The Daily Audio Bible

¹⁷ So Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and settled there. ¹⁸ And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after the death of Abraham. And he gave^[a] to them the same names^[b] which his father had given^[c] them. ¹⁹ And when the servants of Isaac dug in the valley, they found a well of fresh water there. ²⁰ Then the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours.” And he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. ²¹ And they dug another well, and they quarreled over it also. And he called its name Sitnah. ²² Then he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. And he called its name Rehoboth, and said, “Now Yahweh has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” ²³ And from there he went up to Beersheba. ²⁴ And Yahweh appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you, and I will bless you and make your descendants numerous for the sake of my servant Abraham.” ²⁵ And he built an altar there and called on the name of Yahweh. And he pitched his tent there, and the servants of Isaac dug a well there. ²⁶ Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his friend and Phicol his army commander. ²⁷ And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me and sent me away from you.” ²⁸ And they said, “We see clearly that Yahweh has been with you, so we thought^[d] let there be an oath between us—between us and you—and let us make^[e] a covenant with you ²⁹ that you may not do us harm just as we have not touched you, but have only done good to you and sent you away in peace. You are now blessed by Yahweh.” ³⁰ So he made a meal for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ And they arose early in the morning and each one swore to the other,^[f] and Isaac sent them away. And they left him in peace. ³² And it happened that on that same day the servants of Isaac came and told him about the well that they had dug. And they said, “We have found water!” ³³ And he called it Sheba. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.

³⁴ And when Esau was forty years old he took as wife Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵ And they made life bitter^[g] for Isaac and Rebekah.

Jacob Steals Esau’s Blessing

27 And it happened that when Isaac was old and his eyesight was weak,^[h] he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he^[i] said to him, “Here I am.” ² And he said, “Look, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. ³ So now, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt food for me. ⁴ Then make for me tasty food like I love, and bring it to me. And I will eat it so that I^[j] can bless you before I die.

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to Esau his son, and when Esau went to the field to hunt wild game to bring back, ⁶ Rebekah said to Jacob her son, “Look, I heard your father speaking to Esau your brother saying, ⁷ ‘Bring wild game to me and prepare tasty food so I can eat it and bless you before Yahweh before my death.’ ⁸ So now, my son, listen to my voice, to what I command you. ⁹ Go to the flock and take two good young goats from it for me, and I will prepare them as tasty food for your father, just as he likes. ¹⁰ Then you must take it to your father and he will eat it so that he may bless you before his death.” ¹¹ Then Jacob said to his mother, “Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, but I am a smooth man. ¹² Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be in his eyes as a mocker, and he will bring upon me a curse and not a blessing.” ¹³ Then his mother said to him, “Your curse be upon me, my son, only listen to my voice—go and get them for me.” ¹⁴ So he went and took them, and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared tasty food as his father liked. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took some of her older son Esau’s best garments that were with her in the house, and she put them on Jacob her younger son. ¹⁶ And she put the skins of the young goats over his hands and over the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ And she put the tasty food and the bread that she had made into the hand of Jacob, her son. ¹⁸ And he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” ¹⁹ And Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please get up, sit up and eat from my wild game so that you^[k] may bless me.” ²⁰ Then Isaac said to his son, “How^[l] did you find it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because Yahweh your God caused me to find it.”^{[m] 21} Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please, come near and let me feel you, my son. Are you really^[n] my son Esau or not?” ²² And Jacob drew near to Isaac his father. And he felt him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ²³ And he did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like the hands of Esau his brother. And he blessed him. ²⁴ And he said, “Are you really^[o] my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.” ²⁵ Then he said, “Bring it near to me that I may eat from the game of my son, so that I^[p] may bless you.” And he brought it to him, and he ate. And he brought wine to him, and he drank. ²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ And he drew near and kissed him. And he^[q] smelled the smell of his garments, and he blessed him and said,

³⁰ And as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, immediately after^[r] Jacob had gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came back from his hunting. ³¹ He too prepared tasty food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat from the wild game of his son, that you^[s] may bless me.” ³² And Isaac his father said to him, “Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” ³³ Then Isaac trembled violently.^[t] Then he said, “Who then was he that hunted wild game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I blessed him? Moreover, he will be blessed!” ³⁴ When Esau heard the words of his father he cried out with a great and exceedingly bitter cry of distress. And he said to his father, “Bless me as well, my father!” ³⁵ And he said, “Your brother came in deceit and took your blessing.” ³⁶ Then he said, “Isn’t that why he is named Jacob?^[u] He has deceived me these two times. He took my birthright and, look, now he has taken my blessing!” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” ³⁷ Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him lord over you and I have given him all his brothers as servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. Now what can I do for you, my son?” ³⁸ And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me also, my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. ³⁹ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him,

⁴¹ Then Esau held a grudge against Jacob on account of the blessing with which his father had blessed him. And Esau said in his heart,^[w] “The days of mourning for my father are coming, then I will kill Jacob my brother.” ⁴² But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. And she sent and called for her younger son Jacob. And she said to him, “Look, Esau your brother is consoling himself concerning you, intending to kill you. ⁴³ Now then, my son, listen to my voice; arise and flee to Haran to Laban my brother. ⁴⁴ Stay with him a few days until the wrath of your brother has turned— ⁴⁵ until the anger of your brother turns from you and he has forgotten what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I lose the two of you in one day?” ⁴⁶ Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women.^[x] If Jacob takes a wife from Hittite women^[y] like these, from the native women,^[z] what am I living for?”^[aa]

A Paralytic Healed

9 And getting into a boat, he crossed over and came to his own town.^{[a] 2} And behold, they brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher, and when^[b] Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Have courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” ³ And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!” ⁴ And knowing^[c] their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵ For which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶ But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and go to your home.” ⁷ And he got up and^[d] went to his home. ⁸ But when^[e] the crowds saw this,^[f] they were afraid and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

Matthew Called to Follow Jesus

⁹ And as^[g] Jesus was going away from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth and said to him, “Follow me!” And he stood up and^[h] followed him.

¹⁰ And it happened as^[i] he was dining^[j] in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners were coming and^[k] dining^[l] with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹ And when they^[m] saw it,^[n] the Pharisees began to say to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹² And when he^[o] heard it,^[p] he said, “Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those who are sick.^{[q] 13} But go and^[r] learn what it means, “I want mercy and not sacrifice.”^[s] For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

On Fasting

¹⁴ Then the disciples of John^[t] approached him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁵ And Jesus said to them, “The bridegroom’s attendants^[u] are not able to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them. But days are coming when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. ¹⁶ But no one puts a patch of unshrunken cloth on an old garment, for its patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear becomes worse. ¹⁷ Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise^[v] the wineskins burst and the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are destroyed. But they put new wine into new wineskins and both are preserved.”