The Daily Audio Bible
Zion’s Future Splendor
60 “Arise! Shine! For your light arrives!
The splendor[a] of the Lord shines on you!
2 For, look, darkness covers the earth
and deep darkness covers[b] the nations,
but the Lord shines on you;
his splendor[c] appears over you.
3 Nations come to your light,
kings to your bright light.
4 Look all around you![d]
They all gather and come to you—
your sons come from far away,
and your daughters are escorted by guardians.
5 Then you will look and smile,[e]
you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride.[f]
For the riches of distant lands[g] will belong to you,
and the wealth of nations will come to you.
6 Camel caravans will cover your roads,[h]
young camels from Midian and Ephah.
All the merchants of Sheba[i] will come,
bringing gold and incense
and singing praises to the Lord.[j]
7 All the sheep of Kedar will be gathered to you;
the rams of Nebaioth will be available to you as sacrifices.[k]
They will go up on my altar acceptably,[l]
and I will bestow honor on my majestic temple.
8 Who are these who float along[m] like a cloud,
who fly like doves to their shelters?[n]
9 Indeed, the coastlands[o] look eagerly for me;
the large ships[p] are in the lead,
bringing your sons from far away,
along with their silver and gold,
to honor the Lord your God,[q]
the Holy One of Israel,[r] for he has bestowed honor on you.
10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls;
their kings will serve you.
Even though I struck you down in my anger,
I will restore my favor and have compassion on you.[s]
11 Your gates will remain open at all times;
they will not be shut during the day or at night,
so that the wealth of nations may be delivered,
with their kings leading the way.[t]
12 Indeed,[u] nations or kingdoms that do not serve you will perish;
such nations will definitely be destroyed.[v]
13 The splendor of Lebanon will come to you,
its evergreens, firs, and cypresses together,
to beautify my palace;[w]
I will bestow honor on my throne room.[x]
14 The children of your oppressors will come bowing to you;
all who treated you with disrespect will bow down at your feet.
They will call you, ‘The City of the Lord,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.’[y]
15 You were once abandoned
and despised, with no one passing through,
but I will make you[z] a permanent source of pride
and joy to coming generations.
16 You will drink the milk of nations;
you will nurse at the breasts of kings.[aa]
Then you will recognize that I, the Lord, am your Deliverer,
your Protector,[ab] the Powerful One of Jacob.[ac]
17 Instead of bronze, I will bring you gold;
instead of iron, I will bring you silver;
instead of wood, I will bring you[ad] bronze;
instead of stones, I will bring you[ae] iron.
I will make prosperity[af] your overseer,
and vindication your sovereign ruler.[ag]
18 Sounds of violence will no longer be heard in your land,
or the sounds of[ah] destruction and devastation within your borders.
You will name your walls, ‘Deliverance,’
and your gates, ‘Praise.’
19 The sun will no longer supply light for you by day,
nor will the moon’s brightness shine on you;
the Lord will be your permanent source of light—
the splendor of your God will shine upon you.[ai]
20 Your sun will no longer set;
your moon will not disappear;[aj]
the Lord will be your permanent source of light;
your time[ak] of sorrow will be over.
21 All your people will be godly;[al]
they will possess the land permanently.
I will plant them like a shoot;
they will be the product of my labor,
through whom I reveal my splendor.[am]
22 The least of you will multiply into[an] a thousand;
the smallest of you will become a large nation.
When the right time comes, I the Lord will quickly do this!”[ao]
The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People
61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has chosen[ap] me.[aq]
He has commissioned[ar] me to encourage[as] the poor,
to help[at] the brokenhearted,
to decree the release of captives,
and the freeing of prisoners,
2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor,
the day when our God will seek vengeance,[au]
to console all who mourn,
3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,
by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,
oil symbolizing joy,[av] instead of mourning,
a garment symbolizing praise,[aw] instead of discouragement.[ax]
They will be called oaks of righteousness,[ay]
trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor.[az]
4 They will rebuild the perpetual ruins
and restore the places that were desolate;[ba]
they will reestablish the ruined cities,
the places that have been desolate since ancient times.
5 [bb] “Foreigners will take care of[bc] your sheep;
foreigners will work in your fields and vineyards.
6 You will be called, ‘the Lord’s priests,
servants of our God.’[bd]
You will enjoy[be] the wealth of nations
and boast about[bf] the riches you receive from them.[bg]
7 Instead of shame, you will get a double portion;[bh]
instead of humiliation, they will rejoice over the land they receive.[bi]
Yes,[bj] they will possess a double portion in their land
and experience lasting joy.
8 For I, the Lord, love justice
and hate robbery and sin.
I will repay them because of my faithfulness;[bk]
I will make a permanent covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations,
their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will recognize that
the Lord has blessed them.”[bl]
10 I[bm] will greatly rejoice[bn] in the Lord;
I will be overjoyed because of my God.[bo]
For he clothes me in garments of deliverance;
he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication.[bp]
I look like a bridegroom when he wears a turban as a priest would;
I look like a bride when she puts on her jewelry.[bq]
11 For just as the ground produces its crops
and a garden yields its produce,
so the Sovereign Lord will cause deliverance[br] to grow,
and give his people reason to praise him in the sight of all the nations.[bs]
The Lord Takes Delight in Zion
62 For the sake of Zion I will not be silent;
for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet,
until her vindication shines brightly[bt]
and her deliverance burns like a torch.
2 Nations will see your vindication,
and all kings your splendor.
You will be called by a new name
that the Lord himself will give you.[bu]
3 You will be a majestic crown in the hand of the Lord,
a royal turban in the hand of your God.
4 You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,”
and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.”
Indeed,[bv] you will be called “My Delight is in Her,”[bw]
and your land “Married.”[bx]
For the Lord will take delight in you,
and your land will be married to him.[by]
5 As a young man marries a young woman,
so your sons[bz] will marry you.
As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,
so your God will rejoice over you.
27 Only conduct yourselves[a] in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that—whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent—I should hear that[b] you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel,[c] 28 and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is[d] a sign of their[e] destruction, but of your salvation—a sign which[f] is from God. 29 For it has been granted to you[g] not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are encountering[h] the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing.[i]
Christian Unity and Christ’s Humility
2 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit,[j] any affection or mercy,[k] 2 complete my joy and be of the same mind,[l] by having the same love, being united in spirit,[m] and having one purpose. 3 Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition[n] or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. 4 Each of you should be concerned[o] not only[p] about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.[q] 5 You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had,[r]
6 [s] who though he existed in the form of God[t]
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself
by taking on the form of a slave,[u]
by looking like other men,[v]
and by sharing in human nature.[w]
8 He humbled himself,
by becoming obedient to the point of death
—even death on a cross!
9 As a result God highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow
—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—
11 and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father.
Lights in the World
12 So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence,[x] 13 for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God. 14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world[y] 16 by holding on to[z] the word of life so that on the day of Christ I will have a reason to boast that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice together with all of you. 18 And in the same way you also should be glad and rejoice together with me.
Psalm 72[a]
For[b] Solomon.
72 O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions.[c]
Grant the king’s son[d] the ability to make fair decisions.[e]
2 Then he will judge[f] your people fairly,
and your oppressed ones[g] equitably.
3 The mountains will bring news of peace to the people,
and the hills will announce justice.[h]
4 He will defend[i] the oppressed among the people;
he will deliver[j] the children[k] of the poor
and crush the oppressor.
5 People will fear[l] you[m] as long as the sun and moon remain in the sky,
for generation after generation.[n]
6 He[o] will descend like rain on the mown grass,[p]
like showers that drench[q] the earth.[r]
7 During his days the godly will flourish;[s]
peace will prevail as long as the moon remains in the sky.[t]
8 May he rule[u] from sea to sea,[v]
and from the Euphrates River[w] to the ends of the earth.
9 Before him the coastlands[x] will bow down,
and his enemies will lick the dust.[y]
10 The kings of Tarshish[z] and the coastlands will offer gifts;
the kings of Sheba[aa] and Seba[ab] will bring tribute.
11 All kings will bow down to him;
all nations will serve him.
12 For he will rescue the needy[ac] when they cry out for help,
and the oppressed[ad] who have no defender.
13 He will take pity[ae] on the poor and needy;
the lives of the needy he will save.
14 From harm and violence he will defend them;[af]
he will value their lives.[ag]
15 May he live![ah] May they offer him gold from Sheba.[ai]
May they continually pray for him.
May they pronounce blessings on him all day long.[aj]
16 May there be[ak] an abundance[al] of grain in the earth;
on the tops[am] of the mountains may it[an] sway.[ao]
May its[ap] fruit trees[aq] flourish[ar] like the forests of Lebanon.[as]
May its crops[at] be as abundant[au] as the grass of the earth.[av]
17 May his fame endure.[aw]
May his dynasty last as long as the sun remains in the sky.[ax]
May they use his name when they formulate their blessings.[ay]
May all nations consider him to be favored by God.[az]
18 The Lord God, the God of Israel, deserves praise.[ba]
He alone accomplishes amazing things.[bb]
19 His glorious name deserves praise[bc] forevermore.
May his majestic splendor[bd] fill the whole earth.
We agree! We agree![be]
20 This collection of the prayers of David son of Jesse ends here.[bf]
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