One Year Bible.

The Kings Defeated East of the Jordan

¹Now these are the kings of the land whom the Israelites struck down and whose lands they took beyond the Jordan to the east, from the Arnon Valley to Mount Hermon, including all the Arabah eastward:

²Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. He ruled from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along the middle of the valley, up to the Jabbok River (the border of the Ammonites), that is, half of Gilead, ³as well as the Arabah east of the Sea of Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), eastward through Beth-jeshimoth, and southward below the slopes of Pisgah.

⁴And Og king of Bashan, one of the remnant of the Rephaim, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei. ⁵He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, all of Bashan up to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and half of Gilead to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

⁶Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the Israelites had struck them down and given their land as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

The Kings Defeated West of the Jordan

⁷And these are the kings of the land that Joshua and the Israelites conquered beyond the Jordan to the west, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir (according to the allotments to the tribes of Israel, Joshua gave them as an inheritance ⁸the hill country, the foothills, the Arabah, the slopes, the wilderness, and the Negev — the lands of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites):

⁹the king of Jericho, one;

the king of Ai, which is near Bethel, one;

¹⁰the king of Jerusalem, one;

the king of Hebron, one;

¹¹the king of Jarmuth, one;

the king of Lachish, one;

¹²the king of Eglon, one;

the king of Gezer, one;

¹³the king of Debir, one;

the king of Geder, one;

¹⁴the king of Hormah, one;

the king of Arad, one;

¹⁵the king of Libnah, one;

the king of Adullam, one;

¹⁶the king of Makkedah, one;

the king of Bethel, one;

¹⁷the king of Tappuah, one;

the king of Hepher, one;

¹⁸the king of Aphek, one;

the king of Lasharon, one;

¹⁹the king of Madon, one;

the king of Hazor, one;

²⁰the king of Shimron-meron, one;

the king of Achshaph, one;

²¹the king of Taanach, one;

the king of Megiddo, one;

²²the king of Kedesh, one;

the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one;

²³the king of Dor in Naphath-dor, one;

the king of Goiim in Gilgal, one;

²⁴and the king of Tirzah, one.

So there were thirty-one kings in all.

Lands Yet Unconquered

¹Now Joshua was old and well along in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and well along in years, but very much of the land remains to be possessed. ²This is the land that remains:

All the territory of the Philistines and the Geshurites, ³from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)— that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites;

⁴to the south, all the land of the Canaanites, from Mearah of the Sidonians to Aphek, as far as the border of the Amorites;

⁵the land of the Gebalites;

and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath.

⁶All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim — all the Sidonians — I Myself will drive out before the Israelites. Be sure to divide it by lot as an inheritance to Israel, as I have commanded you. ⁷Now therefore divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

The Inheritance East of the Jordan

⁸The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had assigned to them:

⁹The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon, ¹⁰and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the Ammonites;

¹¹also Gilead and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, all of Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah— ¹²the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei and had remained as a remnant of the Rephaim.

Moses had struck them down and dispossessed them, ¹³but the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites. So Geshur and Maacath dwell among the Israelites to this day.

¹⁴To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The food offerings to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, just as He had promised them.

Reuben’s Inheritance

¹⁵This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Reuben:

¹⁶The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau beyond Medeba, ¹⁷to Heshbon and all its cities on the plateau, including Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, ¹⁸Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, ¹⁹Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill in the valley, ²⁰Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth— ²¹all the cities of the plateau and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon until Moses killed him and the chiefs of Midian (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba), the princes of Sihon who lived in the land.

²²The Israelites also killed the diviner Balaam son of Beor along with the others they put to the sword. ²³And the border of the Reubenites was the bank of the Jordan.

This was the inheritance of the clans of the Reubenites, including the cities and villages.

Gad’s Inheritance

²⁴This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Gad:

²⁵The territory of Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, near Rabbah;

²⁶the territory from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir;

²⁷and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, with the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon (the territory on the east side of the Jordan up to the edge of the Sea of Chinnereth).

²⁸This was the inheritance of the clans of the Gadites, including the cities and villages.

Manasseh’s Eastern Inheritance

²⁹This is what Moses had given to the clans of the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, to half the tribe of the descendants of Manasseh:

³⁰The territory from Mahanaim through all Bashan— all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, including all the towns of Jair that are in Bashan, sixty cities; ³¹half of Gilead; and Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan.

All this was for the clans of the descendants of Machir son of Manasseh, that is, half of the descendants of Machir.

³²These were the portions Moses had given them on the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho.

³³To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, just as He had promised them.

Adversaries Hinder the Work

¹When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the LORD, the God of Israel, ²they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the families, saying, “Let us build with you because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to Him since the time of King Esar-haddon of Assyria, who brought us here.”

³But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other heads of the families of Israel replied, “You have no part with us in building a house for our God, since we alone must build it for the LORD, the God of Israel, as Cyrus king of Persia has commanded us.”

⁴Then the people of the land set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to build. ⁵They hired counselors against them to frustrate their plans throughout the reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Opposition under Xerxes and Artaxerxes

⁶At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes, an accusation was lodged against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

⁷And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in Aramaic and then translated.

⁸Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote the letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:

⁹From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates— the judges and officials over Tripolis, Persia, Erech and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa, ¹⁰and the rest of the peoples whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and elsewhere west of the Euphrates.

¹¹(This is the text of the letter they sent to him.)

To King Artaxerxes,

From your servants, the men west of the Euphrates:

¹²Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring its walls and repairing its foundations.

¹³Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, they will not pay tribute, duty, or toll, and the royal treasury will suffer.

¹⁴Now because we are in the service of the palace and it is not fitting for us to allow the king to be dishonored, we have sent to inform the king ¹⁵that a search should be made of the record books of your fathers. In these books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, inciting sedition from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.

¹⁶We advise the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, you will have no dominion west of the Euphrates.

The Decree of Artaxerxes

¹⁷Then the king sent this reply:

To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of your associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates:

Greetings.

¹⁸The letter you sent us has been translated and read in my presence. ¹⁹I issued a decree, and a search was conducted. It was discovered that this city has revolted against kings from ancient times, engaging in rebellion and sedition. ²⁰And mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates; and tribute, duty, and toll were paid to them.

²¹Now, therefore, issue an order for these men to stop, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order. ²²See that you do not neglect this matter. Why allow this threat to increase and the royal interests to suffer?

²³When the text of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and forcibly stopped them.

²⁴Thus the construction of the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

The Ministry of the Twelve

¹Then Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and power to cure diseases. ²And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ³“Take nothing for the journey,” He told them, “no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no second tunic. ⁴Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that area. ⁵If anyone does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that town, as a testimony against them.”

⁶So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

Herod Tries to See Jesus

⁷When Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, he was perplexed. For some were saying that John had risen from the dead, ⁸others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that a prophet of old had arisen.

⁹“I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this man I hear such things about?” And he kept trying to see Jesus.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

¹⁰Then the apostles returned and reported to Jesus all that they had done. Taking them away privately, He withdrew to a town called Bethsaida. ¹¹But the crowds found out and followed Him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and He healed those who needed healing.

¹²As the day neared its end, the Twelve came to Jesus and said, “Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside for lodging and provisions. For we are in a desolate place here.”

¹³But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.”

“We have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴(There were about five thousand men.)

He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵They did so, and everyone was seated.

¹⁶Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples to set before the people.

¹⁷They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Peter’s Confession of Christ

¹⁸One day as Jesus was praying in private and the disciples were with Him, He questioned them: “Who do the crowds say I am?”

¹⁹They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that a prophet of old has arisen.”

²⁰“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

Christ’s Passion Foretold

²¹Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. ²²“The Son of Man must suffer many things,” He said. “He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

Take Up Your Cross

²³Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

²⁵What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self? ²⁶If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. ²⁷But I tell you truly, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

²⁸About eight days after Jesus had said these things, He took with Him Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray. ²⁹And as He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became radiantly white. ³⁰Suddenly two men, Moses and Elijah, began talking with Jesus. ³¹They appeared in glory and spoke about His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

³²Meanwhile Peter and his companions were overcome by sleep, but when they awoke, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with Him. ³³As Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters— one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ( He did not know what he was saying.)

³⁴While Peter was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵And a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to Him!”

³⁶After the voice had spoken, only Jesus was present with them. The disciples kept this to themselves, and in those days they did not tell anyone what they had seen.

The Boy with an Evil Spirit

³⁷The next day, when they came down from the mountain, Jesus was met by a large crowd. ³⁸Suddenly a man in the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only child. ³⁹A spirit keeps seizing him, and he screams abruptly. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It keeps mauling him and rarely departs from him. ⁴⁰I begged Your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable.”

⁴¹“O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

⁴²Even while the boy was approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

The Second Prediction of the Passion

⁴³And they were all astonished at the greatness of God.

While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus was doing, He said to His disciples, ⁴⁴“Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” ⁴⁵But they did not understand this statement. It was veiled from them so that they could not comprehend it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.

The Greatest in the Kingdom

⁴⁶Then an argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. ⁴⁷But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, had a little child stand beside Him. ⁴⁸And He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For whoever is the least among all of you, he is the greatest.”

⁴⁹“Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”

⁵⁰“Do not stop him,” Jesus replied, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

The Samaritans Reject Jesus

⁵¹As the day of His ascension approached, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. ⁵²He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. ⁵³But the people there refused to welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem.

⁵⁴When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”

⁵⁵But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶And He and His disciples went on to another village.

The Cost of Discipleship

⁵⁷As they were walking along the road, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow You wherever You go.”

⁵⁸Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

⁵⁹Then He said to another man, “Follow Me.”

The man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹Still another said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first let me bid farewell to my family.”

⁶²Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”