One Year Bible.

Purification after Childbirth

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, ²“Say to the Israelites, ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be unclean for seven days, as she is during the days of her menstruation. ³And on the eighth day the flesh of the boy’s foreskin is to be circumcised.

⁴The woman shall continue in purification from her bleeding for thirty-three days. She must not touch anything sacred or go into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are complete.

⁵If, however, she gives birth to a daughter, the woman will be unclean for two weeks as she is during her menstruation. Then she must continue in purification from her bleeding for sixty-six days.

⁶When the days of her purification are complete, whether for a son or for a daughter, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. ⁷And the priest will present them before the LORD and make atonement for her; and she shall be ceremonially cleansed from her flow of blood. This is the law for a woman giving birth, whether to a male or to a female.

⁸But if she cannot afford a lamb, she shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. Then the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

¹Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where he found a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father. ²The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. ³Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, so he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

⁴As they went from town to town, they delivered the decisions handed down by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. ⁵So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

Paul’s Vision of the Macedonian

⁶After the Holy Spirit had prevented them from speaking the word in the province of Asia, they traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia. ⁷And when they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them. ⁸So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

⁹During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰As soon as Paul had seen the vision, we got ready to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

¹¹We sailed from Troas straight to Samothrace, and the following day on to Neapolis. ¹²From there we went to the Roman colony of Philippi, the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

¹³On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river, where it was customary to find a place of prayer. After sitting down, we spoke to the women who had gathered there.

¹⁴Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. ¹⁵And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Paul and Silas Imprisoned

¹⁶One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl with a spirit of divination, who earned a large income for her masters by fortune-telling. ¹⁷This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!”

¹⁸She continued this for many days. Eventually Paul grew so aggravated that he turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” And the spirit left her at that very moment.

¹⁹When the girl’s owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the marketplace. ²⁰They brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into turmoil ²¹by promoting customs that are unlawful for us Romans to adopt or practice.”

²²The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods. ²³And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely. ²⁴On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

The Conversion of the Jailer

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.

²⁷When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, presuming that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself! We are all here!”

²⁹Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³²Then Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house. ³³At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. And without delay, he and all his household were baptized. ³⁴Then he brought them into his home and set a meal before them. So he and all his household rejoiced that they had come to believe in God.

An Official Apology

³⁵When daylight came, the magistrates sent their officers with the order: “Release those men.”

³⁶The jailer informed Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders to release you. Now you may go on your way in peace.”

³⁷But Paul said to the officers, “They beat us publicly without a trial and threw us into prison, even though we are Roman citizens. And now do they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! Let them come themselves and escort us out!”

³⁸So the officers relayed this message to the magistrates, who were alarmed to hear that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. ³⁹They came to appease them and led them out, requesting that they leave the city. ⁴⁰After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house to see the brothers and encourage them. Then they left the city.

Babylon Controls Jehoiakim

¹During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded. So Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, until he turned and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.

²And the LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim in order to destroy Judah, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servants the prophets. ³Surely this happened to Judah at the LORD’s command, to remove them from His presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all that he had done, ⁴and also for the innocent blood he had shed. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was unwilling to forgive.

⁵As for the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

Jehoiachin Reigns in Judah

⁶And Jehoiakim rested with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin reigned in his place.

⁷Now the king of Egypt did not march out of his land again, because the king of Babylon had taken all his territory, from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

⁸Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. ⁹And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his father had done.

The Captivity of Jerusalem

¹⁰At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. ¹¹And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it. ¹²Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials all surrendered to the king of Babylon.

So in the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon took him captive. ¹³As the LORD had declared, Nebuchadnezzar also carried off all the treasures from the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD. ¹⁴He carried into exile all Jerusalem — all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths — ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.

¹⁵Nebuchadnezzar carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, as well as the king’s mother, his wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land. He took them into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶The king of Babylon also brought into exile to Babylon all seven thousand men of valor and a thousand craftsmen and metalsmiths— all strong and fit for battle.

¹⁷Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah

¹⁸Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.

¹⁹And Zedekiah did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence.

And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon.

A Warning to Judah’s Kings

¹This is what the LORD says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there, ²saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David— you and your officials and your people who enter these gates. ³This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.

⁴For if you will indeed carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses — they and their officials and their people. ⁵But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that this house will become a pile of rubble.’”

A Warning about the Palace

⁶For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah:

“You are like Gilead to Me,

like the summit of Lebanon;

but I will surely turn you into a desert,

like cities that are uninhabited.

⁷I will appoint destroyers against you,

each man with his weapons,

and they will cut down the choicest of your cedars

and throw them into the fire.

⁸And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’

⁹Then people will reply, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’”

A Warning about Shallum

¹⁰Do not weep for him who is dead;

do not mourn his loss.

Weep bitterly for him who is exiled,

for he will never return

to see his native land.

¹¹For this is what the LORD says concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah but has gone forth from this place: “He will never return, ¹²but he will die in the place to which he was exiled; he will never see this land again.”

A Warning about Jehoiakim

¹³“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,

and his upper rooms without justice,

who makes his countrymen serve without pay,

and fails to pay their wages,

¹⁴who says, ‘I will build myself a great palace,

with spacious upper rooms.’

So he cuts windows in it,

panels it with cedar,

and paints it with vermilion.

¹⁵Does it make you a king to excel in cedar?

Did not your father have food and drink?

He administered justice and righteousness,

and so it went well with him.

¹⁶He took up the cause of the poor and needy,

and so it went well with him.

Is this not what it means to know Me?”

declares the LORD.

¹⁷“But your eyes and heart are set on nothing

except your own dishonest gain,

on shedding innocent blood,

on practicing extortion and oppression.”

¹⁸Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:

“They will not mourn for him:

‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’

They will not mourn for him:

‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’

¹⁹He will be buried like a donkey,

dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.

²⁰Go up to Lebanon and cry out;

raise your voice in Bashan;

cry out from Abarim,

for all your lovers have been crushed.

²¹I warned you when you were secure.

You said, ‘I will not listen.’

This has been your way from youth,

that you have not obeyed My voice.

²²The wind will drive away all your shepherds,

and your lovers will go into captivity.

Then you will be ashamed and humiliated

because of all your wickedness.

²³O inhabitant of Lebanon,

nestled in the cedars,

how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you,

agony like a woman in labor.”

A Warning to Coniah

²⁴“As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “evenif you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off. ²⁵In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread, who want to take your life — to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Chaldeans. ²⁶I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another land, where neither of you were born — and there you both will die. ²⁷You will never return to the land for which you long.”

²⁸Is this man Coniah a despised and shattered pot,

a jar that no one wants?

Why are he and his descendants hurled out

and cast into a land they do not know?

²⁹O land, land, land,

hear the word of the LORD!

³⁰This is what the LORD says:

“Enroll this man as childless,

a man who will not prosper in his lifetime.

None of his descendants will prosper

to sit on the throne of David

or to rule again in Judah.”