One Year Bible.

The King’s Heart

¹The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD;

He directs it where He pleases.

²All a man’s ways seem right to him,

but the LORD weighs the heart.

³To do righteousness and justice

is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.

⁴Haughty eyes and a proud heart—

the guides of the wicked— are sin.

⁵The plans of the diligent bring plenty,

as surely as haste leads to poverty.

⁶Making a fortune by a lying tongue

is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.

⁷The violence of the wicked will sweep them away

because they refuse to do what is just.

⁸The way of a guilty man is crooked,

but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

⁹Better to live on a corner of the roof

than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

¹⁰The soul of the wicked man craves evil;

his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.

¹¹When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;

and when a wise man is instructed, he acquires knowledge.

¹²The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked

and brings the wicked to ruin.

¹³Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,

he too shall cry out and receive no answer.

¹⁴A gift in secret soothes anger,

and a covert bribe pacifies great wrath.

¹⁵Justice executed is a joy to the righteous,

but a terror to the workers of iniquity.

¹⁶The man who strays from the path of understanding

will rest in the assembly of the dead.

¹⁷He who loves pleasure will become poor;

the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich.

¹⁸The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,

and the faithless for the upright.

¹⁹Better to live in the desert

than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.

²⁰Precious treasures and oil are in the dwelling of the wise,

but a foolish man consumes them.

²¹He who pursues righteousness and loving devotion

finds life, righteousness, and honor.

²²A wise man scales the city of the mighty

and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.

²³He who guards his mouth and tongue

keeps his soul from distress.

²⁴Mocker is the name of the proud and arrogant man —

of him who acts with excessive pride.

²⁵The craving of the slacker kills him

because his hands refuse to work.

²⁶All day long he covets more,

but the righteous give without restraint.

²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—

how much more so when brought with ill intent!

²⁸A lying witness will perish,

but the man who listens to truth will speak forever.

²⁹A wicked man hardens his face,

but the upright man makes his way sure.

³⁰There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel

that can prevail against the LORD.

³¹A horse is prepared for the day of battle,

but victory is of the LORD.

Submission to Authorities

¹Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God. ²Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval. ⁴For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.

⁵Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience. ⁶This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work. ⁷Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

Love Fulfills the Law

⁸Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. ⁹The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

The Day Is Near

¹¹And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹²The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. ¹⁴Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.

Evil in the Last Days

¹But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. ²For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good, ⁴traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!

⁶They are the kind who worm their way into households and captivate vulnerable women who are weighed down with sins and led astray by various passions, ⁷who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.

⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith. ⁹But they will not advance much further. For just like Jannes and Jambres, their folly will be plain to everyone.

All Scripture Is God-Breathed

¹⁰You, however, have observed my teaching, my conduct, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my perseverance, ¹¹my persecutions, and the sufferings that came upon me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. ¹²Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

¹⁴But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and firmly believed, since you know from whom you have learned them. ¹⁵From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

Preach the Word

¹I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom: ²Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.

³For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. ⁴So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

⁵But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. ⁶For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. ⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing.

Personal Concerns

⁹Make every effort to come to me quickly, ¹⁰because Demas, in his love of this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is useful to me in the ministry. ¹²Tychicus, however, I have sent to Ephesus. ¹³When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.

¹⁴Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds. ¹⁵You too should beware of him, for he has vigorously opposed our message.

The Lord Remains Faithful

¹⁶At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them. ¹⁷But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion. ¹⁸And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

¹⁹Greet Prisca and Aquila, as well as the household of Onesiphorus.

²⁰Erastus has remained at Corinth, and Trophimus I left sick in Miletus.

²¹Make every effort to come to me before winter.

Eubulus sends you greetings, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.

²²The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.