One Year Bible.

The Place of Sacrifice

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, ²“Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them this is what the LORD has commanded: ³‘Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat in the camp or outside of it ⁴instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD before His tabernacle— that man shall incur bloodguilt. He has shed blood and must be cut off from among his people.

⁵For this reason the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they have been offering in the open fields. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and offer them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD. ⁶The priest will then splatter the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

⁷They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons to which they have prostituted themselves. This will be a permanent statute for them for the generations to come.’

⁸Tell them that if anyone from the house of Israel or any foreigner living among them offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice ⁹but does not bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the LORD, that man must be cut off from his people.

Laws against Eating Blood

¹⁰If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people. ¹¹For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. ¹²Therefore I say to the Israelites, ‘None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner living among you eat blood.’

¹³And if any Israelite or foreigner living among them hunts down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten, he must drain its blood and cover it with dirt. ¹⁴For the life of all flesh is its blood. Therefore I have told the Israelites, ‘You must not eat the blood of any living thing, because the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it must be cut off.’

¹⁵And any person, whether native or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean. ¹⁶But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, then he shall bear his iniquity.”

Paul Ministers in Corinth

¹After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. ²There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them, ³and he stayed and worked with them because they were tentmakers by trade, just as he was.

⁴Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike. ⁵And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. ⁶But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

⁷So Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titus Justus, a worshiper of God. ⁸Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his whole household believed in the Lord. And many of the Corinthians who heard the message believed and were baptized.

⁹One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent. ¹⁰For I am with you and no one will lay a hand on you, because I have many people in this city.” ¹¹So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching the word of God among the Corinthians.

Paul before Gallio

¹²While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews coordinated an attack on Paul and brought him before the judgment seat. ¹³“This man is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law,” they said.

¹⁴But just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio told the Jews, “If this matter involved a wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to hear your complaint. ¹⁵But since it is a dispute about words and names and your own law, settle it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.” ¹⁶And he drove them away from the judgment seat.

¹⁷At this, the crowd seized Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the judgment seat. But none of this was of concern to Gallio.

Paul Returns to Antioch

¹⁸Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.

¹⁹When they reached Ephesus, Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue there and reasoned with the Jews. ²⁰When they asked him to stay for a while longer, he declined. ²¹But as he left, he said, “I will come back to you if God is willing.” And he set sail from Ephesus.

²²When Paul had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church at Jerusalem. Then he went down to Antioch.

Paul’s Third Missionary Journey Begins

²³After Paul had spent some time in Antioch, he traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

²⁴Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures. ²⁵He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was fervent in spirit. He spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

²⁷When Apollos resolved to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On his arrival, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. ²⁸For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

A Warning to the Cities of Judah

¹At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the LORD: ²“This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the house of the LORD and speak all the words I have commanded you to speak to all the cities of Judah who come to worship there. Do not omit a word. ³Perhaps they will listen and turn— each from his evil way of life— so that I may relent of the disaster I am planning to bring upon them because of the evil of their deeds.

⁴And you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘If you do not listen to Me and walk in My law, which I have set before you, ⁵and if you do not listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have sent you again and again even though you did not listen, ⁶then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.’”

Jeremiah Threatened with Death

⁷Now the priests and prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD, ⁸and as soon as he had finished telling all the people everything the LORD had commanded him to say, the priests and prophets and all the people seized him, shouting, “You must surely die! ⁹How dare you prophesy in the name of the LORD that this house will become like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted!”

And all the people assembled against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.

¹⁰When the officials of Judah heard these things, they went up from the king’s palace to the house of the LORD and sat there at the entrance of the New Gate.

¹¹Then the priests and prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man is worthy of death, for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears!”

¹²But Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people, “The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. ¹³So now, correct your ways and deeds, and obey the voice of the LORD your God, so that He might relent of the disaster He has pronounced against you. ¹⁴As for me, here I am in your hands; do to me what you think is good and right. ¹⁵But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves, upon this city, and upon its residents; for truly the LORD has sent me to speak all these words in your hearing.”

Jeremiah Spared from Death

¹⁶Then the officials and all the people told the priests and prophets, “This man is not worthy of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God!”

¹⁷Some of the elders of the land stood up and said to the whole assembly of the people, ¹⁸“Micah the Moreshite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah and told all the people of Judah that this is what the LORD of Hosts says:

‘Zion will be plowed like a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,

and the temple mount a wooded ridge.’

¹⁹Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did Hezekiah not fear the LORD and seek His favor, and did not the LORD relent of the disaster He had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great harm on ourselves!”

The Prophet Uriah

²⁰Now there was another man prophesying in the name of the LORD, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land the same things that Jeremiah did. ²¹King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and officials heard his words, and the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah found out about it, he fled in fear and went to Egypt.

²²Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan son of Achbor along with some other men. ²³They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him put to the sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.

²⁴Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

The Obedience of the Rechabites

¹This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: ²“Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them to one of the chambers of the house of the LORD to offer them a drink of wine.”

³So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons— the entire house of the Rechabites— ⁴and I brought them into the house of the LORD, to a chamber occupied by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. This room was near the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper.

⁵Then I set pitchers full of wine and some cups before the men of the house of the Rechabites, and I said to them, “Drink some wine.”

⁶“We do not drink wine,” they replied, “for our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us, ‘Neither you nor your descendants are ever to drink wine. ⁷Nor are you ever to build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Instead, you must live in tents all your lives, so that you may live a long time in the land where you wander.’

⁸And we have obeyed the voice of our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab in all he commanded us. So we have not drunk wine all our lives— neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters. ⁹Nor have we built houses in which to live, and we have not owned any vineyards or fields or crops. ¹⁰But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done exactly as our forefather Jonadab commanded us.

¹¹So when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched into the land, we said: ‘Come, let us go into Jerusalem to escape the armies of the Chaldeans and the Arameans.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”

Judah Rebuked

¹²Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: ¹³“This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem: ‘Will you not accept discipline and obey My words?’ declares the LORD.

¹⁴The words of Jonadab son of Rechab have been carried out. He commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk it to this very day because they have obeyed the command of their forefather. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you have not obeyed Me!

¹⁵Again and again I have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: ‘Turn now, each of you, from your wicked ways, and correct your actions. Do not go after other gods to serve them. Live in the land that I have given to you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me. ¹⁶Yes, the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not listened to Me.

¹⁷Therefore this is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will bring to Judah and to all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them but they have not answered.’”

¹⁸Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites: “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have kept all his commandments and have done all that he charged you to do, ¹⁹this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to stand before Me.’”

The Resurrection

¹Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ²So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she said, “and we do not know where they have put Him!”

³Then Peter and the other disciple set out for the tomb. ⁴The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵He bent down and looked in at the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.

⁶Simon Peter arrived just after him. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. ⁷The cloth that had been around Jesus’ head was rolled up, lying separate from the linen cloths. ⁸Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in. And he saw and believed. ⁹For they still did not understand from the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹⁰Then the disciples returned to their homes. ¹¹But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent down to look into the tomb, ¹²and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and the other at the feet.

¹³“Woman, why are you weeping?” they asked.

“Because they have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I do not know where they have put Him.”

¹⁴When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not recognize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵“Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus asked. “Whom are you seeking?”

Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.”

¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” ( which means “Teacher” ).

¹⁷“Do not cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and tell My brothers, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”

¹⁸Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what He had said to her.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

¹⁹It was the first day of the week, and that very evening, while the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you!” He said to them. ²⁰After He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side.

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

²¹Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.” ²²When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas

²⁴Now Thomas called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands, and put my finger where the nails have been, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe.”

²⁶Eight days later, His disciples were once again inside with the doors locked, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

²⁷Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of John’s Book

³⁰Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.