Jesus the Game Changer

2 Samuel 21-1 Chronicles 29: The Legacy of a King

Growing Pains

Breathe Again: Finding Peace Beyond Fear, Anxiety, and Worry

Celebrating Character

Profound Conversations - Empowered to Go!

Advent: Hope in the Waiting by Wycliffe Bible Translators

Equipping Others: A Leadership Call to Expand Kingdom Capacity

The B-I-B-L-E | Devotional With 3 Little Words

Grief Survivor: 30 Steps Toward Hope and Healing

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch28" data-usfm="GEN.28">
 <div class="label">28</div><div class="p"> 1So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: &#8220;Do not marry a Canaanite woman. 2Go at once to Paddan Aram,#28:2 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia; also in verses 5, 6 and 7 to the house of your mother&#8217;s father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother&#8217;s brother. 3May God Almighty#28:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. 4May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.&#8221; 5Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.</div><div class="p"> 6Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, &#8220;Do not marry a Canaanite woman,&#8221; 7and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; 9so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.</div><div class="s1">Jacob&#8217;s Dream at Bethel</div><div class="p"> 10Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13There above it#28:13 Or There beside him stood the Lord, and he said: &#8220;I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.#28:14 Or will use your name and the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20) 15I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, &#8220;Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.&#8221; 17He was afraid and said, &#8220;How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19He called that place Bethel,#28:19 Bethel means house of God. though the city used to be called Luz.</div><div class="p"> 20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, &#8220;If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21so that I return safely to my father&#8217;s household, then the Lord#28:20,21 Or Since God&#8230; father&#8217;s household, the Lord will be my God 22and#28:21,22 Or household, and the Lord will be my God, 22 then this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God&#8217;s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkGEN">
 <div class="chapter ch29" data-usfm="GEN.29">
 <div class="label">29</div><div class="s1">Jacob Arrives in Paddan Aram</div><div class="p"> 1Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. 2There he saw a well in the open country, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large. 3When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well&#8217;s mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.</div><div class="p"> 4Jacob asked the shepherds, &#8220;My brothers, where are you from?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;We&#8217;re from Harran,&#8221; they replied.</div><div class="p"> 5He said to them, &#8220;Do you know Laban, Nahor&#8217;s grandson?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Yes, we know him,&#8221; they answered.</div><div class="p"> 6Then Jacob asked them, &#8220;Is he well?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Yes, he is,&#8221; they said, &#8220;and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7&#8220;Look,&#8221; he said, &#8220;the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8&#8220;We can&#8217;t,&#8221; they replied, &#8220;until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father&#8217;s sheep, for she was a shepherd. 10When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban&#8217;s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle&#8217;s sheep. 11Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. 12He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father.</div><div class="p"> 13As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister&#8217;s son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things. 14Then Laban said to him, &#8220;You are my own flesh and blood.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel</div><div class="p">After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, 15Laban said to him, &#8220;Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17Leah had weak#29:17 Or delicate eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. 18Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, &#8220;I&#8217;ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19Laban said, &#8220;It&#8217;s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.&#8221; 20So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.</div><div class="p"> 21Then Jacob said to Laban, &#8220;Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love to her.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. 23But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her. 24And Laban gave his servant Zilpah to his daughter as her attendant.</div><div class="p"> 25When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, &#8220;What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn&#8217;t I? Why have you deceived me?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 26Laban replied, &#8220;It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. 27Finish this daughter&#8217;s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 28And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant. 30Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.</div><div class="s1">Jacob&#8217;s Children</div><div class="p"> 31When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. 32Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,#29:32 Reuben sounds like the Hebrew for he has seen my misery; the name means see, a son. for she said, &#8220;It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 33She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, &#8220;Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.&#8221; So she named him Simeon.#29:33 Simeon probably means one who hears.</div><div class="p"> 34Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, &#8220;Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.&#8221; So he was named Levi.#29:34 Levi sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for attached.</div><div class="p"> 35She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, &#8220;This time I will praise the Lord.&#8221; So she named him Judah.#29:35 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise. Then she stopped having children.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkGEN">
 <div class="chapter ch30" data-usfm="GEN.30">
 <div class="label">30</div><div class="p"> 1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, &#8220;Give me children, or I&#8217;ll die!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2Jacob became angry with her and said, &#8220;Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3Then she said, &#8220;Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, 5and she became pregnant and bore him a son. 6Then Rachel said, &#8220;God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.&#8221; Because of this she named him Dan.#30:6 Dan here means he has vindicated.</div><div class="p"> 7Rachel&#8217;s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8Then Rachel said, &#8220;I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.&#8221; So she named him Naphtali.#30:8 Naphtali means my struggle.</div><div class="p"> 9When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10Leah&#8217;s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11Then Leah said, &#8220;What good fortune!&#8221;#30:11 Or &#8220;A troop is coming!&#8221; So she named him Gad.#30:11 Gad can mean good fortune or troop.</div><div class="p"> 12Leah&#8217;s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13Then Leah said, &#8220;How happy I am! The women will call me happy.&#8221; So she named him Asher.#30:13 Asher means happy.</div><div class="p"> 14During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, &#8220;Please give me some of your son&#8217;s mandrakes.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15But she said to her, &#8220;Wasn&#8217;t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son&#8217;s mandrakes too?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Very well,&#8221; Rachel said, &#8220;he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son&#8217;s mandrakes.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. &#8220;You must sleep with me,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I have hired you with my son&#8217;s mandrakes.&#8221; So he slept with her that night.</div><div class="p"> 17God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18Then Leah said, &#8220;God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.&#8221; So she named him Issachar.#30:18 Issachar sounds like the Hebrew for reward.</div><div class="p"> 19Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20Then Leah said, &#8220;God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.&#8221; So she named him Zebulun.#30:20 Zebulun probably means honor.</div><div class="p"> 21Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.</div><div class="p"> 22Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. 23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, &#8220;God has taken away my disgrace.&#8221; 24She named him Joseph,#30:24 Joseph means may he add. and said, &#8220;May the Lord add to me another son.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jacob&#8217;s Flocks Increase</div><div class="p"> 25After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, &#8220;Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. 26Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I&#8217;ve done for you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 27But Laban said to him, &#8220;If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.&#8221; 28He added, &#8220;Name your wages, and I will pay them.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 29Jacob said to him, &#8220;You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. 30The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 31&#8220;What shall I give you?&#8221; he asked.</div><div class="p">&#8220;Don&#8217;t give me anything,&#8221; Jacob replied. &#8220;But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: 32Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. 33And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 34&#8220;Agreed,&#8221; said Laban. &#8220;Let it be as you have said.&#8221; 35That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. 36Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban&#8217;s flocks.</div><div class="p"> 37Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. 38Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, 39they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 40Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban&#8217;s animals. 41Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, 42but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. 43In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.</div>
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