The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday February 5, 2018 (NIV)

²² “If some men are fighting and hurt a pregnant woman so that she loses her child, but she is not injured in any other way, the one who hurt her is to be fined whatever amount the woman's husband demands, subject to the approval of the judges. ²³ But if the woman herself is injured, the punishment shall be life for life, ^24 (A)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

²⁶ “If someone hits his male or female slave in the eye and puts it out, he is to free the slave as payment for the eye. ²⁷ If he knocks out a tooth, he is to free the slave as payment for the tooth.

The Responsibility of Owners

²⁸ “If a bull gores someone to death, it is to be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but its owner is not to be punished. ²⁹ But if the bull had been in the habit of attacking people and its owner had been warned, but did not keep it penned up—then if it gores someone to death, it is to be stoned, and its owner is to be put to death also. ³⁰ However, if the owner is allowed to pay a fine to save his life, he must pay the full amount required. ³¹ If the bull kills a boy or a girl, the same rule applies. ³² If the bull kills a male or female slave, its owner shall pay the owner of the slave thirty pieces of silver, and the bull shall be stoned to death.

³³ “If someone takes the cover off a pit or if he digs one and does not cover it, and a bull or a donkey falls into it, ³⁴ he must pay for the animal. He is to pay the money to the owner and may keep the dead animal. ³⁵ If someone's bull kills someone else's bull, the two of them shall sell the live bull and divide the money; they shall also divide up the meat from the dead animal. ³⁶ But if it was known that the bull had been in the habit of attacking and its owner did not keep it penned up, he must make good the loss by giving the other man a live bull, but he may keep the dead animal.

Laws about Repayment

22 “If someone steals a cow or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he must pay five cows for one cow and four sheep for one sheep. ^2-4 He must pay for what he stole. If he owns nothing, he shall be sold as a slave to pay for what he has stolen. If the stolen animal, whether a cow, a donkey, or a sheep, is found alive in his possession, he shall pay two for one.

“If a thief is caught breaking into a house at night and is killed, the one who killed him is not guilty of murder. But if it happens during the day, he is guilty of murder.

⁵ “If someone lets his animals graze in a field or a vineyard and they stray away and eat up the crops^[a] growing in someone else's field, he must make good the loss with the crops from his own fields or vineyards.

⁶ “If someone starts a fire in his own field and it spreads through the weeds to someone else's field and burns up grain that is growing or that has been cut and stacked, the one who started the fire is to pay for the damage.

⁷ “If anyone agrees to keep someone else's money or other valuables for him and they are stolen from his house, the thief, if found, shall repay double. ⁸ But if the thief is not found, the one who was keeping the valuables is to be brought to the place of worship and there he must take an oath that he has not stolen the other one's property.

⁹ “In every case of a dispute about property, whether it involves cattle, donkeys, sheep, clothing, or any other lost object, the two people claiming the property shall be taken to the place of worship. The one whom God declares to be guilty shall pay double to the other one.

¹⁰ “If anyone agrees to keep someone else's donkey, cow, sheep, or other animal for him, and the animal dies or is injured or is carried off in a raid, and if there was no witness, ¹¹ the man must go to the place of worship and take an oath that he has not stolen the other man's animal. If the animal was not stolen, the owner shall accept the loss, and the other man need not repay him; ¹² but if the animal was stolen, the man must repay the owner. ¹³ If it was killed by wild animals, the man is to bring the remains as evidence; he need not pay for what has been killed by wild animals.

¹⁴ “If anyone borrows an animal from someone else and it is injured or dies when its owner is not present, he must pay for it. ¹⁵ But if that happens when the owner is present, he need not repay. If it is a rented animal, the loss is covered by the rental price.

Moral and Religious Laws

^16 (B)“If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, he must pay the bride price for her and marry her. ¹⁷ But if her father refuses to let him marry her, he must pay the father a sum of money equal to the bride price for a virgin.

^18 (C)“Put to death any woman who practices magic.

^19 (D)“Put to death any man who has sexual relations with an animal.

^20 (E)“Condemn to death anyone who offers sacrifices to any god except to me, the Lord.

^21 (F)“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner; remember that you were foreigners in Egypt. ²² Do not mistreat any widow or orphan. ²³ If you do, I, the Lord, will answer them when they cry out to me for help, ²⁴ and I will become angry and kill you in war. Your wives will become widows, and your children will be fatherless.

^25 (G)“If you lend money to any of my people who are poor, do not act like a moneylender and require him to pay interest. ^26 (H)If you take someone's cloak as a pledge that he will pay you, you must give it back to him before the sun sets, ²⁷ because it is the only covering he has to keep him warm. What else can he sleep in? When he cries out to me for help, I will answer him because I am merciful.

^28 (I)“Do not speak evil of God,^[b] and do not curse a leader of your people.

²⁹ “Give me the offerings from your grain, your wine, and your olive oil when they are due.

“Give me your first-born sons. ³⁰ Give me the first-born of your cattle and your sheep. Let the first-born male stay with its mother for seven days, and on the eighth day offer it to me.

^31 (J)“You are my people, so you must not eat the meat of any animal that has been killed by wild animals; instead, give it to the dogs.

Justice and Fairness

23 ^(K)“Do not spread false rumors, and do not help a guilty person by giving false testimony. ² Do not follow the majority when they do wrong or when they give testimony that perverts justice. ^3 (L)Do not show partiality to a poor person at his trial.

^4 (M)“If you happen to see your enemy's cow or donkey running loose, take it back to him. ⁵ If his donkey has fallen under its load, help him get the donkey to its feet again; don't just walk off.

^6 (N)“Do not deny justice to a poor person when he appears in court. ⁷ Do not make false accusations, and do not put an innocent person to death, for I will condemn anyone who does such an evil thing. ⁸ Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe makes people blind to what is right and ruins the cause of those who are innocent.

^9 (O)“Do not mistreat a foreigner; you know how it feels to be a foreigner, because you were foreigners in Egypt.

The Seventh Year and the Seventh Day

^10 (P)“For six years plant your land and gather in what it produces. ¹¹ But in the seventh year let it rest, and do not harvest anything that grows on it. The poor may eat what grows there, and the wild animals can have what is left. Do the same with your vineyards and your olive trees.

^12 (Q)“Work six days a week, but do no work on the seventh day, so that your slaves and the foreigners who work for you and even your animals can rest.

¹³ “Listen to everything that I, the Lord, have said to you. Do not pray to other gods; do not even mention their names.

Jesus Speaks of the Destruction of the Temple^(A)

24 Jesus left and was going away from the Temple when his disciples came to him to call his attention to its buildings. ² “Yes,” he said, “you may well look at all these. I tell you this: not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them will be thrown down.”

Troubles and Persecutions^(B)

^3 (C)As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him in private. “Tell us when all this will be,” they asked, “and what will happen to show that it is the time for your coming and the end of the age.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “Watch out, and do not let anyone fool you. ⁵ Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come and say, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will fool many people. ⁶ You are going to hear the noise of battles close by and the news of battles far away; but do not be troubled. Such things must happen, but they do not mean that the end has come. ^7 (D)Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one another. There will be famines and earthquakes everywhere. ⁸ All these things are like the first pains of childbirth.

^9 (E)“Then you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and be put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. ¹⁰ Many will give up their faith at that time; they will betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ Then many false prophets will appear and fool many people. ¹² Such will be the spread of evil that many people's love will grow cold. ^13 (F)But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preached through all the world for a witness to all people; and then the end will come.

The Awful Horror^(G)

^15 (H)“You will see ‘The Awful Horror’ of which the prophet Daniel spoke. It will be standing in the holy place.” (Note to the reader: understand what this means!) ¹⁶ “Then those who are in Judea must run away to the hills. ^17 (I)Someone who is on the roof of a house must not take the time to go down and get any belongings from the house. ¹⁸ Someone who is in the field must not go back to get a cloak. ¹⁹ How terrible it will be in those days for women who are pregnant and for mothers with little babies! ²⁰ Pray to God that you will not have to run away during the winter or on a Sabbath! ^21 (J)For the trouble at that time will be far more terrible than any there has ever been, from the beginning of the world to this very day. Nor will there ever be anything like it again. ²² But God has already reduced the number of days; had he not done so, nobody would survive. For the sake of his chosen people, however, God will reduce the days.

²³ “Then, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. ²⁴ For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear; they will perform great miracles and wonders in order to deceive even God's chosen people, if possible. ²⁵ Listen! I have told you this ahead of time.

^26 (K)“Or, if people should tell you, ‘Look, he is out in the desert!’—don't go there; or if they say, ‘Look, he is hiding here!’—don't believe it. ²⁷ For the Son of Man will come like the lightning which flashes across the whole sky from the east to the west.

^28 (L)“Wherever there is a dead body, the vultures will gather.

The Voice of the Lord in the Storm^[a]

The Immoral Woman

⁶ Once I was looking out the window of my house, ⁷ and I saw many inexperienced young men, but noticed one foolish fellow in particular. ⁸ He was walking along the street near the corner where a certain woman lived. He was passing near her house ⁹ in the evening after it was dark. ¹⁰ And then she met him; she was dressed like a prostitute and was making plans. ¹¹ She was a bold and shameless woman who always walked the streets ¹² or stood waiting at a corner, sometimes in the streets, sometimes in the marketplace. ¹³ She threw her arms around the young man, kissed him, looked him straight in the eye, and said, ¹⁴ “I made my offerings today and have the meat from the sacrifices. ¹⁵ So I came out looking for you. I wanted to find you, and here you are! ¹⁶ I've covered my bed with sheets of colored linen from Egypt. ¹⁷ I've perfumed it with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. ¹⁸ Come on! Let's make love all night long. We'll be happy in each other's arms. ¹⁹ My husband isn't at home. He's on a long trip. ²⁰ He took plenty of money with him and won't be back for two weeks.” ²¹ So she tempted him with her charms, and he gave in to her smooth talk. ²² Suddenly he was going with her like an ox on the way to be slaughtered, like a deer prancing into a trap^{[a] 23} where an arrow would pierce its heart. He was like a bird going into a net—he did not know that his life was in danger.