One Year Bible.

Taste and See That the LORD Is Good

¹Of David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, so that the king drove him away.

I will bless the LORD at all times;

His praise will always be on my lips.

²My soul boasts in the LORD;

let the oppressed hear and rejoice.

³Magnify the LORD with me;

let us exalt His name together.

⁴I sought the LORD, and He answered me;

He delivered me from all my fears.

⁵Those who look to Him are radiant with joy;

their faces shall never be ashamed.

⁶This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him;

He saved him from all his troubles.

⁷The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,

and he delivers them.

⁸Taste and see that the LORD is good;

blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

⁹Fear the LORD, you His saints,

for those who fear Him lack nothing.

¹⁰Young lions go lacking and hungry,

but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

¹¹Come, children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

¹²Who is the man who delights in life,

who desires to see good days?

¹³Keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from deceitful speech.

¹⁴Turn away from evil and do good;

seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,

and His ears are inclined to their cry.

¹⁶But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,

to wipe out all memory of them from the earth.

¹⁷The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears;

He delivers them from all their troubles.

¹⁸The LORD is near to the brokenhearted;

He saves the contrite in spirit.

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

but the LORD delivers him from them all.

²⁰He protects all his bones;

not one of them will be broken.

²¹Evil will slay the wicked,

and the haters of the righteous will be condemned.

²²The LORD redeems His servants,

and none who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

The Sermon on the Mount

¹When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to Him, ²and He began to teach them, saying:

The Beatitudes

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

⁵Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

⁷Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

⁸Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

⁹Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.

¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

Salt and Light

¹³You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

¹⁴You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

The Fulfillment of the Law

¹⁷Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. ¹⁸For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

¹⁹So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Anger and Reconciliation

²¹You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder’ and ‘Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²²But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.

²³So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

²⁵Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. ²⁶Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Adultery

²⁷You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to depart into hell.

Divorce

³¹It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³²But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths and Vows

³³Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ ³⁴But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. ³⁷Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.

Love Your Enemies

³⁸You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’ ³⁹But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also; ⁴⁰if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well; ⁴¹and if someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴²Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same?

⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.[’’]

Job Prepares for Death

¹“My spirit is broken; my days are extinguished;

the grave awaits me.

²Surely mockers surround me,

and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion.

³Give me, I pray, the pledge You demand.

Who else will be my guarantor?

⁴You have closed their minds to understanding;

therefore You will not exalt them.

⁵If a man denounces his friends for a price,

the eyes of his children will fail.

⁶He has made me a byword among the people,

a man in whose face they spit.

⁷My eyes have grown dim with grief,

and my whole body is but a shadow.

⁸The upright are appalled at this,

and the innocent are stirred against the godless.

⁹Yet a righteous one holds to his way,

and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

¹⁰But come back and try again, all of you.

For I will not find a wise man among you.

¹¹My days have passed; my plans are broken off —

even the desires of my heart.

¹²They have turned night into day,

making light seem near in the face of darkness.

¹³If I look for Sheol as my home,

if I spread out my bed in darkness,

¹⁴and say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’

and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’

¹⁵where then is my hope?

Who can see any hope for me?

¹⁶Will it go down to the gates of Sheol?

Will we go down together into the dust?”

Tertullus Prosecutes Paul

¹Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, who presented to the governor their case against Paul.

²When Paul had been called in, Tertullus opened the prosecution: “Because of you, we have enjoyed a lasting peace, and your foresight has brought improvements to this nation. ³In every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with all gratitude. ⁴But in order not to delay you any further, I beg your indulgence to hear us briefly.

⁵We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, ⁶and he even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. ⁸By examining him yourself, you will be able to learn the truth about all our charges against him.”

⁹The Jews concurred, asserting that these charges were true.

Paul’s Defense to Felix

¹⁰When the governor motioned for Paul to speak, he began his response: “Knowing that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I gladly make my defense. ¹¹You can verify for yourself that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. ¹²Yet my accusers did not find me debating with anyone in the temple or riling up a crowd in the synagogues or in the city. ¹³Nor can they prove to you any of their charges against me.

¹⁴I do confess to you, however, that I worship the God of our fathers according to the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, ¹⁵and I have the same hope in God that they themselves cherish, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. ¹⁶In this hope, I strive always to maintain a clear conscience before God and man.

¹⁷After several years, then, I returned to Jerusalem to bring alms to my people and to present offerings. ¹⁸At the time they found me in the temple, I was ceremonially clean and was not inciting a crowd or an uproar. But there are some Jews from the province of Asia ¹⁹who ought to appear before you and bring charges, if they have anything against me. ²⁰Otherwise, let these men state for themselves any crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin, ²¹unless it was this one thing I called out as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’”

The Verdict Postponed

²²Then Felix, who was well informed about the Way, adjourned the hearing and said, “When Lysias the commander comes, I will decide your case.” ²³He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard, but to allow him some freedom and permit his friends to minister to his needs.

²⁴After several days, Felix returned with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵As Paul expounded on righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “You may go for now. When I find the time, I will call for you.” ²⁶At the same time, he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe. So he sent for Paul frequently and talked with him.

²⁷After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.