One Year Bible.

Dedication to Theophilus

¹Many have undertaken to compose an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, ²just as they were handed down to us by the initial eyewitnesses and servants of the word. ³Therefore, having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

Gabriel Foretells John’s Birth

⁵In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and whose wife Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron. ⁶Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord. ⁷But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well along in years.

⁸One day while Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, ⁹he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰And at the hour of the incense offering, the whole congregation was praying outside.

¹¹Just then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and gripped with fear.

¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. ¹⁴He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶Many of the sons of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous — to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸“How can I be sure of this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.”

¹⁹“I am Gabriel,” replied the angel. “I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰And now you will be silent and unable to speak until the day this comes to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

²¹Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he took so long in the temple. ²²When he came out and was unable to speak to them, they realized he had seen a vision in the temple. He kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. ²³And when the days of his service were complete, he returned home.

²⁴After these days, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. She declared, ²⁵“The Lord has done this for me. In these days He has shown me favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

Gabriel Foretells Jesus’ Birth

²⁶In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰So the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, ³³and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end!”

³⁴“How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Look, even Elizabeth your relative has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is in her sixth month. ³⁷For no word from God will ever fail.”

³⁸“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹In those days Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah, ⁴⁰where she entered the home of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord’s word to her will be fulfilled.”

Mary’s Song

⁴⁶Then Mary said:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!

⁴⁸For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed.

⁴⁹For the Mighty One has done great things for me.

Holy is His name.

⁵⁰His mercy extends to those who fear Him,

from generation to generation.

⁵¹He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;

He has scattered those who are proud

in the thoughts of their hearts.

⁵²He has brought down rulers from their thrones,

but has exalted the humble.

⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things,

but has sent the rich away empty.

⁵⁴He has helped His servant Israel,

remembering to be merciful,

⁵⁵as He promised to our fathers,

to Abraham and his descendants forever.”

⁵⁶Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were going to name him after his father Zechariah. ⁶⁰But his mother replied, “No! He shall be called John.”

⁶¹They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who bears this name.” ⁶²So they made signs to his father to find out what he wanted to name the child.

⁶³Zechariah asked for a tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed. ⁶⁴Immediately Zechariah’s mouth was opened and his tongue was released, and he began to speak, praising God.

⁶⁵All their neighbors were filled with awe, and people throughout the hill country of Judea were talking about these events. ⁶⁶And all who heard this wondered in their hearts and asked, “What then will this child become?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

Zechariah’s Song

⁶⁷Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

because He has visited and redeemed His people.

⁶⁹He has raised up a horn of salvation for us

in the house of His servant David,

⁷⁰as He spoke through His holy prophets,

those of ages past,

⁷¹salvation from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us,

⁷²to show mercy to our fathers

and to remember His holy covenant,

⁷³the oath He swore to our father Abraham,

to grant us ⁷⁴deliverance from hostile hands,

that we may serve Him without fear,

⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before Him

all the days of our lives.

⁷⁶And you, child, will be called

a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord

to prepare the way for Him,

⁷⁷to give to His people the knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins,

⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God,

by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,

⁷⁹to shine on those who live in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet

into the path of peace.”

⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until the time of his public appearance to Israel.

Israel’s Adultery Rebuked

¹“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’

and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’

²Rebuke your mother,

rebuke her,

for she is not My wife,

and I am not her husband.

Let her remove the adultery from her face

and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.

³Otherwise, I will strip her naked

and expose her like the day of her birth.

I will make her like a desert

and turn her into a parched land,

and I will let her die of thirst.

⁴I will have no compassion on her children,

because they are the children of adultery.

⁵For their mother has played the harlot

and has conceived them in disgrace.

For she thought,

‘I will go after my lovers,

who give me bread and water,

wool and linen, oil and drink.’

⁶Therefore, behold,

I will hedge up her path with thorns;

I will enclose her with a wall,

so she cannot find her way.

⁷She will pursue her lovers but not catch them;

she will seek them but not find them.

Then she will say,

‘I will return to my first husband,

for then I was better off than now.’

⁸For she does not acknowledge

that it was I who gave her grain,

new wine, and oil,

who lavished on her silver and gold —

which they crafted for Baal.

⁹Therefore I will take back My grain in its time

and My new wine in its season;

I will take away My wool and linen,

which were given to cover her nakedness.

¹⁰And then I will expose her lewdness

in the sight of her lovers,

and no one will deliver her

out of My hands.

¹¹I will put an end to all her exultation:

her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—

all her appointed feasts.

¹²I will destroy her vines and fig trees,

which she thinks are the wages paid by her lovers.

So I will make them into a thicket,

and the beasts of the field will devour them.

¹³I will punish her for the days of the Baals

when she burned incense to them,

when she adorned herself with rings and jewelry,

and went after her lovers.

But Me she forgot,”

declares the LORD.

God’s Mercy to Israel

¹⁴“Therefore, behold, I will allure her

and lead her to the wilderness,

and speak to her tenderly.

¹⁵There I will give back her vineyards

and make the Valley of Achor

into a gateway of hope.

There she will respond as she did

in the days of her youth,

as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

¹⁶In that day,”

declares the LORD,

“you will call Me ‘my Husband,’

and no longer call Me ‘my Master.’

¹⁷For I will remove from her lips the names of the Baals;

no longer will their names be invoked.

¹⁸On that day I will make a covenant for them

with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air

and the creatures that crawl on the ground.

And I will abolish bow and sword

and battle in the land,

and will make them lie down in safety.

¹⁹So I will betroth you to Me forever;

I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,

in loving devotion and compassion.

²⁰And I will betroth you in faithfulness,

and you will know the LORD.”

²¹“On that day I will respond —”

declares the LORD —

“I will respond to the heavens,

and they will respond to the earth.

²²And the earth will respond to the grain,

to the new wine and oil,

and they will respond to Jezreel.

²³And I will sow her as My own in the land,

and I will have compassion on ‘No Compassion.’

I will say to those called ‘Not My People,’

‘You are My people,’

and they will say,

‘You are my God.’”

Hosea Redeems His Wife

¹Then the LORD said to me, “Go show love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.”

²So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. ³Then I said to her, “You must live with me for many days; you must not be promiscuous or belong to another, and I will do the same for you.”

⁴For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol. ⁵Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.