The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the NIV. Switch to the NIV to read along with the audio.
Rules for Firstfruits
17 The Lord spoke to Moses: 18 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land to which I am bringing you[a] 19 and you eat[b] some of the food of the land, you must offer up a raised offering[c] to the Lord. 20 You must offer up a cake of the first of your finely ground flour[d] as a raised offering; as you offer the raised offering of the threshing floor, so you must offer it up. 21 You must give to the Lord some of the first of your finely ground flour as a raised offering in your future generations.
Rules for Unintentional Offenses
22 [e] “‘If you[f] sin unintentionally and do not observe all these commandments that the Lord has spoken to Moses— 23 all that the Lord has commanded you by the authority[g] of Moses, from the day that the Lord commanded Moses and continuing through your future generations— 24 then if anything is done unintentionally[h] without the knowledge of[i] the community, the whole community must prepare one young bull for a burnt offering—for a pleasing aroma to the Lord—along with its grain offering and its customary drink offering, and one male goat for a purification offering. 25 And the priest is to make atonement[j] for the whole community of the Israelites, and they will be forgiven, because it was unintentional and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord, and their purification offering before the Lord, for their unintentional offense. 26 And the whole community[k] of the Israelites and the resident foreigner who lives among them will be forgiven, since all the people were involved in the unintentional offense.
27 “‘If any person[l] sins unintentionally, then he must bring a yearling female goat for a purification offering. 28 And the priest must make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally—when he sins unintentionally before the Lord—to make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven. 29 You must have one law for the person who sins unintentionally, both for the native-born among the Israelites and for the resident foreigner who lives among them.
Deliberate Sin
30 “‘But the person[m] who acts defiantly,[n] whether native-born or a resident foreigner, insults[o] the Lord.[p] That person[q] must be cut off[r] from among his people. 31 Because he has despised[s] the Lord’s message and has broken[t] his commandment, that person[u] must be completely cut off.[v] His iniquity will be on him.’”[w]
32 When the Israelites were[x] in the wilderness they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day.[y] 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to the whole community. 34 They put him in custody, because there was no clear instruction about what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death; the whole community must stone[z] him with stones outside the camp.” 36 So the whole community took him outside the camp and stoned him to death,[aa] just as the Lord commanded Moses.
Rules for Tassels
37 The Lord spoke to Moses: 38 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make[ab] tassels[ac] for themselves on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and put a blue thread[ad] on the tassel of the corners. 39 You must have this tassel so that you may look at it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and obey them and so that you do not follow[ae] after your own heart and your own eyes that lead you to unfaithfulness.[af] 40 Thus[ag] you will remember and obey all my commandments and be holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.”
The Rebellion of Korah
16 [ah] Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, who were Reubenites,[ai] took men[aj] 2 and rebelled against Moses, along with some of the Israelites, 250 leaders[ak] of the community, chosen from the assembly,[al] famous men.[am] 3 And they assembled against Moses and Aaron, saying to them, “You take too much upon yourselves,[an] seeing that the whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the community of the Lord?”
4 When Moses heard it he fell down with his face to the ground.[ao] 5 Then he said to Korah and to all his company, “In the morning the Lord will make known who are his, and who is holy. He will cause that person[ap] to approach him; the person he has chosen he will cause to approach him. 6 Do this, Korah, you and all your company:[aq] Take censers, 7 put fire in them, and set incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses will be holy. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!” 8 Moses said to Korah, “Listen now, you sons of Levi! 9 Does it seem too small a thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the community of Israel to bring you near to himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the community to minister to them? 10 He has brought you near and all your brothers, the sons of Levi, with you. Do you now seek[ar] the priesthood also? 11 Therefore you and all your company have assembled together against the Lord! And Aaron—what is he that you murmur against him?”[as] 12 Then Moses summoned[at] Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come up.[au] 13 Is it a small thing[av] that you have brought us up out of the land that flows with milk and honey,[aw] to kill us in the wilderness? Now do you want to make yourself a prince[ax] over us? 14 Moreover,[ay] you have not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you think you can blind[az] these men? We will not come up.”
15 Moses was very angry, and he said to the Lord, “Have no respect[ba] for their offering! I have not taken so much as one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them!”
16 Then Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company present yourselves before the Lord—you and they, and Aaron—tomorrow. 17 And each of you[bb] take his censer, put[bc] incense in it, and then each of you present his censer before the Lord: 250 censers, along with you, and Aaron—each of you with his censer.” 18 So everyone took his censer, put fire in it, and set incense on it, and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. 19 When[bd] Korah assembled the whole community against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting, then the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community.
The Judgment on the Rebels
20 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 21 “Separate yourselves[be] from among this community,[bf] that I may consume them in an instant.” 22 Then they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground[bg] and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all people,[bh] will you be angry with the whole community when only one man sins?”[bi]
23 So the Lord spoke to Moses: 24 “Tell the community: ‘Get away[bj] from around the homes of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’” 25 Then Moses got up[bk] and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel went after him. 26 And he said to the community, “Move away from the tents of these wicked[bl] men, and do not touch anything they have, lest you be destroyed because[bm] of all their sins.”[bn] 27 So they got away from the homes of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram on every side, and Dathan and Abiram came out and stationed themselves[bo] in the entrances of their tents with their wives, their children, and their toddlers. 28 Then Moses said, “This is how[bp] you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will.[bq] 29 If these men die a natural death,[br] or if they share the fate[bs] of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord does something entirely new,[bt] and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up[bu] along with all that they have, and they[bv] go down alive to the grave,[bw] then you will know that these men have despised the Lord!”
31 When he had finished[bx] speaking[by] all these words, the ground that was under them split open, 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, along with their households, and all Korah’s men, and all their goods. 33 They and all that they had went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed over them. So they perished from among the community. 34 All the Israelites[bz] who were around them fled at their cry,[ca] for they said, “What if[cb] the earth swallows us too?” 35 Then a fire[cc] went out from the Lord and devoured the 250 men who offered incense.
The Atonement for the Rebellion
36 (17:1)[cd] The Lord spoke to Moses: 37 “Tell[ce] Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pick up[cf] the censers out of the flame, for they are holy, and then scatter the coals of fire[cg] at a distance. 38 As for the censers of these men who sinned at the cost of their lives,[ch] they must be made[ci] into hammered sheets for covering the altar, because they presented them before the Lord and sanctified them. They will become a sign to the Israelites.” 39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers presented by those who had been burned up, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar. 40 It was a memorial for the Israelites, that no outsider who is not a descendant of[cj] Aaron should approach to burn incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his company—just as the Lord had spoken by the authority[ck] of Moses.
Jesus Brought Before Pilate
15 Early in the morning, after forming a plan, the chief priests with the elders and the experts in the law[a] and the whole Sanhedrin tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.[b] 2 So[c] Pilate asked him, “Are you the king[d] of the Jews?” He replied,[e] “You say so.”[f] 3 Then[g] the chief priests began to accuse him repeatedly. 4 So Pilate asked him again,[h] “Have you nothing to say? See how many charges they are bringing against you!” 5 But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.
Jesus and Barabbas
6 During the feast it was customary to release one prisoner to the people,[i] whomever they requested. 7 A man named Barabbas was imprisoned with rebels who had committed murder during an insurrection. 8 Then the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to release a prisoner for them, as was his custom.[j] 9 So Pilate asked them,[k] “Do you want me to release the king of the Jews for you?” 10 (For he knew that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy.)[l] 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release[m] Barabbas instead. 12 So Pilate spoke to them again,[n] “Then what do you want me to do[o] with the one you call king of the Jews?” 13 They shouted back, “Crucify[p] him!” 14 Pilate asked them, “Why? What has he done wrong?” But they shouted more insistently, “Crucify him!” 15 Because he wanted to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them. Then,[q] after he had Jesus flogged,[r] he handed him over[s] to be crucified.
Jesus is Mocked
16 So[t] the soldiers led him into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence)[u] and called together the whole cohort.[v] 17 They put a purple cloak[w] on him and after braiding[x] a crown of thorns,[y] they put it on him. 18 They began to salute him: “Hail, king of the Jews!”[z] 19 Again and again[aa] they struck him on the head with a staff[ab] and spit on him. Then they knelt down and paid homage to him. 20 When they had finished mocking[ac] him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes back on him. Then[ad] they led him away to crucify him.[ae]
The Crucifixion
21 The soldiers[af] forced[ag] a passerby to carry his cross,[ah] Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country[ai] (he was the father of Alexander and Rufus). 22 They brought Jesus[aj] to a place called Golgotha[ak] (which is translated, “Place of the Skull”).[al] 23 They offered him wine mixed with myrrh,[am] but he did not take it. 24 Then[an] they crucified[ao] him and divided his clothes, throwing dice[ap] for them, to decide what each would take. 25 It was nine o’clock in the morning[aq] when they crucified him. 26 The inscription[ar] of the charge against him read, “The king of the Jews.” 27 And they crucified two outlaws with him, one on his right and one on his left.[as] 29 Those who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself and come down from the cross!”[at] 31 In the same way even the chief priests—together with the experts in the law[au]—were mocking him among themselves:[av] “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! 32 Let the Christ,[aw] the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with him also spoke abusively to him.[ax]
Jesus’ Death
33 Now[ay] when it was noon,[az] darkness came over the whole land[ba] until three in the afternoon.[bb] 34 Around three o’clock[bc] Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”[bd] 35 When some of the bystanders heard it they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah!”[be] 36 Then someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine,[bf] put it on a stick,[bg] and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to take him down!” 37 But Jesus cried out with a loud voice and breathed his last. 38 And the temple curtain[bh] was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 Now when the centurion,[bi] who stood in front of him, saw how he died,[bj] he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” 40 There were also women, watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses,[bk] and Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they had followed him and given him support.[bl] Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were there too.
Jesus’ Burial
42 Now[bm] when evening had already come, since it was the day of preparation (that is, the day before the Sabbath),[bn] 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a highly regarded member of the council,[bo] who was himself looking forward to[bp] the kingdom of God,[bq] went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.[br] 44 Pilate was surprised that he was already dead. He[bs] called the centurion[bt] and asked him if he had been dead for some time. 45 When Pilate[bu] was informed by the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 After Joseph[bv] bought a linen cloth[bw] and took down the body, he wrapped it in the linen and placed it in a tomb cut out of the rock.[bx] Then[by] he rolled a stone across the entrance[bz] of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body[ca] was placed.
Psalm 54[a]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song[b] by David. It was written when the Ziphites came and informed Saul: “David is hiding with us.”[c]
54 O God, deliver me by your name.[d]
Vindicate me[e] by your power.
2 O God, listen to my prayer.
Pay attention to what I say.[f]
3 For foreigners[g] attack me;[h]
ruthless men, who do not respect God, seek my life.[i] (Selah)
4 Look, God is my deliverer.[j]
The Lord is among those who support me.[k]
5 May those who wait to ambush me[l] be repaid for their evil.[m]
As a demonstration of your faithfulness,[n] destroy them.
6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice[o] to you.
I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good.
7 Surely[p] he rescues me from all trouble,[q]
and I triumph over my enemies.[r]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.