One Year Bible.

Abimelech’s Conspiracy

¹Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother’s brothers at Shechem and said to them and to all the clan of his mother, ²“Please ask all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.”

³And when his mother’s brothers spoke all these words about him in the presence of all the leaders of Shechem, their hearts were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.” ⁴So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired some worthless and reckless men to follow him. ⁵He went to his father’s house in Ophrah, and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid himself.

⁶Then all the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo gathered beside the oak at the pillar in Shechem and proceeded to make Abimelech their king.

Jotham’s Parable

⁷When this was reported to Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and cried out:

“Listen to me, O leaders of Shechem,

and may God listen to you.

⁸One day the trees set out

to anoint a king for themselves.

They said to the olive tree,

‘Reign over us.’

⁹But the olive tree replied,

‘Should I stop giving my oil

that honors both God and man,

to hold sway over the trees?’

¹⁰Then the trees said to the fig tree,

‘Come and reign over us.’

¹¹But the fig tree replied,

‘Should I stop giving my sweetness

and my good fruit,

to hold sway over the trees?’

¹²Then the trees said to the grapevine,

‘Come and reign over us.’

¹³But the grapevine replied,

‘Should I stop giving my wine

that cheers both God and man,

to hold sway over the trees?’

¹⁴Finally all the trees said to the thornbush,

‘Come and reign over us.’

¹⁵But the thornbush replied,

‘If you really are anointing me as king over you,

come and find refuge in my shade.

But if not, may fire come out of the thornbush

and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’

¹⁶Now if you have acted faithfully and honestly in making Abimelech king, if you have done well by Jerubbaal and his family, and if you have done to him as he deserves— ¹⁷for my father fought for you and risked his life to deliver you from the hand of Midian, ¹⁸but you have risen up against my father’s house this day and killed his seventy sons on a single stone, and you have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the leaders of Shechem because he is your brother — ¹⁹if you have acted faithfully and honestly toward Jerubbaal and his house this day, then may you rejoice in Abimelech, and he in you.

²⁰But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.”

²¹Then Jotham ran away, escaping to Beer, and he lived there for fear of his brother Abimelech.

Gaal Conspires with the Shechemites

²²After Abimelech had reigned over Israel for three years, ²³God sent a spirit of animosity between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem and caused them to treat Abimelech deceitfully, ²⁴in order that the crime against the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come to justice and their blood be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the leaders of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers.

²⁵The leaders of Shechem set up an ambush against Abimelech on the hilltops, and they robbed all who passed by them on the road. So this was reported to Abimelech.

²⁶Meanwhile, Gaal son of Ebed came with his brothers and crossed into Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem put their confidence in him. ²⁷And after they had gone out into the fields, gathered grapes from their vineyards, and trodden them, they held a festival and went into the house of their god; and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech.

²⁸Then Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? You are to serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Why should we serve Abimelech? ²⁹If only this people were under my authority, I would remove Abimelech; I would say to him, ‘Muster your army and come out!’”

The Fall of Shechem

³⁰When Zebul the governor of the city heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, he burned with anger. ³¹So he covertly sent messengers to Abimelech to say, “Look, Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you. ³²Now then, tonight you and the people with you are to come and lie in wait in the fields. ³³And in the morning at sunrise, get up and advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, do to them whatever you are able.”

³⁴So Abimelech and all his troops set out by night and lay in wait against Shechem in four companies.

³⁵Now Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate just as Abimelech and his men came out from their hiding places.

³⁶When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountains!”

But Zebul replied, “The shadows of the mountains look like men to you.”

³⁷Then Gaal spoke up again, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming by way of the Diviners’ Oak.”

³⁸“Where is your gloating now?” Zebul replied. “You said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Are these not the people you ridiculed? Go out now and fight them!”

³⁹So Gaal went out before the leaders of Shechem and fought against Abimelech, ⁴⁰but Abimelech pursued him, and Gaal fled before him. And many Shechemites fell wounded all the way to the entrance of the gate. ⁴¹Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.

⁴²The next day the people of Shechem went out into the fields, and this was reported to Abimelech. ⁴³So he took his men, divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose up against them and attacked them.

⁴⁴Then Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward and took their stand at the entrance of the city gate. The other two companies rushed against all who were in the fields and struck them down. ⁴⁵And all that day Abimelech fought against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he demolished the city and sowed it with salt.

⁴⁶On hearing of this, all the leaders in the tower of Shechem entered the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith. ⁴⁷And when Abimelech was told that all the leaders in the tower of Shechem were gathered there, ⁴⁸he and all his men went up to Mount Zalmon. Abimelech took his axe in his hand and cut a branch from the trees, which he lifted to his shoulder, saying to his men, “Hurry and do what you have seen me do.”

⁴⁹So each man also cut his own branch and followed Abimelech. Then they piled the branches against the inner chamber and set it on fire above them, killing everyone in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women.

Abimelech’s Punishment

⁵⁰Then Abimelech went to Thebez, encamped against it, and captured it. ⁵¹But there was a strong tower inside the city, and all the men, women, and leaders of the city fled there. They locked themselves in and went up to the roof of the tower.

⁵²When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he approached its entrance to set it on fire. ⁵³But a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull. ⁵⁴He quickly called his armor-bearer, saying, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’”

So Abimelech’s armor-bearer ran his sword through him, and he died. ⁵⁵And when the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.

⁵⁶In this way God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father in murdering his seventy brothers. ⁵⁷And God also brought all the wickedness of the men of Shechem back upon their own heads. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.

Tola

¹After the time of Abimelech, a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose up to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim.

²Tola judged Israel twenty-three years, and when he died, he was buried in Shamir.

Jair

³Tola was followed by Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years. ⁴He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth-jair.

⁵When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.

Oppression by the Philistines and Ammonites

⁶And again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. They served the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and Philistines. Thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.

⁷So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites, ⁸who that very year harassed and oppressed the Israelites, and they did so for eighteen years to all the Israelites on the other side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites.

⁹The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, and Israel was in deep distress.

¹⁰Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against You, for we have indeed forsaken our God and served the Baals.”

¹¹The LORD replied, “When the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, ¹²Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites oppressed you and you cried out to Me, did I not save you from their hands? ¹³But you have forsaken Me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. ¹⁴Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you in your time of trouble.”

¹⁵“We have sinned,” the Israelites said to the LORD. “Deal with us as You see fit; but please deliver us today!” ¹⁶So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and He could no longer bear the misery of Israel.

¹⁷Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah. ¹⁸And the rulers of Gilead said to one another, “Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all who live in Gilead.”

Jesus and Zacchaeus

¹Then Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ²And there was a man named Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, who was very wealthy. ³He was trying to see who Jesus was, but could not see over the crowd because he was small in stature. ⁴So he ran on ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Him, since Jesus was about to pass that way.

⁵When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today.”

⁶So Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed Him joyfully. ⁷And all who saw this began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinful man!”

⁸But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.”

⁹Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The Parable of the Ten Minas

¹¹While the people were listening to this, Jesus proceeded to tell them a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and they thought the kingdom of God would appear imminently. ¹²So He said, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to lay claim to his kingship and then return. ¹³Beforehand, he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Conduct business with this until I return,’ he said.

¹⁴But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’

¹⁵When he returned from procuring his kingship, he summoned the servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what each one had earned.

¹⁶The first servant came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has produced ten more minas.’

¹⁷His master replied, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you shall have authority over ten cities.’

¹⁸The second servant came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made five minas.’

¹⁹And to this one he said, ‘You shall have authority over five cities.’

²⁰Then another servant came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have laid away in a piece of cloth. ²¹For I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man. You withdraw what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’

²²His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? ²³Why then did you not deposit my money in the bank, and upon my return I could have collected it with interest?’

²⁴Then he told those standing by, ‘Take the mina from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

²⁵‘Master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

²⁶He replied, ‘ I tell you that everyone who has will be given more; but the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ²⁷And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”

The Triumphal Entry

²⁸After Jesus had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

²⁹As He approached Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, He sent out two of His disciples, ³⁰saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

³²So those who were sent went out and found it just as Jesus had told them. ³³As they were untying the colt, its owners asked, “Why are you untying the colt?”

³⁴“The Lord needs it,” they answered. ³⁵Then they led the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks over it, and put Jesus on it.

³⁶As He rode along, the people spread their cloaks on the road. ³⁷And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:

³⁸“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

³⁹But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!”

⁴⁰“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

⁴¹As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it ⁴²and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes. ⁴³For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side. ⁴⁴They will level you to the ground — you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

⁴⁵Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling there. ⁴⁶He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer.’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

⁴⁷Jesus was teaching at the temple every day, but the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people were intent on killing Him. ⁴⁸Yet they could not find a way to do so, because all the people hung on His words.

Ezra Arrives in Jerusalem

¹Many years later, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, ²the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, ³the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, ⁴the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, ⁵the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— ⁶this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given.

The king had granted Ezra all his requests, for the hand of the LORD his God was upon him. ⁷So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants.

⁸Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. ⁹He had begun the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him. ¹⁰For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, to practice it, and to teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Artaxerxes’ Letter for Ezra

¹¹This is the text of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest and scribe, an expert in the commandments and statutes of the LORD to Israel:

¹²Artaxerxes, king of kings.

To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven:

Greetings.

¹³I hereby decree that any volunteers among the Israelites in my kingdom, including the priests and Levites, may go up with you to Jerusalem. ¹⁴You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand.

¹⁵Moreover, you are to take with you the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶together with all the silver and gold you may find in all the province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests to the house of their God in Jerusalem. ¹⁷With this money, therefore, you are to buy as many bulls, rams, and lambs as needed, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem. ¹⁸You and your brothers may do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, according to the will of your God.

¹⁹You must deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles given to you for the service of the house of your God. ²⁰And if anything else is needed for the house of your God that you may have occasion to supply, you may pay for it from the royal treasury.

²¹I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers west of the Euphrates: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it must be provided promptly, ²²up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred cors of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, a hundred baths of olive oil, and salt without limit. ²³Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for His house. For why should wrath fall on the realm of the king and his sons? ²⁴And be advised that you have no authority to impose tribute, duty, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

²⁵And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God, which you possess, are to appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people west of the Euphrates — all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach these laws to anyone who does not know them. ²⁶If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let a strict judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.

Ezra Blesses God

²⁷Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, ²⁸and who has shown me favor before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officials.

And because the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, I took courage and gathered the leaders of Israel to return with me.