But Abram replied, "Lord GOD, what can you give me since I continue to be childless, and the heir of my household is Eliezer from Damascus?

Then the LORD took him outside. "Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can!" he said. "Your descendants will be that numerous."

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.

Abraham fell to the ground, laughed, and told himself, "Can a child be born to a 100-year-old man? Can a 90-year-old Sarah give birth?"

and said, "Look, my lords! Please come inside your servant's house, wash your feet, and spend the night. Then you can get up early and be on your way." But they responded, "No, we would rather spend the night in the town square."

They called out to Lot and asked, "Where are the men who came to visit you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!"

Look, there is a town nearby where I can flee, and it's a small one. Let me escape there! It's a small one, isn't it? That way I'll stay alive!"

Come on! Let's make our father drink wine, and then we'll have sex with him so we can preserve our father's lineage."

Now then, return the man's wife. As a matter of fact, he's a prophet and can intercede for you so you'll live. But if you don't return her, be aware that you and all who are yours will certainly die."

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.

"I am an alien and an outsider among you. Give me a cemetery among you where I can bury my dead away from my presence."

So here's Rebekah she's right in front of you. Take her and go, so she can become a wife for your master's son, just as the LORD has decreed."

"Please don't delay me," the servant answered them. "The LORD has made my journey successful. Send me off so I can return to my master."

Then prepare some food, just the way I like it, and bring it to me so that I can eat and bless you before I die."

"Bring me some game and then prepare some food for me so I can eat and bless you in the presence of the LORD before I die.'

Then you are to take it to your father so that he can eat and bless you before he dies."

"I'm Esau, your firstborn!" Jacob told his father. "I've done what you asked, so please sit up and eat what I caught, so you can bless me."

So Isaac told Jacob, "Come here, my son, so I can feel you and know for sure whether or not you're my son Esau."

"Come closer to me," Isaac replied, "so I can eat some of the game, my son, and then bless you." So Jacob came closer, and Isaac ate. Jacob also brought wine so his father could drink.

prepared some delicious food, brought it to his father, and told him, "Can you get up now, father, so you may eat some of your son's game and then bless me?"

In response, Isaac told Esau, "Look! I've predicted that he's going to become your master, and I've assigned all his brothers to be his servants. What then can I do for you, my son?"

After that happens and he has forgotten what you've done to him, I'll send for you so you can return from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?"

But they responded, "We can't do that until all the sheep have been gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the opening of the well. Only then can we water the flock."

Eventually, Jacob told Laban, "Bring me my wife, now that my time of service has been completed, so I can go be with her."

That made Jacob angry with Rachel, so he asked her, "Can I take God's place, who has not allowed you to conceive?"

Rachel responded, "Here's my handmaid Bilhah. Go have sex with her. She can bear children on my knees so I can have children through her."

After Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob told Laban, "Send me off so that I can go back to my place and country.

Now, you can go if you must go, because you certainly are longing to go to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?"

They told them, "We can't do this. We can't give our sister to a man who isn't circumcised, because that would be insulting to us.

No one has more authority in this house than I do. He has withheld nothing from me, except you, and that's because you're his wife. So how can I commit such a horrible evil? How can I sin against God?"

"I've had a dream," Pharaoh told Joseph, "but nobody can interpret it. I've heard that you can interpret dreams."

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

so Pharaoh asked his servants, "Can we find anyone else like this someone in whom the Spirit of God lives?

Pay attention now! I've heard that there is grain in Egypt, so go down there and buy some grain for us, so we can live, instead of dying."

So here's how we'll test you. You can bet the life of Pharaoh that you're not leaving here until your youngest brother comes here!

One of you is to be sent back so he can get your brother while the rest of you remain in custody. That way, we'll test whether or not you're telling the truth. If you're not, as surely as the Pharaoh lives, you're spies!"

If you're honest men, leave one of your brothers here in custody, then the rest of you can leave and take some grain with you to alleviate the famine that's affecting your households.

Just be sure to bring your youngest brother back to me so what you've claimed can be verified. That way, you won't die."

But bring your youngest brother back to me so I can be sure that you're honest men, and not spies. Then I'll return your brother to you, and you'll be allowed to trade anywhere in the land.'"

"Send the young man with me," Judah told his father Israel, "and we'll get up and go so we can survive and not die and that includes all of us, you and our families.

Also take twice as much money with you so you can return the money that had been replaced in the mouth of your sacks. Maybe it was an accounting mistake on his part.

"Relax," the manager said. "You can stop being afraid, now. Your God, the God of your father, has placed hidden treasure within those sacks for you. I've been paid in full." Then he brought Simeon out to them,

"What can we say, Your Excellency?" Judah replied. "How can we explain this or justify ourselves? God has discovered the sin of your servants, and now we've become slaves to you, Your Excellency, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been discovered."

"But then you ordered your servants, "Bring him here to me so I can see him for myself.'

"But we told him, "We can't go back there. If our youngest brother accompanies us, we'll go back, but we cannot see the man's face again unless our youngest brother accompanies us.'

Also, your servant pledged his own life as a guarantee of the young man's safety. I told my father, "If I don't bring him back to you, you can blame me forever.'

After all, how can I go back to my father if the young man doesn't accompany me? I'm afraid of what might happen to my father."

"Look, now! All of you can see me! And my own brother Benjamin can tell that it's really me speaking to you!

get your father and your households, and come back to me. I'll give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can live off the abundance of the land.'

"You can surrender your livestock," Joseph replied. "I'll feed them in exchange, since your money is gone."

So why should we and our land die right in front of you? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed, so we can survive and not die, and so the land won't stay desolate."

"These are my sons," Joseph replied. "God gave them to me here in Egypt." "Please bring them close to me," Jacob said, "so I can bless them."

After this, Jacob called his sons together and told them, "Assemble yourselves around me so I can tell you all what is going to happen to you in the last days.

Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call one of the nursing Hebrew women so she can nurse the child for you?"

But Moses told God, "Who am I? How can I go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelis out of Egypt?"

Moses left and returned to his father-in-law Jethro. Moses told him, "Please let me go and return to my own people in Egypt so I can see whether they're still alive." Jethro told Moses, "Go in peace."

Go get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work quotas won't be reduced at all.'"

Then Pharaoh called to Moses and Aaron and said, "Plead with the LORD so that he may remove the frogs from me and my people. I'll let the people go so they can offer sacrifices to the LORD."

The LORD told Moses, "Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he's going down to the water. You are to say to him, "This is what the LORD says: "Let my people go so they can serve me.

Then Pharaoh said, "I'll let you go so you can offer sacrifices to the LORD your God in the desert. But you must not go very far away. Pray for me."

Then the LORD told Moses, "Stretch your hand toward the sky and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that one can feel."

Pharaoh called Moses and said, "Go serve the LORD, but your flocks and your cattle are to remain. Even your little ones can go with you!"

If a household is too small for a lamb, then it and its closest neighbor are to obtain one based on the number of individuals dividing the lamb based on what each person can eat.

I'll be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. You are to strike the rock and water will come out of it, so the people can drink." Moses did this in front of the elders of Israel.

for it's his only covering; it's his outer garment, for what else can he sleep in? And when he cries out to me, I'll hear him, for I am gracious.

You are to make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold so the table can be carried with them.

"You are to bring your brother Aaron, along with his sons, from among the Israelis so they can serve as priests for me: that is, Aaron and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

It is to have two shoulder-pieces attached to its two edges so it can be joined together.

Along with him I'm appointing Ahisamach's son Oholiab from the tribe of Dan, and I've given wisdom to all who are skilled so they can make everything that I've commanded you,

The next day Moses told the people, "You committed a great sin, and now I'll go up to the LORD, and perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."

The LORD said, "Look, there is a place near me where you can stand on the rock;

"If he can't afford a goat, then he is to bring to the LORD for his sin offering two turtledoves or two young doves: one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.

"If he can't afford two turtledoves or two young doves, then he is to bring as his offering a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering for what he has committed. He is to put no olive oil or frankincense on it, since it's a sin offering.

You are to differentiate between the clean and unclean, between the living creature that can be eaten and the living creature that is not to be eaten."

The person who is clean is to wash his clothes, shave all his hair, and bathe in water, after which he is to be declared clean. Then he can be brought back to the camp, but he is to remain outside his tent for seven days.

and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whichever he can afford. One is for a sin offering and the other is for a whole burnt offering.

Then he is to offer one of the turtledoves orthe young pigeons, whichever he can afford.

Based on what he can afford, one is for a sin offering and the other is for a whole burnt offering. Along with the grain offering, the priest is to make atonement for the person to be cleansed in the LORD's presence.

causing me to oppose them and take them to the land of their enemies so that the uncircumcised foreskin of their hearts can be humbled and so that they accept the punishment of their iniquity

They will leave the land so it can rest while it lies desolate without them. That's when they'll receive the punishment of their iniquity, because indeed they will have rejected my ordinances and despised my statutes.

from 30 years and older through the age of 50 years, from everyone who can enter the service to perform work at the Tent of Meeting.

Count their number from between 30 to 50 years old, including everyone who can enter the service to perform work at the Tent of Meeting."

from 30 to 50 years old as you count them, including everyone who can enter service and perform work at the Tent of Meeting.

This is to be the law of the Nazirite when he commits his offering to the LORD on account of his consecration, over and beyond what he owns alone plus whatever he can provide, based on the vow from his own mouth that he vows to fulfill on account of the law of his consecration."

and asked, "Why can't we bring an offering to the LORD at the appointed time among the Israelis, even though we are unclean because we came in contact with a corpse?"

Then Moses responded, "Please don't leave us now, since you know where we can camp in the wilderness. You could be our guide.

But now we can't stand it anymore, because there's nothing in front of us except this manna."

"But give this command to the people: "You are to consecrate yourselves, because tomorrow you're going to eat meat, since you've complained where the LORD can hear it, "Who can give us meat to eat? After all, life was better with us in Egypt." Therefore, the LORD is going to give you meat and you'll eat

I speak to him audibly and in visions, not in mysteries. If he can gaze at the image of the LORD, why aren't you afraid to speak against my servant Moses?"

Caleb silenced the people on Moses' behalf and responded, "Let's go up and take control, because we can definitely conquer it."

"We can't attack those people," the men who were with him said, "because they're too strong compared to us."

But Moses asked them, "Why do you continue to sin against what the LORD said? Don't you know that you can never succeed?

You still haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you really think that you can make these men look the other way? We won't go up."

"Leave this community, so I can annihilate them in a moment."

Those that can be redeemed, you are to redeem at the age of one month, based on your estimate for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, that is, for 20 gerahs.

He is to purify himself on the third day and he will be clean on the seventh day. But if he can't purify himself on the third day then he can't be clean on the seventh day.

Balak asked Balaam, "Didn't I repeatedly send for you to summon you? Why didn't you come to me? I can pay you well, can't I?"

Balaam answered Balak, "Well, I'm here now. I've come to you, but I can't just say anything, can I? I'll speak only what God puts in my mouth to say."

But how can I curse those whom God hasn't cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD hasn't denounced?

Who can count the dust of Jacob? Who can number the dust of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may I end up like him."