One Year Bible.

Endow the King with Your Justice

¹Of Solomon.

Endow the king with Your justice, O God,

and the son of the king with Your righteousness.

²May he judge Your people with righteousness

and Your afflicted with justice.

³May the mountains bring peace to the people,

and the hills bring righteousness.

⁴May he vindicate the afflicted among the people;

may he save the children of the needy

and crush the oppressor.

⁵May they fear him as long as the sun shines,

as long as the moon remains,

through all generations.

⁶May he be like rain that falls on freshly cut grass,

like spring showers that water the earth.

⁷May the righteous flourish in his days

and prosperity abound

until the moon is no more.

⁸May he rule from sea to sea,

and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.

⁹May the nomads bow before him,

and his enemies lick the dust.

¹⁰May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute;

may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.

¹¹May all kings bow down to him

and all nations serve him.

¹²For he will deliver the needy who cry out

and the afflicted who have no helper.

¹³He will take pity on the poor and needy

and save the lives of the oppressed.

¹⁴He will redeem them from oppression and violence,

for their blood is precious in his sight.

¹⁵Long may he live!

May gold from Sheba be given him.

May people ever pray for him;

may they bless him all day long.

¹⁶May there be an abundance of grain in the land;

may it sway atop the hills.

May its fruit trees flourish like the forests of Lebanon,

the people of its cities like the grass of the field.

¹⁷May his name endure forever;

may his name continue as long as the sun shines.

In him may all nations be blessed;

may they call him blessed.

¹⁸Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel,

who alone does marvelous deeds.

¹⁹And blessed be His glorious name forever;

may all the earth be filled with His glory.

Amen and amen.

²⁰Thus conclude the prayers of David son of Jesse.

God Loves a Cheerful Giver

¹Now about the service to the saints, there is no need for me to write to you. ²For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting to the Macedonians that since last year you in Achaia were prepared to give. And your zeal has stirred most of them to do likewise.

³But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove empty, but that you will be prepared, just as I said. ⁴Otherwise, if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we — to say nothing of you — would be ashamed of having been so confident. ⁵So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you beforehand and make arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. This way, your gift will be prepared generously and not begrudgingly.

⁶Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹As it is written:

“He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor;

His righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹You will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will produce thanksgiving to God. ¹²For this ministry of service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanksgiving to God.

¹³Because of the proof this ministry provides, the saints will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for the generosity of your contribution to them and to all the others. ¹⁴And their prayers for you will express their affection for you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. ¹⁵Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Job’s Character and Wealth

¹There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil. ²He had seven sons and three daughters, ³and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.

⁴Job’s sons would take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

⁵And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

Satan’s First Attack

⁶One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.

⁷“Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan.

“From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”

⁸Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.”

⁹Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing? ¹⁰Have You not placed a hedge on every side around him and his household and all that he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹But stretch out Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

¹²“Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “Everything he has is in your hands, but you must not lay a hand on the man himself.”

Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Job Loses His Children and Possessions

¹³One day, while Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴a messenger came and reported to Job: “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, ¹⁵the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹⁶While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The fire of God fell from heaven. It burned and consumed the sheep and the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹⁷While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels, and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹⁸While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

²⁰Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, ²¹saying:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

and naked I will return.

The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away.

Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

²²In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.

Job Loses His Health

¹On another day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before Him.

²“Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan.

“From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”

³Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”

⁴“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life. ⁵But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

⁶“Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “He is in your hands, but you must spare his life.”

⁷So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. ⁸And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.

⁹Then Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”

¹⁰“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?”

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

Job’s Three Friends

¹¹Now when Job’s three friends— Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite— heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, each of them came from his home, and they met together to go and sympathize with Job and comfort him.

¹²When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust in the air over his head. ¹³Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw how intense his suffering was.