The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the NET. Switch to the NET to read along with the audio.
Ephraim and Manasseh
48 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is sick.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. 2 Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” So Israel became stronger and sat up in bed.
3 Jacob said to Joseph, “The Mighty God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan. He blessed me there. 4 He said to me, ‘I am going to give you children. I will make your family very large. I will make you a community of nations. And I will give this land to your children after you. It will belong to them forever.’
5 “Now then, two sons were born to you in Egypt. It happened before I came to you here. They will be counted as my own sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will belong to me, in the same way that Reuben and Simeon belong to me. 6 Any children born to you after them will belong to you. Any territory they receive will come from the land that will be given to Ephraim and Manasseh. 7 As I was returning from Paddan, Rachel died. It made me very sad. She died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way. We weren’t very far away from Ephrath. So I buried her body there beside the road to Ephrath.” Ephrath was also called Bethlehem.
8 Israel saw Joseph’s sons. He asked, “Who are they?”
9 “They are the sons God has given me here,” Joseph said to his father.
Then Israel said, “Bring them to me. I want to give them my blessing.”
10 Israel’s eyes were weak because he was old. He couldn’t see very well. So Joseph brought his sons close to him. His father kissed them and hugged them.
11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never thought I’d see your face again. But now God has let me see your children too.”
12 Then Joseph lifted his sons off Israel’s knees. Joseph bowed down with his face to the ground. 13 He placed Ephraim on his right, toward Israel’s left hand. He placed Manasseh on his left, toward Israel’s right hand. Then he brought them close to Israel. 14 But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head. He did it even though Ephraim was the younger son. He crossed his arms and put his left hand on Manasseh’s head. He did it even though Manasseh was the older son.
15 Then Israel gave Joseph his blessing. He said,
“May God bless these boys.
He is the God of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac.
They walked faithfully with him.
He is the God who has been my shepherd
all my life right up to this day.
16 He is the Angel who has saved me from all harm.
May he bless these boys.
May they be called by my name.
May they also be called by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac.
And may the number of them greatly increase
on the earth.”
17 Joseph saw his father putting his right hand on Ephraim’s head. And Joseph didn’t like it. So he took hold of his father’s hand to move it over to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to him, “No, my father. Here’s my older son. Put your right hand on his head.”
19 But his father wouldn’t do it. He said, “I know, my son. I know. He too will become a nation. He too will become great. But his younger brother will be greater than he is. His children after him will become a group of nations.” 20 On that day, Jacob gave them his blessing. He said,
“The people of Israel will bless others in your name.
They will say, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ”
So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I’m about to die. But God will be with all of you. He’ll take you back to the land of your fathers. 22 But to you, Joseph, I am giving more land than your brothers. I’m giving you the land I took from the Amorites. I took it with my sword and bow.”
Jacob Gives Blessings to His Sons
49 Then Jacob sent for his sons. He said, “Gather around me so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2 “Sons of Jacob, come together and listen.
Listen to your father Israel.
3 “Reuben, you are my oldest son.
You were my first child. You were the first sign of my strength.
You were first in honor. You were first in power.
4 But you are as unsteady as water. So you won’t be first anymore.
You had sex with my concubine on my bed.
You lay on my couch and made it ‘unclean.’
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers.
Their swords have killed a lot of people.
6 I won’t share in their plans.
I won’t have anything to do with them.
They became angry and killed people.
They cut the legs of oxen just for the fun of it.
7 May the Lord put a curse on them
because of their terrible anger.
I will scatter them in Jacob’s land.
I will spread them around in Israel.
8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you.
Your enemies will be brought under your control.
Your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 Judah, you are like a lion’s cub.
You return from hunting, my son.
Like a lion, you lie down and sleep.
You are like a mother lion. Who dares to wake you up?
10 The right to rule will not leave Judah.
The ruler’s scepter will not be taken from between his feet.
It will be his until the king it belongs to will come.
The nations will obey that king.
11 He will tie his donkey to a vine.
He will tie his colt to the very best branch.
He will wash his clothes in wine.
He will wash his robes in the red juice of grapes.
12 His eyes will be darker than wine.
His teeth will be whiter than milk.
13 “Zebulun will live by the seashore.
He will become a safe harbor for ships.
His border will go out toward Sidon.
14 “Issachar is like a wild donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.
15 He sees how good his resting place is.
He sees that his land is pleasant.
So he will carry a heavy load on his back.
He will obey when he’s forced to work.
16 “Dan will do what is fair for his people.
He will do it as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake by the side of the road.
He will be a poisonous snake along the path.
It bites the horse’s heels
so that the rider falls off backward.
18 “Lord, I look to you to save me.
19 “Gad will be attacked by a group of robbers.
But he will attack them as they run away.
20 “Asher’s food will be rich and sweet.
He will provide food that even a king would enjoy.
21 “Naphtali is a female deer set free
and gives birth to beautiful fawns.
22 “Joseph is a vine that grows a lot of fruit.
It grows close by a spring.
Its branches climb over a wall.
23 Mean people shot arrows at him.
They shot at him because they were angry.
24 But his bow remained steady.
His strong arms moved freely.
The hand of the Mighty God of Jacob was with him.
The Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, stood by him.
25 Joseph, your father’s God helps you.
The Mighty God blesses you.
He gives you blessings from the sky above.
He gives you blessings from the deep springs below.
He blesses you with children and with a mother’s milk.
26 Your father’s blessings are great.
They are greater than the blessings from the age-old mountains.
They are greater than the gifts from the ancient hills.
Let all those blessings rest on the head of Joseph.
Let them rest on the head of the one who is prince among his brothers.
27 “Benjamin is a hungry wolf.
In the morning he eats what he has killed.
In the evening he shares what he has stolen.”
28 All these are the 12 tribes of Israel. That’s what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each one the blessing that was just right for him.
Jacob Dies
29 Then Jacob gave directions to his sons. He said, “I’m about to join the members of my family who have already died. Bury me with them in the cave in the field of Ephron, the Hittite. 30 The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in Canaan. Abraham had bought it as a place where he could bury his wife’s body. He had bought the cave and the field from Ephron, the Hittite. 31 The bodies of Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there. So were the bodies of Isaac and his wife Rebekah. I also buried Leah’s body there. 32 Abraham bought the field and the cave from the Hittites.”
33 When Jacob had finished telling his sons what to do, he pulled his feet up into his bed. Then he took his last breath and died. He joined the members of his family who had already died.
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
29 Jesus left there. He walked along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30 Large crowds came to him. They brought blind people and those who could not walk. They also brought disabled people, those who could not speak, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them. 31 The people were amazed. Those who could not speak were speaking. The disabled were made well. Those not able to walk were walking. Those who were blind could see. So the people praised the God of Israel.
32 Then Jesus called for his disciples to come to him. He said, “I feel deep concern for these people. They have already been with me three days. They don’t have anything to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. If I do, they will become too weak on their way home.”
33 His disciples answered him. “There is nothing here,” they said. “Where could we get enough bread to feed this large crowd?”
34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
35 Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks. Then he broke them and gave them to the disciples. And the disciples passed them out to the people. 37 All of them ate and were satisfied. After that, the disciples picked up seven baskets of leftover pieces. 38 The number of men who ate was 4,000. Women and children also ate. 39 After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat. He went to the area near Magadan.
Jesus Is Asked for a Sign
16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus. They asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
2 He replied, “In the evening you look at the sky. You say, ‘It will be good weather. The sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning you say, ‘Today it will be stormy. The sky is red and cloudy.’ You know the meaning of what you see in the sky. But you can’t understand the signs of what is happening right now. 4 An evil and unfaithful people look for a sign. But none will be given to them except the sign of Jonah.” Then Jesus left them and went away.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
5 The disciples crossed over to the other side of the lake. They had forgotten to take bread. 6 “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
7 The disciples talked about this among themselves. They said, “He must be saying this because we didn’t bring any bread.”
8 Jesus knew what they were saying. So he said, “Your faith is so small! Why are you talking to each other about having no bread? 9 Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the 5,000? Don’t you remember how many baskets of pieces you gathered? 10 Don’t you remember the seven loaves for the 4,000? Don’t you remember how many baskets of pieces you gathered? 11 How can you possibly not understand? I wasn’t talking to you about bread. But watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then the disciples understood that Jesus was not telling them to watch out for the yeast used in bread. He was warning them against what the Pharisees and Sadducees taught.
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer you when you are in trouble.
May the God of Jacob keep you safe.
2 May he send you help from the sacred tent.
May he give you aid from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices.
May he accept your burnt offerings.
4 May he give you what your heart wishes for.
May he make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory.
May we lift up our flags in the name of our God.
May the Lord give you everything you ask for.
6 Now I know that the Lord gives victory to his anointed king.
He answers him from his sacred home in heaven.
The power of God’s right hand gives victory to the king.
7 Some trust in chariots. Some trust in horses.
But we trust in the Lord our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall down.
But we get up and stand firm.
9 Lord, give victory to the king!
Answer us when we call out to you!
20 My son, pay attention to what I say.
Listen closely to my words.
21 Don’t let them out of your sight.
Keep them in your heart.
22 They are life to those who find them.
They are health to a person’s whole body.
23 Above everything else, guard your heart.
Everything you do comes from it.
24 Don’t speak with twisted words.
Keep evil talk away from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead.
Keep looking right in front of you.
26 Think carefully about the paths that your feet walk on.
Always choose the right ways.
27 Don’t turn to the right or left.
Keep your feet from the path of evil.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.