The Daily Audio Bible
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13-15 Jacob stayed where he was for the night, and prepared a present for his brother Esau: 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 milk camels, with their colts, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, 10 male donkeys.
16 He instructed his servants to drive them on ahead, each group of animals by itself, separated by a distance between. 17 He told the men driving the first group that when they met Esau and he asked, “Where are you going? Whose servants are you? Whose animals are these?”— 18 they should reply: “These belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present for his master Esau! He is coming right behind us!”
19 Jacob gave the same instructions to each driver, with the same message. 20 Jacob’s strategy was to appease Esau with the presents before meeting him face-to-face! “Perhaps,” Jacob hoped, “he will be friendly to us.” 21 So the presents were sent on ahead, and Jacob spent that night in the camp.
22-24 But during the night he got up and wakened[a] his two wives and his two concubines and eleven sons, and sent them across the Jordan River at the Jabbok ford with all his possessions, then returned again to the camp and was there alone; and a Man wrestled with him until dawn. 25 And when the Man saw that he couldn’t win the match, he struck Jacob’s hip and knocked it out of joint at the socket.
26 Then the Man said, “Let me go, for it is dawn.”
But Jacob panted, “I will not let you go until you bless me.”
27 “What is your name?” the Man asked.
“Jacob,” was the reply.
28 “It isn’t anymore!” the Man told him. “It is Israel—one who has power with God. Because you have been strong with God, you shall prevail with men.”
29 “What is your name?” Jacob asked him.
“No, you mustn’t ask,” the Man told him. And he blessed him there.
30 Jacob named the place “Peniel” (“The Face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is spared.” 31 The sun rose as he started on, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 (That is why even today the people of Israel don’t eat meat from near the hip, in memory of what happened that night.)
33 Then, far in the distance, Jacob saw Esau coming with his 400 men. 2 Jacob now arranged his family into a column, with his two concubines and their children at the head, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 Then Jacob went on ahead. As he approached his brother he bowed low seven times before him. 4 And then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him affectionately and kissed him; and both of them were in tears!
5 Then Esau looked at the women and children and asked, “Who are these people with you?”
“My children,” Jacob replied. 6 Then the concubines came forward with their children, and bowed low before him. 7 Next came Leah with her children, and bowed, and finally Rachel and Joseph came and made their bows.
8 “And what were all the flocks and herds I met as I came?” Esau asked.
And Jacob replied, “They are my gifts, to curry your favor!”
9 “Brother, I have plenty,” Esau laughed. “Keep what you have.”
10 “No, but please accept them,” Jacob said, “for what a relief it is to see your friendly smile! I was as frightened of you as though approaching God![b] 11 Please take my gifts. For God has been very generous to me and I have enough.” So Jacob insisted, and finally Esau accepted them.
12 “Well, let’s be going,” Esau said. “My men and I will stay with you and lead the way.”
13 But Jacob replied, “As you can see,[c] some of the children are small, and the flocks and herds have their young, and if they are driven too hard, they will die. 14 So you go on ahead of us and we’ll follow at our own pace and meet you at Seir.”
15 “Well,” Esau said, “at least let me leave you some of my men to assist you and be your guides.”
“No,” Jacob insisted, “we’ll get along just fine. Please do as I suggest.”
16 So Esau started back to Seir that same day. 17 Meanwhile Jacob and his household went as far as Succoth. There he built himself a camp, with pens for his flocks and herds. (That is why the place is called Succoth, meaning “huts.”) 18 Then they arrived safely at Shechem, in Canaan, and camped outside the city. 19 (He bought the land he camped on from the family of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for 100 pieces of silver. 20 And there he erected an altar and called it “El-Elohe-Israel,” “The Altar to the God of Israel.”)
34 One day Dinah, Leah’s daughter, went out to visit some of the neighborhood girls, 2 but when Shechem, son of King Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her. 3 He fell deeply in love with her, and tried to win her affection.
4 Then he spoke to his father about it. “Get this girl for me,” he demanded. “I want to marry her.”
5 Word soon reached Jacob of what had happened, but his sons were out in the fields herding cattle, so he did nothing until their return. 6-7 Meanwhile King Hamor, Shechem’s father, went to talk with Jacob, arriving just as Jacob’s sons came in from the fields, too shocked and angry to overlook the insult, for it was an outrage against all of them.
8 Hamor told Jacob, “My son Shechem is truly in love with your daughter, and longs for her to be his wife. Please let him marry her. 9-10 Moreover, we invite you folks to live here among us and to let your daughters marry our sons, and we will give our daughters as wives for your young men. And you shall live among us wherever you wish and carry on your business among us and become rich!”
11 Then Shechem addressed Dinah’s father and brothers. “Please be kind to me and let me have her as my wife,” he begged. “I will give whatever you require. 12 No matter what dowry or gift you demand, I will pay it—only give me the girl as my wife.”
13 Her brothers then lied to Shechem and Hamor, acting dishonorably because of what Shechem had done to their sister. 14 They said, “We couldn’t possibly. For you are not circumcised. It would be a disgrace for her to marry such a man. 15 I’ll tell you what we’ll do—if every man of you will be circumcised, 16 then we will intermarry with you and live here and unite with you to become one people. 17 Otherwise we will take her and be on our way.”
18-19 Hamor and Shechem gladly agreed, and lost no time in acting upon this request, for Shechem was very much in love with Dinah, and could, he felt sure, sell the idea to the other men of the city—for he was highly respected and very popular. 20 So Hamor and Shechem appeared before the city council[d] and presented their request.
21 “Those men are our friends,” they said. “Let’s invite them to live here among us and ply their trade. For the land is large enough to hold them, and we can intermarry with them. 22 But they will only consider staying here on one condition—that every one of us men be circumcised, the same as they are. 23 But if we do this, then all they have will become ours and the land will be enriched. Come on, let’s agree to this so that they will settle here among us.”
24 So all the men agreed, and all were circumcised. 25 But three days later, when their wounds were sore and sensitive to every move they made, two of Dinah’s brothers, Simeon and Levi, took their swords, entered the city without opposition, and slaughtered every man there, 26 including Hamor and Shechem. They rescued Dinah from Shechem’s house and returned to their camp again. 27 Then all of Jacob’s sons went over and plundered the city because their sister had been dishonored there. 28 They confiscated all the flocks and herds and donkeys—everything they could lay their hands on, both inside the city and outside in the fields, 29 and took all the women and children, and wealth of every kind.
30 Then Jacob said to Levi and Simeon, “You have made me stink among all the people of this land—all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will come and crush us, and we will all be killed.”
31 “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” they retorted.
7 When John’s disciples had gone, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “When you went out into the barren wilderness to see John, what did you expect him to be like? Grass blowing in the wind? 8 Or were you expecting to see a man dressed as a prince in a palace? 9 Or a prophet of God? Yes, and he is more than just a prophet. 10 For John is the man mentioned in the Scriptures—a messenger to precede me, to announce my coming, and prepare people to receive me.[a]
11 “Truly, of all men ever born, none shines more brightly than John the Baptist. And yet, even the lesser lights in the Kingdom of Heaven will be greater than he is! 12 And from the time John the Baptist began preaching and baptizing until now, ardent multitudes have been crowding toward the Kingdom of Heaven,[b] 13 for all the laws and prophets looked forward to the Messiah.[c] Then John appeared, 14 and if you are willing to understand what I mean, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come at the time the Kingdom begins.[d] 15 If ever you were willing to listen, listen now!
16 “What shall I say about this nation? These people are like children playing, who say to their little friends, 17 ‘We played wedding and you weren’t happy, so we played funeral but you weren’t sad.’ 18 For John the Baptist doesn’t even drink wine and often goes without food, and you say, ‘He’s crazy.’[e] 19 And I, the Messiah,[f] feast and drink, and you complain that I am ‘a glutton and a drinking man, and hang around with the worst sort of sinners!’ But brilliant men like you can justify your every inconsistency!”
20 Then he began to pour out his denunciations against the cities where he had done most of his miracles, because they hadn’t turned to God.
21 “Woe to you, Chorazin, and woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in your streets had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon,[g] their people would have repented long ago in shame and humility. 22 Truly, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on the Judgment Day than you! 23 And Capernaum, though highly honored,[h] shall go down to hell! For if the marvelous miracles I did in you had been done in Sodom, it would still be here today. 24 Truly, Sodom will be better off at the Judgment Day than you.”
25 And Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise, and for revealing it to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for it pleased you to do it this way! . . .
27 “Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father. Only the Father knows the Son, and the Father is known only by the Son and by those to whom the Son reveals him. 28 Come to me and I will give you rest—all of you who work so hard beneath a heavy yoke. 29-30 Wear my yoke—for it fits perfectly—and let me teach you; for I am gentle and humble, and you shall find rest for your souls; for I give you only light burdens.”
14 That man is a fool who says to himself, “There is no God!” Anyone who talks like that is warped and evil and cannot really be a good person at all.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who are wise, who want to please God. 3 But no, all have strayed away; all are rotten with sin. Not one is good, not one! 4 They eat my people like bread and wouldn’t think of praying! Don’t they really know any better?
5 Terror shall grip them, for God is with those who love him. 6 He is the refuge of the poor and humble when evildoers are oppressing them. 7 Oh, that the time of their rescue were already here, that God would come from Zion now to save his people. What gladness when the Lord has rescued Israel!
19 The Lord’s wisdom founded the earth; his understanding established all the universe and space. 20 The deep fountains of the earth were broken open by his knowledge, and the skies poured down rain.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.