The Daily Audio Bible
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Jacob’s Burial
50 When Jacob died, Joseph hugged his father and cried over him and kissed him. 2 He commanded the doctors who served him to prepare his father’s body. So the doctors prepared Jacob’s body to be buried. 3 It took the doctors 40 days to prepare his body. This was the usual time it took. And the Egyptians had a time of sorrow for Jacob. It lasted 70 days.
4 When this time of sorrow had ended, Joseph spoke to the king’s officers. He said, “If you think well of me, please tell this to the king: 5 ‘When my father was near death, I made a promise to him. I promised I would bury him in a cave in the land of Canaan. This is a burial place that he cut out for himself. So please let me go and bury my father. Then I will return.’”
6 The king answered, “Keep your promise. Go and bury your father.”
7 So Joseph went to bury his father. All the king’s officers, the elders of his court and all the elders of Egypt went with Joseph. 8 Everyone who lived with Joseph and his brothers went with him. And everyone who lived with his father also went. They left only their children, their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen. 9 Men in chariots and on horses also went with Joseph. It was a very large group.
10 They went to the threshing floor of Atad, east of the Jordan River. There they cried loudly and bitterly for Jacob, also called Israel. Joseph’s time of sorrow continued for seven days. 11 The people that lived in Canaan saw the sadness at the threshing floor of Atad. They said, “Those Egyptians are showing great sorrow!” So now that place is named Sorrow of the Egyptians.
12 So Jacob’s sons did what their father commanded. 13 They carried his body to the land of Canaan. They buried it in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre. Abraham had bought this cave and field from Ephron the Hittite. He bought the cave to use as a burial place. 14 After Joseph buried his father, he returned to Egypt. His brothers and everyone who had gone with him to bury his father also returned.
The Brothers Fear Joseph
15 After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph is still angry with us? We did many wrong things to him. What if he plans to pay us back?” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph. It said, “Your father gave this command before he died. 17 He said to us, ‘You have done wrong. You have sinned and done evil to Joseph. Tell Joseph to forgive you, his brothers.’ So now, Joseph, we beg you to forgive our wrong. We are the servants of the God of your father.” When Joseph received the message, he cried.
18 And his brothers went to him and bowed low before him. They said, “We are your slaves.”
19 Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Can I do what only God can do? 20 You meant to hurt me. But God turned your evil into good. It was to save the lives of many people. And it is being done. 21 So don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” So Joseph comforted his brothers and spoke kind words to them.
22 Joseph continued to live in Egypt with all his father’s family. He died when he was 110 years old. 23 During Joseph’s life Ephraim had children and grandchildren. And Joseph’s son Manasseh had a son named Makir. Joseph accepted Makir’s children as his own.
The Death of Joseph
24 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will take care of you. He will lead you out of this land. He will lead you to the land he promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph had the sons of Israel make a promise. He said, “Promise me that you will carry my bones with you out of Egypt.”
26 Joseph died when he was 110 years old. Doctors prepared his body for burial. Then they put him in a coffin in Egypt.
Jacob’s Family in Egypt
1 When Jacob, also called Israel, went to Egypt, he took his sons. And each son took his own family with him. These are the names of the sons of Israel: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, 4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 There was a total of 70 people who were descendants of Jacob. Jacob’s son Joseph was already in Egypt.
6 By some time later, Joseph and his brothers had died, along with all the people who had lived at that same time. 7 But the people of Israel had many children, and their number grew greatly. They became very strong, and the country of Egypt was filled with them.
Trouble for the People of Israel
8 Then a new king began to rule Egypt. He did not know who Joseph was. 9 This king said to his people, “Look! The people of Israel are too many! And they are too strong for us to handle! 10 We must make plans against them. If we don’t, the number of their people will grow even more. Then if there is a war, they might join our enemies. Then they could fight us and escape from the country!”
11 So the Egyptians made life hard for the people of Israel. They put slave masters over the Israelites. The slave masters forced the Israelites to build the cities Pithom and Rameses for the king. These cities were supply centers in which the Egyptians stored things. 12 The Egyptians forced the Israelites to work even harder. But this made the Israelites grow in number and spread more. So the Egyptians became more afraid of them. 13 They forced the Israelites to work even harder. 14 The Egyptians made life hard for the Israelites. They forced the Israelites to work very hard making bricks and mortar. They also forced them to do all kinds of hard work in the fields. The Egyptians were not merciful to them in all their hard work.
15 There were two Hebrew nurses named Shiphrah and Puah. These nurses helped the Israelite women give birth to their babies. The king of Egypt said to the nurses, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women give birth to their babies, watch! If the baby is a girl, let the baby live. But if it is a boy, kill it!” 17 But the nurses feared God. So they did not do as the king told them. They let all the boy babies live. 18 Then the king of Egypt sent for the nurses. He said, “Why did you do this? Why did you let the boys live?”
19 The nurses said to him, “The Hebrew women are much stronger than the Egyptian women. They give birth to their babies before we can get there.” 20 God was good to the nurses. And the Hebrew people continued to grow in number. So they became even stronger. 21 Because the nurses feared God, he gave them families of their own.
22 So the king commanded all his people: “Every time a boy is born to the Hebrews, you must throw him into the Nile River. But let all the girl babies live.”
Baby Moses
2 There was a man from the family of Levi. He married a woman who was also from the family of Levi. 2 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw how wonderful the baby was, and she hid him for three months. 3 But after three months, she was not able to hide the baby any longer. So she got a basket made of reeds and covered it with tar so that it would float. She put the baby in the basket. Then she put the basket among the tall grass at the edge of the Nile River. 4 The baby’s sister stood a short distance away. She wanted to see what would happen to him.
5 Then the daughter of the king of Egypt came to the river. She was going to take a bath. Her servant girls were walking beside the river. She saw the basket in the tall grass. So she sent her slave girl to get it. 6 The king’s daughter opened the basket and saw the baby boy. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. She said, “This is one of the Hebrew babies.”
7 Then the baby’s sister asked the king’s daughter, “Would you like me to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for you?”
8 The king’s daughter said, “Yes, please.” So the girl went and got the baby’s own mother.
9 The king’s daughter said to the woman, “Take this baby and nurse him for me. I will pay you.” So the woman took her baby and nursed him. 10 After the child had grown older, the woman took him to the king’s daughter. She adopted the baby as her own son. The king’s daughter named him Moses,[a] because she had pulled him out of the water.
Peter Says Jesus Is the Christ
13 Jesus went to the area of Caesarea Philippi. He said to his followers, “I am the Son of Man. Who do the people say I am?”
14 They answered, “Some people say you are John the Baptist. Others say you are Elijah. And others say that you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 Then Jesus asked them, “And who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah. No person taught you that. My Father in heaven showed you who I am. 18 So I tell you, you are Peter.[a] And I will build my church on this rock. The power of death will not be able to defeat my church. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. The things you don’t allow on earth will be the things that God does not allow. The things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.” 20 Then Jesus warned his followers not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
Jesus Says That He Must Die
21 From that time on Jesus began telling his followers that he must go to Jerusalem. He explained that the Jewish elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law would make him suffer many things. And he told them that he must be killed. Then, on the third day, he would be raised from death.
22 Peter took Jesus aside and began to criticize him. Peter said, “God save you from those things, Lord! Those things will never happen to you!”
23 Then Jesus said to Peter, “Go away from me, Satan![b] You are not helping me! You don’t care about the things of God. You care only about things that men think are important.”
24 Then Jesus said to his followers, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must say ‘no’ to the things he wants. He must be willing even to die on a cross, and he must follow me. 25 Whoever wants to save his life will give up true life. And whoever gives up his life for me will have true life. 26 It is worth nothing for a man to have the whole world if he loses his soul. He could never pay enough to buy back his soul. 27 The Son of Man will come again with his Father’s glory and with his angels. At that time, he will reward everyone for what he has done. 28 I tell you the truth. There are some people standing here who, before they die, will see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom.”
Jesus with Moses and Elijah
17 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John the brother of James up on a high mountain. They were all alone there. 2 While they watched, Jesus was changed. His face became bright like the sun. And his clothes became white as light. 3 Then two men were there, talking with him. The men were Moses and Elijah.[c]
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you want, I will put three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While Peter was talking, a bright cloud covered them. A voice came from the cloud. The voice said, “This is my Son and I love him. I am very pleased with him. Obey him!”
6 The followers with Jesus heard the voice. They were so frightened that they fell to the ground. 7 But Jesus went to them and touched them. He said, “Stand up. Don’t be afraid.” 8 When the followers looked up, they saw Jesus was now alone.
9 When Jesus and the followers were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone about the things you saw on the mountain. Wait until the Son of Man has been raised from death. Then you may tell.”
Thanksgiving for the King
For the director of music. A song of David.
21 Lord, the king rejoices because of your strength.
He is so happy when you save him!
2 You gave the king what he wanted.
You did not refuse what he asked for. Selah
3 You put good things before him.
You placed a gold crown on his head.
4 He asked you for life.
And you gave it to him.
His years go on and on.
5 He has great glory because you gave him victories.
You gave him honor and praise.
6 You always gave him blessings.
You made him glad because you were with him.
7 The king truly trusts the Lord.
Because God Most High always loves him,
he will not be overwhelmed.
8 Your hand is against all your enemies.
Those who hate you will feel your power.
9 When you appear, you will burn them like wood in a furnace.
In your anger you will eat them up.
Your fire will burn them up.
10 You will destroy their families from the earth.
Their children will not live.
11 They made evil plans against you.
But their traps won’t work.
12 You will make them turn their backs
when you aim your arrows at them.
13 Be supreme, Lord, in your power.
We sing and praise your greatness.
Warning About Adultery
5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom.
Listen to my words of understanding.
2 Be careful to use good sense.
Watch what you say.
3 The words of another man’s wife may seem sweet as honey.
Her words may be as pleasant as olive oil.
4 But in the end she will bring you sorrow.
She will cause you pain like a two-edged sword.
5 She is on the way to death.
Her steps are headed straight to the grave.
6 She gives no thought to life.
She does not know that her ways are wrong.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.