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15 Also, Shallun son of Kol Hozeh, administrator of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and roofed it and installed its doors with their bolts and their bars. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah[a] for the King’s Garden, as far as the steps that go down from the City of David.
16 Beyond him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, administrator[b] of half the district of Beth Zur, repaired the wall up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the Artificial Pool and as far as the House of the Warriors.
17 Beyond him the Levites repaired the wall: Rehum son of Bani and next to him Hashabiah, administrator of half of the district of Keilah, repaired the wall for his district.
18 Beyond them their relatives repaired the wall: Binnui[c] son of Henadad, administrator of half the district of Keilah.
19 Next to him Ezer son of Jeshua, mayor[d] of Mizpah, repaired a second section of the wall opposite the Ascent of the Armory at the Angle.
20 Beyond him Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired a second section of the wall from the Angle to the door of the house of the high priest Eliashib.
21 Beyond him Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired a second section of the wall from the door of Eliashib’s house to the end of Eliashib’s house.
22 And beyond him, the priests, the men of the surrounding area, repaired the wall.
23 Beyond them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired the wall opposite their house.
Beyond them Azariah the son of Ma’aseiah, the son of Ananiah, repaired the wall beside his house.
24 Beyond him Binnui son of Henadad repaired a second section of the wall from the house of Azariah to the Angle, that is, to the Corner.[e]
25 Palal son of Uzai repaired the wall from opposite the Angle and the tower that projects from the king’s upper house, which belongs to the Courtyard of the Guard.
Beyond him Pedaiah son of Parosh 26 and the temple servants who were living on the Ophel Hill repaired the wall as far as the Water Gate toward the east and the Projecting Tower.
27 Beyond them the men of Tekoa repaired a second length of the wall from opposite the large Projecting Tower to the Ophel Wall.
28 Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired the wall. Each man repaired the part opposite his own house.
29 Beyond them Zadok son of Immer repaired the wall opposite his own house.
And beyond him Shemaiah son of Shekaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired the wall.
30 Beyond him Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired a second section of the wall. After him Meshullam son of Berekiah repaired the wall opposite his chamber.
31 Beyond him Malkijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired the wall up to the building of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate and to the Upper Room at the Corner.
32 Between the Upper Room at the Corner and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired the wall.
Opposition and Threats to the Building[f]
4 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, it infuriated him, and he became very angry. He ridiculed the Jews 2 and said in front of his allies[g] and the army of Samaria, “What are those pathetic Jews doing? Will they restore[h] it by themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in one day? Will they refurbish the stones that came from the piles of rubble that have been burned?”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him. He said, “Whatever they are building, if even a fox climbed on it, it would break apart the wall made from their stones.”
4 Listen, O our God, because we are an object of contempt. Turn their ridicule back on their own heads. Hand them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover over their guilt, and may their sin not be blotted out before you, because they have provoked your anger in the presence of the builders.[i]
6 So we built the wall, and the entire wall was completed, up to half its height, because the people were determined to do it.
7 Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the repair of Jerusalem’s walls had progressed and the breaches had begun to be filled, they were infuriated. 8 So all of them conspired to come to attack Jerusalem and to throw it into confusion. 9 However, we prayed to our God, and because of the enemies, we posted a guard over the builders day and night.
10 Then the people of Judah said, “The strength of those bearing the burden is failing. There is so much rubble. We will not be able to build the wall!”
11 Then our adversaries said, “They will not know about it or realize what we are doing, until we come among them and kill them and bring the work to a halt.”
12 When the Jews who lived near them came, they repeatedly told us, “No matter which way you turn, they will be upon us.”[j] 13 So I stationed people behind the wall at the lowest places, at its open spots. I stationed the people by clans with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 Then I looked and got up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and fearsome. So fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
15 When our enemies heard that their plan was known to us and that God had frustrated their strategy, all of us returned to the wall, each man to his own work. 16 From that day on, half of the young men who were serving under me were doing the work, and half of them were holding shields, spears, and bows and wearing armor. The officers were stationed behind the whole house of Judah. 17 The people who were building the wall and those who were carrying the materials for building were doing their work with one hand, while the other hand held a weapon. 18 As they built, the builders were armed, each man with his sword on his hip. The man who sounded the ram’s horn was next to me.
19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “There is a lot of work, and it is spread out, and we are separated along the wall—all the people are far away from each other. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, gather with us at that spot. Our God will fight for us.”
21 So we continued to work with half of the people holding spears, from the crack of dawn until the stars came out. 22 Also at that time I said to the people, “Let every man and his servant spend the night in Jerusalem. They will serve as a guard for us at night, and in the daytime they will work.”
23 Neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who were behind me—none of us took off our clothes. Each man had his weapon in his hand, even when getting a drink of water.[k]
The Work Is Threatened by Internal Dissension
5 Now there was a great outcry by the people and their wives against their fellow Jews. 2 There were those who were saying, “We and our sons and our daughters are many! We need to acquire grain so that we can eat and stay alive.” 3 There were others who were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, vineyards, and houses so that we can acquire grain during the famine.” 4 There were others who were saying, “We borrowed money to pay the royal tax on our fields and vineyards. 5 Although our flesh is the same as the flesh of our countrymen, and our children are as good as their children, we must subject our sons and our daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we have no power to prevent it, since our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
6 It infuriated me when I heard their outcry and these words. 7 My heart guided me, and I accused the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “Each of you is loaning money at interest to his brother Israelite.”
I called for a large meeting to deal with them. 8 I said to them, “As much as possible, we have bought back our fellow Judeans who have been sold to the Gentiles, and yet, you sell your countrymen so that they can be resold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say.
9 So I said, “What you are doing is not good. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God because of the ridicule from the Gentiles, who are our enemies? 10 In addition, I, my brothers, and my servants are lending them money and grain. I urge you. Let’s abandon the practice of charging this interest. 11 I urge you. Today give them back their fields, their vineyards, their olive trees, their homes, and the money they were charged as interest, also the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil for which you have been charging them.”
12 They said, “We will give it back, and we will not seek anything else from them. In this way we will do what you say.”
So I called the priests and made them swear to act according to this promise. 13 I also shook out the folds of my garment and said, “In this way may God shake out from his home and from his property every man who does not keep this promise. May he be shaken out and emptied in this way.”
The entire assembly said, “Amen,” and they praised the Lord. Then the people kept this promise.
25 Now concerning virgins, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one whom the Lord in his mercy made worthy of trust. 26 Accordingly, I think this is good because of the difficult situation we face,[a] namely, that it is good for a person to remain as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be freed. Are you unattached? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you do get married, you have not sinned, and if a virgin gets married, she has not sinned. Yet such people will be under pressure in their earthly lives, and I am trying to spare you.
29 I also say this, brothers: The time is short. From now on, let those who have wives live as if they have none; 30 those who weep, as if not weeping; those who rejoice, as if not rejoicing; those who buy, as if not possessing; 31 and those who use the world, as if not getting any use out of it. For the way of life that belongs to this world is passing away.
32 I would like you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord and thinks about how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is concerned about the things of the world and thinks about how to please his wife, 34 and so he is divided. The unmarried woman and the virgin are concerned about the things of the Lord, so as to be holy both in body and in spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the things of the world and thinks about how to please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your own benefit, not to impose a restriction, but to encourage honorable, undistracted devotion to the Lord.
36 But if someone thinks he is behaving inappropriately toward his virgin,[b] if his feelings are strong[c] and it seems necessary, he should do what he desires. It is not a sin. They should marry. 37 But if someone stands firm in his heart and is not driven by need, but has control over his own desire[d] and has decided in his own heart to keep his virgin as she is, he does well. 38 So then, he who marries his virgin[e] does well, and he who does not marry her[f] does better.
39 A wife[g] is bound to her husband for as long as he lives, but if the husband has died, she is free to be married to any man she wishes, only in the Lord. 40 But she is more blessed if she stays as she is, in my judgment, and I think that I too have God’s Spirit.
Psalm 32
How Blessed Is the Person Whose Rebellion Is Forgiven
Heading
By David. A maskil.[a]
The Joy of Forgiveness
1 How blessed is the person
whose rebellion is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 How blessed is the person
whose guilt the Lord does not charge against him,
in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Obtaining the Joy of Forgiveness
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away as I groaned all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me. Interlude
My moisture was dried up by the droughts of summer.
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover up my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord,” Interlude
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
6 Because of this, let everyone who receives favor pray to you
at a time when you may be found.
Surely when the mighty waters overflow,
they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place.
You will protect me from distress. Interlude
You will surround me with shouts of deliverance.
Sharing the Joy of Forgiveness
8 I will make you wise.
I will instruct you in the way that you should go.
I will guide you, keeping my eye on you.
9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, which has no understanding.
Its mouth must be controlled by a bit and bridle,
or else it will not come to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but mercy will surround those who trust in the Lord.
11 Rejoice in the Lord and celebrate, all you righteous,
and shout joyfully, all you upright in heart.
5 The plans of a hard worker lead to abundance,
but everyone in a hurry rushes toward scarcity.
6 Piling up treasure by a lying tongue
is a vanishing vapor for those who seek death.
7 The violence of the wicked will drag them away,
because they refuse to do what is just.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.