The Daily Audio Bible
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Genesis is filled with moral failures and ethical dilemmas, the kinds of things that happen in real life. Abraham’s children are not perfect people; they—like the rest of us—are deeply flawed and conflicted over the tough moral choices we all have to make. After Dinah is forcibly raped, what are her brothers to do to protect her and restore their family honor? How is justice to be done? How can they make things right? These are important questions. The desire to protect those you love and to make things right is a noble impulse, but ignoble deeds follow. Skilled in deception, her brothers use circumcision—their covenant obligation—to temporarily disable the men and make them vulnerable to attack. After the carnage, Jacob, the older, wiser head of the family, knows the score: actions like these have consequences. Violence only breeds more violence. If they are to survive, they must leave . . . soon.
35 God (to Jacob): Get up, go back to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar to Me, to the God who appeared to you when you ran away from your brother, Esau.
2 Jacob told his household and those with him to get ready to move.
Jacob: Get rid of any foreign gods you have in your possession. Purify yourselves: bathe and change your clothes. 3 Then come with me. We’re going to Bethel so that I can build an altar there to the God who answers me whenever I am in distress and who is with me wherever I go.
4 So they handed over to Jacob all of the foreign gods they had, as well as the rings in their ears. Jacob buried them in the shadow of a mighty oak that was near Shechem.
5 As they traveled, God struck terror into the hearts of all of the cities along the way so that no one pursued Jacob’s family. 6 Jacob, and all those who were with him, arrived in Luz (which is also known as Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 There he built an altar and called the place El-bethel because it was there that God had revealed Himself to Jacob when he was running away from his brother. 8 Along the way, Deborah (Rebekah’s nurse) died, and they buried her under the branches of a stately oak below Bethel. Since that day, it has been known as Allon-bacuth, which means “oak of weeping.”
9 Now that Jacob had come back from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel and blessed him.
God: 10 Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be known as Jacob. Israel will be your name.
From then on, God addressed him by his new name: Israel.
God: 11 I am the God-All-Powerful.[a] Be fruitful and multiply. You will give rise to a great nation; indeed nation after nation will come from you. Kings and rulers shall be numbered among your descendants. 12 Your children will one day possess the land I promised to Abraham and Isaac.
13 Then God ascended from the place where He had spoken with Jacob. 14 And Jacob set up a pillar of stone in that same spot. He poured wine on it as an offering to God and doused it with oil. 15 Jacob named this place where God had spoken with him “Bethel.”
16 After that, they all traveled on from Bethel. While still a long way from Ephrath, Rachel began having labor pains, and it was a hard labor. 17 And when the labor pains were most intense, the midwife tried to comfort her.
Rachel’s Midwife: Don’t be afraid. You’re going to have another son.
18 But as her life slipped away, just before she died, Rachel named her son Ben-oni, but his father decided to call him Benjamin instead. 19 So Rachel died, and they buried her on the way to Ephrath (which is also known as Bethlehem). 20 Jacob set up a pillar to mark Rachel’s tomb, and the pillar at her tomb still stands to this day.
21 Israel then continued on the journey, and he pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. 22 During the time Israel lived in this land, Reuben slept with his father’s concubine, Bilhah, and Israel found out about it.
23 Now Jacob (Israel) had twelve sons. Leah’s six sons were Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 Rachel’s two sons were Joseph and Benjamin. 25 Rachel’s servant, Bilhah, had two sons: Dan and Naphtali. 26 Leah’s servant, Zilpah, had two sons: Gad and Asher. These were the sons born to Jacob in Paddan-aram and on the journey home.
27 Jacob finally arrived at his father Isaac’s house at Mamre not far from Kiriath-arba (which is also known as Hebron). This is where Abraham and Isaac had resided as foreigners.
28 Isaac lived 180 years. 29 By the time he took his last breath and joined his ancestors in death, he had reached a ripe old age and lived a full life. His sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him.
36 Here is an account of Esau’s descendants (his nation is known as Edom).
2 Esau had taken his wives from the Canaanites: Adah (daughter of Elon the Hittite), Oholibamah (daughter of Anah, granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite), 3 and Basemath (Ishmael’s daughter and Nebaioth’s sister). 4 Adah gave birth to Eliphaz. Basemath gave birth to Reuel. 5 Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. All of these were Esau’s sons, born in the land of Canaan.
6 Esau took his wives, sons, daughters, all of the members of his household, his cattle, his livestock, and all of the property he had acquired while living in Canaan; and he moved to a land some distance from his brother, Jacob. 7 Since they were too wealthy to live in close proximity—that is, the land couldn’t support both of their vast numbers of livestock— 8 Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is also known as Edom.)
9 Here is an account of Esau’s descendants. He was the founding father of the Edomites, a people who lived in the hill country of Seir.[b] 10 Esau’s sons were Eliphaz (son of his wife Adah) and Reuel (son of his wife Basemath). 11 Eliphaz’s sons were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son, and she gave birth to Amalek.) These were the grandsons of Adah, Esau’s first wife. 13 Reuel’s sons were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the grandsons of Basemath (Esau’s wife). 14 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah (daughter of Anah, Zibeon’s granddaughter): Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
As the number of Esau’s descendants grows, they settle into different tribes. Each tribe has its own leader.
15 These are the chiefs among Esau’s descendants: From the sons of Eliphaz (Esau’s firstborn) were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These grandsons of Adah became tribal leaders in the land of Edom. 17 From the sons of Reuel (Esau’s son) were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These grandsons of Basemath (Esau’s wife) became tribal leaders in the land of Edom. 18 From the sons of Oholibamah (Esau’s wife and Anah’s daughter) were Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. They became tribal leaders. 19 These were the tribes and tribal chiefs descended from Esau (who is also known as Edom).
20-21 The sons of Seir the Horite, who also inhabited the land, were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. They became the tribal chiefs of the Horites (who were the sons of Seir) in the land of Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam, and Lotan’s sister was Timna. 23 The sons of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 The sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. (This is the same Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he was pasturing his father Zibeon’s donkeys.) 25 The children of Anah were Dishon and Oholibamah (Anah’s daughter). 26 The sons of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran. 29-30 These descendants of the Horites were the tribal chiefs of their respective tribes in the land of Seir: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.
31 There were kings who reigned in the land of Edom long before any king ruled over the Israelites: 32 Bela (Beor’s son) ruled in Edom from his city Dinhabah. 33 Bela died, then Jobab (son of Zerah’s son from Bozrah) succeeded him as king. 34 Jobab died, then Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king. 35 Husham died, then Hadad (Bedad’s son, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab) succeeded him and ruled from his city Avith. 36 Hadad died, then Samlah of Masrekah succeeded him as king. 37 Samlah died, then Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates River succeeded him as king. 38 Shaul died, and then Baal-hanan (Achbor’s son) succeeded him as king. 39 Baal-hanan (Achbor’s son) died, then Hadar succeeded him and ruled from his city Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel (daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab).
40 These are the names of the tribal chiefs among Esau’s descendants, according to their families and where they lived: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram. These were the tribal chiefs of Edom (who is also known as Esau, the father of Edomites) according to the land they owned and where they settled.
12 The Sabbath came, and Jesus walked through a field. His disciples, who were hungry, began to pick some of the grain and eat it.
The Sabbath is a day of rest when one creates nothing, breaks nothing, gives nothing, makes no contracts, cuts no flowers, and boils no water; it is a day set aside by the Lord to remember the creative work of God, to experience the peace of the Lord, and to rest in the provision of God.
2 When the Pharisees saw this, they reacted.
Pharisees: Look! Your disciples are breaking the law of the Sabbath!
Jesus: 3 Haven’t you read what David did? When he and his friends were hungry, 4 they went into God’s house and they ate the holy bread, even though neither David nor his friends, but only priests, were allowed that bread. 5 Indeed, have you not read that on the Sabbath priests themselves do work in the temple, breaking the Sabbath law yet remaining blameless? 6 Listen, One who is greater than the temple is here.
7 Do you not understand what the prophet Hosea recorded, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”[a]? If you understood that snippet of Scripture, you would not condemn these innocent men for ostensibly breaking the law of the Sabbath. 8 For the Son of Man has not only the authority to heal and cast out demons, He also has authority over the Sabbath.
9 Jesus left the field and went to the synagogue, 10 and there He met a man with a shriveled hand. The Pharisees wanted to set up Jesus.
Pharisees: Well, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath too?
Jesus: 11 Look, imagine that one of you has a sheep that falls into a ditch on the Sabbath—what would you do?
Jesus—who can see the Pharisees are testing Him and basically have missed the point—is growing a little testy. The Pharisees say nothing.
(to the Pharisees) You would dive in and rescue your sheep. 12 Now what is more valuable, a person or a sheep? So what do you think—should I heal this man on the Sabbath? Isn’t it lawful to do good deeds on the Sabbath? 13 (to the man with the shriveled hand) Stretch out your hand.
As the man did so, his hand was completely healed, as good as new.
14 The Pharisees went and mapped out plans to destroy Jesus.
15 Jesus knew that the Pharisees were plotting to kill Him and left the area. Many people followed Him, and He healed them all, 16 always insisting that they tell no one about Him. 17 He did this in keeping with the prophecy Isaiah made so long ago:
18 This is My servant, whom I have well chosen;
this is the One I love, the One in whom I delight.
I will place My Spirit upon Him;
He will proclaim justice to all the world.
19 He will not fight or shout
or talk loudly in the streets.
20 He will not crush a reed under His heel
or blow out a smoldering candle
until He has led justice and righteousness to final victory.
21 All the world will find its hope in His name.[b]
Psalm 15
A song of David.
A recurring theme in the psalms is the dwelling place of God and its importance in worship. This Davidic psalm considers the moral qualities of the person who wishes to approach God.
1 Eternal One, who is invited to stay in Your dwelling?
Who is granted passage to Your holy mountain?
2 Here is the answer: The one who lives with integrity, does what is right,
and speaks honestly with truth from the heart.
3 The one who doesn’t speak evil against others
or wrong his neighbor,
or slander his friends.
4 The one who loathes the loathsome,
honors those who fear the Eternal,
And keeps all promises no matter the cost.
5 The one who does not lend money with gain in mind
and cannot be bought to harm an innocent name.
If you live this way, you will not be shaken and will live together with the Lord.
21 My son, never lose sight of God’s wisdom and knowledge:
make decisions out of true wisdom, guard your good sense,
22 And they will be life to your soul
and fine jewelry around your neck.
23 Then each one of your steps will land securely on your life’s journey,
and you will not trip or fall.
24 Your mind will be clear, free from fear;
when you lie down to rest, you will be refreshed by sweet sleep.
25 Stay calm; there is no need to be afraid of a sudden disaster
or to worry when calamity strikes the wicked,
26 For the Eternal is always there to protect you.
He will safeguard your each and every step.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.