The Daily Audio Bible
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Sarai, Hagar, and Ishmael
16 Now Abram’s wife Sarai had not borne a child for him. She had an Egyptian servant girl whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai told Abram, “You are well aware that the Lord has prevented me from giving birth to a child. Go have sex with my servant, so that I may possibly bear a son[a] through her.”
Abram listened to Sarai’s suggestion, 3 so Abram’s wife Sarai took her Egyptian servant, Hagar, and gave her as a wife to her husband Abram. This took place[b] ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan. 4 He had sex with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she looked with contempt on her mistress.
5 Then Sarai told Abram, “My suffering is your fault! I gave you my servant so you could have sex with her,[c] and when she discovered that she was pregnant, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!”
6 Abram answered Sarai, “Look, your servant is under your control, so do to her as you wish.”[d] So Sarai dealt so harshly with Hagar[e] that she ran away from Sarai.[f]
7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the desert on the road to Shur. 8 “Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he asked, “Where are you coming from and where are you going?”
She answered, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.”
9 The angel of the Lord told her, “You must go back to your mistress and submit to her authority.” 10 The angel of the Lord also told her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, who will be too many to count.
11 “Look, you are pregnant and will give birth to a son,” the angel of the Lord continued to say to her. “You will name him Ishmael,[g] because the Lord has heard your cry of[h] misery. 12 As a man, he’ll be uncontrollable.[i] He’ll[j] be against everyone, everyone will be against him,[k]and he’ll live in conflict with[l] all of his relatives.”
13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are ‘God who sees,’ because I have truly seen the one who looks after me.”
14 That’s why the spring was called, “The Well of the Living One who Looks after Me.” It was between Kadesh and Bered.
15 Hagar eventually gave birth to Abram’s son. Abram named his son whom Hagar bore Ishmael. 16 Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael for Abram.
God Appears to Abram
17 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and announced, “I am God Almighty. Live in constant awareness that I’m always with you,[m] and be blameless. 2 I’ll establish my covenant between me and you, and I’ll greatly increase your numbers.” 3 Then Abram fell to the ground[n] as God continued speaking to him. 4 “Look, I’ve made a covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. 5 Your name is no longer to be Abram.[o] Instead your name will be Abraham,[p] since I’ll make you the father of many nations. 6 I’m going to cause you to have many descendants, and I’ll bring nations from you. Kings will come from you. 7 I’m establishing my covenant between me and you, and with your descendants who come after you, generation after generation, as an eternal covenant, to be your God and your descendants’ God after you. 8 I’ll give to you and to your descendants the land to which you have traveled—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession. I will be their God.”
The Sign of the Covenant
9 God continued to speak to Abraham, “You and your descendants who are born in the future are to keep my covenant—that is, you and your descendants, generation after generation. 10 Here is my covenant that you are to observe, between me and you and your descendants: Every male among you is to be circumcised. 11 You are all to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and this is to be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 Generation after generation, every male among you is to be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth,[q] including the servant born in your house or the one purchased from a foreigner, who is not of your offspring. 13 The servant born in your house or the one purchased with money is to be circumcised. My covenant is to remain in your flesh as an eternal covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who does not have the foreskin of his flesh circumcised on the eighth day[r] after his birth[s] is to be eliminated from his people because he has broken my covenant.”
Sarah’s Pregnancy Foretold
15 God told Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai any longer,[t] because her name is to be Sarah.[u] 16 I will bless her. Furthermore, I will give you a son from her. I will bless her, so that nations, kings, and people will come from her.”
17 Abraham fell to the ground,[v] laughed, and told himself, “Can a child be born to a 100-year-old man? Can a 90-year-old Sarah give birth?” 18 So Abraham responded to God, “If only Ishmael would live in constant awareness that you’re always with him!”[w]
19 But God replied, “No, but your wife Sarah will give birth to your son, and you are to name him Isaac.[x] I’ll confirm my covenant with him as an eternal covenant for his descendants. 20 And as for Ishmael, I’ve heard you. I’ll bless him, and he’ll have many descendants.[y] I will multiply him greatly, he’ll father twelve tribal leaders, and I’ll cause his descendants[z] to become a great nation. 21 Now as to Isaac, I’ll confirm my covenant with him, to whom Sarah will give birth as your son at this time next year.” 22 With that, God finished talking to Abraham, and ascended, leaving him.
23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the servants born in his house or purchased with his money—every male among the men of his household—and circumcised them[aa] that very day, just as God had spoken to him. 24 Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised,[ab] 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised.[ac] 26 Both Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on that very day. 27 Every man born in his household—as well as those who had been purchased with money from a foreigner—was circumcised with him.
Abraham’s Three Visitors
18 Later, the Lord appeared to Abraham[ad] by the oaks[ae] belonging to Mamre. As Abraham[af] was sitting near the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day, 2 he glanced up and saw three men standing there, not far from him. As soon as he noticed them, Abraham[ag] ran from the tent entrance to greet them and bowed low to the ground. 3 “My lords,” he told them, “if I have found favor with you,[ah] please don’t leave your servant. 4 I’ll have some water brought to wash your feet while you rest under the tree. 5 I’ll bring some food for you,[ai] and after that you may continue your journey, since you have come to visit your servant.”
So they replied, “Very well! Do what you’ve proposed.”
6 Abraham hurried into the tent and told Sarah, “Quick! Take three measures[aj] of the best flour, knead it, and make some flat bread.”
7 Next, Abraham ran to the herd, found a choice and tender calf, and gave it to the young men, who went off in a hurry to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds, milk, and the calf that had been prepared, placed the food in front of them, and stood near them under the tree while they ate.
Sarah Laughs at the Promise
9 The men asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?”
“There, in the tent,” he replied.
10 Then one of them said, “I will certainly return to you in about a year’s time.[ak] By then, your wife Sarah will have borne a son.”
Now Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were old—really old[al]—and Sarah was beyond the age of childbearing.[am] 12 That’s why Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “After I’m so old and my husband is old, too, am I going to have sex?”[an]
13 The Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and think, ‘Am I really going to bear a child, since I’m so old?’ 14 Is anything impossible[ao] for the Lord? At the time set for it, I will return to you—about a year from now—and Sarah will have a son.”
15 But Sarah denied it. “I didn’t laugh,” she claimed, because she was afraid.
The Lord[ap] replied, “No! You did laugh!”
Teaching about Giving to the Poor
6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people in order to be noticed by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow a trumpet before you like the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they will be praised by people. I tell all of you[a] with certainty, they have their full reward! 3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be done in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”[b]
Teaching about Prayer(A)
5 “And whenever you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by people. I tell all of you[c] with certainty, they have their full reward! 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees from the hidden place will reward you.[d]
7 “When you are praying, don’t say meaningless things[e] like the unbelievers[f] do, because they think they will be heard by being so wordy. 8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Therefore, this is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
10 May your kingdom come.
May your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our sins,[g]
as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.[h]
13 And never bring us into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’[i]
14 Because if you forgive people their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive people their offenses,[j] your Father will not forgive your offenses.”
Teaching about Fasting
16 “Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites, because they put on sad faces to show others they are fasting. I tell all of you[k] with certainty, they have their full reward! 17 But when you fast, put oil on[l] your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by others but by your Father who is in the hidden place. And your Father who watches from the hidden place will reward you.”[m]
Teaching about Treasures(B)
19 “Stop storing up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But keep on storing up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal, 21 because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
The Lamp of the Body(C)
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. Therefore, if the light within you has turned into darkness, how great is that darkness!”
God and Riches(D)
24 “No one can serve two masters, because either he will hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches!”[n]
A Davidic psalm,[a] which he sang to the Lord, because of the words of Cush the descendant of Benjamin.
A Prayer for Vindication
7 Lord, my God,
I seek refuge in you.
Deliver me from those who persecute me!
Rescue me!
2 Otherwise, they will rip me to shreds like a lion,
tearing me[b] apart with no one to rescue me.[c]
3 Lord, my God, if I have done this thing,
if there is injustice on my hands,
4 if I have rewarded those who did me good with evil,
if I have plundered my enemy without justification,
5 then, let my enemy pursue me,
let him overtake me,
and let him trample my life to the ground.
Let him put my honor into the dust.
6 Get up, Lord, in your anger!
Rise up, because of the fury of my enemies;
Arouse yourself for me;
you have ordained justice.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples gather around you,
and you will sit[d] high above them.
8 For the Lord will judge the peoples.
Judge me according to my righteousness, Lord,
and according to my integrity, Exalted One.
9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous.
For you are the righteous God
who discerns the inner thoughts.[e]
10 God is my shield,[f]
the one who delivers the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who is angry with sinners[g] every day.
12 If the ungodly one[h] doesn’t repent,
God will sharpen his sword;
he will string his bow and prepare it.
13 He prepares weapons of death for himself,
he makes his arrows into fiery shafts.
14 But the wicked one[i] travails with evil,
he conceives malice and gives birth to lies.
15 He digs a pit, even excavates it;
then he fell into the hole that he had made.
16 The trouble[j] he planned will return on his own head,
and his violence will descend on his skull.
17 But as for me,
I will praise the Lord for his righteousness,
and I will sing to the name of the Lord Most High.
The Benefits of Embracing Wisdom
2 My son, if you accept my words,
and treasure my instructions[a]—
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom,
and turning your heart to understanding—
3 if, indeed, you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it like hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and learn to know God.
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