One Year Bible.

Jehu’s Prophecy against Baasha

¹Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha, saying: ²“Even though I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over My people Israel, you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have caused My people Israel to sin and to provoke Me to anger by their sins. ³So now I will consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat:

⁴Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city

will be eaten by dogs,

and anyone who dies in the field

will be eaten by the birds of the air.”

⁵As for the rest of the acts of Baasha, along with his accomplishments and might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ⁶And Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah reigned in his place.

⁷Moreover, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands and becoming like the house of Jeroboam, and also because Baasha had struck down the house of Jeroboam.

Elah Reigns in Israel

⁸In the twenty-sixth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.

⁹However, while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza the steward of his household there, Elah’s servant Zimri, the commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. ¹⁰So in the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri went in, struck Elah down, and killed him. And Zimri reigned in his place.

¹¹As soon as Zimri began to reign and was seated on the throne, he struck down the entire household of Baasha. He did not leave a single male, whether a kinsman or friend. ¹²So Zimri destroyed the entire household of Baasha, according to the word that the LORD had spoken against Baasha through Jehu the prophet. ¹³This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.

¹⁴As for the rest of the acts of Elah, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Zimri Reigns in Israel

¹⁵In the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah for seven days. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon of the Philistines, ¹⁶and the people in the camp heard that Zimri had conspired against the king and struck him down. So there in the camp that very day, all Israel proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel.

¹⁷Then Omri and all the Israelites marched up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. ¹⁸When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he entered the citadel of the royal palace and burned it down upon himself. So he died ¹⁹because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the sight of the LORD and following the example of Jeroboam and the sin he had committed and had caused Israel to commit.

²⁰As for the rest of the acts of Zimri and the treason he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Omri Reigns in Israel

²¹At that time the people of Israel were divided: Half of the people supported Tibni son of Ginath as king, and half supported Omri. ²²But the followers of Omri proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.

²³In the thirty-first year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah. ²⁴He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city there, calling it Samaria after the name of Shemer, who had owned the hill.

²⁵But Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD and acted more wickedly than all who were before him. ²⁶For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins, which he caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.

²⁷As for the rest of the acts of Omri, along with his accomplishments and the might he exercised, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

²⁸And Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab reigned in his place.

Ahab Reigns in Israel, Marries Jezebel

²⁹In the thirty-eighth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twenty-two years.

³⁰However, Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. ³¹And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then proceeded to serve and worship Baal.

³²First, Ahab set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he had built in Samaria. ³³Then he set up an Asherah pole. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.

³⁴In Ahab’s days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. At the cost of Abiram his firstborn he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his youngest he set up its gates, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.

Greetings from Paul and Timothy

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

²To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

³We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints — ⁵the faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel ⁶that has come to you.

All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God. ⁷You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, ⁸and who also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

⁹For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

¹³He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Supremacy of the Son

¹⁵The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.

¹⁷He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. ¹⁸And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence. ¹⁹For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, ²⁰and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.

²¹Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds. ²²But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence — ²³if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Paul’s Suffering for the Church

²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church. ²⁵I became its servant by the commission God gave me to fully proclaim to you the word of God, ²⁶the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints. ²⁷To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

²⁸We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. ²⁹To this end I also labor, striving with all His energy working powerfully within me.

Prayer for the Son

¹When Jesus had spoken these things, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. ²For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him. ³Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. ⁴I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do. ⁵And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.

Prayer for the Disciples

⁶I have revealed Your name to those You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ⁷Now they know that everything You have given Me comes from You. ⁸For I have given them the words You gave Me, and they have received them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.

⁹I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those You have given Me; for they are Yours. ¹⁰All I have is Yours, and all You have is Mine; and in them I have been glorified. ¹¹I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You.

Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one. ¹²While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

¹³But now I am coming to You; and I am saying these things while I am in the world, so that they may have My joy fulfilled within them. ¹⁴I have given them Your word and the world has hated them. For they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

¹⁵I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. ¹⁸As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world. ¹⁹For them I sanctify Myself, so that they too may be sanctified by the truth.

Prayer for All Believers

²⁰I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message, ²¹that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

²²I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one — ²³I in them and You in Me — that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.

²⁴Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

²⁵Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me. ²⁶And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.”

The Betrayal of Jesus

¹After Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples across the Kidron Valley, where they entered a garden. ²Now Judas His betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with His disciples. ³So Judas brought a band of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees. They arrived at the garden carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons.

⁴Jesus, knowing all that was coming upon Him, stepped forward and asked them, “Whom are you seeking?”

⁵“Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered.

Jesus said, “I am He.”

And Judas His betrayer was standing there with them. ⁶When Jesus said, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

⁷So He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?”

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered.

⁸“I told you that I am He,” Jesus replied. “So if you are looking for Me, let these men go.” ⁹This was to fulfill the word He had spoken: “I have not lost one of those You have given Me.”

¹⁰Then Simon Peter drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.

¹¹“Put your sword back in its sheath!” Jesus said to Peter. “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?”

¹²Then the band of soldiers, with its commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him. ¹³They brought Him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. ¹⁴Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be better if one man died for the people.

Peter’s First Denial

¹⁵Now Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he also went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. ¹⁶But Peter stood outside at the door. Then the disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in.

¹⁷At this, the servant girl watching the door said to Peter, “Aren’t you also one of this man’s disciples?”

“I am not,” he answered.

¹⁸Because it was cold, the servants and officers were standing around a charcoal fire they had made to keep warm. And Peter was also standing with them, warming himself.

Jesus before the High Priest

¹⁹Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about His disciples and His teaching.

²⁰“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus answered. “I always taught in the synagogues and at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. ²¹Why are you asking Me? Ask those who heard My message. Surely they know what I said.”

²²When Jesus had said this, one of the officers standing nearby slapped Him in the face and said, “Is this how You answer the high priest?”

²³Jesus replied, “If I said something wrong, testify as to what was wrong. But if I spoke correctly, why did you strike Me?”

²⁴Then Annas sent Him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.

Peter’s Second and Third Denials

²⁵Simon Peter was still standing and warming himself. So they asked him, “Aren’t you also one of His disciples?”

He denied it and said, “I am not.”

²⁶One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you with Him in the garden?”

²⁷Peter denied it once more, and immediately a rooster crowed.

Jesus before Pilate

²⁸Then they led Jesus away from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. By now it was early morning, and the Jews did not enter the Praetorium, to avoid being defiled and unable to eat the Passover.

²⁹So Pilate went out to them and asked, “What accusation are you bringing against this man?”

³⁰“If He were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed Him over to you.”

³¹“You take Him and judge Him by your own law,” Pilate told them.

“We are not permitted to execute anyone,” the Jews replied. ³²This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to indicate the kind of death He was going to die.

³³Pilate went back into the Praetorium, summoned Jesus, and asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

³⁴“Are you saying this on your own,” Jesus asked, “or did others tell you about Me?”

³⁵“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”

³⁶Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is not of this realm.”

³⁷“Then You are a king!” Pilate said.

“You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.”

³⁸“What is truth?” Pilate asked.

And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him. ³⁹But it is your custom that I release to you one prisoner at the Passover. So then, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

⁴⁰“Not this man,” they shouted, “but Barabbas!” ( Now Barabbas was an insurrectionist. )