The Daily Audio Bible

Nadab Rules Israel

²⁵ Jeroboam’s son Nadab became king of Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah. And he ruled over Israel for two years. ²⁶ He did what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord. He walked in the way of his father, and in his sin with which he made Israel sin. ²⁷ Then Baasha the son of Ahijah of the family of Issachar made plans against him. Baasha killed him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. Nadab and all Israel had been gathering their army in battle around Gibbethon. ²⁸ So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and ruled in his place. ²⁹ As soon as he was king, Baasha killed all those of the family of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam any person alive, destroying them all. It happened just as the word of the Lord was spoken through God’s servant Ahijah the Shilonite. ³⁰ It happened because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and which he made Israel sin. He made the Lord God of Israel angry.

³¹ Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ³² And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

Baasha Rules Israel

³³ In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king of all Israel at Tirzah. He ruled for twenty-four years. ³⁴ He did what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord. He walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel sin.

16 Now the word of the Lord came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, ² “I took you from the dust and gave you honor. I made you leader over My people Israel. But you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made My people Israel sin. You have made Me angry with their sins. ³ So I will destroy Baasha and his house. I will make your house like the family of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. ⁴ The dogs will eat anyone of Baasha’s family who dies in the city. And the birds of the air will eat anyone of his who dies in the field.”

⁵ The rest of the acts of Baasha and what he did and his strength, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ⁶ Baasha died and was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah became king in his place. ⁷ The word of the Lord came against Baasha and his house through the man who spoke for God, Jehu the son of Hanani because Baasha had done what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord. He made the Lord angry with the work of his hands, in being like the family of Jeroboam, and because he destroyed it.

Elah Rules Israel

⁸ In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha became king of Israel at Tirzah. He ruled for two years. ⁹ His servant Zimri, captain of half his war-wagons, made plans against him. Elah was at Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the family of Arza. Arza was the head of the house at Tirzah. ¹⁰ Zimri went in and hit him and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah. And Zimri became king in his place. ¹¹ When he became king, as soon as he sat on his throne, he killed all those of Baasha’s house. He did not leave alive one male, of his brothers or of his friends. ¹² So Zimri destroyed the whole family of Baasha, as was spoken against Baasha by the word of the Lord through Jehu the man who spoke for God. ¹³ It happened because of all the sins of Baasha and his son Elah. They sinned and they made Israel sin. They made the Lord God of Israel angry with their false gods. ¹⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Zimri Rules Israel

¹⁵ In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri ruled seven days at Tirzah. Now the people were gathered against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. ¹⁶ The people who were gathered heard it said, “Zimri has made plans and has killed the king.” So all Israel made Omri, the captain of the army, the king of Israel that day among the tents. ¹⁷ Then Omri went with all Israel up from Gibbethon, and they gathered in battle around Tirzah. ¹⁸ When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into an inside room of the king’s house. And he burned the king’s house over him with fire, and died. ¹⁹ He died because of his sins. He did what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam. And in his sin, he made Israel sin. ²⁰ The rest of the acts of Zimri and the plan he made, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Omri Rules Israel

²¹ Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts. Half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king. The other half followed Omri. ²² But the people who followed Omri won over the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. Tibni died and Omri became king. ²³ In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became the king of Israel. He ruled for twelve years. He ruled six years at Tirzah. ²⁴ And he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for silver weighing as much as two men. He built on the hill, and gave the city he built the name of Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill. ²⁵ Omri did what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord. He acted worse than all who were before him. ²⁶ For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. And in his sin he made Israel sin. They made the Lord God of Israel angry with their false gods. ²⁷ Now the rest of the acts of Omri and the strength that he showed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ²⁸ Omri died and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab became king in his place.

Ahab Rules Israel

²⁹ Omri’s son Ahab became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah. He ruled over Israel in Samaria for twenty-two years. ³⁰ Ahab the son of Omri did what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord more than all who were before him. ³¹ He thought it was a small thing to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. He married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians. Then he went to serve the false god Baal and worshiped him. ³² He built an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. ³³ Ahab made an object of wood to look like the false goddess Asherah. So Ahab did more to make the Lord God of Israel angry than all the kings of Israel before him. ³⁴ In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho. His first-born son Abiram died as he began to build the city. His youngest son Segub died as he put up its gates. It happened as it was told by the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua the son of Nun.

Elijah Fed by Ravens

17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of the people who were staying in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before Whom I stand, for sure there will be no rain or water on the grass in the early morning these years, except by my word.” ² And the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ³ “Leave here and turn east. Hide yourself by the river Cherith, east of the Jordan. ⁴ You will drink from the river. And I have told the ravens to bring food to you there.” ⁵ So he went and did what he was told by the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the river Cherith, east of the Jordan. ⁶ The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening. And he drank from the river. ⁷ But after a while, the river dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

The Woman Whose Husband Had Died

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁹ “Get up and go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. I have told a woman there, whose husband has died, to feed you.” ¹⁰ So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he came to the city gate, he saw a woman there gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “I ask of you, get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.” ¹¹ As she was going to get it, he called to her, “I ask of you, bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” ¹² But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread. I only have enough flour in the jar to fill a hand, and a little oil in the jar. See, I am gathering a few sticks so I may go in and make it ready for me and my son. Then we will eat it and die.” ¹³ Elijah said to her, “Have no fear. Go and do as you have said. But make me a little loaf of bread from it first, and bring it out to me. Then you may make one for yourself and for your son. ¹⁴ For the Lord God of Israel says, ‘The jar of flour will not be used up. And the jar of oil will not be empty, until the day the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” ¹⁵ So she went and did what Elijah said. And she and he and those of her house ate for many days. ¹⁶ The jar of flour was not used up, and the jar of oil did not become empty. It happened as was spoken by the word of the Lord through Elijah.

Elijah and the Woman’s Son

¹⁷ After this the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. His sickness was so bad that there was no breath left in him. ¹⁸ So the woman said to Elijah, “What do I have to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to have my sin be remembered, and to kill my son!” ¹⁹ He said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her arms and carried him up to the room on the second floor where he stayed. And he laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ He called to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You brought trouble to the woman I am staying with, by making her son die?” ²¹ Then he lay upon the child three times and called to the Lord, saying, “O Lord my God, I pray to You. Let this child’s life return to him.” ²² The Lord heard the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child returned to him and he became strong again. ²³ Elijah took the child and brought him down from the second floor into the house and gave him to his mother. He said, “See, your son is alive.” ²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God. Now I know that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

²⁴ The next day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was looking for them. He had gathered all his family and close friends at his house. ²⁵ When Peter came, Cornelius got down at his feet and worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter raised him up and said, “Get up! I am just a man like you.” ²⁷ As Peter spoke with Cornelius, he went into the house and found a large group of people gathered together. ²⁸ Peter said to them, “You know it is against our Law for a Jew to visit a person of another nation. But God has shown me I should not say that any man is unclean. ²⁹ For this reason I came as soon as you sent for me. But I want to ask you why you sent for me?”

³⁰ Cornelius said, “Four days ago at three o’clock in the afternoon I was praying here in my house. All at once, I saw a man standing in front of me. He had on bright clothes. ³¹ He said to me, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayers and has remembered your gifts of love. ³² You must send to Joppa and ask Simon Peter to come here. He is staying at the house of Simon, the man who works with leather. His house is by the sea-shore.’ ³³ I sent for you at once. You have done well to come. We are all here and God is with us. We are ready to hear whatever the Lord has told you to say.”

Peter Preaches in Cornelius’ House

³⁴ Then Peter said, “I can see, for sure, that God does not respect one person more than another. ³⁵ He is pleased with any man in any nation who honors Him and does what is right. ³⁶ He has sent His Word to the Jews. He told them the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord of All. ³⁷ You know the story yourselves. It was told in all the country of Judea. It began in the country of Galilee after the preaching of John the Baptist. ³⁸ God gave Jesus of Nazareth the Holy Spirit and power. He went around doing good and healing all who were troubled by the devil because God was with Him. ³⁹ We have seen and heard everything He did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And yet they killed Him by nailing Him to a cross. ⁴⁰ God raised Him to life on the third day and made Him to be seen. ⁴¹ Not all the people saw Him but those who were chosen to see Him. We saw Him. We ate and drank with Him after He was raised from the dead. ⁴² He told us to preach to the people and tell them that God gave Christ the right to be the One Who says who is guilty of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the early preachers spoke of this. Everyone who puts his trust in Christ will have his sins forgiven through His name.”

The Holy Spirit Comes to the Family of Cornelius

⁴⁴ While Peter was speaking, the Holy Spirit came on all who were hearing his words. ⁴⁵ The Jewish followers who had come along with Peter were surprised and wondered because the gift of the Holy Spirit was also given to the people who were not Jews. ⁴⁶ They heard them speak in special sounds and give thanks to God. Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ “Will anyone say that these people may not be baptized? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” ⁴⁸ He gave the word that they should be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for some days.

A Call to Praise

134 See, give honor and thanks to the Lord, all who work for the Lord, who stand during the night in the house of the Lord. ² Lift up your hands to the holy place and give thanks to the Lord. ³ May the Lord bring good to you from Zion. He is the One Who made heaven and earth.

⁹ He who covers a sin looks for love. He who tells of trouble separates good friends.

¹⁰ A man of understanding learns more from being told the right thing to do than a fool learns from being beaten a hundred times.

¹¹ A man who will not obey looks only for what is bad. So one who has no loving-pity will be sent against him.