Day 17 of 365

Gen 33:1–34:31

33:1 Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau was coming, and with him four hundred men. He divided the children between Leah, Rachel, and the two handmaids.

33:2 He put the handmaids and their children in front, Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph at the rear.

33:3 He himself passed over in front of them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

33:4 Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, fell on his neck, kissed him, and they wept.

33:5 He lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, "Who are these with you?" He said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant."

33:6 Then the handmaids came near with their children, and they bowed themselves.

33:7 Leah also and her children came near, and bowed themselves. After them, Joseph came near with Rachel, and they bowed themselves.

33:8 Esau said, "What do you mean by all this company which I met?" Jacob said, "To find favor in the sight of my lord."

33:9 Esau said, "I have enough, my brother; let that which you have be yours."

33:10 Jacob said, "Please, no, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present at my hand, because I have seen your face, as one sees the face of God, and you were pleased with me.

33:11 Please take the gift that I brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough." He urged him, and he took it.

33:12 Esau said, "Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before you."

33:13 Jacob said to him, "My lord knows that the children are tender, and that the flocks and herds with me have their young, and if they overdrive them one day, all the flocks will die.

33:14 Please let my lord pass over before his servant, and I will lead on gently, according to the pace of the livestock that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord to Seir."

33:15 Esau said, "Let me now leave with you some of the folk who are with me." He said, "Why? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord."

33:16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir.

33:17 Jacob traveled to Succoth, built himself a house, and made shelters for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

33:18 Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan Aram; and encamped before the city.

33:19 He bought the parcel of ground where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for one hundred pieces of money.

33:20 He erected an altar there, and called it El Elohe Israel.

34:1 Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

34:2 Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her.

34:3 His soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady.

34:4 Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, "Get me this young lady as a wife."

34:5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; and his sons were with his livestock in the field. Jacob held his peace until they came.

34:6 Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to talk with him.

34:7 The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. The men were grieved, and they were very angry, because he had done folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; a which thing ought not to be done.

34:8 Hamor talked with them, saying, "The soul of my son, Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.

34:9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.

34:10 You shall dwell with us, and the land will be before you. Live and trade in it, and get possessions in it."

34:11 Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you will tell me I will give.

34:12 Ask me a great amount for a dowry, and I will give whatever you ask of me, but give me the young lady as a wife."

34:13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit, and spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister,

34:14 and said to them, "We can't do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised; for that is a reproach to us.

34:15 Only on this condition will we consent to you. If you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised;

34:16 then will we give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.

34:17 But if you will not listen to us, to be circumcised, then we will take our sister, and we will be gone."

34:18 Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son.

34:19 The young man did not wait to do this thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter, and he was honored above all the house of his father.

34:20 Hamor and Shechem, his son, came to the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying,

34:21 "These men are peaceful with us. Therefore let them live in the land and trade in it. For behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.

34:22 Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people, if every male among us is circumcised, as they are circumcised.

34:23 Won't their livestock and their possessions and all their animals be ours? Only let us give our consent to them, and they will dwell with us."

34:24 All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor, and to Shechem his son; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

34:25 It happened on the third day, when they were sore, that two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword, came upon the unsuspecting city, and killed all the males.

34:26 They killed Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went away.

34:27 Jacob's sons came on the dead, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.

34:28 They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that which was in the field,

34:29 and all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was in the house.

34:30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have troubled me, to make me odious to the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number. They will gather themselves together against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed, I and my house."

34:31 They said, "Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?"

Matt 12:12–34

12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day."

13 Then he told the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out; and it was restored whole, just like the other.

14 But the Pharisees went out, and conspired against him, how they might destroy him.

15 But Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Many followed him; and he healed them all,

16 and commanded them that they should not make him known:

17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

18 "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit on him. And he will proclaim justice to the nations.

19 He will not strive, nor shout; neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

20 He won't break a bruised reed. And he won't quench a smoking flax, until he leads justice to victory.

21 And in his name, the nations will hope."

22 Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him and he healed him, so that the mute man both spoke and saw.

23 And all the multitudes were amazed, and said, "Can this be the son of David?"

24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons."

25 And knowing their thoughts, he said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.

26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

27 If I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

28 But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

29 Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and carry off his possessions, unless he first bind the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

30 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.

31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is to come.

33 "Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.

34 You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

Ps 8:1–9

1 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth, who has set your glory above the heavens!

2 From the lips of babes and infants you have ordained praise, because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained;

4 what is man, that you think of him? What is the son of man, that you care for him?

5 For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You make him ruler over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet:

7 All sheep and cattle, yes, and the animals of the field,

8 The birds of the sky, the fish of the sea, and whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

9 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!