One Year Bible.

The Ravens Feed Elijah

¹Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”

²Then a revelation from the LORD came to Elijah: ³“Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. ⁴And you are to drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

⁵So Elijah did what the LORD had told him, and he went and lived by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. ⁶The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook. ⁷Some time later, however, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

The Widow of Zarephath

⁸Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: ⁹“Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”

¹⁰So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.” ¹¹And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread.”

¹²But she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread— only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”

¹³“Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and do as you have said. But first make me a small cake of bread from what you have, and bring it out to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your son, ¹⁴for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain upon the face of the earth.’”

¹⁵So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her household. ¹⁶The jar of flour was not exhausted and the jug of oil did not run dry, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

¹⁷Later, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill, and his sickness grew worse and worse, until no breath remained in him. ¹⁸“O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”

¹⁹But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.”

So he took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on this widow who has opened her home to me, by causing her son to die?” ²¹Then he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, please let this boy’s life return to him!”

²²And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah, and the child’s life returned to him, and he lived. ²³Then Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. “Look, your son is alive,” Elijah declared.

²⁴Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is truth.”

Elijah’s Message to Ahab

¹After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.”

²So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria, ³and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace.

(Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD, ⁴for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)

⁵Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.”

⁶So they divided the land to explore. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.

⁷Now as Obadiah went on his way, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”

⁸“It is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here!’”

⁹But Obadiah replied, “How have I sinned, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death? ¹⁰As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you. ¹¹And now you say, ‘Go tell your master that Elijah is here!’

¹²I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth. ¹³Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water. ¹⁴And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord that Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!”

¹⁵Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today.”

Elijah on Mount Carmel

¹⁶So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah. ¹⁷When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”

¹⁸“I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. ¹⁹Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

²⁰So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. ²¹Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people did not answer a word.

²²Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. ²³Get two bulls for us. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. And I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire. ²⁴Then you may call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers by fire, He is God.”

And all the people answered, “What you say is good.”

²⁵Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.”

²⁶And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!”

But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.

²⁷At noon Elijah began to taunt them, saying, “Shout louder, for he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or occupied, or on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!”

²⁸So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them.

²⁹Midday passed, and they kept on raving until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no response; no one answered, no one paid attention.

³⁰Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people approached him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down.

³¹And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.” ³²And with the stones, Elijah built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.

³³Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood, ³⁴and said, “Fill four waterpots and pour the water on the offering and on the wood.”

“Do it a second time,” he said, and they did it a second time.

“Do it a third time,” he said, and they did it a third time.

³⁵So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

Elijah’s Prayer

³⁶At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command. ³⁷Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again.”

³⁸Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench.

³⁹When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”

⁴⁰Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.

The LORD Sends Rain

⁴¹And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”

⁴²So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the summit of Carmel, bent down on the ground, and put his face between his knees. ⁴³“Go and look toward the sea,” he said to his servant.

So the servant went and looked, and he said, “There is nothing there.”

Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

⁴⁴On the seventh time the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.”

And Elijah replied, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”

⁴⁵Meanwhile, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain began to fall. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.

⁴⁶And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

¹Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged. ²The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe. ³And they went up to Him again and again, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapping Him in the face.

⁴Once again Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him.” ⁵When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

⁶As soon as the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

“You take Him and crucify Him,” Pilate replied, “for I find no basis for a charge against Him.”

⁷“We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.”

⁸When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid, ⁹and he went back into the Praetorium. “Where are You from?” he asked.

But Jesus gave no answer.

¹⁰So Pilate said to Him, “Do You refuse to speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?”

¹¹Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”

¹²From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”

¹³When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, which in Hebrew is Gabbatha. ¹⁴It was the day of Preparation for the Passover, about the sixth hour. And Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your King!”

¹⁵At this, they shouted, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!”

“Shall I crucify your King?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” replied the chief priests.

The Crucifixion

¹⁶Then Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, and the soldiers took Him away. ¹⁷Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.

¹⁸There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle.

¹⁹Pilate also had a notice posted on the cross. It read:

JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

²⁰Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. ²¹So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but only that He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’ ”

²²Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

²³When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided His garments into four parts, one for each soldier, with the tunic remaining. It was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. ²⁴So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it. Instead, let us cast lots to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill the Scripture:

“They divided My garments among them,

and cast lots for My clothing.”

So that is what the soldiers did.

²⁵Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother and her sister, as well as Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.” ²⁷Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” So from that hour, this disciple took her into his home.

The Death of Jesus

²⁸After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹A jar of sour wine was sitting there. So they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted it to His mouth. ³⁰When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.

Jesus’ Side Is Pierced

³¹It was the day of Preparation, and the next day was a High Sabbath. In order that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed. ³²So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and those of the other.

³³But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ³⁴Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. ³⁵The one who saw it has testified to this, and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.

³⁶Now these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.” ³⁷And, as another Scripture says: “They will look on the One they have pierced.”

The Burial of Jesus

³⁸Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus (but secretly for fear of the Jews), asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and removed His body. ³⁹Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. ⁴⁰So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.

⁴¹Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. ⁴²And because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and the tomb was nearby, they placed Jesus there.

The Resurrection

¹Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ²So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she said, “and we do not know where they have put Him!”

³Then Peter and the other disciple set out for the tomb. ⁴The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵He bent down and looked in at the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.

⁶Simon Peter arrived just after him. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. ⁷The cloth that had been around Jesus’ head was rolled up, lying separate from the linen cloths. ⁸Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in. And he saw and believed. ⁹For they still did not understand from the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹⁰Then the disciples returned to their homes. ¹¹But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent down to look into the tomb, ¹²and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and the other at the feet.

¹³“Woman, why are you weeping?” they asked.

“Because they have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I do not know where they have put Him.”

¹⁴When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not recognize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵“Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus asked. “Whom are you seeking?”

Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.”

¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” ( which means “Teacher” ).

¹⁷“Do not cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and tell My brothers, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”

¹⁸Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what He had said to her.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

¹⁹It was the first day of the week, and that very evening, while the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you!” He said to them. ²⁰After He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side.

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

²¹Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.” ²²When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas

²⁴Now Thomas called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands, and put my finger where the nails have been, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe.”

²⁶Eight days later, His disciples were once again inside with the doors locked, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

²⁷Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of John’s Book

³⁰Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.