One Year Bible.

The Queen of Sheba

¹Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions. ²She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan— with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones.

And she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind. ³And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain.

⁴When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built, ⁵the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.

⁶She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and wisdom is true. ⁷But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity have far exceeded the report I heard. ⁸How blessed are your men! How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! ⁹Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”

¹⁰Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again were spices in such abundance brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹¹(The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir a great cargo of almug wood and precious stones. ¹²The king made the almug wood into steps for the house of the LORD and for the king’s palace, and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had such almug wood been brought in, nor has such been seen again to this day.)

¹³King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired — whatever she asked — besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned to her own country, along with her servants.

Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor

¹⁴The weight of gold that came to Solomon each year was 666 talents, ¹⁵not including the revenue from the merchants, traders, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.

¹⁶King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. ¹⁷He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁸Additionally, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. ¹⁹The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, with a lion standing beside each armrest. ²⁰Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.

²¹All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. ²²For the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

²³So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. ²⁴The whole world sought an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart. ²⁵Year after year, each visitor would bring his tribute: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

²⁶Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. ²⁷The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills.

²⁸Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue. ²⁹A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.

Solomon’s Foreign Wives

¹King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh — women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. ²These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love. ³He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines — and his wives turned his heart away.

⁴For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been. ⁵Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. ⁶So Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD; unlike his father David, he did not follow the LORD completely.

⁷At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites. ⁸He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

God’s Anger against Solomon

⁹Now the LORD grew angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. ¹⁰Although He had warned Solomon explicitly not to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD’s command.

¹¹Then the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. ¹²Nevertheless, for the sake of your father David, I will not do it during your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. ¹³Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

Hadad’s Return

¹⁴Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom.

¹⁵Earlier, when David was in Edom, Joab the commander of the army had gone to bury the dead and had struck down every male in Edom. ¹⁶Joab and all Israel had stayed there six months, until he had killed every male in Edom. ¹⁷But Hadad, still just a young boy, had fled to Egypt, along with some Edomites who were servants of his father.

¹⁸Hadad and his men set out from Midian and went to Paran. They took men from Paran with them and went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.

¹⁹There Hadad found such great favor in the sight of Pharaoh that he gave to him in marriage the sister of Queen Tahpenes, his own wife. ²⁰And the sister of Tahpenes bore Hadad a son named Genubath. Tahpenes herself weaned him in Pharaoh’s palace, and Genubath lived there among the sons of Pharaoh.

²¹When Hadad heard in Egypt that David had rested with his fathers and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead, he said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, that I may return to my own country.”

²²But Pharaoh asked him, “What have you lacked here with me that you suddenly want to go back to your own country?”

“Nothing,” Hadad replied, “but please let me go.”

Rezon’s Hostility

²³And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah, ²⁴and had gathered men to himself. When David killed the Zobaites, Rezon captained a band of raiders and went to Damascus, where they settled and gained control.

²⁵Rezon was Israel’s enemy throughout the days of Solomon, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled over Aram with hostility toward Israel.

Jeroboam’s Rebellion

²⁶Now Jeroboam son of Nebat was an Ephraimite from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. Jeroboam was a servant of Solomon, but he rebelled against the king, ²⁷and this is the account of his rebellion against the king.

Solomon had built the supporting terraces and repaired the gap in the wall of the city of his father David. ²⁸Now Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor. So when Solomon noticed that the young man was industrious, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph.

²⁹During that time, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met Jeroboam on the road as he was going out of Jerusalem. Now Ahijah had wrapped himself in a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the open field.

³⁰And Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing, tore it into twelve pieces, ³¹and said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and I will give you ten tribes. ³²But one tribe will remain for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

³³For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and judgments, as Solomon’s father David did.

³⁴Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David My servant, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and statutes. ³⁵But I will take ten tribes of the kingdom from the hand of his son and give them to you. ³⁶I will give one tribe to his son, so that My servant David will always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put My Name. ³⁷But as for you, I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your heart desires, and you will be king over Israel.

³⁸If you listen to all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight in order to keep My statutes and commandments as My servant David did, then I will be with you. I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. ³⁹Because of this, I will humble David’s descendants — but not forever.’”

⁴⁰Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, where he remained until the death of Solomon.

The Death of Solomon

⁴¹As for the rest of the acts of Solomon — all that he did, as well as his wisdom — are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? ⁴²Thus the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.

⁴³And Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David. And his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.

A Remnant Chosen by Grace

¹I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. ²God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel: ³“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well”?

⁴And what was the divine reply to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”

⁵In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. ⁶And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.

⁷What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, ⁸as it is written:

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,

eyes that could not see,

and ears that could not hear,

to this very day.”

⁹And David says:

“May their table become a snare and a trap,

a stumbling block and a retribution to them.

¹⁰May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,

and their backs be bent forever.”

The Ingrafting of the Gentiles

¹¹I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. ¹²But if their trespass means riches for the world, and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!

¹³I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry ¹⁴in the hope that I may provoke my own people to jealousy and save some of them. ¹⁵For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? ¹⁶If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root, ¹⁸do not boast over those branches. If you do, remember this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.

¹⁹You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” ²⁰That is correct: They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. ²¹For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will certainly not spare you either.

²²Take notice, therefore, of the kindness and severity of God: severity to those who fell, but kindness to you, if you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. ²³And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴For if you were cut from a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into one that is cultivated, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

All Israel Will Be Saved

²⁵I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come from Zion;

He will remove godlessness from Jacob.

²⁷And this is My covenant with them

when I take away their sins.”

²⁸Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs. ²⁹For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.

³⁰Just as you who formerly disobeyed God have now received mercy through their disobedience, ³¹so they too have now disobeyed, in order that they too may now receive mercy through the mercy shown to you. ³²For God has consigned everyone to disobedience so that He may have mercy on everyone.

A Hymn of Praise

³³O, the depth of the riches

of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable are His judgments,

and untraceable His ways!

³⁴“Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been His counselor?”

³⁵“Who has first given to God,

that God should repay him?”

³⁶For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.

To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

Living Sacrifices

¹Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

³For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you. ⁴Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function, ⁵so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another.

⁶We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If one’s gift is prophecy, let him use it in proportion to his faith; ⁷if it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; ⁸if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Love, Zeal, Hope, Hospitality

⁹Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.

¹¹Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.

¹³Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Forgiveness

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.

¹⁹Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”

²⁰On the contrary,

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him a drink.

For in so doing,

you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.