The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday June 30, 2020 (NIV)

2 Kings 17:1-18:12

Israel’s King Hoshea

17 In the twelfth year of Judah’s King Ahaz, Hoshea(A) son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.(B)

King Shalmaneser(C) of Assyria attacked him,(D) and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. But the king of Assyria caught Hoshea in a conspiracy: He had sent envoys to So king of Egypt(E) and had not paid tribute to the king of Assyria as in previous years.[a] Therefore the king of Assyria arrested him and put him in prison. The king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years.(F)

The Fall of Samaria

In the ninth year of Hoshea,(G) the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He deported(H) the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, along the Habor (Gozan’s river), and in the cities of the Medes.(I)

Why Israel Fell

This disaster happened because the people of Israel sinned against the Lord their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt(J) and because they worshiped[b] other gods.(K) They lived according to the customs of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites(L) and according to what the kings of Israel did.(M) The Israelites secretly did things[c] against the Lord their God that were not right. They built high places in all their towns from watchtower(N) to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves sacred pillars(O) and Asherah poles(P) on every high hill and under every green tree.(Q) 11 They burned incense there on all the high places just like the nations that the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did evil things, angering the Lord. 12 They served idols, although the Lord had told them, “You must not do this.”(R) 13 Still, the Lord warned(S) Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commands and statutes according to the whole law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through my servants the prophets.”(T)

14 But they would not listen. Instead they became obstinate like[d] their ancestors who did not believe the Lord their God.(U) 15 They rejected his statutes and his covenant he had made with their ancestors(V) and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves,(W) following the surrounding nations the Lord had commanded them not to imitate.(X)

16 They abandoned all the commands of the Lord their God. They made cast images(Y) for themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole.(Z) They bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky(AA) and served Baal.(AB) 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire[e](AC) and practiced divination and interpreted omens.(AD) They devoted themselves to do what was evil in the Lord’s sight and angered him.(AE)

18 Therefore, the Lord was very angry with Israel, and he removed them from his presence.(AF) Only the tribe of Judah remained.(AG) 19 Even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God(AH) but lived according to the customs Israel had practiced.(AI) 20 So the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, punished them, and handed them over to plunderers until he had banished them from his presence.(AJ)

Summary of Israel’s History

21 When the Lord tore(AK) Israel from the house of David, Israel made Jeroboam son of Nebat king.(AL) Then Jeroboam led Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit grave sin. 22 The Israelites persisted in all the sins that Jeroboam committed and did not turn away from them.(AM) 23 Finally, the Lord removed Israel from his presence just as he had declared through all his servants the prophets. So Israel has been exiled to Assyria from their homeland to this very day.(AN)

Foreign Refugees in Israel

24 Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in place of the Israelites in the cities of Samaria. The settlers took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.(AO) 25 When they first lived there, they did not fear the Lord. So the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them.(AP) 26 The settlers said to the king of Assyria, “The nations that you have deported and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them that are killing them because the people don’t know the requirements of the god of the land.”

27 Then the king of Assyria issued a command: “Send back one of the priests you deported.(AQ) Have him go and live there so he can teach them the requirements of the god of the land.” 28 So one of the priests they had deported came and lived in Bethel,(AR) and he began to teach them how they should fear the Lord.

29 But the people of each nation were still making their own gods in the cities where they lived and putting them in the shrines of the high places that the people of Samaria had made.(AS) 30 The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire(AT) to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 They feared the Lord, but they also made from their ranks priests for the high places, who were working for them at the shrines of the high places.(AU) 33 They feared the Lord, but they also worshiped their own gods(AV) according to the practice of the nations from which they had been deported.

34 They are still observing the former practices to this day. None of them fear the Lord or observe the statutes and ordinances, the law and commandments that the Lord had commanded the descendants of Jacob, whom he had given the name Israel.(AW) 35 The Lord made a covenant with Jacob’s descendants and commanded them, “Do not fear other gods; do not bow in worship to them;(AX) do not serve them; do not sacrifice to them.(AY) 36 Instead fear the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power(AZ) and an outstretched arm.(BA) You are to bow down to him, and you are to sacrifice to him. 37 You are to be careful always(BB) to observe the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandments he wrote for you; do not fear other gods. 38 Do not forget the covenant that I have made with you.(BC) Do not fear other gods, 39 but fear the Lord your God, and he will rescue you from all your enemies.”(BD)

40 However, these nations would not listen but continued observing their former practices. 41 They feared the Lord but also served their idols. Still today, their children and grandchildren continue doing as their ancestors did.(BE)

Judah’s King Hezekiah

18 In the third year of Israel’s King Hoshea(BF) son of Elah, Hezekiah(BG) son of Ahaz became king of Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi[f] daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestor David had done.(BH) He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.(BI) He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made,(BJ) for until then the Israelites were burning incense to it. It was called Nehushtan.[g]

Hezekiah relied on the Lord God of Israel;(BK) not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.(BL) He remained faithful to the Lord(BM) and did not turn from following him but kept the commands the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Lord was with him, and wherever he went he prospered.(BN) He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.(BO) He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders,(BP) from watchtower(BQ) to fortified city.

Review of Israel’s Fall

In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Assyria’s King Shalmaneser marched against Samaria and besieged it.(BR) 10 The Assyrians captured it at the end of three years. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Israel’s King Hoshea, Samaria was captured. 11 The king of Assyria deported the Israelites to Assyria and put them in Halah, along the Habor (Gozan’s river), and in the cities of the Medes,(BS) 12 because they did not listen to the Lord their God but violated his covenant—all he had commanded Moses the servant of the Lord. They did not listen, and they did not obey.(BT)

Footnotes:

  1. 17:4 Lit as year by year
  2. 17:7 Lit feared
  3. 17:9 Or Israelites spoke words
  4. 17:14 Lit they stiffened their neck like the neck of
  5. 17:17 Lit They made their sons and daughters pass through the fire
  6. 18:2 = Abijah in 2Ch 29:1
  7. 18:4 = A Bronze Thing

Cross references:

  1. 17:1 : 2Kg 15:30
  2. 17:2 : 2Kg 15:24,28
  3. 17:3 : Hs 10:14
  4. 17:3 : 2Kg 18:9–12
  5. 17:4 : Is 31:1
  6. 17:5 : 2Kg 18:9–10; Hs 13:16
  7. 17:6 : Hs 1:4; 13:16
  8. 17:6 : Dt 28:64; 29:27–28
  9. 17:6 : 1Ch 5:26
  10. 17:7 : Jos 24:5–7
  11. 17:7 : Jdg 6:10
  12. 17:8 : Lv 18:3; Dt 18:9
  13. 17:8 : 2Kg 16:3; 17:19
  14. 17:9 : 2Kg 18:8
  15. 17:10 : Ex 23:24
  16. 17:10 : 1Kg 14:15,23; 15:13; 2Kg 18:4
  17. 17:10 : Dt 12:2
  18. 17:12 : Ex 20:4–5
  19. 17:13 : Neh 9:29–30
  20. 17:13 : 1Kg 9:6–9; 18:18–21
  21. 17:14 : Ex 32:9; 33:3; Nm 14:11
  22. 17:15 : Ex 24:6–8
  23. 17:15 : Jr 2:5; Rm 1:21–23
  24. 17:15 : Dt 12:30–31
  25. 17:16 : 1Kg 12:28
  26. 17:16 : 1Kg 14:15,23
  27. 17:16 : 2Kg 21:3
  28. 17:16 : 1Kg 16:31–33; Am 5:26; Zph 1:5
  29. 17:17 : 2Kg 16:3
  30. 17:17 : Lv 19:26; Dt 18:10–12; 2Kg 16:3
  31. 17:17 : 1Kg 21:20
  32. 17:18 : 2Kg 17:6
  33. 17:18 : 1Kg 11:13,32,36
  34. 17:19 : 1Kg 14:22–23
  35. 17:19 : 2Kg 16:3
  36. 17:20 : 2Kg 15:29; 17:6
  37. 17:21 : 1Kg 11:11,31
  38. 17:21 : 1Kg 12:20
  39. 17:21–22 : 1Kg 12:28–33
  40. 17:23 : 2Kg 17:6,13
  41. 17:24 : Ezr 4:10
  42. 17:25 : 1Kg 13:24
  43. 17:27 : 2Kg 17:6
  44. 17:28 : 1Kg 12:29,32–33
  45. 17:29 : 1Kg 12:31; 13:32
  46. 17:31 : 2Kg 17:17
  47. 17:32 : Jdg 17:5–13; 1Kg 12:31; 13:33
  48. 17:33 : Zph 1:5
  49. 17:34 : Gn 32:28; 35:10
  50. 17:35 : Ex 20:5; Dt 5:9; Jdg 6:10
  51. 17:35 : Dt 5:9
  52. 17:36 : Ex 14:15–30
  53. 17:36 : Ex 6:6; 9:15
  54. 17:37 : Dt 5:32
  55. 17:38 : Dt 4:23; 6:12
  56. 17:39 : Ex 23:22; Dt 20:1–4; 23:14
  57. 17:41 : 1Kg 18:21; Ezr 4:2; Mt 6:24
  58. 18:1 : 2Kg 17:1
  59. 18:1 : 2Ch 28:27
  60. 18:2–3 : 2Ch 29:1–2
  61. 18:4 : 2Kg 17:10; 18:22; 2Ch 31:1
  62. 18:4 : Nm 21:5–9
  63. 18:5 : 2Kg 19:10
  64. 18:5 : 1Kg 3:12; 2Kg 23:25
  65. 18:6 : Dt 10:20; Jos 23:8
  66. 18:7 : Gn 39:2–3; 1Sm 18:14
  67. 18:7 : 2Kg 16:7
  68. 18:8 : 2Ch 28:18; Is 14:29
  69. 18:8 : 2Kg 17:9
  70. 18:9 : 2Kg 17:3–7
  71. 18:10–11 : 2Kg 17:6; 1Ch 5:26
  72. 18:12 : 1Kg 9:6; 2Kg 17:7–18; Dn 9:6,10
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.

Acts 20

Paul in Macedonia

20 After the uproar was over, Paul sent for the disciples, encouraged them, and after saying farewell, departed to go to Macedonia.(A) And when he had passed through those areas and offered them many words of encouragement, he came to Greece and stayed three months. The Jews plotted against him when he was about to set sail for Syria, and so he decided to go back through Macedonia.(B) He was accompanied[a] by Sopater son of Pyrrhus[b] from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy,(C) and Tychicus(D) and Trophimus(E) from the province of Asia. These men went on ahead and waited for us in Troas,(F) but we sailed away from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread.(G) In five days we reached them at Troas, where we spent seven days.

Eutychus Revived at Troas

On the first day of the week, we[c] assembled to break bread.(H) Paul spoke to them, and since he was about to depart the next day, he kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were assembled, and a young man named Eutychus was sitting on a window sill and sank into a deep sleep as Paul kept on talking. When he was overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down, bent over him, embraced him, and said, “Don’t be alarmed, because he’s alive.”(I) 11 After going upstairs, breaking the bread, and eating, Paul talked a long time until dawn. Then he left. 12 They brought the boy home alive and were greatly comforted.

From Troas to Miletus

13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul on board, because these were his instructions, since he himself was going by land. 14 When he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went on to Mitylene. 15 Sailing from there, the next day we arrived off Chios. The following day we crossed over to Samos, and[d] the day after, we came to Miletus.(J) 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, because he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, for the day of Pentecost.(K)

Farewell Address to the Ephesian Elders

17 Now from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and summoned the elders of the church. 18 When they came to him, he said to them, “You know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time,(L) 19 serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and during the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews.(M) 20 You know that I did not avoid proclaiming to you anything that was profitable or from teaching you publicly and from house to house. 21 I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God(N) and faith in our Lord Jesus.(O)

22 “And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit,[e] not knowing what I will encounter there,(P) 23 except that in every town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me.(Q) 24 But I consider my life of no value to myself; my purpose is to finish my course[f] and the ministry(R) I received from the Lord Jesus,(S) to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.

25 “And now I know that none of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will ever see me again. 26 Therefore I declare to you this day that I am innocent[g] of the blood of all of you,(T) 27 because I did not avoid declaring to you the whole plan of God.(U) 28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock(V) of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers,(W) to shepherd the church of God,[h] which he purchased with his own blood.(X) 29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Men will rise up even from your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them.(Y) 31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I never stopped warning each one of you with tears.(Z)

32 “And now[i] I commit you to God and to the word of his grace,(AA) which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance(AB) among all who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.(AC) 34 You yourselves know that I worked with my own hands to support myself and those who are with me.(AD) 35 In every way I’ve shown you that it is necessary to help the weak by laboring like this and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, because he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

36 After he said this, he knelt down and prayed with all of them.(AE) 37 There were many tears shed by everyone. They embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 grieving most of all over his statement that they would never see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.(AF)

Footnotes:

  1. 20:4 Other mss add to Asia
  2. 20:4 Other mss omit son of Pyrrhus
  3. 20:7 Other mss read the disciples
  4. 20:15 Other mss add after staying at Trogyllium
  5. 20:22 Or in my spirit
  6. 20:24 Other mss add with joy
  7. 20:26 Lit clean
  8. 20:28 Some mss read church of the Lord; other mss read church of the Lord and God
  9. 20:32 Other mss add brothers and sisters
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 148

Psalm 148

Creation’s Praise of the Lord

Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.(A)
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly armies.(B)
Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.(C)
Praise him, highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.(D)
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded, and they were created.(E)
He set them in position forever and ever;
he gave an order that will never pass away.(F)

Praise the Lord from the earth,
all sea monsters and ocean depths,(G)
lightning[a] and hail, snow and cloud,
stormy wind that executes his command,(H)
mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,(I)
10 wild animals and all cattle,
creatures that crawl and flying birds,(J)
11 kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all judges of the earth,(K)
12 young men as well as young women,
old and young together.(L)
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted.
His majesty covers heaven and earth.(M)
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
resulting in praise to all his faithful ones,
to the Israelites, the people close to him.(N)
Hallelujah!

Footnotes:

  1. 148:8 Or fire
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 18:6-7

A fool’s lips lead to strife,
and his mouth provokes a beating.(A)

A fool’s mouth is his devastation,
and his lips are a trap for his life.(B)

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.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday June 29, 2020 (NIV)

2 Kings 15-16

Judah’s King Azariah

15 In the twenty-seventh year of Israel’s King Jeroboam, Azariah[a](A) son of Amaziah became king of Judah.(B) He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem. Azariah did what was right in the Lord’s sight(C) just as his father Amaziah had done. Yet the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.(D)

The Lord afflicted the king, and he had a serious skin disease until the day of his death.(E) He lived in quarantine,[b](F) while Jotham,(G) the king’s son, was over the household governing the people of the land.(H)

The rest of the events of Azariah’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.(I) Azariah rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Jotham became king in his place.(J)

Israel’s King Zechariah

In the thirty-eighth year of Judah’s King Azariah, Zechariah(K) son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria for six months. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight as his predecessors had done.(L) He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.(M)

10 Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah. He struck him down publicly,[c] killed him, and became king in his place.(N) 11 As for the rest of the events of Zechariah’s reign, they are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.(O) 12 The word of the Lord that he spoke to Jehu was, “Four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel,”(P) and it was so.

Israel’s King Shallum

13 In the thirty-ninth year of Judah’s King Uzziah,[d] Shallum son of Jabesh became king; he reigned in Samaria(Q) a full month. 14 Then Menahem son of Gadi came up from Tirzah(R) to Samaria and struck down Shallum son of Jabesh there. He killed him and became king in his place. 15 As for the rest of the events of Shallum’s reign, along with the conspiracy that he formed, they are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.

Israel’s King Menahem

16 At that time, starting from Tirzah, Menahem attacked Tiphsah,(S) all who were in it, and its territory because they wouldn’t surrender.(T) He ripped open all the pregnant women.(U)

17 In the thirty-ninth year of Judah’s King Azariah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel, and he reigned ten years in Samaria. 18 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. Throughout his reign, he did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.(V)

19 King Pul[e](W) of Assyria invaded the land, so Menahem gave Pul seventy-five thousand pounds[f] of silver so that Pul would support him to strengthen his grasp on the kingdom.(X) 20 Then Menahem exacted twenty ounces[g] of silver from each of the prominent men of Israel to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and did not stay there in the land.(Y)

21 The rest of the events of Menahem’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings. 22 Menahem rested with his ancestors, and his son Pekahiah became king in his place.(Z)

Israel’s King Pekahiah

23 In the fiftieth year of Judah’s King Azariah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years. 24 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.(AA)

25 Then his officer, Pekah(AB) son of Remaliah, conspired against him(AC) and struck him down in Samaria at the citadel of the king’s palace(AD)—with Argob and Arieh.[h] There were fifty Gileadite men with Pekah. He killed Pekahiah and became king in his place.

26 As for the rest of the events of Pekahiah’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, they are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.

Israel’s King Pekah

27 In the fifty-second year of Judah’s King Azariah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years. 28 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.

29 In the days of King Pekah of Israel, King Tiglath-pileser(AE) of Assyria came and captured Ijon,(AF) Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee—all the land of Naphtali(AG)—and deported the people to Assyria.(AH)

30 Then Hoshea(AI) son of Elah organized a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked him, killed him,(AJ) and became king in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.

31 As for the rest of the events of Pekah’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, they are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.

Judah’s King Jotham

32 In the second year of Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham(AK) son of Uzziah became king of Judah. 33 He was twenty-five years old when he became king,(AL) and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. 34 He did what was right in the Lord’s sight just as his father Uzziah had done.(AM) 35 Yet the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.

Jotham built the Upper Gate of the Lord’s temple.(AN) 36 The rest(AO) of the events of Jotham’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.(AP) 37 In those days the Lord began sending Aram’s King Rezin and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.(AQ) 38 Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David.(AR) His son Ahaz became king in his place.

Judah’s King Ahaz

16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah,(AS) Ahaz(AT) son of Jotham became king of Judah. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God like his ancestor David(AU) but walked in the ways of the kings of Israel.(AV) He even sacrificed his son in the fire,[i] imitating the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.(AW) He sacrificed and burned incense(AX) on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.(AY)

Then(AZ) Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah came to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but were not able to conquer him.(BA) At that time Aram’s King Rezin recovered Elath for Aram and expelled the Judahites from Elath.(BB) Then the Arameans came to Elath, and they still live there today.(BC)

So Ahaz sent messengers(BD) to King Tiglath-pileser(BE) of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. March up and save me from the grasp of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.” Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace and sent them to the king of Assyria as a bribe.(BF) So the king of Assyria listened to him(BG) and marched up to Damascus and captured it.(BH) He deported its people to Kir(BI) but put Rezin to death.

Ahaz’s Idolatry

10 King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet King Tiglath-pileser(BJ) of Assyria. When he saw the altar that was in Damascus, King Ahaz sent a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction to the priest Uriah.(BK) 11 Uriah built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz sent from Damascus. Therefore, by the time King Ahaz came back from Damascus, the priest Uriah had completed it. 12 When the king came back from Damascus, he saw the altar. Then he approached the altar(BL) and ascended it.[j] 13 He offered his burnt offering(BM) and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splattered the blood of his fellowship offerings(BN) on the altar. 14 He took the bronze altar(BO) that was before the Lord in front of the temple between his altar and the Lord’s temple, and put it on the north side of his altar.

15 Then King Ahaz commanded the priest Uriah, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering. Also offer the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings. Splatter on the altar all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of sacrifice. The bronze altar will be for me to seek guidance.”[k] 16 The priest Uriah did everything King Ahaz commanded.

17 Then King Ahaz cut off the frames of the water carts[l](BP) and removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took the basin[m](BQ) from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone pavement. 18 To satisfy the king of Assyria, he removed from the Lord’s temple the Sabbath canopy they had built in the palace, and he closed the outer entrance for the king.

Ahaz’s Death

19 The rest(BR) of the events of Ahaz’s reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.(BS) 20 Ahaz rested with his ancestors(BT) and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David, and his son Hezekiah became king in his place.

Footnotes:

  1. 15:1 = Uzziah in 2Ch 26:3
  2. 15:5 Lit in a house of exemption from duty
  3. 15:10 Some LXX mss read down at Ibleam; Hb uncertain
  4. 15:13 = Azariah, also in vv. 30,32,34
  5. 15:19 = Tiglath-pileser
  6. 15:19 Lit 1,000 talents
  7. 15:20 Lit 50 shekels
  8. 15:25 Hb obscure
  9. 16:3 Lit even made his son pass through the fire
  10. 16:12 Or and offered on it:
  11. 16:15 Hb obscure
  12. 16:17 Lit the stands
  13. 16:17 Lit sea

Cross references:

  1. 15:1 : 2Kg 14:21
  2. 15:1–3 : 2Ch 26:3–5
  3. 15:3 : 1Kg 14:8
  4. 15:4 : 2Kg 14:3–4
  5. 15:5 : 2Ch 26:16–21
  6. 15:5 : Lv 13:46
  7. 15:5 : 2Kg 15:32; 2Ch 27:1; Mc 1:1
  8. 15:5 : 2Ch 26:16–21
  9. 15:6 : 2Kg 14:18
  10. 15:6–7 : 2Ch 26:22–23
  11. 15:8 : 2Kg 14:29
  12. 15:9 : 2Kg 14:24
  13. 15:9 : 1Kg 12:28–33; 13:33–34
  14. 15:10 : 2Kg 12:20
  15. 15:11 : 2Kg 13:8
  16. 15:12 : 2Kg 10:30
  17. 15:13 : 1Kg 16:24
  18. 15:14 : 1Kg 14:17
  19. 15:16 : 1Kg 4:24
  20. 15:16 : Dt 20:11
  21. 15:16 : 2Kg 8:12; Hs 13:16; Am 1:13
  22. 15:18 : 1Kg 12:28–33; 15:26
  23. 15:19 : 1Ch 5:25–26
  24. 15:19 : 2Kg 14:5
  25. 15:20 : 2Kg 12:18
  26. 15:22 : 2Kg 14:29
  27. 15:24 : 1Kg 12:28–33
  28. 15:25 : 2Ch 28:6
  29. 15:25 : 2Kg 12:20
  30. 15:25 : 1Kg 16:8
  31. 15:29 : 1Ch 5:6,26
  32. 15:29 : 1Kg 15:29
  33. 15:29 : Jos 19:32–39
  34. 15:29 : 2Kg 17:6
  35. 15:30 : 2Kg 17:1
  36. 15:30 : 2Kg 12:20
  37. 15:32 : 2Kg 15:5,7
  38. 15:33–35 : 2Ch 27:1–3
  39. 15:34–35 : 2Kg 15:3–4
  40. 15:35 : 2Ch 27:3
  41. 15:36–38 : 2Ch 27:7–9
  42. 15:36 : 2Kg 14:18
  43. 15:37 : 2Kg 16:5; Is 7:1
  44. 15:38 : 2Kg 15:7
  45. 16:1–4 : 2Ch 28:1–4
  46. 16:1 : Is 1:1; 7:1
  47. 16:2 : 1Kg 14:8
  48. 16:3 : 2Kg 17:9–10
  49. 16:3 : Dt 18:10; 2Kg 21:6; 2Ch 33:6
  50. 16:4 : 1Kg 22:17
  51. 16:4 : Dt 12:2
  52. 16:5–6 : 2Ch 28:5–6; Is 7:1–9
  53. 16:5 : 2Kg 15:37; Is 7:1
  54. 16:6 : 1Kg 9:26
  55. 16:6 : 2Ch 26:2
  56. 16:7 : 2Ch 28:16
  57. 16:7 : 2Kg 15:29; 1Ch 5:26
  58. 16:8 : 1Kg 15:19; 2Kg 12:17–18; 18:15
  59. 16:9 : 2Ch 28:21
  60. 16:9 : Am 1:3–5
  61. 16:9 : Is 22:6; Am 9:7
  62. 16:10 : 2Kg 15:29
  63. 16:10 : Is 8:2
  64. 16:12 : 2Ch 26:16
  65. 16:13 : Ex 29:40
  66. 16:13 : Lv 7:11–21
  67. 16:14 : Ex 40:24
  68. 16:17 : 1Kg 7:27–28
  69. 16:17 : 1Kg 7:23–25
  70. 16:19–20 : 2Ch 28:26–27
  71. 16:19 : 2Kg 15:36
  72. 16:20 : Is 14:28
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

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Acts 19:13-41

13 Now some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!” (A) 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this. 15 The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul—but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded. 17 When this became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they became afraid, and the name of the Lord Jesus(B) was held in high esteem.(C)

18 And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices, 19 while many of those who had practiced magic(D) collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. So they calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread and prevailed.(E)

The Riot in Ephesus

21 After these events, Paul resolved by the Spirit[a] to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem. “After I’ve been there,” he said, “It is necessary for me to see Rome as well.”(F) 22 After sending to Macedonia two of those who assisted him, Timothy and Erastus,(G) he himself stayed in Asia for a while.(H)

23 About that time there was a major disturbance about the Way.(I) 24 For a person named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, provided a great deal of business for the craftsmen. 25 When he had assembled them, as well as the workers engaged in this type of business, he said, “Men, you know that our prosperity is derived from this business. 26 You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and misled a considerable number of people by saying that gods made by hand are not gods.(J) 27 Not only do we run a risk that our business may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be despised and her magnificence come to the verge of ruin—the very one all of Asia and the world worship.”

28 When they had heard this, they were filled with rage and began to cry out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with confusion, and they rushed all together into the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius(K) and Aristarchus,(L) Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions. 30 Although Paul wanted to go in before the people, the disciples did not let him. 31 Even some of the provincial officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent word to him, pleading with him not to venture[b] into the amphitheater. 32 Some were shouting one thing and some another,(M) because the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some Jews in the crowd gave instructions to Alexander[c] after they pushed him to the front. Motioning with his hand, Alexander wanted to make his defense to the people.(N) 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

35 When the city clerk had calmed the crowd down, he said, “People of Ephesus! What person is there who doesn’t know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple guardian of the great[d] Artemis, and of the image that fell from heaven? 36 Therefore, since these things are undeniable, you must keep calm and not do anything rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are not temple robbers or blasphemers of our[e] goddess. 38 So if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a case against anyone, the courts are in session, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.(O) 39 But if you seek anything further, it must be decided in a legal assembly. 40 In fact, we run a risk of being charged with rioting(P) for what happened today, since there is no justification that we can give as a reason for this disturbance.” 41 After saying this, he dismissed the assembly.

Footnotes:

  1. 19:21 Or in his spirit
  2. 19:31 Lit not to give himself
  3. 19:33 Or thought it was about Alexander
  4. 19:35 Other mss add goddess
  5. 19:37 Other mss read your
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 147

Psalm 147

God Restores Jerusalem

Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing to our God,
for praise is pleasant and lovely.(A)

The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem;(B)
he gathers Israel’s exiled people.(C)
He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.(D)
He counts the number of the stars;
he gives names to all of them.(E)
Our Lord is great, vast in power;
his understanding is infinite.[a](F)
The Lord helps the oppressed
but brings the wicked to the ground.(G)

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
play the lyre to our God,(H)
who covers the sky with clouds,
prepares rain for the earth,
and causes grass to grow on the hills.(I)
He provides the animals with their food,
and the young ravens what they cry for.(J)

10 He is not impressed by the strength of a horse;
he does not value the power of a warrior.[b](K)
11 The Lord values those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his faithful love.(L)

12 Exalt the Lord, Jerusalem;
praise your God, Zion!(M)
13 For he strengthens the bars of your city gates
and blesses your children within you.(N)
14 He endows your territory with prosperity;[c](O)
he satisfies you with the finest wheat.(P)

15 He sends his command throughout the earth;
his word runs swiftly.(Q)
16 He spreads snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes;(R)
17 he throws his hailstones like crumbs.
Who can withstand his cold?(S)
18 He sends his word and melts them;
he unleashes his winds,[d] and the water flows.(T)

19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and judgments to Israel.(U)
20 He has not done this for every nation;
they do not know his judgments.(V)
Hallelujah!

Footnotes:

  1. 147:5 Lit understanding has no number
  2. 147:10 Lit the legs of the man
  3. 147:14 Or peace
  4. 147:18 Or breath
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 18:4-5

The words of a person’s mouth are deep waters,(A)
a flowing river, a fountain of wisdom.[a]

It is not good to show partiality to the guilty,(B)
denying an innocent person justice.(C)

Footnotes:

  1. 18:4 Or waters; a fountain of wisdom is a flowing river
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.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday June 28, 2020 (NIV)

2 Kings 13-14

Israel’s King Jehoahaz

13 In the twenty-third year of Judah’s King Joash(A) son of Ahaziah, Jehoahaz(B) son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and followed the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.(C) So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel,(D) and he handed them over to King Hazael(E) of Aram and to his son Ben-hadad(F) during their reigns.

Then Jehoahaz sought the Lord’s favor, and the Lord heard him, for he saw the oppression the king of Aram inflicted on Israel.(G) Therefore, the Lord gave Israel a deliverer,(H) and they escaped from the power of the Arameans. Then the people of Israel returned to their former way of life,[a] but they didn’t turn away from the sins that the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. Jehoahaz continued them,(I) and the Asherah pole also remained standing in Samaria. Jehoahaz did not have an army left, except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them,(J) making them like dust at threshing.(K)

The rest of the events of Jehoahaz’s reign, along with all his accomplishments and his might, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.(L) Jehoahaz rested with his ancestors, and he was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoash[b] became king in his place.

Israel’s King Jehoash

10 In the thirty-seventh year of Judah’s King Joash, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He did not turn away from all the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit, but he continued them.(M)

12 The rest of the events of Jehoash’s reign, along with all his accomplishments and the power he had to wage war against Judah’s King Amaziah,(N) are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings. 13 Jehoash rested with his ancestors, and Jeroboam(O) sat on his throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Elisha’s Death

14 When Elisha became sick with the illness from which he died, King Jehoash of Israel went down and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” (P)

15 Elisha responded, “Get a bow and arrows.” So he got a bow and arrows.(Q) 16 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Grasp the bow.” So the king grasped it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. 17 Elisha said, “Open the east window.” So he opened it. Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he shot.(R) Then Elisha said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, yes, the arrow of victory over Aram. You are to strike down the Arameans in Aphek(S) until you have put an end to them.”

18 Then Elisha said, “Take the arrows!” So he took them. Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!” So he struck the ground three times and stopped. 19 The man of God(T) was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end to them, but now you will strike down Aram only three times.” 20 Then Elisha died and was buried.(U)

Now Moabite raiders(V) used to come into the land in the spring of the year. 21 Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a raiding party, so they threw the man into Elisha’s tomb. When he touched Elisha’s bones, the man revived and stood up!(W)

God’s Mercy on Israel

22 King Hazael(X) of Aram oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz, 23 but the Lord was gracious to them, had compassion on them,(Y) and turned toward them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.(Z) He was not willing to destroy them. Even now he has not banished them from his presence.(AA)

24 King Hazael of Aram died, and his son Ben-hadad(AB) became king in his place. 25 Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz took back from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the cities that Hazael had taken in war from Jehoash’s father Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad three times and recovered the cities of Israel.(AC)

Judah’s King Amaziah

14 In(AD) the second year of Israel’s King Jehoash[c](AE) son of Jehoahaz,[d] Amaziah(AF) son of Joash became king of Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan;[e] she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in the Lord’s sight, but not like his ancestor David. He did everything his father Joash had done.(AG) Yet the high places were not taken away, and the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.(AH)

As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, Amaziah killed his servants who had killed his father the king.(AI) However, he did not put the children of the killers to death, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses where the Lord commanded, “Fathers are not to be put to death because of children, and children are not to be put to death because of fathers; instead, each one will be put to death for his own sin.”(AJ)

Amaziah killed ten thousand Edomites in Salt Valley.(AK) He took Sela(AL) in battle and called it Joktheel,(AM) which is still its name today. Amaziah then sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, and challenged him: “Come, let’s meet face to face.”(AN)

King Jehoash of Israel sent word to King Amaziah of Judah, saying, “The thistle in Lebanon once sent a message to the cedar(AO) in Lebanon,(AP) saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle. 10 You have indeed defeated Edom, and you have become overconfident.[f](AQ) Enjoy your glory and stay at home. Why should you stir up such trouble that you fall—you and Judah with you?”

11 But Amaziah would not listen, so King Jehoash of Israel advanced. He and King Amaziah of Judah met face to face at Beth-shemesh(AR) that belonged to Judah. 12 Judah was routed before Israel, and each man fled to his own tent.(AS) 13 King Jehoash of Israel captured Judah’s King Amaziah son of Joash,[g] son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh. Then Jehoash went to Jerusalem and broke down two hundred yards[h] of Jerusalem’s wall from the Ephraim Gate(AT) to the Corner Gate.(AU) 14 He took all the gold and silver, all the articles found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and some hostages.(AV) Then he returned to Samaria.

Jehoash’s Death

15 The rest of the events of Jehoash’s reign, along with his accomplishments, his might, and how he waged war against King Amaziah of Judah, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.(AW) 16 Jehoash rested with his ancestors, and he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. His son Jeroboam became king in his place.

Amaziah’s Death

17 Judah’s King Amaziah son of Joash lived fifteen years after the death of Israel’s King Jehoash son of Jehoahaz.(AX) 18 The rest of the events of Amaziah’s reign are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.(AY) 19 A conspiracy was formed against him in Jerusalem,(AZ) and he fled to Lachish.(BA) However, men were sent after him to Lachish, and they put him to death there. 20 They carried him back(BB) on horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his ancestors in the city of David.(BC)

21 Then all the people of Judah took Azariah,[i](BD) who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. 22 After Amaziah the king rested with his ancestors, Azariah rebuilt Elath[j](BE) and restored it to Judah.

Israel’s King Jeroboam

23 In the fifteenth year of Judah’s King Amaziah son of Joash, Jeroboam(BF) son of Jehoash became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. 24 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He did not turn away from all the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.(BG)

25 He restored Israel’s border(BH) from Lebo-hamath(BI) as far as the Sea of the Arabah,(BJ) according to the word the Lord, the God of Israel, had spoken through his servant, the prophet Jonah(BK) son of Amittai from Gath-hepher.(BL) 26 For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter(BM) for both slaves and free people.[k] There was no one to help Israel. 27 The Lord had not said he would blot out the name of Israel under heaven,(BN) so he delivered(BO) them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.

28 The rest of the events of Jeroboam’s reign—along with all his accomplishments, the power he had to wage war, and how he recovered for Israel Damascus(BP) and Hamath,(BQ) which had belonged to Judah[l]—are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.(BR) 29 Jeroboam rested with his ancestors, the kings of Israel. His son Zechariah became king in his place.(BS)

Footnotes:

  1. 13:5 Lit Israel dwelt in their tents as formerly
  2. 13:9 Lit Joash
  3. 14:1 Lit Joash, also in vv. 23,27
  4. 14:1 Lit Joahaz
  5. 14:2 Alt Hb tradition, some Hb mss, Syr, Tg, Vg, 2Ch 25:1; other Hb mss, LXX read Jehoaddin
  6. 14:10 Lit and your heart has lifted you
  7. 14:13 Lit Jehoash
  8. 14:13 Lit 400 cubits
  9. 14:21 = Uzziah in 2Ch 26:1
  10. 14:22 = Eloth in 2Ch 26:2
  11. 14:26 Hb obscure
  12. 14:28 Lit recovered Damascus and for Judah in Israel; Hb obscure

Cross references:

  1. 13:1 : 2Kg 12:1
  2. 13:1 : 2Kg 10:35
  3. 13:2 : 1Kg 12:26–33
  4. 13:3 : Dt 31:17; Jdg 2:14
  5. 13:3 : 2Kg 8:12; 12:17
  6. 13:3 : 2Kg 13:24–25
  7. 13:4 : Ex 3:7–9; Nm 21:7–9; 2Kg 14:26
  8. 13:5 : Jdg 2:18; 2Kg 13:25; 14:25,27
  9. 13:6 : 2Kg 13:2
  10. 13:7 : 2Kg 10:32–33
  11. 13:7 : Am 1:3
  12. 13:8–9 : 2Kg 1:17–18; 10:34–36
  13. 13:11 : 1Kg 12:28–33
  14. 13:12–13 : 2Kg 14:15–16
  15. 13:13 : 2Kg 14:23
  16. 13:14 : 2Kg 2:12
  17. 13:15 : 1Sm 20:20
  18. 13:17 : Jos 8:18
  19. 13:17 : 1Kg 20:26
  20. 13:19 : 2Kg 5:20
  21. 13:20 : 2Kg 2:1,11
  22. 13:20 : 2Kg 3:7; 24:2
  23. 13:21 : Mt 27:52
  24. 13:22 : 1Kg 19:17; 2Kg 8:12–13
  25. 13:23 : 1Kg 8:28
  26. 13:23 : Ex 2:24
  27. 13:23 : 2Kg 14:27
  28. 13:24 : 2Kg 13:3
  29. 13:25 : 2Kg 10:32
  30. 14:1–14 : 2Ch 25:1–24
  31. 14:1 : 2Ch 25:1
  32. 14:1 : 2Kg 13:10
  33. 14:3 : 2Kg 12:2
  34. 14:4 : 1Kg 3:3; 2Kg 12:3; 16:4
  35. 14:5 : 2Kg 12:20
  36. 14:6 : Dt 24:16; Jr 31:30; Ezk 18:4,20
  37. 14:7 : 2Sm 8:13
  38. 14:7 : Jdg 1:36
  39. 14:7 : Jos 15:38
  40. 14:8 : 2Sm 2:14–17
  41. 14:9 : 1Kg 4:33
  42. 14:9 : Jdg 9:8–15
  43. 14:10 : Dt 8:14; 2Ch 26:16; 34:25
  44. 14:11 : Jos 19:38; 21:16
  45. 14:12 : 2Sm 18:17; 1Kg 22:36
  46. 14:13 : Neh 8:16; 12:39
  47. 14:13 : 2Ch 25:23; Zch 14:10
  48. 14:14 : 1Kg 7:51; 14:26; 2Kg 12:18
  49. 14:15–16 : 2Kg 13:12–13
  50. 14:17 : 2Ch 25:25–28
  51. 14:18 : 2Kg 12:19
  52. 14:19 : 2Ch 25:27
  53. 14:19 : Jos 10:31; 2Kg 18:14
  54. 14:20 : 2Kg 9:28
  55. 14:20 : 2Kg 12:21
  56. 14:21 : 2Kg 15:13; 2Ch 26:1–2
  57. 14:22 : 1Kg 9:26; 2Kg 16:6
  58. 14:23 : 2Kg 13:13
  59. 14:24 : 1Kg 12:30; 15:30
  60. 14:25 : 2Kg 13:25
  61. 14:25 : 1Kg 8:65
  62. 14:25 : Nm 34:3–9
  63. 14:25 : Jnh 1:1; Mt 12:39
  64. 14:25 : Jos 19:13
  65. 14:26 : Ex 3:7–9; Dt 32:36; 2Kg 13:4
  66. 14:27 : Dt 29:20; 2Kg 13:3
  67. 14:27 : Jdg 6:14
  68. 14:28 : 2Sm 8:5; 1Kg 11:24
  69. 14:28 : 2Sm 8:9; 2Ch 8:3
  70. 14:28 : 2Kg 13:8
  71. 14:29 : 2Kg 13:12–13; 15:8
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.

Acts 18:23-19:12

23 After spending some time there, he set out, traveling through one place after another in the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.(A)

The Eloquent Apollos

24 Now a Jew named Apollos,(B) a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was competent in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit,[a] he was speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew only John’s baptism.(C) 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. After Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside[b] and explained the way of God to him more accurately.(D) 27 When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters wrote to the disciples to welcome him. After he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.(E) 28 For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.(F)

Twelve Disciples of John the Baptist

19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples(G) and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (H)

“No,” they told him, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”(I)

“Into what then were you baptized?” he asked them.

“Into John’s baptism,” they replied.(J)

Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance,(K) telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.”(L)

When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on(M) them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in tongues[c] and to prophesy.(N) Now there were about twelve men in all.

In the Lecture Hall of Tyrannus

Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God.(O) But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples, and conducted discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.(P) 10 This went on for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks,(Q) heard the word of the Lord.(R)

Demonism Defeated at Ephesus

11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, 12 so that even facecloths or aprons[d] that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.(S)

Footnotes:

  1. 18:25 Or in the Spirit
  2. 18:26 Lit they received him
  3. 19:6 Or other languages
  4. 19:12 Or sweat cloths
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

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Psalm 146

Psalm 146

The God of Compassion

Hallelujah!
My soul, praise the Lord.(A)
I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing to my God as long as I live.(B)

Do not trust in nobles,
in a son of man,[a] who cannot save.(C)
When his breath[b] leaves him,
he returns to the ground;
on that day his plans die.(D)

Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,(E)
the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them.(F)
He remains faithful forever,(G)
executing justice for the exploited
and giving food to the hungry.(H)
The Lord frees prisoners.(I)
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.(J)
The Lord raises up those who are oppressed.[c](K)
The Lord loves the righteous.(L)
The Lord protects resident aliens
and helps the fatherless and the widow,(M)
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.(N)

10 The Lord reigns forever;
Zion, your God reigns for all generations.(O)
Hallelujah!

Footnotes:

  1. 146:3 Or a mere mortal
  2. 146:4 Or spirit
  3. 146:8 Lit bowed down
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 18:2-3

A fool does not delight in understanding,
but only wants to show off his opinions.[a](A)

When a wicked person comes, contempt also comes,
and along with dishonor, derision.

Footnotes:

  1. 18:2 Lit to uncover his heart

Cross references:

  1. 18:2 : Pr 12:23; 13:16; Ec 10:3
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.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday June 27, 2020 (NIV)

2 Kings 10:32-12:21

32 In those days the Lord began to reduce(A) the size of Israel. Hazael(B) overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory 33 east of the Jordan in all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh), from Aroer(C) by the Arnon(D) Gorge through Gilead to Bashan.

34 As for the other events of Jehu’s reign, all he did, and all his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals(E) of the kings of Israel?

35 Jehu rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son succeeded him as king. 36 The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

Athaliah and Joash(F)

11 When Athaliah(G) the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram[a] and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash(H) son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed.(I) He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.

In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the commanders of units of a hundred, the Carites(J) and the guards and had them brought to him at the temple of the Lord. He made a covenant with them and put them under oath at the temple of the Lord. Then he showed them the king’s son. He commanded them, saying, “This is what you are to do: You who are in the three companies that are going on duty on the Sabbath(K)—a third of you guarding the royal palace,(L) a third at the Sur Gate, and a third at the gate behind the guard, who take turns guarding the temple— and you who are in the other two companies that normally go off Sabbath duty are all to guard the temple for the king. Station yourselves around the king, each of you with weapon in hand. Anyone who approaches your ranks[b] is to be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes.”

The commanders of units of a hundred did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each one took his men—those who were going on duty on the Sabbath and those who were going off duty—and came to Jehoiada the priest. 10 Then he gave the commanders the spears and shields(M) that had belonged to King David and that were in the temple of the Lord. 11 The guards, each with weapon in hand, stationed themselves around the king—near the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple.

12 Jehoiada brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; he presented him with a copy of the covenant(N) and proclaimed him king. They anointed(O) him, and the people clapped their hands(P) and shouted, “Long live the king!”(Q)

13 When Athaliah heard the noise made by the guards and the people, she went to the people at the temple of the Lord. 14 She looked and there was the king, standing by the pillar,(R) as the custom was. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets.(S) Then Athaliah tore(T) her robes and called out, “Treason! Treason!”(U)

15 Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of units of a hundred, who were in charge of the troops: “Bring her out between the ranks[c] and put to the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest had said, “She must not be put to death in the temple(V) of the Lord.” 16 So they seized her as she reached the place where the horses enter(W) the palace grounds, and there she was put to death.(X)

17 Jehoiada then made a covenant(Y) between the Lord and the king and people that they would be the Lord’s people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people.(Z) 18 All the people of the land went to the temple(AA) of Baal and tore it down. They smashed(AB) the altars and idols to pieces and killed Mattan the priest(AC) of Baal in front of the altars.

Then Jehoiada the priest posted guards at the temple of the Lord. 19 He took with him the commanders of hundreds, the Carites,(AD) the guards and all the people of the land, and together they brought the king down from the temple of the Lord and went into the palace, entering by way of the gate of the guards. The king then took his place on the royal throne. 20 All the people of the land rejoiced,(AE) and the city was calm, because Athaliah had been slain with the sword at the palace.

21 Joash[d] was seven years old when he began to reign.[e]

Joash Repairs the Temple(AF)

12 [f]In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash[g](AG) became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. Joash did what was right(AH) in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. The high places,(AI) however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

Joash said to the priests, “Collect(AJ) all the money that is brought as sacred offerings(AK) to the temple of the Lord—the money collected in the census,(AL) the money received from personal vows and the money brought voluntarily(AM) to the temple. Let every priest receive the money from one of the treasurers, then use it to repair(AN) whatever damage is found in the temple.”

But by the twenty-third year of King Joash the priests still had not repaired the temple. Therefore King Joash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and asked them, “Why aren’t you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple.” The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.

Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in its lid. He placed it beside the altar, on the right side as one enters the temple of the Lord. The priests who guarded the entrance(AO) put into the chest all the money(AP) that was brought to the temple of the Lord. 10 Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal secretary(AQ) and the high priest came, counted the money that had been brought into the temple of the Lord and put it into bags. 11 When the amount had been determined, they gave the money to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. With it they paid those who worked on the temple of the Lord—the carpenters and builders, 12 the masons and stonecutters.(AR) They purchased timber and blocks of dressed stone for the repair of the temple of the Lord, and met all the other expenses of restoring the temple.

13 The money brought into the temple was not spent for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets or any other articles of gold(AS) or silver for the temple of the Lord; 14 it was paid to the workers, who used it to repair the temple. 15 They did not require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty.(AT) 16 The money from the guilt offerings(AU) and sin offerings[h](AV) was not brought into the temple of the Lord; it belonged(AW) to the priests.

17 About this time Hazael(AX) king of Aram went up and attacked Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem. 18 But Joash king of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his predecessors—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—and the gifts he himself had dedicated and all the gold found in the treasuries of the temple of the Lord and of the royal palace, and he sent(AY) them to Hazael king of Aram, who then withdrew(AZ) from Jerusalem.

19 As for the other events of the reign of Joash, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 20 His officials(BA) conspired against him and assassinated(BB) him at Beth Millo,(BC) on the road down to Silla. 21 The officials who murdered him were Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer. He died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. And Amaziah his son succeeded him as king.

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Kings 11:2 Hebrew Joram, a variant of Jehoram
  2. 2 Kings 11:8 Or approaches the precincts
  3. 2 Kings 11:15 Or out from the precincts
  4. 2 Kings 11:21 Hebrew Jehoash, a variant of Joash
  5. 2 Kings 11:21 In Hebrew texts this verse (11:21) is numbered 12:1.
  6. 2 Kings 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-21 is numbered 12:2-22.
  7. 2 Kings 12:1 Hebrew Jehoash, a variant of Joash; also in verses 2, 4, 6, 7 and 18
  8. 2 Kings 12:16 Or purification offerings

Cross references:

  1. 2 Kings 10:32 : 2Ki 13:25; Ps 107:39
  2. 2 Kings 10:32 : S 1Ki 19:17
  3. 2 Kings 10:33 : S Nu 32:34; Dt 2:36; Jdg 11:26; Isa 17:2
  4. 2 Kings 10:33 : S Nu 21:13
  5. 2 Kings 10:34 : 1Ki 15:31
  6. 2 Kings 11:1 : 11:1-21pp — 2Ch 22:10–23:21
  7. 2 Kings 11:1 : S 2Ki 8:18
  8. 2 Kings 11:2 : 2Ki 12:1
  9. 2 Kings 11:2 : S Jdg 9:5
  10. 2 Kings 11:4 : ver 19
  11. 2 Kings 11:5 : 1Ch 9:25
  12. 2 Kings 11:5 : 1Ki 14:27
  13. 2 Kings 11:10 : S 2Sa 8:7
  14. 2 Kings 11:12 : Ex 25:16; 2Ki 23:3
  15. 2 Kings 11:12 : S 1Sa 9:16; S 1Ki 1:39
  16. 2 Kings 11:12 : Ps 47:1; 98:8; Isa 55:12
  17. 2 Kings 11:12 : S 1Sa 10:24
  18. 2 Kings 11:14 : S 1Ki 7:15
  19. 2 Kings 11:14 : S 1Ki 1:39
  20. 2 Kings 11:14 : S Ge 37:29
  21. 2 Kings 11:14 : 2Ki 9:23
  22. 2 Kings 11:15 : 1Ki 2:30
  23. 2 Kings 11:16 : Ne 3:28; Jer 31:40
  24. 2 Kings 11:16 : S Ge 4:14
  25. 2 Kings 11:17 : S Ex 24:8; 2Sa 5:3; 2Ch 15:12; 23:3; 29:10; 34:31; Ezr 10:3
  26. 2 Kings 11:17 : 2Ki 23:3; Jer 34:8
  27. 2 Kings 11:18 : S 1Ki 16:32
  28. 2 Kings 11:18 : S Dt 12:3
  29. 2 Kings 11:18 : 1Ki 18:40; 2Ki 10:25; 23:20
  30. 2 Kings 11:19 : ver 4
  31. 2 Kings 11:20 : Pr 11:10; 28:12; 29:2
  32. 2 Kings 12:1 : 12:1-21pp — 2Ch 24:1-14; 24:23-27
  33. 2 Kings 12:1 : 2Ki 11:2
  34. 2 Kings 12:2 : S Dt 12:25; S 2Sa 8:15
  35. 2 Kings 12:3 : S 1Ki 3:3; S 2Ki 18:4
  36. 2 Kings 12:4 : 2Ki 22:4
  37. 2 Kings 12:4 : Nu 18:19
  38. 2 Kings 12:4 : S Ex 30:12
  39. 2 Kings 12:4 : S Ex 25:2; S 35:29
  40. 2 Kings 12:5 : 2Ki 22:5
  41. 2 Kings 12:9 : 2Ki 25:18; Jer 35:4; 52:24
  42. 2 Kings 12:9 : Mk 12:41; Lk 21:1
  43. 2 Kings 12:10 : S 2Sa 8:17
  44. 2 Kings 12:12 : 2Ki 22:5-6
  45. 2 Kings 12:13 : S 1Ki 7:48-51
  46. 2 Kings 12:15 : 2Ki 22:7; 1Co 4:2
  47. 2 Kings 12:16 : Lev 5:14-19
  48. 2 Kings 12:16 : Lev 4:1-35
  49. 2 Kings 12:16 : S Lev 7:7
  50. 2 Kings 12:17 : 2Ki 8:12
  51. 2 Kings 12:18 : S 1Ki 15:18; S 2Ch 21:16-17
  52. 2 Kings 12:18 : 1Ki 15:21; 2Ki 15:20; 19:36
  53. 2 Kings 12:20 : 2Ki 14:5
  54. 2 Kings 12:20 : 2Ki 14:19; 15:10, 14, 25, 30; 21:23; 25:25
  55. 2 Kings 12:20 : Jdg 9:6
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Acts 18:1-22

In Corinth

18 After this, Paul left Athens(A) and went to Corinth.(B) There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla,(C) because Claudius(D) had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.(E) Every Sabbath(F) he reasoned in the synagogue,(G) trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

When Silas(H) and Timothy(I) came from Macedonia,(J) Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.(K) But when they opposed Paul and became abusive,(L) he shook out his clothes in protest(M) and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads!(N) I am innocent of it.(O) From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”(P)

Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God.(Q) Crispus,(R) the synagogue leader,(S) and his entire household(T) believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision:(U) “Do not be afraid;(V) keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you,(W) and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.(X)

12 While Gallio was proconsul(Y) of Achaia,(Z) the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment. 13 “This man,” they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”

14 Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, “If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. 15 But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law(AA)—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.” 16 So he drove them off. 17 Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes(AB) the synagogue leader(AC) and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever.

Priscilla, Aquila and Apollos

18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters(AD) and sailed for Syria,(AE) accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.(AF) Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae(AG) because of a vow he had taken.(AH) 19 They arrived at Ephesus,(AI) where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. 21 But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.”(AJ) Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he landed at Caesarea,(AK) he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.(AL)

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Psalm 145

Psalm 145[a]

A psalm of praise. Of David.

I will exalt you,(A) my God the King;(B)
I will praise your name(C) for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise(D) you
and extol your name(E) for ever and ever.

Great(F) is the Lord and most worthy of praise;(G)
his greatness no one can fathom.(H)
One generation(I) commends your works to another;
they tell(J) of your mighty acts.(K)
They speak of the glorious splendor(L) of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.[b](M)
They tell(N) of the power of your awesome works—(O)
and I will proclaim(P) your great deeds.(Q)
They celebrate your abundant goodness(R)
and joyfully sing(S) of your righteousness.(T)

The Lord is gracious and compassionate,(U)
slow to anger and rich in love.(V)

The Lord is good(W) to all;
he has compassion(X) on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you,(Y) Lord;
your faithful people extol(Z) you.(AA)
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom(AB)
and speak of your might,(AC)
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts(AD)
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.(AE)
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,(AF)
and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy(AG) in all he promises(AH)
and faithful in all he does.[c]
14 The Lord upholds(AI) all who fall
and lifts up all(AJ) who are bowed down.(AK)
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food(AL) at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires(AM) of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous(AN) in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.(AO)
18 The Lord is near(AP) to all who call on him,(AQ)
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires(AR) of those who fear him;(AS)
he hears their cry(AT) and saves them.(AU)
20 The Lord watches over(AV) all who love him,(AW)
but all the wicked he will destroy.(AX)

21 My mouth will speak(AY) in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature(AZ) praise his holy name(BA)
for ever and ever.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 145:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the verses of which (including verse 13b) begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  2. Psalm 145:5 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text On the glorious splendor of your majesty / and on your wonderful works I will meditate
  3. Psalm 145:13 One manuscript of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac (see also Septuagint); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text do not have the last two lines of verse 13.

Cross references:

  1. Psalm 145:1 : Ps 30:1; 34:1
  2. Psalm 145:1 : Ps 2:6; 5:2
  3. Psalm 145:1 : S Ps 54:6
  4. Psalm 145:2 : S Ps 71:6
  5. Psalm 145:2 : Ps 34:1; Isa 25:1; 26:8
  6. Psalm 145:3 : S Ps 95:3
  7. Psalm 145:3 : S 2Sa 22:4; Ps 96:4
  8. Psalm 145:3 : S Job 5:9
  9. Psalm 145:4 : Ps 22:30
  10. Psalm 145:4 : S Dt 11:19
  11. Psalm 145:4 : S Ps 71:16
  12. Psalm 145:5 : Ps 96:6; 148:13
  13. Psalm 145:5 : S Ps 75:1
  14. Psalm 145:6 : Ps 78:4
  15. Psalm 145:6 : S Ps 66:3
  16. Psalm 145:6 : S Dt 32:3
  17. Psalm 145:6 : Ps 75:1; 106:22
  18. Psalm 145:7 : S Ex 18:9; S Ps 27:13
  19. Psalm 145:7 : S Ps 5:11; S 101:1
  20. Psalm 145:7 : S Ps 138:5
  21. Psalm 145:8 : S Ps 86:15; 103:8
  22. Psalm 145:8 : S Ps 86:5
  23. Psalm 145:9 : S 1Ch 16:34; S Ps 136:1; Mt 19:17; Mk 10:18
  24. Psalm 145:9 : Ps 103:13-14
  25. Psalm 145:10 : S Ps 8:6; S 103:22; S 139:14
  26. Psalm 145:10 : Ps 30:4; 148:14; 149:9
  27. Psalm 145:10 : Ps 115:17-18
  28. Psalm 145:11 : ver 12-13; S Ex 15:2; Mt 6:33
  29. Psalm 145:11 : Ps 21:13
  30. Psalm 145:12 : S Ps 75:1; 105:1
  31. Psalm 145:12 : ver 11; Ps 103:19; Isa 2:10, 19, 21
  32. Psalm 145:13 : S Ex 15:18; 1Ti 1:17; 2Pe 1:11; Rev 11:15
  33. Psalm 145:13 : S Dt 7:9; S 1Co 1:9
  34. Psalm 145:13 : S Jos 23:14
  35. Psalm 145:14 : S Ps 37:17
  36. Psalm 145:14 : S 1Sa 2:8; Ps 146:8
  37. Psalm 145:14 : S Ps 38:6
  38. Psalm 145:15 : S Ge 1:30; S Job 28:5; S Ps 37:25; S Mt 6:26
  39. Psalm 145:16 : S Ps 90:14; S 104:28
  40. Psalm 145:17 : S Ex 9:27; S Ezr 9:15
  41. Psalm 145:17 : ver 13
  42. Psalm 145:18 : S Nu 23:21; S Ps 46:1; Php 4:5
  43. Psalm 145:18 : Ps 18:6; 80:18
  44. Psalm 145:19 : S Ps 20:4
  45. Psalm 145:19 : S Job 22:28
  46. Psalm 145:19 : S Ps 31:22; S 40:1
  47. Psalm 145:19 : S 1Sa 10:19; Ps 7:10; 34:18
  48. Psalm 145:20 : S Ps 1:6
  49. Psalm 145:20 : Ps 31:23; 91:14; 97:10
  50. Psalm 145:20 : S Ps 94:23
  51. Psalm 145:21 : Ps 71:8
  52. Psalm 145:21 : Ps 65:2; 150:6
  53. Psalm 145:21 : S Ex 3:15; S Ps 30:4; S 99:3
New International Version (NIV)

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Proverbs 18:1

18 An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends
and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.

New International Version (NIV)

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday June 26, 2020 (NIV)

2 Kings 9:14-10:31

Jehu Kills Joram and Ahaziah(A)

14 So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth Gilead(B) against Hazael king of Aram, 15 but King Joram[a] had returned to Jezreel to recover(C) from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him in the battle with Hazael king of Aram.) Jehu said, “If you desire to make me king, don’t let anyone slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel.” 16 Then he got into his chariot and rode to Jezreel, because Joram was resting there and Ahaziah(D) king of Judah had gone down to see him.

17 When the lookout(E) standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops approaching, he called out, “I see some troops coming.”

“Get a horseman,” Joram ordered. “Send him to meet them and ask, ‘Do you come in peace?(F)’”

18 The horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’”

“What do you have to do with peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.”

The lookout reported, “The messenger has reached them, but he isn’t coming back.”

19 So the king sent out a second horseman. When he came to them he said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’”

Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”

20 The lookout reported, “He has reached them, but he isn’t coming back either. The driving is like(G) that of Jehu son of Nimshi—he drives like a maniac.”

21 “Hitch up my chariot,” Joram ordered. And when it was hitched up, Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah rode out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth(H) the Jezreelite. 22 When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?”

“How can there be peace,” Jehu replied, “as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel(I) abound?”

23 Joram turned about and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, “Treachery,(J) Ahaziah!”

24 Then Jehu drew his bow(K) and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart and he slumped down in his chariot. 25 Jehu said to Bidkar, his chariot officer, “Pick him up and throw him on the field that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember how you and I were riding together in chariots behind Ahab his father when the Lord spoke this prophecy(L) against him: 26 ‘Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth(M) and the blood of his sons, declares the Lord, and I will surely make you pay for it on this plot of ground, declares the Lord.’[b] Now then, pick him up and throw him on that plot, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”(N)

27 When Ahaziah king of Judah saw what had happened, he fled up the road to Beth Haggan.[c] Jehu chased him, shouting, “Kill him too!” They wounded him in his chariot on the way up to Gur near Ibleam,(O) but he escaped to Megiddo(P) and died there. 28 His servants took him by chariot(Q) to Jerusalem and buried him with his ancestors in his tomb in the City of David. 29 (In the eleventh(R) year of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king of Judah.)

Jezebel Killed

30 Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she put on eye makeup,(S) arranged her hair and looked out of a window. 31 As Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, you Zimri,(T) you murderer of your master?”[d]

32 He looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. 33 “Throw her down!” Jehu said. So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot.(U)

34 Jehu went in and ate and drank. “Take care of that cursed woman,” he said, “and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.”(V) 35 But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing except her skull, her feet and her hands. 36 They went back and told Jehu, who said, “This is the word of the Lord that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs(W) will devour Jezebel’s flesh.[e](X) 37 Jezebel’s body will be like dung(Y) on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, ‘This is Jezebel.’”

Ahab’s Family Killed

10 Now there were in Samaria(Z) seventy sons(AA) of the house of Ahab. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria: to the officials of Jezreel,[f](AB) to the elders and to the guardians(AC) of Ahab’s children. He said, “You have your master’s sons with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weapons. Now as soon as this letter reaches you, choose the best and most worthy of your master’s sons and set him on his father’s throne. Then fight for your master’s house.”

But they were terrified and said, “If two kings could not resist him, how can we?”

So the palace administrator, the city governor, the elders and the guardians sent this message to Jehu: “We are your servants(AD) and we will do anything you say. We will not appoint anyone as king; you do whatever you think best.”

Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow.”

Now the royal princes, seventy of them, were with the leading men of the city, who were rearing them. When the letter arrived, these men took the princes and slaughtered all seventy(AE) of them. They put their heads(AF) in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. When the messenger arrived, he told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the princes.”

Then Jehu ordered, “Put them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.”

The next morning Jehu went out. He stood before all the people and said, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these? 10 Know, then, that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he announced(AG) through his servant Elijah.”(AH) 11 So Jehu(AI) killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor.(AJ)

12 Jehu then set out and went toward Samaria. At Beth Eked of the Shepherds, 13 he met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and asked, “Who are you?”

They said, “We are relatives of Ahaziah,(AK) and we have come down to greet the families of the king and of the queen mother.(AL)

14 “Take them alive!” he ordered. So they took them alive and slaughtered them by the well of Beth Eked—forty-two of them. He left no survivor.(AM)

15 After he left there, he came upon Jehonadab(AN) son of Rekab,(AO) who was on his way to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said, “Are you in accord with me, as I am with you?”

“I am,” Jehonadab answered.

“If so,” said Jehu, “give me your hand.”(AP) So he did, and Jehu helped him up into the chariot. 16 Jehu said, “Come with me and see my zeal(AQ) for the Lord.” Then he had him ride along in his chariot.

17 When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all who were left there of Ahab’s family;(AR) he destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord spoken to Elijah.

Servants of Baal Killed

18 Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, “Ahab served(AS) Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now summon(AT) all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live.” But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the servants of Baal.

20 Jehu said, “Call an assembly(AU) in honor of Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 21 Then he sent word throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one stayed away. They crowded into the temple of Baal until it was full from one end to the other. 22 And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, “Bring robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them.

23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the servants of Baal, “Look around and see that no one who serves the Lord is here with you—only servants of Baal.” 24 So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted eighty men outside with this warning: “If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life.”(AV)

25 As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: “Go in and kill(AW) them; let no one escape.”(AX) So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal. 26 They brought the sacred stone(AY) out of the temple of Baal and burned it. 27 They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple(AZ) of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.

28 So Jehu(BA) destroyed Baal worship in Israel. 29 However, he did not turn away from the sins(BB) of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves(BC) at Bethel(BD) and Dan.

30 The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”(BE) 31 Yet Jehu was not careful(BF) to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins(BG) of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Kings 9:15 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram; also in verses 17 and 21-24
  2. 2 Kings 9:26 See 1 Kings 21:19.
  3. 2 Kings 9:27 Or fled by way of the garden house
  4. 2 Kings 9:31 Or “Was there peace for Zimri, who murdered his master?”
  5. 2 Kings 9:36 See 1 Kings 21:23.
  6. 2 Kings 10:1 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate of the city

Cross references:

  1. 2 Kings 9:14 : 9:21-29pp — 2Ch 22:7-9
  2. 2 Kings 9:14 : S Dt 4:43; S 2Ki 8:28
  3. 2 Kings 9:15 : S 2Ki 8:29
  4. 2 Kings 9:16 : 2Ch 22:7
  5. 2 Kings 9:17 : S 1Sa 14:16; Isa 21:6
  6. 2 Kings 9:17 : S 1Sa 16:4
  7. 2 Kings 9:20 : 2Sa 18:27
  8. 2 Kings 9:21 : 1Ki 21:1-7, 15-19
  9. 2 Kings 9:22 : 1Ki 18:19; Rev 2:20
  10. 2 Kings 9:23 : 2Ki 11:14
  11. 2 Kings 9:24 : S 1Ki 22:34
  12. 2 Kings 9:25 : 1Ki 21:19-22, 24-29
  13. 2 Kings 9:26 : S 1Ki 21:19
  14. 2 Kings 9:26 : S 1Ki 21:29
  15. 2 Kings 9:27 : S Jdg 1:27
  16. 2 Kings 9:27 : 2Ki 23:29
  17. 2 Kings 9:28 : 2Ki 14:20; 23:30
  18. 2 Kings 9:29 : 2Ki 8:25
  19. 2 Kings 9:30 : Jer 4:30; Eze 23:40
  20. 2 Kings 9:31 : 1Ki 16:9-10
  21. 2 Kings 9:33 : Ps 7:5
  22. 2 Kings 9:34 : S 1Ki 16:31
  23. 2 Kings 9:36 : Ps 68:23; Jer 15:3
  24. 2 Kings 9:36 : S 1Ki 21:23
  25. 2 Kings 9:37 : Ps 83:10; Isa 5:25; Jer 8:2; 9:22; 16:4; 25:33; Zep 1:17
  26. 2 Kings 10:1 : S 1Ki 13:32
  27. 2 Kings 10:1 : S Jdg 8:30
  28. 2 Kings 10:1 : S 1Ki 21:1
  29. 2 Kings 10:1 : ver 5
  30. 2 Kings 10:5 : Jos 9:8
  31. 2 Kings 10:7 : S 1Ki 21:21
  32. 2 Kings 10:7 : S 2Sa 4:8
  33. 2 Kings 10:10 : 2Ki 9:7-10
  34. 2 Kings 10:10 : S 1Ki 21:29
  35. 2 Kings 10:11 : Hos 1:4
  36. 2 Kings 10:11 : ver 14; Job 18:19; Mal 4:1
  37. 2 Kings 10:13 : 2Ki 8:24, 29; 2Ch 22:8
  38. 2 Kings 10:13 : S 1Ki 2:19
  39. 2 Kings 10:14 : S ver 11
  40. 2 Kings 10:15 : Jer 35:6, 14-19
  41. 2 Kings 10:15 : 1Ch 2:55; Jer 35:2
  42. 2 Kings 10:15 : Ezr 10:19; Eze 17:18
  43. 2 Kings 10:16 : S Nu 25:13
  44. 2 Kings 10:17 : 2Ki 9:8
  45. 2 Kings 10:18 : S Jdg 2:11
  46. 2 Kings 10:19 : 1Ki 18:19
  47. 2 Kings 10:20 : S Ex 32:5
  48. 2 Kings 10:24 : S Jos 2:14
  49. 2 Kings 10:25 : S Ex 22:20; S 2Ki 11:18
  50. 2 Kings 10:25 : S 1Ki 18:40
  51. 2 Kings 10:26 : S Ex 23:24
  52. 2 Kings 10:27 : S 1Ki 16:32
  53. 2 Kings 10:28 : 1Ki 19:17
  54. 2 Kings 10:29 : S 1Ki 12:30
  55. 2 Kings 10:29 : S Ex 32:4
  56. 2 Kings 10:29 : 1Ki 12:32
  57. 2 Kings 10:30 : 2Ki 15:12
  58. 2 Kings 10:31 : Dt 4:9; Pr 4:23
  59. 2 Kings 10:31 : 1Ki 12:30
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Acts 17

In Thessalonica

17 When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica,(A) where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue,(B) and on three Sabbath(C) days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,(D) explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer(E) and rise from the dead.(F) “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,”(G) he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas,(H) as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.

But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city.(I) They rushed to Jason’s(J) house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.[a] But when they did not find them, they dragged(K) Jason and some other believers(L) before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world(M) have now come here,(N) and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”(O) When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. Then they made Jason(P) and the others post bond and let them go.

In Berea

10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas(Q) away to Berea.(R) On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.(S) 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica,(T) for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures(U) every day to see if what Paul said was true.(V) 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.(W)

13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea,(X) some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The believers(Y) immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas(Z) and Timothy(AA) stayed at Berea. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens(AB) and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.(AC)

In Athens

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue(AD) with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news(AE) about Jesus and the resurrection.(AF) 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus,(AG) where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching(AH) is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians(AI) and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus(AJ) and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.(AK) 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship(AL)—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

24 “The God who made the world and everything in it(AM) is the Lord of heaven and earth(AN) and does not live in temples built by human hands.(AO) 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.(AP) 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.(AQ) 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.(AR) 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[b](AS) As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’[c]

29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.(AT) 30 In the past God overlooked(AU) such ignorance,(AV) but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.(AW) 31 For he has set a day when he will judge(AX) the world with justice(AY) by the man he has appointed.(AZ) He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”(BA)

32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead,(BB) some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus,(BC) also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

Footnotes:

  1. Acts 17:5 Or the assembly of the people
  2. Acts 17:28 From the Cretan philosopher Epimenides
  3. Acts 17:28 From the Cilician Stoic philosopher Aratus

Cross references:

  1. Acts 17:1 : ver 11, 13; Php 4:16; 1Th 1:1; 2Th 1:1; 2Ti 4:10
  2. Acts 17:2 : S Ac 9:20
  3. Acts 17:2 : S Ac 13:14
  4. Acts 17:2 : Ac 8:35; 18:28
  5. Acts 17:3 : Lk 24:26; Ac 3:18
  6. Acts 17:3 : Lk 24:46; S Ac 2:24
  7. Acts 17:3 : S Ac 9:22
  8. Acts 17:4 : S Ac 15:22
  9. Acts 17:5 : ver 13; S 1Th 2:16
  10. Acts 17:5 : Ro 16:21
  11. Acts 17:6 : S Ac 16:19
  12. Acts 17:6 : S Ac 1:16
  13. Acts 17:6 : S Mt 24:14
  14. Acts 17:6 : Ac 16:20
  15. Acts 17:7 : Lk 23:2; Jn 19:12
  16. Acts 17:9 : ver 5
  17. Acts 17:10 : S Ac 15:22
  18. Acts 17:10 : ver 13; Ac 20:4
  19. Acts 17:10 : S Ac 9:20
  20. Acts 17:11 : S ver 1
  21. Acts 17:11 : Lk 16:29; Jn 5:39
  22. Acts 17:11 : Dt 29:29
  23. Acts 17:12 : S Ac 2:41
  24. Acts 17:13 : S Heb 4:12
  25. Acts 17:14 : S Ac 9:30
  26. Acts 17:14 : S Ac 15:22
  27. Acts 17:14 : S Ac 16:1
  28. Acts 17:15 : ver 16, 21, 22; Ac 18:1; 1Th 3:1
  29. Acts 17:15 : Ac 18:5
  30. Acts 17:17 : S Ac 9:20
  31. Acts 17:18 : S Ac 13:32
  32. Acts 17:18 : ver 31, 32; Ac 4:2
  33. Acts 17:19 : ver 22
  34. Acts 17:19 : Mk 1:27
  35. Acts 17:21 : S ver 15
  36. Acts 17:22 : ver 19
  37. Acts 17:22 : ver 16
  38. Acts 17:23 : Jn 4:22
  39. Acts 17:24 : Isa 42:5; Ac 14:15
  40. Acts 17:24 : Dt 10:14; Isa 66:1, 2; Mt 11:25
  41. Acts 17:24 : 1Ki 8:27; Ac 7:48
  42. Acts 17:25 : Ps 50:10-12; Isa 42:5
  43. Acts 17:26 : Dt 32:8; Job 12:23
  44. Acts 17:27 : Dt 4:7; Isa 55:6; Jer 23:23, 24
  45. Acts 17:28 : Dt 30:20; Job 12:10; Da 5:23
  46. Acts 17:29 : Isa 40:18-20; Ro 1:23
  47. Acts 17:30 : Ac 14:16; Ro 3:25
  48. Acts 17:30 : ver 23; 1Pe 1:14
  49. Acts 17:30 : Lk 24:47; Tit 2:11, 12
  50. Acts 17:31 : S Mt 10:15
  51. Acts 17:31 : Ps 9:8; 96:13; 98:9
  52. Acts 17:31 : S Ac 10:42
  53. Acts 17:31 : S Ac 2:24
  54. Acts 17:32 : ver 18, 31
  55. Acts 17:34 : ver 19, 22
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Psalm 144

Psalm 144

Of David.

Praise be to the Lord my Rock,(A)
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
He is my loving God and my fortress,(B)
my stronghold(C) and my deliverer,
my shield,(D) in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples[a](E) under me.

Lord, what are human beings(F) that you care for them,
mere mortals that you think of them?
They are like a breath;(G)
their days are like a fleeting shadow.(H)

Part your heavens,(I) Lord, and come down;(J)
touch the mountains, so that they smoke.(K)
Send forth lightning(L) and scatter(M) the enemy;
shoot your arrows(N) and rout them.
Reach down your hand from on high;(O)
deliver me and rescue me(P)
from the mighty waters,(Q)
from the hands of foreigners(R)
whose mouths are full of lies,(S)
whose right hands(T) are deceitful.(U)

I will sing a new song(V) to you, my God;
on the ten-stringed lyre(W) I will make music to you,
10 to the One who gives victory to kings,(X)
who delivers his servant David.(Y)

From the deadly sword(Z) 11 deliver me;
rescue me(AA) from the hands of foreigners(AB)
whose mouths are full of lies,(AC)
whose right hands are deceitful.(AD)

12 Then our sons in their youth
will be like well-nurtured plants,(AE)
and our daughters will be like pillars(AF)
carved to adorn a palace.
13 Our barns will be filled(AG)
with every kind of provision.
Our sheep will increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields;
14 our oxen(AH) will draw heavy loads.[b]
There will be no breaching of walls,(AI)
no going into captivity,
no cry of distress in our streets.(AJ)
15 Blessed is the people(AK) of whom this is true;
blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 144:2 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Aquila, Jerome and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text subdues my people
  2. Psalm 144:14 Or our chieftains will be firmly established
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Proverbs 17:27-28

27 The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint,(A)
and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.(B)

28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent,
and discerning if they hold their tongues.(C)

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

06/25/2020 DAB Transcript

2 Kings 8:1-9:13, Acts 16:16-40, Psalms 143:1-12, Proverbs 17:26

Today’s the 25th day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you today as…as we move in and take the next step forward. And we’ve been working our way into and through the book of second Kings. And largely for the last couple of days dealing with the story of the prophet Elisha, which we will continue to do today, but we’ll also get back to kind of the Kings and the different generations of kings as we go forward. So, we’re reading from the New International Version this week. Second Kings chapter 8 verse 1 through 9:13.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for all of the examples. And that’s one thing that we need to understand, and we invite Your Holy Spirit to help us understand, that we’re not just reading all of the exceptional people, like all the exceptions that ever lived. We’re reading stories of people who are examples to us of where roads lead and what it looks like to walk with You. And, so, even as we see Paul and Silas in jail we also see that at every opportunity that they have, no matter where they’re at, including in prison they’re worshiping, they’re sharing, they’re being light in the darkness and You are present with them. And, so, it's…it’s easy for us because we usually…we isolate ourselves when we are challenged, but we see this example of reaching outward and being open. And, so, Holy Spirit come and show us what that might look like in our own situations. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website and home base and where you find out what’s going on around here.

And our annual…our annual holiday…sort of our own little personal Daily Audio Bible holiday is coming up on the 7th of July and it’s known as the long walk. We’ve been talking about it for a couple of days because this is a special long walk. We’ve got a special resource that we’re releasing, not only for the long walk, like for life, but that…that will pair so perfectly with a day that we go and walk with God. So, if you…if you haven’t been here for the last couple of days, the long walk occurs on the 7th of July each year and we’ve been doing this for well over a decade and it’s an individual thing to be sure. It…it is what it sounds like. Just choose somewhere near you, wherever you are in the world, somewhere that’s beautiful or that’s serene, that brings a sense of calm and allows you to experience the beauty of nature. And whether you drive for hours, or whether you just go down to the corner and…and go to a park or something, it doesn’t matter, just a place that brings peace to you and go for a long walk with God and actually carve space out, like take a day, carve it out realizing that we have been through a heck of the first part of the year, a lot has been going on that’s been really disruptive and here we are in the center of the year and it’s time to regroup. It’s time to take some time and really speak our hearts in prayer, sharing our souls with God, but also to understand that a relationship is conversational and we need to take time to listen so that we can come out of a time like that with some direction, sort of how we’re aiming our lives as we move into the second half of the year. That’s the long walk and it’s a beautiful thing and it’s a…it’s an individual thing. It’s just that we as a community are all over the world and so we’re doing it together alone. It’s perfect for social distancing, but it always has been, like we’re not changing anything. It’s just how it’s always been all these years. So, that’s the long walk on the 7th of July. So, mark that on your calendar and…and begin to make your plans, just start anticipating that, even in your prayer time, just telling the Lord, “I’m really looking forward…I’m really looking forward to this time where we can just kinda set everything else aside and just be together. I’m looking forward to that and just anticipate it.” And…and then when you go wherever you go just snap a picture of where you went or take a little video of where you are and you can post as a comment back to the Daily Audio Bible Facebook page and then we’ll post it up on the page and all of the sudden…it’s one of my favorite things in this year…is to scroll through all of the different long walks and just have windows into each other’s lives, but also just windows into the beauty of the earth that God has given us to enjoy. And, so, that’s the long walk.

This year is special because were releasing a brand-new resource that is really perfect for the long walk. It’s called Heart, a contemplative journey. And it's…it’s a musical journey and a guided prayer journey that allows us to embrace, acknowledge and experience the emotions of the heart that we’ve been experiencing throughout our lives, but in particular throughout these last months. And, so, this resource will become available at midnight, like the beginning of the day on the 7th of July but you can preorder it and purchase it now at iTunes or Apple Music, Google Play, wherever it is that you get your music you can find it. Just look for my name, Brian Hardin or Heart is the name of the project. And it’s available now and you can preorder it now and it will just download and show up in your device on the 7th in anticipation for the long walk this year. I have been…I mean I kind of shared this story a couple days ago of how this project came to be over the course of several years just trying to speak to my own heart about the things that I was feeling. But, you know, sometimes you’re trying to describe how you’re feeling, and words fail. But there is language beyond words and music is one of those languages. And, so, just trying to compose and arrange. This is one of the most like visual projects I've…I’ve ever made. I tried to pour as much life and atmosphere into it as…as possible. It's…it’s beautiful and I’ve taken many, many, many long walks for that project just praying the prayers. And, so, basically, yeah, it's…it’s, you know, there’s a prayer that leads us into the music and then we just open ourselves to allow the music to speak and God to be present in that emotion and then we move to another emotion. So, like we deal with forgiveness, we deal with hope, we deal with bittersweet…the bittersweet nature of life, we deal with moving forward, we deal with finding a sense of home in our heart or with God or comfort…comfort that we so deeply need sometimes and life just feels so frantic that comfort is hard to find. But if we slow down it’s there and available to us. So, this is what Heart is. It’s available now. Go check it out. I thank you for that. And in anticipation of the long walk, I think this is gonna be a really special long walk because I know that we have a lot to say. I sense that we have a lot to say as we spend time with God but we also need direction. It’s been a disruptive year like I said, and we do need direction and God is not withholding it from us. We’re just too busy. So, let’s slow down on the 7th and explore the terrain of our hearts as we open our hearts to God and His leadership in our lives.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link on the homepage. I thank you profoundly for your partnership. If you’re 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 encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, or you can dial 877-942-4253.

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

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday June 25, 2020 (NIV)

2 Kings 8:1-9:13

The Shunammite’s Land Restored

Now Elisha had said to the woman(A) whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine(B) in the land that will last seven years.”(C) The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.

At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land. The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored(D) the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land.

Gehazi said, “This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” The king asked the woman about it, and she told him.

Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”

Hazael Murders Ben-Hadad

Elisha went to Damascus,(E) and Ben-Hadad(F) king of Aram was ill. When the king was told, “The man of God has come all the way up here,” he said to Hazael,(G) “Take a gift(H) with you and go to meet the man of God. Consult(I) the Lord through him; ask him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”

Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him as a gift forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus. He went in and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”

10 Elisha answered, “Go and say to him, ‘You will certainly recover.’(J) Nevertheless,[a] the Lord has revealed to me that he will in fact die.” 11 He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael was embarrassed.(K) Then the man of God began to weep.(L)

12 “Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael.

“Because I know the harm(M) you will do to the Israelites,” he answered. “You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash(N) their little children(O) to the ground, and rip open(P) their pregnant women.”

13 Hazael said, “How could your servant, a mere dog,(Q) accomplish such a feat?”

“The Lord has shown me that you will become king(R) of Aram,” answered Elisha.

14 Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master. When Ben-Hadad asked, “What did Elisha say to you?” Hazael replied, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” 15 But the next day he took a thick cloth, soaked it in water and spread it over the king’s face, so that he died.(S) Then Hazael succeeded him as king.

Jehoram King of Judah(T)

16 In the fifth year of Joram(U) son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram(V) son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. 18 He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter(W) of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 19 Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the Lord was not willing to destroy(X) Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp(Y) for David and his descendants forever.

20 In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king.(Z) 21 So Jehoram[b] went to Zair with all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night; his army, however, fled back home. 22 To this day Edom has been in rebellion(AA) against Judah. Libnah(AB) revolted at the same time.

23 As for the other events of Jehoram’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 24 Jehoram rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.

Ahaziah King of Judah(AC)

25 In the twelfth(AD) year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign. 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah,(AE) a granddaughter of Omri(AF) king of Israel. 27 He followed the ways of the house of Ahab(AG) and did evil(AH) in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to Ahab’s family.

28 Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead.(AI) The Arameans wounded Joram; 29 so King Joram returned to Jezreel(AJ) to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramoth[c] in his battle with Hazael(AK) king of Aram.

Then Ahaziah(AL) son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab, because he had been wounded.

Jehu Anointed King of Israel

The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company(AM) of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak into your belt,(AN) take this flask of olive oil(AO) with you and go to Ramoth Gilead.(AP) When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room. Then take the flask and pour the oil(AQ) on his head and declare, ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run; don’t delay!”

So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. When he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. “I have a message for you, commander,” he said.

“For which of us?” asked Jehu.

“For you, commander,” he replied.

Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil(AR) on Jehu’s head and declared, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you king over the Lord’s people Israel. You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge(AS) the blood of my servants(AT) the prophets and the blood of all the Lord’s servants shed by Jezebel.(AU) The whole house(AV) of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male(AW) in Israel—slave or free.[d] I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam(AX) son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha(AY) son of Ahijah. 10 As for Jezebel, dogs(AZ) will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.’” Then he opened the door and ran.

11 When Jehu went out to his fellow officers, one of them asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did this maniac(BA) come to you?”

“You know the man and the sort of things he says,” Jehu replied.

12 “That’s not true!” they said. “Tell us.”

Jehu said, “Here is what he told me: ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”

13 They quickly took their cloaks and spread(BB) them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet(BC) and shouted, “Jehu is king!”

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Kings 8:10 The Hebrew may also be read Go and say, ‘You will certainly not recover,’ for.
  2. 2 Kings 8:21 Hebrew Joram, a variant of Jehoram; also in verses 23 and 24
  3. 2 Kings 8:29 Hebrew Ramah, a variant of Ramoth
  4. 2 Kings 9:8 Or Israel—every ruler or leader

Cross references:

  1. 2 Kings 8:1 : 2Ki 4:8-37
  2. 2 Kings 8:1 : S Lev 26:26; S Dt 28:22; S Ru 1:1
  3. 2 Kings 8:1 : S Ge 12:10
  4. 2 Kings 8:5 : 2Ki 4:35
  5. 2 Kings 8:7 : S 2Sa 8:5
  6. 2 Kings 8:7 : S 2Ki 6:24
  7. 2 Kings 8:8 : 1Ki 19:15
  8. 2 Kings 8:8 : S Ge 32:20; S 1Sa 9:7
  9. 2 Kings 8:8 : S Jdg 18:5
  10. 2 Kings 8:10 : Isa 38:1
  11. 2 Kings 8:11 : S Jdg 3:25
  12. 2 Kings 8:11 : Lk 19:41
  13. 2 Kings 8:12 : S 1Ki 19:17
  14. 2 Kings 8:12 : Ps 137:9; Isa 13:16; Hos 13:16; Na 3:10; Lk 19:44
  15. 2 Kings 8:12 : S Ge 34:29
  16. 2 Kings 8:12 : 2Ki 15:16; Am 1:13
  17. 2 Kings 8:13 : S 1Sa 17:43; S 2Sa 3:8
  18. 2 Kings 8:13 : 1Ki 19:15
  19. 2 Kings 8:15 : S 2Ki 1:17
  20. 2 Kings 8:16 : 8:16-24pp — 2Ch 21:5-10, 20
  21. 2 Kings 8:16 : S 2Ki 1:17
  22. 2 Kings 8:16 : 2Ch 21:1-4
  23. 2 Kings 8:18 : ver 26; 2Ki 11:1
  24. 2 Kings 8:19 : S Ge 6:13
  25. 2 Kings 8:19 : S 2Sa 21:17; Rev 21:23
  26. 2 Kings 8:20 : S 1Ki 22:47
  27. 2 Kings 8:22 : Ge 27:40
  28. 2 Kings 8:22 : S Nu 33:20; Jos 21:13; 2Ki 19:8
  29. 2 Kings 8:25 : 8:25-29pp — 2Ch 22:1-6
  30. 2 Kings 8:25 : 2Ki 9:29
  31. 2 Kings 8:26 : S ver 18
  32. 2 Kings 8:26 : 1Ki 16:23
  33. 2 Kings 8:27 : 1Ki 16:30
  34. 2 Kings 8:27 : 1Ki 15:26
  35. 2 Kings 8:28 : S Dt 4:43; 2Ki 9:1, 14
  36. 2 Kings 8:29 : 1Ki 21:29; 2Ki 9:21
  37. 2 Kings 8:29 : 1Ki 19:15, 17
  38. 2 Kings 8:29 : 2Ki 10:13
  39. 2 Kings 9:1 : S 1Sa 10:5
  40. 2 Kings 9:1 : S 1Ki 18:46
  41. 2 Kings 9:1 : S 1Sa 10:1
  42. 2 Kings 9:1 : S 2Ki 8:28
  43. 2 Kings 9:3 : 1Ki 19:16
  44. 2 Kings 9:6 : 1Ki 19:16
  45. 2 Kings 9:7 : S Ge 4:24; S Rev 6:10
  46. 2 Kings 9:7 : S Dt 32:43
  47. 2 Kings 9:7 : S 1Ki 18:4
  48. 2 Kings 9:8 : 2Ki 10:17
  49. 2 Kings 9:8 : S 1Sa 25:22
  50. 2 Kings 9:9 : S 1Ki 13:34; S 14:10
  51. 2 Kings 9:9 : 1Ki 16:3
  52. 2 Kings 9:10 : S 1Ki 21:23
  53. 2 Kings 9:11 : S 1Sa 10:11; S Jn 10:20
  54. 2 Kings 9:13 : Mt 21:8; Lk 19:36
  55. 2 Kings 9:13 : S 2Sa 15:10
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Acts 16:16-40

Paul and Silas in Prison

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer,(A) we were met by a female slave who had a spirit(B) by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God,(C) who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.(D)

19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money(E) was gone, they seized Paul and Silas(F) and dragged(G) them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar(H) 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans(I) to accept or practice.”(J)

22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.(K) 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer(L) was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.(M)

25 About midnight(N) Paul and Silas(O) were praying and singing hymns(P) to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.(Q) At once all the prison doors flew open,(R) and everyone’s chains came loose.(S) 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.(T) 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.(U) 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”(V)

31 They replied, “Believe(W) in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved(X)—you and your household.”(Y) 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night(Z) the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.(AA) 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he(AB) was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” 36 The jailer(AC) told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”(AD)

37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens,(AE) and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.(AF) 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.(AG) 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house,(AH) where they met with the brothers and sisters(AI) and encouraged them. Then they left.

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Psalm 143

Psalm 143

A psalm of David.

Lord, hear my prayer,(A)
listen to my cry for mercy;(B)
in your faithfulness(C) and righteousness(D)
come to my relief.
Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one living is righteous(E) before you.
The enemy pursues me,
he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in the darkness(F)
like those long dead.(G)
So my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within me is dismayed.(H)
I remember(I) the days of long ago;
I meditate(J) on all your works
and consider what your hands have done.
I spread out my hands(K) to you;
I thirst for you like a parched land.[a]

Answer me quickly,(L) Lord;
my spirit fails.(M)
Do not hide your face(N) from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,(O)
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way(P) I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.(Q)
Rescue me(R) from my enemies,(S) Lord,
for I hide myself in you.
10 Teach me(T) to do your will,
for you are my God;(U)
may your good Spirit
lead(V) me on level ground.(W)

11 For your name’s sake,(X) Lord, preserve my life;(Y)
in your righteousness,(Z) bring me out of trouble.
12 In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;(AA)
destroy all my foes,(AB)
for I am your servant.(AC)

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 143:6 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
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Proverbs 17:26

26 If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good,(A)
surely to flog honest officials is not right.

Cross references:

  1. Proverbs 17:26 : S Ps 94:21
New International Version (NIV)

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday June 24, 2020 (NIV)

2 Kings 6-7

An Axhead Floats

The company(A) of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.”

And he said, “Go.”

Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?”

“I will,” Elisha replied. And he went with them.

They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!”

The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw(B) it there, and made the iron float. “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.

Elisha Traps Blinded Arameans

Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.”

The man of God sent word to the king(C) of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned(D) the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.

11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”

12 “None of us, my lord the king(E),” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”

13 “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.”(F) 14 Then he sent(G) horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.

15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

16 “Don’t be afraid,”(H) the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more(I) than those who are with them.”

17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots(J) of fire all around Elisha.

18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.”(K) So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.

19 Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.

20 After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.

21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father?(L) Shall I kill them?”

22 “Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those you have captured(M) with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands(N) from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.

Famine in Besieged Samaria

24 Some time later, Ben-Hadad(O) king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege(P) to Samaria. 25 There was a great famine(Q) in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels[a] of silver, and a quarter of a cab[b] of seed pods[c](R) for five shekels.[d]

26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”

27 The king replied, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?” 28 Then he asked her, “What’s the matter?”

She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ 29 So we cooked my son and ate(S) him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him.”

30 When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore(T) his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and they saw that, under his robes, he had sackcloth(U) on his body. 31 He said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today!”

32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders(V) were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Don’t you see how this murderer(W) is sending someone to cut off my head?(X) Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?” 33 While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him.

The king said, “This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait(Y) for the Lord any longer?”

Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah[e] of the finest flour will sell for a shekel[f] and two seahs[g] of barley for a shekel(Z) at the gate of Samaria.”

The officer on whose arm the king was leaning(AA) said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates(AB) of the heavens, could this happen?”

“You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat(AC) any of it!”

The Siege Lifted

Now there were four men with leprosy[h](AD) at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die? If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.”

At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there, for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound(AE) of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired(AF) the Hittite(AG) and Egyptian kings to attack us!” So they got up and fled(AH) in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.

The men who had leprosy(AI) reached the edge of the camp, entered one of the tents and ate and drank. Then they took silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.

Then they said to each other, “What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.”

10 So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, “We went into the Aramean camp and no one was there—not a sound of anyone—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were.” 11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.

12 The king got up in the night and said to his officers, “I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide(AJ) in the countryside, thinking, ‘They will surely come out, and then we will take them alive and get into the city.’”

13 One of his officers answered, “Have some men take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their plight will be like that of all the Israelites left here—yes, they will only be like all these Israelites who are doomed. So let us send them to find out what happened.”

14 So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, “Go and find out what has happened.” 15 They followed them as far as the Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight.(AK) So the messengers returned and reported to the king. 16 Then the people went out and plundered(AL) the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of the finest flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel,(AM) as the Lord had said.

17 Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died,(AN) just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. 18 It happened as the man of God had said to the king: “About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”

19 The officer had said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates(AO) of the heavens, could this happen?” The man of God had replied, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!” 20 And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Kings 6:25 That is, about 2 pounds or about 920 grams
  2. 2 Kings 6:25 That is, probably about 1/4 pound or about 100 grams
  3. 2 Kings 6:25 Or of doves’ dung
  4. 2 Kings 6:25 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams
  5. 2 Kings 7:1 That is, probably about 12 pounds or about 5.5 kilograms of flour; also in verses 16 and 18
  6. 2 Kings 7:1 That is, about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams; also in verses 16 and 18
  7. 2 Kings 7:1 That is, probably about 20 pounds or about 9 kilograms of barley; also in verses 16 and 18
  8. 2 Kings 7:3 The Hebrew for leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin; also in verse 8.
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Acts 15:36-16:15

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas

36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns(A) where we preached the word of the Lord(B) and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark,(C) with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them(D) in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas(E) and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.(F) 41 He went through Syria(G) and Cilicia,(H) strengthening the churches.(I)

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra,(J) where a disciple named Timothy(K) lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer(L) but whose father was a Greek. The believers(M) at Lystra and Iconium(N) spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.(O) As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders(P) in Jerusalem(Q) for the people to obey.(R) So the churches were strengthened(S) in the faith and grew daily in numbers.(T)

Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia(U) and Galatia,(V) having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.(W) When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus(X) would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.(Y) During the night Paul had a vision(Z) of a man of Macedonia(AA) standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we(AB) got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel(AC) to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

11 From Troas(AD) we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi,(AE) a Roman colony and the leading city of that district[a] of Macedonia.(AF) And we stayed there several days.

13 On the Sabbath(AG) we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira(AH) named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart(AI) to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household(AJ) were baptized,(AK) she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Footnotes:

  1. Acts 16:12 The text and meaning of the Greek for the leading city of that district are uncertain.
New International Version (NIV)

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Psalm 142

Psalm 142[a]

A maskil[b] of David. When he was in the cave.(A) A prayer.

I cry aloud(B) to the Lord;
I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.(C)
I pour out before him my complaint;(D)
before him I tell my trouble.(E)

When my spirit grows faint(F) within me,
it is you who watch over my way.
In the path where I walk
people have hidden a snare for me.
Look and see, there is no one at my right hand;
no one is concerned for me.
I have no refuge;(G)
no one cares(H) for my life.

I cry to you, Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,(I)
my portion(J) in the land of the living.”(K)

Listen to my cry,(L)
for I am in desperate need;(M)
rescue me(N) from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong(O) for me.
Set me free from my prison,(P)
that I may praise your name.(Q)
Then the righteous will gather about me
because of your goodness to me.(R)

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 142:1 In Hebrew texts 142:1-7 is numbered 142:2-8.
  2. Psalm 142:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Proverbs 17:24-25

24 A discerning person keeps wisdom in view,
but a fool’s eyes(A) wander to the ends of the earth.

25 A foolish son brings grief to his father
and bitterness to the mother who bore him.(B)

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

06/24/2020 DAB Transcript

2 Kings 6:1-7:20, Acts 15:36-16:15, Psalms 142:1-7, Proverbs 17:24-25

Today is the 24th day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it’s wonderful to be here with you today as we move through the center of another week and just keep one foot in front of the other taking step-by-step day by day and continuing our journey in community through the Bible. I mentioned yesterday to mark your calendars for the 7th of July which is the long walk and I have some things to share about that at the end, a brand-new resource coming on the 7th of July tailored for some of the time that we spend on the long walk. So, we’ll talk about that in a little bit. But let’s do what we come here to do. Let’s get into the Scriptures. We will pick up where we left off yesterday, which is what we do every day. We’re ion the book of second Kings in the Old Testament and we are journeying alongside the prophet Elisha, which is what we will continue to do today. Second Kings, chapters 6 and 7. And we’re reading from the New International Version this week.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the book of second Kings we are a kind of traveling the journey of the prophet Elisha. And, so, some pretty significant, amazing, miraculous things happen in today’s reading like an axe head floating or Elisha informing the king of Israel that the king of Aram was attempting to…like what kind of traps he was setting. And…and the entire city, like trying to find Elisha and surrounding the entire city of Dothan only for Elisha to say there’s more with us than are with them and asking the Lord to strike the Army blind, which was not…obviously was not like blindness that they couldn’t see. It was like a…a cloud. They were blinded so that Elisha could go like, “hey, he’s not here, the one you’re looking for, but like, let me take you to him” and their just following along right into the capital city of Israel, which is Samaria and just turning them loose after feeding them. So, significant things today but…but then Samaria, the city is again surrounded and besieged by Ben-Hadad king of Aram again and this lasts. So, they surround Samaria and…and basically cut it off and then begin to starve the people. And that’s kind of one of the war tactics of walled cities at this time, just wait it out. Basically, nobody can get out and no supplies can get in. So, open the gates and let us in and nobody has to get hurt or keep your gates closed and we’ll just wait until you’re all dead and then we’ll come in. This goes on so long that Samaria really is starving. Like it’s gotten to the point that people are eating each other. So, that’s pretty bad starvation indeed. And, so, the king, he’s just had it with this prophet Elisha and he’s goona kill him because this famine is from the Lord. That’s what he believes. And, so, “I’m gonna…like, we’re not waiting anymore.” And, so, he’s gonna just be done with the Lord by killing the Lord’s prophet. And Elisha’s like, “you know, tomorrow…by this time tomorrow, every…like everything will change. There will be an abundance of resources to feed us. And, of course, that’s pretty hard to believe. And people say that’s pretty hard to believe, but in the end there’s some leprous people outside the city that go to the army camp thinking like, “we’re dead no matter what”. Like their, “the best option to live is to go surrender to the enemy because of we’re dead…I mean…we’re dead no matter what. And they find that the camp is empty, and supplies are plentiful. And, so, the heat and they start hiding things and it’s just this crazy scene. And you have to imagine, like put yourself in this position. You have been surrounded by the enemy for a very, very long time so that you are starving. And, so, you…you realize you’re gonna perish no matter what you do, but if you would go over to the enemy camp, maybe…I mean, like maybe they would actually feed you but what you find is there’s an abundance waiting. Like there is no enemy surrounding the city anymore. Well, after a while of them going…going in the tents and getting stuff they want and eating whatever they want they realize it’s not right that we do this. In fact, I’m quoting from second Kings here. This is what they said, “what we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves.” Are you starting to track with me here? Like, we can look at this story and go, “these are…this this is the life and times of the prophet Elisha”, but then we look behind the story we find a mirror because weren’t we trapped, weren’t we surrounded spiritually as it were? Weren’t we starving to death, weren’t we willing to feed on whatever was around before freedom came into our lives? And then at…at some point the lights went on. We met Jesus and looked about us and realized that the reality we thought we were living in is different. We weren’t surrounded. The enemy had fled, and we were unaware, and we feasted on the good things of the Lord. But we do have to reach a point where we realize it’s not right to hoard this. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. We’re not the only ones free here. Victory over the darkness is available to anyone now. And maybe these leprous men who went into the Aramaean cam teach us a significant lesson about our own lives. Maybe there are people still starving, feeling surrounded and trapped, feeding on each other when freedom is completely available if someone would tell them.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into that. Yes, yes we’re talking about sharing the good news and we go to all kinds of places and all kinds of methods and everything but that’s really not the point. The…the point is that we are supposed to be living in this freedom and when we see people surrounded and in bondage and dying spiritually, we should have the same awareness that these leprous men had. We’re not doing the right thing by hording everything. This is a day of freedom. This is a day of good news. We can’t just keep this to ourselves. So, come Holy Spirit. Show us how to live in the light so that everything that we do is light and life and good news. And sometimes we say it with words and sometimes it’s with a smile to a stranger whose having an awful time of things and just a moment of kindness brought the kingdom to them. And we…we didn’t even know it. We were just aware. We were just kind. We were just Christ like. Come Holy Spirit and show us how to live like this in the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website and home base and where you find out what’s going on around here.

And what’s coming up is July 7th, which is our own little community celebration or our own little holiday that we have for ourselves. And we call it the long walk and it happens every July 7th and it is exactly what it sounds like. We…of course…we can’t all gather together and go for a long walk. We’re all over the world, but we can all do it on the same day and it’s the center of the year and it’s, like I said yesterday, been a heck of a year so far. So, this is more necessary than ever that we carve out some time, that we carve out a day and try to disrupt the routines that are dragging us and go somewhere beautiful and drink in the life that is happening all around us that God is giving us moment by moment just to become aware of His presence through the beauty of nature and to go for a long walk and finally have the time to not be rushed, to not be rushed with God or anything else, to just be able to say everything that needs to be said and to listen because the Lord has so much. You…He’s…He’s been trying to say, has been waiting to say. And this is a time to just devote ourselves to listening to what He has to say about the second half of our year. Like how should we point ourselves? Where should we go? How should we head? And listen for his direction. So, that’s the long walk and that is that two weeks from yesterday. So, the 7th of July.

But I’m I mentioned yesterday, and I mentioned at the beginning today, there’s a new resource that’s coming. This resource is called “Heart”. And the…well…I’ll tell you why it matters to the long walk in a minute, but first let me just tell you the story. I mean so many of the resources that…that we create and develop here, they…they take a long time. So, like I’ve written several books but you don’t just sit down one day in front of a word processer…processor and go like, “alright…I’m ready to go. I’m gonna write …write a book.” You might do that, but if you get past the first page…yeah…you…it's…it’s a process of contemplation of research of thinking of living into of understanding of trying to get clarity on what you’re trying to say it. It’s…it’s a long process that takes years sometimes. So, like in the case of the God of Your Story, which is the latest resource that we’ve…we released…yeah…that took several years to write but it took 12 years of Daily Audio Bible to sort of like live into So, some of these resources take a very long time. And this one took several years. It was four years ago this month I was traveling around speaking about Sneezing Jesus and my mom had not been well but she became quite ill and this had been coming on to the point that it was really necessary for my brother and I to be involved and that very, very quickly became a seven day a week involvement and she was kind of sliding. I mean she had a lot of things going on, congestive heart failure and diabetes, and some incontinence issues that were…that were bringing on kind of repetitive UTIs. And those of you who have kind of been with…been with, especially people who are beginning to age and UTIs…I didn’t know anything about this, but…yeah…you can just really start…becoming incoherent with that infection. And, so, these things are going on and then finally just understanding that dementia, actually really fast-moving dementia was setting in. So, a super, super trying time that ended with her passing away on the 13th January of the next year, which was 2017. And those of you who have been around for a few years, you were there. And I thank you for walking through that with me. That was really, really hard. I mean still hard to this very day. And, so…so, that’s kind of the beginning of the story and then after she passed away it took some time to just…grief…get some counseling, get some…some voices in my life and walk through…because it…it rocked me. I’m like I’m still rocked because it was a situation where was really trying to do everything right and it still didn’t end up well, you know. And, so, just kind of questioning a lot of things that I…you know…I’m still working through with the Lord, not in a bad way. Like it’s catapulted me, to opened my eyes to see in a lot of ways but not to just kind of relive that story, that was just sort of the beginning of things and a couple months later, I guess is when I began this project, Heart. And many…many of you…many of you know I have a music industry background and that’s where I come from, and that I migrated from there into ministry here. And, so, you know, I kind of speak that language, I speak the language of music. It’s what I did for a living. And sometimes those of you who are musicians you will understand very…very well what I’m saying. Sometimes words can’t say what needs to be said. Sometimes…sometimes it’s just silence because there isn’t anything to say. And then…but for me anyway, sometimes I can sit down in front of piano and I can say what I need to say without words by just…by just playing. And that’s just what I started doing and that often is the beginning of something. And, so, I just began to compose how I was feeling, and I began to explore specific things. Like if I’m dealing with the loss or if I’m dealing with having to persevere or if I’m dealing with my hope being deferred and…and feeling sick inside and wondering where my hope has gone or wondering how to move forward or just contemplating the bittersweet nature of things. How that, you know, for every wonderful thing that we are given we also need to release something, like it just kind of moves through our hands and that’s the nature of things and how to live with that. I just began speaking in music to myself. Like, I would ask myself, “okay this is what I’m feeling right now. And what does that sound like? What is…how can I play this and experience that emotion through melody?” And, so, over the course of the next couple of years very, very slowly I composed pieces that were speaking to exactly the kinds of things that I was going through. And I thought, “you know, well, I’ll get these songs done and then we’ll use them in the Daily Audio Bible. I mean, like what's…what’s in the background right now, like this music that’s playing in the background right now comes from the Promised Land films and it came the same way. That whole project started because I got dust really really bad dust in my eyes in the desert in Jordan when we were in Israel many years ago. And by the time I got back to the United States I had an eye infection. I couldn’t see very well. And, so, I just began to play, you know, just began to speak how I…I could. And that became the same…same kind of story here. And I thought I would get several compositions done and just make them available and we would use them. But I began, like it was my custom of the time to go for a nightly walk and walk for an hour or an hour and a half maybe even two hours sometimes and just try to find a serene place in my life. A lot was going on - trying to write the God of your story, trying to do develop a farm that we have and just a lot of work. And I began it to walk but I would walk with these compositions in my earphones. And I began to pray. I began to pray about those specific emotions that I was feeling and that became kind of a nightly thing. And I realized this is really helping me. Like, I am praying what I feel, I am opening myself to God and then I am allowing the melodies to wash over me so that I could just, in silence, experience the emotion and experience the presence of God in it all. So, then I took a step back and I thought, “well…it’s a very, very personal thing, but I don’t think that these things that I’ve been experiencing in my life are solitary to me. I think these are things that we all experience.” And, so, I started thinking, “maybe this is more than just music. Maybe this is something that is like guided prayer, like we would pray together and then do exactly that. Let the music wash in and speak to the things that are beyond words and be silent as the melodies wash over us so that we’re not just filling the room. We’re filling the atmosphere with our own words but we’re being silent and becoming aware with the presence of God.” That is Heart. Heart, a contemplative journey. And that is finally gonna see the light of day and it will become available on the 7th of July. And that’s why it makes so much sense for the long walk. It's…I mean just to go into that journey and being able to just open up our hearts to God for a little while in a…in a guided way and just allowing music to speak to us and open us up as we’re walking with God and then to just listen…just to listen to Him. So, that's…that’s what’s coming - this brand-new resource, Heart, a contemplative journey. And it’s available for preorder now. So, you can get it on iTunes or Apple music, or you can get it on Google Play or wherever it is that you get your music. One little thing about this particular project is that it's…at this point it’s not on streaming services. You can purchase it. And kind here’s why. These prayers, like if it…if it’s streamable then these prayers can be disembodied from, you know, from their associated compositions and music and stuff and so they’re just they’re just like random. And I thought that would be just such a strange thing in a streaming environment. So, you can buy Heart, just look for Heart, H E A R T or look for my name, Brian Hardin, and look for the album Heart and you can preorder it now in preparation for the seventh of July. And, of course, the resources that…that come into the Daily Audio Bible because of…of this recording…they…they throw logs on the Global Campfire. And that's…that’s what it’s for. And, so, it’s available for preorder now and I…I appreciate your partnership and support in this project. When we release a resource and it becomes visible then it just draws more and more people into our community here around the Global Campfire. So, heart is available for preorder now and will become available for full release on the 7th of July just in time for the long walk.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage, and I thank you humbly, gratefully your partnership as we move through summertime. 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 encouragement you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

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

06/23/2020 DAB Transcript

2 Kings 4:18-5:27, Acts 15:1-35, Psalms 141:1-10, Proverbs 17:23

Today is the 23rd day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is awesome to be here with you today around the Global Campfire as we just kind of exhale, release the stresses and all of the stuff that just builds up and it’s just chaos sometimes…we just release all that for a few minutes and just come into this oasis around the Global campfire and…ahh…exhale and allow God’s word to speak to us today. So, in the Old Testament we’re in the book of second Kings and we will spend our time alongside the prophet Elisha and then we will flip over into the New Testament and in the book of Acts today we will be encountering the…the most poignant foundational impactful decision that the early church really needed to face and come to terms with. And the implications are far reaching but we’ll get to that soon enough. First, we’re reading from the New International Version this week. Second Kings 4:18 through 5:27.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we kinda mentioned at the beginning that…that…that what was happening in the book of Acts today was really big, monumental pivotal shift. And this is known as the Council at Jerusalem or the Jerusalem Council or the first church council, like where…where church leaders had to come together and actually consider and even debate and wrestle with and invite God into a decision because they had reached a…a point where they needed the guidance of the Holy Spirit because things were not adding up. Basically, what was happening is what we’ve alluded to in the past, Jesus the Savior was a Hebrew human being. Although God made flesh, He was a Jew and He grew up Jewish. And, so, when he began His ministry the context for this ministry was Jewish and it was centered around the Hebrew Scriptures and the Hebrew prophets. Like the whole thing was based on the Hebrew story. And, so, that’s how He did His ministry and that’s mostly who He did His ministry among. So, Hebrew people who had put their faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the Hebrew Messiah, they…it was not in their mind that they were converting to a different religion or like that they were leaving the traditions of their lives that they had grown up immersed in and needed to find completely different ways of doing things. It was just assumed that Jesus is a Hebrew rabbi, He’s commenting on the Hebrew Scriptures, He’s attending the Hebrew festivals, He’s doing things in synagogues. Like this is…is a Hebrew context. Nothing’s changing here. Then Gentiles began to believe, and God began to affirm the Gentiles belief through the affirmation of the Holy Spirit. I mean we can be like 2000 years in the future right here in 2020 and go like, “man, what does that got to do with me? And why? You know, like, it just doesn’t make sense that they would be arguing about this.” But this is huge. Like what we’re seeing today changed the complexion of the faith. So, some Hebrew believers that gone to Antioch and they were teaching about Jesus, but the message of conversion or like the good news message was, “convert to Judaism. Follow the Hebrew customs. Be circumcised. And then you can follow Jesus. But until you come in through that gate…like until you come in and are circumcised and the whole thing, you can’t follow Christ.” That was very troubling to the Gentile people that wanted to follow Jesus and it was very troubling to Paul and Barnabas to the point that this Jerusalem Council came to be. And the central question was, “are Gentiles permitted to be in this faith in Christ, or is this a Hebrew only thing?” In other words, who gets to be in? So, Peter weighs in and talks about the vision that he had about clean and unclean. He talks about going to Cornelius’s house, a Gentile military man of Rome, and how the Holy Spirit fell upon the entire family and affirmed that He was accepting them in the same way that the Holy Spirit moved upon the Hebrew believers while at the same time, there were others in the church, church leaders, arguing, “no. This is a Hebrew thing. Jesus was a Hebrew person and His own commentary was in a Hebrew context. So, that…that’s how people have to understand Him. That’s how they have to…that’s how they have to come in. That’s how they get in.” And you see why it would need to be a counsel because these are valid things to consider on both sides. And in the end as they come together, hear all of the different testimony, including the testimony of Paul and Barnabas, it becomes apparent. The decision is made because they can see or sense that it’s not them that are making a decision, it’s God who has already chosen to accept Gentiles. And why heap upon them the Mosaic law when the Hebrew people have not even been…not been able to figure out or adhere to it pretty much ever. So, then the thought is like, you know, “to a person who hasn’t grown up in this or has no understanding of this, why do they need to be saddled with this when Christ has come to make them free?” And, so, they give them a very few basic things that they need to adhere to, like don’t eat the meat of sacrificed animals to idols and stay away from blood and…and…and stay away from sexual immorality. But…but other than that, “welcome to the family”, basically. “Welcome. And God is doing a new thing and we…we have to acknowledge and see it. So, welcome.” And they sent two people back to affirm this in word and they sent a letter back which we read today. This shifts things dramatically in the church because now everyone…everyone is welcome, all who call upon the name of the Lord. Everyone can be saved no matter who they are, no matter where they are, no matter how they are. It’s a big deal. It’s a big deal that’s called good news. But this good news, like we’ll see this the rest of the year as we continue through the New Testament, especially as we get into the letters. This decision right here causes monumental problems on a lot of different levels. For starters, just the Roman empire itself. The Roman Empire itself let you at the time worship whatever God you wanted or whatever gods you wanted. Like you had the religious freedom to worship whatever gods you wanted to honor however you wanted to. But you had to revere the gods of Rome, the gods of the Empire. You had to revere the gods who made Rome great. And, you know, especially like observe the national festivals and stuff like this. And if you didn’t do that that’s gonna be a problem because the people that you live among, your own nation, your own people would see you unwilling to participate in national celebrations and there's…like this time there’s not something called the separation of church and state. Like sacred and secular weren’t compartmentalized. So, if you’re not involved in what’s national and even honoring the national well then, it’s very easy to think that you are anti-Empire you are anti-Roman. And I think we’ve…I think we’ve experienced enough in the Scriptures to get the sense that that’s probably not a good idea if you want to stay well and alive. So, the interesting thing is that the Hebrew people were part of the Roman Empire as well, but their worship of the one true God, right, the God of Israel, the one who had chosen them and set them apart, that predated Rome vastly. They were a very, very ancient people with a very ancient religion. And, so they kinda had…they kinda had a pass. Like it was understood what they were doing and why they were doing it even though it was marginalizing them in the Empire. But for the most part they didn’t care about that because they were separatists, they were exclusive other than the fact that the marginalization was oppressing them. So, they were being oppressed by the Romans and that’s the environment that Jesus came into. But they didn’t have to do all this Roman God worship and stuff. Up until this point, the Christians, because they…they weren’t really called that, they were followers of Jesus or followers of The Way of Jesus the Hebrew teacher. Up until this point kind of the assumption was, “well…He…Jesus was a Hebrew and He was a rabbi. And, so, like this is part of the Hebrew religion.” And, so, they, the early believers, gotta pass as well. They didn’t have to do any of the other worship. But then this decision gets made at the Jerusalem Council, where now Gentiles have completely different rules about coming into the faith and now all the sudden the law of Moses doesn’t have to be adhered to in the way that is traditional and the teachings of Paul are kind of contrary and he’s being labeled a heretic. And, so, now all the sudden this isn’t under the protection of the Jewish religion anymore. The Jews are rejecting it and are being vocal about it saying they have nothing to do with us. So, now believers in Jesus are kind of out there because it’s like this is a new religion. And you gotta be on board with the gods that made the Empire great. You gotta be on board with being Roman if you’re gonna be here. If you’re gonna be here you gotta be here and do what we do. So, that makes things difficult because now the Jewish people want to oppress the…the believers in Jesus, the Christians as well as the Empire. So, there’s like no place to go. And over time this gets really really difficult and we will read through some of those difficulties as we go through the rest of the New Testament, but because of all of this climate that’s being formed here we’re gonna see a theme. And there’s one word that defines this theme, “endure.” It’s not particularly our favorite word. It’s probably not particularly our favorite action or posture, but we will see the church to survive, like to survive had to learn to endure. And we will see that that has a role to play in our lives as well.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for all that…all that you teach, all that you reveal, all that you snap into place for us as we move through the Scriptures. And as we continue to learn both in our minds and our brains but also as we continue to grow in our hearts, we invite your Holy Spirit to be ever present and lead us into all truth. This is our kind of perpetual request. We…we ask it a lot but it…it’s necessary. We want to walk in the truth, and you are the truth. And, so, we want to walk with you and we are like sheep and we do go astray and we need a shepherd and you have come to comfort and guide us. And, so, we surrender to that. We rest in the flow of that. We allow you to lead us forward. Come Holy Spirit into all of this we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, it’s you know, home base, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here. There are some things coming up that are going on around here. So, talk a little bit today and…and even more tomorrow about it.

So, two weeks from today is kind of our own Daily Audio Bible family holiday, I guess. It’s a tradition that we have had for well over a decade now and we call it “the long walk” and that takes place every 7th of July. And it’s something that we do together as a community, even though we’re…we’re doing it alone. And it’s designed to be that way. So, we’re kind of alone together which is so strange because this has been a tradition we’ve had for well over a decade like I said, but in this kind of era of social distancing, yeah, we have this event that is…that fits perfectly. Like we don’t have to modify anything. So, the long walk is self-explanatory, a long walk. Every July 7th we…we try to take the day off if we can and just go somewhere beautiful, whether near or far. Just kind of pick a park or a place or a trail or a region or just wherever, whether you drive for several hours which some people do, or whether you just go down the street. Find somewhere beautiful. Find a place to find stillness and go for a long walk with God. And it’s remarkable what that can do to change the entire complexion of the week and really the trajectory of the year. We find ourselves approaching the center of the year in the middle of our journey through the Bible and if you haven’t been under a rock, which I assume none of you have, the first half of this year has been exciting and unusual. It’s been very very different. And we’ve had to think about, contemplate and endure things that we never really…that were never categories per se, some of them of long-running things…but there’s been unrest, there’s been disruption. This is a time to re-center ourselves to actually take a day and say, “I need to get alone with God. Whatever it takes I need to get quiet and still before God. There’s a lot I need to say that I haven’t had time to say. And, frankly, I haven’t even been listening that well. And the Lord has a lot to say that I haven’t been listening for.” And, so, we just take a day out of the year in the middle of the year to restart the second half of the year and just go for a long walk with God. And just knowing that even though we’re doing it alone, we’re not doing it alone. Our brothers and sisters all over the world are doing it as well. And then we make it kind of a community event by just saying, “wherever you go, whatever you do, wherever you go on your long walk, take a picture.” I mean you’re probably gonna carry your phone with you. Maybe you could put it on do not disturb for a few hours or whatever but take a picture of where you go or take a little video of where you are and what you’re doing and then you can kind of post that as a comment to the Daily Audio Bible and then we’ll post it up on the Daily Audio Bible page and all the sudden these windows start opening up. Like we get these glimpses into the beauty of the world all over the world, but also glimpses of the beauty of each other in community just knowing that we’re really doing this and we’re really doing this together. And, so, that’s the long walk and that is coming up two weeks from today. So, I mention it now just so we can begin to make preparations and plans because…well…those of you have been on long walks in the past because we’ve been doing this for…I don’t know…I think this is thirteen years, I think. So, many of you have been on…on long walks before and could say, “yeah that is a re-centering, a necessary re-centering of the year. That does make a difference.” In fact, most people I talk with are like, “this needs… you know…this needs to be once a month. Like this needs to be something that we do often.” But here at the Daily Audio Bible we do this together each July 7th. So, make plans for that. And then tomorrow I’m gonna tell you about a new resource that is releasing and coming…becoming available on the 7th of July, tailor made for part of the long walk journey. And I’ll explain that tomorrow. We’ve been kind of talking for a long time about the Jerusalem Council and stuff. So, I’ll wait and share that more tomorrow. But make plans for the long walk July 7th, two weeks from today.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage. I am profoundly humbled and in awe of the community that we have. And we have it because we’re in it together. And, so, thank you for your partnership. 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 encouragement you can dial 877-942-4253 or you can just hit the Hotline button in the app and begin to share from there, the little red button up at the top.

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:

Hi everybody this is Lawrence in California it is June 17th. I just heard Adrian’s call from June 12th. Adrian is having a hard time focusing on things that she has to study to advance in her work and it’s really driven her downwards is wat it sounds like. Adrian, you said that you were happy that everybody would just listen to you prattle or you hoped that people would be okay with your prattling on. Adrian, it’s fine. I was happy to hear you prattle. These are hard times and I admire your courage. I admire that you have called in to join in with us and I will pray for you that things take a better turn. And don’t think of yourself as an idiot. Okay? Take care. Bye-bye for now.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family this is Denise and this is Ephesians chapter 2 starting with verse 14. Gracious heavenly father I pray over the Daily Audio Bible family. I pray over Asia from Chicago. I pray over Virginia from Dallas. I pray over Kingdom Seeker Daniel and Vincent and Lady a Victory and Father everyone whose voice whether prayed on the prayer line or prayed in silence who is grappling with racism in their heart and their place of being a solution here in Your world Father. I affirm that You are a peace, I affirm that You have made all groups one and that You have torn down the dividing wall of hostility between us for in Your son’s flesh Father He has made no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations that would divide us. Father, I ask that You might create one new people from the dividing parts two resulting in peace Father. And I know that You will do this so that You might reconcile us to You as in one body through the cross that Your son hung on by which He put hostility to death Father. And I ask in this prayer that we are able to proclaim the good news of peace to those who are near and to those who are far. For Father through Jesus we want everyone to know that we have both access in one Spirit to You and that we are no longer foreigners and strangers but brothers and sisters who are in love with each other who pray for each other who respect each other who can hear each other honestly and still love through whatever would make us different Father because difference is beauty. You’ve made us all different. We celebrate that Father. We are citizens with the saints and members of Your household built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets with Jesus Christ himself as the cornerstone Father. And, so, I ask in this prayer that the whole building being put together be larger grow through this strife and grow into a holy temple for You Father. And I ask this in Your Son’s matchless in mighty name. Amen.

Hi this is Rachel from Pennsylvania. I ask that you guys just lift up my brother and sister Laura and Stephen. I’m praying for their salvation just praying that they find God and that they find a personal relationship with Him. I had some time to talk with them today and I just…I was praying for God to…to help lead me and guide my words but I just felt attacked and I just…they said a lot of things that were hard to hear about religion. And I tried to explain to them that this is not about religion, but they don’t understand because they’re…they haven’t listen to the DAB and they’re not part of the community and they just don’t get it yet. I just pray that they get it one day. So, if you would keep them in prayer I appreciate it. Thanks.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible listeners this is a Elisa Marie from Dinuba. I just finished listening to the podcast for the 16th and I heard Victoria Soldier call in and I love what she said that no matter what they tell us in about what’s going on in our country and in our nation it is righteousness that exalts a nation. And, so, upon that I come in agreement with my sister and everyone else who is praying. We put on father God…we put on the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. We take up the shield of faith where we can quench all the fiery darts of the evil one and above all we take up the sword of the spirit which is your word. Father your word says in Isaiah 54:15 that whoever comes against us it will not be you’re doing father. Whoever comes against us will surrender to us. And right now, we see the spirit of division, we see the spirit of murder, of gang mentality of mob mentality. We see the spirit of the enemy of hatred of dissension, contention and strife and division. We see you and in the blood of Jesus we say no. You stop. You take your dirty hands off of America right now in the mighty name of Jesus. We plead the blood of Jesus over the doorways of America. The entryways of America and the north and the south of the east and the west and we say no. We take authority over you by the mighty name of Jesus and with the spirit of the living God we say you take your dirty hands off of America right now. We speak peace over America. We speak peace we speak truth. May the truth of the living God came forth each and every every believer and we stand together united in the mighty name of Jesus and we say no more, enough is enough. So, you get your dirty hands off of us and we stand for truth for God’s righteousness and we ask that the peace that passes all understanding will come in and govern our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Hi DAB family this is Nate from Washington. I need your prayers. I’ve been struggling with addiction to pornography for the last 15 years. I got to a point 3 years ago where I was faced with the decision to choose my addiction or my wife and three kids. I chose my family thank God. I believe I got the courage to make the right decision because I prayed about it for the first time. For so long I’d been trying to change on my own. I’ve made some great progress since then, but I still keep falling on my face a lot. I started listening to the DAB in January and I get so encouraged by Brian’s passion and everyone’s prayers and voices. I keep telling everybody all about it. I know that putting this out there would be accepting life on God’s terms and not mine. And your prayers help me learn how to talk to God and the DAB has been a lifeline for me ever since I found it. Thank you everyone.

Hello, my dear Daily Audio Bible family. I love you. We are one in Christ. A shout out to Tony the Narrator that what you said so encouraged me about there being only two races and we get to be family. It’s so awesome. We are not just that counterfeit that the world has for unity, which is uniformity, you know everybody being a whole bunch of clones that trying to force everyone to think a certain way and somehow that’s going to cause us to be one. Even Peter and Paul disagreed on things and in the New Testament we’ll see about John Mark that they had their disagreements the early church you know and the rockiness that…that Brian will point out later on and ask like how much more will we have trouble now. But those very diversities are what brings such glory to God when we all come together in unity in Christ and in love and I love it. It’s one of things I treasure about the Daily Audio Bible. I come here and I’m challenged. I’m not in my little echo chamber because of my background or the church I go to or whatever. I come here and I hear differences of opinion because of denomination because of race because of culture because of all these backgrounds and I go, “oh well maybe I should look at that scripture again. Maybe I haven’t been understanding or right. Maybe it’s just my tradition that has made me look at it that way.” And I love that. I love being a missionary through these almost 15 years that we have here serving in Mexico a lot of co-laborers in the gospel, English, Irish, Mexican and Colombian, Canadian, Venezuelan, Navaho, Guatemala, __, Glax, Australians, Asians, I can’t…there’s too many to name all of the different people that we have been working with and we are one in Christ.

Good morning everyone this is Helen in Durham North Carolina. In today’s reading of Psalm 136 I did what you suggested Brian and joined in saying the response “his faithful love endures forever.” And as I did that I thought throughout the earth thousands of voices are saying, “his faithful love endures forever.” It was a powerful thought to me. It is a powerful action against the forces raging against God and His authority. So, I say yes and Amen to this.