One Year Bible.

The Selfishness of the Unfriendly

¹He who isolates himself pursues selfish desires;

he rebels against all sound judgment.

²A fool does not delight in understanding,

but only in airing his opinions.

³With a wicked man comes contempt as well,

and shame is accompanied by disgrace.

⁴The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;

the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

⁵Showing partiality to the wicked is not good,

nor is depriving the innocent of justice.

⁶A fool’s lips bring him strife,

and his mouth invites a beating.

⁷A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

and his lips are a snare to his soul.

⁸The words of a gossip are like choice morsels

that go down into the inmost being.

⁹Whoever is slothful in his work

is brother to him who destroys.

¹⁰The name of the LORD is a strong tower;

the righteous run to it and are safe.

¹¹A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city;

it is like a high wall in his imagination.

¹²Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud,

but humility comes before honor.

¹³He who answers a matter before he hears it—

this is folly and disgrace to him.

¹⁴The spirit of a man can endure his sickness,

but who can survive a broken spirit?

¹⁵The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge,

and the ear of the wise seeks it out.

¹⁶A man’s gift opens doors for him,

and brings him before great men.

¹⁷The first to state his case seems right

until another comes and cross-examines him.

¹⁸Casting the lot ends quarrels

and separates strong opponents.

¹⁹An offended brother is harder to win than a fortified city,

and disputes are like the bars of a castle.

²⁰From the fruit of his mouth a man’s belly is filled;

with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.

²¹Life and death are in the power of the tongue,

and those who love it will eat its fruit.

²²He who finds a wife finds a good thing

and obtains favor from the LORD.

²³The poor man pleads for mercy,

but the rich man answers harshly.

²⁴A man of many companions may come to ruin,

but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.

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.

Paul’s Greeting to Titus

¹Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, ²in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. ³In His own time He has made His word evident in the proclamation entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.

⁴To Titus, my true child in our common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Appointing Elders on Crete

⁵The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. ⁶An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, having children who are believers and who are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination.

⁷As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach — not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money. ⁸Instead, he must be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. ⁹He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.

Correcting False Teachers

¹⁰For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision, ¹¹who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not. ¹²As one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

¹³This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sternly, so that they will be sound in the faith ¹⁴and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth.

¹⁵To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled. ¹⁶They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.

Teaching Sound Doctrine

¹But as for you, speak the things that are consistent with sound doctrine.

²Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, and sound in faith, love, and perseverance.

³Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but teachers of good. ⁴In this way they can train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵to be self-controlled, pure, managers of their households, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be discredited.

⁶In the same way, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.

⁷In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity, ⁸and wholesome speech that is above reproach, so that anyone who opposes us will be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us.

⁹Slaves are to submit to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, ¹⁰not stealing from them, but showing all good faith, so that in every respect they will adorn the teaching about God our Savior.

God’s Grace Brings Salvation

¹¹For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone. ¹²It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age, ¹³as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. ¹⁴He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

¹⁵Speak these things as you encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

Heirs of Grace

¹Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work, ²to malign no one, and to be peaceable and gentle, showing full consideration to everyone.

³For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures — living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

⁴But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, ⁵He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. ⁶This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life. ⁸This saying is trustworthy. And I want you to emphasize these things, so that those who have believed God will take care to devote themselves to good deeds. These things are excellent and profitable for the people.

Avoid Divisions

⁹But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law, because these things are pointless and worthless.

¹⁰Reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition, ¹¹knowing that such a man is corrupt and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Final Remarks and Greetings

¹²As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. ¹³Do your best to equip Zenas the lawyer and Apollos, so that they will have everything they need. ¹⁴And our people must also learn to devote themselves to good works in order to meet the pressing needs of others, so that they will not be unfruitful.

¹⁵All who are with me send you greetings.

Greet those who love us in the faith.

Grace be with all of you.