The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday April 7, 2023 (NIV)

Deuteronomy 31:1-32:27

Joshua Takes Moses’s Place

31 Then Moses continued to speak these[a] words to all Israel, saying, “I am now 120 years old;(A) I can no longer act as your leader.[b] The Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’(B) The Lord your God is the one who will cross ahead of you.(C) He will destroy these nations before you, and you will drive them out. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, as the Lord has said.(D) The Lord will deal with them as he did Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and their land when he destroyed them.(E) The Lord will deliver them over to you, and you must do to them exactly as I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous;(F) don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you;(G) he will not leave you or abandon you.”(H)

Moses then summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with[c] this people into the land the Lord swore to give to their ancestors.(I) You will enable them to take possession of it. The Lord is the one who will go before you.(J) He will be with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.(K) Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of debt cancellation,(L) during the Festival of Shelters,(M) 11 when all Israel assembles in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he chooses,(N) you are to read this law aloud before all Israel.(O) 12 Gather the people—men, women, dependents, and the resident aliens within your city gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear(P) the Lord your God and be careful to follow all the words of this law. 13 Then their children(Q) who do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

14 The Lord said to Moses, “The time of your death is now approaching. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting so that I may commission him.” When Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting, 15 the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud,(R) and the cloud stood at the entrance to the tent.(S)

16 The Lord said to Moses, “You are about to rest with your ancestors,(T) and these people will soon prostitute themselves with the foreign gods(U) of the land they are entering. They will abandon me(V) and break the covenant(W) I have made with them. 17 My anger will burn against them on that day;(X) I will abandon them and hide my face from them so that they will become easy prey.(Y) Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day they will say, ‘Haven’t these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us?’ 18 I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. 19 Therefore write down this song(Z) for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites; have them sing it,[d] so that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites. 20 When I bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey,(AA) they will eat their fill(AB) and prosper.[e] They will turn to other gods and worship them, despising me(AC) and breaking my covenant.(AD) 21 And when many troubles and afflictions come to them, this song will testify against them, because[f] their descendants will not have forgotten it. For I know what they are prone to do,[g] even before I bring them into the land I swore to give them.” 22 So Moses wrote down this song on that day and taught it to the Israelites.

23 The Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I swore to them, and I will be with you.”(AE)

Moses Warns the People

24 When Moses had finished writing down on a scroll every single word of this law, 25 he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, 26 “Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God so that it may remain there as a witness against you. 27 For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you are rebelling against the Lord now, while I am still alive, how much more will you rebel after I am dead! 28 Assemble all your tribal elders and officers before me so that I may speak these words directly to them and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them.(AF) 29 For I know that after my death you will become completely corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. Disaster will come to you in the future, because you will do what is evil in the Lord’s sight, angering him with what your hands have made.”(AG) 30 Then Moses recited aloud every single word of this song to the entire assembly of Israel:

Song of Moses

32 Pay attention, heavens, and I will speak;
listen, earth, to the words from my mouth.(AH)
Let my teaching fall like rain
and my word settle like dew,
like gentle rain on new grass
and showers on tender plants.
For I will proclaim the Lord’s name.(AI)
Declare the greatness of our God!
The Rock(AJ)—his work is perfect;
all his ways are just.(AK)
A faithful God,(AL) without bias,
he is righteous and true.

His people have acted corruptly toward him;(AM)
this is their defect[h]—they are not his children
but a devious and crooked generation.(AN)
Is this how you repay the Lord,
you foolish and senseless people?(AO)
Isn’t he your Father and Creator?[i](AP)
Didn’t he make you and sustain you?
Remember the days of old;
consider the years of past generations.
Ask your father, and he will tell you,
your elders, and they will teach you.
When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance[j]
and divided the human race,(AQ)
he set the boundaries of the peoples(AR)
according to the number of the people of Israel.[k]
But the Lord’s portion is his people,
Jacob, his own inheritance.(AS)

10 He found him in a desolate land,
in a barren, howling wilderness;
he surrounded him, cared for him,(AT)
and protected him as the pupil of his eye.(AU)
11 He watches over[l] his nest like an eagle
and hovers over his young;
he spreads his wings, catches him,
and carries him on his feathers.(AV)
12 The Lord alone led him,
with no help from a foreign god.
13 He made him ride on the heights of the land(AW)
and eat the produce of the field.
He nourished him with honey from the rock
and oil from flinty rock,
14 curds from the herd and milk from the flock,
with the fat of lambs,
rams from Bashan,(AX) and goats,
with the choicest grains of wheat;
you drank wine from the finest grapes.[m]

15 Then[n] Jeshurun[o](AY) became fat and rebelled—
you became fat, bloated, and gorged.
He abandoned the God who made him
and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
16 They provoked his jealousy with different gods;
they enraged him with detestable practices.(AZ)
17 They sacrificed to demons, not God,
to gods they had not known,
new gods that had just arrived,
which your ancestors did not fear.(BA)
18 You ignored the Rock who gave you birth;
you forgot the God who gave birth to you.

19 When the Lord saw this, he despised them,
angered by his sons and daughters.
20 He said, “I will hide my face from them;(BB)
I will see what will become of them,
for they are a perverse generation—
unfaithful children.
21 They have provoked my jealousy
with what is not a god;[p]
they have enraged me with their worthless idols.(BC)
So I will provoke their jealousy
with what is not a people;[q]
I will enrage them with a foolish nation.(BD)
22 For fire has been kindled because of my anger
and burns to the depths of Sheol;(BE)
it devours the land and its produce,
and scorches the foundations of the mountains.

23 “I will pile disasters on them;
I will use up my arrows against them.
24 They will be weak from hunger,
ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague;
I will unleash on them wild beasts with fangs,
as well as venomous snakes that slither in the dust.
25 Outside, the sword will take their children,
and inside, there will be terror;
the young man and the young woman will be killed,
the infant and the gray-haired man.(BF)

26 “I would have said: I will cut them to pieces[r]
and blot out the memory of them from mankind,(BG)
27 if I had not feared provocation from the enemy,
or feared that these foes might misunderstand
and say, ‘Our own hand has prevailed;
it wasn’t the Lord who did all this.’”

Footnotes:

  1. 31:1 Some Hb mss, DSS, LXX, Syr, Vg read all these
  2. 31:2 Lit no longer go out or come in
  3. 31:7 Some Hb mss, Sam, Syr, Vg read you will bring
  4. 31:19 Lit Israelites; put it in their mouths
  5. 31:20 Lit be fat
  6. 31:21 Lit because the mouths of
  7. 31:21 Or know the plans they are devising
  8. 32:5 Or him; through their fault; Hb obscure
  9. 32:6 Or Possessor
  10. 32:8 Or Most High divided the nations
  11. 32:8 One DSS reads number of the sons of God; LXX reads number of the angels of God
  12. 32:11 Or He stirs up
  13. 32:14 Lit drank the blood of grapes, fermenting wine
  14. 32:15 DSS, Sam, LXX add Jacob ate his fill;
  15. 32:15 = Upright One, referring to Israel
  16. 32:21 Lit with no gods
  17. 32:21 Lit with no people
  18. 32:26 LXX reads will scatter them

Cross references:

  1. 31:2 : Jos 14:10
  2. 31:2 : Dt 3:27
  3. 31:3 : Ex 23:31; Dt 9:3
  4. 31:3 : Dt 3:28
  5. 31:4 : Nm 21:21–35; Dt 29:6; Jos 2:10
  6. 31:6 : Dt 31:23; Jos 1:6–7,9,18; 10:25
  7. 31:6 : Dt 1:29; 7:21; 20:3
  8. 31:6 : Heb 13:5
  9. 31:7 : Dt 1:8,35; 8:1; 11:9,21; 31:20; Ezk 20:42
  10. 31:8 : Ex 23:23; 32:34; Dt 1:30; Jdg 4:14; Is 52:12
  11. 31:8 : Jos 1:5; 1Ch 28:20; Heb 13:5
  12. 31:10 : Dt 15:1–2
  13. 31:10 : Lv 23:34; Dt 16:3
  14. 31:11 : Dt 12:14; 14:23; 15:20; 16:2; 23:16
  15. 31:10–11 : Jos 8:34; 2Kg 22:8; Neh 8:3,8,18; 9:3; Jr 2:8; Mal 2:1–9
  16. 31:12 : Dt 14:23; 17:19
  17. 31:13 : Dt 4:9–10
  18. 31:15 : Ex 13:21–22; 33:9–10; Ps 99:7
  19. 31:15 : Nm 12:5
  20. 31:16 : Gn 47:30; 2Sm 7:12; 1Kg 2:10; 11:43; 14:20,31
  21. 31:16 : Jr 5:7; 7:9; Hs 3:1
  22. 31:16 : Dt 28:20; Jdg 10:13; 1Sm 8:8; 1Kg 11:33; 2Kg 22:17; Jr 1:16; 2:13; 5:7,19; 16:11; 19:4
  23. 31:16 : Dt 4:13,23; 5:2–3; 17:2; 29:1,9–14,21,25
  24. 31:17 : Nm 32:10; Is 13:9,13; Lm 1:12
  25. 31:17 : Ps 63:10; Jr 2:14; Ezk 34:8
  26. 31:19 : Dt 32:1–43
  27. 31:20 : Dt 11:9
  28. 31:20 : Dt 11:15
  29. 31:20 : Nm 14:11,23; 1Sm 2:29–30; 2Sm 12:10; Jr 23:17; Mal 1:6
  30. 31:20 : Lv 26:15,44; Dt 4:31; Jos 23:16
  31. 31:23 : Jos 1:1–9
  32. 31:28 : Dt 4:26; 30:19
  33. 31:27–29 : Dt 4:25; Jdg 2:6–13
  34. 32:1 : Jdg 5:3; Pr 4:20; Is 1:2; 28:23; 34:1; 49:1; Mc 1:2
  35. 32:3 : Ex 33:19; Ps 22:22; 71:16,18; 89:1
  36. 32:4 : Gn 49:24; Dt 32:15,18,30–31; 1Sm 23:28; 2Sm 23:3; Is 30:29; 44:8; Hab 1:12
  37. 32:4 : 2Sm 22:31; Ps 10:5; 18:30; 25:10; 145:17; Lm 1:18; Dn 4:37
  38. 32:4 : Dt 7:9; Ps 59:10,17
  39. 32:5 : Ex 32:7; Dt 4:16,25; 9:12; Jdg 2:19; Neh 1:7; Zph 3:7
  40. 32:5 : Dt 32:20; Ps 78:8; Jr 2:31; Mt 11:16; 12:39; 16:4; 17:7; Ac 2:40; Php 2:15
  41. 32:6 : Jr 4:22; 5:21; 10:8
  42. 32:6 : Mal 2:10
  43. 32:8 : Gn 11:1–9
  44. 32:8 : Ac 17:26
  45. 32:9 : Nm 18:20; Dt 10:9; Zch 2:12
  46. 32:10 : Ezk 16:6–14
  47. 32:10 : Pr 7:2
  48. 32:11 : Ex 19:4; Ps 91:4
  49. 32:13 : Is 58:14
  50. 32:14 : Ps 22:12; Ezk 39:18; Am 4:1; Mc 7:14
  51. 32:15 : Is 44:2
  52. 32:16 : Ex 20:5; 34:14; Dt 4:24; 5:9; 6:15; 29:20; Jos 24:19; 1Kg 14:22; Ps 78:58; Nah 1:2; Zph 1:18; 3:8
  53. 32:17 : Ps 106:37; 1Co 10:19–20
  54. 32:20 : Dt 31:17–18; Jb 13:24; 34:29; Ps 10:11; 13:1; 22:24; 27:9; 30:7; 69:17; 88:14; 102:2; 104:29; 143:7; Is 8:17; 54:8; 59:2; 64:7; Jr 33:5; Ezk 39:23–24; 39:29; Mc 3:4
  55. 32:21 : 1Kg 16:13,26; 2Kg 17:15; Jr 10:8
  56. 32:21 : Dt 32:6; Ps 74:18; Rm 10:19; 11:14
  57. 32:22 : Ps 86:13; Pr 9:18; Is 7:11
  58. 32:22–25 : Is 5:8–30; Jr 9:17–21
  59. 32:26 : Ex 17:14; Dt 9:14; 25:19; 29:20; 2Kg 14:27
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

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Luke 12:8-34

Acknowledging Christ

“And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges(A) me before others, the Son of Man(B) will also acknowledge him before the angels of God,(C) but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.(D) 10 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,(E) but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit(F) will not be forgiven. 11 Whenever(G) they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities,(H) don’t worry(I) about how you should defend(J) yourselves or what you should say. 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.”(K)

The Parable of the Rich Fool

13 Someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher,(L) tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 “Friend,”[a] he said to him, “who appointed me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard(M) against all greed,(N) because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.”(O)

16 Then he told them a parable:(P) “A rich(Q) man’s land was very productive. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? 18 I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. 19 Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy;(R) eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’(S)

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool!(T) This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’(U)

21 “That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure(V) for himself and is not rich toward God.”(W)

The Cure for Anxiety

22 Then he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you,(X) don’t worry about your life, what you will eat; or about the body, what you will wear.(Y) 23 For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens:(Z) They don’t sow or reap; they don’t have a storeroom or a barn; yet God feeds them.(AA) Aren’t you worth much more than the birds? 25 Can any of you add one moment to his life span[b] by worrying?(AB) 26 If then you’re not able to do even a little thing, why worry about the rest?

27 “Consider how the wildflowers grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon(AC) in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. 28 If that’s how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will he do for you—you of little faith?(AD) 29 Don’t strive for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don’t be anxious. 30 For the Gentile world eagerly seeks(AE) all these things, and your Father(AF) knows that you need them.

31 “But seek his kingdom,(AG) and these things will be provided for you.(AH) 32 Don’t be afraid,(AI) little flock,(AJ) because your Father delights(AK) to give you the kingdom.(AL) 33 Sell(AM) your possessions and give to the poor.(AN) Make money-bags(AO) for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure(AP) in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.(AQ)

Footnotes:

  1. 12:14 Lit Man
  2. 12:25 Or add a cubit to his height
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

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

Psalm 78:32-55

32 Despite all this, they kept sinning
and did not believe his wondrous works.(A)
33 He made their days end in futility,
their years in sudden disaster.(B)
34 When he killed some of them,
the rest began to seek him;
they repented and searched for God.(C)
35 They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God, their Redeemer.(D)
36 But they deceived him with their mouths,
they lied to him with their tongues,(E)
37 their hearts were insincere toward him,
and they were unfaithful to his covenant.(F)
38 Yet he was compassionate;
he atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them.
He often turned his anger aside
and did not unleash[a] all his wrath.(G)
39 He remembered that they were only flesh,
a wind that passes and does not return.(H)

40 How often they rebelled against him
in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert.
41 They constantly tested God(I)
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.(J)
42 They did not remember his power shown
on the day he redeemed them from the foe,(K)
43 when he performed his miraculous signs in Egypt
and his wonders in the territory of Zoan.(L)
44 He turned their rivers into blood,
and they could not drink from their streams.(M)
45 He sent among them swarms of flies,(N)
which fed on them,
and frogs, which devastated them.(O)
46 He gave their crops to the caterpillar
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.(P)
47 He killed their vines with hail
and their sycamore fig trees with a flood.
48 He handed over their livestock to hail
and their cattle to lightning bolts.(Q)
49 He sent his burning anger against them:
fury, indignation, and calamity—
a band of deadly messengers.[b](R)
50 He cleared a path for his anger.
He did not spare them from death
but delivered their lives to the plague.(S)
51 He struck all the firstborn(T) in Egypt,
the first progeny of the tents of Ham.(U)
52 He led his people out like sheep
and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.(V)
53 He led them safely, and they were not afraid;
but the sea covered their enemies.(W)
54 He brought them to his holy territory,
to the mountain his right hand acquired.(X)
55 He drove out nations before them.(Y)
He apportioned their inheritance by lot
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.(Z)

Footnotes:

  1. 78:38 Or stir up
  2. 78:49 Or angels
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

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

Proverbs 12:21-23

21 No disaster overcomes the righteous,(A)
but the wicked are full of misery.

22 Lying lips are detestable to the Lord,(B)
but faithful people are his delight.(C)

23 A shrewd person conceals knowledge,
but a foolish heart publicizes stupidity.(D)

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.