch me. Then he will know that I am deceiving him. He will not bless me. He will curse me instead.’ 13 Jacob's mother said, ‘My son, the curse will happen to me, not you. Do what I say. Go and get the things that I told you.’
14 Jacob went and he got the goats. He brought them to his mother. She prepared some food in the way that Isaac liked to eat. 15 Then Rebekah took some of Esau's best clothes that were in her house. She put them on Jacob, her younger son. 16 She covered Jacob's hands with the skin from the goats. She also covered the part of his neck that had no hair. 17 Then she gave to Jacob the food that Isaac liked to eat. And she gave him some bread that she had made.
18 Jacob went to his father. He said, ‘My father.’ Isaac replied ‘Yes, my son. Who are you, Esau or Jacob?’ 19 Jacob said, ‘I am Esau. I am your firstborn son. I have done as you told me. Please sit up. Eat some of the meat from the wild animal that I killed. Then you can bless me.’ 20 Isaac asked his son, ‘My son, how did you find it so quickly?’ Jacob replied, ‘The Lord your God helped me find it.’[j]
21 Isaac said to Jacob, ‘Come near to me so that I can touch you, my son. Then I will know if you really are my son Esau.’
22 Jacob went near to his father. Isaac touched him and he said, ‘The voice is Jacob's voice. But the hands are Esau's hands.’ 23 Isaac did not know that it was Jacob because he could feel the hair on Jacob's hands. They felt like Esau's hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob.
24 Isaac asked again, ‘Are you really my son Esau?’ Jacob replied, ‘I am.’ 25 Isaac said, ‘My son, bring me some of your meat. I will eat it. Then I will bless you.’ So Jacob brought the food to him and Isaac ate it. Jacob also brought some wine and Isaac drank it.
26 Then Isaac said, ‘Come here my son and kiss me.’ 27 So Jacob went to Isaac and kissed him. Isaac smelled the clothes that Jacob wore. Then Isaac blessed him. He said,
‘The smell of my son is like the smell of a field.
It is like a field that the Lord has blessed.
28 May God give you rain for your crops,
so that they grow well in the good ground.[k]
Then you will have plenty of grain for food.
And you will have grapes to make wine.
29 May the people of many nations serve you.
May they respect you as their master.
You will rule over your brothers.
Yes, your mother's sons will bend down to respect you.
May God curse anyone who curses you.
And may he bless anyone who blesses you.’[l]
30 When Isaac had blessed Jacob, Jacob left him. Just then, Esau came back from the country where he had killed an animal. 31 He prepared nice food that Isaac liked to eat. Then he took the food to his father, Isaac. Esau said, ‘My father, please sit up. Eat some of the meat from the wild animal that I have killed. Then you can bless me.’
32 His father Isaac asked, ‘Who are you?’ Esau replied, ‘I am your firstborn son, Esau.’ 33 Isaac's body shook very much. He asked, ‘Who was it who killed an animal and brought the meat to me? Just before you came, I ate all of it. And then I blessed him. And God will certainly bless him!’[m]
34 Esau heard what his father had said and he cried aloud. He was very upset. He said, ‘My father, please bless me too!’ 35 But Isaac said, ‘Your brother came to me. He deceived me and he took your blessing away from you.’ 36 Esau said, ‘Yes, “Jacob” is the right name for him. He has cheated me twice. First he took my birthright. Now he has taken my blessing as well!’ Then Esau asked his father, ‘You must still have some blessing left for me, don't you?’[n]
37 Isaac replied, ‘I have made Jacob master over you. All his relatives will become his servants. I have given him crops and wine. So what can I still do to bless you, my son?’[o]
38 Esau said, ‘My father, you surely have one blessing left for me. Please bless me too!’ Then Esau wept loudly.
39 Isaac replied,
‘You will not live in a place where the ground gives good food.
You will not have rain to make your crops grow.
40 You will have to fight to get the things that you need.
You will serve your brother as your master.
But when you choose to turn against him,
you will become free from his power over you.’[p]
41 Because Isaac had blessed Jacob, Esau hated his younger brother Jacob. Esau said quietly, ‘My father will die soon. When we have buried his body, I will kill my brother.’ 42 Someone told Rebekah what her older son, Esau, had said. So she told her younger son, Jacob, to come to her. She said to him, ‘Your brother Esau wants to kill you, because of what you did to him. 43 Now my son, do what I tell you. Quickly go away from here. Go to my brother Laban who lives in Haran. 44 Live with him for a time. Stay there until your brother is not angry with you any longer. 45 He may forget what you did to him. Then I will send a message to you, so that you can come back from Haran. I do not want to lose both of my sons in one day.’[q]
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, ‘I do not like living in the same place as Esau's wives. It makes me very upset, because they are Hittites. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women who live in this land, I will be very sad. I would rather die!’[r]
Jesus helps a man who cannot walk
9 Then Jesus got back into the boat. He sailed across to the other side of the lake again. He went to Capernaum, the town where he was living.
2 Some men came to see Jesus there. They carried with them a man who could not walk or move his legs. He was lying on a mat. Jesus knew that they believed in him. He said to the man who could not walk, ‘Do not be afraid, my friend. I forgive you for the wrong things that you have done.’
3 Then some teachers of God's Law said to themselves: ‘This man is speaking as if he is God. That is not right.’
4 Jesus knew what the teachers were thinking. So he said to them, ‘You should not think these bad things in your minds. 5 I said to this man, “I forgive you for the wrong things that you have done.” Instead, I could have said to him, “Stand up and walk.” Which one is easier for me to say? 6 But I want you to know this. I, the Son of Man, have authority on earth.[a] I can forgive people for the wrong things that they have done.’ Then he said to the man who could not walk, ‘Stand up. Pick up your mat and go home.’ 7 So then the man stood up and he went home. 8 The crowds of people saw what had happened. They were very surprised and afraid. They saw that God had given so much authority to men. So they praised God and they said, ‘God is great!’
Jesus asks Matthew to come with him
9 Jesus went away from that place. While he walked, he saw a man called Matthew. Matthew's job was to take taxes from people. He was sitting in his office. Jesus said to him, ‘Come with me and be my disciple.’ So Matthew stood up and he went with Jesus.
10 Later, Jesus went to eat a meal in Matthew's house. Many bad people and men who took taxes also came to the house.[b] They came to eat there with Jesus and his disciples.
11 Some Pharisees saw what was happening. They said to Jesus' disciples, ‘Your teacher is eating a meal with these bad people. That is not right. They are people who do not obey God, and some of them take taxes from people.’
12 Jesus heard what the Pharisees were saying. He said to them, ‘People who are well do not need a doctor. It is people who are ill that need a doctor. 13 Go and study what it says in the Bible. God says there, “I want people to be kind to each other. I do not want them only to offer sacrifices to me.” Some people think that they always obey God. I did not come to help people like that. Some people know that they have done wrong things. I am asking those people to come to me for help.’
14 Then the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus. They said to him, ‘We often decide to fast for a time. The disciples of the Pharisees also do that. Why do your disciples never do that?’[c]
15 Jesus answered them: ‘When a man marries, his friends cannot be sad. They cannot refuse to eat food while he is with them. But there will be a time when people will take the man away from his friends. At that time his friends will choose to fast.’[d]
16 Then Jesus said, ‘Nobody uses a piece of new cloth to mend an old coat. If he does, the new cloth will cause the old cloth to tear again. It will make a bigger hole than before.
17 Nobody pours new wine into old wineskins.[e] If he does that, the new wine will tear the old wineskins. He will lose the wine and the wineskins will spoil. Instead, you must put new wine into new wineskins. Then there will be nothing to spoil the wine or the wineskins.’[f]
16 The Lord will rule as king for ever!
The nations who do not serve him
will not remain in his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the prayers
of people who are suffering.
When they ask you to help them,
you make them feel strong.
18 You stand beside those who have no father,
and those who are poor and weak.
As a result, they will no longer be afraid.
No human on the earth can frighten them.
9 Show that you respect the Lord in the way that you use your money. Offer the first part of the harvest from your farm to him. 10 If you do that, you will store more food than you need for yourself. You will have more wine than you can drink.
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