The Daily Audio Bible
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A Song of Praise to God
25 Lord, you are my God.
I ·honor [exalt] you and praise ·you [L your name],
because you have done ·amazing [wonderful] things.
·You have done what you planned long ago [Your plans were made long ago];
·you have always done what you said you would do [they are faithful and trustworthy];
2 You have made the city a ·pile of rocks [L heap]
·and have destroyed her walls [L the fortified city into a ruin].
The ·city our enemies built with strong walls [or foreigners’ fortress] is gone;
it will never be built again.
3 People from powerful nations will ·honor [glorify] you;
·cruel people from strong cities [L cities of cruel/ruthless people] will fear you.
4 You ·protect [L are a refuge/stronghold to] the poor;
you protect the ·helpless [needy] when they are in ·danger [distress].
You are like a shelter from storms,
like shade that protects them from the heat.
The ·cruel people attack [L breath of the cruel/ruthless]
like a rainstorm beating against the wall,
5 like the ·heat [or drought] in the desert.
But you, God, ·stop their violent attack [L subdue/silence the uproar of foreigners].
As the shadow from a cloud cools a hot day,
you silence the songs of ·those who have no mercy [the ruthless].
God’s Banquet for His Servants
6 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] will prepare a feast
on this mountain [C Mount Zion; 24:23] for all people.
It will be a feast with all the best food and wine,
the ·finest [tenderest; full of marrow] meat and ·wine [well-aged/filtered wines].
7 On this mountain God will ·destroy [swallow]
the ·veil [shroud; covering] that covers all nations,
the ·veil [sheet] that stretches over all peoples [C death];
8 he will ·destroy [swallow up] death forever [1 Cor. 15:54].
The Lord God will wipe away every tear from every face [Rev. 7:17; 21:4].
He will take away the ·shame [disgrace] of his people from the earth.
The Lord has spoken.
9 ·At that time [L In that day] people will say,
“·Our God is doing this [L Look/T Behold, this is our God]!
We have waited for him, and he has come to save us.
This is the Lord. We waited for him,
·so we will [let us] rejoice and ·be happy [be glad; celebrate] ·when he saves us [L in his salvation].”
10 The ·Lord will protect Jerusalem [L hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain],
·but he will crush our enemy Moab [L Moab will be trampled under him]
like straw that is trampled down in the manure.
11 They [L He; C Moab] will spread their arms in it
like a person who is swimming.
But God will bring down their pride,
·and all the clever things they have made will mean nothing [L together with the trickery of their hands].
12 He will ·destroy [bring down] ·Moab’s [L your] high, fortified walls,
·leveling them to the ground [laying them low].
He will throw them down to the ground,
even to the dust.
A Song of Praise to God
26 ·At that time [L In that day] this song will be sung in Judah:
We have a strong city.
·God protects us with [L His salvation/deliverance is] its strong walls and defenses.
2 Open the gates,
and the ·good people [righteous nation] will enter,
those who ·follow God [remain faithful].
3 You, Lord, ·give [preserve/keep in] ·true peace [complete peace; L peace, peace]
·to those who depend on you [T whose mind is stayed on you; L whose purpose is firm],
because they trust you.
4 So, trust the Lord always,
because ·he [L in Yah, the Lord/Yahweh; C Yah is a shorter version of Yahweh] is our ·Rock forever [eternal rock].
5 He will ·destroy [humble; bring down] ·the people of that proud city [L those who dwell on a high place],
He will bring that ·high [lofty; arrogant] city down to the ground
and throw it down into the dust.
6 ·Then those who were hurt by the city will walk on its ruins [L The foot tramples it down, the feet of the oppressed];
·those who were made poor by the city will trample it under their feet [L the footsteps of the poor (will trample it)].
7 The ·path [way] of life is level for ·those who are right with God [the righteous];
·Lord [or Upright One], you make the way of life ·smooth [straight; level] for those people.
8 But, Lord, we are waiting
·for your [or in the] ·way of justice [or path/way of your judgments].
Our souls ·want to remember [or desire; or wish to see glorified]
·you [your renown; your remembrance] and your name.
9 My soul ·wants to be with [longs/yearns for] you at night,
and my spirit ·wants to be with [seeks; longs for] you ·at the dawn of every day [in the morning].
When your ·way of justice [judgment] comes to the ·land [earth],
·people [the inhabitants] of the world will learn ·the right way of living [righteousness; justice].
10 Evil people will not learn ·to do good [righteousness; justice]
even if you show them ·kindness [mercy; grace].
They will continue ·doing evil [acting unjustly], even if they live in a ·good world [land of uprightness];
they never see the Lord’s ·greatness [majesty].
11 Lord, ·you are ready to punish those people [L your hand is lifted up; C ready to strike],
but they do not see that.
·Show them your strong love for your people [L They will see your zeal for your people; or They will see your zealous judgment against mankind].
·Then those who are evil [L …and they] will be ashamed.
·Burn [Consume] them in the fire
·you have prepared for [L of] your ·enemies [adversaries].
12 Lord, all our ·success is [accomplishments/works are] because of what you have done,
·so give us peace [or and you give us peace/security].
13 Lord, our God, other masters besides you have ruled us,
but we ·honor [praise; remember] only ·you [L your name].
14 ·Those masters are now dead [L They are dead, never to live];
their ·ghosts [spirits] will not rise from death.
You punished and destroyed them
and erased any memory of them.
15 Lord, you ·multiplied the number of your people [enlarged/made great the nation];
you ·multiplied them [enlarged/made great the nation] and brought ·honor [glory] to yourself.
You ·widened [enlarged; extended] the borders of the land.
16 Lord, people ·remember [seek; come to] you when they are in trouble;
they ·say quiet prayers to you [or utter incantations] when you punish them.
17 Lord, ·when we are with you [or because of you],
we are like a woman giving birth to a baby;
she cries and has pain from the birth.
18 ·In the same way [L We were pregnant/conceived], we ·had pain [writhed; strained].
We gave birth, but only to wind.
We ·don’t bring [or can’t bring; haven’t brought] salvation to the ·land [earth]
·or given birth to new people for the world [L nor have the inhabitants of the earth fallen].
19 Your dead will live again;
their bodies will rise from death.
You who ·lie in the ground [L dwell in the dust],
wake up and ·be happy [shout joyfully]!
·The dew covering you [L Your dew] is ·like the dew of a new day [L a dew of lights];
the ·ground [earth] will give birth to the dead.
Judgment: Reward or Punishment
20 My people, go into your ·rooms [chambers; inner rooms]
and shut your doors behind you.
Hide in your rooms for a short time
until God’s anger ·is finished [has passed by].
21 [L For look/T behold] The Lord ·will leave [is coming out of] his place
to punish the ·people [inhabitants] of the world for their sins.
The earth will ·show [reveal; disclose] ·the blood of the people who have been killed [L its blood];
it will not cover ·the dead [its slain] any longer.
27 ·At that time [L In that day] the Lord will punish Leviathan [C a sea creature in ancient Near Eastern texts that represents chaos; Job 3:8; 41:1, 12; Ps. 74:14; 104:26], the ·gliding [or swift-moving; or fleeing] ·snake [serpent].
He will punish Leviathan, the ·coiled [writhing; twisting] ·snake [serpent],
with his great and hard and powerful sword.
He will kill the ·monster [dragon] in the sea.
2 ·At that time [L In that day]
sing about the ·pleasant [beautiful; or fruitful] vineyard [C God’s people; 5:1–7].
3 “I, the Lord, will ·care for [watch over] that vineyard;
I will water it ·at the right time [regularly; continually].
No one will hurt it,
because I will guard it day and night.
4 I am not ·angry [wrathful].
If ·anyone builds a wall of thornbushes in war [or only there were briers and thorns against me!],
I will march ·to it [against it in battle] and burn it.
5 But if anyone comes to me for ·safety [refuge; protection]
and wants to make peace with me,
·he should come and [let him] make peace with me.”
6 In the days to come, ·the people of Jacob [L Jacob] will ·be like a plant with good roots [take root];
Israel will ·grow like a plant beginning to bloom [L blossom and bud].
·Then the world will be filled with their children [L …and fill all the world with fruit].
The Lord Will Send Israel Away
7 ·The Lord has not hurt [L Has the Lord struck down…?] his people as he ·hurt their enemies [L struck down those who struck them];
·his people have not [L have they…?] been killed like those who tried to kill them.
8 He will ·settle his argument with Israel [or oppose her; contend with her] by sending her far away.
·Like a hot desert wind [L With his fierce breath in the day of the east wind; C the east wind came from the desert], he will drive her away.
9 This is how ·Israel’s [L Jacob’s] guilt will be forgiven;
this is how its sins will be taken away:
·Israel [L He] will crush the rocks of the altar [C pagan altars] to dust,
and no ·Asherah idols [L Asherahs; C sacred trees or poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah] or ·altars [incense altars] will be left standing.
10 ·At that time [L In that day] the ·strong, walled [fortified] city will be ·empty [desolate]
an abandoned settlement, empty like a ·desert [wilderness; 17:9; 32:14, 19].
Calves will eat grass there.
They will lie down there
and ·eat leaves from [strip bare] the branches.
11 The limbs will become dry and break off,
so women will use them for firewood.
The people ·refuse to understand [lack understanding/discernment],
so ·their Creator [the one who made them] will not comfort them;
·their Maker [the one who formed them] will not ·be kind [show favor] to them.
12 ·At that time [L In that day] the Lord will begin gathering ·his people [L you, sons/children of Israel] one by one from the ·Euphrates River [L flowing River] to the brook of Egypt. He will ·separate them from others as grain is separated from chaff [thresh/L beat them out]. 13 ·At that time [In that day] a great trumpet will be blown. Then those who are ·lost [or perishing] in Assyria and those who ·have run away [were exiled/driven out] to Egypt will come and worship the Lord on that holy mountain in Jerusalem.
Warnings to Israel
28 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] Samaria [C the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel], the pride of ·Israel’s [L Ephraim’s] drunken people!
That beautiful ·crown [wreath; garland] of flowers is ·just a dying plant [fading]
set on ·a hill above [L the head of] a rich valley ·where drunkards live [of those overcome with wine].
2 Look, the Lord has someone who is strong and powerful.
Like a storm of hail and ·strong [destructive] wind,
like a sudden flood of water pouring over the country,
he will throw Samaria down to the ground [L with his hand].
3 That city, the pride of ·Israel’s [L Ephraim’s] drunken people,
will be trampled underfoot.
4 That beautiful ·crown [wreath; garland] of flowers is ·just a dying plant [fading]
set on ·a hill above [L the head of] a rich valley.
That city will be like the first ripe fig of summer.
Anyone who sees it
quickly ·picks it [takes it in hand] and ·eats [swallows] it.
5 ·At that time [L In that day] the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]
·will be like [L will be] a beautiful crown,
·like a wonderful [a beautiful] ·crown of flowers [wreath; garland; diadem]
for ·his people who are left alive [the remnant of his people].
6 Then he will give ·wisdom [a spirit of justice/judgment] to ·the judges who must decide cases [L those who sit in judgment]
and strength to those who battle at the city gate.
7 But now those leaders ·are drunk [reel] with wine;
they ·stumble [stagger] from drinking too much ·beer [T strong drink; C alcoholic beverage made from grain].
The priests and prophets ·are drunk [stagger] with ·beer [T strong drink]
and are ·filled with [swallowed by; or confused because of] wine.
They stumble from too much ·beer [T strong drink].
·The prophets [L They] ·are drunk [stagger] when they see their visions;
·the judges [they] stumble ·when they make their decisions [in judgment].
8 Every table is covered with vomit,
so there is not a clean place anywhere.
9 ·The Lord is trying to teach the people a lesson [L Who is he teaching knowledge?];
·he is trying to make them understand his teachings [L To whom is he explaining the message?].
·But the people are like babies too old for breast milk [Those weaned from milk?],
·like those who no longer nurse at their mother’s breast [Those taken from the breast?].
10 So ·they make fun of the Lord’s prophet and say [or the Lord must repeat himself again and again; L For it is]:
“·A command here, a command there [T Precept upon precept, precept upon precept].
·A rule here, a rule there [T Line upon line, line upon line; C Hebrew: tsav latsav tsav latsav / kav lakav kav lakav; it may be the people mocking the words of the prophets as nonsense; or it may refer to God repeating himself because the people will not listen].
A little lesson here, a little lesson there [L A little there, a little there].”
11 So the Lord will use ·strange words [mocking/stammering lips] and foreign ·languages [tongues]
to speak to these people.
12 God said to them,
“Here is a place of rest;
let the ·tired people [weary] come and rest.
This is the place of peace.”
But the people would not listen.
13 So the words of the Lord will be,
“·A command here, a command there [T Precept upon precept, precept upon precept].
·A rule here, a rule there [T Line upon line, line upon line].
·A little lesson here, a little lesson there [L A little there, a little there; C see v. 10; God now uses the same words to mimic the foreign language of the Assyrian invaders].”
They will fall back and be ·defeated [broken];
they will be ·trapped and captured [snared and taken].
10 ·But [L For] those who depend on ·following [L the works of] the law to make them right are under a curse, because the Scriptures say, “·Anyone [All; Everyone] will be cursed who does not ·always obey what [keep doing everything that] is written in the Book of the Law [Deut. 27:26].” 11 Now it is clear that no one can be ·made right with [justified/declared righteous before] God by the law, because the Scriptures say, “·Those who are right with God will live by faith [The righteous will live by faith; or Those made righteous by faith will live; Gen. 15:6; Hab. 2:4].” 12 The law is not based on faith. ·It says [L Rather; On the contrary], “A person who ·obeys [does; practices] these things will ·live because of [gain life by/in] them [Lev. 18:5].” 13 Christ ·took away [redeemed us from; bought our freedom from] the curse ·the law put on us [L of the law]. ·He changed places with us and put himself under that curse [L …by becoming a curse for us]. [L For; Because] It is written in the Scriptures, “Anyone ·whose body is displayed [L who is hung] on a tree is cursed [Deut. 21:23; C an executed man’s body was hung on a stake or tree for humiliation and warning; Paul here applies it to Christ’s crucifixion as the curse/judgment for our sin].” 14 Christ did this so that God’s blessing promised to Abraham [Gen. 12:2–3] might come through Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. ·Jesus died so that by our believing […so that by faith] we could receive the Spirit that God promised.
The Law and the Promise
15 Brothers and sisters, let us think ·in human terms [or of an example from everyday life; L according to man]: Even in the case of a human ·agreement [covenant; or will and testament], after it has been ·accepted [ratified; put into affect] no one can ·set it aside [annul it] or add anything to it. 16 God made promises both to Abraham and to his ·descendant [seed]. God did not say, “and to your ·descendants [seeds].” That would mean many people. But God said, “and to your ·descendant [seed; Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 17:7; 24:7].” That means only one person; that person is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: The law, which came four hundred thirty years later, cannot ·change [cancel; nullify] that ·agreement [covenant] previously made by God and so ·destroy [nullify; render invalid] God’s promise to Abraham. 18 If the law could give us ·Abraham’s blessing [L the inheritance], then ·the promise would not be necessary [or it is not based on a promise]. But that is not possible, because God freely gave ·his blessings [L it] to Abraham through the promise he had made.
19 So what was the law for? It was ·given to show that the wrong things people do are against God’s will [L added because of transgressions]. And it continued until the ·special descendant [seed], who had been promised, came. The law was given through angels [Acts 7:53; Heb. 2:2] ·who used Moses for a mediator to give the law to people [L by the hand of a mediator/intermediary]. 20 But a mediator is not needed when there is only one side, and God is only one.
The Purpose of the Law of Moses
21 Does this mean that the law is against God’s promises? ·Never [Absoluely not; May it never be]! That would be true only if the law could make us ·right with God [righteous]. But God did not give a law that can bring life. 22 Instead, the Scriptures ·showed that the whole world is bound by sin [L imprisoned all things under (the power of) sin; C Scripture is personified as the jailer]. This was so the promise would be given ·through faith to people who believe in Jesus Christ [or because of Christ’s faithfulness, to all who believe].
A Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.
61 God, hear my cry;
·listen [pay attention] to my prayer.
2 I call to you from the ends of the earth [C far from the Temple]
when ·I am afraid [L my heart grows faint].
·Carry [Lead] me away to ·a high mountain [L the rock that is higher than I am; C a place of refuge, perhaps referring to God as the rock; 18:2, 46; 19:14; 62:2].
3 You have been my ·protection [refuge],
like a strong tower against my enemies.
4 Let me ·live [sojourn] in your ·Holy Tent [L tent; C the sanctuary] forever.
Let me find ·safety [refuge] in the shelter of your wings [C an image of compassion, or perhaps referring to the cherubim whose wings cover the Ark of the Covenant; Ex. 25:20]. ·
5 God, you have heard my ·promises [vows].
You have given me what belongs to those who fear ·you [L your name].
6 ·Give the king a long life [L Add days to the days of the king];
let ·him live many years [L his years be forever and ever].
7 Let him ·rule [reign] in the presence of God forever.
Protect him with your ·love [loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness].
8 Then I will ·praise [sing a psalm to] your name forever,
and every day I will ·keep my promises [fulfill my vows].
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