The Daily Audio Bible
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4 But after Ehud died the Israelites again did evil in the sight of the Lord.
2 So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth-hagoiim [fortress or city of the nations].
3 Then the Israelites cried to the Lord, for [Jabin] had 900 chariots of iron and had severely oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.
4 Now Deborah, a [a]prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, judged Israel at that time.
5 She sat under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came up to her for judgment.
6 And she sent and called Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded [you], Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun?
7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you at the river Kishon with his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into your hand?
8 And Barak said to her, If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.
9 And she said, I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the trip you take will not be for your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. [Fulfilled in Judg. 4:22.]
10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and he went up with 10,000 men at his heels, and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite, of the descendants of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, had separated from the Kenites and encamped as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.
12 When it was told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,
13 Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him from Harosheth-hagoiim to the river Kishon.
14 And Deborah said to Barak, Up! For this is the day when the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Is not the Lord gone out before you? So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him.
15 And the Lord confused and terrified Sisera and all his chariot drivers and all his army before Barak with the sword. And Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled on foot.
16 But Barak pursued after the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoiim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a man was left.
17 But Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; have no fear. So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.
19 And he said to her, Give me, I pray you, a little water to drink for I am thirsty. And she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him.
20 And he said to her, Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, Is there any man here? Tell him, No.
21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent pin and a hammer in her hand and went softly to him and drove the pin through his temple and into the ground; for he was in a deep sleep from weariness. So he died.
22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, Come, and I will show you the man you seek. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent pin was in his temples.
23 So God subdued on that day Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites.
24 And the hand of the Israelites bore more and more upon Jabin king of Canaan until they had destroyed [him].
5 Then sang Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam on that day, saying,
2 For the leaders who took the lead in Israel, for the people who offered themselves willingly, bless the Lord!
3 Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; I will sing to the Lord. I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel.
4 Lord, when You went forth out of Seir, when You marched out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens also dropped, yes, the clouds dropped water.
5 The mountains quaked at the presence of the Lord, yes, yonder Sinai at the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.
6 After the days of Shamgar son of Anath, after the days of Jael [meaning here Ehud] the caravans ceased, travelers walked through byways.
7 The villages were unoccupied and rulers ceased in Israel until [b]you arose—you, Deborah, arose—a mother in Israel.
8 [Formerly] they chose new gods; then war was in the gates. Was there a shield or spear seen among 40,000 in Israel?
9 My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the Lord!
10 Tell of it—you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets, and you who walk by the way.
11 Far from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts toward His villagers in Israel. Then the people of the Lord went down to the gates.
12 Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song! Arise, Barak, and lead away your captives, you son of Abinoam.
13 Then down marched the remnant of the nobles, the people of the Lord marched down for Me against the mighty.
14 Out of Ephraim they came down whose root is in Amalek, after you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen. Out of Machir came down commanders and lawgivers, and out of Zebulun those who [c]handle the pen or stylus of the writer.
15 And the princes of Issachar came with Deborah, and Issachar was faithful to Barak; into the valley they rushed forth at his heels. [But] among the clans of Reuben were great searchings of heart.
16 Why [Reuben] did you linger among the sheepfolds listening to the piping for the flocks? Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.
17 Gilead remained beyond the Jordan, and why did Dan stay with the ships? Asher sat still on the seacoast and remained by his creeks. [These came not forth to battle for God’s people.]
18 But Zebulun was a people who endangered their lives to the death; Naphtali did also on the heights of the field.
19 The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo. Gain of booty they did not obtain.
20 From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 The torrent Kishon swept [the foe] away, the onrushing torrent, the torrent Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength!
22 Then the horses’ hoofs beat loudly because of the galloping of [fleeing] valiant riders.
23 Curse Meroz, said the messenger of the Lord. Curse bitterly its inhabitants, because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty!
24 Blessed above women shall Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, be; blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
25 [Sisera] asked for water, and she gave [him] milk; she brought him curds in a lordly dish.
26 She put her [left] hand to the tent pin, and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer. And with the wooden hammer she smote Sisera, she smote his head, yes, she struck and pierced his temple.
27 He sank, he fell, he lay still at her feet. At her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell—dead!
28 The [d]mother of Sisera looked out at a window and wailed through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why do the hoofbeats of his chariots tarry?
29 Her wise ladies answered her, yet she repeated her words to herself,
30 Have they not found and been dividing the spoil? A maiden or two for every man, a spoil of dyed garments for Sisera, a spoil of dyed stuffs embroidered, two pieces of dyed work embroidered for my neck as spoil?
31 So let all Your enemies perish, O Lord! But let those who love Him be like the sun when it rises in its might. And the land had peace and rest for forty years.
35 And He said to them, When I sent you out with no purse or [provision] bag or sandals, did you lack anything? They answered, Nothing!
36 Then He said to them, But now let him who has a purse take it, and also [his provision] bag; and let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy a sword.
37 For I tell you that this Scripture must yet be fulfilled in Me: And He was counted and classed among the wicked (the outlaws, the criminals); for what is written about Me has its fulfillment [has reached its end and is finally settled].(A)
38 And they said, Look, Lord! Here are two swords. And He said to them, It is enough.
39 And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed Him.
40 And when He came to the place, He said to them, Pray that you may not [at all] enter into temptation.
41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw and knelt down and prayed,
42 Saying, Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but [[a]always] Yours be done.
43 And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him in spirit.
44 And being in an agony [of mind], He prayed [all the] more earnestly and intently, and His sweat became like great [b]clots of blood dropping down upon the ground.
45 And when He got up from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from grief,
46 And He said to them, Why do you sleep? Get up and pray that you may not enter [at all] into temptation.
47 And while He was still speaking, behold, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the Twelve [apostles], was going before [leading] them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss Him,
48 But Jesus said to him, Judas! Would you betray and deliver up the Son of Man with a kiss?
49 And when those who were around Him saw what was about to happen, they said, Lord, shall we strike with the sword?
50 And one of them struck the bond servant of the high priest and cut off his ear, the right one.
51 But Jesus said, Permit [c]them to go so far [as to seize Me]. And He touched the [d]little (insignificant) ear and healed him.
52 Then Jesus said to those who had come out against Him—the chief priests and captains of the temple and elders [of the Sanhedrin]—Have you come out with swords and clubs as [you would] against a robber?
53 When I was with you day after day in the temple [[e]enclosure], you did not stretch forth [your] hands against Me. But this is your hour—and the power [which] darkness [gives you has its way].
Psalm 94
1 O Lord God, You to Whom vengeance belongs, O God, You to Whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!
2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth; render to the proud a fit compensation!
3 Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph and exult?
4 They pour out arrogant words, speaking hard things; all the evildoers boast loftily.(A)
5 They crush Your people, O Lord, and afflict Your heritage.
6 They slay the widow and the transient stranger and murder the unprotected orphan.
7 Yet they say, The Lord does not see, neither does the God of Jacob notice it.
8 Consider and understand, you stupid ones among the people! And you [self-confident] fools, when will you become wise?
9 He Who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He Who formed the eye, shall He not see?
10 He Who disciplines and instructs the nations, shall He not punish, He Who teaches man knowledge?
11 The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are vain (empty and futile—only a breath).(B)
12 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whom You discipline and instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law,
13 That You may give him power to keep himself calm in the days of adversity, until the [inevitable] pit of corruption is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not cast off nor spurn His people, neither will He abandon His heritage.
15 For justice will return to the [uncompromisingly] righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
17 Unless the Lord had been my help, I would soon have dwelt in [the land where there is] silence.
18 When I said, My foot is slipping, Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, held me up.
19 In the multitude of my [anxious] thoughts within me, Your comforts cheer and delight my soul!
20 Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with You—they who frame and hide their unrighteous doings under [the sacred name of] law?
21 They band themselves together against the life of the [consistently] righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has become my High Tower and Defense, and my God the Rock of my refuge.
23 And He will turn back upon them their own iniquity and will wipe them out by means of their own wickedness; the Lord our God will wipe them out.
3 In the [a]fool’s own mouth is a rod [to shame] his pride, but the wise men’s lips preserve them.
4 Where no oxen are, the grain crib is empty, but much increase [of crops] comes by the strength of the ox.
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