One Year Bible.

Preparations for the Temple

¹Then David said, “Here shall be the house of the LORD God, as well as the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

²So David gave orders to gather the foreigners in the land of Israel, from whom he appointed stonecutters to prepare finished stones for building the house of God.

³David provided a large quantity of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, together with more bronze than could be weighed ⁴and more cedar logs than could be counted; for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought a large quantity of cedar logs to David.

⁵And David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent — famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore I must make preparations for it.” So David made lavish preparations before his death.

Solomon Anointed to Build the Temple

⁶Then David called for his son Solomon and instructed him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel.

⁷“My son,” said David to Solomon, “it was in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God, ⁸but this word of the LORD came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and waged great wars. You are not to build a house for My Name because you have shed so much blood on the ground before Me. ⁹But a son will be born to you who will be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name will be Solomon, and I will grant to Israel peace and quiet during his reign. ¹⁰He is the one who will build a house for My Name. He will be My son, and I will be his Father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

¹¹Now, my son, may the LORD be with you, and may you succeed in building the house of the LORD your God, as He said you would. ¹²Above all, may the LORD give you insight and understanding when He puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the Law of the LORD your God. ¹³Then you will succeed, if you carefully follow the statutes and ordinances that the LORD commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

¹⁴Now behold, I have taken great pains to provide for the house of the LORD— 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron too great to be weighed. I have also provided timber and stone, and you may add to them.

¹⁵You also have many workers: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and men skilled in every kind of work — ¹⁶in gold and silver, bronze and iron— craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and may the LORD be with you.”

¹⁷Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon: ¹⁸“Is not the LORD your God with you, and has He not granted you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land has been subdued before the LORD and His people. ¹⁹Now set your heart and soul to seek the LORD your God. Begin building the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy articles of God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD.”

The Divisions of the Levites

¹When David was old and full of years, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel. ²Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites.

³The Levites thirty years of age or older were counted, and the total number of men was 38,000. ⁴“Of these,” said David, “24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the LORD, 6,000 are to be officers and judges, ⁵4,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I have made for giving praise.”

⁶Then David divided the Levites into divisions according to the sons of Levi:

Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

The Gershonites

⁷The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

⁸The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first, Zetham, and Joel— three in all.

⁹The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran— three in all. These were the heads of the families of Ladan.

¹⁰And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the sons of Shimei— four in all. ¹¹Jahath was the first and Zizah was the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were counted as one family and received a single assignment.

The Kohathites

¹²The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel— four in all.

¹³The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister before Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name forever. ¹⁴As for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.

¹⁵The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

¹⁶The descendants of Gershom: Shebuel was the first.

¹⁷The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer did not have any other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.

¹⁸The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first.

¹⁹The sons of Hebron: Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

²⁰The sons of Uzziel: Micah was the first and Isshiah the second.

The Merarites

²¹The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi.

The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. ²²Eleazar died without having any sons; he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

²³The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth— three in all.

Levite Duties Revised

²⁴These were the descendants of Levi by their families— the heads of families, registered individually by name— those twenty years of age or older who worked in the service of the house of the LORD.

²⁵For David had said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶So now the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles for its service.”

²⁷For according to the final instructions of David, the Levites twenty years of age or older were counted, ²⁸but their duty was to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the house of the LORD, being responsible for the courts and chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God, ²⁹as well as for the rows of the showbread, the fine flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baking, the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.

³⁰They were also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the LORD, and likewise in the evening. ³¹Whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts, they were to serve regularly before the LORD in the numbers prescribed for them. ³²So the Levites were to carry out the responsibilities for the Tent of Meeting and the Holy Place, and, under their brothers the descendants of Aaron, the service of the house of the LORD.

The Leper’s Prayer

¹When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. ²Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

³Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

⁴Then Jesus instructed him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, as a testimony to them.”

The Faith of the Centurion

⁵When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came and pleaded with Him, ⁶“Lord, my servant lies at home, paralyzed and in terrible agony.”

⁷“I will go and heal him,” Jesus replied.

⁸The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go, and he goes, and another to come, and he comes. I tell my servant to do something, and he does it.”

¹⁰When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. ¹¹I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹²But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

¹³Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! As you have believed, so will it be done for you.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.

Jesus Heals at Peter’s House

¹⁴When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, He saw Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed with a fever. ¹⁵So He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve Him.

¹⁶When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to Jesus, and He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. ¹⁷This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“He took up our infirmities

and carried our diseases.”

The Cost of Discipleship

¹⁸When Jesus saw a large crowd around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the sea. ¹⁹And one of the scribes came to Him and said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”

²⁰Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

²¹Another of His disciples requested, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

²²But Jesus told him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms the Storm

²³When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was engulfed by the waves. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

²⁶“You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm.

²⁷The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”

The Demons and the Pigs

²⁸When Jesus arrived on the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, He was met by two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs. They were so violent that no one could pass that way.

²⁹“What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

³⁰In the distance a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹So the demons begged Jesus, “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

³²“Go!” He told them. So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and died in the waters.

³³Those tending the pigs ran off into the town and reported all this, including the account of the demon-possessed men. ³⁴Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

¹Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own town. ²Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”

³On seeing this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!”

⁴But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you harbor evil in your hearts? ⁵Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” Then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.” ⁷And the man got up and went home.

⁸When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Jesus Calls Matthew

⁹As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.

¹⁰Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples. ¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹²On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Questions about Fasting

¹⁴Then John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁵Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

The Patches and the Wineskins

¹⁶No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result.

¹⁷Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

The Healing Touch of Jesus

¹⁸While Jesus was saying these things, a synagogue leader came and knelt before Him. “My daughter has just died,” he said. “But come and place Your hand on her, and she will live.”

¹⁹So Jesus got up and went with him, along with His disciples. ²⁰Suddenly a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak. ²¹She said to herself, “If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed.”

²²Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that very hour.

²³When Jesus entered the house of the synagogue leader, He saw the flute players and the noisy crowd. ²⁴“Go away,” He told them. “The girl is not dead, but asleep.” And they laughed at Him.

²⁵After the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. ²⁶And the news about this spread throughout that region.

Jesus Heals the Blind and Mute

²⁷As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

²⁸After Jesus had entered the house, the blind men came to Him. “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” He asked.

“Yes, Lord,” they answered.

²⁹Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you.” ³⁰And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one finds out about this!” ³¹But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout the land.

³²As they were leaving, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to Jesus. ³³And when the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”

³⁴But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons.”

The Lord of the Harvest

³⁵Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

³⁷Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. ³⁸Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.”