The Daily Audio Bible

Men Come from Babylon

39 At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah. He heard that he had been sick and had become well. ² Hezekiah was pleased and showed them all his store-house of riches. He showed them the silver, the gold, the spices, the oil of much worth, and all his objects used in battle. He showed them everything that was in his store-houses. There was nothing in his house or under his rule that Hezekiah did not show them. ³ Then Isaiah the man of God came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say? From where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” ⁴ Isaiah said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my house. There is nothing among my riches that I have not shown them.”

⁵ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the Word of the Lord of All: ⁶ ‘See, the days are coming when everything in your house, and everything your fathers have stored up to this day, will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. ⁷ ‘And some of your own sons who are born to you will be taken away. They will work in the house of the king of Babylon.’” ⁸ Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and truth in my days.”

God’s People Have Hope

40 “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God. ² “Speak kind words to Jerusalem. Call out to her that her time of war has ended, that her sin has been taken away, and that she has received from the Lord’s hand twice as much for all her sins.”

³ A voice is calling, “Make the way ready for the Lord in the desert. Make the road in the desert straight for our God. ⁴ Every valley will be lifted up and every mountain and hill will be brought down. The turns in the road will be made straight and the bad places will be made smooth. ⁵ Then the shining-greatness of the Lord will be seen. All flesh together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” ⁶ A voice says, “Cry.” And he said, “What should I cry?” All flesh is grass. All its beauty is like the flower of the field. ⁷ The grass dries up and the flower loses its color when the breath of the Lord blows upon it. For sure the people are grass. ⁸ The grass dries up. The flower loses its color. But the Word of our God stands forever.

⁹ O Zion, you who bring good news, go up on the high mountain! Lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, you who bring good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” ¹⁰ See, the Lord God will come with power, and His arm will rule for Him. See, He is bringing the reward He will give to everyone for what he has done. ¹¹ He will feed His flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in His arms and carry them close to His heart. He will be gentle in leading those that are with young.

¹² Who knows how much water is in His hand? Who has used his hand to know how far the heavens reach? Who knows what the dust of the earth would fill? Who has weighed the mountains and the hills? ¹³ Who has led the Spirit of the Lord? Who has taught Him words of wisdom? ¹⁴ From whom did He ask for wisdom, and who gave Him understanding? Who taught Him the right way, and taught Him much learning? Who showed Him the way of understanding? ¹⁵ See, the nations are like a drop in a pail. Their weight is like a little piece of dust. See, He lifts up the islands like fine dust. ¹⁶ Even Lebanon is not enough to burn. Its animals are not enough for a burnt gift in worship. ¹⁷ All the nations are as nothing before Him. He thinks of them as less than nothing and of no worth.

¹⁸ To Whom then is God like? What will you compare Him with? ¹⁹ An able workman makes a false god. A man who works with gold covers it with gold. And a man who works with silver makes silver chains for it. ²⁰ He who is too poor to give such a gift, picks out a tree that will not waste away. He finds an able workman to set up a false god that will not be moved.

²¹ Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the beginning of the earth? ²² It is God Who sits on the throne above the earth. The people living on the earth are like grasshoppers. He spreads out the heavens like a curtain. He spreads them out like a tent to live in. ²³ It is He Who brings rulers down to nothing. He makes the judges of the earth as nothing. ²⁴ They have just been planted, and have begun to take root in the earth. But He only blows on them and they dry up, and the storm carries them away like dry grass. ²⁵ “To whom will you compare Me, that I should be like him?” says the Holy One. ²⁶ Lift up your eyes and see. Who has made these stars? It is the One Who leads them out by number. He calls them all by name. Because of the greatness of His strength, and because He is strong in power, not one of them is missing.

²⁷ O Jacob and Israel, why do you say, “My way is hidden from the Lord. My God does not think about my cause”? ²⁸ Have you not known? Have you not heard? The God Who lives forever is the Lord, the One Who made the ends of the earth. He will not become weak or tired. His understanding is too great for us to begin to know. ²⁹ He gives strength to the weak. And He gives power to him who has little strength. ³⁰ Even very young men get tired and become weak and strong young men trip and fall. ³¹ But they who wait upon the Lord will get new strength. They will rise up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weak.

God Will Help Israel

41 “Islands, be quiet and listen to Me. Let the people get new strength. Let them come near, then let them speak. Let us come together to be judged. ² Who has called this one from the east, one who is right at every step? He gives up nations in front of him and makes him ruler over kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, and like wind-blown dry grass with his bow. ³ He goes after them and is safe as he passes, on paths he has not gone on before. ⁴ Who has done this, calling out all the people from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.”

⁵ The islands have seen and are afraid. The ends of the earth shake in fear and they have come. ⁶ Every one helps each other, and says to his brother, “Be strong!” ⁷ The able workman gives strength of heart to the one who works with gold. He who makes iron smooth gives strength of heart to the one who beats the iron, saying of his work, “It is good.” And he puts it in its place with nails so that it cannot be moved.

⁸ “But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, son of My friend Abraham, ⁹ I have taken you from the ends of the earth. I have called you from its farthest parts, and said to you, ‘You are My servant. I have chosen you and have not turned away from you.’ ¹⁰ Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will give you strength, and for sure I will help you. Yes, I will hold you up with My right hand that is right and good. ¹¹ See, all those who are angry with you will be put to shame and troubled. Those who fight against you will be as nothing and will be lost. ¹² You will look for those who argue with you, but will not find them. Those who war against you will be as nothing, as nothing at all. ¹³ For I am the Lord your God Who holds your right hand, and Who says to you, ‘Do not be afraid. I will help you.’ ¹⁴ Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel. I will help you,” says the Lord. “The One Who bought you and sets you free is the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁵ See, I have made you a new, sharp, crushing tool with teeth. You will beat the mountains and crush them. You will make the hills like dry grass. ¹⁶ You will make the wind blow over them, and it will carry them away. The storm will send them everywhere. But you will have joy in the Lord. You will be glad in the Holy One of Israel.

1 This letter is from Paul. I am a missionary for Jesus Christ. God wanted me to work for Him. This letter is to those who belong to Christ in the city of Ephesus and to you who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. ² May you have loving-favor and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

³ Let us honor and thank the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has already given us a taste of what heaven is like. ⁴ Even before the world was made, God chose us for Himself because of His love. He planned that we should be holy and without blame as He sees us. ⁵ God already planned to have us as His own children. This was done by Jesus Christ. In His plan God wanted this done.

⁶ We thank God for His loving-favor to us. He gave this loving-favor to us through His much-loved Son. ⁷ Because of the blood of Christ, we are bought and made free from the punishment of sin. And because of His blood, our sins are forgiven. His loving-favor to us is so rich. ⁸ He was so willing to give all of this to us. He did this with wisdom and understanding. ⁹ God told us the secret of what He wanted to do. It is this: In loving thought He planned long ago to send Christ into the world. ¹⁰ The plan was for Christ to gather us all together at the right time. If we are in heaven or still on earth, He will bring us together and will be head over all.

¹¹ We were already chosen to be God’s own children by Christ. This was done just like the plan He had. ¹² We who were the first to put our trust in Christ should thank Him for His greatness. ¹³ The truth is the Good News. When you heard the truth, you put your trust in Christ. Then God marked you by giving you His Holy Spirit as a promise. ¹⁴ The Holy Spirit was given to us as a promise that we will receive everything God has for us. God’s Spirit will be with us until God finishes His work of making us complete. God does this to show His shining-greatness.

Paul’s Prayer for the Christians in Ephesus

¹⁵ I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all Christians. ¹⁶ Since then, I always give thanks for you and pray for you. ¹⁷ I pray that the great God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ may give you the wisdom of His Spirit. Then you will be able to understand the secrets about Him as you know Him better. ¹⁸ I pray that your hearts will be able to understand. I pray that you will know about the hope given by God’s call. I pray that you will see how great the things are that He has promised to those who belong to Him. ¹⁹ I pray that you will know how great His power is for those who have put their trust in Him. ²⁰ It is the same power that raised Christ from the dead. This same power put Christ at God’s right side in heaven. ²¹ This place was given to Christ. It is much greater than any king or leader can have. No one else can have this place of honor and power. No one in this world or in the world to come can have such honor and power. ²² God has put all things under Christ’s power and has made Him to be the head leader over all things of the church. ²³ The church is the body of Christ. It is filled by Him Who fills all things everywhere with Himself.

Song of Praise and Thanks to God

66 Raise the voice of joy to God, all the earth! ² Sing out the honor of His name! Make His praise great! ³ Say to God, “How Your great works make those who hate You afraid! They will have to obey You because of Your great power. ⁴ All the earth will worship You and sing praises to You. They will sing praises to Your name.”

⁵ Come and see what God has done. There is much fear because of His great works toward the children of men. ⁶ He changed the sea into dry land. They passed through the river on foot. There we were full of joy in Him. ⁷ He rules forever by His power. His eyes keep watch over the nations. Do not let those who do not obey You honor themselves.

⁸ Give honor and thanks to God, O people, and let all hear how great He is! ⁹ He keeps us alive, and does not let our feet go out from under us. ¹⁰ For You have tested us, O God. You have made us pure like silver is made pure. ¹¹ You brought us into the net. And You laid a heavy load on our back. ¹² You made men travel over our heads. We went through fire and through water. But You brought us out into a place where we have much more than we need. ¹³ I will come into Your house with burnt gifts. I will give You what I promised, ¹⁴ promises made by my lips and spoken by my mouth when I was in trouble. ¹⁵ I will give You burnt gifts of fat animals with the smoke of rams. I will give You bulls with male goats.

¹⁶ Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell you what He has done for me. ¹⁷ I cried to Him with my mouth and praised Him with my tongue. ¹⁸ The Lord will not hear me if I hold on to sin in my heart. ¹⁹ But it is sure that God has heard. He has listened to the voice of my prayer. ²⁰ Honor and thanks be to God! He has not turned away from my prayer or held His loving-kindness from me.

²⁵ Let your father and mother be glad, and let her who gave birth to you be full of joy.

²⁶ Give me your heart, my son. Let your eyes find joy in my ways. ²⁷ For a woman who sells the use of her body is like a deep hole. A sinful woman is a narrow well. ²⁸ She lies in wait as a robber, and makes many more men not faithful.