¹³ Now Paul and his companions sailed from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John [Mark] separated himself from them and went back to Jerusalem,

¹⁴ But they [themselves] came on from Perga and arrived at Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue there and sat down.

¹⁵ After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders [of the worship] of the synagogue sent to them saying, Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation or consolation or encouragement for the people, say it.

¹⁶ So Paul arose, and motioning with his hand said, Men of Israel and you who reverence and fear God, listen!

¹⁷ The God of this people Israel selected our forefathers and made this people great and important during their stay in the land of Egypt, and then with an uplifted arm He led them out from there.^(A)

¹⁸ And for about forty years ^[a]like a fatherly nurse He cared for them in the wilderness and endured their behavior.^(B)

¹⁹ When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave them [the Hebrews] their land as an inheritance [distributing it to them by lot; all of which took] about 450 years.^(C)

²⁰ After that, He gave them judges until the prophet Samuel.

²¹ Then they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

²² And when He had deposed him, He raised up David to be their king; of him He bore witness and said, I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart, who will do all My will and carry out My program fully.^(D)

²³ Of this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel a Savior [in the person of Jesus], according to His promise.

²⁴ Before His coming John had [already] preached baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

²⁵ And as John was ending his course, he asked, What or ^[b]who do you secretly think that I am? I am not He [the Christ. No], but note that after me One is coming, the sandals of Whose feet I am not worthy to untie!

²⁶ Brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and all those others among you who reverence and fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation [the salvation obtained through Jesus Christ].^(E)

²⁷ For those who dwell in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not know or recognize Him or understand the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, have actually fulfilled these very predictions by condemning and sentencing [Him].

²⁸ And although they could find no cause deserving death with which to charge Him, yet they asked Pilate to have Him executed and put out of the way.

²⁹ And when they had finished and fulfilled everything that was written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.

³⁰ But God raised Him from the dead.

³¹ And for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are His witnesses to the people.

³² So now we are bringing you the good news (Gospel) that what God promised to our forefathers,

³³ This He has ^[c]completely fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm, You are My Son; today I have begotten You [^[d]caused You to arise, to be born; ^[e]formally shown You to be the Messiah by the resurrection].^(F)

³⁴ And as to His having raised Him from among the dead, now no more to return to [undergo] putrefaction and dissolution [of the grave], He spoke in this way, I will fulfill and give to you the holy and sure mercy and blessings [that were promised and assured] to David.^(G)

³⁵ For this reason He says also in another psalm, You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption [to undergo putrefaction and dissolution of the grave].^(H)

³⁶ For David, after he had served God’s will and purpose and counsel in his own generation, fell asleep [^[f]in death] and was buried among his forefathers, and he did see corruption and undergo putrefaction and dissolution [of the grave].

³⁷ But He Whom God raised up [to life] saw no corruption [did not experience putrefaction and dissolution of the grave].

³⁸ So let it be clearly known and understood by you, brethren, that through this Man forgiveness and removal of sins is now proclaimed to you;

³⁹ And that through Him everyone who believes [who ^[g]acknowledges Jesus as his Savior and devotes himself to Him] is absolved (cleared and freed) from every charge from which he could not be justified and freed by the Law of Moses and given right standing with God.

⁴⁰ Take care, therefore, lest there come upon you what is spoken in the prophets:

⁴¹ Look, you scoffers and scorners, and marvel and perish and vanish away; for I am doing a deed in your days, a deed which you will never have confidence in or believe, [even] if someone [^[h]clearly describing it in detail] declares it to you.^(I)

⁴² As they [Paul and Barnabas] went out [of the synagogue], the people earnestly begged that these things might be told to them [further] the next Sabbath.

⁴³ And when the congregation of the synagogue dispersed, many of the Jews and the devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked to them and urged them to continue [to trust themselves to and to stand fast] in the grace (the unmerited favor and blessing) of God.

⁴⁴ The next Sabbath almost the entire city gathered together to hear the Word of God [concerning ^[i]the attainment through Christ of salvation in the kingdom of God].

⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the crowds, filled with envy and jealousy they contradicted what was said by Paul and talked abusively [reviling and slandering him].

⁴⁶ And Paul and Barnabas spoke out plainly and boldly, saying, It was necessary that God’s message [concerning ^[j]salvation through Christ] should be spoken to you first. But since you thrust it from you, you pass this judgment on yourselves that you are unworthy of eternal life and out of your own mouth you will be judged. [Now] behold, we turn to the Gentiles (the heathen).

⁴⁷ For so the Lord has charged us, saying, I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles (the heathen), that you may bring [eternal] salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.^(J)

⁴⁸ And when the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified (praised and gave thanks for) the Word of God; and as many as were destined (appointed and ordained) to eternal life believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Jesus as the Christ and their Savior).

⁴⁹ And so the Word of the Lord [concerning eternal salvation through Christ] scattered and spread throughout the whole region.

⁵⁰ But the Jews stirred up the devout women of high rank and the outstanding men of the town, and instigated persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their boundaries.

⁵¹ But [the apostles] shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium.

⁵² And the disciples were continually filled [throughout their souls] with joy and the Holy Spirit.

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9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month, the Israelites were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth and with earth upon their heads.

² And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

³ And they stood in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day, and for another fourth of it they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God.

⁴ On the stairs of the Levites stood 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. Blessed be Your glorious name which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

⁶ [And Ezra said], You are the Lord, You alone; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and You preserve them all, and the hosts of heaven worship You.

⁷ You are the Lord, the God Who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees and gave him the name Abraham.

⁸ You found his heart faithful before You, and You made the covenant with him to give his descendants the land of the Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite, Perizzite, Jebusite, and Girgashite. And You have fulfilled Your promise, for You are just and righteous.

⁹ You saw our fathers’ affliction in Egypt, and You heard their cry at the Red Sea.

¹⁰ You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for You knew that they dealt insolently against the Israelites. And You got for Yourself a name, as it is today.

¹¹ You divided the sea before them, so that they went through its midst on dry land; their persecutors You threw into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters.

¹² Moreover, by a pillar of cloud You led them by day, and by a pillar of fire by night to light the way they should go.

¹³ You came down also upon Mount Sinai and spoke with them from Heaven and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments.

¹⁴ And You made known to them Your holy Sabbath and gave them commandments, statutes, and a law through Moses Your servant.

¹⁵ You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst; and You told them to go in and possess the land You had sworn to give them.^(A)

¹⁶ But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their necks, and did not heed Your commandments.

¹⁷ They refused to obey, nor were they mindful of Your wonders and miracles which You did among them; but they stiffened their necks and in their rebellion appointed a captain, that they might return to their bondage [in Egypt]. But You are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great steadfast love; and You did not forsake them.

¹⁸ Even when they had made for themselves a molten calf and said, This is your god, who brought you out of Egypt, and had committed great and contemptible blasphemies,

¹⁹ You in Your great mercy forsook them not in the wilderness; the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day to lead them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night to light the way they should go.

²⁰ You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, and withheld not Your manna from them, and gave water for their thirst.

²¹ Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell.

²² Also You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. So they possessed the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan.

²³ Their children You also multiplied as the stars of heaven and brought them into the land which You told their fathers they should go in and possess.

²⁴ So the descendants went in and possessed the land; and You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would.

²⁵ And they captured fortified cities and a rich land and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns hewn out, vineyards, olive orchards, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in Your great goodness.

²⁶ Yet they were disobedient and rebelled against You and cast Your law behind their back and killed Your prophets who accused and warned them to turn to You again; and they committed great and contemptible blasphemies.

²⁷ Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who distressed them. In the time of their suffering when they cried to You, You heard them from heaven, and according to Your abundant mercy You gave them deliverers, who saved them from their enemies.

²⁸ But after they had rest, they did evil again before You; therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to You, You heard them from heaven, and many times You delivered them according to Your mercies,

²⁹ And reproved and warned them, that You might bring them again to Your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not heed Your commandments, but sinned against Your ordinances, which by keeping, a man shall live. And they turned a stubborn shoulder, stiffened their neck, and would not listen.

³⁰ Yet You bore with them many years more and reproved and warned them by Your Spirit through Your prophets; still they would not listen. Therefore You gave them into the power of the peoples of the lands.

³¹ Yet in Your great mercies You did not utterly consume them or forsake them, for You are a gracious and merciful God.

³² Now therefore, our God, the great, mighty, and terrible God, Who keeps covenant and mercy and loving-kindness, let not all the trouble and hardship seem little to You—the hardship that has come upon us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and on all Your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria to this day.

³³ However, You are just in all that has come upon us; for You have dealt faithfully, but we have done wickedly;

³⁴ Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept Your law or hearkened to Your commandments and Your warnings and reproofs which You gave them.

³⁵ They did not serve You in their kingdom, and in Your great goodness that You gave them and in the large and rich land You set before them, nor did they turn from their wicked works.

³⁶ Behold, we are slaves this day, and as for the land that You gave to our fathers to eat the fruit and the good of it, behold, we are slaves in it.

³⁷ And its rich yield goes to the kings whom You have set over us because of our sins; they have power also over our bodies and over our livestock at their pleasure. And we are in great distress.

³⁸ Because of all this, we make a firm and sure written covenant, and our princes, Levites, and priests set their seal to it.

10 These set their seal: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah. And Zedekiah,

² Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,

³ Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,

⁴ Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,

⁵ Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

⁶ Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,

⁷ Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

⁸ Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah—these were the priests.

⁹ And the Levites: Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,

¹⁰ And their brethren: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

¹¹ Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,

¹² Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

¹³ Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.

¹⁴ The chiefs of the people: 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.

²⁸ And the rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, Nethinim [temple servants], and all they who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who had knowledge and understanding—

²⁹ Join now, with their brethren, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law which was given to Moses the servant of God and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes:

³⁰ We shall not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons.

³¹ And if the peoples of the land bring wares or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we shall not buy it on the Sabbath or on a holy day; and we shall forego raising crops the seventh year [letting the land lie fallow] and the compulsory payment of every debt.^(B)

³² Also we pledge ourselves to pay yearly a third of a shekel for the service expenses of the house of our God [which are]:

³³ For the showbread; for the continual cereal offerings and burnt offerings; [for the offerings on] the Sabbaths, the New Moons, the set feasts; for the holy things, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel; and for all the work of the house of our God.

³⁴ We also cast lots—the priests, the Levites, and the people—for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at appointed times year by year, to burn upon the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Law.

³⁵ And [we obligate ourselves] to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the first of all the fruit of all trees year by year to the house of the Lord,

³⁶ As well as the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as is written in the Law, and the firstlings of our herds and flocks, to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in [His] house.

³⁷ And we shall bring the first and best of our coarse meal, our contributions, the fruit of all kinds of trees, of new wine, and of oil to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God. And we shall bring the tithes from our ground to the Levites, for they, the Levites, collect the tithes in all our rural towns.

³⁸ And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when [they] receive tithes, and [they] shall bring one-tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers, into the storehouse.

³⁹ For the Israelites and the sons of Levi shall bring the offering of grain, new wine, and oil to the chambers where the vessels of the sanctuary are, along with the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and singers. We will not forsake or neglect the house of our God.