Daily Bible GNT January 20 Scroll

The Lost Sheep
(Matthew 18.12-14)

Luke 15 One day when many tax collectors and other outcasts came to listen to Jesus, ²the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law started grumbling, "This man welcomes outcasts and even eats with them!" ³So Jesus told them this parable:

⁴"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them--what do you do? You leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the pasture and go looking for the one that got lost until you find it. ⁵When you find it, you are so happy that you put it on your shoulders ⁶and carry it back home. Then you call your friends and neighbors together and say to them, 'I am so happy I found my lost sheep. Let us celebrate!' ⁷In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine respectable people who do not need to repent.

The Lost Coin

⁸"Or suppose a woman who has ten silver coins loses one of them--what does she do? She lights a lamp, sweeps her house, and looks carefully everywhere until she finds it. ⁹When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, and says to them, 'I am so happy I found the coin I lost. Let us celebrate!' ¹⁰In the same way, I tell you, the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents."

The Lost Son

¹¹Jesus went on to say, "There was once a man who had two sons. ¹²The younger one said to him, 'Father, give me my share of the property now.' So the man divided his property between his two sons. ¹³After a few days the younger son sold his part of the property and left home with the money. He went to a country far away, where he wasted his money in reckless living. ¹⁴He spent everything he had. Then a severe famine spread over that country, and he was left without a thing. ¹⁵So he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him out to his farm to take care of the pigs. ¹⁶He wished he could fill himself with the bean pods the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything to eat. ¹⁷At last he came to his senses and said, 'All my father's hired workers have more than they can eat, and here I am about to starve! ¹⁸I will get up and go to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against God and against you. ¹⁹I am no longer fit to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired workers." ' ²⁰So he got up and started back to his father.

"He was still a long way from home when his father saw him; his heart was filled with pity, and he ran, threw his arms around his son, and kissed him. ²¹'Father,' the son said, 'I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son.' ²²But the father called to his servants. 'Hurry!' he said. 'Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. ²³Then go and get the prize calf and kill it, and let us celebrate with a feast! ²⁴For this son of mine was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.' And so the feasting began.

²⁵"In the meantime the older son was out in the field. On his way back, when he came close to the house, he heard the music and dancing. ²⁶So he called one of the servants and asked him, 'What's going on?' ²⁷'Your brother has come back home,' the servant answered, 'and your father has killed the prize calf, because he got him back safe and sound.' ²⁸The older brother was so angry that he would not go into the house; so his father came out and begged him to come in. ²⁹But he spoke back to his father, 'Look, all these years I have worked for you like a slave, and I have never disobeyed your orders. What have you given me? Not even a goat for me to have a feast with my friends! ³⁰But this son of yours wasted all your property on prostitutes, and when he comes back home, you kill the prize calf for him!' ³¹'My son,' the father answered, 'you are always here with me, and everything I have is yours. ³²But we had to celebrate and be happy, because your brother was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.'"

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Genesis 27 Isaac was now old and had become blind. He sent for his older son Esau and said to him, "Son!"

"Yes," he answered.

²Isaac said, "You see that I am old and may die soon. ³Take your bow and arrows, go out into the country, and kill an animal for me. ⁴Cook me some of that tasty food that I like, and bring it to me. After I have eaten it, I will give you my final blessing before I die."

⁵While Isaac was talking to Esau, Rebecca was listening. So when Esau went out to hunt, ⁶she said to Jacob, "I have just heard your father say to Esau, ⁷'Bring me an animal and cook it for me. After I have eaten it, I will give you my blessing in the presence of the LORD before I die.' ⁸Now, son," Rebecca continued, "listen to me and do what I say. ⁹Go to the flock and pick out two fat young goats, so that I can cook them and make some of that food your father likes so much. ¹⁰You can take it to him to eat, and he will give you his blessing before he dies."

¹¹But Jacob said to his mother, "You know that Esau is a hairy man, but I have smooth skin. ¹²Perhaps my father will touch me and find out that I am deceiving him; in this way, I will bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing."

¹³His mother answered, "Let any curse against you fall on me, my son; just do as I say, and go and get the goats for me." ¹⁴So he went to get them and brought them to her, and she cooked the kind of food that his father liked. ¹⁵Then she took Esau's best clothes, which she kept in the house, and put them on Jacob. ¹⁶She put the skins of the goats on his arms and on the hairless part of his neck. ¹⁷She handed him the tasty food, along with the bread she had baked.

¹⁸Then Jacob went to his father and said, "Father!"

"Yes," he answered. "Which of my sons are you?"

¹⁹Jacob answered, "I am your older son Esau; I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of the meat that I have brought you, so that you can give me your blessing."

²⁰Isaac said, "How did you find it so quickly, son?"

Jacob answered, "The LORD your God helped me find it."

²¹Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come closer so that I can touch you. Are you really Esau?" ²²Jacob moved closer to his father, who felt him and said, "Your voice sounds like Jacob's voice, but your arms feel like Esau's arms." ²³He did not recognize Jacob, because his arms were hairy like Esau's. He was about to give him his blessing, ²⁴but asked again, "Are you really Esau?"

"I am," he answered.

²⁵Isaac said, "Bring me some of the meat. After I eat it, I will give you my blessing." Jacob brought it to him, and he also brought him some wine to drink. ²⁶Then his father said to him, "Come closer and kiss me, son." ²⁷As he came up to kiss him, Isaac smelled his clothes--so he gave him his blessing. He said, "The pleasant smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed. ²⁸May God give you dew from heaven and make your fields fertile! May he give you plenty of grain and wine! ²⁹May nations be your servants, and may peoples bow down before you. May you rule over all your relatives, and may your mother's descendants bow down before you. May those who curse you be cursed, and may those who bless you be blessed."

Esau Begs for Isaac's Blessing

³⁰Isaac finished giving his blessing, and as soon as Jacob left, his brother Esau came in from hunting. ³¹He also cooked some tasty food and took it to his father. He said, "Please, father, sit up and eat some of the meat that I have brought you, so that you can give me your blessing."

³²"Who are you?" Isaac asked.

"Your older son Esau," he answered.

³³Isaac began to tremble and shake all over, and he asked, "Who was it, then, who killed an animal and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came. I gave him my final blessing, and so it is his forever."

³⁴When Esau heard this, he cried out loudly and bitterly and said, "Give me your blessing also, father!"

³⁵Isaac answered, "Your brother came and deceived me. He has taken away your blessing."

³⁶Esau said, "This is the second time that he has cheated me. No wonder his name is Jacob. He took my rights as the first-born son, and now he has taken away my blessing. Haven't you saved a blessing for me?"

³⁷Isaac answered, "I have already made him master over you, and I have made all his relatives his slaves. I have given him grain and wine. Now there is nothing that I can do for you, son!"

³⁸Esau continued to plead with his father: "Do you have only one blessing, father? Bless me too, father!" He began to cry.

³⁹Then Isaac said to him,

"No dew from heaven for you,

No fertile fields for you.

⁴⁰You will live by your sword,

But be your brother's slave.

Yet when you rebel,

You will break away from his control."

⁴¹Esau hated Jacob, because his father had given Jacob the blessing. He thought, "The time to mourn my father's death is near; then I will kill Jacob."

⁴²But when Rebecca heard about Esau's plan, she sent for Jacob and said, "Listen, your brother Esau is planning to get even with you and kill you. ⁴³Now, son, do what I say. Go at once to my brother Laban in Haran, ⁴⁴and stay with him for a while, until your brother's anger cools down ⁴⁵and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send someone to bring you back. Why should I lose both of my sons on the same day?"

A Prayer for Victory

Psalm 20 May the LORD answer you when you are in trouble!

May the God of Jacob protect you!

²May he send you help from his Temple

and give you aid from Mount Zion.

³May he accept all your offerings

and be pleased with all your sacrifices.

⁴May he give you what you desire

and make all your plans succeed.

⁵Then we will shout for joy over your victory

and celebrate your triumph by praising our God.

May the LORD answer all your requests.

⁶Now I know that the LORD gives victory to his chosen king;

he answers him from his holy heaven

and by his power gives him great victories.

⁷Some trust in their war chariots

and others in their horses,

but we trust in the power of the LORD our God.

⁸Such people will stumble and fall,

but we will rise and stand firm.

⁹Give victory to the king, O LORD;

answer us when we call.

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.