One Year Bible.

Micah’s Idolatry

¹Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim ²said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse— I have the silver here with me; I took it.”

Then his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD!”

³And when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I wholly dedicate the silver to the LORD for my son’s benefit, to make a graven image and a molten idol. Therefore I will now return it to you.”

⁴So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into a graven image and a molten idol. And they were placed in the house of Micah.

⁵Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordained one of his sons as his priest. ⁶In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

⁷And there was a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah who had been residing within the clan of Judah. ⁸This man left the city of Bethlehem in Judah to settle where he could find a place. And as he traveled, he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.

⁹“Where are you from?” Micah asked him.

“I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” he replied, “and I am on my way to settle wherever I can find a place.”

¹⁰“Stay with me,” Micah said to him, “and be my father and priest, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your provisions.”

So the Levite went in ¹¹and agreed to stay with him, and the young man became like a son to Micah.

¹²Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. ¹³Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”

The Danites Settle in Laish

¹In those days there was no king in Israel, and the tribe of the Danites was looking for territory to occupy. For up to that time they had not come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. ²So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them.

The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night. ³And while they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”

⁴“Micah has done this and that for me,” he replied, “and he has hired me to be his priest.”

⁵Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to determine whether we will have a successful journey.”

⁶And the priest told them, “Go in peace. The LORD is watching over your journey.”

⁷So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone.

⁸When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “What did you find?”

⁹They answered, “Come on, let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why would you fail to act? Do not hesitate to go there and take possession of the land! ¹⁰When you enter, you will come to an unsuspecting people and a spacious land, for God has delivered it into your hand. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking.”

¹¹So six hundred Danites departed from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war. ¹²They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. That is why the place west of Kiriath-jearim is called Mahaneh-dan to this day. ¹³And from there they traveled to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.

The Danites Take Micah’s Idols

¹⁴Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Did you know that one of these houses has an ephod, household gods, a graven image, and a molten idol? Now think about what you should do.”

¹⁵So they turned aside there and went to the home of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and greeted him.

¹⁶The six hundred Danites stood at the entrance of the gate, armed with their weapons of war. ¹⁷And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went inside and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, while the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred armed men.

¹⁸When they entered Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹“Be quiet,” they told him. “Put your hand over your mouth and come with us and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for the house of one person or a priest for a tribe and family in Israel?”

²⁰So the priest was glad and took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven image, and went with the people. ²¹Putting their small children, their livestock, and their possessions in front of them, they turned and departed.

²²After they were some distance from Micah’s house, the men in the houses near Micah’s house mobilized and overtook the Danites. ²³When they called out after them, the Danites turned to face them and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you that you have called out such a company?”

²⁴He replied, “You took the gods I had made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’”

²⁵The Danites said to him, “Do not raise your voice against us, or angry men will attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.”

²⁶So the Danites went on their way, and Micah turned to go back home, because he saw that they were too strong for him.

²⁷After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a quiet and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the city. ²⁸There was no one to deliver them, because the city was far from Sidon and had no alliance with anyone; it was in a valley near Beth-rehob.

And the Danites rebuilt the city and lived there. ²⁹They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel — though the city was formerly named Laish.

³⁰The Danites set up idols for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

³¹So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image, and it was there the whole time the house of God was in Shiloh.

Jesus before Pilate

¹Then the whole council rose and led Jesus away to Pilate. ²And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding payment of taxes to Caesar, and proclaiming Himself to be Christ, a King.”

³So Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

⁴Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

⁵But they kept insisting, “He stirs up the people all over Judea with His teaching. He began in Galilee and has come all the way here.”

Jesus before Herod

⁶When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean. ⁷And learning that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself was in Jerusalem at that time.

⁸When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased. He had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had heard about Him and was hoping to see Him perform a miracle. ⁹Herod questioned Jesus at great length, but He gave no answer.

¹⁰Meanwhile, the chief priests and scribes stood there, vehemently accusing Him. ¹¹And even Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked Him. Dressing Him in a fine robe, they sent Him back to Pilate.

¹²That day Herod and Pilate became friends; before this time they had been enemies.

The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

¹³Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, ¹⁴and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined Him here in your presence and found Him not guilty of your charges against Him. ¹⁵Neither has Herod, for he sent Him back to us. As you can see, He has done nothing deserving of death. ¹⁶Therefore I will punish Him and release Him.”

¹⁸But they all cried out in unison: “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” ¹⁹(Barabbas had been imprisoned for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)

²⁰Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate addressed them again, ²¹but they kept shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

²²A third time he said to them, “What evil has this man done? I have found in Him no offense worthy of death. So after I punish Him, I will release Him.”

²³But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices for Jesus to be crucified. And their clamor prevailed. ²⁴So Pilate sentenced that their demand be met. ²⁵As they had requested, he released the one imprisoned for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over to their will.

The Crucifixion

²⁶As the soldiers led Him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene on his way in from the country, and they put the cross on him to carry behind Jesus.

²⁷A great number of people followed Him, including women who kept mourning and wailing for Him. ²⁸But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹Look, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed!’ ³⁰At that time

‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”

and to the hills, “Cover us!”’

³¹For if men do these things while the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

³²Two others, who were criminals, were also led away to be executed with Jesus.

³³When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on His right and the other on His left.

³⁴Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His garments by casting lots.

³⁵The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”

³⁶The soldiers also mocked Him and came up to offer Him sour wine. ³⁷“If You are the King of the Jews,” they said, “save Yourself!”

³⁸Above Him was posted an inscription:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁹One of the criminals who hung there heaped abuse on Him. “Are You not the Christ?” he said. “Save Yourself and us!”

⁴⁰But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same judgment? ⁴¹We are punished justly, for we are receiving what our actions deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”

⁴³And Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁴It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁵The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.

⁴⁶Then Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.” And when He had said this, He breathed His last.

⁴⁷When the centurion saw what had happened, he gave glory to God, saying, “Surely this was a righteous man.” ⁴⁸And when all the people who had gathered for this spectacle saw what had happened, they returned home beating their breasts. ⁴⁹But all those who knew Jesus, including the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things.

The Burial of Jesus

⁵⁰Now there was a Council member named Joseph, a good and righteous man, ⁵¹who had not consented to their decision or action. He was from the Judean town of Arimathea and was waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵²He went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. ⁵³Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had yet been laid. ⁵⁴It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was beginning.

⁵⁵The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how His body was placed. ⁵⁶Then they returned to prepare spices and perfumes. And they rested on the Sabbath, according to the commandment.