The Daily Audio Bible
6 I[a] post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
they should keep praying all day and all night.[b]
You who pray to[c] the Lord, don’t be silent!
7 Don’t allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem,[d]
until he makes Jerusalem the pride[e] of the earth.
8 The Lord swears an oath by his right hand,
by his strong arm:[f]
“I will never again give your grain
to your enemies as food,
and foreigners will not drink your wine,
which you worked hard to produce.
9 But those who harvest the grain[g] will eat it,
and will praise the Lord.
Those who pick the grapes will drink the wine[h]
in the courts of my holy sanctuary.”
10 Come through! Come through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people!
Build it—Build the roadway!
Remove the stones.
Lift a signal flag for the nations.
11 Look, the Lord announces to the entire earth:[i]
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘Look, your deliverer comes!
Look, his reward is with him,
and his reward goes before him!’”[j]
12 They will be called, “The Holy People,
the Ones Protected[k] by the Lord.”
You will be called, “Sought After,
City Not Abandoned.”
The Victorious Divine Warrior
63 Who is this who comes from Edom,[l]
dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah?[m]
Who[n] is this one wearing royal attire,[o]
who marches confidently[p] because of his great strength?
“It is I, the one who announces vindication,
and who is able to deliver!”[q]
2 Why are your clothes red?
Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat?[r]
3 “I have stomped grapes in the winepress all by myself;
no one from the nations joined me.
I stomped on them[s] in my anger;
I trampled them down in my rage.
Their juice splashed on my garments,
and stained[t] all my clothes.
4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,
and then payback time arrived.[u]
5 I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was shocked because there was no one offering support.[v]
So my right arm accomplished deliverance;
my raging anger drove me on.[w]
6 I trampled nations in my anger;
I made them drunk[x] in my rage;
I splashed their blood on the ground.”[y]
A Prayer for Divine Intervention
7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord,
of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds.
I will tell about all[z] the Lord did for us,
the many good things he did for the family of Israel,[aa]
because of[ab] his compassion and great faithfulness.
8 He said, “Certainly they will be my people,
children who are not disloyal.”[ac]
He became their deliverer.
9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too.[ad]
The messenger sent from his very presence[ae] delivered them.
In his love and mercy he protected[af] them;
he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.[ag]
10 But they rebelled and offended[ah] his holy Spirit,[ai]
so he turned into an enemy
and fought against them.
11 His people remembered the ancient times.[aj]
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,
along with the shepherd of[ak] his flock?
Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them,[al]
12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses,[am]
who divided the water before them,
gaining for himself a lasting reputation,[an]
13 who led them through the deep water?
Like a horse running through the wilderness[ao] they did not stumble.
14 As an animal that goes down into a valley to graze,[ap]
so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest.
In this way[aq] you guided your people,
gaining for yourself an honored reputation.[ar]
15 Look down from heaven and take notice,
from your holy, majestic palace!
Where are your zeal[as] and power?
Do not hold back your tender compassion![at]
16 For you are our father,
though Abraham does not know us
and Israel does not recognize us.
You, Lord, are our father;
you have been called our Protector from ancient times.[au]
17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray[av] from your ways,[aw]
and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you?[ax]
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your inheritance!
18 For a short time your special[ay] nation possessed a land,[az]
but then our adversaries knocked down[ba] your holy sanctuary.
19 We existed from ancient times,[bb]
but you did not rule over them;
they were not your subjects.[bc]
64 (63:19b)[bd] If only you would tear apart the sky[be] and come down!
The mountains would tremble[bf] before you!
2 (64:1) As when fire ignites dry wood,
or fire makes water boil,
let your adversaries know who you are,[bg]
and may the nations shake at your presence!
3 When you performed awesome deeds that took us by surprise,[bh]
you came down, and the mountains trembled[bi] before you.
4 Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived,[bj]
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who intervenes for those who wait for him.
5 You assist[bk] those who delight in doing what is right,[bl]
who observe your commandments.[bm]
Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.
How then can we be saved?[bn]
6 We are all like one who is unclean,
all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight.[bo]
We all wither like a leaf;
our sins carry us away like the wind.
7 No one invokes[bp] your name,
or makes an effort[bq] to take hold of you.
For you have rejected us[br]
and handed us over to our own sins.[bs]
8 Yet,[bt] Lord, you are our father.
We are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the product of your labor.[bu]
9 Lord, do not be too angry!
Do not hold our sins against us continually.[bv]
Take a good look at your people, at all of us.[bw]
10 Your chosen[bx] cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem, a desolate ruin.
11 Our holy temple, our pride and joy,[by]
the place where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned with fire;
all our prized possessions have been destroyed.[bz]
12 In light of all this,[ca] how can you still hold back, Lord?
How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?
The Lord Will Distinguish Between Sinners and the Godly
65 “I made myself available to those who did not ask for me;[cb]
I appeared to those who did not look for me.[cc]
I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
to a nation that did not invoke[cd] my name.
2 I spread out my hands all day long
to my rebellious people,
who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable,
and who did what they desired.[ce]
3 These people continually and blatantly offend me[cf]
as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards[cg]
and burn incense on brick altars.[ch]
4 They sit among the tombs[ci]
and keep watch all night long.[cj]
They eat pork,[ck]
and broth[cl] from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans.
5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself!
Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’
These people are like smoke in my nostrils,
like a fire that keeps burning all day long.
6 Look, I have decreed:[cm]
I will not keep silent, but will pay them back;
I will pay them back exactly what they deserve,[cn]
7 for your sins and your ancestors’ sins,”[co] says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and offended[cp] me on the hills,
I will punish them in full measure.”[cq]
8 This is what the Lord says:
“When[cr] juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes,
someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for it contains juice.’[cs]
So I will do for the sake of my servants—
I will not destroy everyone.[ct]
9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
and from Judah people to take possession of my mountains.
My chosen ones will take possession of the land;[cu]
my servants will live there.
10 Sharon[cv] will become a pasture for sheep,
and the Valley of Achor[cw] a place where cattle graze;[cx]
they will belong to my people, who seek me.[cy]
11 But as for you who abandon the Lord
and forget about worshiping at[cz] my holy mountain,
who prepare a feast for the god called ‘Fortune,’[da]
and fill up wine jugs for the god called ‘Destiny’[db]—
12 I predestine you to die by the sword,[dc]
all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block,[dd]
because I called to you, and you did not respond;
I spoke and you did not listen.
You did evil before me;[de]
you chose to do what displeases me.”
13 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“Look, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry.
Look, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty.
Look, my servants will rejoice, but you will be humiliated.
14 Look, my servants will shout for joy as happiness fills their hearts.[df]
But you will cry out as sorrow fills your hearts;[dg]
you will wail because your spirits will be crushed.[dh]
15 Your names will live on in the curse formulas of my chosen ones.[di]
The Sovereign Lord will kill you,
but he will give his servants another name.
16 Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth[dj]
will do so in the name of the faithful God;[dk]
whoever makes an oath in the earth
will do so in the name of the faithful God.[dl]
For past problems will be forgotten;
I will no longer think about them.[dm]
17 For look, I am ready to create
new heavens and a new earth![dn]
The former ones[do] will not be remembered;
no one will think about them anymore.[dp]
18 But be happy and rejoice forevermore
over what I am about to create!
For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem to be a source of joy,[dq]
and her people to be a source of happiness.[dr]
19 Jerusalem will bring me joy,
and my people will bring me happiness.[ds]
The sound of weeping or cries of sorrow
will never be heard in her again.
20 Never again will one of her infants live just a few days[dt]
or an old man die before his time.[du]
Indeed, no one will die before the age of one hundred;[dv]
anyone who fails to reach[dw] the age of one hundred will be considered cursed.
21 They will build houses and live in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it,[dx]
or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit,[dy]
for my people will live as long as trees,[dz]
and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced.[ea]
23 They will not work in vain,
or give birth to children that will experience disaster.[eb]
For the Lord will bless their children
and their descendants.[ec]
24 Before they even call out,[ed] I will respond;
while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 A wolf and a lamb will graze together;[ee]
a lion, like an ox, will eat straw,[ef]
and a snake’s food will be dirt.[eg]
They will no longer injure or destroy
on my entire royal mountain,”[eh] says the Lord.
Models for Ministry
19 Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by hearing news about you. 20 For there is no one here like him who will readily demonstrate his deep concern for you.[a] 21 Others are busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know his qualifications, that like a son working with his father, he served with me in advancing the gospel. 23 So I hope to send him as soon as I know more about my situation, 24 though I am confident in the Lord that I too will be coming to see you[b] soon.
25 But for now[c] I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother,[d] coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger[e] and minister[f] to me in my need.[g] 26 Indeed, he greatly missed all of you and was distressed because you heard that he had been ill. 27 In fact he became so ill that he nearly died.[h] But God showed mercy to him—and not to him only, but also to me—so that I would not have grief on top of grief. 28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him,[i] so that when you see him again you can rejoice[j] and I can be free from anxiety. 29 So welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, 30 since it was because of the work of Christ that he almost died. He risked his life so that he could make up for your inability to serve me.[k]
True and False Righteousness
3 Finally, my brothers and sisters,[l] rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.
2 Beware of the dogs,[m] beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh![n] 3 For we are the circumcision,[o] the ones who worship by the Spirit of God,[p] exult in Christ Jesus, and do not rely on human credentials[q]
Book 3 (Psalms 73-89)
Psalm 73[a]
A psalm by Asaph.
73 Certainly God is good to Israel,[b]
and to those whose motives are pure.[c]
2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;
my feet almost slid out from under me.[d]
3 For I envied those who are proud,
as I observed[e] the prosperity[f] of the wicked.
4 For they suffer no pain;[g]
their bodies[h] are strong and well fed.[i]
5 They are immune to the trouble common to men;
they do not suffer as other men do.[j]
6 Arrogance is their necklace,[k]
and violence covers them like clothing.[l]
7 Their prosperity causes them to do wrong;[m]
their thoughts are sinful.[n]
8 They mock[o] and say evil things;[p]
they proudly threaten violence.[q]
9 They speak as if they rule in heaven,
and lay claim to the earth.[r]
10 Therefore they have more than enough food to eat,
and even suck up the water of the sea.[s]
11 They say, “How does God know what we do?
Is the Most High aware of what goes on?”[t]
12 Take a good look. This is what the wicked are like,[u]
those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer.[v]
13 I concluded,[w] “Surely in vain I have kept my motives[x] pure
and maintained a pure lifestyle.[y]
14 I suffer all day long,
and am punished every morning.”
15 If I had publicized these thoughts,[z]
I would have betrayed your people.[aa]
16 When I tried to make sense of this,
it was troubling to me.[ab]
17 Then I entered the precincts of God’s temple,[ac]
and understood the destiny of the wicked.[ad]
18 Surely[ae] you put them in slippery places;
you bring them down[af] to ruin.
19 How desolate they become in a mere moment.
Terrifying judgments make their demise complete.[ag]
20 They are like a dream after one wakes up.[ah]
O Lord, when you awake[ai] you will despise them.[aj]
21 Yes,[ak] my spirit was bitter,[al]
and my insides felt sharp pain.[am]
22 I was ignorant[an] and lacked insight;[ao]
I was as senseless as an animal before you.[ap]
23 But I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide[aq] me by your wise advice,
and then you will lead me to a position of honor.[ar]
25 Whom do I have in heaven but you?
On earth there is no one I desire but you.[as]
26 My flesh and my heart may grow weak,[at]
but God always[au] protects my heart and gives me stability.[av]
27 Yes,[aw] look! Those far from you[ax] die;
you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you.[ay]
28 But as for me, God’s presence is all I need.[az]
I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,
as[ba] I declare all the things you have done.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.