The Daily Audio Bible
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Sarah’s Death
23 Sarah lived to be 127 years old. This was the length of her life. 2 She died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to cry about her death.
3 Then Abraham left the side of his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites, 4 “I’m a stranger with no permanent home. Let me have some of your property for a tomb so that I can bury my dead wife.”
5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “Listen to us, sir. You are a mighty leader among us. Bury your dead in one of our best tombs. Not one of us will withhold from you his tomb for burying your dead.”
7 Abraham got up in front of the Hittites, the people of that region, and bowed with his face touching the ground. 8 He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my wife, listen to me. Encourage Ephron, son of Zohar, 9 to let me have the cave of Machpelah that he owns at the end of his field. He should sell it to me for its full price as my property to be used as a tomb among you.”
10 Ephron was sitting among the Hittites. He answered Abraham so that everyone who was entering the city gate could hear him. He said, 11 “No, sir, listen to me. I’m giving you the field together with the cave that is in it. My people are witnesses that I’m giving it to you. Bury your wife!”
12 Abraham bowed down again in front of the people of that region. 13 He spoke to Ephron so that the people of that region could hear him. He said, “If you would only listen to me. I will pay you the price of the field. Take it from me so that I can bury my wife there.”
14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Sir, listen to me. The land is worth ten pounds of silver. What is that between us? Bury your wife!”
16 Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms. So he weighed out for Ephron the amount stated in front of the Hittites: ten pounds of silver at the current merchants’ exchange rate.
17 So Ephron’s field at Machpelah, east of Mamre, was sold 18 to Abraham. His property included the field with the cave in it as well as all the trees inside the boundaries of the field.[a] The Hittites together with all who had entered the city gate were the official witnesses for the agreement.
19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre (that is, Hebron). 20 So the field and its cave were sold by the Hittites to Abraham as his property to be used as a tomb.
Abraham Instructs His Servant
24 By now Abraham was old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 So Abraham said to the senior servant of his household who was in charge of all that he owned, “Take a solemn oath. 3 I want you to swear by the Lord God of heaven and earth that you will not get my son a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I’m living. 4 Instead, you will go to the land of my relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman doesn’t want to come back to this land with me? Should I take your son all the way back to the land you came from?”
6 “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said to him. 7 “The Lord God of heaven took me from my father’s home and the land of my family. He spoke to me and swore this oath: ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’
“God will send his angel ahead of you, and you will get my son a wife from there. 8 If the woman doesn’t want to come back with you, then you’ll be free from this oath that you swear to me. But don’t take my son back there.” 9 So the servant did as his master Abraham commanded and swore the oath to him concerning this.
10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and left, taking with him all of his master’s best things. He traveled to Aram Naharaim, Nahor’s city.
Abraham’s Servant Finds a Wife for Isaac
11 The servant had the camels kneel down outside the city by the well. It was evening, when the women would go out to draw water. 12 Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today. Show your kindness to Abraham. 13 Here I am standing by the spring, and the girls of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 I will ask a girl, ‘May I please have a drink from your jar?’ If she answers, ‘Have a drink, and I’ll also water your camels,’ let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. This way I’ll know that you’ve shown your kindness to my master.”
15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. 16 The girl was a very attractive virgin. No man had ever had sexual intercourse with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came back.
17 The servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a drink of water.”
18 “Drink, sir,” she said. She quickly lowered her jar to her hand and gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I’ll also keep drawing water for your camels until they’ve had enough to drink.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the water trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. 21 The man was silently watching her to see whether or not the Lord had made his trip successful.
22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a fifth of an ounce and two gold bracelets weighing four ounces. 23 He asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me whether there is room in your father’s house for us to spend the night.”
24 She answered him, “I’m the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah and Nahor. 25 We have plenty of straw and feed ⌞for your camels⌟ and room for you to spend the night.”
26 The man knelt, bowing to the Lord with his face touching the ground. 27 He said, “Praise the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. The Lord hasn’t failed to be kind and faithful to my master. The Lord has led me on this trip to the home of my master’s relatives.”
28 The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29 Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. 30 He saw the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and heard her tell what the man had said to her. Immediately, Laban ran out to the man by the spring.[b] He came to the man, who was standing with the camels by the spring. 31 He said, “Come in, you whom the Lord has blessed. Why are you standing out here? I have straightened up the house and made a place for the camels.”
32 So the man went into the house. The camels were unloaded and given straw and feed. Then water was brought for him and his men to wash their feet. 33 When the food was put in front of him, he said, “I won’t eat until I’ve said what I have to say.”
“Speak up,” Laban said.
34 “I am Abraham’s servant,” he said. 35 “The Lord has blessed my master, and he has become wealthy. The Lord has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. 36 My master’s wife Sarah gave him a son in her old age, and my master has given that son everything he has. 37 My master made me swear this oath: ‘Don’t get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I’m living. 38 Instead, go to my father’s home and to my relatives, and get my son a wife.’
39 “I asked my master, ‘What if the woman won’t come back with me?’
40 “He answered me, ‘I have been living the way the Lord wants me to. The Lord will send his angel with you to make your trip successful. You will get my son a wife from my relatives and from my father’s family. 41 Then you will be free from your oath to me. You will also be free of your oath to me if my relatives are not willing to do this when you go to them.’
42 “When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘Lord God of my master Abraham, please make my trip successful. 43 I’m standing by the spring. I’ll say to the young woman who comes out to draw water, “Please give me a drink of water.” 44 If she says to me, “Not only may you have a drink, but I will also draw water for your camels,” let her be the woman the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’
45 “Before I had finished praying, Rebekah came with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water.
“So I asked her, ‘May I have a drink?’ 46 She quickly lowered her jar and said, ‘Have a drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels.
47 “Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’
“She answered, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor and Milcah.’
“I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 I knelt, bowing down to the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. The Lord led me in the right direction to get the daughter of my master’s relative for his son. 49 Tell me whether or not you’re going to show my master true kindness so that I will know what to do.”
50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord. We can’t say anything to you one way or another. 51 Here’s Rebekah! Take her and go! She will become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has said.”
Jesus Cures a Man with a Skin Disease(A)
8 When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.
2 A man with a serious skin disease came and bowed down in front of him. The man said to Jesus, “Sir, if you’re willing, you can make me clean.” [a]
3 Jesus reached out, touched him, and said, “I’m willing. So be clean!” Immediately, his skin disease went away, and he was clean.
4 Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about this! Instead, show yourself to the priest. Then offer the sacrifice Moses commanded as proof to people that you are clean.”
A Believing Army Officer(B)
5 When Jesus went to Capernaum, a Roman army officer came to beg him for help. 6 The officer said, “Sir, my servant is lying at home paralyzed and in terrible pain.”
7 Jesus said to him, “I’ll come to heal him.”
8 The officer responded, “Sir, I don’t deserve to have you come into my house. But just give a command, and my servant will be healed. 9 As you know, I’m in a chain of command and have soldiers at my command. I tell one of them, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and another, ‘Come!’ and he comes. I tell my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
10 Jesus was amazed when he heard this. He said to those who were following him, “I can guarantee this truth: I haven’t found faith as great as this in anyone in Israel. 11 I can guarantee that many will come from all over the world. They will eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 The citizens of that kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness. People will cry and be in extreme pain there.”
13 Jesus told the officer, “Go! What you believed will be done for you.” And at that moment the servant was healed.
Jesus Cures Peter’s Mother-in-Law and Many Others(C)
14 When Jesus went to Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law in bed with a fever. 15 Jesus touched her hand, and the fever went away. So she got up and prepared a meal for him.
16 In the evening the people brought him many who were possessed by demons. He forced the ⌞evil⌟ spirits out of people with a command and cured everyone who was sick. 17 So what the prophet Isaiah had said came true: “He took away our weaknesses and removed our diseases.”
13 Have pity on me, O Lord.
Look at what I suffer because of those who hate me.
You take me away from the gates of death
14 so that I may recite your praises one by one
in the gates of Zion
and find joy in your salvation.
15 The nations have sunk into the pit they have made.
Their feet are caught in the net they have hidden ⌞to trap others⌟.
16 The Lord is known by the judgment he has carried out.
The wicked person is trapped
by the work of his own hands. Higgaion Selah
17 Wicked people, all the nations who forget God,
will return to the grave.
18 Needy people will not always be forgotten.
Nor will the hope of oppressed people be lost forever.
19 Arise, O Lord.
Do not let mortals gain any power.
Let the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Strike them with terror, O Lord.
Let the nations know that they are ⌞only⌟ mortal. Selah
Using Wisdom
3 My son,
do not forget my teachings,
and keep my commands in mind,
2 because they will bring you
long life, good years, and peace.
3 Do not let mercy and truth leave you.
Fasten them around your neck.
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will find favor and much success
in the sight of God and humanity.
5 Trust the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths smooth.[a]
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