The Daily Audio Bible
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12 This is what the Holy One of Israel says:
You have rejected this warning,
trusted oppression and deceit,
and leaned on them.
13 That is why your sin will be
like a high wall with a bulging crack, ready to fall.
All of a sudden it will fall.
14 It will break like pottery.
It will be smashed, and nothing will be left of it.
No piece will be big enough to carry live coals from a fireplace
or to dip water from a reservoir.
15 This is what the Almighty Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
You can be saved by returning to me.
You can have rest.
You can be strong by being quiet and by trusting me.
But you don’t want that.
16 You’ve said, “No, we’ll flee on horses.”
So you flee.
You’ve added, “We’ll ride on fast horses.”
So those who chase you will also be fast.
17 One thousand people will flee when one person threatens them,
and you will flee when five threaten you.
Then you will be left alone
like a flagpole on top of a mountain,
like a signpost on a hill.
18 The Lord is waiting to be kind to you.
He rises to have compassion on you.
The Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all those who wait for him.
The Lord Will Heal His People’s Wounds
19 You will live in Zion, in Jerusalem. You won’t cry anymore. The Lord will certainly have pity on you when you cry for help. As soon as he hears you, he will answer you. 20 The Lord may give you troubles and hardships. But your teacher will no longer be hidden from you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. 21 You will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way. Follow it, whether it turns to the right or to the left.” 22 Then you will dishonor your silver-plated idols and your gold-covered statues. You will throw them away like clothing ruined by stains. You will say to them, “Get out!”
23 The Lord will give you rain for the seed that you plant in the ground, and the food that the ground provides will be rich and nourishing. When that day comes, your cattle will graze in large pastures. 24 The oxen and the donkeys which work the soil will eat a mixture of food that has been winnowed [a] with forks and shovels. 25 There will be brooks and streams on every lofty mountain and every high hill. When the day of the great slaughter comes, towers will fall. 26 Then the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun. The light of the sun will be seven times as strong, like the light of seven days. When that day comes, the Lord will bandage his people’s injuries and heal the wounds he inflicted.
27 The name of the Lord is going to come from far away.
His anger is burning.
His burden is heavy.
His lips are filled with fury.
His tongue is like a devouring flame.
28 His breath is like an overflowing stream.
It rises neck high,
sifting the nations with a sieve of destruction,
placing a bit in the mouths of the people
to lead them astray.
29 You will sing a song
like the song you sing on a festival night.
Your hearts will be happy like someone going out with a flute
on the way to the Lord’s mountain, to the rock of Israel.
30 The Lord will make his majestic voice heard.
He will come down with all his might,
with furious anger,
with fire storms, windstorms, rainstorms, and hailstones.
31 At the sound of the Lord, the people of Assyria will be shattered.
He will strike them with his rod.
32 To the sound of tambourines and lyres, the Lord will pound on them.
He will fight them in battle, swinging his fists.
33 Topheth was prepared long ago.
It was made ready for the king.
It was made deep and wide and piled high with plenty of burning logs.
The Lord’s breath will be like a flood of burning sulfur,
setting it on fire.
The Lord, Not the Egyptians, Will Protect His People from Assyria
31 How horrible it will be for those
who go to Egypt for help,
who rely on horses,
who depend on many chariots,
who depend on very strong war horses.
They don’t look to the Holy One of Israel.
They don’t seek the Lord.
2 He is wise and can bring about disaster.
He doesn’t take back his words.
He rises against wicked people
and against those who help troublemakers.
3 The Egyptians are humans, not gods.
Their horses are flesh and blood, not spirit.
When the Lord uses his powerful hand,
the one who gives help will stumble,
and the one who receives help will fall.
Both will die together.
4 This is what the Lord said to me:
A lion, even a young lion, growls over its prey
when a crowd of shepherds is called to fight it.
It isn’t frightened by their voices
or disturbed by the noise they make.
So the Lord of Armies will come to fight for
Mount Zion and its hill.
5 The Lord of Armies will defend Jerusalem like a hovering bird.
He will defend it and rescue it.
He will pass over it and protect it.
6 You people of Israel, return to the one
whom you have so violently rebelled against.
7 When that day comes, all of you will reject
the silver and gold idols
that your sinful hands have made.
8 Then Assyrians will be killed with swords not made by human hands.
Swords not made by human hands will destroy them.
They will flee from battle,
and their young men will be made to do forced labor.
9 In terror they will run to their stronghold,
and their officers will be frightened at ⌞the sight of⌟ the battle flag.
The Lord declares this. His fire is in Zion and his furnace is in Jerusalem.
The Lord Will Pour Out His Spirit and Bring Peace
32 A king will rule with fairness,
and officials will rule with justice.
2 Then each ruler will be like a shelter from the wind
and a hiding place from the rain.
They will be like streams on parched ground
and the shade of a large rock in a weary land.
3 Then the vision of those who can see won’t be blurred,
and the ears of those who can hear will pay attention.
4 Then those who are reckless will begin to understand,
and those who stutter will speak quickly and clearly.
5 Godless fools will no longer be called nobles,
nor will scoundrels be considered gentlemen.
6 Godless fools speak foolishness,
and their minds plan evil
in order to do ungodly things.
They speak falsely about the Lord.
They let people go hungry
and withhold water from thirsty people.
7 The tricks of scoundrels are evil.
They devise wicked plans in order to ruin poor people with lies,
even when needy people plead for justice.
8 But honorable people act honorably
and stand firm for what is honorable.
9 Get up, and listen to me, you pampered women.
Hear what I say, you overconfident daughters.
10 In a little less than a year
you overconfident women will tremble,
because the grape harvest will fail
and no fruit will be brought in ⌞from the fields⌟.
11 Shudder, you pampered women.
Tremble, you overconfident women.
Take off your clothes, walk around naked,
and wear sackcloth around your waists.
12 Beat your breasts as you mourn for the fields,
for the vines bearing grapes.
13 Mourn for my people’s land where thorns and briars will grow.
Mourn for all the happy homes in a joyful city.
14 Palaces will be deserted.
Noisy cities will be abandoned.
Fortresses and watchtowers will become permanent caves.
They will be a delight for wild donkeys and pastures for flocks
15 until the Spirit is poured on us from on high.
Then the wilderness will be turned into a fertile field,
and the fertile field will be considered a forest.
16 Then justice will live in the wilderness,
and righteousness will be at home in the fertile field.
17 Then an act of righteousness will bring about peace,
calm, and safety forever.
18 My people will live in a peaceful place,
in safe homes and quiet places of rest.
19 The forest will be flattened because of hail,
and the city will be completely leveled.
20 Blessed are those who plant beside every stream
and those who let oxen and donkeys roam freely.
The Lord Will Rescue Jerusalem from Assyria
33 How horrible it will be for you, you destroyer,
although you haven’t been destroyed.
How horrible it will be for you, you traitor,
although you haven’t been betrayed.
When you’ve finished destroying, you will be destroyed.
When you’ve finished being a traitor, you will be betrayed.
2 O Lord, have pity on us.
We wait with hope for you.
Be our strength in the morning.
Yes, be our savior in times of trouble.
3 People flee from the noise of ⌞your⌟ army.
Nations scatter when you attack.
4 You nations, your loot is gathered as grasshoppers harvest a crop.
Like swarming locusts, people rush for your loot.
5 The Lord is honored because he lives on high.
He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 He will be the foundation of your future.
The riches of salvation are wisdom and knowledge.
The fear of the Lord is ⌞your⌟ treasure.
7 Heroes cry in the streets.
Messengers of peace cry bitterly.
8 Highways are deserted.
Travelers stop traveling.
Agreements are broken.
Witnesses [b] are rejected.
People are no longer respected.
9 The country grieves and wastes away.
Lebanon is ashamed and is decaying.
Sharon has become like a wilderness.
Bashan and Carmel are shaken.
Live in the Freedom That Christ Gives You
5 Christ has freed us so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom. Therefore, be firm ⌞in this freedom⌟, and don’t become slaves again.
2 I, Paul, can guarantee that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 Again, I insist that everyone who allows himself to be circumcised must realize that he obligates himself to do everything Moses’ Teachings demand. 4 Those of you who try to earn God’s approval by obeying his laws have been cut off from Christ. You have fallen out of God’s favor.[a] 5 However, in our spiritual nature, faith causes us to wait eagerly for the confidence that comes with God’s approval. 6 As far as our relationship to Christ Jesus is concerned, it doesn’t matter whether we are circumcised or not. But what matters is a faith that expresses itself through love.
7 You were doing so well. Who stopped you from being influenced by the truth? 8 The arguments of the person who is influencing you do not come from the one who is calling you. 9 A little yeast spreads through the whole batch of dough. 10 The Lord gives me confidence that you will not disagree with this. However, the one who is confusing you will suffer God’s judgment regardless of who he is. 11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the cross wouldn’t be offensive anymore. 12 I wish those troublemakers would castrate themselves.
A psalm by David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 O God, you are my God.
At dawn I search for you.
My soul thirsts for you.
My body longs for you
in a dry, parched land where there is no water.
2 So I look for you in the holy place
to see your power and your glory.
3 My lips will praise you
because your mercy is better than life ⌞itself⌟.
4 So I will thank you as long as I live.
I will lift up my hands ⌞to pray⌟ in your name.
5 You satisfy my soul with the richest foods.
My mouth will sing ⌞your⌟ praise with joyful lips.
6 As I lie on my bed, I remember you.
Through the long hours of the night, I think about you.
7 You have been my help.
In the shadow of your wings, I sing joyfully.
8 My soul clings to you.
Your right hand supports me.
9 But those who try to destroy my life
will go into the depths of the earth.
10 They will be cut down by swords.
Their dead bodies will be left as food for jackals.
11 But the king will find joy in God.
Everyone who takes an oath by God will brag,
but the mouths of liars will be shut.
22 Listen to your father since you are his son,
and do not despise your mother because she is old.
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