One Year Bible.

God’s Enemies Are Scattered

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A song.

God arises. His enemies are scattered,

and those who hate Him flee His presence.

²As smoke is blown away,

You will drive them out;

as wax melts before the fire,

the wicked will perish in the presence of God.

³But the righteous will be glad

and rejoice before God;

they will celebrate with joy.

⁴Sing to God!

Sing praises to His name.

Exalt Him who rides on the clouds—

His name is the LORD—

and rejoice before Him.

⁵A father of the fatherless

and a defender of widows

is God in His holy habitation.

⁶God settles the lonely in families;

He leads the prisoners out to prosperity,

but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.

⁷O God, when You went out before Your people,

when You marched through the wasteland,

Selah

⁸the earth shook and the heavens poured down rain

before God, the One on Sinai,

before God, the God of Israel.

⁹You sent abundant rain, O God;

You refreshed Your weary inheritance.

¹⁰Your flock settled therein;

O God, from Your bounty You provided for the poor.

¹¹The Lord gives the command;

a great company of women proclaim it:

¹²“Kings and their armies flee in haste;

she who waits at home divides the plunder.

¹³Though you lie down among the sheepfolds,

the wings of the dove are covered with silver,

and her feathers with shimmering gold.”

¹⁴When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land,

it was like the snow falling on Zalmon.

¹⁵A mountain of God is Mount Bashan;

a mountain of many peaks is Mount Bashan.

¹⁶Why do you gaze in envy, O mountains of many peaks?

This is the mountain God chose for His dwelling,

where the LORD will surely dwell forever.

¹⁷The chariots of God are tens of thousands —

thousands of thousands are they;

the Lord is in His sanctuary

as He was at Sinai.

¹⁸You have ascended on high;

You have led captives away.

You have received gifts from men,

even from the rebellious,

that the LORD God may dwell there.

¹⁹Blessed be the Lord,

who daily bears our burden,

the God of our salvation.

Selah

²⁰Our God is a God of deliverance;

the Lord GOD is our rescuer from death.

²¹Surely God will crush the heads of His enemies,

the hairy crowns of those who persist in guilty ways.

²²The Lord said, “I will retrieve them from Bashan,

I will bring them up from the depths of the sea,

²³that your foot may be dipped

in the blood of your foes—

the tongues of your dogs in the same.”

²⁴They have seen Your procession, O God —

the march of my God and King into the sanctuary.

²⁵The singers lead the way,

the musicians follow after,

among the maidens playing tambourines.

²⁶Bless God in the great congregation;

bless the LORD from the fountain of Israel.

²⁷There is Benjamin, the youngest, ruling them,

the princes of Judah in their company,

the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.

²⁸Summon Your power, O God;

show Your strength, O God,

which You have exerted on our behalf.

²⁹Because of Your temple at Jerusalem

kings will bring You gifts.

³⁰Rebuke the beast in the reeds,

the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations,

until it submits, bringing bars of silver.

Scatter the nations who delight in war.

³¹Envoys will arrive from Egypt;

Cush will stretch out her hands to God.

³²Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;

sing praises to the Lord—

Selah

³³to Him who rides upon the highest heavens of old;

behold, His mighty voice resounds.

³⁴Ascribe the power to God,

whose majesty is over Israel,

whose strength is in the skies.

³⁵O God, You are awesome in Your sanctuary;

the God of Israel Himself

gives strength and power to His people.

Blessed be God!

The Transfiguration

¹After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ²There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

³Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared before them, talking with Jesus. ⁴Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You wish, I will put up three shelters— one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” ⁶When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown in terror.

⁷Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” He said. “Do not be afraid.” ⁸And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

¹⁰The disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things. ¹²But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him whatever they wished. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.”

¹³Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

The Boy with a Demon

¹⁴When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus and knelt before Him. ¹⁵“Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

¹⁷“O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to Me.” ¹⁸Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.

The Power of Faith

¹⁹Afterward the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁰“Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

The Second Prediction of the Passion

²²When they gathered together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men. ²³They will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised to life.” And the disciples were deeply grieved.

The Temple Tax

²⁴After they had arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your Teacher pay the two drachmas?”

²⁵“Yes,” he answered.

When Peter entered the house, Jesus preempted him. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs and taxes: from their own sons, or from others?”

²⁶“From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus said to him. ²⁷“But so that we may not offend them, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish you catch. When you open its mouth, you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for My tax and yours.”

Freedom in Christ

¹It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.

²Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

⁵But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the hope of righteousness. ⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. What matters is faith expressing itself through love.

⁷You were running so well. Who has obstructed you from obeying the truth? ⁸Such persuasion does not come from the One who calls you. ⁹A little leaven works through the whole batch of dough. ¹⁰I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is troubling you will bear the judgment, whoever he may be.

¹¹Now, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. ¹²As for those who are agitating you, I wish they would proceed to emasculate themselves!

¹³For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love. ¹⁴The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵But if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.

Walking by the Spirit

¹⁶So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.

Carry One Another’s Burdens

¹Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. ²Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

³If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

⁴Each one should test his own work. Then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in someone else. ⁵For each one should carry his own load. ⁶Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word must share in all good things with his instructor.

⁷Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return. ⁸The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

⁹Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.

Final Warnings and Blessings

¹¹See what large letters I am using to write to you with my own hand!

¹²Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ. ¹³For the circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.

¹⁴But as for me, may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ¹⁵For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts is a new creation.

¹⁶Peace and mercy to all who walk by this rule, even to the Israel of God.

¹⁷From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers.

Amen.