One Year Pray for the Persecuted Bible - Flipbook - Page 60
40
January 13
6 “Is he doing well?” Jacob asked.
“Yes, he’s well,” they answered. “Look, here
comes his daughter Rachel with the flock now.”
7 Jacob said, “Look, it’s still broad daylight—
too early to round up the animals. Why d
on’t
you water the sheep and goats so they can get
back out to pasture?”
8 “We can’t water the animals until all the
flocks have arrived,” they replied. “Then the
shepherds move the stone from the mouth of
the well, and we water all the sheep and goats.”
9 Jacob was still talking with them when
Rachel arrived with her father’s flock, for she
was a shepherd. 10 And because Rachel was his
cousin—the daughter of Laban, his mother’s
brother—and because the sheep and goats belonged to his uncle Laban, Jacob went over to
the well and moved the stone from its mouth
and watered his uncle’s flock. 11 Then Jacob
kissed Rachel, and he wept aloud. 12 He explained to Rachel that he was her cousin on her
father’s s ide—the son of her aunt Rebekah. So
Rachel quickly ran and told her father, Laban.
13 As soon as Laban heard that his nephew
Jacob had arrived, he ran out to meet him. He
embraced and kissed him and brought him
home. When Jacob had told him his story, 14 La
ban exclaimed, “You really are my own flesh
and blood!”
After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about
a month, 15 Laban said to him, “You s houldn’t
work for me without pay just because we
are relatives. Tell me how much your wages
should be.”
16 Now Laban had two daughters. The older
daughter was named Leah, and the younger
one was Rachel. 17 There was no sparkle in
Leah’s eyes,* but Rachel had a beautiful figure
and a lovely face. 18 Since Jacob was in love
with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for
you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel,
your younger daughter, as my wife.”
19 “Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give
her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work
with me.” 20 So Jacob worked seven years to
pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so
strong that it seemed to him but a few days.
21 Finally, the time came for him to marry
her. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said
to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can sleep
with her.”
22 So Laban invited everyone in the neighbor
hood and prepared a wedding feast. 23 But that
night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to
Jacob, and he slept with her. 24 (Laban had given
Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.)
25 But when Jacob woke up in the m
orning—
it was Leah! “What have you done to me?”
Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years
for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?”
26 “It’s not our custom here to marry off a
younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” La
ban replied. 27 “But wait until the bridal week
is over; then we’ll give you Rachel, too—
provided you promise to work another seven
years for me.”
28 So Jacob agreed to work seven more
years. A week after Jacob had married Leah,
Laban gave him Rachel, too. 29 (Laban gave Ra
chel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.) 30 So
Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her
much more than Leah. He then stayed and
worked for Laban the additional seven years.
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved,
he enabled her to have children, but Rachel
could not conceive. 32 So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him
Reuben,* for she said, “The Lord has noticed
my misery, and now my husband will love me.”
33 She soon became pregnant again and
gave birth to another son. She named him
Simeo
n,* for she said, “The Lord heard that I
was unloved and has given me another son.”
34 Then she became pregnant a third time
and gave birth to another son. He was named
Levi,* for she said, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have
given him three sons!”
35 Once again Leah became pregnant and
gave birth to another son. She named him Ju
dah,* for she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!”
And then she stopped having children.
28:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai.
28:4 Hebrew seed; also in 28:13, 14.
29:17 Or Leah had dull eyes, or Leah had soft eyes. The meaning
of the Hebrew is uncertain. 29:32 Reuben means “Look, a son!”
It also sounds like the Hebrew for “He has seen my misery.”
29:33 Simeon probably means “one who hears.” 29:34 Levi
sounds like a Hebrew term that means “being attached” or
“feeling affection for.” 29:35 Judah is related to the Hebrew
term for “praise.”
MATTHEW 9:18‑38
As Jesus was saying this, the leader of a synagogue came and knelt before him. “My daughter has just died,” he said, “but you can bring
her back to life again if you just come and lay
your hand on her.”
19 So Jesus and his disciples got up and went
with him. 20 Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding
came up behind him. She touched the fringe of
his robe, 21 for she thought, “If I can just touch
his robe, I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned around, and when he saw
her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your
faith has made you well.” And the woman was
healed at that moment.
23 When Jesus arrived at the official’s home,
