NLT One Year Bible - Flipbook - Page 54
J A N U A R Y
1 4
from poplar, almond, and plane trees and
peeled off strips of bark, making white
streaks on them. 38Then he placed these
peeled branches in the watering troughs
where the flocks came to drink, for that
was where they mated. 39And when they
mated in front of the white-streaked
branches, they gave birth to young that
were streaked, speckled, and spotted.
40 Jacob separated those lambs from
Laban’s flock. And at mating time he
turned the flock to face Laban’s animals
that were streaked or black. This is how
he built his own flock instead of increasing Laban’s.
41 Whenever the stronger females
were ready to mate, Jacob would place
the peeled branches in the watering
troughs in front of them. Then they
would mate in front of the branches.
42But he didn’t do this with the weaker
ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to
Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s. 43As a result, Jacob became very
wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and
goats, female and male servants, and
many camels and donkeys.
31:1But
Jacob soon learned that Laban’s
sons were grumbling about him. “Jacob
has robbed our father of everything!”
they said. “He has gained all his wealth
at our father’s expense.” 2And Jacob began to notice a change in Laban’s attitude toward him.
3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your father and
grandfather and to your relatives there,
and I will be with you.”
4So Jacob called Rachel and Leah out
to the field where he was watching his
flock. 5He said to them, “I have noticed
that your father’s attitude toward me
has changed. But the God of my father
has been with me. 6You know how hard
I have worked for your father, 7 but he
has cheated me, changing my wages ten
times. But God has not allowed him to
do me any harm. 8For if he said, ‘The
speckled animals will be your wages,’
the whole flock began to produce
speckled young. And when he changed
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his mind and said, ‘The striped animals
will be your wages,’ then the whole flock
produced striped young. 9 In this way,
God has taken your father’s animals and
given them to me.
10“One time during the mating season, I had a dream and saw that the male
goats mating with the females were
streaked, speckled, and spotted. 11Then
in my dream, the angel of God said to
me, ‘Jacob!’ And I replied, ‘Yes, here I
am.’
12“The angel said, ‘Look up, and you
will see that only the streaked, speckled,
and spotted males are mating with the
females of your flock. For I have seen
how Laban has treated you. 13I am the
God who appeared to you at Bethel,* the
place where you anointed the pillar of
stone and made your vow to me. Now
get ready and leave this country and return to the land of your birth.’”
14Rachel and Leah responded, “That’s
fine with us! We won’t inherit any of
our father’s wealth anyway. 15He has reduced our rights to those of foreign
women. And after he sold us, he wasted
the money you paid him for us. 16All the
wealth God has given you from our
father legally belongs to us and our children. So go ahead and do whatever God
has told you.”
30:3 Hebrew bear children on my knees. 30:6 Dan means
“he judged” or “he vindicated.” 30:8 Naphtali means
“my struggle.” 30:11 Gad means “good fortune.”
30:13 Asher means “happy.” 30:18 Issachar sounds like
a Hebrew term that means “reward.” 30:20 Zebulun
probably means “honor.” 30:24 Joseph means “may he
add.” 30:27 Or I have learned by divination that.
31:13 As in Greek version and an Aramaic Targum; Hebrew
reads the God of Bethel.
MATTHEW 10:1-23
Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast
out evil* spirits and to heal every kind of
disease and illness. 2Here are the names
of the twelve apostles:
first, Simon (also called Peter),
then Andrew (Peter’s brother),
James (son of Zebedee),
John (James’s brother),
3 Philip,
Bartholomew,
