Month: August 2019

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday August 8, 2019 (NIV)

Ezra 7:1-8:20

Ezra’s Family Background

7 After these things, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra left Babylon.

Ezra was the son of Seraiah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Hilkiah, 2 who was the son of Shallum, who was the son of Zadok, who was the son of Ahitub, 3 who was the son of Amariah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Meraioth, 4 who was the son of Zerahiah, who was the son of Uzzi, who was the son of Bukki, 5 who was the son of Abishua, who was the son of Phinehas, who was the son of Eleazer, who was the son of Aaron (the first priest).

6 As a scribe, Ezra was an expert in Moses’ Teachings, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king gave Ezra everything he requested because the Lord his God was guiding him.

7 Some Israelites (including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants) went to Jerusalem in Artaxerxes’ seventh year as king. 8 In that same year in the fifth month, Ezra arrived in Jerusalem. 9 He had left Babylon on the first day of the first month, and on the first day of the fifth month, he arrived in Jerusalem, since his God was good to him. 10 Ezra was determined to study the Lord’s Teachings, live by them, and teach their rules and regulations in Israel.

King Artaxerxes’ Letter to Ezra

11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest and scribe, a man with a thorough knowledge of the Lord’s commands and laws for Israel:

12 From:Artaxerxes, king of kings
To:Ezra the priest, a scribe for the Teachings of the God of Heaven

I wish you peace and prosperity!

13 I have issued a decree that any Israelites who are in my kingdom and want to go with you to Jerusalem may go. This also includes the priests and Levites. 14 I, the king, and my seven advisers are sending you to evaluate the situation in Judah and Jerusalem on the basis of your God’s Teachings, which you hold in your hands. 15 Also, you must take the silver and gold that the king and his advisers willingly contributed to the God of Israel, the God whose temple is in Jerusalem. 16 Take any silver and gold that you find in the whole province of Babylon when you take the gifts contributed by the people and the priests. They willingly contributed these gifts for the temple of their God in Jerusalem. 17 You must use this money to buy bulls, rams, lambs, grain, and wine to offer on the altar of the temple of your God in Jerusalem. 18 You and your relatives may do whatever you think is right with the rest of the silver and gold. However, what you do must conform to the will of your God. 19 The utensils that have been given to you so that they can be used in your God’s temple must all be presented to the God of Jerusalem. 20 You may use the king’s treasury to pay for anything else that you must provide for your God’s temple.

21 I, King Artaxerxes, order all the treasurers in the province west of the Euphrates River to do exactly what Ezra the priest, a scribe for the Teachings of the God of Heaven, asks you to do. 22 You may give him up to 7,500 pounds of silver, 100 measures of wheat, 600 gallons of wine, 600 gallons of olive oil, and as much salt as he needs. 23 Whatever the God of heaven has commanded must be carried out in detail for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should God become angry with the king’s empire and his sons? 24 Furthermore, we are notifying you that you are forbidden to make any priest, Levite, singer, gatekeeper, servant, or worker in the temple of this God pay any taxes, fees, or tolls.

25 You, Ezra, using your God’s wisdom—the Teachings you hold in your hands—will appoint judges and administrators for all the people who know your God’s Teachings and live in the province west of the Euphrates River. In addition, you will teach anyone who doesn’t know the Teachings.

26 Whoever will not strictly follow your God’s Teachings and the king’s orders should be promptly exiled, have his goods confiscated, be imprisoned or be sentenced to die.

27 I, Ezra, said: Thanks be to the Lord God of our ancestors. He put this into the king’s mind to make the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem beautiful. 28 He made the king, his advisers, and all the king’s powerful officials treat me kindly.

I was encouraged because the Lord my God was guiding me. So I gathered leaders in Israel to go with me.

The List of Those Returning from Babylon

8 These are the leaders of the families and the genealogy of those who left Babylon with me during the reign of King Artaxerxes:

2 from the family of Phinehas:
Gershom
from the family of Ithamar:
Daniel
3 from the family of David:
Hattush, son of Shecaniah
from the family of Parosh:
Zechariah, with 150 males whose genealogies were known
4 from the family of Pahath Moab:
Eliehoenai, son of Zerahiah, with 200 males
5 from the family of Zattu:[a]
Shecaniah, son of Jahaziel, with 300 males
6 from the family of Adin:
Ebed, son of Jonathan, with 50 males
7 from the family of Elam:
Jeshaiah, son of Athaliah, with 70 males
8 from the family of Shephatiah:
Zebadiah, son of Michael, with 80 males
9 from the family of Joab:
Obadiah, son of Jehiel, with 210 males
10 from the family of Bani:[b]
Shelomith, son of Josiphiah, with 160 males
11 from the family of Bebai:
Zechariah, son of Bebai, with 38 males
12 from the family of Azgad:
Johanan, son of Hakkatan, with 110 males
13 from the family of Adonikam:
Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, who arrived later with 60 males
14 from the family of Bigvai:
Uthai and Zabbud, with 70 males.

The People Prepare for Their Journey

15 I had this group gather by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I noticed laypeople and priests there, but I didn’t find any Levites. 16 Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam (who were leading men) and for Joiarib and Elnathan (who were wise). 17 I sent them to Iddo, the leader in Casiphia. I told them to tell Iddo and his relatives, the temple servants in Casiphia, that they should bring us men who can serve in our God’s temple. 18 God was guiding us, so Iddo and his relatives brought us someone competent, Sherebiah, who was a descendant of Mahli, Levi, and Israel. They brought us 18 of Sherebiah’s sons and relatives. 19 They also brought Hashabiah, Jeshaiah (who was a descendant of Merari), 20 of Jeshaiah’s relatives and their sons, 20 and 220 temple servants. They were descended from the temple servants whom David and his officials had appointed to work for the Levites. These were all listed by name.

Footnotes:

  1. Ezra 8:5 Greek; Masoretic Text omits “of Zattu.”
  2. Ezra 8:10 Greek; Masoretic Text omits “of Bani.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

1 Corinthians 4

The Work of the Apostles

4 People should think of us as servants of Christ and managers who are entrusted with God’s mysteries. 2 Managers are required to be trustworthy.

3 It means very little to me that you or any human court should cross-examine me. I don’t even ask myself questions. 4 I have a clear conscience, but that doesn’t mean I have God’s approval. It is the Lord who cross-examines me. 5 Therefore, don’t judge anything before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will also bring to light what is hidden in the dark and reveal people’s motives. Then each person will receive praise from God.

6 Brothers and sisters, I have applied this to Apollos and myself for your sake. You should learn from us not to go beyond what is written in Scripture. Then you won’t arrogantly place one of us in opposition to the other.

7 Who says that you are any better than other people? What do you have that wasn’t given to you? If you were given what you have, why are you bragging as if it weren’t a gift?

8 You already have what you want! You’ve already become rich! You’ve become kings without us! I wish you really were kings so that we could be kings with you.

9 As I see it, God has placed us apostles last in line, like people condemned to die. We have become a spectacle for people and angels to look at. 10 We have given up our wisdom for Christ, but you have insight because of Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. 11 To this moment, we are hungry, thirsty, poorly dressed, roughly treated, and homeless. 12 We wear ourselves out doing physical labor. When people verbally abuse us, we bless them. When people persecute us, we endure it. 13 When our reputations are attacked, we remain courteous. Right now we have become garbage in the eyes of the world and trash in the sight of all people.

14 I’m not writing this to make you feel ashamed but to instruct you as my dear children. 15 You may have countless Christian guardians, but you don’t have many spiritual fathers. I became your father in the Christian life by telling you the Good News about Christ Jesus. 16 So I encourage you to imitate me. 17 That’s why I’ve sent Timothy to you to help you remember my Christian way of life as I teach it everywhere in every church. Timothy is my dear child, and he faithfully does the Lord’s work.

18 Some of you have become arrogant because you think I won’t pay you a visit. 19 If it’s the Lord’s will, I’ll visit you soon. Then I’ll know what these arrogant people are saying and what power they have. 20 God’s kingdom is not just talk, it is power.

21 When I come to visit you, would you prefer that I punish you or show you love and a gentle spirit?

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Psalm 30

Psalm 30

A psalm by David sung at the dedication of the temple.

1 I will honor you highly, O Lord,
because you have pulled me out of the pit
and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God,
I cried out to you for help,
and you healed me.
3 O Lord, you brought me up from the grave.
You called me back to life
from among those who had gone into the pit.
4 Make music to praise the Lord, you faithful people who belong to him.
Remember his holiness by giving thanks.
5 His anger lasts only a moment.
His favor lasts a lifetime.
Weeping may last for the night,
but there is a song of joy in the morning.

6 When all was well with me, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
7 O Lord, by your favor you have made my mountain stand firm.
When you hid your face, I was terrified.
8 I will cry out to you, O Lord.
I will plead to the Lord for mercy:
9 “How will you profit if my blood is shed,
if I go into the pit?
Will the dust of my body give thanks to you?
Will it tell about your truth?”
10 Hear, O Lord, and have pity on me!
O Lord, be my helper!
11 You have changed my sobbing into dancing.
You have removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy
12 so that my soul[a] may praise you with music and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

Psalm 31

For the choir director; a psalm by David.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 30:12 Or “glory.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Proverbs 20:28-30

28 Mercy and truth protect a king,
and with mercy he maintains his throne.
29 While the glory of young men is their strength,
the splendor of older people is their silver hair.
30 Brutal beatings cleanse away wickedness.
Such beatings cleanse the innermost being.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

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08/07/2019 DAB Transcript

Ezra 4:24-6:22, 1 Corinthians 3:5-23, Psalms 29:1-11, Proverbs 20:26-27

Today is the 7th day of August. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you as we kind of cross the first full week of this month, at least in numerical numbers. This is the 7th day of August, even though we’re in the middle of a week and this happens to be the 219th day of the year. So, well done for showing up today here around the global campfire where we just come in and allow God to speak to us through His word on His own terms. All we have to do is still ourselves, take a deep breath. Whatever has happened today or whatever is yet out in front of us to accomplish today, it’ll still be there, it’s not going anywhere, and our frantic attempts to keep up, they’re not really helping. But this will help - a deep breath, stepping away from it all for a little while, connecting to our spiritual lives, which is what we were talking about yesterday in first Corinthians, and just letting God speak. So, we’re reading from the God’s Word Translation this week. And today Ezra chapter 4 verse 24 through 6 verse 22.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in our reading from the book of Ezra today we continued to watch the taunts of the enemies of Israel and we continued to watch them try to disrupt and sabotage the work to rebuild God’s temple, right, with all of these letters going back and forth to the king and all this inspection etc. etc. Despite all of that, all the intimidation, the people continued to build. They knew that they were given permission to do it and they knew they were obeying God. And I guess that’s the lesson. We could just stop right there. There’s the lesson, right? We’re going to experience this kind of stuff. We’ll be disrupted, we’ll be taunted, we’ll be marginalized occasionally. These things will happen to us while we’re doing the work of God, something that he’s told us to do, something that we are building that we are supposed to be doing and that we are empowered to do, right? And just, if the intimidation won’t work then the attempts to delay things or to interfere, to just meddle in things, this is what happens and the process isn’t easy, but we are watching an example here in the Scriptures. It wasn’t easy for them. It’s not easy for us. The only differences between us and them are likely that they didn’t give up. We have to be steadfast when we know we are obeying God. And we know when we are obeying God that cannot be attached to specific outcome. It has to be total trust that we are obeying God and whatever happens is for his purposes whether we understand it or not, as we’ve been reading in first Corinthians. And this brings up something that we’re going to begin to see, that we cannot avoid, that will carry us through to the end of the year as we continue through the Scriptures, and that is this fact - endurance is required on the faith journey. And as we move deeper and deeper into the New Testament moving our way all the way toward the end of the last books of the Bible, we will see just how true that is. So, if you’re walking that path. You’re walking down a path that you believe God’s got you on towards something and it’s like everything’s going wrong, like nothing is easy…and man…I’m like speaking to myself because it’s been a year where nothing has been easy. Like, really almost to the point of comedy in my life where it’s like nothing…everything has to be contended for, and then it’s just part of learning to maintain. But we’re all walking through stuff at various times. And, so, I don’t think there’s anybody that doesn’t understand what we’re talking about here. If you’re on a path that God has asked you, then walk that path no matter my what might fall in the path. If the telephone pole falls down in front of you on the path then gotta walk around it like or you got a cut through it. The point is not that we get delayed. The point is that not that we don’t get diverted. The point is that we do not stop, that we continue forward. And if we’re slowed down significantly then we just have to try to make some progress. Every step forward is a step forward. So, be encouraged today and take the next step forward. You are not alone. But together as a community if we all take the next step forward then we’ve made huge strides forward in the kingdom.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into that. We invite You into endurance and we invite You to help us to understand that this isn’t purposeless, and this isn’t Your anger or displeasure. Resistance is how we grow up. It has a way of dealing with all of the selfishness in us. It has a way of prying our grabbing hands and fingers loose from the world. So, come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus name we ask. Amen.

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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Greetings Brain this is Tony from Germany and I heard your reading and your commentary today for August 3rd about gossip and one thing you said in there was, “let this be that day that we start, you start, yeah, I, August 3rd, 2019, I start in earnest to try as hard as I can to the grace of the Lord to not speak negatively about others even if it’s in frustration especially when it’s based on assumptions. And I will try earnestly not to be part of any problem like that. So, I do have role models that I see thankfully that are really good at not listening to gossip and not gossiping. So…and not making negative assumptions. They’re my role models and I ask the community to pray for me because I just feel that I will be a person that I will respect more if I can keep my mouth shut, you know. And if I have to voice of frustration, well I’ve got a nice chubby little kitty named Micah and I have the Lord, or I use my mentors and voice my frustrations with them and get their guidance. So, for anybody else who is going to be joining us can we just pray together for each other to go down on this road and to the grace of the Lord with time have more control over our words and keep them in line such that they are life-giving. Okay, thank you Brian, thanks for this. Bye. God bless everyone.

Good morning, Chucky from Colorado and Robert wanting to serve. I too got that Cancer diagnosis a few years ago and I want to share with you a Scripture that got me through that time. It was in second Corinthians 1 verses 9 through 11. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death but this happened that we might not love ourselves but our God __. He has delivered us from the deadly peril and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope, He will continue to do this as you help us by your prayers, and many will give thanks on our behalf in the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. Be strong. I can tell you that my first prayer was Lord let me a good ambassador for you during this trial. And He gave me many opportunities to be a witness for him. He got me through. Cancer is not a death sentence. I encourage you to get a second opinion, especially if there is a university hospital nearby. But you are being prayed for and know that the prayers of many got me through. So, I encourage you, keep __ watch him work. Love you, know that I am praying for you and I got through stage III __ cancer __ years ago and I’m still cancer free. God bless you.

Hello family this is Rebecca from Nebraska and I’ve been a longtime listener, I don’t how many years, maybe eight years now or so and it’s been a long time since I’ve called in, but after listening to the podcast today about King Hezekiah and Manasseh, I don’t know how many times I’ve heard that story about King Manasseh. And today for some reason it was like I heard it again for the first time and I could not believe at the end of his life how much grace the Lord gave to him when he repented, king Manasseh, this evil wicked king. And I just felt the Lord really speaking about how powerful repentance is and simple prayer is and how powerful our prayers are. And I read this other quote from Max Macado recently that our prayers may be awkward our attempts may be feeble but since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not the one who says it our prayers make a difference. So, I love you all, am praying for you all. Today when I heard about the testimony of Walta, your son and your reunion, it just made me cry. And so, I’m so blessed by this community and your prayers and when you call in. So, I love you all. Have a good day.

The man was quite tipsy as he walked on the street
very erratic like he had two left feet
he whistles a tune he stumbles and falls
he tries to get up but he can’t so we crawls
to a lamppost where he pulls himself up
but then he takes out a bottle and turns it straight up
he talks and he gestures to an invisible friend
he takes a few more steps and then he falls once again
is this a comedy or a tragedy you be the judge
because stereotyped images run deep and they don’t budge
that man will be a comedy unless he were your son
and in that case it would be a tragedy and to him you would run
and what about that girl that everybody hugs
who day after day sells her body for drugs
up on the sofa done on her knees
ready willing and able to please
she belongs on the trash pile with the scum of the world
but what if you were the parent of that little girl
we all are Gods children and he loves us all much
especially those who are rebellious and rough
because some haven’t fallen they run and then leap
straight into sin where they wallow real deep
but Christ doesn’t condemn you he’ll heal and restore
your sins are forgiven go sin no more
bring out a robe a ring kill the calf
my child has returned let’s party and laugh
not like most of us who say
let’s watch wait and see if he comes to his senses and lives righteous like me
he’s gonna need some rehab some probation too
cause you can’t expect complete restoration after all he put me through
stranded and bleeding alone on a ledge
surrounded by servants Christ was my hedge
he is the good shepherd left all the good sheep to rescue one bad one
his love is that deep

blindtony1016@gmail.com. Thank you, Brian and the Hardin family for this podcast for God’s Holy Spirit to flow keep the flow and y’all. Alright bye-bye.

Hello, this is Michael Jean Elmore from way out west and I’m calling in to thank God that old Prodigal called in. He called in for Demetrius and praying for Demetrius and talked to him and giving us a lot of update on himself. Thank you very much for calling in. We’re all praying for Demetrius and you Prodigal and just…just wonderful to hear your voice and that update. So, and I’m sure that you’re going to be very encouraging to Demetrius. You’re very encouraging to me. So, I’m sure you will be to him. And thank you all that call-in. I don’t call in very often, but I listen to it every weekend, pretty much. I might’ve missed a couple of them. But over the years I’ve come to love the weekend three-hour prayer program as much as the Bible reading. It’s just really been a real encouragement to me and thank you all for calling in and God bless you Prodigal and keep on keeping on. Adios.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday August 7, 2019 (NIV)

Ezra 4:24-6:22

24 Then the work on God’s temple in Jerusalem was stopped. Nothing more was done until Darius’ second year as king of Persia.

Work Resumed on the Temple

5 The prophet Haggai and Zechariah, grandson of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of Israel’s God, who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel, who was Shealtiel’s son, and Jeshua, who was Jozadak’s son, began to rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem. God’s prophets were with them and supported them.

3 At the same time, Governor Tattenai from the province west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai, and their group went to the Jews and asked them, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this temple and finish its walls?” 4 They also asked the Jews for the names of the men who were working on this building.

5 But the leaders of the Jews were under God’s watchful eye. They couldn’t be stopped until Darius received a report and sent a reply to it.

Permission Requested from Darius

6 Here is a copy of the letter Governor Tattenai from the province west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai and his group (the Persians west of that river) sent to King Darius. 7 They sent him the following report:

To King Darius,

We wish you peace and prosperity in everything you do.

8 Your Majesty should know that we went to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The temple is being built with large stones and with wooden beams laid in its walls. The builders are doing an excellent job and making rapid progress. 9 We asked their leaders the following question: “Who gave you permission to rebuild this temple and finish its walls?” 10 For your information, we also asked them for their names so that we would have a record of the men who were their leaders. 11 This was their reply to us:

“We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple that was originally built many years ago by a great king of Israel. 12 But because our ancestors made the God of heaven angry, he handed them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (a Chaldean). So Nebuchadnezzar destroyed this temple and deported its people to Babylon.

13 “However, in the first year of the reign of King Cyrus of Babylon, Cyrus gave permission for God’s temple to be rebuilt. 14 In addition, Cyrus took out of a temple in Babylon the gold and silver utensils that belonged to God’s temple. (Nebuchadnezzar had taken them out of God’s temple in Jerusalem and brought them into a temple in Babylon.) Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor. 15 Cyrus told him, ‘Take these utensils. Place them in the temple in Jerusalem. Rebuild God’s temple on its original site.’ 16 Then Sheshbazzar laid the foundation of God’s temple in Jerusalem. The temple has been under construction from that time until now, but it still isn’t finished.”

17 If it pleases Your Majesty, allow someone to search the king’s archives in Babylon to determine whether King Cyrus gave permission for the temple of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then please send us Your Majesty’s decision on this matter.

King Darius Finds King Cyrus’ Memorandum

6 Then King Darius gave the order to search the library where the archives were stored in Babylon. 2 A scroll was found in the palace of Ecbatana, which is in the province of Media. This was written on it:

MEMORANDUM

3 Date: Cyrus’ first year as king

From: King Cyrus

Subject: God’s temple in Jerusalem

The temple should be rebuilt as a place to offer sacrifices. Its foundation should be laid. It should be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide 4 with three rows of large stones and a row of wood. The king’s palace will pay for it. 5 In addition, Cyrus took out of a temple in Babylon the gold and silver utensils that belonged to God’s temple. (Nebuchadnezzar had taken them out of God’s temple in Jerusalem and brought them into a temple in Babylon.) They should be returned to their proper place in the temple in Jerusalem. You should put each one in God’s temple.

6 Governor Tattenai from the province west of the Euphrates, Shethar Bozenai, and those of your group (the Persians west of the river):

You must stay away from there. 7 Don’t interfere with the work on God’s temple. Let the governor of the Jews and the leaders of Judah rebuild God’s temple on its original foundation. 8 I am issuing this decree about how you must help the Jewish leaders rebuild God’s temple:

The cost for this should be paid out of the king’s own money from the taxes on the province west of the Euphrates. Full payment should be made to these men so that the work is not interrupted. 9 Also, whatever the priests in Jerusalem need for burnt offerings to the God of heaven—young bulls, rams, lambs, wheat, salt, wine, and olive oil—should be provided for them each day. Make sure that nothing is omitted. 10 Then they can offer sacrifices that please the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

11 I am also issuing a decree that if anyone tampers with my orders, that person should be impaled on a beam torn from his own house and his house should be turned into a pile of rubble. [a] 12 May the God whose name is worshiped there cause the downfall of each king and nation who tries to tamper with my orders or tries to destroy the temple of the God in Jerusalem.

I, Darius, have issued a decree. It’s to be carried out exactly as ordered.

13 Then Governor Tattenai from the province west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai, and their group did exactly what King Darius had ordered. 14 So the Jewish leaders continued to make progress because of the message from the prophet Haggai and Zechariah, the grandson of Iddo. They finished building as the God of Israel had ordered and as Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes (the kings of Persia) had ordered. 15 This temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar in the sixth year of King Darius’ reign.

The Temple Is Completed and Dedicated

16 Then the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the others who had returned from exile celebrated at the dedication of God’s temple. 17 At the dedication of God’s temple, they sacrificed 100 bulls, 200 rams, and 400 lambs. They sacrificed 12 male goats as an offering for sin, one goat for each of the tribes of Israel.

18 The priests were assigned to their divisions and the Levites to their groups to lead the worship of God in Jerusalem by following the directions written in the Book of Moses.

The Passover Is Celebrated

19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, those who had returned from exile celebrated the Passover. 20 Since the priests and Levites had cleansed themselves, all of them were now clean.[b] They killed the Passover lambs for all the people who had returned from exile, for the rest of the priests, and for themselves. 21 The lambs were eaten by the Israelites who had returned from exile and by all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of the non-Jews in the land to worship the Lord God of Israel. 22 So for seven days they celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread because the Lord had made them joyful. The Lord had made the king of Assyria change his mind so that he supported the people in their work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.

Footnotes:

  1. Ezra 6:12 Hebrew meaning of this word uncertain.
  2. Ezra 6:20 “Clean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is presentable to God.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

1 Corinthians 3:5-23

5 Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? They are servants who helped you come to faith. Each did what the Lord gave him to do. 6 I planted, and Apollos watered, but God made it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is important because only God makes it grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have the same goal, and each will receive a reward for his own work. 9 We are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field.

You are God’s building. 10 As a skilled and experienced builder, I used the gift[a] that God gave me to lay the foundation for that building. However, someone else is building on it. Each person must be careful how he builds on it. 11 After all, no one can lay any other foundation than the one that is already laid, and that foundation is Jesus Christ. 12 People may build on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw. 13 The day will make what each one does clearly visible because fire will reveal it. That fire will determine what kind of work each person has done. 14 If what a person has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If his work is burned up, he will suffer the loss. However, he will be saved, though it will be like going through a fire.

16 Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him because God’s temple is holy. You are that holy temple!

18 Don’t deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise in the ways of this world, you should give up that wisdom in order to become really wise. 19 The wisdom of this world is nonsense in God’s sight. That’s why Scripture says, “God catches the wise in their cleverness.” 20 Again Scripture says, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are pointless.”

21 So don’t brag about people. Everything belongs to you. 22 Whether it is Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life or death, present or future things, everything belongs to you. 23 You belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Footnotes:

  1. 1 Corinthians 3:10 Or “grace.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Psalm 29

1 Give to the Lord, you heavenly beings.
Give to the Lord glory and power.
2 Give to the Lord the glory his name deserves.
Worship the Lord in his holy splendor.

3 The voice of the Lord rolls over the water.
The God of glory thunders.
The Lord shouts over raging water.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful.
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars.
The Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip along like a calf
and Mount Sirion like a wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord makes the wilderness tremble.
The Lord makes the wilderness of Kadesh tremble.
9 The voice of the Lord splits the oaks[a]
and strips the trees of the forests bare.
Everyone in his temple is saying, “Glory!”

10 The Lord sat enthroned over the flood.
The Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
11 The Lord will give power to his people.
The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 29:9 Hebrew meaning of “splits the oaks” uncertain.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Proverbs 20:26-27

26 A wise king scatters the wicked
and then runs them over.
27 A person’s soul is the Lord’s lamp.
It searches his entire innermost being.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Posted on

08/06/2019 DAB Transcript

Ezra 3:1-4:23, 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4, Psalms 28:1-9, Proverbs 20:24-25

Today is the 6th day of August. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian like every day and it’s great to be with you like every day here around this global campfire that we call our community as we come in out of whatever and join hearts and minds as we allow God’s word to speak to us. This week we’re reading from the God’s Word Translation and we’re kind of just getting going in the book of Ezra and in the letter to the Corinthians, Paul’s letter known as first Corinthians. So, we’re at the front part of both of those books. And off we go. Today, Ezra 3 verse 1 through 4 verse 23.

Commentary:

Alright. So, yesterday when we were reading from first Corinthians, Paul’s started talking about the nonsense of the gospel and we kind of explored that a little bit but as we continue through the letter Paul continues on with his discussion and basically Paul said that God’s plan to redeem the world was something that was ancient and had been hidden but was revealed in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit, but only for people with eyes to see and ears to hear, which is basically what Jesus said throughout His ministry. If we think about this from our own perspective, like from our own human understanding of the world that processes information through five physical senses then what we’re reading doesn’t really make any rational sense, that God’s plan to redeem the world was ancient and hidden, but was revealed in this person named Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit’s but the only people who would be able to find it would be those with eyes to see and ears to hear, right? And most people are like, “I have eyes and I see, and I have ears…”, like it doesn’t necessarily make sense. However, once you’ve felt the truth of it, once something has come awake inside your soul, you can’t see the world any other way, which is like what we said yesterday - incredibly difficult to describe to somebody who doesn’t see, who doesn’t hear, who doesn’t experience the world as a spiritual being. And Paul commented on that. He said, “not one of the rulers of this world has known it. If they had, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory. God has revealed those things to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches everything, especially the deep things of God.” So, for those of us who are mostly rooted in rationalism, which would be me, I need to know how things work, then how do you reconcile this apparent disconnect that happens between our own reason and this awareness that somehow there is a spiritual reality more tangible than anything else in the world? This is what Paul was trying to explain. It’s like not a new question. And, so, here’s what Paul said. “Who knows everything about a person except a person’s own spirit? In the same way no one has known everything about God except God’s Spirit. We didn’t receive the spirit that belongs to the world. Instead, we received the spirit who comes from God so that we could know the things which God is freely given. A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the teachings of God’s spirit. He thinks they’re nonsense. He can’t understand them because a person must be spiritual to evaluate them.” So, basically, according to the apostle Paul, our human mind by itself on its own can’t reason the ways of God. We need something more than our own mind. And, so, for Paul there’s only one way to reconcile this and in reconciling this and explaining it he gave us one of the most quoted verses in all of the Bible, “we have the mind of Christ.” So, as we experienced in Paul’s letter to the Romans, his writing is highly theological, highly technical, so, you know, we could go intellectual and just try to understand what we’re talking about here today or we can try to boil this down into something that we could live into today and thankfully words, much older than Paul’s letter to the Corinthians gives us advice. From the Proverbs today, “the Lord is the one who directs the person’s steps. How then can anyone understand his own way?”

Prayer:

Father, as we enter into that, we see that there really is a constant battle between what we believe and what we perceive, and this is simply exposing the line inside of us where we are of the world and where we are not. So, we invite Your Holy Spirit to help us today to see things spiritually and not to see them as something, a problem to figure, but as a way to enjoy life with You. Come Jesus we ask. In Your mighty name we pray. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it is the website, it is where your find out what’s happening around here.

And in short weeks, very short weeks from now before this month is up, we will be excitedly hosting the Daily Audio Bible Family Reunion for 2019 here in the rolling hills of Tennessee. And we are looking for to that and you are indeed invited, and I hope you’re coming. I hope you can come here to the beautiful Nashville area and experience the rolling hills for yourself. You can get all of the details at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section. There is…well…you’ll see, Family Reunion 2019 and you’ll click in there and every detail that you would want to know or need to know is in there. While you’re in the Initiatives section you may also…well you’ll see the other initiatives but one of them is Israel 2020. And we will be going back to Israel in 2020, although we will not be doing the More Gathering or the Family Reunion in 2020. We’re taking a little bit of a break from such an aggressive pace that we’ve been keeping for 14 years. Taking a little break. So, we won’t be doing the Family Reunion next year. So, this one is one that we’re really looking forward to kind of hold us over, get enough hugs and enough handshakes and enough conversations and that will hold us over for a little while. So, we’re looking forward to that, but we will be going back to Israel and there are precious few spots left for Israel 2020. So, if that’s been on your list, you can look in the Initiatives section where you are already looking at the Family Reunion and you’ll see the Israel 2020 and you can get all the details there as well. So, hoping to see as many of you as possible. That is the next couple of things that are coming up.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link that lives on the homepage and I thank you with all humility and with all of the heart that I can put into the fewest words possible. Thank you that we are in this together and thank you for your partnership. So, there’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Brian I’ve been with you every day for nine years. You inspired me to write the book “Jewels of the Bible”. I took the Bible line by line, I pulled out the stories and I made them alive because I have cancer, breast cancer and it’s moved to stage IV and it went to my brain and I just got a new oncologist who basically told me to put my affairs in order. I have two autistic boys ages 19 and 22. King David said, I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread. I am not righteous but Jesus is my righteousness and I just would like prayer for the boys, Michael Josiah and Elisha Benjamin. My husband after 25 years when I got cancer he left. I know this is a two-minute call but when I wrote the book, when I made the Bible alive for kids for the next generation it’s like that when the attacks started. So, Satan’s trying to get my brain. I left it for the world and I want you guys to know that it’s there and I love you all so much and I trust Jesus to go with __ these babies…well they’re not babies, they’re young men…I would be happy to go see Jesus and I know Jesus will take care of everything and I know this is more than two minutes but God bless you all. I love you Brian. You’ve helped me through so much of my life. God bless.

Hi, my name is Jessica I’m calling from Michigan. It’s August 1st. Actually, it’s August 2nd but still not officially because I haven’t gone to asleep yet. I am a college student, I’m 19. I started listening to the DAB when I was 15. I have an interesting spiritual journey throughout my childhood and I really needed to feel close to God and DAB was one of the ways I was able to do that because I didn’t really have any spiritual friends, or my family really didn’t go to church very much. But I got a campus ministry college. That was great. I got some great fellowship opportunities and made some good friends but a few months ago when I started fighting a doctor in a few and it really confused me and made my relationship with God kind of uncomfy and in seeking out answers and trying to understand this side of things and I ended up finding way more questions than I thought and not many answers and it really made my relationship with God kind of bad. So, I reached out…not reached out…but decided to listen to DAB again today and that was great because I haven’t listened in a while. I’ve been reading the Bible chronologically more for historical contextual study __. But I really found what Brian said about not fighting people on doctrine to be helpful and I guess I felt inspired by that and I just wanted to reach out and ask you to pray that I can have a better relationship with God because I miss Him a lot…

Hi Brian, hi Daily Audio Bible community. I just want to…this…my name is Norma…and I just want to thank you so much for your…this app and this community. I know that the Lord led me to you as I was praying for deeper study in the word and I know that I have found that with the Daily Audio Bible. And I also would like to…I was led by the Holy Spirit to call in to offer some words of encouragement to all of those who have called with problems with her health and finances and those that have had lost a loved one. I just wanted to share a couple of Scriptures with you and just…reading from John 14:2. He says, “in my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” And in second Corinthians 4:18, He says, “while we do not things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporary but the things which are not seen are eternal.” So, I want to encourage all of you community that are going through some things, that what we are going to see here on earth, as it says in the word, is just temporary and I know that during this time of suffering it’s really difficult but remember also that as the word says in John that God is preparing mansions for us and we have so much to look forward to when we are raptured and I just encourage all of you…my heart and compassion call out to all…

Hello Daily Audio Bible family this is Treasured Possession coming at you from the blessed lake state of Minnesota and I’m calling to encourage other believers to give up. I want to thank Pastor Brian for all of his dedication for years and years of speaking the word every day. I have been listening for a long time but this year, first year consistently all the way from January 1st up until today. And I want to say I am so excited. Second Chronicles 32:7-8 pretty much describes our marriage of 33 years. My husband and I will be married 33 years of the 9th of August and it is because of exactly what pastor Brian talked about today, the one thing that has changed in our marriage is just what he talked about. If Satan can get us discouraged full of self-doubt, blaming others for what we’ve done, he’s stolen our faith. And often Satan uses the past, debts, results of previous sins we’re still experiencing to try and convince us that God wasn’t enough then and He won’t be enough now, so just give up. But that’s only the story from this world’s point of view. Our faith says God was there then and He’s there now. We live in Christ as a people resurrected from death, the death of our past sin. We are made completely new and alive in Christ, that every spiritual blessing and the power to obey with joyful and peaceful hearts. Jesus gives us His authority to overcome the enemy as we step forward in faith, learning to trust the Holy Spirit’s guidance through suffering, missing the mark, confessing, getting back up, and going deeper into faith with Jesus. Praise God. I love you all. Be blessed.

Hi, good day, my name is Marcia from Jersey. It’s been a while since I called the line. It’s been like about four years. I know when I called first, I mentioned I was diagnosed with lupus and I was able to experience a miracle. The Lord has healed me. I went on to have a baby boy. His name is Joseph. But the reason that I’m calling today is because I heard the prayer request from Gary from northern Idaho. He was saying that he was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. Gary, today I’m calling to say to you that you’re under a spiritual welfare. I want to say to you that I admire your strength. I listened to your call and you said you…you know, I’m saying to you that I admire your strength and your stance. I want to reiterate what you said, that you are throwing down the gauntlet and your fighting side-by-side with Jesus. Keep it up. Keep it up my brother. You’re going to win. I’m am declaring today that your cancer free. You said you’re following in the great commission. I love it. I love it. I love it. I want to pray for you. Today I’m going to pray for you. So, father today I come before You. I say it today God, Your name is Jehovah. You’re Jesus Christ, the one that sits at the right-hand side of God the father. I am declaring today God that Gary is healed and delivered from metastatic prostate cancer. I’m binding up and chaining up and am casting in the pits of fire every demonic force that is standing against him. In the name of Jesus, I destroy right now the authors of the enemy that have him tied. I break every yoke in the name of Jesus. God…I am speaking of God…I am setting him free right now in the name of Jesus. Father, I thank You for him oh God, every record keeping instrument with his location and identity I’m destroying it in the name of Jesus. I rebuke the devourer, I reverse every agreement now made against him. I’m destroying every evil work from its root and severing the ties of the enemy. I’m speaking to him oh God and I’m saying who the Son set free is free indeed. John 8:36. The Lord bless and keep you in the name of Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus.

Posted on

08/05/2019 DAB Transcript

Ezra 1:1-2:70, 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5, Psalms 27:7-14, Proverbs 20:22-23

Today is the 5th day of August. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it’s great to be here with you as we move into the work week. And, of course, yesterday we began Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church known as first Corinthians, as well as concluding second Chronicles. So, today as we move into the Old Testament portion of our reading, we’re moving into new territory. Our next book is called Ezra.

Introduction to the book of Ezra:

The book of Ezra is going to historically pick up essentially where we left off in second Chronicles. So, the children of Israel are in exile. They’ve been carried off for their rebelliousness to God. And, so, the book of Ezra covers about the next 80 years, and three different kings, Cyrus the great, Darius, and in Artaxerxes. All these kings actually provide favor and cover for the Israelites who are returning to their homeland. So, Cyrus the great begins that process literally having a desire to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem for the worship of God and about 42,000 Israelites who have been in the Babylonian exile crying and weeping for the day that God would restore them, well they finally begin to make trips back under the leadership of a person named Zerubbabel to rebuild. Of course, they’ve been gone for nearly a century so they’re gonna face all kinds of opposition from the people that are there and we see this in in the intimidation that takes place and then the political maneuvering that takes place but they stick to the task. It’s a great reference point for us. This is a great point in the year for us to encounter the book of Ezra in our own lives as we stick to what we know God has given us to do in our calling in life regardless of what opposition we may face. So, having said that, we begin today the book of Ezra and we’re reading from the God’s Word Translation this week.

Commentary:

Okay. So, have you ever sat down and started thinking through your faith only to be kind of lead into a day, a season, an hour of doubt we’re you’re like, “this doesn’t make any sense…this is all nonsense…like what is it that I’m believing here? This is a foolish.” I mean, some of you are like, “no, I’ve never felt that way ever in my life.” I have, lots of times. And it’s the apostle Paul, in this letter to first Corinthians today, who acknowledges that feeling, like affirms that that’s what it looks like. So, quoting from first Corinthians, “the world with its wisdom was unable to recognize God in terms of its own wisdom. So, God decided to use the nonsense of the good news we speak to save those who believe. Jews ask for miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but our message is that Christ was crucified. This offends Jewish people makes no sense to people who are not Jewish, but to those Jews and Greeks who are called, He is Christ, God’s power and God’s wisdom. God’s nonsense is wiser than human wisdom and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” And for me, like personally, that’s been very very frustrating. I would be a Greek in this story, one seeking the truth, seeking wisdom. Like, I’ve spent so much of my life studying theology trying to make it all harmonize when in the end you are at a precipice and you have to step where there is no solid ground and it’s called a leap of faith. Like all of it leads us to faith. And, so, what Paul’s talking about in first Corinthians is simple enough. God can’t be found inside the confines of human intellect or human experience alone. He’s far bigger than that and we can’t categorize with human reason alone all the things that He will or will not do. So, our very best attempts are weak at best. To find God it’s a blind leap of faith, a leap that might look very foolish to many. But, the thing about it is that foolish leap for us when we take it, it turns us right side up. Like, we see the foolishness that we’ve been living under all along and the futility of it all. That just really reveals how spiritually disoriented humanity has become and that’s what Paul’s speaking to when he says, “God’s nonsense is wiser than human wisdom and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength, but God shows what the world considers nonsense to put wise people to shame. God shows what the world considers week to put what is strong to shame. God chose what the world considers ordinary and what it despises, what it considers to be nothing in order to destroy what it considers to be something. As a result, no one can brag in God’s presence.” It’s kind of at this point where you have to acknowledge you’re not going to figure it out. Like, we do not know all that we think we know about anything, especially God. And God is not a being that can just be co-opted to become a part of our lives, like the add-on to our lives while we remain in control as essentially our own functional God, our own sovereign. And, yeah, it seems foolish to give up control of ourselves and believe in what we can’t see, but it’s that foolishness that brings us to the end of ourselves. Like where our strength ends is where we can encounter God.

Prayer:

God, Father, it is Your presence we seek, it is Your presence that we need. In every conceivable way we need You. Even when we are running from You and try to figure it all out in our mind, we need You. And, so, we realize it’s a leap of faith, it’s a surrender and when we are in Your presence, we can’t really explain it to somebody who doesn’t know. It seems like nonsense and foolishness to them even when we try to put it into words it might seem like nonsense and foolishness to us and yet at the deepest core of our heart, at the deepest place of our identity we know. We know You’re there. We know it’s true. And, so, come Holy Spirit and allow us to let go of the nonsense of trying to figure it all out and rest in the faith that Your presence is all around us and we are going somewhere together. Come Holy Spirit we pray, in the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home, it’s the website. It’s where you find out what’s happening around here.

And we’re looking forward to something that’s happening a little later this month, The Daily Audio Bible Family Reunion here in the rolling hills of Tennessee. So many of us have been on this journey for so long, and some of you have just come and stepped onto the ship for, you know, this is your first journey through the entire Bible. And, so, it’s a virtual community. We’re all over the world and yet every day we come around the global campfire and we know that were not alone and over the course of the year we kind of get to know voices, especially those who’ve called in and stuff that we’ve had some sort of interaction with and this is an opportunity to step out of that and into face-to-face, like being able to see each other…like I know you…I’ve been…I’ve known about you…I’ve have known your story for a long time and now I’m seeing you face-to-face. It’s a beautiful thing. I mean, in some ways, selfishly, it’s a beautiful thing for me because I love to shake your hands and hug your necks and know that we have…we’ve been on this journey together, but it also just makes my heart happy to watch that happening among the community. So, come, come to the rolling hills of Tennessee August 31st over Labor Day weekend where we’re gonna have the family reunion out on the lake. It’s gonna be quite a time and you can get all of the details at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section. Just look for Family Reunion 2019. If you’re using the app, it’s easy enough, just…there’s a little Drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner of the app and that will open up and you’ll see Initiatives in there. So, all the details are there, and I hope to see you there in a few weeks.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link and it’s on the homepage and I thank you for clicking that link. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment there are a number of numbers that you can use depending on where you are in the world. If you are in the Americas 877-942-4253 is the number. In that in the UK or in Europe 44-20-3608-8078 is the number and if you are in Australia or that part of the world 61-3-8820-5459 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hello Daily Audio Bible friends this is Patricia from New Orleans Louisiana. I want to thank the lady who called in to say __ for me. Thank you very much. I want to ask…I just…please…please pray for me that the whole pain that I’m in each day all day long and also pray for me to get my regular life back please. I thank you all and God bless each and every one of us. Thank you and God bless you. Bye now.

Hi family this is Karen from Pennsylvania and the reason I’m calling is for my son Jake. Last year I had left a request of the line and some people got back to us and I so much appreciate that. Thank you family. Jake was 18 last year and he was diagnosed with MS. And family he’s been suicidal really bad since the diagnosis. He says that he doesn’t want to live, and he doesn’t care where he ends up and he that hates people, and this is not my Jake. This is not my kid. I mean, it is but he says things that I never would’ve expected to hear him say and I know that God is with us and I try not to be afraid, but I am afraid. I’m very afraid because he talks about it all the time but he’s so adamant that he doesn’t want to be here but sometimes he says that he just wants to be with our Father and then other times he says he doesn’t care __ he just wants to die. So, please pray for Jake…

Hi Daily Audio Bible family this is Jonathan from North Carolina. Just wanted to call and pray for Ben and his marriage. Called in on or was played on the 31st. I just pray for restoration for his marriage. Lord, thank You so much that we can come before in prayer. Thank You that there is nothing that is beyond Your power, and no relationship to broken, and no situation to desperate that You can’t restore. And I just want to thank You for Ben and for his obedience to You and calling and asking for prayer and for restoration of his marriage and obedience to You not even first of all knowing if that is Your will or not. And I just thank You Lord that You’re for marriage and that Ben is thinking about his kids and his family and what it would mean to them to have a family that was functioning well. And I just pray Lord that You would restore his marriage and that You would restore his family and that You would, as it says in Your word, restore __ if the yoke is heavy. And, I guess, thank You so much that You are for Ben, You are for his wife and You are for their children and that You have good plans for them. So, Lord I just pray for Your honor and glory and that You would restore them, that You would bring them close Yourself and that You would receive all the honor and glory in Jesus name.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family, this is Jay from Nashville. Just wanted to give you folks an update. I’m doing pretty well. Just pray for me because I’m…I’m needing to change the depression medication that I’m on because it’s causing me some severe drowsiness and it’s making things a little difficult for me being tired all the time but praise God for pharmaceuticals, praise God for doctors, praise God for modern medicine. And if you’re dealing with, you know, any mental health issues. just know that, no you’re not crazy, you know, you just need…you might need some counseling or some therapy or some medication. That’s okay. You know, I don’t know about most people but in my community, you know, my family in the area where we grew up, you know, we were labeled if we had any mental health issues as crazy people and nobody wants to be called crazy. Nobody wants to feel crazy when the reality is mental health is a real issue, it’s not something to shove under a rug and pretend that it’s not there because the longer you wait to deal with it the more problems, you’re going to cause yourself in the long run. So, let’s erase this mental health and get the help that we need, you know. I love you guys and just keep praying for me and have a great day.

Hey this is Sheila calling from Texas. Today I want to speak blessings upon your life. This will help somebody. I speak to you who constantly receive curses and no words of affirmation. Today by the authority in the name of Jesus Christ I cancel every negative word ever spoken over your life and I speak blessings upon you in the name of Jesus. God loves you and wants you to remember that He sees those wounds deep down in your heart. He wants you to release those that have cursed you over the years. He wants to give you a brand-new heart free of any wounds. Yours is just to forgive and now receive the blessings of the Almighty God. Shalom. Next, I want to pray for Duane of Wisconsin. I just want to remind you that you’re very, very much loved. You fell from your bicycle and now you injured your muscle and it’s torn you need to have surgery. I ask that the Almighty God will heal you and that the blood of Jesus will cover you from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. May you receive healing and be made whole and me you call back and testify. God bless you. Blessings upon everyone on DAB. We love you. Bye-bye.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday August 6, 2019 (NIV)

Ezra 3:1-4:23

Worship at the Temple Site Begins Again

3 When the seventh month came, the people gathered together in Jerusalem. (The Israelites had already settled in their cities.) 2 Then Jozadak’s son Jeshua and his relatives who were priests and Shealtiel’s son Zerubbabel and his relatives built an altar for the God of Israel. They built it in order to sacrifice burnt offerings. They followed the directions written in Moses’ Teachings. (Moses was a man of God). 3 So they rebuilt the altar on its original site, though they were afraid of the people in the neighboring regions. They sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord every morning and evening.

4 Following the written directions, they celebrated the Festival of Booths. Each day they sacrificed the required number of burnt offerings. 5 After that, they sacrificed the daily burnt offerings, the offerings for the New Moon Festival and all the other holy festivals of the Lord, and all the freewill offerings brought to the Lord. 6 They started to bring these burnt offerings to the Lord on the first day of the seventh month, even though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid.

Work on the Temple Begins

7 So they gave money to the stonecutters and carpenters. Then they gave food, drink, and olive oil to the men from Sidon and Tyre in exchange for cedar, which the men would bring by sea from Lebanon to Joppa as King Cyrus of Persia had authorized them to do.

8 Zerubbabel (who was Shealtiel’s son), Jeshua (who was Jozadak’s son), and the rest of the Jews, (the priests, Levites, and all the others who had come back from exile to Jerusalem) began to rebuild the temple. This happened in the second month of the second year following their return to the site of God’s house in Jerusalem. They began by appointing the Levites who were at least 20 years old to direct the work on the Lord’s house. 9 Then Jeshua with his sons and relatives and Kadmiel with his sons who were Judah’s descendants joined Henadad’s family and their sons and relatives, the Levites, in directing those working on God’s house.

A Celebration After the Laying of the Temple’s Foundation

10 The builders laid the foundation of the Lord’s temple. Then the priests who were dressed in their robes took their places with trumpets, and the Levites who were Asaph’s descendants took their places with cymbals to praise the Lord according to the instructions of King David of Israel. 11 As they praised and gave thanks to the Lord, they sang antiphonally:

“He is good; his mercy toward Israel endures forever.”

Then all the people shouted, “Praise the Lord,” because the foundation for the house of the Lord had been laid.

12 But many of the priests, Levites, and the heads of the families who were old enough to have seen the first temple with their own eyes began to sob when they saw the foundation of this temple. Many others shouted for joy. 13 No one could distinguish between the joyful shouts and the loud sobbing because the people were shouting so loudly. The noise was heard from far away.

The Samaritans Stop the Work

4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people who returned from exile were building a temple for the Lord God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the families. They told them, “We want to help you build because we worship the same God you worship. We have been sacrificing to him[a] since the time of King Esarhaddon of Assyria, who brought us here.”

3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of Israel’s families told them, “It isn’t right for your people and our people to build a temple for our God together. We must build it alone for the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia ordered us to do.”

4 Then the people of that region discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to continue building. 5 They bribed officials to keep the people of Judah from carrying out their plans throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius of Persia.

6 When Xerxes began to rule, the enemies of Judah and Jerusalem wrote a letter in which they made an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

7 Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their group wrote to him when Artaxerxes was king of Persia. The letter was written with the Aramaic script and translated into the Aramaic language.

8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote another letter against the people of Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes. 9 At that time, Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe were with the others of their group—the people from Denya, Partakka, Tarpel, Persia, Erech, Babylon, Susa, (that is, those of Elam), 10 and the rest of the people whom the great and noble Assurbanipal deported. (Assurbanipal settled them in the cities of Samaria and the rest of the lands west of the Euphrates River.) 11 This is the copy of the letter they sent to him:

To King Artaxerxes,

From your servants, the people west of the Euphrates:

12 Your Majesty, you should know that the Jews who came to us from you are now in Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are close to finishing the walls. The foundations are already in place. 13 You should also know that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, the Jews will no longer pay taxes, fees, and tolls.

Ultimately, this will hurt the king’s income. 14 Now, because we are paid by your palace, it isn’t right for us to watch something happen that will dishonor the king. So we are sending this letter to inform you 15 that you should search the official records of your predecessors. You will find in those official records that this city has been rebellious and has been a threat to kings and provinces. This city has a history of rebelliousness. That’s why this city was destroyed. 16 We want the king to know that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, you will have nothing left of your province west of the Euphrates River.

17 Then the king sent this reply:

To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their group living in Samaria, and to others west of the Euphrates River:

I wish you peace and prosperity!

18 The letter you sent me has been read word for word in my presence. 19 I gave the order, and a search was made. I discovered that this city has a long history of uprisings against kings. Its inhabitants are guilty of treason and rebellion. 20 Jerusalem has had powerful kings who have ruled the whole province west of the Euphrates. Taxes, fees, and tolls were paid to them. 21 So order these men to stop rebuilding. Keep this city from being rebuilt until I give the order. 22 Be careful not to neglect your duty in this matter. Why should I, the king, suffer any more harm?

23 Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and their group hurried to Jerusalem after hearing a copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter. They forced the Jews to stop rebuilding.

Footnotes:

  1. Ezra 4:2 Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek, Syriac, Egyptian; Masoretic Text “We have not sacrificed.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4

6 However, we do use wisdom to speak to those who are mature. It is a wisdom that doesn’t belong to this world or to the rulers of this world who are in power today and gone tomorrow. 7 We speak about the mystery of God’s wisdom. It is a wisdom that has been hidden, which God had planned for our glory before the world began. 8 Not one of the rulers of this world has known it. If they had, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as Scripture says:

“No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
the things that God has prepared
for those who love him.”

10 God has revealed those things to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches everything, especially the deep things of God. 11 After all, who knows everything about a person except that person’s own spirit? In the same way, no one has known everything about God except God’s Spirit. 12 Now, we didn’t receive the spirit that belongs to the world. Instead, we received the Spirit who comes from God so that we could know the things which God has freely given us. 13 We don’t speak about these things using teachings that are based on intellectual arguments like people do. Instead, we use the Spirit’s teachings. We explain spiritual things to those who have the Spirit.[a]

14 A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the teachings of God’s Spirit. He thinks they’re nonsense. He can’t understand them because a person must be spiritual to evaluate them. 15 Spiritual people evaluate everything but are subject to no one’s evaluation.

16 “Who has known the mind of the Lord
so that he can teach him?”

However, we have the mind of Christ.

You Belong to Christ

3 Brothers and sisters, I couldn’t talk to you as spiritual people but as people still influenced by your corrupt nature. You were infants in your faith in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink. I didn’t give you solid food because you weren’t ready for it. Even now you aren’t ready for it 3 because you’re still influenced by your corrupt nature.

When you are jealous and quarrel among yourselves, aren’t you influenced by your corrupt nature and living by human standards? 4 When some of you say, “I follow Paul” and others say, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting like sinful humans?

Footnotes:

  1. 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or “We explain spiritual things in spiritual words.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Psalm 28

1 O Lord, I call to you.
O my rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me.
If you remain silent,
I will be like those who go into the pit.
2 Hear my prayer for mercy when I call to you for help,
when I lift my hands toward your most holy place.
3 Do not drag me away with wicked people,
with troublemakers who speak of peace with their neighbors
but have evil in their hearts.
4 Pay them back for what they have done,
for their evil deeds.
Pay them back for what their hands have done,
and give them what they deserve.
5 The Lord will tear them down and never build them up again,
because they never consider what he has done
or what his hands have made.

6 Thank the Lord!
He has heard my prayer for mercy!
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield.
My heart trusted him, so I received help.
My heart is triumphant; I give thanks to him with my song.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people
and a fortress for the victory of his Messiah.[a]
9 Save your people, and bless those who belong to you.
Be their shepherd, and carry them forever.

Psalm 29

A psalm by David.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 28:8 Or “anointed one.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Proverbs 20:24-25

24 The Lord is the one who directs a person’s steps.
How then can anyone understand his own way?
25 It is a trap for a person to say impulsively, “This is a holy offering!”
and later to have second thoughts about those vows.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

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08/04/2019 DAB Transcript

2 Chronicles 35:1-36:23, 1 Corinthians 1:1-17, Psalms 27:1-6, Proverbs 20:20-21

Today is the 4th day of August. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. Welcome. It’s great to be here with you today around the global campfire. I’m here in the rolling hills of Tennessee and wherever you are, we are still connected together by the wonders of technology that…that allow us to be a community. Even though we’re all around the world we’re still all around the global campfire taking the next step forward. And, so, the next step forward in the Scriptures today in the Old Testament will bring us to the conclusion of second Chronicles and then we get to the New Testament portion of our reading, we will be beginning a new letter from the apostle Paul, a letter that he wrote to the believers in Corinth, but before we get there and talk about that let’s dive in and finish second Chronicles chapters 35 and 36.

Introduction to the book of first Corinthians:

Alright. So, that concludes the books of Chronicles, which means tomorrow we will move into new territory in the Old Testament and we’ll talk about that tomorrow but we concluded Paul’s letter to the Romans yesterday, which brings us to Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, known as first Corinthians, which is a letter or an epistle, which means letter, to the church at Corinth. And in Paul’s Corinth was a cosmopolitan city, like it was a destination place in the Roman Empire. It was a hub for trade and commerce. In fact, in terms of the Empire, Corinth was the fourth largest city in all of the Roman Empire. So, a lot of people, a lot of people from a lot of places, creating a melting pot of ideas, including a lot of spiritual ideas, a lot of idolatry, a lot of sexual experimentation and everything else that you can imagine that comes with a large secularized society. It’s not like that stuff doesn’t exist in our cities today. But this gives us some context because Paul wrote this letter that we now call first Corinthians as a response to some of the things he’d been hearing that were happening in the church there. And some of the things that were happening in the church there were causing divisions among the people. And, so, Paul is writing this letter, mostly in terms of unity and his words do ring across time and they’re very relevant to where we find ourselves today. And while working our way through this letter, we will for certain find some of the most quoted portions of the New Testament. So, sayings like, “I see through a glass darkly.” That’s in first Corinthians, or “when I was a child I spoke as a child” and then of course the 13th chapter of first Corinthians is known as the love chapter, by far one of the most well-known portions of Scripture and we’ll read the 13th chapter of first Corinthians when we get to chapter 13, but now we’re at chapter 1 verse 1 and we’ll read through verse 17 today.

Commentary:

Alright. So, we’ll have plenty to talk to…talk about from first Corinthians as we move through this letter, but let’s go to the Psalm today because…man…I know that so many are facing depression and anxiety and I know that there are those days that are down for me to. And David’s kind of talking about the fact that he has those experiences too and what happens to his anxiety when he finds himself in the presence of God. So, quoting from Psalm 27, “the Lord is my light and my salvation. Should I fear anyone? The Lord is a fortress protecting my life. Should I be frightened of anything?” So, those are fair questions. Like those are fair questions that we should be asking ourselves because fundamentally what we’re asking ourselves is, “What is it that I believe that is more powerful than God?” and “Where could I find refuge outside of God’s presence because I believe that these things are more powerful than God? And, so, David comes the conclusion that God is all-powerful and there is no other hope. So, David says, “I have asked one thing from Lord, it’s all I seek, to live in the Lord’s house on the days of my life seeing the Lord’s beauty constantly adoring his temple.” So, if we could just hold on to the core of what David is saying in this Psalm, and if it could be planted deep in us…in ourselves then we would be facing in the right direction, we wouldn’t find all this confusion, because the presence of God is the only place in the world that will ever make sense. We were created to be in God’s presence. He is our source of life. Life isn’t going to work any other way. And when we functionally believe that something is more powerful than God and can give us shelter and we run to that thing, that’s what most of the Old Testament is about, idolatry. So, let’s delight today in the fact that we are invited into God’s presence, the only place that we’ll ever be safe, the only place that will ever make sense. And may we really be shocked to find that God wants us to come to Him. He wants us in His presence. He wants to be with us. And when want the same with all of our heart then we’ll realize we are in His presence where we belong.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You. We thank You for this reminder in the Psalms. We need these constant reminders to snap us back to what is real. And so, we run to You. We want to only be in Your presence in all that we do, and all that we think, and all that we say. So, we open our hearts to You. Come Holy Spirit, lead us deeper into the presence of the Father. Lead us into all truth we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home, it’s home base, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here. So, be sure to stay tuned and stay connected. Stay dialed into community in any way that you want to in any way that you can.

The Prayer Wall certainly is a great place for that. A wonderful resource to pray for one another and ask for prayer.

And you can check out the Daily Audio Bible shop there while your visiting. There are resources that are available for this journey.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible as we move through the summer time, thank you profoundly for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you are using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Posted on

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday August 5, 2019 (NIV)

Ezra 1-2

Cyrus Allows the Jews to Return from Babylon(A)

1 The promise the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah was about to come true in Cyrus’ first year as king of Persia. The Lord inspired the king to make this announcement throughout his whole kingdom and then to put it in writing.

2 This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the world. Then he ordered me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem (which is in Judah). 3 May God be with all of you who are his people. You may go to Jerusalem (which is in Judah) and build a temple for the Lord God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 All who choose to remain behind, wherever they may be living, should provide the people who are leaving with silver, gold, supplies, livestock, and freewill offerings to be used in God’s temple in Jerusalem.

Sheshbazzar Returns with the Temple Furnishings

5 Then the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, the priests, and the Levites—everyone God had inspired—came forward to rebuild the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem. 6 All their neighbors who were remaining behind provided them with articles made from silver and gold, supplies, livestock, and valuable gifts besides everything that was freely offered. 7 King Cyrus brought out the utensils belonging to the Lord’s temple. Nebuchadnezzar had taken these utensils from Jerusalem and put them in the temple of his own god. 8 King Cyrus of Persia put the treasurer Mithredath in charge of bringing them out. So Mithredath made a list of them for Prince Sheshbazzar of Judah. [a] 9 This is the inventory:

gold dishes[b]30
silver dishes1,000
knives[c]29
10 gold bowls30
other silver bowls410
other utensils1,000
11 The gold and silver utensils totaled 5,400.

Sheshbazzar took all these utensils with him when the exiles left Babylon to go to Jerusalem.

Those Who Returned with Zerubbabel(B)

2 These were the people in the province. They were the ones who left the place where the exiles had been taken captive. (King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had taken them to Babylon.) These exiles returned to Jerusalem and Judah. All of them went to their own cities. 2 They went with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.

Families Listed by Ancestor(C)

This is the number of Israelite men from the people in exile:

3 the descendants of Parosh2,172
4 of Shephatiah372
5 of Arah775
6 of Pahath Moab, that is, of Jeshua and Joab2,812
7 of Elam1,254
8 of Zattu945
9 of Zaccai760
10 of Bani642
11 of Bebai623
12 of Azgad1,222
13 of Adonikam666
14 of Bigvai2,056
15 of Adin454
16 of Ater, that is, Hezekiah98
17 of Bezai323
18 of Jorah112
19 of Hashum223
20 of Gibbar95

Families Listed by Cities(D)

21 The people of Bethlehem123
22 of Netophah56
23 of Anathoth128
24 of Azmaveth42
25 of Kiriath Jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth743
26 of Ramah and Geba621
27 of Michmas122
28 of Bethel and Ai223
29 of Nebo52
30 of Magbish156
31 of the other Elam1,254
32 of Harim320
33 of Lod, Hadid, and Ono725
34 of Jericho345
35 of Senaah3,630

Priests(E)

36 These priests returned from exile:
the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family of Jeshua)973
37 of Immer1,052
38 of Pashhur1,247
39 of Harim1,017

Levites(F)

40 These Levites returned from exile:
the descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel, that is, of Hodaviah74
41 These singers returned from exile:
the descendants of Asaph128
42 These gatekeepers returned from exile:
the descendants of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai139

Temple Servants(G)

43 These temple servants returned from exile: the descendants of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, 44 Keros, Siaha, Padon, 45 Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub, 46 Hagab, Shalmai, Hanan, 47 Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah, 48 Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, 49 Uzza, Paseah, Besai, 50 Asnah, Meunim, Nephusim, 51 Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, 52 Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, 53 Barkos, Sisera, Temah, 54 Neziah, and Hatipha.

Descendants of Solomon’s Servants(H)

55 These descendants of Solomon’s servants returned from exile: the descendants of Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda, 56 Jaalah, Darkon, Giddel, 57 Shephatiah, Hattil, Pochereth Hazzebaim, and Ami.

58 The temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants totaled 392.

Those of Unknown Origin(I)

59 The following people came from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, but they couldn’t prove they were Israelites on the basis of their father’s family or their genealogy: 60 the descendants of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda. These people totaled 652.

61 These descendants of the priests couldn’t prove their families were Israelites: the descendants of Hobaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai (who had married one of the daughters of Barzillai from Gilead and took that family name). 62 These people searched for their family names in the genealogical records, but their names couldn’t be found there. For this reason they were considered contaminated and couldn’t be priests. 63 The governor told them not to eat any of the most holy food until a priest could use the Urim and Thummim[d] to settle the problem.

The Total of the People and Animals Returning from Exile(J)

64 The whole assembly totaled 42,360. 65 In addition to the male and female servants who numbered 7,337, they also had 200 male and female singers. 66 They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 67 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

Gifts Given for the Temple(K)

68 When some of the heads of the families came to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, they contributed freewill offerings to help rebuild God’s temple on its former site. 69 They contributed as much as they could to the treasury for this work: 1,030 pounds of gold, 5,740 pounds of silver, and 100 robes for the priests.

70 The priests, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants settled in their own cities. All the other Israelites settled in their own cities.

Footnotes:

  1. Ezra 1:9 Or “for Sheshbazzar, the leader of Judah.”
  2. Ezra 1:9 Hebrew meaning of this word uncertain.
  3. Ezra 1:9 Hebrew meaning of this word uncertain.
  4. Ezra 2:63 The Urim and Thummim were used by the chief priest to determine God’s answer to questions.

Cross references:

  1. Ezra 1:1 : 2 Chronicles 36:22–23
  2. Ezra 2:1 : Nehemiah 7:6–7
  3. Ezra 2:2 : Nehemiah 7:8–25
  4. Ezra 2:21 : Nehemiah 7:26–38
  5. Ezra 2:36 : Nehemiah 7:39–42
  6. Ezra 2:40 : Nehemiah 7:43–45
  7. Ezra 2:43 : Nehemiah 7:46–56
  8. Ezra 2:55 : Nehemiah 7:57–60
  9. Ezra 2:59 : Nehemiah 7:61–65
  10. Ezra 2:64 : Nehemiah 7:66–69
  11. Ezra 2:68 : Nehemiah 7:70–73
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5

18 The message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved. 19 Scripture says,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise.
I will reject the intelligence of intelligent people.”

20 Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the persuasive speaker of our time? Hasn’t God turned the wisdom of the world into nonsense? 21 The world with its wisdom was unable to recognize God in terms of his own wisdom. So God decided to use the nonsense of the Good News we speak to save those who believe. 22 Jews ask for miraculous signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but our message is that Christ was crucified. This offends Jewish people and makes no sense to people who are not Jewish. 24 But to those Jews and Greeks who are called, he is Christ, God’s power and God’s wisdom. 25 God’s nonsense is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

26 Brothers and sisters, consider what you were when God called you to be Christians. Not many of you were wise from a human point of view. You were not in powerful positions or in the upper social classes. 27 But God chose what the world considers nonsense to put wise people to shame. God chose what the world considers weak to put what is strong to shame. 28 God chose what the world considers ordinary and what it despises—what it considers to be nothing—in order to destroy what it considers to be something. 29 As a result, no one can brag in God’s presence. 30 You are partners with Christ Jesus because of God. Jesus has become our wisdom sent from God, our approval, our holiness, and our ransom from sin. 31 As Scripture says, “Whoever brags must brag about what the Lord has done.”

2 Brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I didn’t speak about God’s mystery[a] as if it were some kind of brilliant message or wisdom. 2 While I was with you, I decided to deal with only one subject—Jesus Christ, who was crucified. 3 When I came to you, I was weak. I was afraid and very nervous. 4 I didn’t speak my message with persuasive intellectual arguments. I spoke my message with a show of spiritual power 5 so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.

Footnotes:

  1. 1 Corinthians 2:1 Some manuscripts and translations read “testimony.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Psalm 27:7-14

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud.
Have pity on me, and answer me.
8 When you said,
“Seek my face,”
my heart said to you,
“O Lord, I will seek your face.”[a]
9 Do not hide your face from me.
Do not angrily turn me away.
You have been my help.
Do not leave me!
Do not abandon me, O God, my savior!
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord will take care of me.
11 Teach me your way, O Lord.
Lead me on a level path
because I have enemies who spy on me.
12 Do not surrender me to the will of my opponents.
False witnesses have risen against me.
They breathe out violence.
13 I believe that I will see the goodness of the Lord
in this world of the living.

14 Wait with hope for the Lord.
Be strong, and let your heart be courageous.
Yes, wait with hope for the Lord.

Psalm 28

By David.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 27:8 Hebrew meaning uncertain; Greek “My heart said to you, ‘I have sought your face. O Lord, I will seek your face.’”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Proverbs 20:22-23

22 Do not say, “I’ll get even with you!”
Wait for the Lord, and he will save you.
23 A double standard of weights is disgusting to the Lord,
and dishonest scales are no good.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Posted on

08/03/2019 DAB Transcript

2 Chronicles 33:14-34:33, Romans 16:10-27, Palms 26:1-12, Proverbs 20:19

Today is the 3rd day of the month of August. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today as we take the next step forward and get ourselves fully moved into this new month that we have before us. And we need to start preparing for some new territory in the Scriptures. Today when we read from the New Testament, we will be concluding Paul’s letter to the Romans and then tomorrow when we read from the Old Testament, we’ll be concluding the book of second Chronicles. So, as we move into this new month we’ll also be moving into new territory in the Bible but were not quite there yet. So, from the Old Testament second Chronicles chapter 33 verse 14 through 34 verse 33 and we’re reading from the Common English Bible this week.

Commentary:

Alright. So, we gotta talk about the Proverb today. And it’s a buckle up moment, it’s like a brace yourself and take it like a man or take it like a woman kind of moment. “Gossip goes around telling secrets.” That’s what the proverb says. So, if you’re the kind of person that here’s a secret, like a little juicy morsel of something, a little private information that you can’t wait to share and if you take that hot little juicy morsel and you share it to make yourself look concerned and in the know and connected, here’s where you need to brace yourself - then you’re a gossip. Yeah…I know…I mean…I know that’s harsh, but I’m not the…I didn’t make this up, I just read it. You might even take offense to the idea that you might be a gossip but believe me, your offense is not as offensive as gossip is. I’ve been in ministry long time. I hate gossip because I have watched gossip gain the power to destroy people’s relationships. And when that begins to happen then erosion begins to happen and communities can be profoundly affected. And this is why it’s a regular theme, it’s why we’re counseled to completely avoid it in the Scriptures. We’re just reading this proverb again. “Gossip’s reveal secrets; don’t associate with those who talk too much.” So, what we realize in this just very, very brief proverb, a lot is being said because it’s not only about the gossip-per. It’s also about the one who’d willing to listen to the gossip that carries the burden in this proverb. We’re not supposed to be in that environment according to the Bible, but let’s just take a step back from the Bible, and I would rarely say something like that, but let’s just take a step back from the Bible and look at our lives because we have all probably experienced the effects of gossip. And, so, we just have to ask, like has anything ever good happened because you gossiped or because you consumed gossip? Like in what way you enriched? How did you fall deeper in love with Jesus and find clarity from the Holy Spirit through gossip? Actually, it’s gossip that is driving us underground because we do not think we can confess our sins to each other, that we can pray for each other so we can be healed, which is what the book of James tells us. So, if we’re people that gossip a lot or we’re participating by listening to it than we’re part of the problem. And that’s it’s hard to take sometimes, but it’s stifling growth in our communities. It’s stifling our own growth in our hearts because it’s forcing us to make all kinds of assumptions that may or may not be true, but false realities are created and then when it’s turned back on us were driven underground and isolated. So, we may not realize it in the moment because it’s juicy, but the voice of wisdom found in the Proverbs invites us to be part of a healing rather than part of a problem. And, so…and, so, yeah, I don’t know what else to say.

Prayer:

Jesus, come. We’ve all participated. We’ve all been on the receiving end. And yet, as painful as that has been, we still do it and it’s so unhealthy and it’s so unhelpful. Forgive us. Forgive us for the ways that we use our words and why we use our words the way that we do. We’re only revealing our own shortcomings. And, so, Holy Spirit come. May this be the beginning day that we stopped carrying around these little pieces of information that we just have to share with each other and have long conversations about people who are not even present making all kinds of assumptions that we cannot know creating all kinds of false realities that we live in as true, and then we crash and burn and shake our fist at the sky and ask You why You let this happen to us. We need to see things as they are. And things are as they are because they begin with our words. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, it is indeed where you find out what’s going on around here.

The Daily Audio Bible shop is there where a number of resources exist to aid in the journey that we’re on, this adventure through the Scriptures in a year in community. So, be sure to check out the shop. The Prayer Wall, of course, lives at dailyaudiobible.com as well, where people are praying for one another, asking for prayer. And it’s a great place to be in community.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you, thank you, thank you humbly as we move through these summer months for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hey DAB family it’s Albanita from Kentucky, now in Maryland. I am so far behind in the DAB. I think I just listened to June 13th and I’ve been trying to catch up before calling in but today is the day __ to call in. So, we are, my husband David and I are, 8 ½ months pregnant with our baby girl. It is intense. It’s our first baby and I don’t feel ready at all. I know you can never feel really ready, but I’m just asking that you all please pray for us. Pray that we are the parents that God is calling us to be, that we can keep her alive, that I’m sure…I’m sure we can…and that we remain strong as a couple. My husband is also a pastor and so there are many stressors that he is currently dealing with on top of being a first-time father. For those of you that called in June, just know that you still have someone that is praying for you as I pray as I hear your requests. So, I love you all. I will keep you posted on her arrival. It’s supposed to be September 4th. We’ll see how it goes. Love you much. Bye.

Hello this is Jackie from __ Colorado. I’ve listened for years but this is the first time I’ve called. I’ve recently been diagnosed with cancer – liver, ovary and possibly colon. So, I would like prayers on that for healing and strength to take whatever is coming. Also, I have a sin in my life that I don’t seem to be able to get past no matter how much I pray, no matter how hard I try. So, if you could pray for me to have victory on this, I would appreciate it. Thank you.

He Demetrius, how you doing? It’s the Prodigal. I heard your call. I heard a bunch of people call in to support you. I just wanted to add my two cents brother. I was where you are and am still. I’ve __ lost everything except my faith in Jesus. That’s the only reason that I keep going. And all I can do is encourage you brother because I’ll tell you, the bottom is an interesting place. You’re gonna find out who your friends are or more importantly who your friends aren’t. You also get a look over and see that when you’re at the bottom you look over and there’s another shovel there if you choose to pick it up and keep digging. So, I’d encourage you my friend stand up stand strong stand in the light of the Lord and let Him give you strength. I was gonna…I’ve been here six months beyond where I was planning to be here dude. So, he’s gotta give Him every day and He will give you…He will give you grace, He will give you love, He will give you __. Nobody said it was going to be perfect brother, but just want to tell you  I’ve been there man. __ in my lap, the whole 9 yards, pills that would choke a horse. But just keep plowing, keepo plugging, that’s what he’s got you here for brother. He just wants you to have an impact on somebody else’s life. I think I was here because I was supposed to have an impact on your life but I don’t know. I won’t presume. Anyway, love you brother. Stay strong. God bless and take care.

Hi, good morning Daily Audio Bible, my name is Kay I’m calling from Los Angeles California. I’m a new listener and I’ve been meaning to call in but today my spirit was just feeling very very vext. I am experiencing trials on every side. My seven-year-old was just recently diagnosed with colitis and during that time in May when he was admitted into the hospital, I was also arrested in the emergency room and charged with battery due to a false claim made by one of the staff members. So, now I have a criminal case that I’m fighting. I am…I don’t have the resources to pay for an attorney but I do need legal representation to prove my innocence and for the attorneys to subpoena the hospital to get the surveillance so they can see that I never touched this staff member. The devil is a lie. I’m also dealing with a 16-year-old daughter who is not necessarily rebelling, but I just feel like our relationship is kind of going south. You know, she blames me for a lot of things. She kinda does what she wants. She’s not been very honest, and I just want my little girl back. Needless to say, I’m walking in this alone and sometimes it feels like God has forgotten about me. I know He is able, I know that He is a restorer. He’s a lawyer, He’s a father to the fatherless…

Well hello family, I sure love you all. This is Robert Learning to Serve, and I’d like to add something to that name - in Love with Love and through Love. I’m still having a hard time with that but since there’s Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I think it kind of fits together. I really am so proud of this program. I’ve been able to be with y’all for 12 years and was so sick before with rheumatoid arthritis and being so sick I was able to listen about 40 times and maybe a little more now but it’s something I’ve been with y’all every day and I’ve heard all your prayer requests and I just so humbled by what Brian and China and the rest of the family have done here and all the people behind the scene. I found out two days ago that I have cancer real bad in my liver and my adrenal glands and I’ve been through a lot. This last year’s been a real trial for me to deal with all the things I’ve been dealing with. And, you know, I would like all the honor and glory to go to God in what happens, but I am, you know, I’m dealing with this new thing and I’m…I’m positive that it’s all gonna, you know, be okay. I’m not worried about it, but my sister’s been on hospice. I’ve requested help for my sister Jeannie. And, you know, it’s getting hard with her…her organs are failing too and, she’s been on hospice now for about six months and continues to go and we’ve always been so close. I just love you all and I…

Posted on

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday August 4, 2019 (NIV)

2 Chronicles 35-36

King Josiah Celebrates the Passover(A)

35 Josiah celebrated the Passover for the Lord in Jerusalem. The Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 Josiah appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them to serve in the Lord’s temple. 3 He told the Levites, who instructed all Israel and performed ceremonies to make themselves holy to the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the temple that Solomon, son of David and king of Israel, built. It shouldn’t be carried on your shoulders any longer. Serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. 4 Get yourselves ready with the family groups of your divisions, which are listed in the records of King David of Israel and the records of his son Solomon. 5 Stand in the holy place representing the family divisions of your relatives, the people of Israel. Let the Levites be considered a part of each family. [a] 6 Slaughter the Passover lamb, perform the ceremonies to make yourselves holy, and prepare the lambs for the other Israelites as the Lord instructed us through Moses.”

7 Josiah provided the people with 33,000 sheep and goats to be sacrificed as Passover offerings for all who were present. In addition, he provided 3,000 bulls. (These animals were the king’s property.) 8 His officials also voluntarily gave animals to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the men in charge of God’s temple, gave the priests 2,600 sheep and goats and 300 bulls for Passover sacrifices. 9 Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, gave the Levites 5,000 sheep and goats and 500 bulls as Passover sacrifices.

10 So the service was prepared. The priests took their positions with the Levites according to their divisions, as the king had ordered. 11 They slaughtered the Passover lambs. The priests sprinkled the blood with their hands while the Levites skinned the lambs. 12 They set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the laypeople according to their family divisions. The laypeople could then present them to the Lord as written in the Book of Moses. The Levites did the same with the bulls. 13 They roasted the Passover lambs according to the directions. They boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles, and pans and immediately served them to all the people. 14 Later, they prepared the animals for themselves and for the priests because the priests (Aaron’s descendants) were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat until that evening.

So the Levites prepared the animals for themselves and the priests. 15 The singers (Asaph’s descendants) were in their places as David, Asaph, Heman, and the king’s seer[b] Jeduthun had commanded. The gatekeepers were stationed at each gate. They didn’t need to leave their work, because their relatives, the Levites, prepared animals for them.

16 So everything was arranged that day for the worship of the Lord. The Passover was celebrated, and the burnt offerings were sacrificed on the Lord’s altar as King Josiah had commanded. 17 The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time. They also celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

18 Never had a Passover like this been celebrated in Israel during the time of the prophet Samuel or the kings of Israel. They did not celebrate the Passover as Josiah celebrated it with priests, Levites, all of Judah, the people of Israel who could be found, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19 In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, this Passover was celebrated.

Josiah’s Sin Leads to His Death(B)

20 After all this, when Josiah had repaired the temple, King Neco of Egypt came to fight a battle at Carchemish at the Euphrates River. Josiah went to attack him. 21 But Neco sent messengers to Josiah to say, “What’s your quarrel with me, king of Judah? I’m not attacking you. I’ve come to fight those who are at war with me. God told me to hurry. God is with me, so stop now or else he will destroy you.”

22 But Josiah would not stop his attack. He disguised himself as he went into battle. He refused to listen to Neco’s words, which came from God, and he went to fight in the valley of Megiddo.

23 Some archers shot King Josiah. The king told his officers, “Take me away because I’m badly wounded.”

24 His officers took him out of the chariot and brought him to Jerusalem in his other chariot. He died and was buried in the tombs of his ancestors. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25 Jeremiah sang a funeral song about Josiah. All the male and female singers still sing funeral songs about Josiah today. This became a tradition in Israel. They are written in the Book of the Funeral Songs.

26 Everything else about Josiah—including his devotion to God by following what is written in the Lord’s Teachings 27 and his acts from first to last—are written in the records of the kings of Israel and Judah.

King Jehoahaz of Judah(C)

36 Then people of the land took Josiah’s son Jehoahaz and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father. 2 Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king, and he was king in Jerusalem for 3 months. 3 The king of Egypt removed him from office in Jerusalem and fined the country 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold. 4 The king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king of Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Neco took Jehoahaz away to Egypt.

King Jehoiakim of Judah(D)

5 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 11 years in Jerusalem. He did what the Lord his God considered evil. 6 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jehoiakim and put him in bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also brought some of the utensils of the Lord’s temple to Babylon. He put them in his palace in Babylon.

8 Everything else about Jehoiakim—the disgusting things he did and all the charges against him—is written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiakin succeeded him as king.

King Jehoiakin of Judah(E)

9 Jehoiakin was eight years old when he began to rule as king. He was king for three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what the Lord considered evil.

10 In the spring King Nebuchadnezzar sent for Jehoiakin and brought him to Babylon with the valuable utensils from the Lord’s temple. Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiakin’s uncle Zedekiah king of Judah and Jerusalem.

King Zedekiah of Judah(F)

11 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 11 years in Jerusalem. 12 He did what the Lord his God considered evil and didn’t humble himself in front of the prophet Jeremiah, who spoke for the Lord. 13 Zedekiah also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had made Zedekiah swear an oath of allegiance to him in God’s name. But Zedekiah became so stubborn and so impossible to deal with that he refused to turn back to the Lord God of Israel.

14 All the officials, the priests, and the people became increasingly unfaithful and followed all the disgusting practices of the nations. Although the Lord had made the temple in Jerusalem holy, they made the temple unclean. [c] 15 The Lord God of their ancestors repeatedly sent messages through his messengers because he wanted to spare his people and his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and made fun of his prophets until the Lord became angry with his people. He could no longer heal them.

17 So he had the Babylonian king attack them and execute their best young men in their holy temple. He didn’t spare the best men or the unmarried women, the old people or the sick people. God handed all of them over to him. 18 He brought to Babylon each of the utensils from God’s temple, the treasures from the Lord’s temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials. 19 They burned God’s temple, tore down Jerusalem’s walls, burned down all its palaces, and destroyed everything of value. 20 The king of Babylon took those who weren’t executed to Babylon to be slaves for him and his sons. They remained captives until the Persian Empire began to rule. 21 This happened so that the Lord’s words spoken through Jeremiah would be fulfilled. The land had its years of rest and was made acceptable again. While it lay in ruins, the land had its 70 years of rest.

King Cyrus Allows the Jews to Return from Babylon(G)

22 The promise the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah was about to come true in Cyrus’ first year as king of Persia. The Lord inspired the king to make this announcement throughout his whole kingdom and then to put it in writing.

23 This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the world. And he has ordered me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem (which is in Judah). May the Lord God be with all of you who are his people. You may go.

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Chronicles 35:6 Hebrew meaning of this sentence uncertain.
  2. 2 Chronicles 35:15 A seer is a prophet.
  3. 2 Chronicles 36:15 “Unclean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God.

Cross references:

  1. 2 Chronicles 35:1 : 2 Kings 23:21–23
  2. 2 Chronicles 35:20 : 2 Kings 23:28–30a
  3. 2 Chronicles 36:1 : 2 Kings 23:30b–35
  4. 2 Chronicles 36:5 : 2 Kings 23:36–24:7
  5. 2 Chronicles 36:9 : 2 Kings 24:8–17
  6. 2 Chronicles 36:11 : 2 Kings 24:18–25:21; Jeremiah 39:1–10; 52:1–27
  7. 2 Chronicles 36:22 : Ezra 1:1–3
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

1 Corinthians 1:1-17

Greeting

1 From Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and from Sosthenes, our brother in the Christian faith.

2 To God’s church that was made holy by Christ Jesus and called to be God’s holy people in the city of Corinth and to people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Good will[a] and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are yours!

4 I always thank God for you because Christ Jesus has shown you God’s good will. 5 Through Christ Jesus you have become rich in every way—in speech and knowledge of every kind. 6 Our message about Christ has been verified among you. 7 Therefore, you don’t lack any gift as you wait eagerly for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will continue to give you strength until the end so that no one can accuse you of anything on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God faithfully keeps his promises. He called you to be partners with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

God’s Wisdom Is Better Than the World’s Wisdom

10 Brothers and sisters, I encourage all of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to agree with each other and not to split into opposing groups. I want you to be united in your understanding and opinions. 11 Brothers and sisters, some people from Chloe’s family have made it clear to me that you are quarreling among yourselves. 12 This is what I mean: Each of you is saying, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,”[b] or “I follow Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14 I thank God that[c] I didn’t baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius 15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16 I also baptized Stephanas and his family. Beyond that, I’m not sure whether I baptized anyone else. 17 Christ didn’t send me to baptize. Instead, he sent me to spread the Good News. I didn’t use intellectual arguments. That would have made the cross of Christ lose its meaning.

Footnotes:

  1. 1 Corinthians 1:3 Or “Grace.”
  2. 1 Corinthians 1:12 Cephas is the Aramaic name for the Apostle Peter.
  3. 1 Corinthians 1:14 A few of the older manuscripts read “I am thankful that.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Psalm 27:1-6

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Who is there to fear?
The Lord is my life’s fortress.
Who is there to be afraid of?

2 Evildoers closed in on me to tear me to pieces.
My opponents and enemies stumbled and fell.
3 Even though an army sets up camp against me,
my heart will not be afraid.
Even though a war breaks out against me,
I will still have confidence in the Lord.

4 I have asked one thing from the Lord.
This I will seek:
to remain in the Lord’s house all the days of my life
in order to gaze at the Lord’s beauty
and to search for an answer in his temple.
5 He hides me in his shelter when there is trouble.
He keeps me hidden in his tent.
He sets me high on a rock.
6 Now my head will be raised above my enemies who surround me.
I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy in his tent.
I will sing and make music to praise the Lord.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Proverbs 20:20-21

20 The lamp of the person who curses his father and mother
will be snuffed out in total darkness.[a]
21 An inheritance quickly obtained in the beginning
will never be blessed in the end.

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 20:20 Or “snuffed out as darkness approaches.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.