Faith in the Incarnate Son of God

5 Everyone who believes^(A) that Jesus is the Christ^(B) is born of God,^(C) and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.^{(D) 2} This is how we know^(E) that we love the children of God:^(F) by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³ In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands.^(G) And his commands are not burdensome,^{(H) 4} for everyone born of God^(I) overcomes^(J) the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.^(K)

⁶ This is the one who came by water and blood^(L)—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.^{(M) 7} For there are three^(N) that testify: ⁸ the^[a] Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. ⁹ We accept human testimony,^(O) but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God,^(P) which he has given about his Son. ¹⁰ Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony.^(Q) Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar,^(R) because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life,^(S) and this life is in his Son.^{(T) 12} Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.^(U)

Concluding Affirmations

¹³ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God^(V) so that you may know that you have eternal life.^{(W) 14} This is the confidence^(X) we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.^{(Y) 15} And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know^(Z) that we have what we asked of him.^(AA)

¹⁶ If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life.^(AB) I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death.^(AC) I am not saying that you should pray about that.^{(AD) 17} All wrongdoing is sin,^(AE) and there is sin that does not lead to death.^(AF)

¹⁸ We know that anyone born of God^(AG) does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one^(AH) cannot harm them.^{(AI) 19} We know that we are children of God,^(AJ) and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.^{(AK) 20} We know also that the Son of God has come^(AL) and has given us understanding,^(AM) so that we may know him who is true.^(AN) And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.^(AO)

²¹ Dear children,^(AP) keep yourselves from idols.^(AQ)

Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return^(A)

1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah,^(B) the Lord moved the heart^(C) of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:

⁵ Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin,^(K) and the priests and Levites—everyone whose heart God had moved^(L)—prepared to go up and build the house^(M) of the Lord in Jerusalem. ⁶ All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold,^(N) with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings.

⁷ Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god.^{[a](O) 8} Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar^(P) the prince of Judah.

⁹ This was the inventory:

¹¹ In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along with the exiles when they came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

The List of the Exiles Who Returned^(Q)

2 Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles,^(R) whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon^(S) had taken captive to Babylon (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to their own town,^{(T) 2} in company with Zerubbabel,^(U) Joshua,^(V) Nehemiah, Seraiah,^(W) Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baanah):

⁶⁸ When they arrived at the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families^(AU) gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God on its site. ⁶⁹ According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 darics^[d] of gold, 5,000 minas^[e] of silver and 100 priestly garments.

⁷⁰ The priests, the Levites, the musicians, the gatekeepers and the temple servants settled in their own towns, along with some of the other people, and the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns.^(AV)