The Daily Audio Bible
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Offerings on Entering the Land
17 Then the Lord instructed Moses: 18 “Tell the Israelis that when they enter the land that I’m about to bring you to, 19 when you have eaten some of the bread that the land produces, you are to offer a raised offering to the Lord. 20 You are to offer a cake made from the first of your bread dough as a raised offering to the Lord. Offer it as a raised offering right off your threshing floor. 21 From then on, throughout your generations give the first of your bread dough to the Lord.”
Offerings for Inadvertent National Sin
22 “Here’s what you are to do[a] when you all[b] go astray and fail to observe all these commands that the Lord had spoken to Moses, 23 including anything that the Lord commanded you by the authority[c] of Moses, starting from the day the Lord commanded Moses and continuing through your generations. 24 When anything is done without the knowledge[d] of the congregation, the entire community is to offer one young bull for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord, along with its meal and drink offerings offered according to procedure, and one male goat for a sin offering. 25 Then the priest is to make atonement for the entire community of the Israelis, and they will be forgiven[e] for inadvertent sins. They are to bring their offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord, as well as their sin offering, into the Lord’s presence on account of their error. 26 Then the entire community of Israel will be forgiven, along with the resident alien who lives among them, since all the people will have sinned inadvertently.”
Offerings for Inadvertent Personal Sin
27 “Now when one person[f] sins inadvertently, then he is to bring a one year old female goat for a sin offering. 28 Then, in the Lord’s presence, the priest is to make atonement for the person who sinned inadvertently, that is, to make atonement on his behalf so he may be forgiven. 29 You are to have a single law for the one who does things inadvertently, whether for the native-born Israeli or for the resident alien who lives among you.”
On Willful Sin
30 “But if some person acts with a high hand, whether a native-born or a resident alien, he blasphemes God, and that person is to be eliminated from among his people. 31 Because he has despised the law of the Lord and has broken his commands, that person is certainly to be eliminated. His iniquity will remain on him.”
32 As it was when the Israelis were in the wilderness, they found a man who was gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 The ones who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses, Aaron, and all the people. 34 Then they confined him until it could be declared what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord told Moses, “The man is certainly to die. The entire community is to stone him to death outside the camp.” 36 So the whole community brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones so that he died, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
On Garments and Reminders
37 Later, the Lord instructed Moses, 38 “Tell the Israelis that they are to make tassels at the edges of their garments throughout their generations and that they are to put a violet cord on the tassels at the edges of their garments. 39 That way, when you see the tassel, you’ll remember all the commands of the Lord and you’ll observe them. Then you won’t seek your own interests and desires[g] that lead you to be unfaithful. 40 Therefore, remember to observe all my commands and to be holy in the presence of your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.”
The Rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram
16 Now Izhar’s son Korah, the grandson of Kohath, a descendant of Levi, along with Eliab’s sons Dathan and Abiram, and Peleth’s son On, a descendant of Reuben, took charge 2 of a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 community leaders, Israelis who were famous men and representatives from the assembly. 3 They gathered together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have appropriated too much for yourselves from the entire congregation, since all of them are holy, and the Lord is among them, too. Why do you exalt yourselves over the Lord’s assembly?”
4 When Moses heard this, he fell on his face. 5 Then he addressed Korah and his entire company, “In the morning, may the Lord reveal who belongs to him and who is holy. May he cause that person[h] to approach him. May he cause to approach him the one whom he has chosen. 6 Korah, you and your entire company are to bring censers 7 and put fire and incense in them in the Lord’s presence tomorrow. It will be that the man whom the Lord chooses will be holy. You’re taking too much for yourselves, you descendants of Levi.”
8 Moses also told Korah, “Listen now, you descendants of Levi! 9 Is it such an insignificant thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Israelis to draw you to himself, appointing you to do the work of the tent of the Lord and to stand before the community to minister to them? 10 He brought you near, along with all of your relatives, the descendants of Levi. Are you also seeking the priesthood? 11 Therefore you and your group have conspired against the Lord and Aaron. What is it that causes you to complain against him?”
12 So Moses sent for Eliab’s sons Dathan and Abiram, but they responded, “We’re not coming. 13 Is it such an insignificant thing that you brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness? Now you’re trying to make yourself be a prince and rule over us, aren’t you? 14 You still haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you really think that you can make these men look the other way?[i] We won’t go up.”
15 Moses was very angry, so he told the Lord, “Please don’t accept their offering. I haven’t taken even one donkey from them nor have I hurt even one of them.”
16 Then Moses told Korah, “You and your entire company are to present yourselves in the Lord’s presence tomorrow—you, they, and Aaron. 17 Each man is to take a censer, put incense on it, and bring it into the Lord’s presence, each man with his censer, for a total of 250 censers. You and Aaron are each to bring his own censer.”
18 So each man took his censer, put fire coals inside of it, placed incense in it, and then stood at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, accompanied by Moses and Aaron. 19 When Korah had assembled the entire community in opposition to Moses and Aaron[j] at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the entire community.
God Vindicates Moses and Aaron
20 Then the Lord told Moses and Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves from among this community, and I’ll destroy them in a moment.”
22 Then they fell on their faces and said, “God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, will you be angry at the entire congregation on account of one man’s sin?”
23 Then the Lord instructed Moses, 24 “Tell the community to move away from where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram are living.”
25 So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 Then he told the community, “Move away from the camps of these wicked men and don’t touch anything that belongs to them. That way you won’t be destroyed along with all their sins.” 27 So they all moved away from the entire area where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were living.
Now Korah, Dathan, and Abiram stood at the entrance to their tents with their wives, sons, and little children. 28 Then Moses said, “This is how you’ll know that the Lord has sent me to do all these awesome works—they’re not coming merely from me.[k] 29 If these people die a death similar to all other human beings, or if they are punished with a punishment common to other men, then the Lord didn’t send me. 30 But if the Lord creates something new,[l] so that the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and everything that belongs to them and they all descend directly to Sheol[m] while still alive, then you’ll know that these men have spurned the Lord.”
God Executes Korah’s Families
31 Just as he finished saying all these things, the ground under them split open. 32 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, all their households, everyone who was affiliated with Korah, and all of their property. 33 So they and all that belonged to them descended alive to Sheol.[n] Then the earth closed over them. That’s how they were annihilated from the assembly.
34 Then all of the Israelis who were around them ran away when they heard them crying, “…so the ground won’t swallow us up, too.” 35 After this, fire came from the Lord and incinerated the 250 men who offered the incense.
The Censers Used for the Altar
36 [o] Then the Lord instructed Moses, 37 “Tell Aaron’s son Eleazar the priest to take out the censers out of the flames[p] and scatter the coals far away, since they are holy. 38 As for the censers of those rebels who died, fasten them into beaten plates to line the altar. Since they brought them into the Lord’s presence, they’re holy. They are to become a reminder[q] to the Israelis.”
39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers that had been burned and beat them into metal plates for the altar, 40 to serve as a memorial to the Israelis, a reminder that no unauthorized person, who isn’t a descendant of Aaron, is to attempt[r] to burn[s] incense in the Lord’s presence, so that he may not become like Korah and his group, just as the Lord had spoken by the authority[t] of Moses.
Jesus is Taken to Pilate(A)
15 As soon as it was morning, the high priests convened a meeting with the elders and scribes and the whole Council.[a] They bound Jesus with chains, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2 Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus[b] answered him, “You say so.”
3 The high priests kept accusing him of many things. 4 So Pilate asked him again, “Don’t you have any answer? Look how many accusations they’re bringing against you!” 5 But since Jesus no longer answered, Pilate was astonished.
Jesus is Sentenced to Death(B)
6 At every festival,[c] Pilate[d] would release any one prisoner whom the people[e] requested. 7 Now there was a man in prison named Barabbas. He had been with the insurgents who had committed murder during the rebellion. 8 So the crowd came and began to request that Pilate[f] do for them what he always did.[g] 9 Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to release the king of the Jews for you?” 10 because he knew that the high priests had handed him over due to jealousy.
11 But the high priests stirred up the crowd to get him to release Barabbas for them instead. 12 So Pilate asked them again, “Then what should I do with the man you call[h] ‘the King of the Jews’?”
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted back.
14 “Why?” Pilate asked them. “What has he done wrong?”
But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”
15 So Pilate, wanting to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them, but he had Jesus whipped and handed over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Make Fun of Jesus(C)
16 The soldiers led Jesus[i] into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters)[j] and called out the whole guard. 17 They dressed him in a purple robe, twisted some thorns into a victor’s crown, and placed it on his head.[k] 18 They began to greet him, “Long live the king of the Jews!” 19 They kept hitting him on the head with a stick, spitting on him, kneeling in front of him, and worshiping him. 20 When they had finished making fun of him, they stripped him of the purple robe, put his own clothes back on him, and led him away to crucify him.
Jesus is Crucified(D)
21 They forced a certain passer-by named[l] Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, who happened to be coming in from the country, to carry Jesus’[m] cross. 22 They took Jesus[n] to a place called Golgotha, which means Skull Place. 23 They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he wouldn’t accept it. 24 Then they crucified him. They divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice to see what each one would get. 25 It was nine in the morning[o] when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read, “The king of the Jews.” 27 They crucified two bandits[p] with him, one on his right and the other on his left.[q] 29 Those who passed by kept insulting[r] him, shaking their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who were going to destroy the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days— 30 save yourself and come down from the cross!”
31 In the same way, the high priests, along with the scribes, were also making fun of him among themselves. They kept saying, “He saved others, but can’t save himself! 32 Let the Messiah,[s] the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, since seeing is believing!” Even the men who were crucified with him kept insulting him.
Jesus Dies on the Cross(E)
33 At noon,[t] darkness came over the whole land[u] until three in the afternoon.[v] 34 At three o’clock,[w] Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, eloi,[x] lema sabachthani?”[y] (which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)[z]
35 When some of the people standing there heard this, they said, “Listen! He’s calling for Elijah!”[aa]
36 So someone ran and soaked a sponge in some sour wine. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesus[ab] a drink, saying, “Wait! Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down!”
37 Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 The curtain[ac] in the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 When the centurion[ad] who stood facing Jesus[ae] saw how he had cried out and[af] breathed his last, he said, “This man certainly was the Son of God!”
40 Now there were women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene,[ag] Mary the mother of young James and Joseph, and Salome. 41 They used to accompany him and care for him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come up to Jerusalem with him were there, too.
Jesus is Buried(F)
42 It was the Day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath. Since it was already evening, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a highly respected member of the Council,[ah] who was waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was amazed to hear[ai] that Jesus[aj] had already died, so he summoned the centurion to ask him if he was in fact dead. 45 When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he let Joseph have the corpse. 46 Joseph[ak] bought some linen cloth, took the body[al] down, wrapped it in the cloth, laid it in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 Now Mary Magdalene[am] and Mary the mother of Joseph observed where the body[an] had been laid.
To the Director: With stringed instruments. A Davidic instruction,[a] when the Ziphites came and told Saul, “David is hiding among us, is he not?”
A Prayer in Times of Trouble
54 God, by your name deliver me,
and by your power vindicate me.
2 God, listen to my prayer,
and pay attention to the words of my mouth.
3 For the arrogant have arisen against me;
oppressors have sought to take my life.
They do not keep God in mind![b]
4 Look, God is my helper;
the Lord is with those who are guarding my life.
5 He will turn the evil upon those who lie in wait for me.
Cut them off with your truth.
6 With a free will offering I will sacrifice to you;
I will give thanks to your name, Lord,
because it is good,
7 for he has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eyes have seen the end of[c] my enemies.
5 The righteousness of the innocent creates a level path,
but the wicked fall by their wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but the treacherous are trapped by their evil desires.
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