The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday August 16, 2020 (NIV)

New People Move into Jerusalem

11 The leaders of Israel ·lived [settled] in Jerusalem. The rest of the people ·threw [cast] lots to choose one person out of every ten to come and live in Jerusalem, the holy city. The other nine could stay in their own cities. ² The people ·blessed [praised; commended] those who volunteered to live in Jerusalem [^Cat this point in the rebuilding, Jerusalem was dangerous and perhaps uncomfortable].

³ These are the ·area [provincial] ·leaders [officials] who lived in Jerusalem. (·Some [Other; Most] people lived on their own ·land [property] in the cities of Judah. These included Israelites, priests, Levites, Temple servants, and ·descendants [sons] of Solomon’s servants. ⁴ Others from the ·families [sons] of Judah and Benjamin lived in Jerusalem.)

These are the ·descendants [sons] of Judah who ·moved into [settled in] Jerusalem. There was Athaiah son of Uzziah. (Uzziah was the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah. Amariah was the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel. Mahalalel was a ·descendant [son] of Perez.) ⁵ There was also Maaseiah son of Baruch. (Baruch was the son of Col-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah. Hazaiah was the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib. Joiarib was the son of Zechariah, a ·descendant [son] of Shelah.) ⁶ All the ·descendants [sons] of Perez who ·lived [settled] in Jerusalem totaled 468 men. They were ·soldiers [capable/outstanding/exceptional men].

⁷ These are ·descendants [sons] of Benjamin who ·moved into [settled in] Jerusalem. There was Sallu son of Meshullam. (Meshullam was the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah. Pedaiah was the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah. Maaseiah was the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah.) ⁸ ·Following him [or His brothers] were Gabbai and Sallai, for a total of 928 men. ⁹ Joel son of Zicri was ·appointed over them [their chief/supervisor], and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in ·charge [command] of the ·new area of the city [^Lcity].

¹⁰ These are the priests who moved into Jerusalem. There was Jedaiah son of Joiarib, Jakin, ¹¹ and Seraiah son of Hilkiah, the ·supervisor [leader] in the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of God. (Hilkiah was the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok. Zadok was the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub.) ¹² And there were ·others [colleagues; ^Lbrothers] with them who ·did [performed] the work for the ·Temple [^Lhouse]. All together there were 822 men. Also there was Adaiah son of Jeroham. (Jeroham was the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi. Amzi was the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur. Pashhur was the son of Malkijah.) ¹³ And there were family heads with him. All together there were 242 men. Also there was Amashsai son of Azarel. (Azarel was the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth. Meshillemoth was the son of Immer.) ¹⁴ And there were ·brave [capable; outstanding; exceptional] men with Amashsai. All together there were 128 men. Zabdiel son of Haggedolim was ·appointed over them [their chief/supervisor].

¹⁵ These are the Levites who moved into Jerusalem. There was Shemaiah son of Hasshub. (Hasshub was the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah. Hashabiah was the son of Bunni.) ¹⁶ And there were Shabbethai and Jozabad, two of the leaders of the Levites who were in charge of the work outside the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of God. ¹⁷ There was Mattaniah son of Mica. (Mica was the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph.) Mattaniah was the ·director who led the people [leader] in thanksgiving and prayer. There was Bakbukiah, who was second in charge over his ·fellow Levites [colleagues; ^Lbrothers]. And there was Abda son of Shammua. (Shammua was the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.) ¹⁸ All together 284 Levites lived in the holy city.

¹⁹ The gatekeepers who moved into Jerusalem were Akkub, Talmon, and others with them. There was a total of 172 men who ·guarded [kept watch at] the city gates.

²⁰ The other Israelites, priests, and Levites lived on their own ·land [property] in all the cities of Judah.

²¹ The Temple servants lived on the hill of Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa ·were in charge of [supervised] them.

²² Uzzi son of Bani was ·appointed over [chief officer/supervisor of] the Levites in Jerusalem. (Bani was the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah. Mattaniah was the son of Mica.) Uzzi was one of Asaph’s ·descendants [sons], who were the singers responsible for the service of the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of God. ²³ The singers were under the king’s ·orders [commandment], which regulated them day by day.

²⁴ Pethahiah son of Meshezabel was the king’s ·spokesman [representative; adviser] in all matters concerning the people. (Meshezabel was a descendant of Zerah, the son of Judah.)

²⁵ Some of the people of Judah lived in ·villages [settlements] with their surrounding fields. They lived in Kiriath Arba and its ·surroundings [towns], in Dibon and its ·surroundings [towns], in Jekabzeel and its ·surroundings [settlements], ²⁶ in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth Pelet, ²⁷ Hazar Shual, Beersheba and its ·surroundings [towns], ²⁸ in Ziklag and Meconah and its ·surroundings [towns], ²⁹ in En Rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, ³⁰ Zanoah, Adullam and their ·villages [settlements], in Lachish and the fields around it, and in Azekah and its ·surroundings [towns]. So they ·settled [lived; ^Lcamped] from Beersheba all the way to the Valley of Hinnom.

³¹ The ·descendants [sons] of the Benjaminites from Geba lived in Micmash, Aija, Bethel and its ·surroundings [towns], ³² in Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, ³³ Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ³⁴ Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ³⁵ Lod, Ono, and in the ·Valley of the Craftsmen [Ge-harashim].

³⁶ Some groups of the Levites from Judah settled in the land of Benjamin.

Priests and Levites

12 These are the priests and Levites who ·returned [^Lwent up] with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua [Ezra 1—2]. There were Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, ² Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, ³ Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, ⁴ Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah, ⁵ Mijamin, Moadiah, Bilgah, ⁶ Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, ⁷ Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. They were the leaders of the priests and their ·relatives [colleagues; kinsmen; ^Lbrothers] in the days of Jeshua.

⁸ The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah. Mattaniah and his ·relatives [colleagues; kinsmen; ^Lbrothers] were in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. ⁹ Bakbukiah and Unni, their ·relatives [colleagues; kinsmen; ^Lbrothers], stood ·across from [opposite; ^Las an antiphonal choir; v. 24] them in the services.

¹⁰ Jeshua was the father of Joiakim. Joiakim was the father of Eliashib. Eliashib was the father of Joiada. ¹¹ Joiada was the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan was the father of Jaddua.

¹² In the days of Joiakim, these priests were the ·leaders [heads] of the families of priests: Meraiah, from Seraiah’s family; Hananiah, from Jeremiah’s family; ¹³ Meshullam, from Ezra’s family; Jehohanan, from Amariah’s family; ¹⁴ Jonathan, from Malluch’s family; Joseph, from Shecaniah’s family; ¹⁵ Adna, from Harim’s family; Helkai, from Meremoth’s family; ¹⁶ Zechariah, from Iddo’s family; Meshullam, from Ginnethon’s family; ¹⁷ Zicri, from Abijah’s family; Piltai, from Miniamin’s and Moadiah’s families; ¹⁸ Shammua, from Bilgah’s family; Jehonathan, from Shemaiah’s family; ¹⁹ Mattenai, from Joiarib’s family; Uzzi, from Jedaiah’s family; ²⁰ Kallai, from Sallu’s family; Eber, from Amok’s family; ²¹ Hashabiah, from Hilkiah’s family; and Nethanel, from Jedaiah’s family.

²² The ·leaders [heads] of the families of the Levites and the priests were written down in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, while Darius the Persian was king. ²³ The family ·leaders [heads] among the Levites were written down in the ·history book [Book/Scroll of the Chronicles/Annals/History] up to the time of Johanan son of Eliashib. ²⁴ The ·leaders [heads] of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua son of Kadmiel, and their ·relatives [colleagues; kinsmen; ^Lbrothers]. Their ·relatives [colleagues; kinsmen; ^Lbrothers] stood ·across from [opposite] them and ·gave [offered] praise and thanksgiving. One group ·answered the [responded to the; ^Cantiphonally] other group, as David, the man of God, had ·commanded [prescribed].

²⁵ These were the gatekeepers who ·guarded [kept watch at] the storerooms next to the gates: Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub. ²⁶ They served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak. They also served in the days of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and ·teacher [scribe].

¹⁴ So, my ·dear friends [beloved], ·run away from [flee; stay away from] the worship of idols. ¹⁵ I am speaking to you as to ·reasonable [sensible; discerning] people; ·judge [consider] for yourselves what I say. ¹⁶ We give thanks for the cup of blessing [^Cused in the Lord’s Supper], ·which is [^Lis this not…?] a ·sharing [participation; fellowship] in the blood of Christ. And the bread that we break ·is [^Lis it not…?] a ·sharing [participation; fellowship] in the body of Christ. ¹⁷ Because there is one loaf of bread, we who are many are one body, because we all share that one loaf.

¹⁸ Think about ·the Israelites [^LIsrael according to the flesh]: Do not those who eat the sacrifices ·share [participate] in the altar [^Cby eating the sacrificial food, priests in the Jerusalem temple participate in the worship of God]? ¹⁹ ·I do not mean [^LWhat, then, am I saying…?] that the food sacrificed to an idol is important or that an idol is anything at all. ²⁰ But I say that what is sacrificed to idols is offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to ·share anything [be participants; share fellowship] with demons. ²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons also. You cannot ·share in [partake of] the Lord’s table and the table of demons. ²² Are we trying to make the Lord jealous? We are not stronger than he is, are we?

How to Use Christian Freedom

²³ “·We are allowed to do all things [^LAll things are lawful/permissible],” but not all things are ·good for us to do [profitable; beneficial]. “·We are allowed to do all things [^LAll things are lawful/permissible],” but not all things ·help others grow stronger [^Lbuild up; ^Cthe quotations were probably slogans the Corinthians used; 6:12, 13; 7:1; 8:1, 4]. ²⁴ Do not look out only for yourselves. Look out for the good of others.

²⁵ Eat any meat that is sold in the meat market. Do not ask questions ·about it [^Lfor conscience’s sake]. ²⁶ You may eat it, “because the earth belongs to the Lord, and ·everything in it [its fullness/abundance/bounty; Ps. 24:1; 50:12; 89:11].”

²⁷ Those who are not believers may invite you to eat with them. If you want to go, eat anything that is put before you. Do not ask questions ·about it [^Lfor conscience’s sake]. ²⁸ But if anyone says to you, “That food was offered to idols,” do not eat it. Do not eat it because of that person who told you and ·because eating it might be thought to be wrong [^Lfor conscience’s sake]. ²⁹ I don’t mean ·you think it is wrong [your conscience], but the ·other person might [the concience of the other person]. ·But why, you ask, [or For why] should my freedom be judged by someone else’s conscience? ³⁰ If I eat the meal with thankfulness, why am I criticized because of something for which I thank God?

³¹ ·The answer is [or Therefore; In summary], if you eat or drink, or if you do anything, do it all for the glory of God. ³² Never do anything that might hurt others—Jews, Greeks, or God’s church— ³³ just as I, also, try to please everybody in every way. I am not trying to do what is ·good [advantageous] for me but what is ·good [advantageous] for most people so they can be saved.