The Daily Audio Bible
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Achan Judged
16 Joshua got up early the next morning. He had Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected. 17 He had the clans of Judah come forward, and the Zerahite clan was selected. He had the Zerahite clan come forward by heads of families,[a] and Zabdi was selected. 18 He then had Zabdi’s family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected.
19 So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel,(A) and make a confession to Him.[b] I urge you, tell me what you have done. Don’t hide anything from me.”
20 Achan replied to Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I did: 21 When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Babylon,[c] 200 silver shekels,[d] and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels,[e] I coveted them and took them.(B) You can see for yourself. They are concealed in the ground inside my tent, with the money under the cloak.” 22 So Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there was the cloak, concealed in his tent, with the money underneath. 23 They took the things from inside the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out in the Lord’s presence.
24 Then Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, and the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his ox, donkey, and sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and brought them up to the Valley of Achor.(C) 25 Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us?(D) Today the Lord will trouble you!” So all Israel stoned them[f] to death. They burned their bodies,[g] threw stones on them, 26 and raised over him a large pile of rocks that remains to this day.(E) Then the Lord turned from His burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor[h] to this day.
Conquest of Ai
8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged.(F) Take the whole military force with you and go attack Ai. Look, I have handed over to you the king of Ai, his people, city, and land.(G) 2 Treat Ai and its king as you did Jericho and its king;(H) you may plunder its spoil and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”
3 So Joshua and the whole military force set out to attack Ai. Joshua selected 30,000 fighting men and sent them out at night. 4 He commanded them: “Pay attention. Lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it, and all of you be ready.(I) 5 Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When they come out against us as they did the first time, we will flee from them. 6 They will come after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us as before.’ While we are fleeing from them, 7 you are to come out of your ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God has handed it over to you. 8 After taking the city, set it on fire. Follow the Lord’s command—see that you do as I have ordered you.” 9 So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the ambush site and waited between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But he spent that night with the troops.
10 Joshua started early the next morning and mobilized them. Then he and the elders of Israel led the troops up to Ai. 11 All those[i] who were with him went up and approached the city, arriving opposite Ai, and camped to the north of it, with a valley between them and the city. 12 Now Joshua had taken about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 13 The military force was stationed in this way: the main[j] camp to the north of the city and its rear guard to the west of the city. And that night Joshua went into the valley.
14 When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, the men of the city hurried and went out early in the morning so that he and all his people could engage Israel in battle at a suitable place facing the Arabah. But he did not know there was an ambush waiting for him behind the city. 15 Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten back by them and fled toward the wilderness. 16 Then all the troops of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city. 17 Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city exposed while they pursued Israel.
18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out the sword in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand the city over to you.” So Joshua held out his sword toward it. 19 When he held out his hand, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They ran, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire.
20 The men of Ai turned and looked back, and smoke from the city was rising to the sky! They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that smoke was rising from it, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. 22 Then men in ambush came out of the city against them, and the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite forces, some on one side and some on the other. They struck them down until no survivor or fugitive remained, 23 but they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
24 When Israel had finished killing everyone living in Ai who had pursued them into the open country, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the sword. 25 The total of those who fell that day, both men and women, was 12,000—all the people of Ai. 26 Joshua did not draw back his hand that was holding the sword until all the inhabitants of Ai were completely destroyed.(J) 27 Israel plundered only the cattle and spoil of that city for themselves, according to the Lord’s command that He had given Joshua.
28 Joshua burned Ai and left it a permanent ruin, desolate to this day.(K) 29 He hung[k] the body of the king of Ai on a tree[l] until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take his body down from the tree.(L) They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and put a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.
Renewed Commitment to the Law
30 At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal(M) to the Lord, the God of Israel, 31 just as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the book of the law of Moses: an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool has been used.(N) Then they offered burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings on it. 32 There on the stones, Joshua copied the law of Moses, which he had written in the presence of the Israelites.(O) 33 All Israel, foreigner and citizen alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on either side of the ark of the Lord’s covenant facing the Levitical priests who carried it. As Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded earlier, half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal,(P) to bless the people of Israel.(Q) 34 Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law—the blessings as well as the curses—according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read before the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, the little children, and the foreigners who were with them.(R)
Deception by Gibeon
9 When all the kings heard about Jericho and Ai, those who were west of the Jordan in the hill country,(S) in the Judean foothills,[m] and all along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea(T) toward Lebanon—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites— 2 they formed a unified alliance to fight against Joshua and Israel.
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
16 He also said to the disciples: “There was a rich(A) man who received an accusation that his manager(B) was squandering(C) his possessions. 2 So he called the manager in and asked, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management,(D) because you can no longer be my manager.’
3 “Then the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig; I’m ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I’ll do so that when I’m removed from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’
5 “So he summoned each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first one.
6 “‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he said.
“‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘sit down quickly, and write 50.’
7 “Next he asked another, ‘How much do you owe?’
“‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he said.
“‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘and write 80.’
8 “The master praised the unrighteous manager(E) because he had acted astutely. For the sons of this age(F) are more astute than the sons of light(G) in dealing with their own people.[a] 9 And I tell you, make friends(H) for yourselves by means of the unrighteous money(I) so that when it fails,[b] they may welcome you into eternal dwellings. 10 Whoever is faithful(J) in very little(K) is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much. 11 So if you have not been faithful with the unrighteous money, who will trust you with what is genuine? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own? 13 No(L) household slave can be the slave of two masters, since either he will hate(M) one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t be slaves to both God and money.”
Kingdom Values
14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money,(N) were listening to all these things and scoffing(O) at Him. 15 And He told them: “You are the ones who justify(P) yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts.(Q) For what is highly admired by people is revolting(R) in God’s sight.
16 “The(S) Law and the Prophets(T) were[c] until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God(U) has been proclaimed, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it.[d] 17 But it is easier(V) for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the law to drop out.
18 “Everyone(W) who divorces(X) his wife and marries another woman commits adultery,(Y) and everyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
Psalm 82
A Plea for Righteous Judgment
A psalm of Asaph.(A)
1 God has taken His place in the divine assembly;
He judges among the gods:[a](B)
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked?(C)
3 Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless;
uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.(D)
4 Rescue the poor and needy;
save them from the power of the wicked.”(E)
5 They do not know or understand;
they wander in darkness.(F)
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.(G)
6 I said, “You are gods;(H)
you are all sons of the Most High.(I)
7 However, you will die like men
and fall like any other ruler.”(J)
8 Rise up, God, judge the earth,
for all the nations belong to You.(K)
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