The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the NIV. Switch to the NIV to read along with the audio.
Series of Kings: Azariah (Uzziah) over Judah
15 (A)In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah became king. 2 He was (B)sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was [a]Jecoliah of Jerusalem. 3 He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that his father Amaziah had done. 4 Only (C)the high places were not eliminated; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 5 (D)And the Lord afflicted the king, so that he had leprosy to the day of his death. And he (E)lived in a separate house, [b]while Jotham the king’s son was in charge of the household, judging the people of the land. 6 Now as for the rest of the acts of Azariah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 7 And Azariah [c]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and his son Jotham became king in his place.
Zechariah over Israel
8 (F)In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in Samaria for six months. 9 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his fathers had done; he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel. 10 Then Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and (G)struck him in the presence of the people and [d]killed him, and reigned in his place. 11 Now as for the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 12 This is (H)the word of the Lord which He spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” And so it was.
13 Shallum the son of Jabesh became king in the (I)thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned for [e]one month in (J)Samaria. 14 Then Menahem the son of Gadi went up from (K)Tirzah and came to Samaria, and struck Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, and killed him and became king in his place. 15 Now as for the rest of the acts of Shallum and his conspiracy which he formed, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 16 Then Menahem attacked Tiphsah and all who were in it and its borders from Tirzah, because they did not open up to him; so he attacked it and ripped up (L)all its women who were pregnant.
Menahem over Israel
17 In the (M)thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi became king over Israel and reigned for ten years in Samaria. 18 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; for all his days he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel.
19 (N)Pul, the king of Assyria, came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a [f]thousand talents of silver so that his hand might be with him to (O)strengthen the [g]kingdom [h]under his rule. 20 Then Menahem collected the money from Israel, from all the [i]mighty men of wealth, from each man fifty shekels of silver to pay the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned and did not stay there in the land. 21 Now as for the rest of the acts of Menahem and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 22 And Menahem [j]lay down with his fathers, and his son Pekahiah became king in his place.
Pekahiah over Israel
23 In (P)the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned for two years. 24 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel. 25 Then Pekah the son of Remaliah, his officer, conspired against him and struck him in Samaria, in (Q)the castle of the king’s house with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of the Gileadites, and he killed him and became king in his place. 26 Now as for the rest of the acts of Pekahiah and everything that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
Pekah over Israel
27 In (R)the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, (S)Pekah the son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for twenty years. 28 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel.
29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, [k](T)Tiglath-pileser the king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and (U)he led [l]their populations into exile to Assyria. 30 And Hoshea the son of Elah formed a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck him and put him to death, and he became king in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. 31 Now as for the rest of the acts of Pekah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
Jotham over Judah
32 In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham the son of [m]Uzziah king of Judah became king. 33 (V)He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 34 (W)He did what was right in the sight of the Lord; he acted in accordance with everything that his father Uzziah had done. 35 Only (X)the high places were not eliminated; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. (Y)He built the upper gate of the house of the Lord. 36 Now as for the rest of the acts of Jotham which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 37 In those days (Z)the Lord began to send Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah. 38 And Jotham [n]lay down with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David; and his son Ahaz became king in his place.
Ahaz Reigns over Judah
16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, (AA)Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, became king. 2 (AB)Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his father David had done. 3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, (AC)and he even made his son pass through the fire, (AD)in accordance with the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had [o]driven out before the sons of Israel. 4 And he (AE)sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 Then (AF)Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem for war; and they besieged Ahaz, (AG)but [p]were not capable of fighting him. 6 At that time Rezin king of Aram restored (AH)Elath to Aram, and drove the Judeans away from [q]Elath; and the [r]Arameans came to Elath and have lived there to this day.
Ahaz Seeks Help of Assyria
7 (AI)So Ahaz sent messengers to (AJ)Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son; come up and save me from the [s]hand of the king of Aram, and from the [t]hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.” 8 And (AK)Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent a gift to the king of Assyria. 9 (AL)So the king of Assyria listened to him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and (AM)captured it, and led the people of it into exile to (AN)Kir, and put Rezin to death.
Damascus Falls
10 Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet (AO)Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he saw the altar which was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to (AP)Urijah the priest the [u]pattern of the altar and its model, according to all its workmanship. 11 So Urijah the priest built an altar; according to everything that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, in that way Urijah the priest made it, [v]before the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus. 12 And when the king came from Damascus, the king saw the altar; then (AQ)the king approached the altar and [w]went up to it, 13 and [x]burned his burnt offering and his meal offering, and poured out his [y]drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. 14 And (AR)the bronze altar, which was before the Lord, [z]he brought from the front of the house, from between (AS)his altar and the house of the Lord, and he put it on the north side of his altar. 15 Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “Upon the great altar [aa]burn (AT)the morning burnt offering, the evening meal offering, the king’s burnt offering and his meal offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their meal offering, and their [ab]drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. But (AU)the bronze altar shall be for me, for making inquiries.” 16 So Urijah the priest acted in accordance with everything that King Ahaz commanded.
17 Then King Ahaz (AV)cut off the borders of the stands, and removed the wash basin from them; he also (AW)took down the [ac]Sea from the bronze oxen which were under it and put it on a pavement of stone. 18 And the covered way for the Sabbath which they had built in the house, and the outer entry of the king, he removed from the house of the Lord because of the king of Assyria.
Hezekiah Reigns over Judah
19 Now as for the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written (AX)in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 20 So (AY)Ahaz [ad]lay down with his fathers, and (AZ)was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.
13 But also some of the Jewish (A)exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to [a]use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had the evil spirits, saying, “I order you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches!” 14 Now there were seven sons of [b]Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, doing this. 15 But the evil spirit responded and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit, pounced on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known to all who lived in (B)Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. 18 Also many of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. 19 And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they added up the prices of [c]the books and found it to be fifty thousand [d](C)pieces of silver. 20 So [e](D)the word of the Lord (E)was growing and prevailing mightily.
21 Now after these things were finished, Paul resolved in [f]the Spirit to (F)go to Jerusalem (G)after he had passed through (H)Macedonia and (I)Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, (J)I must also see Rome.” 22 And after he sent into (K)Macedonia two of (L)those who assisted him, (M)Timothy and (N)Erastus, he himself stayed in [g](O)Asia for a while.
23 About that time [h]a major disturbance occurred in regard to [i](P)the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of [j]Artemis, (Q)was bringing [k]considerable [l]business to the craftsmen; 25 he gathered these men together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity [m]depends upon this business. 26 You see and hear that not only in (R)Ephesus, but in almost all of [n](S)Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that [o](T)gods made by hands are not gods at all. 27 Not only is there danger that this trade of ours will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess [p]Artemis will be regarded as worthless, and that she whom all of [q](U)Asia and (V)the [r]world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.”
28 When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began shouting, saying, “Great is [s]Artemis of the (W)Ephesians!” 29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging along (X)Gaius and (Y)Aristarchus, Paul’s (Z)Macedonian traveling (AA)companions. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, (AB)the disciples would not let him. 31 Also some of the [t]Asiarchs who were friends of his sent word to him and repeatedly urged him not to [u]venture into the theater. 32 (AC)So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the [v]assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know [w]for what reason they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd [x]concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having (AD)motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is [y]Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 After quieting the crowd, the town clerk *said, “Men of (AE)Ephesus, what person is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great [z]Artemis and of the image which fell down from [aa]the sky? 36 So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither (AF)temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and [ab](AG)proconsuls are available; have them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the [ac]lawful [ad]assembly. 40 For indeed, we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real reason for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering.” 41 After saying this he dismissed the [ae]assembly.
Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.
147 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
For (A)it is good to sing praises to our God;
For [c]it is pleasant and praise is [d](B)beautiful.
2 The Lord (C)builds up Jerusalem;
He (D)gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the (E)brokenhearted
And (F)binds up their [e]wounds.
4 He (G)counts the number of the stars;
He [f](H)gives names to all of them.
5 (I)Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
His (J)understanding is [g]infinite.
6 The Lord [h](K)supports the afflicted;
He brings the wicked down to the ground.
7 (L)Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God on the lyre;
8 It is He who (M)covers the heavens with clouds,
Who (N)provides rain for the earth,
Who (O)makes grass sprout on the mountains.
9 It is He who (P)gives an animal its food,
And feeds (Q)young ravens that cry.
10 He does not delight in [i]the strength of the (R)horse;
He (S)does not take pleasure in the [j]legs of a man.
11 The Lord (T)favors those who fear Him,
(U)Those who wait for His [k]faithfulness.
12 Praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Praise your God, Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the (V)bars of your gates;
He has (W)blessed your sons among you.
14 He (X)makes [l]peace in your borders;
He (Y)satisfies you with (Z)the [m]finest of the wheat.
15 He sends His (AA)command to the earth;
His (AB)word runs very swiftly.
16 He [n]showers (AC)snow like wool;
He scatters the (AD)frost like ashes.
17 He hurls His (AE)ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His (AF)cold?
18 He (AG)sends His word and makes them melt;
He (AH)makes His wind blow, and the waters flow.
19 He (AI)declares His words to Jacob,
His (AJ)statutes and His judgments to Israel.
20 He (AK)has not dealt this way with any other nation;
And as for His judgments, [o]they have (AL)not known them.
[p]Praise [q]the Lord!
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.