Daily Bible GNT January 25 Scroll

Jesus and Zacchaeus

Luke 19 Jesus went on into Jericho and was passing through. ²There was a chief tax collector there named Zacchaeus, who was rich. ³He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was a little man and could not see Jesus because of the crowd. ⁴So he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus, who was going to pass that way. ⁵When Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to Zacchaeus, "Hurry down, Zacchaeus, because I must stay in your house today."

⁶Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed him with great joy. ⁷All the people who saw it started grumbling, "This man has gone as a guest to the home of a sinner!"

⁸Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Listen, sir! I will give half my belongings to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times as much."

⁹Jesus said to him, "Salvation has come to this house today, for this man, also, is a descendant of Abraham. ¹⁰The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."

The Parable of the Gold Coins
(Matthew 25.14-30)

¹¹While the people were listening to this, Jesus continued and told them a parable. He was now almost at Jerusalem, and they supposed that the Kingdom of God was just about to appear. ¹²So he said, "There was once a man of high rank who was going to a country far away to be made king, after which he planned to come back home. ¹³Before he left, he called his ten servants and gave them each a gold coin and told them, 'See what you can earn with this while I am gone.' ¹⁴Now, his own people hated him, and so they sent messengers after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'

¹⁵"The man was made king and came back. At once he ordered his servants to appear before him, in order to find out how much they had earned. ¹⁶The first one came and said, 'Sir, I have earned ten gold coins with the one you gave me.' ¹⁷'Well done,' he said; 'you are a good servant! Since you were faithful in small matters, I will put you in charge of ten cities.' ¹⁸The second servant came and said, 'Sir, I have earned five gold coins with the one you gave me.' ¹⁹To this one he said, 'You will be in charge of five cities.' ²⁰Another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it hidden in a handkerchief. ²¹I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take what is not yours and reap what you did not plant.' ²²He said to him, 'You bad servant! I will use your own words to condemn you! You know that I am a hard man, taking what is not mine and reaping what I have not planted. ²³Well, then, why didn't you put my money in the bank? Then I would have received it back with interest when I returned.' ²⁴Then he said to those who were standing there, 'Take the gold coin away from him and give it to the servant who has ten coins.' ²⁵But they said to him, 'Sir, he already has ten coins!' ²⁶'I tell you,' he replied, 'that to those who have something, even more will be given; but those who have nothing, even the little that they have will be taken away from them. ²⁷Now, as for those enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and kill them in my presence!'"

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

Genesis 32 As Jacob went on his way, some angels met him. ²When he saw them, he said, "This is God's cam"p; so he named the place Mahanaim.

³Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the country of Edom. ⁴He instructed them to say: "I, Jacob, your obedient servant, report to my master Esau that I have been staying with Laban and that I have delayed my return until now. ⁵I own cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and slaves. I am sending you word, sir, in the hope of gaining your favor."

⁶When the messengers came back to Jacob, they said, "We went to your brother Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you. He has four hundred men with him." ⁷Jacob was frightened and worried. He divided into two groups the people who were with him, and also his sheep, goats, cattle, and camels. ⁸He thought, "If Esau comes and attacks the first group, the other may be able to escape."

⁹Then Jacob prayed, "God of my grandfather Abraham and God of my father Isaac, hear me! You told me, LORD, to go back to my land and to my relatives, and you would make everything go well for me. ¹⁰I am not worth all the kindness and faithfulness that you have shown me, your servant. I crossed the Jordan with nothing but a walking stick, and now I have come back with these two groups. ¹¹Save me, I pray, from my brother Esau. I am afraid--afraid that he is coming to attack us and destroy us all, even the women and children. ¹²Remember that you promised to make everything go well for me and to give me more descendants than anyone could count, as many as the grains of sand along the seashore."

^13-15After spending the night there, Jacob chose from his livestock as a present for his brother Esau: 200 female goats and 20 males, 200 female sheep and 20 males, 30 milk camels with their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 males. ¹⁶He divided them into herds and put one of his servants in charge of each herd. He said to them, "Go ahead of me, and leave a space between each herd and the one behind it." ¹⁷He ordered the first servant, "When my brother Esau meets you and asks, 'Who is your master? Where are you going? Who owns these animals in front of you?' ¹⁸you must answer, 'They belong to your servant Jacob. He sends them as a present to his master Esau. Jacob himself is right behind us.'" ¹⁹He gave the same order to the second, the third, and to all the others who were in charge of the herds: "This is what you must say to Esau when you meet him. ²⁰You must say, 'Yes, your servant Jacob is right behind us.'" Jacob was thinking, "I will win him over with the gifts, and when I meet him, perhaps he will forgive me." ²¹He sent the gifts on ahead of him and spent that night in camp.

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

²²That same night Jacob got up, took his two wives, his two concubines, and his eleven children, and crossed the Jabbok River. ²³After he had sent them across, he also sent across all that he owned, ²⁴but he stayed behind, alone.

Then a man came and wrestled with him until just before daybreak. ²⁵When the man saw that he was not winning the struggle, he hit Jacob on the hip, and it was thrown out of joint. ²⁶The man said, "Let me go; daylight is coming."

"I won't, unless you bless me," Jacob answered.

²⁷"What is your name?" the man asked.

"Jacob," he answered.

²⁸The man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob. You have struggled with God and with men, and you have won; so your name will be Israel."

²⁹Jacob said, "Now tell me your name."

But he answered, "Why do you want to know my name?" Then he blessed Jacob.

³⁰Jacob said, "I have seen God face-to-face, and I am still alive"; so he named the place Peniel. ³¹The sun rose as Jacob was leaving Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. ³²Even today the descendants of Israel do not eat the muscle which is on the hip joint, because it was on this muscle that Jacob was hit.

Jacob Meets Esau

Genesis 33 Jacob saw Esau coming with his four hundred men, so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two concubines. ²He put the concubines and their children first, then Leah and her children, and finally Rachel and Joseph at the rear. ³Jacob went ahead of them and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. ⁴But Esau ran to meet him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. They were both crying. ⁵When Esau looked around and saw the women and the children, he asked, "Who are these people with you?"

"These, sir, are the children whom God has been good enough to give me," Jacob answered. ⁶Then the concubines came up with their children and bowed down; ⁷then Leah and her children came, and last of all Joseph and Rachel came and bowed down.

⁸Esau asked, "What about that other group I met? What did that mean?"

Jacob answered, "It was to gain your favor."

⁹But Esau said, "I have enough, my brother; keep what you have."

¹⁰Jacob said, "No, please, if I have gained your favor, accept my gift. To see your face is for me like seeing the face of God, now that you have been so friendly to me. ¹¹Please accept this gift which I have brought for you; God has been kind to me and given me everything I need." Jacob kept on urging him until he accepted.

¹²Esau said, "Let's get ready and leave. I will go ahead of you."

¹³Jacob answered, "You know that the children are weak, and I must think of the sheep and livestock with their young. If they are driven hard for even one day, the whole herd will die. ¹⁴Please go on ahead of me, and I will follow slowly, going as fast as I can with the livestock and the children until I catch up with you in Edom."

¹⁵Esau said, "Then let me leave some of my men with you."

But Jacob answered, "There is no need for that for I only want to gain your favor." ¹⁶So that day Esau started on his way back to Edom. ¹⁷But Jacob went to Sukkoth, where he built a house for himself and shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was named Sukkoth.

¹⁸On his return from Mesopotamia Jacob arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan and set up his camp in a field near the city. ¹⁹He bought that part of the field from the descendants of Hamor father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of silver. ²⁰He put up an altar there and named it for El, the God of Israel.

A Prayer for Guidance and Protection

Psalm 25 To you, O LORD, I offer my prayer;

in you, my God, I trust.

Save me from the shame of defeat;

don't let my enemies gloat over me!

³Defeat does not come to those who trust in you,

but to those who are quick to rebel against you.

⁴Teach me your ways, O LORD;

make them known to me.

⁵Teach me to live according to your truth,

for you are my God, who saves me.

I always trust in you.

⁶Remember, O LORD, your kindness and constant love

which you have shown from long ago.

⁷Forgive the sins and errors of my youth.

In your constant love and goodness,

remember me, LORD!

⁸Because the LORD is righteous and good,

he teaches sinners the path they should follow.

⁹He leads the humble in the right way

and teaches them his will.

¹⁰With faithfulness and love he leads

all who keep his covenant and obey his commands.

¹¹Keep your promise, LORD, and forgive my sins,

for they are many.

¹²Those who have reverence for the LORD

will learn from him the path they should follow.

¹³They will always be prosperous,

and their children will possess the land.

¹⁴The LORD is the friend of those who obey him

and he affirms his covenant with them.

¹⁵I look to the LORD for help at all times,

and he rescues me from danger.

¹⁶Turn to me, LORD, and be merciful to me,

because I am lonely and weak.

¹⁷Relieve me of my worries

and save me from all my troubles.

¹⁸Consider my distress and suffering

and forgive all my sins.

¹⁹See how many enemies I have;

see how much they hate me.

²⁰Protect me and save me;

keep me from defeat.

I come to you for safety.

²¹May my goodness and honesty preserve me,

because I trust in you.

²²From all their troubles, O God,

save your people Israel!

This reading is from The Holy Bible, Today's English Version, Second Edition copyright © American Bible Society, 1992;
Old Testament copyright © American Bible Society, 1976, 1992; New Testament © American Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992.

These daily Bible readings from the Good News Translation (GNT), formerly the Today's English Version (TEV), are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. All BibleCard® images are copyrighted by iCreative. All rights reserved.