Month: August 2023

Ezra’s Arrival

7 After these events, during the reign of King Artaxerxes^(A) of Persia, Ezra—

⁶ —came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses,^(F) which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he requested^(G) because the hand of the Lord his God was on him.^{(H) 7} Some of the Israelites, priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants^(I) accompanied him to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

⁸ Ezra^[a] came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, during the seventh year of the king. ⁹ He began the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month^(J) and arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month^(K) since the gracious hand of his God was on him.^{(L) 10} Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach^(M) its statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Letter from Artaxerxes

¹¹ This is the text of the letter King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest and scribe, an expert in matters of the Lord’s commands and statutes for Israel:^[b]

¹² Artaxerxes, king of kings,^(N) to Ezra the priest, an expert in the law of the God of the heavens:

Greetings.

¹³ I issue a decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including their priests and Levites, who want to go to Jerusalem, may go with you.^{(O) 14} You are sent by the king and his seven counselors^(P) to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your possession. ¹⁵ You are also to bring the silver and gold the king and his counselors have willingly given to the God of Israel,^(Q) whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,^{(R) 16} and all the silver and gold you receive throughout the province of Babylon, together with the freewill offerings given by the people and the priests to the house of their God in Jerusalem.^{(S) 17} Then you are to be diligent to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, along with their grain and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem.^{(T) 18} You may do whatever seems best to you and your brothers with the rest of the silver and gold, according to the will of your God. ¹⁹ Deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles given to you for the service of the house of your God.^{(U) 20} You may use the royal treasury^[c] to pay for anything else needed for the house of your God.^(V)

²¹ I, King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers in the region west of the Euphrates River:^(W)

Whatever Ezra the priest, an expert in the law of the God of the heavens, asks of you must be provided in full,^{(X) 22} up to 7,500 pounds^[d] of silver, 500 bushels^[e] of wheat, 550 gallons^[f] of wine, 550 gallons of oil, and salt without limit.^{[g] 23} Whatever is commanded by the God of the heavens must be done diligently for the house of the God of the heavens, so that wrath will not fall on the realm of the king and his sons.^{(Y) 24} Be advised that you do not have authority to impose tribute, duty, and land tax on any priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

²⁵ And you, Ezra, according to^[h] God’s wisdom that you possess, appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people in the region west of the Euphrates who know the laws of your God and to teach anyone who does not know them.^{(Z) 26} Anyone who does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let the appropriate judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.^(AA)

²⁷ Blessed be the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king’s mind^(AB) to glorify the house of the Lord in Jerusalem,^{(AC) 28} and who has shown favor to me before the king,^(AD) his counselors, and all his powerful officers. So I took courage because I was strengthened by the hand of the Lord my God,^[i](AE) and I gathered Israelite leaders to return with me.^(AF)

Those Returning with Ezra

8 These are the family heads and the genealogical records of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:^(AG)

¹⁵ I gathered them at the river^[n] that flows to Ahava,^(AM) and we camped there for three days. I searched among the people and priests, but found no Levites^(AN) there. ¹⁶ Then I summoned the leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam,^(AO) as well as the teachers Joiarib and Elnathan. ¹⁷ I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, with a message for^[o] him and his brothers, the temple servants^(AP) at Casiphia, that they should bring us ministers for the house of our God. ¹⁸ Since the gracious hand of our God was on us,^(AQ) they brought us Sherebiah^(AR)—a man of insight from the descendants of Mahli, a descendant of Levi son of Israel—along with his sons and brothers, 18 men, ¹⁹ plus Hashabiah,^(AS) along with Jeshaiah, from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, 20 men. ²⁰ There were also 220 of the temple servants,^(AT) who had been appointed by David and the leaders for the work of the Levites. All were identified by name.

The Faithful Manager

4 A person should think of us in this way: as servants^(A) of Christ and managers^(B) of the mysteries of God.^{(C) 2} In this regard, it is required that managers be found faithful.^{(D) 3} It is of little^(E) importance to me that I should be judged^(F) by you or by any human court.^[a] In fact, I don’t even judge myself. ⁴ For I am not conscious of anything against myself, but I am not justified^(G) by this. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵ So don’t judge^(H) anything prematurely, before the Lord comes,^(I) who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.^(J)

The Apostles’ Example of Humility

⁶ Now, brothers and sisters,^(K) I have applied these things to myself and Apollos^(L) for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying: “Nothing beyond what is written.” The purpose is that none of you will be arrogant, favoring one person over another. ⁷ For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn’t receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn’t received it? ⁸ You are already full! You are already rich! You have begun to reign as kings without us—and I wish you did reign, so that we could also reign with you! ⁹ For I think God has displayed us, the apostles, in last place, like men condemned to die: We have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to people. ¹⁰ We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ!^(M) We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! ¹¹ Up to the present hour we are both hungry and thirsty; we are poorly clothed, roughly treated, homeless; ¹² we labor, working^(N) with our own hands.^(O) When we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; ¹³ when we are slandered, we respond graciously. Even now, we are like the scum of the earth, like everyone’s garbage.^(P)

Paul’s Fatherly Care

¹⁴ I’m not writing this to shame you, but to warn you as my dear children.^{(Q) 15} For you may have countless instructors in Christ, but you don’t have many fathers. For I became your father^(R) in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ¹⁶ Therefore I urge you to imitate me. ¹⁷ This is why I have sent^(S) Timothy to you. He is my dearly loved and faithful^(T) child in the Lord. He will remind you about my ways in Christ Jesus, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

¹⁸ Now some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. ¹⁹ But I will come to you soon,^(U) if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk, but the power of those who are arrogant. ²⁰ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. ²¹ What do you want? Should I come to you with a rod,^(V) or in love and a spirit of gentleness?^(W)

Psalm 30

Joy in the Morning

A psalm; a dedication song for the house. Of David.

²⁴ Then the work on God’s temple in Jerusalem was stopped. Nothing more was done until Darius’ second year as king of Persia.

Work Resumed on the Temple

5 The prophet Haggai and Zechariah, grandson of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of Israel’s God, who was over them. ² Then Zerubbabel, who was Shealtiel’s son, and Jeshua, who was Jozadak’s son, began to rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem. God’s prophets were with them and supported them.

³ At the same time, Governor Tattenai ⌞from the province⌟ west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai, and their group went to the Jews and asked them, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this temple and finish its walls?” ⁴ They also asked the Jews for the names of the men who were working on this building.

⁵ But the leaders of the Jews were under God’s watchful eye. They couldn’t be stopped until Darius received a report and sent a reply to it.

Permission Requested from Darius

⁶ Here is a copy of the letter Governor Tattenai ⌞from the province⌟ west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai and his group (the Persians west of that river) sent to King Darius. ⁷ They sent him the following report:

To King Darius,

We wish you peace and prosperity in everything you do.

⁸ Your Majesty should know that we went to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The temple is being built with large stones and with wooden beams laid in its walls. The builders are doing an excellent job and making rapid progress. ⁹ We asked their leaders the following question: “Who gave you permission to rebuild this temple and finish its walls?” ¹⁰ For your information, we also asked them for their names so that we would have a record of the men who were their leaders. ¹¹ This was their reply to us:

“We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple that was originally built many years ago by a great king of Israel. ¹² But because our ancestors made the God of heaven angry, he handed them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (a Chaldean). So Nebuchadnezzar destroyed this temple and deported its people to Babylon.

¹³ “However, in the first year of the reign of King Cyrus of Babylon, Cyrus gave permission for God’s temple to be rebuilt. ¹⁴ In addition, Cyrus took out of a temple in Babylon the gold and silver utensils that belonged to God’s temple. (Nebuchadnezzar had taken them out of God’s temple in Jerusalem and brought them into a temple in Babylon.) Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor. ¹⁵ Cyrus told him, ‘Take these utensils. Place them in the temple in Jerusalem. Rebuild God’s temple on its original site.’ ¹⁶ Then Sheshbazzar laid the foundation of God’s temple in Jerusalem. The temple has been under construction from that time until now, but it still isn’t finished.”

¹⁷ If it pleases Your Majesty, allow someone to search the king’s archives in Babylon to determine whether King Cyrus gave permission for the temple of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then please send us Your Majesty’s decision on this matter.

King Darius Finds King Cyrus’ Memorandum

6 Then King Darius gave the order to search the library where the archives were stored in Babylon. ² A scroll was found in the palace of Ecbatana, which is in the province of Media. This was written on it:

MEMORANDUM

³ Date: Cyrus’ first year as king

From: King Cyrus

Subject: God’s temple in Jerusalem

The temple should be rebuilt as a place to offer sacrifices. Its foundation should be laid. It should be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide ⁴ with three rows of large stones and a row of wood. The king’s palace will pay for it. ⁵ In addition, Cyrus took out of a temple in Babylon the gold and silver utensils that belonged to God’s temple. (Nebuchadnezzar had taken them out of God’s temple in Jerusalem and brought them into a temple in Babylon.) They should be returned to their proper place in the temple in Jerusalem. You should put each one in God’s temple.

⁶ Governor Tattenai ⌞from the province⌟ west of the Euphrates, Shethar Bozenai, and those of your group (the Persians west of the river):

You must stay away from there. ⁷ Don’t interfere with the work on God’s temple. Let the governor of the Jews and the leaders of Judah rebuild God’s temple on its ⌞original⌟ foundation. ⁸ I am issuing this decree about how you must help the Jewish leaders rebuild God’s temple:

The cost ⌞for this⌟ should be paid out of the king’s own money from the taxes ⌞on the province⌟ west of the Euphrates. Full payment should be made to these men so that the work is not interrupted. ⁹ Also, whatever the priests in Jerusalem need for burnt offerings to the God of heaven—young bulls, rams, lambs, wheat, salt, wine, and olive oil—should be provided for them each day. Make sure that nothing is omitted. ¹⁰ Then they can offer sacrifices that please the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

¹¹ I am also issuing a decree that if anyone tampers with my orders, that person should be impaled on a beam torn from his own house and his house should be turned into a pile of rubble. ¹² May the God whose name is worshiped there cause the downfall of each king and nation who tries to tamper with my orders or tries to destroy the temple of the God in Jerusalem.

I, Darius, have issued a decree. It’s to be carried out exactly as ordered.

¹³ Then Governor Tattenai ⌞from the province⌟ west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai, and their group did exactly what King Darius had ordered. ¹⁴ So the Jewish leaders continued to make progress because of the message from the prophet Haggai and Zechariah, the grandson of Iddo. They finished building as the God of Israel had ordered and as Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes (the kings of Persia) had ordered. ¹⁵ This temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar in the sixth year of King Darius’ reign.

The Temple Is Completed and Dedicated

¹⁶ Then the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the others who had returned from exile celebrated at the dedication of God’s temple. ¹⁷ At the dedication of God’s temple, they sacrificed 100 bulls, 200 rams, and 400 lambs. They sacrificed 12 male goats as an offering for sin, one goat for each of the tribes of Israel.

¹⁸ The priests were assigned to their divisions and the Levites to their groups ⌞to lead⌟ the worship of God in Jerusalem by following the directions written in the Book of Moses.

The Passover Is Celebrated

¹⁹ On the fourteenth day of the first month, those who had returned from exile celebrated the Passover. ²⁰ Since the priests and Levites had cleansed themselves, all of them were ⌞now⌟ clean.^[a] They killed the Passover lambs for all the people who had returned from exile, for the rest of the priests, and for themselves. ²¹ The lambs were eaten by the Israelites who had returned from exile and by all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of the non-Jews in the land to worship the Lord God of Israel. ²² So for seven days they celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread because the Lord had made them joyful. The Lord had made the king of Assyria change his mind so that he supported the people in their work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.

⁵ Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? They are servants who helped you come to faith. Each did what the Lord gave him to do. ⁶ I planted, and Apollos watered, but God made it grow. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is important because ⌞only⌟ God makes it grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have the same goal, and each will receive a reward for his own work. ⁹ We are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field.

You are God’s building. ¹⁰ As a skilled and experienced builder, I used the gift ^[a] that God gave me to lay the foundation ⌞for that building⌟. However, someone else is building on it. Each person must be careful how he builds on it. ¹¹ After all, no one can lay any other foundation than the one that is already laid, and that foundation is Jesus Christ. ¹² People may build on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw. ¹³ The day will make what each one does clearly visible because fire will reveal it. That fire will determine what kind of work each person has done. ¹⁴ If what a person has built survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If his work is burned up, he will suffer ⌞the loss⌟. However, he will be saved, though it will be like going through a fire.

¹⁶ Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him because God’s temple is holy. You are that holy temple!

¹⁸ Don’t deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise in the ways of this world, you should give up that wisdom in order to become really wise. ¹⁹ The wisdom of this world is nonsense in God’s sight. That’s why Scripture says, “God catches the wise in their cleverness.” ²⁰ Again Scripture says, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are pointless.”

²¹ So don’t brag about people. Everything belongs to you. ²² Whether it is Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life or death, present or future things, everything belongs to you. ²³ You belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

A psalm by David.

Worship at the Temple Site Begins Again

3 When the seventh month came, the people gathered together in Jerusalem. (The Israelites had already settled in their cities.) ² Then Jozadak’s son Jeshua and his relatives ⌞who were⌟ priests and Shealtiel’s son Zerubbabel and his relatives built an altar for the God of Israel. They built it in order to sacrifice burnt offerings. They ⌞followed the directions⌟ written in Moses’ Teachings. (Moses was a man of God). ³ So they rebuilt the altar on its original site, though they were afraid of the people in the neighboring regions. They sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord every morning and evening.

⁴ Following the written directions, they celebrated the Festival of Booths. Each day they sacrificed the required number of burnt offerings. ⁵ After that, they sacrificed the daily burnt offerings, the offerings for the New Moon Festival and all the other holy festivals of the Lord, and all the freewill offerings brought to the Lord. ⁶ They started to bring these burnt offerings to the Lord on the first day of the seventh month, even though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid.

Work on the Temple Begins

⁷ So they gave money to the stonecutters and carpenters. Then they gave food, drink, and olive oil to the men from Sidon and Tyre in exchange for cedar, which the men would bring by sea from Lebanon to Joppa as King Cyrus of Persia had authorized them to do.

⁸ Zerubbabel (who was Shealtiel’s son), Jeshua (who was Jozadak’s son), and the rest of the Jews, (the priests, Levites, and all the others who had come back from exile to Jerusalem) began to rebuild the temple. This happened in the second month of the second year following their return to ⌞the site⌟ of God’s house in Jerusalem. They began by appointing the Levites who were at least 20 years old to direct the work on the Lord’s house. ⁹ Then Jeshua with his sons and relatives and Kadmiel with his sons who were Judah’s descendants joined Henadad’s family and their sons and relatives, the Levites, in directing those working on God’s house.

A Celebration After the Laying of the Temple’s Foundation

¹⁰ The builders laid the foundation of the Lord’s temple. Then the priests who were dressed in their robes took their places with trumpets, and the Levites who were Asaph’s descendants took their places with cymbals to praise the Lord according to the instructions of King David of Israel. ¹¹ As they praised and gave thanks to the Lord, they sang antiphonally:

Then all the people shouted, “Praise the Lord,” because the foundation for the house of the Lord had been laid.

¹² But many of the priests, Levites, and the heads of the families who were old enough to have seen the first temple with their own eyes began to sob when they saw the foundation of this temple. Many others shouted for joy. ¹³ No one could distinguish between the joyful shouts and the loud sobbing because the people were shouting so loudly. The noise was heard from far away.

The Samaritans Stop the Work

4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people who returned from exile were building a temple for the Lord God of Israel, ² they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the families. They told them, “We want to help you build because we worship the same God you worship. We have been sacrificing to him ^[a] since the time of King Esarhaddon of Assyria, who brought us here.”

³ But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of Israel’s families told them, “It isn’t right for your people and our people to build a temple for our God together. We must build it alone for the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia ordered us to do.”

⁴ Then the people of that region discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to continue building. ⁵ They bribed officials to keep the people of Judah from carrying out their plans throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius of Persia.

⁶ When Xerxes began to rule, the enemies of Judah and Jerusalem wrote a letter in which they made an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

⁷ Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their group wrote to him when Artaxerxes was king of Persia. The letter was written with the Aramaic script and translated into the Aramaic language.

⁸ Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote another letter against ⌞the people of⌟ Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes. ⁹ At that time, Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe were with the others of their group—the people from Denya, Partakka, Tarpel, Persia, Erech, Babylon, Susa, (that is, those of Elam), ¹⁰ and the rest of the people whom the great and noble Assurbanipal deported. (Assurbanipal settled them in the cities of Samaria and the rest of the lands west of the Euphrates River.) ¹¹ This is the copy of the letter they sent to him:

To King Artaxerxes,

From your servants, the people west of the Euphrates:

¹² Your Majesty, you should know that the Jews who came to us from you are now in Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are close to finishing the walls. The foundations are already in place. ¹³ You should also know that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, the Jews will no longer pay taxes, fees, and tolls.

Ultimately, this will hurt the king’s income. ¹⁴ Now, because we are paid by your palace, it isn’t right for us to watch something happen that will dishonor the king. So we are sending this letter to inform you ¹⁵ that you should search the official records of your predecessors. You will find in those official records that this city has been rebellious and has been a threat to kings and provinces. This city has a history of rebelliousness. That’s why this city was destroyed. ¹⁶ We want the king to know that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, you will have nothing left ⌞of your province⌟ west of the Euphrates River.

¹⁷ Then the king sent this reply:

To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their group living in Samaria, and to others west of the Euphrates River: I wish you peace and prosperity!

¹⁸ The letter you sent me has been read word for word in my presence. ¹⁹ I gave the order, and a search was made. I discovered that this city has a long history of uprisings against kings. Its inhabitants are guilty of treason and rebellion. ²⁰ Jerusalem has had powerful kings who have ruled the whole ⌞province⌟ west of the Euphrates. Taxes, fees, and tolls were paid to them. ²¹ So order these men to stop rebuilding. Keep this city from being rebuilt until I give the order. ²² Be careful not to neglect your duty in this matter. Why should I, the king, suffer any more harm?

²³ Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and their group hurried to Jerusalem after hearing a copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter. They forced the Jews to stop rebuilding.

⁶ However, we do use wisdom to speak to those who are mature. It is a wisdom that doesn’t belong to this world or to the rulers of this world who are in power today and gone tomorrow. ⁷ We speak about the mystery of God’s wisdom. It is a wisdom that has been hidden, which God had planned for our glory before the world began. ⁸ Not one of the rulers of this world has known it. If they had, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ But as Scripture says:

¹⁰ God has revealed those things to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches everything, especially the deep things of God. ¹¹ After all, who knows everything about a person except that person’s own spirit? In the same way, no one has known everything about God except God’s Spirit. ¹² Now, we didn’t receive the spirit that belongs to the world. Instead, we received the Spirit who comes from God so that we could know the things which God has freely given us. ¹³ We don’t speak about these things using teachings that are based on intellectual arguments like people do. Instead, we use the Spirit’s teachings. We explain spiritual things to those who have the Spirit.^[a]

¹⁴ A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the teachings of God’s Spirit. He thinks they’re nonsense. He can’t understand them because a person must be spiritual to evaluate them. ¹⁵ Spiritual people evaluate everything but are subject to no one’s evaluation.

However, we have the mind of Christ.

You Belong to Christ

3 Brothers and sisters, I couldn’t talk to you as spiritual people but as people still influenced by your corrupt nature. You were infants in your faith in Christ. ² I gave you milk to drink. I didn’t give you solid food because you weren’t ready for it. Even now you aren’t ready for it ³ because you’re still influenced by your corrupt nature.

When you are jealous and quarrel among yourselves, aren’t you influenced by your corrupt nature and living by human standards? ⁴ When some of you say, “I follow Paul” and others say, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting like ⌞sinful⌟ humans?

By David.

Cyrus Allows the Jews to Return from Babylon^(A)

1 The promise the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah was about to come true in Cyrus’ first year as king of Persia. The Lord inspired the king to make this announcement throughout his whole kingdom and then to put it in writing.

² This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the world. Then he ordered me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem (which is in Judah). ³ May God be with all of you who are his people. You may go to Jerusalem (which is in Judah) and build a temple for the Lord God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem. ⁴ All who ⌞choose to⌟ remain behind, wherever they may be living, should provide the people who are leaving with silver, gold, supplies, livestock, and freewill offerings to be used in God’s temple in Jerusalem.

Sheshbazzar Returns with the Temple Furnishings

⁵ Then the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, the priests, and the Levites—everyone God had inspired—came forward to rebuild the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem. ⁶ All their neighbors ⌞who were remaining behind⌟ provided them with articles made from silver and gold, supplies, livestock, and valuable gifts besides everything that was freely offered. ⁷ King Cyrus brought out the utensils belonging to the Lord’s temple. Nebuchadnezzar had taken these utensils from Jerusalem and put them in the temple of his own god. ⁸ King Cyrus of Persia put the treasurer Mithredath in charge of bringing them out. So Mithredath made a list of them for Prince Sheshbazzar of Judah.^{[a] 9} This is the inventory:

¹¹ The gold and silver utensils totaled … 5,400.

Sheshbazzar took all these utensils with him when the exiles left Babylon to go to Jerusalem.

Those Who Returned with Zerubbabel^(B)

2 These were the people in the province. They were the ones who left the place where the exiles had been taken captive. (King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had taken them to Babylon.) These exiles returned to Jerusalem and Judah. All of them went to their own cities. ² They went with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.

Families Listed by Ancestor^(C)

This is the number of Israelite men from the people in exile:

Families Listed by Cities^(D)

Priests^(E)

³⁶ These priests returned from exile:

Levites^(F)

⁴⁰ These Levites returned from exile:

⁴¹ These singers returned from exile:

⁴² These gatekeepers returned from exile:

Temple Servants^(G)

⁴³ These temple servants returned from exile: the descendants of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, ⁴⁴ Keros, Siaha, Padon, ⁴⁵ Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub, ⁴⁶ Hagab, Shalmai, Hanan, ⁴⁷ Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah, ⁴⁸ Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, ⁴⁹ Uzza, Paseah, Besai, ⁵⁰ Asnah, Meunim, Nephusim, ⁵¹ Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, ⁵² Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, ⁵³ Barkos, Sisera, Temah, ⁵⁴ Neziah, and Hatipha.

Descendants of Solomon’s Servants^(H)

⁵⁵ These descendants of Solomon’s servants returned from exile: the descendants of Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda, ⁵⁶ Jaalah, Darkon, Giddel, ⁵⁷ Shephatiah, Hattil, Pochereth Hazzebaim, and Ami.

⁵⁸ The temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants totaled 392.

Those of Unknown Origin^(I)

⁵⁹ The following people came from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, but they couldn’t prove they were Israelites on the basis of their father’s family or their genealogy: ⁶⁰ the descendants of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda. These people totaled 652.

⁶¹ These descendants of the priests ⌞couldn’t prove their families were Israelites⌟: the descendants of Hobaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai (who had married one of the daughters of Barzillai from Gilead and took that ⌞family⌟ name). ⁶² These people searched for their ⌞family⌟ names in the genealogical records, but their names couldn’t be found there. For this reason they were considered contaminated and couldn’t be priests. ⁶³ The governor told them not to eat any of the most holy food until a priest could use the Urim and Thummim ^[b] ⌞to settle the problem⌟.

The Total of the People and Animals Returning from Exile^(J)

⁶⁴ The whole assembly totaled 42,360. ⁶⁵ In addition to the male and female servants who numbered 7,337, they also had 200 male and female singers. ⁶⁶ They had 736 horses, 245 mules, ⁶⁷ 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

Gifts Given for the Temple^(K)

⁶⁸ When some of the heads of the families came to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, they contributed freewill offerings to help rebuild God’s temple on its ⌞former⌟ site. ⁶⁹ They contributed as much as they could to the treasury for this work: 1,030 pounds of gold, 5,740 pounds of silver, and 100 robes for the priests.

⁷⁰ The priests, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants settled in their own cities. All the other Israelites settled in their own cities.

¹⁸ The message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved. ¹⁹ Scripture says,

²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the persuasive speaker of our time? Hasn’t God turned the wisdom of the world into nonsense? ²¹ The world with its wisdom was unable to recognize God in terms of his own wisdom. So God decided to use the nonsense of the Good News we speak to save those who believe. ²² Jews ask for miraculous signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but our message is that Christ was crucified. This offends Jewish people and makes no sense to people who are not Jewish. ²⁴ But to those Jews and Greeks who are called, he is Christ, God’s power and God’s wisdom. ²⁵ God’s nonsense is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

²⁶ Brothers and sisters, consider what you were when God called you to be Christians. Not many of you were wise from a human point of view. You were not in powerful positions or in the upper social classes. ²⁷ But God chose what the world considers nonsense to put wise people to shame. God chose what the world considers weak to put what is strong to shame. ²⁸ God chose what the world considers ordinary and what it despises—what it considers to be nothing—in order to destroy what it considers to be something. ²⁹ As a result, no one can brag in God’s presence. ³⁰ You are partners with Christ Jesus because of God. Jesus has become our wisdom sent from God, our approval, our holiness, and our ransom from sin. ³¹ As Scripture says, “Whoever brags must brag about what the Lord has done.”

2 Brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I didn’t speak about God’s mystery ^[a] as if it were some kind of brilliant message or wisdom. ² While I was with you, I decided to deal with only one subject—Jesus Christ, who was crucified. ³ When I came to you, I was weak. I was afraid and very nervous. ⁴ I didn’t speak my message with persuasive intellectual arguments. I spoke my message with a show of spiritual power ⁵ so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.

King Josiah Celebrates the Passover^(A)

35 Josiah celebrated the Passover for the Lord in Jerusalem. The Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month. ² Josiah appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them to serve in the Lord’s temple. ³ He told the Levites, who instructed all Israel and performed ceremonies to make themselves holy to the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the temple that Solomon, son of David and king of Israel, built. It shouldn’t be carried on your shoulders any longer. Serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. ⁴ Get yourselves ready with the family groups of your divisions, which are listed in the records of King David of Israel and the records of his son Solomon. ⁵ Stand in the holy place representing the family divisions of your relatives, the people ⌞of Israel⌟. Let the Levites be considered a part of each family. ⁶ Slaughter the Passover lamb, perform the ceremonies to make yourselves holy, and prepare ⌞the lambs⌟ for the other Israelites as the Lord instructed ⌞us⌟ through Moses.”

⁷ Josiah provided the people with 33,000 sheep and goats to be sacrificed as Passover offerings for all who were present. In addition, he provided 3,000 bulls. (These animals were the king’s property.) ⁸ His officials also voluntarily gave animals to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the men in charge of God’s temple, gave the priests 2,600 sheep and goats and 300 bulls for Passover sacrifices. ⁹ Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, gave the Levites 5,000 sheep and goats and 500 bulls as Passover sacrifices.

¹⁰ So the service was prepared. The priests took their positions with the Levites according to their divisions, as the king had ordered. ¹¹ They slaughtered the Passover lambs. The priests sprinkled the blood with their hands while the Levites skinned the lambs. ¹² They set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the laypeople according to their family divisions. The laypeople could then present them to the Lord as written in the Book of Moses. The Levites did the same with the bulls. ¹³ They roasted the Passover lambs according to the directions. They boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles, and pans and immediately served them to all the people. ¹⁴ Later, they prepared ⌞the animals⌟ for themselves and for the priests because the priests (Aaron’s descendants) were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat until that evening.

So the Levites prepared ⌞the animals⌟ for themselves and the priests. ¹⁵ The singers (Asaph’s descendants) were in their places as David, Asaph, Heman, and the king’s seer ^[a] Jeduthun had commanded. The gatekeepers were stationed at each gate. They didn’t need to leave their work, because their relatives, the Levites, prepared ⌞animals⌟ for them.

¹⁶ So everything was arranged that day for the worship of the Lord. The Passover was celebrated, and the burnt offerings were sacrificed on the Lord’s altar as King Josiah had commanded. ¹⁷ The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time. They also celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

¹⁸ Never had a Passover like this been celebrated in Israel during the time of the prophet Samuel or the kings of Israel. They did not celebrate the Passover as Josiah celebrated it with priests, Levites, all of Judah, the people of Israel who could be found, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹ In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, this Passover was celebrated.

Josiah’s Sin Leads to His Death^(B)

²⁰ After all this, when Josiah had repaired the temple, King Neco of Egypt came to fight a battle at Carchemish at the Euphrates River. Josiah went to attack him. ²¹ But Neco sent messengers to Josiah to say, “What’s your quarrel with me, king of Judah? I’m not attacking you. I’ve come to fight those who are at war with me. God told me to hurry. God is with me, so stop now or else he will destroy you.”

²² But Josiah would not stop his attack. He disguised himself as he went into battle. He refused to listen to Neco’s words, which came from God, and he went to fight in the valley of Megiddo.

²³ Some archers shot King Josiah. The king told his officers, “Take me away because I’m badly wounded.”

²⁴ His officers took him out of the chariot and brought him to Jerusalem in his other chariot. He died and was buried in the tombs of his ancestors. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. ²⁵ Jeremiah sang a funeral song about Josiah. All the male and female singers still sing funeral songs about Josiah today. This became a tradition in Israel. They are written in ⌞the Book of⌟ the Funeral Songs.

²⁶ Everything else about Josiah—including his devotion to God by following what is written in the Lord’s Teachings ²⁷ and his acts from first to last—are written in the records of the kings of Israel and Judah.

King Jehoahaz of Judah^(C)

36 Then people of the land took Josiah’s son Jehoahaz and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father. ² Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king, and he was king in Jerusalem for 3 months. ³ The king of Egypt removed him from office in Jerusalem and fined the country 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold. ⁴ The king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king of Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Neco took Jehoahaz away to Egypt.

King Jehoiakim of Judah^(D)

⁵ Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 11 years in Jerusalem. He did what the Lord his God considered evil. ⁶ King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jehoiakim and put him in bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. ⁷ Nebuchadnezzar also brought some of the utensils of the Lord’s temple to Babylon. He put them in his palace in Babylon.

⁸ Everything else about Jehoiakim—the disgusting things he did and all the charges against him—is written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiakin succeeded him as king.

King Jehoiakin of Judah^(E)

⁹ Jehoiakin was eight years old when he began to rule as king. He was king for three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what the Lord considered evil.

¹⁰ In the spring King Nebuchadnezzar sent for Jehoiakin and brought him to Babylon with the valuable utensils from the Lord’s temple. Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiakin’s uncle Zedekiah king of Judah and Jerusalem.

King Zedekiah of Judah^(F)

¹¹ Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 11 years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did what the Lord his God considered evil and didn’t humble himself in front of the prophet Jeremiah, who spoke for the Lord. ¹³ Zedekiah also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had made Zedekiah swear an oath of allegiance to him in God’s name. But Zedekiah became so stubborn and so impossible to deal with that he refused to turn back to the Lord God of Israel.

¹⁴ All the officials, the priests, and the people became increasingly unfaithful and followed all the disgusting practices of the nations. Although the Lord had made the temple in Jerusalem holy, they made the temple unclean.^{[b] 15} The Lord God of their ancestors repeatedly sent messages through his messengers because he wanted to spare his people and his dwelling place. ¹⁶ But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and made fun of his prophets until the Lord became angry with his people. He could no longer heal them.

¹⁷ So he had the Babylonian king attack them and execute their best young men in their holy temple. He didn’t spare the best men or the unmarried women, the old people or the sick people. God handed all of them over to him. ¹⁸ He brought to Babylon each of the utensils from God’s temple, the treasures from the Lord’s temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials. ¹⁹ They burned God’s temple, tore down Jerusalem’s walls, burned down all its palaces, and destroyed everything of value. ²⁰ The king of Babylon took those who weren’t executed to Babylon to be slaves for him and his sons. They remained captives until the Persian Empire began to rule. ²¹ This happened so that the Lord’s words spoken through Jeremiah would be fulfilled. The land had its years of rest and was made acceptable ⌞again⌟. While it lay in ruins, ⌞the land had its⌟ 70 years of rest.

King Cyrus Allows the Jews to Return from Babylon^(G)

²² The promise the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah was about to come true in Cyrus’ first year as king of Persia. The Lord inspired the king to make this announcement throughout his whole kingdom and then to put it in writing.

²³ This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the world. And he has ordered me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem (which is in Judah). May the Lord God be with all of you who are his people. You may go.

Greeting

1 From Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and from Sosthenes, our brother in the Christian faith.

² To God’s church that was made holy by Christ Jesus and called to be God’s holy people in the city of Corinth and to people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

³ Good will ^[a] and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are yours!

⁴ I always thank God for you because Christ Jesus has shown you God’s good will. ⁵ Through Christ Jesus you have become rich in every way—in speech and knowledge of every kind. ⁶ Our message about Christ has been verified among you. ⁷ Therefore, you don’t lack any gift as you wait eagerly for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. ⁸ He will continue to give you strength until the end so that no one can accuse you of anything on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God faithfully keeps his promises. He called you to be partners with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

God’s Wisdom Is Better Than the World’s Wisdom

¹⁰ Brothers and sisters, I encourage all of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to agree with each other and not to split into opposing groups. I want you to be united in your understanding and opinions. ¹¹ Brothers and sisters, some people from Chloe’s family have made it clear to me that you are quarreling among yourselves. ¹² This is what I mean: Each of you is saying, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” ^[b] or “I follow Christ.” ¹³ Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in Paul’s name? ¹⁴ I thank God that ^[c] I didn’t baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius ¹⁵ so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ I also baptized Stephanas and his family. Beyond that, I’m not sure whether I baptized anyone else. ¹⁷ Christ didn’t send me to baptize. Instead, he sent me to spread the Good News. I didn’t use intellectual arguments. That would have made the cross of Christ lose its meaning.

By David.

¹⁴ After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David from west of Gihon Spring in the valley to the entrance of Fish Gate. He made the wall go around the Ophel, and he built it very high. He put army commanders in every fortified city in Judah.

¹⁵ Manasseh got rid of the foreign gods and the idol in the Lord’s temple. He got rid of the altars he had built in the temple on the Lord’s mountain and in Jerusalem. ¹⁶ He built the Lord’s altar and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it. And he told Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁷ The people continued to sacrifice at the illegal places of worship, but they sacrificed only to the Lord their God.

¹⁸ Everything else about Manasseh—including his prayer to his God and the words that the seers ^[a] spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel—are in the records of the kings of Israel. ¹⁹ His prayer and how God accepted it are written in the records of Hozai. The things he did before he humbled himself are also written there. This includes all his sins and unfaithfulness and the places where he built illegal worship sites and set up idols and poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah.

²⁰ Manasseh lay down in death with his ancestors. They buried him in his own palace. His son Amon succeeded him as king.

King Amon of Judah^(A)

²¹ Amon was 22 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 2 years in Jerusalem. ²² He did what the Lord considered evil, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon sacrificed to all the idols his father Manasseh had made, and he worshiped them. ²³ He didn’t humble himself in front of the Lord as his father Manasseh had humbled himself. Instead, Amon continued to sin.

²⁴ His officials plotted against him and killed him in his palace. ²⁵ Then the people of the land killed everyone who had plotted against King Amon. They made his son Josiah king in his place.

King Josiah Reforms Judah’s Worship^(B)

34 Josiah was 8 years old when he began to rule, and he was king for 31 years in Jerusalem. ² He did what the Lord considered right. He lived in the ways of his ancestor David and never stopped living this way.

³ In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a boy, he began to dedicate his life to serving the God of his ancestor David. In his twelfth year as king, he began to make Judah and Jerusalem clean ^[b] by destroying the illegal places of worship, poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, carved idols, and metal idols. ⁴ He had the altars of the various Baal gods torn down. He cut down the incense altars that were above them. He destroyed the Asherah poles, carved idols, and metal idols. He ground them into powder and scattered the powder over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵ He burned the bones of the priests on their altars. So he made Judah and Jerusalem clean. ⁶ In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, he removed all their temples, ⁷ tore down the altars, beat the Asherah poles and idols into powder, and cut down all the incense altars everywhere in Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

King Josiah Rededicates Judah to God’s Promise^(C)

⁸ In the eighteenth year of his reign as he was making the land and the temple clean, Josiah sent Shaphan, son of Azaliah, Maaseiah, the mayor of the city, and Joah, the royal historian and son of Joahaz, to repair the temple of the Lord his God. ⁹ They came to the chief priest Hilkiah and gave him the money that had been brought to God’s temple, the money that the Levite doorkeepers had collected from the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all who were left in Israel, from everyone in the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They gave the money to the foremen who were in charge of the Lord’s temple. These foremen gave it to the workmen who were restoring and repairing the temple. ¹¹ (These workers included carpenters and builders.) They were to buy quarried stones and wood for the fittings and beams of the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to become run-down. ¹² The men did their work faithfully under the supervision of Jahath and Obadiah (Levites descended from Merari), and Zechariah and Meshullam (descendants of Kohath). The Levites, who were skilled musicians, ¹³ also supervised the workers and directed all the workmen on the various jobs. Some of the Levites served as scribes, officials, or gatekeepers.

¹⁴ When they brought out the money that had been deposited in the Lord’s temple, the priest Hilkiah found the Book of the Lord’s Teachings written by Moses. ¹⁵ Hilkiah told the scribe Shaphan, “I have found the Book of the Teachings in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.

¹⁶ Shaphan took the book to the king and reported, “We are doing everything you told us to do. ¹⁷ We took the money that was donated in the Lord’s temple and gave it to the supervisors and the workmen.” ¹⁸ Then the scribe Shaphan told the king, “The priest Hilkiah has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it to the king.

¹⁹ When the king heard what the Teachings said, he tore his clothes ⌞in distress⌟. ²⁰ Then the king gave an order to Hilkiah, Ahikam (son of Shaphan), Abdon (son of Micah), the scribe Shaphan, and the royal official Asaiah. He said, ²¹ “On behalf of those who are left in Israel and Judah and me, ask the Lord about the words in this book that was found. The Lord’s fierce anger has been poured on us because our ancestors did not obey the Lord’s word by doing everything written in this book.”

²² So Hilkiah and the king’s officials went to talk to the prophet Huldah about this matter. She was the wife of Shallum, son of Tokhath and grandson of Hasrah. Shallum was in charge of the ⌞royal⌟ wardrobe. Huldah was living in the Second Part of Jerusalem.

²³ She told them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ²⁴ ‘This is what the Lord says: I’m going to bring disaster on this place and on the people living here according to the curses written in the book that was read to the king of Judah. ²⁵ I will do this because they have abandoned me and sacrificed to other gods in order to make me furious. Therefore, my anger will be poured on this place and will never come to an end.’ ”

²⁶ ⌞Huldah added,⌟ “Tell Judah’s king who sent you to me to ask the Lord a question, ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says about the words you heard: ²⁷ You had a change of heart and humbled yourself in front of God when you heard my words against this place and those who live here. You humbled yourself, tore your clothes ⌞in distress⌟, and cried in front of me. So I will listen ⌞to you⌟, declares the Lord. ²⁸ That is why I’m going to bring you to your ancestors. I’m going to bring you to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see any of the disaster I’m going to bring on this place and those who live here.’ ”

So they reported this to the king.

²⁹ Then the king sent for all the respected leaders of Judah and Jerusalem to join him. ³⁰ The king, everyone in Judah, everyone living in Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people (young and old) went up to the Lord’s temple. He read everything written in the Book of the Promise ^[c] found in the Lord’s temple so that they could hear it. ³¹ The king stood in his place and made a promise to the Lord that he would follow the Lord and obey his commands, instructions, and laws with all his heart and soul. He said he would live by the terms of the promise written in this book. ³² He also made all those found in Jerusalem and Benjamin join with him ⌞in the promise⌟. Then the people of Jerusalem lived according to the promise of God, the God of their ancestors.

³³ Josiah got rid of all the disgusting idols throughout Israelite territory. He made all people found in Israel serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived, they didn’t stop following the Lord God of their ancestors.

¹⁰ Greet Apelles, a true Christian.

Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus.

¹¹ Greet Herodion, who is Jewish by birth like me.

Greet those Christians who belong to the family of Narcissus.

¹² Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard for the Lord.

Greet dear Persis, who has worked very hard for the Lord.

¹³ Greet Rufus, that outstanding Christian, and his mother, who has been a mother to me too.

¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them.

¹⁵ Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all God’s people who are with them.

¹⁶ Greet each other with a holy kiss.

All the churches of Christ greet you.

¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, I urge you to watch out for those people who create divisions and who make others fall away ⌞from the Christian faith⌟ by teaching doctrine that is not the same as you have learned. Stay away from them. ¹⁸ People like these are not serving Christ our Lord. They are serving their own desires. By their smooth talk and flattering words they deceive unsuspecting people.

¹⁹ Everyone has heard about your obedience and this makes me happy for you. I want you to do what is good and to avoid what is evil. ²⁰ The God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. May the good will ^[a] of our Lord Jesus be with you!

²¹ Timothy my coworker greets you; so do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, who are Jewish by birth like me.

²² I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, send you Christian greetings.

²³ Gaius greets you. He is host to me and the whole church.

Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you.

Quartus, our brother in the Christian faith, greets you.^[b]

²⁵ God can strengthen you by the Good News and the message I tell about Jesus Christ. He can strengthen you by revealing the mystery that was kept in silence for a very long time ²⁶ but now is publicly known. The everlasting God ordered that what the prophets wrote must be shown to the people of every nation to bring them to the obedience that is associated with faith. ²⁷ God alone is wise. Glory belongs to him through Jesus Christ forever! Amen.

By David.