The Daily Audio Bible
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A Person Found Murdered
21 Someone might be found murdered. He might be lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to own. And no one knows who killed him. 2 Your elders and judges should go to where he was found. And they should measure how far it is to the nearby cities. 3 The elders of the city nearest the body are responsible. They must take a young cow that has never worked or worn a yoke. 4 And they must lead her down to a valley. It must never have been plowed or planted. It must have a stream flowing through it. There they must break the young cow’s neck. 5 The priests should come forward. They are the sons of Levi. They have been chosen by the Lord your God. They are to serve and give blessings in the Lord’s name. And they are to decide cases of quarreling and attacks. 6 Then all the elders of the city nearest the murdered man should wash their hands. They should do it over the young cow whose neck was broken in the valley. 7 They should declare: “We did not kill this man. And we did not see it happen. 8 Lord, remove this sin of your people Israel. You have saved them. Don’t blame your people, the Israelites, for this innocent man’s murder.” And so the murder will be paid for. 9 Then you will have removed from yourselves the guilt of murdering an innocent person. You will be doing what the Lord says is right.
Captive Women as Wives
10 You will go to war against your enemies. The Lord will help you defeat them. You will take them captive. 11 You might see a beautiful woman among the captives. And you might be attracted to her. You may take her as your wife. 12 Bring her into your home. She must shave her head and cut her nails. 13 She must change out of the clothes she was wearing when you captured her. And she must live in your house and cry for her parents for a month. After that, you may marry her. You will be her husband, and she will be your wife. 14 But you might not be pleased with her. Then let her go anywhere she wants. You must not sell her for money. You must not make her a slave. You have taken away her honor.
The Oldest Son
15 A man may have two wives. He might love one wife but not the other. Both wives might have sons by him. But the older son might be the son of the wife he does not love. 16 Someday that man must will his property to his sons. But he must not give the son of the wife he loves what belongs to the older son. The older son is the son of the wife the man does not love. 17 He must agree to give the older son two shares of everything he owns. The older son is from the wife he does not love. That son was the first to prove his father could have children. So he has the rights that belong to the older son.
Sons Who Refuse to Obey
18 A man might have a son who is stubborn. The son turns against his father and mother and doesn’t obey them. He will not listen when they correct him. 19 His parents must take him to the elders at the city gate. 20 They will say to the leaders, “Our son is stubborn and turns against us. He will not obey us. He eats too much. And he is always drunk.” 21 Then all the men in his town must throw stones at him until he dies. Get rid of the evil among you. All the people of Israel will hear about this and be afraid.
Other Laws
22 A man might be guilty of a sin worthy of death. He must be put to death and his body displayed on a tree. 23 But don’t leave his body hanging on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day. Anyone whose body is displayed on a tree is cursed by God. You must not ruin the land the Lord your God is giving you to own.
22 You might see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep wandering away. Don’t ignore it. Take it back to its owner. 2 The owner might not live close to you. Or you might not know who he is. Then take the animal home with you. Keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then give it back to him. 3 Do the same thing if you find his donkey or coat or anything he lost. Don’t just ignore it.
4 You might see your fellow Israelite’s donkey or ox fallen on the road. Don’t ignore it. Help him get it up.
5 A woman must not wear men’s clothes. And a man must not wear women’s clothes. The Lord your God hates anyone who does that.
6 You might find a bird’s nest by the road. It might be in a tree or on the ground. And the mother bird might be sitting on the young birds or eggs. Do not take the mother bird with the young birds. 7 You may take the young birds. But you must let the mother bird go free. Then things will go well for you. And you will live a long time.
8 When you build a new house, build a wall around the roof.[a] Then you will not be guilty of murder if someone falls off the roof.
9 Don’t plant two different kinds of seeds in your vineyard. Otherwise, both crops will be ruined.
10 Don’t plow with an ox and a donkey tied together.
11 Don’t wear clothes made of wool and linen woven together.
12 Tie several pieces of thread together. Then put these tassels on the four corners of your coat.
Marriage Laws
13 A man might marry a girl and have intimate relations with her. But he might decide that he does not like her. 14 So he might lie about her and give her a bad name. He might say, “I married this woman. But when I had intimate relations with her, I did not find that she was a virgin.” 15 Then the girl’s parents must bring proof that she was a virgin. They must bring it to the elders at the city gate. 16 The girl’s father will say to the leaders, “I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife. But now he does not want her. 17 This man has told lies about my daughter. He has said, ‘I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.’ But here is the proof that my daughter was a virgin.” Then her parents are to show the sheet to the city leaders. 18 Then the leaders must take the man and punish him. 19 They must make him pay about two and a half pounds of silver. The silver will go to the girl’s father. This is because the man has given an Israelite girl a bad name. The girl must continue to be the man’s wife. And he may not divorce her as long as he lives.
20 But the things the husband said about his wife might be true. And there might be no proof that she was a virgin. 21 If so, the girl must be brought to the door of her father’s house. Then the men of the town must put her to death by throwing stones at her. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel. She had physical relations before she was married. You must get rid of the evil among you.
22 A man might be found committing adultery with another man’s wife. Both the woman and the man who committed adultery with her must die. Get rid of this evil from Israel.
23 A man might meet a virgin in a city and have physical relations with her. But she might be engaged to another man. 24 You must take both of them to the city gate. Put them both to death by throwing stones at them. Kill the girl because she was in a city and did not scream for help. And kill the man for having physical relations with another man’s wife. You must get rid of the evil among you.
25 But a man might meet a girl out in the country. He might force her to have physical relations with him. But she might be engaged to another man. Only the man who forced her to have physical relations with her must be put to death. 26 Don’t do anything to the girl. She has not done a sin worthy of death. This is like the person who attacks and murders his neighbor. 27 The man found the engaged girl in the country. And she screamed. But no one was there to save her.
28 A man might meet a virgin who is not engaged to be married. He might force her to have physical relations with him. And people might find out about it. 29 The man must pay the girl’s father about one and one-fourth pounds of silver. He must also marry the girl because he has dishonored her. And he may never divorce her for as long as he lives.
30 A man must not marry his father’s wife. He must not dishonor his father in this way.
A Samaritan Town
51 The time was coming near when Jesus would leave and be taken to heaven. He was determined to go to Jerusalem 52 and sent some men ahead of him. The men went into a town in Samaria to make everything ready for Jesus. 53 But the people there would not welcome him because he was going toward Jerusalem. 54 James and John, the followers of Jesus, saw this. They said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven and destroy those people?”[a]
55 But Jesus turned and scolded them. [And Jesus said, “You don’t know what kind of spirit you belong to. 56 The Son of Man did not come to destroy the souls of men but to save them.”][b] Then he and his followers went to another town.
Following Jesus
57 They were all going along the road. Someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you any place you go.”
58 Jesus answered, “The foxes have holes to live in. The birds have nests to live in. But the Son of Man has no place to rest his head.”
59 Jesus said to another man, “Follow me!”
But the man said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the people who are dead bury their own dead! You must go and tell about the kingdom of God.”
61 Another man said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to my family.”
62 Jesus said, “Anyone who begins to plow a field but keeps looking back is of no use in the kingdom of God.”
Jesus Sends the 72 Men
10 After this, the Lord chose 72[c] others. He sent them out in pairs. He sent them ahead of him into every town and place where he planned to go. 2 He said to them, “There are a great many people to harvest. But there are only a few workers to harvest them. God owns the harvest. Pray to God that he will send more workers to help gather his harvest. 3 You can go now. But listen! I am sending you, and you will be like sheep among wolves. 4 Don’t carry a purse, a bag, or sandals. Don’t stop to talk with people on the road. 5 Before you go into a house, say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ 6 If a peaceful man lives there, your blessing of peace will stay with him. If the man is not peaceful, then your blessing of peace will come back to you. 7 Stay in the same house. Eat and drink what the people there give you. A worker should be given his pay. Don’t move from house to house. 8 If you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat what they give you. 9 Heal the sick who live there. Tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is soon coming to you!’ 10 But if you go into a town, and the people don’t welcome you, then go out into the streets of that town. Say to them, 11 ‘Even the dirt from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you.[d] But remember that the kingdom of God is coming soon.’ 12 I tell you, on the Judgment Day it will be worse for the people of that town than for the people of Sodom.[e]
A Nation in Trouble Prays
A maskil of Asaph.
74 God, why have you rejected us for so long?
Why are you angry with us, the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember the people you bought long ago.
You saved us. We are your very own.
You live on Mount Zion.
3 Make your way through these old ruins.
The enemy wrecked everything in the Temple.
4 Those who were against you shouted in your meeting place.
They raised their flags there.
5 They came with axes raised
as if to cut down a forest of trees.
6 They smashed the carved panels
with their axes and hatchets.
7 They burned your Temple to the ground.
They have made the place where you live unclean.
8 They thought, “We will completely crush them!”
They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.
9 We do not see any signs.
There are no more prophets.
And no one knows how long this will last.
10 God, how much longer will the enemy make fun of you?
Will they insult you forever?
11 Why do you hold back your power?
Bring your power out in the open and destroy them!
12 God, you have been our king for a long time.
You have saved this country.
13 You split open the sea by your power.
You broke the heads of the sea monster.
14 You smashed the heads of the monster Leviathan.
You gave him to the desert creatures as food.
15 You opened up the springs and streams.
And you made the rivers run dry.
16 Both the day and the night are yours.
You made the sun and the moon.
17 You made all the limits on the earth.
You created summer and winter.
18 Lord, remember how the enemy insulted you.
Remember how those foolish people turned away from you.
19 Do not give us, your doves, to those wild animals.
Never forget your poor people.
20 Remember the agreement you made with us
because violence fills every dark corner of this land.
21 Do not let your suffering people be disgraced.
The poor and helpless people praise you.
22 God, come and defend yourself.
Remember the insults that come from those foolish people all day long.
23 Don’t forget what your enemies said.
Don’t forget their roar as they rise against you always.
11 The person who works his land will have plenty of food.
But the one who chases useless dreams isn’t wise.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.