DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SUNDAY JANUARY 9
DAILY BIBLE READING
Genesis 25-27 New King James Version
Abraham and Keturah
25 Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 2 And she bore him
Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan begot Sheba and
Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 And the
sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were
the children of Keturah.
5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. 6 But Abraham gave gifts to the
sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he
sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.
Abraham's Death and Burial
7 This is the sum of the years of Abraham's life which he lived: one hundred
and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good
old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 And
his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is
before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the
field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was
buried, and Sarah his wife. 11 And it came to pass, after the death of
Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.
The Families of Ishmael and Isaac
12 Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the
Egyptian, Sarah's maidservant, bore to Abraham. 13 And these were the names
of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The
firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma,
Dumah, Massa, 15 [a]Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These were
the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their
[b]settlements, twelve princes according to their nations. 17 These were the
years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he
breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. 18 (They dwelt
from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward
Assyria.) He [c]died in the presence of all his brethren.
19 This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham begot Isaac. 20
Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of
Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 Now
Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the
Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children
struggled together within her; and she said, "If all is well, why am I like
this?" So she went to inquire of the Lord.
23 And the Lord said to her:
"Two nations are in your womb,
Two peoples shall be separated from your body;
One people shall be stronger than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger."
24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were
twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy
garment all over; so they called his name [d]Esau. 26 Afterward his brother
came out, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel; so his name was called
[e]Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but
Jacob was a [f]mild man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because
he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Esau Sells His Birthright
29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was
weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, "Please feed me with that same red stew,
for I am weary." Therefore his name was called [g]Edom.
31 But Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright as of this day."
32 And Esau said, "Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to
me?"
33 Then Jacob said, [h]"Swear to me as of this day."
So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau
bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way.
Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Isaac and Abimelech
26 There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the
days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in
Gerar.
2 Then the Lord appeared to him and said: "Do not go down to Egypt; live in
the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with
you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands,
and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I
will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to
your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the
earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My
charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."
6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife.
And he said, "She is my sister"; for he was afraid to say, "She is my wife,"
because he thought, "lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because
she is beautiful to behold." 8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a
long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window,
and saw, and there was Isaac, [i]showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. 9
Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, "Quite obviously she is your wife; so
how could you say, 'She is my sister'?"
Isaac said to him, "Because I said, 'Lest I die on account of her.' "
10 And Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people
might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on
us." 11 So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, "He who touches this
man or his wife shall surely be put to death."
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold;
and the Lord blessed him. 13 The man began to prosper, and continued
prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of
flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the
Philistines envied him. 15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells
which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and
they had filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away
from us, for you are much mightier than we."
17 Then Isaac departed from there and [j]pitched his tent in the Valley of
Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they
had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped
them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his
father had called them.
19 Also Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running
water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen,
saying, "The water is ours." So he called the name of the well [k]Esek,
because they quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they
quarreled over that one also. So he called its name [l]Sitnah. 22 And he
moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So
he called its name [m]Rehoboth, because he said, "For now the Lord has made
room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land."
23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him
the same night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear,
for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My
servant Abraham's sake." 25 So he built an altar there and called on the
name of the Lord, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants
dug a well.
26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends,
and Phichol the commander of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, "Why have
you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?"
28 But they said, "We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. So we
said, 'Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us
make a [n]covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, since we have
not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have
sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.' "
30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 Then they arose early
in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away,
and they departed from him in peace.
32 It came to pass the same day that Isaac's servants came and told him
about the well which they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water."
33 So he called it [o]Shebah. Therefore the name of the city is [p]Beersheba
to this day.
34 When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of
Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And
they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.
Isaac Blesses Jacob
27 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he
could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, "My son."
And he answered him, "Here I am."
2 Then he said, "Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3
Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go
out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 And make me [q]savory food, such as
I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before
I die."
5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went
to the field to hunt game and to bring it. 6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her
son, saying, "Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying,
7 'Bring me game and make [r]savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless
you in the presence of the Lord before my death.' 8 Now therefore, my son,
obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and
bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory
food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall take it
to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his
death."
11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "Look, Esau my brother is a hairy
man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I
shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and
not a blessing."
13 But his mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey
my voice, and go, get them for me." 14 And he went and got them and brought
them to his mother, and his mother made [s]savory food, such as his father
loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which
were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And
she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth
part of his neck. 17 Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she
had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
18 So he went to his father and said, "My father."
And he said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?"
19 Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as
you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless
me."
20 But Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly,
my son?"
And he said, "Because the Lord your God brought it to me."
21 Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come near, that I may feel you, my son,
whether you are really my son Esau or not." 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac
his father, and he felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the
hands are the hands of Esau." 23 And he did not recognize him, because his
hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him.
24 Then he said, "Are you really my son Esau?"
He said, "I am."
25 He said, "Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's game, so that
my soul may bless you." So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he
brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come
near now and kiss me, my son." 27 And he came near and kissed him; and he
smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:
"Surely, the smell of my son
Is like the smell of a field
Which the Lord has blessed.
28 Therefore may God give you
Of the dew of heaven,
Of the fatness of the earth,
And plenty of grain and wine.
29 Let peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you.
Be master over your brethren,
And let your mother's sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
And blessed be those who bless you!"
Esau's Lost Hope
30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob
had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his
brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also had made [t]savory food, and
brought it to his father, and said to his father, "Let my father arise and
eat of his son's game, that your soul may bless me."
32 And his father Isaac said to him, "Who are you?"
So he said, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau."
33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, "Who? Where is the one who
hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I
have blessed him-and indeed he shall be blessed."
34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly
great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me-me also, O my
father!"
35 But he said, "Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your
blessing."
36 And Esau said, "Is he not rightly named [u]Jacob? For he has supplanted
me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken
away my blessing!" And he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?"
37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Indeed I have made him your
master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and
wine I have [v]sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?"
38 And Esau said to his father, "Have you only one blessing, my father?
Bless me-me also, O my father!" And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:
"Behold, your dwelling shall be of the [w]fatness of the earth,
And of the dew of heaven from above.
40 By your sword you shall live,
And you shall serve your brother;
And it shall come to pass, when you become restless,
That you shall break his yoke from your neck."
Jacob Escapes from Esau
41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed
him, and Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father [x]are
at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob."
42 And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and
called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, "Surely your brother Esau
comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. 43 Now therefore,
my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran. 44 And stay
with him a few days, until your brother's fury turns away, 45 until your
brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to
him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved
also of you both in one day?"
46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am weary of my life because of the
daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like
these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?"
Footnotes
Genesis 25:15 MT Hadad
Genesis 25:16 camps
Genesis 25:18 fell
Genesis 25:25 Lit. Hairy
Genesis 25:26 Supplanter or Deceitful, lit. One Who Takes the Heel
Genesis 25:27 Lit. complete
Genesis 25:30 Lit. Red
Genesis 25:33 Take an oath
Genesis 26:8 caressing
Genesis 26:17 camped
Genesis 26:20 Lit. Quarrel
Genesis 26:21 Lit. Enmity
Genesis 26:22 Lit. Spaciousness
Genesis 26:28 treaty
Genesis 26:33 Lit. Oath or Seven
Genesis 26:33 Lit. Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven
Genesis 27:4 tasty
Genesis 27:7 tasty
Genesis 27:14 tasty
Genesis 27:31 tasty
Genesis 27:36 Supplanter or Deceitful, lit. One Who Takes the Heel
Genesis 27:37 provided support for
Genesis 27:39 fertility
Genesis 27:41 are soon here
