The Daily Audio Bible
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A Promised Ruler
5 Jerusalem, enemy troops
have surrounded you;[a]
they have struck Israel's ruler
in the face with a stick.
2 (A) Bethlehem Ephrath,
you are one of the smallest towns
in the nation of Judah.
But the Lord will choose
one of your people
to rule the nation—
someone whose family
goes back to ancient times.[b]
3 The Lord will abandon Israel
only until this ruler is born,
and the rest of his family[c]
returns to Israel.
4 Like a shepherd
taking care of his sheep,
this ruler will lead
and care for his people
by the power and glorious name
of the Lord his God.
His people will live securely,
and the whole earth will know
his true greatness,
5 because he will bring peace.
Assyria Will Be Defeated
Let Assyria attack our country
and our palaces.
We will counterattack,
led by a number of rulers
6 (B) whose strong army will defeat
the nation of Assyria.[d]
Yes, our leaders will rescue us,
if those Assyrians
dare to invade our land.
The Survivors Will Be Safe
7 A few of Jacob's descendants
survived and are scattered
among the nations.
But the Lord will let them
cover the earth like dew and rain
that refreshes the soil.
8 At present they are scattered,
but later they will attack,
as though they were fierce lions
pouncing on sheep.
Their enemies will be torn
to shreds,
with no one to save them;
9 they will be helpless,
completely destroyed.
Idols Will Be Destroyed in Israel
10 The Lord said:
At that time I will wipe out
your cavalry and chariots,
11 as well as your cities
and your fortresses.
12 I will stop you
from telling fortunes
and practicing witchcraft.
13 You will no longer worship
the idols or stone images
you have made—
I will destroy them,
14 together with the sacred poles[e]
and even your towns.
15 I will become furious
and take revenge on the nations
that refuse to obey me.
The Lord's Challenge to His People
6 The Lord said to his people:
Come and present your case
to the hills and mountains.
2 Israel, I am bringing charges
against you—
I call upon the mountains
and the earth's firm foundation
to be my witnesses.
3 My people, have I wronged you
in any way at all?
Please tell me.
4 (C) I rescued you from Egypt,
where you were slaves.
I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam
to be your leaders.
5 (D) Don't forget the evil plans
of King Balak of Moab
or what Balaam son of Beor[f]
said to him.
Remember how I, the Lord,
saved you many times
on your way from Acacia
to Gilgal.[g]
True Obedience
6 What offering should I bring
when I bow down to worship
the Lord God Most High?
Should I try to please him[h]
by sacrificing
calves a year old?
7 Will thousands of sheep
or rivers of olive oil
make God satisfied with me?
Should I sacrifice to the Lord
my first-born child as payment
for my terrible sins?
8 The Lord God has told us
what is right
and what he demands:
“See that justice is done,
let mercy be your first concern,
and humbly obey your God.”
Cheating and Violence
9 I am the Lord,
and you are wise to respect
my power to punish.
So listen to my message
for the city of Jerusalem:[i]
10 You store up stolen treasures
and use dishonest scales.[j]
11 But I, the Lord, will punish you
for cheating with weights
and with measures.
12 You rich people are violent,
and everyone tells lies.
13 Because of your sins,
I will wound you and leave you
ruined and defenseless.
14 You will eat,
but still be hungry;
you will store up goods,
but lose everything—
I, the Lord, will let it all
be captured in war.
15 You won't harvest what you plant
or use the oil
from your olive trees
or drink the wine
from grapes you grow.
16 (E) Jerusalem, this will happen
because you followed
the sinful example
of kings Omri and Ahab.[k]
Now I will destroy you
and your property.
Then the people of every nation
will make fun and insult you.
Israel Is Corrupt
7 I feel so empty inside—
like someone starving
for grapes or figs,
after the vines and trees
have all been picked clean.
2 No one is loyal to God;
no one does right.
Everyone is brutal
and eager to deceive
everyone else.
3 People cooperate to commit crime.
Judges and leaders demand bribes,
and rulers cheat in court.[l]
4 The most honest of them
is worse than a thorn patch.
Your doom has come!
Lookouts sound the warning,
and everyone panics.
5 Don't trust anyone,
not even your best friend,
and be careful what you say
to the one you love.
6 (F) Sons refuse to respect
their own fathers,
daughters rebel against
their own mothers,
and daughters-in-law despise
their mothers-in-law.
Your family is now your enemy.
7 But I trust the Lord God
to save me,
and I will wait for him
to answer my prayer.
The Nation Turns to God
8 My enemies, don't be glad
because of my troubles!
I may have fallen,
but I will get up;
I may be sitting in the dark,
but the Lord is my light.
9 I have sinned against the Lord.
And so I must endure his anger,
until he comes to my defense.
But I know that I will see him
making things right for me
and leading me to the light.
10 You, my enemies, said,
“The Lord God is helpless.”
Now each of you
will be disgraced
and put to shame.
I will see you trampled
like mud in the street.
A Bright Future
11 Towns of Judah, the day is coming
when your walls will be rebuilt,
and your boundaries enlarged.
12 People will flock to you
from Assyria and Egypt,
from Babylonia[m]
and everywhere else.
13 Those nations will suffer disaster
because of what they did.
Micah's Prayer and the Lord's Answer
14 Lead your people, Lord!
Come and be our shepherd.
Grasslands surround us,
but we live in a forest.
So lead us to Bashan and Gilead,[n]
and let us find pasture
as we did long ago.
15 I, the Lord, will work miracles
just as I did when I led you
out of Egypt.
16 Nations will see this
and be ashamed because
of their helpless armies.
They will be in shock,
unable to speak or hear,
17 because of their fear of me,
your Lord and God.
Then they will come trembling,
crawling out of their fortresses
like insects or snakes,
lapping up the dust.
No One Is Like God
The people said:
18 Our God, no one is like you.
We are all that is left
of your chosen people,
and you freely forgive
our sin and guilt.
You don't stay angry forever;
you're glad to have pity
19 and pleased to be merciful.
You will trample on our sins
and throw them in the sea.
20 You will keep your word
and be faithful to Jacob
and to Abraham,
as you promised our ancestors
many years ago.
The 144,000 Are Marked for God
7 1-2 (A) After this I saw four angels. Each one was standing on one of the earth's four corners. The angels held back the four winds, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. These angels had also been given the power to harm the earth and the sea. Then I saw another angel come up from where the sun rises in the east, and he was ready to put the mark of the living God on people. He shouted to the four angels, 3 (B) “Don't harm the earth or the sea or any tree! Wait until I have marked the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
4 Then I heard how many people had been marked on the forehead. There were 144,000, and they came from every tribe of Israel:
5 12,000 from Judah,
12,000 from Reuben,
12,000 from Gad,
6 12,000 from Asher,
12,000 from Naphtali,
12,000 from Manasseh,
7 12,000 from Simeon,
12,000 from Levi,
12,000 from Issachar,
8 12,000 from Zebulun,
12,000 from Joseph, and
12,000 from Benjamin.
People from Every Nation
9 (C) After this, I saw a large crowd with more people than could be counted. They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands, 10 as they shouted,
“Our God, who sits
upon the throne,
has the power
to save his people,
and so does the Lamb.”
11 The angels who stood around the throne knelt in front of it with their faces to the ground. The elders and the four living creatures knelt there with them. Then they all worshiped God 12 and said,
“Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom,
thanks, honor, power,
and strength belong to our God
forever and ever! Amen!”
13 One of the elders asked me, “Do you know who these people are that are dressed in white robes? Do you know where they come from?”
14 (D) “Sir,” I answered, “you must know.”
Then he told me:
“These are the ones
who have gone through
the great suffering.
They have washed their robes
in the blood of the Lamb
and have made them white.
15 And so they stand
before the throne of God
and worship him in his temple
day and night.
The one who sits on the throne
will spread his tent
over them.
16 (E) They will never hunger
or thirst again,
and they won't be troubled
by the sun
or any scorching heat.
17 (F) “The Lamb in the center
of the throne
will be their shepherd.
He will lead them to streams
of life-giving water,
and God will wipe all tears
from their eyes.”
In Praise of the Lord's Kindness
1 Shout praises to the Lord!
You are his servants,
so praise his name.
2 All who serve in the temple
of the Lord our God,
3 come and shout praises.
Praise the name of the Lord!
He is kind and good.
4 He chose the family of Jacob
and the people of Israel
for his very own.
5 The Lord is much greater
than any other god.
6 He does as he chooses
in heaven and on earth
and deep in the sea.
7 The Lord makes the clouds rise
from far across the earth,
and he makes lightning
to go with the rain.
Then from his secret place
he sends out the wind.
8 The Lord killed the first-born
of people and animals
in the land of Egypt.
9 God used miracles and wonders
to fight the king of Egypt
and all of his officials.
10 He destroyed many nations
and killed powerful kings,
11 including King Sihon
of the Amorites
and King Og of Bashan.
He conquered every kingdom
in the land of Canaan
12 and gave their property
to his people Israel.
13 The name of the Lord
will be remembered forever,
and he will be famous
for all time to come.
14 The Lord will bring justice
and show mercy to all
who serve him.
15 (A) Idols of silver and gold
are made and worshiped
in other nations.
16 They have a mouth and eyes,
but they can't speak or see.
17 They are completely deaf,
and they can't breathe.
18 Everyone who makes idols
and all who trust them
will end up as helpless
as their idols.
19 Everyone in Israel,
come praise the Lord!
All the family of Aaron
20 and all the tribe of Levi,[a]
come praise the Lord!
All of his worshipers,
come praise the Lord.
21 Praise the Lord from Zion!
He lives here in Jerusalem.
Shout praises to the Lord!
5 Everything God says is true—
and it's a shield for all
who come to him for safety.
6 Don't change what God has said!
He will correct you and show
that you are a liar.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.