The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the GNT. Switch to the GNT to read along with the audio.
The Covenant of Peace
54 Sing, O barren,
you who did not bear a child.
Break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who did not travail with child.
For more are the children of the desolate
than the children of the married wife,
says the Lord.
2 Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let them stretch out the curtains of your habitations;
spare not,
lengthen your cords,
and strengthen your stakes.
3 For you shall spread out to the right hand and to the left,
and your descendants shall inherit the nations
and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
4 Do not fear, for you shall not be ashamed nor be humiliated;
for you shall not be put to shame,
for you shall forget the shame of your youth
and shall not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
5 For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of Hosts is His name;
and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He shall be called the God of the whole earth.
6 For the Lord has called you
as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
and a wife of youth
when you were refused, says your God.
7 For a small moment I have forsaken you,
but with great mercies I will gather you.
8 In a little wrath
I hid My face from you for a moment;
but with everlasting kindness
I will have mercy on you,
says the Lord your Redeemer.
9 For this is as the waters of Noah to Me;
for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no longer cover the earth,
so I have sworn that I would not be wrathful with you
nor rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may be removed,
and the hills may shake,
but My kindness shall not depart from you,
nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,
says the Lord who has mercy on you.
11 O afflicted one, tossed with tempest and not comforted,
I will lay your stones with fair colors
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your windows of agates,
and your gates of crystal,
and all your borders of precious stones.
13 All your sons shall be taught of the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your sons.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression,
for you shall not fear,
and from terror,
for it shall not come near you.
15 Indeed they shall surely assail you fiercely, but not from Me.
Whoever assails you shall fall for your sake.
16 See, I have created the smith
that blows the coals in the fire
and who brings forth an instrument for his work;
and I have created the destroyer in order to cause ruin.
17 No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper,
and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment, you shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and their vindication is from Me,
says the Lord.
The Invitation to the Waters
55 Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good,
and let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Listen, so that your soul may live,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
even the sure mercies of David.
4 See, I have given him as a witness to the people,
a leader and commander to the people.
5 Surely you shall call a nation that you do not know,
and nations that did not know you shall run to you
because of the Lord your God,
even the Holy One of Israel;
for He has glorified you.
6 Seek the Lord while He may be found,
call you upon Him while He is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
and let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him,
and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways My ways,
says the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are My ways higher than your ways,
and My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain comes down,
and the snow from heaven,
and do not return there
but water the earth
and make it bring forth and bud
that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
it shall not return to Me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
12 For you shall go out with joy,
and be led out with peace;
the mountains and the hills
shall break forth into singing before you,
and all the trees of the field
shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree,
and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,
for an everlasting sign
that shall not be cut off.
Salvation for the Nations
56 Thus says the Lord:
Preserve justice
and do righteousness,
for My salvation is about to come
and My righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
and the son of man who takes hold of it,
who keeps from polluting the Sabbath
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.
3 Do not let the son of the foreigner
who has joined himself to the Lord
speak, saying,
“The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”;
do not let the eunuch say,
“I am only a dry tree.”
4 For thus says the Lord:
To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
and choose the things that please Me,
and take hold of My covenant,
5 to them I will give in My house and within My walls
a memorial, and a name
better than that of sons and of daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.
6 Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the Lord
to serve Him,
and to love the name of the Lord,
and to be His servants,
to everyone who keeps from polluting the Sabbath
and takes hold of My covenant,
7 even them I will bring to My holy mountain
and make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
shall be accepted on My altar;
for My house shall be called
a house of prayer for all people.
8 The Lord God
who gathers the outcasts of Israel says,
Yet I will gather others to them
besides those who already are gathered to him.
God Accuses the Wicked
9 All you beasts of the field,
all you beasts in the forest, come to devour.
10 His watchmen are blind;
they all are ignorant;
they all are dumb dogs,
unable to bark;
sleepers lying down,
who love to slumber.
11 They are greedy dogs
which can never have enough,
and they are shepherds who cannot understand;
they all turn to their own way,
every one for his gain, from his territory.
12 “Come,” they say, “let us get wine,
and let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
and tomorrow shall be as today,
only more so.”
Israel’s Futile Idolatry
57 The righteous man perishes,
and no man lays it to heart;
and merciful men are taken away
while no one understands,
for the righteous man is taken away
from the evil to come.
2 He shall enter into peace;
they shall rest in their beds,
each one walking in his uprightness.
3 But draw near to here, you sons of a sorceress,
offspring of an adulterer and prostitute.
4 Whom do you mock?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
offspring of falsehood,
5 inflaming yourselves with idols
under every green tree,
slaying the children in the valleys
under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the stream is your portion;
they are your lot.
Even to them you have poured out a drink offering;
you have offered a grain offering.
Should I relent concerning these things?
7 On a lofty and high mountain you have set your bed;
even there you went up to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the doors and the doorposts
you have set up your memorial;
far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself;
you have enlarged your bed and made a covenant with them;
you have loved their bed,
you have looked on their nakedness.
9 You went to the king with ointment,
and increased your perfumes,
and sent your messengers far off,
and made them go down to Sheol.
10 You were wearied by the length of your road;
yet you did not say, “There is no hope.”
You have found renewed strength;
therefore, you did not faint.
11 Of whom were you afraid or fearful
when you lied
and you did not remember Me,
nor give Me a thought?
Have I not held My peace for a long time
so that you do not fear Me?
12 I will declare your righteousness, and your works,
yet they shall not profit you.
13 When you cry out,
let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind shall carry them all away,
a breath shall take them away.
But he who puts his trust in Me
shall possess the land
and shall inherit My holy mountain.
Healing for the Contrite
14 And it shall be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
take up every stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
Children and Parents
6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with a promise, 3 “so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”[a]
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Servants and Masters
5 Servants, obey those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of your heart, as to Christ, 6 not serving when eyes are on you, but as pleasing men as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing any man does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is enslaved or free.
9 And masters, do the same things for them, no longer threatening, knowing that your Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
The Battle Against Evil
10 Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your waist girded with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 having your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace, 16 and above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the fiery arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Pray in the Spirit always with all kinds of prayer and supplication. To that end be alert with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. 19 Pray for me, that the power to speak may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.
Final Greetings
21 Now that you also may know my activities and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you might know our activities and that he might comfort your hearts.
23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
Psalm 70(A)
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David. To bring remembrance.
1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O Lord.
2 May those who seek my life
be ashamed and confused;
may those who desire my harm
be driven back and humiliated.
3 May they turn back as a consequence of their shame
who say “Aha! Aha!”
4 May all those who seek You
rejoice and be glad in You;
and may those who love Your salvation continually say,
“God be magnified!”
5 But I am poor and needy;
make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay!
Saying Twenty-Four
8 He who devises to do evil
will be called a schemer of plots.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.