The Daily Audio Bible
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22 “If men [a]fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that [b]she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall (A)pay as the judges determine. 23 But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, 24 (B)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26 “If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. 27 And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth.
Animal Control Laws
28 “If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then (C)the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be [c]acquitted. 29 But if the ox [d]tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. 30 If there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay (D)to redeem his life, whatever is imposed on him. 31 Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him. 32 If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master (E)thirty shekels of silver, and the (F)ox shall be stoned.
33 “And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it, 34 the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his.
35 “If one man’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money from it; and the dead ox they shall also divide. 36 Or if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in time past, and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall be his own.
Responsibility for Property
22 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall (G)restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. 2 If the thief is found (H)breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be (I)no guilt for his bloodshed. 3 If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He should make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be (J)sold[e] for his theft. 4 If the theft is certainly (K)found alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall (L)restore double.
5 “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed, and lets loose his animal, and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.
6 “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns, so that stacked grain, standing grain, or the field is consumed, he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
7 “If a man (M)delivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, (N)if the thief is found, he shall pay double. 8 If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the (O)judges to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor’s goods.
9 “For any kind of trespass, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep, or clothing, or for any kind of lost thing which another claims to be his, the (P)cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whomever the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor. 10 If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is hurt, or driven away, no one seeing it, 11 then an (Q)oath of the Lord shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good. 12 But (R)if, in fact, it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it. 13 If it is (S)torn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evidence, and he shall not make good what was torn.
14 “And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it becomes injured or dies, the owner of it not being with it, he shall surely make it good. 15 If its owner was with it, he shall not make it good; if it was hired, it came for its hire.
Moral and Ceremonial Principles
16 (T)“If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the (U)bride-price of virgins.
18 (V)“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.
19 (W)“Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.
20 (X)“He who sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
21 (Y)“You shall neither mistreat a [f]stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
22 (Z)“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you afflict them in any way, and they (AA)cry at all to Me, I will surely (AB)hear their cry; 24 and My (AC)wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; (AD)your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
25 (AE)“If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him (AF)interest. 26 (AG)If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. 27 For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am (AH)gracious.
28 (AI)“You shall not revile God, nor curse a (AJ)ruler of your people.
29 “You shall not delay to offer (AK)the first of your ripe produce and your juices. (AL)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. 30 (AM)Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother (AN)seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.
31 “And you shall be (AO)holy men to Me: (AP)you shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.
Justice for All
23 “You (AQ)shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an (AR)unrighteous witness. 2 (AS)You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; (AT)nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. 3 You shall not show partiality to a (AU)poor man in his dispute.
4 (AV)“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. 5 (AW)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.
6 (AX)“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. 7 (AY)Keep yourself far from a false matter; (AZ)do not kill the innocent and righteous. For (BA)I will not justify the wicked. 8 And (BB)you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.
9 “Also (BC)you shall not oppress a [g]stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
The Law of Sabbaths
10 (BD)“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your [h]olive grove. 12 (BE)Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.
13 “And in all that I have said to you, (BF)be circumspect and (BG)make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.
Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple(A)
24 Then (B)Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, (C)not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age(D)
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, (E)the disciples came to Him privately, saying, (F)“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: (G)“Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For (H)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ (I)and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of (J)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for [a]all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For (K)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be (L)famines, [b]pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 (M)“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then (N)many false prophets will rise up and (O)deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow (P)cold. 13 (Q)But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this (R)gospel of the kingdom (S)will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
The Great Tribulation(T)
15 (U)“Therefore when you see the (V)‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (W)(whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But (X)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For (Y)then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; (Z)but for the [c]elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
23 (AA)“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For (AB)false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, (AC)if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.
26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 (AD)For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 (AE)For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
Praise to God in His Holiness and Majesty
A Psalm of David.
29 Give[a] (A)unto the Lord, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the Lord glory and strength.
2 [b]Give unto the Lord the glory [c]due to His name;
Worship the Lord in (B)the [d]beauty of holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
(C)The God of glory thunders;
The Lord is over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks (D)the cedars,
Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 (E)He makes them also skip like a calf,
Lebanon and (F)Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord [e]divides the flames of fire.
The Crafty Harlot
6 For at the window of my house
I looked through my lattice,
7 And saw among the simple,
I perceived among the [a]youths,
A young man (A)devoid[b] of understanding,
8 Passing along the street near her corner;
And he took the path to her house
9 (B)In the twilight, in the evening,
In the black and dark night.
10 And there a woman met him,
With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.
11 (C)She was loud and rebellious,
(D)Her feet would not stay at home.
12 At times she was outside, at times in the open square,
Lurking at every corner.
13 So she caught him and kissed him;
With an [c]impudent face she said to him:
14 “I have peace offerings with me;
Today I have paid my vows.
15 So I came out to meet you,
Diligently to seek your face,
And I have found you.
16 I have spread my bed with tapestry,
Colored coverings of (E)Egyptian linen.
17 I have perfumed my bed
With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For [d]my husband is not at home;
He has gone on a long journey;
20 He has taken a bag of money [e]with him,
And will come home [f]on the appointed day.”
21 [g]With (F)her enticing speech she caused him to yield,
(G)With her flattering lips she [h]seduced him.
22 Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or [i]as a fool to the correction of the [j]stocks,
23 Till an arrow struck his liver.
(H)As a bird hastens to the snare,
He did not know it [k]would cost his life.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.