The Daily Audio Bible

Jerusalem’s Sinful Leaders

4 How dark the gold has become! How the pure gold has changed! The stones from the house of God are poured out at the corner of every street. ² The sons of Zion are worth their weight in fine gold. But they are thought of as clay pots, the work of a pot-maker’s hands! ³ Even wild dogs give their breast to feed their young, but my people show no pity. They are like ostriches in the desert. ⁴ The baby’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth because of thirst. The children beg for bread, but no one gives it to them. ⁵ Those who ate fine foods are dying in the streets. Those who were brought up dressed in purple now lie in ashes. ⁶ For the sin of the daughter of my people is worse than the sin of Sodom, which was destroyed all at once without a hand turned to help her. ⁷ Her religious leaders were more pure than snow. They were more white than milk. Their bodies were more red than coral. They were more beautiful than sapphire. ⁸ Now they look more black than dark ashes. No one knows who they are in the streets. Their skin has dried up on their bones. It has become as dry as wood. ⁹ Those who are killed with the sword are better off than those killed with hunger. For they waste away, suffering because they have no fruits of the field. ¹⁰ Women who had shown loving-kindness have boiled their own children for food, because my people are destroyed. ¹¹ The Lord has acted in His anger. He has poured out His burning anger, and has set a fire in Zion which has burned it to the ground. ¹² The kings of the earth and all the people of the world did not believe that those who hated them could come into the gates of Jerusalem. ¹³ This was because of the sins of her men who spoke in God’s name, and the sins of her religious leaders, who killed those within her who were right and good. ¹⁴ They walked as blind men through the streets. They were made unclean with blood so that no one could touch their clothing. ¹⁵ People cried to them, “Go away! You are unclean! Leave! Go away! Do not touch!” So they ran away and traveled from place to place. Men among the nations said, “They must not stay with us any longer.” ¹⁶ The Lord Himself has sent them everywhere. He will not care about them any more. They did not honor the religious leaders or favor the leaders of the people. ¹⁷ Our eyes have become weak in looking for help that did not come. In our watching we have waited for a nation that was not able to save us. ¹⁸ They kept following after our steps so that we could not walk in our streets. Our end came near. Our days were finished, for our end had come. ¹⁹ Those who came after us were faster than the eagles of the sky. They came after us on the mountains. They hid and waited for us in the desert. ²⁰ The Lord’s chosen one, our very breath, was caught in their traps. We had said about him, “Under his shadow we will live among the nations.” ²¹ Be filled with joy and be glad, O people of Edom, who live in the land of Uz. But the cup will be passed to you also. You will become drunk and your shame will be seen. ²² The punishment of your sin is completed, O people of Zion. The Lord will not keep you away any longer. But He will punish your sin, Edom. He will let your sins be seen!

Jerusalem’s Prayer for God’s Loving-Kindness

5 O Lord, remember what has happened to us. Look, and see our shame! ² The land we received from You has been given over to strangers. Our homes have been given to people from other lands. ³ We have lost our fathers. Our mothers are like those who have lost their husbands. ⁴ We have to pay for our drinking water, and we must buy our wood. ⁵ Those who come after us are at our necks. We are tired and cannot rest. ⁶ We have put out our hands to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread. ⁷ Our fathers sinned, and are no more, and we have suffered for their sins. ⁸ Servants rule over us. There is no one to save us from their hand. ⁹ We put our lives in danger to get our bread, because of the sword in the desert. ¹⁰ Our skin has become as hot as fire because of the burning heat of hunger. ¹¹ They have taken and sinned against the women in Zion, and the young women who have never had a man in the cities of Judah. ¹² Rulers were hung by their hands. Leaders were not respected. ¹³ Young men worked to grind the grain, and boys fell under loads of wood. ¹⁴ The old men have left the city gate. Young men have stopped playing their music. ¹⁵ The joy of our hearts has come to an end. Our dancing has been turned into sorrow. ¹⁶ The crown has fallen from our head. It is bad for us, for we have sinned! ¹⁷ Because of this our heart is weak. Because of these things our eyes are weak. ¹⁸ Mount Zion lies in waste, so foxes run all over it.

¹⁹ O Lord, You rule forever. Your throne will last for all people-to-come. ²⁰ Why do You forget us forever? Why do You leave us alone for so long? ²¹ Return us to You, O Lord. Bring us back. Make our days as they were before. ²² Or have You turned away from us forever? Is there no end to Your anger?

Do Not Wait to Be Saved from the Punishment of Sin

2 That is why we must listen all the more to the truths we have been told. If we do not, we may slip away from them. ² These truths given by the angels proved to be true. People were punished when they did not obey them. ³ God was so good to make a way for us to be saved from the punishment of sin. What makes us think we will not go to hell if we do not take the way to heaven that He has made for us? The Lord was the first to tell us of this. Then those who heard Him told it later. ⁴ God proved what they said was true by showing us special things to see and by doing powerful works. He gave the gifts of the Holy Spirit as He wanted to.

Jesus, the Way to Heaven

⁵ God did not make angels to be the leaders of that world to come which we have been speaking about. ⁶ Instead, the Holy Writings say, “What is man that You think of him and the son of man that You should remember him?” ^{(A) 7} “You made him so he took a place that was not as important as the angels for a little while. You gave him the crown of honor and shining-greatness. *You made him the head over everything You have made. ⁸ You have put everything under his feet.” ^(B) There is nothing that does not obey him, but we do not see all things obey him yet. ⁹ But we do see Jesus. For a little while He took a place that was not as important as the angels. But God had loving-favor for everyone. He had Jesus suffer death on a cross for all of us. Then, because of Christ’s death on a cross, God gave Him the crown of honor and shining-greatness.

¹⁰ God made all things. He made all things for Himself. It was right for God to make Jesus a perfect Leader by having Him suffer for men’s sins. In this way, He is bringing many men to share His shining-greatness. ¹¹ Jesus makes men holy. He takes away their sins. Both Jesus and the ones being made holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them His brothers. ¹² Jesus is saying to His Father, “I will tell My brothers Your name. I will sing songs of thanks for You among the people.” ^{(C) 13} And again He says, “I will put My trust in God.” At another time He said, “Here I am with the children God gave Me.” ^(D)

¹⁴ It is true that we share the same Father with Jesus. And it is true that we share the same kind of flesh and blood because Jesus became a man like us. He died as we must die. Through His death He destroyed the power of the devil who has the power of death. ¹⁵ Jesus did this to make us free from the fear of death. We no longer need to be chained to this fear. ¹⁶ Jesus did not come to help angels. Instead, He came to help men who are of Abraham’s family. ¹⁷ So Jesus had to become like His brothers in every way. He had to be one of us to be our Religious Leader to go between God and us. He had loving-pity on us and He was faithful. He gave Himself as a gift to die on a cross for our sins so that God would not hold these sins against us any longer. ¹⁸ Because Jesus was tempted as we are and suffered as we do, He understands us and He is able to help us when we are tempted.

Praise for God’s Love

103 Praise the Lord, O my soul. And all that is within me, praise His holy name. ² Praise the Lord, O my soul. And forget none of His acts of kindness. ³ He forgives all my sins. He heals all my diseases. ⁴ He saves my life from the grave. He crowns me with loving-kindness and pity. ⁵ He fills my years with good things and I am made young again like the eagle.

⁶ The Lord does what is right and fair for all who suffer under a bad power. ⁷ He made His ways known to Moses and His acts to the people of Israel. ⁸ The Lord is full of loving-pity and kindness. He is slow to anger and has much loving-kindness. ⁹ He will not always keep after us. And He will not keep His anger back forever. ¹⁰ He has not punished us enough for all our sins. He has not paid us back for all our wrong-doings. ¹¹ For His loving-kindness for those who fear Him is as great as the heavens are high above the earth. ¹² He has taken our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. ¹³ The Lord has loving-pity on those who fear Him, as a father has loving-pity on his children. ¹⁴ For He knows what we are made of. He remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵ The days of man are like grass. He grows like a flower of the field. ¹⁶ When the wind blows over it, it is gone. Its place will remember it no more. ¹⁷ But the loving-kindness of the Lord is forever and forever on those who fear Him. And what is right with God is given forever to their children’s children, ¹⁸ to those who keep His agreement and remember to obey His Law.

¹⁹ The Lord has set up His throne in the heavens. And His holy nation rules over all. ²⁰ Praise the Lord, you powerful angels of His who do what He says, obeying His voice as He speaks! ²¹ Praise the Lord, all you armies of His who work for Him and do what pleases Him. ²² Praise the Lord, all His works in all places under His rule. Praise the Lord, O my soul!

²³ Burning lips and a sinful heart are like a pot covered with silver waste.