One Year Bible.

The Leaven of the Pharisees

¹In the meantime, a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling one another. Jesus began to speak first to His disciples: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ²There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known. ³What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.

Fear God Alone

⁴I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. ⁵But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!

⁶Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. ⁷And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Confessing Christ

⁸I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God. ⁹But whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. ¹⁰And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

¹¹When you are brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say. ¹²For at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴But Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed Me judge or executor between you?” ¹⁵And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

¹⁶Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance. ¹⁷So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

²⁰But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

²¹This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Worry

²²Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. ²³For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ²⁴Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds!

²⁵Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ²⁶So if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest?

²⁷Consider how the lilies grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. ²⁸If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith!

²⁹And do not be concerned about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it. ³⁰For the Gentiles of the world strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added unto you.

Treasures in Heaven

³²Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Readiness at Any Hour

³⁵Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning. ³⁶Then you will be like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once. ³⁷Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve and will have them recline at the table, and he himself will come and wait on them. ³⁸Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, those servants will be blessed.

³⁹But understand this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁰You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”

⁴¹“Lord,” said Peter, “are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?”

⁴²And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time? ⁴³Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. ⁴⁴Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

⁴⁵But suppose that servant says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and he begins to beat the menservants and maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk. ⁴⁶The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate. Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

⁴⁷That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows. ⁴⁸But the one who unknowingly does things worthy of punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from him who has been entrusted with much, even more will be demanded.

Not Peace but Division

⁴⁹I have come to ignite a fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!

⁵¹Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division. ⁵²From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. ⁵³They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Interpreting the Present Time

⁵⁴Then Jesus said to the crowds, “As soon as you see a cloud rising in the west, you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and that is what happens. ⁵⁵And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It will be hot,’ and it is. ⁵⁶You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you know how to interpret the present time?

Reconciling with an Adversary

⁵⁷And why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸Make every effort to reconcile with your adversary while you are on your way to the magistrate. Otherwise, he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and the officer may throw you into prison. ⁵⁹I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny.”

Praise to the Victorious God

¹O LORD, You are my God!

I will exalt You;

I will praise Your name.

For You have worked wonders —

plans formed long ago —

in perfect faithfulness.

²Indeed, You have made the city a heap of rubble,

the fortified town a ruin.

The fortress of strangers is a city no more;

it will never be rebuilt.

³Therefore, a strong people will honor You.

The cities of ruthless nations will revere You.

⁴For You have been a refuge for the poor,

a stronghold for the needy in distress,

a refuge from the storm,

a shade from the heat.

For the breath of the ruthless

is like rain against a wall,

⁵like heat in a dry land.

You subdue the uproar of foreigners.

As the shade of a cloud cools the heat,

so the song of the ruthless is silenced.

⁶On this mountain the LORD of Hosts

will prepare a lavish banquet for all the peoples,

a feast of aged wine, of choice meat,

of finely aged wine.

⁷On this mountain He will swallow up

the shroud that enfolds all peoples,

the sheet that covers all nations;

⁸He will swallow up death forever.

The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face

and remove the disgrace of His people

from the whole earth.

For the LORD has spoken.

⁹And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God;

we have waited for Him, and He has saved us.

This is the LORD for whom we have waited.

Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

¹⁰For the hand of the LORD

will rest on this mountain.

But Moab will be trampled in his place

as straw is trodden into the dung pile.

¹¹He will spread out his hands within it,

as a swimmer spreads his arms to swim.

His pride will be brought low,

despite the skill of his hands.

¹²The high-walled fortress will be brought down,

cast to the ground, into the dust.

A Song of Salvation

¹In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city;

salvation is established as its walls and ramparts.

²Open the gates so a righteous nation may enter—

one that remains faithful.

³You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind,

because he trusts in You.

⁴Trust in the LORD forever,

because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.

⁵For He has humbled those who dwell on high;

He lays the lofty city low.

He brings it down to the ground;

He casts it into the dust.

⁶Feet trample it down —

the feet of the oppressed,

the steps of the poor.

⁷The path of the righteous is level;

You clear a straight path for the upright.

⁸Yes, we wait for You, O LORD;

we walk in the path of Your judgments.

Your name and renown

are the desire of our souls.

⁹My soul longs for You in the night;

indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn.

For when Your judgments come upon the earth,

the people of the world learn righteousness.

¹⁰Though grace is shown to the wicked man,

he does not learn righteousness.

In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly

and fails to see the majesty of the LORD.

¹¹O LORD, Your hand is upraised,

but they do not see it.

They will see Your zeal for Your people

and be put to shame.

The fire set for Your enemies

will consume them!

¹²O LORD, You will establish peace for us.

For all that we have accomplished,

You have done for us.

¹³O LORD our God, other lords besides You have ruled over us,

but Your name alone do we confess.

¹⁴The dead will not live;

the departed spirits will not rise.

Therefore You have punished and destroyed them;

You have wiped out all memory of them.

¹⁵You have enlarged the nation, O LORD;

You have enlarged the nation.

You have gained glory for Yourself;

You have extended all the borders of the land.

¹⁶O LORD, they sought You in their distress;

when You disciplined them, they poured out a quiet prayer.

¹⁷As a woman with child about to give birth

writhes and cries out in pain,

so were we in Your presence, O LORD.

¹⁸We were with child; we writhed in pain;

but we gave birth to wind.

We have given no salvation to the earth,

nor brought any life into the world.

¹⁹Your dead will live; their bodies will rise.

Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust!

For your dew is like the dew of the morning,

and the earth will bring forth her dead.

²⁰Go, my people, enter your rooms

and shut your doors behind you.

Hide yourselves a little while

until the wrath has passed.

²¹For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling

to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.

The earth will reveal her bloodshed

and will no longer conceal her slain.

The LORD’s Vineyard

¹In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent— Leviathan the coiling serpent— and He will slay the dragon of the sea. ²In that day:

“Sing about a fruitful vineyard.

³I, the LORD, am its keeper;

I water it continually.

I guard it night and day

so no one can disturb it;

⁴I am not angry.

If only thorns and briers confronted Me,

I would march and trample them,

I would burn them to the ground.

⁵Or let them lay claim to My protection;

let them make peace with Me—

yes, let them make peace with Me.”

⁶In the days to come, Jacob will take root.

Israel will bud and blossom

and fill the whole world with fruit.

⁷Has the LORD struck Israel as He struck her oppressors?

Was she killed like those who slayed her?

⁸By warfare and exile You contended with her

and removed her with a fierce wind,

as on the day the east wind blows.

⁹Therefore Jacob’s guilt will be atoned for,

and the full fruit of the removal of his sin will be this:

When he makes all the altar stones

like crushed bits of chalk,

no Asherah poles or incense altars

will remain standing.

¹⁰For the fortified city lies deserted —

a homestead abandoned, a wilderness forsaken.

There the calves graze, and there they lie down;

they strip its branches bare.

¹¹When its limbs are dry,

they are broken off.

Women come and use them for kindling;

for this is a people without understanding.

Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them,

and their Creator shows them no favor.

¹²In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, O Israelites, will be gathered one by one. ¹³And in that day a great ram’s horn will sound, and those who were perishing in Assyria will come forth with those who were exiles in Egypt. And they will worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.