One Year Bible.

The Golden Calf

¹Now when the people saw that Moses was delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him!”

²So Aaron told them, “Take off the gold earrings that are on your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”

³Then all the people took off their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”

⁵When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the calf and proclaimed: “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”

⁶So the next day they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

⁷Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. ⁸How quickly they have turned aside from the way that I commanded them! They have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it. They have sacrificed to it and said, ‘These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’”

⁹The LORD also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people. ¹⁰Now leave Me alone, so that My anger may burn against them and consume them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

¹¹But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God, saying, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people, whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? ¹²Why should the Egyptians declare, ‘He brought them out with evil intent, to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce anger and relent from doing harm to Your people. ¹³Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised, and it shall be their inheritance forever.’”

¹⁴So the LORD relented from the calamity He had threatened to bring on His people.

¹⁵Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. ¹⁶The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

¹⁷When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “The sound of war is in the camp.”

¹⁸But Moses replied:

“It is neither the cry of victory nor the cry of defeat;

I hear the sound of singing!”

¹⁹As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain. ²⁰Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink it.

²¹“What did this people do to you,” Moses asked Aaron, “that you have led them into so great a sin?”

²²“Do not be enraged, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know that the people are intent on evil. ²³They told me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him!’

²⁴So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, let him take it off,’ and they gave it to me. And when I threw it into the fire, out came this calf!”

²⁵Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them run wild and become a laughingstock to their enemies. ²⁶So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.”

And all the Levites gathered around him.

²⁷He told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each of you men is to fasten his sword to his side, go back and forth through the camp from gate to gate, and slay his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”

²⁸The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people fell dead.

²⁹Afterward, Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for service to the LORD, since each man went against his son and his brother; so the LORD has bestowed a blessing on you this day.”

³⁰The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. Now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

³¹So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made gods of gold for themselves. ³²Yet now, if You would only forgive their sin.... But if not, please blot me out of the book that You have written.”

³³The LORD replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot out of My book. ³⁴Now go, lead the people to the place I described. Behold, My angel shall go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will punish them for their sin.”

³⁵And the LORD sent a plague on the people because of what they had done with the calf that Aaron had made.

Saul Persecutes the Church

¹And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen’s death.

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. ²God-fearing men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. ³But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

Philip in Samaria

⁴Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. ⁵Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them. ⁶The crowds all paid close attention to Philip’s message and to the signs they saw him perform. ⁷With loud shrieks, unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, and many of the paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸So there was great joy in that city.

Simon the Sorcerer

⁹Prior to that time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great, ¹⁰and all the people, from the least to the greatest, heeded his words and said, “This man is the divine power called the Great Power.” ¹¹They paid close attention to him because he had astounded them for a long time with his sorcery.

¹²But when they believed Philip as he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. ¹³Even Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip closely and was astounded by the great signs and miracles he observed.

¹⁴When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵On their arrival, they prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶For the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money. ¹⁹“Give me this power as well,” he said, “so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰But Peter replied, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! ²¹You have no part or share in our ministry, because your heart is not right before God. ²²Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart. ²³For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and captive to iniquity.”

²⁴Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me, so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

²⁵And after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many of the Samaritan villages.

Philip and the Ethiopian

²⁶Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” ²⁷So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸and on his return was sitting in his chariot reading Isaiah the prophet.

²⁹The Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that chariot and stay by it.”

³⁰So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

³¹“How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

³²The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,

and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,

so He did not open His mouth.

³³In His humiliation He was deprived of justice.

Who can recount His descendants?

For His life was removed from the earth.”

³⁴“Tell me,” said the eunuch, “who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”

³⁵Then Philip began with this very Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

³⁶As they traveled along the road and came to some water, the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is there to prevent me from being baptized?” ³⁸And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

³⁹When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰But Philip appeared at Azotus and traveled through that region, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Zephaniah Prophesies Judgment on Judah

¹This is the word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:

²“I will completely sweep away

everything from the face of the earth,”

declares the LORD.

³“I will sweep away man and beast;

I will sweep away the birds of the air,

and the fish of the sea,

and the idols with their wicked worshipers.

I will cut off mankind

from the face of the earth,”

declares the LORD.

⁴“I will stretch out My hand against Judah

and against all who dwell in Jerusalem.

I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal,

the names of the idolatrous and pagan priests —

⁵those who bow on the rooftops

to worship the host of heaven,

those who bow down and swear by the LORD

but also swear by Milcom,

⁶and those who turn back

from following the LORD,

neither seeking the LORD

nor inquiring of Him.”

The Day of the LORD

⁷Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD,

for the Day of the LORD is near.

Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice;

He has consecrated His guests.

⁸“On the Day of the LORD’s sacrifice

I will punish the princes,

the sons of the king,

and all who are dressed in foreign apparel.

⁹On that day I will punish

all who leap over the threshold,

who fill the house of their master

with violence and deceit.

¹⁰On that day,” declares the LORD,

“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,

a wail from the Second District,

and a loud crashing from the hills.

¹¹Wail, O dwellers of the Hollow,

for all your merchants will be silenced;

all who weigh out silver will be cut off.

¹²And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps

and punish the men settled in complacency,

who say to themselves,

‘The LORD will do nothing,

either good or bad.’

¹³Their wealth will be plundered

and their houses laid waste.

They will build houses but not inhabit them,

and plant vineyards but never drink their wine.

¹⁴The great Day of the LORD is near —

near and coming quickly.

Listen, the Day of the LORD!

Then the cry of the mighty will be bitter.

¹⁵That day will be

a day of wrath,

a day of trouble and distress,

a day of destruction and desolation,

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and blackness,

¹⁶a day of horn blast and battle cry

against the fortified cities,

and against the high corner towers.

¹⁷I will bring such distress on mankind

that they will walk like the blind,

because they have sinned against the LORD.

Their blood will be poured out like dust

and their flesh like dung.

¹⁸Neither their silver nor their gold

will be able to deliver them

on the Day of the LORD’s wrath.

The whole earth will be consumed

by the fire of His jealousy.”

For indeed, He will make a sudden end

of all who dwell on the earth.

A Call to Repentance

¹Gather yourselves, gather together,

O shameful nation,

²before the decree takes effect

and the day passes like chaff,

before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you,

before the Day of the LORD’s anger comes upon you.

³Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth

who carry out His justice.

Seek righteousness; seek humility.

Perhaps you will be sheltered

on the day of the LORD’s anger.

Judgment on the Philistines

⁴For Gaza will be abandoned,

and Ashkelon left in ruins.

Ashdod will be driven out at noon,

and Ekron will be uprooted.

⁵Woe to the dwellers of the seacoast,

O nation of the Cherethites!

The word of the LORD is against you,

O Canaan, land of the Philistines:

“I will destroy you,

and no one will be left.”

⁶So the seacoast will become a land of pastures,

with wells for shepherds and folds for sheep.

⁷The coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah;

there they will find pasture.

They will lie down in the evening

among the houses of Ashkelon,

for the LORD their God will attend to them

and restore their captives.

Judgment on Moab and Ammon

⁸“I have heard the reproach of Moab

and the insults of the Ammonites,

who have taunted My people

and threatened their borders.

⁹Therefore, as surely as I live,”

declares the LORD of Hosts,

the God of Israel,

“surely Moab will be like Sodom

and the Ammonites like Gomorrah—

a place of weeds and salt pits,

a perpetual wasteland.

The remnant of My people will plunder them;

the remainder of My nation will dispossess them.”

¹⁰This they shall have in return for their pride,

for taunting and mocking the people

of the LORD of Hosts.

¹¹The LORD will be terrifying to them

when He starves all the gods of the earth.

Then the nations of every shore

will bow in worship to Him,

each in its own place.

Judgment on Cush and Assyria

¹²“You too, O Cushites,

will be slain by My sword.”

¹³And He will stretch out His hand against the north

and destroy Assyria;

He will make Nineveh a desolation,

as dry as a desert.

¹⁴Herds will lie down in her midst,

creatures of every kind.

Both the desert owl and screech owl

will roost atop her pillars.

Their calls will sound from the window,

but desolation will lie on the threshold,

for He will expose the beams of cedar.

¹⁵This carefree city

that dwells securely,

that thinks to herself:

“I am it, and there is none besides me,”

what a ruin she has become,

a resting place for beasts.

Everyone who passes by her

hisses and shakes his fist.