The Daily Audio Bible
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Babylon to Be Destroyed
14 Thus says the Lord your (A)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,
And will bring them all down as fugitives,
[a]Even the (B)Chaldeans, into the (C)ships [b]in which they rejoice.
15 “I am the Lord, your Holy One,
(D)The Creator of Israel, your (E)King.”
16 Thus says the Lord,
Who (F)makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
17 Who brings forth the (G)chariot and the horse,
The army and the mighty man
(They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been (H)quenched and extinguished like a wick):
18 “(I)Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
19 “Behold, I will do something (J)new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even (K)make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
20 “The beasts of the field will glorify Me,
The (L)jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have (M)given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
21 “The people whom (N)I formed for Myself
(O)Will declare My praise.
The Shortcomings of Israel
22 “Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob;
But you have become (P)weary of Me, O Israel.
23 “You have (Q)not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,
Nor have you (R)honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not (S)burdened you with [c]offerings,
Nor wearied you with (T)incense.
24 “You have bought Me not [d](U)sweet cane with money,
Nor have you [e]filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Rather you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have (V)wearied Me with your iniquities.
25 “I, even I, am the one who (W)wipes out your transgressions (X)for My own sake,
And I will (Y)not remember your sins.
26 “[f]Put Me in remembrance, (Z)let us argue our case together;
State your cause, (AA)that you may be proved right.
27 “Your (AB)first [g]forefather sinned,
And your [h](AC)spokesmen have [i]transgressed against Me.
28 “So I will [j]pollute the [k]princes of the sanctuary,
And I will consign Jacob to the (AD)ban and Israel to (AE)revilement.
The Blessings of Israel
44 “But now listen, O Jacob, My (AF)servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
2 Thus says the Lord who made you
And (AG)formed you from the womb, who (AH)will help you,
‘(AI)Do not fear, O Jacob My servant;
And you (AJ)Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
3 ‘For (AK)I will pour out water on [l]the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will (AL)pour out My Spirit on your (AM)offspring
And My blessing on your descendants;
4 And they will spring up [m]among the grass
Like (AN)poplars by streams of water.’
5 “This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
And that one [n]will call on the name of Jacob;
And another will (AO)write [o]on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’
And will name Israel’s name with honor.
6 “Thus says the Lord, the (AP)King of Israel and his (AQ)Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
‘I am the (AR)first and I am the last,
And there is no God (AS)besides Me.
7 ‘Who is like Me? (AT)Let him proclaim and declare it;
Yes, let him recount it to Me in order,
[p]From the time that I established the ancient [q]nation.
And let them declare to them the things that are coming
And the events that are going to take place.
8 ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid;
(AU)Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And (AV)you are My witnesses.
Is there any God (AW)besides Me,
Or is there any other (AX)Rock?
I know of none.’”
The Folly of Idolatry
9 Those who fashion [r]a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be (AY)put to shame. 10 Who has fashioned a god or cast [s]an idol to (AZ)no profit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be (BA)put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them together be put to shame.
12 The (BB)man shapes iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, [t]fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and [u]his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 (BC)Another shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of (BD)man, so that it may sit in a (BE)house. 14 Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a [v]cypress or an oak and [w]raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also (BF)makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and (BG)falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 But the rest of it he (BH)makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also (BI)prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.”
18 They do not (BJ)know, nor do they understand, for He has (BK)smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 19 No one [x]recalls, nor is there (BL)knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then [y]I make the rest of it into an (BM)abomination, [z]I fall down before a block of wood!” 20 He [aa](BN)feeds on ashes; a (BO)deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver [ab]himself, nor say, “(BP)Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
God Forgives and Redeems
21 “(BQ)Remember these things, O Jacob,
And Israel, for you are (BR)My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant,
O Israel, you will (BS)not be forgotten by Me.
22 “I have (BT)wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud
And your sins like a [ac]heavy mist.
(BU)Return to Me, for I have (BV)redeemed you.”
23 (BW)Shout for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;
(BX)Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it;
For (BY)the Lord has redeemed Jacob
And in Israel He (BZ)shows forth His glory.
24 Thus says the Lord, your (CA)Redeemer, and the one who (CB)formed you from the womb,
“I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,
(CC)Stretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth [ad]all alone,
25 (CD)Causing the [ae]omens of boasters to fail,
[af]Making fools out of diviners,
(CE)Causing wise men to draw back
And [ag]turning their knowledge into foolishness,
26 (CF)Confirming the word of His servant
And [ah]performing the purpose of His messengers.
It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’
And of the (CG)cities of Judah, ‘(CH)They shall be built.’
And I will raise up her ruins again.
27 “It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’
And I will make your rivers (CI)dry.
28 “It is I who says of (CJ)Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd!
And he will perform all My desire.’
And [ai]he declares of Jerusalem, ‘(CK)She will be built,’
And of the temple, ‘[aj]Your foundation will be laid.’”
God Uses Cyrus
45 Thus says the Lord to (CL)Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken by the right (CM)hand,
To (CN)subdue nations before him
And [ak]to (CO)loose the loins of kings;
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2 “I will go before you and (CP)make the [al]rough places smooth;
I will (CQ)shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron (CR)bars.
3 “I will give you the [am](CS)treasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The Lord, the God of Israel, who (CT)calls you by your name.
4 “For the sake of (CU)Jacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also (CV)called you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have (CW)not known Me.
5 “I am the Lord, and (CX)there is no other;
(CY)Besides Me there is no God.
I will [an](CZ)gird you, though you have not known Me;
6 That [ao](DA)men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is (DB)no one besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other,
7 The One (DC)forming light and (DD)creating darkness,
Causing [ap]well-being and (DE)creating calamity;
I am the Lord who does all these.
God’s Supreme Power
8 “(DF)Drip down, O heavens, from above,
And let the clouds pour down righteousness;
Let the (DG)earth open up and salvation bear fruit,
(DH)And righteousness spring up with it.
I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “Woe to the one who (DI)quarrels with his [aq]Maker—
An earthenware vessel [ar]among the vessels of earth!
Will the (DJ)clay say to the [as]potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?
10 “Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to a woman, ‘To what are you [at]giving birth?’”
Paul’s Stewardship
3 For this reason I, Paul, (A)the prisoner of (B)Christ Jesus (C)for the sake of you (D)Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the (E)stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; 3 (F)that (G)by revelation there was (H)made known to me (I)the mystery, (J)as I wrote before in brief. 4 [a]By referring to this, when you read you can understand (K)my insight [b]into the (L)mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy (M)apostles and prophets [c]in the Spirit; 6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are (N)fellow heirs and (O)fellow members of the body, and (P)fellow partakers of the promise in (Q)Christ Jesus through the gospel, 7 (R)of which I was made a (S)minister, according to the gift of (T)God’s grace which was given to me (U)according to the working of His power. 8 To me, (V)the very least of all [d]saints, this grace was given, to (W)preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable (X)riches of Christ, 9 and to [e]bring to light what is the administration of the (Y)mystery which for ages has been (Z)hidden in God (AA)who created all things; 10 so that the manifold (AB)wisdom of God might now be (AC)made known through the church to the (AD)rulers and the authorities in (AE)the heavenly places. 11 This was in (AF)accordance with the [f]eternal purpose which He [g]carried out in (AG)Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and [h](AH)confident (AI)access through faith [i]in Him. 13 Therefore I ask [j]you not (AJ)to lose heart at my tribulations (AK)on your behalf, [k]for they are your glory.
14 For this reason I (AL)bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom [l]every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to (AM)the riches of His glory, to be (AN)strengthened with power through His Spirit in (AO)the inner man, 17 so that (AP)Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being (AQ)rooted and (AR)grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with (AS)all the [m]saints what is (AT)the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know (AU)the love of Christ which (AV)surpasses knowledge, that you may be (AW)filled up to all the (AX)fullness of God.
20 (AY)Now to Him who is (AZ)able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, (BA)according to the power that works within us, 21 (BB)to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations [n]forever and ever. Amen.
The God of Sinai and of the Sanctuary.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 [a]Let (A)God arise, [b]let His enemies be scattered,
And [c]let those who hate Him flee before Him.
2 As (B)smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As (C)wax melts before the fire,
So let the (D)wicked perish before God.
3 But let the (E)righteous be glad; let them exult before God;
Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.
4 Sing to God, (F)sing praises to His name;
[d](G)Lift up a song for Him who (H)rides through the deserts,
Whose (I)name is [e]the Lord, and exult before Him.
5 A (J)father of the fatherless and a (K)judge [f]for the widows,
Is God in His (L)holy habitation.
6 God [g](M)makes a home for the lonely;
He (N)leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only (O)the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7 O God, when You (P)went forth before Your people,
When You (Q)marched through the wilderness, [h]Selah.
8 The (R)earth quaked;
The (S)heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
[i](T)Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You (U)shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was [j]parched.
10 Your creatures settled in it;
You (V)provided in Your goodness for the poor, O God.
11 The Lord gives the [k]command;
The (W)women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host:
12 “(X)Kings of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home will (Y)divide the spoil!”
13 [l]When you lie down (Z)among the [m]sheepfolds,
You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with glistening gold.
14 When the Almighty (AA)scattered the kings [n]there,
It was snowing in (AB)Zalmon.
15 A [o](AC)mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks,
At the mountain which God has (AD)desired for His abode?
Surely (AE)the Lord will dwell there forever.
17 The (AF)chariots of God are [p]myriads, (AG)thousands upon thousands;
[q]The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.
18 You have (AH)ascended on high, You have (AI)led captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among men,
Even among the rebellious also, that [r]the Lord God may dwell there.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.