The Daily Audio Bible
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When the Lord Fulfills His Promise
9 “Listen, Israel! Today you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and dispossess greater and mightier nations than you, who live in[a] large cities that are fortified to the sky. 2 The Anakim[b] are strong and tall, and you know them. You’ve heard it said, ‘Who can stand up against the Anakim?’[c] 3 But know today that the Lord your God is going ahead of you as a consuming fire. He will destroy and subdue them before you. He will dispossess and destroy them quickly, just as the Lord told you. 4 After the Lord has expelled them before you, you are not to say to yourselves, ‘The Lord caused me to enter and possess this land because of my righteousness.’ 5 On the contrary, it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them before you to confirm what the Lord promised by an oath to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6 Know that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving to you this good land to inherit, since you are a stubborn people.”
Israel Broke the Covenant
7 “Remember—and don’t ever forget—how you provoked the Lord your God in the desert. From the day that you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebelling against the Lord. 8 At Horeb you continually rebelled against the Lord so that he[d] was angry enough to destroy you. 9 Then I went up to the mountain to receive the two stone Tablets of the Covenant that the Lord had established with you. I stayed on the mountain for 40 days and nights without eating food or drinking water. 10 Then the Lord gave me the two stone tablets on which God inscribed with his own finger all the words that the Lord spoke to you on the mountain from the middle of the fire that day when you were all assembled together. 11 At the end of 40 days and nights, the Lord gave to me the two stone Tablets of the Covenant.
12 “Then the Lord told me, ‘Get going! Go down from here at once! Your people whom you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt. They have turned quickly from the way that I commanded them and have cast an idol for their use.’
13 “Then the Lord told me, ‘I have examined this people, and they[e] are stubborn indeed. 14 Let me alone! I will destroy them, blot out their name from heaven, and then I’ll make you into a nation that will be mighty and more numerous than they are.’
15 “So I turned and went down from the mountain while the mountain was on fire. The two Tablets of the Covenant were in both of my hands. 16 Then I saw how you had really sinned against the Lord your God! You had made for yourselves a calf—a cast idol. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord your God had commanded. 17 So I grabbed the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them before your eyes. 18 I fell down in the Lord’s presence, just as I had the first 40 days and nights. I didn’t eat food or drink water because of your sin. You had sinned by committing this evil in full view of the Lord, thereby provoking him to anger. 19 I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord against you, because he was irate enough to destroy you. But the Lord also listened to me at that time. 20 It was as had been the case with Aaron—the Lord was very angry and about to destroy him, but I prayed for Aaron at that time. 21 So when you made the calf that made you sin, I grabbed it, burned it with fire, crushed it, and ground it thoroughly until it was pulverized to powder. Then I threw the powder into the river that was flowing from the mountain.”
Moses Interceded for Israel
22 “You provoked the Lord again at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth-hattaavah. 23 When the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea and told you, ‘Go possess the land that I gave you,’ instead you disobeyed what the Lord your God said. You didn’t trust him or listen to his voice. 24 You have been rebelling against the Lord since the day I knew you. 25 I fell down in the Lord’s presence for 40 days and nights, because the Lord said he was ready to destroy you. 26 So I prayed to the Lord and said, ‘Oh Lord my God, don’t destroy your people and your inheritance whom you redeemed by your power.[f] You brought them out from Egypt in a powerful way. 27 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Don’t pay attention to the stubbornness, wickedness, and sinfulness of this people. 28 Otherwise, the people of the land from which you brought us will say, “The Lord wasn’t able to bring them into the land that he had promised them. So he brought them out to kill them in the desert because he hated them.” 29 But they are your people and inheritance, whom you brought out by your mighty strength[g] and awesome power.’”
A Copy of the Ten Commandments
10 “At that time, the Lord told me, ‘Chisel two tablets of stone for yourself just like the first ones, and then come up to me on the mountain. Also make for yourself a wooden chest. 2 I’ll write on the tablets what was[h] on the first tablets that you broke, and then you are to place them into the wooden chest.’ 3 So I made a chest out of acacia wood and chiseled two tablets of stone just like the first ones. Then I went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hands. 4 Then the Lord[i] inscribed on the tablets what he wrote before—that is, the Ten Commandments that the Lord declared to you on the mountain from the middle of the fire during the day of the assembly. And the Lord gave them to me. 5 Then I turned, went down the mountain, and placed the tablets in the chest that I had made. They are there now, just as the Lord commanded me.”
Aaron Dies and the Descendants of Levi are Appointed
6 “The Israelis traveled from the wells of the descendants of Jaakan to Moserah. Aaron died and was buried there. His son Eleazar succeeded him as priest. 7 From there they moved on to Gudgodah and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with flowing streams. 8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, to stand in the Lord’s presence, to serve, and to bless his name until this day. 9 That is why the descendants of Levi do not have a portion and an inheritance among their relatives. As for[j] the Lord, he is their inheritance, just as the Lord your God told them. 10 When I stood on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights as I did the first time, the Lord listened to me once again. The Lord was not willing to destroy you. 11 So the Lord told me, ‘Get up and proceed to lead[k] the people, so they may enter and take possession of the land that I promised to give their ancestors by an oath.’”
Love the Lord
12 “Now Israel, what does the Lord your God desire from you? Only this: fear him,[l] walk in all his ways, love him, serve him[m] with all your heart and in all your life,[n] 13 and observe his[o] commands and statutes that I’m commanding you today for your own good. 14 You see, heaven—even the highest heavens—belongs to the Lord, along with the earth and all that is in it, 15 yet the Lord committed himself to love your ancestors—and did so! He chose you—their descendants after them—from all the nations, as it is[p] today. 16 Therefore, circumcise your heart and stop being stubborn. 17 For the Lord your God is the God of all gods, the Lord of all lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who does not show favoritism or take bribes. 18 He executes justice for the orphan and the widows, loves the foreigner, and gives them food and clothing.”
Love Others
19 “You are to love the foreigner, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. 20 You are to fear the Lord your God and serve him. Cling to him and swear by his name. 21 He is the one you are to praise, because he is[q] your God who carried out those great and awesome things for you that you witnessed. 22 Your ancestors went down to Egypt with 70 people, but the Lord your God has now made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.”
The Parable about a Farmer(A)
4 Now while a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus[a] from every city, he said in a parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, were trampled on, and birds from the sky ate them up. 6 Others fell on stony ground, and as soon as they came up, they dried up because they had no moisture. 7 Others fell among thorn bushes, and the thorn bushes grew with them and choked them. 8 But others fell on good soil, and when they came up, they produced 100 times as much as was planted.” As he said this, he called out, “Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!”
The Purpose of the Parables(B)
9 Then his disciples began to ask him what this parable meant. 10 So he said, “You have been given knowledge about the secrets of the kingdom of God. But to others they are given[b] in parables, so that
‘they might look but not see,
and they might listen but not understand.’”[c]
Jesus Explains the Parable about the Farmer(C)
11 “Now this is what the parable means. The seed is God’s word. 12 The ones on the path are the people who listen, but then the Devil comes and takes the word away from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 The ones on the stony ground are the people who joyfully welcome the word when they hear it. But since they don’t have any roots, they believe for a while, but in a time of testing they fall away. 14 The ones that fell among the thorn bushes are the people who listen, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries, wealth, and pleasures of life, and their fruit doesn’t mature. 15 But the ones on the good soil are the people who hear the word but also hold on to it with good and honest hearts, producing a crop through endurance.”
A Light under a Bowl(D)
16 “No one lights a lamp and hides it under a bowl or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a lamp stand so that those who come in will see the light. 17 There is nothing hidden that won’t be revealed, and there is nothing secret that won’t become known and come to light. 18 So pay attention to how you listen, because to the one who has something, more will be given. However, from the one who doesn’t have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”
The True Family of Jesus(E)
19 His mother and his brothers came to him, but they couldn’t get near him because of the crowd. 20 Jesus[d] was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and want to see you.”
21 But he answered those people,[e] “My mother and my brothers are those who hear a message from God and heed it.”
19 Truly you know my reproach, shame, and disgrace.
All my enemies are known to[a] you.
20 Insults broke my heart.
I despaired and looked for sympathy;
but there was none,
for comforters, but I found none.
21 They put poison in my food,
in my thirst they forced me to drink vinegar.
22 May their dining[b] tables entrap them,
and become a snare for their allies.
23 May their eyes be blinded
and may their bodies tremble continuously.
24 May you pour out your fury on them.
May your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their camp become desolate
and their tents remain unoccupied.
26 For they persecute those whom you have struck,
and they brag about the pain of those you have wounded.
27 May you punish them for their crimes;
may they receive no verdict of innocence[c] from you.
28 May they be erased from the Book of Life,
and their names not be written with the righteous.
29 As for me, I am afflicted and hurting;
may your deliverance, God, establish me on high.
30 Let me praise the name of God with a song
that I may magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 That will please the Lord
more than oxen and bulls with horns and hooves.
32 The afflicted will watch and rejoice.
May you who seek God take courage.
33 For the Lord listens to the needy
and doesn’t despise those in bondage.
34 Let the heavens and earth praise him,
along with the sea and its swarming creatures.[d]
35 For God will deliver Zion
and will rebuild the cities of Judah
so they may live there and possess them.
36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who cherish his name will live there.
2 The good person will gain favor from the Lord,
but the man who plots evil will be condemned by him.
3 A person doesn’t gain security by wickedness,
but the righteous won’t be uprooted.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.