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Each day includes a passage from both the Old Testament and New Testament.
Duration: 365 days
Expanded Bible (EXB)
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Genesis 27-28

Jacob Tricks Isaac

27 When Isaac was old, his ·eyesight was poor [L eyes were dim], so he could not see clearly. One day he called his older son Esau to him and said, “[L My] Son.”

Esau answered, “Here I am.”

Isaac said, “I am old and don’t know ·when I might die [L the day of my death]. So take your weapons, your ·bow and arrows [L quiver and your bow], and go hunting in the field for ·an animal for me to eat [L game for me]. When you prepare the tasty food that I love, bring it to me, and I will eat. Then I will bless you before I die.” So Esau went out in the field to hunt [L for game to bring it].

Rebekah was listening as Isaac said this to his son Esau. She said to her son Jacob, “Listen, I heard your father saying to your brother Esau, ‘·Kill an animal [L Bring me game] and prepare some tasty food for me to eat. Then I will bless you in the presence of the Lord before I die.’ So ·obey [listen to] me, my son, and do what I ·tell [command] you. Go out to our ·goats [L flock] and bring me two ·of the best young ones [choice goats]. I will prepare them just the way your father ·likes [loves] them. 10 Then you will ·take the food [L bring them] to your father, and he will bless you before he dies.”

11 But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “My brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am smooth! 12 If my father ·touches me, he will know I am not Esau [L feels me…]. Then he will not bless me but will place a curse on me because ·I tried to trick him [L he will think I am mocking him].”

13 So ·Rebekah [L his mother] said to him, “·If your father puts a curse on you, I will accept the blame [L Let your curse be on me]. Just do what I said. Go get the goats for me.”

14 So Jacob went out and got ·two goats [L them] and brought them to his mother, and ·she cooked them in the special way [L his mother prepared a tasty meal just as] ·Isaac [L his father] ·enjoyed [loved]. 15 She took the best clothes of her older son Esau that were in the house and put them on the younger son Jacob. 16 She also took the skins of the goats and put them on Jacob’s hands and [L the smoothness of his] neck. 17 Then she gave Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.

18 Jacob went in to his father and said, “[L My] Father.”

And his father said, “Yes, my son. Who are you?”

19 Jacob said to him, “I am Esau, your ·first son [firstborn]. I have done what you told me. Now ·sit up [L get up and sit down] and eat some ·meat of the animal [game] I hunted for you. Then bless me.”

20 But Isaac asked his son, “How did you find ·and kill the animal [L it] so quickly?”

Jacob answered, “Because the Lord your God ·helped me to find it [L went before me].”

21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can ·touch [feel] you, my son. Then I will know if you are really my son Esau [L or not].”

22 So Jacob came near to Isaac his father. Isaac ·touched [felt] him and said, “Your voice ·sounds like [L is] Jacob’s voice, but your hands ·are hairy like [L are] the hands of Esau.” 23 Isaac did not ·know it was [recognize] Jacob, because his hands were hairy like Esau’s hands, so Isaac blessed him. 24 Isaac asked, “Are you really my son Esau?”

Jacob answered, “Yes, I am.”

25 Then Isaac said, “Bring ·me the food [L it to me], and I will eat ·it [L my son’s game] and bless you.” So Jacob gave him the food, and he ate. Jacob gave him wine, and he drank. 26 Then Isaac [L his father] said to him, “My son, come near and kiss me.” 27 So Jacob went to his father and kissed him. When Isaac smelled Esau’s clothes, he blessed him and said,

[L See,] The smell of my son
    is like the smell of the field
    that the Lord has blessed.
28 May God give you ·plenty of rain [L the dew of heaven]
    and ·good soil [L the fatness/richness/fertility of the earth]
    so that you will have plenty of grain and new wine.
29 May nations serve you
    and peoples bow down to you.
May you be master over your brothers,
    and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
May everyone who curses you be cursed,
    and may everyone who blesses you be blessed [12:3; Heb. 11:20].”

30 Isaac [L had just] finished blessing Jacob. Then, just as Jacob left his father Isaac, Esau came in from hunting. 31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. He said [L to his father], “Father, rise and eat ·the food that your son killed for you [L your son’s game] and then bless me.”

32 Isaac his father asked him, “Who are you?”

He answered, “I am your son—your firstborn son—Esau.”

33 Then Isaac trembled ·greatly [violently] and said, “Then who was it that hunted ·the animals [game] and brought me food before you came? I ate it, and I blessed him, and ·it is too late now to take back my blessing [L he will indeed be blessed].”

34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he let out a loud and bitter cry. He said to his father, “Bless me—me, too, my father [Heb. 12:17]!”

35 But Isaac said, “Your brother came and ·tricked [deceived; defrauded] me. He has taken your blessing.”

36 Esau said, “Jacob [C sounds like Hebrew for “heel” or “deceive”; 25:26] is the right name for him. He has ·tricked me [deceived me; L been at my heel] these two times. He took away my ·share of everything you own [birthright], and now he has taken away my blessing.” Then Esau asked, “Haven’t you ·saved [reserved] a blessing for me?”

37 Isaac answered [L and said to Esau], “I gave Jacob the power to be master over you, and all his brothers will be his servants. And I kept ·him strong [sustained him] with grain and new wine. ·There is nothing left to give you [L What can I do for you…?], my son.”

38 But Esau ·continued [L said to his father], “Do you have only one blessing, Father? Bless me, too, Father!” Then Esau ·began to cry out loud [L lifted his voice and wept; Heb. 12:17].

39 Isaac his father said to him,

“You will live far away from the ·best [fatness; richness; fertility of the] land,
    far from the ·rain [L the dew of heaven; 27:28].
40 You will live by using your sword,
    and you will ·be a slave to [serve] your brother.
But when you ·struggle [or become restless],
    you will break ·free from him [L his yoke from your neck; Heb. 11:20].”

41 After that Esau ·hated [held a grudge against] Jacob because of the blessing ·from Isaac [L with which his father blessed him]. He thought ·to himself [L in his heart], “·My father will soon die, and I will be sad for him [L The days of mourning for my father are near]. Then I will kill Jacob [L my brother].”

42 Rebekah ·heard about Esau’s plan to kill Jacob [L was told the words of Esau her oldest son]. So she sent for Jacob [L her younger son] and ·said to [informed] him, “Listen, your brother Esau is ·comforting himself [consoling himself; or wants to execute his anger against you] by planning to kill you. 43 So, my son, ·do what I say [L listen to my voice]. My brother Laban is living in Haran. ·Go to him at once [L Get up and flee to him]! 44 ·Stay [Live; Reside] with him for a while, until your brother ·is not so angry [calms down]. 45 In time, your brother will not be angry, and he will forget what you did to him. Then I will send a servant to bring you back. I don’t want to lose both of my sons on the same day.”

46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am ·tired of [weary of my life due to] ·Hittite women [L the daughters of the Hittites]. If Jacob marries one of ·these Hittite women [L the daughters of the Hittites] here in this land, ·I want to die [why would I want to live?].”

Jacob Searches for a Wife

28 Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and commanded him [L and said to him], “You must not marry a ·Canaanite woman [L daughter of Canaan]. ·Go [L Get up and go] to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, in ·northwestern Mesopotamia [L Paddan-aram; 25:20]. Laban, your mother’s brother, lives there. Marry one of his daughters. May God Almighty bless you and ·give you many children [L make you fruitful and multiply you; 1:22], and may you become a ·group [assembly; congregation; company] of many peoples. May he give you and your ·descendants [L seed] the blessing of Abraham so that you may ·own [possess] the land ·where you are now living as a stranger [L of your wandering/sojourn/alien status], the land God gave to Abraham.” So Isaac sent Jacob to ·northwestern Mesopotamia [L Paddan-aram], 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.

Esau ·learned [L saw] that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to ·northwestern Mesopotamia [L Paddan-aram] to find a wife there. He also ·learned [L saw] that Isaac had commanded Jacob not to marry a ·Canaanite woman [L daughter of Canaan] and that Jacob had ·obeyed [listened to] his father and mother and had gone to ·northwestern Mesopotamia [L Paddan-aram]. So Esau saw that ·his father Isaac did not want his sons to marry Canaanite women [C the daughters of Canaan were bad/evil in the eyes of his father Isaac]. 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.

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

10 Jacob left Beersheba [21:14] and set out for Haran [11:31]. 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 [L and lay down in that place]. 12 Jacob dreamed that there was a ·ladder [or stairway; or ramp] resting on the earth and reaching up into heaven, and he saw ·angels [messengers] of God ·going up and coming down [ascending and descending on] ·the ladder [L it; John 1:51]. 13 Then Jacob saw the Lord standing above the ladder [28:12], 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 [L seed] the ·land [ground] on which you are now ·sleeping [lying; 12:1–3]. 14 Your ·descendants [L seed] will be as many as the dust of the earth [13:16]. They will spread west and east, north and south, and all the ·families [clans] of the earth will ·be blessed [or bless themselves] through you and your ·descendants [seed]. 15 I am with you and will ·protect [guard] you everywhere you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not ·leave [abandon; forsake] 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 [L which was under his head] and set it up ·on its end [L as a pillar; 31:13, 45; 35:14, 20; Ex. 24:4; C a practice later prohibited because similar to Canaanite religion (Ex. 23:24; 34:13; Deut. 12:3)]. Then he poured olive oil on the top of it. 19 ·At first [Formerly], the name of that city was Luz, but Jacob named it Bethel [C “house of God”].

20 Then Jacob ·made a promise [L vowed a vow]. He said, “I want God to be with me and to ·protect [guard] 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 [or safely] 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 [L as a pillar] will be the house of God. And I will give God ·one-tenth [a tithe] of all he gives me.”

Matthew 8:18-34

People Want to Follow Jesus(A)

18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he ·told [instructed; ordered] his ·followers [disciples] to ·go [cross] to the other side of the lake. 19 Then a ·teacher of the law [scribe] came to Jesus and said, “·Teacher [Master], I will follow you any place you go.”

20 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have ·holes [dens] to live in, and the birds [L of the sky] have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to ·rest [lay] his head.”

21 Another man, one of Jesus’ ·followers [disciples], said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the people who are dead [C spiritually] bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms a Storm(B)

23 Jesus got into a boat, and his ·followers [disciples] ·went with [L followed] him. 24 [Suddenly; L And look/T behold] A ·great [fierce] storm arose on the ·lake [sea] so that waves ·covered [swept over] the boat, but Jesus was sleeping. 25 His ·followers [disciples] went to him and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We ·will drown [L are lost/perishing]!”

26 Jesus answered, “Why are you ·afraid [cowardly]? ·You don’t have enough faith [or How little faith you have!; T You of little faith].” Then Jesus got up and ·gave a command to [reprimanded; rebuked] the wind and the waves, and it became completely calm [C paralleling God’s subduing of the waters representing chaos in the OT; Ps. 65:7; 89:9; 107:29].

27 The men were amazed and said, “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the ·waves [L sea] obey him!”

Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons(C)

28 When Jesus arrived at the other side of the lake in the ·area [region; territory] of the Gadarene[a] people [C from Gadara, an area southeast of Lake Galilee; the exact location is uncertain], two ·men who had demons in them [demon-possessed men; demoniacs] came out of the ·burial caves [tombs] and met him. These men were so ·dangerous [violent; fierce] that people could not ·use the road by those caves [L pass that way]. 29 They shouted, “·What do you want with us [or Leave us alone; What business do we have with each other?; L What to me and to you?], Son of God? Did you come here to ·torture [torment] us before the ·right time [or appointed time; L time; C the day of judgment]?”

30 ·Near that place there [In the distance] was a large herd of pigs feeding. 31 The demons begged Jesus, “If you ·make us leave these men [L drive/cast us out], please send us into that herd of pigs [C ritually unclean animals].”

32 Jesus said to them, “Go!” So the demons ·left [came out of] the men and went into the pigs. Then [L look; T behold] the whole herd rushed down the ·hill [steep bank; precipice] into the ·lake [sea] and ·were drowned [L died in the waters]. 33 The herdsmen ·ran away [fled] and went into town, where they told about all of this and what had happened to the ·men who had demons [demon-possessed men; demoniacs]. 34 Then [L look; T behold] the whole town went out to ·see [meet] Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their ·area [region; territory].

Expanded Bible (EXB)

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