The Daily Audio Bible
1 The vision(A) concerning Judah and Jerusalem(B) that Isaiah son of Amoz saw(C) during the reigns of Uzziah,(D) Jotham,(E) Ahaz(F) and Hezekiah,(G) kings of Judah.
A Rebellious Nation
2 Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!(H)
For the Lord has spoken:(I)
“I reared children(J) and brought them up,
but they have rebelled(K) against me.
3 The ox knows(L) its master,
the donkey its owner’s manger,(M)
but Israel does not know,(N)
my people do not understand.(O)”
4 Woe to the sinful nation,
a people whose guilt is great,(P)
a brood of evildoers,(Q)
children given to corruption!(R)
They have forsaken(S) the Lord;
they have spurned the Holy One(T) of Israel
and turned their backs(U) on him.
5 Why should you be beaten(V) anymore?
Why do you persist(W) in rebellion?(X)
Your whole head is injured,
your whole heart(Y) afflicted.(Z)
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head(AA)
there is no soundness(AB)—
only wounds and welts(AC)
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged(AD)
or soothed with olive oil.(AE)
7 Your country is desolate,(AF)
your cities burned with fire;(AG)
your fields are being stripped by foreigners(AH)
right before you,
laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.(AI)
8 Daughter Zion(AJ) is left(AK)
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut(AL) in a cucumber field,
like a city under siege.
9 Unless the Lord Almighty
had left us some survivors,(AM)
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.(AN)
10 Hear the word of the Lord,(AO)
you rulers of Sodom;(AP)
listen to the instruction(AQ) of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!(AR)
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;(AS)
I have no pleasure(AT)
in the blood of bulls(AU) and lambs and goats.(AV)
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,(AW)
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!(AX)
Your incense(AY) is detestable(AZ) to me.
New Moons,(BA) Sabbaths and convocations(BB)—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon(BC) feasts and your appointed festivals(BD)
I hate with all my being.(BE)
They have become a burden to me;(BF)
I am weary(BG) of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands(BH) in prayer,
I hide(BI) my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.(BJ)
16 Wash(BM) and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;(BN)
stop doing wrong.(BO)
17 Learn to do right;(BP) seek justice.(BQ)
Defend the oppressed.[a](BR)
Take up the cause of the fatherless;(BS)
plead the case of the widow.(BT)
18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”(BU)
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;(BV)
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.(BW)
19 If you are willing and obedient,(BX)
you will eat the good things of the land;(BY)
20 but if you resist and rebel,(BZ)
you will be devoured by the sword.”(CA)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(CB)
21 See how the faithful city
has become a prostitute!(CC)
She once was full of justice;
righteousness(CD) used to dwell in her—
but now murderers!(CE)
22 Your silver has become dross,(CF)
your choice wine is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels,(CG)
partners with thieves;(CH)
they all love bribes(CI)
and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow’s case does not come before them.(CJ)
24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
the Mighty One(CK) of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
and avenge(CL) myself on my enemies.(CM)
25 I will turn my hand against you;[b](CN)
I will thoroughly purge(CO) away your dross(CP)
and remove all your impurities.(CQ)
26 I will restore your leaders as in days of old,(CR)
your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called(CS)
the City of Righteousness,(CT)
the Faithful City.(CU)”
27 Zion will be delivered with justice,
her penitent(CV) ones with righteousness.(CW)
28 But rebels and sinners(CX) will both be broken,
and those who forsake(CY) the Lord will perish.(CZ)
29 “You will be ashamed(DA) because of the sacred oaks(DB)
in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens(DC)
that you have chosen.
30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves,(DD)
like a garden without water.
31 The mighty man will become tinder
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to quench the fire.(DE)”
The Mountain of the Lord(DF)
2 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:(DG)
2 In the last days(DH)
the mountain(DI) of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;(DJ)
it will be exalted(DK) above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.(DL)
3 Many peoples(DM) will come and say,
“Come, let us go(DN) up to the mountain(DO) of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law(DP) will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.(DQ)
4 He will judge(DR) between the nations
and will settle disputes(DS) for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.(DT)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,(DU)
nor will they train for war anymore.
The Day of the Lord
6 You, Lord, have abandoned(DX) your people,
the descendants of Jacob.(DY)
They are full of superstitions from the East;
they practice divination(DZ) like the Philistines(EA)
and embrace(EB) pagan customs.(EC)
7 Their land is full of silver and gold;(ED)
there is no end to their treasures.(EE)
Their land is full of horses;(EF)
there is no end to their chariots.(EG)
8 Their land is full of idols;(EH)
they bow down(EI) to the work of their hands,(EJ)
to what their fingers(EK) have made.
9 So people will be brought low(EL)
and everyone humbled(EM)—
do not forgive them.[c](EN)
10 Go into the rocks, hide(EO) in the ground
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty!(EP)
11 The eyes of the arrogant(EQ) will be humbled(ER)
and human pride(ES) brought low;(ET)
the Lord alone will be exalted(EU) in that day.(EV)
12 The Lord Almighty has a day(EW) in store
for all the proud(EX) and lofty,(EY)
for all that is exalted(EZ)
(and they will be humbled),(FA)
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,(FB) tall and lofty,(FC)
and all the oaks of Bashan,(FD)
14 for all the towering mountains
and all the high hills,(FE)
15 for every lofty tower(FF)
and every fortified wall,(FG)
16 for every trading ship[d](FH)
and every stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low(FI)
and human pride humbled;(FJ)
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,(FK)
18 and the idols(FL) will totally disappear.(FM)
19 People will flee to caves(FN) in the rocks
and to holes in the ground(FO)
from the fearful presence(FP) of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,(FQ)
when he rises to shake the earth.(FR)
20 In that day(FS) people will throw away
to the moles and bats(FT)
their idols of silver and idols of gold,(FU)
which they made to worship.(FV)
21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks(FW)
and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,(FX)
when he rises(FY) to shake the earth.(FZ)
Paul’s Defense of His Ministry
10 By the humility and gentleness(A) of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul,(B) who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away! 2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold(C) as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.(D) 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.(E) 4 The weapons we fight with(F) are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power(G) to demolish strongholds.(H) 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,(I) and we take captive every thought to make it obedient(J) to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.(K)
7 You are judging by appearances.[a](L) If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ,(M) they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do.(N) 8 So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us(O) for building you up rather than tearing you down,(P) I will not be ashamed of it. 9 I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. 10 For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive(Q) and his speaking amounts to nothing.”(R) 11 Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.
12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves.(S) When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. 13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us,(T) a sphere that also includes you. 14 We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you(U) with the gospel of Christ.(V) 15 Neither do we go beyond our limits(W) by boasting of work done by others.(X) Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow,(Y) our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, 16 so that we can preach the gospel(Z) in the regions beyond you.(AA) For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory. 17 But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”[b](AB) 18 For it is not the one who commends himself(AC) who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.(AD)
Psalm 52[a]
For the director of music. A maskil[b] of David. When Doeg the Edomite(A) had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”
1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?
Why do you boast(B) all day long,(C)
you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
2 You who practice deceit,(D)
your tongue plots destruction;(E)
it is like a sharpened razor.(F)
3 You love evil(G) rather than good,
falsehood(H) rather than speaking the truth.[c]
4 You love every harmful word,
you deceitful tongue!(I)
5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
He will snatch you up and pluck(J) you from your tent;
he will uproot(K) you from the land of the living.(L)
6 The righteous will see and fear;
they will laugh(M) at you, saying,
7 “Here now is the man
who did not make God his stronghold(N)
but trusted in his great wealth(O)
and grew strong by destroying others!”
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.