The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the CSB. Switch to the CSB to read along with the audio.
6 Darius divided the kingdom into 120 provinces, each under a governor. 2 The governors were accountable to three presidents (Daniel was one of them) so the king could administer the kingdom efficiently.
3 Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other presidents and governors, for he had great ability, and the king began to think of placing him over the entire empire as his administrative officer.
4 This made the other presidents and governors very jealous, and they began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling his affairs so that they could complain to the king about him. But they couldn’t find anything to criticize! He was faithful and honest and made no mistakes. 5 So they concluded, “Our only chance is his religion!”
6 They decided to go to the king and say, “King Darius, live forever! 7 We presidents, governors, counselors, and deputies have unanimously decided that you should make a law, irrevocable under any circumstance, that for the next thirty days anyone who asks a favor of God or man—except from you, Your Majesty—shall be thrown to the lions. 8 Your Majesty, we request your signature on this law; sign it so that it cannot be canceled or changed; it will be a ‘law of the Medes and Persians’ that cannot be revoked.”
9 So King Darius signed the law.
10 But though Daniel knew about it, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs bedroom, with its windows open toward Jerusalem, and prayed three times a day, just as he always had, giving thanks to his God.
11 Then the men thronged to Daniel’s house and found him praying there, asking favors of his God. 12 They rushed back to the king and reminded him about his law. “Haven’t you signed a decree,” they demanded, “that permits no petitions to any God or man—except you—for thirty days? And anyone disobeying will be thrown to the lions?”
“Yes,” the king replied, “it is ‘a law of the Medes and Persians,’ that cannot be altered or revoked.”
13 Then they told the king, “That fellow Daniel, one of the Jewish captives, is paying no attention to you or your law. He is asking favors of his God three times a day.”
14 Hearing this, the king was very angry with himself for signing the law and determined to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day trying to think of some way to get Daniel out of this predicament.
15 In the evening the men came again to the king and said, “Your Majesty, there is nothing you can do. You signed the law, and it cannot be changed.”
16 So at last the king gave the order for Daniel’s arrest, and he was taken to the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you worship continually, deliver you.” And then they threw him in. 17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with that of his government, so that no one could rescue Daniel from the lions.
18 Then the king returned to his palace and went to bed without dinner. He refused his usual entertainment and didn’t sleep all night. 19 Very early the next morning he hurried out to the lions’ den 20 and called out in anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the Living God, was your God, whom you worship continually, able to deliver you from the lions?”
21 Then he heard a voice! “Your Majesty, live forever!” It was Daniel! 22 “My God has sent his angel,” he said, “to shut the lions’ mouths so that they can’t touch me, for I am innocent before God; nor, sir, have I wronged you.”
23 The king was beside himself with joy and ordered Daniel lifted from the den. And not a scratch was found on him because he believed in his God.
24 Then the king issued a command to bring the men who had accused Daniel and throw them into the den along with their children and wives, and the lions leaped upon them and tore them apart before they even hit the bottom of the den.
25-26 Afterward King Darius wrote this message addressed to everyone in his empire:
“Greetings! I decree that everyone shall tremble and fear before the God of Daniel in every part of my kingdom. For his God is the living, unchanging God whose kingdom shall never be destroyed and whose power shall never end. 27 He delivers his people, preserving them from harm; he does great miracles in heaven and earth; it is he who delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
28 So Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
3 1-2 This is my second letter to you, dear brothers, and in both of them I have tried to remind you—if you will let me—about facts you already know: facts you learned from the holy prophets and from us apostles who brought you the words of our Lord and Savior.
3 First, I want to remind you that in the last days there will come scoffers who will do every wrong they can think of and laugh at the truth. 4 This will be their line of argument: “So Jesus promised to come back, did he? Then where is he? He’ll never come! Why, as far back as anyone can remember, everything has remained exactly as it was since the first day of creation.”
5-6 They deliberately forget this fact: that God did destroy the world with a mighty flood long after he had made the heavens by the word of his command and had used the waters to form the earth and surround it. 7 And God has commanded that the earth and the heavens be stored away for a great bonfire at the judgment day, when all ungodly men will perish.
8 But don’t forget this, dear friends, that a day or a thousand years from now is like tomorrow to the Lord. 9 He isn’t really being slow about his promised return, even though it sometimes seems that way. But he is waiting, for the good reason that he is not willing that any should perish, and he is giving more time for sinners to repent. 10 The day of the Lord is surely coming, as unexpectedly as a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the heavenly bodies will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be burned up.
11 And so since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives we should be living! 12 You should look forward to that day and hurry it along—the day when God will set the heavens on fire, and the heavenly bodies will melt and disappear in flames. 13 But we are looking forward to God’s promise of new heavens and a new earth afterwards, where there will be only goodness.[a]
14 Dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen and for him to come, try hard to live without sinning; and be at peace with everyone so that he will be pleased with you when he returns.
15-16 And remember why he is waiting. He is giving us time to get his message of salvation out to others. Our wise and beloved brother Paul has talked about these same things in many of his letters. Some of his comments are not easy to understand, and there are people who are deliberately stupid, and always demand some unusual interpretation—they have twisted his letters around to mean something quite different from what he meant, just as they do the other parts of the Scripture—and the result is disaster for them.
17 I am warning you ahead of time, dear brothers, so that you can watch out and not be carried away by the mistakes of these wicked men, lest you yourselves become mixed up too. 18 But grow in spiritual strength and become better acquainted with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be all glory and splendid honor, both now and forevermore. Good-bye.
Peter
129 Your laws are wonderful; no wonder I obey them. 130 As your plan unfolds, even the simple can understand it. 131 No wonder I wait expectantly for each of your commands.
132 Come and have mercy on me as is your way with those who love you. 133 Guide me with your laws so that I will not be overcome by evil. 134 Rescue me from the oppression of evil men; then I can obey you. 135 Look down in love upon me and teach me all your laws. 136 I weep because your laws are disobeyed.
137 O Lord, you are just and your punishments are fair. 138 Your demands are just and right. 139 I am indignant and angry because of the way my enemies have disregarded your laws. 140 I have thoroughly tested your promises, and that is why I love them so much. 141 I am worthless and despised, but I don’t despise your laws.
142 Your justice is eternal for your laws are perfectly fair. 143 In my distress and anguish your commandments comfort me. 144 Your laws are always fair; help me to understand them, and I shall live.
145 I am praying with great earnestness; answer me, O Lord, and I will obey your laws. 146 “Save me,” I cry, “for I am obeying.” 147 Early in the morning before the sun is up, I am praying and pointing out how much I trust in you. 148 I stay awake through the night to think about your promises. 149 Because you are so loving and kind, listen to me and make me well again.
150 Here come these lawless men to attack me, 151 but you are near, O Lord; all your commandments are based on truth. 152 I have known from earliest days that your will never changes.
21 Giving preferred treatment to rich people is a clear case of selling one’s soul for a piece of bread.
22 Trying to get rich quick is evil and leads to poverty.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.