The Daily Audio Bible
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1 And King David was old and advanced in years; they covered him with [bed]clothes, but he could not get warm.
2 So his servants [the [a]physicians] said to him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin, and let her wait on and be useful to the king; let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may get warm.
3 So they sought a fair maiden through all the territory of Israel and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
4 The maiden was beautiful; and she waited on and nursed him. But the king had no intercourse with her.
5 Then Adonijah son of [David’s wife] Haggith exalted himself, saying, I [the eldest living son] will be king. And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, with fifty men to run before him.
6 David his father had never in his life displeased him by asking, Why have you done so? He was also a very attractive man and was born after Absalom.
7 He conferred with [b]Joab son of Zeruiah [David’s half sister] and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed Adonijah and helped him.
8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David’s mighty men did not side with Adonijah.
9 Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fatlings by the Stone of Zoheleth, which is beside [the well] En-rogel; and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah.
10 But Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, and Solomon his brother he did not invite.
11 Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, reigns and David our lord does not know it?
12 Come now, let me advise you how to save your own life and your son Solomon’s.
13 Go to King David and say, Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? Why then does Adonijah reign?
14 Behold, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.
15 So Bathsheba went in to the king in his chamber. Now the king was very old and feeble, and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering to [him].
16 Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king. The king said, What do you wish?
17 And she said to him, My lord, you swore by the Lord your God to your handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me and sit upon my throne.
18 And now, behold, Adonijah is reigning, and, my lord the king, you do not know it.
19 He has sacrificed oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons and Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army. But he did not invite Solomon your servant.
20 Now, my lord O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after you.
21 Otherwise, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, I and my son Solomon shall be counted as offenders.
22 While she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in.
23 The king was told, Here is Nathan the prophet. And when he came before the king, he bowed himself before him with his face to the ground.
24 And Nathan said, My lord the king, have you said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne?
25 He has gone this day and sacrificed oxen, fatlings, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and they eat and drink before him and say, Long live King Adonijah!
26 But me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he has not invited.
27 Is this done by my lord the king and you have not shown your servants who shall succeed my lord the king?
28 Then King David answered, Call Bathsheba. And she came into the king’s presence and stood before him.
29 And the king took an oath and said, As the Lord lives, Who has redeemed my soul out of all distress,
30 Even as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead—even so will I certainly do this day.
31 Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground and did obeisance to the king and said, Let my lord King David live forever!
32 King David said, Call Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.
33 The king told them, Take the servants of your lord and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule and bring him down to Gihon [in the Kidron Valley].
34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel. Then blow the trumpet and say, Long live King Solomon!
35 Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, for he shall be king in my stead; I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.
36 And Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so too.
37 As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.
38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites [the king’s bodyguards] went down and caused Solomon to ride upon King David’s mule and brought him to Gihon.
39 Zadok the priest took a horn of oil out of the tent and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet and all the people said, Long live King Solomon!
40 All the people followed him; they played on pipes and rejoiced greatly, so that the earth [resounded] with the joyful sound.
41 And Adonijah and all the guests with him heard it as they finished feasting. When Joab heard the trumpet sound, he said, What does this uproar in the city mean?
42 While he was still speaking, behold, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest came. And Adonijah said, Come in, for you are a trustworthy man and bring good news.
43 Jonathan replied, Adonijah, truly our lord King David has made Solomon king!
44 The king has sent him with Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king’s mule.
45 Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon; they have come up from there rejoicing, so the city resounds. This is the noise you heard.
46 Solomon sits on the royal throne.
47 Moreover, the king’s servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, May God make the name of Solomon better than your name and make his throne greater than your throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed
48 And said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, Who has granted me to see one of my offspring sitting on my throne this day.
49 And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid and rose up and went every man his way.
50 And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose and went [to the tabernacle tent on Mt. Zion] and caught hold of the horns of the altar [as a fugitive’s refuge].
51 And it was told Solomon, Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, for behold, he has caught hold of the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not slay his servant with the sword.
52 Solomon said, If he will show himself to be a worthy man, not a hair of him shall fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.
53 So King Solomon sent, and they brought Adonijah down from the altar [in front of the tabernacle]. He came and bowed himself to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, Go to your house.
4 And while they [Peter and John] were talking to the people, the high priests and the military commander of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
2 Being vexed and indignant through and through because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in [the case of] Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
3 So they laid hands on them (arrested them) and put them in prison until the following day, for it was already evening.
4 But many of those who heard the message believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on Jesus as the Christ). And their number grew and came to about 5,000.
5 Then on the following day, their magistrates and elders and scribes were assembled in Jerusalem,
6 Including Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all others who belonged to the high priestly relationship.
7 And they set the men in their midst and repeatedly demanded, By what sort of power or by what kind of authority did [such people as] you do this [healing]?
8 Then Peter, [because he was] filled with [and controlled by] the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and members of the council (the Sanhedrin),
9 If we are being put on trial [here] today and examined concerning a good deed done to benefit a feeble (helpless) cripple, by what means this man has been restored to health,
10 Let it be known and understood by all of you, and by the whole house of Israel, that in the name and through the power and authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, [but] Whom God raised from the dead, in Him and by means of Him this man is standing here before you well and sound in body.
11 This [Jesus] is the Stone which was despised and rejected by you, the builders, but which has become the Head of the corner [the Cornerstone].(A)
12 And there is salvation in and through no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by and in which we must be saved.
13 Now when they saw the boldness and unfettered eloquence of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and untrained in the schools [common men with no educational advantages], they marveled; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
14 And since they saw the man who had been cured standing there beside them, they could not contradict the fact or say anything in opposition.
15 But having ordered [the prisoners] to go aside out of the council [chamber], they conferred (debated) among themselves,
16 Saying, What are we to do with these men? For that an extraordinary miracle has been performed by (through) them is plain to all the residents of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.
17 But in order that it may not spread further among the people and the nation, let us warn and forbid them with a stern threat to speak any more to anyone in this name [or about this Person].
18 [So] they summoned them and imperatively instructed them not to converse in any way or teach at all in or about the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John replied to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you and obey you rather than God, you must decide (judge).
20 But we [ourselves] cannot help telling what we have seen and heard.
21 Then when [the rulers and council members] had further threatened them, they let them go, not seeing how they could secure a conviction against them because of the people; for everybody was praising and glorifying God for what had occurred.
22 For the man on whom this sign (miracle) of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
23 After they were permitted to go, [the apostles] returned to their own [company] and told all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.
24 And when they heard it, lifted their voices together with one united mind to God and said, O Sovereign Lord, You are He Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything that is in them,(B)
25 Who by the mouth of our forefather David, Your servant and child, said through the Holy Spirit, Why did the heathen (Gentiles) become wanton and insolent and rage, and the people imagine and study and plan vain (fruitless) things [that will not succeed]?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand in array [for attack] and the rulers were assembled and combined together against the Lord and against His Anointed (Christ, the Messiah).(C)
27 For in this city there actually met and plotted together against Your holy Child and Servant Jesus, Whom You consecrated by anointing, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and peoples of Israel,(D)
28 To carry out all that Your hand and Your will and purpose had predestined (predetermined) should occur.
29 And now, Lord, observe their threats and grant to Your bond servants [full freedom] to declare Your message fearlessly,
30 While You stretch out Your hand to cure and to perform signs and wonders through the authority and by the power of the name of Your holy Child and Servant Jesus.
31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak the Word of God with freedom and boldness and courage.
32 Now the company of believers was of one heart and soul, and not one of them claimed that anything which he possessed was [exclusively] his own, but everything they had was in common and for the use of all.
33 And with great strength and ability and power the apostles delivered their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace (loving-kindness and favor and goodwill) rested richly upon them all.
34 Nor was there a destitute or needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses proceeded to sell them, and one by one they brought (gave back) the amount received from the sales
35 And laid it at the feet of the apostles (special messengers). Then distribution was made according as anyone had need.
36 Now Joseph, a Levite and native of Cyprus who was surnamed Barnabas by the apostles, which interpreted means Son of Encouragement,
37 Sold a field which belonged to him and brought the sum of money and laid it at the feet of the apostles.
Psalm 124
A Song of [a]Ascents. Of David.
1 If it had not been the Lord Who was on our side—now may Israel say—
2 If it had not been the Lord Who was on our side when men rose up against us,
3 Then they would have quickly swallowed us up alive when their wrath was kindled against us;
4 Then the waters would have overwhelmed us and swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us;
5 Then the proud waters would have gone over us.
6 Blessed be the Lord, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth!
7 We are like a bird escaped from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped!
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
24 Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation