One Year Bible.

Do Not Boast about Tomorrow

¹Do not boast about tomorrow,

for you do not know what a day may bring.

²Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—

a stranger, and not your own lips.

³A stone is heavy and sand is a burden,

but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both.

⁴Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood,

but who can withstand jealousy?

⁵Better an open rebuke

than love that is concealed.

⁶The wounds of a friend are faithful,

but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

⁷The soul that is full loathes honey,

but to a hungry soul, any bitter thing is sweet.

⁸Like a bird that strays from its nest

is a man who wanders from his home.

⁹Oil and incense bring joy to the heart,

and the counsel of a friend is sweetness to the soul.

¹⁰Do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend,

and do not go to your brother’s house

in the day of your calamity;

better a neighbor nearby

than a brother far away.

¹¹Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart,

so that I can answer him who taunts me.

¹²The prudent see danger and take cover,

but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

¹³Take the garment of him who posts security for a stranger;

get collateral if it is for a foreigner.

¹⁴If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning,

it will be counted to him as a curse.

¹⁵A constant dripping on a rainy day

and a contentious woman are alike —

¹⁶restraining her is like holding back the wind

or grasping oil with one’s right hand.

¹⁷As iron sharpens iron,

so one man sharpens another.

¹⁸Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,

and he who looks after his master will be honored.

¹⁹As water reflects the face,

so the heart reflects the true man.

²⁰Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied;

so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

²¹A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold,

but a man is tested by the praise accorded him.

²²Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle,

yet his folly will not depart from him.

²³Be sure to know the state of your flocks,

and pay close attention to your herds;

²⁴for riches are not forever,

nor does a crown endure to every generation.

²⁵When hay is removed and new growth appears

and the grass from the hills is gathered,

²⁶the lambs will provide you with clothing,

and the goats with the price of a field.

²⁷You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed you—

food for your household

and nourishment for your maidservants.

Accept One Another

¹We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves. ²Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ³For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me.” ⁴For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.

⁵Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you harmony with one another in Christ Jesus, ⁶so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ the Servant of Jews and Gentiles

⁷Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring glory to God. ⁸For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs, ⁹so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written:

“Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles;

I will sing hymns to Your name.”

¹⁰Again, it says:

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”

¹¹And again:

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,

and extol Him, all you peoples.”

¹²And once more, Isaiah says:

“The Root of Jesse will appear,

One who will arise to rule over the Gentiles;

in Him the Gentiles will put their hope.”

¹³Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

¹⁴I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, brimming with knowledge, and able to instruct one another. ¹⁵However, I have written you a bold reminder on some points, because of the grace God has given me ¹⁶to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷Therefore I exult in Christ Jesus in my service to God. ¹⁸I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed, ¹⁹by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

²⁰In this way I have aspired to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. ²¹Rather, as it is written:

“Those who were not told about Him will see,

and those who have not heard will understand.”

²²That is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.

Paul’s Travel Plans

²³But now that there are no further opportunities for me in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to visit you, ²⁴I hope to see you on my way to Spain. And after I have enjoyed your company for a while, you can equip me for my journey.

²⁵Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem to serve the saints there. ²⁶For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. ²⁷They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual blessings, they are obligated to minister to them with material blessings.

²⁸So after I have completed this service and have safely delivered this bounty to them, I will set off to Spain by way of you. ²⁹I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

³⁰Now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. ³¹Pray that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, ³²so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.

³³The God of peace be with all of you. Amen.

Melchizedek and Abraham

¹This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ²and Abraham apportioned to him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness.” Then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” ³Without father or mother or genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God, he remains a priest for all time.

⁴Consider how great Melchizedek was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder. ⁵Now the law commands the sons of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people — that is, from their brothers — though they too are descended from Abraham. ⁶But Melchizedek, who did not trace his descent from Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷And indisputably, the lesser is blessed by the greater.

⁸In the case of the Levites, mortal men collect the tenth; but in the case of Melchizedek, it is affirmed that he lives on. ⁹And so to speak, Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham. ¹⁰For when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the loin of his ancestor.

A Superior Priesthood

¹¹Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood ( for on this basis the people received the law), why was there still need for another priest to appear — one in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron? ¹²For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed as well.

¹³He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, a tribe as to which Moses said nothing about priests.

¹⁵And this point is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, ¹⁶one who has become a priest not by a law of succession, but by the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷For it is testified:

“You are a priest forever

in the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸So the former commandment is set aside because it was weak and useless ¹⁹( for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

²⁰And none of this happened without an oath. For others became priests without an oath, ²¹but Jesus became a priest with an oath by the One who said to Him:

“The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind:

‘You are a priest forever.’”

²²Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

²³Now there have been many other priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office. ²⁴But because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. ²⁵Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.

²⁶Such a high priest truly befits us — One who is holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. ²⁷Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people; He sacrificed for sin once for all when He offered up Himself. ²⁸For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

Christ’s Eternal Priesthood

¹The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ²and who ministers in the sanctuary and true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. ³And since every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, it was necessary for this One also to have something to offer.

⁴Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are already priests who offer gifts according to the law. ⁵The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

The New Covenant

⁶Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises. ⁷For if that first covenant had been without fault, no place would have been sought for a second. ⁸But God found fault with the people and said:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,

when I will make a new covenant

with the house of Israel

and with the house of Judah.

⁹It will not be like the covenant

I made with their fathers

when I took them by the hand

to lead them out of the land of Egypt,

because they did not abide by My covenant,

and I disregarded them,

declares the Lord.

¹⁰For this is the covenant I will make

with the house of Israel

after those days,

declares the Lord.

I will put My laws in their minds

and inscribe them on their hearts.

And I will be their God,

and they will be My people.

¹¹No longer will each one teach his neighbor or his brother,

saying, ‘Know the Lord,’

because they will all know Me,

from the least of them to the greatest.

¹²For I will forgive their iniquities

and will remember their sins no more.”

¹³By speaking of a new covenant, He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.