The Daily Audio Bible
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21 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Israelite tribes.
2 They said to them at Shiloh in Canaan, The Lord commanded through Moses that we should be given cities to dwell in, with their pasturelands (suburbs) for our cattle.
3 So the Israelites gave to the Levites out of their own inheritance, at the command of the Lord, these cities and their suburbs.
4 The [first] lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. So those [a]Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest received by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin thirteen cities.
5 And the rest of the Kohathites received by lot from the families of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh ten cities.
6 The Gershonites received by lot from the families of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan thirteen cities.
7 The Merarites received according to their families from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun twelve cities.
8 The Israelites gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their pasturelands (suburbs), as the Lord commanded through Moses.
9 They gave from the tribes of Judah and Simeon the cities here mentioned by name,
10 Which went to the families of the descendants of Aaron, of the Kohathite branch of the Levites, for the lot fell to them first.
11 They gave them [the city of] Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with its pasturelands round about it.
12 But the city’s fields and villages they gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his own.
13 Thus to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for the slayer, with its pasturelands (suburbs), and together with their suburbs, Libnah,
14 Jattir, Eshtemoa,
15 Holon, Debir,
16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh; nine cities, each with its suburbs, out of those two tribes.
17 Out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon, Geba,
18 Anathoth, and Almon; four cities, each with its suburbs.
19 The cities of the sons of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen, with their suburbs.
20 The rest of the Kohathites belonging to the Levitical families were allotted cities out of the tribe of Ephraim.
21 To them were given, each with its pasturelands (suburbs), Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, as the city of refuge for the slayer, and Gezer,
22 And Kibzaim, and Beth-horon; four cities, each with its pasturelands (suburbs).
23 And out of the tribe of Dan, each with its pasturelands (suburbs), Eltekeh, Gibbethon,
24 Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon; four cities, each with its pasturelands (suburbs).
25 And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach, and [another] Gath-rimmon; two cities, each with its pasturelands (suburbs).
26 All the cities for the families of the remaining Kohathites were ten, with their pasturelands (suburbs).
27 And to the Gershonites of the families of the Levites they gave out of the other half-tribe of Manasseh the city of Golan in Bashan, as the city of refuge for the slayer, and Be-eshterah; two cities, each with its pasturelands.
28 Out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion, Daberath,
29 Jarmuth, and En-gannim; four cities, each with its suburbs.
30 Out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal, Abdon,
31 Helkath, and Rehob; four cities, each with its pasturelands.
32 And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee, city of refuge for the slayer, and Hammoth-dor, and Kartan; three cities, each with its suburbs.
33 All the cities of the Gershonite families were thirteen, with their pasturelands (suburbs).
34 And to the families of the Merarites, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun were given Jokneam, Kartah,
35 Dimnah, and Nahalal; four cities, each with its pasturelands (suburbs).
36 And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer, Jahaz,
37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath; four cities, each with its pasturelands (suburbs).
38 And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead, as the city of refuge for the slayer, and Mahanaim,
39 Heshbon, and Jazer; four cities in all, each with its pasturelands (suburbs).
40 So all the cities allotted to the Merarite families, that is, the remainder of the Levite families, were twelve cities.
41 The cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the Israelites were forty-eight cities in all, with their pasturelands (suburbs).
42 These cities all had their pasturelands (suburbs) around them.
43 And the Lord gave to Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and dwelt in it.
44 The Lord gave them rest round about, just as He had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies withstood them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands.
45 There failed no part of any good thing which the Lord had promised to the house of Israel; all came to pass.
22 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh,
2 And said to them, You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you.
3 You have not deserted your brethren [the other tribes] these many days to this day but have carefully kept the charge of the Lord your God.
4 But now the Lord your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; so now go, return to your homes in the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the [east] side of the Jordan.
5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you: to love the Lord your God and to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and to cling to and unite with Him and to serve Him with all your heart and soul [your very life].
6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their homes.
7 Now to one-half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua gave a possession on the west side of the Jordan among their brethren. So when Joshua sent them away to their homes, he blessed them,
8 And he said to them, Return with much riches to your tents and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and very much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.
9 So the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the [other] Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan to go to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had been given possession by the command of the Lord through Moses.
10 And when they came to the region of the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar great to behold.
11 And the [other] Israelites heard it said, Behold, the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the edge of the land of Canaan in the region [west] of the Jordan in the passage [belonging to us], the Israelites.
12 When the Israelites heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war on them.
13 And the [other] Israelites sent to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest,
14 And with him ten chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of Israel; and each one was a head of a father’s house among the clans of Israel.
15 And they came to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they said to them,
16 The whole congregation of the Lord says, What trespass is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the Lord, in that you have built yourselves an altar to rebel this day against the Lord?
17 Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed even now, although there came a plague [in which 24,000 died] in the congregation of the Lord,(A)
18 That you must turn away this day from following the Lord? The result will be, since you rebel today against the Lord, that tomorrow He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel.
19 But now, if your land is unclean, pass over into the Lord’s land, where the Lord’s tabernacle resides, and take for yourselves a possession among us. But do not rebel against the Lord or rebel against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God.
20 Did not Achan son of Zerah commit a trespass in the matter of taking accursed things [devoted to destruction] and wrath fall on all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone in his perversity and iniquity.(B)
20 One day as Jesus was instructing the people in the temple [[a]porches] and preaching the good news (the Gospel), the chief priests and the scribes came up with the elders (members of the Sanhedrin)
2 And said to Him, Tell us by what [sort of] authority You are doing these things? Or who is it who gave You this authority?
3 He replied to them, I will also ask you a question. Now answer Me:
4 Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men?
5 And they argued and discussed [it] and reasoned together [b]with themselves, saying, If we reply, From heaven, He will say, Why then did you not believe him?
6 But if we answer, From men, all the people will stone us [c]to death, for they are [d]long since firmly convinced that John was a prophet.
7 So they replied that they did not know from where it came.
8 Then Jesus said to them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
9 Then He began to relate to the people this parable ([e]this story to figuratively portray what He had to say): A man planted a vineyard and leased it to some vinedressers and went into another country for a long stay.(A)
10 When the [right] season came, he sent a bond servant to the tenants, that they might give him [his part] of the fruit of the vineyard; but the tenants beat ([f]thrashed) him and sent him away empty-handed.
11 And he sent still another servant; him they also beat ([g]thrashed) and dishonored and insulted him [h]disgracefully and sent him away empty-handed.
12 And he sent yet a third; this one they wounded and threw out [of the vineyard].
13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; it is [i]probable that they will respect him.
14 But when the tenants saw him, they argued among themselves, saying, This is the heir; let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.
15 So they drove him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
16 He will come and [[j]utterly] put an end to those tenants and will give the vineyard to others. When they [the chief priests and the scribes and the elders] heard this, they said, May it never be!
17 But [Jesus] looked at them and said, What then is [the meaning of] this that is written: The [very] Stone which the builders rejected has become the chief Stone of the corner [Cornerstone]?(B)
18 Everyone who falls on that Stone will be broken [in pieces]; but upon whomever It falls, It will crush him [winnow him and [k]scatter him as dust].(C)
19 The scribes and the chief priests desired and tried to find a way to arrest Him at that very hour, but they were afraid of the people; for they discerned that He had related this parable against them.
20 So they watched [for an opportunity to ensnare] Him, and sent spies who pretended to be upright (honest and sincere), that they might lay hold of something He might say, so as to turn Him over to the control and authority of the governor.
21 They asked Him, Teacher, we know that You speak and teach what is right, and that You show no partiality to anyone but teach the way of God honestly and in truth.
22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not?
23 But He recognized and understood their cunning and [l]unscrupulousness and said to them,
24 Show Me a denarius (a coin)! Whose image and inscription does it have? They answered, Caesar’s.
25 He said to them, Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, [m]and to God the things that are God’s.
26 So they could not in the presence of the people take hold of anything He said to turn it against Him; but marveling at His reply, they were silent.
Psalm 89
A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing of the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness from generation to generation.
2 For I have said, Mercy and loving-kindness shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness will You establish in the very heavens [unchangeable and perpetual].
3 [You have said] I have made a [a]covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant,
4 Your Seed I will establish forever, and I will build up your throne for all generations. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!(A)
5 Let heaven (the angels) praise Your wonders, O Lord, Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones (the holy angels).
6 For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord? Who among the mighty [heavenly beings] can be likened to the Lord,
7 A God greatly feared and revered in the council of the holy (angelic) ones, and to be feared and worshipfully revered above all those who are round about Him?
8 O Lord God of hosts, who is a mighty one like unto You, O Lord? And Your faithfulness is round about You [an essential part of You at all times].
9 You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves arise, You still them.
10 You have broken Rahab (Egypt) in pieces; with Your mighty arm You have scattered Your enemies.
11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; the world and all that is in it, You have founded them.
12 The north and the south, You have created them; Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon joyously praise Your name.
13 You have a mighty arm; strong is Your hand, Your right hand is soaring high.
15 Good understanding wins favor, but the way of the transgressor is hard [like the barren, dry soil or the impassable swamp].
16 Every prudent man deals with knowledge, but a [self-confident] fool exposes and flaunts his folly.
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