One Year Bible.

The Descendants of Reuben

¹These were the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. Though he was the firstborn, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, because Reuben defiled his father’s bed. So he is not reckoned according to birthright. ²And though Judah prevailed over his brothers and a ruler came from him, the birthright belonged to Joseph. ³The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel:

Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

⁴The descendants of Joel:

Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, ⁵Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, ⁶and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria carried into exile.

Beerah was a leader of the Reubenites. ⁷His relatives by their clans are recorded in their genealogy:

Jeiel the chief, Zechariah, ⁸and Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel. They settled in Aroer and as far as Nebo and Baal-meon. ⁹They also settled in the east as far as the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River, because their livestock had increased in the land of Gilead.

¹⁰During the days of Saul they waged war against the Hagrites, who were defeated at their hands, and they occupied the dwellings of the Hagrites throughout the region east of Gilead.

The Descendants of Gad

¹¹The descendants of Gad lived next to the Reubenites in the land of Bashan, as far as Salecah:

¹²Joel was the chief, Shapham the second, then Jaanai and Shaphat, who lived in Bashan.

¹³Their kinsmen by families were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber— seven in all. ¹⁴These were the sons of Abihail son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz. ¹⁵Ahi son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was head of their family.

¹⁶They lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its towns, and throughout the pasturelands of Sharon. ¹⁷All of them were recorded in the genealogies during the reigns of Jotham king of Judah and Jeroboam king of Israel.

¹⁸The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 warriors— valiant men who carried the shield and sword, drew the bow, and were trained for battle. ¹⁹They waged war against the Hagrites, as well as Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.

²⁰And because they cried out to God in battle, they were helped against their enemies, and the Hagrites and all their allies were delivered into their hands. Because they put their trust in God, He answered their prayers. ²¹They seized the livestock of the Hagrites— 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, and 2,000 donkeys. They also took 100,000 captives, ²²and many others fell slain, because the battle belonged to God. And they occupied the land until the exile.

The Half-Tribe of Manasseh

²³Now the people of the half-tribe of Manasseh were numerous. They settled in the land from Bashan to Baal-hermon (that is, Senir, also known as Mount Hermon). ²⁴These were the heads of their families:

Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel.

They were mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of their families. ²⁵But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and they prostituted themselves with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

²⁶So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And he brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they remain to this day.

The Genealogy of Jesus

¹This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

²Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

³Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

and Hezron the father of Ram.

⁴Ram was the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

and Nahshon the father of Salmon.

⁵Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

⁶and Jesse the father of David the king.

Next:

David was the father of Solomon by Uriah’s wife,

⁷Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

and Abijah the father of Asa.

⁸Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,

and Joram the father of Uzziah.

⁹Uzziah was the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.

¹⁰Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

¹¹and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers

at the time of the exile to Babylon.

¹²After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

¹³Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,

Abiud the father of Eliakim,

and Eliakim the father of Azor.

¹⁴Azor was the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Achim,

and Achim the father of Eliud.

¹⁵Eliud was the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

¹⁶and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary,

of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

¹⁷In all, then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.

The Birth of Jesus

¹⁸This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.

²⁰But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”

²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

²³“Behold, the virgin will be with child

and will give birth to a son,

and they will call Him Immanuel”

( which means, “God with us”).

²⁴When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and embraced Mary as his wife. ²⁵But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.

Zophar Rebukes Job

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

²“Should this stream of words go unanswered

and such a speaker be vindicated?

³Should your babbling put others to silence?

Will you scoff without rebuke?

⁴You have said, ‘My doctrine is sound,

and I am pure in Your sight.’

⁵But if only God would speak

and open His lips against you,

⁶and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,

for true wisdom has two sides.

Know then that God exacts from you

less than your iniquity deserves.

⁷Can you fathom the deep things of God

or discover the limits of the Almighty?

⁸They are higher than the heavens— what can you do?

They are deeper than Sheol— what can you know?

⁹Their measure is longer than the earth

and wider than the sea.

¹⁰If He comes along to imprison you,

or convenes a court, who can stop Him?

¹¹Surely He knows the deceit of men.

If He sees iniquity, does He not take note?

¹²But a witless man can no more become wise

than the colt of a wild donkey can be born a man!

¹³As for you, if you direct your heart

and lift up your hands to Him,

¹⁴if you put away the iniquity in your hand,

and allow no injustice to dwell in your tents,

¹⁵then indeed you will lift up your face without blemish;

you will stand firm and unafraid.

¹⁶For you will forget your misery,

recalling it only as waters gone by.

¹⁷Your life will be brighter than noonday;

its darkness will be like the morning.

¹⁸You will be secure, because there is hope,

and you will look around and lie down in safety.

¹⁹You will lie down without fear,

and many will court your favor.

²⁰But the eyes of the wicked will fail,

and escape will elude them;

they will hope for their last breath.”

Job Presents His Case

¹Then Job answered:

²“Truly then you are the people

with whom wisdom itself will die!

³But I also have a mind;

I am not inferior to you.

Who does not know such things as these?

⁴I am a laughingstock to my friends,

though I called on God, and He answered.

The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.

⁵The one at ease scorns misfortune

as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.

⁶The tents of robbers are safe,

and those who provoke God are secure —

those who carry their god in their hands.

⁷But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;

ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you.

⁸Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;

let the fish of the sea inform you.

⁹Which of all these does not know

that the hand of the LORD has done this?

¹⁰The life of every living thing is in His hand,

as well as the breath of all mankind.

¹¹Does not the ear test words

as the tongue tastes its food?

¹²Wisdom is found with the elderly,

and understanding comes with long life.

¹³Wisdom and strength belong to God;

counsel and understanding are His.

¹⁴What He tears down cannot be rebuilt;

the man He imprisons cannot be released.

¹⁵If He holds back the waters, they dry up,

and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land.

¹⁶True wisdom and power belong to Him.

The deceived and the deceiver are His.

¹⁷He leads counselors away barefoot

and makes fools of judges.

¹⁸He loosens the bonds placed by kings

and fastens a belt around their waists.

¹⁹He leads priests away barefoot

and overthrows the established.

²⁰He deprives the trusted of speech

and takes away the discernment of elders.

²¹He pours out contempt on nobles

and disarms the mighty.

²²He reveals the deep things of darkness

and brings deep shadows into light.

²³He makes nations great and destroys them;

He enlarges nations, then disperses them.

²⁴He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason

and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

²⁵They grope in the darkness without light;

He makes them stagger like drunkards.[’’]