Even though both the man and his wife were naked, they were not ashamed about it.

He told the man, "Because you have listened to what your wife said, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, "You must not eat from it,' cursed is the ground because of you. You'll eat from it through pain-filled labor for the rest of your life.

Then the LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and he was deeply grieved about that.

So God announced to Noah, "I've decided to destroy every living thing on earth, because it has become filled with violence due to them. Look! I'm about to annihilate them, along with the earth.

"For my part, I'm about to flood the earth with water and destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die.

When he was about to enter Egypt, he told his wife Sarai, "Look, I'm aware that you're a beautiful woman.

Then the LORD told Abram, "You can be certain about this: Your descendants will be foreigners in a land that isn't theirs. They will be slaves there and will be oppressed for 400 years.

Then one of them said, "I will certainly return to you in about a year's time. By then, your wife Sarah will have borne a son."

Is anything impossible for the LORD? At the time set for it, I will return to you about a year from now and Sarah will have a son."

"Should I hide from Abraham what I'm about to do," the LORD asked,

Indeed, I've made myself known to him in order that he may encourage his sons and his household that is born after him to keep the way of the LORD, and to do what is right and just, so that the LORD may bring about for Abraham what he has promised."

The sun had risen over the land about the time Lot reached Zoar.

because Abraham kept saying about his wife Sarah, "She is my sister," King Abimelech of Gerar summoned them and took Sarah into his household.

But God came to Abimelech in a dream during the night and spoke to him, "Pay attention! You're about to die, because the woman you have taken is a man's wife!"

Now Sarah had said, "God has caused me to laugh, and all who hear about it will laugh with me."

Abraham was very troubled about what was being said about his son,

but God told Abraham, "Don't be troubled about the youth and your slave girl. Pay attention to Sarah in everything she tells you, because your offspring are to be named through Isaac.

Then she went and sat by herself about a distance of a bowshot away, because she kept saying to herself, "I can't bear to watch the child die!" That's why she sat a short distance away, crying aloud and weeping.

About that time, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, told Abraham, "God is with you in everything that you're doing.

But then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized.

"I don't know who did this thing," Abimelech replied. "You didn't report this to me, and I didn't hear about it until today."

So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his male servants with him, along with his son Isaac. He cut the wood for the burnt offering and set out to go to the place about which God had spoken to him.

The two of them went on together and came to the place about which God had spoken. Abraham built an altar there, arranged the wood, tied up his son Isaac, and placed him on the altar on top of the wood.

As evening approached, he had the camels kneel outside the town at the water well, right about the time when women customarily went out to draw water.

And so it was, as soon as he saw the nose ring and bracelets on his sister's wrists, and as soon as he heard what his sister Rebekah was saying about what the man had spoken to her, he went out to the man who was still standing by the camels at the spring!

But they said, "We'll call the young lady and see what she has to say about this."

"That's my master," the servant told her. So she reached for a veil and covered herself. Then the servant informed Isaac about everything he had done.

"Look! I'm about to die," Esau replied. "What good is this birthright to me?"

Later on, the men of that place asked about his wife, so he replied, "She's my sister," because he was afraid to call her "my wife." He kept thinking, ""otherwise, the men around here will kill me on account of Rebekah, since she's very beautiful."

But the herdsmen who lived in Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen. "The water is ours," they said. As a result, Isaac named the well Esek, for they had fiercely disputed with him about it.

When his workers started digging another well, those herdsmen quarreled about that one, too, so Isaac named it Sitnah.

That very same day, Isaac's servants arrived and reported to him about a well that they had just completed digging. "We've found water!" they said.

So now, my son, listen to what I have to say and pay attention to what I'm about to tell you.

Now pay attention! I'm here with you, and I'm going to be watching over you wherever you go. I'm going to bring you back to this land, because I won't ever leave you until I've accomplished what I've promised about you."

When Laban heard the news about his sister's son Jacob, he ran out to meet him. He embraced him, kissed him, and brought him back to his house. Then Jacob told Laban about everything that had happened.

Laban responded, "You certainly are my flesh and blood!" So Jacob stayed with him for about a month.

Later, Laban asked Jacob, "Should you serve me for free, just because you're my nephew? Let's talk about what your wages should be."

"Please," Jacob inquired, "Tell me your name." But he asked, "Why are you asking about my name?" And he blessed Jacob there.

But while Israel lived in that land, Reuben went inside his father's tent and had sexual relations with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Now Jacob had twelve sons.

Right about this time, Joseph had a dream and then told it to his brothers. As a result, his brothers hated him all the more!

"Let me tell you about this dream that I had!" he said.

But then he had another dream, and he proceeded to tell his brothers about that one, too. "I had another dream," he said. "The sun, moon, and eleven of the stars were bowing down before me!"

When Joseph told his father about this, his father rebuked him and asked him, "What kind of dream is that? Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come to you and bow down to the ground in front of you?"

As a result, his brothers became more envious of him. But his father kept thinking about all of this.

When Reuben heard about it, he tried to save Joseph from their plot. "Let's not do any killing,"

Right about then, Judah left his brothers and went to live with an Adullamite man named Hirah.

Everything that he owned, he entrusted into Joseph's care. He never concerned himself about anything, except for the food he ate.

But he refused, telling his master's wife, "Look! My master doesn't have to worry about anything in the house with me in charge, and he has entrusted everything into my care.

The prison warden did not have to worry about anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with him. That's why Joseph prospered in everything he did.

The very next morning, he was frustrated about the dream, so he sent word to summon all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them what he had dreamed, but no one could interpret them.

"I can't do that," Joseph replied, "but God is concerned about Pharaoh's well-being."

Later, I also dreamed about seven plump, fruit-filled ears of grain that grew up out of a single stalk.

Furthermore, Joseph remembered the dreams that he had about them. So he accused them, "You're spies! You've come here to spy on our undefended territories!"

Later on, as they went about unloading their sacks, each man's bundle of money was found in each man's sack. When they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were greatly distressed.

"The man specifically asked about us and our relatives," they responded. "He asked us, "Is your father still alive?' and "Do you have another brother?' So we answered his questions. How could we have known that he would tell us to bring our brother back with us?"

Joseph asked them how they had been doing. "Is your father well, the older gentleman about whom you spoke?" he inquired. "Is he still alive?"

As Joseph looked up and recognized his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son, he asked, "Is this your youngest brother about whom you spoke to me?" And he addressed him directly, "May God be gracious to you, my son."

So go tell my father about all of my splendor in Egypt. Tell him about everything that you've seen. Be quick about it, and bring my father down here!"

Don't worry about your household goods, because the best of all the land of Egypt is yours."

By doing this, he placed Ephraim before Manasseh. Then Israel told Joseph, "Pay attention! I'm about to die, but God will be with you. He'll bring you back to the land that belongs to your ancestors.

In his last words, Jacob issued this set of instructions to them all: "I'm about to join our ancestors. Bury me alongside my ancestors in the cave in the field that used to belong to Ephron the Hittite.

"My father told me, "Look! I'm about to die. Bury me in my grave that I dug for myself in the land of Canaan." So please let me travel to bury my father. I'll be right back.'"

As far as you're concerned, you were planning evil against me, but God intended it for good, planning to bring about the present result so that many people would be preserved alive.