The Daily Audio Bible
Various Laws
19 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel(A) and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God,(B) am holy.(C)
3 “‘Each of you must respect your mother and father,(D) and you must observe my Sabbaths.(E) I am the Lord your God.(F)
4 “‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves.(G) I am the Lord your God.(H)
5 “‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. 6 It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up.(I) 7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.(J) 8 Whoever eats it will be held responsible(K) because they have desecrated what is holy(L) to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.(M)
9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges(N) of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.(O) 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time(P) or pick up the grapes that have fallen.(Q) Leave them for the poor and the foreigner.(R) I am the Lord your God.
11 “‘Do not steal.(S)
“‘Do not lie.(T)
“‘Do not deceive one another.(U)
12 “‘Do not swear falsely(V) by my name(W) and so profane(X) the name of your God. I am the Lord.
13 “‘Do not defraud or rob(Y) your neighbor.(Z)
“‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker(AA) overnight.(AB)
14 “‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,(AC) but fear your God.(AD) I am the Lord.
15 “‘Do not pervert justice;(AE) do not show partiality(AF) to the poor or favoritism to the great,(AG) but judge your neighbor fairly.(AH)
16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander(AI) among your people.
“‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life.(AJ) I am the Lord.
17 “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart.(AK) Rebuke your neighbor frankly(AL) so you will not share in their guilt.
18 “‘Do not seek revenge(AM) or bear a grudge(AN) against anyone among your people,(AO) but love your neighbor(AP) as yourself.(AQ) I am the Lord.
19 “‘Keep my decrees.(AR)
“‘Do not mate different kinds of animals.
“‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.(AS)
“‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.(AT)
20 “‘If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man(AU) but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment.[a] Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. 21 The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord.(AV) 22 With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.(AW)
23 “‘When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden.[b] For three years you are to consider it forbidden[c]; it must not be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy,(AX) an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God.
26 “‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.(AY)
“‘Do not practice divination(AZ) or seek omens.(BA)
27 “‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.(BB)
28 “‘Do not cut(BC) your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.
29 “‘Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute,(BD) or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.(BE)
30 “‘Observe my Sabbaths(BF) and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.(BG)
31 “‘Do not turn to mediums(BH) or seek out spiritists,(BI) for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
32 “‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect(BJ) for the elderly(BK) and revere your God.(BL) I am the Lord.(BM)
33 “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born.(BN) Love them as yourself,(BO) for you were foreigners(BP) in Egypt.(BQ) I am the Lord your God.
35 “‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.(BR) 36 Use honest scales(BS) and honest weights, an honest ephah[d](BT) and an honest hin.[e](BU) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.(BV)
37 “‘Keep all my decrees(BW) and all my laws(BX) and follow them. I am the Lord.’”
Punishments for Sin
20 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Molek is to be put to death.(BY) The members of the community are to stone him.(BZ) 3 I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people;(CA) for by sacrificing his children to Molek, he has defiled(CB) my sanctuary(CC) and profaned my holy name.(CD) 4 If the members of the community close their eyes when that man sacrifices one of his children to Molek and if they fail to put him to death,(CE) 5 I myself will set my face against him and his family and will cut them off from their people together with all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molek.
6 “‘I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.(CF)
7 “‘Consecrate yourselves(CG) and be holy,(CH) because I am the Lord your God.(CI) 8 Keep my decrees(CJ) and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.(CK)
9 “‘Anyone who curses their father(CL) or mother(CM) is to be put to death.(CN) Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head.(CO)
10 “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife(CP)—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.(CQ)
11 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his father’s wife, he has dishonored his father.(CR) Both the man and the woman are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.(CS)
12 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law,(CT) both of them are to be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads.
13 “‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.(CU) They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
14 “‘If a man marries both a woman and her mother,(CV) it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire,(CW) so that no wickedness will be among you.(CX)
15 “‘If a man has sexual relations with an animal,(CY) he is to be put to death,(CZ) and you must kill the animal.
16 “‘If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
17 “‘If a man marries his sister(DA), the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They are to be publicly removed(DB) from their people. He has dishonored his sister and will be held responsible.(DC)
18 “‘If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her monthly period,(DD) he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has also uncovered it. Both of them are to be cut off from their people.(DE)
19 “‘Do not have sexual relations with the sister of either your mother or your father,(DF) for that would dishonor a close relative; both of you would be held responsible.
20 “‘If a man has sexual relations with his aunt,(DG) he has dishonored his uncle. They will be held responsible; they will die childless.(DH)
21 “‘If a man marries his brother’s wife,(DI) it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.(DJ)
11 The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven.(A) 12 He sighed deeply(B) and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” 13 Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod
14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast(C) of the Pharisees(D) and that of Herod.”(E)
16 They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”
17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?(F) 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,”(G) they replied.
20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.”(H)
21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”(I)
Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida
22 They came to Bethsaida,(J) and some people brought a blind man(K) and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit(L) on the man’s eyes and put his hands on(M) him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”
24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into[a] the village.”
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah(N)
27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist;(O) others say Elijah;(P) and still others, one of the prophets.”
29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”(Q)
30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.(R)
Jesus Predicts His Death(S)
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man(T) must suffer many things(U) and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law,(V) and that he must be killed(W) and after three days(X) rise again.(Y) 32 He spoke plainly(Z) about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!”(AA) he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
The Way of the Cross
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.(AB) 35 For whoever wants to save their life[b] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.(AC) 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man(AD) will be ashamed of them(AE) when he comes(AF) in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
BOOK II
Psalms 42–72
Psalm 42[a][b]
For the director of music. A maskil[c] of the Sons of Korah.
1 As the deer(A) pants for streams of water,(B)
so my soul pants(C) for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts(D) for God, for the living God.(E)
When can I go(F) and meet with God?
3 My tears(G) have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”(H)
4 These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:(I)
how I used to go to the house of God(J)
under the protection of the Mighty One[d]
with shouts of joy(K) and praise(L)
among the festive throng.(M)
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?(N)
Why so disturbed(O) within me?
Put your hope in God,(P)
for I will yet praise(Q) him,
my Savior(R) and my God.(S)
6 My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember(T) you
from the land of the Jordan,(U)
the heights of Hermon(V)—from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep(W)
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.(X)
8 By day the Lord directs his love,(Y)
at night(Z) his song(AA) is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.(AB)
9 I say to God my Rock,(AC)
“Why have you forgotten(AD) me?
Why must I go about mourning,(AE)
oppressed(AF) by the enemy?”(AG)
10 My bones suffer mortal agony(AH)
as my foes taunt(AI) me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”(AJ)
11 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.(AK)
17 Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life,(A)
but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.