The Daily Audio Bible
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23 While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people were crossing over as the king was crossing over Kidron Valley. So all the people crossed over toward the road of the wilderness.
24 Then behold, Zadok also came and all the Levites with him, carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, then Abiathar came up, until all the people had passed by, out of the city. 25 But the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in Adonai’s eyes, He will bring me back, and let me see it and His dwelling. 26 But if He says thus, ‘I have no delight in you,’ here I am, let Him do to me as seems good in His eyes.” 27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Do you not see? Return to the city in shalom with your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan son of Abiathar. 28 See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness, until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 Therefore Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there.
30 Then David continued to go up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he ascended. He had his head covered and was walking barefoot. So all the people with him each covered his head as they went up, weeping as they ascended.
31 Then someone told David saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed, “Adonai, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”
32 Then David went on until he reached the summit—where God was worshiped—and behold, Hushai the Archite met him with his coat rent and dust on his head. 33 David said to him, “If you pass on with me then you will be a burden to me, 34 but if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king—I was your father’s servant from then, but now I will be your servant,’ then you can thwart Ahithophel’s counsel for me. 35 Won’t you have with you Zadok and Abiathar the kohanim there? So whatever you hear from the royal palace, you should report it to Zadok and Abiathar the kohanim. 36 See, they have their two sons with them there, Zadok’s son Ahimaaz, and Abiathar’s son Jonathan—by them you can send to me everything you hear.” 37 So David’s friend Hushai reached the city just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.
16 Now when David had passed a little beyond the summit, there was Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth to meet him with a pair of saddled donkeys, and on them 200 loaves of bread, 100 clusters of raisins, 100 fig cakes and a bottle of wine. 2 So the king asked Ziba, “What are you doing with these?”
Ziba said, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and the figs are for the young men to eat, and the wine is for anyone who faints in the wilderness to drink.”
3 Then the king asked, “And where is your master’s son?”
“Well, he’s staying in Jerusalem,” Ziba said to the king, “for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore to me the kingdom of my father.”
4 Then the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.”
“I bow low,” Ziba said. “Let me find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”
5 When King David arrived at Bahurim, behold, just coming out from there was a man of the family of the house of Saul—his name was Shimei son of Gera. As he came out, he kept on cursing 6 and flinging stones at David and at all King David’s servants, while all the people and all the mighty men were at his right hand and on his left. 7 Thus Shimei said as he cursed, “Get out, get out! The man of bloodshed, the good-for-nothing! 8 Adonai has returned on you all the blood of Saul’s house, in whose place you’ve reigned. Adonai has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom—so see, your own evil has overtaken you, because you are a man of bloodshed.”
9 Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why let this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over now and take off his head!”
10 But the king said, “What have I to do with you, sons of Zeruiah? If he curses, it’s because Adonai has said to him, ‘Curse David!’ So who should say, ‘Why did you do so?’” 11 Then David said to Abishai and to all his officials, “Look, my son who came from my own body is seeking my life—how much more this Benjamite? Leave him alone and let him curse, since Adonai has told him. 12 Perhaps Adonai will look on my affliction and return good to me for his cursing this day.” 13 So David and his men continued on the way, while Shimei kept walking alongside the hill parallel with him, cursing as he walked, casting stones at him and throwing dirt.
14 Finally the king and all the people that were with him arrived weary, so he refreshed himself there.
Counselors Divided
15 Meanwhile Absalom and all the people of the men of Israel arrived in Jerusalem. Ahithophel was with him. 16 Now when David’s friend Hushai the Archite came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
17 But Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?”
18 “No!” said Hushai to Absalom. “For the one whom Adonai has chosen—as well as these people, all the men of Israel—his I will be and with him I will stay. 19 Besides, whom should I serve? Shouldn’t I be in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father’s presence, so I will be in your presence.”
20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your counsel. What should we do?”
21 So Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go to your father’s concubines whom he has left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself abhorrent to your father and the hands of all who are with you will also be strengthened.”
22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and Absalom went to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. 23 Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was like inquiring for the word of God—so was all of Ahithophel’s counsel both with David and with Absalom.
25 Now Simon Peter was standing outside and warming himself. So they said to him, “Aren’t you one of His disciples too?”
He denied it and said, “No, I’m not!”
26 One of the servants of the kohen gadol, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with Him?”
27 Again Peter denied it, and immediately a rooster crowed.
28 Then they led Yeshua from Caiaphas to the Praetorium.[a] It was early. They themselves did not enter the Praetorium, so they would not become unclean but might eat the Passover. 29 Therefore Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?”
30 They answered, “If He weren’t an evildoer, we wouldn’t have handed Him over to you.”
31 Then Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him by your Torah!”
The Judean leaders responded, “We are not authorized to put anyone to death.” 32 This happened so that the word Yeshua spoke would be fulfilled, signifying what kind of death He was about to die.
33 So Pilate went back into the Praetorium, called for Yeshua, and asked Him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
34 “Are you saying this on your own,” Yeshua answered, “or did others tell you about Me?”
35 Pilate answered, “I’m not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and ruling kohanim handed You over to me! What have You done?”
36 Yeshua answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Judean leaders. But as it is, My kingdom is not from here.”
37 So Pilate said to Him, “Are you a king, then?”
Yeshua answered, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, so that I might testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” After he said this, he went out again to the Judean leaders. He said to them, “I find no case against Him. 39 But it’s your custom that I release someone for you at Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
40 They shouted back, “Not this One, but Bar-Abba!” Now Bar-Abba[b] was a revolutionary.
Bound and Sentenced
19 Then Pilate took Yeshua and had Him scourged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe. 3 They kept coming up to Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapping Him over and over.
4 Pilate came out again. He said to them, “Look, I’m bringing Him out to you, to let you know that I find no case against Him.” 5 So Yeshua came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. “Behold, the Man!” Pilate said to them.
6 When the ruling kohanim and officers saw Him, they yelled out, “Execute Him! Execute Him!”[c]
Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and execute Him! For I don’t find a case against Him.”
7 The Judean leaders answered him, “We have a law,[d] and according to the Torah He must die, because He claimed to be Ben-Elohim!”
8 When Pilate heard this word, he became even more fearful. 9 He went into the Praetorium again and said to Yeshua, “Where are You from?” But Yeshua gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to Him, “You aren’t speaking to me? Don’t You know that I have the authority to release You, and I have the authority to crucify You?”
11 Yeshua answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it hadn’t been given to you from above. For this reason, the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.”
12 Pilate tried to let Him go after this; but the Judean leaders cried out, saying, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar!”
13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Yeshua out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place called the Stone Pavement (but in Aramaic,[e] Gabbatha). 14 It was the Day of Preparation for Passover, about the sixth hour.[f] And Pilate said to the Judean leaders, “Behold, your king!”
15 They shouted back, “Take Him away! Take Him away! Execute Him!”
Pilate said to them, “Should I execute your king?”
The ruling kohanim answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”
16 Finally, Pilate handed Yeshua over to be crucified.
A Sacrificial Death
17 Then they took Yeshua. He went out, carrying His own crossbar, to the Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic[g] is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on each side and Yeshua in between.
19 Pilate also wrote a sign and put it on the execution stake. It was written, “YESHUA HA-NATZRATI, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 20 Many Judeans read this sign, because the place where Yeshua was executed was near the city; it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
21 The ruling kohanim of the Judeans were saying to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’”
22 “What I have written, I have written,” Pilate answered.
SAMECH ס
113 I hate double-minded ones,
but Your Torah I love.
114 You are my hiding place and my shield
—in Your word I hope.
115 Away from me, evildoers,
so I may keep the mitzvot of my God!
116 Sustain me according to Your word, so I may live,
and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
117 Support me and I will be saved,
and study Your decrees continually.
118 You despise all who wander from Your decrees,
for their deceitfulness is in vain.
119 All the wicked of the earth You remove like dross.
Therefore I love Your testimonies.
120 My flesh shudders for fear of You,
and I am in awe of Your judgments.
AYIN ע
121 I did what is just and right.
Do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Guarantee Your servant’s well-being.
Do not let arrogant ones oppress me.
123 My eyes fail, longing for Your salvation
and for Your righteous word.
124 Deal with Your servant as befits Your lovingkindness,
and teach me Your statutes.
125 I am Your servant, give me discernment,
so I may understand Your testimonies.
126 It is time for Adonai to act—
they have violated Your Torah!
127 Therefore I love Your mitzvot
more than gold, more than pure gold.
128 Therefore I esteem all Your precepts as right in every way
—every false way I hate.
The Delights of a Just King
10 An oracle is on the lips of the king—
let his mouth never be treacherous in judgment.
11 Honest balances and scales are Adonai’s.
All the weights in a bag are His handiwork.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.