The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the CSB. Switch to the CSB to read along with the audio.
Laws of Holiness and Justice
19 The Lord told Moses 2 (A)to say to the community of Israel, “Be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy. 3 (B)Each of you must respect your mother and your father, and must keep the Sabbath, as I have commanded. I am the Lord your God.
4 (C)“Do not abandon me and worship idols; do not make gods of metal and worship them. I am the Lord your God.
5 “When you kill an animal for a fellowship offering, keep the regulations that I have given you, and I will accept the offering. 6 The meat must be eaten on the day the animal is killed or on the next day. Any meat left on the third day must be burned, 7 because it is ritually unclean, and if anyone eats it, I will not accept the offering. 8 Any who eat it will be guilty of treating as ordinary what is dedicated to me, and they will no longer be considered my people.
9 (D)“When you harvest your fields, do not cut the grain at the edges of the fields, and do not go back to cut the heads of grain that were left. 10 Do not go back through your vineyard to gather the grapes that were missed or to pick up the grapes that have fallen; leave them for poor people and foreigners. I am the Lord your God.
11 (E)“Do not steal or cheat or lie. 12 (F)Do not make a promise in my name if you do not intend to keep it; that brings disgrace on my name. I am the Lord your God.
13 (G)“Do not rob or take advantage of anyone. Do not hold back the wages of someone you have hired, not even for one night. 14 (H)Do not curse the deaf or put something in front of the blind so as to make them stumble over it. Obey me; I am the Lord your God.
15 (I)“Be honest and just when you make decisions in legal cases; do not show favoritism to the poor or fear the rich. 16 Do not spread lies about anyone, and when someone is on trial for his life, speak out if your testimony can help him. I am the Lord.
17 (J)“Do not bear a grudge against others, but settle your differences with them, so that you will not commit a sin because of them.[a] 18 (K)Do not take revenge on others or continue to hate them, but love your neighbors as you love yourself. I am the Lord.
19 (L)“Obey my commands. Do not crossbreed domestic animals. Do not plant two kinds of seed in the same field. Do not wear clothes made of two kinds of material.
20 “If a slave woman is the recognized concubine of a man and she has not been paid for and freed, then if another man has sexual relations with her, they will be punished, but not[b] put to death, since she is a slave. 21 The man shall bring a ram to the entrance of the Tent of my presence as his repayment offering, 22 and with it the priest shall perform the ritual of purification to remove the man's sin, and God will forgive him.
23 “When you come into the land of Canaan and plant any kind of fruit tree, consider the fruit ritually unclean for the first three years. During that time you must not eat it. 24 In the fourth year all the fruit shall be dedicated as an offering to show your gratitude to me,[c] the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat the fruit. If you do all this, your trees will bear more fruit. I am the Lord your God.
26 (M)“Do not eat any meat with blood still in it. Do not practice any kind of magic. 27 (N)Do not cut the hair on the sides of your head or trim your beard 28 or tattoo yourselves or cut gashes in your body to mourn for the dead. I am the Lord.
29 (O)“Do not disgrace your daughters by making them temple prostitutes;[d] if you do, you will turn to other gods and the land will be full of immorality. 30 (P)Keep the Sabbath, and honor the place where I am worshiped. I am the Lord.
31 (Q)“Do not go for advice to people who consult the spirits of the dead. If you do, you will be ritually unclean. I am the Lord your God.
32 “Show respect for old people and honor them. Reverently obey me; I am the Lord.
33 (R)“Do not mistreat foreigners who are living in your land. 34 Treat them as you would an Israelite, and love them as you love yourselves. Remember that you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
35 (S)“Do not cheat anyone by using false measures of length, weight, or quantity. 36 Use honest scales, honest weights, and honest measures. I am the Lord your God, and I brought you out of Egypt. 37 Obey all my laws and commands. I am the Lord.”
Penalties for Disobedience
20 The Lord told Moses 2 to say to the people of Israel, “Any of you or any foreigner living among you who gives any children to be used in the worship of the god Molech shall be stoned to death by the whole community. 3 If any of you give one of your children to Molech and make my sacred Tent unclean and disgrace my holy name, I will turn against you and will no longer consider you my people. 4 But if the community ignores what you have done and does not put you to death, 5 I myself will turn against you and your whole family and against all who join you in being unfaithful to me and worshiping Molech. I will no longer consider any of you my people.
6 “If any of you go for advice to people who consult the spirits of the dead, I will turn against you and will no longer consider you one of my people. 7 Keep yourselves holy, because I am the Lord your God. 8 Obey my laws, because I am the Lord and I make you holy.”
9 (T)The Lord gave the following regulations. Any of you that curse your father or mother shall be put to death; you are responsible for your own death.
10 (U)If a man commits adultery with the wife of an Israelite, both he and the woman shall be put to death. 11 (V)A man who has intercourse with one of his father's wives disgraces his father, and both he and the woman shall be put to death. They are responsible for their own death. 12 (W)If a man has intercourse with his daughter-in-law, they shall both be put to death. They have committed incest and are responsible for their own death. 13 (X)If a man has sexual relations with another man, they have done a disgusting thing, and both shall be put to death. They are responsible for their own death. 14 (Y)If a man marries a woman and her mother, all three shall be burned to death because of the disgraceful thing they have done; such a thing must not be permitted among you. 15 (Z)If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he and the animal shall be put to death. 16 If a woman tries to have sexual relations with an animal, she and the animal shall be put to death. They are responsible for their own death.
17 (AA)If a man marries his sister or half sister, they shall be publicly disgraced and driven out of the community. He has had intercourse with his sister and must suffer the consequences. 18 (AB)If a man has intercourse with a woman during her monthly period, both of them are to be driven out of the community, because they have broken the regulations about ritual uncleanness.
19 (AC)If a man has intercourse with his aunt, both of them must suffer the consequences for incest. 20 If a man has intercourse with his uncle's wife, he disgraces his uncle, and he and the woman will pay the penalty; neither one will have children. 21 (AD)If a man takes his brother's wife, they will die childless. He has done a ritually unclean thing and has disgraced his brother.
The Pharisees Ask for a Miracle(A)
11 (B)Some Pharisees came to Jesus and started to argue with him. They wanted to trap him, so they asked him to perform a miracle to show that God approved of him. 12 (C)But Jesus gave a deep groan and said, “Why do the people of this day ask for a miracle? No, I tell you! No such proof will be given to these people!”
13 He left them, got back into the boat, and started across to the other side of the lake.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod(D)
14 The disciples had forgotten to bring enough bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 (E)“Take care,” Jesus warned them, “and be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
16 They started discussing among themselves: “He says this because we don't have any bread.”
17 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he asked them, “Why are you discussing about not having any bread? Don't you know or understand yet? Are your minds so dull? 18 (F)You have eyes—can't you see? You have ears—can't you hear? Don't you remember 19 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand people? How many baskets full of leftover pieces did you take up?”
“Twelve,” they answered.
20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand people,” asked Jesus, “how many baskets full of leftover pieces did you take up?”
“Seven,” they answered.
21 “And you still don't understand?” he asked them.
Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida
22 They came to Bethsaida, where some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch him. 23 Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. After spitting on the man's eyes, Jesus placed his hands on him and asked him, “Can you see anything?”
24 The man looked up and said, “Yes, I can see people, but they look like trees walking around.”
25 Jesus again placed his hands on the man's eyes. This time the man looked intently, his eyesight returned, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus then sent him home with the order, “Don't go back into the village.”
Peter's Declaration about Jesus(G)
27 Then Jesus and his disciples went away to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Tell me, who do people say I am?”
28 (H)“Some say that you are John the Baptist,” they answered; “others say that you are Elijah, while others say that you are one of the prophets.”
29 (I)“What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
30 Then Jesus ordered them, “Do not tell anyone about me.”
Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death(J)
31 Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life.” 32 He made this very clear to them. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But Jesus turned around, looked at his disciples, and rebuked Peter. “Get away from me, Satan,” he said. “Your thoughts don't come from God but from human nature!”
34 (K)Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. “If any of you want to come with me,” he told them, “you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. 35 (L)For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the gospel, you will save it. 36 Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! 37 There is nothing you can give to regain your life. 38 If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
BOOK TWO(A)
The Prayer of Someone in Exile[a]
42 As a deer longs for a stream of cool water,
so I long for you, O God.
2 I thirst for you, the living God.
When can I go and worship in your presence?
3 Day and night I cry,
and tears are my only food;
all the time my enemies ask me,
“Where is your God?”
4 My heart breaks when I remember the past,
when I went with the crowds to the house of God
and led them as they walked along,
a happy crowd, singing and shouting praise to God.
5 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so troubled?
I will put my hope in God,
and once again I will praise him,
my savior and my God.
6-7 Here in exile my heart is breaking,
and so I turn my thoughts to him.
He has sent waves of sorrow over my soul;
chaos roars at me like a flood,
like waterfalls thundering down to the Jordan
from Mount Hermon and Mount Mizar.
8 May the Lord show his constant love during the day,
so that I may have a song at night,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 To God, my defender, I say,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go on suffering
from the cruelty of my enemies?”
10 I am crushed by their insults,
as they keep on asking me,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so troubled?
I will put my hope in God,
and once again I will praise him,
my savior and my God.
17 People who listen when they are corrected will live, but those who will not admit that they are wrong are in danger.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.