Luke 16; Genesis 27:46; Genesis 28; Psalms 21

1 Jesus also said to his followers, "Once there was a rich man who had a manager to take care of his business. This manager was accused of cheating him.

2 So he called the manager in and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give me a report of what you have done with my money, because you can't be my manager any longer.'

3 The manager thought to himself, 'What will I do since my master is taking my job away from me? I am not strong enough to dig ditches, and I am ashamed to beg.

4 I know what I'll do so that when I lose my job people will welcome me into their homes.'

5 "So the manager called in everyone who owed the master any money. He asked the first one, 'How much do you owe?'

6 He answered, 'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.' The manager said to him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write four hundred gallons.'

7 Then the manager asked another one, 'How much do you owe?' He answered, 'One thousand bushels of wheat.' Then the manager said to him, 'Take your bill and write eight hundred bushels.'

8 So, the master praised the dishonest manager for being smart. Yes, worldly people are smarter with their own kind than spiritual people are.

9 "I tell you, make friends for yourselves using worldly riches so that when those riches are gone, you will be welcomed in those homes that continue forever.

10 Whoever can be trusted with a little can also be trusted with a lot, and whoever is dishonest with a little is dishonest with a lot.

11 If you cannot be trusted with worldly riches, then who will trust you with true riches?

12 And if you cannot be trusted with things that belong to someone else, who will give you things of your own?

13 "No servant can serve two masters. The servant will hate one master and love the other, or will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and worldly riches."

14 The Pharisees, who loved money, were listening to all these things and made fun of Jesus.

15 He said to them, "You make yourselves look good in front of people, but God knows what is really in your hearts. What is important to people is hateful in God's sight.

16 "The law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were preached until Johnn came. Since then the Good News about the kingdom of God is being told, and everyone tries to enter it by force.

17 It would be easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of a letter in the law to be changed.

18 "If a man divorces his wife and marries another woman, he is guilty of adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman is also guilty of adultery."

19 Jesus said, "There was a rich man who always dressed in the finest clothes and lived in luxury every day.

20 And a very poor man named Lazarus, whose body was covered with sores, was laid at the rich man's gate.

21 He wanted to eat only the small pieces of food that fell from the rich man's table. And the dogs would come and lick his sores.

22 Later, Lazarus died, and the angels carried him to the arms of Abraham. The rich man died, too, and was buried.

23 In the place of the dead, he was in much pain. The rich man saw Abraham far away with Lazarus at his side.

24 He called, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am suffering in this fire!'

25 But Abraham said, 'Child, remember when you were alive you had the good things in life, but bad things happened to Lazarus. Now he is comforted here, and you are suffering.

26 Besides, there is a big pit between you and us, so no one can cross over to you, and no one can leave there and come here.'

27 The rich man said, 'Father, then please send Lazarus to my father's house.

28 I have five brothers, and Lazarus could warn them so that they will not come to this place of pain.'

29 But Abraham said, 'They have the law of Moses and the writings of the prophets; let them learn from them.'

30 The rich man said, 'No, father Abraham! If someone goes to them from the dead, they would believe and change their hearts and lives.'

31 But Abraham said to him, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not listen to someone who comes back from the dead.'"

46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am tired of Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of these Hittite women here in this land, I want to die."

1 Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and com manded him, "You must not marry a Canaan ite woman.

2 Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father, in Northwest Mesopotamia. Laban, your mother's brother, lives there. Marry one of his daughters.

3 May God Almighty bless you and give you many children, and may you become a group of many peoples.

4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing of Abraham so that you may own the land where you are now living as a stranger, the land God gave to Abraham."

5 So Isaac sent Jacob to Northwest Mesopotamia, to Laban the brother of Rebekah. Bethuel the Aramean was the father of Laban and Rebekah, and Rebekah was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

6 Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Northwest Mesopotamia to find a wife there. He also learned that Isaac had commanded Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman

7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Northwest Mesopotamia.

8 So Esau saw that his father Isaac did not want his sons to marry Canaanite women.

9 Now Esau already had wives, but he went to Ishmael son of Abraham, and he married Mahalath, Ishmael's daughter. Mahalath was the sister of Nebaioth.

10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.

11 When he came to a place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. He found a stone and laid his head on it to go to sleep.

12 Jacob dreamed that there was a ladder resting on the earth and reaching up into heaven, and he saw angels of God going up and coming down the ladder.

13 Then Jacob saw the Lord standing above the ladder, and he said, "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your grandfather, and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are now sleeping.

14 Your descendants will be as many as the dust of the earth. They will spread west and east, north and south, and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.

15 I am with you and will protect you everywhere you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not know it."

17 He was afraid and said, "This place frightens me! It is surely the house of God and the gate of heaven."

18 Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone he had slept on and set it up on its end. Then he poured olive oil on the top of it.

19 At first, the name of that city was Luz, but Jacob named it Bethel.

20 Then Jacob made a promise. He said, "I want God to be with me and to protect me on this journey. I want him to give me food to eat and clothes to wear

21 so I will be able to return in peace to my father's house. If the Lord does these things, he will be my God.

22 This stone which I have set up on its end will be the house of God. And I will give God one-tenth of all he gives me."

1 Lord, the king rejoices because of your strength; he is so happy when you save him!

2 You gave the king what he wanted and did not refuse what he asked for. Selah

3 You put good things before him and placed a gold crown on his head.

4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him, so his years go on and on.

5 He has great glory because you gave him victories; you gave him honor and praise.

6 You always gave him blessings; you made him glad because you were with him.

7 The king truly trusts the Lord. Because God Most High always loves him, he will not be overwhelmed.

8 Your hand is against all your enemies; those who hate you will feel your power.

9 When you appear, you will burn them as in a furnace. In your anger you will swallow them up, and fire will burn them up.

10 You will destroy their families from the earth; their children will not live.

11 They made evil plans against you, but their traps won't work.

12 You will make them turn their backs when you aim your arrows at them.

13 Be supreme, Lord, in your power. We sing and praise your greatness. For the director of music. To the tune of "The Doe of Dawn." A psalm of David.