The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the ESV. Switch to the ESV to read along with the audio.
Micah’s Idolatry
17 Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. 2 He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver which were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse [a]in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the Lord.” 3 He then returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I wholly dedicate the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son (A)to make a graven image and a molten image; now therefore, I will return [b]them to you.” 4 So when he returned the silver to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith who made [c]them into a graven image and a molten image, and [d]they were in the house of Micah. 5 And the man Micah had a [e](B)shrine and he made an (C)ephod and [f](D)household idols and [g]consecrated one of his sons, (E)that he might become his priest. 6 In those days (F)there was no king in Israel; (G)every man did what was right in his own eyes.
7 Now there was a young man from (H)Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he was [h]staying there. 8 Then the man departed from the city, from Bethlehem in Judah, to [i]stay wherever he might find a place; and as he made his journey, he came to the (I)hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. 9 Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to [j]stay wherever I may find a place.” 10 Micah then said to him, “Dwell with me and be (J)a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a suit of clothes, and your maintenance.” So the Levite went in. 11 The Levite agreed to live with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12 So Micah [k]consecrated the Levite, and the young man (K)became his priest and [l]lived in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, seeing I have a Levite as priest.”
Danites Seek Territory
18 (L)In those days there was no king of Israel; and (M)in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day [m]an inheritance had not [n]been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel. 2 So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, [o]valiant men from (N)Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, “Go, search the land.” And they came to (O)the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 When they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?” 4 He said to them, “Thus and so has Micah done to me, and he has hired me and (P)I have become his priest.” 5 They said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be prosperous.” 6 The priest said to them, “Go in peace; your way in which you are going [p]has the Lord’s approval.”
7 Then the five men departed and came to (Q)Laish and saw the people who were in it living in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no [q]ruler humiliating them for anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. 8 When they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” 9 They said, “Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you [r]sit still? Do not delay to go, to enter, to possess the land. 10 When you enter, you will come to a secure people with a spacious land; for God has given it into your hand, (R)a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.”
11 Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war set out. 12 They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place [s](S)Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is [t]west of Kiriath-jearim. 13 They passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.
Danites Take Micah’s Idols
14 Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish said to their kinsmen, “Do you know that there are in these houses (T)an ephod and [u]household idols and a graven image and a molten image? Now therefore, consider what you should do.” 15 They turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare. 16 The six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17 Now the five men who went to spy out the land went up and entered there, and took (U)the graven image and the ephod and [v]household idols and the molten image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war. 18 When these went into Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod and [w]household idols and the molten image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 They said to him, “Be silent, (V)put your hand over your mouth and come with us, and be to us (W)a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” 20 The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod and [x]household idols and the graven image and went among the people.
21 Then they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the livestock and the valuables in front of them. 22 When they had gone some distance from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house assembled and overtook the sons of Dan. 23 They cried to the sons of Dan, who turned [y]around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you have assembled together?” 24 He said, “You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what do I have besides? So how can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” 25 The sons of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, or else [z]fierce men will fall upon you and you will [aa]lose your life, with the lives of your household.” 26 So the sons of Dan went on their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.
27 Then they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and came to (X)Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city with fire. 28 And there was no one to deliver them, because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley which is near (Y)Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and lived in it. 29 (Z)They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born in Israel; however, the name of the city formerly was Laish. 30 The sons of Dan set up for themselves (AA)the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of (AB)Gershom, the son of [ab]Manasseh, (AC)he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image which he had made, all the time that the (AD)house of God was at Shiloh.
The New Birth
3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named (A)Nicodemus, a (B)ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “(C)Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these [a](D)signs that You do unless (E)God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one (F)is born [b]again he cannot see (G)the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of (H)water and the Spirit he cannot enter into (I)the kingdom of God. 6 (J)That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born [c]again.’ 8 (K)The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you (L)the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, (M)we speak of what we know and (N)testify of what we have seen, and (O)you do not accept our testimony. 12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 (P)No one has ascended into heaven, but (Q)He who descended from heaven: (R)the Son of Man. 14 As (S)Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must (T)the Son of Man (U)be lifted up; 15 so that whoever [d]believes will (V)in Him have eternal life.
16 “For God so (W)loved the world, that He (X)gave His [e](Y)only begotten Son, that whoever (Z)believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God (AA)did not send the Son into the world (AB)to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 (AC)He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of (AD)the [f]only begotten Son of God. 19 This is the judgment, that (AE)the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for (AF)their deeds were evil. 20 (AG)For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But he who (AH)practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
The Lord’s Care over All His Works.
104 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great;
You are (B)clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Covering Yourself with (C)light as with a cloak,
(D)Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
3 [a]He (E)lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
[b]He makes the (F)clouds His chariot;
[c]He walks upon the (G)wings of the wind;
4 [d]He makes [e](H)the winds His messengers,
[f]Flaming (I)fire His ministers.
5 He (J)established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not [g]totter forever and ever.
6 You (K)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 At Your (L)rebuke they fled,
At the (M)sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the (N)place which You established for them.
9 You set a (O)boundary that they may not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10 [h]He sends forth (P)springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They (Q)give drink to every beast of the field;
The (R)wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 [i]Beside them the birds of the heavens (S)dwell;
They [j]lift up their voices among the branches.
13 [k]He (T)waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
(U)The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 [l]He causes the (V)grass to grow for the [m]cattle,
And (W)vegetation for the [n]labor of man,
So that [o]he may bring forth [p]food (X)from the earth,
15 And (Y)wine which makes man’s heart glad,
(Z)So that he may make his face glisten with oil,
And [q]food which (AA)sustains man’s heart.
16 The trees of the Lord [r]drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the (AB)birds build their nests,
And the (AC)stork, whose home is the [s]fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the (AD)wild goats;
The (AE)cliffs are a refuge for the [t](AF)shephanim.
19 He made the moon (AG)for the seasons;
The (AH)sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You (AI)appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the (AJ)beasts of the forest [u]prowl about.
21 The (AK)young lions roar after their prey
[v]And (AL)seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw
And lie down in their (AM)dens.
23 Man goes forth to (AN)his work
And to his labor until evening.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.