Genesis 29
Jacob and Rachel
1 Now Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the east, to Laban.
2 So he looked and saw a well in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it, for out of that well they watered the flocks; and a large stone was on the well’s mouth.
3 Now all the flocks would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from the well’s mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well’s mouth.
4 So Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.”
5 Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.”
6 So he said to them, “Is he well?” They said, “He is well. Look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.”
7 Then he said, “It is still high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.”
8 But they said, “We cannot, until all the shepherds are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well’s mouth; then we will water the sheep.”
9 Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.
10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother’s brother, Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban, his mother’s brother.
11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept.
12 So Jacob told Rachel he was her father’s relative and Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father these words.
13 Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob, his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things.
14 Now Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month.†
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my brother, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?”†
16 Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
17 Leah’s eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.
18 Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”
19 So Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to another man. Stay with me.”
20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her.”
22 Now Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a wedding feast.
23 Thus it came to pass in the evening, he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her.
24 So Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a handmaiden.
25 Then it came to pass in the morning, behold, it was Leah; and he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?”
26 Laban replied, “It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
27 Fulfill her week, and I will give you this one also for the service you will render me still another seven years.Ӡ
28 Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also.
29 Laban also gave his handmaiden Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a handmaiden.
30 Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he loved Rachel more than Leah; and he served with Laban still another seven years.
Jacob’s Children
31 But when the Lord saw Leah was hated, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.
32 So Leah conceived and bore Jacob a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The Lord has surely looked on my humiliation. Now therefore, my husband will love me.”
33 Then she conceived again and bore Jacob a second son, and said, “Because the Lord heard I was hated, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she called his name Simeon.
34 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be on my side, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore she called his name Levi.†
35 Now she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will give thanks to the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
Psalms 30
1 For the End; a psalm by David; of ecstasy. †
2 In You, O Lord, I hope; may I not be ashamed forever; In Your righteousness deliver and rescue me.
3 Incline Your ear to me; Rescue me speedily; Be to me a God who protects me, And a house of refuge to save me.
4 For You are my strength and my refuge, And for Your name’s sake You will guide and sustain me;
5 For You will bring me out from the snare they hid for me; For You are my protector.
6 Into Your hands I shall entrust my spirit; You redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.
7 You hate those who maintain their empty vanities, But I hope in the Lord.
8 I will greatly rejoice and be glad because of Your mercy, For You beheld my humiliation; You saved my soul from distress,
9 And did not shut me up into the hands of the enemy; You set my feet in a wide place.
10 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted; My eye is troubled with anger; So are my soul and my stomach.
11 For my life is wasted with grief And my years with sighing; My strength is weakened with poverty, And my bones are troubled.
12 I became a reproach among all my enemies, And especially to all my neighbors, And a fear to all my acquaintances; Those who saw me outside fled from me.
13 I am forgotten like one whose heart is lifeless; I was made like a vessel that is utterly broken.
14 For I heard the blame of many who dwell round about When they were gathered together against me, When they plotted to take my life.
Proverbs of Solomon 6
Laziness: A Dead-End Road
7 Compare yourself with the ant, O sluggard, And be zealous when you see his ways, And become wiser than he.†
8 For although he has no tilled land, Neither anyone to compel him, Nor any master to rule him,
9 Yet he prepares all his food in the summer And makes his provisions abundant in the winter.
10 Or go to the honeybee, And learn how she is a worker And how solemnly she does her work,
11 Whose labors kings and common people use for health; And she is desirable to all and glorious;
12 And although she is weak in bodily strength, She leads the way in honoring wisdom.
Matthew 19
Divorce and Marriage
1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.
2 And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.
3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”†
4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’
5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’ ?
6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.Ӡ
10 His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”†
11 But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:
12 For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”
Receiving the Children
13 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.†
14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
15 And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.
Riches and the Kingdom
16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”†
17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’
19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”†
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”†
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.†
24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”
28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.†
29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.†
30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.