The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the CSB. Switch to the CSB to read along with the audio.
Jehoram (Joram) King of Judah
21 Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. His son Jehoram ruled in his place.
2 Jehoram had brothers, who were the sons of Jehoshaphat. They were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 3 Their father gave them many gifts: silver, gold, and valuable possessions, as well as fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingship to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.
4 Jehoram ascended to the throne of his father and strengthened his position. Then he killed all his brothers with the sword and also killed some of the officials of Israel.
5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled as king in Jerusalem for eight years.
6 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, because the daughter of Ahab was his wife. So he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
7 But the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant he had made with David, when he promised him and his sons that he would keep a light shining for all time.[a]
8 In Jehoram’s days Edom revolted from Judah’s control and set up a king for themselves. 9 So Jehoram crossed over to Edom with his commanders and with all the chariots. He got up at night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariot officers. 10 Edom has successfully revolted from the control of Judah to this day. Libnah also revolted from his control at that time because he had forsaken the Lord, the God of his fathers.
11 Jehoram also made high places in the hill country of Judah and caused those living in Jerusalem to prostitute themselves. He caused Judah to go astray.
12 A letter came to him from Elijah the prophet which said:
This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says. Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat and in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 but you have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and have caused Judah and the residents of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, as the house of Ahab led Israel to prostitute themselves, and because you have even killed your own brothers from your father’s household, who were better than you, 14 the Lord is going to strike a severe blow against your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions. 15 You yourself will have great pain from a disease of your intestines, until your intestines fall out, because the disease is going to last so long.
16 The Lord stirred up against Jehoram the hostility[b] of the Philistines and the Arabs who were next to the Cushites. 17 They came up against Judah, successfully invaded it, and carried away all the possessions found at the king’s palace, as well as his sons and his wives. None of his sons were left except Jehoahaz,[c] the youngest.
18 After all this the Lord struck Jehoram with an incurable disease in his intestines. 19 He suffered day after day, until the end of the second year, when his intestines fell out because of the disease. He died in great pain. His people did not make a bonfire for him like the fires for his fathers.
20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned as king in Jerusalem for eight years. He departed without anyone regretting it. He was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
Ahaziah King of Judah
22 The residents of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, Jehoram’s youngest son, king in Jehoram’s place because the raiding band, which had come to the camp with the Arabs, had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram ruled as the king of Judah.
2 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled as king in Jerusalem for one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, granddaughter of Omri.
3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, because his mother was advising him how to do wicked things. 4 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab did, because they were his advisors after the death of his father. This led to his destruction.
5 He also followed their advice and went with Jehoram,[d] the son of Ahab, the king of Israel, to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram there. 6 So he returned to Jezre’el to recover from the wounds he had received at Ramah when he was fighting against Hazael king of Aram. Ahaziah[e] son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to visit Jehoram son of Ahab in Jezre’el because Jehoram had been wounded.
7 It was due to God that Ahaziah’s downfall came about when he went to visit Joram. After Ahaziah had arrived, he went out with Jehoram[f] to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. 8 When Jehu was carrying out judgment on the house of Ahab, he met the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers,[g] who attended Ahaziah, and he killed them. 9 He also searched for Ahaziah and captured him, while he was hiding in Samaria.[h] They brought him to Jehu, who put him to death. They buried him, because they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.” There was nobody from the house of Ahaziah strong enough to rule the kingdom.
Athaliah
10 When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she went into action and destroyed[i] all the royal heirs[j] belonging to the house of Judah. 11 But Jehoshabeath,[k] the daughter of the king, took Joash, the son of Ahaziah. She stole him away from among the king’s sons, who were to be killed. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because she was a sister of Ahaziah, Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, hid Joash from Athaliah, so that she could not kill him.
12 He was kept hidden with them in the House of God for six years, while Athaliah was ruling over the land.
Jehoiada Anoints Joash as King
23 In the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself[l] by entering into a covenant with the commanders of the hundreds, namely, Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Ma’aseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zikri. 2 They went around Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the leading fathers of Israel, who came to Jerusalem.
3 The whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the House of God. Jehoiada said to them:
Look! Here is the king’s son. He will rule as king, just as the Lord has promised concerning the sons of David.
4 This is what you will do. One third of you who are coming on duty on the Sabbath to perform your duties as priests and Levites are to guard the gates. 5 One third of you will be in the palace of the king, and one third at the Foundation Gate.[m] All the people will be stationed in the courtyards of the House of the Lord.
6 No one will come into the house[n] of the Lord except the priests and the Levites who are serving. They are allowed to enter because they are holy. All the rest of the people will follow the directions of the Lord.
7 The Levites will completely surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. Anyone who enters the house will be put to death. You accompany the king when he comes in and goes out.
8 The Levites and all Judah did exactly as Jehoiada the priest had commanded. Each leader combined the men coming on duty on the Sabbath with those going off duty on the Sabbath, because Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the divisions.
9 Jehoiada the priest gave the commanders of the hundreds the spears, the large shields, and the small shields[o] which belonged to King David and which were in the House of God. 10 He stationed all the people, each man with his weapon in his hand, in a circle from the south side of the temple building to the north side of the building, around the altar and all around the building, completely surrounding the king.
11 Then they brought out the king’s son. They set the crown on him and gave him the Testimony,[p] and they made him king. Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, “Long live the king!”
Athaliah’s Death
12 When Athaliah heard the noise made by the people who were running and praising the king, she went to the crowd of people at the House of the Lord. 13 She looked, and there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officials and the trumpeters were beside the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing the trumpets. The singers with their musical instruments were leading the praise. Athaliah tore her clothes and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”
14 Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the commanders who were in charge of the units of a hundred in the army. He told them, “Bring her out between the ranks. Anyone who follows her is to be put to death with the sword,” but the priest also told them, “You must not put her to death in the House of the Lord.” 15 So they laid their hands on her, and she was taken to the entrance of the Horse Gate by the palace of the king, where she was put to death.
16 Jehoiada made a covenant including himself, all the people, and the king, that they would be the Lord’s people.
17 All the people then went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed Baal’s altars and his images. They killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars.
18 Jehoiada posted a watch[q] over the House of the Lord. It was under the supervision of the levitical priests, whom David had given assignments in the House of the Lord to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, as written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and singing as David had directed. 19 He stationed the gatekeepers at the gates of the House of the Lord, so that no one could enter if he was unclean in any way.
20 He took the commanders of the hundreds, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land. He brought the king down from the House of the Lord. They came through the upper gate of the palace of the king. They seated the king on the throne of the kingdom.
21 All the people of the land rejoiced. The city was quiet after they killed Athaliah with the sword.
13 I am speaking to you Gentiles. For as long as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I am going to speak highly of my ministry. 14 Perhaps I may make my own people jealous, and so save some of them. 15 For if their rejection meant the reconciliation of the world, what does their acceptance mean other than the dead coming to life?
Gentiles Should Not Become Proud
16 If the part offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole batch. And if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you—a wild olive branch—were grafted in among them and share in the rich sap from the root of the olive tree, 18 do not boast that you are better than the branches. If you do boast, remember that you are not supporting the root, but the root is supporting you. 19 Then you will say: “Branches were broken off so that I am grafted in.” 20 That is true—but remember that they were broken off because of unbelief, and you remain in place by faith. Do not be conceited, but stand in awe. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you. 22 So take note of God’s kindness and his severity: severity on those who have fallen, but God’s kindness on you—if you remain in his kindness; otherwise, you also will be cut off.
Some Jews Will Be Grafted in Again
23 And if they do not remain in unbelief, those branches will be grafted in again, because God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from a wild olive tree and, contrary to nature, were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more easily will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree?
25 For I do not want you to be uninformed about this mystery, brothers, so that you are not conceited in your opinion of yourselves. There has been a hardening of part of Israel until the full number of Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
The Deliverer will come out of Zion;
he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.
27 And this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.[a]
The Paradox of How God Shows Mercy
28 In regard to the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But, in regard to election, they are especially dear for the sake of the patriarchs, 29 because God’s gracious gifts and call are not regretted. 30 For just as you were once disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy due to their disobedience, 31 so also now they have become disobedient, so that by the mercy shown to you they may be shown mercy too. 32 For God imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may show mercy to all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments
and how untraceable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his adviser?”[b]
35 “Or who has first given to God
that he will be repaid?”[c]
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Psalm 22
Why Have You Forsaken Me?
Heading
For the choir director. According to “Doe of the Dawn.”[a]
A psalm by David.
Part One: The Messiah’s Suffering
The Messiah’s Plea
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
My groaning does nothing to save me.
2 My God, I call out by day, but you do not answer.
I call out by night, but there is no relief for me.[b]
God’s Help in the Past
3 Yet you are seated as the Holy One, praised by Israel.
4 In you our fathers trusted.
They trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried out to you, and they were rescued.
They trusted in you, and they were not disappointed.
God’s Present Absence
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me. They sneer.
They shake their heads.
8 They say, “Trust in the Lord.”[c]
“Let the Lord deliver him.
Let him rescue him, if he delights in him.”[d]
The Mutual Love of Father and Son
9 But you are the one who brought me out of the belly.
You made me trust when I was at my mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast on you from the womb.
From the belly of my mother you have been my God.
11 Do not be distant from me, for distress is near,
and there is no one to help.
The Power of His Enemies
12 Many bulls surround me.
Strong bulls from Bashan encircle me.
13 Enemies open their mouths wide against me,
like a lion that tears its prey and roars.
14 Like water I am poured out.
All my bones are pulled apart.
My heart has become like wax.
It has melted in the middle of my chest.
15 My strength is dried up like broken pottery,
and my tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth.
You lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded me.
A band of evil men has encircled me.
They have pierced[e] my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them.
For my clothing they cast lots.
7 A righteous person walks in his integrity.
How blessed are his children after him!
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.