The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday September 17, 2019 (NIV)

Isaiah 25:1-28:13

25 O Lord, you are my God!
I will exalt you in praise, I will extol your fame.
For you have done extraordinary things,
and executed plans made long ago exactly as you decreed.
Indeed, you have made the city into a heap of rubble,
the fortified town into a heap of ruins;
the fortress of foreigners is no longer a city,
it will never be rebuilt.
So a strong nation will extol you;
the towns of powerful nations will fear you.
For you are a protector for the poor,
a protector for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the rainstorm,
a shade from the heat.
Though the breath of tyrants is like a winter rainstorm,
like heat in a dry land,
you humble the boasting foreigners.
Just as the shadow of a cloud causes the heat to subside,
so he causes the song of tyrants to cease.
The Lord who commands armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain.
At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine—
tender meat and choicest wine.
On this mountain he will swallow up
the shroud that is over all the peoples,
the woven covering that is over all the nations;
he will swallow up death permanently.
The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face,
and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.
Indeed, the Lord has announced it!
At that time they will say,
“Look, here is our God!
We waited for him and he delivered us.
Here is the Lord! We waited for him.
Let’s rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!”
10 For the Lord’s power will make this mountain secure.
Moab will be trampled down where it stands,
as a heap of straw is trampled down in a manure pile.
11 Moab will spread out its hands in the middle of it,
just as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim;
the Lord will bring down Moab’s pride as it spreads its hands.
12 The fortified city (along with the very tops of your walls) he will knock down,
he will bring it down, he will throw it down to the dusty ground.

Judah Will Celebrate

26 At that time this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city!
The Lord’s deliverance, like walls and a rampart, makes it secure.
Open the gates so a righteous nation can enter—
one that remains trustworthy.
You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith,
for they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord from this time forward,
even in Yah, the Lord, an enduring protector!
Indeed, the Lord knocks down those who live in a high place,
he brings down an elevated town;
he brings it down to the ground,
he throws it down to the dust.
It is trampled underfoot
by the feet of the oppressed,
by the soles of the poor.”

God’s People Anticipate Vindication

The way of the righteous is level,
the path of the righteous that you make is straight.
Yes, as your judgments unfold,
O Lord, we wait for you.
We desire your fame and reputation to grow.
I look for you during the night,
my spirit within me seeks you at dawn,
for when your judgments come upon the earth,
those who live in the world learn about justice.
10 If the wicked are shown mercy,
they do not learn about justice.
Even in a land where right is rewarded, they act unjustly;
they do not see the Lord’s majesty revealed.
11 O Lord, you are ready to act,
but they don’t even notice.
They will see and be put to shame by your angry judgment against humankind,
yes, fire will consume your enemies.
12 O Lord, you make us secure,
for even all we have accomplished, you have done for us.
13 O Lord, our God,
masters other than you have ruled us,
but we praise your name alone.
14 The dead do not come back to life,
the spirits of the dead do not rise.
That is because you came in judgment and destroyed them,
you wiped out all memory of them.
15 You have made the nation larger, O Lord,
you have made the nation larger and revealed your splendor,
you have extended all the borders of the land.
16 O Lord, in distress they looked for you;
they uttered incantations because of your discipline.
17 As when a pregnant woman gets ready to deliver
and strains and cries out because of her labor pains,
so were we because of you, O Lord.
18 We were pregnant, we strained,
we gave birth, as it were, to wind.
We cannot produce deliverance on the earth;
people to populate the world are not born.
19 Your dead will come back to life;
your corpses will rise up.
Wake up and shout joyfully, you who live in the ground!
For you will grow like plants drenched with the morning dew,
and the earth will bring forth its dead spirits.
20 Go, my people! Enter your inner rooms!
Close your doors behind you!
Hide for a little while,
until his angry judgment is over!
21 For look, the Lord is coming out of the place where he lives,
to punish the sin of those who live on the earth.
The earth will display the blood shed on it;
it will no longer cover up its slain.
27 At that time the Lord will punish
with his destructive, great, and powerful sword
Leviathan the fast-moving serpent,
Leviathan the squirming serpent;
he will kill the sea monster.
When that time comes,
sing about a delightful vineyard!
I, the Lord, protect it;
I water it regularly.
I guard it night and day,
so no one can harm it.
I am not angry.
I wish I could confront some thorns and briers!
Then I would march against them for battle;
I would set them all on fire,
unless they became my subjects
and made peace with me;
let them make peace with me.
The time is coming when Jacob will take root;
Israel will blossom and grow branches.
The produce will fill the surface of the world.
Has the Lord struck down Israel like he did their oppressors?
Has Israel been killed like their enemies?
When you summon her for divorce, you prosecute her;
he drives her away with his strong wind in the day of the east wind.
So in this way Jacob’s sin will be forgiven,
and this is how they will show they are finished sinning:
They will make all the stones of the altars
like crushed limestone,
and the Asherah poles and the incense altars will no longer stand.
10 For the fortified city is left alone;
it is a deserted settlement
and abandoned like the desert.
Calves graze there;
they lie down there
and eat its branches bare.
11 When its branches get brittle, they break;
women come and use them for kindling.
For these people lack understanding,
therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;
the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

12 At that time the Lord will shake the tree, from the Euphrates River to the Stream of Egypt. Then you will be gathered up one by one, O Israelites. 13 At that time a large trumpet will be blown, and the ones lost in the land of Assyria will come, as well as the refugees in the land of Egypt. They will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

The Lord Will Judge Samaria

28 The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards is doomed,
the withering flower, its beautiful splendor,
situated at the head of a rich valley,
the crown of those overcome with wine.
Look, the sovereign master sends a strong, powerful one.
With the force of a hailstorm or a destructive windstorm,
with the might of a driving, torrential rainstorm,
he will knock that crown to the ground with his hand.
The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards
will be trampled underfoot.
The withering flower, its beautiful splendor,
situated at the head of a rich valley,
will be like an early fig before harvest—
as soon as someone notices it,
he grabs it and swallows it.
At that time the Lord who commands armies will become a beautiful crown
and a splendid diadem for the remnant of his people.
He will give discernment to the one who makes judicial decisions,
and strength to those who defend the city from attackers.
Even these men stagger because of wine,
they stumble around because of beer—
priests and prophets stagger because of beer,
they are confused because of wine,
they stumble around because of beer;
they stagger while seeing prophetic visions,
they totter while making legal decisions.
Indeed, all the tables are covered with vomit;
no place is untouched.
Who is the Lord trying to teach?
To whom is he explaining a message?
Those just weaned from milk!
Those just taken from their mother’s breast!
10 Indeed, they will hear meaningless gibberish,
senseless babbling,
a syllable here, a syllable there.
11 For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue
he will speak to these people.
12 In the past he said to them,
“This is where security can be found.
Provide security for the one who is exhausted!
This is where rest can be found.”
But they refused to listen.
13 So the Lord’s word to them will sound like
meaningless gibberish,
senseless babbling,
a syllable here, a syllable there.
As a result, they will fall on their backsides when they try to walk,
and be injured, ensnared, and captured.

New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Galatians 3:10-22

10 For all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law.” 11 Now it is clear no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous one will live by faith. 12 But the law is not based on faith, but the one who does the works of the law will live by them. 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”) 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit by faith.

Inheritance Comes from Promises and not Law

15 Brothers and sisters, I offer an example from everyday life: When a covenant has been ratified, even though it is only a human contract, no one can set it aside or add anything to it. 16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. Scripture does not say, “and to the descendants,” referring to many, but “and to your descendant,” referring to one, who is Christ. 17 What I am saying is this: The law that came four hundred thirty years later does not cancel a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to invalidate the promise. 18 For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on the promise, but God graciously gave it to Abraham through the promise.

19 Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the descendant to whom the promise had been made. It was administered through angels by an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary is not for one party alone, but God is one. 21 Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the scripture imprisoned everything under sin so that the promise could be given—because of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ—to those who believe.

New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Psalm 61

Psalm 61

For the music director; to be played on a stringed instrument; written by David.

O God, hear my cry for help!
Pay attention to my prayer!
From the most remote place on earth
I call out to you in my despair.
Lead me up to a rocky summit where I can be safe!
Indeed, you are my shelter,
a strong tower that protects me from the enemy.
I will be a permanent guest in your home;
I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. (Selah)
For you, O God, hear my vows;
you grant me the reward that belongs to your loyal followers.
Give the king long life!
Make his lifetime span several generations!
May he reign forever before God!
Decree that your loyal love and faithfulness should protect him.
Then I will sing praises to your name continually,
as I fulfill my vows day after day.

New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Proverbs 23:17-18

17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord all the time.
18 For surely there is a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.

New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.