The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the GW. Switch to the GW to read along with the audio.
The Covenant in Moab
29 [a](A)These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the (B)covenant which He had made with them at Horeb.
2 [b]And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants, and to all his land; 3 (C)the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders. 4 Yet to this day (D)the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear. 5 And I have led you in the wilderness for forty years; (E)your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot. 6 (F)You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or other strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the Lord your God. 7 (G)When you [c]reached this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out to meet us for battle, but we [d]defeated them; 8 and we took their land and (H)gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. 9 (I)So you will keep the words of this covenant and do them, (J)in order that you may be successful in everything that you do.
10 “You stand today, all of you, before the Lord your God: your heads, your tribes, your elders and your officers, that is, all the men of Israel, 11 your little ones, your wives, and the stranger who is within your camps, from (K)the one who gathers your firewood to the one who draws your water, 12 so that you may enter into the covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath which the Lord your God is making with you today, 13 in order that He may establish you today as His people, and that (L)He may be your God, just as He spoke to you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
14 “Now it is not with you alone that I am (M)making this covenant and this oath, 15 (N)but both with those who stand here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God, and with those who are not with us here today 16 (for you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we passed through the midst of the nations through which you passed; 17 moreover, you have seen their abominations and their idols made of (O)wood and stone, silver and gold, which they had with them); 18 (P)so that there will not be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; that there will not be among you (Q)a root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood. 19 And it shall be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will consider himself fortunate in his heart, saying, ‘I will do well though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order [e]to destroy the watered land along with the dry.’ 20 The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and (R)His wrath will [f](S)burn against that person, and every curse that is written in this book will lie upon him, and the Lord will (T)wipe out his name from under heaven. 21 Then the Lord will single him out for disaster from all the tribes of Israel, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant (U)which is written in this Book of the Law.
22 “Now the future generation, your sons who rise up after you and (V)the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see the plagues of that land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it, will say, 23 ‘All its land is (W)brimstone and salt, (X)burned debris, [g]unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows on it, like the overthrow of (Y)Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.’ 24 All the nations will say, ‘(Z)Why has the Lord done all this to this land? Why this great [h]outburst of anger?’ 25 Then people will say, ‘It is (AA)because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. 26 And they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they have not known and whom He had not [i]assigned to them. 27 Therefore, the anger of the Lord burned against that land, (AB)to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book; 28 and (AC)the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, fury, and in great wrath, and hurled them into another land, as it is this day.’
29 “(AD)The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but (AE)the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, so that we may [j]follow all the words of this Law.
Restoration Promised
30 “So it will be when all of these things have come upon you, (AF)the blessing and the curse which I have placed before you, and you [k]call them to mind (AG)in all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you, 2 and you (AH)return to the Lord your God and [l]obey Him (AI)with all your heart and soul in accordance with everything that I am commanding you today, you and your sons, 3 then the Lord your God will (AJ)restore [m]you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and (AK)will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has (AL)scattered you. 4 If any of your scattered countrymen are at the [n]ends of the earth, (AM)from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will [o]bring you back. 5 (AN)The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will be good to you and (AO)make you more numerous than your fathers.
6 “Moreover, (AP)the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your [p]descendants, (AQ)to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, so that you may live. 7 (AR)And the Lord your God will [q]inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 And you will again [r]obey the Lord, and [s]follow all His commandments which I am commanding you today. 9 (AS)Then the Lord your God will prosper you [t]abundantly in every work of your hand, in the [u]children of your womb, the [v]offspring of your cattle, and in the [w]produce of your ground, for (AT)the Lord will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; 10 [x]if you [y]obey the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which (AU)are written in this Book of the Law, [z]if you turn to the Lord your God (AV)with all your heart and soul.
11 “For this commandment which I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far away. 12 It is not in heaven, [aa]that you could say, ‘(AW)Who will go up to heaven for us and get it for us, and proclaim it to us, so that we may [ab]follow it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, [ac]that you could say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us and get it for us and proclaim it to us, so that we may [ad]follow it?’ 14 On the contrary, the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may [ae]follow it.
Choose Life
15 “See, (AX)I have placed before you today life and [af]happiness, and death and [ag]adversity, 16 in that I am commanding you today (AY)to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, so that you (AZ)may live and become numerous, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but allow yourself to be led astray and you worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that (BA)you will certainly perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter [ah]and take possession of it. 19 (BB)I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, (BC)the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your [ai]descendants, 20 (BD)by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and (BE)by holding close to Him; (BF)for [aj]this is your life and the length of your days, [ak]so that you may live in (BG)the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Woes upon the Pharisees
37 Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee *asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in and reclined at the table. 38 When the Pharisee saw this, he was surprised that Jesus had not first [a](A)ceremonially washed before the [b]meal. 39 But (B)the Lord said to him, “Now (C)you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish; but your inside is full of greed and wickedness. 40 (D)You foolish ones, did He who made the outside not make the inside also? 41 But (E)give that which is within as a charitable gift, and [c]then all things are (F)clean for you.
42 “(G)But woe to you Pharisees! For you (H)pay tithes of mint, rue, and every kind of garden herb, and yet you [d]ignore justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you (I)love the seat of honor in the synagogues and personal greetings in the marketplaces. 44 (J)Woe to you! For you are like [e]unseen tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”
45 One of the [f](K)lawyers *said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us too.” 46 But He said, “Woe to you (L)lawyers as well! For (M)you load people with burdens that are hard to bear, [g]while you yourselves will not even [h]touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 (N)Woe to you! For you build the [i]tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. 48 So you are witnesses and you approve of the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their [j]tombs. 49 For this reason also, (O)the wisdom of God said, ‘(P)I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will [k]persecute, 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed (Q)since the foundation of the world, may be charged [l]against this generation, 51 from (R)the blood of Abel to (S)the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged [m]against this generation.’ 52 Woe to you [n](T)lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; (U)you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”
53 When He left that place, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to interrogate Him about many subjects, 54 (V)plotting against Him (W)to catch [o]Him in something He might say.
God Knows and Cares
12 Under these circumstances, after [p]so many thousands of [q]people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “(X)Beware of the [r]leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 (Y)But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3 Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have [s]whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on (Z)the housetops.
4 “Now I say to you, (AA)My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: (AB)fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into [t](AC)hell; yes, I tell you, fear [u]Him! 6 Are (AD)five sparrows not sold for two [v]assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. 7 (AE)But even the hairs of your head are all counted. [w]Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.
God’s Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
78 (A)Listen, my people, to my [b]instruction;
(B)Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will (C)open my mouth in a parable;
I will tell (D)riddles of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And (E)our fathers have told us.
4 We will (F)not conceal them from their children,
But we will (G)tell the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His power and His (H)wondrous works that He has done.
5 For He established a (I)testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a (J)law in Israel,
Which He (K)commanded our fathers
That they were to [c](L)teach them to their children,
6 (M)So that the generation to come would know, (N)the children yet to be born,
That they would arise and (O)tell them to their children,
7 So that they would put their confidence in God
And (P)not forget the works of God,
But (Q)comply with His commandments,
8 And (R)not be like their fathers,
A (S)stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that (T)did not [d]prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not (U)faithful to God.
9 The sons of Ephraim [e]were (V)archers equipped with bows,
Yet (W)they turned back on the day of battle.
10 They (X)did not keep the covenant of God
And refused to (Y)walk in His Law;
11 They (Z)forgot His deeds
And His [f]miracles that He had shown them.
12 (AA)He performed wonders before their fathers
In the land of Egypt, in the (AB)field of Zoan.
13 He (AC)divided the sea and caused them to pass through,
And He made the waters stand (AD)up like a heap.
14 Then He led them with the cloud by (AE)day
And all the night with a (AF)light of fire.
15 He (AG)split the rocks in the wilderness
And gave them plenty to drink like the ocean depths.
16 He (AH)brought forth streams from the rock
And made waters run down like rivers.
17 Yet they still continued to sin against Him,
To (AI)rebel against the Most High in the desert.
18 And in their heart they (AJ)put God to the test
By asking for (AK)food [g]that suited their taste.
19 Then they spoke against God;
They said, “(AL)Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, He (AM)struck the rock so that waters gushed out,
And streams were overflowing;
Can He also provide bread?
Will He prepare (AN)meat for His people?”
21 Therefore the Lord heard and [h]was (AO)full of wrath;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also mounted against Israel,
22 Because they (AP)did not believe in God
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He commanded the clouds above
And (AQ)opened the doors of heaven;
24 He (AR)rained down manna upon them to eat,
And gave them [i](AS)food from heaven.
25 Man ate the bread of [j]angels;
He sent them [k]food [l](AT)in abundance.
26 He (AU)made the east wind blow in the sky
And by His [m]power He directed the south wind.
27 When He rained meat upon them like the dust,
Even (AV)winged fowl like the sand of the seas,
28 He let them fall in the midst of [n]their camp,
All around their dwellings.
29 So they (AW)ate and were well filled,
And He [o]satisfied their longing.
30 [p]Yet before they had abandoned their longing,
(AX)While their food was in their mouths,
31 The (AY)anger of God rose against them
And killed [q]some of their (AZ)strongest ones,
And [r]subdued the choice men of Israel.
19 Truthful lips will endure forever,
But a (A)lying tongue is only for a moment.
20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,
But counselors of peace have joy.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.