One Year Bible.

Jephthah Delivers Israel

¹Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father. ²And Gilead’s wife bore him sons who grew up, drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, because you are the son of another woman.”

³So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where worthless men gathered around him and traveled with him.

⁴Some time later, when the Ammonites fought against Israel ⁵and made war with them, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. ⁶“Come,” they said, “be our commander, so that we can fight against the Ammonites.”

⁷Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and expel me from my father’s house? Why then have you come to me now, when you are in distress?”

⁸They answered Jephthah, “This is why we now turn to you, that you may go with us, fight the Ammonites, and become leader over all of us who live in Gilead.”

⁹But Jephthah asked them, “If you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, will I really be your leader?”

¹⁰And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is our witness if we do not do as you say.”

¹¹So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.

¹²Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against my land?”

¹³The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they seized my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and all the way to the Jordan. Now, therefore, restore it peaceably.”

¹⁴Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites ¹⁵to tell him, “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or of the Ammonites. ¹⁶But when Israel came up out of Egypt, they traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. ¹⁷Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.

¹⁸Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, since the Arnon was its border.

¹⁹And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land into our own place.’ ²⁰But Sihon would not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So he gathered all his people, encamped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.

²¹Then the LORD, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, who defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites who inhabited that country, ²²seizing all the land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

²³Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites from before His people Israel, should you now possess it? ²⁴Do you not possess whatever your god Chemosh grants you? So also, we possess whatever the LORD our God has granted us. ²⁵Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?

²⁶For three hundred years Israel has lived in Heshbon, Aroer, and their villages, as well as all the cities along the banks of the Arnon. Why did you not take them back during that time? ²⁷I have not sinned against you, but you have done me wrong by waging war against me. May the LORD, the Judge, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”

²⁸But the king of the Ammonites paid no heed to the message Jephthah sent him.

Jephthah’s Tragic Vow

²⁹Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites.

³⁰Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand, ³¹then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

³²So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hand. ³³With a great blow he devastated twenty cities from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites.

³⁴And when Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no son or daughter besides her.

³⁵As soon as Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have brought me to my knees! You have brought great misery upon me, for I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back.”

³⁶“My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me as you have said, for the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.” ³⁷She also said to her father, “Let me do this one thing: Let me wander for two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity.”

³⁸“Go,” he said. And he sent her away for two months.

So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity upon the mountains. ³⁹After two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she had never had relations with a man.

So it has become a custom in Israel ⁴⁰that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Jephthah Defeats Ephraim

¹Then the men of Ephraim assembled and crossed the Jordan to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why have you crossed over to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down with you inside!”

²But Jephthah replied, “My people and I had a serious conflict with the Ammonites, and when I called, you did not save me out of their hands. ³When I saw that you would not save me, I risked my life and crossed over to the Ammonites, and the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come today to fight against me?”

⁴Jephthah then gathered all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are fugitives in Ephraim, living in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.”

⁵The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim would say, “Let me cross over,” the Gileadites would ask him, “Are you an Ephraimite?”

If he answered, “No,” ⁶they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.”

If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. So at that time 42,000 Ephraimites were killed.

⁷Jephthah judged Israel six years, and when he died, he was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon

⁸After Jephthah, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. ⁹He had thirty sons, as well as thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage to men outside his clan; and for his sons he brought back thirty wives from elsewhere. Ibzan judged Israel seven years. ¹⁰Then Ibzan died, and he was buried in Bethlehem.

¹¹After Ibzan, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel ten years. ¹²Then Elon the Zebulunite died, and he was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

¹³After Elon, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, judged Israel. ¹⁴He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel eight years. ¹⁵Then Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, died, and he was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

Shecaniah’s Encouragement

¹While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, a very large assembly of Israelites — men, women, and children — gathered around him, and the people wept bitterly as well.

²Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, an Elamite, said to Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the people of the land, yet in spite of this, there is hope for Israel. ³So now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the Law. ⁴Get up, for this matter is your responsibility, and we will support you. Be strong and take action!”

⁵So Ezra got up and made the leading priests, Levites, and all Israel take an oath to do what had been said. And they took the oath.

The People’s Confession of Sin

⁶Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and walked to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. And while he stayed there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.

⁷And a proclamation was issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles should gather at Jerusalem. ⁸Whoever failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, according to the counsel of the leaders and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles.

⁹So within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem, and on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square at the house of God, trembling regarding this matter and because of the heavy rain.

¹⁰Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to the guilt of Israel. ¹¹Now, therefore, make a confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from your foreign wives.”

¹²And the whole assembly responded in a loud voice: “Truly we must do as you say! ¹³But there are many people here, and it is the rainy season. We are not able to stay out in the open. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter. ¹⁴Let our leaders represent the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at an appointed time, together with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our God in this matter is turned away from us.”

¹⁵(Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this plan.)

¹⁶So the exiles did as proposed. Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, each of them identified by name, to represent their families. On the first day of the tenth month they launched the investigation, ¹⁷and by the first day of the first month they had dealt with all the men who had married foreign women.

Those Guilty of Intermarriage

¹⁸Among the descendants of the priests who had married foreign women were found these descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers:

Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. ¹⁹They pledged to send their wives away, and for their guilt they presented a ram from the flock as a guilt offering.

²⁰From the descendants of Immer:

Hanani and Zebadiah.

²¹From the descendants of Harim:

Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.

²²From the descendants of Pashhur:

Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

²³Among the Levites:

Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

²⁴From the singers:

Eliashib.

From the gatekeepers:

Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

²⁵And among the other Israelites, from the descendants of Parosh:

Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah.

²⁶From the descendants of Elam:

Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.

²⁷From the descendants of Zattu:

Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.

²⁸From the descendants of Bebai:

Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

²⁹From the descendants of Bani:

Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth.

³⁰From the descendants of Pahath-moab:

Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.

³¹From the descendants of Harim:

Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³²Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

³³From the descendants of Hashum:

Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

³⁴From the descendants of Bani:

Maadai, Amram, Uel, ³⁵Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, ³⁶Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.

³⁸From the descendants of Binnui:

Shimei, ³⁹Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, ⁴⁰Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴²Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

⁴³And from the descendants of Nebo:

Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.

⁴⁴All these men had married foreign women, and some of them had children by these wives.

Jesus’ Authority Challenged

¹One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and scribes, together with the elders, came up to Him. ²“Tell us,” they said, “by what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

³“I will also ask you a question,” Jesus replied. “Tell Me: ⁴John’s baptism — was it from heaven, or from men?”

⁵They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ ⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

⁷So they answered that they did not know where it was from.

⁸And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

⁹Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time. ¹⁰At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed.

¹¹So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed.

¹²Then he sent a third, but they wounded him and threw him out.

¹³‘What shall I do?’ asked the owner of the vineyard. ‘I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’

¹⁴But when the tenants saw the son, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

And when the people heard this, they said, “May such a thing never happen!”

¹⁷But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:

‘The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone’?

¹⁸Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

¹⁹When the scribes and chief priests realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, they sought to arrest Him that very hour. But they were afraid of the people.

²⁰So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor. ²¹“Teacher,” they inquired, “we know that You speak and teach correctly. You show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ²²Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³But Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them, ²⁴“Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they answered.

²⁵So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

²⁶And they were unable to trap Him in His words before the people. And amazed at His answer, they fell silent.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

²⁷Then some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to question Him. ²⁸“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him. ²⁹Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a wife but died childless. ³⁰Then the second ³¹and the third married the widow, and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children. ³²And last of all, the woman died. ³³So then, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.”

³⁴Jesus answered, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. ³⁶In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God.

³⁷Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ ³⁸He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”

³⁹Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, You have spoken well!” ⁴⁰And they did not dare to question Him any further.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

⁴¹Then Jesus declared, “How can it be said that the Christ is the Son of David? ⁴²For David himself says in the book of Psalms:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at My right hand

⁴³until I make Your enemies

a footstool for Your feet.”’

⁴⁴Thus David calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?”

Beware of the Scribes

⁴⁵In the hearing of all the people, Jesus said to His disciples, ⁴⁶“Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁷They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

The Poor Widow’s Offering

¹Then Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, ²and He saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.

³“Truly I tell you,” He said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. ⁴For they all contributed out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

Temple Destruction and Other Signs

⁵As some of the disciples were remarking how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and consecrated gifts, Jesus said, ⁶“As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

⁷“Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”

⁸Jesus answered, “See to it that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. ⁹When you hear of wars and rebellions, do not be alarmed. These things must happen first, but the end is not imminent.”

Witnessing to All Nations

¹⁰Then He told them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

¹²But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors. ¹³This will be your opportunity to serve as witnesses. ¹⁴So make up your mind not to worry beforehand how to defend yourselves. ¹⁵For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

¹⁶You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death. ¹⁷And you will be hated by everyone because of My name. ¹⁸Yet not even a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹By your patient endurance you will gain your souls.

The Destruction of Jerusalem

²⁰But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that her desolation is near. ²¹Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country stay out of the city. ²²For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.

²³How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against this people. ²⁴They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Return of the Son of Man

²⁵There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves. ²⁶Men will faint from fear and anxiety over what is coming upon the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

²⁹Then Jesus told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. ³⁰When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. ³¹So also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. ³²Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. ³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

Be Watchful for the Day

³⁴But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life — and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare. ³⁵For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of all the earth. ³⁶So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”

³⁷Every day Jesus taught at the temple, but every evening He went out to spend the night on the Mount of Olives. ³⁸And early in the morning all the people would come to hear Him at the temple.