The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday March 2, 2017 (NIV)

Leviticus 25:47-27:13

47 “Someone who is a foreigner without a permanent home among you may become rich, and your relative living with him may be poor. The poor Israelite may sell himself to that foreigner or a member of his family. 48 After he has sold himself, he has the right to be bought back. One of his brothers may buy him back. 49 His uncle, his cousin, or some other relative could also buy him back. If he becomes rich, he could buy his own freedom. 50 Then he and his buyer must take into account the number of years from the year he was bought until the year of jubilee. His sale price will be adjusted based on the number of years he was with his buyer, like the wages of a hired worker. 51 If there are many years left, he must refund from his purchase price an amount equal to those years. 52 If there are only a few years left until the year of jubilee, he must take them into account. He must refund from his purchase price an amount equal to those years. 53 During those years he should serve his buyer as a hired worker. His buyer should not treat him harshly. 54 If he cannot buy his freedom in these ways, he and his children will be released in the year of jubilee.

55 “The Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants. I brought them out of Egypt. I am Yahweh your Elohim.”

God’s Promises for Those Who Keep His Laws

26 The Lord continued, “Never make worthless idols or set up a carved statue or a sacred stone for yourselves. Never cut figures in stone to worship them in your country, because I am Yahweh your Elohim. Observe my days of worship and respect my holy tent. I am Yahweh.

“This is what I will do if you will live by my laws and carefully obey my commands:

“I will give you rain at the right time. The land will produce its crops, and the trees in the field will produce their fruit. Threshing[a] time will last until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until planting. You will eat all you want and live securely in your land.

“I will bring peace to your land. You will lie down with no one to scare you. I will remove dangerous animals, and there will be no war in your land. You will chase your enemies, and you will defeat them. Five of you will chase a hundred of them, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand of them. You will defeat your enemies, and I will be pleased with you. Your families will be large, and I will keep my promise[b] to you. 10 You will clear out old food supplies to make room for new ones.

11 “I will put my tent among you, and I will never look at you with disgust. 12 So I will live among you and be your Elohim, and you will be my people. 13 I am Yahweh your Elohim. I brought you out of Egypt so that you are no longer slaves of the Egyptians. I have broken their power over you and made you live as a free people.

God’s Curses for Those Who Break His Laws

14 “If you will not listen to me and obey all these commands, 15 if you reject my laws and look at my rules with disgust, if you reject my promise by disobeying my commands, 16 then this is what I will do to you: I will terrorize you with disease and fever. You will suffer from eye problems and depression. You will plant your crops and get nothing because your enemies will eat them. 17 I will condemn you so that you will go down in defeat in front of your enemies. Those who hate you will be your rulers. You will run away even when no one is chasing you.

18 “If you still will not listen to me, I will discipline you seven times for your sins. 19 I will crush your arrogance. You will have no rain, and your land will be as hard as cement. 20 You will work hard for nothing because your land will produce no crops and the trees will produce no fruit.

21 “If you resist and don’t listen to me, I will increase the punishment for your sins seven times. 22 I will send wild animals among you. They will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle, and make you so few that your roads will be deserted.

23 “If this discipline does not help and you still resist, 24 then I, too, will resist you. I will punish you seven times for your sins. 25 I will bring war on you to get revenge for my promise that you rejected. When you gather in your cities, I will send plagues on you and you will fall under the control of your enemy. 26 I will destroy your food supply. Ten women will need only one oven to prepare your food. You will eat and go away hungry.

27 “If in spite of this you do not listen to me and still resist me, 28 I will fiercely resist you. I will discipline you seven times for your sins. 29 You will eat the bodies of your sons and daughters. 30 I will destroy your worship sites, cut down your incense altars, and pile your dead bodies on top of your dead idols. I will look at you with disgust. 31 I will make your cities deserted and ruin your sacred places. I will no longer accept the soothing aroma from your sacrifices. 32 I will make your land so deserted that your enemies will be shocked as they settle in it. 33 I will scatter you among the nations. War will follow you. Your country will be in ruins. Your cities will be deserted.

34 “Then the land will enjoy its time to honor the Lord while it lies deserted and you are in your enemies’ land. Then the land will joyfully celebrate its time to honor the Lord. 35 All the days it lies deserted, it will celebrate the time to honor the Lord it never celebrated while you lived there. 36 I will fill with despair those who are left in the land of their enemies. The sound of a windblown leaf will make them run. They will run away and fall, but no one will be chasing them. 37 They will stumble over each other, but no one will be after them. They will not be able to stand up to their enemies. 38 They will be destroyed among the nations. The land of their enemies will devour them. 39 Those who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins and the sins of their ancestors.

God Will Remember His Promise

40 “But if they confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors—the treacherous things they did to oppose me— 41 I will oppose them and bring them into the lands of their enemies. Then, if they humble their uncircumcised hearts and accept their guilt, 42 I will remember my promise to Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham. I will also remember the land. 43 The land, abandoned by them, will enjoy its time to honor the Lord while it lies deserted without them. They must accept their guilt because they rejected my rules and looked at my laws with disgust. 44 Even when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or look at them with disgust. I will not reject or cancel my promise to them, because I am Yahweh their Elohim. 45 But for their sake, I will remember the promise to their ancestors. I brought them out of Egypt to be their Elohim while nations looked on. I am Yahweh.”

46 These are the laws, rules, and instructions that Yahweh gave to the Israelites through Moses on Mount Sinai.

Special Vows

27 Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Tell the Israelites: If any of you makes a special vow to give a person to Yahweh, you may give money instead of the person. The amount you must give for a man from 20 to 60 years old is 20 ounces of silver. Use the standard weight of the holy place. If it is a woman, give 12 ounces. For a boy from 5 to 20 years old, give 8 ounces and for a girl give 4 ounces. For a boy from one month to five years old, give 2 ounces of silver and for a girl give about one ounce. For a man 60 years or over, give 6 ounces and for a woman give 4 ounces. But the person who is too poor to pay the required amount must stand in front of the priest. The priest will determine the amount based on what the person can afford.

“If the vow is to give the kind of animal that people offer to Yahweh, it will be considered holy. 10 Don’t exchange or substitute animals, a good one for a bad one or a bad one for a good one. If you do exchange one animal for another, then both animals will be holy. 11 If it is an unclean animal that cannot be brought to Yahweh as an offering, bring it in front of the priest. 12 The priest will determine what its value is. The value will be whatever the priest decides. 13 If you want to buy it back, you must pay its full value plus one-fifth more.

Footnotes:

  1. Leviticus 26:5 Threshing is the process of beating stalks to separate them from the grain.
  2. Leviticus 26:9 Or “covenant.”
Names of God Bible (NOG)

The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.

Mark 10:32-52

For the Third Time Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life(A)

32 Yeshua and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem. Yeshua was walking ahead of them. His disciples were shocked that he was going to Jerusalem. The others who followed were afraid. Once again he took the twelve apostles aside. He began to tell them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We’re going to Jerusalem. There the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. They will condemn him to death and hand him over to foreigners. 34 They will make fun of him, spit on him, whip him, and kill him. But after three days he will come back to life.”

James and John Make a Request(B)

35 James and John, sons of Zebedee, went to Yeshua. They said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do us a favor.”

36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked them.

37 They said to him, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

38 Yeshua said, “You don’t realize what you’re asking. Can you drink the cup that I’m going to drink? Can you be baptized with the baptism that I’m going to receive?”

39 “We can,” they told him.

Yeshua told them, “You will drink the cup that I’m going to drink. You will be baptized with the baptism that I’m going to receive. 40 But I don’t have the authority to grant you a seat at my right or left. Those positions have already been prepared for certain people.”

41 When the other ten apostles heard about it, they were irritated with James and John. 42 Yeshua called the apostles and said, “You know that the acknowledged rulers of nations have absolute power over people and their officials have absolute authority over people. 43 But that’s not the way it’s going to be among you. Whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant. 44 Whoever wants to be most important among you will be a slave for everyone. 45 It’s the same way with the Son of Man. He didn’t come so that others could serve him. He came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”

Jesus Gives Sight to Bartimaeus(C)

46 Then they came to Jericho. As Yeshua, his disciples, and many people were leaving Jericho, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. 47 When he heard that Yeshua from Nazareth was passing by, he began to shout, “Yeshua, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48 The people told him to be quiet. But he shouted even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49 Yeshua stopped and said, “Call him!” They called the blind man and told him, “Cheer up! Get up! He’s calling you.” 50 The blind man threw off his coat, jumped up, and went to Yeshua.

51 Yeshua asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

The blind man said, “Teacher, I want to see again.”

52 Yeshua told him, “Go, your faith has made you well.”

At once he could see again, and he followed Yeshua on the road.

Names of God Bible (NOG)

The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.

Psalm 45

Psalm 45

For the choir director; according to shoshannim;[a] a maskil by Korah’s descendants; a love song.

My heart is overflowing with good news.
I will direct my song to the king.
My tongue is a pen for a skillful writer.

You are the most handsome of Adam’s descendants.
Grace is poured on your lips.
That is why Elohim has blessed you forever.
O warrior, strap your sword to your side
with your splendor and majesty.
Ride on victoriously in your majesty
for the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness.
Let your right hand teach you awe-inspiring things.
Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies.
Nations fall beneath you.
Your throne, O Elohim, is forever and ever.
The scepter in your kingdom is a scepter for justice.
You have loved what is right and hated what is wrong.
That is why Elohim, your Elohim, has anointed you,
rather than your companions, with the oil of joy.
All your robes are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From ivory palaces the music of stringed instruments delights you.
The daughters of kings are among your noble ladies.
The queen takes her place at your right hand
and wears gold from Ophir.

10 Listen, daughter! Look closely!
Turn your ear toward me.
Forget your people, and forget your father’s house.
11 The king longs for your beauty.
He is your Lord.
Worship him.

12 The people of Tyre, the richest people,
want to win your favor with a gift.
13 The daughter of the king is glorious inside the palace.
Her dress is embroidered with gold.
14 Wearing a colorful gown, she is brought to the king.
Her bridesmaids follow her.
They will be brought to you.
15 With joy and delight they are brought in.
They enter the palace of the king.

16 Your sons will take the place of your father.
You will make them princes over the whole earth.

17 I will cause your name to be remembered throughout every generation.
That is why the nations will give thanks to you forever and ever.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 45:1 Unknown musical term.
Names of God Bible (NOG)

The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.

Proverbs 10:22

22 It is Yahweh’s blessing that makes a person rich,
and hard work adds nothing to it.

Names of God Bible (NOG)

The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.