One Year Bible.

The Fool Says There Is No God

¹For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.

The fool says in his heart,

“There is no God.”

They are corrupt; their ways are vile.

There is no one who does good.

²God looks down from heaven

upon the sons of men

to see if any understand,

if any seek God.

³All have turned away,

they have together become corrupt;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.

⁴Will the workers of iniquity never learn?

They devour my people like bread;

they refuse to call upon God.

⁵There they are, overwhelmed with dread,

where there was nothing to fear.

For God has scattered the bones

of those who besieged you.

You put them to shame,

for God has despised them.

⁶Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!

When God restores His captive people,

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!

Save Me by Your Name

¹For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. When the Ziphites went to Saul and said, “Is David not hiding among us?”

Save me, O God, by Your name,

and vindicate me by Your might!

²Hear my prayer, O God;

listen to the words of my mouth.

³For strangers rise up against me,

and ruthless men seek my life —

men with no regard for God.

Selah

⁴Surely God is my helper;

the Lord is the sustainer of my soul.

⁵He will reward my enemies with evil.

In Your faithfulness, destroy them.

⁶Freely I will sacrifice to You;

I will praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good.

⁷For He has delivered me from every trouble,

and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

Cast Your Burden upon the LORD

¹For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.

Listen to my prayer, O God,

and do not ignore my plea.

²Attend to me and answer me.

I am restless in my complaint,

and distraught ³at the voice of the enemy,

at the pressure of the wicked.

For they bring down disaster upon me

and resent me in their anger.

⁴My heart pounds within me,

and the terrors of death assail me.

⁵Fear and trembling grip me,

and horror has overwhelmed me.

⁶I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and find rest.

⁷How far away I would flee!

In the wilderness I would remain.

Selah

⁸I would hurry to my shelter,

far from this raging tempest.”

⁹O Lord, confuse and confound their speech,

for I see violence and strife in the city.

¹⁰Day and night they encircle the walls,

while malice and trouble lie within.

¹¹Destruction is within;

oppression and deceit never leave the streets.

¹²For it is not an enemy who insults me;

that I could endure.

It is not a foe who rises against me;

from him I could hide.

¹³But it is you, a man like myself,

my companion and close friend.

¹⁴We shared sweet fellowship together;

we walked with the crowd into the house of God.

¹⁵Let death seize them by surprise;

let them go down to Sheol alive,

for evil is with them in their homes.

¹⁶But I call to God,

and the LORD saves me.

¹⁷Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in distress,

and He hears my voice.

¹⁸He redeems my soul in peace

from the battle waged against me,

even though many oppose me.

¹⁹God will hear and humiliate them —

the One enthroned for the ages —

Selah

because they do not change

and they have no fear of God.

²⁰My companion attacks his friends;

he violates his covenant.

²¹His speech is smooth as butter,

but war is in his heart.

His words are softer than oil,

yet they are swords unsheathed.

²²Cast your burden upon the LORD

and He will sustain you;

He will never let the righteous be shaken.

²³But You, O God, will bring them down

to the Pit of destruction;

men of bloodshed and deceit

will not live out half their days.

But I will trust in You.

Be Merciful to Me, O God

¹For the choirmaster. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

Be merciful to me, O God,

for men are hounding me;

all day they press their attack.

²My enemies pursue me all day long,

for many proudly assail me.

³When I am afraid,

I put my trust in You.

⁴In God, whose word I praise —

in God I trust.

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

⁵All day long they twist my words;

all their thoughts are on my demise.

⁶They conspire, they lurk,

they watch my steps

while they wait to take my life.

⁷In spite of such sin, will they escape?

In Your anger, O God, cast down the nations.

⁸You have taken account of my wanderings.

Put my tears in Your bottle —

are they not in Your book?

⁹Then my enemies will retreat

on the day I cry for help.

By this I will know that God is on my side.

¹⁰In God, whose word I praise,

in the LORD, whose word I praise,

¹¹in God I trust; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

¹²Your vows are upon me, O God;

I will render thank offerings to You.

¹³For You have delivered my soul from death,

and my feet from stumbling,

that I may walk before God

in the light of life.

In You My Soul Takes Refuge

¹For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy,

for in You my soul takes refuge.

In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter

until the danger has passed.

²I cry out to God Most High,

to God who fulfills His purpose for me.

³He reaches down from heaven and saves me;

He rebukes those who trample me.

Selah

God sends forth

His loving devotion and His truth.

⁴My soul is among the lions;

I lie down with ravenous beasts—

with men whose teeth are spears and arrows,

whose tongues are sharp swords.

⁵Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

may Your glory cover all the earth.

⁶They spread a net for my feet;

my soul was despondent.

They dug a pit before me,

but they themselves have fallen into it!

Selah

⁷My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast.

I will sing and make music.

⁸Awake, my glory!

Awake, O harp and lyre!

I will awaken the dawn.

⁹I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations;

I will sing Your praises among the peoples.

¹⁰For Your loving devotion reaches to the heavens,

and Your faithfulness to the clouds.

¹¹Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

may Your glory cover all the earth.

God Judges the Earth

¹For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David.

Do you indeed speak justly, O rulers?

Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?

²No, in your hearts you devise injustice;

with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.

³The wicked are estranged from the womb;

the liars go astray from birth.

⁴Their venom is like the venom of a snake,

like a cobra that shuts its ears,

⁵refusing to hear the tune of the charmer

who skillfully weaves his spell.

⁶O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths;

O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions.

⁷May they vanish

like water that runs off;

when they draw the bow,

may their arrows be blunted.

⁸Like a slug that dissolves in its slime,

like a woman’s stillborn child,

may they never see the sun.

⁹Before your pots can feel the burning thorns—

whether green or dry—

He will sweep them away.

¹⁰The righteous will rejoice

when they see they are avenged;

they will wash their feet

in the blood of the wicked.

¹¹Then men will say,

“There is surely a reward for the righteous!

There is surely a God who judges the earth!”

Deliver Me from My Enemies

¹For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him.

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;

protect me from those who rise against me.

²Deliver me from workers of iniquity,

and save me from men of bloodshed.

³See how they lie in wait for me.

Fierce men conspire against me

for no transgression or sin of my own, O LORD.

⁴For no fault of my own,

they move swiftly to attack me.

Arise to help me, and take notice.

⁵O LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel,

rouse Yourself to punish all the nations;

show no mercy to the wicked traitors.

Selah

⁶They return in the evening, snarling like dogs

and prowling around the city.

⁷See what they spew from their mouths—

sharp words from their lips:

“For who can hear us?”

⁸But You, O LORD, laugh at them;

You scoff at all the nations.

⁹I will keep watch for You, O my strength,

because You, O God, are my fortress.

¹⁰My God of loving devotion will come to meet me;

God will let me stare down my foes.

¹¹Do not kill them,

or my people will forget.

Scatter them by Your power,

and bring them down,

O Lord, our shield.

¹²By the sins of their mouths

and the words of their lips,

let them be trapped in their pride,

in the curses and lies they utter.

¹³Consume them in wrath;

consume them till they are no more,

so it may be known to the ends of the earth

that God rules over Jacob.

Selah

¹⁴They return in the evening,

snarling like dogs

and prowling around the city.

¹⁵They scavenge for food,

and growl if they are not satisfied.

¹⁶But I will sing of Your strength

and proclaim Your loving devotion in the morning.

For You are my fortress,

my refuge in times of trouble.

¹⁷To You, O my strength, I sing praises,

for You, O God, are my fortress,

my God of loving devotion.

Victory with God

¹For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lily of the Covenant.” A Miktam of David for instruction. When he fought Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and struck down 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

You have rejected us, O God;

You have broken us;

You have been angry;

restore us!

²You have shaken the land

and torn it open.

Heal its fractures,

for it is quaking.

³You have shown Your people hardship;

we are staggered from the wine You made us drink.

⁴You have raised a banner for those who fear You,

that they may flee the bow.

Selah

⁵Respond and save us with Your right hand,

that Your beloved may be delivered.

⁶God has spoken from His sanctuary:

“I will triumph!

I will parcel out Shechem

and apportion the Valley of Succoth.

⁷Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;

Ephraim is My helmet, Judah is My scepter.

⁸Moab is My washbasin;

upon Edom I toss My sandal;

over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

⁹Who will bring me to the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

¹⁰Have You not rejected us, O God?

Will You no longer march out, O God, with our armies?

¹¹Give us aid against the enemy,

for the help of man is worthless.

¹²With God we will perform with valor,

and He will trample our enemies.

You Have Heard My Vows

¹For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. Of David.

Hear my cry, O God;

attend to my prayer.

²From the ends of the earth I call out to You

whenever my heart is faint.

Lead me to the rock

that is higher than I.

³For You have been my refuge,

a tower of strength against the enemy.

⁴Let me dwell in Your tent forever

and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.

Selah

⁵For You have heard my vows, O God;

You have given me the inheritance

reserved for those who fear Your name.

⁶Increase the days of the king’s life;

may his years span many generations.

⁷May he sit enthroned in God’s presence forever;

appoint Your loving devotion

and Your faithfulness to guard him.

⁸Then I will ever sing praise to Your name

and fulfill my vows day by day.

Our Eternal Dwelling

¹For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ²For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, ³because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴For while we are in this tent, we groan under our burdens, because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life. ⁵And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.

⁶Therefore we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. ⁷For we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹So we aspire to please Him, whether we are at home in this body or away from it. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.

Ambassadors for Christ

¹¹Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well. ¹²We are not commending ourselves to you again. Instead, we are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you can answer those who take pride in appearances rather than in the heart.

¹³If we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. ¹⁴For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died. ¹⁵And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again.

¹⁶So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!

¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

²⁰Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God. ²¹God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

The People Confess Their Sins

¹On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads. ²Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all the foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

³While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and they spent another quarter of the day in confession and worship of the LORD their God.

⁴And the Levites — Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani — stood on the raised platform and cried out in a loud voice to the LORD their God. ⁵Then the Levites— Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah— said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting:

Blessed be Your glorious name,

and may it be exalted

above all blessing and praise.

⁶You alone are the LORD.

You created the heavens,

the highest heavens with all their host,

the earth and all that is on it,

the seas and all that is in them.

You give life to all things,

and the host of heaven worships You.

⁷You are the LORD,

the God who chose Abram,

who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans

and gave him the name Abraham.

⁸You found his heart faithful before You,

and made a covenant with him

to give the land of the Canaanites and Hittites,

of the Amorites and Perizzites,

of the Jebusites and Girgashites—

to give it to his descendants.

You have kept Your promise,

because You are righteous.

⁹You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt;

You heard their cry at the Red Sea.

¹⁰You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,

all his officials, and all the people of his land,

for You knew they had acted with arrogance

against our fathers.

You made a name for Yourself

that endures to this day.

¹¹You divided the sea before them,

and they crossed through it on dry ground.

You hurled their pursuers into the depths

like a stone into raging waters.

¹²You led them with a pillar of cloud by day

and a pillar of fire by night,

to light for them the way

in which they should travel.

¹³You came down on Mount Sinai

and spoke with them from heaven.

You gave them just ordinances, true laws,

and good statutes and commandments.

¹⁴You revealed to them Your holy Sabbath

and gave them commandments and statutes and laws

through Your servant Moses.

¹⁵In their hunger You gave them bread from heaven;

in their thirst You brought them water from the rock.

You told them to go in and possess the land

that You had sworn to give them.

¹⁶But they and our fathers became arrogant and stiff-necked

and did not obey Your commandments.

¹⁷They refused to listen and failed to remember

the wonders You performed among them.

They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader

to return them to their bondage in Egypt.

But You are a forgiving God,

gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in loving devotion,

and You did not forsake them.

¹⁸Even when they cast for themselves

an image of a calf and said,

‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’

and when they committed terrible blasphemies,

¹⁹You in Your great compassion

did not forsake them in the wilderness.

By day the pillar of cloud never turned away

from guiding them on their path;

and by the night the pillar of fire

illuminated the way they should go.

²⁰You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them.

You did not withhold Your manna from their mouths,

and You gave them water for their thirst.

²¹For forty years You sustained them in the wilderness,

so that they lacked nothing.

Their clothes did not wear out

and their feet did not swell.

²²You gave them kingdoms and peoples

and allotted to them every corner of the land.

So they took the land of Sihon king of Heshbon

and of Og king of Bashan.

²³You multiplied their descendants

like the stars of heaven

and brought them to the land

You had told their fathers to enter and possess.

²⁴So their descendants went in and possessed the land;

You subdued before them the Canaanites dwelling in the land.

You delivered into their hands the kings and peoples of the land,

to do with them as they wished.

²⁵They captured fortified cities and fertile land

and took houses full of all goods,

wells already dug,

vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance.

So they ate and were filled;

they grew fat and delighted in Your great goodness.

²⁶But they were disobedient and rebelled against You;

they flung Your law behind their backs.

They killed Your prophets,

who had admonished them to return to You.

They committed terrible blasphemies.

²⁷So You delivered them into the hands

of enemies who oppressed them,

and in their time of distress they cried out to You.

From heaven You heard them,

and in Your great compassion You gave them deliverers

who saved them from the hands of their enemies.

²⁸But as soon as they had rest,

they again did evil in Your sight.

So You abandoned them to the hands of their enemies,

who had dominion over them.

When they cried out to You again,

You heard from heaven,

and You delivered them many times

in Your compassion.

²⁹You admonished them to turn back to Your law,

but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments.

They sinned against Your ordinances,

by which a man will live if he practices them.

They turned a stubborn shoulder;

they stiffened their necks and would not obey.

³⁰You were patient with them for many years,

and Your Spirit admonished them through Your prophets.

Yet they would not listen,

so You gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.

³¹But in Your great compassion,

You did not put an end to them;

nor did You forsake them,

for You are a gracious and compassionate God.

³²So now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God

who keeps His gracious covenant,

do not view lightly all the hardship

that has come upon us,

and upon our kings and leaders,

our priests and prophets,

our ancestors and all Your people,

from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.

³³You are just in all that has befallen us,

because You have acted faithfully,

while we have acted wickedly.

³⁴Our kings and leaders and priests and fathers

did not obey Your law

or listen to Your commandments

and warnings that You gave them.

³⁵For even while they were in their kingdom,

with the abundant goodness

that You had given them,

and in the spacious and fertile land

that You had set before them,

they would not serve You

or turn from their wicked ways.

³⁶So here we are today as slaves

in the land You gave our fathers to enjoy its fruit and goodness—

here we are as slaves!

³⁷Its abundant harvest goes to the kings

You have set over us because of our sins.

And they rule over our bodies and our livestock as they please.

We are in great distress.

³⁸In view of all this, we make a binding agreement, putting it in writing and sealing it with the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests.”

Signers of the Covenant

¹Now these were the ones who sealed the document:

Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah,

and also Zedekiah,

²Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,

³Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,

⁴Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,

⁵Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

⁶Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,

⁷Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

⁸Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah.

These were the priests.

⁹The Levites:

Jeshua son of Azaniah,

Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,

¹⁰and their associates: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

¹¹Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,

¹²Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

¹³Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.

¹⁴And the leaders of the people:

Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

¹⁵Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,

¹⁶Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,

¹⁷Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,

¹⁸Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,

¹⁹Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,

²⁰Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,

²¹Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,

²²Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,

²³Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,

²⁴Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,

²⁵Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,

²⁶Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,

²⁷Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.

The Vows of the Covenant

²⁸“The rest of the people— the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the people of the land to obey the Law of God— along with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand, ²⁹hereby join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath to follow the Law of God given through His servant Moses and to obey carefully all the commandments, ordinances, and statutes of the LORD our Lord.

³⁰We will not give our daughters in marriage to the people of the land, and we will not take their daughters for our sons.

³¹When the people of the land bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on a Sabbath or holy day. Every seventh year we will let the fields lie fallow and will cancel every debt.

³²We also place ourselves under the obligation to contribute a third of a shekel yearly for the service of the house of our God: ³³for the showbread, for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings, for the Sabbath offerings, for the New Moons and appointed feasts, for the holy offerings, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the duties of the house of our God.

³⁴We have cast lots among the priests, Levites, and people for the donation of wood by our families at the appointed times each year. They are to bring it to the house of our God to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the Law.

³⁵We will also bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree to the house of the LORD year by year. ³⁶And we will bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as it is written in the Law, and will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God.

³⁷Moreover, we will bring to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God the firstfruits of our dough, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees, and of our new wine and oil. A tenth of our produce belongs to the Levites, so that they shall receive tithes in all the towns where we labor. ³⁸A priest of Aaron’s line is to accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of these tithes to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God. ³⁹For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept and where the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers stay.

Thus we will not neglect the house of our God.”