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Portion (parasha) for this week:
Vayetze | “He Went Out”
Torah: Genesis 28:10 – 32:2
Prophets: Hosea 11:7 – 14:9; Psalm 91:1-16
Brit Hadasha: Matthew 3:13 – 4:11; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6
“Torah Portions” are a systematic teaching schedule that includes a portion of scripture from the Torah, Prophets, and Brit Hadasha each week. This schedule is known all over the world, and serves as a great way to facilitate discussion and learning with others in the Body of the Messiah.
Genesis 28:10 – 32:2
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jacob’s Dream
10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder[a] set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of Elohim were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, YHWH stood above it[b] and said, “I am YHWH, the Elohim of Abraham your father and the Elohim of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely YHWH is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of Elohim, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel,[c] but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If Elohim will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then YHWH shall be my Elohim, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be Elohim’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
29 Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. 2 As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, 3 and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.
4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, “We are from Haran.” 5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.” 6 He said to them, “Is it well with him?” They said, “It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!” 7 He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them.” 8 But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”
9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob came 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 wept aloud. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father.
13 As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, 14 and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were weak,[d] but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. 18 Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. 23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. 24 (Laban gave[e] his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 25 And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” 26 Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” 28 Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.
Jacob’s Children
31 When YHWH saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben,[f] for she said, “Because YHWH has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because YHWH has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.[g]34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.[h]35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise YHWH.” Therefore she called his name Judah.[i] Then she ceased bearing.
30 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” 2 Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of Elohim, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf,[j] that even I may have children[k] through her.” 4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “Elohim has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.[l]7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings[m] I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.[n]
9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad.[o]12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.[p]
14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 And Elohim listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “Elohim has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.[q]
19 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “Elohim has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.[r]21 Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.
22 Then Elohim remembered Rachel, and Elohim listened to her and opened her womb. 23 She conceived and bore a son and said, “Elohim has taken away my reproach.” 24 And she called his name Joseph,[s] saying, “May YHWH add to me another son!”
Jacob’s Prosperity
25 As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. 26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you.” 27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that[t] YHWH has blessed me because of you. 28 Name your wages, and I will give it.” 29 Jacob said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me. 30 For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and YHWH has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?” 31 He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it: 32 let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. 33 So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.” 34 Laban said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.” 35 But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in the charge of his sons. 36 And he set a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban’s flock.
37 Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. 38 He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, 39 the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. 40 And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban’s flock. 41 Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks, 42 but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. 43 Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.
Jacob Flees from Laban
31 Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has gained all this wealth.” 2 And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before. 3 Then YHWH said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was 5 and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the Elohim of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I have served your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But Elohim did not permit him to harm me. 8 If he said, ‘The spotted shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. 9 Thus Elohim has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. 10 In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. 11 Then the angel of Elohim said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ 12 And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the Elohim of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.’” 14 Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father’s house? 15 Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has indeed devoured our money. 16 All the wealth that Elohim has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, whatever Elohim has said to you, do.”
17 So Jacob arose and set his sons and his wives on camels. 18 He drove away all his livestock, all his property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. 19 Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father’s household gods. 20 And Jacob tricked[u] Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that he intended to flee. 21 He fled with all that he had and arose and crossed the Euphrates,[v] and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.
22 When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, 23 he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days and followed close after him into the hill country of Gilead. 24 But Elohim came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
25 And Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen pitched tents in the hill country of Gilead. 26 And Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, that you have tricked me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword? 27 Why did you flee secretly and trick me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre? 28 And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? Now you have done foolishly. 29 It is in my power to do you harm. But the Elohim of your[w] father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ 30 And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?” 31 Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsmen point out what I have that is yours, and take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find them. And he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. 34 Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel’s saddle and sat on them. Laban felt all about the tent, but did not find them. 35 And she said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the household gods.
36 Then Jacob became angry and berated Laban. Jacob said to Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me? 37 For you have felt through all my goods; what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two. 38 These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. 39 What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41 These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. 42 If the Elohim of my father, the Elohim of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. Elohim saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”
43 Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne? 44 Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me.” 45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 And Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha,[x] but Jacob called it Galeed.[y]48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore he named it Galeed, 49 and Mizpah,[z] for he said, “YHWH watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight. 50 If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, Elohim is witness between you and me.”
51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm. 53 The Elohim of Abraham and the Elohim of Nahor, the Elohim of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac, 54 and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.
55 [aa] Early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned home.
Jacob Fears Esau
32 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of Elohim met him. 2 And when Jacob saw them he said, “This is Elohim’s camp!” So he called the name of that place Mahanaim.[ab]
Footnotes:
a. Genesis 28:12 Or a flight of steps
b. Genesis 28:13 Or beside him
c. Genesis 28:19Bethel means the house of Elohim
d. Genesis 29:17 Or soft
e. Genesis 29:24 Or had given; also verse 29
f. Genesis 29:32Reuben means See, a son
g. Genesis 29:33Simeon sounds like the Hebrew for heard
h. Genesis 29:34Levi sounds like the Hebrew for attached
i. Genesis 29:35Judah sounds like the Hebrew for praise
j. Genesis 30:3 Hebrew on my knees
k. Genesis 30:3 Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for children
l. Genesis 30:6Dan sounds like the Hebrew for judged
m. Genesis 30:8 Hebrew With wrestlings of Elohim
n. Genesis 30:8Naphtali sounds like the Hebrew for wrestling
o. Genesis 30:11Gad sounds like the Hebrew for good fortune
p. Genesis 30:13Asher sounds like the Hebrew for happy
q. Genesis 30:18Issachar sounds like the Hebrew for wages, or hire
r. Genesis 30:20Zebulun sounds like the Hebrew for honor
s. Genesis 30:24Joseph means May he add, and sounds like the Hebrew for taken away
t. Genesis 30:27 Or have become rich and
u. Genesis 31:20 Hebrew stole the heart of; also verses 26, 27
v. Genesis 31:21 Hebrew the River
w. Genesis 31:29 The Hebrew for your is plural here
x. Genesis 31:47 Aramaic the heap of witness
y. Genesis 31:47 Hebrew the heap of witness
z. Genesis 31:49Mizpah means watchpost
aa. Genesis 31:55 Ch 32:1 in Hebrew
bb. Genesis 32:2Mahanaim means two camps
Hosea 11:7 – 14:9
English Standard Version (ESV)
7 My people are bent on turning away from me,
and though they call out to the Most High,
he shall not raise them up at all.
8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am Elohim and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.[a]
10 They shall go after YHWH;
he will roar like a lion;
when he roars,
his children shall come trembling from the west;
11 they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,
and like doves from the land of Assyria,
and I will return them to their homes, declares YHWH.
12 [b] Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,
and the house of Israel with deceit,
but Judah still walks with Elohim
and is faithful to the Holy One.
12 Ephraim feeds on the wind
and pursues the east wind all day long;
they multiply falsehood and violence;
they make a covenant with Assyria,
and oil is carried to Egypt.
YHWH’s Indictment of Israel and Judah
2 YHWH has an indictment against Judah
and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
he will repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
and in his manhood he strove with Elohim.
4 He strove with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor.
He met Elohim[c] at Bethel,
and there Elohim spoke with us—
5 YHWH, the Elohim of hosts,
YHWH is his memorial name:
6 “So you, by the help of your Elohim, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your Elohim.”
7 A merchant, in whose hands are false balances,
he loves to oppress.
8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich;
I have found wealth for myself;
in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”
9 I am YHWH your Elohim
from the land of Egypt;
I will again make you dwell in tents,
as in the days of the appointed feast.
10 I spoke to the prophets;
it was I who multiplied visions,
and through the prophets gave parables.
11 If there is iniquity in Gilead,
they shall surely come to nothing:
in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;
their altars also are like stone heaps
on the furrows of the field.
12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram;
there Israel served for a wife,
and for a wife he guarded sheep.
13 By a prophet YHWH brought Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet he was guarded.
14 Ephraim has given bitter provocation;
so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him
and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.
YHWH’s Relentless Judgment on Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
he was exalted in Israel,
but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
2 And now they sin more and more,
and make for themselves metal images,
idols skillfully made of their silver,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
It is said of them,
“Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!”
3 Therefore they shall be like the morning mist
or like the dew that goes early away,
like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
or like smoke from a window.
4 But I am YHWH your Elohim
from the land of Egypt;
you know no Elohim but me,
and besides me there is no savior.
5 It was I who knew you in the wilderness,
in the land of drought;
6 but when they had grazed,[d] they became full,
they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;
therefore they forgot me.
7 So I am to them like a lion;
like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.
8 I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs;
I will tear open their breast,
and there I will devour them like a lion,
as a wild beast would rip them open.
9 He destroys[e] you, O Israel,
for you are against me, against your helper.
10 Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities?
Where are all your rulers—
those of whom you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 I gave you a king in my anger,
and I took him away in my wrath.
12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
his sin is kept in store.
13 The pangs of childbirth come for him,
but he is an unwise son,
for at the right time he does not present himself
at the opening of the womb.
14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from Death?
O Death, where are your plagues?
O Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
15 Though he may flourish among his brothers,
the east wind, the wind of YHWH, shall come,
rising from the wilderness,
and his fountain shall dry up;
his spring shall be parched;
it shall strip his treasury
of every precious thing.
16 [f] Samaria shall bear her guilt,
because she has rebelled against her Elohim;
they shall fall by the sword;
their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,
and their pregnant women ripped open.
A Plea to Return to YHWH
14 Return, O Israel, to YHWH your Elohim,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
2 Take with you words
and return to YHWH;
say to him,
“Take away all iniquity;
accept what is good,
and we will pay with bulls
the vows[g] of our lips.
3 Assyria shall not save us;
we will not ride on horses;
and we will say no more, ‘Our Elohim,’
to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.”
4 I will heal their apostasy;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he shall blossom like the lily;
he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;
6 his shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be like the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 They shall return and dwell beneath my[h] shadow;
they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.[i]
I am like an evergreen cypress;
from me comes your fruit.
9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of YHWH are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.
Footnotes:
a. Hosea 11:9 Or into the city
b. Hosea 11:12 Ch 12:1 in Hebrew
c. Hosea 12:4 Hebrew him
d. Hosea 13:6 Hebrew according to their pasture
e. Hosea 13:9 Or I will destroy
f. Hosea 13:16 Ch 14:1 in Hebrew
g. Hosea 14:2 Septuagint, Syriac pay the fruit
h. Hosea 14:7 Hebrew his
i. Hosea 14:8 Hebrew him
Psalm 91:1-16
English Standard Version (ESV)
7
91 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say[a] to YHWH, “My refuge and my fortress,
my Elohim, in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.
9 Because you have made YHWH your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge[b]—
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
Footnotes:
a. Psalm 91:2 Septuagint He will say
b. Psalm 91:9 Or For you, O Lord, are my refuge! You have made the Most High your dwelling place
Matthew 3:13 – 4:11
(see Mark 1:1-13 & Luke 4:1-12 for additional reading)
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Baptism of Yeshua
13 Then Yeshua came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Yeshua answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Yeshua was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him,[a] and he saw the Spirit of Elohim descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son,[b] with whom I am well pleased.”
The Temptation of Yeshua
4 Then Yeshua was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of Elohim, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of Elohim.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of Elohim, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Yeshua said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your Elohim to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Yeshua said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your Elohim
and him only shall you serve.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
Footnotes:
a. Matthew 3:16 Some manuscripts omit to him
b. Matthew 3:17 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved
2 Corinthians 4:1-6
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Light of the Gospel
4 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of Elohim,[a] we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice[b] cunning or to tamper with Elohim’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of Elohim. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of HaMashiach, who is the image of Elohim. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Yeshua HaMashiach as Lord, with ourselves as your servants[c] for Yeshua’ sake. 6 For Elohim, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of Elohim in the face of Yeshua HaMashiach.
Footnotes:
a. 2 Corinthians 4:1 Greek as we have received mercy
b. 2 Corinthians 4:2 Greek to walk in
c. 2 Corinthians 4:5 Greek bondservants