The Daily Audio Bible
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Hagar and Ishmael
16 Sarai, Abram’s wife, had no children. She had a slave girl from Egypt named Hagar. 2 Sarai said to Abram, “Look, the Lord has not allowed me to have children. So have physical relations with my slave girl. If she has a child, maybe I can have my own family through her.”
Abram did what Sarai said. 3 This was after Abram lived ten years in Canaan. And Sarai gave Hagar to her husband Abram. (Hagar was her slave girl from Egypt.)
4 Abram had physical relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When Hagar learned she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress Sarai badly. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is your fault. I gave my slave girl to you. And when she became pregnant, she began to treat me badly. Let the Lord decide who is right—you or me.”
6 But Abram said to Sarai, “You are Hagar’s mistress. Do anything you want to her.” Then Sarai was hard on Hagar, and Hagar ran away.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the desert. The spring was by the road to Shur. 8 The angel said, “Hagar, you are Sarai’s slave girl. Where have you come from? Where are you going?”
Hagar answered, “I am running from my mistress Sarai.”
9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Go home to your mistress and obey her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said, “I will give you so many descendants they cannot be counted.”
11 The angel also said to her,
“You are now pregnant,
and you will have a son.
You will name him Ishmael,[a]
because the Lord has heard your cries.
12 Ishmael will be like a wild donkey.
He will be against everyone.
And everyone will be against him.
He will attack all his brothers.”
13 The slave girl gave a name to the Lord who spoke to her. She said to him, “You are ‘God who sees me.’” This is because she said to herself, “Have I really seen God who sees me?” 14 So the well there was called Beer Lahai Roi.[b] It is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 Hagar gave birth to a son for Abram. And Abram named him Ishmael. 16 Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.
Proof of the Agreement
17 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. The Lord said, “I am God All-Powerful. Obey me and do what is right. 2 I will make an agreement between us. I will make you the ancestor of many people.”
3 Then Abram bowed facedown on the ground. God said to him, 4 “I am making my agreement with you: I will make you the father of many nations. 5 I am changing your name from Abram[c] to Abraham.[d] This is because I am making you a father of many nations. 6 I will give you many descendants. New nations will be born from you. Kings will come from you. 7 And I will make an agreement between me and you and all your descendants from now on: I will be your God and the God of all your descendants. 8 You live in the land of Canaan now as a stranger. But I will give you and your descendants all this land forever. And I will be the God of your descendants.”
9 Then God said to Abraham, “You and your descendants must keep this agreement from now on. 10 This is my agreement with you and all your descendants: Every male among you must be circumcised. You must obey this agreement. 11 Cut away the foreskin to show that you follow the agreement between me and you. 12 From now on when a baby boy is eight days old, you will circumcise him. This includes any boy born among your people or any who is your slave. (He would not be one of your descendants.) 13 So circumcise every baby boy. Circumcise him whether he is born in your family or bought as a slave. Your bodies will be marked. This will show that you are part of my agreement that lasts forever. 14 Any male who is not circumcised will be separated from his people. He has broken my agreement.”
Isaac—the Promised Son
15 God said to Abraham, “I will change the name of Sarai,[e] your wife. Her new name will be Sarah.[f] 16 I will bless her. I will give her a son, and you will be the father. She will be the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will come from her.”
17 Abraham bowed facedown on the ground and laughed. He said to himself, “Can a man have a child when he is 100 years old? Can Sarah give birth to a child when she is 90?” 18 Then Abraham said to God, “Please let Ishmael be the son you promised.”
19 God said, “No. Sarah your wife will have a son, and you will name him Isaac.[g] I will make my agreement with him. It will be an agreement that continues forever with all his descendants.
20 “You asked me about Ishmael, and I heard you. I will bless him. I will give him many descendants. And I will cause their numbers to grow very greatly. He will be the father of 12 great leaders. I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will make my agreement with Isaac. He is the son whom Sarah will have at this same time next year.” 22 After God finished talking with Abraham, God rose and left him.
23 Then Abraham gathered Ishmael and all the males born in his camp. He also gathered the slaves he had bought. So that day Abraham circumcised every man and boy in his camp. This was what God had told him to do. 24 Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised. 25 And Ishmael, his son, was 13 years old when he was circumcised. 26 Abraham and his son were circumcised on that same day. 27 Also on that day all the men in Abraham’s camp were circumcised. This included all those born in his camp and all the slaves he had bought from other nations.
The Three Visitors
18 Later, the Lord again appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre. At that time Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent. It was during the hottest part of the day. 2 He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When Abraham saw them, he ran from his tent to meet them. He bowed facedown on the ground before them. 3 Abraham said, “Sir, if you think well of me, please stay awhile with me, your servant. 4 I will bring some water so all of you can wash your feet. You may rest under the tree. 5 I will get some bread for you, so you can regain your strength. Then you may continue your journey.”
The three men said, “That is fine. Do as you said.”
6 Abraham hurried to the tent where Sarah was. He said to her, “Hurry, prepare 20 quarts of fine flour. Make it into loaves of bread.” 7 Then Abraham ran to his cattle. He took one of his best calves and gave it to a servant. The servant hurried to kill the calf and to prepare it for food. 8 Abraham gave the three men the calf that had been cooked. He also gave them milk curds and milk. While the three men ate, he stood under the tree near them.
9 The men asked Abraham, “Where is your wife Sarah?”
“There, in the tent,” said Abraham.
10 Then the Lord said, “I will certainly return to you about this time a year from now. At that time your wife Sarah will have a son.”
Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were very old. Sarah was past the age when women normally have children. 12 So she laughed to herself, “My husband and I are too old to have a baby.”
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘I am too old to have a baby’? 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? No! I will return to you at the right time a year from now. And Sarah will have a son.”
15 Sarah was afraid. So she lied and said, “I didn’t laugh.”
But the Lord said, “No. You did laugh.”
Jesus Teaches About Giving
6 “Be careful! When you do good things, don’t do them in front of people to be seen by them. If you do that, then you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “When you give to the poor, don’t be like the hypocrites. They blow trumpets before they give so that people will see them. They do that in the synagogues and on the streets. They want other people to honor them. I tell you the truth. Those hypocrites already have their full reward. 3 So when you give to the poor, give very secretly. Don’t let anyone know what you are doing. 4 Your giving should be done in secret. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
Jesus Teaches About Prayer
5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray loudly. They want people to see them pray. I tell you the truth. They already have their full reward. 6 When you pray, you should go into your room and close the door. Then pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, don’t be like those people who don’t know God. They continue saying things that mean nothing. They think that God will hear them because of the many things they say. 8 Don’t be like them. Your Father knows the things you need before you ask him. 9 So when you pray, you should pray like this:
‘Our Father in heaven,
we pray that your name will always be kept holy.
10 We pray that your kingdom will come.
We pray that what you want will be done,
here on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us the food we need for each day.
12 Forgive the sins we have done,
just as we have forgiven those who did wrong to us.
13 And do not cause us to be tested;
but save us from the Evil One.’
[The kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever. Amen.][a]
14 Yes, if you forgive others for the things they do wrong, then your Father in heaven will also forgive you for the things you do wrong. 15 But if you don’t forgive the wrongs of others, then your Father in heaven will not forgive the wrong things you do.
Jesus Teaches About Worship
16 “When you give up eating,[b] don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They make their faces look strange to show people that they are giving up eating. I tell you the truth, those hypocrites already have their full reward. 17 So when you give up eating, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then people will not know that you are giving up eating. But your Father, whom you cannot see, will see you. Your Father sees what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
God Is More Important Than Money
19 “Don’t store treasures for yourselves here on earth. Moths and rust will destroy treasures here on earth. And thieves can break into your house and steal the things you have. 20 So store your treasure in heaven. The treasures in heaven cannot be destroyed by moths or rust. And thieves cannot break in and steal that treasure. 21 Your heart will be where your treasure is.
22 “The eye is a light for the body. If your eyes are good, then your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are evil, then your whole body will be full of darkness. And if the only light you have is really darkness, then you have the worst darkness.
24 “No one can be a slave to two masters. He will hate one master and love the other. Or he will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. So you cannot serve God and money at the same time.
A Prayer for Fairness
A shiggaion of David which he sang to the Lord about Cush, from the tribe of Benjamin.
7 Lord my God, I trust in you for protection.
Save me and rescue me
from those who are chasing me.
2 Otherwise, they will tear me apart like a lion.
They will rip me to pieces, and no one can save me.
3 Lord my God, what have I done?
Have my hands done something wrong?
4 Have I done wrong to my friend?
Have I stolen from my enemy?
5 If I have, let my enemy chase me and capture me.
Let him trample me into the dust.
Let him bury me in the ground. Selah
6 Lord, rise up in your anger.
Stand up against my enemies’ anger.
Get up and demand fairness.
7 Gather the nations around you,
and rule them from above.
8 Lord, judge the people.
Lord, defend me.
Prove that I am right.
Show that I have done no wrong, God Most High.
9 God, you do what is right.
You know our thoughts and feelings.
Stop those wicked actions done by evil people.
And help those who do what is right.
10 God Most High protects me like a shield.
He saves those whose hearts are right.
11 God judges by what is right.
And God is always ready to punish the wicked.
12 If they do not change their lives,
God will sharpen his sword.
He will string his bow and take aim.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons.
He has made his flaming arrows.
14 There are people who think up evil.
They plan trouble and tell lies.
15 They dig a hole to trap other people.
But they will fall into it themselves.
16 They themselves will get into trouble.
The violence they cause will hurt only themselves.
17 I praise the Lord because he does what is right.
I sing praises to the name of the Lord Most High.
Rewards of Wisdom
2 My child, believe what I say.
And remember what I command you.
2 Listen to wisdom.
Try with all your heart to gain understanding.
3 Cry out for wisdom.
Beg for understanding.
4 Search for it as you would for silver.
Hunt for it like hidden treasure.
5 Then you will understand what it means to respect the Lord.
Then you will begin to know God.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.