One Year Bible.

The Ark Rests on Ararat

¹But God remembered Noah and all the animals and livestock that were with him in the ark. And God sent a wind over the earth, and the waters began to subside. ²The springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained. ³The waters receded steadily from the earth, and after 150 days the waters had gone down.

⁴On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. ⁵And the waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.

Noah Sends a Raven and a Dove

⁶After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark ⁷and sent out a raven. It kept flying back and forth until the waters had dried up from the earth.

⁸Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the waters had receded from the surface of the ground. ⁹But the dove found no place to rest her foot, and she returned to him in the ark, because the waters were still covering the surface of all the earth. So he reached out his hand and brought her back inside the ark.

¹⁰Noah waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. ¹¹And behold, the dove returned to him in the evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf in her beak. So Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.

¹²And Noah waited seven more days and sent out the dove again, but this time she did not return to him.

Exiting the Ark

¹³In Noah’s six hundred and first year, on the first day of the first month, the waters had dried up from the earth. So Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. ¹⁴By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was fully dry.

¹⁵Then God said to Noah, ¹⁶“Come out of the ark, you and your wife, along with your sons and their wives. ¹⁷Bring out all the living creatures that are with you— birds, livestock, and everything that crawls upon the ground— so that they can spread out over the earth and be fruitful and multiply upon it.”

¹⁸So Noah came out, along with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. ¹⁹Every living creature, every creeping thing, and every bird — everything that moves upon the earth — came out of the ark, kind by kind.

Noah Builds an Altar

²⁰Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar. ²¹When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.

²²As long as the earth endures,

seedtime and harvest,

cold and heat,

summer and winter,

day and night

shall never cease.”

The Mission of John the Baptist

¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, ²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

³He went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for Him.

⁵Every valley shall be filled in,

and every mountain and hill made low.

The crooked ways shall be made straight,

and the rough ways smooth.

⁶And all humanity will see God’s salvation.’”

⁷Then John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ⁹The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰The crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”

¹¹John replied, “Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.”

¹²Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

¹³“Collect no more than you are authorized,” he answered.

¹⁴Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

“Do not take money by force or false accusation,” he said. “Be content with your wages.”

¹⁵The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John could be the Christ. ¹⁶John answered all of them: “I baptize you with water, but One more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹⁷His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸With these and many other exhortations, John proclaimed the good news to the people. ¹⁹But when he rebuked Herod the tetrarch regarding his brother’s wife Herodias and all the evils he had done, ²⁰Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus

²¹When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as He was praying, heaven was opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

The Genealogy of Jesus

²³Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry.

He was regarded as the son of Joseph,

the son of Heli,

²⁴the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi,

the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

²⁵the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum,

the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,

²⁶the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein,

the son of Josech, the son of Joda,

²⁷the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel,

the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,

²⁸the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam,

the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,

²⁹the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim,

the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

³⁰the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph,

the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,

³¹the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha,

the son of Nathan, the son of David,

³²the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz,

the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon,

³³the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni,

the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,

³⁴the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,

the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

³⁵the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg,

the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,

³⁶the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem,

the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,

³⁷the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared,

the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan,

³⁸the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam,

the son of God.

Retribution for Israel’s Sin

¹Israel was a luxuriant vine,

yielding fruit for himself.

The more his fruit increased,

the more he increased the altars.

The better his land produced,

the better he made the sacred pillars.

²Their hearts are devious;

now they must bear their guilt.

The LORD will break down their altars

and demolish their sacred pillars.

³Surely now they will say,

“We have no king,

for we do not revere the LORD.

What can a king do for us?”

⁴They speak mere words;

with false oaths they make covenants.

So judgment springs up

like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.

⁵The people of Samaria will fear

for the calf of Beth-aven.

Indeed, its people will mourn over it

with its idolatrous priests —

those who rejoiced in its glory —

for it has been taken from them into exile.

⁶Yes, it will be carried to Assyria

as tribute to the great king.

Ephraim will be seized with shame;

Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.

⁷Samaria will be carried off with her king

like a twig on the surface of the water.

⁸The high places of Aven will be destroyed—

it is the sin of Israel;

thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars.

Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”

and to the hills, “Fall on us!”

⁹Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel,

and there you have remained.

Did not the battle in Gibeah

overtake the sons of iniquity?

¹⁰I will chasten them when I please;

nations will be gathered against them

to put them in bondage

for their double transgression.

¹¹Ephraim is a well-trained heifer that loves to thresh;

but I will place a yoke on her fair neck.

I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow,

and Jacob will break the hard ground.

¹²Sow for yourselves righteousness

and reap the fruit of loving devotion;

break up your unplowed ground.

For it is time to seek the LORD

until He comes and sends righteousness

upon you like rain.

¹³You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice;

you have eaten the fruit of lies.

Because you have trusted in your own way

and in the multitude of your mighty men,

¹⁴the roar of battle will rise against your people,

so that all your fortresses will be demolished

as Shalman devastated Beth-arbel

in the day of battle,

when mothers were dashed to pieces

along with their children.

¹⁵Thus it will be done to you, O Bethel,

because of your great wickedness.

When the day dawns,

the king of Israel will be utterly cut off.

Out of Egypt I Called My Son

¹When Israel was a child, I loved him,

and out of Egypt I called My son.

²But the more I called Israel,

the farther they departed from Me.

They sacrificed to the Baals

and burned incense to carved images.

³It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,

taking them by the arms,

but they never realized

that it was I who healed them.

⁴I led them with cords of kindness,

with ropes of love;

I lifted the yoke from their necks

and bent down to feed them.

⁵Will they not return to the land of Egypt

and be ruled by Assyria

because they refused to repent?

⁶A sword will flash through their cities;

it will destroy the bars of their gates

and consume them in their own plans.

⁷My people are bent on turning from Me.

Though they call to the Most High,

He will by no means exalt them.

God’s Love for Israel

⁸How could I give you up, O Ephraim?

How could I surrender you, O Israel?

How could I make you like Admah?

How could I treat you like Zeboiim?

My heart is turned within Me;

My compassion is stirred!

⁹I will not execute the full fury of My anger;

I will not destroy Ephraim again.

For I am God and not man —

the Holy One among you —

and I will not come in wrath.

¹⁰They will walk after the LORD;

He will roar like a lion.

When He roars,

His children will come trembling from the west.

¹¹They will come trembling like birds from Egypt

and like doves from the land of Assyria.

Then I will settle them in their homes,

declares the LORD.

¹²Ephraim surrounds Me with lies,

the house of Israel with deceit;

but Judah still walks with God

and is faithful to the Holy One.

A Reproof of Ephraim, Judah, and Jacob

¹Ephraim feeds on the wind

and pursues the east wind all day long;

he multiplies lies and violence;

he makes a covenant with Assyria

and sends olive oil to Egypt.

²The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah.

He will punish Jacob according to his ways

and repay him according to his deeds.

³In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel,

and in his vigor he wrestled with God.

⁴Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed;

he wept and sought His favor;

he found Him at Bethel

and spoke with Him there —

⁵the LORD God of Hosts,

the LORD is His name of renown.

⁶But you must return to your God;

maintain love and justice,

and always wait on your God.

⁷A merchant loves to defraud

with dishonest scales in his hands.

⁸And Ephraim boasts: “How rich I have become!

I have found wealth for myself.

In all my labors, they can find in me

no iniquity that is sinful.”

⁹But I am the LORD your God

ever since the land of Egypt.

I will again make you dwell in tents,

as in the days of the appointed feast.

¹⁰I spoke through the prophets

and multiplied their visions;

I gave parables through the prophets.

¹¹Is there iniquity in Gilead?

They will surely come to nothing.

Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?

Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones

in the furrows of the field.

¹²Jacob fled to the land of Aram

and Israel worked for a wife —

for a wife he tended sheep.

¹³But by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt,

and by a prophet he was preserved.

¹⁴Ephraim has provoked bitter anger,

so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt upon him

and repay him for his contempt.