The Daily Audio Bible
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Word against Egypt
29 On the twelfth day of the tenth month in the tenth year, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, look toward Pharaoh king of Egypt, and speak against him and against all Egypt. 3 Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt. You are the big animal that lies in his rivers and says, ‘The Nile is mine. I made it.’ 4 I will put hooks in your mouth. I will make the fish of your rivers stick to your hard skin. And I will pull you up out of your rivers, with the fish that stick to your hard skin. 5 Then I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish of your rivers. You will fall on the open field, and not be gathered or buried. I will feed you to the wild animals of the earth and to the birds of the sky. 6 Then all the people of Egypt will know that I am the Lord. They have been only a weak piece of river grass to the people of Israel. 7 When they took hold of you with their hands, you broke and tore all their shoulders. When they rested on you, you broke and hurt their backs.” 8 So the Lord God says, “I will bring a sword against you and kill your people and animals. 9 And the land of Egypt will be destroyed and laid waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
“Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,’ 10 I am against you and against your rivers. I will destroy Egypt and make it nothing but waste from Migdol to Syene and even to the land of Ethiopia. 11 No foot of man or animal will pass through it, and no one will live there for forty years. 12 I will make the land of Egypt a waste among the lands which are laid waste. Her cities will be a waste for forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will divide the Egyptians among the nations and spread them out among the lands.”
13 ’For the Lord God says, “At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were divided. 14 I will bring them back to Egypt and let them live in Pathros, the land they came from. And there they will be a small nation. 15 It will be the least of the nations, and will never lift itself up above other nations again. I will make them so small that they will never rule over the nations. 16 It will never again be a hope for the people of Israel. They will remember their sin in turning to Egypt for help in the past. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”’”
King Nebuchadnezzar Will Take Egypt
17 On the first day of the first month in the twenty-seventh year, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, 18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army work hard against Tyre. Every head lost its hair, and skin was rubbed off every shoulder. But he and his army did not receive anything from Tyre to pay for the work he had done against it.” 19 So the Lord God says, “I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry away her riches. He will take all her good things, and they will be pay for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for the work he has done, because he and his army worked for Me,” says the Lord God.
21 “On that day I will make the people of Israel strong, and give you the power to speak among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
The Lord Will Punish Egypt
30 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, speak in My name and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Cry in a loud voice, ‘It is bad for that day!’ 3 For the day is near. The day of the Lord is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of trouble for the nations. 4 A sword will come against Egypt, and Ethiopia will be very troubled. When the people are killed in Egypt, her riches will be taken away, and her country destroyed. 5 Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all of Arabia, Libya, and the people of Israel living there, all who have an agreement with Egypt will be killed by the sword.”’”
6 ‘The Lord says, “Those who help Egypt will be killed in battle. The pride of her power will come down. From Migdol to Syene they will be killed by the sword,” says the Lord God. 7 “They will be a waste among the lands that are laid waste. And her cities will be among the destroyed cities. 8 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I start a fire in Egypt and all those who help her are destroyed. 9 On that day I will send men in ships to bring fear to Ethiopians who think they are safe. They will be troubled and afraid as when Egypt is destroyed, for their day is coming!” 10 The Lord God says, “I will put an end to Egypt’s riches by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 11 He and his people show the least pity of all the nations, and they will be brought in to destroy the land. They will use their swords against Egypt and fill the land with dead bodies. 12 And I will dry up the Nile River and sell the land to sinful men. I will destroy the land and everything in it, by the hand of strangers. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
13 ‘The Lord God says, “I will also destroy the false gods and put an end to the objects of worship in Memphis. There will no longer be a leader in the land of Egypt, so I will put fear in the land. 14 I will destroy Pathros, start a fire in Zoan, and punish Thebes. 15 I will be angry with Pelusium, the strong city of Egypt. And I will destroy the riches of Thebes. 16 I will start a fire in Egypt. Pelusium will suffer much. Thebes will be broken open. And Memphis will not have rest from troubles and fear. 17 The young men of On and Pi-beseth will be killed in battle, and the women will be taken away. 18 At Tehaphnehes the day will be dark when I break the power of Egypt. The pride of her strength will come to an end. A cloud will cover her, and her daughters will be taken away. 19 So I will punish Egypt, and they will know that I am the Lord.’”
Word against Pharaoh
20 On the seventh day of the first month in the eleventh year, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And it has not been wrapped so that it could heal and be strong enough to hold the sword. 22 So the Lord God says, ‘I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong one and the one already broken. And I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will divide the Egyptians among the nations and spread them out among the lands. 24 For I will give strength to the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand, and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will cry in pain in front of him like a dying man in battle. 25 I will give strength to the arms of the king of Babylon, but Pharaoh’s arms will fall. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I give My sword to the king of Babylon and he uses it against the land of Egypt. 26 I will make the Egyptians go to the different nations and spread them out among the lands. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
There Were Many More Who Had Faith in God
32 What more should I say? There is not enough time to tell of Gideon and of Barak and of Samson and of Jephthah and of David and of Samuel and of the early preachers. 33 It was because these people had faith that they won wars over other countries. They were good leaders. They received what God promised to them. They closed the mouths of lions 34 and stopped fire that was burning. They got away from being killed with swords. They were made strong again after they had been weak and sick. They were strong in war. They made fighting men from other countries run home. 35 It was because some women had faith that they received their dead back to life. Others chose to be beaten instead of being set free, because they would not turn against God. In this way, they would be raised to a better life. 36 Others were talked against. Some were beaten. Some were put in chains and in prison. 37 They were killed by stones being thrown at them. People were cut in pieces. They were tested. They were killed with swords. They wore skins of sheep and goats and had nothing they could call their own. They were hungry and sick. Everyone was bad to them. 38 They walked around in deserts and in mountains. They looked for caves and holes in the earth to live in. They were too good for this world. 39 It was because of their faith that God was pleased with them. But they did not receive what God had promised. 40 God had planned something better for us. These men could not be made perfect without us.
Christ the Perfect One
12 All these many people who have had faith in God are around us like a cloud. Let us put every thing out of our lives that keeps us from doing what we should. Let us keep running in the race that God has planned for us. 2 Let us keep looking to Jesus. Our faith comes from Him and He is the One Who makes it perfect. He did not give up when He had to suffer shame and die on a cross. He knew of the joy that would be His later. Now He is sitting at the right side of God.
3 Sinful men spoke words of hate against Christ. He was willing to take such shame from sinners. Think of this so you will not get tired and give up. 4 In your fight against sin, you have not yet had to stand against sin with your blood. 5 Do you remember what God said to you when He called you His sons? “My son, listen when the Lord punishes you. Do not give up when He tells you what you must do. 6 The Lord punishes everyone He loves. He whips every son He receives.” (A) 7 Do not give up when you are punished by God. Be willing to take it, knowing that God is teaching you as a son. Is there a father who does not punish his son sometimes? 8 If you are not punished as all sons are, it means that you are not a true son of God. You are not a part of His family and He is not your Father. 9 Remember that our fathers on earth punished us. We had respect for them. How much more should we obey our Father in heaven and live? 10 For a little while our fathers on earth punished us when they thought they should. But God punishes us for our good so we will be holy as He is holy. 11 There is no joy while we are being punished. It is hard to take, but later we can see that good came from it. And it gives us the peace of being right with God.
12 So lift up your hands that have been weak. Stand up on your weak legs. 13 Walk straight ahead so the weak leg will not be turned aside, but will be healed.
Good Comes to the Person Who Honors the Lord
112 Praise the Lord! How happy is the man who honors the Lord with fear and finds joy in His Law! 2 His children will be powerful in the land. Each family who is right will be happy. 3 Riches and well-being are in his house. And his right-standing with God will last forever. 4 Light rises even in darkness for the one who is right. He is kind and has loving-pity and does what is right. 5 Good will come to the man who is ready to give much, and fair in what he does. 6 He will never be shaken. The man who is right and good will be remembered forever. 7 He will not be afraid of bad news. His heart is strong because he trusts in the Lord. 8 His heart will not be shaken. He will not be afraid and will watch those lose who fight against him. 9 He has given much to the poor. His right-standing with God lasts forever. His horn will be lifted high in honor.
10 The sinful man will see it and be troubled and angry. He will grind his teeth and waste away. The desire of the sinful will come to nothing.
17 Iron is made sharp with iron, and one man is made sharp by a friend.
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