The Daily Audio Bible
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The Blessing of Moses
33 This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God [a]blessed the sons of Israel before his death. 2 He said,
“The Lord came from Sinai,
And dawned on them from Seir;
He shone forth from Mount Paran,
And He came from among ten thousand holy ones;
At His right hand was a [b]flaming fire, a law, for them.
3
“Indeed, He loves His people;
All [c]Your holy ones are in Your hand.
They followed in Your steps;
They accept and receive direction from You.
4
“Moses commanded us with a law,
As a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5
“The Lord was King in Jeshurun (Israel),
When the heads of the people were gathered,
The tribes of Israel together.
6
“May [the tribe of] Reuben live and not die out,
[d]But let his men be few.”
7 And [Moses said] this of [e]Judah:
“Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people.
With his hands he contended for them,
And may You be a help against his enemies.”
8 Of Levi he said,
“Your [f]Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man [Aaron],
Whom You tested and proved at Massah,
With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;(A)
9
Who [g]said of his father and mother,
‘I did not consider them’;
Nor did he acknowledge his brothers,
Nor did he regard his own sons,
For the priests observed Your word,
And kept Your covenant.
10
“The priests shall teach Your ordinances (judgments) to Jacob,
And Your law to Israel.
They shall put incense [h]before You,
And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
11
“O Lord, bless Levi’s substance (ability),
And accept and take pleasure in the work of his hands;
Crush and shatter the loins of those who rise up against him,
And of those who hate him, so that they do not rise again.”
12 Of Benjamin he said,
“May the beloved of the Lord [i]dwell in safety by Him;
He shields and covers him all the day long,
And he dwells between His shoulders.”
13 And of [j]Joseph he said,
“Blessed by the Lord be his land,
With the precious things of heaven, with the dew,
And from the deep water that lies beneath,
14
With the precious fruits of the sun,
And with the precious produce of the months.
15
“With the best things of the ancient mountains,
And with the precious things of the everlasting hills,
16
With the precious things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor and goodwill of Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let these blessings come upon the head of Joseph,
And upon the crown of the head of him who was distinguished [as a prince] among his brothers.(B)
17
“His majesty is like a firstborn young bull,
And his horns like the horns of the wild ox;
With them he will gore the peoples,
All of them together, to the ends of the earth.
And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And those are the thousands of Manasseh.”
18 Of Zebulun he said,
“[k]Rejoice, Zebulun, in your interests abroad,
And, Issachar, in your tents [at home].
19
“They will call the peoples to the mountain (Mount Carmel);
There they will offer sacrifices of righteousness;
For they will draw out the abundance of the seas,
And the hidden treasures of the sand.”
20 Of Gad he said,
“Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad;
He lurks like a lioness,
And tears the arm and the crown of the head.
21
“He selected the best [land] for himself,
For there the leader’s portion was reserved;
Yet he came with the leaders of the people;
He carried out the justice (righteous will) of the Lord,
And His ordinances (judgments) with Israel.”(C)
22 Of Dan he said,
“Dan is a lion’s cub,
That leaps forth from Bashan.”
23 Of Naphtali he said,
“O Naphtali, satisfied with favor,
And full of the blessing of the Lord,
Take possession of the sea [of Galilee] and the south.”
24 Of Asher he said,
“More blessed than sons is Asher;
May he be favored by his brothers,
And may he dip his foot in oil.
25
“Your strongholds will be iron and bronze,
And as your days are, so will your strength, your rest and security be.
26
“There is none like the God of Jeshurun (Israel),
Who rides the heavens to your help,
And through the skies in His majestic glory.
27
“The eternal God is your refuge and dwelling place,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;
He drove out the enemy from before you,
And said, ‘Destroy!’
28
“So Israel dwells in safety and security,
The fountain of Jacob alone and secluded,
In a land of grain and new wine;
His heavens also drop down dew.
29
“Happy and blessed are you, O Israel;
Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,
The Shield of your help,
And the Sword of your majesty!
Your enemies will cringe before you,
And you will tread on their high places [tramping down their idolatrous altars].”
Call to Repent
13 Just at that time some people came who told Jesus about the [a]Galileans whose blood Pilate [the governor] had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus replied to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they have suffered in this way? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways and live changed lives], you will all likewise perish. 4 Or do you assume that [b]those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed were worse sinners than all the others who live in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways and live changed lives], you will all likewise perish.”
Parable of the Fig Tree
6 Then He began telling them this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree that had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it, but did not find any; 7 so he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and have found none. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground [depleting the soil and blocking the sunlight]?’ 8 But he replied to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, [just] one more year until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; 9 and if it bears fruit after this, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”
Healing on the Sabbath
10 Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had an illness caused by a spirit (demon). She was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are released from your illness.” 13 Then He laid His hands on her; and immediately she stood erect again and she began glorifying and praising God. 14 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work ought to be done; so come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”(A) 15 But the Lord replied to him, “You hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders)! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it? 16 And this woman, a daughter (descendant) of Abraham whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” 17 As He was saying this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things that were being done by Him.
Parables of Mustard Seed and Leaven
18 So this led Him to say, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?(B) 19 It is like a [c]mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky found shelter and nested in its branches.”(C)
20 And again He said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three peck measures of flour until it was all leavened.”(D)
65
Then the Lord awakened as from sleep,
Like a [mighty] warrior who awakens from the sleep of wine [fully conscious of his power].
66
He drove His enemies backward;
He subjected them to lasting shame and dishonor.
67
Moreover, He rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim [in which the tabernacle stood].
68
But He chose the tribe of Judah [as Israel’s leader],
Mount Zion, which He loved [to replace Shiloh as His capital].
69
And He built His sanctuary [exalted] like the heights [of the heavens],
Like the earth which He has established forever.
70
He also chose David His servant
And took him from the sheepfolds;(A)
71
[a]From [b]tending the ewes with nursing young He brought him
To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.(B)
72
So David shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart;
And guided them with his skillful hands.
25
Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down,
But a good (encouraging) word makes it glad.(A)
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