The Daily Audio Bible
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A Song of Praise to God
12 ·At that time [L In that day] you will say:
“I praise you, Lord!
You were angry with me,
but ·you are not angry with me now [L your anger has turned away]!
You have comforted me.
2 [L Look; T Behold] God is ·the one who saves me [L my salvation];
I will trust him and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord ·gives me [L is my] strength and ·makes me sing [L my song; or my defense/protection].
He has ·saved me [L become salvation/deliverance/victory for me].”
3 You will joyfully draw water
from the ·wells [springs] of salvation.
4 ·At that time [L In that day] you will say,
“Praise the Lord and ·worship him [L call on his name].
·Tell everyone [L Make known among the nations/peoples] what he has done
and ·how great he is [L announce that his name is exalted/lifted up].
5 Sing praise to the Lord, because he has done ·great [glorious; majestic] things.
Let all the world know what he has done.
6 Shout and sing for joy, you people of ·Jerusalem [L Zion; 1:27],
because the Holy One of Israel [1:4] ·does great things before your eyes [L is great among you].”
God’s Message to Babylon
13 God showed Isaiah son of Amoz this ·message [oracle; T burden] about Babylon:
2 Raise a ·flag [banner; signal flag] on the bare mountain.
·Call out [Shout] to them.
·Raise [Wave] your hand to signal them
to enter through the gates ·for important people [of the nobles/princes].
3 I myself have commanded those people
·whom I have separated as mine [or my holy/sanctified/chosen ones].
I have ·called [summoned] those warriors to carry out my anger.
They rejoice ·and are glad to do my will [or in my triumph/exaltation].
4 Listen to the loud ·noise [tumult] in the mountains,
the sound of ·many people [a great crowd/army].
Listen to the ·noise [uproar; commotion] among the kingdoms,
the sound of nations gathering together.
The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] is ·calling together [summoning; mustering] his army for battle.
5 They are coming from a faraway land,
from the ·edge of the horizon [or end of the heavens].
·In anger the Lord is using this army like a weapon [L The Lord and his weapons of wrath/indignation]
to destroy the whole ·country [land; or earth].
6 ·Cry [Wail], because the Lord’s day of judging is near;
the Almighty is sending destruction.
7 ·People will be weak with fear [L All hands will go limp/fail],
and ·their courage [L every human heart] will melt away.
8 Everyone will be ·afraid [terrified; dismayed].
Pain and ·hurt [anguish] will ·grab [grip; seize] them;
they will ·hurt [writhe in pain] like a woman giving birth.
They will look at each other ·in fear [aghast; or in shock/amazement],
with their faces ·red [aflame] like fire.
God’s Judgment Against Babylon
9 ·Look [T Behold], the Lord’s day of judging is coming—
a ·terrible [cruel] day, a day of ·God’s anger [L wrath and rage of anger].
He will ·destroy [desolate] the ·land [or earth]
and the sinners who live in it.
10 [L For] The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.
The sun will grow dark as it rises,
and the moon will not give its light.
11 The Lord says, “I will punish the world for its evil
and wicked people for their sins.
I will cause ·proud people [the arrogant] to lose their pride,
and I will ·destroy [humble; lay low] the pride of ·those who are cruel to others [the ruthless/tyrants].
12 People will be ·harder to find [scarcer] than pure gold;
there will be fewer people than there is fine gold in Ophir [C perhaps a region in southern Arabia].
13 I will make the ·sky [or heavens] shake,
and the earth will be ·moved [shaken] from its place
by the ·anger [wrath; fury] of the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]
·at the time [L in the day] of his burning anger.
14 “Then the people from Babylon will run away like hunted ·deer [gazelle]
or like sheep who have no shepherd.
Everyone will turn back to his own people;
each will run back to his own land.
15 Everyone who is captured will be ·killed [stabbed; thrust through];
everyone who is caught will ·be killed with a [L fall by the] sword.
16 Their little children will be ·beaten to death [dashed to pieces] in front of them.
Their houses will be ·robbed [looted; plundered]
and their wives raped.
17 “·Look [T Behold], I will ·cause the armies of Media to attack Babylon [L stir up the Medes against them; C fulfilled by Cyrus the Great in 539 bc].
They do not care about silver
or delight in gold.
18 Their soldiers will shoot the young men with ·arrows [L bows];
they will show no mercy on ·children [L the fruit of the womb],
nor will they feel ·sorry [pity; compassion] for ·little ones [children; sons].
19 Babylon is the most beautiful of all kingdoms,
·and the Babylonians are very proud of it [L the glory and pride of the Chaldeans].
But God will destroy it
like Sodom and Gomorrah [Gen. 19:23–29].
20 No one will ever live there
or settle there ·again [from generation to generation].
No ·Arab [or bedouin; nomad] will put a tent there;
no shepherd will ·bring [bed down their] sheep there.
21 Only desert animals will live there,
and their houses will be full of ·wild dogs [or jackals; hyenas; howling creatures; or owls].
Owls will live there,
and wild goats will ·leap [skip] about in the houses.
22 ·Wolves [or Hyenas] will howl within the ·strong walls [citadels; towers],
and ·wild dogs [jackals] will bark in the ·beautiful [delightful] ·buildings [palaces].
·The end of Babylon is near [L Her time has nearly come];
·its time is almost over [L and her days will not be extended].”
Israel Will Return Home
14 The Lord will ·show mercy to [have compassion on] the ·people of Jacob [L Jacob], and he will again choose ·the people of Israel [L Israel]. He will settle them in their own land. Then ·non-Israelite people [foreigners; strangers] will join the Israelites and will ·become a part of [unite with; attach to] the ·family [L house] of Jacob. 2 Nations will take the Israelites back to their ·land [place]. Then those men and women from the other nations will become ·slaves [servants] to Israel in the Lord’s land. Israel will capture those who had captured them and will rule over ·those who had ruled them [their oppressors].
The King of Babylon Will Fall
3 The Lord will ·take away the Israelites’ hard work and will comfort them [L give you rest/relief from your suffering/pain and turmoil]. ·They [L You] will no longer have to work hard as slaves. 4 On that day ·Israel [L you] will sing this ·song about [or taunt against] the king of Babylon:
The ·cruel king who ruled us [L oppressor] is finished;
his ·angry rule [arrogant fury; hostility] is finished!
5 The Lord has ·taken away the power [broken the club/rod/staff] of the wicked
and the ·scepter [staff] of evil rulers
6 ·The king of Babylon [L …which] struck ·people [or nations] in anger
·again and again [with endless blows].
He ruled nations in anger
·and continued to hurt them [with unrelenting oppression/aggression].
7 But now, the whole world rests and is quiet.
Now the people begin to sing.
8 Even the ·pine trees [junipers; evergreens; cypresses] ·are happy [rejoice at you],
and the cedar trees of Lebanon rejoice.
They say, “The king has ·fallen [been laid low],
so no ·one [woodcutter] will ever cut us down again.”
9 ·The place of the dead [or The grave; L Sheol] is ·excited [stirred up]
to meet you when you come.
It wakes the ·spirits of the dead [ghosts],
the ·leaders [L rams] of the world.
It makes kings of all nations
·stand up from their thrones to greet you [L rise up from their thrones].
10 All these leaders will ·make fun of you [L respond]
and will say,
“Now you are weak, as we are.
Now you are just like us.”
11 Your ·pride [or pomp; splendor] has been sent down to ·the place of the dead [or the grave; L Sheol].
The music from your harps goes with it.
·Flies [or Maggots] are spread out like your bed beneath you,
and worms cover your body like a blanket.
12 How you have fallen from heaven,
·morning star [or day star; or shining one; C still addressing the king of Babylon, though sometimes applied to Satan],
·even though you were as bright as the rising sun [L son of the dawn]!
In the past all the nations on earth ·bowed down before you [or were laid low by you],
but now you have been cut down.
13 You told yourself,
“I will ·go up to heaven [or ascend to the sky].
I will put my throne
above God’s stars.
I will ·sit [or rule] on the mountain of the ·gods [L assembly],
on the slopes of ·the sacred mountain [or the north; or Mount Zaphon; C known as the mountain of Baal].
14 I will ·go up [ascend] above the ·tops [or high places] of the clouds.
I will be like God Most High.”
15 But you were brought down to ·the grave [or the place of the dead; L Sheol],
to the deep places ·where the dead are [L of the pit].
16 Those who see you stare at you.
They ·think about [ponder] what has happened to you
and say, “Is this the same man who ·caused great fear on [L shook the] earth,
who ·shook [made to tremble] the kingdoms,
17 who turned the world into a desert,
who ·destroyed [overthrew] its cities,
who captured people in war
and would not let them go home?”
18 Every king of the nations ·has been buried with honor [lies in glory],
each in his own ·grave [L house].
19 But you are thrown out of your grave,
like an ·unwanted [loathed; rejected] branch.
·You are covered by bodies [L Clothed with the slain]
that ·died in battle [L were pierced with a sword],
by bodies to be buried in a rocky pit.
You are like a ·dead body other soldiers walk on [trampled corpse].
20 You will not be buried with those bodies,
because you ruined your own country
and killed your own people.
·The children [or May the offspring/descendants] of evil people
will never be mentioned again.
21 Prepare to ·kill his children [execute/slaughter his sons],
·because their father is guilty [for the sins of their fathers/ancestors].
They will never ·again take control of [L rise and possess] the earth;
they will never again fill the ·world [surface/L face of the earth/world] with their cities.
22 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says this:
“I will ·fight [L rise up] against those people;
I will ·destroy [L cut off from] Babylon ·and its people [L its name and remnant/survivors],
its ·children [offspring] and their ·descendants [posterity],” says the Lord.
23 “I will make Babylon fit only for ·owls [or hedgehogs; or porcupines]
and for swamps.
I will sweep Babylon as with a broom of destruction,”
says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
God Will Punish Assyria
24 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] has ·made this promise [sworn this oath]:
“These things will happen exactly as I planned them;
they will happen exactly as I ·set them up [purposed them].
25 I will ·destroy [crush; break] ·the king of Assyria [L Assyria] in my ·country [land];
I will trample him on my mountains.
His yoke [C oppressive rule] will be taken off my people,
And his burden will be removed from their shoulders.
26 “This is what I plan to do for all the earth.
And this is the hand that I have ·raised [stretched out] over all nations.”
27 When the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] makes a plan,
·no one [L who…?] can stop it.
When the Lord ·raises his hand to punish people [L stretches out his hand],
·no one [L who…?] can stop it.
God’s Message to Philistia
28 This message was given in the year that King Ahaz died [C about 715 bc]:
29 Country of Philistia, don’t ·be happy [rejoice]
that the ·king [L club; rod] who struck you is now ·dead [broken; C either the king of Assyria or Ahaz, king of Judah].
He is like a snake that will give birth to another dangerous snake [L For from the snake’s/serpent’s root will come a viper/adder].
·The new king will be like a quick, dangerous snake to bite you [L its offspring/fruit will be a darting/flying poisonous/fiery adder].
30 Even the ·poorest of my people [or firstborn of the poor] will ·be able to eat safely [find pasture; graze in pasure],
and people in need will be able to lie down in safety.
But I will kill your ·family [L root] with ·hunger [famine],
and ·all your people who are left will die [L it will slay your survivors/remnant].
31 ·People near the city gates, cry out [L Wail, gate, and cry out, city]!
Philistines, ·be frightened [melt away],
because a cloud of ·dust [or smoke] comes from the north [C evidence of an approaching army].
·Full of men ready to fight [L And there is no straggler/loner in its ranks].
32 What shall we tell the messengers ·from Philistia [L of the nation]?
Say that the Lord has made ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] strong
and that his ·poor [oppressed; afflicted] people will go there for ·safety [refuge].
Final Warnings and Greetings
13 I will come to you for the third time [2:1, 3; 12:14]. “Every ·case [accusation; matter] must be ·proved [established] by two or three witnesses [Deut. 19:15].” 2 When I was with you the second time [2:1–2], I gave a warning to those who had sinned. Now I am away from you, and I give a warning to all the others. When I come to you again, I will not ·be easy with [spare] them. 3 ·You want [or …since you are demanding] proof that Christ is speaking through me. My proof is that he is not weak among you, but he is powerful. 4 It is true that he was weak when he was ·killed on the cross [crucified], but he lives now by God’s power. It is true that we are weak in Christ, but ·for you [or when dealing with you; or in your presence] we will be alive with Christ by God’s power [C Christ’s resurrection turns weakness into strength].
5 ·Test [Examine] yourselves to see if you are ·living in [L in] the faith. ·Look closely at [Test; Examine] yourselves. ·You [L Or don’t you…?] know that Jesus Christ is in you—·unless [or if not,] you fail the test. 6 But I hope you will see that we ourselves have not failed the test. 7 We pray to God that you will not do anything ·wrong [evil]. It is not important ·to see [that people see; or for it to appear] that we have passed the test, but it is important that you do what is ·right [good], even if it seems we have failed. 8 [L For] We cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 We ·are happy to be [rejoice whenever we are] weak, if you are strong, and we pray that you will become ·complete [mature; or fully equipped/restored]. 10 I am writing this while I am away from you so that when I come I will not have to be ·harsh [severe] in my use of authority. The Lord gave me this authority to build you up, not to tear you down.
11 ·Now [Finally], brothers and sisters, ·I say good-bye [or be joyful; L rejoice; C a common greeting and farewell]. ·Live in harmony [Seek restoration; or Mend your ways]. ·Do what I have asked you to do [Follow my exhortation; or Encourage/Exhort one another]. ·Agree with each other [Live in unity], and live in peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.
12 Greet each other with a holy kiss. 13 All ·of God’s holy people [T the saints] send greetings to you.
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
A Prayer in Troubled Times
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam [C perhaps “inscription”] of David when he ·escaped [fled] from Saul in the cave [C likely a reference to 1 Sam. 22:1–5, but possibly 1 Sam. 24].
57 Be ·merciful [gracious] to me, God; be ·merciful [gracious] to me
because I ·come to you for protection [L seek refuge].
Let me ·hide [be protected; L seek refuge] under the shadow of your wings [Ruth 2:12; Matt. 23:37]
until the ·trouble [destruction] has passed.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to the God who ·does everything for [fulfills his purpose for; or avenges] me.
3 He sends help from heaven and ·saves me [gives me victory].
He ·punishes [reproaches; scorns] those who ·chase [trample on; hound; snap at] me. ·
God sends me his ·love [loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness].
4 I lie down among lions [C his enemies];
who are aflame for human prey.
Their teeth are like spears and arrows,
their tongues as sharp as swords.
5 God is ·supreme [exalted] over the ·skies [heavens];
his ·majesty [glory; C his manifest presence] ·covers [L is over] the earth.
6 They set a ·trap [net] for ·me [L my feet].
I am ·very worried [bowed down].
They dug a pit ·in my path [L before me],
but they fell into it themselves. ·
7 My heart is ·steady [steadfast; ready], God; my heart is ·steady [steadfast; ready].
I will sing and ·praise [play a psalm for] you.
8 Wake up, my ·soul [or glory].
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.
9 Lord, I will ·praise [thank] you among the ·nations [peoples];
I will ·sing songs of praise about [play a psalm for] you to all the nations.
10 Your ·love [loyalty] ·reaches to [is greater than] the ·skies [heavens],
your ·truth [faithfulness] to the clouds.
11 God, you are ·supreme [exalted] above the ·skies [heavens].
Let your glory [C manifest presence] be over all the earth.
9 Don’t speak in the ears of fools [Matt. 7:6];
they will only ·ignore [despise] your ·wise [insightful] words.
10 Don’t move an ·old stone that marks a border [ancient boundary marker; 22:28],
and don’t ·take [invade] fields that belong to orphans.
11 God, their ·defender [redeemer], is strong;
he will ·take their side [bring charges; make accusations] against you.
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