One Year Bible.

The Birth of Samson

¹Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

²Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children. ³The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are barren and have no children; but you will conceive and give birth to a son. ⁴Now please be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and not to eat anything unclean. ⁵For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall touch his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

⁶So the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. His appearance was like the angel of God, exceedingly awesome. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. ⁷But he said to me, ‘Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. Now, therefore, do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb until the day of his death.’”

⁸Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, “Please, O Lord, let the man of God You sent us come to us again to teach us how to raise the boy who is to be born.”

⁹And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God returned to the woman as she was sitting in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. ¹⁰The woman ran quickly to tell her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has reappeared!”

¹¹So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?”

“I am, ” he said.

¹²Then Manoah asked, “When your words come to pass, what will be the boy’s rule of life and mission?”

¹³So the angel of the LORD answered Manoah, “Your wife is to do everything I told her. ¹⁴She must not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor drink any wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.”

¹⁵“Please stay here,” Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “and we will prepare a young goat for you.”

¹⁶And the angel of the LORD replied, “Even if I stay, I will not eat your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” For Manoah did not know that it was the angel of the LORD.

¹⁷Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes to pass?”

¹⁸“Why do you ask my name,” said the angel of the LORD, “since it is beyond comprehension?”

¹⁹Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the LORD. And as Manoah and his wife looked on, the LORD did a marvelous thing. ²⁰When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame.

When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground. ²¹And when the angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it had been the angel of the LORD.

²²“We are going to die,” he said to his wife, “for we have seen God!”

²³But his wife replied, “If the LORD had intended to kill us, He would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things or spoken to us this way.”

²⁴So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him. ²⁵And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Samson’s Marriage

¹One day Samson went down to Timnah, where he saw a young Philistine woman. ²So he returned and told his father and mother, “I have seen a daughter of the Philistines in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.”

³But his father and mother replied, “Can’t you find a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?”

But Samson told his father, “Get her for me, for she is pleasing to my eyes.” ⁴(Now his father and mother did not know this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines; for at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.)

⁵Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Suddenly a young lion came roaring at him, ⁶and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. ⁷Then Samson continued on his way down and spoke to the woman, because she was pleasing to his eyes.

Samson’s Riddle

⁸When Samson returned later to take her, he left the road to see the lion’s carcass, and in it was a swarm of bees, along with their honey. ⁹So he scooped some honey into his hands and ate it as he went along. And when he returned to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass.

¹⁰Then his father went to visit the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as was customary for the bridegroom. ¹¹And when the Philistines saw him, they selected thirty men to accompany him.

¹²“Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can solve it for me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. ¹³But if you cannot solve it, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.”

“Tell us your riddle,” they replied. “Let us hear it.”

¹⁴So he said to them:

“Out of the eater came something to eat,

and out of the strong came something sweet.”

For three days they were unable to explain the riddle. ¹⁵So on the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?”

¹⁶Then Samson’s wife came to him, weeping, and said, “You hate me! You do not really love me! You have posed to my people a riddle, but have not explained it to me.”

“Look,” he said, “I have not even explained it to my father or mother, so why should I explain it to you?”

¹⁷She wept the whole seven days of the feast, and finally on the seventh day, because she had pressed him so much, he told her the answer. And in turn she explained the riddle to her people.

¹⁸Before sunset on the seventh day, the men of the city said to Samson:

“What is sweeter than honey?

And what is stronger than a lion?”

So he said to them:

“If you had not plowed with my heifer,

you would not have solved my riddle!”

¹⁹Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave their clothes to those who had solved the riddle. And burning with anger, Samson returned to his father’s house, ²⁰and his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him.

How Pleasant to Live in Harmony!

¹A song of ascents. Of David.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when brothers live together in harmony!

²It is like fine oil on the head,

running down on the beard,

running down Aaron’s beard

over the collar of his robes.

³It is like the dew of Hermon

falling on the mountains of Zion.

For there the LORD has bestowed the blessing

of life forevermore.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

¹Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, ²and the chief priests and scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they feared the people.

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

³Then Satan entered Judas Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve. ⁴And Judas went to discuss with the chief priests and temple officers how he might betray Jesus to them. ⁵They were delighted and agreed to give him money. ⁶Judas consented, and began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus to them in the absence of a crowd.

Preparing the Passover

⁷Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed. ⁸Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

⁹“Where do You want us to prepare it?” they asked.

¹⁰He answered, “When you enter the city, a man carrying a jug of water will meet you. Follow him to the house he enters, ¹¹and say to the owner of that house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’ ¹²And he will show you a large upper room, already furnished. Make preparations there.”

¹³So they went and found it just as Jesus had told them. And they prepared the Passover.

The Last Supper

¹⁴When the hour had come, Jesus reclined at the table with His apostles. ¹⁵And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering. ¹⁶For I tell you that I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves. ¹⁸For I tell you that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.”

¹⁹And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

²⁰In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.

²¹Look! The hand of My betrayer is with Mine on the table. ²²Indeed, the Son of Man will go as it has been determined, but woe to that man who betrays Him.”

²³Then they began to question among themselves which of them was going to do this.

Who Is the Greatest?

²⁴A dispute also arose among the disciples as to which of them should be considered the greatest. ²⁵So Jesus declared, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them call themselves benefactors. ²⁶But you shall not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves. ²⁷For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines? But I am among you as one who serves.

²⁸You are the ones who have stood by Me in My trials. ²⁹And I bestow on you a kingdom, just as My Father has bestowed one on Me, ³⁰so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

³¹Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you like wheat. ³²But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

³³“Lord,” said Peter, “I am ready to go with You even to prison and to death.”

³⁴But Jesus replied, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”

³⁵Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you out without purse or bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”

“Nothing,” they answered.

³⁶“Now, however,” He told them, “the one with a purse should take it, and likewise a bag; and the one without a sword should sell his cloak and buy one. ³⁷For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about Me is reaching its fulfillment.”

³⁸So they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.”

“That is enough,” He answered.

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives

³⁹Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him. ⁴⁰When He came to the place, He told them, “Pray that you will not enter into temptation.”

⁴¹And He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, where He knelt down and prayed, ⁴²“Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done.”

⁴³Then an angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him. ⁴⁴And in His anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.

⁴⁵When Jesus rose from prayer and returned to the disciples, He found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. ⁴⁶“Why are you sleeping?” He asked. “Get up and pray so that you will not enter into temptation.”

The Betrayal of Jesus

⁴⁷While He was still speaking, a crowd arrived, led by the man called Judas, one of the Twelve. He approached Jesus to kiss Him. ⁴⁸But Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

⁴⁹Those around Jesus saw what was about to happen and said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” ⁵⁰And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.

⁵¹But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And He touched the man’s ear and healed him.

⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, temple officers, and elders who had come for Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against an outlaw? ⁵³Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on Me. But this hour belongs to you and to the power of darkness.”

Peter Denies Jesus

⁵⁴Then they seized Jesus, led Him away, and took Him into the house of the high priest. And Peter followed at a distance.

⁵⁵When those present had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. ⁵⁶A servant girl saw him seated in the firelight and looked intently at him. “This man also was with Him,” she said.

⁵⁷But Peter denied it. “Woman, I do not know Him,” he said.

⁵⁸A short time later, someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”

But Peter said, “Man, I am not.”

⁵⁹About an hour later, another man insisted, “Certainly this man was with Him, for he too is a Galilean.”

⁶⁰“Man, I do not know what you are talking about,” Peter replied.

And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. ⁶¹And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.

Then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” ⁶²And he went outside and wept bitterly.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

⁶³The men who were holding Jesus began to mock Him and beat Him. ⁶⁴They blindfolded Him and kept demanding, “Prophesy! Who hit You?” ⁶⁵And they said many other blasphemous things against Him.

Jesus before the Sanhedrin

⁶⁶At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and scribes, met together. They led Jesus into their Sanhedrin and said, ⁶⁷“If You are the Christ, tell us.”

Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe. ⁶⁸And if I ask you a question, you will not answer. ⁶⁹But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”

⁷⁰So they all asked, “Are You then the Son of God?”

He replied, “You say that I am.”

⁷¹“Why do we need any more testimony?” they declared. “We have heard it for ourselves from His own lips.”