The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the CSB. Switch to the CSB to read along with the audio.
Ezra Reads the Book of the Law
8 And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of (A)the Water Gate, and they said to (B)Ezra the scribe to bring (C)the book of the law of Moses which Yahweh had commanded to Israel. 2 Then (D)Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could understand when listening, on (E)the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it before the square which was in front of (F)the Water Gate from [a]early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the ears of the people were attentive to the book of the law. 4 Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden podium which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. 5 And Ezra opened (G)the book in the sight of all the people for he was above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people (H)stood up. 6 Then Ezra blessed Yahweh the great God. And all the people answered, “(I)Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then (J)they bowed low and worshiped Yahweh with their [b]faces to the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, were providing understanding of the law to the people while the people stood in their place. 8 They read from the book, from the law of God, [c]explaining and [d]giving insight, and they provided understanding of the reading.
This Day Is Holy
9 Then Nehemiah, who was the [e](K)governor, and Ezra (L)the priest and scribe, and the Levites, who provided the people with understanding, said to all the people, “(M)This day is holy to Yahweh your God; (N)do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and (O)send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of Yahweh is your strength.” 11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” 12 Then all the people went away to eat, to drink, (P)to send portions, and to celebrate with great gladness, (Q)because they understood the words which had been made known to them.
Feast of Booths Restored
13 Then on the second day the heads of fathers’ households of all the people, the priests and the Levites were gathered to Ezra the scribe that they might gain insight into the words of the law. 14 They found written in the law how Yahweh had commanded by the hand of Moses that the sons of Israel (R)should live in booths during the feast of the seventh month, 15 (S)and that they should make the report heard and make a proclamation of it pass throughout all their cities and (T)in Jerusalem, saying, “(U)Go out to the hills, and bring olive branches and [f]wild olive branches, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of other leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.” 16 So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each (V)on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at (W)the Water Gate and in the square at (X)the Gate of Ephraim. 17 The entire assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths. The sons of Israel (Y)had indeed not done so from the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day. And (Z)there was exceedingly great gladness. 18 (AA)And he read from the book of the law of God daily, from the first day to the last day. And they (AB)celebrated the feast seven days, and on (AC)the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the legal judgment.
Israel Confesses Their Sins
9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of (AD)this month the sons of Israel gathered (AE)with fasting, in sackcloth and with (AF)dirt upon them. 2 The (AG)seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and (AH)confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And (AI)they rose up in their place and read from the book of the law of Yahweh their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they were confessing and worshiping Yahweh their God. 4 (AJ)Then Jeshua rose up on the Levites’ platform, along with Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and they cried out with a loud voice to Yahweh their God.
5 And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Rise up, bless Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting!
O may Your glorious name be blessed
And exalted above all blessing and praise!
6 (AK)You alone are Yahweh.
(AL)You have made the heavens,
The heaven of heavens with all their host,
The earth and all that is on it,
The seas and all that is in them.
(AM)You give life to all of them
And the heavenly host bows down to You.
7 You are Yahweh God,
(AN)Who chose Abram
And brought him out from (AO)Ur of the Chaldees,
And (AP)gave him the name Abraham.
8 You found (AQ)his heart faithful before You,
And cut a covenant with him
To give him the land of the Canaanite,
Of the Hittite and the Amorite,
Of the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite—
To give it to his seed.
And You (AR)have established Your promise,
For You are righteous.
9 “(AS)You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,
And (AT)heard their cry by the [g]Red Sea.
10 Then You performed (AU)signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
Against all his servants and all the people of his land;
For You knew that (AV)they acted presumptuously toward them,
And (AW)made a name for Yourself as it is this day.
11 (AX)You split the sea before them,
So they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land;
And (AY)their pursuers You cast into the depths,
Like a stone into mighty waters.
12 And with a pillar of cloud (AZ)You led them by day,
And with a pillar of fire by night
To light for them the way
In which they were to go.
13 Then (BA)You came down on Mount Sinai,
And (BB)spoke with them from heaven;
You gave them (BC)upright judgments and true laws,
Good statutes and commandments.
14 So You made known to them (BD)Your holy sabbath,
And commanded to them commandments, statutes and law,
By the hand of Your servant Moses.
15 You (BE)gave bread from heaven for them for their hunger,
You (BF)brought forth water from a rock for them for their thirst,
And You (BG)said to them to enter in order to possess
The land which You [h]swore to give them.
16 “But they, our fathers, (BH)acted presumptuously;
They [i](BI)became stiff-necked and would not listen to Your commandments.
17 They refused to listen,
And (BJ)did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You did among them;
So they became stiff-necked and (BK)gave themselves a chief to return to their slavery [j]in Egypt.
But You are a God (BL)of lavish forgiveness,
Gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness;
And You did not forsake them.
18 Even when they (BM)made for themselves
A molten calf
And said, ‘This is your God
Who brought you up from Egypt,’
And [k]committed great [l]blasphemies,
19 (BN)But You, in Your abundant compassion,
Did not forsake them in the wilderness;
(BO)The pillar of cloud did not depart from them by day,
To lead them on their way,
Nor the pillar of fire by night,
To light for them the way in which they were to go.
20 (BP)You gave Your good Spirit to give them insight,
Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth,
And You gave them water for their thirst.
21 Indeed, (BQ)forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, and they did not lack;
Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell.
Paul Gives Up His Rights
9 Am I not (A)free? Am I not an (B)apostle? Have I not (C)seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not (D)my work in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the (E)seal of my (F)apostleship in the Lord.
3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 (G)Do we not have authority to eat and drink? 5 (H)Do we not have authority to take along a [a]believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the (I)brothers of the Lord and (J)Cephas? 6 Or do only [b](K)Barnabas and I not have authority to refrain from working? 7 Who at any time serves (L)as a soldier at his own expense? Who (M)plants a vineyard and does not [c]consume the fruit of it? Or who shepherds a flock and does not [d]consume the milk of the flock?
8 Am I speaking these things (N)according to [e]human judgment? Or does not the Law also say these things? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “(O)You shall not muzzle the ox while it is threshing.” Is God merely concerned about (P)oxen? 10 Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, (Q)for our sake it was written, because (R)the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. 11 (S)If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this authority over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we (T)did not use this authority, but we endure all things (U)so that we will cause no hindrance to the (V)gospel of Christ. 13 (W)Do you not know that those who (X)perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share [f]from the altar? 14 So also (Y)the Lord directed those who proclaim the (Z)gospel to (AA)get their living from the gospel.
15 But I have (AB)used none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case, for it would be better for me to die than have anyone make (AC)my boast an empty one. 16 For if I proclaim the gospel, I have nothing to boast, for (AD)I am under compulsion. For woe is me if I do not proclaim (AE)the gospel. 17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a (AF)reward; but if against my will, I have a (AG)stewardship entrusted to me. 18 What then is my (AH)reward? That, when I proclaim the gospel, I may offer the gospel (AI)without charge, so as (AJ)not to make full use of my authority in the gospel.
12 Blessed is the (A)nation whose God is Yahweh,
The people whom He has (B)chosen for His own inheritance.
13 Yahweh (C)looks from heaven;
He (D)sees all the sons of men;
14 From (E)the place of His habitation He gazes
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (F)forms [a]the hearts of them all,
He who (G)understands all their works.
16 (H)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
17 A (I)horse is a false hope for salvation;
Nor does it provide escape to anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, (J)the eye of Yahweh is on those who fear Him,
On those who (K)wait for His lovingkindness,
19 To (L)deliver their soul from death
And to keep them alive (M)in famine.
20 Our soul (N)is patient for Yahweh;
He is our (O)help and our shield.
21 For our (P)heart is glad in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, O Yahweh, be upon us,
As we wait for You.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.