Baramhat 20, 1743

1Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, "My son." And he answered him, "Here I am."

2Then he said, "Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death.

3Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me.

4And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die."

5Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it.

6So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, "Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying,

7"Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the LORD before my death.'

8Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you.

9Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves.

10Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death."

11And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man.

12Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing."

13But his mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me."

14And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved.

15Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son.

16And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.

17Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18So he went to his father and said, "My father." And he said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?"

19Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me."

20But Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" And he said, "Because the LORD your God brought it to me."

21Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not."

22So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau."

23And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him.

24Then he said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He said, "I am."

25He said, "Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's game, so that my soul may bless you." So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

26Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near now and kiss me, my son."

27And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: "Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the LORD has blessed.

28Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine.

29Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!"

30Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

31He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, "Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that your soul may bless me."

32And his father Isaac said to him, "Who are you?" So he said, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau."

33Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, "Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him--and indeed he shall be blessed."

34When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me--me also, O my father!"

35But he said, "Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing."

36And Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!" And he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?"

37Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?"

38And Esau said to his father, "Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me--me also, O my father!" And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

39Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: "Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above.

40By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck."

41So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob."

24The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, "Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand:

25That I will break the Assyrian in My land, And on My mountains tread him underfoot. Then his yoke shall be removed from them, And his burden removed from their shoulders.

26This is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth, And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.

27For the LORD of hosts has purposed, And who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, And who will turn it back?"

28This is the burden which came in the year that King Ahaz died.

29"Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For out of the serpent's roots will come forth a viper, And its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent.

30The firstborn of the poor will feed, And the needy will lie down in safety; I will kill your roots with famine, And it will slay your remnant.

31Wail, O gate! Cry, O city! All you of Philistia are dissolved; For smoke will come from the north, And no one will be alone in his appointed times."

32What will they answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD has founded Zion, And the poor of His people shall take refuge in it.

7So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:

8"When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him;

9and he who invited you and him come and say to you, "Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.

10But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, "Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.

11For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

12Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.

13But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.

14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

15Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"

12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors--not 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 put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

15For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."

16The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

17and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

19For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;

21because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.

23Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

24For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?

25But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

26Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

16Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

17Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.

18And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

19Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,

20let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

2And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him,

3saying, "You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!"

4But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning, saying:

5"I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object descending like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came to me.

6When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air.

7And I heard a voice saying to me, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat.'

8But I said, "Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.'

9But the voice answered me again from heaven, "What God has cleansed you must not call common.'

10Now this was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven.

11At that very moment, three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent to me from Caesarea.

12Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man's house.

13And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, "Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter,

14who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.'

15And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning.

16Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, "John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'

17If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?"

18When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life."