One Year Bible.

Abijah Reigns in Judah

¹In the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign, Abijah became king of Judah, ²and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Micaiah daughter of Uriel; she was from Gibeah.

And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³Abijah went into battle with an army of 400,000 chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up in formation against him with 800,000 chosen and mighty men of valor.

Civil War against Jeroboam

⁴Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! ⁵Do you not know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? ⁶Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master. ⁷Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young, inexperienced, and unable to resist them.

⁸And now you think you can resist the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hands of David’s descendants. You are indeed a vast army, and you have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods. ⁹But did you not drive out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites? And did you not make priests for yourselves as do the peoples of other lands? Now whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of things that are not gods.

¹⁰But as for us, the LORD is our God. We have not forsaken Him; the priests who minister to the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties. ¹¹Every morning and every evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD. They set out the rows of showbread on the ceremonially clean table, and every evening they light the lamps of the gold lampstand. We are carrying out the requirements of the LORD our God, while you have forsaken Him.

¹²Now behold, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with their trumpets sound the battle call against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.”

¹³Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to ambush from the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah, the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴When Judah turned and discovered that the battle was both before and behind them, they cried out to the LORD. Then the priests blew the trumpets, ¹⁵and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. And when they raised the cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

¹⁶So the Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. ¹⁷Then Abijah and his people struck them with a mighty blow, and 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain. ¹⁸Thus the Israelites were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.

¹⁹Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured some cities from him: Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, along with their villages.

²⁰Jeroboam did not again recover his power during the days of Abijah, and the LORD struck him down and he died.

²¹But Abijah grew strong, married fourteen wives, and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. ²²Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, along with his ways and his words, are written in the Treatise of the Prophet Iddo.

Asa Reigns in Judah

¹Then Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And his son Asa reigned in his place, and in his days the land was at peace for ten years.

²And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. ³He removed the foreign altars and high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and chopped down the Asherah poles. ⁴He commanded the people of Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandments. ⁵He also removed the high places and incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and under him the kingdom was at peace.

⁶Because the land was at peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah. In those days no one made war with him, because the LORD had given him rest. ⁷So he said to the people of Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the LORD our God. We have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.

⁸Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin bearing small shields and drawing the bow. All these were mighty men of valor.

⁹Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots, and they advanced as far as Mareshah. ¹⁰So Asa marched out against him and lined up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

¹¹Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”

¹²So the LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah, and the Cushites fled. ¹³Then Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell and could not recover, for they were crushed before the LORD and His army. So the people of Judah carried off a great amount of plunder ¹⁴and attacked all the cities around Gerar, because the terror of the LORD had fallen upon them. They plundered all the cities, since there was much plunder there. ¹⁵They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen and carried off many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Mary Anoints Jesus

¹Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. ²So they hosted a dinner for Jesus there. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him. ³Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was going to betray Him, asked, ⁵“Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” ⁶Judas did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money bag, he used to take from what was put into it.

⁷“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “She has kept this perfume in preparation for the day of My burial. ⁸The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

⁹Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews learned that Jesus was there. And they came not only because of Him, but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. ¹⁰So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, ¹¹for on account of him many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry

¹²The next day the great crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting:

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the King of Israel!”

¹⁴Finding a young donkey, Jesus sat on it, as it is written:

¹⁵“Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion.

See, your King is coming,

seated on the colt of a donkey.”

¹⁶At first His disciples did not understand these things, but after Jesus was glorified they remembered what had been done to Him, and they realized that these very things had also been written about Him.

¹⁷Meanwhile, many people who had been with Jesus when He called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. ¹⁸That is also why the crowd went out to meet Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.

¹⁹Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You can see that this is doing you no good. Look how the whole world has gone after Him!”

Jesus Predicts His Death

²⁰Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast. ²¹They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested of him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” ²²Philip relayed this appeal to Andrew, and both of them went and told Jesus.

²³But Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

²⁷Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour. ²⁸Father, glorify Your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

²⁹The crowd standing there heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said that an angel had spoken to Him.

³⁰In response, Jesus said, “This voice was not for My benefit, but yours. ³¹Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out. ³²And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw everyone to Myself.” ³³He said this to indicate the kind of death He was going to die.

³⁴The crowd replied, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever. So how can You say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”

³⁵Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light.”

After Jesus had spoken these things, He went away and was hidden from them.

Belief and Unbelief

³⁷Although Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still did not believe in Him. ³⁸This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our message?

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

³⁹For this reason they were unable to believe. For again, Isaiah says:

⁴⁰“He has blinded their eyes

and hardened their hearts,

so that they cannot see with their eyes,

and understand with their hearts,

and turn,

and I would heal them.”

⁴¹Isaiah said these things because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about Him. ⁴²Nevertheless, many of the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue. ⁴³For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

⁴⁴Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in Me does not believe in Me alone, but in the One who sent Me. ⁴⁵And whoever sees Me sees the One who sent Me. ⁴⁶I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness.

⁴⁷As for anyone who hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁴⁸There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not receive My words: The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

⁴⁹I have not spoken on My own, but the Father who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and how to say it. ⁵⁰And I know that His command leads to eternal life. So I speak exactly what the Father has told Me to say.”

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

¹It was now just before the Passover Feast, and Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end. ²The evening meal was underway, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

³Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God. ⁴So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist. ⁵After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him.

⁶He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

⁸“Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him.

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.”

⁹“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!”

¹⁰Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” ¹¹For He knew who would betray Him. That is why He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹²When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His outer garments, He reclined with them again and asked, “Do you know what I have done for you? ¹³You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am. ¹⁴So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

¹⁸I am not speaking about all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the Scripture: ‘The one who shares My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’ ¹⁹I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it comes to pass, you will believe that I am He. ²⁰Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever receives the one I send receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me.”

²¹After Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit and testified, “Truly, truly, I tell you, one of you will betray Me.”

²²The disciples looked at one another, perplexed as to which of them He meant. ²³One of His disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at His side. ²⁴So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus which one He was talking about. ²⁵Leaning back against Jesus, he asked, “Lord, who is it?”

²⁶Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this morsel after I have dipped it.” Then He dipped the morsel and gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷And when Judas had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him.

Then Jesus said to Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” ²⁸But no one at the table knew why Jesus had said this to him. ²⁹Since Judas kept the money bag, some thought that Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the feast, or to give something to the poor. ³⁰As soon as he had received the morsel, Judas went out into the night.

Love One Another

³¹When Judas had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. ³²If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify the Son in Himself — and will glorify Him at once.

³³Little children, I am with you only a little while longer. You will look for Me, and as I said to the Jews, so now I say to you: ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’

³⁴A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

³⁶“Lord, where are You going?” Simon Peter asked.

Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow later.”

³⁷“Lord,” said Peter, “why can’t I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You.”

³⁸“Will you lay down your life for Me?” Jesus replied. “Truly, truly, I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.[’’]