Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
The One Year Bible TLB (13 page)
January 15So one day while Laban was out shearing sheep, Jacob set his wives and sons on camels, and fled without telling Laban his intentions. He drove the flocks before him—Jacob’s flocks he had gotten there at Paddan-aram—and took everything he owned and started out to return to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.
21
So he fled with all of his possessions (and Rachel stole her father’s household gods and took them with her) and crossed the Euphrates River and headed for the territory of Gilead.
22
Laban didn’t learn of their flight for three days.
23
Then, taking several men with him, he set out in hot pursuit and caught up with them seven days later, at Mount Gilead.
24
That night God appeared to Laban in a dream.
“Watch out what you say to Jacob,” he was told. “Don’t give him your blessing and don’t curse him.”
25
Laban finally caught up with Jacob as he was camped at the top of a ridge; Laban, meanwhile, camped below him in the mountains.
26
“What do you mean by sneaking off like this?” Laban demanded. “Are my daughters prisoners, captured in a battle, that you have rushed them away like this?
27
Why didn’t you give me a chance to have a farewell party, with singing and orchestra and harp?
28
Why didn’t you let me kiss my grandchildren and tell them good-bye? This is a strange way to act.
29
I could crush you, but the God of your father appeared to me last night and told me, ‘Be careful not to be too hard on Jacob!’
30
But see here—though you feel you must go, and long so intensely for your childhood home—why have you stolen my idols?”
31
“I sneaked away because I was afraid,” Jacob answered. “I said to myself, ‘He’ll take his daughters from me by force.’
32
But as for your household idols, a curse upon anyone who took them. Let him die! If you find a single thing we’ve stolen from you, I swear before all these men, I’ll give it back without question.” For Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had taken them.
33
Laban went first into Jacob’s tent to search there, then into Leah’s, and then searched the two tents of the concubines, but didn’t find them. Finally he went into Rachel’s tent.
34
Rachel, remember, was the one who had stolen the idols; she had stuffed them into her camel saddle and now was sitting on them! So although Laban searched the tents thoroughly, he didn’t find them.
35
“Forgive my not getting up, Father,” Rachel explained, “but I’m having my monthly period.”
*
So Laban didn’t find them.
36-37
Now Jacob got mad. “What did you find?” he demanded of Laban. “What is my crime? You have come rushing after me as though you were chasing a criminal and have searched through everything. Now put everything I stole out here in front of us, before your men and mine, for all to see and to decide whose it is!
38
Twenty years I’ve been with you, and all that time I cared for your ewes and goats so that they produced healthy offspring, and I never touched one ram of yours for food.
39
If any were attacked and killed by wild animals, did I show them to you and ask you to reduce the count of your flock? No, I took the loss. You made me pay for every animal stolen from the flocks, whether I could help it or not.
*
40
I worked for you through the scorching heat of the day, and through the cold and sleepless nights.
41
Yes, twenty years—fourteen of them earning your two daughters, and six years to get the flock! And you have reduced my wages ten times!
42
In fact, except for the grace of God—the God of my grandfather Abraham, even the glorious God of Isaac, my father—you would have sent me off without a penny to my name. But God has seen your cruelty and my hard work, and that is why he appeared to you last night.”
43
Laban replied, “These women are my daughters, and these children are mine, and these flocks and all that you have—all are mine. So how could I harm my own daughters and grandchildren?
44
Come now and we will sign a peace pact, you and I, and will live by its terms.”
45
So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a monument,
46
and told his men to gather stones and make a heap, and Jacob and Laban ate together beside the pile of rocks.
47-48
They named it “The Witness Pile”—“Jegar-sahadutha,” in Laban’s language, and “Galeed” in Jacob’s.
“This pile of stones will stand as a witness against us if either of us trespasses across this line,
*
” Laban said.
49
So it was also called “The Watchtower” (Mizpah). For Laban said, “May the Lord see to it that we keep this bargain when we are out of each other’s sight.
50
And if you are harsh to my daughters, or take other wives, I won’t know, but God will see it.
51-52
This heap,” Laban continued, “stands between us as a witness of our vows that I will not cross this line to attack you and you will not cross it to attack me.
53
I call upon the God of Abraham and Nahor, and of their father, to destroy either one of us who does.”
So Jacob took oath before the mighty God of his father, Isaac, to respect the boundary line.
54
Then Jacob presented a sacrifice to God there at the top of the mountain, and invited his companions to a feast, and afterwards spent the night with them on the mountain.
55
Laban was up early the next morning and kissed his daughters and grandchildren, and blessed them, and returned home.
32:
1-2
So Jacob and his household
*
started on again. And the angels of God came to meet him. When he saw them he exclaimed, “God lives here!” So he named the place “God’s territory!”
3
Jacob now sent messengers to his brother, Esau, in Edom, in the land of Seir,
4
with this message: “Hello from Jacob! I have been living with Uncle Laban until recently,
5
and now I own oxen, donkeys, sheep, goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform you of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to us.”
6
The messengers returned with the news that Esau was on the way to meet Jacob—with an army of 400 men!
7
Jacob was frantic with fear. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups;
8
for he said, “If Esau attacks one group, perhaps the other can escape.”
9
Then Jacob prayed, “O God of Abraham my grandfather, and of my father Isaac—O Jehovah who told me to return to the land of my relatives, and said that you would do me good—
10
I am not worthy of the least of all your loving-kindnesses shown me again and again just as you promised me. For when I left home
*
I owned nothing except a walking stick! And now I am two armies!
11
O Lord, please deliver me from destruction at the hand of my brother Esau, for I am frightened—terribly afraid that he is coming to kill me and these mothers and my children.
12
But you promised to do me good, and to multiply my descendants until they become as the sands along the shores—too many to count.”
“A student is not greater than his teacher. A servant is not above his master.
25
The student shares his teacher’s fate. The servant shares his master’s! And since I, the master of the household, have been called ‘Satan,’
*
how much more will you!
26
But don’t be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when the truth will be revealed: their secret plots will become public information.
27
“What I tell you now in the gloom, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ears, proclaim from the housetops!
28
“Don’t be afraid of those who can kill only your bodies—but can’t touch your souls! Fear only God who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
29
Not one sparrow (What do they cost? Two for a penny?) can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.
30
And the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31
So don’t worry! You are more valuable to him than many sparrows.
32
“If anyone publicly acknowledges me as his friend, I will openly acknowledge him as my friend before my Father in heaven.
33
But if anyone publicly denies me, I will openly deny him before my Father in heaven.
34
“Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! No, rather, a sword.
35
I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36
a man’s worst enemies will be right in his own home!
37
If you love your father and mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.
38
If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.
39
“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will save it.
40
“Those who welcome you are welcoming me. And when they welcome me they are welcoming God who sent me.
41
If you welcome a prophet because he is a man of God, you will be given the same reward a prophet gets. And if you welcome good and godly men because of their godliness, you will be given a reward like theirs.
42
“And if, as my representatives, you give even a cup of cold water to a little child, you will surely be rewarded.”
11:
1
When Jesus had finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he went off preaching in the cities where they were scheduled to go.
*
2
John the Baptist, who was now in prison, heard about all the miracles the Messiah was doing, so he sent his disciples to ask Jesus,
3
“Are you really the one we are waiting for, or shall we keep on looking?”
4
Jesus told them,
“Go back to John and tell him about the miracles you’ve seen me do—
5
the blind people I’ve healed, and the lame people now walking without help, and the cured lepers, and the deaf who hear, and the dead raised to life; and tell him about my preaching the Good News to the poor.
6
Then give him this message, ‘Blessed are those who don’t doubt me.’”
How long will you forget me, Lord? Forever? How long will you look the other way when I am in need?
2
How long must I be hiding daily anguish in my heart? How long shall my enemy have the upper hand?
3
Answer me, O Lord my God; give me light in my darkness lest I die.
4
Don’t let my enemies say, “We have conquered him!” Don’t let them gloat that I am down.
5
But I will always trust in you and in your mercy and shall rejoice in your salvation.
6
I will sing to the Lord because he has blessed me so richly.
Wisdom gives: a long, good life, riches, honor, pleasure, peace.
18
Wisdom is a tree of life to those who eat her fruit; happy is the man who keeps on eating it.
January 16Jacob 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
*
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:
1
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!
*
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,
*
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:
1
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
*
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.
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.
*
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,
*
13
for all the laws and prophets looked forward to the Messiah.
*
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.
*
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.’
*
19
And I, the Messiah,
*
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,
*
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,
*
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.”