The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday June 4, 2023 (NIV)

2 Samuel 22:1-23:23

David’s Song of Thanksgiving

22 David spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the grasp of Saul. He said:(A)

The Lord is my rock, my fortress,(B) and my deliverer,
my God,[a] my rock where I seek refuge.
My shield, the horn of my salvation,(C) my stronghold,(D) my refuge,(E)
and my Savior, you save me from violence.
I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,(F)
and I was saved from my enemies.
For the waves of death engulfed me;(G)
the torrents of destruction terrified me.
The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.(H)

I called to the Lord in my distress;
I called to my God.(I)
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry for help reached his ears.
Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the heavens[b] trembled;(J)
they shook because he burned with anger.(K)
Smoke rose from his nostrils,
and consuming fire came from his mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.[c]
10 He bent the heavens and came down,(L)
total darkness beneath his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring[d] on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness a canopy around him,
a gathering[e] of water and thick clouds.(M)
13 From the radiance of his presence,
blazing coals were ignited.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the Most High made his voice heard.(N)
15 He shot arrows and scattered them;(O)
he hurled lightning bolts and routed them.(P)
16 The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the blast of the breath(Q) of his nostrils.(R)

17 He reached down from on high
and took hold of me;
he pulled me out of deep water.(S)
18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
20 He brought me out to a spacious place;(T)
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

21 The Lord rewarded me
according to my righteousness;(U)
he repaid me
according to the cleanness of my hands.(V)
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord(W)
and have not turned from my God to wickedness.
23 Indeed, I let all his ordinances(X) guide me[f]
and have not disregarded his statutes.
24 I was blameless before him
and kept myself from my iniquity.
25 So the Lord repaid me
according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness[g] in his sight.

26 With the faithful
you prove yourself faithful,
with the blameless
you prove yourself blameless,
27 with the pure
you prove yourself pure,
but with the crooked
you prove yourself shrewd.
28 You rescue an oppressed people,(Y)
but your eyes are set against the proud—
you humble them.(Z)
29 Lord, you are my lamp;
the Lord illuminates my darkness.(AA)
30 With you I can attack a barricade,[h]
and with my God I can leap over a wall.(AB)
31 God—his way is perfect;(AC)
the word of the Lord is pure.(AD)
He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.

32 For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is a rock? Only our God.
33 God is my strong refuge;[i]
he makes my way perfect.[j]
34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer
and sets me securely on the[k] heights.[l]
35 He trains my hands for war;(AE)
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation;(AF)
your help[m] exalts me.
37 You make a spacious place beneath me for my steps,
and my ankles do not give way.
38 I pursue my enemies and destroy them;
I do not turn back until they are wiped out.
39 I wipe them out and crush them,
and they do not rise;
they fall beneath my feet.
40 You have clothed me with strength for battle;
you subdue my adversaries beneath me.(AG)
41 You have made my enemies retreat before me;[n]
I annihilate those who hate me.
42 They look, but there is no one to save them—
they look to the Lord, but he does not answer them.(AH)
43 I pulverize them like dust of the earth;
I crush them and trample them like mud in the streets.(AI)

44 You have freed me from the feuds among my people;(AJ)
you have preserved me as head of nations;
a people I had not known serve me.(AK)
45 Foreigners submit to me cringing;
as soon as they hear, they obey me.
46 Foreigners lose heart
and come trembling from their fortifications.(AL)

47 The Lord lives—blessed be my rock!
God, the rock of my salvation,(AM) is exalted.
48 God—he grants me vengeance
and casts down peoples under me.(AN)
49 He frees me from my enemies.
You exalt me above my adversaries;
you rescue me from violent men.(AO)

50 Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, Lord;
I will sing praises about your name.(AP)
51 He is a tower of salvation for[o] his king;
he shows loyalty to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.(AQ)

David’s Last Words

23 These are the last words of David:

The declaration of David son of Jesse,(AR)
the declaration of the man raised on high,[p]
the one anointed by the God of Jacob.(AS)
This is the most delightful of Israel’s songs.
The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me,
his word was on my tongue.(AT)
The God of Israel spoke;
the Rock of Israel said to me,
“The one who rules the people with justice,
who rules in the fear of God,(AU)
is like the morning light when the sun rises
on a cloudless morning,
the glisten of rain on sprouting grass.”

Is it not true my house is with God?
For he has established a permanent covenant(AV) with me,
ordered and secured in every detail.(AW)
Will he not bring about
my whole salvation and my every desire?
But all the wicked are like thorns raked aside;
they can never be picked up by hand.
The man who touches them
must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear.
They will be completely burned up on the spot.

Exploits of David’s Warriors

These are the names of David’s warriors:(AX)

Josheb-basshebeth the Tahchemonite was chief of the officers.[q] He wielded his spear[r] against eight hundred men that he killed at one time.

After him, Eleazar son of Dodo son of an Ahohite was among the three warriors with David when they defied the Philistines. The men of Israel retreated in the place they had gathered for battle, 10 but Eleazar stood his ground and attacked the Philistines until his hand was tired and stuck to his sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. Then the troops came back to him, but only to plunder the dead.

11 After him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had assembled in formation where there was a field full of lentils. The troops fled from the Philistines, 12 but Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field, defended it, and struck down the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.

13 Three of the thirty leading warriors went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam,(AY) while a company of Philistines was camping in Rephaim Valley. 14 At that time David was in the stronghold,(AZ) and a Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. 15 David was extremely thirsty[s] and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem!” 16 So three of the warriors broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the Lord. 17 David said, “Lord, I would never do such a thing! Is this not the blood of men who risked their lives?” So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.

18 Abishai, Joab’s brother and son of Zeruiah,(BA) was leader of the Three.[t] He wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them, gaining a reputation among the Three. 19 Was he not more honored than the Three? He became their commander even though he did not become one of the Three.(BB)

20 Benaiah son of Jehoiada(BC) was the son of a brave man from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. Benaiah killed two sons[u] of Ariel[v] of Moab, and he went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. 21 He also killed an Egyptian, an impressive man. Even though the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went down to him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and then killed him with his own spear. 22 These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who had a reputation among the three warriors. 23 He was the most honored of the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

Footnotes:

  1. 22:3 LXX, Ps 18:2 read my God; MT reads God of
  2. 22:8 Some Hb mss, Syr, Vg read mountains; Ps 18:7
  3. 22:9 Or him
  4. 22:11 Some Hb mss; other Hb mss, Syr, Tg read he was seen
  5. 22:12 Or sieve, or mass; Hb obscure
  6. 22:23 Lit Indeed, all his ordinances have been in front of me
  7. 22:25 LXX, Syr, Vg read to the cleanness of my hands; Ps 18:24
  8. 22:30 Or a ridge, or raiders
  9. 22:33 DSS, some LXX mss, Syr, Vg read God clothes me with strength; Ps 18:32
  10. 22:33 Some LXX mss, Syr; MT reads he sets free the blameless his way; Hb obscure
  11. 22:34 LXX; some Hb mss read my; other Hb mss read his
  12. 22:34 Or on my high places
  13. 22:36 LXX reads humility; Ps 18:35
  14. 22:41 Lit you gave me the neck of my enemies
  15. 22:51 DSS read he gives great victory to
  16. 23:1 Or raised up by the high God
  17. 23:8 Some Hb mss, LXX read Three
  18. 23:8 Some Hb mss; other Hb mss, LXX read He was Adino the Eznite
  19. 23:15 Lit And David craved
  20. 23:18 Some Hb mss, Syr read the Thirty
  21. 23:20 LXX; MT omits sons
  22. 23:20 Or two warriors
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 2

Pentecost

When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place.(A) Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind(B) came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying.(C) They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. Then they were all filled(D) with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues,[a] as the Spirit enabled them.(E)

Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation(F) under heaven. When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded and amazed, saying,[b] “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?(G) How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,(H) 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts),(I) 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.” 12 They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But some sneered and said, “They’re drunk on new wine.”(J)

Peter’s Sermon

14 Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning.[c] 16 On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

17 And it will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all people;
then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.(K)
18 I will even pour out my Spirit
on my servants in those days, both men and women
and they will prophesy.(L)
19 I will display wonders in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below:
blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood(M)
before the great and glorious day of the Lord(N) comes.
21 Then everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.[d](O)

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to these words: This Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through him, just as you yourselves know.(P) 23 Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used[e] lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him.(Q) 24 God raised him up, ending the pains of death,(R) because it was not possible for him to be held by death. 25 For David says of him:

I saw the Lord ever before me;
because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad
and my tongue rejoices.
Moreover, my flesh will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me in Hades
or allow your holy one to see decay.(S)
28 You have revealed the paths of life to me;
you will fill me with gladness
in your presence.[f](T)

29 “Brothers and sisters, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.(U) 30 Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants[g] on his throne.(V) 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah: He[h] was not abandoned in Hades, and his flesh did not experience decay.[i](W)

32 “God has raised(X) this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this. 33 Therefore, since he has been exalted to the right hand of God(Y) and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit,(Z) he has poured out(AA) what you both see and hear. 34 For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says:

The Lord declared to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.’[j](AB)

36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”(AC)

Call to Repentance

37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” (AD)

38 Peter replied, “Repent(AE) and be baptized,(AF) each of you, in the name(AG) of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off,(AH) as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt[k] generation!” (AI) 41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

A Generous and Growing Church

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching,(AJ) to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.(AK)

43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles.(AL) 44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common.(AM) 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts,(AN) 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number[l] those who were being saved.(AO)

Footnotes:

  1. 2:4 languages, also in v. 11
  2. 2:7 Other mss add to one another
  3. 2:15 Lit it’s the third hour of the day
  4. 2:17–21 Jl 2:28–32
  5. 2:23 Other mss read you have taken
  6. 2:25–28 Ps 16:8–11
  7. 2:30 Other mss add according to the flesh to raise up the Messiah
  8. 2:31 Other mss read His soul
  9. 2:31 Ps 16:10
  10. 2:34–35 Ps 110:1
  11. 2:40 Or crooked, or twisted
  12. 2:47 Other mss read to the church
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 122

Psalm 122

A Prayer for Jerusalem

A song of ascents. Of David.

I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let’s go to the house of the Lord.”(A)
Our feet were standing
within your gates, Jerusalem(B)

Jerusalem, built as a city should be,
solidly united,(C)
where the tribes, the Lord’s tribes, go up
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.(D)
(This is an ordinance for Israel.(E))
There, thrones for judgment are placed,
thrones of the house of David.(F)

Pray for the well-being[a] of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure;(G)
may there be peace within your walls,
security within your fortresses.”(H)
Because of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “May peace be in you.”[b](I)
Because of the house of the Lord our God,
I will pursue your prosperity.(J)

Footnotes:

  1. 122:6 Or peace
  2. 122:8 = Jerusalem
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 16:19-20

19 Better to be lowly of spirit with the humble[a](A)
than to divide plunder with the proud.(B)

20 The one who understands a matter finds success,(C)
and the one who trusts in the Lord will be happy.(D)

Footnotes:

  1. 16:19 Alt Hb tradition reads afflicted
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.