The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday April 22, 2019 (NIV)

The Covenant Renewal at Shechem

24 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel ^(A)to Shechem and ^(B)summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And ^(C)they presented themselves before God. ² And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, ^(D)your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates,^[a] Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and ^(E)they served other gods. ^3 (F)Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River^[b] and ^(G)led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. ^(H)I gave him Isaac. ⁴ And to Isaac I gave ^(I)Jacob and Esau. ^(J)And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, ^(K)but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. ^5 (L)And I sent Moses and Aaron, ^(M)and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and ^(N)afterward I brought you out.

⁶ “‘Then ^(O)I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and ^(P)you came to the sea. ^(Q)And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. ^7 (R)And when they cried to the Lord, ^(S)he put darkness between you and the Egyptians ^(T)and made the sea come upon them and cover them; ^(U)and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. ^(V)And you lived in the wilderness a long time. ⁸ Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. ^(W)They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. ^9 (X)Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. ^(Y)And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, ^10 (Z)but I would not listen to Balaam. ^(AA)Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand. ^11 (AB)And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, ^(AC)and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also ^(AD)the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand. ¹² And I sent ^(AE)the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was ^(AF)not by your sword or by your bow. ¹³ I gave you a land on which you had not labored ^(AG)and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’

Choose Whom You Will Serve

^14 (AH)“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. ^(AI)Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ^15 (AJ)And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, ^(AK)choose this day whom you will serve, whether ^(AL)the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or ^(AM)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. ^(AN)But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

¹⁶ Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, ¹⁷ for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. ¹⁸ And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

¹⁹ But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is ^(AO)a holy God. He is ^(AP)a jealous God; ^(AQ)he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. ^20 (AR)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then ^(AS)he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” ²¹ And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” ²² Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that ^(AT)you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” ²³ He said, “Then ^(AU)put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” ²⁴ And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” ²⁵ So Joshua ^(AV)made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place ^(AW)statutes and rules for them at Shechem. ²⁶ And Joshua ^(AX)wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And ^(AY)he took a large stone and set it up there ^(AZ)under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. ²⁷ And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, ^(BA)this stone shall be a witness against us, for ^(BB)it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” ²⁸ So Joshua ^(BC)sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

Joshua's Death and Burial

^29 (BD)After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 years old. ³⁰ And they buried him in his own inheritance at ^(BE)Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash.

^31 (BF)Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua ^(BG)and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel.

^32 (BH)As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land ^(BI)that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money.^[c] It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.

³³ And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of ^(BJ)Phinehas his son, which had been given him in ^(BK)the hill country of Ephraim.

The Widow's Offering

21 ^(A)Jesus^[a] looked up and saw the rich ^(B)putting their gifts into ^(C)the offering box, ² and he saw a poor widow put in two ^(D)small copper coins.^{[b] 3} And he said, “Truly, I tell you, ^(E)this poor widow has put in more than all of them. ⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her ^(F)poverty put in all ^(G)she had to live on.”

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

^5 (H)And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, ⁶ “As for these things that you see, ^(I)the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” ⁷ And they asked him, “Teacher, ^(J)when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” ⁸ And he said, ^(K)“See that you are not led astray. For ^(L)many will come in my name, saying, ^(M)‘I am he!’ and, ^(N)‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. ⁹ And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be ^(O)terrified, for these things ^(P)must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”

Jesus Foretells Wars and Persecution

¹⁰ Then he said to them, ^(Q)“Nation will rise against nation, and ^(R)kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ There will be great ^(S)earthquakes, and in various places ^(T)famines and pestilences. And there will be ^(U)terrors and great ^(V)signs from heaven. ¹² But before all this ^(W)they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to ^(X)the synagogues and ^(Y)prisons, and you ^(Z)will be brought before ^(AA)kings and ^(AB)governors for my name's sake. ^13 (AC)This will be your opportunity to bear witness. ¹⁴ Settle it therefore in your minds ^(AD)not to meditate beforehand how to answer, ¹⁵ for ^(AE)I will give you a mouth and ^(AF)wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or ^(AG)contradict. ¹⁶ You will be delivered up ^(AH)even by parents and brothers^[c] and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. ^17 (AI)You will be hated by all for my name's sake. ¹⁸ But ^(AJ)not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ By your ^(AK)endurance you will gain your lives.

Jesus Foretells Destruction of Jerusalem

²⁰ “But ^(AL)when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that ^(AM)its desolation has come near. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, ²² for these are ^(AN)days of ^(AO)vengeance, to fulfill ^(AP)all that is written. ^23 (AQ)Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and ^(AR)wrath against this people. ²⁴ They will fall by the edge of the sword and ^(AS)be led captive among all nations, and ^(AT)Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, ^(AU)until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁵ “And ^(AV)there will be signs in sun and moon ^(AW)and stars, and on the earth ^(AX)distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶ people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For ^(AY)the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ And then they will see ^(AZ)the Son of Man coming in a cloud ^(BA)with power and great glory. ²⁸ Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and ^(BB)raise your heads, because ^(BC)your redemption is drawing near.”