The Daily Audio Bible
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52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he put his face to the ground before the Lord. 53 He brought out things made of silver and gold, and clothes, and gave them to Rebekah. He gave things of much worth to her brother and mother also. 54 Then he and the men with him ate and drank and stayed the night there. When they got up in the morning, he said, “Send me away to my boss.”
55 But her brother and her mother said, “Let the girl stay with us a few days, at least ten. Then she may go.” 56 But he said to them, “Do not make me stay any more days, since the Lord has made my way go well. Send me away so I may go to my boss.” 57 They said, “We will call the girl and ask her what she wants to do.” 58 They called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” 59 So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse. They went with Abraham’s servant and the men who were with him. 60 They prayed that good would come to Rebekah, and said to her, “You are our sister. May you become the mother of millions. May your children and all their children’s children after them take over the cities of those who hate them.” 61 Then Rebekah and her servants got up on the camels and followed the man. So the servant of Abraham took Rebekah and left.
62 Now Isaac had come from Beerlahairoi, and was living in the Negev. 63 Isaac had gone out to pray in the field in the evening. He looked up and saw that camels were coming. 64 And Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac. She got off the camel 65 and said to Abraham’s servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” Abraham’s servant said, “He is my boss.” So she took a cloth and covered her face. 66 The servant told Isaac all the things he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. And he loved her. So Isaac found comfort after his mother’s death.
The Death of Abraham
25 Abraham took another wife whose name was Keturah. 2 She gave birth to his sons, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah.
5 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6 But while he was still living, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the women he kept who acted as his wives. And he sent them to the land of the East, away from his son Isaac. 7 Abraham lived 175 years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died, after living a long and full life of many good years, and was buried with his people. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the grave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre. 10 This was the field that Abraham bought from the sons of Heth. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah. 11 After the death of Abraham, God brought good to his son Isaac. And Isaac lived at Beerlahairoi.
12 These are the children and their children’s children of Abraham’s son Ishmael, who was born to Abraham and Hagar, who was Sarah’s woman servant. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, the names of the first-born to the last: Nebaioth, Ishmael’s first-born, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their towns and by their groups of tents, twelve rulers and their families.
17 Ishmael lived 137 years. Then he breathed his last and died, and was buried with his people. 18 His people lived from Havilah as far as Shur, east of Egypt on the way toward Assyria. He lived away from all his brothers.
The Birth of Esau and Jacob
19 These are the children and their children’s children of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham was the father of Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Paddan-aram, and the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she could not give birth and the Lord answered him. Rebekah was able to give birth. 22 But the babies within her fought together. And she said, “If this is so, why am I like this?” She went to ask the Lord why. 23 The Lord said to her, “Two nations are within you. Two peoples will be divided from your body. One will be stronger than the other. And the older will serve the younger.”
24 When the day came for her to give birth, there were two babies to be born. 25 The first to come out was red and he had hair all over his body. They gave him the name of Esau. 26 Then the brother was born. His hand was holding Esau’s heel. So he was given the name of Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.
Esau Sells His Birth-Right
27 When the boys grew older, Esau became a good hunter, a man of the field. But Jacob was a man of peace, living in tents. 28 Isaac showed favor to Esau, because he liked to eat the meat of the animals Esau killed. But Rebekah showed favor to Jacob.
29 As Jacob was getting food ready one day, Esau came in from the field and was very hungry. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red meat, for I am very hungry.” That is why his name was called Edom. 31 But Jacob said, “First, sell me your birth-right.” 32 Esau said, “See, I am about to die. So what good is my birth-right to me?” 33 Jacob said, “First give me your promise.” So Esau promised, and sold his birth-right to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and vegetables, and Esau ate and drank. Then Esau stood up and went on his way. So Esau hated his birth-right.
Isaac and Abimelech
26 Now there was another time when there was no food in the land, after the time of no food in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 The Lord showed Himself to Isaac, and said, “Do not go to Egypt. Stay in the land I will tell you about. 3 Live in this land and I will be with you and bring good to you. For I will give all these lands to you and your children. I will keep the promise I made to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your children and all your children’s children as many as the stars of heaven. I will give these lands to them. 5 For Abraham obeyed Me. He did what I told him to do. He kept My Word and My Law.”
6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought to himself, “The men of this place might kill me because of Rebekah, for she is beautiful.”
8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of the window. And he saw Isaac loving his wife Rebekah. 9 So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “See, she is your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought I would die because of her.” 10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might have lain with your wife. And you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech told all the people, “Whoever touches this man or his wife will be put to death.”
12 Isaac planted seeds in that land. And he gathered in the same year a hundred times as much as he had planted. The Lord brought good to him. 13 Isaac became rich and kept getting richer until he became a great man. 14 For he had flocks and many cattle and many people working in his house. The Philistines became jealous of him. 15 They filled all the wells with dirt that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham. 16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us. For you are too powerful for us.”
Testing Some Followers (A)
18 Jesus saw many people and told them to go to the other side of the lake. 19 A teacher of the Law came to Jesus. He said, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes. Birds have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
21 Another of His followers said to Him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” 22 Jesus said to him, “Follow Me. Let the people who are dead bury their own dead.”
The Wind and Waves Obey Jesus (B)
23 Jesus got into a boat. His followers followed Him. 24 At once a bad storm came over the lake. The waves were covering the boat. Jesus was sleeping. 25 His followers went to Him and called, “Help us, Lord, or we will die!” 26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then He stood up. He spoke sharp words to the wind and the waves. Then the wind stopped blowing. 27 Then men were surprised and wondered about it. They said, “What kind of a man is He? Even the winds and the waves obey Him.”
Demons Ask Jesus to Let Them Live in Pigs (C)
28 Jesus came to the other side of the lake into the country of the Gadarenes. Two men came to Him from among the graves. They had demons in them and were very wild men. They were so bad that no one would go near them. 29 They called out, saying, “What do You want of us, You Son of God? Have You come here to make us suffer before it is our time to suffer?”
30 A long way from there many pigs were eating. 31 The demons begged Jesus, saying, “If You put us out, send us into the pigs.” 32 Jesus said to the demons, “Go!” They came out of the men and went into the pigs. At once the pigs ran down the mountain side. They fell into the water and died.
33 The men who cared for the pigs ran fast into the city and told everything. They told what happened to the men who had the demons. 34 Every person in the city came to meet Jesus. When they saw Jesus, they asked Him to leave their country.
Prayer for God to Destroy the Sinful
10 Why do You stand far away, O Lord? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? 2 The sinful, in their pride, try to catch the weak. Let them be caught in the plans they have made. 3 The sinful man is proud of the desires of his heart. He praises those who want everything but he speaks against the Lord. 4 The sinful man in his pride does not look for God. All his thoughts are that there is no God. 5 His ways always go well for him. Your laws are too high for him to see. He laughs at those who hate him. 6 He says to himself, “I will not be moved. For all time, I will never have trouble.” 7 With his mouth he swears and lies. He makes it hard for other people. Trouble and sin are under his tongue. 8 He lies hidden in the towns, waiting to kill those who are not guilty. His eyes are always watching for the weak. 9 He lies in wait like a hidden lion. He lies in wait to catch the weak, and they become caught in his net. 10 The weak are hurt and they fall. They cannot stand under his strength. 11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten. He has hidden His face and will never see it.”
12 Rise up, O Lord! Lift up Your hand, O God. Do not forget the weak. 13 Why does the sinful man turn away from God? He has said to himself, “You will not ask it of me.” 14 But You have seen it. You look upon trouble and suffering, to take it into Your hands. The suffering man gives himself to You. You are the Helper of the one who has no father. 15 Break the arm of the bad and sinful man. Find out all his sins until You find no more.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and turn away from what is sinful. 8 It will be healing to your body and medicine to your bones.
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