The Daily Audio Bible

28 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him. Then he charged him and said to him, “You must not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. ² Arise, go to Paddan Aram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take for yourself a wife from there, from the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. ³ May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a multitude of people. ⁴ May He give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land where you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.” ⁵ Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan Aram to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

⁶ Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram to take for himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “You must not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan,” ⁷ and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. ⁸ Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please Isaac his father. ⁹ So Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, in addition to the wives he had.

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Then Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Harran. ¹¹ He came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of that place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. ¹² He dreamed and saw a ladder set up on the earth with the top of it reaching to heaven. The angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ The Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, to you will I give it and to your descendants. ¹⁴ Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and in your descendants all the families of the earth will be blessed. ¹⁵ Remember, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.”

¹⁶ Jacob awoke out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” ¹⁷ He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

¹⁸ So Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ He called the name of that place Bethel, but previously the name of the city was called Luz.

²⁰ Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will protect me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, ²¹ so that I return to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord will be my God. ²² Then this stone, which I have set for a pillar, will be the house of God, and from all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

Jacob Meets Rachel

29 Then Jacob went on his journey and came into the land of the people of the east. ² As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying by it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. A large stone was on the well’s opening. ³ When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds rolled the stone from the well’s opening, watered the sheep, then put the stone back on the well’s opening in its place.

⁴ Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?”

And they said, “We are from Harran.”

⁵ Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?”

And they said, “We know him.”

⁶ He said to them, “Is he well?”

And they said, “He is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.”

⁷ He said, “Since it is yet midday, it is not the time that the livestock should be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.”

⁸ They said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the well’s opening. Then we may water the sheep.”

⁹ While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she kept them. ¹⁰ When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s opening and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. ¹¹ Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. ¹² Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s relative and that he was Rebekah’s son. Then she ran and told her father.

¹³ When Laban heard the news of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then Jacob told Laban all these things. ¹⁴ Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.”

And he stayed with him for a month. ¹⁵ Laban said to Jacob, “Since you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?”

Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah’s eyes were tender, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”

¹⁹ Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, so that I may have relations with her.”

²² Laban gathered together all the men of the place and prepared a feast. ²³ But in the evening he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob had relations with her. ²⁴ Laban gave Zilpah his maid to his daughter Leah for a maidservant.

²⁵ In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah, and he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why then have you tricked me?”

²⁶ Then Laban said, “It is not the custom in our country to marry off the younger before the firstborn. ²⁷ Fulfill the period of seven days for this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.”

²⁸ Jacob did so and completed her week. Then Laban gave him Rachel his daughter as his wife also. ²⁹ Laban gave Bilhah his maidservant to Rachel his daughter to be her maid. ³⁰ So Jacob also had relations with Rachel, and he loved Rachel more than Leah and served Laban another seven years.

Jacob’s Children

³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. ³² Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Surely the Lord has looked upon my affliction. Now therefore my husband will love me.”

³³ She conceived again and gave birth to a son and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I was unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” Then she called his name Simeon.

³⁴ She conceived again and gave birth to a son and said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.

³⁵ She conceived again and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped giving birth.

The Ruler’s Daughter and a Woman Healed^(A)

¹⁸ While He was speaking these things to them, a certain ruler came and worshipped Him, saying, “My daughter is even now dead. But come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.” ¹⁹ Jesus rose and followed him, and so did His disciples.

²⁰ Then a woman, who was ill with a flow of blood for twelve years, came behind Him and touched the hem of His garment. ²¹ For she said within herself, “If I may just touch His garment, I shall be healed.”

²² But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her, He said, “Daughter, be of good comfort. Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well instantly.

²³ When Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the musicians and the mourners making a noise, ²⁴ He said to them, “Depart. The girl is not dead, but is sleeping.” And they laughed Him to scorn. ²⁵ But when the people were put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. ²⁶ The news of this went out into all that land.

The Healing of Two Blind Men

²⁷ As Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”

²⁸ When He entered the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

²⁹ Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith, let it be done for you.” ³⁰ And their eyes were opened, and Jesus strictly commanded them, saying, “See that no one knows of it.” ³¹ But when they had departed, they spread His fame in all that region.

The Healing of a Mute Man

³² As they went out, they brought to Him a mute man possessed with a demon. ³³ And when the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke, and the crowds were amazed, saying, “This has never been seen in Israel.”

³⁴ But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons through the ruler of the demons.”

The Compassion of Jesus

³⁵ Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. ³⁶ But when He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they fainted and were scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ³⁸ Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest, that He will send out laborers into His harvest.”

Psalm 11

For the Music Director. A Psalm of David.