One Year Bible.

Be Merciful to Me, O God

¹For the choirmaster. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

Be merciful to me, O God,

for men are hounding me;

all day they press their attack.

²My enemies pursue me all day long,

for many proudly assail me.

³When I am afraid,

I put my trust in You.

⁴In God, whose word I praise —

in God I trust.

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

⁵All day long they twist my words;

all their thoughts are on my demise.

⁶They conspire, they lurk,

they watch my steps

while they wait to take my life.

⁷In spite of such sin, will they escape?

In Your anger, O God, cast down the nations.

⁸You have taken account of my wanderings.

Put my tears in Your bottle —

are they not in Your book?

⁹Then my enemies will retreat

on the day I cry for help.

By this I will know that God is on my side.

¹⁰In God, whose word I praise,

in the LORD, whose word I praise,

¹¹in God I trust; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

¹²Your vows are upon me, O God;

I will render thank offerings to You.

¹³For You have delivered my soul from death,

and my feet from stumbling,

that I may walk before God

in the light of life.

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

¹When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put Him to death. ²They bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate the governor.

Judas Hangs Himself

³When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. ⁴“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said.

“What is that to us?” they replied. “You bear the responsibility.”

⁵So Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

⁶The chief priests picked up the pieces of silver and said, “It is unlawful to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷After conferring together, they used the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. ⁸That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. ⁹Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

“They took the thirty pieces of silver,

the price set on Him by the people of Israel,

¹⁰and they gave them for the potter’s field,

as the Lord had commanded me.”

Jesus before Pilate

¹¹Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, who questioned Him: “Are You the King of the Jews?”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

¹²And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer.

¹³Then Pilate asked Him, “Do You not hear how many charges they are bringing against You?”

¹⁴But Jesus gave no answer, not even to a single charge, much to the governor’s amazement.

The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

¹⁵Now it was the governor’s custom at the feast to release to the crowd a prisoner of their choosing. ¹⁶At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. ¹⁷So when the crowd had assembled, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.

¹⁹While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”

²⁰But the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death.

²¹“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.

“Barabbas,” they replied.

²²“What then should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked.

They all answered, “Crucify Him!”

²³“Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?”

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”

Pilate Washes His Hands

²⁴When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “You bear the responsibility.”

²⁵All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

²⁶So Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

²⁷Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company around Him. ²⁸They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. ²⁹And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand, knelt down before Him, and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly.

³¹After they had mocked Him, they removed the robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.

The Crucifixion

³²Along the way they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.

³³And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull, ³⁴they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.

³⁵When they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments by casting lots. ³⁶And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.

³⁷Above His head they posted the written charge against Him:

THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁸Two robbers were crucified with Him, one on His right and the other on His left.

³⁹And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”

⁴¹In the same way, the chief priests, scribes, and elders mocked Him, saying, ⁴²“He saved others, but He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. ⁴³He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

⁴⁴In the same way, even the robbers who were crucified with Him berated Him.

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁵From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

⁴⁷When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He is calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸One of them quickly ran and brought a sponge. He filled it with sour wine, put it on a reed, and held it up for Jesus to drink.

⁴⁹But the others said, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to save Him.”

⁵⁰When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He yielded up His spirit. ⁵¹At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, and the rocks were split. ⁵²The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. ⁵³After Jesus’ resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

⁵⁵And many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to minister to Him. ⁵⁶Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

The Burial of Jesus

⁵⁷When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who himself was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸He went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. ⁵⁹So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut into the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away. ⁶¹Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

The Guards at the Tomb

⁶²The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and Pharisees assembled before Pilate. ⁶³“Sir,” they said, “we remember that while He was alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ ⁶⁴So give the order that the tomb be secured until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people He has risen from the dead. And this last deception would be worse than the first.”

⁶⁵“You have a guard,” Pilate said. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶So they went and secured the tomb by sealing the stone and posting the guard.

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!

Paul’s Apostolic Authority

¹Now by the mildness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you — I, Paul, who am humble when face to face with you, but bold when away. ²I beg you that when I come I may not need to be as bold as I expect toward those who presume that we live according to the flesh.

³For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. ⁴The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the flesh. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵We demolish arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ⁶And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, as soon as your obedience is complete.

⁷You are looking at outward appearances. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should remind himself that we belong to Christ just as much as he does. ⁸For even if I boast somewhat excessively about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed.

⁹I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you by my letters. ¹⁰For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but his physical presence is unimpressive, and his speaking is of no account.” ¹¹Such people should consider that what we are in our letters when absent, we will be in our actions when present.

¹²We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they show their ignorance. ¹³We, however, will not boast beyond our limits, but only within the field of influence that God has assigned to us — a field that reaches even to you. ¹⁴We are not overstepping our bounds, as if we had not come to you. Indeed, we were the first to reach you with the gospel of Christ.

¹⁵Neither do we boast beyond our limits in the labors of others. But we hope that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you will greatly increase as well, ¹⁶so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. Then we will not be boasting in the work already done in another man’s territory.

¹⁷Rather, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” ¹⁸For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.