The Daily Audio Bible
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14 Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
For your sake I will send to Babylon
and break down all the bars,
and the shouting of the Chaldeans will be turned to lamentation.[a](A)
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel, your King.
16 Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,(B)
17 who brings out chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down; they cannot rise;
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:(C)
18 Do not remember the former things
or consider the things of old.(D)
19 I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.(E)
20 The wild animals will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,(F)
21 the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.(G)
22 Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
but you have been weary of me, O Israel!(H)
23 You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings
or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings
or wearied you with frankincense.(I)
24 You have not bought me sweet cane with money
or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
Rather, you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your iniquities.(J)
25 I alone am the one
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.(K)
26 Accuse me; let us go to trial;
set forth your case, so that you may be proved right.(L)
27 Your first ancestor sinned,
and your mediators rebelled against me.
28 Therefore I profaned the princes of the sanctuary;
I delivered Jacob to utter destruction
and Israel to reviling.(M)
God’s Blessing on Israel
44 But now hear, O Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!(N)
2 Thus says the Lord who made you,
who formed you in the womb and will help you:
Do not fear, O Jacob my servant,
Jeshurun whom I have chosen.(O)
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my spirit upon your descendants
and my blessing on your offspring.(P)
4 They shall spring up like a green tamarisk,[b]
like willows by flowing streams.
5 This one will say, “I am the Lord’s”;
another will be called by the name of Jacob;
yet another will write on the hand, “The Lord’s,”
and adopt the name of Israel.(Q)
6 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
I am the first, and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.(R)
7 Who is like me? Let them proclaim it;
let them declare and set it forth before me.
Who has announced from of old the things to come?[c]
Let them tell us[d] what is yet to be.(S)
8 Do not fear or be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
You are my witnesses!
Is there any god besides me?
There is no other rock; I know not one.(T)
The Absurdity of Idol Worship
9 All who make idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit; their witnesses neither see nor know, and so they will be put to shame.(U) 10 Who would fashion a god or cast an image that can do no good?(V) 11 All its devotees shall be put to shame; the artisans, too, are merely human. Let them all assemble; let them stand up; they shall be terrified; they shall all be put to shame.(W)
12 The blacksmith works it with a tool over the coals, shaping it with hammers and forging it with his strong arm; he becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint.(X) 13 The carpenter stretches a line, marks it out with a stylus, fashions it with planes, and marks it with a compass; he makes it in human form, with human beauty, to be set up in a shrine.(Y) 14 He cuts down cedars or chooses a holm tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it can be used as fuel. Part of it he takes and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it, makes it a carved image and bows down before it.(Z) 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he roasts meat, eats it,[e] and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Ah, I am warm[f] by the fire!” 17 The rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, bows down to it and worships it; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god!”(AA)
18 They do not know, nor do they comprehend, for their eyes are shut, so that they cannot see, and their minds as well, so that they cannot understand.(AB) 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. Now shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”(AC) 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded mind has led him astray, and he cannot save himself or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a fraud?”(AD)
Israel Is Not Forgotten
21 Remember these things, O Jacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you, you are my servant;
O Israel, do not forget me.[g](AE)
22 I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.(AF)
23 Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
shout, O depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob
and will be glorified in Israel.(AG)
24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
who formed you in the womb:
I am the Lord, who made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who by myself spread out the earth;(AH)
25 who frustrates the omens of soothsayers
and makes fools of diviners;
who turns back the wise
and makes their knowledge foolish;(AI)
26 who confirms the word of his servant
and fulfills the prediction of his messengers;
who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be inhabited,”
and of the cities of Judah, “They shall be rebuilt,
and I will raise up their ruins”;(AJ)
27 who says to the deep, “Be dry—
I will dry up your rivers”;(AK)
28 who says of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd,
and he shall carry out all my purpose”;
and who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”(AL)
Cyrus, God’s Instrument
45 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their robes,
to open doors before him—
and the gates shall not be closed:(AM)
2 I will go before you
and level the mountains;[h]
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron;(AN)
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.(AO)
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name;
I give you a title, though you do not know me.(AP)
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;
besides me there is no god.
I arm you, though you do not know me,(AQ)
6 so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.(AR)
7 I form light and create darkness,
I make weal and create woe;
I the Lord do all these things.(AS)
Paul’s Ministry to the Gentiles
3 This is the reason that I, Paul, am a prisoner for[a] Christ Jesus[b] for the sake of you gentiles, 2 for surely[c] you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you 3 and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words,[d](A) 4 a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ.(B) 5 In former generations this mystery[e] was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:(C) 6 that is, the gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.(D)
7 Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power. 8 Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ(E) 9 and to make everyone see[f] what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in[g] God, who created all things,(F) 10 so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.[h](G) 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have access in boldness and confidence through faith in him.[i](H) 13 I pray, therefore, that you[j] may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.
Prayer for the Readers
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,[k] 15 from whom every family[l] in heaven and on earth takes its name. 16 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit(I) 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth(J) 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.(K)
20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine,(L) 21 to him be glory in the church and[m] in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Psalm 68
Praise and Thanksgiving
To the leader. Of David. A Psalm. A Song.
1 Let God rise up; let his enemies be scattered;
let those who hate him flee before him.(A)
2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
let the wicked perish before God.(B)
3 But let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.(C)
4 Sing to God; sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds[a]—
his name is the Lord—
be exultant before him.(D)
5 Father of orphans and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.(E)
6 God gives the desolate a home to live in;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious live in a parched land.(F)
7 O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness, Selah(G)
8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.(H)
9 Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
you restored your heritage when it languished;(I)
10 your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.(J)
11 The Lord gives the command;
great is the company of those[b] who bore the tidings:
12 “The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil,(K)
13 though they stay among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with green gold.(L)
14 When the Almighty[c] scattered kings there,
snow fell on Zalmon.(M)
15 O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16 Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
where the Lord will reside forever?(N)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.