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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday December 15, 2017 (NIV)

Micah 1-4

1 The word of the Lord that came(A) to Micah(B) the Moreshite(C)—what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem in the days of Jotham,(D) Ahaz,(E) and Hezekiah,(F) kings of Judah.

Coming Judgment on Israel

2 Listen, all you peoples;(G)
pay attention, earth[a] and everyone in it!(H)
The Lord God will be a witness against you,(I)
the Lord, from His holy temple.(J)
3 Look, the Lord is leaving His place(K)
and coming down to trample
the heights[b] of the earth.(L)
4 The mountains will melt beneath Him,
and the valleys will split apart,
like wax near a fire,(M)
like water cascading down a mountainside.
5 All this will happen because of Jacob’s rebellion
and the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the rebellion of Jacob?
Isn’t it Samaria?(N)
And what is the high place of Judah?(O)
Isn’t it Jerusalem?
6 Therefore, I will make Samaria
a heap of ruins(P) in the countryside,
a planting area(Q) for a vineyard.
I will roll her stones(R) into the valley
and expose her foundations.(S)
7 All her carved images will be smashed(T) to pieces;
all her wages(U) will be burned in the fire,
and I will destroy all her idols.
Since she collected the wages of a prostitute,(V)
they will be used again for a prostitute.

Micah’s Lament

8 Because of this I will lament and wail;
I will walk barefoot and naked.(W)
I will howl like the jackals(X)
and mourn like ostriches.[c]
9 For her wound is incurable(Y)
and has reached even Judah;(Z)
it has approached the gate of my people,(AA)
as far as Jerusalem.

10 Don’t announce it in Gath,(AB)
don’t weep at all.
Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.
11 Depart in shameful nakedness,(AC)
you residents of Shaphir;
the residents of Zaanan(AD) will not come out.
Beth-ezel is lamenting;
its support[d] is taken from you.
12 Though the residents of Maroth
anxiously wait for something good,(AE)
disaster has come from the Lord(AF)
to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the horses to the chariot,
you residents of Lachish.(AG)
This was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion,
because Israel’s acts of rebellion(AH) can be traced to you.
14 Therefore, send farewell gifts(AI) to Moresheth-gath;
the houses of Achzib(AJ) are a deception(AK)
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will again bring a conqueror
against you who live in Mareshah.(AL)
The nobility[e] of Israel will come to Adullam.(AM)
16 Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair(AN)
in sorrow for your precious children;
make yourselves as bald as an eagle,
for they have been taken from you into exile.(AO)

Oppressors Judged

2 Woe to those who dream up wickedness
and prepare evil plans(AP) on their beds!
At morning light(AQ) they accomplish it
because the power is in their hands.(AR)
2 They covet fields(AS) and seize them;(AT)
they also take houses.
They deprive a man of his home,(AU)
a person of his inheritance.(AV)

3 Therefore, the Lord says:

I am now planning(AW) a disaster
against this nation;(AX)
you cannot free your necks from it.(AY)
Then you will not walk so proudly(AZ)
because it will be an evil time.(BA)
4 In that day one will take up(BB) a taunt against you,
and lament mournfully,(BC) saying,
“We are totally ruined!(BD)
He measures out the allotted land of my people.
How He removes it from me!
He allots our fields(BE) to traitors.”
5 Therefore, there will be no one
in the assembly of the Lord
to divide the land by casting lots.[f](BF)

God’s Word Rejected

6 “Quit your preaching,”(BG) they[g] preach.
“They should not preach these things;(BH)
shame will not overtake us.”[h](BI)
7 House of Jacob, should it be asked,
“Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient?(BJ)
Are these the things He does?”
Don’t My words bring good(BK)
to the one who walks uprightly?(BL)
8 But recently My people have risen up
like an enemy:(BM)
You strip off the splendid robe(BN)
from those who are passing through confidently,(BO)
like those returning from war.
9 You force(BP) the women of My people
out of their comfortable homes,
and you take My blessing[i](BQ)
from their children forever.
10 Get up and leave,
for this is not your place of rest,(BR)
because defilement(BS) brings destruction—
a grievous destruction!(BT)
11 If a man of wind[j] comes
and invents lies:(BU)
“I will preach to you about wine and beer,”(BV)
he would be just the preacher for this people!(BW)

The Remnant Regathered

12 I will indeed gather(BX) all of you, Jacob;
I will collect the remnant of Israel.(BY)
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in the middle of its fold.
It will be noisy with people.(BZ)
13 One who breaks open the way
will advance before them;
they will break out, pass through the gate,
and leave by it.
Their King will pass through before them,
the Lord as their leader.

Unjust Leaders Judged

3 Then I said, “Now listen,(CA) leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of the house of Israel.
Aren’t you supposed to know what is just?(CB)
2 You hate good and love evil.
You tear off people’s skin(CC)
and strip their flesh from their bones.
3 You eat the flesh(CD) of my people
after you strip their skin from them
and break their bones.
You chop them up(CE)
like flesh for the cooking pot,
like meat in a cauldron.”
4 Then they will cry out(CF) to the Lord,
but He will not answer them.
He will hide His face from them at that time(CG)
because of the crimes they have committed.

False Prophets Judged

5 This is what the Lord says
concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,(CH)
who proclaim(CI) peace
when they have food to sink their teeth into
but declare war against the one
who puts nothing in their mouths.
6 Therefore, it will be night(CJ) for you—
without visions;
it will grow dark for you—
without divination.(CK)
The sun will set(CL) on these prophets,
and the daylight will turn black over them.
7 Then the seers will be ashamed(CM)
and the diviners disappointed.(CN)
They will all cover their mouths[k](CO)
because there will be no answer from God.(CP)

8 As for me, however, I am filled with power(CQ)
by the Spirit of the Lord,
with justice and courage,
to proclaim to Jacob his rebellion
and to Israel his sin.(CR)

Zion’s Destruction

9 Listen to this, leaders of the house of Jacob,(CS)
you rulers of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice(CT)
and pervert everything that is right,
10 who build Zion with bloodshed(CU)
and Jerusalem with injustice.
11 Her leaders issue rulings for a bribe,(CV)
her priests teach for payment,(CW)
and her prophets practice divination for money.
Yet they lean on the Lord, saying,
“Isn’t the Lord(CX) among us?
No disaster will overtake us.”
12 Therefore, because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become ruins,(CY)
and the hill of the temple mount(CZ)
will be a thicket.(DA)

The Lord’s Rule from Restored Zion

4 In the last days(DB)
the mountain of the Lord’s house(DC)
will be established
at the top of the mountains
and will be raised above the hills.
Peoples will stream to it,(DD)
2 and many nations will come and say,(DE)
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,(DF)
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us about His ways(DG)
so we may walk in His paths.”
For instruction will go out of Zion(DH)
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He will settle disputes among many peoples(DI)
and provide arbitration for strong nations
that are far away.
They will beat their swords into plows,
and their spears into pruning knives.
Nation will not take up the sword against nation,
and they will never again train for war.
4 But each man will sit under his grapevine(DJ)
and under his fig tree
with no one to frighten him.(DK)
For the mouth of the Lord(DL) of Hosts
has promised this.
5 Though all the peoples each walk
in the name of their gods,(DM)
we will walk(DN) in the name of Yahweh our God
forever and ever.(DO)

6 On that day—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
I will assemble the lame
and gather the scattered,(DP)
those I have injured.
7 I will make the lame into a remnant,(DQ)
those far removed into a strong nation.
Then the Lord will rule over them(DR) in Mount Zion
from this time on and forever.
8 And you, watchtower for the flock,(DS)
fortified hill[l] of Daughter Zion,
the former rule(DT) will come to you,
sovereignty will come to Daughter Jerusalem.

From Exile to Victory

9 Now, why are you shouting loudly?(DU)
Is there no king with you?
Has your counselor perished(DV)
so that anguish grips you like a woman in labor?
10 Writhe and cry out,[m](DW) Daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you will leave the city(DX)
and camp in the open fields.
You will go to Babylon;
there you will be rescued;(DY)
there the Lord will redeem you(DZ)
from the power of your enemies!
11 Many nations have now assembled against you;(EA)
they say, “Let her be defiled,
and let us feast our eyes on Zion.”
12 But they do not know the Lord’s intentions(EB)
or understand His plan,
that He has gathered them
like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Rise and thresh,(EC) Daughter Zion,
for I will make your horns iron
and your hooves bronze,
so you can crush many peoples.(ED)
Then you[n] will set apart their plunder(EE)
to the Lord for destruction,
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Footnotes:

  1. Micah 1:2 Or land
  2. Micah 1:3 Or high places
  3. Micah 1:8 Or eagle owls; lit daughters of the desert
  4. Micah 1:11 Lit its standing place; Hb obscure
  5. Micah 1:15 Lit glory
  6. Micah 2:5 Lit Lord stretching the measuring line by lot
  7. Micah 2:6 = the prophets
  8. Micah 2:6 Text emended; MT reads things. Shame will not depart.
  9. Micah 2:9 Perhaps the land
  10. Micah 2:11 Or spirit
  11. Micah 3:7 Lit mustache
  12. Micah 4:8 Or flock, Ophel
  13. Micah 4:10 Hb obscure
  14. Micah 4:13 LXX, Syr, Tg; MT reads I

Cross references:

  1. 1:1 : Hs 1:1; Jl 1:1; Zph 1:1
  2. 1:1 : 2Ch 29:5-11; 32:24-26; Jr 26:18
  3. 1:1 : Mc 1:14
  4. 1:1 : 2Kg 15:5, 32-38; 2Ch 27:1-9; Is 1:1; Hs 1:1
  5. 1:1 : 2Kg 16:1-20; 2Ch 28:1-27; Is 7:1-12
  6. 1:1 : 2Kg 18:1-20; 2Ch 29:1-31
  7. 1:2 : 1Kg 22:28; 2Ch 18:27; Jr 6:19; 22:29
  8. 1:2 : Ps 24:1; Is 34:1; Jr 47:2
  9. 1:2 : 1Sm 12:5-6; Ps 50:7; Jr 42:5; Mal 3:5
  10. 1:2 : Ps 11:4; Hab 2:20
  11. 1:3 : Is 26:21
  12. 1:3 : Am 4:13
  13. 1:4 : Ps 97:5; Is 64:1-2; Nah 1:5
  14. 1:5 : Is 7:9; Am 8:14
  15. 1:5 : 2Ch 34:3-4
  16. 1:6 : Mc 3:12
  17. 1:6 : Jr 31:5; Am 5:11
  18. 1:6 : Lm 4:1
  19. 1:6 : Ezk 13:14
  20. 1:7 : Dt 9:21; 2Ch 34:7
  21. 1:7 : Dt 23:18
  22. 1:7 : Dt 23:18
  23. 1:8 : Is 20:2-4; 32:11
  24. 1:8 : Is 13:21-22
  25. 1:9 : Is 3:26; Jr 30:12, 15
  26. 1:9 : 2Kg 18:13-16; 19:31-37; Is 8:7-8
  27. 1:9 : Mc 1:12
  28. 1:10 : 2Sm 1:20
  29. 1:11 : Ezk 23:29
  30. 1:11 : Jos 15:37
  31. 1:12 : Is 59:9-11; Jr 14:19
  32. 1:12 : Jdg 2:15; 2Kg 17:7; 21:12; Is 45:7; Mc 2:3
  33. 1:13 : Jos 10:3; 2Kg 14:19; Is 36:2
  34. 1:13 : Mc 1:5
  35. 1:14 : 2Kg 16:8
  36. 1:14 : Jos 15:44
  37. 1:14 : Jr 15:18
  38. 1:15 : Jos 15:44
  39. 1:15 : Jos 12:15; 15:35; 1Sm 22:1; 2Sm 23:13
  40. 1:16 : Jb 1:20; Is 22:12; Jr 7:29
  41. 1:16 : 2Kg 17:6; Am 7:11, 17
  42. 2:1 : Ps 36:4; Is 32:7; Nah 1:11
  43. 2:1 : Hs 7:6-7
  44. 2:1 : Gn 31:29; Dt 28:32; Pr 3:27
  45. 2:2 : Jr 22:17; Am 8:4
  46. 2:2 : Is 5:8
  47. 2:2 : 1Kg 21:1-15
  48. 2:2 : Ex 20:17; Is 5:8
  49. 2:3 : Dt 28:48; Jr 18:11
  50. 2:3 : Jr 8:3; Am 3:1-2
  51. 2:3 : Lm 1:14; 5:5
  52. 2:3 : Is 2:11-12
  53. 2:3 : Am 5:13
  54. 2:4 : Hab 2:6
  55. 2:4 : Jr 9:10, 17-21; Mc 1:8
  56. 2:4 : Is 6:11; 24:3; Jr 4:13
  57. 2:4 : Jr 6:12; 8:10
  58. 2:5 : Nm 34:13, 16-29; Jos 18:4, 10
  59. 2:6 : Is 30:10; Am 2:12; 7:16
  60. 2:6 : Is 29:10; Mc 3:6
  61. 2:6 : Mc 6:16
  62. 2:7 : Is 50:2; 59:1
  63. 2:7 : Ps 119:65, 68, 116; Jr 15:16
  64. 2:7 : Ps 15:2; 84:11
  65. 2:8 : Jr 12:8
  66. 2:8 : Mc 3:2-3; 7:2-3
  67. 2:8 : Ps 120:6-7
  68. 2:9 : Jr 10:20
  69. 2:9 : Ezk 39:21; Hab 2:14
  70. 2:10 : Dt 3:19-20; 12:8-10
  71. 2:10 : Ps 106:38
  72. 2:10 : Lv 18:25-28
  73. 2:11 : Jr 5:13, 31
  74. 2:11 : Is 28:7
  75. 2:11 : Is 30:10-11
  76. 2:12 : Mc 4:6-7
  77. 2:12 : 2Kg 19:31; Mc 5:7-8; 7:18
  78. 2:12 : Jr 23:3; Ezk 36:35-38
  79. 3:1 : Is 1:10; Mc 3:9
  80. 3:1 : Ps 82:1-5; Jr 5:5
  81. 3:2 : Ps 53:4; Ezk 22:27; Mc 2:8; 7:2-3
  82. 3:3 : Ps 14:4; 27:2; Zph 3:3
  83. 3:3 : Ezk 11:3, 6-7
  84. 3:4 : Ps 18:41; Pr 1:28; Is 1:15; Jr 11:11
  85. 3:4 : Dt 31:17; Is 59:2
  86. 3:5 : Is 3:12; 9:15-16; Jr 14:14-15
  87. 3:5 : Jr 6:14
  88. 3:6 : Is 8:20-22; 29:10-12
  89. 3:6 : Dt 18:10; Jos 13:22
  90. 3:6 : Is 59:10
  91. 3:7 : Zch 13:4
  92. 3:7 : Is 44:25; 47:12-14
  93. 3:7 : Lv 13:45; Lm 4:13-15; Ezk 24:17, 22; Mc 7:16
  94. 3:7 : 1Sm 28:6; Is 29:9-12; Mc 3:4
  95. 3:8 : Is 61:1-2; Jr 1:18
  96. 3:8 : Is 58:1
  97. 3:9 : Mc 3:1
  98. 3:9 : Ps 58:1-2; Is 1:23
  99. 3:10 : Jr 22:13, 17; Hab 2:12
  100. 3:11 : Is 1:23; Mc 7:3
  101. 3:11 : Jr 6:13
  102. 3:11 : Is 48:2
  103. 3:12 : Jr 9:11
  104. 3:12 : Mc 4:1
  105. 3:12 : Jr 26:18
  106. 4:1-3 : Is 2:2-4; Dn 2:28; 10:14; Hs 3:5; Mc 5:10
  107. 4:1 : Ezk 43:12; Mc 3:12; Zch 8:3
  108. 4:1 : Ps 22:27; 86:9; Jr 3:17
  109. 4:2 : Zch 2:11; 14:16
  110. 4:2 : Is 56:6-7; Jr 31:6
  111. 4:2 : Ps 25:8-9, 12; Is 54:13
  112. 4:2 : Is 42:1-4; Zch 14:8-9
  113. 4:3 : Is 11:3-5
  114. 4:4 : 1Kg 4:25; Zch 3:10
  115. 4:4 : Lv 26:6; Jr 30:10
  116. 4:4 : Is 1:20; 40:5
  117. 4:5 : 2Kg 17:29
  118. 4:5 : Zch 10:12
  119. 4:5 : Jos 24:15; Is 26:8, 13
  120. 4:6 : Is 35:6; Jr 31:8; Mc 2:12; Zph 3:19
  121. 4:7 : Mc 5:7-8; 7:18; Mt 11:5; Lk 14:21
  122. 4:7 : Is 24:23
  123. 4:8 : Ps 48:3, 12; 61:3
  124. 4:8 : Is 1:26; Zch 9:10
  125. 4:9 : Jr 8:19
  126. 4:9 : Is 3:1-3
  127. 4:10 : Mc 5:3
  128. 4:10 : 2Kg 20:18; Hs 2:14
  129. 4:10 : Is 43:14; 45:13; Mc 7:8-12
  130. 4:10 : Is 48:20; 52:9-12
  131. 4:11 : Is 5:25-30; 17:12-14
  132. 4:12 : Ps 147:19-20
  133. 4:13 : Is 41:15
  134. 4:13 : Jr 51:20-23
  135. 4:13 : Is 60:9
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Revelation 6

The First Seal on the Scroll

6 Then I saw[a] the Lamb open one of the seven[b] seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!”[c][d] 2 I looked, and there was a white horse.(A) The horseman on it had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he went out as a victor to conquer.[e]

The Second Seal

3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”[f][g] 4 Then another horse went out, a fiery red one, and its horseman was empowered[h] to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him.(B)

The Third Seal

5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!”[i][j] And I looked, and there was a black horse. The horseman on it had a set of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard something like a voice among the four living creatures say, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius—but do not harm the olive oil and the wine.”

The Fourth Seal

7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!”[k][l] 8 And I looked, and there was a pale green[m] horse. The horseman on it was named Death, and Hades was following after him. Authority was given to them[n](C) over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.

The Fifth Seal

9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the people[o] slaughtered because of God’s word and the testimony they had.[p](D) 10 They cried out with a loud voice: “Lord,[q] the One who is holy and true, how long until You judge and avenge our blood from those who live on the earth?” 11 So a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow slaves and their brothers, who were going to be killed just as they had been.

The Sixth Seal

12 Then I saw Him open[r] the sixth seal. A violent earthquake occurred; the sun turned black like sackcloth(E) made of goat hair; the entire moon[s] became like blood; 13 the stars[t] of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind; 14 the sky separated like a scroll being rolled up; and every mountain and island was moved from its place.

15 Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the military commanders, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.(F) 16 And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us(G) from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 because the great day of Their[u] wrath has come! And who is able to stand?”(H)

Footnotes:

  1. Revelation 6:1 Lit saw when
  2. Revelation 6:1 Other mss omit seven
  3. Revelation 6:1 Other mss add and see
  4. Revelation 6:1 Or Go!
  5. Revelation 6:2 Lit went out conquering and in order to conquer
  6. Revelation 6:3 Other mss add and see
  7. Revelation 6:3 Or Go!
  8. Revelation 6:4 Or was granted; lit was given
  9. Revelation 6:5 Other mss add and see
  10. Revelation 6:5 Or Go!
  11. Revelation 6:7 Other mss add and see
  12. Revelation 6:7 Or Go!
  13. Revelation 6:8 Or a greenish gray
  14. Revelation 6:8 Other mss read him
  15. Revelation 6:9 Lit souls
  16. Revelation 6:9 Other mss add about the Lamb
  17. Revelation 6:10 Or Master
  18. Revelation 6:12 Lit I saw when He opened
  19. Revelation 6:12 Or the full moon
  20. Revelation 6:13 Perhaps meteors
  21. Revelation 6:17 Other mss read His

Cross references:

  1. 6:2 : Zch 6:1-3
  2. 6:4 : Mt 10:34
  3. 6:8 : Mt 10:1; 28:18; Rv 9:3
  4. 6:9 : Rv 1:2, 9; 12:17; 19:10; 20:4
  5. 6:12 : Is 50:3
  6. 6:15 : Is 2:10
  7. 6:16 : Hs 10:8
  8. 6:17 : Mal 3:2
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Psalm 134

Psalm 134

Call to Evening Worship

A song of ascents.

1 Now praise the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord
who stand in the Lord’s house at night!(A)
2 Lift up your hands in the holy place
and praise the Lord!(B)

3 May the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.(C)

Cross references:

  1. 134:1 : 1Ch 9:23-27; Ps 135:1-2
  2. 134:2 : Ps 28:2; 63:2; 1Tm 2:8
  3. 134:3 : Ps 115:15; 128:5
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 30:1-4

The Words of Agur

30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.[a](A)

The man’s oration to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:[b]

2 I am more stupid than any other man,[c]
and I lack man’s ability to understand.(B)
3 I have not gained wisdom,
and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.(C)
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?(D)
Who has gathered the wind in His hands?
Who has bound up the waters in a cloak?(E)
Who has established all the ends of the earth?(F)
What is His name,
and what is the name of His Son—
if you know?(G)

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 30:1 Or son of Jakeh from Massa; Pr 31:1
  2. Proverbs 30:1 Hb uncertain. Sometimes read with different word division as oration: I am weary, God, I am weary, God, and I am exhausted, or oration: I am not God, I am not God, that I should prevail. LXX reads My son, fear my words and when you have received them repent. The man says these things to the believers in God, and I pause.
  3. Proverbs 30:2 Lit I am more stupid than a man

Cross references:

  1. 30:1 : Nm 24:3; Pr 31:1; Nah 1:1; Hab 1:1; Zch 9:1; Mal 1:1
  2. 30:2 : 1Kg 3:7
  3. 30:3 : Pr 9:10
  4. 30:4 : Jn 3:13; Eph 4:9-10
  5. 30:4 : Jb 26:8; 38:9
  6. 30:4 : Jb 38:4-5; Ps 93:1; 119:90; Is 45:18
  7. 30:4 : Mt 11:27; Rv 19:12-13
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.