The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday April 8, 2020 (NIV)

Deuteronomy 32:28-52

28 Israel is a nation lacking sense
with no understanding at all.[a](A)
29 If only they were wise, they would comprehend this;
they would understand their fate.
30 How could one pursue a thousand,
or two put ten thousand to flight,(B)
unless their Rock had sold them,
unless the Lord had given them up?(C)
31 But their “rock” is not like our Rock,
as even our enemies concede.
32 For their vine is from the vine of Sodom
and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are poisonous;
their clusters are bitter.
33 Their wine is serpents’ venom,
the deadly poison of cobras.(D)

34 “Is it not stored up with me,
sealed up in my vaults?
35 Vengeance[b] belongs to me; I will repay.[c](E)
In time their foot will slip,
for their day of disaster is near,
and their doom is coming quickly.”
36 The Lord will indeed vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants(F)
when he sees that their strength is gone
and no one is left—slave or free.[d]
37 He will say: “Where are their gods,
the ‘rock’ they found refuge in?
38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offerings?
Let them rise up and help you;
let it[e] be a shelter for you.
39 See now that I alone am he;
there is no God but me.(G)
I bring death and I give life;
I wound and I heal.
No one can rescue anyone from my power.(H)
40 I raise my hand to heaven and declare:
As surely as I live forever,
41 when I sharpen my flashing sword,
and my hand takes hold of judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and repay those who hate me.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood
while my sword devours flesh—
the blood of the slain and the captives,
the heads of the enemy leaders.”[f]

43 Rejoice, you nations, concerning his people,[g](I)
for he will avenge the blood of his servants.[h]
He will take vengeance on his adversaries;[i](J)
he will purify his land and his people.[j]

44 Moses came with Joshua[k] son of Nun and recited all the words of this song in the presence of the people. 45 After Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all these words I am giving as a warning to you today,(K) so that you may command your children to follow all the words of this law carefully.(L) 47 For they are not meaningless words to you but they are your life,(M) and by them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Moses’s Impending Death

48 On that same day the Lord spoke to Moses,(N) 49 “Go up Mount Nebo(O) in the Abarim range in the land of Moab, across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan I am giving the Israelites as a possession. 50 Then you will die on the mountain that you go up, and you will be gathered to your people,(P) just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.(Q) 51 For both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the Waters of Meribath-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin by failing to treat me as holy in their presence. 52 Although from a distance you will view the land that I am giving the Israelites, you will not go there.”(R)

Footnotes:

  1. 32:28 Lit understanding in them
  2. 32:35 Sam, LXX read On a day of vengeance
  3. 32:35 LXX, Tg, Vg read me; and recompense I will recompense
  4. 32:36 Or left—even the weak and impaired; Hb obscure
  5. 32:38 Sam, LXX, Tg, Vg read them
  6. 32:42 Or the long-haired heads of the enemy
  7. 32:43 LXX reads Rejoice, you heavens, along with him, and let all the sons of God worship him; rejoice, you nations, with his people, and let all the angels of God strengthen themselves in him; DSS read Rejoice, you heavens, along with him, and let all the angels worship him; Heb 1:6
  8. 32:43 DSS, LXX read sons
  9. 32:43 DSS, LXX add and he will recompense those who hate him; 41 
  10. 32:43 Syr, Tg; DSS, Sam, LXX, Vg read his people’s land
  11. 32:44 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads Hoshea; Nm 13:8,16
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Luke 12:35-59

Ready for the Master’s Return

35 “Be ready for service[a] and have your lamps lit.(A) 36 You are to be like people waiting for their master(B) to return from the wedding banquet(C) so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once.(D) 37 Blessed will be those servants the master finds alert(E) when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will get ready,[b] have them recline at the table, then come and serve them.(F) 38 If he comes in the middle of the night, or even near dawn,[c] and finds them alert, blessed are those servants. 39 But know this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming,(G) he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also be ready,(H) because the Son of Man(I) is coming at an hour you do not expect.”(J)

Rewards and Punishment

41 “Lord,” Peter asked, “are you telling this parable to us or to everyone?”

42 The Lord said: “Who then is the faithful and sensible manager(K) his master will put in charge of his household servants to give them their allotted food(L) at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes. 44 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’(M) and starts to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 that servant’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him to pieces[d] and assign him a place with the unfaithful.[e] 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will and didn’t prepare himself or do it[f] will be severely beaten.(N) 48 But the one who did not know and did what deserved(O) punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be expected.[g](P)

Not Peace but Division

49 “I came(Q) to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo,(R) and how it consumes(S) me until it is finished!(T) 51 Do you think that I came here to bring peace on the earth?(U) No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three.

53 They will be divided, father against son,
son against father,
mother against daughter,
daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law,
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.[h](V)

Interpreting the Time

54 He also said to the crowds:(W) “When you see a cloud rising in the west, right away you say, ‘A storm is coming,’ and so it does.(X) 55 And when the south wind is blowing, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites!(Y) You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why don’t you know how to interpret this present time?(Z)

Settling Accounts

57 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?(AA) 58 As you are going with your adversary(AB) to the ruler, make an effort to settle with him on the way. Then he won’t drag you before the judge,(AC) the judge hand you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff throw you into prison.(AD) 59 I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last cent.”[i](AE)

Footnotes:

  1. 12:35 Lit “Let your loins be girded; an idiom for tying up loose outer clothing in preparation for action; Ex 12:11
  2. 12:37 Lit will gird himself
  3. 12:38 Lit even in the second or third watch
  4. 12:46 Lit him in two
  5. 12:46 Or unbelievers
  6. 12:47 Lit or do toward his will,
  7. 12:48 Or much
  8. 12:53 Mc 7:6
  9. 12:59 Gk lepton, the smallest and least valuable copper coin in use
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Psalm 78:56-64

56 But they rebelliously tested the Most High God,
for they did not keep his decrees.(A)
57 They treacherously turned away like their fathers;
they became warped like a faulty bow.(B)
58 They enraged him with their high places
and provoked his jealousy with their carved images.(C)
59 God heard and became furious;
he completely rejected Israel.(D)
60 He abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh,
the tent where he resided among mankind.(E)
61 He gave up his strength to captivity
and his splendor to the hand of a foe.(F)
62 He surrendered his people to the sword
because he was enraged with his heritage.(G)
63 Fire consumed his chosen young men,
and his young women had no wedding songs.[a](H)
64 His priests fell by the sword,
and the widows could not lament.(I)

Footnotes:

  1. 78:63 Lit virgins were not praised
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Proverbs 12:24

24 The diligent hand will rule,
but laziness will lead to forced labor.(A)

Cross references:

  1. 12:24 : Pr 10:4; 13:4; 19:15
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.