One Year Bible.

Twelve Captains for Twelve Months

¹This is the list of the Israelites— the heads of families, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king in every matter concerning the divisions on rotating military duty each month throughout the year. There were 24,000 men in each division:

²Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was in charge of the first division, which was assigned the first month. There were 24,000 men in his division. ³He was a descendant of Perez and chief of all the army commanders for the first month.

⁴Dodai the Ahohite was in charge of the division for the second month, and Mikloth was the leader. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁵The third army commander, as chief for the third month, was Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest. There were 24,000 men in his division. ⁶This Benaiah was mighty among the Thirty and was over the Thirty, and his son Ammizabad was in charge of his division.

⁷The fourth, for the fourth month, was Joab’s brother Asahel, and his son Zebadiah was commander after him. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁸The fifth, for the fifth month, was the commander Shamhuth the Izrahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁹The sixth, for the sixth month, was Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁰The seventh, for the seventh month, was Helez the Pelonite, an Ephraimite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹¹The eighth, for the eighth month, was Sibbecai the Hushathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹²The ninth, for the ninth month, was Abiezer the Anathothite, a Benjamite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹³The tenth, for the tenth month, was Maharai the Netophathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁴The eleventh, for the eleventh month, was Benaiah the Pirathonite, an Ephraimite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁵The twelfth, for the twelfth month, was Heldai the Netophathite, from the family of Othniel. There were 24,000 men in his division.

The Leaders of the Twelve Tribes

¹⁶These officers were in charge of the tribes of Israel:

Over the Reubenites was Eliezer son of Zichri;

over the Simeonites was Shephatiah son of Maacah;

¹⁷over Levi was Hashabiah son of Kemuel;

over Aaron was Zadok;

¹⁸over Judah was Elihu, one of David’s brothers;

over Issachar was Omri son of Michael;

¹⁹over Zebulun was Ishmaiah son of Obadiah;

over Naphtali was Jerimoth son of Azriel;

²⁰over the Ephraimites was Hoshea son of Azaziah;

over one of the half-tribes of Manasseh was Joel son of Pedaiah;

²¹over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead was Iddo son of Zechariah;

over Benjamin was Jaasiel son of Abner;

²²and over Dan was Azarel son of Jeroham.

These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

²³David did not count the men aged twenty or under, because the LORD had said that He would make Israel as numerous as the stars of the sky. ²⁴Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. For because of this census wrath came upon Israel, and the number was not entered in the Book of the Chronicles of King David.

David’s Various Overseers

²⁵Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the royal storehouses.

Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the country, in the cities, in the villages, and in the fortresses.

²⁶Ezri son of Chelub was in charge of the workers in the fields who tilled the soil.

²⁷Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards.

Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine vats.

²⁸Baal-hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive and sycamore trees in the foothills.

Joash was in charge of the stores of olive oil.

²⁹Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds grazing in Sharon.

Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys.

³⁰Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels.

Jehdeiah the Meronothite was in charge of the donkeys.

³¹Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks.

All these officials were in charge of King David’s property.

The Counselors

³²David’s uncle Jonathan was a counselor; he was a man of insight and a scribe.

Jehiel son of Hachmoni attended to the sons of the king.

³³Ahithophel was the king’s counselor.

Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend.

³⁴Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah, then by Abiathar.

Joab was the commander of the king’s army.

Living to Please God

¹Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live, so you should do so all the more. ²For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

³For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, ⁵not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God; ⁶and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you. ⁷For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness. ⁸Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.

⁹Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. ¹⁰And you are indeed showing this love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel more and more ¹¹and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you. ¹²Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.

The Return of the Lord

¹³Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope. ¹⁴For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.

¹⁵By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. ¹⁷After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

¹⁸Therefore encourage one another with these words.

The Parable of the Sower

¹That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. ²Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the shore.

³And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

⁵Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. ⁶But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

⁷Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings.

⁸Still other seed fell on good soil and produced a crop — a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.

⁹He who has ears, let him hear.”

The Purpose of Jesus’ Parables

¹⁰Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?”

¹¹He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ¹²Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ¹³This is why I speak to them in parables:

‘Though seeing, they do not see;

though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’

¹⁴In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled:

‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

¹⁵For this people’s heart has grown callous;

they hardly hear with their ears,

and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts,

and turn, and I would heal them.’

¹⁶But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

¹⁸Consider, then, the parable of the sower: ¹⁹When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

²⁰The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

²²The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

²³But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and produces a crop — a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.”

The Parable of the Weeds

²⁴Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and slipped away. ²⁶When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

²⁸‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

So the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

²⁹‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

³¹He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field. ³²Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven

³³He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”

I Will Open My Mouth in Parables

³⁴Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable. ³⁵So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open My mouth in parables;

I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶Then Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

³⁷He replied, “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

⁴⁰As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness. ⁴²And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

He who has ears, let him hear.

The Parables of the Treasure and the Pearl

⁴⁴The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.

⁴⁵Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. ⁴⁶When he found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold all he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

⁴⁷Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸When it was full, the men pulled it ashore. Then they sat down and sorted the good fish into containers, but threw the bad away.

⁴⁹So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹Have you understood all these things?”

“Yes,” they answered.

⁵²Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

The Rejection at Nazareth

⁵³When Jesus had finished these parables, He withdrew from that place. ⁵⁴Coming to His hometown, He taught the people in their synagogue, and they were astonished. “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?” they asked. ⁵⁵“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶Aren’t all His sisters with us as well? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷And they took offense at Him.

But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own household is a prophet without honor.” ⁵⁸And He did not do many miracles there, because of their unbelief.