The Daily Audio Bible

Setting Up the Lamps

8 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to Aaron, ‘When you put the seven lamps on the lamp-stand, they should give light in front of the lamp-stand.’” ³ And Aaron did so. He put the lamps so they would give light in front of the lamp-stand, as the Lord had told Moses. ⁴ Now this is the way the lamp-stand was made. It was made of beaten gold from the base to its flowers. He made the lamp-stand the way the Lord had shown Moses.

The Levites Are Set Apart

⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, ⁶ “Take the Levites from among the people of Israel, and make them clean. ⁷ To make them clean, put holy water on them that takes away sin. Let them cut all the hair from their body, and wash their clothes, and they shall be clean. ⁸ Then let them take a young bull and its grain gift of fine flour mixed with oil. Take another young bull for a sin gift. ⁹ Bring the Levites in front of the meeting tent and gather together all the people of Israel also. ¹⁰ Bring the Levites before the Lord and the people of Israel will lay their hands on the Levites. ¹¹ Aaron will give the Levites to the Lord as a wave gift from the people of Israel so they will be able to do the work of the Lord. ¹² The Levites will lay their hands on the heads of the bulls. They will give one for a sin gift and the other for a burnt gift to the Lord, to pay for the sins of the Levites. ¹³ Then have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons, to give them as a wave gift to the Lord.

¹⁴ “So you will divide the Levites from the people of Israel. And the Levites will be Mine. ¹⁵ After that the Levites may go in to work in the meeting tent. But you must make them clean and give them as a wave gift. ¹⁶ For they are all given to Me from among the people of Israel. I have taken them for Myself instead of every first child to be born, the first-born of all the people of Israel. ¹⁷ For every first-born among the people of Israel is Mine, both of man and animal. I set them apart for Myself on the day that I killed all the first-born in the land of Egypt. ¹⁸ But I have taken the Levites instead of every first-born among the people of Israel. ¹⁹ And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel. They will do the work of the people of Israel at the meeting tent. By this they take away the sins of the people of Israel. So no trouble will come upon the people of Israel if they come near the meeting tent.”

²⁰ Moses and Aaron and all the people of Israel did this to the Levites. The people of Israel did to them all the things the Lord had told Moses about the Levites. ²¹ The Levites made themselves pure, putting away their sin. And they washed their clothes. Aaron gave them as a wave gift before the Lord. He did what had to be done to pay for their sin so they would be clean. ²² After that the Levites went in to do their work in the meeting tent in front of Aaron and his sons. So they did to the Levites just what the Lord had told Moses to do.

²³ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “This is the rule for the Levites. Those who are twenty-five years old and older will go in to do the work of the meeting tent. ²⁵ But when they are fifty years old they will stop these duties and not work any more. ²⁶ They may help their brothers in the meeting tent to do what needs to be done but they themselves must not do the work. These are the rules for the Levites when giving them their duties.”

The Passover

9 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt. The Lord said, ² “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at the time given for it. ³ Keep it at its given time, in the evening of the fourteenth day of this month. Keep it by obeying all its Laws.” ⁴ So Moses told the people of Israel to keep the Passover. ⁵ And they kept the Passover in the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month, in the Sinai desert. The people of Israel did all that the Lord had told Moses. ⁶ But there were some men who were unclean because they had touched a dead person. So they could not keep the Passover on that day. They came to Moses and Aaron that day ⁷ and said to Moses, “We are unclean because we touched a dead person. But why are we kept from giving the Lord’s gift at its given time among the people of Israel?” ⁸ Moses said to them, “Wait, and I will listen to what the Lord will tell me to do with you.”

⁹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰ “Say to the people of Israel, ‘If anyone of you or your children touch a dead person and become unclean, or if you are traveling far away, even so, he may still keep the Passover to the Lord. ¹¹ They will keep it in the evening of the fourteenth day of the second month. They will eat it with bread without yeast and with bitter tasting plants. ¹² They must not leave any of it until morning. And they must not break a bone of the lamb. They must obey all of the Law of the Passover. ¹³ But if a man is clean and is not away traveling, yet does not keep the Passover, he must be cut off from his people. For he did not give the Lord’s gift at the time he was to do so. That man will be guilty of his sin. ¹⁴ If a stranger staying with you wants to keep the Passover to the Lord and obey the Law of the Passover, he may do so. You will have one law, both for the stranger and for the one who was born in the land.’”

The Cloud of Fire

¹⁵ On the day that the meeting tent was set up, the cloud covered the meeting tent, the tent of the law. In the evening it was over the meeting tent. It looked like fire until morning. ¹⁶ It was like this always. The cloud would cover it during the day. What looked like fire would cover it during the night. ¹⁷ When the cloud was lifted from over the meeting tent, the people of Israel would move on. Where the cloud rested, there the people of Israel would set up their tents. ¹⁸ The people of Israel would move on as the Lord told them. And they would set up their tents as the Lord told them. They stayed in one place as long as the cloud rested over the meeting tent. ¹⁹ Even when the cloud rested over the meeting tent for many days, the people of Israel would obey the Lord and not leave. ²⁰ Sometimes the cloud stayed a few days over the meeting tent. But they obeyed the Lord and stayed in that place. Then they would leave when the Lord told them. ²¹ Sometimes the cloud stayed from evening until morning. When the cloud lifted in the morning, they would leave. If the cloud stayed during the day and the night, when it was lifted, they would leave that place. ²² Even when the cloud stayed over the meeting tent for two days, or a month, or a year the people of Israel would stay in that place and not leave. They would leave when it was lifted. ²³ They set up their tents as the Lord told them. And they moved on as the Lord told them. They obeyed what the Lord had told them to do through Moses.

Days of Trouble and Pain and Sorrow

¹⁴ “You will see a very sinful man-made god standing in the house of God where it has no right to stand. Then those in the country of Judea should run to the mountains. It was spoken of by the early preacher Daniel. ^(A) The one who reads this should understand. ¹⁵ He that is on the top of the house should not take the time to get anything out of his house. ¹⁶ He that is in the field should not go back to get his coat. ¹⁷ It will be hard for women who will soon be mothers. It will be hard for those feeding babies in those days! ¹⁸ Pray that it will not be during the winter. ¹⁹ In those days there will be much trouble and pain and sorrow. It has never been this bad from the beginning of time and never will be again. ²⁰ If the Lord had not made those days short, no life would have been saved. Because of God’s people whom He has chosen, He made the days short.

The False Religious Teachers

²¹ “If anyone says to you, ‘See! Here is the Christ,’ or, ‘There He is!’ do not believe it. ²² Some will come who will say they are Christ. False preachers will come. These people will do special things for people to see. They will do surprising things, so that if it can be, God’s people will be led to believe something wrong. ²³ See! I have told you about these things before they happen.

Jesus Will Come Again in His Greatness

²⁴ “After those days of much trouble and pain and sorrow are over, the sun will get dark. The moon will not give light. ²⁵ The stars will fall from the sky. The powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and shining-greatness. ²⁷ He will send His angels. They will gather together God’s people from the four winds. They will come from one end of the earth to the other end of heaven.

The Picture-Story of the Fig Tree

²⁸ “Now learn something from the fig tree. When the branch begins to grow and puts out its leaves, you know summer is near. ²⁹ In the same way, when you see all these things happen, you know the Son of Man is near. He is even at the door. ³⁰ For sure, I tell you, the people of this day will not pass away before all these things have happened.

³¹ “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will not pass away. ³² But no one knows the day or the hour. No! Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows.

³³ “Be careful! Watch and pray. You do not know when it will happen. ³⁴ The coming of the Son of Man is as a man who went from his house to a far country. He gave each one of his servants some work to do. He told the one standing at the door to watch. ³⁵ In the same way, you are to watch also! You do not know when the Owner of the house will be coming. It may be in the evening or in the night or when the sun comes up or in the morning. ³⁶ He may come when you are not looking for Him and find you sleeping. ³⁷ What I say to you, I say to all. Watch!”

God Decides Right from Wrong

50 The Powerful One, God, the Lord, has spoken. And He calls the earth from where the sun rises to where the sun goes down. ² God shines from Zion, perfect in beauty. ³ May our God come and not keep quiet. A fire burns before Him, and around Him is a powerful storm. ⁴ He calls the heavens above, and the earth, that He may judge His people: ⁵ “Gather My holy ones to Me, those who have made an agreement with Me by their gifts given on an altar.” ⁶ And the heavens will tell how right and good He is, for God Himself is judge.

⁷ “Listen, O My people, and I will speak. O Israel, I will speak against you. I am God, your God. ⁸ I do not speak sharp words to you for your gifts given on an altar. And your burnt gifts are always before Me. ⁹ I will not take a young bull out of your house, or male goats out of your fields. ¹⁰ For every animal among the trees is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. ¹¹ I know every bird of the mountains. And all things that move in the field are Mine. ¹² If I were hungry, I would not tell you. For the world is Mine, and all that is in it. ¹³ Should I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of male goats? ¹⁴ Give a gift of thanks on the altar to God. And pay your promises to the Most High. ¹⁵ Call on Me in the day of trouble. I will take you out of trouble, and you will honor Me.”

¹⁶ But to the sinful, God says: “What right do you have to tell of My Laws, and take My agreement in your mouth? ¹⁷ For you hate to be told what to do, and you throw My words behind you. ¹⁸ When you see a robber, you are pleased with him. And you join those who do sex sins. ¹⁹ You say bad things with your mouth, and you lie with your tongue. ²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother. You talk against your own mother’s son. ²¹ You have done these things, and I have kept quiet. You thought that I was just like you. But I will speak sharp words to you, and tell you who is guilty to your face.

²² “Now think about this, you who forget God, or I will tear you in pieces and there will be no one to save you. ²³ He who gives a gift of thanks honors Me. And to him who makes his way right, I will show him the saving power of God.”

²⁹ The way of the Lord is a strong-place to those who are faithful, but it destroys those who do wrong.

³⁰ Those who are right with God will never be shaken, but the sinful will not live in the land.