The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the NLT. Switch to the NLT to read along with the audio.
The Lord Will Bless Jerusalem
8 The Lord of heaven’s armies spoke his word to me again. 2 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “I have a very strong love for Jerusalem. My strong love for her is like a fire burning in me.”
3 This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Jerusalem. I will live in Jerusalem. Then it will be called the City of Truth. And the mountain of the Lord of heaven’s armies will be called the Holy Mountain.”
4 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Old men and old women will again sit along Jerusalem’s streets. Each will carry a cane because of his age. 5 And the streets will be filled with boys and girls playing.”
6 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Those who are left alive then may think it is too difficult to happen. But it is not too difficult for me,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies. 7 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “I will save my people from countries in the east and west. 8 I will bring them back. And they will live in Jerusalem. They will be my people. And I will be their good and loyal God.”
9 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Be strong, you who are hearing these words today. The prophets spoke these words when the foundation was laid for the building of the Temple. 10 Before that time there was no money to hire men or animals. People could not safely come and go because of the enemies. I had turned everyone against his neighbor. 11 But I will not do to these people who are left alive what I did in the past,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies.
12 “Their seeds will come up. Their grapevines will have fruit. The ground will give good crops. And the sky will send rain. I will give all this to those who are left alive. 13 Judah and Israel, your names have been used as curses. But I will save you. And you will be a blessing. So don’t be afraid. Be strong.”
14 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Your ancestors made me angry. So I planned to punish you. I had no mercy,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies. 15 “But now I am planning to do good to Jerusalem and Judah. So don’t be afraid. 16 But do these things: Tell each other the truth. In the courts judge with truth and complete fairness. 17 Do not make plans to hurt your neighbors. And don’t make false promises. I hate all these things,” says the Lord.
18 The Lord of heaven’s armies spoke his word to me again. 19 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “You have special days when you give up eating. These days are in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months. Those days will become good, joyful, happy feasts in Judah. But you must love truth and peace.”
20 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Many people from many cities will still come to Jerusalem. 21 People from one city will say to those from another city, ‘We are going to pray to the Lord. We want to ask the Lord of heaven’s armies for help. Come and go with us.’ 22 Many people and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem. They will worship the Lord of heaven’s armies. They will pray to the Lord.”
23 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “At that time, ten men from different countries with different languages will come. They will take hold of one Jew by his coat. They will say to him, ‘Let us go with you. We have heard that God is with you.’”
The Bowls of God’s Anger
16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple. The voice said to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of God’s anger on the earth.”
2 The first angel left. He poured out his bowl on the land. Then ugly and painful sores came upon all those who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his idol.
3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. Then the sea became blood like that of a dead man. Every living thing in the sea died.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water. And they became blood. 5 Then I heard the angel of the waters say to God:
“Holy One, you are the One who is and who was.
You are right to decide to punish these evil people.
6 They have spilled the blood of your holy people and your prophets.
Now you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”
7 And I heard the altar say:
“Yes, Lord God All-Powerful,
the way you punish evil people is right and fair.”
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun. The sun was given power to burn the people with fire. 9 They were burned by the great heat, and they cursed the name of God. God is the One who had control over these troubles. But the people refused to change their hearts and lives and give glory to God.
10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast. And darkness covered the beast’s kingdom. People bit their tongues because of the pain. 11 They cursed the God of heaven because of their pain and the sores they had. But they refused to change their hearts and turn away from the evil things they did.
12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates. The water in the river was dried up. This prepared the way for the kings from the east to come. 13 Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs. They came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 These evil spirits are the spirits of demons. They have power to do miracles. They go out to the kings of the whole world. They go out to gather the kings for battle on the great day of God All-Powerful.
15 “Listen! I will come as a thief comes! Happy is the person who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him. Then he will not have to go without clothes and be ashamed because he is naked.”
16 Then the evil spirits gathered the kings together to the place that is called Armageddon[a] in the Hebrew language.
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. Then a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne. The voice said, “It is finished!” 18 Then there were flashes of lightning, noises, thunder, and a big earthquake. This was the worst earthquake that has ever happened since people have been on earth. 19 The great city split into three parts. The cities of the nations were destroyed. And God did not forget to punish Babylon the Great. He gave that city the cup filled with the wine of his terrible anger. 20 Every island disappeared, and there were no more mountains. 21 Giant hailstones fell on people from the sky. The hailstones weighed about 100 pounds each. People cursed God because of the hail. This trouble was a terrible thing.
A Prayer for Victory
Of David.
144 Praise the Lord, my Rock.
He trains me for war.
He trains me for battle.
2 He gives me love and protects me like a strong, walled city.
He is my place of safety and my Savior.
He is my shield and my protection.
He helps me rule my people.
3 Lord, why is man important to you?
Why do you even think about a human being?
4 A man is like a breath.
His life is like a passing shadow.
5 Lord, tear open the sky and come down.
Touch the mountains so they will smoke.
6 Send the lightning and scatter my enemies.
Shoot your arrows and force them away.
7 Reach down from above.
Pull me out of this sea of enemies.
Rescue me from these foreigners.
8 They are liars.
They are dishonest.
9 God, I will sing a new song to you.
I will play to you on the ten-stringed harp.
10 You give victory to kings.
You save your servant David from cruel swords.
11 Save me, rescue me from these foreigners.
They are liars.
They are dishonest.
12 Let our sons in their youth
grow like strong trees.
Let our daughters be
like the decorated stones in the Temple.
13 Let our barns be filled
with crops of all kinds.
Let our sheep in the fields have
thousands and thousands of lambs.
14 Let our cattle be strong.
Let no one break in.
Let there be no war.
Let there be no screams in our streets.
15 Happy are those who are like this.
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.
29 “There are three things that strut proudly.
There are really four that walk as if they are important:
30 Lions are the proudest animals.
They are strong and run from nothing.
31 Roosters and male goats strut proudly.
And so does a king when his army is around him.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.