The Daily Audio Bible
Deborah and Barak
4 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud had died. 2 So the Lord sold them to King Jabin(A) of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.(B) The commander of his army was Sisera(C) who lived in Harosheth of the Nations.[a] 3 Then the Israelites cried out(D) to the Lord, because Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots, and he harshly oppressed them twenty years.
4 Deborah, a prophetess(E) and the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 She would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to settle disputes.(F)
6 She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Hasn’t the Lord, the God of Israel,(G) commanded you, ‘Go, deploy the troops on Mount Tabor,(H) and take with you ten thousand men from the Naphtalites(I) and Zebulunites?(J) 7 Then I will lure Sisera commander of Jabin’s army, his chariots, and his infantry at the Wadi Kishon(K) to fight against you, and I will hand him over to you.’”(L)
8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go.”
9 “I will gladly go with you,” she said, “but you will receive no honor on the road you are about to take, because the Lord will sell Sisera to a woman.” So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the sons of Hobab,(M) Moses’s father-in-law,(N) and pitched his tent beside the oak tree of Zaanannim,(O) which was near Kedesh.
12 It was reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor. 13 Sisera summoned all his nine hundred iron chariots and all the troops who were with him from Harosheth of the Nations to the Wadi Kishon. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn’t the Lord gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.
15 The Lord threw Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army into a panic(P) before Barak’s assault. Sisera left his chariot and fled on foot. 16 Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth of the Nations, and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.
17 Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between King Jabin of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael went out to greet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, my lord. Come in with me. Don’t be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket. 19 He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink for I am thirsty.” She opened a container of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him again. 20 Then he said to her, “Stand at the entrance to the tent. If a man comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’” 21 While he was sleeping from exhaustion, Heber’s wife, Jael, took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She hammered the peg into his temple and drove it into the ground, and he died.
22 When Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to greet him and said to him, “Come and I will show you the man you are looking for.” So he went in with her, and there was Sisera lying dead with a tent peg through his temple!
23 That day God subdued King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 The power of the Israelites continued to increase against King Jabin of Canaan until they destroyed him.
Deborah’s Song
5 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang:
2 When the leaders lead[b] in Israel,
when the people volunteer,
blessed be the Lord.
3 Listen, kings! Pay attention, princes!
I will sing to the Lord;
I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.
4 Lord, when you came from Seir,(Q)
when you marched from the fields of Edom,
the earth trembled,(R)
the skies poured(S) rain,
and the clouds poured water.
5 The mountains melted before the Lord,
even Sinai,[c] before the Lord, the God of Israel.(T)
6 In the days of Shamgar(U) son of Anath,
in the days of Jael,(V)
the main roads were deserted
because travelers kept to the side roads.
7 Villages were deserted,[d]
they were deserted in Israel,
until I,[e] Deborah, arose,
a mother in Israel.
8 Israel chose new gods,
then there was war in the city gates.
Not a shield or spear was seen
among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart is with the leaders of Israel,
with the volunteers of the people.
Blessed be the Lord!
10 You who ride on white[f] donkeys,
who sit on saddle blankets,
and who travel on the road, give praise!
11 Let them tell the righteous acts(W) of the Lord,
the righteous deeds of his villagers in Israel,
with the voices of the singers at the watering places.[g]
Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates.
12 “Awake! Awake, Deborah!
Awake! Awake, sing a song!
Arise, Barak,
and take your prisoners,
son of Abinoam!”
13 Then the survivors(X) came down to the nobles;(Y)
the Lord’s people came down to me[h] against the warriors.
14 Those with their roots in Amalek[i] came from Ephraim;
Benjamin came with your people after you.
The leaders came down from Machir,(Z)
and those who carry a marshal’s staff came from Zebulun.
15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
Issachar was with Barak;
they were under his leadership[j](AA) in the valley.
There was great searching[k] of heart
among the clans of Reuben.
16 Why did you sit among the sheep pens[l]
listening to the playing of pipes for the flocks?
There was great searching of heart
among the clans of Reuben.
17 Gilead(AB) remained beyond the Jordan.
Dan, why did you linger at the ships?
Asher remained at the seashore
and stayed in his harbors.
18 The people of Zebulun defied death,
Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.
19 Kings came and fought.
Then the kings of Canaan fought
at Taanach by the Waters of Megiddo,
but they did not plunder the silver.
20 The stars fought from the heavens;
the stars fought with Sisera from their paths.
21 The river Kishon swept them away,(AC)
the ancient river, the river Kishon.
March on, my soul, in strength!
22 The horses’ hooves then hammered—
the galloping, galloping of his[m] stallions.
23 “Curse Meroz,” says the angel of the Lord,
“Bitterly curse her inhabitants,
for they did not come to help the Lord,
to help the Lord with the warriors.”
24 Most blessed of women is Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite;
she is most blessed among tent-dwelling women.
25 He asked for water; she gave him milk.
She brought him cream(AD) in a majestic bowl.
26 She reached for a tent peg,
her right hand, for a workman’s hammer.
Then she hammered Sisera—
she crushed his head;
she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 He collapsed, he fell, he lay down between her feet;
he collapsed, he fell between her feet;
where he collapsed, there he fell—dead.
28 Sisera’s mother looked through the window;
she peered through the lattice, crying out:
“Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why don’t I hear the hoofbeats of his horses?” [n]
29 Her wisest princesses answer her;
she even answers herself:
30 “Are they not finding and dividing the spoil—
a girl or two[o] for each warrior,
the spoil of colored garments for Sisera,
the spoil of an embroidered garment or two for my neck?” [p]
31 Lord, may all your enemies perish as Sisera did.[q]
But may those who love him
be like the rising of the sun in its strength.
And the land had peace for forty years.
Be Ready for Trouble
35 He also said to them, “When I sent you out(A) without money-bag, traveling bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?”
“Not a thing,” they said.
36 Then he said to them, “But now, whoever has a money-bag should take it, and also a traveling bag. And whoever doesn’t have a sword should sell his robe and buy one. 37 For I tell you, what is written must be fulfilled in me: [a] And he was counted among the lawless.[b](B) Yes, what is written about me is coming to its fulfillment.”(C)
38 “Lord,” they said, “look, here are two swords.”
“That is enough!” he told them.
The Prayer in the Garden
39 He went out and made his way(D) as usual(E) to the Mount of Olives,(F) and the disciples followed him. 40 When he reached the place,(G) he told them, “Pray that you may not fall into temptation.”(H) 41 Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and began to pray,(I) 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup(J) away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
43 Then an angel from heaven(K) appeared to him, strengthening him. 44 Being in anguish,(L) he prayed more fervently, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.[c] 45 When he got up from prayer and came to the disciples, he found them sleeping, exhausted from their grief. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you won’t fall into temptation.”
Judas’s Betrayal of Jesus
47 While(M) he was still speaking, suddenly a mob came, and one of the Twelve named Judas was leading them. He came near Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
49 When those around him saw what was going to happen, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?” 50 Then one of them struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear.
51 But Jesus responded, “No more of this!” And touching his ear, he healed him. 52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, temple police, and the elders who had come for him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal?[d] 53 Every day while I was with you in the temple,(N) you never laid a hand on me. But this is your hour(O) —and the dominion of darkness.”(P)
Psalm 94
The Just Judge
1 Lord, God of vengeance—
God of vengeance, shine!(A)
2 Rise up, Judge of the earth;
repay the proud what they deserve.(B)
3 Lord, how long will the wicked—
how long will the wicked celebrate?(C)
4 They pour out arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.(D)
5 Lord, they crush your people;
they oppress your heritage.(E)
6 They kill the widow and the resident alien
and murder the fatherless.(F)
7 They say, “The Lord doesn’t see it.
The God of Jacob doesn’t pay attention.”(G)
8 Pay attention, you stupid people!
Fools, when will you be wise?(H)
9 Can the one who shaped the ear not hear,
the one who formed the eye not see?(I)
10 The one who instructs nations,
the one who teaches mankind knowledge—
does he not discipline?(J)
11 The Lord knows the thoughts of mankind;
they are futile.(K)
12 Lord, how happy is anyone you discipline
and teach from your law(L)
13 to give him relief from troubled times
until a pit is dug for the wicked.(M)
14 The Lord will not leave his people
or abandon his heritage,(N)
15 for the administration of justice will again be righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow[a] it.(O)
16 Who stands up for me against the wicked?
Who takes a stand for me against evildoers?(P)
17 If the Lord had not been my helper,
I would soon rest in the silence of death.(Q)
18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your faithful love will support me, Lord.(R)
19 When I am filled with cares,
your comfort brings me joy.(S)
20 Can a corrupt throne be your ally,
a throne that makes evil laws?(T)
21 They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.(U)
22 But the Lord is my refuge;
my God is the rock of my protection.(V)
23 He will pay them back for their sins
and destroy them for their evil.
The Lord our God will destroy them.(W)
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