The Daily Audio Bible
The Lord Will Provide
10 Ask the Lord, who makes storm clouds,
to give rain at the right time for the spring rains,
and he will provide showers of rain,
and there will be crops in the field for everyone.
2 But household gods speak wicked deception,
and the omen readers see illusions.
They report trivial dreams
and give false comfort.
That is why the people wander like sheep.
They are in trouble[a] because they have no shepherd.
The Lord’s Warning and Promise
3 My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders of the flock,
because the Lord of Armies cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
and he will make them like his majestic horse in battle.
4 From him will come the cornerstone,
from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every commander.
5 Together they will be like strong warriors,
going out into battle, trampling the enemy into the mud of the streets.
They will fight, because the Lord is with them,
and those who ride horses will be put to shame.
6 I will strengthen the house of Judah
and save the house of Joseph.
I will restore them,
because I have compassion on them.
It will be as if I had not rejected them,
because I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them.
7 Then Ephraim will become like a strong warrior,
and their hearts will be glad as if from wine.
Their children will see it and be glad.
Their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will whistle for them and gather them in,
for I have redeemed them.
They will be as numerous as they were in the past.
9 Though I scattered them among the peoples,
yet in distant places they will remember me.
They will survive and return with their children.
10 I will bring them back from the land of Egypt,
and I will gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to the land of Gilead and Lebanon,
and there will not be enough room for them.
11 They[b] will pass through the sea of distress,
but the Lord will strike the waves in the sea.
All the depths of the Nile will become dry.
The pride of Assyria will be brought low.
The scepter of Egypt will depart.
12 I will make them strong in the Lord,
and they will walk in his name, declares the Lord.
11 Open your doors, Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your cedars.
2 Wail, you fir trees, because the cedars have fallen.
The majestic trees have been destroyed.
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
for the impenetrable forest has been felled.
3 There is a sound of shepherds wailing,
because their splendor has been destroyed.
There is a sound of young lions roaring,
for the dense thickets of the Jordan have been destroyed.
The Rejection of the Good Shepherd
4 This is what the Lord, my God, said.
Shepherd the flock which is to be slaughtered. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and are not held accountable, and those who sell them say, “Bless the Lord! I have become rich!” Their own shepherds show them no compassion, 6 because I will no longer show compassion to the people of the land, declares the Lord.
Look, I will bring it about that each one of them will fall into the hand of his neighbor and into the hand of his king. They will crush the land, and I will rescue no one from their hands.
7 So I[c] shepherded the flock which is to be slaughtered, especially the most afflicted of the flock. I took two staffs for myself. One I called Favor and the other Union. Then I shepherded the flock. 8 I removed three shepherds in one month. I grew very impatient with the flock, and they really detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not shepherd you. Whatever is dying, let it die. Whatever is being destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.”
10 I took my staff, Favor, and I broke it in two, to cancel my covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was cancelled on that day, and the most miserable of the flock, who were watching me, knew that this was the word of the Lord.
12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, pay me my wages. But if it does not, withhold them.” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver as my wages.
13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter, this magnificent price at which they valued me.” So I took the thirty pieces of silver, and I threw them into the House of the Lord, to the potter.
14 Then I broke my second staff, Union, to break the brotherhood between the house of Judah and the house of Israel.
A Foolish Shepherd
15 Then the Lord said to me:
Take up once again the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
16 Watch closely. I myself am going to raise up a shepherd in the land, one who will pay no attention to those who are being lost, who will not search for the scattered, who will not heal the injured, who will not nourish those who remain standing, but who nevertheless will devour the meat of the fat sheep and even tear off their hoofs.
17 Woe to my worthless shepherd,
the one who deserts the flock.
May the sword strike his arm and his right eye!
May his arm wither away to nothing,
and his right eye become completely blind.
Babylon Has Fallen
18 After these things I saw another angel coming down out of heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was given light by his glory. 2 He called out with a loud voice, saying:
Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the Great.
She has become a dwelling place for demons,
and a prison for every unclean spirit,
and a prison for every unclean bird,[a]
and a prison for every unclean and hated beast.
3 For all the nations have drunk from[b] the wine of her adulterous desire,
and the kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth became rich from the abundance of her luxury.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven say:
Come out of her, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins,
and so that you will not receive any of her plagues,
5 because her sins have reached heaven
and God has remembered her crimes.
6 Pay her back even as she has paid.
Pay her back double for what she has done.
In the cup that she mixed, mix her a double portion.
7 As much glory and luxury as she gave herself,
give that much torture and grief to her,
because in her heart she says:
I sit as a queen,
I am not a widow, and
I will never mourn.
8 For this reason her plagues will come on a single day:
death, mourning, and famine,
and she will be burned in fire,
because the Lord God, who judges her, is powerful.
Some Mourn Babylon’s Destruction
9 “The kings of the earth who committed adultery and lived in luxury with her will weep and mourn for her when they see the smoke from her burning. 10 They will stand far away because of terror at her torment and say:
Woe, woe, the great city,
Babylon, the strong city!
For your judgment came in a single hour.
11 “The merchants of the earth also weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo anymore, 12 a cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet fabric, every kind of aromatic wood and ivory article, and every article made of precious wood, brass, iron, and marble; 13 also cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, high quality flour, grain, cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages, as well as bodies and souls of people.
14 “The fruit your soul desired has left you. All your costly and splendid things have passed away from you. No one will ever find them again.
15 “The merchants who sold those things and were made rich by Babylon will stand far away out of terror at her torment. They are going to weep and mourn, 16 saying:
Woe, woe to the great city that was clothed in fine linen
and purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls,
17 because such great wealth was made a wasteland in a single hour.
“Every ship captain and all the ocean travelers and the sailors and those who make their living on the sea stood far away 18 and cried out when they saw the smoke rise from her burning. They said, ‘Who is like the great city?’ 19 They threw dust on their heads and cried out as they wept and mourned, saying:
Woe, woe to the great city
by whom all who have ships on the sea were made rich from her treasures,
because she was made a wasteland in a single hour.
20 Rejoice over her, heaven,
also you saints, apostles, and prophets,
because God has judged her for the judgment you received from her.”
21 A mighty angel picked up a stone like a large millstone and, as he threw it into the sea, he said:
This is the way Babylon, the great city,
will be overthrown with violence and
will never again be found.
22 The sound of harpists and musicians, flutists and trumpeters,
will never be heard in you again.
No craftsman of any trade
will ever be found in you again.
The sound of a millstone
will never be heard in you again.
23 The light of a lamp
will never shine in you again.
The voice of bridegroom and bride
will never be heard in you again,
because your merchants were the great ones of the earth,
because your witchcraft led all the nations astray,
24 and the blood of prophets and saints was found in this city,[c]
along with the blood of all those who were slain on the earth.
Psalm 146
Praise Him for Protection
Praise for Protection
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
A Lifetime of Praise
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will make music to my God as long as I exist.
No Help in Humans
3 Do not trust in human helpers,[b]
in a mortal man who cannot save you.
4 His spirit departs.
He returns to the ground he came from.
On that day, his plans have perished.
Help in the Lord
5 Blessed is everyone who has the God of Jacob as his help.
His hope is in the Lord his God,
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything which is in them.
He is the one who stays faithful forever.
7 He obtains justice for the oppressed.
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord releases prisoners.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down.
The Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the aliens.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but he turns aside the way of the wicked.
An Eternity for Praise
10 The Lord reigns forever.
Your God, O Zion, rules for all generations.
Praise the Lord.
33 because just as pressing milk produces cheese,[a]
and pressing a nose brings forth blood,
so pressing one’s anger produces a fight.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.