The Daily Audio Bible

The Tower of Babel

11 The whole world had one language with a common vocabulary. ² As people moved toward the east,^[a] they found a plain in Shinar [Babylonia] and settled there.

³ They said to one another, “Let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used bricks as stones and tar ^[b] as mortar.

⁴ Then they said, “Let’s build a city for ourselves and a tower with its top in the sky. Let’s make a name for ourselves so that we won’t become scattered all over the face of the earth.”

⁵ The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the descendants of Adam were building. ⁶ The Lord said, “They are one people with one language. This is only the beginning of what they will do! Now nothing they plan to do will be too difficult for them. ⁷ Let us go down there and mix up their language so that they won’t understand each other.”

⁸ So the Lord scattered them all over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ This is why it was named Babel, because there the Lord turned the language of the whole earth into babble. From that place the Lord scattered them all over the face of the earth.

The Ten Descendants of Shem—Shem to Terah^(A)

¹⁰ This is the account of Shem and his descendants. Two years after the flood when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arpachshad. ¹¹ After he became the father of Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹² Arpachshad was 35 years old when he became the father of Shelah. ¹³ After he became the father of Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁴ Shelah was 30 years old when he became the father of Eber. ¹⁵ After he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁶ Eber was 34 years old when he became the father of Peleg. ¹⁷ After he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁸ Peleg was 30 years old when he became the father of Reu. ¹⁹ After he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁰ Reu was 32 years old when he became the father of Serug. ²¹ After he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

²² Serug was 30 years old when he became the father of Nahor. ²³ After he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁴ Nahor was 29 years old when he became the father of Terah. ²⁵ After he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁶ Terah was 70 years old when he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Terah Moves to Haran

²⁷ This is the account of Terah and his descendants. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot. ²⁸ While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, his native land. ²⁹ Both Abram and Nahor married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, daughter of Haran. (Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah.) ³⁰ Sarai was not able to have children.

³¹ Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, wife of his son Abram. They set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came as far as Haran, they stayed there. ³² Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran.

The Lord’s First Promise to Abram

12 The Lord said to Abram,

The Lord’s Second Promise to Abram

⁴ So Abram left, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. ⁵ Abram set out for Canaan. He took along his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the servants they had acquired in Haran.

⁶ They arrived in Canaan, and Abram traveled through the land to the oak tree belonging to Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I’m going to give this land to your descendants.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

⁸ He moved on to the hills east of Bethel, and he put up his tent—with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He also built an altar to the Lord there and worshiped the Lord. ⁹ Abram kept moving toward the Negev.

Abram Deceives Pharaoh

¹⁰ There was a famine in the land. Abram went to Egypt to stay awhile because the famine was severe. ¹¹ When he was about to enter Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, “I know that you’re a beautiful woman. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they’ll say, ‘This is his wife!’ Then they’ll kill me but let you live. ¹³ Please say that you’re my sister. Then everything will be alright for me, and because of you I will live.”

¹⁴ When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians saw how very beautiful his wife was. ¹⁵ When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they raved about her to Pharaoh, so Sarai was taken to Pharaoh’s palace. ¹⁶ Everything went well for Abram because of her, and he was given sheep, cattle, donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.

¹⁷ However, the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with terrible plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. ¹⁸ Then Pharaoh called for Abram. “What have you done to me?” he asked. “Why didn’t you tell me that she’s your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister’ and allow me to take her for my wife? Here’s your wife! Take her and go!” ²⁰ Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram. They sent Abram away with his wife and everything that he had.

Abram and Lot Separate

13 Abram left Egypt with his wife and everything he had and went to the Negev. Lot was with him. ² Abram was very rich because he had livestock, silver, and gold. ³ He traveled from place to place. He went from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the area between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been originally, ⁴ where he had first made an altar. There Abram worshiped the Lord.

The Sermon on a Mountain: the Beatitudes

5 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up a mountain and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them:

God’s People Make a Difference in the World^(A)

¹³ “You are salt for the earth. But if salt loses its taste, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people.

¹⁴ “You are light for the world. A city cannot be hidden when it is located on a hill. ¹⁵ No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket. Instead, everyone who lights a lamp puts it on a lamp stand. Then its light shines on everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way let your light shine in front of people. Then they will see the good that you do and praise your Father in heaven.

Jesus Fulfills the Old Testament Scriptures

¹⁷ “Don’t ever think that I came to set aside Moses’ Teachings or the Prophets. I didn’t come to set them aside but to make them come true. ¹⁸ I can guarantee this truth: Until the earth and the heavens disappear, neither a period nor a comma will disappear from the Scriptures before everything has come true. ¹⁹ So whoever sets aside any command that seems unimportant and teaches others to do the same will be unimportant in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches what the commands say will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ I can guarantee that unless you live a life that has God’s approval and do it more faithfully than the experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus Talks about Anger

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Never murder. Whoever murders will answer for it in court.’ ²² But I can guarantee that whoever is angry with another believer ^[a] will answer for it in court. Whoever calls another believer an insulting name will answer for it in the highest court. Whoever calls another believer a fool will answer for it in hellfire.

²³ “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and remember there that another believer has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift at the altar. First go away and make peace with that person. Then come back and offer your gift.

²⁵ “Make peace quickly with your opponent while you are on the way to court with him. Otherwise, he will hand you over to the judge. Then the judge will hand you over to an officer, who will throw you into prison. ²⁶ I can guarantee this truth: You will never get out until you pay every penny of your fine.

For the choir director; for flutes; a psalm by David.