One Year Bible.

The Boldness of the Righteous

¹The wicked flee when no one pursues,

but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

²A land in rebellion has many rulers,

but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order.

³A destitute leader who oppresses the poor

is like a driving rain that leaves no food.

⁴Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,

but those who keep the law resist them.

⁵Evil men do not understand justice,

but those who seek the LORD comprehend fully.

⁶Better a poor man who walks with integrity

than a rich man whose ways are perverse.

⁷A discerning son keeps the law,

but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.

⁸He who increases his wealth by interest and usury

lays it up for one who is kind to the poor.

⁹Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law,

even his prayer is detestable.

¹⁰He who leads the upright along the path of evil will fall into his own pit,

but the blameless will inherit what is good.

¹¹A rich man is wise in his own eyes,

but a poor man with discernment sees through him.

¹²When the righteous triumph, there is great glory,

but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.

¹³He who conceals his sins will not prosper,

but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.

¹⁴Blessed is the man who is always reverent,

but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

¹⁵Like a roaring lion or a charging bear

is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.

¹⁶A leader who lacks judgment is also a great oppressor,

but he who hates dishonest profit will prolong his days.

¹⁷A man burdened by bloodguilt will flee into the Pit;

let no one support him.

¹⁸He who walks with integrity will be kept safe,

but whoever is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall.

¹⁹The one who works his land will have plenty of food,

but whoever chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.

²⁰A faithful man will abound with blessings,

but one eager to be rich will not go unpunished.

²¹To show partiality is not good,

yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.

²²A stingy man hastens after wealth

and does not know that poverty awaits him.

²³He who rebukes a man will later find more favor

than one who flatters with his tongue.

²⁴He who robs his father or mother, saying, “It is not wrong,”

is a companion to the man who destroys.

²⁵A greedy man stirs up strife,

but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper.

²⁶He who trusts in himself is a fool,

but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.

²⁷Whoever gives to the poor will not be in need,

but he who hides his eyes will receive many curses.

²⁸When the wicked come to power, people hide themselves;

but when they perish, the righteous flourish.

The Flourishing of the Righteous

¹A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof

will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.

²When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice,

but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

³A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father,

but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

⁴By justice a king brings stability to the land,

but a man who exacts tribute demolishes it.

⁵A man who flatters his neighbor

spreads a net for his feet.

⁶An evil man is caught by his own sin,

but a righteous one sings and rejoices.

⁷The righteous consider the cause of the poor,

but the wicked have no regard for such concerns.

⁸Mockers inflame a city,

but the wise turn away anger.

⁹If a wise man goes to court with a fool,

there will be raving and laughing with no resolution.

¹⁰Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man,

but the upright care for his life.

¹¹A fool vents all his anger,

but a wise man holds it back.

¹²If a ruler listens to lies,

all his officials will be wicked.

¹³The poor man and the oppressor have this in common:

The LORD gives light to the eyes of both.

¹⁴A king who judges the poor with fairness—

his throne will be established forever.

¹⁵A rod of correction imparts wisdom,

but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.

¹⁶When the wicked thrive, rebellion increases;

but the righteous will see their downfall.

¹⁷Discipline your son, and he will give you rest;

he will bring delight to your soul.

¹⁸Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint;

but blessed is he who keeps the Law.

¹⁹A servant cannot be corrected by words alone;

though he understands, he will not respond.

²⁰Do you see a man who speaks in haste?

There is more hope for a fool than for him.

²¹A servant pampered from his youth

will bring grief in the end.

²²An angry man stirs up dissension,

and a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.

²³A man’s pride will bring him low,

but a humble spirit will obtain honor.

²⁴A partner to a thief hates his own soul;

he receives the oath but does not testify.

²⁵The fear of man is a snare,

but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high.

²⁶Many seek the ruler’s favor,

but a man receives justice from the LORD.

²⁷An unjust man is detestable to the righteous,

and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked.

The Earthly Tabernacle

¹Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. ²A tabernacle was prepared. In its first room were the lampstand, the table, and the consecrated bread. This was called the Holy Place. ³Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, ⁴containing the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. ⁵Above the ark were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

⁶When everything had been prepared in this way, the priests entered regularly into the first room to perform their sacred duties. ⁷But only the high priest entered the second room, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

⁸By this arrangement the Holy Spirit was showing that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. ⁹It is an illustration for the present time, because the gifts and sacrifices being offered were unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper. ¹⁰They consist only in food and drink and special washings — external regulations imposed until the time of reform.

Redemption through His Blood

¹¹But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation. ¹²He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.

¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean, ¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!

¹⁵Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

¹⁶In the case of a will, it is necessary to establish the death of the one who made it, ¹⁷because a will does not take effect until the one who made it has died; it cannot be executed while he is still alive.

¹⁸That is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. ¹⁹For when Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people, ²⁰saying, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”

²¹In the same way, he sprinkled with blood the tabernacle and all the vessels used in worship. ²²According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

²³So it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.

²⁵Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶Otherwise, Christ would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

²⁷Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.

Christ’s Perfect Sacrifice

¹For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. ²If it could, would not the offerings have ceased? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt the guilt of their sins.

³Instead, those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, ⁴because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. ⁵Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said:

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,

but a body You prepared for Me.

⁶In burnt offerings and sin offerings

You took no delight.

⁷Then I said, ‘Here I am, it is written about Me in the scroll:

I have come to do Your will, O God.’”

⁸In the passage above He says, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire, nor did You delight in them” (although they are offered according to the law). ⁹Then He adds, “Here I am, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second. ¹⁰And by that will, we have been sanctified through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

¹¹Day after day every priest stands to minister and to offer again and again the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹²But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God. ¹³Since that time, He waits for His enemies to be made a footstool for His feet, ¹⁴because by a single offering He has made perfect for all time those who are being sanctified.

¹⁵The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First He says:

¹⁶“This is the covenant I will make with them

after those days, declares the Lord.

I will put My laws in their hearts

and inscribe them on their minds.”

¹⁷Then He adds:

“Their sins and lawless acts

I will remember no more.”

¹⁸And where these have been forgiven, an offering for sin is no longer needed.

A Call to Persevere

¹⁹Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰by the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of His body, ²¹and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²²let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

²³Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. ²⁵Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

²⁶If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains, ²⁷but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries. ²⁸Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

³⁰For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.” ³¹It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³²Remember the early days that you were in the light. In those days, you endured a great conflict in the face of suffering. ³³Sometimes you were publicly exposed to ridicule and persecution; at other times you were partners with those who were so treated. ³⁴You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you yourselves had a better and permanent possession.

³⁵So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward. ³⁶You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. ³⁷For,

“In just a little while,

He who is coming will come and will not delay.

³⁸But My righteous one will live by faith;

and if he shrinks back,

I will take no pleasure in him.”

³⁹But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.