Daily Bible Reading Podcast

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NL-Day258 Hosea 13-14; Proverbs 25:15-28; Matthew 7:1-20 Sep 13, 2026

Show notes

HOSEA 13-14:Yesterday's reading had this significant prophecy, prefaced by the words that God would not come to totally destroy:

Hos. 11:10 NLT For someday the people will follow me.I, the LORD, will roar like a lion.And when I roar,my people will return trembling from the west.11 Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt.Trembling like doves, they will return from Assyria.And I will bring them home again,"says the LORD.

Hosea begins chapter 13 speaking against the tribe of Ephraim, but in the prophetic writings, that one tribe often stands for the whole northern kingdom. So the heading in the NLT says, "The LORD's Anger against Israel."

PROVERBS 25b:Interesting and varied proverbs today include this:

Pro. 25:20 NLT Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone's coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound.

MATTHEW 7a:Yesterday's reading in the second half of chapter 6 dealt with the subject of complete trust in God for all that we need, seeking first the kingdom of God (meaning putting God's will as your top priority), and not bowing down at the altar of money or material gain.

A part of that chapter which is often glossed over is this:

Mat. 6:22 NLT "Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light.23 But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

In Biblical culture, an 'evil' or 'bad' eye was one that is greedy. So this figurative speech is actually right on topic for this section. Note that our eye will be full of light if we keep our eyes on Jesus— like we read in Philippians 3.

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.

NL-Day257 Hosea 11-12; Proverbs 25:1-14; Matthew 6:19-34 Sep 13, 2026

Show notes

HOSEA 11-12:In yesterday's reading, as the Lord was pleading with Israel and using agricultural metaphors, He said,

Hos. 10:12-13 NLT … 'Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.' 13 "But you have cultivated wickedness and harvested a thriving crop of sins. You have eaten the fruit of lies— trusting in your military might, believing that great armies could make your nation safe.

PROVERBS 25a:Today's highlighted proverb:

Pro. 25:11 NLT Timely advice is lovely,like golden apples in a silver basket.

MATTHEW 6b:Yesterday's three-times emphasis was "Don't be like the hypocrites." And we heard the Lord's prayer. The first line of the Lord's prayer, 'hallowed be Thy _name_' can be taken as a metonymy for the person of the Father, not just his name. So I translate this famous verse like this: "Our Father in heaven, [may all people honor You as the Holy God//may You always and everywhere be regarded as holy]." Even so, we must bear in mind that God shows great concern for his name in the Old Testament— beginning in the Ten Commandments. If that phrase is translated with that in mind, it could also be translated, "May your name always be spoken with respect befitting your holiness." Both ideas may be in view in that first line of the prayer.

NL-Day255 Hosea 6-7; Proverbs 24:1-18; Matthew 5:27-48 Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

HOSEA 6-8:In yesterday's reading, Hosea bought back his wife from prostitution. And the Lord drew analogies in his speech to Israel.

PROVERBS 24a:Favorite verses:

Pro. 24:5 NLT The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger. 6 So don't go to war without wise guidance; victory depends on having many advisers.

MATTHEW 5b:Yesterday we read the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, including the famous and memorizable Beatitudes. We also heard the first instance of "You have heard it said… but I say …"

NLT Translation notes:Pro. 24:15 Don't wait in ambush at the home of [a godly person//the godly], and don't raid the [homes//house] where the godly live.Pro. 24:30 I walked by the field of a lazy [man/person],the vineyard of one with no common sense.====Mat. 5:15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed [up] on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.34 But I say, do not make any vows! Do not [swear/say], 'By heaven!' because heaven is God's throne. 35 And do not [swear/say], 'By the earth!' because the earth is his footstool. And do not [swear/say], 'By Jerusalem!' for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. 36 Do not even [swear/say], 'By my [own] head!' for you can't turn one hair white or black. 43 "You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor' and [people have added, "]hate your enemy.["] 44 But I say, love your enemies!

NL-Day254 Hosea 3-5; Proverbs 23:17-35; Matthew 5:1-26 Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

HOSEA 3-5:Beautifully interwoven word plays or metaphors were constructed using the names of Hosea's three children. And verses of yesterday's reading, are quoted in Romans 9 and 1Peter 2. The last verse ended:

Hos. 2:23 NLT "I will show loveto those I called 'Not loved.'And to those I called 'Not my people,'I will say, 'Now you are my people.'And they will reply, 'You are our God!'"

PROVERBS 23b:As you may have noticed yesterday, this chapter is much more thematic than chapters 10 through 22. The second half of chapter 23 is the words of a father to his son. This verse is so true and wise!

Pro. 23:23 NLT Get truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment.

MATTHEW 5a:Today we start the chapters called the Sermon on the Mount, and these are the crowning jewels of Jesus' teaching. Note the times when Jesus says, "You have heard it said/taught… but I say to you." These statements are one reason why the people reacted that "Jesus taught with authority." Note also how often Jesus tells us that the Father sees what is done in secret.

NLT Translation notes:Mat. 5:15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed [up] on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.34 But I say, do not make any vows! Do not [make an oath saying//swear//say], 'By heaven!' because heaven is God's throne.35 And do not [swear/say], 'By the earth!' because the earth is his footstool. And do not [swear/say], 'By Jerusalem!' for Jerusalem is the city of the great King.36 Do not even [swear/say], 'By my [own] head!' for you can't turn one hair white or black.

NL-Day253 Hosea 1-2; Proverbs 23:1-18; Matthew 4 Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

HOSEA 1-2:We have already heard that God considers the sin of idolatry to be parallel and just as offensive as a wife being unfaithful to her husband. Hosea is told by God to actually live out this situation. He is told to marry Gomer, a prostitute. Through Hosea, God shows just how ready He is to restore and be reconciled with His wayward people. Hosea prophesied to the Northern kingdom during the same time that Amos, Isaiah, and Micah were prophesying in the Southern kingdom. This was during the reign of Jeroboam the 2nd. Hosea was not a professional prophet trained in a school for prophets, but an ordinary man. I imagine his ministry must have been very lonely.

PROVERBS 23a:The Book of Proverbs doesn't always support that being rich is better. Consider v.4 in the NLT:

Pro. 23:4 Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich.Be wise enough to know when to quit.

MATTHEW 4:Yesterday we heard of the ministry of John the Baptist, and Matthew is the only Gospel that records Jesus' reply to John, "This (baptizing me) should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires."

NL-Day251 1 Chronicles 27-28; Proverbs 22:1-15; Matthew 2 Sep 06, 2026

Show notes

1CHRONICLES 27-28:Yesterday we heard of the assignments of Levites as musicians, judges, and temple gate keepers.

PROVERBS 22a:Our highlighted verse for today:

14 The mouth of an immoral woman is a dangerous trap;those who make the LORD angry will fall into it. (NLT)

MATTHEW 2:For today's intro to Matthew 2, I have a correction from what I said in this episode 251 before 2022. For this information, I am relying on Leon Morris' commentary. How come the genealogies of Matthew and Luke are different? I have often heard it said that Matthew gives the genealogy of Joseph (the legal father) and Luke gives that of Mary, the actual genealogy. But that idea is unlikely. For one reason, genealogies were never reckoned through the mother, although as Morris says, "we must reckon with the fact that we have no information about what would happen when there was no human father." But another problem with Luke giving Mary's genealogy is that he speaks of Jesus' father as "Joseph the son of Heli" (Luke 3:23), which doesn't sound at all like Luke is giving Mary's genealogy. Matthew says Joseph's father was Jacob. There are ingenious ways of explaining how Heli or Jacob could both be correct, but all of that is pure speculation. Morris says this, and I agree: "The best suggestion is that Matthew's list represents the legal descendants of David, those who would actually have reigned had the kingdom continued, while Luke gives the descendants of David in the line to which Joseph belonged. We have no way of being certain."

NL-Day250 1 Chronicles 25-26; Proverbs 21:15-31; Matthew 1 Sep 06, 2026

Show notes

1CHRONICLES 25-26:There was a rather important shift in Israel's religious life that happened with David and his plans for temple worship rather than the older pattern of worship at the Tabernacle: It was that the priests and Levites were re-organized into groups appropriate to the new state of affairs, introducing divisions on top of the old system which was based on family lines. This reordering was still in effect at the beginning of the New Testament, where we read that Zechariah was a member of the priestly division of Abijah. So we have precedent for not always 'doing it' the way it was done in the past.

PROVERBS 21b:Today's highlighted verse:

Pro. 21:30 GNT Human wisdom, brilliance, insight—they are of no help if the Lord is against you.

MATTHEW 1:In my earlier podcast for this day 250, I stated that "Matthew's Gospel was perhaps written as early as 50 AD, and some material was based on Mark's Gospel." In so saying, I simply followed what I had repeatedly heard. However the view that Mark was written first did not gain wide acceptance until the early 20th century. Throughout history, Christians believed that copies of Matthew's Gospel were distributed first, and that Mark was not released until around the time that Luke's Gospel appeared. (See the Wikipedia article on Marcan priority, and David A. Black's article in the book Perspectives on the Ending of Mark.)

It is generally accepted that Matthew was written by Levi Matthew, the tax collector and the disciple of Jesus. He does not identify himself (similarly to John in John's Gospel), but if he had identified himself, he would have started to do so in chapter 9.

It is clear that Matthew was written for the Jewish audience, and indeed, at the time it was written, the Gospel had not yet gone far among the non-Jews. Again and again Matthew points to fullfilments of Scripture. And at times, especially near the end, he does not bother to use the words "This fulfilled …" but just includes a couple of words that would have been obvious allusions to Scripture for his audience. An odd feature of this gospel is that Matthew three-times records two people or donkeys, whereas other Gospels record only one. My own original opinion on that feature is this: Every assertion according to the Law needed to be maintained by at least two witnesses. At the times 1 becomes 2, I think Matthew is dropping the hint that he was an eyewitness.

I saved Matthew for the last of the Gospels to be read in our reading calendar because I wanted to group together several New Testament books written to the Jewish audience. Today we will hear the genealogy of Jesus.

NL-Day249 1 Chronicles 23-24; Proverbs 21:1-16; Titus 3 Aug 30, 2026

Show notes

1CHRONICLES 23-24:Yesterday we heard a rather odd story about how "Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census." But in 2Samuel 24:1 we read that "Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, 'Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.'" So who was it— Satan or the Lord? And if the problem was caused by someone else, why was David and all Israel punished?!

I think, in a place like this, we have to go back to what we learned in Job. God brought up a topic to Satan, Satan responds predictably, and God gives him permission to tempt and sets the boundaries. In other words, both God and Satan are involved. God does not tempt people to do evil, and God is in ultimate control. Satan is like a dog on a leash. And about that punishment: God arranges events in such a way that man (in this case David) is still in control and responsible for his choices.

Why was the census considered a sin? This seems to be founded on the idea that Israel— according to God's promise, was to be as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on the sea shore, in other words, uncountable. When Moses conducted a census, there was a money offering given for every male counted. Making a military census would also show that David was trusting in numbers instead of God's power. (See 1Chron 27:23-24.)

PROVERBS 21a:Here is the verse I chose to highlight today:

Pro. 21:13 NLT Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need.

TITUS 3:We continue today with more true teaching for our spiritual health. We might consider 2:14 as a heading for all of today's reading. That verse says,

Pro. 2:14 NLT He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

NL-Day248 1 Chronicles 21-22; Proverbs 20:16-30; Titus 2 Aug 30, 2026

Show notes

1CHRONICLES 21-22:Yesterday we heard the part where the writer of Chronicles skated over where David had his affair with Bathsheba. But we heard of the military victories and especially the misunderstanding that became the reason for the war with the Ammonites.

PROVERBS 20b:Our highlighted verse for today:

Pro. 20:24 NLT The Lord directs our steps,so why try to understand everything along the way?

Another proverb with deep significance is:

27 The Lord's light penetrates the human spirit,exposing every hidden motive.

TITUS 2:A major theme of this book is literally 'healthy faith' and 'healthy teaching.' This is a figure of speech that boils down to believing in true teachings. (NLT translates that well as 'wholesome teaching'.)

NLT Translation notes:1 As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects [true/wholesome] teaching.2 Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must [fully believe our true teachings//have sound faith] and be filled with love and patience.

NL-Day247 1 Chronicles 19-20; Proverbs 20:1-15; Titus 1 Aug 30, 2026

Show notes

1CHRONICLES 19-20:Yesterday we heard about one of David's greatest hours, and I think David would rank this as better than the killing of Goliath. It was the time when he wanted to build a house for God, and instead God promised to build his house— making for him an everlasting dynasty. Then we heard of his leading in even more amazing military victories.

PROVERBS 20a:Today's highlighted verse:

Pro. 20:3 GNT Any fool can start arguments; the honorable thing is to stay out of them.

TITUS 1:Commentators say that Paul wrote his letter to Titus in about the year 66, and that evidence from chapter 3:12 reveals that Paul may have written this in Nicopolis in Epirus, where he spent the winter. The letter has much in common with 1 Timothy which was written around the same time. Paul had given Titus a difficult pastoral assignment, and this letter includes advice that has been so helpful to many pastors. And personally and to my own shame, I always remember this epistle as the location of my worst argument with one of my translation consultants. Recently in Proverbs 18 we read a proverb that applies to that situation, it is this:

Pro. 18:19 NLT An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city.Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars.

NLT Translation notes:Tit. 1:1 This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim [news about how to fully believe in Christ//faith] to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. 4 I am writing to Titus, [whom I consider] my true son [because we share the same beliefs//the faith that we share].May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace.13 This is true. So reprimand them sternly [so that they will continue to fully believe in true teachings//to make them strong in the faith].

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