The Daily Audio Bible
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God’s Controversy with Israel
4 Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel,
For the Lord has a [legal] case with the inhabitants of the land,
Because there is no faithfulness [no steadfast love, no dependability] or loyalty or kindness
Or knowledge of God [from personal experience with Him] in the land.
2
There is [false] swearing of oaths, deception (broken faith), murder, stealing, and adultery;
They employ violence, so that one [act of] bloodshed follows closely on another.
3
Therefore the land [continually] mourns,
And everyone who lives in it languishes [in tragic suffering]
Together with the animals of the open country and the birds of the heavens;
Even the fish of the sea disappear.
4
Yet let no one find fault, nor let any rebuke [others];
For your people are like those who contend with the priest.
5
So you will stumble in the daytime,
And the [false] prophet will also stumble with you in the night;
And I will destroy your mother (Israel).(A)
6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge [of My law, where I reveal My will].
Because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge,
I will also reject you from being My priest.
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I will also forget your children.
7
The more they multiplied [in numbers and increased in power], the more they sinned against Me;
I will change their glory into shame.
8
They (the priests) [a]feed on the sin offering of My people
And set their heart on their wickedness.(B)
9
And it shall be: like people, like priest [both are wicked and both will be judged];
So I will punish them for their ways
And repay them for their deeds.
10
They will eat, but not have enough;
They will play the prostitute, but not increase [their descendants],
Because they have stopped giving heed to the Lord.
11
Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away the mind and the [spiritual] understanding.
12
My people consult their [lifeless] wooden idol, and their [diviner’s] wand gives them oracles.
For a spirit of prostitution has led them astray [morally and spiritually],
And they have played the prostitute, withdrawing themselves from their God.
13
They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains
And burn incense on the hills,
Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,
Because the shade is pleasant there.
Therefore your daughters play the prostitute
And your brides commit adultery.
14
I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute
Or your brides when they commit adultery,
For the men themselves slip away with prostitutes,
And they offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes [who give their bodies in honor of the idol].
So the people without understanding [stumble and fall and] come to ruin.
15
Though you, Israel, play the prostitute [by worshiping idols],
Do not let Judah become guilty [of the same thing];
And do not go to Gilgal [where idols are worshiped],
Or go up to [b]Beth-aven (House of Wickedness),
Nor swear [oaths in idolatrous worship, saying],
“As the Lord lives!”
16
For Israel is stubborn,
Like a stubborn heifer.
Can the Lord now pasture them
Like a lamb in a large field?
17
Ephraim is joined to idols,
So let him alone [to suffer the consequences].
18
When their liquor is gone [and their drinking parties are over],
They habitually go to play the prostitute;
Ephraim’s rulers continue to dearly love shame [more than her glory which is the Lord, Israel’s God].
19
The wind [of God’s relentless wrath] has wrapped up Israel in its wings,
And [in captivity] they will be ashamed because of their sacrifices [to calves, to sun, to moon, to stars, and to pagan gods].
The People’s Apostasy Rebuked
5 Hear this and pay close attention, O priests!
Give heed, O house of Israel!
Listen, O house of the king!
For the [pronounced] judgment pertains to you and is meant for you to hear,
Because you have been a snare at Mizpah
And a net spread out over Tabor (military strongholds on either side of the Jordan River).
2
The revolters have gone deep into depravity,
But I [the Lord God] will chastise them all.
3
I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me;
For now, O Ephraim, you have played the prostitute and have worshiped idols;
Israel has defiled itself.
4
Their [immoral] practices will not permit them
To return to their God,
For the spirit of prostitution is within them
And they do not know the Lord [they do not recognize, appreciate, heed or cherish Him].
5
But the pride and self-reliance of Israel testifies against him.
Therefore Israel, and [especially] [c]Ephraim, stumble and fall in their wickedness and guilt;
[d]Judah also has stumbled with them.
6
They will go with their flocks and with their herds
To seek the Lord [diligently searching for Him], but they will not find Him;
He has withdrawn from them [refusing to hear the prayers of the unrepentant].
7
They have dealt treacherously against the Lord,
For they have borne illegitimate (pagan) children.
Now the [e]New Moon will devour them along with their land [bringing judgment and captivity].
8
Blow the horn in Gibeah,
The trumpet in Ramah [the lofty hills on Benjamin’s northern border].
Sound the alarm at Beth-aven:
“Behind you and coming after you [is the enemy], O Benjamin [be on guard]!”
9
Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke;
Among the tribes of Israel I declare what is certain.
10
The princes of Judah are like those who [f]move a boundary marker;
I will pour out My wrath on them like [an unrestrained flood of] water.(C)
11
Ephraim is oppressed; he is broken and crushed by [divine] judgment,
Because he was determined to follow man’s command [g](vanities, filth, secular precepts).
12
Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim
And like dry rot to the house of Judah [in My judgment against them].
13
When Ephraim saw his sickness,
And Judah his wound,
Then Ephraim went to Assyria [instead of the Lord]
And sent to [Assyria’s] great King Jareb [for help].
But he cannot heal you
Nor will he cure you of your wound [received in judgment].
14
For I will be like a lion to Ephraim
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear to pieces and go on [tearing];
I will carry off [the prey] and there will be no one to rescue them.
15
I will go away and return to My place [on high]
Until they acknowledge their offense and bear their guilt and seek My face;
In their distress they will earnestly seek Me, saying,
Walk According to His Commandments
1 The elder [of the church addresses this letter] to the elect (chosen) [a]lady and her children, whom I love in truth—and not only I, but also all who know and understand the truth— 2 because of the truth which lives in our hearts and will be with us forever: 3 Grace, mercy, and peace (inner calm, a sense of spiritual well-being) will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
4 I was greatly delighted to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father. 5 Now I ask you, lady, not as if I were writing to you a new commandment, but [simply reminding you of] the one which we have had from the beginning, that we [b]love and unselfishly seek the best for one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in accordance with His commandments and are guided continually by His precepts. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should [always] walk in love.
7 For many deceivers [heretics, posing as Christians] have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge and confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh (bodily form). This [person, the kind who does this] is the deceiver and the [c]antichrist [that is, the antagonist of Christ]. 8 Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have accomplished together, but that you may receive a full and perfect reward [when He grants rewards to faithful believers]. 9 Anyone who runs on ahead and does not remain in the doctrine of Christ [that is, one who is not content with what He taught], does not have God; but the one who continues to remain in the teaching [of Christ does have God], he has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching [but diminishes or adds to the doctrine of Christ], do not receive or welcome him into your house, and do not give him a greeting or any encouragement; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting [who encourages him or wishes him success, unwittingly] participates in his evil deeds. 12 I have many things to write to you, but I prefer not to do so with paper (papyrus) and black (ink); but I hope to come to you and speak with you [d]face to face, so that [e]your joy may be complete.(A)
13 The children of your elect (chosen) sister greet you.
The Lord Surrounds His People.
A Song of [a]Ascents.
125 Those who trust in and rely on the Lord [with confident expectation]
Are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but remains forever.
2
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the Lord surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever.
3
For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land of the righteous,
So that the righteous will not reach out their hands to do wrong.
4
Do good, O Lord, to those who are good
And to those who are upright in their hearts.
5
But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways [in unresponsiveness to God],
The Lord will lead them away with those who do evil.
Peace be upon Israel.
9
If a wise man has a controversy with a foolish and arrogant man,
The foolish man [ignores logic and fairness and] only rages or laughs, and there is no peace (rest, agreement).
10
The bloodthirsty hate the blameless [because of his integrity],
But the upright are concerned for his life.(A)
11
A [shortsighted] fool always loses his temper and displays his anger,
But a wise man [uses self-control and] holds it back.
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