One Year Bible.

Assurance of Victory

¹Hear, O Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens. ²The people are strong and tall, the descendants of the Anakim. You know about them, and you have heard it said, “Who can stand up to the sons of Anak?” ³But understand that today the LORD your God goes across ahead of you as a consuming fire; He will destroy them and subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them swiftly, as the LORD has promised you.

⁴When the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say in your heart, “Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land.” Rather, the LORD is driving out these nations before you because of their wickedness.

⁵It is not because of your righteousness or uprightness of heart that you are going in to possess their land, but it is because of their wickedness that the LORD your God is driving out these nations before you, to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ⁶Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

The Golden Calf

⁷Remember this, and never forget how you provoked the LORD your God in the wilderness. From the day you left the land of Egypt until you reached this place, you have been rebelling against the LORD.

⁸At Horeb you provoked the LORD, and He was angry enough to destroy you. ⁹When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I ate no bread and drank no water.

¹⁰Then the LORD gave me the two stone tablets, inscribed by the finger of God with the exact words that the LORD spoke to you out of the fire on the mountain on the day of the assembly. ¹¹And at the end of forty days and forty nights, the LORD gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant. ¹²And the LORD said to me, “Get up and go down from here at once, for your people, whom you brought out of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned aside from the way that I commanded them! They have made for themselves a molten image.”

¹³The LORD also said to me, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people. ¹⁴Leave Me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. Then I will make you into a nation mightier and greater than they are.”

¹⁵So I went back down the mountain while it was blazing with fire, with the two tablets of the covenant in my hands. ¹⁶And I saw how you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves a molten calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you. ¹⁷So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, shattering them before your eyes.

¹⁸Then I fell down before the LORD for forty days and forty nights, as I had done the first time. I did not eat bread or drink water because of all the sin you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD and provoking Him to anger. ¹⁹For I was afraid of the anger and wrath that the LORD had directed against you, enough to destroy you. But the LORD listened to me this time as well.

²⁰The LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I also prayed for Aaron. ²¹And I took that sinful thing, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust, and I cast it into the stream that came down from the mountain.

²²You continued to provoke the LORD at Taberah, at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah. ²³And when the LORD sent you out from Kadesh-barnea, He said, “Go up and possess the land that I have given you.”

But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You neither believed Him nor obeyed Him. ²⁴You have been rebelling against the LORD since the day I came to know you. ²⁵So I fell down before the LORD for forty days and forty nights, because the LORD had said He would destroy you.

²⁶And I prayed to the LORD and said, “O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, Your inheritance, whom You redeemed through Your greatness and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. ²⁷Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness of this people and the wickedness of their sin. ²⁸Otherwise, those in the land from which You brought us out will say, ‘Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land He had promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.’ ²⁹But they are Your people, Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your great power and outstretched arm.”

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

¹Early in the morning, the chief priests, elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin devised a plan. They bound Jesus, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate.

²So Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

³And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things.

⁴Then Pilate questioned Him again, “Have You no answer? Look how many charges they are bringing against You!”

⁵But to Pilate’s amazement, Jesus made no further reply.

The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

⁶Now it was Pilate’s custom at the feast to release to the people a prisoner of their choosing. ⁷And a man named Barabbas was imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. ⁸So the crowd went up and began asking Pilate to keep his custom.

⁹“Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” Pilate asked. ¹⁰For he knew it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over.

¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas to them instead.

Pilate Delivers Up Jesus

¹²So Pilate asked them again, “What then do you want me to do with the One you call the King of the Jews?”

¹³And they shouted back, “Crucify Him!”

¹⁴“Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?”

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”

¹⁵And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

¹⁶Then the soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called the whole company together. ¹⁷They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head. ¹⁸And they began to salute Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!”

¹⁹They kept striking His head with a staff and spitting on Him. And they knelt down and bowed before Him. ²⁰After they had mocked Him, they removed the purple robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him.

The Crucifixion

²¹Now Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.

²²They brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull. ²³There they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it.

²⁴And they crucified Him.

They also divided His garments by casting lots to decide what each of them would take.

²⁵It was the third hour when they crucified Him. ²⁶And the charge inscribed against Him read:

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

²⁷Along with Jesus, they crucified two robbers, one on His right and one on His left.

²⁹And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, ³⁰come down from the cross and save Yourself!”

³¹In the same way, the chief priests and scribes mocked Him among themselves, saying, “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself! ³²Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” And even those who were crucified with Him berated Him.

The Death of Jesus

³³From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. ³⁴At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

³⁵When some of those standing nearby heard this, they said, “Behold, He is calling Elijah.”

³⁶And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine. He put it on a reed and held it up for Jesus to drink, saying, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.”

³⁷But Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed His last. ³⁸And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

³⁹When the centurion standing there in front of Jesus saw how He had breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰And there were also women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. ⁴¹These women had followed Jesus and ministered to Him while He was in Galilee, and there were many other women who had come up to Jerusalem with Him.

The Burial of Jesus

⁴²Now it was already evening. Since it was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath ), ⁴³Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent Council member who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.

⁴⁴Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, so he summoned the centurion to ask if this was so. ⁴⁵When Pilate had confirmed it with the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

⁴⁶So Joseph bought a linen cloth, took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it in the cloth, and placed it in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. ⁴⁷Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where His body was placed.

Ezekiel the Watchman for Israel

¹Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, speak to your people and tell them: ‘Suppose I bring the sword against a land, and the people of that land choose a man from among them, appointing him as their watchman, ³and he sees the sword coming against that land and blows the ram’s horn to warn the people.

⁴Then if anyone hears the sound of the horn but fails to heed the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. ⁵Since he heard the sound of the horn but failed to heed the warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life.

⁶But if the watchman sees the sword coming and fails to blow the horn to warn the people, and the sword comes and takes away a life, then that one will be taken away in his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’

⁷As for you, O son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word from My mouth and give them the warning from Me. ⁸If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, then that wicked man will die in his iniquity, yet I will hold you accountable for his blood. ⁹But if you warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from it, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.

The Message of the Watchman

¹⁰Now as for you, son of man, tell the house of Israel that this is what they have said: ‘Our transgressions and our sins are heavy upon us, and we are wasting away because of them! How can we live?’

¹¹Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

¹²Therefore, son of man, say to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked man cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. Nor will the righteous man be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins.’

¹³If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but he then trusts in his righteousness and commits iniquity, then none of his righteous works will be remembered; he will die because of the iniquity he has committed.

¹⁴But if I tell the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and he turns from his sin and does what is just and right— ¹⁵if he restores a pledge, makes restitution for what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without practicing iniquity— then he will surely live; he will not die. ¹⁶None of the sins he has committed will be held against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live.

¹⁷Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just. ¹⁸If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he will die for it. ¹⁹But if a wicked man turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live because of this.

²⁰Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to his ways, O house of Israel.”

Word of Jerusalem’s Fall

²¹In the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth day of the tenth month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and reported, “The city has been taken!”

²²Now the evening before the fugitive arrived, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.

²³Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ²⁴“Son of man, those living in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as a possession.’

²⁵Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You eat meat with the blood in it, lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land? ²⁶You have relied on your swords, you have committed detestable acts, and each of you has defiled his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?’

²⁷Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, those in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I will give to be devoured by wild animals, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague. ²⁸I will make the land a desolate waste, and the pride of her strength will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will become desolate, so that no one will pass through. ²⁹Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the abominations they have committed.’

³⁰As for you, son of man, your people are talking about you near the city walls and in the doorways of their houses. One speaks to another, each saying to his brother, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD!’

³¹So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain. ³²Indeed, you are to them like a singer of love songs with a beautiful voice, who skillfully plays an instrument. They hear your words but do not put them into practice. ³³So when it comes to pass— and surely it will come— then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

A Prophecy against Israel’s Shepherds

¹Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock? ³You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.

⁴You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. ⁵They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts. ⁶My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’

⁷Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: ⁸‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead, ⁹therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!’

¹⁰This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand from them My flock and remove them from tending the flock, so that they can no longer feed themselves. For I will deliver My flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’

The Good Shepherd

¹¹For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out. ¹²As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock.

I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. ¹³I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the settlements of the land. ¹⁴I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

¹⁵I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. ¹⁶I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’

¹⁷This is what the Lord GOD says to you, My flock: ‘I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the goats. ¹⁸Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? ¹⁹Why must My flock feed on what your feet have trampled, and drink what your feet have muddied?’

²⁰Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: ‘Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹Since you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak ones with your horns until you have scattered them abroad, ²²I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another. ²³I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.

The Covenant of Peace

²⁵I will make with them a covenant of peace and rid the land of wild animals, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest. ²⁶I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season— showers of blessing. ²⁷The trees of the field will give their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; My flock will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and delivered them from the hands that enslaved them.

²⁸They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not consume them. They will dwell securely, and no one will frighten them.

²⁹And I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. ³⁰Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,’ declares the Lord GOD.

³¹‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD.”