The Daily Audio Bible
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28 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, “You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women.(A) 2 Go at once to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take as wife from there one of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.(B) 3 May God Almighty[a] bless you and make you fruitful and numerous, that you may become a company of peoples.(C) 4 May he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, land that God gave to Abraham.”(D) 5 Thus Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.
Esau Marries Ishmael’s Daughter
6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there and that as he blessed him he charged him, “You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women,”(E) 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please his father Isaac,(F) 9 Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.(G)
Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed that there was a stairway[b] set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.(H) 13 And the Lord stood beside him[c] and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring,(I) 14 and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed[d] in you and in your offspring.(J) 15 Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”(K) 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!”(L) 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.(M) 19 He called that place Bethel,[e] but the name of the city was Luz at the first.(N) 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,(O) 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God,(P) 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you.”(Q)
Jacob Meets Rachel
29 Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.(R) 2 As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying there beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, 3 and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.
4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, “We are from Haran.”(S) 5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban son of Nahor?” They said, “We do.”(T) 6 He said to them, “Is it well with him?” “Yes,” they replied, “and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with the sheep.”(U) 7 He said, “Look, it is still broad daylight; it is not time for the animals to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.” 8 But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”
9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she kept them.(V) 10 Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban.(W) 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father.(X)
13 When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him; he embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob[f] told Laban all these things,(Y) 14 and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.(Z)
Jacob Marries Laban’s Daughters
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were weak,[g] but Rachel was graceful and beautiful. 18 Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”(AA) 19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.”(AB) 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast.(AC) 23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. 24 (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) 25 When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” 26 Laban said, “This is not done in our country—giving the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.”(AD) 28 Jacob did so and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife. 29 (Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maid.) 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. He served Laban[h] for another seven years.(AE)
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.(AF) 32 Leah conceived and bore a son, and she named him Reuben,[i] for she said, “Because the Lord has looked on my affliction, surely now my husband will love me.”(AG) 33 She conceived again and bore a son and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also,” and she named him Simeon.[j] 34 Again she conceived and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons”; therefore he was named Levi.[k](AH) 35 She conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise the Lord,” therefore she named him Judah;[l] then she ceased bearing.(AI)
A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed
18 While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”(A) 19 And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. 20 Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak,(B) 21 for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.”(C) 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that moment.(D) 23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion,(E) 24 he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him.(F) 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26 And the report of this spread through all of that district.
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”(G) 28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you have faith that I can do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith, let it be done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, “See that no one knows of this.”(H) 31 But they went away and spread the news about him through all of that district.(I)
Jesus Heals One Who Was Mute
32 After they had gone away, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to him.(J) 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed and said, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees were saying, “By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons.”(K)
The Harvest Is Great, the Laborers Few
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness.(L) 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.(M) 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;(N) 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Psalm 11
Song of Trust in God
To the leader. Of David.
1 In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to me,
“Flee like a bird to the mountains,[a](A)
2 for look, the wicked bend the bow,
they have fitted their arrow to the string,
to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart.(B)
3 If the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”(C)
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
His eyes behold; his gaze examines humankind.(D)
5 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
and his soul hates the lover of violence.(E)
6 On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and sulfur;
a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.(F)
7 For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face.(G)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.