I am She – Day 8

₂₅There was a woman who had suffered terribly from severe bleeding for twelve years, ₂₆even though she had been treated by many doctors. She had spent all her money, but instead of getting better she got worse all the time. ₂₇She had heard about Jesus, so she came in the crowd behind him, ₂₈saying to herself, “If I just touch his clothes, I will get well.”

₂₉She touched his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once; and she had the feeling inside herself that she was healed of her trouble. ₃₀At once Jesus knew that power had gone out of him, so he turned round in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

₃₁His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding you; why do you ask who touched you?”

₃₂But Jesus kept looking round to see who had done it. ₃₃The woman realized what had happened to her, so she came, trembling with fear, knelt at his feet, and told him the whole truth. ₃₄Jesus said to her, “My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your trouble.”

₃₄Then the King will say to the people on his right, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. ₃₅I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, ₃₆naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’

₃₇“The righteous will then answer him, ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? ₃₈When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? ₃₉When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ ₄₀The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these members of my family, you did it for me!’

₁But Rachel had not borne Jacob any children, and so she became jealous of her sister and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I will die.”

₃₄When Esau was forty years old, he married two Hittite women, Judith the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath the daughter of Elon. ₃₅They made life miserable for Isaac and Rebecca.

₄₆Rebecca said to Isaac, “I am sick and tired of Esau's foreign wives. If Jacob also marries one of these Hittite women, I might as well die.”

₃₇In that town was a woman who lived a sinful life. She heard that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee's house, so she brought an alabaster jar full of perfume ₃₈and stood behind Jesus, by his feet, crying and wetting his feet with her tears. Then she dried his feet with her hair, kissed them, and poured the perfume on them. ₃₉When the Pharisee saw this, he said to himself, “If this man really were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him; he would know what kind of sinful life she lives!”

₄₀Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, Teacher,” he said, “tell me.”

₄₁“There were two men who owed money to a moneylender,” Jesus began. “One owed him 500 silver coins, and the other owed him fifty. ₄₂Neither of them could pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Which one, then, will love him more?”

₄₃“I suppose,” answered Simon, “that it would be the one who was forgiven more.”

“You are right,” said Jesus. ₄₄Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your home, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. ₄₅You did not welcome me with a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing my feet since I came. ₄₆You provided no olive oil for my head, but she has covered my feet with perfume. ₄₇I tell you, then, the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. But whoever has been forgiven little shows only a little love.”

₄₈Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

₄₉The others sitting at the table began to say to themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

₅₀But Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

₂₅“Suppose a man out in the countryside rapes a woman who is engaged to someone else. Then only the man is to be put to death; ₂₆nothing is to be done to the woman, because she has not committed a sin worthy of death. This case is the same as when one man attacks another man and murders him. ₂₇The man raped the engaged woman in the countryside, and although she cried for help, there was no one to help her.

₁₀Then he said to her, “Bring the cakes here to my bed and serve them to me yourself.” She took the cakes and went over to him. ₁₁As she offered them to him, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me!”

₁₂“No,” she said. “Don't force me to do such a degrading thing! That's awful! ₁₃How could I ever hold up my head in public again? And you — you would be completely disgraced in Israel. Please, speak to the king, and I'm sure that he will give me to you.” ₁₄But he would not listen to her; and since he was stronger than she was, he overpowered her and raped her.

₁₅Then Amnon was filled with a deep hatred for her; he hated her now even more than he had loved her before. He said to her, “Get out!”

₁₆“No,” she answered. “To send me away like this is a greater crime than what you just did!”

But Amnon would not listen to her; ₁₇he called in his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of my sight! Throw her out and lock the door!” ₁₈The servant put her out and locked the door.

Tamar was wearing a long robe with full sleeves, the usual clothing for an unmarried princess in those days. ₁₉She sprinkled ashes on her head, tore her robe, and with her face buried in her hands went away crying. ₂₀When her brother Absalom saw her, he asked, “Has Amnon molested you? Please, sister, don't let it upset you so much. He is your half-brother, so don't tell anyone about it.” So Tamar lived in Absalom's house, sad and lonely.

₂₂They were enjoying themselves when all of a sudden some sexual perverts from the town surrounded the house and started beating on the door. They said to the old man, “Bring out that man that came home with you! We want to have sex with him!”

₂₃But the old man went outside and said to them, “No, my friends! Please! Don't do such an evil, immoral thing! This man is my guest. ₂₄Look! Here is his concubine and my own daughter, who is a virgin. I'll bring them out now, and you can have them. Do with them whatever you want. But don't do such an awful thing to this man!” ₂₅But the men would not listen to him. So the Levite took his concubine and put her outside with them. They raped her and abused her all night long and didn't stop until morning.

₂₆At dawn the woman came and fell down at the door of the old man's house, where her husband was. She was still there when daylight came. ₂₇Her husband got up that morning, and when he opened the door to go on his way, he found his concubine lying in front of the house with her hands reaching for the door. ₂₈He said, “Get up. Let's go.” But there was no answer. So he put her body across the donkey and started on his way home.

₂₁Because Rebecca had no children, Isaac prayed to the LORD for her. The LORD answered his prayer, and Rebecca became pregnant. ₂₂She was going to have twins, and before they were born, they struggled against each other in her womb. She said, “Why should something like this happen to me?” So she went to ask the LORD for an answer.

₂₃The LORD said to her,

₃₁It was faith that kept the prostitute Rahab from being killed with those who disobeyed God, for she gave the Israelite spies a friendly welcome.