One Year Bible.

Land Division West of the Jordan

¹Now these are the portions that the Israelites inherited in the land of Canaan, as distributed by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of Israel. ²Their inheritance was assigned by lot for the nine and a half tribes, as the LORD had commanded through Moses. ³For Moses had given the inheritance east of the Jordan to the other two and a half tribes. But he granted no inheritance among them to the Levites.

⁴The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion of the land was given to the Levites, except for cities in which to live, along with pasturelands for their flocks and herds.

⁵So the Israelites did as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they divided the land.

Caleb Requests Hebron

⁶Then the sons of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me. ⁷I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back to him an honest report.

⁸Although my brothers who went with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear, I remained loyal to the LORD my God. ⁹On that day Moses swore to me, saying, ‘Surely the land on which you have set foot will be an inheritance to you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.’

¹⁰Now behold, as the LORD promised, He has kept me alive these forty-five years since He spoke this word to Moses, while Israel wandered in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old, ¹¹still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. As my strength was then, so it is now for war, for going out, and for coming in.

¹²Now therefore give me this hill country that the LORD promised me on that day, for you yourself heard then that the Anakim were there, with great and fortified cities. Perhaps with the LORD’s help I will drive them out, as the LORD has spoken.”

¹³Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. ¹⁴Therefore Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as an inheritance to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel. ¹⁵(Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba, after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.)

Then the land had rest from war.

Principles of Marriage

¹Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good to abstain from sexual relations. ²But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.

³The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife.

⁵Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control. ⁶I say this as a concession, not as a command. ⁷I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

⁸Now to the unmarried and widows I say this: It is good for them to remain unmarried, as I am. ⁹But if they cannot control themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

¹⁰To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. ¹¹But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

¹²To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If a brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³And if a woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. ¹⁴For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

¹⁵But if the unbeliever leaves, let him go. The believing brother or sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you to live in peace. ¹⁶How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

Live Your Calling

¹⁷Regardless, each one should lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is what I prescribe in all the churches. ¹⁸Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man still uncircumcised when called? He should not be circumcised. ¹⁹Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commandments is what counts.

²⁰Each one should remain in the situation he was in when he was called. ²¹Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you— but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity. ²²For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave.

²³You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. ²⁴Brothers, each one should remain in the situation he was in when God called him.

The Unmarried and Widowed

²⁵Now about virgins, I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. ²⁶Because of the present crisis, I think it is good for a man to remain as he is. ²⁷Are you committed to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you free of commitment? Do not look for a wife. ²⁸But if you do marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.

²⁹What I am saying, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; ³⁰those who weep, as if they did not; those who are joyful, as if they were not; those who make a purchase, as if they had nothing; ³¹and those who use the things of this world, as if not dependent on them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

³²I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the work of the Lord, how he can please the Lord. ³³But the married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how he can please his wife, ³⁴and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the work of the Lord, how she can be holy in both body and spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world, how she can please her husband.

³⁵I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but in order to promote proper decorum and undivided devotion to the Lord.

³⁶However, if someone thinks he is acting inappropriately toward his betrothed, and if she is beyond her youth and they ought to marry, let him do as he wishes; he is not sinning; they should get married. ³⁷But the man who is firmly established in his heart and under no constraint, with control over his will and resolve in his heart not to marry the virgin, he will do well.

³⁸So then, he who marries the virgin does well, but he who does not marry her does even better.

³⁹A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, as long as he belongs to the Lord. ⁴⁰In my judgment, however, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

A Call to Rebuild the Temple

¹In the second year of the reign of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, stating ²that this is what the LORD of Hosts says:

“These people say, ‘The time has not yet come

to rebuild the house of the LORD.’”

³Then the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet, saying:

⁴“Is it a time for you yourselves

to live in your paneled houses,

while this house lies in ruins?”

⁵Now this is what the LORD of Hosts says:

“Consider carefully your ways.

⁶You have planted much

but harvested little.

You eat but never have enough.

You drink but never have your fill.

You put on clothes but never get warm.

You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through.”

⁷This is what the LORD of Hosts says:

“Consider carefully your ways.

⁸Go up into the hills,

bring down lumber, and build the house,

so that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,

says the LORD.

⁹You expected much,

but behold, it amounted to little.

And what you brought home, I blew away.

Why? declares the LORD of Hosts.

Because My house still lies in ruins,

while each of you is busy

with his own house.

¹⁰Therefore, on account of you

the heavens have withheld their dew

and the earth has withheld its crops.

¹¹I have summoned a drought

on the fields and on the mountains,

on the grain, new wine, and oil,

and on whatever the ground yields,

on man and beast,

and on all the labor of your hands.”

The People Obey

¹²Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. So the people feared the LORD.

¹³Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, delivered the message of the LORD to the people:

“I am with you,”

declares the LORD.

¹⁴So the LORD stirred the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and began the work on the house of the LORD of Hosts, their God, ¹⁵on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.

The Coming Glory of God’s House

¹On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet, saying: ²“Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and also to the remnant of the people. Ask them, ³‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not appear to you like nothing in comparison?’

⁴But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,

declares the LORD.

Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak,

the high priest.

And be strong, all you people of the land,

declares the LORD.

Work! For I am with you,

declares the LORD of Hosts.

⁵This is the promise I made to you

when you came out of Egypt.

And My Spirit remains among you;

do not be afraid.”

⁶For this is what the LORD of Hosts says:

“Once more, in a little while,

I will shake the heavens and the earth,

the sea and the dry land.

⁷I will shake all the nations,

and they will come with all their treasures,

and I will fill this house with glory,

says the LORD of Hosts.

⁸The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,

declares the LORD of Hosts.

⁹The latter glory of this house

will be greater than the former,

says the LORD of Hosts.

And in this place I will provide peace,

declares the LORD of Hosts.”

Blessings for a Defiled People

¹⁰On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying, ¹¹“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Ask the priests for a ruling. ¹²If a man carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and it touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any other food, does that item become holy?’”

“No,” replied the priests.

¹³So Haggai asked, “If one who is defiled by contact with a corpse touches any of these, does it become defiled?”

“Yes, it becomes defiled,” the priests answered.

¹⁴Then Haggai replied, “So it is with this people and this nation before Me, declares the LORD, and so it is with every work of their hands; whatever they offer there is defiled.

¹⁵Now consider carefully from this day forward: Before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD, ¹⁶from that time, when one came expecting a heap of twenty ephahs of grain, there were but ten. When one came to the winepress to draw out fifty baths, there were but twenty. ¹⁷I struck you— all the work of your hands— with blight, mildew, and hail, but you did not turn to Me, declares the LORD.

¹⁸Consider carefully from this day forward — from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, the day the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid — consider carefully: ¹⁹Is there still seed in the barn? The vine, the fig, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yet yielded fruit. But from this day on, I will bless you.”

Zerubbabel the LORD’s Signet Ring

²⁰For the second time that day, the twenty-fourth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to Haggai, saying, ²¹“Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am about to shake the heavens and the earth:

²²I will overturn royal thrones

and destroy the power

of the kingdoms of the nations.

I will overturn chariots and their riders;

horses and their riders will fall,

each by the sword of his brother.

²³On that day,

declares the LORD of Hosts,

I will take you, My servant,

Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,

declares the LORD,

and I will make you like My signet ring,

for I have chosen you,

declares the LORD of Hosts.”