The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday January 28, 2019 (NIV)

Exodus 5:22-7:25

22 Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “My Lord, why have you abused this people? Why did you send me for this? 23 Ever since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has abused this people. And you’ve done absolutely nothing to rescue your people.”

God reassures Moses

The Lord replied to Moses, “Now you will see what I’ll do to Pharaoh. In fact, he’ll be so eager to let them go that he’ll drive them out of his land by force.”

God also said to Moses: “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty,[a] but I didn’t reveal myself to them by my name ‘The Lord.’ I also set up my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan where they lived as immigrants. I’ve also heard the cry of grief of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians have turned into slaves, and I’ve remembered my covenant. Therefore, say to the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord. I’ll bring you out from Egyptian forced labor. I’ll rescue you from your slavery to them. I’ll set you free with great power and with momentous events of justice. I’ll take you as my people, and I’ll be your God. You will know that I, the Lord, am your God, who has freed you from Egyptian forced labor. I’ll bring you into the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I’ll give it to you as your possession. I am the Lord.’” Moses told this to the Israelites. But they didn’t listen to Moses, because of their complete exhaustion and their hard labor.

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go and tell Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, to let the Israelites out of his land.”

12 But Moses said to the Lord, “The Israelites haven’t even listened to me. How can I expect Pharaoh to listen to me, especially since I’m not a very good speaker?” 13 Nevertheless, the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, giving them orders to let the Israelites go from the land of Egypt.

Family line of Moses and Aaron

14 These were the leaders of their households.

The descendants of Reuben, Israel’s oldest son: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

These were Reuben’s clans. 15 The Simeonites: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, a Canaanite woman’s son. These were Simeon’s clans.

16 These were the Levites’ names by their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years. 17 The Gershonites: Libni and Shimei and their clans. 18 The Kohathites: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years. 19 The Merarites: Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their generations.

20 Amram married Jochebed, his father’s sister. She gave birth to Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years. 21 The Izharites: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 The Uzzielites: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23 Aaron married Elisheba, Amminadab’s daughter and Nahshon’s sister. She gave birth to Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24 The Korahites: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans. 25 Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of Putiel’s daughters. She gave birth to Phinehas. These were the leaders of Levite households by their clans.

26 It was this same Aaron and Moses whom the Lord commanded, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt in military formation.” 27 It was also this same Moses and Aaron who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

28 At the time the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 the Lord said to him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, everything that I’ve said to you.”

30 But Moses replied to the Lord, “Look, I’m not a very good speaker. How is Pharaoh ever going to listen to me?”

The Lord said to Moses, “See, I’ve made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You will say everything that I command you, and your brother Aaron will tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites out of his land. But I’ll make Pharaoh stubborn, and I’ll perform many of my signs and amazing acts in the land of Egypt. When Pharaoh refuses to listen to you, then I’ll act against Egypt and I’ll bring my people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt in military formation by momentous events of justice. The Egyptians will come to know that I am the Lord, when I act against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.” Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Turning rods into snakes

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Do one of your amazing acts,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your shepherd’s rod and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will turn into a cobra.’”[b]

10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw down his shepherd’s rod in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it turned into a cobra. 11 Then Pharaoh called together his wise men and wizards, and Egypt’s religious experts[c] did the same thing by using their secret knowledge. 12 Each one threw down his rod, and they turned into cobras. But then Aaron’s rod swallowed up each of their rods. 13 However, Pharaoh remained stubborn. He wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

Water into blood

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh is stubborn. He still refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning. As he is going out to the water, make sure you stand at the bank of the Nile River so you will run into him. Bring along the shepherd’s rod that turned into a snake. 16 Say to him, The Lord, the Hebrews’ God, has sent me to you with this message: Let my people go so that they can worship me in the desert. Up to now you still haven’t listened. 17 This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord. I’m now going to hit the water of the Nile River with this rod in my hand, and it will turn into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile are going to die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians won’t be able to drink water from the Nile.” 19 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your shepherd’s rod and stretch out your hand over Egypt’s waters—over their rivers, their canals, their marshes, and all their bodies of water—so that they turn into blood. There will be blood all over the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.’”

20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded. He raised the shepherd’s rod and hit the water in the Nile in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood. 21 The fish in the Nile died, and the Nile began to stink so that the Egyptians couldn’t drink water from the Nile. There was blood all over the land of Egypt. 22 But the Egyptian religious experts did the same thing with their secret knowledge. As a result, Pharaoh remained stubborn, and he wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord had said. 23 Pharaoh turned and went back to his palace. He wasn’t impressed even by this. 24 Meanwhile, all the Egyptians had to dig for drinking water along the banks of the Nile River, because they couldn’t drink the water of the Nile itself. 25 Seven days went by after the Lord had struck the Nile River.

Footnotes:

  1. Exodus 6:3 Heb El Shaddai or God of the Mountain
  2. Exodus 7:9 Or serpent
  3. Exodus 7:11 Or magicians
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Matthew 18:21-19:12

Parable of the unforgiving servant

21 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Should I forgive as many as seven times?”

22 Jesus said, “Not just seven times, but rather as many as seventy-seven times.[a] 23 Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle accounts, they brought to him a servant who owed him ten thousand bags of gold.[b] 25 Because the servant didn’t have enough to pay it back, the master ordered that he should be sold, along with his wife and children and everything he had, and that the proceeds should be used as payment. 26 But the servant fell down, kneeled before him, and said, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I’ll pay you back.’ 27 The master had compassion on that servant, released him, and forgave the loan.

28 “When that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred coins.[c] He grabbed him around the throat and said, ‘Pay me back what you owe me.’

29 “Then his fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I’ll pay you back.’ 30 But he refused. Instead, he threw him into prison until he paid back his debt.

31 “When his fellow servants saw what happened, they were deeply offended. They came and told their master all that happened. 32 His master called the first servant and said, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you appealed to me. 33 Shouldn’t you also have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 His master was furious and handed him over to the guard responsible for punishing prisoners, until he had paid the whole debt.

35 “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you if you don’t forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Teaching about divorce

19 When Jesus finished saying these things, he left Galilee and came to the area of Judea on the east side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them. Some Pharisees came to him. In order to test him, they said, “Does the Law allow a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read that at the beginning the creator made them male and female?[d] And God said, ‘Because of this a man should leave his father and mother and be joined together with his wife, and the two will be one flesh.’[e] So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, humans must not pull apart what God has put together.”

The Pharisees said to him, “Then why did Moses command us to give a divorce certificate and divorce her?[f]

Jesus replied, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because your hearts are unyielding. But it wasn’t that way from the beginning. I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

10 His disciples said to him, “If that’s the way things are between a man and his wife, then it’s better not to marry.”

11 He replied, “Not everybody can accept this teaching, but only those who have received the ability to accept it. 12  For there are eunuchs who have been eunuchs from birth. And there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by other people. And there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs because of the kingdom of heaven. Those who can accept it should accept it.”

Footnotes:

  1. Matthew 18:22 Or seventy times seven
  2. Matthew 18:24 Or ten thousand talanta, an amount equal to the wages for sixty million days
  3. Matthew 18:28 Or one hundred denaria, an amount equal to the wages for one hundred days
  4. Matthew 19:4 Gen 1:27; 5:2
  5. Matthew 19:5 Gen 2:24
  6. Matthew 19:7 Deut 24:1
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Psalm 23

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd.
I lack nothing.
He lets me rest in grassy meadows;
he leads me to restful waters;
he keeps me [a] alive.
He guides me in proper paths
for the sake of his good name.

Even when I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger because you are with me.
Your rod and your staff—
they protect me.

You set a table for me
right in front of my enemies.
You bathe my head in oil;
my cup is so full it spills over!
Yes, goodness and faithful love
will pursue me all the days of my life,
and I will live[b] in the Lord’s house
as long as I live.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 23:3 Or my soul
  2. Psalm 23:6 LXX; MT I will return
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Proverbs 5:22-23

22 The wicked will be caught by their own evil acts,
grabbed by the ropes of their own sin.
23 Those without instruction will die,
misled by their own stupidity.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible