The Daily Audio Bible
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15 The High and Lofty One lives forever, and his name is holy.
This is what he says:
I live in a high and holy place.
But I am with those who are crushed and humble.
I will renew the spirit of those who are humble
and the courage of those who are crushed.
16 I will not accuse you forever.
I will not be angry with you forever.
Otherwise, the spirits, the lives of those I’ve made,
would grow faint in my presence.
17 I was angry because of their sinful greed,
so I punished them, hid ⌞from them⌟, and remained angry.
But they continued to be sinful.
18 I’ve seen their ⌞sinful⌟ ways, but I’ll heal them.
I’ll guide them and give them rest.
I’ll comfort them and their mourners.
19 I’ll create praise on their lips:
“Perfect peace to those both far and near.”
“I’ll heal them,” says the Lord.
20 But the wicked are like the churning sea.
It isn’t quiet,
and its water throws up mud and slime.
21 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says my God.
Worship the Lord as He Wants to Be Worshiped
58 Cry aloud! Don’t hold back!
Raise your voice like a ram’s horn.
Tell my people about their rebellion
and the descendants of Jacob about their sins.
2 They look for me every day and want to know my ways.
They act as if they were a nation that has done what is right
and as if they haven’t disregarded God’s judgment ⌞on them⌟.
They ask me for just decrees.
They want God to be near them.
3 Why have we fasted if you are not aware of it?
Why have we inflicted pain on ourselves if you don’t pay attention?
Don’t you see that on the days you fast,
you do what you want to do?
You mistreat all your workers.
4 Don’t you see that when you fast,
you quarrel and fight and beat your workers?
The way you fast today keeps you from being heard in heaven.
5 Is this the kind of fasting I have chosen?
Should people humble themselves for ⌞only⌟ a day?
Is fasting just bowing your head like a cattail
and making your bed from sackcloth and ashes?
Is this what you call fasting?
Is this an acceptable day to the Lord?
6 This is the kind of fasting I have chosen:
Loosen the chains of wickedness,
untie the straps of the yoke,[a]
let the oppressed go free,
and break every yoke.
7 Share your food with the hungry,
take the poor and homeless into your house,
and cover them with clothes when you see ⌞them⌟ naked.
Don’t refuse to help your relatives.
8 Then your light will break through like the dawn,
and you will heal quickly.
Your righteousness will go ahead of you,
and the glory of the Lord will guard you from behind.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer.
You will cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am!”
Get rid of that yoke.
Don’t point your finger and say wicked things.
10 If you give some of your own food to ⌞feed⌟ those who are hungry
and to satisfy ⌞the needs of⌟ those who are humble,
then your light will rise in the dark,
and your darkness will become as bright as the noonday sun.
11 The Lord will continually guide you
and satisfy you even in sun-baked places.
He will strengthen your bones.
You will become like a watered garden
and like a spring whose water does not stop flowing.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the foundations of past generations.
You will be called the Rebuilder of Broken Walls
and the Restorer of Streets Where People Live.
13 If you stop trampling on the day of rest
and doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the day of rest a delight
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
if you honor it by not going your own way,
by not going out when you want, and by not talking idly,
14 then you will find joy in the Lord.
I will make you ride on the heights of the earth.
I will feed you with the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob.
The Lord has spoken.
The Lord Will Turn His People from Wrongdoing
59 The Lord is not too weak to save
or his ear too deaf to hear.
2 But your wrongs have separated you from your God,
and your sins have made him hide his face
so that he doesn’t hear you.
3 Your hands are stained with blood,
and your fingers are stained with sin.
You speak lies,
and you mutter wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice,
and no one pleads his case truthfully.
People trust pointless arguments and speak lies.
They conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5 They hatch viper eggs
and weave spiderwebs.
Those who eat their eggs will die.
When an egg is crushed, a poisonous snake is hatched.
6 Their webs can’t be used for clothes,
nor can they cover themselves with their works.
Their works are evil.
Their hands have committed acts of violence.
7 Their feet run to do evil.
They hurry to shed innocent blood.
Their plans are evil.
Ruin and destruction are on their highways.
8 They don’t know the way of peace.
There’s no justice on their highways.
They’ve made their paths crooked.
Whoever walks on them will never know peace.
9 That is why justice is far from us,
and righteousness doesn’t reach us.
We hope for light, but we walk in darkness.
We hope for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We grope like blind men along a wall.
We grope like people without eyes.
We stumble at noon as if it were twilight.
We are like dead people among healthy people.
11 We all growl like bears.
We coo like doves.
We hope for justice, but there is none.
We hope for salvation, but it’s far from us.
12 You are aware of our many rebellious acts.
Our sins testify against us.
Our rebellious acts are with us.
We know our wrongdoings.
13 We have rebelled and denied the Lord.
We have turned away from our God.
We have spoken about oppression and revolt.
We have conceived and uttered lies in our hearts.
14 Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away.
Truth has fallen in the street,
and honesty can’t come in.
15 Truth is missing.
Those who turn away from evil make themselves victims.
The Lord sees it, and he’s angry
because there’s no justice.
16 He sees that there’s no one to help.
He’s astounded that there’s no one to intercede.
So with his own power he wins a victory.
His righteousness supports him.
17 He puts on righteousness like a coat of armor
and a helmet of salvation on his head.
He wears clothes of vengeance.
He wraps himself with fury as a coat.
18 He will pay them back according to their deeds.
He will pay back his opponents with wrath and punish his enemies.
He will pay back the people who live on the coastlands.
19 The people of the west will fear the name of the Lord.
Those in the east will fear his glory.
He will come like a rushing stream.
The wind of the Lord pushes him.
20 “Then a Savior will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from rebellion,” declares the Lord.
21 “This is my promise [b] to them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I put in your mouth will not leave you. They will be with your children and your grandchildren permanently,” says the Lord.
Greeting
1 From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus.
To God’s people in the city of Philippi and their bishops and deacons—to everyone who is united with Christ Jesus.
2 Good will [a] and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are yours!
Paul’s Prayer for the Philippians
3 I thank my God for all the memories I have of you. 4 Every time I pray for all of you, I do it with joy. 5 I can do this because of the partnership we’ve had with you in the Good News from the first day ⌞you believed⌟ until now. 6 I’m convinced that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it through to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. 7 You have a special place in my heart. So it’s right for me to think this way about all of you. All of you are my partners. Together we share God’s favor,[b] whether I’m in prison or defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. 8 God is my witness that, with all the compassion of Christ Jesus, I long ⌞to see⌟ every one of you.
9 I pray that your love will keep on growing because of your knowledge and insight. 10 That way you will be able to determine what is best and be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. 11 Jesus Christ will fill your lives with everything that God’s approval produces. Your lives will then bring glory and praise to God.
Nothing Matters Except That People Are Told about Christ
12 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what happened to me has helped to spread the Good News. 13 As a result, it has become clear to all the soldiers who guard the emperor and to everyone else that I am in prison because of Christ. 14 So through my being in prison, the Lord has given most of our brothers and sisters confidence to speak God’s word more boldly and fearlessly than ever.
15 Some people tell the message about Christ because of their jealousy and envy. Others tell the message about him because of their good will. 16 Those who tell the message about Christ out of love know that God has put me here to defend the Good News. 17 But the others are insincere. They tell the message about Christ out of selfish ambition in order to stir up trouble for me while I’m in prison. 18 But what does it matter? Nothing matters except that, in one way or another, people are told the message about Christ, whether with honest or dishonest motives, and I’m happy about that.
Paul Honors Christ Whether He Lives or Dies
Yes, I will continue to be happy 19 for another reason. I know that I will be set free through your prayers and through the help that comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will have nothing to be ashamed of. I will speak very boldly and honor Christ in my body, now as always, whether I live or die. 21 Christ means everything to me in this life, and when I die I’ll have even more. 22 If I continue to live in this life, my work will produce more results. I don’t know which I would prefer. 23 I find it hard to choose between the two. I would like to leave this life and be with Christ. That’s by far the better choice. 24 But for your sake it’s better that I remain in this life. 25 Since I’m convinced of this, I know that I will continue to live and be with all of you. This will help you to grow and be joyful in your faith. 26 So by coming to you again, I want to give you even more reason to have pride in Christ Jesus with me.
71 I have taken refuge in you, O Lord.
Never let me be put to shame.
2 Rescue me and free me because of your righteousness.
Turn your ear toward me, and save me.
3 Be a rock on which I may live,
a place where I may always go.
You gave the order to save me!
Indeed, you are my rock and my fortress.
4 My God, free me from the hands of a wicked person,
from the grasp of one who is cruel and unjust.
5 You are my hope, O Almighty Lord.
You have been my confidence ever since I was young.
6 I depended on you before I was born.
You took me from my mother’s womb.
My songs of praise constantly speak about you.
7 I have become an example to many people,
but you are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with your praise,
with your glory all day long.
9 Do not reject me when I am old
or abandon me when I lose my strength.
10 My enemies talk about me.
They watch me as they plot to take my life.
11 They say, “God has abandoned him.
Pursue him and grab him because there is no one to rescue him.”
12 O God, do not be so distant from me.
O my God, come quickly to help me.
13 Let those who accuse me come to a shameful end.
Let those who want my downfall be covered
with disgrace and humiliation.
14 But I will always have hope.
I will praise you more and more.
15 My mouth will tell about your righteousness,
about your salvation all day long.
Even then, it is more than I can understand.
16 I will come with the mighty deeds of the Almighty Lord.
I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.
17 O God, you have taught me ever since I was young,
and I still talk about the miracles you have done.
18 Even when I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God.
Let me live to tell the people of this age
what your strength has accomplished,
to tell about your power to all who will come.
19 Your righteousness reaches to the heavens, O God.
You have done great things.
O God, who is like you?
20 You have made me endure many terrible troubles.
You restore me to life again.
You bring me back from the depths of the earth.
21 You comfort me and make me greater than ever.
22 Because of your faithfulness, O my God,
even I will give thanks to you as I play on a lyre.
I will make music with a harp to praise you, O Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will sing with joy when I make music to praise you.
My soul, which you have rescued, also will sing joyfully.
24 My tongue will tell about your righteousness all day long,
because those who wanted my downfall
have been disgraced and put to shame.
9 Foolish scheming is sinful,
and a mocker is disgusting to everyone.
10 If you faint in a crisis, you are weak.
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