- Gen 28:10-32:2
- Hos 11:7-14:9
- Joh 1:19-51
Vayetzei means “and he went out.”
| Berĕshith (Genesis) 28:10-32:2 |
Ya‛aqoḇ’s Ladder
Berĕshith Chapter 28
10 Meanwhile Ya‛aqoḇ left Be’ěrsheḇa and set out for Ḥaran. 11 On reaching a certain place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. And taking one of the stones from that place, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
12 And Ya‛aqoḇ had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and Alahym’s messengers were going up and down the ladder. 13 And there at the top † 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 was standing and saying, “I am 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, the Alahym of your father Aḇraham and the Alahym of Yitsḥaq. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16 When Ya‛aqoḇ woke up, he said, “Surely 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 is in this place, and I was unaware of it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of Alahym; this is the gate of heaven!”
The Stone of Bayith Al
18 Early the next morning, Ya‛aqoḇ took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a standing column. He poured oil on top of it, 19 and he called that place Bayith Al, though previously the city had been named Luz.
20 Then Ya‛aqoḇ made a vow, saying, “If Alahym will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear, 21 so that I may return safely to my father’s house, then 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 will be my Alahym. 22 And this stone I have set up as a standingcolumn will be Alahym’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”
Ya‛aqoḇ Meets Raḥěl
Berĕshith Chapter 29
1Ya‛aqoḇ resumed his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. 2 He looked and saw a well in the field, and near it lay three flocks of sheep, because the sheep were watered from this well. And a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 3 When all the flocks had been gathered there, the shepherds would roll away the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.
4 “My brothers,” Ya‛aqoḇ asked the shepherds, “where are you from?”
“We are from Ḥaran,” they answered.
5 “Do you know Laḇan son of Naḥor?” Ya‛aqoḇ asked.
“We know him,” they replied.
6 “Is he well?” Ya‛aqoḇ inquired.
“Yes,” they answered, “and here comes his daughter Raḥěl with his sheep.”
7 “Look,” said Ya‛aqoḇ, “it is still broad daylight; it is not yet time to gather the livestock. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.”
8 But they replied, “We cannot, until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.”
9 While he was still speaking with them, Raḥěl arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 As soon as Ya‛aqoḇ saw Raḥěl, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laḇan, with Laḇan’s sheep, he went up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. 11 Then Ya‛aqoḇ kissed Raḥěl and wept aloud. 12 He told Raḥěl that he was Riḇqah’s son, a relative of her father, and she ran and told her father.
13 When Laḇan heard the news about his sister’s son Ya‛aqoḇ, he ran out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, where Ya‛aqoḇ told him all that had happened.
Ya‛aqoḇ Marries Lě’ah and Raḥěl
14 Then Laḇan declared, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.”
After Ya‛aqoḇ had stayed with him a month, 15 Laḇan said to him, “Just because you are my relative, should you work for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”
16 Now Laḇan had two daughters; the older was named Lě’ah, and the younger was named Raḥěl. 17 Lě’ah had weak eyes, but Raḥěl was shapely and beautiful. 18 Since Ya‛aqoḇ loved Raḥěl, he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Raḥěl.”
19 Laḇan replied, “Better that I give her to you than to another. Stay here with me.” 20 So Ya‛aqoḇ served seven years for Raḥěl, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.
21 Finally Ya‛aqoḇ said to Laḇan, “Grant me my wife, for my time is complete, and let me go into her.”
22 So Laḇan invited all the men of that place and prepared a feast. 23 But when evening came, Laḇan took his daughter Lě’ah and gave her to Ya‛aqoḇ, and he went into her. 24 And Laḇan gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter Lě’ah as her maidservant.
25 When morning came, there was Lě’ah! “What have you done to me?” Ya‛aqoḇ said to Laḇan. “Wasn’t it for Raḥěl that I served you? Why have you deceived me?”
26 Laḇan replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older. 27 Finish the week of this one, and we will give you the younger one in return for another seven years of work.”
28 And Ya‛aqoḇ did just that. He completed her week, and Laḇan gave him his daughter Raḥěl as his wife. 29 Laḇan also gave his servant girl Bilhah to his daughter Raḥěl as her maidservant.
30 Ya‛aqoḇ slept with Raḥěl as well, and indeed, he loved Raḥěl more than Lě’ah. So he worked for Laḇan another seven years.
Ya‛aqoḇ ‘s Children
31 When 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 saw that Lě’ah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Raḥěl was barren. 32 And Lě’ah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Re’uḇěn, for she said, “𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.”
33 Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Because 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 has heard that I am unloved, He has given me this son as well.” So she named him Shim‛on.
34 Once again Lě’ah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Lěwi.
35 And once more she conceived and gave birth to a son and said, “This time I will praise 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄.” So she named him Yahuḏah. Then Lě’ah stopped having children.
Berĕshith Chapter 30
1When Raḥěl saw that she was not bearing any children for Ya‛aqoḇ, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Ya‛aqoḇ.
2 Ya‛aqoḇ became angry with Raḥěl and said, “Am I in the place of Alahym, who has withheld children from you?”
3 Then she said, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Go into her, that she may bear children for me, so that through her I too can build a family.”
4 So Raḥěl gave Ya‛aqoḇ her servant Bilhah as a wife, and he went into her, 5 and Bilhah conceived and bore him a son. 6 Then Raḥěl said, “Alahym has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.
7 And Raḥěl’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Ya‛aqoḇ a second son. 8 Then Raḥěl said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali.
9 When Lě’ah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Ya‛aqoḇ as a wife. 10 And Lě’ah’s servant Zilpah bore Ya‛aqoḇ a son. 11 Then Lě’ah said, “How fortunate! So she named him Gad.
12 When Lě’ah’s servant Zilpah bore Ya‛aqoḇ a second son, 13 Lě’ah said, “How happy I am! For the women call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
14 Now during the wheat harvest, Re’uḇěn went out and found some mandrakes in the field. When he brought them to his mother, Raḥěl begged Lě’ah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
15 But Lě’ah replied, “Is it not enough that you have taken away my husband? Now you want to take my son’s mandrakes as well?”
“Very well,” said Raḥěl, “he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”
16 When Ya‛aqoḇ came in from the field that evening, Lě’ah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he went into her that night.
17 And Alahym listened to Lě’ah, and she conceived and bore a fifth son to Ya‛aqoḇ. 18 Then Lě’ah said, “Alahym has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
19 Again Lě’ah conceived and bore a sixth son to Ya‛aqoḇ. 20 “Alahym has given me a good gift,” she said. “This time my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” And she named him Zebulun.
21 After that, Lě’ah gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
22 Then Alahym remembered Raḥěl. He listened to her and opened her womb, 23 and she conceived and gave birth to a son. “Alahym has taken away my shame,” she said. 24 She named him Yosěph, and said, “May 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 add to me another son.”
Ya‛aqoḇ Prospers
25 Now after Raḥěl had given birth to Yosěph, Ya‛aqoḇ said to Laḇan, “Send me on my way so I can return to my homeland. 26 Give me my wives and children for whom I have served you that I may go on my way. You know how hard I have worked for you.”
27 But Laḇan replied, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by experience that 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 has blessed me because of you.” 28 And he added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”
29 Then Ya‛aqoḇ answered, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock have thrived under my care. 30 Indeed, you had very little before my arrival, but now your wealth has increased many times over. 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 has blessed you wherever I set foot. But now, when may I also provide for my own household?”
31 “What can I give you?” Laḇan asked.
“You do not need to give me anything,” Ya‛aqoḇ replied. “If you do this one thing for me, I will keep on shepherding and keeping your flocks. 32 Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. These will be my wages. 33 So my honesty will testify for me when you come to check on my wages in the future. If I have any goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not dark-colored, they will be considered stolen.”
34 “Agreed,” said Laḇan. “Let it be as you have said.”
35 That very day Laḇan removed all the streaked or spotted male goats and every speckled or spotted female goat—every one that had any white on it—and every dark-colored lamb, and he placed them under the care of his sons. 36 Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Ya‛aqoḇ, while Ya‛aqoḇ was shepherding the rest of Laḇan’s flocks.
37 Ya‛aqoḇ, however, took fresh branches of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches. 38 Then he set the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of the flocks coming in to drink. So when the flocks were in heat and came to drink, 39 they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 40 Ya‛aqoḇ set apart the young, but made the rest face the streaked dark-colored sheep in Laḇan’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and did not put them with Laḇan’s animals.
41 Whenever the stronger females of the flock were in heat, Ya‛aqoḇ would place the branches in the troughs, in full view of the animals, so that they would breed in front of the branches. 42 But if the animals were weak, he did not set out the branches. So the weaker animals went to Laḇan and the stronger ones to Ya‛aqoḇ.
43 Thus Ya‛aqoḇ became exceedingly prosperous. He owned large flocks, maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.
Ya‛aqoḇ Flees from Laḇan
Berĕshith Chapter 31
1Now Ya‛aqoḇ heard that Laḇan’s sons were saying, “Ya‛aqoḇ has taken away all that belonged to our father and built all this wealth at our father’s expense.” 2 And Ya‛aqoḇ saw from the countenance of Laḇan that his attitude toward him had changed.
3 Then 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 said to Ya‛aqoḇ, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
4 So Ya‛aqoḇ sent word and called Raḥěl and Lě’ah to the field where his flocks were, 5 and he told them, “I can see from your father’s countenance that his attitude toward me has changed; but the Alahym of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I have served your father with all my strength. 7 And although he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, Alahym has not allowed him to harm me. 8 If he said, ‘The speckled will be your wages,’ then the whole flock bore speckled offspring. If he said, ‘The streaked will be your wages,’ then the whole flock bore streaked offspring. 9 Thus Alahym has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me.
10 When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females. 11 In that dream the messenger of Alahym said to me, ‘Ya‛aqoḇ!’
And I replied, ‘Here I am.’
12 ‘Look up,’ he said, ‘and see that all the males that are mating with the flock are streaked, spotted, or speckled; for I have seen all that Laḇan has done to you. 13 I am the Al of Bayith Al, where you anointed the standing column and made a solemn vow to Me. Now get up, leave this land at once, and return to your native land.’ ”
14 And Raḥěl and Lě’ah replied, “Do we have any portion or inheritance left in our father’s house? 15 Are we not regarded by him as outsiders? Not only has he sold us, but he has certainly squandered our silver. 16 Surely all the wealth that Alahym has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever Alahym has told you.”
17 Then Ya‛aqoḇ got up and put his children and his wives on camels, 18 and he drove all his livestock before him, along with all the possessions he had acquired in Paddan Aram, to go to his father Yitsḥaq in the land in Kena‛an.
19 Now while Laḇan was out shearing his sheep, Raḥěl stole her father’s household idols. 20 Moreover, Ya‛aqoḇ stole away unawares to Laḇan the Aramean by not telling him that he was running away. 21 So he fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for the hill country of Gil‛aḏ.
Laḇan Pursues Ya‛aqoḇ
22 On the third day Laḇan was informed that Ya‛aqoḇ had fled. 23 So he took his relatives with him, pursued Ya‛aqoḇ for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gil‛aḏ. 24 But that night Alahym came to Laḇan the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Ya‛aqoḇ, either good or bad.”
25 Now Ya‛aqoḇ had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gil‛aḏ when Laḇan overtook him, and Laḇan and his relatives camped there as well. 26 Then Laḇan said to Ya‛aqoḇ, “What have you done? You have deceived me and carried off my daughters like captives of war! 27 Why did you run away secretly and deceive me, without even telling me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and harps. 28 But you did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. Now you have done a foolish thing.
29 I have power to do you great harm, but last night the Alahym of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Ya‛aqoḇ, either good or bad.’ 30 Now you have gone off because you long for your father’s house. But why have you stolen my gods?”
31 “I was afraid,” Ya‛aqoḇ answered, “for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 If you find your gods with anyone here, he shall not live! In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself if anything is yours, and take it back.” For Ya‛aqoḇ did not know that Raḥěl had stolen the idols.
33 So Laḇan went into Ya‛aqoḇ’s tent, then Lě’ah’s tent, and then the tents of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. Then he left Lě’ah’s tent and entered Raḥěl’s tent. 34 Now Raḥěl had taken Laḇan’s household idols, put them in the saddlebag of her camel, and was sitting on them. And Laḇan searched everything in the tent but found nothing.
35 Raḥěl said to her father, “Sir, do not be angry that I cannot stand up before you; for the way of women is with me.” So Laḇan searched but could not find the household idols.
36 Then Ya‛aqoḇ became incensed and challenged Laḇan. “What is my crime?” he said. “For what sin of mine have you so hotly pursued me? 37 You have searched all my goods! Have you found anything that belongs to you? Put it here before my brothers and yours, that they may judge between the two of us.
38 I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flock. 39 I did not bring you anything torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or night. 40 As it was, the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes.
41 Thus for twenty years I have served in your household—fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks—and you have changed my wages ten times! 42 If the Alahym of my father, the Alahym of Aḇraham and the Fear of Yitsḥaq, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But Alahym has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, and last night He rendered judgment.”
Ya‛aqoḇ’s Covenant with Laḇan
43 But Laḇan answered Ya‛aqoḇ, “These daughters are my daughters, these sons are my sons, and these flocks are my flocks! Everything you see is mine! Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine or the children they have borne? 44 Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between you and me.”
45 So Ya‛aqoḇ picked out a stone and set it up as a standing column, 46 and he said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and made a mound, and there by the mound they ate. 47 Laḇan called it Yeḡar Sahaḏutha, and Ya‛aqoḇ called it Gal‛ěḏ.
48 Then Laḇan declared, “This mound is a witness between you and me this day.”
Therefore the place was called Gal‛ěḏ. 49 It was also called Mitspah, because Laḇan said, “May 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 keep watch between you and me when we are absent from each other. 50 If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that Alahym is a witness between you and me.”
51 Laḇan also said to Ya‛aqoḇ, “Here is the mound, and here is the pillar I have set up between you and me. 52 This mound is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this mound to harm you, and you will not go past this mound and pillar to harm me. 53 May the Alahym of Aḇraham and the Alahym of Naḥor, the Alahym of their father, judge between us.”
So Ya‛aqoḇ swore by the Fear of his father Yitsḥaq.
54 Then Ya‛aqoḇ offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. And after they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain. 55 Early the next morning, Laḇan got up and kissed his grandchildren and daughters and blessed them. Then he left to return home.
Ya‛aqoḇ Prepares to Meet Esau
Berĕshith Chapter 32
1 Ya‛aqoḇ also went on his way, and the messengers of Alahym met him. 2 When Ya‛aqoḇ saw them, he said, “This is the camp of Alahym.” So he named that place Maḥanayim.
| Hoshĕa (Hosea) 11:7-14:10 |
Hoshĕa (Hosea) Chapter 11
7 My people are bent on turning from Me.
Though they call to the Most High,
He will by no means exalt them.
Alahym’s Love for Yashar’Al
8 How could I give you up, O Ephrayim?
How could I surrender you, O Yashar’Al?
How could I make you like Aḏmah?
How could I treat you like Tseḇoyim?
My heart is turned within Me;
My compassion is stirred!
9 I will not execute the full fury of My anger;
I will not destroy Ephrayim again.
For I am Alahym and not man—
the Set Apart One among you—
and I will not come in wrath.
10 They will walk after 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄;
He will roar like a lion.
When He roars,
His children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like birds from Ephrayim
and like doves from the land of Ashshur.
Then I will settle them in their homes,
declares 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄.
12 Ephrayim surrounds Me with lies,
the house of Yashar’Al with deceit;
but Yahudah still walks with Al
and is faithful to the Set Apart One.
A Reproof of Ephrayim, Yahudah, and Ya‛aqoḇ
Hoshĕa (Hosea) Chapter 12
1 Ephrayim feeds on the wind
and pursues the east wind all day long;
he multiplies lies and violence;
he makes a covenant with Ephrayim
and sends olive oil to Mitsrayim.
2𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 has a charge to bring against Yahudah.
He will punish Ya‛aqoḇ according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel,
and in his vigor he wrestled with Alahym.
4 Yes, he struggled with the messenger and prevailed;
he wept and sought His favor;
he found Him at Bayith Al
and spoke with Him there—
5 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 Alahym of Hosts,
𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 is His name of renown.
6 But you must return to your Alahym;
maintain love and justice,
and always wait on your Alahym.
7 A merchant loves to defraud
with dishonest scales in his hands.
8 And Ephrayim boasts: “How rich I have become!
I have found wealth for myself.
In all my labors, they can find in me
no iniquity that is sinful.”
9 But I am 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 your Alahym
ever since the land of Mitsrayim.
I will again make you dwell in tents,
as in the days of the appointed feast.
10 I spoke through the prophets
and multiplied their visions;
I gave parables through the prophets.
11 Is there iniquity in Gil‛aḏ?
They will surely come to nothing.
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?
Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones
in the furrows of the field.
12 Ya‛aqoḇ fled to the land of Aram
and Yashar’Al worked for a wife—
for a wife he tended sheep.
13 But by a prophet 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 brought Yashar’Al out of Mitsrayim,
and by a prophet he was preserved.
14 Ephrayim has provoked bitter anger,
so his Master will leave his bloodguilt upon him,
and repay him for his contempt.
Alahym’s Anger against Yashar’Al
Hoshĕa (Hosea) Chapter 13
1 When Ephrayim spoke, there was trembling;
he was exalted in Yashar’Al.
But he incurred guilt through Ba‛al,
and he died.
2 Now they sin more and more
and make for themselves cast images,
idols skillfully made from their silver,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
People say of them, “Let the men that
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that vanishes,
like chaff blown from a threshing floor,
like smoke through an open window.
4 Yet I am 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 your Alahym
ever since the land of Mitsrayim;
you know no Alahym but Me,
for there is no Savior besides Me.
5 I knew you in the wilderness,
in the land of drought.
6 When they had pasture,
they became satisfied;
when they were satisfied,
their hearts became proud,
and as a result they forgot Me.
7 So like a lion I will pounce on them;
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them,
and I will tear open their chests.
There I will devour them like a lion,
like a wild beast tearing them apart.
Death and Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:50–58)
9 You are destroyed, O Yashar’Al,
because you are against Me—
against your helper.
10 Where is your king now
to save you in all your cities,
and the rulers to whom you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 So in My anger I gave you a king,
and in My wrath I took him away.
12 The iniquity of Ephrayim is bound up;
his sin is stored up.
13 Labor pains come upon him,
but he is an unwise son.
When the time arrives,
he fails to present himself at the opening of the womb.
14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol;
I will redeem them from Death.
Where, O Death, are your plagues?
Where, O Sheol, is your sting?
Compassion is hidden from My eyes.
Judgment on Samaria
15 Although he flourishes among his brothers,
an east wind will come—
a wind from 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄
rising up from the desert.
His fountain will fail,
and his spring will run dry.
The wind will plunder his treasury
of every precious article.
16 Shomeron will bear her guilt
because she has rebelled against her Alahym.
They will fall by the sword;
their little ones will be dashed to pieces,
and their pregnant women ripped open.
A Call to Repentance (Jeremiah 3:11–25 ; Zechariah 1:1–6)
Hoshĕa (Hosea) Chapter 14
1 Return, O Yashar’Al, to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 your Alahym,
for you have stumbled by your iniquity.
2 Bring your confessions
and return to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄.
Say to Him: “Take away all our iniquity
and receive what is good,
that we may present
the fruit of our lips.
3 Ashshur will not save us,
nor will we ride on horses.
We will never again say, ‘Our mighty ones!’
to the work of our own hands.
For in You the fatherless find compassion.”
A Promise of Alahym’s Blessing
4 I will heal their apostasy;
I will freely love them,
for My anger has turned away from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Yashar’Al;
he will blossom like the lily
and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.
6 His shoots will sprout,
and his splendor will be like the olive tree,
his fragrance like the cedars of Leḇanon.
7 They will return and dwell in his shade;
they will grow grain and blossom like the vine.
His renown will be like the wine of Leḇanon.
8 O Ephrayim, what have I to do
anymore with idols?
It is I who answer and watch over him.
I am like a flourishing cypress;
your fruit comes from Me.
9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the ways of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 are right,
and the righteous walk in them
but the rebellious stumble in them.
| Yoḥanan (John) 1:19-51 |
The Mission of Yoḥanan the Immerser (Isaiah 40:1–5 ; Matthew 3:1–12 ; Mark 1:1–8 ; Luke 3:1–20)
Yoḥanan (John) 1
19 And this was Yoḥanan’s testimony when the Yahudim of Yarushalayim sent priests and Luyim to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 “Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Aliyahu?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 Yoḥanan replied in the words of YeshaYahu the prophet:
“I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way for 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄.’ ”
24 Then the Pharisees who had been sent 25 asked him, “Why then do you immerse, if you are not the Messiah, nor Aliyahu, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I immerse with water,” Yoḥanan replied, “but among you stands One you do not know. 27 He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 All this happened at Bayith Anyah beyond the Yarden, where Yoḥanan was immersing.
𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤅𐤏 the Lamb of Alahym (Matthew 3:13–17 ; Mark 1:9–11 ; Luke 3:21–22)
29 The next day Yoḥanan saw 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤅𐤏 coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of Alahym, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came immersing with water was that He might be revealed to Yashar’Al.”
32 Then Yoḥanan witnessed, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and resting on Him. 33 I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to immerse with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is He who will immerse with the Set Apart Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and witnessed that this is the Son of Alahym.”
The First Followers (Matthew 4:18–22 ; Mark 1:16–20 ; Luke 5:1–11)
35 The next day Yoḥanan was there again with two of his taught ones. 36 When he saw 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤅𐤏 walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of Alahym!” 37 And when the two taught ones heard him say this, they followed 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤅𐤏.
38 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤅𐤏 turned and saw them following. “What do you want?” He asked.
They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?”
39 “Come and see,” He replied. So they went and saw where He was staying and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour.
40 Andri, Shim‛on Kepha’s brother, was one of the two who had heard Yoḥanan’s testimony and followed 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤅𐤏 – YAHUSHUA . 41 He first found his brother Shim‛on and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means the Anointed).
42 Andri brought him to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤅𐤏, who looked at him and said, “You are Shim‛on son of Yoḥanan. You will be called Kěpha” (which means Stone).
𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤅𐤏 Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day, 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤅𐤏 decided to set out for Galil. Finding Philip, He told him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bayith Tsaiḏa, the same town as Andri and Kěpha.
45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moshe wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤅𐤏 of Natsareth, the son of Yosěph.”
46 “Can anything good come from Natsareth?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47 When 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤅𐤏 saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Yashar’alite, in whom there is no deceit.”
48 “How do You know me?” Nathanael asked.
𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤅𐤏 replied, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
49 “Rabbi,” Nathanael answered, “You are the Son of Alahym! You are the King of Yashar’Al!”
50 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤅𐤏 said to him, “Do you believe just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51 Then He declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will all see heaven open and the messenger of Alahym ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Footnotes
