Ezra 7:1-8:20

New King James Version

The Arrival of Ezra

7 Now after these things, in the reign of ^(A)Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the ^(B)son of Seraiah, ^(C)the son of Azariah, the son of ^(D)Hilkiah, ²the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, ³the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, ⁴the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, ⁵the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— ⁶this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was ^(E)a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, ^(F)according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him. ⁷^(G)Some of the children of Israel, the priests, ^(H)the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and ^(I)the Nethinim came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. ⁸And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. ⁹On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^(J)according to the good hand of his God upon him. ¹⁰For Ezra had prepared his heart to ^(K)seek^[a] the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to ^(L)teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

The Letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra

¹¹This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of His statutes to Israel:

¹²^[b]Artaxerxes, ^(M)king of kings,

To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven:

Perfect peace, ^(N)and^[c] so forth.

¹³I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you. ¹⁴And whereas you are being sent ^[d]by the king and his ^(O)seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, with regard to the Law of your God which is in your hand; ¹⁵and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, ^(P)whose dwelling is in Jerusalem; ¹⁶^(Q)and whereas all the silver and gold that you may find in all the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, are to be ^(R)freely offered for the ^[e]house of their God in Jerusalem— ¹⁷now therefore, be careful to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their ^(S)grain offerings and their drink offerings, and ^(T)offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.

¹⁸And whatever seems good to you and your brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do it according to the will of your God. ¹⁹Also the articles that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. ²⁰And whatever more may be needed for the house of your God, which you may have occasion to provide, pay for it from the king’s treasury.

²¹And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the region beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, let it be done diligently, ²²up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribed limit. ²³Whatever ^[f]is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the ^[g]house of the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

²⁴Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tax, tribute, or custom on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God. ²⁵And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom, ^(U)set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and ^(V)teach those who do not know them. ²⁶Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it be death, or ^[h]banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.

²⁷^(W)Blessed^[i] be the Lord God of our fathers, ^(X)who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, ²⁸and ^(Y)has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes.

So I was encouraged, as ^(Z)the hand of the Lord my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me.

Heads of Families Who Returned with Ezra

8 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of King Artaxerxes: ²of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, ^(AA)Hattush; ³of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of ^(AB)Parosh, Zechariah; and registered with him were one hundred and fifty males; ⁴of the sons of ^(AC)Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males; ⁵of ^[j]the sons of Shechaniah, Ben-Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males; ⁶of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males; ⁷of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; ⁸of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males; ⁹of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males; ¹⁰of ^[k]the sons of Shelomith, Ben-Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males; ¹¹of the sons of ^(AD)Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males; ¹²of the sons of Azgad, Johanan ^[l]the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males; ¹³of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these—Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah—and with them sixty males; ¹⁴also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and ^[m]Zabbud, and with them seventy males.

Servants for the Temple

¹⁵Now I gathered them by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And I looked among the people and the priests, and found none of the ^(AE)sons of Levi there. ¹⁶Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and ^(AF)Meshullam, leaders; also for Joiarib and Elnathan, men of understanding. ¹⁷And I gave them a command for Iddo the chief man at the place Casiphia, and ^[n]I told them what they should say to ^[o]Iddo and his brethren the Nethinim at the place Casiphia—that they should bring us servants for the house of our God. ¹⁸Then, by the good hand of our God upon us, they ^(AG)brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and brothers, eighteen men; ¹⁹and ^(AH)Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty men; ²⁰^(AI)also of the Nethinim, whom David and the leaders had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim. All of them were designated by name.

Notas al pie

Ezra 7:10 Study
Ezra 7:12 The original language of Ezra 7:12–26 is Aramaic.
Ezra 7:12 Lit. and now
Ezra 7:14 from before
Ezra 7:16 Temple
Ezra 7:23 Lit. is from the decree
Ezra 7:23 Temple
Ezra 7:26 Lit. rooting out
Ezra 7:27 The Hebrew language resumes in Ezra 7:27.
Ezra 8:5 So with MT, Vg.; LXX the sons of Zatho, Shechaniah
Ezra 8:10 So with MT, Vg.; LXX the sons of Banni, Shelomith
Ezra 8:12 Or the youngest son,
Ezra 8:14 Or Zakkur
Ezra 8:17 Lit. I put words in their mouths to say
Ezra 8:17 So with Vg.; MT to Iddo his brother; LXX to their brethren

1 Corinthians 4

New King James Version

Stewards of the Mysteries of God

4 Let a man so consider us, as ^(A)servants of Christ ^(B)and stewards of the mysteries of God. ²Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. ³But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human ^[a]court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ⁴For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. ⁵^(C)Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to ^(D)light the hidden things of darkness and ^(E)reveal the ^[b]counsels of the hearts. ^(F)Then each one’s praise will come from God.

Fools for Christ’s Sake

⁶Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be ^[c]puffed up on behalf of one against the other. ⁷For who ^[d]makes you differ from another? And ^(G)what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸You are already full! ^(H)You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you! ⁹For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a ^(I)spectacle ^[e]to the world, both to angels and to men. ¹⁰We are ^(J)fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! ^(K)We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! ¹¹To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. ¹²^(L)And we labor, working with our own hands. ^(M)Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; ¹³being defamed, we ^[f]entreat. ^(N)We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.

Paul’s Paternal Care

¹⁴I do not write these things to shame you, but ^(O)as my beloved children I warn you. ¹⁵For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for ^(P)in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. ¹⁶Therefore I urge you, ^(Q)imitate me. ¹⁷For this reason I have sent ^(R)Timothy to you, ^(S)who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will ^(T)remind you of my ways in Christ, as I ^(U)teach everywhere ^(V)in every church.

¹⁸^(W)Now some are ^[g]puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. ¹⁹^(X)But I will come to you shortly, ^(Y)if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. ²⁰For ^(Z)the kingdom of God is not in word but in ^(AA)power. ²¹What do you want? ^(AB)Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

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Notas al pie

1 Corinthians 4:3 Lit. day
1 Corinthians 4:5 motives
1 Corinthians 4:6 arrogant
1 Corinthians 4:7 distinguishes you
1 Corinthians 4:9 Lit. theater
1 Corinthians 4:13 exhort, encourage
1 Corinthians 4:18 arrogant

Psalm 30

New King James Version

The Blessedness of Answered Prayer

A Psalm. A Song ^(A)at the dedication of the house of David.

30 I will extol You, O Lord, for You have ^(B)lifted me up,
And have not let my foes ^(C)rejoice over me.
²O Lord my God, I cried out to You,
And You ^(D)healed me.
³O Lord, ^(E)You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, ^[a]that I should not go down to the pit.

⁴^(F)Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of ^[b]His holy name.
⁵For ^(G)His anger is but for a moment,
^(H)His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But ^[c]joy comes in the morning.

⁶Now in my prosperity I said,
“I shall never be ^[d]moved.”
⁷Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;
^(I)You hid Your face, and I was troubled.

⁸I cried out to You, O Lord;
And to the Lord I made supplication:
⁹“What profit is there in my blood,
When I go down to the pit?
^(J)Will the dust praise You?
Will it declare Your truth?
¹⁰Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me;
Lord, be my helper!”

¹¹^(K)You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have put off ^[e]my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
¹²To the end that my ^[f]glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

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Notas al pie

Psalm 30:3 So with Qr., Tg.; Kt., LXX, Syr., Vg. from those who descend to the pit
Psalm 30:4 Or His holiness
Psalm 30:5 a shout of joy
Psalm 30:6 shaken
Psalm 30:11 The sackcloth of my mourning
Psalm 30:12 soul