Category: DAB Readings

¹⁵ Shallum son of Colhozeh, ruler of the Mizpah District, rebuilt the Fountain Gate. He covered the gateway, put the gates in place, and put in the bolts and the bars. At the Pool of Shelah he built the wall next to the royal garden, as far as the stairs leading down from David's City.

¹⁶ Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of half of the Bethzur District, built the next section, as far as David's tomb, the pool, and the barracks.

Levites Who Worked on the Wall

¹⁷ The following Levites rebuilt the next several sections of the wall:

Rehum son of Bani built the next section;

Hashabiah, ruler of half of the Keilah District, built the next section on behalf of his district;

¹⁸ Bavvai son of Henadad, ruler of the other half of the Keilah District, built the next section;

¹⁹ Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, built the next section in front of the armory, as far as the place where the wall turns;

²⁰ Baruch son of Zabbai built the next section, as far as the entrance to the house of the High Priest Eliashib;

²¹ Meremoth, the son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz, built the next section, up to the far end of Eliashib's house.

Priests Who Worked on the Wall

²² The following priests rebuilt the next several sections of the wall:

Priests from the area around Jerusalem built the next section;

²³ Benjamin and Hasshub built the next section, which was in front of their houses;

Azariah, the son of Maaseiah and grandson of Ananiah, built the next section, which was in front of his house;

²⁴ Binnui son of Henadad built the next section, from Azariah's house to the corner of the wall;

^25-26 Palal son of Uzai built the next section, beginning at the corner of the wall and the tower of the upper palace near the court of the guard;

Pedaiah son of Parosh built the next section, to a point on the east near the Water Gate and the tower guarding the Temple. (This was near that part of the city called Ophel, where the Temple workers lived.)

Other Builders

²⁷ The men of Tekoa built the next section, their second one, from a point opposite the large tower guarding the Temple as far as the wall near Ophel.

²⁸ A group of priests built the next section, going north from the Horse Gate, each one building in front of his own house.

²⁹ Zadok son of Immer built the next section, which was in front of his house.

Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, keeper of the East Gate, built the next section.

³⁰ Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, built the next section, their second one.

Meshullam son of Berechiah built the next section, which was in front of his house.

³¹ Malchijah, a goldsmith, built the next section, as far as the building used by the Temple workers and the merchants, which was by the Miphkad^[a] Gate to the Temple, near the room on top of the northeast corner of the wall.

³² The goldsmiths and the merchants built the last section, from the room at the corner as far as the Sheep Gate.

Nehemiah Overcomes Opposition to His Work

4 When Sanballat heard that we Jews had begun rebuilding the wall, he became furious and began to ridicule us. ² In front of his companions and the Samaritan troops he said, “What do these miserable Jews think they're doing? Do they intend to rebuild the city? Do they think that by offering sacrifices they can finish the work in one day? Can they make building stones out of heaps of burnt rubble?”

³ Tobiah was standing there beside him, and he added, “What kind of wall could they ever build? Even a fox could knock it down!”

⁴ I prayed, “Hear how they make fun of us, O God! Let their ridicule fall on their own heads. Let them be robbed of everything they have, and let them be taken as prisoners to a foreign land. ⁵ Don't forgive the evil they do and don't forget their sins, for they have insulted us who are building.”

⁶ So we went on rebuilding the wall, and soon it was half its full height, because the people were eager to work.

⁷ Sanballat, Tobiah, and the people of Arabia, Ammon, and Ashdod heard that we were making progress in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem and that the gaps in the wall were being closed, and they became very angry. ⁸ So they all plotted together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion, ⁹ but we prayed to our God and kept men on guard against them day and night.

¹⁰ The people of Judah had a song they sang:

¹¹ Our enemies thought we would not see them or know what was happening until they were already upon us, killing us and putting an end to our work. ¹² But time after time Jews who were living among our enemies came to warn us of the plans our enemies were making against us.^{[b] 13} So I armed the people with swords, spears, and bows, and stationed them by clans behind the wall, wherever it was still unfinished.

¹⁴ I saw that the people were worried, so I said to them and to their leaders and officials, “Don't be afraid of our enemies. Remember how great and terrifying the Lord is, and fight for your relatives, your children, your wives, and your homes.” ¹⁵ Our enemies heard that we had found out what they were plotting, and they realized that God had defeated their plans. Then all of us went back to rebuilding the wall.

¹⁶ From then on half of my men worked and half stood guard, wearing coats of armor and armed with spears, shields, and bows. And our leaders gave their full support to the people ¹⁷ who were rebuilding the wall. Even those who carried building materials worked with one hand and kept a weapon in the other, ¹⁸ and everyone who was building kept a sword strapped to their waist. The man who was to sound the alarm on the bugle stayed with me. ¹⁹ I told the people and their officials and leaders, “The work is spread out over such a distance that we are widely separated from one another on the wall. ²⁰ If you hear the bugle, gather around me. Our God will fight for us.” ²¹ So every day, from dawn until the stars came out at night, half of us worked on the wall, while the other half stood guard with spears.

²² During this time I told the men in charge that they and all their helpers had to stay in Jerusalem at night, so that we could guard the city at night as well as work in the daytime. ²³ I didn't take off my clothes even at night, neither did any of my companions nor my servants nor my bodyguards. And we all kept our weapons at hand.^[c]

Oppression of the Poor

5 Some time later many of the people, both men and women, began to complain against the other Jews. ² Some said, “We have large families, we need grain to keep us alive.”

³ Others said, “We have had to mortgage our fields and vineyards and houses to get enough grain to keep us from starving.”

⁴ Still others said, “We had to borrow money to pay the royal tax on our fields and vineyards. ⁵ We are of the same race as the other Jews. Aren't our children just as good as theirs? But we have to make slaves of our children. Some of our daughters have already been sold as slaves. We are helpless because our fields and vineyards have been taken away from us.”

⁶ When I heard their complaints, I grew angry ^7 (A)and decided to act. I denounced the leaders and officials of the people and told them, “You are oppressing your own relatives!”

I called a public assembly to deal with the problem ⁸ and said, “As far as we have been able, we have been buying back our Jewish relatives who had to sell themselves to foreigners. Now you are forcing your own relatives to sell themselves to you, their own people!” The leaders were silent and could find nothing to say.

⁹ Then I said, “What you are doing is wrong! You ought to obey God and do what's right. Then you would not give our enemies, the Gentiles, any reason to ridicule us. ¹⁰ I have let the people borrow money and grain from me, and so have my companions and those who work for me. Now let's give up all our claims to repayment. ¹¹ Cancel all the debts^[d] they owe you—money or grain or wine or olive oil. And give them back their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses right now!”

¹² The leaders replied, “We'll do as you say. We'll give the property back and not try to collect the debts.”

I called in the priests and made the leaders swear in front of them to keep the promise they had just made. ¹³ Then I took off the sash^[e] I was wearing around my waist and shook it out. “This is how God will shake any of you who don't keep your promise,” I said. “God will take away your houses and everything you own, and will leave you with nothing.”

Everyone who was present said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord. And the leaders kept their promise.

Questions about the Unmarried and the Widows

²⁵ Now, concerning what you wrote about unmarried people: I do not have a command from the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is worthy of trust.

²⁶ Considering the present distress, I think it is better for a man to stay as he is. ²⁷ Do you have a wife? Then don't try to get rid of her. Are you unmarried? Then don't look for a wife. ²⁸ But if you do marry, you haven't committed a sin; and if an unmarried woman marries, she hasn't committed a sin. But I would rather spare you the everyday troubles that married people will have.

²⁹ What I mean, my friends, is this: there is not much time left, and from now on married people should live as though they were not married; ³⁰ those who weep, as though they were not sad; those who laugh, as though they were not happy; those who buy, as though they did not own what they bought; ³¹ those who deal in material goods, as though they were not fully occupied with them. For this world, as it is now, will not last much longer.

³² I would like you to be free from worry. An unmarried man concerns himself with the Lord's work, because he is trying to please the Lord. ³³ But a married man concerns himself with worldly matters, because he wants to please his wife; ³⁴ and so he is pulled in two directions. An unmarried woman or a virgin concerns herself with the Lord's work, because she wants to be dedicated both in body and spirit; but a married woman concerns herself with worldly matters, because she wants to please her husband.

³⁵ I am saying this because I want to help you. I am not trying to put restrictions on you. Instead, I want you to do what is right and proper, and to give yourselves completely to the Lord's service without any reservation.

³⁶ In the case of an engaged couple who have decided not to marry: if the man feels that he is not acting properly toward the young woman and if his passions are too strong and he feels that they ought to marry, then they should get married, as he wants to.^[a] There is no sin in this. ³⁷ But if a man, without being forced to do so, has firmly made up his mind not to marry,^[b] and if he has his will under complete control and has already decided in his own mind what to do—then he does well not to marry the young woman.^{[c] 38} So the man who marries^[d] does well, but the one who doesn't marry^[e] does even better.

³⁹ A married woman is not free as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, then she is free to be married to any man she wishes, but only if he is a Christian. ⁴⁰ She will be happier, however, if she stays as she is. That is my opinion, and I think that I too have God's Spirit.

Confession and Forgiveness^[a]

⁵ Plan carefully and you will have plenty; if you act too quickly, you will never have enough.

⁶ The riches you get by dishonesty soon disappear, but not before they lead you into the jaws of death.

⁷ The wicked are doomed by their own violence; they refuse to do what is right.

1 This is the account of what Nehemiah son of Hacaliah accomplished.

Nehemiah's Concern for Jerusalem

In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes was emperor of Persia, I, Nehemiah, was in Susa, the capital city. ² Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived from Judah with another group, and I asked them about Jerusalem and about the other Jews who had returned from exile in^[a] Babylonia. ³ They told me that those who had survived and were back in the homeland^[b] were in great difficulty and that the foreigners who lived nearby looked down on them. They also told me that the walls of Jerusalem were still broken down and that the gates had not been restored since the time they were burned. ⁴ When I heard all this, I sat down and wept.

For several days I mourned and did not eat. I prayed to God, ⁵ “Lord God of Heaven! You are great, and we stand in fear of you. You faithfully keep your covenant with those who love you and do what you command. ⁶ Look at me, Lord, and hear my prayer, as I pray day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess that we, the people of Israel, have sinned. My ancestors and I have sinned. ⁷ We have acted wickedly against you and have not done what you commanded. We have not kept the laws which you gave us through Moses, your servant. ^8 (A)Remember now what you told Moses: ‘If you people of Israel are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the other nations. ^9 (B)But then if you turn back to me and do what I have commanded you, I will bring you back to the place where I have chosen to be worshiped, even though you are scattered to the ends of the earth.’

¹⁰ “Lord, these are your servants, your own people. You rescued them by your great power and strength. ¹¹ Listen now to my prayer and to the prayers of all your other servants who want to honor you. Give me success today and make the emperor merciful to me.”

In those days I was the emperor's wine steward.

Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem

2 One day four months later, when Emperor Artaxerxes was dining, I took the wine to him. He had never seen me look sad before, ² so he asked, “Why are you looking so sad? You aren't sick, so it must be that you're unhappy.”

I was startled ^3 (C)and answered, “May Your Majesty live forever! How can I keep from looking sad when the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

⁴ The emperor asked, “What is it that you want?”

I prayed to the God of Heaven, ⁵ and then I said to the emperor, “If Your Majesty is pleased with me and is willing to grant my request, let me go to the land of Judah, to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I can rebuild the city.”

⁶ The emperor, with the empress sitting at his side, approved my request. He asked me how long I would be gone and when I would return, and I told him.

⁷ Then I asked him to grant me the favor of giving me letters to the governors of West-of-Euphrates Province,^[c] instructing them to let me travel to Judah. ⁸ I asked also for a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal forests, instructing him to supply me with timber for the gates of the fort that guards the Temple, for the city walls, and for the house I was to live in. The emperor gave me all I asked for, because God was with me.

⁹ The emperor sent some army officers and a troop of cavalry with me, and I made the journey to West-of-Euphrates. There I gave the emperor's letters to the governors. ¹⁰ But Sanballat, from the town of Beth Horon, and Tobiah, an official in the province of Ammon, heard that someone had come to work for the good of the people of Israel, and they were highly indignant.

¹¹ I went on to Jerusalem, and for three days ¹² I did not tell anyone what God had inspired me to do for Jerusalem. Then in the middle of the night I got up and went out, taking a few of my companions with me. The only animal we took was the donkey that I rode on. ¹³ It was still night as I left the city through the Valley Gate on the west and went south past Dragon's Fountain to the Rubbish Gate. As I went, I inspected the broken walls of the city and the gates that had been destroyed by fire. ¹⁴ Then on the east side of the city I went north to the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool. The donkey I was riding could not find any path through the rubble, ¹⁵ so I went down into Kidron Valley and rode along, looking at the wall. Then I returned the way I had come and went back into the city through the Valley Gate.

¹⁶ None of the local officials knew where I had gone or what I had been doing. So far I had not said anything to any of the other Jews—the priests, the leaders, the officials, or anyone else who would be taking part in the work. ¹⁷ But now I said to them, “See what trouble we are in because Jerusalem is in ruins and its gates are destroyed! Let's rebuild the city walls and put an end to our disgrace.” ¹⁸ And I told them how God had been with me and helped me, and what the emperor had said to me.

They responded, “Let's start rebuilding!” And they got ready to start the work.

¹⁹ When Sanballat, Tobiah, and an Arab named Geshem heard what we were planning to do, they laughed at us and said, “What do you think you're doing? Are you going to rebel against the emperor?”

²⁰ I answered, “The God of Heaven will give us success. We are his servants, and we are going to start building. But you have no right to any property in Jerusalem, and you have no share in its traditions.”

Rebuilding the Wall of Jerusalem

3 This is how the city wall was rebuilt.^[d] The High Priest Eliashib and his fellow priests rebuilt the Sheep Gate, dedicated it, and put the gates in place. They dedicated the wall as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel.

² The men of Jericho built the next section.

Zaccur son of Imri built the next section.

³ The clan of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They put the beams and the gates in place, and put in the bolts and bars for locking the gate.

⁴ Meremoth, the son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz, built the next section.

Meshullam, the son of Berechiah and grandson of Meshezabel, built the next section.

Zadok son of Baana built the next section.

⁵ The men of Tekoa built the next section, but the leading men of the town refused to do the manual labor assigned them by the supervisors.

⁶ Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah rebuilt Jeshanah Gate.^[e] They put the beams and the gates in place, and put in the bolts and bars for locking the gate.

⁷ Melatiah from Gibeon, Jadon from Meronoth, and the men of Gibeon and Mizpah built the next section, as far as the residence of the governor of West-of-Euphrates.

⁸ Uzziel son of Harhaiah, a goldsmith, built the next section.

Hananiah, a maker of perfumes, built the next section, as far as Broad Wall.

⁹ Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of half of the Jerusalem District, built the next section.

¹⁰ Jedaiah son of Harumaph built the next section, which was near his own house.

Hattush son of Hashabneiah built the next section.

¹¹ Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath Moab built both the next section and the Tower of the Ovens.

¹² Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of the other half of the Jerusalem District, built the next section. (His daughters helped with the work.)

¹³ Hanun and the inhabitants of the city of Zanoah rebuilt the Valley Gate. They put the gates in place, put in the bolts and the bars for locking the gate, and repaired the wall for fifteen hundred feet, as far as the Rubbish Gate.

¹⁴ Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the Beth Haccherem District, rebuilt the Rubbish Gate. He put the gates in place, and put in the bolts and the bars for locking the gate.

Questions about Marriage

7 Now, to deal with the matters you wrote about.

A man does well not to marry.^{[a] 2} But because there is so much immorality, every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband. ³ A man should fulfill his duty as a husband, and a woman should fulfill her duty as a wife, and each should satisfy the other's needs. ⁴ A wife is not the master of her own body, but her husband is; in the same way a husband is not the master of his own body, but his wife is. ⁵ Do not deny yourselves to each other, unless you first agree to do so for a while in order to spend your time in prayer; but then resume normal marital relations. In this way you will be kept from giving in to Satan's temptation because of your lack of self-control.

⁶ I tell you this not as an order, but simply as a permission. ⁷ Actually I would prefer that all of you were as I am; but each one has a special gift from God, one person this gift, another one that gift.

⁸ Now, to the unmarried and to the widows I say that it would be better for you to continue to live alone as I do. ⁹ But if you cannot restrain your desires, go ahead and marry—it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

^10 (A)For married people I have a command which is not my own but the Lord's: a wife must not leave her husband; ¹¹ but if she does, she must remain single or else be reconciled to her husband; and a husband must not divorce his wife.

¹² To the others I say (I, myself, not the Lord): if a Christian man has a wife who is an unbeliever and she agrees to go on living with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³ And if a Christian woman is married to a man who is an unbeliever and he agrees to go on living with her, she must not divorce him. ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband is made acceptable to God by being united to his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made acceptable to God by being united to her Christian husband. If this were not so, their children would be like pagan children; but as it is, they are acceptable to God. ¹⁵ However, if the one who is not a believer wishes to leave the Christian partner, let it be so. In such cases the Christian partner, whether husband or wife, is free to act. God has called you to live in peace. ¹⁶ How can you be sure, Christian wife, that you will not save^[b] your husband? Or how can you be sure, Christian husband, that you will not save^[c] your wife?

Live As God Called You

¹⁷ Each of you should go on living according to the Lord's gift to you, and as you were when God called you. This is the rule I teach in all the churches. ^18 (B)If a circumcised man has accepted God's call, he should not try to remove the marks of circumcision; if an uncircumcised man has accepted God's call, he should not get circumcised. ¹⁹ For whether or not a man is circumcised means nothing; what matters is to obey God's commandments. ²⁰ Each of you should remain as you were when you accepted God's call. ²¹ Were you a slave when God called you? Well, never mind; but if you have a chance to become free, use it.^{[d] 22} For a slave who has been called by the Lord is the Lord's free person; in the same way a free person who has been called by Christ is his slave. ²³ God bought you for a price; so do not become slaves of people. ²⁴ My friends, each of you should remain in fellowship with God in the same condition that you were when you were called.

⁴ Wicked people are controlled by their conceit and arrogance, and this is sinful.

The People Take Action

10 While Ezra was praying, confessing these sins, crying, and throwing himself down in front of God’s temple, a large crowd of Israelite men, women, and children gathered around him. They also began to cry bitterly. ² Then Shecaniah, son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, interrupted by saying to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women who came from the people around us. However, there is still hope for Israel. ³ So we must now make a promise to our God to get rid of all foreign women and the children born from them, as my lord Ezra and the others who tremble at the commandments of our God have advised us to do. We must do what Moses’ Teachings tell us. ⁴ Get up! It’s your duty to take action. We are with you, so be strong and take action.”

⁵ Then Ezra got up and made the leaders, priests, Levites, and all the rest of Israel swear to do what they had said. So they took an oath. ⁶ Then Ezra left the front of God’s temple and went to the room of Jehohanan, son of Eliashib. Ezra didn’t eat any food or drink any water while he was there. He was mourning because these former exiles had been so unfaithful.

⁷ Then he sent a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the former exiles must gather in Jerusalem. ⁸ If any of them didn’t come within three days as the leaders and the older men had advised, then they would lose all their property and be excluded from the community of former exiles. ⁹ Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered within three days in Jerusalem. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the courtyard of God’s temple. They were trembling because of this matter and shivering because of the heavy rain.

¹⁰ Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, and now you have added to Israel’s guilt. ¹¹ Confess to the Lord God of your ancestors what you have done, and do what he wants. Separate yourselves from the people of this land and from your foreign wives.”

¹² Then the whole assembly shouted in reply, “Yes! We will do as you say. ¹³ But the crowd is too large, and it’s the rainy season. We can’t take care of this outside. Besides, there are so many of us who are involved in this sin that it can’t be taken care of in a day or two. ¹⁴ Let our leaders represent the whole community. At a set time, everyone who has married a foreign woman must meet with the leaders and judges of each city until our God’s burning anger has turned away from us in this matter.”

¹⁵ (Only Jonathan, Asahel’s son, and Jahzeiah, Tikvah’s son, opposed this. Meshullam and Shabbethai, the Levite, supported Jonathan and Jahzeiah.)

¹⁶ The former exiles did this. Ezra the priest chose men who were heads of families. He chose one from each family division. (They were all listed by name.) They sat down on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. ¹⁷ By the first day of the first month, they had finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women.

¹⁸ Among the descendants of the priests, the following were married to foreign women: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah, a descendant of Jeshua (who was Jozadak’s son) and his brothers. ¹⁹ They shook hands as a pledge that they would get rid of their wives. They sacrificed a ram from their flock as an offering for guilt because they were guilty.

Those Who Were Guilty of Marrying Foreign Women

⁴⁴ All of these men had married foreign women. Some of these women had given birth to children.^[a]

Settling Disagreements between Christians

6 When one of you has a complaint against another, how dare you go to court to settle the matter in front of wicked people. Why don’t you settle it in front of God’s holy people? ² Don’t you know that God’s people will judge the world? So if you’re going to judge the world, aren’t you capable of judging insignificant cases? ³ Don’t you know that we will judge angels, not to mention things in this life? ⁴ When you have cases dealing with this life, why do you allow people whom the church has a low opinion of to be your judges? ⁵ You should be ashamed of yourselves! Don’t you have at least one wise person who is able to settle disagreements between believers? ⁶ Instead, one believer goes to court against another believer, and this happens in front of unbelievers.

⁷ You are already totally defeated because you have lawsuits against each other. Why don’t you accept the fact that you have been wronged? Why don’t you accept that you have been cheated? ⁸ Instead, you do wrong and cheat, and you do this to other believers.

⁹ Don’t you know that wicked people won’t inherit God’s kingdom? Stop deceiving yourselves! People who continue to commit sexual sins, who worship false gods, those who commit adultery, homosexuals, ¹⁰ or thieves, those who are greedy or drunk, who use abusive language, or who rob people will not inherit God’s kingdom. ¹¹ That’s what some of you were! But you have been washed and made holy, and you have received God’s approval in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Stay Away from Sexual Sins

¹² Someone may say, “I’m allowed to do anything,” but not everything is helpful. I’m allowed to do anything, but I won’t allow anything to gain control over my life. ¹³ Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food, but God will put an end to both of them. However, the body is not for sexual sin but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. ¹⁴ God brought the Lord back to life, and by his power God will also bring us back to life.

¹⁵ Don’t you realize that your bodies are parts of Christ’s body? Should I take the parts of Christ’s body and make them parts of a prostitute’s body? That’s unthinkable! ¹⁶ Don’t you realize that the person who unites himself with a prostitute becomes one body with her? God says, “The two will be one.” ¹⁷ However, the person who unites himself with the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

¹⁸ Stay away from sexual sins. Other sins that people commit don’t affect their bodies the same way sexual sins do. People who sin sexually sin against their own bodies. ¹⁹ Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves. ²⁰ You were bought for a price. So bring glory to God in the way you use your body.

The People Take Action

10 While Ezra was praying, confessing these sins, crying, and throwing himself down in front of God’s temple, a large crowd of Israelite men, women, and children gathered around him. They also began to cry bitterly. ² Then Shecaniah, son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, interrupted by saying to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women who came from the people around us. However, there is still hope for Israel. ³ So we must now make a promise to our God to get rid of all foreign women and the children born from them, as my lord Ezra and the others who tremble at the commandments of our God have advised us to do. We must do what Moses’ Teachings tell us. ⁴ Get up! It’s your duty to take action. We are with you, so be strong and take action.”

⁵ Then Ezra got up and made the leaders, priests, Levites, and all the rest of Israel swear to do what they had said. So they took an oath. ⁶ Then Ezra left the front of God’s temple and went to the room of Jehohanan, son of Eliashib. Ezra didn’t eat any food or drink any water while he was there. He was mourning because these former exiles had been so unfaithful.

⁷ Then he sent a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the former exiles must gather in Jerusalem. ⁸ If any of them didn’t come within three days as the leaders and the older men had advised, then they would lose all their property and be excluded from the community of former exiles. ⁹ Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered within three days in Jerusalem. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the courtyard of God’s temple. They were trembling because of this matter and shivering because of the heavy rain.

¹⁰ Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, and now you have added to Israel’s guilt. ¹¹ Confess to the Lord God of your ancestors what you have done, and do what he wants. Separate yourselves from the people of this land and from your foreign wives.”

¹² Then the whole assembly shouted in reply, “Yes! We will do as you say. ¹³ But the crowd is too large, and it’s the rainy season. We can’t take care of this outside. Besides, there are so many of us who are involved in this sin that it can’t be taken care of in a day or two. ¹⁴ Let our leaders represent the whole community. At a set time, everyone who has married a foreign woman must meet with the leaders and judges of each city until our God’s burning anger has turned away from us in this matter.”

¹⁵ (Only Jonathan, Asahel’s son, and Jahzeiah, Tikvah’s son, opposed this. Meshullam and Shabbethai, the Levite, supported Jonathan and Jahzeiah.)

¹⁶ The former exiles did this. Ezra the priest chose men who were heads of families. He chose one from each family division. (They were all listed by name.) They sat down on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. ¹⁷ By the first day of the first month, they had finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women.

¹⁸ Among the descendants of the priests, the following were married to foreign women: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah, a descendant of Jeshua (who was Jozadak’s son) and his brothers. ¹⁹ They shook hands as a pledge that they would get rid of their wives. They sacrificed a ram from their flock as an offering for guilt because they were guilty.

Those Who Were Guilty of Marrying Foreign Women

⁴⁴ All of these men had married foreign women. Some of these women had given birth to children.^[a]

Settling Disagreements between Christians

6 When one of you has a complaint against another, how dare you go to court to settle the matter in front of wicked people. Why don’t you settle it in front of God’s holy people? ² Don’t you know that God’s people will judge the world? So if you’re going to judge the world, aren’t you capable of judging insignificant cases? ³ Don’t you know that we will judge angels, not to mention things in this life? ⁴ When you have cases dealing with this life, why do you allow people whom the church has a low opinion of to be your judges? ⁵ You should be ashamed of yourselves! Don’t you have at least one wise person who is able to settle disagreements between believers? ⁶ Instead, one believer goes to court against another believer, and this happens in front of unbelievers.

⁷ You are already totally defeated because you have lawsuits against each other. Why don’t you accept the fact that you have been wronged? Why don’t you accept that you have been cheated? ⁸ Instead, you do wrong and cheat, and you do this to other believers.

⁹ Don’t you know that wicked people won’t inherit God’s kingdom? Stop deceiving yourselves! People who continue to commit sexual sins, who worship false gods, those who commit adultery, homosexuals, ¹⁰ or thieves, those who are greedy or drunk, who use abusive language, or who rob people will not inherit God’s kingdom. ¹¹ That’s what some of you were! But you have been washed and made holy, and you have received God’s approval in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Stay Away from Sexual Sins

¹² Someone may say, “I’m allowed to do anything,” but not everything is helpful. I’m allowed to do anything, but I won’t allow anything to gain control over my life. ¹³ Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food, but God will put an end to both of them. However, the body is not for sexual sin but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. ¹⁴ God brought the Lord back to life, and by his power God will also bring us back to life.

¹⁵ Don’t you realize that your bodies are parts of Christ’s body? Should I take the parts of Christ’s body and make them parts of a prostitute’s body? That’s unthinkable! ¹⁶ Don’t you realize that the person who unites himself with a prostitute becomes one body with her? God says, “The two will be one.” ¹⁷ However, the person who unites himself with the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

¹⁸ Stay away from sexual sins. Other sins that people commit don’t affect their bodies the same way sexual sins do. People who sin sexually sin against their own bodies. ¹⁹ Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves. ²⁰ You were bought for a price. So bring glory to God in the way you use your body.

²¹ Then I announced a fast there at the Ahava River so that we might humble ourselves in the presence of our God to ask him for a safe journey for ourselves, for our little ones, and for all our goods. ²² I was ashamed to ask the king for an armed escort with cavalry to help us against an enemy attack on the way. We had already told the king, “Our God works things out for the good of everyone who dedicates his life to serving him, but his power and his anger oppose everyone who abandons him.” ²³ So we fasted and asked our God for a safe journey, and he answered our prayer.

²⁴ Then I selected 12 leaders from the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and 10 of their relatives. ²⁵ I weighed for them the silver, the gold, and the utensils. These were the contributions that the king, his advisers, his officials, and all the Israelites had contributed for our God’s temple. ²⁶ I weighed the contributions for them to guard: about 24 tons of silver, 100 silver utensils weighing 150 pounds apiece, 7,500 pounds of gold, ²⁷ 20 gold bowls weighing 18 pounds apiece, and two utensils of fine polished bronze that were as precious as gold. ²⁸ I told them, “You and the utensils are holy to the Lord. The silver and gold are freewill offerings to the Lord God of your ancestors. ²⁹ Guard them carefully. In Jerusalem, inside the storerooms of the Lord’s temple, weigh these items. Do this in front of the chief priests, Levites, and the leaders of Israel’s families.” ³⁰ So the priests and the Levites took charge of the silver, the gold, and the utensils. They were responsible for bringing these items to the temple of our God in Jerusalem.

The People Arrive in Jerusalem

³¹ Then we left the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. God was guiding us, and he rescued us from our enemies and from ambushes along the way. ³² When we reached Jerusalem, we rested for three days. ³³ On the fourth day we weighed the silver, the gold, and the utensils in our God’s temple. We put them under the supervision of Meremoth, son of the priest Uriah, as well as Eleazar, the son of Phinehas. The Levites, Jeshua’s son Jozabad, and Binnui’s son Noadiah, assisted them. ³⁴ Everything was counted and weighed, and the entire weight was recorded at that time.

³⁵ The exiles who had come back from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and 12 male goats for an offering for sin. All of these animals were burnt offerings for the Lord.

³⁶ The exiles delivered the king’s orders to the king’s satraps and governors in the province west of the Euphrates River. These officials then gave their support to the people and the temple of God.

Ezra Leads the People in Prayer

9 After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have failed to keep themselves separate from the neighboring groups of people and from the disgusting practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. ² The Israelites and their sons have married some of these foreign women. They have mixed our holy race with the neighboring groups of people. Furthermore, the leaders and officials have led the way in being unfaithful.”

³ When I heard this, I tore my clothes in distress, pulled hair from my scalp and my beard, and sat down in shock. ⁴ Since the former exiles had been unfaithful, everyone who gathered around me there trembled at the words of the God of Israel. I sat in shock until the evening sacrifice. ⁵ At the evening sacrifice I got up from my misery, and with my clothes torn, I knelt down, stretched out my hands to the Lord my God in prayer, ⁶ and said,

How to Treat Christians Who Live Like Non-Christians

5 Your own members are aware that there is sexual sin going on among them. This kind of sin is not even heard of among unbelievers—a man is actually married to his father’s wife. ² You’re being arrogant when you should have been more upset about this. If you had been upset, the man who did this would have been removed from among you. ³ Although I’m not physically present with you, I am with you in spirit. I have already judged the man who did this as though I were present with you. ⁴ When you have gathered together, I am with you in spirit. Then, in the name of our Lord Jesus, and with his power, ⁵ hand such a person over to Satan to destroy his corrupt nature so that his spiritual nature may be saved on the day of the Lord.

⁶ It’s not good for you to brag. Don’t you know that a little yeast spreads through the whole batch of dough? ⁷ Remove the old yeast of sin so that you may be a new batch of dough, since you don’t actually have the yeast of sin.

Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸ So we must not celebrate our festival with the old yeast of sin or with the yeast of vice and wickedness. Instead, we must celebrate it with the bread of purity and truth that has no yeast.

⁹ In my letter to you I told you not to associate with people who continue to commit sexual sins. ¹⁰ I didn’t tell you that you could not have any contact with unbelievers who commit sexual sins, are greedy, are dishonest, or worship false gods. If that were the case, you would have to leave this world. ¹¹ Now, what I meant was that you should not associate with people who call themselves brothers or sisters in the Christian faith but live in sexual sin, are greedy, worship false gods, use abusive language, get drunk, or are dishonest. Don’t eat with such people.

¹² After all, do I have any business judging those who are outside the Christian faith? Isn’t it your business to judge those who are inside? ¹³ God will judge those who are outside. Remove that wicked man from among you.

The Lord Controls Wise and Foolish People

Ezra’s Family Background

7 After these things, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra left Babylon.

Ezra was the son of Seraiah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Hilkiah, ² who was the son of Shallum, who was the son of Zadok, who was the son of Ahitub, ³ who was the son of Amariah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Meraioth, ⁴ who was the son of Zerahiah, who was the son of Uzzi, who was the son of Bukki, ⁵ who was the son of Abishua, who was the son of Phinehas, who was the son of Eleazer, who was the son of Aaron (the first priest).

⁶ As a scribe, Ezra was an expert in Moses’ Teachings, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king gave Ezra everything he requested because the Lord his God was guiding him.

⁷ Some Israelites (including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants) went to Jerusalem in Artaxerxes’ seventh year as king. ⁸ In that same year in the fifth month, Ezra arrived in Jerusalem. ⁹ He had left Babylon on the first day of the first month, and on the first day of the fifth month, he arrived in Jerusalem, since his God was good to him. ¹⁰ Ezra was determined to study the Lord’s Teachings, live by them, and teach their rules and regulations in Israel.

King Artaxerxes’ Letter to Ezra

¹¹ This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest and scribe, a man with a thorough knowledge of the Lord’s commands and laws for Israel:

12 From:	Artaxerxes, king of kings
To:	Ezra the priest, a scribe for the Teachings of the God of Heaven I wish you peace and prosperity!

²⁷ I, Ezra, said: Thanks be to the Lord God of our ancestors. He put this into the king’s mind to make the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem beautiful. ²⁸ He made the king, his advisers, and all the king’s powerful officials treat me kindly.

I was encouraged because the Lord my God was guiding me. So I gathered leaders in Israel to go with me.

The List of Those Returning from Babylon

8 These are the leaders of the families and the genealogy of those who left Babylon with me during the reign of King Artaxerxes:

The People Prepare for Their Journey

¹⁵ I had this group gather by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I noticed laypeople and priests there, but I didn’t find any Levites. ¹⁶ Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam (who were leading men) and for Joiarib and Elnathan (who were wise). ¹⁷ I sent them to Iddo, the leader in Casiphia. I told them to tell Iddo and his relatives, the temple servants in Casiphia, that they should bring us men who can serve in our God’s temple. ¹⁸ God was guiding us, so Iddo and his relatives brought us someone competent, Sherebiah, who was a descendant of Mahli, Levi, and Israel. They brought us 18 of Sherebiah’s sons and relatives. ¹⁹ They also brought Hashabiah, Jeshaiah (who was a descendant of Merari), 20 of Jeshaiah’s relatives and their sons, ²⁰ and 220 temple servants. They were descended from the temple servants whom David and his officials had appointed to work for the Levites. These were all listed by name.

The Work of the Apostles

4 People should think of us as servants of Christ and managers who are entrusted with God’s mysteries. ² Managers are required to be trustworthy.

³ It means very little to me that you or any human court should cross-examine me. I don’t even ask myself questions. ⁴ I have a clear conscience, but that doesn’t mean I have God’s approval. It is the Lord who cross-examines me. ⁵ Therefore, don’t judge anything before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will also bring to light what is hidden in the dark and reveal people’s motives. Then each person will receive praise from God.

⁶ Brothers and sisters, I have applied this to Apollos and myself for your sake. You should learn from us not to go beyond what is written in Scripture. Then you won’t arrogantly place one of us in opposition to the other.

⁷ Who says that you are any better than other people? What do you have that wasn’t given to you? If you were given what you have, why are you bragging as if it weren’t a gift?

⁸ You already have what you want! You’ve already become rich! You’ve become kings without us! I wish you really were kings so that we could be kings with you.

⁹ As I see it, God has placed us apostles last in line, like people condemned to die. We have become a spectacle for people and angels to look at. ¹⁰ We have given up our wisdom for Christ, but you have insight because of Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. ¹¹ To this moment, we are hungry, thirsty, poorly dressed, roughly treated, and homeless. ¹² We wear ourselves out doing physical labor. When people verbally abuse us, we bless them. When people persecute us, we endure it. ¹³ When our reputations are attacked, we remain courteous. Right now we have become garbage in the eyes of the world and trash in the sight of all people.

¹⁴ I’m not writing this to make you feel ashamed but to instruct you as my dear children. ¹⁵ You may have countless Christian guardians, but you don’t have many spiritual fathers. I became your father in the Christian life by telling you the Good News about Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ So I encourage you to imitate me. ¹⁷ That’s why I’ve sent Timothy to you to help you remember my Christian way of life as I teach it everywhere in every church. Timothy is my dear child, and he faithfully does the Lord’s work.

¹⁸ Some of you have become arrogant because you think I won’t pay you a visit. ¹⁹ If it’s the Lord’s will, I’ll visit you soon. Then I’ll know what these arrogant people are saying and what power they have. ²⁰ God’s kingdom is not just talk, it is power.

²¹ When I come to visit you, would you prefer that I punish you or show you love and a gentle spirit?

Psalm 30

A psalm by David sung at the dedication of the temple.

Psalm 31

For the choir director; a psalm by 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:

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

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.^[b] 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.

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:

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?

Psalm 29

A psalm 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.

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:

gold dishes[b]	30
silver dishes	1,000
knives[c]	29
10 gold bowls	30
other silver bowls	410
other utensils	1,000
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:

3 the descendants of Parosh	2,172
4 of Shephatiah	372
5 of Arah	775
6 of Pahath Moab, that is, of Jeshua and Joab	2,812
7 of Elam	1,254
8 of Zattu	945
9 of Zaccai	760
10 of Bani	642
11 of Bebai	623
12 of Azgad	1,222
13 of Adonikam	666
14 of Bigvai	2,056
15 of Adin	454
16 of Ater, that is, Hezekiah	98
17 of Bezai	323
18 of Jorah	112
19 of Hashum	223
20 of Gibbar	95

Families Listed by Cities^(D)

21 The people of Bethlehem	123
22 of Netophah	56
23 of Anathoth	128
24 of Azmaveth	42
25 of Kiriath Jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth	743
26 of Ramah and Geba	621
27 of Michmas	122
28 of Bethel and Ai	223
29 of Nebo	52
30 of Magbish	156
31 of the other Elam	1,254
32 of Harim	320
33 of Lod, Hadid, and Ono	725
34 of Jericho	345
35 of Senaah	3,630

Priests^(E)

36 These priests returned from exile:
the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family of Jeshua)	973
37 of Immer	1,052
38 of Pashhur	1,247
39 of Harim	1,017

Levites^(F)

40 These Levites returned from exile:
the descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel, that is, of Hodaviah	74
41 These singers returned from exile:
the descendants of Asaph	128
42 These gatekeepers returned from exile:
the descendants of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai	139

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^[d] 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.

Psalm 28

By David.

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. ^{[a] 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^[b] 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. ^{[c] 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.

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.