The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday October 13, 2020 (NIV)

“Though you are like Gilead^(L) to me,
like the summit of Lebanon,^(M)
I will surely make you like a wasteland,^(N)
like towns not inhabited.
⁷ I will send destroyers^(O) against you,
each man with his weapons,
and they will cut^(P) up your fine cedar beams
and throw them into the fire.^(Q)

¹⁰ Do not weep for the dead^(T) king or mourn^(U) his loss;
rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,
because he will never return^(V)
nor see his native land again.

¹³ “Woe^(Y) to him who builds^(Z) his palace by unrighteousness,
his upper rooms by injustice,
making his own people work for nothing,
not paying^(AA) them for their labor.
¹⁴ He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace^(AB)
with spacious upper rooms.’
So he makes large windows in it,
panels it with cedar^(AC)
and decorates it in red.^(AD)

¹⁵ “Does it make you a king
to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
He did what was right and just,^(AE)
so all went well^(AF) with him.
¹⁶ He defended the cause of the poor and needy,^(AG)
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know^(AH) me?”
declares the Lord.
¹⁷ “But your eyes and your heart
are set only on dishonest gain,^(AI)
on shedding innocent blood^(AJ)
and on oppression and extortion.”^(AK)

“They will not mourn^(AL) for him:
‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
¹⁹ He will have the burial^(AM) of a donkey—
dragged away and thrown^(AN)
outside the gates of Jerusalem.”

²⁰ “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,^(AO)
let your voice be heard in Bashan,^(AP)
cry out from Abarim,^(AQ)
for all your allies^(AR) are crushed.
²¹ I warned you when you felt secure,^(AS)
but you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your way from your youth;^(AT)
you have not obeyed^(AU) me.
²² The wind^(AV) will drive all your shepherds^(AW) away,
and your allies^(AX) will go into exile.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced^(AY)
because of all your wickedness.
²³ You who live in ‘Lebanon,^[b](AZ)’
who are nestled in cedar buildings,
how you will groan when pangs come upon you,
pain^(BA) like that of a woman in labor!

²⁸ Is this man Jehoiachin^(BH) a despised, broken pot,^(BI)
an object no one wants?
Why will he and his children be hurled^(BJ) out,
cast into a land^(BK) they do not know?
²⁹ O land,^(BL) land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!
³⁰ This is what the Lord says:
“Record this man as if childless,^(BM)
a man who will not prosper^(BN) in his lifetime,
for none of his offspring^(BO) will prosper,
none will sit on the throne^(BP) of David
or rule anymore in Judah.”

⁵ “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will raise up for David^[e] a righteous Branch,^(CB)
a King^(CC) who will reign^(CD) wisely
and do what is just and right^(CE) in the land.
⁶ In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.^(CF)
This is the name^(CG) by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.^(CH)

My heart^(CL) is broken within me;
all my bones tremble.^(CM)
I am like a drunken man,
like a strong man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
and his holy words.^(CN)
10 The land is full of adulterers;^(CO)
because of the curse^[f](CP) the land lies parched
and the pastures^(CQ) in the wilderness are withered.^(CR)
The prophets follow an evil course
and use their power unjustly.

¹¹ “Both prophet and priest are godless;^(CS)
even in my temple^(CT) I find their wickedness,”
declares the Lord.
¹² “Therefore their path will become slippery;^(CU)
they will be banished to darkness
and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them
in the year they are punished,^(CV)”
declares the Lord.

¹³ “Among the prophets of Samaria
I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal^(CW)
and led my people Israel astray.^(CX)
14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen something horrible:^(CY)
They commit adultery and live a lie.^(CZ)
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,^(DA)
so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.^(DB)
They are all like Sodom^(DC) to me;
the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”^(DD)

“I will make them eat bitter food
and drink poisoned water,^(DE)
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness^(DF) has spread throughout the land.”

“Do not listen^(DG) to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions^(DH) from their own minds,
not from the mouth^(DI) of the Lord.
¹⁷ They keep saying^(DJ) to those who despise me,
‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’^(DK)
And to all who follow the stubbornness^(DL) of their hearts
they say, ‘No harm^(DM) will come to you.’
¹⁸ But which of them has stood in the council^(DN) of the Lord
to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?
¹⁹ See, the storm^(DO) of the Lord
will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind^(DP) swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.
²⁰ The anger^(DQ) of the Lord will not turn back^(DR)
until he fully accomplishes
the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
you will understand it clearly.

⁵ With one mind they plot together;^(I)
they form an alliance against you—
⁶ the tents of Edom^(J) and the Ishmaelites,
of Moab^(K) and the Hagrites,^(L)
7 Byblos,^(M) Ammon^(N) and Amalek,^(O)
Philistia,^(P) with the people of Tyre.^(Q)
8 Even Assyria^(R) has joined them
to reinforce Lot’s descendants.^[b](S)

⁹ Do to them as you did to Midian,^(T)
as you did to Sisera^(U) and Jabin^(V) at the river Kishon,^(W)
10 who perished at Endor^(X)
and became like dung^(Y) on the ground.
¹¹ Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,^(Z)
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,^(AA)
12 who said, “Let us take possession^(AB)
of the pasturelands of God.”

¹³ Make them like tumbleweed, my God,
like chaff^(AC) before the wind.
¹⁴ As fire consumes the forest
or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,^(AD)
15 so pursue them with your tempest^(AE)
and terrify them with your storm.^(AF)
16 Cover their faces with shame,^(AG) Lord,
so that they will seek your name.

¹⁷ May they ever be ashamed and dismayed;^(AH)
may they perish in disgrace.^(AI)
18 Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord^(AJ)—
that you alone are the Most High^(AK) over all the earth.^(AL)

¹¹ Like apples^[a] of gold in settings of silver^(A)
is a ruling rightly given.
¹² Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold
is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.^(B)

¹³ Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time
is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him;
he refreshes the spirit of his master.^(C)
14 Like clouds and wind without rain
is one who boasts of gifts never given.