The Daily Audio Bible
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Eternal Ruler from Bethlehem
5 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah[a]—
least among the clans of Judah—
from you will come out to Me
One to be ruler in Israel,
One whose goings forth are from of old,
from days of eternity.
2 Therefore He will give them up
until the time when she who is in labor has given birth.
Then the remnant of His brothers
will return to Bnei-Yisrael.
3 So He will arise and tend His flock
with the strength of Adonai—
in the majesty of the Name of Adonai His God.
And they will live securely,
for then He will be great to the ends of the earth.
4 This One will be shalom.[b]
When Assyria invades our land
when he treads on our citadels,
then we will raise up against him seven shepherds
and eight human princes.
5 They will devastate the land of Assyria with the sword—
even Nimrod’s land with a drawn blade.[c]
He will deliver us from Assyria,
when he invades our land,
when he tramples on our territory.
The Remnant of Jacob
6 Now the remnant of Jacob will be
in the midst of many peoples,
like dew from Adonai,
like abundant showers on grass
that does not wait for a man,
nor lingers for the sons of men.
7 For the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the forest beasts,
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
who, if he passed through, would trample and tear to pieces,
and there would be no deliverer.
8 May your hand be raised up against your adversaries,
and may all your foes be cut off.
9 “Now in that day”
—it is a declaration of Adonai—
“I will cut off your horses among you,
and I will destroy your chariots.
10 I will cut off the cities of your land,
and throw down all your strongholds.
11 I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
and you will have no more diviners.
12 I will cut off your carved images
and your sacred pillars from among you,
so you will no longer bow down
to the work of your hands.
13 I will uproot your Asherah poles from among you,
and destroy your cities.
14 So I will execute vengeance in anger
and wrath on the nations that have not listened.
Adonai Pleads His Case
6 Hear what Adonai is saying:
“Arise! Contend with the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
2 Hear, Adonai’s dispute, O mountains—
the enduring foundations of the earth.
For Adonai has a dispute with His people
and He will argue His case with Israel.
3 O My people, what have I done to you?
Or how have I wearied you? Answer Me!
4 When I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and redeemed you from the house of bondage,
I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O My people, remember, please:
What did Balak, king of Moab, propose?
What did Balaam son of Beor answer him?
From Shittim as far as Gilgal,
so that you might acknowledge
the righteous acts of Adonai.”
What Is Adonai Seeking From You?
6 With what shall I come before Adonai?
With what shall I bow myself before God on high?
Shall I present Him with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?
7 Will Adonai be pleased with thousands of rams,
with hordes of rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my belly for the sin of my soul?
8 He has told you, humanity, what is good,
and what Adonai is seeking from you:
Only to practice justice, to love mercy,[d]
and to walk humbly with your God.
9 The voice of Adonai calls to the city—
it is wisdom to fear[e] Your Name—
“Pay attention to the rod and to the One who appointed it.”
10 Does the house of the wicked
still have treasures of wickedness?
Or is an undersized ephah denounced?
11 Can I be pure with wicked balances?
Or with a bag of deceptive weights?
12 For the rich of the city are full of violence
and its inhabitants speak lies.
Their tongue in their mouth is deceit.
13 So also I will strike you severely,
desolating you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied,
and emptiness will be within you.
You will try to escape,
but you will not reach safety.
Whatever you make safe,
I will give to the sword.
15 You will sow but not reap;
You will tread olives but not anoint yourself with oil,
and grapes but not drink wine.
16 Now, you observe the statutes of Omri
and every practice of the house of Ahab,
and you walk in their counsels.
Therefore I will make you a horror,
and her inhabitants a hissing,
so you will bear the scorn of My people.
None Upright Among Mankind
7 Woe is me! For I am like gatherings of produce in summer,
like gleanings of a vineyard.
There is no cluster to eat,
no first-ripe fig that I crave.
2 The pious have perished from the land,
there is none upright among mankind.
All of them lie in wait for blood.
A man hunts his brother with a net.
3 Both hands are diligent at doing evil.
The official and the judge ask for a bribe.
The distinguished man utters a desire of his soul.
Thus they weave it together.
4 The best of them is like a prickly bush,
the most upright like a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen—of your visitation—is coming.
Then their confusion will occur.
5 Do not trust in a friend.
Do not trust in a close companion.
Guard the openings of your mouth
from her who lies on your breast.
6 For son treats father with contempt;
daughter rises up against mother;
daughter-in-law against mother-in-law:
a man’s enemies are the people of his own house.[f]
Zion’s Vindication
7 But I—I will watch for Adonai.
I will wait for the God of my salvation.
My God will hear me.
8 Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy.
Though I have fallen—I will arise.
Though I sit in darkness, Adonai is my light.
9 I will bear the indignation of Adonai,
because I have sinned against Him,
until He pleads my cause,
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light,
and I will behold His righteousness.
10 Then my enemy will see it,
and shame will cover her—
she who said to me:
“Where is Adonai, your God?”
My eyes will gaze at her—
now she will be trampled
like mud in streets.
11 A day to rebuild your walls—
a day the boundary will be far off,
12 a day when they will come to you
from Assyria to the cities of Egypt,
from Egypt to the River,
from sea to sea,
and from mountain to mountain.
13 Yet the land will become a wasteland because of her inhabitants,
because of the fruit of their misdeeds.
14 Tend Your people with Your staff,
the flock of Your inheritance,
dwelling alone, in a forest
in the midst of a fertile garden.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
as in the days of old.
15 As in the days of your coming out from the land of Egypt
I will show him wonders.
16 Nations will see and be put to shame
despite all their might.
They will put a hand on their mouth,
their ears will be deaf.
17 They will lick dust like a snake.
Like crawling things of the land,
they will come trembling out of their hiding places.
To Adonai Eloheinu they will submit in awe—
in awe of You.
He Will Again Have Compassion
18 Who is a God like You
pardoning iniquity, overlooking transgression,
for the remnant of His heritage?
He will not retain His anger forever,
because He delights in mercy.
19 He will again have compassion on us.
He will subdue our iniquities,
and You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
20 You will extend truth to Jacob,
mercy to Abraham,
that You swore to our ancestors
from the days of old.
144,000 Marked with a Seal
7 After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth[a] so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east,[b] having the seal of the living God. He cried out with a loud voice to the four angels who were permitted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do no harm to the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”[c]
4 Now I heard the number of those marked with the seal:
144,000 from every tribe of Bnei-Yisrael—
5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah;
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben;
12,000 from the tribe of Gad;
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher;
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali;
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh;
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon;
12,000 from the tribe of Levi;
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar;
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun;
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph;
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin.
Countless Worshipers Before the Throne
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a vast multitude that no one could count—from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues—was standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes, with palm branches[d] in their hands 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels were standing around the throne, along with the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,
“Amen, blessing and glory
and wisdom and thanksgiving
and honor and power and might
belong to our God forever and ever. Amen!”
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these dressed in white robes, and where have they come from?”
I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
14 Then he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.[e] They have washed their robes and made them white[f] in the blood of the Lamb. 15 For this reason, they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His Temple. The One seated on the throne will shelter them. [g] 16 They shall never again go hungry, nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. [h] 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne shall shepherd them and guide them to springs of living water, and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.”[i]
Jacob as His Treasure
Psalm 135
1 Halleluyah! Praise the Name of Adonai.
Give praise, O servants of Adonai—
2 standing in the House of Adonai,
in the courts of the House of our God.
3 Praise Adonai, for Adonai is good.
Sing praises to His Name, for it is delightful.
4 For Adonai has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel as His treasured possession.[a]
5 For I have known that Adonai is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever Adonai pleases, He does,
in heaven and in earth,
in the seas and in all deeps.
7 He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain.
He brings wind out of His storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both man and beast.
9 He sent signs and wonders among you,
O Egypt, on Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations
and slew mighty kings:
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12 and gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to His people Israel.
13 Adonai, Your Name endures forever,
Your renown, Adonai, from generation to generation.
14 For Adonai will vindicate His people,
and have compassion on His servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see;
17 they have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them—
so will all who keep trusting in them.
19 O house of Israel, bless Adonai!
O house of Aaron, bless Adonai!
20 O house of Levi, bless Adonai!
You who revere Adonai, bless Adonai!
21 Blessed be Adonai out of Zion,
who dwells in Jerusalem. Halleluyah!
5 Every word of God is purified.
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
6 Do not add to His words,
or else He will rebuke You and prove you a liar.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.