The One Year Bible TLB (3 page)
Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
These are the proverbs of King Solomon of Israel, David’s son:
2
He wrote them to teach his people how to live—how to act in every circumstance,
3
for he wanted them to be understanding, just, and fair in everything they did.
4
“I want to make the simpleminded wise!” he said. “I want to warn young men about some problems they will face.
5-6
I want those already wise to become wiser and become leaders by exploring the depths of meaning in these nuggets of truth.”
January 2The serpent was the craftiest of all the creatures the Lord God had made. So the serpent came to the woman. “Really?” he asked.
“None
of the fruit in the garden? God says you mustn’t eat
any
of it?”
2-3
“Of course we may eat it,” the woman told him. “It’s only the fruit from the tree at the
center
of the garden that we are not to eat. God says we mustn’t eat it or even touch it, or we will die.”
4
“That’s a lie!” the serpent hissed. “You’ll not die!
5
God knows very well that the instant you eat it you will become like him, for your eyes will be opened—you will be able to distinguish good from evil!”
6
The woman was convinced. How lovely and fresh looking it was! And it would make her so wise! So she ate some of the fruit and gave some to her husband, and he ate it too.
7
And as they ate it, suddenly they became aware of their nakedness, and were embarrassed. So they strung fig leaves together to cover themselves around the hips.
8
That evening they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden; and they hid themselves among the trees.
9
The Lord God called to Adam, “Why are you hiding?”
*
10
And Adam replied, “I heard you coming and didn’t want you to see me naked. So I hid.”
11
“Who told you you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten fruit from the tree I warned you about?”
12
“Yes,” Adam admitted, “but it was the woman you gave me who brought me some, and I ate it.”
13
Then the Lord God asked the woman, “How could you do such a thing?”
“The serpent tricked me,” she replied.
14
So the Lord God said to the serpent, “This is your punishment: You are singled out from among all the domestic and wild animals of the whole earth—to be cursed. You shall grovel in the dust as long as you live, crawling along on your belly.
15
From now on you and the woman will be enemies, as will your offspring and hers. You will strike his heel, but he will crush your head.”
16
Then God said to the woman, “You shall bear children in intense pain and suffering; yet even so, you shall welcome your husband’s affections, and he shall be your master.”
17
And to Adam, God said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate the fruit when I told you not to, I have placed a curse upon the soil. All your life you will struggle to extract a living from it.
18
It will grow thorns and thistles for you, and you shall eat its grasses.
19
All your life you will sweat to master it, until your dying day. Then you will return to the ground from which you came. For you were made from the ground, and to the ground you will return.”
20
The man named his wife Eve (meaning “The life-giving one”),
*
for he said, “She shall become the mother of all mankind”;
21
and the Lord God clothed Adam and his wife with garments made from skins of animals.
22
Then the Lord said, “Now that the man has become as we are, knowing good from bad, what if he eats the fruit of the Tree of Life and lives forever?”
23
So the Lord God banished him forever from the Garden of Eden, and sent him out to farm the ground from which he had been taken.
24
Thus God expelled him, and placed mighty angels at the east of the Garden of Eden, with a flaming sword to guard the entrance to the Tree of Life.
4:
1
Then Adam had sexual intercourse with Eve his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to a son, Cain (meaning “I have created”). For, as she said, “With God’s help, I have created a man!”
2
Her next child was his brother, Abel.
Abel became a shepherd, while Cain was a farmer.
3
At harvest time Cain brought the Lord a gift of his farm produce,
4
and Abel brought the fatty cuts of meat from his best lambs, and presented them to the Lord. And the Lord accepted Abel’s offering,
5
but not Cain’s. This made Cain both dejected and very angry, and his face grew dark with fury.
6
“Why are you angry?” the Lord asked him. “Why is your face so dark with rage?
7
It can be bright with joy if you will do what you should! But if you refuse to obey, watch out. Sin is waiting to attack you, longing to destroy you. But you can conquer it!”
8
One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were together there, Cain attacked and killed his brother.
9
But afterwards the Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother? Where is Abel?”
“How should I know?” Cain retorted. “Am I supposed to keep track of him wherever he goes?”
10
But the Lord said, “Your brother’s blood calls to me from the ground. What have you done?
11
You are hereby banished from this ground which you have defiled with your brother’s blood.
12
No longer will it yield crops for you, even if you toil on it forever! From now on you will be a fugitive and a tramp upon the earth, wandering from place to place.”
13
Cain replied to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14
For you have banished me from my farm and from you, and made me a fugitive and a tramp; and everyone who sees me will try to kill me.”
15
The Lord replied, “They won’t kill you, for I will give seven times your punishment to anyone who does.” Then the Lord put an identifying mark on Cain as a warning not to kill him.
16
So Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
17
Then Cain’s wife conceived and presented him with a baby son named Enoch; so when Cain founded a city, he named it Enoch, after his son.
18
Enoch was the father of
*
Irad; Irad was the father of Mehujael; Mehujael was the father of Methusael; Methusael was the father of Lamech.
19
Lamech married two wives—Adah and Zillah.
20
To Adah was born a baby named Jabal. He became the first of the cattlemen and those living in tents.
21
His brother’s name was Jubal, the first musician—the inventor of the harp and flute.
*
22
To Lamech’s other wife, Zillah, was born Tubal-cain. He opened the first foundry
*
forging instruments of bronze and iron.
23
One day Lamech said to Adah and Zillah, “Listen to me, my wives. I have killed a youth who attacked and wounded me.
24
If anyone who kills Cain will be punished seven times, anyone taking revenge against me for killing that youth should be punished seventy-seven times!”
25
Later on Eve gave birth to another son and named him Seth (meaning “Granted”); for, as Eve put it, “God has granted me another son for the one Cain killed.”
26
When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. It was during his lifetime that men first began to call themselves “the Lord’s people.”
*
After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up and flee to Egypt with the baby and his mother,” the angel said, “and stay there until I tell you to return, for King Herod is going to try to kill the child.”
14
That same
*
night he left for Egypt with Mary and the baby,
15
and stayed there until King Herod’s death. This fulfilled the prophet’s prediction,
“I have called my Son from Egypt.”
*
16
Herod was furious when he learned that the astrologers had disobeyed him. Sending soldiers to Bethlehem, he ordered them to kill every baby boy two years old and under, both in the town and on the nearby farms, for the astrologers had told him the star first appeared to them two years before.
17
This brutal action of Herod’s fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah,
18
“Screams of anguish come from Ramah,
*
Weeping unrestrained;
Rachel weeping for her children,
Uncomforted—
For they are dead.”
19
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and told him,
20
“Get up and take the baby and his mother back to Israel, for those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”
21
So he returned immediately to Israel with Jesus and his mother.
22
But on the way he was frightened to learn that the new king was Herod’s son, Archelaus. Then, in another dream, he was warned not to go to Judea, so they went to Galilee instead
23
and lived in Nazareth. This fulfilled the prediction of the prophets concerning the Messiah,
“He shall be called a Nazarene.”
3:
1
While they were living in Nazareth,
*
John the Baptist began preaching out in the Judean wilderness. His constant theme was,
2
“Turn from your sins . . . turn to God . . . for the Kingdom of Heaven is coming soon.”
*
3
Isaiah the prophet had told about John’s ministry centuries before! He had written,
“I hear
*
a shout from the wilderness, ‘Prepare a road for the Lord—straighten out the path where he will walk.’”
4
John’s clothing was woven from camel’s hair and he wore a leather belt; his food was locusts and wild honey.
5
People from Jerusalem and from all over the Jordan Valley, and, in fact, from every section of Judea went out to the wilderness to hear him preach,
6
and when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.
What fools the nations are to rage
*
against the Lord! How strange that men should try to outwit God!
2
For a summit conference of the nations has been called to plot against the Lord and his Messiah, Christ the King.
*
3
“Come, let us break his chains,” they say, “and free ourselves from all this slavery to God.”
4
But God in heaven merely laughs! He is amused by all their puny plans.
5
And then in fierce fury he rebukes them and fills them with fear.
6
For the Lord declares,
*
“This is the King of my choice, and I have enthroned him in Jerusalem, my holy city.”
7
His chosen one replies,
*
“I will reveal the everlasting purposes of God, for the Lord has said to me, ‘You are my Son. This is your Coronation Day. Today I am giving you your glory.’”
8
“Only ask and I will give you all the nations of the world.
9
Rule them with an iron rod; smash them like clay pots!”
10
O kings and rulers of the earth, listen while there is time.
11
Serve the Lord with reverent fear; rejoice with trembling.
12
Fall down before his Son and kiss his feet
*
before his anger is roused and you perish. I am warning you—his wrath will soon begin. But oh, the joys of those who put their trust in him!
How does a man become wise? The first step is to trust and reverence the Lord!
Only fools refuse to be taught. Listen to your father and mother. What you learn from them will stand you in good stead; it will gain you many honors.
*
January 3Here is a list of some of the descendants of Adam
*
—the man who was like God from the day of his creation.
2
God created man and woman and blessed them, and called them Man from the start.
3-5
Adam:
Adam was 130 years old when his son Seth was born,
*
the very image of his father in every way. After Seth was born, Adam lived another 800 years, producing sons and daughters, and died at the age of 930.
6-8
Seth:
Seth was 105 years old when his son Enosh was born. Afterwards he lived another 807 years, producing sons and daughters, and died at the age of 912.
9-11
Enosh:
Enosh was ninety years old when his son Kenan was born. Afterwards he lived another 815 years, producing sons and daughters, and died at the age of 905.
12-14
Kenan:
Kenan was seventy years old when his son Mahalalel was born. Afterwards he lived another 840 years, producing sons and daughters, and died at the age of 910.
15-17
Mahalalel:
Mahalalel was sixty-five years old when his son Jared was born. Afterwards he lived 830 years, producing sons and daughters, and died at the age of 895.
18-20
Jared:
Jared was 162 years old when his son Enoch was born. Afterwards he lived another 800 years, producing sons and daughters, and died at the age of 962.
21-24
Enoch:
Enoch was sixty-five years old when his son Methuselah was born. Afterwards he lived another 300 years in fellowship with God, and produced sons and daughters; then, when he was 365, and in constant touch with God, he disappeared, for God took him!
25-27
Methuselah:
Methuselah was 187 years old when his son Lamech was born; afterwards he lived another 782 years, producing sons and daughters, and died at the age of 969.
28-31
Lamech:
Lamech was 182 years old when his son Noah was born. Lamech named him Noah (meaning “Relief”) because he said, “He will bring us relief from the hard work of farming this ground which God has cursed.” Afterwards Lamech lived 595 years, producing sons and daughters, and died at the age of 777.
32
Noah:
Noah was 500 years old and had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
6:
1-2
Now a population explosion took place upon the earth. It was at this time that beings from the spirit world
*
looked upon the beautiful earth women and took any they desired to be their wives.
3
Then Jehovah said, “My Spirit must not forever be disgraced in man, wholly evil as he is. I will give him 120 years to mend his ways.”
4
In those days, and even afterwards, when the evil beings from the spirit world were sexually involved with human women, their children became giants, of whom so many legends are told.
5
When the Lord God saw the extent of human wickedness, and that the trend and direction of men’s lives were only towards evil,
6
he was sorry he had made them. It broke his heart.
7
And he said, “I will blot out from the face of the earth all mankind that I created. Yes, and the animals too, and the reptiles and the birds. For I am sorry I made them.”
8
But Noah was a pleasure to the Lord. Here is the story of Noah:
9-10
He was the only truly righteous man living on the earth at that time. He tried always to conduct his affairs according to God’s will. And he had three sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11
Meanwhile, the crime rate was rising rapidly across the earth, and, as seen by God, the world was rotten to the core.
12-13
As God observed how bad it was, and saw that all mankind was vicious and depraved, he said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all mankind; for the earth is filled with crime because of man. Yes, I will destroy mankind from the earth.
14
Make a boat from resinous wood, sealing it with tar; and construct decks and stalls throughout the ship.
15
Make it 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.
16
Construct a skylight all the way around the ship, eighteen inches below the roof; and make three decks inside the boat—a bottom, middle, and upper deck—and put a door in the side.
17
“Look! I am going to cover the earth with a flood and destroy every living being—everything in which there is the breath of life. All will die.
18
But I promise to keep you safe in the ship, with your wife and your sons and their wives.
19-20
Bring a pair of every animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you, to keep them alive through the flood. Bring in a pair of each kind of bird and animal and reptile.
21
Store away in the boat all the food that they and you will need.”
22
And Noah did everything as God commanded him.
7:
1
Finally the day came when the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I consider you alone to be righteous.
2
Bring in the animals, too—a pair of each, except those kinds I have chosen for eating and for sacrifice: take seven pairs of each of them,
3
and seven pairs
*
of every kind of bird. Thus there will be every kind of life reproducing again after the flood has ended.
4
One week from today I will begin forty days and nights of rain; and all the animals and birds and reptiles I have made will die.”
5
So Noah did everything the Lord commanded him.
6
He was 600 years old when the flood came.
7
He boarded the boat with his wife and sons and their wives, to escape the flood.
8-9
With him were all the various kinds of animals—those for eating and sacrifice, and those that were not, and the birds and reptiles. They came into the boat in pairs, male and female, just as God commanded Noah.
10-12
One week later, when Noah was 600 years, two months, and seventeen days old, the rain came down in mighty torrents from the sky, and the subterranean waters burst forth upon the earth for forty days and nights.
13
But Noah had gone into the boat that very day with his wife and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives.
14-15
With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of animal—domestic and wild—and reptiles and birds of every sort.
16
Two by two they came, male and female, just as God had commanded. Then the Lord God
*
closed the door and shut them in.
17
For forty days the roaring floods prevailed, covering the ground and lifting the boat high above the earth.
18
As the water rose higher and higher above the ground, the boat floated safely upon it;
19
until finally the water covered all the high mountains under the whole heaven,
20
standing twenty-two feet and more above the highest peaks.
21
And all living things upon the earth perished—birds, domestic and wild animals, and reptiles and all mankind—
22
everything that breathed and lived upon dry land.
23
All existence on the earth was blotted out—man and animals alike, and reptiles and birds. God destroyed them all, leaving only Noah alive, and those with him in the boat.
24
And the water covered the earth 150 days.
But when he [John the Baptist] saw many Pharisees
*
and Sadducees coming to be baptized, he denounced them.
“You sons of snakes!” he warned. “Who said that you could escape the coming wrath of God?
8
Before being baptized, prove that you have turned from sin by doing worthy deeds.
9
Don’t try to get by as you are, thinking, ‘We are safe for we are Jews—descendants of Abraham.’ That proves nothing. God can change these stones here into Jews!
*
10
“And even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised to chop down every unproductive tree. They will be chopped and burned.
11
“With water
*
I baptize those who repent of their sins; but someone else is coming, far greater than I am, so great that I am not worthy to carry his shoes! He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
12
He will separate the chaff from the grain, burning the chaff with never-ending fire and storing away the grain.”
13
Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized there by John.
14
John didn’t want to do it.
“This isn’t proper,” he said. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you.”
15
But Jesus said,
“Please do it, for I must do all that is right.”
*
So then John baptized him.
16
After his baptism, as soon as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God coming down in the form of a dove.
17
And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am wonderfully pleased with him.”
4:
1
Then Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, to be tempted there by Satan.
2
For forty days and forty nights he ate nothing and became very hungry.
3
Then Satan tempted him to get food by changing stones into loaves of bread.
“It will prove you are the Son of God,” he said.
4
But Jesus told him,
“No! For the Scriptures tell us that bread won’t feed men’s souls: obedience to every word of God is what we need.”
5
Then Satan took him to Jerusalem to the roof of the Temple.
6
“Jump off,” he said, “and prove you are the Son of God; for the Scriptures declare, ‘God will send his angels to keep you from harm,’ . . . they will prevent you from smashing on the rocks below.”
7
Jesus retorted,
“It also says not to put the Lord your God to a foolish test!”
8
Next Satan took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the world and all their glory.
9
“I’ll give it all to you,” he said, “if you will only kneel and worship me.”
10
“Get out of here, Satan,”
Jesus told him.
“The Scriptures say, ‘Worship only the Lord God. Obey only him.’”
11
Then Satan went away, and angels came and cared for Jesus.
A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom
O Lord, so many are against me. So many seek to harm me. I have so many enemies.
2
So many say that God will never help me.
3
But Lord, you are my shield, my glory, and my only hope. You alone can lift my head, now bowed in shame.
*
4
I cried out to the Lord, and he heard me from his Temple in Jerusalem.
*
5
Then I lay down and slept in peace and woke up safely, for the Lord was watching over me.
6
And now, although ten thousand enemies surround me on every side, I am not afraid.
7
I will cry to him, “Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God!” And he will slap them in the face, insulting them and breaking off their teeth.
*
8
For salvation comes from God. What joys he gives to all his people.
If young toughs tell you, “Come and join us”—turn your back on them!
11
“We’ll hide and rob and kill,” they say.
12
“Good or bad, we’ll treat them all alike.
13
And the loot we’ll get! All kinds of stuff!
14
Come on, throw in your lot with us; we’ll split with you in equal shares.”
15
Don’t do it, son! Stay far from men like that,
16
for crime is their way of life, and murder is their specialty.
17
When a bird sees a trap being set, it stays away,
18
but not these men; they trap themselves! They lay a booby trap for their own lives.
19
Such is the fate of all who live by violence and murder.
*
They will die a violent death.