Simon reads the Bible

Hosea 11 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  “When Israel was a child, I loved him,     and I called my son out of Egypt. 2 But the more I called to him,     the farther he moved from me, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal     and burning incense to idols. 3 I myself taught Israel how to walk,     leading him along by the hand. But he doesn’t know or even care     that it was I who took...

Hosea 10 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  How prosperous Israel is—     a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit. But the richer the people get,     the more pagan altars they build. The more bountiful their harvests,     the more beautiful their sacred pillars. 2 The hearts of the people are fickle;     they are guilty and must be punished. The Lord will break down their altars     and smash thei...

Hosea 9 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  O people of Israel,     do not rejoice as other nations do. For you have been unfaithful to your God,     hiring yourselves out like prostitutes,     worshiping other gods on every threshing floor. 2 So now your harvests will be too small to feed you.     There will be no grapes for making new wine. 3 You may no longer stay here in the Lord’s land.   ...

Hosea 8 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  “Sound the alarm!     The enemy descends like an eagle on the people of the Lord, for they have broken my covenant     and revolted against my law. 2 Now Israel pleads with me,     ‘Help us, for you are our God!’ 3 But it is too late. The people of Israel have rejected what is good,     and now their enemies will chase after them. 4 The people have ap...

Hosea 7 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  “I want to heal Israel, but its sins are too great.     Samaria is filled with liars. Thieves are on the inside     and bandits on the outside! 2 Its people don’t realize     that I am watching them. Their sinful deeds are all around them,     and I see them all. 3 “The people entertain the king with their wickedness,     and the princes laugh at thei...

Hosea 6 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  “Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces;     now he will heal us. He has injured us;     now he will bandage our wounds. 2 In just a short time he will restore us,     so that we may live in his presence. 3 Oh, that we might know the Lord!     Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn     or...

Hosea 5 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  “Hear this, you priests.     Pay attention, you leaders of Israel. Listen, you members of the royal family.     Judgment has been handed down against you. For you have led the people into a snare     by worshiping the idols at Mizpah and Tabor. 2 You have dug a deep pit to trap them at Acacia Grove.     But I will settle with you for what you have don...

Hosea 4 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel!     The Lord has brought charges against you, saying: “There is no faithfulness, no kindness,     no knowledge of God in your land. 2 You make vows and break them;     you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere—     one murder after another. 3 That is why your land is in mourning...

Hosea 3 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Then the Lord said to me, “Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them.” 2 So I bought her back for fifteen pieces of silver and five bushels of barley and a measure of wine. 3 Then I sa...

Hosea 2 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  “In that day you will call your brothers Ammi—‘My people.’ And you will call your sisters Ruhamah—‘The ones I love.’ 2 “But now bring charges against Israel—your mother—     for she is no longer my wife,     and I am no longer her husband. Tell her to remove the prostitute’s makeup from her face     and the clothing that exposes her breasts. 3 Otherwi...

Hosea 1 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  The Lord gave this message to Hosea son of Beeri during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah, and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel. 2 When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This wil...

2 Kings 25 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  So on January 15, during the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls. 2 Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah’s reign. 3 By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the famine in t...

2 Kings 24 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land of Judah. Jehoiakim surrendered and paid him tribute for three years but then rebelled. 2 Then the Lord sent bands of Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Judah to destroy it, just as the Lord had promised through his prophets. 3 These disasters happened...

2 Kings 23 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And the king went up to the Temple of the Lord with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, along with the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. There the king read to them the entire Book of the Covenant that had been found in the Lord’s Temple. 3 The...

2 Kings 22 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 2  Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. 2 He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right. 3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah s...

2 Kings 21 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother was Hephzibah. 2 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had destro...

2 Kings 20 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.” 2 When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, O...

2 Kings 19 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, all dressed in burlap, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They told him, “This is what King Hezekiah says: Today is a day of trouble...

2 Kings 18 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1 Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. 3 He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done. 4 He removed the pa...

2 Kings 17 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Hoshea son of Elah began to rule over Israel in the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria nine years. 2 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, but not to the same extent as the kings of Israel who ruled before him. 3 King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked King Hoshea, so Hoshea was forced to pay heavy tribute to Assyria...

2 Kings 16 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Ahaz son of Jotham began to rule over Judah in the seventeenth year of King Pekah’s reign in Israel. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had done. 3 Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel,...

2 Kings 15 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1 Uzziah son of Amaziah began to rule over Judah in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel. 2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. 3 He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done. 4 But he did...

2 Kings 14 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Amaziah son of Joash began to rule over Judah in the second year of the reign of King Jehoash of Israel. 2 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem. 3 Amaziah did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, but not like his ancestor David. Instead, he fo...

2 Kings 13 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Jehoahaz son of Jehu began to rule over Israel in the twenty-third year of King Joash’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria seventeen years. 2 But he did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. 3 So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and he...

2 Kings 12 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1  Joash began to rule over Judah in the seventh year of King Jehu’s reign in Israel. He reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. 2 All his life Joash did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 Yet even so, he did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sac...