The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the NIV. Switch to the NIV to read along with the audio.
Three National Feasts
14 “(A)Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. 15 You shall observe (B)the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the (C)month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And [a](D)none shall appear before Me empty-handed. 16 Also you shall observe (E)the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year (F)when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field. 17 (G)Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord [b]God.
18 “(H)You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; (I)nor is the fat of My [c]feast to remain overnight until morning.
19 “You shall bring (J)the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God.
“(K)You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.
Conquest of the Land
20 “Behold, I am going to send (L)an angel before you to guard you along the way and (M)to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; (N)do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since (O)My name is in him. 22 But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then (P)I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 (Q)For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them. 24 (R)You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; (S)but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their (T)sacred pillars in pieces. 25 (U)But you shall serve the Lord your God, [d]and He will bless your bread and your water; and (V)I will remove sickness from your midst. 26 There shall be no one miscarrying or (W)barren in your land; (X)I will fulfill the number of your days. 27 I will (Y)send My terror ahead of you, and (Z)throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will (AA)make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 I will send (AB)hornets ahead of you so that they will (AC)drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you. 29 (AD)I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 30 I will drive them out before you (AE)little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land. 31 (AF)I will fix your boundary from the [e]Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; (AG)for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will (AH)drive them out before you. 32 (AI)You shall [f]make no covenant with them (AJ)or with their gods. 33 (AK)They shall not live in your land, because they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, (AL)it will surely be a snare to you.”
People Affirm Their Covenant with God
24 Then He said to Moses, “(AM)Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, (AN)Nadab and Abihu and (AO)seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. 2 Moses alone, however, shall come near to the Lord, but they shall not come near, nor shall the people come up with him.”
3 Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the Lord and all the [g]ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “(AP)All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!” 4 (AQ)Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an (AR)altar [h]at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 He sent young men of the sons of Israel, (AS)and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. 6 (AT)Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took (AU)the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “(AV)All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” 8 So (AW)Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold (AX)the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has [i]made with you [j]in accordance with all these words.”
9 Then Moses went up [k]with Aaron, (AY)Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and (AZ)they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet [l](BA)there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, [m]as clear as the sky itself. 11 Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and (BB)they saw God, and they ate and drank.
12 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and [n]remain there, and (BC)I will give you the stone tablets [o]with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses arose [p]with (BD)Joshua his [q]servant, and Moses went up to (BE)the mountain of God. 14 But to the elders he said, “(BF)Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, (BG)Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever [r]has a legal matter, let him approach them.” 15 Then Moses went up to the mountain, and (BH)the cloud covered the mountain. 16 (BI)The glory of the Lord [s]rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He (BJ)called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. 17 (BK)And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a (BL)consuming fire on the mountain top. 18 Moses entered the midst of the cloud [t]as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain (BM)forty days and forty nights.
Offerings for the Sanctuary
25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “(BN)Tell the sons of Israel to [u]raise a [v]contribution for Me; (BO)from every man whose heart moves him you shall [w]raise My [x]contribution. 3 This is the [y]contribution which you are to [z]raise from them: gold, silver and bronze, 4 [aa](BP)blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, 5 rams’ skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood, 6 (BQ)oil for lighting, (BR)spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 7 onyx stones and setting stones for the (BS)ephod and for the [ab](BT)breastpiece. 8 Let them (BU)construct a sanctuary for Me, (BV)that I may dwell among them. 9 (BW)According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.
Ark of the Covenant
10 “(BX)They shall construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half [ac]cubits [ad]long, and one and a half cubits [ae]wide, and one and a half cubits [af]high. 11 You shall (BY)overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make a gold molding [ag]around it. 12 You shall cast four gold rings for it and [ah]fasten them on its four feet, and two rings shall be on one side of it and two rings on the other side of it. 13 You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark with them. 15 The (BZ)poles shall [ai]remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it. 16 You shall (CA)put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you.
17 “You shall (CB)make a [aj]mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half [ak]cubits [al]long and one and a half cubits [am]wide. 18 You shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work [an]at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub [ao]at one end and one cherub [ap]at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. 20 (CC)The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and [aq]facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat. 21 (CD)You shall put the mercy seat [ar]on top of the ark, and (CE)in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. 22 (CF)There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from (CG)between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.
The Table of Showbread
23 “(CH)You shall make a table of acacia wood, two cubits [as]long and one cubit [at]wide and one and a half cubits [au]high. 24 You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a gold (CI)border around it. 25 You shall make for it a rim of a handbreadth around it; and you shall make a gold border for the rim around it. 26 You shall make four gold rings for it and put rings on the four corners which are on its four feet. 27 The rings shall be close to the rim as holders for the poles to carry the table. 28 You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that with them the table may be carried. 29 You shall make its [av](CJ)dishes and its pans and its jars and its [aw]bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold. 30 You shall set (CK)the bread of the [ax]Presence on the table before Me [ay]at all times.
The Golden Lampstand
31 “(CL)Then you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand and its base and its shaft are to be made of hammered work; its cups, its [az]bulbs and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. 32 (CM)Six branches shall go out from its sides; three branches of the lampstand from its one side and three branches of the lampstand from its [ba]other side. 33 (CN)Three cups shall be shaped like almond blossoms in the one branch, a [bb]bulb and a flower, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms in the [bc]other branch, a [bd]bulb and a flower—so for six branches going out from the lampstand; 34 and (CO)in the lampstand four cups shaped like almond blossoms, its [be]bulbs and its flowers. 35 (CP)A [bf]bulb shall be under the first pair of branches coming out of it, and a [bg]bulb under the second pair of branches coming out of it, and a [bh]bulb under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the lampstand. 36 (CQ)Their [bi]bulbs and their branches shall be of one piece with it; all of it shall be one piece of hammered work of pure gold. 37 Then you shall make its lamps seven in number; and (CR)they shall [bj]mount its lamps so as to shed light on the space in front of it. 38 Its snuffers and [bk]their trays shall be of pure gold. 39 It shall be made from a talent of pure gold, with all these utensils. 40 (CS)See that you make them (CT)after the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain.
The Glorious Return
29 “But immediately after the (A)tribulation of those days (B)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and (C)the stars will fall from [a]the sky, and the powers of [b]the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then (D)the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see (E)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And (F)He will send forth His angels with (G)a great trumpet and they will gather together His [c](H)elect from (I)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Parable of the Fig Tree
32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so, you too, when you see all these things, [d]recognize that [e]He is near, right (J)at the [f]door. 34 Truly I say to you, (K)this [g]generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 (L)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
36 “But (M)of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For [h]the (N)coming of the Son of Man will be (O)just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, (P)marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that (Q)Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not [i]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the (R)coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then there will be two men in the field; one [j]will be taken and one [k]will be left. 41 (S)Two women will be grinding at the [l](T)mill; one [m]will be taken and one [n]will be left.
Be Ready for His Coming
42 “Therefore (U)be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 But [o]be sure of this, that (V)if the head of the house had known (W)at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be [p]broken into. 44 For this reason (X)you also must be ready; for (Y)the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
45 “(Z)Who then is the (AA)faithful and (AB)sensible slave whom his [q]master (AC)put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his [r]master finds so doing when he comes. 47 Truly I say to you that (AD)he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My [s]master [t]is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the [u]master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, 51 and will [v]cut him in pieces and [w]assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be (AE)weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death.
A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.
30 I will (A)extol You, O Lord, for You have (B)lifted me up,
And have not let my (C)enemies rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God,
I (D)cried to You for help, and You (E)healed me.
3 O Lord, You have (F)brought up my soul from [a]Sheol;
You have kept me alive, [b]that I would not (G)go down to the pit.
4 (H)Sing praise to the Lord, you (I)His godly ones,
And (J)give thanks to His holy [c](K)name.
5 For (L)His anger is but for a moment,
His (M)favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may (N)last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
6 Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I will (O)never be moved.”
7 O Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong;
You (P)hid Your face, I was dismayed.
8 To You, O Lord, I called,
And to the Lord I made supplication:
9 “What profit is there in my blood, if I (Q)go down to the pit?
Will the (R)dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?
10 “(S)Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me;
O Lord, be my (T)helper.”
11 You have turned for me (U)my mourning into dancing;
You have (V)loosed my sackcloth and girded me with (W)gladness,
12 That my [d](X)soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will (Y)give thanks to You forever.
24 Now therefore, my sons, (A)listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25 Do not let your heart (B)turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths.
26 For many are the [a]victims she has cast down,
And (C)numerous are all her slain.
27 Her (D)house is the way to Sheol,
Descending to the chambers of death.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.