The People of Israel Confess Their Sin

9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of ^(A)this month the people of Israel were assembled ^(B)with fasting ^(C)and in sackcloth, ^(D)and with earth on their heads. ^2 (E)And the Israelites^[a] separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. ^3 (F)And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. ⁴ On the stairs of the Levites stood ^(G)Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God. ⁵ Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. ^(H)Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

^{6 [b] (I)}“You are the Lord, you alone. ^(J)You have made heaven, ^(K)the heaven of heavens, ^(L)with all their host, ^(M)the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; ^(N)and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. ⁷ You are the Lord, the God ^(O)who chose Abram and brought him out of ^(P)Ur of the Chaldeans ^(Q)and gave him the name Abraham. ^8 (R)You found his heart faithful before you, ^(S)and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring ^(T)the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. ^(U)And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.

^9 (V)“And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard ^(W)their cry at the Red Sea, ^10 (X)and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that ^(Y)they acted arrogantly against our fathers. And ^(Z)you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day. ^11 (AA)And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, ^(AB)as a stone into mighty waters. ¹² By ^(AC)a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. ^13 (AD)You came down on Mount Sinai ^(AE)and spoke with them from heaven and gave them ^(AF)right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, ^14 (AG)and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. ^15 (AH)You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and ^(AI)brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you ^(AJ)told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.

¹⁶ “But they and our fathers ^(AK)acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. ¹⁷ They refused to obey ^(AL)and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt.^[c] But you are a God ready to forgive, ^(AM)gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. ¹⁸ Even ^(AN)when they had made for themselves a golden^[d] calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ ^(AO)and had committed great blasphemies, ¹⁹ you ^(AP)in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. ^(AQ)The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, ^(AR)nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. ^20 (AS)You gave your good Spirit to instruct them ^(AT)and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. ^21 (AU)Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

²² “And you gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. ^(AV)So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon ^(AW)and the land of Og king of Bashan. ²³ You multiplied their children ^(AX)as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess. ^24 (AY)So the descendants went in and possessed the land, ^(AZ)and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. ²⁵ And they captured ^(BA)fortified cities and ^(BB)a rich land, and took possession of ^(BC)houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled ^(BD)and became fat and delighted themselves in ^(BE)your great goodness.

^26 (BF)“Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you ^(BG)and cast your law behind their back ^(BH)and killed your prophets, who ^(BI)had warned them in order to turn them back to you, ^(BJ)and they committed great blasphemies. ^27 (BK)Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. ^(BL)And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them ^(BM)saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. ^28 (BN)But after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, ^(BO)and many times you delivered them according to your mercies. ^29 (BP)And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet ^(BQ)they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your rules, ^(BR)which if a person does them, he shall live by them, ^(BS)and they turned a stubborn shoulder ^(BT)and stiffened their neck and would not obey. ³⁰ Many years ^(BU)you bore with them ^(BV)and warned them ^(BW)by your Spirit through your prophets. ^(BX)Yet they would not give ear. ^(BY)Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. ³¹ Nevertheless, ^(BZ)in your great mercies ^(CA)you did not make an end of them or forsake them, ^(CB)for you are a gracious and merciful God.

³² “Now, therefore, our God, ^(CC)the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, ^(CD)since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. ^33 (CE)Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully ^(CF)and we have acted wickedly. ³⁴ Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them. ³⁵ Even in their own kingdom, ^(CG)and amid your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and ^(CH)rich land that you set before them, ^(CI)they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works. ³⁶ Behold, ^(CJ)we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. ^37 (CK)And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress.

^38 [e] “Because of all this ^(CL)we make a firm covenant in writing; on ^(CM)the sealed document are the names of^[f] our princes, our Levites, and our priests.

The People Who Sealed the Covenant

10 ^{[g] (CN)}“On the seals are the names of^[h] Nehemiah ^(CO)the governor, ^(CP)the son of Hacaliah, Zedekiah, ^2 (CQ)Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, ³ Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, ^4 (CR)Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, ⁵ Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, ⁶ Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, ⁷ Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, ⁸ Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these are the priests. ⁹ And the Levites: ^(CS)Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of ^(CT)Henadad, Kadmiel; ¹⁰ and their brothers, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, ¹¹ Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, ¹² Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, ¹³ Hodiah, Bani, Beninu. ¹⁴ The chiefs of the people: ^(CU)Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, ¹⁵ Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, ¹⁶ Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, ¹⁷ Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, ¹⁸ Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, ¹⁹ Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, ²⁰ Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, ²¹ Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, ²² Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, ²³ Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, ²⁴ Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, ²⁵ Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, ²⁶ Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, ²⁷ Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

The Obligations of the Covenant

^28 (CV)“The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, ^(CW)and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, ²⁹ join with their brothers, their nobles, ^(CX)and enter into a curse and an oath ^(CY)to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord and his rules and his statutes. ^30 (CZ)We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. ^31 (DA)And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. And we will forego the crops of the ^(DB)seventh year and the ^(DC)exaction of every debt.

³² “We also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly ^(DD)a third part of a shekel^[i] for the service of the house of our God: ^33 (DE)for the showbread, ^(DF)the regular grain offering, ^(DG)the regular burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. ^34 (DH)We, the priests, the Levites, and the people, have likewise cast lots ^(DI)for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, ^(DJ)as it is written in the Law. ³⁵ We obligate ourselves ^(DK)to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord; ³⁶ also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, ^(DL)as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks; ^37 (DM)and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, ^(DN)to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our towns where we labor. ³⁸ And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes. And the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of ^(DO)the storehouse. ³⁹ For the people of Israel and the sons of Levi ^(DP)shall bring the contribution of grain, wine, and oil to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary are, as well as the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers. ^(DQ)We will not neglect the house of our God.”

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2 When ^(A)the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like ^(B)a mighty rushing wind, and ^(C)it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ And divided tongues ^(D)as of fire appeared to them and rested^[a] on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all ^(E)filled with the Holy Spirit and began ^(F)to speak in other tongues ^(G)as the Spirit gave them utterance.

⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And ^(H)at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷ And ^(I)they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking ^(J)Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians and ^(K)Medes and ^(L)Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, ¹¹ both Jews and ^(M)proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” ¹² And ^(N)all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others ^(O)mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Peter's Sermon at Pentecost

¹⁴ But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. ¹⁵ For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, ^(P)since it is only the third hour of the day.^{[b] 16} But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

²² “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, ^(Y)a man attested to you by God ^(Z)with ^(AA)mighty works and wonders and signs that ^(AB)God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— ²³ this Jesus,^{[c] (AC)}delivered up according to ^(AD)the definite plan and ^(AE)foreknowledge of God, ^(AF)you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. ^24 (AG)God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because ^(AH)it was not possible for him to be held by it. ²⁵ For David says concerning him,

²⁹ “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about ^(AO)the patriarch David ^(AP)that he both died and ^(AQ)was buried, and ^(AR)his tomb is with us to this day. ^30 (AS)Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that ^(AT)God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, ³¹ he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that ^(AU)he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. ³² This Jesus ^(AV)God raised up, ^(AW)and of that we all are witnesses. ^33 (AX)Being therefore ^(AY)exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from ^(AZ)the Father ^(BA)the promise of the Holy Spirit, ^(BB)he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. ³⁴ For ^(BC)David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

³⁶ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that ^(BE)God has made him ^(BF)both Lord and Christ, this Jesus ^(BG)whom you crucified.”

³⁷ Now when ^(BH)they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, ^(BI)what shall we do?” ³⁸ And Peter said to them, ^(BJ)“Repent and ^(BK)be baptized every one of you ^(BL)in the name of Jesus Christ ^(BM)for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive ^(BN)the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For ^(BO)the promise is for you and ^(BP)for your children and for all ^(BQ)who are far off, everyone ^(BR)whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, ^(BS)“Save yourselves from this ^(BT)crooked generation.” ⁴¹ So those who received his word were baptized, and ^(BU)there were added that day about three thousand souls.

The Fellowship of the Believers

⁴² And ^(BV)they devoted themselves to the apostles' ^(BW)teaching and the ^(BX)fellowship, to ^(BY)the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³ And awe^[d] came upon every soul, and ^(BZ)many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and ^(CA)had all things in common. ⁴⁵ And ^(CB)they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, ^(CC)attending the temple ^(CD)together and ^(CE)breaking bread in their homes, they received their food ^(CF)with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and ^(CG)having favor with all the people. And the Lord ^(CH)added to their number ^(CI)day by day those who ^(CJ)were being saved.