One Year Bible.

David’s Family Grows

¹Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, stonemasons, and carpenters, to build a palace for him. ²And David realized that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had highly exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.

³And David took more wives in Jerusalem and became the father of more sons and daughters. ⁴These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, ⁶Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁷Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

Two Victories over the Philistines

⁸When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they all went in search of him; but David learned of this and went out to face them.

⁹Now the Philistines had come and raided the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁰So David inquired of God, “Should I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?”

“Go,” replied the LORD, “for I will deliver them into your hand.”

¹¹So David and his men went up to Baal-perazim, where he defeated the Philistines and said, “Like a bursting flood, God has burst out against my enemies by my hand.” So they called that place Baal-perazim. ¹²There the Philistines abandoned their gods, and David ordered that they be burned in the fire.

¹³Once again the Philistines raided the valley. ¹⁴So David again inquired of God, who answered him, “Do not march up after them, but circle around them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. ¹⁵As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move out to battle, because this will mean that God has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

¹⁶So David did as God had commanded him, and they struck down the army of the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer. ¹⁷And David’s fame went out into every land, and the LORD caused all nations to fear him.

Preparing to Move the Ark

¹David constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. ²Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before Him forever.”

³And David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD to the place he had prepared for it. ⁴Then he gathered together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:

⁵From the Kohathites, Uriel the chief and 120 of his relatives;

⁶from the Merarites, Asaiah the chief and 220 of his relatives;

⁷from the Gershomites, Joel the chief and 130 of his relatives;

⁸from the Elizaphanites, Shemaiah the chief and 200 of his relatives;

⁹from the Hebronites, Eliel the chief and 80 of his relatives;

¹⁰and from the Uzzielites, Amminadab the chief and 112 of his relatives.

¹¹David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. ¹²And he said to them, “You are the heads of the Levitical families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves so that you may bring the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. ¹³It was because you Levites were not with us the first time that the LORD our God burst forth in anger against us. For we did not consult Him about the proper order.”

The Priests and Levites Carry the Ark

¹⁴So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel. ¹⁵And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the LORD.

¹⁶David also told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers to lift up their voices with joy, accompanied by musical instruments— harps, lyres, and cymbals. ¹⁷So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his brothers, Asaph son of Berechiah; from their brothers the Merarites, Ethan son of Kushaiah; ¹⁸and with them their brothers next in rank: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel.

¹⁹The musicians Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals. ²⁰Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play the harps according to Alamoth. ²¹And Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead the music with lyres according to Sheminith. ²²Chenaniah the head Levite was the director of the music because he was highly skilled.

²³Berechiah and Elkanah were to be guardians of the ark. ²⁴Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer — the priests — were to blow the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were also to be guardians of the ark.

Moving the Ark to Jerusalem

²⁵So David, the elders of Israel, and the commanders of thousands went with rejoicing to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-edom. ²⁶And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

²⁷Now David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, as well as the singers and Chenaniah, the director of music for the singers. David also wore a linen ephod. ²⁸So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, with the sounding of rams’ horns and trumpets, and with cymbals and the music of harps and lyres.

Michal’s Contempt for David

²⁹As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was entering the City of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked down from a window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.

Elihu Rebukes Job

¹“But now, O Job, hear my speech,

and listen to all my words.

²Behold, I will open my mouth;

my address is on the tip of my tongue.

³My words are from an upright heart,

and my lips speak sincerely what I know.

⁴The Spirit of God has made me,

and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

⁵Refute me if you can;

prepare your case and confront me.

⁶I am just like you before God;

I was also formed from clay.

⁷Surely no fear of me should terrify you;

nor will my hand be heavy upon you.

⁸Surely you have spoken in my hearing,

and I have heard these very words:

⁹‘I am pure, without transgression;

I am clean, with no iniquity in me.

¹⁰Yet God finds occasions against me;

He counts me as His enemy.

¹¹He puts my feet in the stocks;

He watches over all my paths.’

¹²Behold, you are not right in this matter.

I will answer you, for God is greater than man.

¹³Why do you complain to Him

that He answers nothing a man asks?

¹⁴For God speaks in one way and in another,

yet no one notices.

¹⁵In a dream,

in a vision in the night,

when deep sleep falls upon men

as they slumber on their beds,

¹⁶He opens their ears

and terrifies them with warnings

¹⁷to turn a man from wrongdoing

and keep him from pride,

¹⁸to preserve his soul from the Pit

and his life from perishing by the sword.

¹⁹A man is also chastened on his bed

with pain and constant distress in his bones,

²⁰so that he detests his bread,

and his soul loathes his favorite food.

²¹His flesh wastes away from sight,

and his hidden bones protrude.

²²He draws near to the Pit,

and his life to the messengers of death.

²³Yet if there is a messenger on his side,

one mediator in a thousand,

to tell a man what is right for him,

²⁴to be gracious to him and say,

‘Spare him from going down to the Pit;

I have found his ransom,’

²⁵then his flesh is refreshed like a child’s;

he returns to the days of his youth.

²⁶He prays to God and finds favor;

he sees God’s face and shouts for joy,

and God restores His righteousness

to that man.

²⁷Then he sings before men

with these words:

‘I have sinned and perverted what was right;

yet I did not get what I deserved.

²⁸He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit,

and I will live to see the light.’

²⁹Behold, all these things God does to a man,

two or even three times,

³⁰to bring back his soul from the Pit,

that he may be enlightened with the light of life.

³¹Pay attention, Job, and listen to me;

be silent, and I will speak.

³²But if you have something to say, answer me;

speak up, for I would like to vindicate you.

³³But if not, then listen to me;

be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Greetings from Paul and Sosthenes

¹Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

²To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

³Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

⁴I always thank my God for you because of the grace He has given you in Christ Jesus. ⁵For in Him you have been enriched in every way, in all speech and all knowledge, ⁶because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.

⁷Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁸He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Unity in the Church

¹⁰I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction. ¹¹My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹²What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”

¹³Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? ¹⁴I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. ¹⁶Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that I do not remember if I baptized anyone else. ¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

The Message of the Cross

¹⁸For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;

the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

²⁰Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

²²Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, ²³but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

Wisdom from God

²⁶Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, ²⁹so that no one may boast in His presence.

³⁰It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. ³¹Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”