One Year Bible.

Death Comes to Good and Bad

¹So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.

²It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.

³This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.

⁴There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion. ⁵For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten. ⁶Their love, their hate, and their envy have already vanished, and they will never again have a share in all that is done under the sun.

Enjoy Your Portion in This Life

⁷Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:

⁸Let your garments always be white,

and never spare the oil for your head.

⁹Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun — all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun. ¹⁰Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

¹¹I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all. ¹²For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.

Wisdom Is Better than Strength

¹³I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me: ¹⁴There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it.

¹⁵Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. ¹⁶And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

¹⁷The calm words of the wise are heeded

over the shouts of a ruler among fools.

¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war,

but one sinner destroys much good.

Unity in the Body

¹As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received: ²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷Now to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. ⁸This is why it says:

“When He ascended on high,

He led captives away,

and gave gifts to men.”

⁹What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended to the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰He who descended is the very One who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.

¹¹And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹²to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ, ¹³until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ.

¹⁴Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head. ¹⁶From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the work of each individual part.

New Life in Christ

¹⁷So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. ¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. ¹⁹Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more.

²⁰But this is not the way you came to know Christ. ²¹Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him— in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus— ²²to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be renewed in the spirit of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

²⁵Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another. ²⁶“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger, ²⁷and do not give the devil a foothold.

²⁸He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.

²⁹Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice. ³²Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.

The Coming Judgment

¹Beloved, this is now my second letter to you. Both of them are reminders to stir you to wholesome thinking ²by recalling what was foretold by the holy prophets and commanded by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

³Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴“Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.”

⁵But they deliberately overlook the fact that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water, ⁶through which the world of that time perished in the flood. ⁷And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

The Day of the Lord

⁸Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

¹⁰But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.

¹¹Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to conduct yourselves in holiness and godliness ¹²as you anticipate and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be destroyed by fire and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³But in keeping with God’s promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

Final Exhortations

¹⁴Therefore, beloved, as you anticipate these things, make every effort to be found at peace— spotless and blameless in His sight.

¹⁵Consider also that our Lord’s patience brings salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him. ¹⁶He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

¹⁷Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing. ¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

Amen.

The Beginning

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning. ³Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The Witness of John

⁶There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe. ⁸He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

⁹The true Light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. ¹¹He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ¹²But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God — ¹³children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

The Word Became Flesh

¹⁴The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁵John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’”

¹⁶From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.

The Mission of John the Baptist

¹⁹And this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Christ.”

²¹“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

²²So they said to him, “Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness,

‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

²⁴Then the Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands One you do not know. ²⁷He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

²⁸All this happened at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Jesus the Lamb of God

²⁹The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is He of whom I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ ³¹I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel.”

³²Then John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and resting on Him. ³³I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

The First Disciples

³⁵The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” ³⁷And when the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

³⁸Jesus turned and saw them following. “What do you want?” He asked.

They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?”

³⁹“Come and see,” He replied. So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour.

⁴⁰Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s testimony and followed Jesus. ⁴¹He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ).

⁴²Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated as Peter).

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

⁴³The next day Jesus decided to set out for Galilee. Finding Philip, He told him, “Follow Me.” ⁴⁴Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter.

⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

⁴⁶“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

⁴⁷When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”

⁴⁸“How do You know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

⁴⁹“Rabbi,” Nathanael answered, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

⁵⁰Jesus said to him, “Do you believe just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹Then He declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”