The Daily Audio Bible
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Jerusalem’s Hope
3 I am the man who has been suffering because of the power of God’s anger. 2 He has led me and brought me into darkness and not into light. 3 For sure He has turned His hand against me again and again all day long. 4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away. He has broken my bones. 5 He has shut me in with trouble and suffering. 6 He has made me live in dark places, like those who have been dead a long time. 7 He has put a wall around me so that I cannot go out. He has put heavy chains on me. 8 Even when I cry and call for help, he shuts out my prayer. 9 He has stopped me with blocks of stone. He has made my paths no longer straight. 10 He is like a bear lying in wait, like a lion hiding in secret places. 11 He has turned me from the path and torn me to pieces. He has destroyed me. 12 He used His bow, and set me as a mark for His arrow. 13 He has taken out His arrows and sent them into my heart. 14 All my people laugh at me. They sing songs that make fun of me all day long. 15 He has filled me with bitter feelings. He has made me drunk with wormwood. 16 He has broken my teeth with rocks, and has covered me with dust. 17 Peace has left my soul. I have forgotten what it is like to be happy. 18 So I say, “My strength is gone, and so has my hope from the Lord.”
19 Remember my trouble and my traveling from place to place, the wormwood and bitter feelings. 20 I remember it always, and my soul bows down within me. 21 But this I remember, and so I have hope. 22 It is because of the Lord’s loving-kindness that we are not destroyed for His loving-pity never ends. 23 It is new every morning. He is so very faithful. 24 “The Lord is my share.” says my soul, “so I have hope in Him.” 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the one who looks for Him. 26 It is good that one should be quiet and wait for the saving power of the Lord. 27 It is good for a man to carry the load while he is young. 28 Let him sit alone and be quiet when God has laid the load on him. 29 Let him put his mouth in the dust. There may be hope yet. 30 Let him give his face to the one who hits him, and be filled with shame. 31 For the Lord will not turn away from a man forever. 32 For if He causes sorrow, He will have loving-pity because of His great loving-kindness. 33 He does not want to cause trouble or sorrow for the children of men. 34 He is not pleased when all those on earth who are in prison are crushed under foot. 35 The Most High is not pleased when the rights are kept away from a man who is before Him, 36 and when wrong is done to him in his cause. The Lord is not pleased with these things. 37 Who has said that something would happen and then it did happen, unless the Lord has said that it should be? 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and bad come?
39 Why should any living man complain about the punishment of his sins? 40 Let us test and look over our ways, and return to the Lord. 41 Let us lift up our heart and hands to God in heaven, saying, 42 “We have sinned and would not obey You, and You have not forgiven us. 43 You have covered Yourself with anger and have followed us, killing without pity. 44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through. 45 You have made us a waste and something that is not wanted among the nations. 46 All those who hate us have spoken against us. 47 Fear and a trap have come upon us. We are laid waste and destroyed. 48 My eyes flow with rivers of tears because my people are destroyed. 49 Tears flow from my eyes all the time without stopping, 50 until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees. 51 My eyes bring me suffering because of what is happening to all the women of my city. 52 I have been hunted like a bird by those who hate me for no reason. 53 They threw me alive into the deep hole and have put a stone on me. 54 Water flowed over my head, and I said, “I am cut off!” 55 I called on Your name, O Lord, out of the deep hole. 56 You have heard my voice. Do not close Your ears to my cry for help. 57 You came near when I called You, and You said, “Do not be afraid!” 58 You have helped me in my cause, O Lord. You have saved my life. 59 O Lord, You have seen the wrong done to me. Judge in my favor. 60 You have seen how much they hate me and plan against me. 61 O Lord, You have heard how they put me to shame and how they work against me. 62 The lips and thoughts of those who hurt me are against me all day long. 63 Watch their sitting down and standing up. I am their song as they make fun of me. 64 O Lord, You will punish them for what they have done. 65 You will give them hard hearts, and curse them. 66 Go after them in anger and destroy them from under Your heavens, O Lord.
God Speaks Through His Son
1 Long ago God spoke to our early fathers in many different ways. He spoke through the early preachers. 2 But in these last days He has spoken to us through His Son. God gave His Son everything. It was by His Son that God made the world. 3 The Son shines with the shining-greatness of the Father. The Son is as God is in every way. It is the Son Who holds up the whole world by the power of His Word. The Son gave His own life so we could be clean from all sin. After He had done that, He sat down on the right side of God in heaven.
The Son Was Greater Than the Angels
4 The Son of God was made greater and better than the angels. God gave Him a greater name than theirs. 5 God did not say to any of His angels, “You are My Son. Today I have become Your Father.” (A) And He did not say to any angel, “I will be a Father to Him. He will be a Son to Me.” (B) 6 But when God brought His first-born Son, Jesus, into the world, He said, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” 7 He said this about the angels, “He makes His angels to be winds. He makes His servants a burning fire.” (C) 8 But about His Son, He says, “O God, Your throne will last forever. Whatever You say in Your nation is right and good. 9 You have loved what is right. You have hated what is wrong. That is why God, Your God, has chosen You. He has poured over You the oil of joy more than over anyone else.” (D) 10 He said also, “Lord, You made the earth in the beginning. You made the heavens with Your hands. 11 They will be destroyed but You will always be here. They will all become old just as clothes become old. 12 You will roll up the heavens like a coat. They will be changed. But You are always the same. You will never grow old.” (E) 13 God never said to any angel, “Sit at My right side, until I make those who hate You a place to rest Your feet.” (F) 14 Are not all the angels spirits who work for God? They are sent out to help those who are to be saved from the punishment of sin.
The Prayer of a Man in Trouble
102 Hear my prayer, O Lord! Let my cry for help come to You. 2 Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble. Turn Your ear to me. Hurry to answer me in the day when I call. 3 For my days go up in smoke. And my bones are burned as with fire. 4 My heart is crushed and dried like grass. And I forget to eat my food. 5 I am nothing but skin and bones because of my loud cries. 6 I am like a pelican in the desert. I am like an owl of the waste places. 7 I lie awake. And I feel like a bird alone on the roof.
8 Those who hate me have made it hard for me all day long. Those who are angry with me curse my name. 9 For I have eaten ashes like bread and have mixed my drink with tears, 10 because of Your great anger. For You have lifted me up and thrown me away. 11 My days are like the evening shadow. I dried up like grass.
12 But You and Your name, O Lord, will always be forever and to all people for all time. 13 You will rise up and have loving-pity on Zion. For it is time to show favor to her. The set time has come. 14 For Your servants respect her stones and show pity for her dust. 15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord. All the kings of the earth will fear Your shining-greatness. 16 For the Lord has built up Zion. He will come in His shining-greatness. 17 He will answer the prayer of those in need. He will not turn from their prayer.
18 This will be written for the children-to-come. So a people not yet born may give thanks to the Lord. 19 For He looked down from His holy place. He watched the earth from heaven, 20 to hear the loud cries of those in prison and to set free those who are being sent to death. 21 So the name of the Lord will be made known in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem, 22 when the people gather together and the nations gather to serve the Lord.
23 He has taken away my strength. He has taken days from my life. 24 I said, “O my God, do not take me away when my days are only half done. Your years go on to all people of all time. 25 You made the earth in the beginning. You made the heavens with Your hands. 26 They will be destroyed but You will always live. They will all become old as clothing becomes old. You will change them like a coat. And they will be changed, 27 but You are always the same. Your years will never end. 28 The children of those who work for You will live on. And their children will be set before You.”
21 An arguing man makes fights worse. He is like coals to burning wood and wood to a fire.
22 The words of one who tells secret things about people are like good-tasting bites of food. They go down into the inside parts of the body.
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