The Daily Audio Bible
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The Words of the Watchman
33 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, speak to the children of your people. Say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men to keep watch for them, 3 and he sees the sword coming upon the land and sounds the horn to tell the people of the danger, 4 then if anyone hears the horn and does not take care, and a sword comes and kills him, he will be to blame for his own death. 5 He heard the sound of the horn, but did not worry about the danger. He will be to blame for his own death. If he had been careful, he would have saved his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the horn, and the people are not told of the danger, and a sword comes and kills one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin. But the blood of the watchman must be given.’
7 “Son of man, I have chosen you as a watchman for the people of Israel. So when I give you the word, you must tell them of the danger. 8 When I tell a sinful man that he will die for sure, and you do not speak to him about the danger of his way, that sinful man will die in his sin. But your blood must be given. 9 But if you tell a sinful man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his sin. But you have saved your life.
God Judges Well
10 “Son of man, say to the people of Israel, ‘You have said, “Our sins are upon us, and we are wasting away in them. How then can we live?”’ 11 Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I am not pleased when sinful people die. But I am pleased when the sinful turn from their way and live. Turn! Turn from your sinful ways! Why will you die, O people of Israel?’ 12 Now, son of man, tell the children of your people, ‘If a man does what is right and good, it will not save him when he sins.’ And the sins of a sinful man will not make him fall when he turns from his sinful way. But the man who is right and good will not be able to live by his good ways when he sins. 13 When I tell the man who is right and good that he will live, and he trusts in his good ways so much that he sins, none of his good works will be remembered. He will die for the sin he has done. 14 But when I tell the sinful man that he will die, and he turns from his sin and does what is right and good, 15 if he gives back what a person gave him as trust for a promise, pays back what he had stolen, follows the Laws that give life and does not sin, he will live for sure. He will not die. 16 None of the sins he has done will be remembered against him. He has done what is right and good, and he will live for sure.
17 “Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ But it is their way that is not right. 18 When the right and good man turns from his good way and sins, he will die for it. 19 But when the sinful man turns from his sin and does what is right and good, he will live because of it. 20 Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ O people of Israel, I will judge each of you by his ways.”
Jerusalem Is Taken
21 On the fifth day of the tenth month in the twelfth year since we had been taken to a strange land, a man who got away from Jerusalem came and said to me, “The city has been taken.” 22 Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening before the man came. And He opened my mouth so that when the man came to me in the morning, I was able to speak.
The Sins of the People
23 Then the Word of the Lord came to me saying, 24 “Son of man, the people who live in these waste places in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he owned the land. But we are many, and for sure the land has been given to us.’ 25 So tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “You eat meat with the blood in it, and worship your false gods as you kill. Should the land belong to you? 26 You trust in your sword, and keep on sinning. Each of you does sex sins with his neighbor’s wife. Should the land belong to you?”’ 27 Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “As I live, those who are in the waste places will be killed by the sword. Whoever is in the open field, I will feed to the wild animals. And those who are in the strong-places and in the caves will die of disease. 28 I will destroy the land and make it a waste. The pride of her power will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be laid waste, so that no one will pass through. 29 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I destroy the land and make it a waste because of all the hated sins they have done.”’
30 “As for you, son of man, your people are talking to each other about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses. They are saying, ‘Come and hear the word that has come from the Lord.’ 31 They come and sit in front of you as My people, and listen to the words you say. But they do not do them. With their mouth they speak of love, but their hearts are full of sinful desire. 32 They think of you as nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays music well. For they hear what you say, but they will not do it. 33 When all this comes true, and it will, then they will know that a man of God has been among them.”
The Shepherds of Israel
34 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, speak against the shepherds of Israel. Speak in My name and tell those shepherds, ‘The Lord God says, “It is bad for the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? 3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool. You kill the fat sheep without feeding the flock. 4 You have not given strength to the weak ones. You have not healed the sick. You have not helped the ones that are hurt. You have not brought back those that have gone away. And you have not looked for the lost. But you have ruled them with power and without pity. 5 They went everywhere because they had no shepherd. And they became food for every animal of the field. 6 My flock went many different ways through all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were spread over all the earth, and there was no one looking for them.”’”
7 So, you shepherds, hear the Word of the Lord. 8 “As I live,” says the Lord God, “My flock has been killed and become food for wild animals because they had no shepherd. My shepherds did not look for My flock. They fed themselves, but have not fed My flock.” 9 So, you shepherds, hear the Word of the Lord. 10 The Lord God says, “I am against the shepherds, and I will ask them for My sheep. I will stop them from feeding the sheep, so they will no longer be able to feed themselves. I will save my sheep from their mouths, so that they will no longer be food for them.”
The Good Shepherd
11 For the Lord God says, “I Myself will look for My sheep and find them. 12 As a shepherd looks for his sheep when they are not together, so I will look for My sheep. And I will save them from all the places where they were spread out on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the places of the land where people live. 14 I will feed them in a good field. The ground they eat upon will be on the mountains of Israel. There they will lie down in a good field and feed on good grass on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed My sheep, and give them rest,” says the Lord God. 16 “I will look for the lost, bring back those that have gone away, help those who have been hurt, and give strength to the sick. But I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them with punishment.
17 “As for you, My flock, the Lord God says, ‘I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. 18 Is it not enough for you to eat in the good field? Must you crush under foot the rest of your fields? Is it not enough for you to drink of the clear waters? Must your feet fill the rest with mud? 19 Must My flock eat what you have crushed with your feet, and drink what you have made dirty with your feet?’”
20 So the Lord God says to them, “I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the weak sheep. 21 Because you push with your side and shoulder and run against all the weak with your horns until you have driven them away, 22 I will save My flock. They will no longer be hurt. And I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd. 24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David will be their leader. I, the Lord, have spoken.
25 “I will make a peace agreement with them and take away wild animals from the land. Then they will be safe as they live in the desert and sleep in the woods. 26 I will bring good to them and to the places around My hill. I will give them rain when they need it. Good will rain down upon them. 27 The trees of the field will give their fruit and the earth will give its food. They will be safe in their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the load from their backs and have saved them from those who made servants of them. 28 They will no longer be under the power of the nations. And the wild animals of the earth will not eat them. But they will be safe, and no one will make them afraid. 29 I will give them a land well known for its fields of food. They will never suffer with hunger again, and will no longer be put to shame by the nations. 30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the people of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord God. 31 “You, My sheep, the sheep of My field, are people, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.
Christian Living
13 Keep on loving each other as Christian brothers. 2 Do not forget to be kind to strangers and let them stay in your home. Some people have had angels in their homes without knowing it. 3 Remember those in prison. Think of them as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering because of what others have done to them. You may suffer in the same way.
4 Marriage should be respected by everyone. God will punish those who do sex sins and are not faithful in marriage.
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money. Be happy with what you have. God has said, “I will never leave you or let you be alone.” (A) 6 So we can say for sure, “The Lord is my Helper. I am not afraid of anything man can do to me.” (B)
7 Remember your leaders who first spoke God’s Word to you. Think of how they lived, and trust God as they did. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
9 Do not let the many strange teachings lead you in the wrong way. Our hearts are made strong by God’s loving-favor. Food does not make our hearts strong. Those who obey laws about eating certain foods are not helped by them. 10 We have an altar from which those who work in the place of worship have no right to eat.
11 The head religious leader takes the blood of animals into the holy place to give it on the altar for sins. But the bodies of the animals are burned outside the city. 12 It was the same with Jesus. He suffered and died outside the city so His blood would make the people clean from sin. 13 So let us go to Him outside the city to share His shame. 14 For there is no city here on earth that will last forever. We are looking for the one that is coming. 15 Let us give thanks all the time to God through Jesus Christ. Our gift to Him is to give thanks. Our lips should always give thanks to His name. 16 Remember to do good and help each other. Gifts like this please God.
17 Obey your leaders and do what they say. They keep watch over your souls. They have to tell God what they have done. They should have joy in this and not be sad. If they are sad, it is no help to you.
18 Pray for us. Our hearts tell us we are right. We want to do the right thing always. 19 Pray for me all the more so that I will be able to come to you soon.
20 God is a God of peace. He raised our Lord Jesus from the dead. Jesus is the Good Shepherd of the sheep. His blood made the New Way of Worship which will last forever. 21 May God give you every good thing you need so you can do what He wants. May He do in us what pleases Him through Jesus Christ. May Christ have all the shining-greatness forever! Let it be so. 22 Christian brothers, I beg of you to listen to these words that will help you. This has been a short letter. 23 I want you to know that Timothy is out of prison. If he comes soon, I will bring him with me when I come to see you. 24 Greet all of your leaders and to all those who belong to Christ. The Christians from the country of Italy greet you. 25 May all of you have God’s loving-favor. Let it be so.
One True God
115 Let honor be given to Your name and not to us, O Lord, not to us. Because You are loving and kind and faithful. 2 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God now?” 3 But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever He wants to do. 4 Their gods are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5 They have mouths but they cannot speak. They have eyes but they cannot see. 6 They have ears but they cannot hear. They have noses but they cannot smell. 7 They have hands but they cannot feel. They have feet but they cannot walk. They cannot make a sound come out of their mouths. 8 Those who make them and trust them will be like them.
9 O Israel, trust in the Lord. He is their help and safe-covering. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord. He is their help and safe-covering. 11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord. He is their help and safe-covering. 12 The Lord has remembered us and will make good come to us. He will make good come to the house of Israel. He will make good come to the house of Aaron. 13 He will make good come to those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great. 14 May the Lord make your numbers grow, both you and your children. 15 May you be given good things by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
16 The heavens belong to the Lord. But He has given the earth to the children of men. 17 The dead do not praise the Lord. Neither do those who go down into the quiet place. 18 But we will give honor and thanks to the Lord, now and forever. Praise the Lord!
21 The melting-pot is for silver and the fire for gold, and a man is tested by the praise he receives.
22 Even if you crush a fool in a pot used for crushing grain, his foolish way will not leave him.
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