One Year Bible.

The Words of Agur

¹These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh — the burden that this man declared to Ithiel:

“I am weary, O God,

and worn out.

²Surely I am the most ignorant of men,

and I lack the understanding of a man.

³I have not learned wisdom,

and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.

⁴Who has ascended to heaven and come down?

Who has gathered the wind in His hands?

Who has bound up the waters in His cloak?

Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is His name, and what is the name of His Son—

surely you know!

⁵Every word of God is flawless;

He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

⁶Do not add to His words,

lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.

⁷Two things I ask of You —

do not refuse me before I die:

⁸Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.

Give me neither poverty nor riches;

feed me with the bread that is my portion.

⁹Otherwise, I may have too much

and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’

Or I may become poor and steal,

profaning the name of my God.

¹⁰Do not slander a servant to his master,

or he will curse you, and you will bear the guilt.

¹¹There is a generation of those who curse their fathers

and do not bless their mothers.

¹²There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes

and yet unwashed of their filth.

¹³There is a generation— how haughty are their eyes

and pretentious are their glances —

¹⁴there is a generation whose teeth are swords

and whose jaws are knives,

devouring the oppressed from the earth

and the needy from among men.

¹⁵The leech has two daughters:

Give and Give.

There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’:

¹⁶Sheol,

the barren womb,

land never satisfied with water,

and fire that never says, ‘Enough!’

¹⁷As for the eye that mocks a father

and scorns obedience to a mother,

may the ravens of the valley pluck it out

and young vultures devour it.

¹⁸There are three things too wonderful for me, four that I cannot understand:

¹⁹the way of an eagle in the sky,

the way of a snake on a rock,

the way of a ship at sea,

and the way of a man with a maiden.

²⁰This is the way of an adulteress:

She eats and wipes her mouth

and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’

²¹Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up:

²²a servant who becomes king,

a fool who is filled with food,

²³an unloved woman who marries,

and a maidservant who supplants her mistress.

²⁴Four things on earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise:

²⁵The ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;

²⁶the rock badgers are creatures of little power, yet they make their homes in the rocks;

²⁷the locusts have no king, yet they all advance in formation;

²⁸and the lizard can be caught in one’s hands, yet it is found in the palaces of kings.

²⁹There are three things that are stately in their stride, and four that are impressive in their walk:

³⁰a lion, mighty among beasts, refusing to retreat before anything;

³¹a strutting rooster;

a he-goat;

and a king with his army around him.

³²If you have foolishly exalted yourself

or if you have plotted evil,

put your hand over your mouth.

³³For as the churning of milk yields butter,

and the twisting of the nose draws blood,

so the stirring of anger brings forth strife.”

The Sayings for King Lemuel

¹These are the words of King Lemuel — the burden that his mother taught him:

²What shall I say, O my son?

What, O son of my womb?

What, O son of my vows?

³Do not spend your strength on women

or your vigor on those who ruin kings.

⁴It is not for kings, O Lemuel,

it is not for kings to drink wine,

or for rulers to crave strong drink,

⁵lest they drink and forget what is decreed,

depriving all the oppressed of justice.

⁶Give strong drink to one who is perishing,

and wine to the bitter in soul.

⁷Let him drink and forget his poverty,

and remember his misery no more.

⁸Open your mouth for those with no voice,

for the cause of all the dispossessed.

⁹Open your mouth, judge righteously,

and defend the cause of the poor and needy.

The Virtues of a Noble Woman

¹⁰A wife of noble character, who can find?

She is far more precious than rubies.

¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her,

and he lacks nothing of value.

¹²She brings him good and not harm

all the days of her life.

¹³She selects wool and flax

and works with eager hands.

¹⁴She is like the merchant ships,

bringing her food from afar.

¹⁵She rises while it is still night

to provide food for her household

and portions for her maidservants.

¹⁶She appraises a field and buys it;

from her earnings she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷She girds herself with strength

and shows that her arms are strong.

¹⁸She sees that her gain is good,

and her lamp is not extinguished at night.

¹⁹She stretches out her hands to the distaff

and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

²⁰She opens her arms to the poor

and reaches out her hands to the needy.

²¹When it snows, she has no fear for her household,

for they are all clothed in scarlet.

²²She makes coverings for her bed;

her clothing is fine linen and purple.

²³Her husband is known at the city gates,

where he sits among the elders of the land.

²⁴She makes linen garments and sells them;

she delivers sashes to the merchants.

²⁵Strength and honor are her clothing,

and she can laugh at the days to come.

²⁶She opens her mouth with wisdom,

and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

²⁷She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

²⁸Her children rise up and call her blessed;

her husband praises her as well:

²⁹“Many daughters have done noble things,

but you surpass them all!”

³⁰Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting,

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

³¹Give her the fruit of her hands,

and let her works praise her at the gates.

A Call to Endurance

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

God Disciplines His Sons

⁴In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons:

“My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord,

and do not lose heart when He rebukes you.

⁶For the Lord disciplines the one He loves,

and He chastises every son He receives.”

⁷Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? ⁸If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. ⁹Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?

¹⁰Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. ¹¹No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.

¹²Therefore strengthen your limp hands and weak knees. ¹³Make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

A Call to Holiness

¹⁴Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many. ¹⁶See to it that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright. ¹⁷For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. He could find no ground for repentance, though he sought the blessing with tears.

An Unshakable Kingdom

¹⁸For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm; ¹⁹to a trumpet blast or to a voice that made its hearers beg that no further word be spoken. ²⁰For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.” ²¹The sight was so terrifying that even Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

²²Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels ²³in joyful assembly, to the congregation of the firstborn, enrolled in heaven. You have come to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if the people did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject Him who warns us from heaven? ²⁶At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth, but heaven as well.” ²⁷The words “Once more” signify the removal of what can be shaken — that is, created things — so that the unshakable may remain.

²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. ²⁹“For our God is a consuming fire.”

Brotherly Love

¹Continue in brotherly love. ²Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. ³Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.

⁴Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

Christ’s Unchanging Nature

⁵Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said:

“Never will I leave you,

never will I forsake you.”

⁶So we say with confidence:

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?”

⁷Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

⁹Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by foods of no value to those devoted to them. ¹⁰We have an altar from which those who serve at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

¹¹Although the high priest brings the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, the bodies are burned outside the camp. ¹²And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate, to sanctify the people by His own blood. ¹³Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore. ¹⁴For here we do not have a permanent city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Sacrifice, Obedience, and Prayer

¹⁵Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name. ¹⁶And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

¹⁷Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.

¹⁸Pray for us; we are convinced that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. ¹⁹And I especially urge you to pray that I may be restored to you soon.

Benediction and Farewell

²⁰Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

²²I urge you, brothers, to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have only written to you briefly.

²³Be aware that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.

²⁴Greet all your leaders and all the saints.

Those from Italy send you greetings.

²⁵Grace be with all of you.