The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday September 14, 2023 (NIV)

Isaiah 15-18

An Oracle Concerning Moab

15 An (A)oracle concerning (B)Moab.

Because (C)Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone;
because (D)Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone.
He has gone up to the temple,[a] and to (E)Dibon,
to the high places[b] to weep;
over (F)Nebo and over (G)Medeba
Moab (H)wails.
On every head is (I)baldness;
every beard is shorn;
in the streets they wear sackcloth;
on the housetops and in the squares
everyone wails and melts in tears.
(J)Heshbon and (K)Elealeh cry out;
their voice is heard as far as (L)Jahaz;
therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud;
his soul trembles.
My heart cries out for Moab;
her fugitives flee to Zoar,
to (M)Eglath-shelishiyah.
For at the (N)ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;
on the road to (O)Horonaim
they raise a cry of destruction;
the waters of (P)Nimrim
are a desolation;
the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,
the greenery is no more.
(Q)Therefore the abundance they have gained
and what they have laid up
they carry away
over the Brook of the Willows.
For a cry has gone
around the land of Moab;
her wailing reaches to Eglaim;
her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.
For the waters of (R)Dibon[c] are full of blood;
for I will bring upon Dibon even more,
(S)a lion for those of Moab who escape,
for the remnant of the land.
16 (T)Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,
from (U)Sela, by way of the desert,
to the mount of the daughter of Zion.
Like fleeing birds,
like a scattered nest,
so are the daughters of Moab
at (V)the fords of the Arnon.

“Give counsel;
grant justice;
(W)make your shade like night
at the height of noon;
shelter the outcasts;
do not reveal the fugitive;
let (X)the outcasts of Moab
sojourn among you;
be a shelter to them[d]
from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
and destruction has ceased,
and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,
(Y)then a throne will be established in steadfast love,
and on it will sit in faithfulness
in the tent of David
one who judges and seeks justice
and is swift to do righteousness.”

(Z)We have heard of the pride of Moab—
how proud he is!—
(AA)of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;
in his idle boasting he is not right.
Therefore let Moab wail for Moab,
(AB)let everyone wail.
Mourn, utterly stricken,
for the (AC)raisin cakes of (AD)Kir-hareseth.

For the fields of Heshbon languish,
and (AE)the vine of Sibmah;
the lords of the nations
have struck down its branches,
which reached to Jazer
and strayed to the desert;
its shoots spread abroad
and passed over the sea.
Therefore (AF)I weep with (AG)the weeping of Jazer
for the vine of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears,
O Heshbon and Elealeh;
for over (AH)your summer fruit and your harvest
the shout has ceased.
10 (AI)And joy and gladness are taken away from (AJ)the fruitful field,
and in the vineyards no (AK)songs are sung,
no cheers are raised;
no (AL)treader treads out wine (AM)in the presses;
I have put an end to the shouting.
11 Therefore (AN)my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab,
and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.

12 And when Moab presents himself, when (AO)he wearies himself on (AP)the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.

13 This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab (AQ)in the past. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “In three years, (AR)like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be (AS)very few and feeble.”

An Oracle Concerning Damascus

17 An (AT)oracle concerning (AU)Damascus.

Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
and will become a heap of ruins.
The cities of (AV)Aroer are deserted;
they will be for flocks,
which will lie down, and (AW)none will make them afraid.
The fortress will disappear from (AX)Ephraim,
and the kingdom from (AY)Damascus;
and the remnant of Syria will be
like (AZ)the glory of the children of Israel,
declares the Lord of hosts.

And in that day (BA)the glory of Jacob will be brought low,
and (BB)the fat of his flesh will grow lean.
And it shall be (BC)as when the reaper gathers standing grain
and his arm harvests the ears,
and as when one gleans the ears of grain
in (BD)the Valley of Rephaim.
(BE)Gleanings will be left in it,
as when an olive tree is beaten—
two or three berries
in the top of the highest bough,
four or five
on the branches of a fruit tree,
declares the Lord God of Israel.

(BF)In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. (BG)He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the (BH)Asherim or the altars of incense.

(BI)In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.

10 For (BJ)you have forgotten the God of your salvation
and have not remembered the (BK)Rock of your refuge;
therefore, though you plant pleasant plants
and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,
11 though you make them grow[e] on the day that you plant them,
and make them blossom in the morning that you sow,
yet the harvest will flee away[f]
in a day of grief and incurable pain.

12 Ah, (BL)the thunder of many peoples;
they thunder like the thundering of the sea!
Ah, the roar of nations;
they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!
13 (BM)The nations roar like the roaring of many waters,
(BN)but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away,
chased (BO)like chaff on the mountains before the wind
and (BP)whirling dust before the storm.
14 (BQ)At evening time, behold, terror!
Before morning, they are no more!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
and the lot of those who plunder us.

An Oracle Concerning Cush

18 Ah, land of (BR)whirring wings
that is beyond the rivers of (BS)Cush,[g]
which (BT)sends ambassadors by the sea,
in vessels of papyrus on the waters!
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation (BU)tall and smooth,
to a people feared near and far,
a nation (BV)mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide.

All you inhabitants of the world,
you who dwell on the earth,
when (BW)a signal is raised on the mountains, look!
When a trumpet is blown, hear!
For thus the Lord said to me:
“I will quietly look (BX)from my dwelling
like clear heat in sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
(BY)For before the harvest, when the blossom is over,
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks,
and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.
(BZ)They shall all of them be left
to the birds of prey of the mountains
and to the beasts of the earth.
And the birds of prey will summer on them,
and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them.

(CA)At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord of hosts

from a people (CB)tall and smooth,
from a people feared near and far,
a nation mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide,

to (CC)Mount Zion, the place of the (CD)name of the Lord of hosts.

Footnotes:

  1. Isaiah 15:2 Hebrew the house
  2. Isaiah 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places
  3. Isaiah 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse
  4. Isaiah 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them
  5. Isaiah 17:11 Or though you carefully fence them
  6. Isaiah 17:11 Or will be a heap
  7. Isaiah 18:1 Probably Nubia

Cross references:

  1. Isaiah 15:1 : [See ch. 14:28 above]; See ch. 13:1
  2. Isaiah 15:1 : See Jer. 48; Ezek. 25:8-11; Amos 2:1-3; Zeph. 2:8, 9
  3. Isaiah 15:1 : Num. 21:15, 28
  4. Isaiah 15:1 : [ch. 16:7, 11]
  5. Isaiah 15:2 : Num. 21:30
  6. Isaiah 15:2 : Deut. 34:1
  7. Isaiah 15:2 : Num. 21:30
  8. Isaiah 15:2 : ch. 13:6
  9. Isaiah 15:2 : See ch. 3:24
  10. Isaiah 15:4 : Num. 32:37
  11. Isaiah 15:4 : Num. 32:37
  12. Isaiah 15:4 : Jer. 48:34
  13. Isaiah 15:5 : [See ver. 4 above]; Jer. 48:34
  14. Isaiah 15:5 : Jer. 48:5
  15. Isaiah 15:5 : Jer. 48:5
  16. Isaiah 15:6 : [Num. 32:36]
  17. Isaiah 15:7 : Jer. 48:36
  18. Isaiah 15:9 : [ver. 2]
  19. Isaiah 15:9 : [2 Kgs. 17:25; Jer. 50:17]
  20. Isaiah 16:1 : 2 Kgs. 3:4
  21. Isaiah 16:1 : ch. 42:11; 2 Kgs. 14:7
  22. Isaiah 16:2 : Judg. 11:18
  23. Isaiah 16:3 : [1 Kgs. 18:4]
  24. Isaiah 16:4 : 1 Sam. 22:3
  25. Isaiah 16:5 : ch. 32:1, 2; Dan. 7:14, 27; Mic. 4:7; Luke 1:33
  26. Isaiah 16:6 : Jer. 48:29; Zeph. 2:10
  27. Isaiah 16:6 : Judg. 3:14; 2 Kgs. 13:20; [2 Chr. 20:1]
  28. Isaiah 16:7 : ch. 15:3
  29. Isaiah 16:7 : 2 Sam. 6:19; [ver. 9]
  30. Isaiah 16:7 : 2 Kgs. 3:25; [ch. 15:1]
  31. Isaiah 16:8 : Jer. 48:32
  32. Isaiah 16:9 : [ch. 15:5]
  33. Isaiah 16:9 : [See ver. 8 above]; Jer. 48:32
  34. Isaiah 16:9 : [ver. 7]
  35. Isaiah 16:10 : Jer. 48:33
  36. Isaiah 16:10 : [ch. 9:3]
  37. Isaiah 16:10 : [Judg. 9:27]
  38. Isaiah 16:10 : ch. 63:3; Jer. 25:30
  39. Isaiah 16:10 : ch. 5:2
  40. Isaiah 16:11 : ch. 15:5; Jer. 48:36
  41. Isaiah 16:12 : [1 Kgs. 18:29]
  42. Isaiah 16:12 : ch. 15:2; [Num. 22:41; 23:14, 28]
  43. Isaiah 16:13 : See Amos 2:1-3
  44. Isaiah 16:14 : ch. 21:16
  45. Isaiah 16:14 : [ch. 10:22]
  46. Isaiah 17:1 : See ch. 13:1
  47. Isaiah 17:1 : ch. 7:8; Zech. 9:1; See Jer. 49:23-27; Amos 1:3-5
  48. Isaiah 17:2 : Deut. 2:36; Josh. 13:25
  49. Isaiah 17:2 : Mic. 4:4
  50. Isaiah 17:3 : ch. 7:16; 8:4
  51. Isaiah 17:3 : ch. 7:16; 8:4
  52. Isaiah 17:3 : [1 Sam. 4:21]
  53. Isaiah 17:4 : [See ver. 3 above]; [1 Sam. 4:21]
  54. Isaiah 17:4 : ch. 10:16
  55. Isaiah 17:5 : [ch. 24:1]
  56. Isaiah 17:5 : See 2 Sam. 5:18
  57. Isaiah 17:6 : ch. 24:13
  58. Isaiah 17:7 : [Hos. 8:14]
  59. Isaiah 17:8 : ch. 27:9; Mic. 5:13, 14
  60. Isaiah 17:8 : Ex. 34:13; See Deut. 16:21
  61. Isaiah 17:9 : [ch. 27:10]
  62. Isaiah 17:10 : Ps. 106:21
  63. Isaiah 17:10 : ch. 26:4; [Deut. 32:4, 18, 31]
  64. Isaiah 17:12 : See ch. 22:5-7
  65. Isaiah 17:13 : [ch. 33:3]
  66. Isaiah 17:13 : Ps. 9:5; [Joel 3:2]
  67. Isaiah 17:13 : See Ps. 1:4
  68. Isaiah 17:13 : Ps. 83:13
  69. Isaiah 17:14 : [Ps. 30:5]
  70. Isaiah 18:1 : [ch. 8:8; 17:12]
  71. Isaiah 18:1 : 2 Kgs. 19:9
  72. Isaiah 18:2 : ch. 30:4
  73. Isaiah 18:2 : ver. 7
  74. Isaiah 18:2 : [2 Sam. 8:2]
  75. Isaiah 18:3 : See ch. 5:26
  76. Isaiah 18:4 : Ps. 11:4
  77. Isaiah 18:5 : [Ezek. 31:3, 12, 13]
  78. Isaiah 18:6 : [See ver. 5 above]; [Ezek. 31:3, 12, 13]
  79. Isaiah 18:7 : Ps. 68:31
  80. Isaiah 18:7 : ver. 2
  81. Isaiah 18:7 : [ch. 25:10]
  82. Isaiah 18:7 : 2 Sam. 7:13
English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Galatians 1

Greeting

Paul, an (A)apostle—(B)not from men nor through man, but (C)through Jesus Christ and God the Father, (D)who raised him from the dead— and all (E)the brothers[a] who are with me,

To (F)the churches of Galatia:

(G)Grace to you and peace (H)from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, (I)who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present (J)evil age, according to the will of (K)our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

No Other Gospel

I am astonished that you are (L)so quickly deserting (M)him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to (N)a different gospel— (O)not that there is another one, but (P)there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or (Q)an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, (R)let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, (S)let him be accursed.

10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying (T)to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a (U)servant[b] of Christ.

Paul Called by God

11 For (V)I would have you know, brothers, that (W)the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel.[c] 12 (X)For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it (Y)through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of (Z)my former life in Judaism, how (AA)I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely (AB)zealous was I for (AC)the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he (AD)who had set me apart (AE)before I was born,[d] and who (AF)called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to[e] me, in order (AG)that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;[f] 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

18 Then (AH)after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James (AI)the Lord's brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, (AJ)before God, I do not lie!) 21 (AK)Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to (AL)the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.

Footnotes:

  1. Galatians 1:2 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verse 11
  2. Galatians 1:10 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface
  3. Galatians 1:11 Greek not according to man
  4. Galatians 1:15 Greek set me apart from my mother's womb
  5. Galatians 1:16 Greek in
  6. Galatians 1:16 Greek with flesh and blood

Cross references:

  1. Galatians 1:1 : See 2 Cor. 1:1
  2. Galatians 1:1 : ver. 11, 12
  3. Galatians 1:1 : Acts 9:6; 20:24; 22:10, 15, 21; 26:16; [1 Tim. 1:1; Titus 1:3]
  4. Galatians 1:1 : See Acts 2:24
  5. Galatians 1:2 : Phil. 4:21
  6. Galatians 1:2 : Acts 16:6; 1 Cor. 16:1
  7. Galatians 1:3 : Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3
  8. Galatians 1:3 : 1 Tim. 1:2
  9. Galatians 1:4 : See Matt. 20:28; Rom. 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:3
  10. Galatians 1:4 : [Eph. 2:2; 1 John 5:19]; See John 15:19
  11. Galatians 1:4 : Phil. 4:20; 1 Thess. 1:3; 3:11, 13
  12. Galatians 1:6 : [ch. 4:13; Acts 16:6; 18:23]
  13. Galatians 1:6 : ch. 5:8
  14. Galatians 1:6 : 2 Cor. 11:4; [1 Tim. 1:3]
  15. Galatians 1:7 : [Acts 4:12; 1 Cor. 3:11]
  16. Galatians 1:7 : ch. 5:10; Acts 15:24; See 2 Cor. 11:13
  17. Galatians 1:8 : 2 Cor. 11:14
  18. Galatians 1:8 : See Rom. 9:3
  19. Galatians 1:9 : [See ver. 8 above]; See Rom. 9:3
  20. Galatians 1:10 : 1 Thess. 2:4; [Rom. 2:29; 1 Cor. 10:33; Eph. 6:6; Col. 3:22]
  21. Galatians 1:10 : [Rom. 1:1]
  22. Galatians 1:11 : 1 Cor. 15:1
  23. Galatians 1:11 : See Rom. 2:16
  24. Galatians 1:12 : ver. 1; 1 Cor. 11:23; 15:3; [Acts 22:14]
  25. Galatians 1:12 : ver. 16; See 1 Cor. 2:10; 2 Cor. 12:1
  26. Galatians 1:13 : [Acts 26:4]
  27. Galatians 1:13 : See Acts 8:3
  28. Galatians 1:14 : Phil. 3:6; See Acts 21:20
  29. Galatians 1:14 : [Jer. 9:14; 2 Tim. 1:3]; See Matt. 15:2
  30. Galatians 1:15 : Acts 13:2; Rom. 1:1
  31. Galatians 1:15 : Isa. 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5; Luke 1:15
  32. Galatians 1:15 : ver. 6
  33. Galatians 1:16 : ch. 2:9; See Acts 9:15
  34. Galatians 1:18 : [Acts 9:22, 23]
  35. Galatians 1:19 : See Matt. 12:46; Acts 12:17
  36. Galatians 1:20 : See Rom. 1:9; 9:1
  37. Galatians 1:21 : [Acts 9:30; 11:25, 26; 13:1]
  38. Galatians 1:22 : 1 Thess. 2:14
English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Psalm 58

God Who Judges the Earth

To the choirmaster: according to (A)Do Not Destroy. A (B)Miktam[a] of David.

58 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?[b]
Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands (C)deal out violence on earth.

The wicked are (D)estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
(E)They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
so that it (F)does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.

O God, (G)break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
Let them (H)vanish like water that runs away;
when he (I)aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
Let them be like the snail (J)that dissolves into slime,
like (K)the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of (L)thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he (M)sweep them away![c]

10 (N)The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will (O)bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Mankind will say, “Surely there is (P)a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who (Q)judges on earth.”

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 58:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  2. Psalm 58:1 Or you mighty lords (by revocalization; Hebrew in silence)
  3. Psalm 58:9 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Proverbs 23:12

12 Apply your heart to instruction
and your ear to words of knowledge.

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.