The Daily Audio Bible
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8 And the Lord said to Moses,
2 Say to Aaron, When you set up and light the lamps, the seven lamps shall be made to give light in front of the lampstand.
3 And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps of the lampstand to give light in front of it, as the Lord commanded Moses.
4 And this was the workmanship of the candlestick: beaten or turned gold, beaten work [of gold] from its base to its flowers; according to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.
5 And the Lord said to Moses,
6 Take the [a]Levites from among the Israelites and cleanse them.
7 And thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification [water to be used in case of sin] upon them, and let them pass a razor over all their flesh and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves.(A)
8 Then let them take a young bull and its cereal offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and another young bull you shall take for a sin offering.
9 You shall present the Levites before the Tent of Meeting, and you shall assemble the whole Israelite congregation.
10 And you shall present the Levites before the Lord, and the Israelites shall put their hands upon the Levites,
11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites and on their behalf, that they may do the service of the Lord.
12 Then the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.
13 And you shall present the Levites before Aaron and his sons and offer them as a wave offering to the Lord.
14 Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the Israelites, and the Levites shall be Mine [in a very special sense].
15 And after that the Levites shall go in to do service at the Tent of Meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a wave offering.
16 For they are wholly given to Me from among the Israelites; instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the Israelites, I have taken the Levites for Myself.
17 For all the firstborn of the Israelites are Mine, both of man and beast; on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt [not of Israel], I consecrated them and set them apart for Myself.
18 And I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the Israelites.
19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the Israelites to do the service of the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting and to make atonement for them, that there may be no plague among the Israelites if they should come near the sanctuary.
20 So Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the Israelites did thus to the Levites; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning [them], so did the Israelites to them.
21 The Levites cleansed and purified themselves and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as a wave offering before the Lord and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them.
22 And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the Tent of Meeting with the attendance of Aaron and his sons; as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they to them.
23 And the Lord said to Moses,
24 This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall go in to perform the work of the service of the Tent of Meeting,
25 And at the age of fifty years, they shall retire from the warfare of the service and serve no more,
26 But shall help their brethren in the Tent of Meeting [attend to protecting the sacred things from being profaned], but shall do no regular or heavy service. Thus shall you direct the Levites in regard to their duties.
9 The Lord said to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt,
2 Let the Israelites keep the Passover at its appointed time.
3 On the fourteenth day of this month in the evening, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and ordinances you shall keep it.
4 So Moses told the Israelites they should keep the Passover.
5 And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month in the evening in the Wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the Israelites did.
6 And there were certain men who were defiled by touching the dead body of a man, so they could not keep the Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day.
7 Those men said to [Moses], We are defiled by touching the dead body. Why are we prevented from offering the Lord’s offering at its appointed time among the Israelites?
8 And Moses said to them, Stand still, and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you.
9 And the Lord said to Moses,
10 Say to the Israelites, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of touching a dead body or is far off on a journey, still he shall keep the Passover to the Lord.
11 On the fourteenth day of the second month in the evening they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
12 They shall leave none of it until the morning nor break any bone of it; according to all the statutes for the Passover they shall keep it.(B)
13 But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, yet does not keep the Passover, that person shall be cut off from among his people because he did not bring the Lord’s offering at its appointed time; that man shall bear [the penalty of] his sin.
14 And if a stranger sojourns among you and will keep the Passover to the Lord, according to [its] statutes and its ordinances, so shall he do; you shall have one statute both for the temporary resident and for him who was born in the land.
15 And on the day that the tabernacle was erected, the cloud [of God’s presence] covered the tabernacle, that is, the Tent of the Testimony; and at evening it was over the tabernacle, having the appearance of [a pillar of] fire until the morning.(C)
16 So it was constantly; the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.
17 Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the Tent, after that the Israelites journeyed; and in the place where the cloud rested, there the Israelites encamped.
18 At the Lord’s command the Israelites journeyed, and at [His] command they encamped. As long as the cloud rested upon the tabernacle they remained encamped.
19 Even when the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle many days, the Israelites kept the Lord’s charge and did not set out.
20 And sometimes the cloud was only a few days upon the tabernacle, but according to the command of the Lord they remained encamped, and at His command they journeyed.
21 And sometimes the cloud remained [over the tabernacle] from evening only until morning, but when the cloud was taken up, they journeyed; whether it was taken up by day or by night, they journeyed.
22 Whether it was two days or a month or a longer time that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, dwelling on it, the Israelites remained encamped; but when it was taken up, they journeyed.
23 At the command of the Lord they remained encamped, and at [His] command they journeyed; they kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord through Moses.
14 But when you see the abomination of desolation mentioned by Daniel the prophet standing where it ought not to be—[and] let the one who reads take notice and consider and understand and heed [this]—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.(A)
15 Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house nor go inside to take anything out of his house;
16 And let him who is in the field not turn back again to get his mantle (cloak).
17 And alas for those who are pregnant and for those who have nursing babies in those days!
18 Pray that it may not occur in winter,
19 For at that time there will be such affliction (oppression and tribulation) as has not been from the beginning of the creation which God created until this particular time—and [a]positively never will be [again].
20 And unless the Lord had shortened the days, no human being would be saved (rescued); but for the sake of the elect, His chosen ones (those whom He [b]picked out for Himself), He has shortened the days.(B)
21 And then if anyone says to you, See, here is the Christ (the Messiah)! or, Look, there He is! do not believe it.
22 False Christs (Messiahs) and false prophets will arise and show signs and [work] miracles to deceive and lead astray, if possible, even the elect (those God has chosen out for Himself).
23 But look to yourselves and be on your guard; I have told you everything beforehand.
24 But in those days, after [the affliction and oppression and distress of] that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;(C)
25 And the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.(D)
26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great (kingly) power and glory (majesty and splendor).(E)
27 And then He will send out the angels and will gather together His elect (those He has [c]picked out for Himself) from the four winds, from the farthest bounds of the earth to the farthest bounds of heaven.
28 Now learn a lesson from the fig tree: as soon as its branch becomes tender and it puts forth its leaves, you recognize and know that summer is near.
29 So also, when you see these things happening, you may recognize and know that He is near, at [the very] door.
30 Surely I say to you, this generation ([d]the whole multitude of people living at that one time) positively will not perish or pass away before all these things take place.
31 Heaven and earth will perish and pass away, but My words will not perish or pass away.
32 But of that day or that hour not a [single] person knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
33 Be on your guard [constantly alert], and watch [e]and pray; for you do not know when the time will come.
34 It is like a man [[f]already] going on a journey; when he leaves home, he puts his servants in charge, each with his particular task, and he gives orders to the doorkeeper to be constantly alert and on the watch.
35 Therefore watch (give strict attention, be cautious and alert), for you do not know when the Master of the house is coming—in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or in the morning—
36 [Watch, I say] lest He come suddenly and unexpectedly and find you asleep.
37 And what I say to you I say to everybody: Watch (give strict attention, be cautious, active, and alert)!
Psalm 50
A Psalm of [a]Asaph.
1 The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and calls the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
3 Our God comes and does not keep silence; a fire devours before Him, and round about Him a mighty tempest rages.
4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that He may judge His people:
5 Gather together to Me My saints [those who have found grace in My sight], those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.
6 And the heavens declare His righteousness (rightness and justice), for God, He is judge. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
7 Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify to you and against you: I am God, your God.
8 I do not reprove you for your sacrifices; your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
9 I will accept no bull from your house nor he-goat out of your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills or upon the mountains where thousands are.
11 I know and am acquainted with all the birds of the mountains, and the wild animals of the field are Mine and are with Me, in My mind.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are Mine.(A)
13 Shall I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High,
15 And call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall honor and glorify Me.
16 But to the wicked, God says: What right have you to recite My statutes or take My covenant or pledge on your lips,
17 Seeing that you hate instruction and correction and cast My words behind you [discarding them]?
18 When you see a thief, you associate with him, and you have taken part with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth to evil, and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was once entirely like you. But [now] I will reprove you and put [the charge] in order before your eyes.
22 Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
23 He who brings an offering of praise and thanksgiving honors and glorifies Me; and he who orders his way aright [who prepares the way that I may show him], to him I will demonstrate the salvation of God.
29 The way of the Lord is strength and a stronghold to the upright, but it is destruction to the workers of iniquity.
30 The [consistently] righteous shall never be removed, but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth [eventually].(A)
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