Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

Join us in reading through the whole NLT Bible in 365 20-minute-long podcasts! This podcast was previously named Daily Bible Reading.

NL-Day018 Genesis 31; Job 18; Mark 11 01/11/2026

NL-Day017 Genesis 30; Job 17; Mark 10:28-52 01/11/2026

NL-Day017 Genesis 30; Job 17; Mark 10:28-52 GENESIS 30: In yesterday’s reading , Jacob left home, and God appeared to him and promised to bless him as he blessed Isaac. Jacob worked for Laban, married both Leah and Rachel, and he had four sons through Leah. JOB 17: Yesterday was the first chapter of Job's response to Eliphaz. He complained that his three comforters were not very comforting. 1-2 GNT I have heard words like that before; the comfort you give is only torment. 3 Are you going to keep on talking forever? Do you always have to have the last word? And he said, 6 But nothing I say helps, and being silent does not calm my pain. And 9 In anger God tears me limb from limb; he glares at me with hate. This last statement shows how easy it is for us humans to misunderstand God’s will or intentions concerning us. God did not hate Job! MARK 10b: Yesterday in the first half of chapter 10, Jesus gave God's true perspective on divorce, blessed some children, and said that is impossible for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God (in their own strength). By the way, there is a wrong teaching that is still often heard. People have heard that the ‘eye of the needle’ was a little door next to the big gate in Jerusalem, and that a camel could get through this gate but all the burden would have to be taken off. This is wrong. No such gate was made in New Testament days in Jerusalem. Such gates were made in castles in Europe in the middle ages. No, the meaning of the saying is just what he said: It is just as impossible for the rich to enter heaven as it is for a camel to go through the eye of a real sewing needle. The next statement of Jesus however shows the way the rich may enter heaven. Jesus gave a wonderful promise for missionaries at the end of the chapter. I bear witness to every part of that. 2,000 Orya people call me ‘Aya Bak’— which means ‘older brother’. The Lord has blessed me way more than 100 times. Constable’s notes for v.49: The two descriptions of Jesus in these verses reveal the faith of Bartimaeus. The crowds simply described Jesus as “the Nazarene.” Bartimaeus had obviously heard about Jesus and had concluded that He was the Messiah. “Son of David” is a messianic title (cf. 11:9-10; 12:35-37; 2 Sam. 7:8-16; Isa. 11:1, 10; Jer. 23:5-6; Ezek. 34:23-24). Even though Bartimaeus lacked physical sight he saw more clearly who Jesus was then the multitudes who could see. His cry for mercy from Jesus expressed the attitude of trust, humility, and dependence that Jesus had been teaching His disciples to maintain. NLT Translation notes: 33 “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where [I,/0] the Son of Manh will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence [me/him] to die and hand [me/him] over to the Romans.i 34 They will mock [me], spit on [me], flog [me] with a whip, and kill [me], but after three days [I/he] will rise again.” [One very seldom talks of oneself using a third person pronoun in most of the world's languages.] 45 For even [I, as/0] the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give [my/his] life as a ransom for many.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go, [you are healed now because you fully believed in me//for your faith has healed you].” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/6148211

NL-Day016 Genesis 28-29; Job 16; Mark 10:1-31 01/11/2026

NL-Day015 Genesis 27; Job 15; Mark 9:30-50 01/11/2026

NL-Day015 Genesis 27; Job 15; Mark 9:30-50 GENESIS 27: In yesterday's reading we read the history of Isaac and Rebecca's family before the narrative focuses on their dissimilar twin sons— and especially Jacob. JOB 15: God has revealed so much more to us in our day than what Job could know in his day. One thing was shown yesterday. Job asked, 14:14 If a man dies, can he come back to life? … MARK 9b: After coming down the mountain with three of his disciples, Jesus met his other disciples who were having two difficulties simultaneously with people arguing with them and with failing to heal a man’s son— who was possessed by an evil spirit or a demon. Repeating a little of what I said in an earlier podcast: In Greek, ‘demon’ is daimonia, and the other term, ‘evil spirit’, is more literally ‘unclean spirit’. As someone who has worked in another culture and seen what has happened over my lifetime in the USA, I hope it will be helpful to some readers if I share about this topic. Some of you— particularly those of the older generation in the USA, will say, “What people called demons in Jesus’ day were just what we call mental illness.” While, paradoxically, it is the younger generation in the USA who more readily believe that demons actually exist. I think the younger generation have it right this time. Demons do exist. Here’s what I have observed: Where demons are not believed in, they are happy to stay in the background— where they are very adept at promoting falsehood and sin. Where demons are feared, worshipped, where people listen to satanic music and take part in occult rituals, demons come out more openly— to increase people’s fear of them and to manipulate people. As believers in Jesus, remember that Jesus has complete power over Satan and all demons. We who belong to Jesus should not fear them. Nor should we seek communication with such beings. Remember two things from yesterday’s story: The father wisely cried out, “Help my unbelief!” So the first thing to remember is to fully believe in Christ Jesus. The second is the answer Jesus gave to the disciples question: Prayer is of vital importance in this area of spiritual warfare. NLT Translation notes: Mrk. 9:22 The [demon/spirit] often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” 25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil f spirit. “Listen, you [demon/spirit] [who/that] makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!” 26 Then the [evil/0] spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.” 29 Jesus replied, “[That/This] kind can be cast out only by prayer. ” heading at 38: [Doing thing for Jesus' cause//Using the Name of Jesus]38 John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.” 31 for he wanted to spend more time with his disciples and teach them. He said to them, “[I, the//The] Son of Man, [am/is] going to be betrayed into the hands of [my/his] enemies. [I/He] will be killed, but three days later [I/he] will rise from the dead.” 32 [However/0] they didn’t understand what he was saying, however, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant. 39 “Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle [on my behalf/in my name/using my name] will soon be able to speak evil of me. [One thing I do not like about the NLT is the translation of 'in my name' as 'using my name' in places having to do with prayer like John 16. In v38 here, it works well. For believers in this age, when we pray 'in Jesus' name', the meaning is not simply that we end our prayers with an automatic 'in Jesus name'. The meaning of praying in Jesus' name is that we pray things for the cause of Jesus, on behalf of Jesus, or for Jesus' glory. This is why I end so many prayers on these podcasts with the idea of Jesus’ glory!] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/6139067

NL-Day014: Genesis 25-26; Job 14; Mark 9:1-29 01/11/2026

NL-Day014: Genesis 25-26; Job 14; Mark 9:1-29 Do you know an elderly person who can no longer read the Bible? Or, do you know someone who would enjoy listening to audio Scripture but who is not able to use the Internet? An easy way to help such people is by sharing MP3 recordings via inexpensive MP3 players. Many good podcast apps (like AntennaPod for Android) have settings for how many episodes can be downloaded. Set the number at 400 and you should get a year’s worth, with a few extras that can be deleted. The challenge then is to find out where your device saves the downloads. Hint: For Android devices, look in the Android/data folder. I remind you that the use of the New Living Translation for these podcasts is due to the generosity of Tyndale House Foundation. The full attribution text for the NLT is found at the end of the episode notes. GENESIS 25-26: Yesterday in Genesis 24 we read the charming story of how Rebecca became Isaac's wife. JOB 14: In chapter 13, Job challenged Zophar and his other two friends with these words, 6 GNT Listen while I state my case. 7 Why are you lying? Do you think your lies will benefit God? 8 Are you trying to defend him? Are you going to argue his case in court? 9 If God looks at you closely, will he find anything good? Do you think you can fool God the way you fool others? … 14 I am ready to risk my life. 15 I've lost all hope, so what if God kills me? I am going to state my case to him. 16 It may even be that my boldness will save me, since no wicked person would dare to face God. Job said in 13:15 that he would present his case to God, and that is exactly what he does, starting in verse 19 (in the GNT) or 20 (in the NLT). And Job continues to speak to God through all of chapter 14. MARK 9: Yesterday at the end of Mark 8, Jesus gave this requirement for all his followers: PET “Everyone who wants to follow Me must leave his own self interests, and follow Me continually with this resolve, ‘No matter if I die— even if that be by crucifixion, I will keep following the Lord!’” [The PET stands for the Plain English Translation. That is an English translation of our Plain Indonesian Translation (TSI).] The rest of the chapter has other important verses including this one: If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. NLT Translation notes:Mrk. 9:1 Jesus went on to say, “I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see [God coming and setting up his Kingdom on earth to reign in great power!//the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!]” [In most languages (and I really think we need to include English) kingdoms don't 'come' or 'arrive'. Similarly, cabbages don't read books. Such things are collocational clashes. The kingdom of North America doesn't move to South America! The Lord's prayer is a famous example. Instead of 'May your kingdom come' it is better in most of the world's languages to say, “May You come and reign here as king.”] 9 As they went back down the mountain, he told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until [He,/0] the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 12 Jesus responded, “[That's right.//0] Elijah is [0/indeed] coming to come first to get everything ready. Yet why do the Scriptures say that [I,/0] the Son of Man, must suffer greatly and be treated with utter contempt? 25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil f spirit. “Listen, you [demon/spirit] [who/that] makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!” 26 Then the [evil/0] spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.” 29 Jesus replied, “[That/This] kind can be cast out only by prayer. ” Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/6139030

NL-Day013 Genesis 24; Job 13; Mark 8:22-38 01/11/2026

NL-Day013 Genesis 24; Job 13; Mark 8:22-38 GENESIS 24: In Genesis 22, Isaac asked, “I see that you have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide one.” It is amazing to me that Moses adds the proverb, “even today people say, “On the Lord's mountain he provides.” In our time, we easily see how this points to the provision of the Lamb of God on the mountain called Calvary. JOB 13: As we saw in chapter 12, Job by now is pretty ticked off, starting off with, “Yes, you are the voice of the people. When you die, wisdom will die with you. Note the irony Job points out: 4 Even my friends laugh at me now; they laugh, although I am righteous and blameless; but there was a time when God answered my prayers. 5 You have no troubles, and yet you make fun of me; you hit someone who is about to fall. 6 But thieves and godless people live in peace, though their only god is their own strength. MARK 8b: In yesterday's reading, Jesus fed the 4,000, and then the Pharisees demand a miraculous sign ‘showing God’s approval’— literally a sign ‘from heaven’. The reading yesterday ended with the disciples not understanding what Jesus meant by 15 “Take care,” Jesus warned them, “and be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” NLT Translation notes: Mrk. 8:23 Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, [applying his own spit to//spitting on] the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?” [The Greek does actually say that Jesus 'spit' in the man's eyes, but to spit in someone's face is so objectionable that more than one translation softens this a bit!] 27 Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “[What do people say as to the position/role I am assuming?”//Who do people say I am?”][Normally in our language if Jesus said, “Who do people say I am,” the answer would be “Jesus”. Jesus was not asking about his name, so we need a different question opener than “Who”.] 28 “Well,” they replied, “some say [you are taking the position of] John the Baptist, some say [you are replacing] Elijah, and others say you are [filling the role of] one of the other prophets.” 29 Then he asked them, “[But in your opinion, whose position am I taking?”//But who do you say I am?”]… 31 Then Jesus began to tell them that [he— as] the Son of Man, must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He [said, “I will be] killed, but three days later [I will/he would] rise from the dead. [The changes in this paragraph are made to show that Jesus is not talking about some third person named the Son of Man, but about himself. Even in English, a man seldom talks about himself using the pronoun 'he'.] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/6139010

NL-Day012 Genesis 22-23; Job 12; Mark 8:1-21 01/11/2026

NL-Day012 Genesis 22-23; Job 12; Mark 8:1-21 GENESIS 22-23: In yesterday's reading in Genesis, Abraham deceived Abimelech, Isaak was born, and Sarah demanded that Hagar and her son be sent away— which grieved Abraham. (But remember that story, because Paul uses it as a spiritual metaphor in Galatians 4.) Finally Abimelech visited Abraham, and the two made several formally ratified promises. JOB 12: Yesterday, Zophar said to Job, Job 11:1-2 GNT Will no one answer all this nonsense? Does talking so much put you in the right? 3 Job, do you think we can't answer you? That your mocking words will leave us speechless? 4 You claim that what you say is true; you claim you are pure in the sight of God. 5 How I wish God would answer you! 6 He would tell you there are many sides to wisdom; there are things too deep for human knowledge. God is punishing you less than you deserve. Having accused Job of sin in that way, Zophar then goes on to give this lovely advice: 13 Put your heart right, Job. Reach out to God. 14 Put away evil and wrong from your home. 15 Then face the world again, firm and courageous. 16 Then all your troubles will fade from your memory, MARK 8a: In Mark 7 yesterday, Jesus gave this very significant teaching: 15 GNT There is nothing that goes into you from the outside which can make you ritually unclean. Rather, it is what comes out of you that makes you unclean.” And we heard the way that Jesus gave a difficult test to the Gentile woman. Don’t just assume that Jesus was unfeeling to that woman. There is treasure there to dig for in that enigmatic test! NLT Translation note: 8:9 There were about 4,000 [people//men] in the crowd that day, and Jesus sent them home after they had eaten. [The 2007 edition has ‘people’ instead of ‘men’. The newest edition has ‘men’. Since Mat. 15:38 clearly says ‘men’, it is the better to use that word here also. However Mark doesn’t actually specify the gender, because he says, “Those who had eaten … .”] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/6137295

NL-Day011 Genesis 20-21; Job 11; Mark 7 01/04/2026

NL-Day010 Genesis 19; Job 10; Mark 6:30-56 01/04/2026

NL-Day010 Genesis 19; Job 10; Mark 6:30-56 GENESIS 19: In yesterday's reading, Abram and Sarai received new names and God confirmed and expanded his covenant with Abram (now Abraham). Circumcision was added as a sign of following the covenant. Angels visited Abraham and Sarah and Abraham bargained with God about saving the few righteous people in Sodom— among whom I am sure Abraham was thinking of Lot. JOB 10: Job continues his response to Bildad. At the end of chapter 9 Job showed mankind's need of a mediator: 32 “God is not a mortal like me, so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial. 33 If only there were a mediator between us, someone who could bring us together. 34 The mediator could make God stop beating me, and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment. 35 Then I could speak to him without fear, but I cannot do that in my own strength. Mankind has now received that mediator in the person of Jesus. MARK 6b: In the first part of chapter 6, Jesus sent out the twelve disciples after giving them authority to cast out evil spirits. He also sent them to teach, and to heal. Then we learned about the death of John the Baptist. —————— Do you know an elderly person who can no longer read the Bible? Do you know an elderly person who can no longer read the Bible? Or, do you know someone who would enjoy listening to audio Scripture but who is not able to use the Internet? An easy way to help such people is by sharing MP3 recordings via inexpensive MP3 players. Many good podcast apps (like AntennaPod for Android) have settings for how many episodes can be downloaded. Set the number at 400 and you should get a year’s worth, with a few extras that can be deleted. The challenge then is to find out where your device saves the downloads. Hint: For Android devices, look in the Android/data folder. NLT Translation notes: Mrk. 6:44 A total of 5,000 men [plus some their uncounted families members//and their families] were fed from those loaves! 48 He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He [acted as if he//0] intended to go past them, Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/6134842

NL-Day009 Genesis 17-18; Job 9; Mark 6:1-29 01/04/2026

NL-Day009 Genesis 17-18; Job 9; Mark 6:1-29 GENESIS 17-18: In chapter 15 we heard of God's covenant with Abram and Abram's _fully believing_ God's promises. Then in chapter 16 we read of Abram and Sarai trying to help God fulfill his promises. Chapter 15 verse 6 is a famous verse that is quoted three times in the NT: 6 Abram put his trust in the Lord, and because of this the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him. (GNT) [The NT translates this verse a bit differently because it is quoted from the Septuagint (the LXX, the ancient translation of the Old Testament into Koine Greek, made in the third and second centuries BC). ] JOB 9: In chapter 8, Bildad defended God as always acting with justice and insisted that this meant that there had to be some sin on Job's part or his children's. MARK 6a: In the second half of Mark5, Jesus did two amazing miracles— the second one causing a dead girl to live again. In our translations in Indonesia, it was found to help understanding to give Herodias a more feminine sounding name. In Indonesian Herod is Herodes, and Herodias was too close in sound and the two names became confused. Even though English does not have that problem, I think it helps a little to give Herodias a name that people will recognize as a girl-name, Herodiana. —————— NlT Translation notes: 17 For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John as a favor to [Herodiana/Herodias]. She had been his brother Philip’s wife, but Herod had married her. 18 John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife.” 19 So [Herodiana/Herodias] bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod’s approval she was powerless, [In our translations in Indonesia, it was found to help understanding to give Herodias a more feminine sounding name. In Indonesian Herod is Herodes, and Herodias was too close in sound and becomes confusing. Even though English does not have that problem, I think it will help some to give her name that people will recognize as a girl-name.] 21 [Herodianas’s] chance finally came on Herod’s birthday. He gave a party for his high government officials, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. 22 Then [Herodiana's/his] daughter, also named Herodia came in and performed a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his guests. “Ask me for anything you like,” the king said to the girl, “and I will give it to you.” [As NLT's footnote shows, there is a textual problem in this verse. I have changed this to be like NIV, CEV, ESV and many others.] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/6134839

NL-Day008 Genesis 15-16; Job 8; Mark 5:21-43 01/04/2026

NL-Day008 Genesis 15-16; Job 8; Mark 5:21-43 GENESIS 15-16: Yesterday we heard the stories of Abram and Lot separating company, and of Abram rescuing Lot in time of war. Then we heard of the mysterious priest Melchizedek (who we will read about in the NT in Hebrews). JOB 8: In the preceding two chapters, Job said some very despairing and angry words, telling God basically to go take a walk and leave him alone. Job again wished for his own death. He said to God, 19 Won't you look away long enough for me to swallow my spit? 20 Are you harmed by my sin, you jailer? Why use me for your target practice? Am I so great a burden to you? 21 Can't you ever forgive my sin? Can't you pardon the wrong I do? MARK 5b: In the first part of Mark 5, Jesus cast a host of demons out of a man named Mob. —————— NLT Translation notes: Gen. 15:6 And Abram [fully/0] believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his [believing like that//faith]. [This is the first time this year that you will hear me lecture on this, so I might as well make this footnote a bit long. Note how in English there is 'believed' and then 'faith'. This makes it appear that 'faith' is something different from 'belief'. This is not true. In Greek they share the identical root, faith being the noun form of believe. Here in Hebrew, a literal translation is as ESV: “And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” The 'it' refers back to 'believed'. Another example comes up in today's NT reading.] ==== Mrk. 5:36 But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just [keep believing in me//have faith].” [In Greek, Jesus does not use the noun form 'faith' here, but an imperative verb, “just believe.” When English speakers say “Just have faith,” it has become way too vague. It can mean anything and most of my audience in America can think of movies where Hollywood makes fun of the statement. In English the saying has become hollow. It is just like saying, “Keep up your hope.” Hope in what?! Again, in Greek, 'faith' and 'believe' are the same word.] 34 And he said to her, “[0/Daughter,] your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” [The Greek does say, ‘Daughter’. Like where Jesus calls Mary, his mother, ‘Woman’, this is very hard to translate. In the case of Jesus calling his mother ‘Woman’, in English that would be impolite, and he was not being so impolite in Greek or Aramaic. In the case of the woman healed in Mark 5, calling her ‘Daughter’ can imply that she was younger than Jesus— which is probably wrong. Or it can imply a that they were already friends. In English, I think it is probably best to leave out the word and maybe add the word ‘kindly’: he said to her kindly.] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/6133525

NL-Day007 Genesis 13-14; Job 7; Mark 5:1-20 01/04/2026

NL-Day007 Genesis 13-14; Job 7; Mark 5:1-20 GENESIS 13-14: In yesterday's reading we heard about God scattering people by confusing their languages. It’s important to remember that the city they were building is called Babylon. Then we traced the ancestry of Abram, who descended from Seth's line. Then we read about the call of Abram and what happened when they were staying in Egypt because of a famine. Abram doesn’t sound like a model husband. JOB 7: Today we hear the second chapter of Job’s response to Eliphaz. In chapter 6 Job said, 10 GNT If I knew he [God] would [kill me], I would leap for joy, no matter how great my pain. I know that God is holy; I have never opposed what he commands. And he also complained: 14 In trouble like this I need loyal friends— whether I've forsaken God or not. 15 But you, my friends, you deceive me like streams that go dry when no rain comes. And his three friends are only warming up to what they will say. In desperation Job says, 24 All right, teach me; tell me my faults. I will be quiet and listen to you. 25 Honest words are convincing, but you are talking nonsense. MARK 5a: We completed the one and only ‘parable chapter’ of Mark yesterday. Following the parable of the mustard seed, the disciples and Jesus took off to the other side of the lake. Jesus slept soundly in the boat while a storm was raging on the lake, and then he calmed the storm. —————— NLT Translation notes:Mrk 5:8 For Jesus had [already/0] said to the spirit, “Come out of the man, you evil spirit.” 9 Then Jesus demanded, “What is your name?” And he replied, “My name is [Batalion/Legion], because there are many of us inside this man.” [A Roman legion could be as many as 6,826 men.] 15 A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the [batalion/legion] of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. 20 So the man [went/started] off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/6133517

NL-Day006 Genesis 11-12; Job 6; Mark 4:21-41 01/04/2026

NL-Day006 Genesis 11-12; Job 6; Mark 4:21-41 If you are reading along while listening to the recordings, you will notice that I often exchange the word ‘believe’ (or ‘fully believe’) for ‘faith’. This is because the English word ‘faith’ is used with all kinds of fuzzy meanings these days and can easily be misunderstood. 1) In Greek, ‘faith’ and ‘believe’ are the noun and verb forms of the same root word. 2) When one uses an abstract noun like ‘faith’ in English, the object of the faith is lost— in this case the Person who is being believed. Note that ‘faith’ does not have a vague meaning like ‘endurance’ or ‘ability to live without fear’— which might be assumed in today's passage. Such fuzzy meanings almost always end up placing ‘faith’ in ourselves, which is a big mistake. The ‘faith’ that Jesus is talking about at the end of this chapter is placing our trust 100% in Him! GENESIS 11-12: Yesterday in Genesis 9-10, we heard the story of Noah's drunkenness and his curse on Canaan because of it (which wasn't very fair since it was his father Ham who actually caused the offense to Noah, and because Ham also had other sons). Then we heard about Noah's descendants. JOB 6: In chapter 5 Eliphaz continued to imply that Job has sinned: Job 5:6 NLT Evil does not grow in the soil, nor does trouble grow out of the ground. 7 No indeed! We bring trouble on ourselves, as surely as sparks fly up from a fire. Eliphaz’ main point in that chapter was that Job would be forgiven and blessed if he repented: 17 Happy is the person whom God corrects! Do not resent it when he rebukes you. 18 God bandages the wounds he makes; his hand hurts you, and his hand heals. There is truth in what Eliphaz says, and a similar statement to verse 17 is found in James 1. MARK 4b:Chapter 4 is the parable chapter of Mark. The Parable about the Different Kinds of Soil is in all three synoptic Gospels— which are Matthew, Mark, and Luke. That parable holds deep meaning that one never really grows out of. Each time you hear it, new facets come to light, and every believer should meditate on what kind of soil they are most like at the present time. NLT Translation notes: Gen. 11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches [into/0] the sky. ==== Mrk. 4:26 Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God [can be illustrated as being like when//is like] a farmer [0/who] scatters seed on the ground. [It bothers me grammatically to say that a 'kingdom' is like a 'farmer'. The king might be like a farmer, both being people. Jesus' illustration shows that the whole package is what is like the Kingdom of God, including farmer, seed, time for growing, and harvest.] 30 Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? 31 [God's Kingdom can be compared to//It is like] a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds, 40 Then he [said to/asked] them, “[What a bunch of cowards you are! It is clear that you don't believe fully in me!”//Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”] [I have treated these rhetorical questions as statements. In English it seems a bit silly to ask “Why are you afraid?” Jesus' question is a rebuke (and we can debate how strong a rebuke was intended). The second RQ is also a rebuke.] [Note that I will often change 'faith' to 'fully believe'. This might be a good illustration of why the English word 'faith' is often misunderstood. 1) People often have forgotten that the root meaning of 'faith' is 'believe'— having the same Greek root word. 2) When one uses an abstract noun like 'faith' we loose the object— in this case the Person who is being believed. Note that 'faith' does not have the a vague root meaning like 'endurance' or 'ability to live without fear', which might be assumed by some readers. Such words almost always end up placing 'faith' in ourselves. This is very wrong. What faith means here is placing trust 100% in Jesus.] 41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. “[Wow, what kind of man is this Jesus?!//Who is this man?]”3 they [said to//asked] each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!” [The disciples had not forgotten Jesus' name! This translation is as suggested by Deibler.] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/6133182

NL-Day005 Genesis 9-10; Job 5; Mark 4:1-25 01/04/2026

NL-Day005 Genesis 9-10; Job 5; Mark 4:1-25 Choose a good Bible version for your reading this year!I recommend that you choose a good meaning-based translation for your Bible reading this year, not one of the literal versions. I recommend that you use a literal version whenever you have time for in-depth study, but not for your daily devotional reading. Here’s the difference: The advantage of a literal translation is that it gives you a word-for-word view into the _form_ of the original. The disadvantage of literal translations is that they cannot give you the _meaning_ in clear and natural English. The advantage of a meaning-based translation is that it gives you the meaning of the text in clear, natural English. The disadvantage of the meaning-based translation is that they cannot show you the word-for-word form of the original text. We need both kinds of translations! Use both kinds when you are doing in-depth study. But for devotional reading, my top choices are the New Living Translation and the Good News Bible. These meaning-based translations will help you be successful in reading the Bible in a year, because the text is so much easier to understand. Both have good scholarly backing and are reliable. I don’t recommend using a paraphrase like The Message. The popular NIV is halfway between literal and meaning-based. (This means that you cannot immediately know if a verse is translated literally or more freely based on meaning.) One of the most popular literal translations these days is the English Standard Version. My advice is to NOT use the ESV for your devotional reading unless you have time for reading the notes in your study Bible. GENESIS 9-10: In chapter 8 the flood receded. After everyone came out of the boat, Noah made a sacrifice. JOB 5: In chapter 4 Eliphaz implied that Job’s guilt was the reason he was being punished: “Stop and think! Do the innocent die? When have the upright been destroyed? 8 NLT My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same. MARK 4: In chapter 3 we have seen that opposition to Jesus was mounting from the Jewish religious leaders. They were already plotting to kill him and saying he performed miracles by the power of Satan. I want to comment briefly about the sin of blaspheming or reviling the Holy Spirit that we heard about at the end of chapter 3. Some people worry about whether they have done this and committed the unforgivable sin. Note the context here. The experts in the Law were saying the Jesus was working by the power of _Satan_. But Jesus was working by the power of the _Holy Spirit_. A person in a frame of mind like those Law experts will never repent. So Jesus was warning them, because they were mighty close to blaspheming the Holy Spirit by what they were saying about Jesus. I want you to know this: If you worry about whether in some past time you have blasphemed the Holy Spirit, then you haven’t! If you are the kind of person who feels sorrow for sins already committed and are ready to repent of sin, then you have never blasphemed the Holy Spirit, nor are you likely to ever do so. ——————— NLT Translation notes: Mrk. 4:6 But the plant[s/0] soon wilted under the hot sun, and since [they/it] didn’t have deep roots, [they/it] died. [Seed is a collective noun, so the plants should be plural, even though Greek is singular, referring back to 'seed'.] 11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret[s/0] of the Kingdom of God. [Even though the word 'mystery' is singular in Greek, it is more natural in English to use plural 'secrets'. One mystery can contain many secrets. Jesus is opening the possibility of his disciples understanding many things that were previously unrevealed to mankind. He is not saying he has given them just one secret.] 13 Then Jesus said to them, [“How could you fail to understand the meaning of that parable? If so, you will be hopeless at understanding all my other parables!”//“If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables?”][Some translations translate this verse as two rhetorical questions. Jesus is using the RQ as a mild rebuke. When we do rebuking RQs in English, I think we tend to make them shorter.] 22 [Similarly/For] everything that is hidden [now/0] will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light. [Greek has a 'gar' connector here which is often translated as 'for'. But 22 is not a REASON for 21, but instead is showing the point of similarity with 21.] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/6133177

000: 2026 Daily Bible Reading Introduction and How-to's 12/31/2025

000: 2026 Daily Bible Reading Introduction and How-to's Hi there! I’m so glad you have clicked to listen to this introduction to the Digging Deeper Daily Bible reading plan and podcasts for 2025. If you want to read the Bible in a great reading plan that will hold your attention and enable you to stay with the program, you are in the right place. If you want to listen, the complete Bibles I have recorded following my reading plan are the New Living Translation and the Good News Bible. If you can, do both: listen to the podcast while reading along. My name is Phil Fields. I’m almost 75 years old and happily married to Gale. We have three children, and five grandkids. In 1983, when our kids were still small, our family went as Bible translators to Papua, Indonesia. We finished a New Testament translation for the Orya people in 2005. Since that time I have been leading an organization which is translating the Bible into the national language of Indonesia. We’re hoping that the entire Bible in the Plain Indonesian Translation will be finished at the end of 2025. Our sponsoring organization is Pioneer Bible Translators. When I started the Daily Bible Reading Podcast in 2014 the primary audience I had in mind was my grandkids. I wanted to make a set of Bible recordings for them, to leave behind what I would tell each one of them if, and when, they fall into difficult times. Here’s a list of what I will cover: Our web addresses How to contact me Podcast release schedule Take a look at the How-to's at our site. Different ways to follow the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan Choose a Bible translation that makes sense for you for daily reading. Please note these web addresses: For NLT podcasts and How-to information, go to , or . For GNT podcasts and How-to information, go to . You can listen to the podcasts at the websites just listed, but it is a better user experience to use a podcast app for listening. How to contact me: My favorite way for you to contact me is via the contact button at the top of all my websites. Podcast release schedule: Every Sunday, seven podcasts will be released covering the next week of listening. Sometimes an eighth bonus episode will also be released. How-to's: If you would like pointers on podcast listening apps, please see the How-to's, linked in the banner of the websites above. A good podcast app makes it easy to see the episode notes, remembers your place and will automatically queue up your next episode, and lets you speed up my reading to 1.20%. Please also see the How-to pages for detailed information about the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. Different ways to follow the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan: READ in a real-book Bible: To do that, download the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan PDF. See the banner at our website and click on Plan.PDF. OR Follow the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan using the YouVersion Bible app on your phone or tablet. To find the 3D plan, go to the Plans page, choose Find Plans, and search for the name, Digging Deeper. How about READing and LISTENing?! Open your podcast player and start the introduction to your next episode. While listening to my greeting, you’ll have time to open the YV app to your next day in the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. When you sign up for a YV reading plan, you are given an option to do the plan privately or share it with your friends. If you share the plan with friends, at the end of each day’s readings, you will be given the opportunity to share something you gleaned from the readings. This is fabulous and a great way to connect with your friends through the Bible app. But since the Digging Deeper Daily plan is for the whole Bible in 365 days, I suggest you share with a select group of close friends, or maybe 1-2 other people, or just do the plan privately. Choose a Bible translation that makes sense for you and for a year-long reading program. Many churches use literal translations like the ESV. My own church uses that translation. But the ESV is not very well suited for a year-long reading program, especially if this is your first time reading the whole Bible. I strongly recommend the NLT or the GNT for following the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. Please take my advice as a Bible translator: Using a translation like the NLT or GNT is even more important if you will be listening to your Bible readings while doing something like driving to work. For more information about Bible translations, see the READ heading in the How-To pages. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/29281383

NL-Day004 Genesis 7-8; Job 4; Mark 3 12/28/2025

NL-Day004 Genesis 7-8; Job 4; Mark 3 Most people find out about the DBRP through the YouVersion Bible reading app on their smart device. If you are one who has found out about these podcasts through some other means (such as via Apple Podcasts), then I want to make you aware that the Bible app created by YouVersion is wonderful. You can subscribe to the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan within the app, then reading along with these daily podcasts is very easy. Just start your episode using your podcast player, then go to your day in the YouVersion Reading Plan. Please be aware that you can turn on the YouVersion app’s audio for the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. If you do this, a very nice Alexa/Siri-like voice will read the devotional introductions to the three readings for the day, and after that the voice for the Bible you select will read the Bible readings. This makes a great way to add variety to your daily listening if you get tired of my voice, however, there will be no prayer at the end. I again want to express my gratitude to Tyndale House Foundation for their permission to publish the full audio of the NLT Bible through this podcast series. The full copyright attribution text is found at the end of the episode notes for each podcast. Based on my experience as a Bible translator, I have made a few changes to the text of the NLT for these podcasts. These are for the sake of clarity and naturalness for those who are only listening to the recordings without reading along. All of my changes are documented in the episode notes, sometimes with brief explanations. GENESIS 7-8: In Genesis 5, we heard the overview of the descendants of Adam and Eve up to Noah. In chapter 6, Noah was further introduced. Also the reason for the flood was explained. JOB 4: In chapter 3 Job cursed the day he was born and expressed his deep misery. Remember that in the speeches of Job’s three friends we will see a mixture of truth and error. In particular, we should not follow Eliphaz’s example in today’s chapter. The Bible tells us repeatedly that we are not to trust or listen to communication from spirits. We will read the second chapter of Eliphaz’ response tomorrow. MARK 3: In Mark 2, Jesus shocked his listeners by first forgiving a paralyzed man’s sins before actually healing the man’s body. And in three other events in chapter 2 we can see the beginnings of the conflict between Jesus and the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees. ——————— NLT Translation notes: Job 4:6 How come//Doesn’t] your reverence for God [doesn't/0] give you confidence? [Perhaps you place too much confidence in your own integrity.//Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope?] [Translation note: I have interpreted the two questions in v6 as rebuking rhetorical questions and translated them as statements. See the note at the end of Mark 3.] ==== Mrk. 3:10 He had healed many people that day, so all the [other/0] sick people eagerly pushed forward to touch him. 23 Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. [It is not possible that Satan would drive out his own demons.”//“How can Satan cast out Satan?” he asked.] 33 Jesus replied, [“Let me show you the kind of people whom I regard as my mother and brothers!”// “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?] [In verse 23, Jesus was not asking a real question. He was using a rhetorical question to open the topic he was going to teach about. In our translations in Indonesia, we frequently changed Jesus' rhetorical questions to statements. This is because in many languages (and really even in English) people do not use rhetorical questions as their topic sentence at the beginning of a teaching. So if we didn't change such questions to statements, our readers would wrongly think that Jesus was unsure about what He was talking about and that He often started by asking his audience for advice.] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/6132878

NL-Day003 Genesis 5-6; Job 3; Mark 2 12/28/2025

NL-Day003 Genesis 5-6; Job 3; Mark 2 How can you get more out of your Bible reading this year? My top advice is to SLOW DOWN! The readings in this plan take around 20 minutes if read aloud. If you read silently, you might finish in only 10 minutes. But if you skim through like that, you won’t retain very much! I suggest these two ways to slow down: 1. Read out loud to yourself. Read expressively. When you find that your first attempt didn’t quite have the right intonation, go back and read the sentence again. Take time to think about— and pray about, what you have just read. 2. Read along while listening to the Daily Bible Reading Podcast. This will definitely slow you down. One advantage of listening to the podcasts is that each one ends with a short prayer that is aimed at helping you apply what you have just read. By the way, I normally don’t say an Amen at the end of the prayers. This is because I hope you keep on praying after the episode ends. GENESIS 5-6: In chapter 3 of Genesis, the Lord gave his judgment against the serpent. God talked about the woman’s offspring (which is a collective singular noun) when speaking to the serpent, and said, “her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring's heel.” This is the very first prophecy looking forward to a Messiah and Redeemer who will crush Satan’s head. Just before that, there is another picture worth noting: God provided clothes for the man and woman made from animal skins. This is the first hint of the sacrificial system that prefigures Christ. JOB 3: Today we read Job’s first speech. In the Bible— and especially in Job and the Psalms, we find out that God thoroughly understands and takes into account the fact that humans suffer. This is shown in the fact that such deep expressions of suffering are found in God’s Word— right from the earliest writings. MARK 2: Yesterday in the second half of Mark 1, we read of Jesus miraculously healing people in Capernaum, and his refusing to stay only there. He preached and cast out demons all over the region of Galilee. The healing of the man with leprosy is notable because of the exchange between Jesus and that man, and also the results of the man’s not following Jesus’ instructions. ——————— NLT Translation notes: Mrk. 2:5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, [PET: I have forgiven your sins.//your sins are forgiven.]” [I will occasionally quote from the PET, which is the Plain English Translation. That is the English translation that matches our Plain Indonesian Translation (TSI). The PET was first created as part of the checking process for the TSI, and some parts have been published because so many Indonesians desire to learn English.] 9 [PET: Certainly you will have difficulty accepting that I said to this paralyzed man, ‘I have forgiven your sins.’ Will it be easier for you to accept it if I say to him, ‘Get up, pick up your mattress and go home’?//Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? ] 10 So I will prove to you that [I, the Son of Man have//the Son of Man has] the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, 18 Once when John’s disciples were fasting and the Pharisees were [also] fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees do?” [The translation should not give the impression that the two groups were joining together to fast.] 28 So [I,] the Son of Man [am/is] Lord, even over the Sabbath!” Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/6132866

NL-Day002: Genesis 3-4; Job 2; Mark 1:29-45 12/28/2025

NL-Day002: Genesis 3-4; Job 2; Mark 1:29-45 It is possible to listen to these podcasts on YouTube or Facebook, but these ways are not optimal. The pages linked in the banner of give various ways to conveniently listen to these podcasts using any kind of smart device, including smart speakers. Use the Listen menu item of the to find this information. You will note that I read most Bible names phonetically— rather than the using normal English pronunciation. This means that the letter A will have a consistent sound ‘ah’ and the letter I will be pronounced ‘ee’. This happens to match Indonesian pronunciations and that of many other languages. This also makes the pronunciation a little more like that of the source languages, Hebrew and Greek. GENESIS 3-4: In chapter 2 of Genesis, we saw that Eve was created and introduced to Adam. And the pair at the end of the chapter were “naked and not embarrassed/unashamed.” As I said in yesterday’s introduction, I have seen first-hand in my work in Indonesia that when a people group misunderstands and twists the story in Genesis 1-3, it will have far-reaching consequences for their lives. In the case of the Orya people, twisting the story of the fall caused much suffering and misery among families. JOB 2: At the close of chapter 1 of Job, Job had lost virtually everything he had, including his possessions, livestock, and children. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” MARK 1b: Mark does not specifically identify himself as the author of this Gospel, but the church fathers unanimously say that the John Mark mentioned several times in the New Testament was the one who wrote it. Mark was a companion of Peter, and the eyewitness content in this book is that of Peter. I previously held a view based on internal evidence and made popular in the 20th century that Mark was the first Gospel to be written, with Matthew and Luke using Mark’s record as a resource. But now I think that the testimony of the church fathers is more likely to be true: Matthew and Luke were written before this Gospel, and Mark transcribed what Peter taught about the life of Jesus, either shortly before or after Peter’s martyrdom in Rome— which happened somewhere between 64-67 AD. If Mark wrote this account in Rome, that would help to explain why he gives background information to some Jewish customs that would have been unknown to his Roman readers, and why he doesn’t include teachings of Jesus which were based on the Jewish Scriptures and religion. Instead he tells us the plain story of Jesus and his miracles, so that the reader finds out who Jesus is. Yesterday in chapter 1 of Mark, Jesus was baptized by John, called his first disciples, and cast out an evil spirit from a man in a synagogue. NLT Translation notes: Mrk 1:34 So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons. [Because//But because] the demons knew who he was, he did not allow them to speak. 38 But Jesus replied, “[No. ]We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/6131829

NL-Day001: Genesis 1-2; Job 1; Mark 1:1-28 12/28/2025

NL-Day001: Genesis 1-2; Job 1; Mark 1:1-28 Hey there! Welcome to this day number 1 in the NLT series for the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. These podcasts are hosted at . Today in this episode number 1 we read Genesis 1-2, Job 1, and the first half of Mark 1. It’s great that you're starting TODAY on a life-transforming journey through the Bible! The Digging Deeper Daily plan will help you be successful in your commitment to read the whole Bible in a year. The unique order of the readings— together with the brief devotional notes, will help you see the various threads that unify the message of the Old and the New Testaments. I hope that my notes will help you remember what you have read the day before, and hint at the deep and incredibly rich treasures in God’s Word. But the most satisfying treasures that you find this year will be the ones you dig to discover for yourself! Please check out the that are linked in the banner of . When you are curious about a Bible verse, I recommend the collection of I have collected to aid you in digging deeper in your study. See the Shovels page under ‘About’ menu entry in the . The also give good suggestions for podcast listening apps and Bible reading apps. If you hear mistakes, have questions, or would like to comment, please feel free to contact me via the contact link at . I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Tyndale House Foundation for the permission to record the whole NLT Bible in these podcasts. The full copyright notice is found on the front page of dailybiblereading.info and at the end of each day’s episode notes. GENESIS 1-2: The first five books of the Bible are the Jewish Torah, and the Bible refers to them collectively as ‘the Law’. Many other books in the Bible attribute the authorship of these five books to Moses. Genesis is the foundational book of the whole Bible. When we were in our first Bible translation project among the Orya in Papua, Indonesia, I witnessed how getting a little detail of the foundation wrong (such as, how the first sin happened) can wreck the whole building that is being constructed. The result can be misery. This book of Genesis tells us what God wants us to know about the beginning of our world, the beginning of sin, mankind’s rebellion against God, and who God and Satan are. JOB 1: The story of Job is set in the period of the patriarch Abraham, and it takes place in the land of the East. What I did not realize until recently is that signs indicate that this book was written at a later time and almost certainly by an Israelite. By the author writing that Job was “the richest man in the East”, it places the author in the West, in the land of Israel. The author frequently uses the name of ‘Yahweh’, which I think would not have been done in Abraham’s time— which was long before God’s name was revealed to Moses at the burning bush. The author was a highly educated man. All of the book— except the first two chapters, are in exquisite poetry. The author displays an in-depth knowledge of mythology, the constellations, and the then current wisdom concerning the world— including the underworld and traits of exotic animals. I might as well say it: The philosophy of this book is worthy of Solomon. Whoever he is, the author displays incredible wisdom. One would expect an ancient book that is didactic in nature to end with a neat answer that sums up the author’s opinion. Or one would expect an ancient author to create a debate where the hero is totally right and the other speakers are clearly wrong. Instead, all the human speakers in the book of Job mix truth and error. It is a mark of inspired wisdom that in the end, the book of Job leaves us still pondering and searching for some answers. MARK 1a:Mark does not specifically identify himself as the author of this Gospel, but the church fathers unanimously say that the John Mark mentioned several times in the New Testament was the one who wrote it. Mark was a companion of Peter, and the eyewitness content in this book is that of Peter. I will give more introductory information about Mark’s Gospel in tomorrow’s podcast. NLT Translation notes: Gen. 1:3Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the [end of the] first day. … And evening passed and morning came, marking the [end of the] second day. …and so forth. ==== Mrk. 1:1 This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began 2 just as the prophet Isaiah had written, … [quoting what God said to his son:] 6 [John reminded people of the prophet Elijah,] because his clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. And he ate food such as locusts and wild honey. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/6131816

NL-Day365 Malachi 4; Isaiah 66; Revelation 22 12/28/2025

NL-Day365 Malachi 4; Isaiah 66; Revelation 22 As I finish this podcast series, I am really thankful for this year-long experience. If you are one of the faithful ones who have listened through a year’s worth of daily podcasts— and no matter whether this has taken longer than a year, I say Way to go! I sincerely hope these podcasts have been a blessing for you— as they have been for me. I hope that nothing that I have said has caused you to stumble or decreased your desire to study God’s Word. I started this project in the hope that my four grandchildren would— in some future year, listen to this series of recordings. Now we have five grandchildren. If you are Luke Fields, Laura Fields, Ava Baughn, Joel Baughn, or Devan Baughn, know that Grampa loves you and that I desired to share spiritual treasures with you. I am proud of you and wish that we could have shared these readings in person. I urge you to stay centered upon God’s Word. And to ALL of you in the family of Christ Jesus our Savior, I send warm greetings and love. May the Lord bless you as you continue your journey with Him! MALACHI 4: As people like Simeon and Anna (Luke 2) waited for the Messiah to come, I am sure that they were thinking of verses like Malachi 3:1: Mal. 3:1 NLT “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. Re-reading ISAIAH 66: Isaiah ends with blessings and promises that foreshadow Revelation, such as these: Is. 66:12 GNT The Lord says, “I will bring you lasting prosperity; the wealth of the nations will flow to you like a river that never goes dry. … 22 “Just as the new earth and the new heavens will endure by my power, so your descendants and your name will endure. In stark contrast to the promises and blessings, Isaiah also ends with vivid warnings against judgments and punishments that are like those in Revelation. Jesus himself quoted that final verse about the worms and the unquenchable fire. (Mark 9:48) You can take that as Jesus’ stamp of approval on all that Isaiah said! REVELATION 22: In chapter 21 we heard the invitation to receive free life-giving water for anyone who is thirsty, and that invitation is repeated in today’s chapter. The culmination of everything promised and the healing of everything sick and broken occur here. God says, “Look, I am making all things new.” There is again symbolism in every aspect of the New Jerusalem— including even the shape of a huge cube. As noted above at the end of Isaiah, in stark contrast to the eternal blessings for God’s people are the vivid ending warnings of eternal judgment in the last two chapters of Revelation. In Rev. 22:8-9, most translations make it sound that John made the same mistake twice— bowing down again to the angel that was showing everything to him. But the Greek in those verse in chapter 22 can be understood to be retelling that event that happened in chapter 19, and I think that makes better sense. The probable reason that John included the story twice was to emphasize that angels should not be worshipped. Let’s beware of such heresy! Because such false teaching keeps on resurfacing and some forms of Gnosticism remain to the present day. Congratulations on finishing the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan! NLT Translation Notes: Rev. 22:1b On each side of the river grew [the/a] tree of life, 8b And when I heard and saw them[— as I said before], I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. 16b I am both the [founding] source of David Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/5930240

NL-Day364 Malachi 3; Isaiah 66; Revelation 21 12/28/2025

NL-Day363 Malachi 1-2; Isaiah 65; Revelation 20 12/28/2025

NL-Day363 Malachi 1-2; Isaiah 65; Revelation 20 MALACHI 1-2: We heard a very difficult conclusion to Zechariah yesterday. Chapter 14 started out with horrendous news for Jerusalem. But the Lord himself steps in: Zec. 14:3 NLT Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart … We will see the following from Zech 14 very soon in Revelation: Zec. 14:5c NLT “Then the LORD my God will come, and all his holy ones with him. 6 On that day the sources of light will no longer shine, 7 yet there will be continuous day! … 8 On that day life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean, flowing continuously in both summer and winter.” We turn now to the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi. The name means, “my messenger.” There is debate as to the date of the writing of this post exilic prophet, but generally speaking it is true that there is a 400 year gap between this last Old Testament prophet and New Testament. It could be that Malachi prophesied in Nehemiah’s day. Both Malachi and Nehemiah dealt with priestly laxity (Mal. 1:6; Neh. 13:4-9), neglect of tithes (Mal. 3:7-12; Neh. 13:10-13), and intermarriage between Israelites and foreigners (Mal. 2:10-16; Neh. 13:23-28).” Re-reading ISAIAH 65: Note that the chapter starts with a verse that Paul quotes in Romans 10. REVELATION 20: After the judgment wreaked against Babylon (chapter 18), we heard songs praising God’s justice in chapter 19. Then we saw the appearing of Christ riding on a white horse. Typical of John’s reticence to name deity, Christ is not named, but is beautifully described. Note that even Jesus has a name written on his person which only He understands. And like in John 1:1, Christ’s title is the ‘Word of God’. It is possible that this account of His appearing may not be in chronological order in its position following the destruction of Babylon. Although Christ’s army is mentioned, note how the victory is won by Christ alone. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/5930179

NL-Day362 Zechariah 14; Isaiah 65; Revelation 19 12/21/2025

NL-Day362 Zechariah 14; Isaiah 65; Revelation 19 ZECHARIAH 14: Unfortunately, we have not yet seen the fulfillment of this prophecy from the end of Zechariah 12: Zec. 12:10 NLT “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died. (The podcast notes for the previous episode contain a translation note on this verse.) However, this part has been fulfilled from the beginning of chapter 13: Zec. 13:1 “On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity. This from Zechariah 13 was referred to by the Lord Jesus in Mark 14:27 in— or on the way to, the garden of Gethsemane: Zec. 13:7 NLT “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,| the man who is my partner,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs. ISAIAH 65: In chapter 64, there is a mixture of hope, regretful repentance, and supplication— including these verses: Is. 64:4 NLT For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him! 5 You welcome those who gladly do good, who follow godly ways. But you have been very angry with us, for we are not godly. We are constant sinners; how can people like us be saved? 6 We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. REVELATION 19: In Revelation 18 we heard the chapter of doom against the city of Babylon (or Rome, or the united evil world system based on immoral commerce). If chapter 18 sounded familiar, it is because you were remembering Ezek 27. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/5930144

NL-Day361 Zechariah 12-13; Isaiah 64; Revelation 18 12/21/2025

NL-Day361 Zechariah 12-13; Isaiah 64; Revelation 18 ZECHARIAH 12-13:Several times I have noted Zechariah and other prophets who use the figure of shepherding a flock— picturing God’s people. In chapter 11, there were puzzling verses where Zechariah evidently performed an outward demonstration involving two staffs. Other prophets did such demonstrations. In this one, evidently Zechariah stood in for the Messiah. The two staffs were named Favor and Union. Our Messiah, Jesus, came to restore us to God’s favor and give us unity as God’s people— no matter from what race. The 30 pieces of silver is spoken of with irony: “this magnificent sum at which they valued me.” Remember this shepherd picture! ISAIAH 64:Yesterday in chapter 63, we heard the people of Israel ask a whole series of questions about the Lord, like: Is. 63:11b NLT “Where is the one who brought Israel through the sea, with Moses as their shepherd? And here is another verse: Is. 63:15 NLT LORD, look down from heaven;look from your holy, glorious home, and see us.Where is the passion and the mightyou used to show on our behalf?Where are your mercy and compassion now? The chapter ended with deep pathos: Is. 63:18 NLT How briefly your holy people possessed your holy place,and now our enemies have destroyed it.19 Sometimes it seems as though we never belonged to you,as though we had never been known as your people. However, don’t forget how the chapter started, with the Lord wearing blood-stained robes from trampling out the grapes (yes, ‘grapes of wrath’)— the nations who oppressed his people. This is a picture of the grape harvest that we saw so recently in Revelation 14. Note that in Isaiah the Lord does the trampling alone. And so we see also in Revelation, the final battle is won by the Lord acting alone. REVELATION 18:The part that puzzles me most in chapter 17 is this: Rev. 17:8 NLT The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died. While that is confusing, the important thing is clear: Satan is the sponsor of the beast. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in these podcasts are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/5930115

NL-Day360 Zechariah 10-11; Isaiah 63; Revelation 17 12/21/2025

NL-Day360 Zechariah 10-11; Isaiah 63; Revelation 17 ZECHARIAH 10-11: As we have seen before, the Lord loves names and delights to give new names. In Zec. 8 He said, Zec. 8:3 NLT Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will be called the Holy Mountain. In Zec. 9 we read the verse Matthew quotes in chapter 21 about Jesus coming riding on the foal of a donkey. The verse is also alluded to in John 12:15. And we heard this verse about the New Jerusalem: Zec. 9:16 NLT On that day the LORD their God will rescue his people, just as a shepherd rescues his sheep. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. ISAIAH 63: In chapter 62 we read promises like what I shared above about the Lord giving names: Is. 62:4 NLT Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City” or “The Desolate Land.”Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight”and “The Bride of God,”for the LORD delights in you and will claim you as his bride. And similarly at the end of that chapter: Is. 62:11b NLT Look, your Savior is coming. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.’” 12 They will be called “The Holy People” and “The People Redeemed by the LORD.” And Jerusalem will be known as “The Desirable Place” and “The City No Longer Forsaken.” We will see the fulfillment of all this in the last chapters of Revelation. REVELATION 17: In chapter 16 we heard all 7 of the Bowl Judgments. At the time this judgment happens and the bowls are poured out on the earth, it seems that 100% of the people are opposed to God. No one repents when the judgments happen, but instead curse God. And there are preparations for a final battle of Armageddon with God. However God’s voice from the throne says that “It is finished.” This seems to refer to the punishment against Babylon. In John’s day, Babylon was a code word among Christians for the city of Rome— the capital city of the empire, which was built on 7 hills. In our day Babylon pictures the united evil world system supported by immoral commerce. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/5930075

NL-Day359 Zechariah 8-9; Isaiah 62; Revelation 16 12/21/2025

NL-Day359 Zechariah 8-9; Isaiah 62; Revelation 16 ZECHARIAH 8-9:I hope that you have noticed [Joshua//Jeshua] the high priest. He was the one that Satan was not allowed to accuse. He was given clean clothes. He is a priest and was given a clean priestly turban. And the gem with seven facets (literally, seven eyes) was set before him. He is a picture of the Messiah, who is called the Lord’s righteous Branch. Then in chapter 6 we read that he was given a crown, and told: Zec. 6:13 NLT Yes, he will build the Temple of the LORD. Then he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne, and there will be perfect harmony between his two roles.’ As far as a normal man can do so, he is a picture of Jesus. And Joshua is a variant of Jeshua— which is the same name the Greeks pronounce ‘Yesu’, which is where we get our pronunciation of Jesus. From our place in history, how easy it is to see what God was picturing. ISAIAH 62:Yesterday we heard another Messianic section of Isaiah— the part that Jesus spoke in his hometown synagogue in Luke 4. And Jesus alluded to the same passage when he sent John the Baptist’s disciples back to him in Luke 7. REVELATION 16:Note that we saw another view of the crystal sea in chapter 15, but this time it was mixed with fire. In chapter 4 it was clear as crystal. My theory is that the glassy sea is the same, but it changes in appearance based on God’s prevailing mood and the tenor of current events. Note that the 144,000 (or all the people victorious over the beast) sang the song of Moses. Note that with just that little hint, the victory over the forces of Satan is pictured as victory over the army of Egypt and release from bondage. The angels are dressed like Jesus in chapter 1. The plagues come from the interiour of the heavenly sanctuary. We turn now from the interlude between the trumpets and the bowls. There is a difference here: You will see that before, the plagues struck just a third of whatever object. Now they strike 100%. This is the end! Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/5930047

NL-Day358 Zechariah 6-7; Isaiah 61; Revelation 15 12/21/2025

NL-Day358 Zechariah 6-7; Isaiah 61; Revelation 15 ZECHARIAH 6-7: There were so many correspondences to Revelation in the three chapters we read yesterday in Zechariah that I cannot even take time to list them. I single out this one from chapter 3 as especially interesting: Zec. 3:8 NLT “Listen to me, O [Joshua//Jeshua] the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9 Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets. I will engrave an inscription on it, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day. Joshua was called the ‘Branch’, or ‘Rod’, or ‘Shoot’— and in this age we can clearly see that both he and Zerubbabel are pictures of the Messiah. The Branch is also referred to in Jeremiah and Isaiah. Secondly, it is interesting that the stone has seven ‘facets’. The word for facets in Hebrew is literally ‘eyes’. And the Lamb in Revelation has seven eyes. This insight given to Zerubbabel in chapter 4 is a principle for all of us to lay hold of: Zec. 4:6 NLT It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. This is one of Gale’s favorite verses. We have claimed this repeatedly in our lives: Zec. 4:10 NLT Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin…” ISAIAH 61: Yesterday in chapter 60, we heard many wonderful promises about the New Jerusalem— especially verses 1-3 and 19-21. REVELATION 15: Note that in chapter 14 the victory over Babylon is proclaimed as already won. God’s holy people are again warned against receiving the mark of the beast. At the end of the chapter are the two harvests, the wheat harvest of the righteous, and the grape harvest of those who will enter into eternal punishment. These are visions that give an overview, in a similar vein as the vision in chapter 12. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/5929952

NL-Day357 Zechariah 3-5; Isaiah 60; Revelation 14 12/21/2025

NL-Day357 Zechariah 3-5; Isaiah 60; Revelation 14 ZECHARIAH 3-5:In Zechariah 1-2 we heard how Zechariah’s dreams often included angels talking with him. There were horses and riders, horns and blacksmiths, and the measuring Jerusalem. Jerusalem will not be nearly big enough. God’s people WILL COME out of captivity in Babylon. Note that by Zechariah’s time, this was already happening. His words and those events foreshadow what we read in Revelation about the new Jerusalem. Consider the last verses of Zech. 2: Zech. 2:10-13 NLT The Lord says, “Shout and rejoice, O beautiful Jerusalem, for I am coming to live among you. 11 Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they, too, will be my people. I will live among you, and you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies sent me to you.12 The land of Judah will be the Lord’s special possession in the holy land, and he will once again choose Jerusalem to be his own city.13 Be silent before the Lord, all humanity, for he is springing into action from his holy dwelling. ISAIAH 60: In Isaiah 59 we again read beautiful messages that harmonize with what we are reading in Revelation. The beginning verses contain foundational truths: Is. 59:1 NLT Listen! The LORD’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. 2 It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore. Ephesians 6 is not the only place we hear of spiritual armor, but in 59:17 it is the Lord who wears it. The next-to-last verse of the chapter prophecies about the coming Redeemer. And the last verse says about those who are God’s redeemed people and enjoy a covenant with Him, “My spirit will not leave them.” REVELATION 14: Note that the beast that comes up from the sea— which we heard about in chapter 13, is under the ancient dragon of chapter 12. It says this about the beast: Rev. 13:7 NLT And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation. 8 And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made—the Book that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered. Note that the Book of Life belongs to the Lamb, and note when the names were written in it. This should encourage us who are on the path of Life! God knew you from before the world was made! Back in chapter 12 we heard how long all this would last: a time, times, and half a time = 3 ½ years, 42 months, or 1260 days. We heard those times in Daniel. But remember these are symbolic numbers, and God alone knows how to calculate them. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/5925777

NL-Day356 Zechariah 1-2; Isaiah 59; Revelation 13 12/21/2025

NL-Day356 Zechariah 1-2; Isaiah 59; Revelation 13 ZECHARIAH 1-2:Yesterday we read both chapters of the little book of Haggai, and heard how Haggai motivated his discouraged audience to return to the task of rebuilding the temple. Haggai certainly must have known and worked with our next author— Zechariah. While there are at least 27 men named Zechariah in the Old Testament, we do know which one was the writer of this book. The biblestudytools.com site says that Zechariah “was born in Babylonia and was among those who returned to Judah in 538/537 b.c. under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua (his grandfather Iddo is named among the returnees in ). At a later time, when Joiakim was high priest (see note on ), Zechariah apparently succeeded Iddo () as head of that priestly family ().” (See for a very helpful timeline showing where Zechariah’s prophecies fit in with the book of Ezra and Haggai’s prophecies.) The name Zechariah means ‘Yahweh remembers’, and his name is appropriate to the message of his book. The HCSB Study Bible gives this good overview of the book of Zechariah: Zechariah sought to encourage those who had returned from captivity to rebuild the temple and rededicate their lives to the Lord. The message of encouragement involved surrealistic visions and vivid poetic images, focused on reversal of God’s judgment and calling for a reversal of the people’s behavior. It is because of the surrealistic visions that people have called this book the ‘Apocalypse of the Old Testament’. Since we are also reading Revelation, you will get a double dose of the apocalyptic genre. Mears gives this interesting comment, and this is something I suggest we watch for as we read this book: Someone has said that to correctly read the visions of this book, you must shine two lights on them— the light of the cross and the light of the crown. Otherwise, you will find that you don’t have the proper perspective or background to understand Zechariah’s visions. The prophet, looking far into the future, saw two aspects of the future Messiah— one Person, but two appearances. First, he saw Him in humiliation and suffering; then he saw Him in majesty and great glory. Jewish people who do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah ignore the Christ of the cross. Christians too often ignore the Christ of the crown. Both are wrong. ISAIAH 59: Although chapter 58 didn’t use the word ‘hypocrisy’, that is what God was preaching against. After telling us the kind of fasting that God desires most, God gave beautiful promises to those who live as He teaches. REVELATION 13: Following the 7th trumpet blast in chapter 11, the vision in chapter 12 is an overview. The woman who gives birth to ‘he who will rule the nations with a rod of iron’ is not a picture of Mary. This is an overview. I encourage you to dig deeper to find out more about the picture of the glorious woman. I will give you my take about the dragon’s seven heads and seven crowns. The dragon, as we will see will do his best to masquerade as God. He is doing that right now in our day! Look out, and don’t be fooled! An important foundational teaching in that chapter is to explain about the source of the spiritual battle we now see being played out in the world. NLT Translation Notes: Zec. 2:8 [The messiah speaks:] After a period of glory, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies sent me against the nations who plundered you. For he said, “Anyone who harms you harms my most precious possession. 9 I will raise my fist to crush them, and their own slaves will plunder them.” Then you will know that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has sent me. ==== Is. 59:15b The LORD looked and was displeased [when he saw that//to find] there was no justice. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/5925750

NL-Day355 Haggai 1-2; Isaiah 58; Revelation 12 12/14/2025

NL-Day355 Haggai 1-2; Isaiah 58; Revelation 12 HAGGAI 1-2:I hope you saw correlations to Revelation in the 3rd chapter of Zephaniah yesterday— in what God plans for the nations and for those who come to the new Jerusalem. And these verses are interesting because of correlations all over scripture: Zephaniah 3:11b NLT I will remove all proud and arrogant people from among you.There will be no more haughtiness on my holy mountain.12 Those who are left will be the lowly and humble,for it is they who trust in the name of the Lord. Mears gives a helpful summary about the prophets: Of the 16 prophets, most of them— eleven, prophesied before the exile, just two prophesied during the exile (Ezekiel and Daniel), while three prophesied after the exile. We turn to the first of these now— Haggai. This book (with only two chapters) consists of four prophecies in four months— each dated and all in the second year of King Darius’ reign. In the modern calendar these dates would have been between August 29 and December 18, 520 B.C. This places Haggai’s messages two months before Zechariah started to prophesy. Haggai’s purpose was to move a discouraged nation to rise up again and rebuild the temple. ISAIAH 58: In chapter 57, we saw again that God considers idolatry to be a sin against him that is just like a wife being unfaithful to her husband. In such a context of explicit and harsh condemnation, these words stand out: Is. 57:18 NLT I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead them. I will comfort those who mourn, 19 bringing words of praise to their lips. REVELATION 12: In chapter 11, John again took an active part in the vision he was seeing. He was given a rod (as a measuring stick) and told to measure the temple, the altar, and count the worshippers. What other prophet participated in measuring a temple in a vision? John was told not to measure the court of the Gentiles. I encourage you to dig for gold there. While you are at it, find out what ideas people have about the two witnesses. John is not the first prophet that saw olive trees on both sides of a lamp and lamp stand. Who was the prophet? And how is John’s vision different than the other prophet’s vision? At the end of the chapter, we heard ‘the last trumpet’. Say, is the same ‘last trumpet’ that Paul mentioned?! The words of praise by the 24 elders and the last verse in the chapter give a big clue as to what the seventh trumpet brings. NLT Translation note: Rev. 12:11 And they[— our brothers and sisters,] have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. /episode/index/show/dailybiblereading/id/5922182

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