Ezra 8

English Standard Version

Genealogy of Those 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 Babylonia, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king: ²Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of ^(A)Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, ^(B)Hattush. ³Of the sons of Shecaniah, who was of the sons of ^(C)Parosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered 150 men. ⁴^(D)Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men. ⁵Of the sons of Zattu,^[a] Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men. ⁶Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men. ⁷Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men. ⁸Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him 80 men. ⁹Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men. ¹⁰Of the sons of Bani,^[b] Shelomith the son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men. ¹¹^(E)Of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and with him 28 men. ¹²Of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men. ¹³Of the sons of Adonikam, those who came later, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men. ¹⁴Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men.

Ezra Sends for Levites

¹⁵I gathered them to the river that runs to ^(F)Ahava, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there ^(G)none of the sons of Levi. ¹⁶Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and ^(H)Meshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of insight, ¹⁷and sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers and^[c] the temple servants at the place Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for the house of our God. ¹⁸And ^(I)by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of ^(J)Mahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen, 18; ¹⁹also ^(K)Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of ^(L)the sons of Merari, with his kinsmen and their sons, 20; ²⁰^(M)besides 220 of the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. These were all ^(N)mentioned by name.

Fasting and Prayer for Protection

²¹^(O)Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river ^(P)Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, ^(Q)to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. ²²For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, ^(R)“The hand of our God is for good on ^(S)all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” ²³So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Priests to Guard Offerings

²⁴Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: ^(T)Sherebiah, ^(U)Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them. ²⁵And I weighed out to them the ^(V)silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his ^(W)counselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered. ²⁶^(X)I weighed out into their hand 650 talents^[d] of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents,^[e] and 100 talents of gold, ²⁷20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics,^[f] and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold. ²⁸And I said to them, ^(Y)“You are holy to the Lord, and ^(Z)the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers. ²⁹Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers' houses in Israel at Jerusalem, ^(AA)within the chambers of the house of the Lord.” ³⁰So the priests and the Levites ^(AB)took over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.

³¹Then we departed from the river Ahava ^(AC)on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. ^(AD)The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. ³²^(AE)We came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days. ³³On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were ^(AF)weighed into the hands of ^(AG)Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, ^(AH)Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of ^(AI)Binnui. ³⁴The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.

³⁵At that time ^(AJ)those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, ^(AK)twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. ³⁶^(AL)They also delivered the king's commissions to the king's ^(AM)satraps^[g] and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God.

Footnotes

Ezra 8:5 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks of Zattu
Ezra 8:10 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Bani
Ezra 8:17 Hebrew lacks and
Ezra 8:26 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
Ezra 8:26 Revocalization; the number is missing in the Masoretic Text
Ezra 8:27 A daric was a coin weighing about 1/4 ounce or 8.5 grams
Ezra 8:36 A satrap was a Persian official

Proverbs 28

English Standard Version

28 ^(A)The wicked flee when no one pursues,
    but ^(B)the righteous are bold as a lion.
²When a land transgresses, ^(C)it has many rulers,
    but with a man of understanding and knowledge,
    its stability will long continue.
³^(D)A poor man who oppresses the poor
    is a beating rain that leaves no food.
⁴Those who forsake the law ^(E)praise the wicked,
    but those who keep the law ^(F)strive against them.
⁵Evil men ^(G)do not understand justice,
    but those who seek the Lord ^(H)understand it completely.
⁶^(I)Better is a poor man who ^(J)walks in his integrity
    than a rich man who is ^(K)crooked in his ways.
⁷The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding,
    but ^(L)a companion of gluttons shames his father.
⁸Whoever multiplies his wealth ^(M)by interest and profit^[a]
    ^(N)gathers it for him who is ^(O)generous to the poor.
⁹If one turns away his ear from hearing the law,
    even his ^(P)prayer is an abomination.
¹⁰Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way
    ^(Q)will fall into his own pit,
    but the blameless ^(R)will have a goodly inheritance.
¹¹A rich man is wise in his ^(S)own eyes,
    but a poor man who has understanding ^(T)will find him out.
¹²When ^(U)the righteous triumph, there is great glory,
    but when ^(V)the wicked rise, people hide themselves.
¹³Whoever ^(W)conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
    but he who ^(X)confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
¹⁴Blessed is the one who ^(Y)fears the Lord^[b] always,
    but whoever ^(Z)hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
¹⁵Like ^(AA)a roaring lion or ^(AB)a charging bear
    is ^(AC)a wicked ruler over a poor people.
¹⁶A ruler who ^(AD)lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor,
    but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.
¹⁷If one is burdened with ^(AE)the blood of another,
    he will be a fugitive until death;^[c]
    let no one help him.
¹⁸^(AF)Whoever ^(AG)walks in integrity will be delivered,
    but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.
¹⁹^(AH)Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,
    but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
²⁰A faithful man will abound with blessings,
    but whoever hastens to be rich ^(AI)will not go unpunished.
²¹To show ^(AJ)partiality is not good,
    but for ^(AK)a piece of bread a man will do wrong.
²²A ^(AL)stingy man^[d] ^(AM)hastens after wealth
    and does not know that ^(AN)poverty will come upon him.
²³Whoever ^(AO)rebukes a man will afterward find more favor
    than ^(AP)he who flatters with his tongue.
²⁴Whoever robs his father or his mother
    and says, “That is no transgression,”
    is ^(AQ)a companion to a man who destroys.
²⁵A greedy man ^(AR)stirs up strife,
    but the one who trusts in the Lord will ^(AS)be enriched.
²⁶Whoever ^(AT)trusts in his own mind is a fool,
    but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
²⁷Whoever ^(AU)gives to the poor will not want,
    but he who ^(AV)hides his eyes will get many a curse.
²⁸When ^(AW)the wicked rise, ^(AX)people hide themselves,
    but when they perish, the righteous increase.

Footnotes

Proverbs 28:8 That is, profit that comes from charging interest to the poor
Proverbs 28:14 Hebrew lacks the Lord
Proverbs 28:17 Hebrew until the pit
Proverbs 28:22 Hebrew A man whose eye is evil

Revelation 21-22

English Standard Version

The New Heaven and the New Earth

21 Then I saw ^(A)a new heaven and a new earth, for ^(B)the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²And I saw ^(C)the holy city, ^(D)new Jerusalem, ^(E)coming down out of heaven from God, ^(F)prepared ^(G)as a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, ^(H)the dwelling place^[a] of God is with man. He will ^(I)dwell with them, and they will be his people,^[b] and God himself will be with them as their God.^[c] ⁴^(J)He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and ^(K)death shall be no more, ^(L)neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵And ^(M)he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I ^(N)am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for ^(O)these words are trustworthy and true.” ⁶And he said to me, ^(P)“It is done! ^(Q)I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. ^(R)To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. ⁷^(S)The one who conquers will have this heritage, and ^(T)I will be his God and ^(U)he will be my son. ⁸^(V)But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, ^(W)their portion will be in ^(X)the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is ^(Y)the second death.”

The New Jerusalem

⁹Then came ^(Z)one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of ^(AA)the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you ^(AB)the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰And ^(AC)he carried me away in the Spirit to ^(AD)a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, ¹¹^(AE)having the glory of God, ^(AF)its radiance ^(AG)like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹²It had a great, high wall, ^(AH)with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— ¹³on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. ¹⁴And the wall of the city had twelve ^(AI)foundations, and ^(AJ)on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵And the one who spoke with me ^(AK)had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. ¹⁶The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.^[d] Its length and width and height are equal. ¹⁷He also measured its wall, 144 cubits^[e] by ^(AL)human measurement, which is also ^(AM)an angel's measurement. ¹⁸The wall was built of ^(AN)jasper, while the city was pure gold, like ^(AO)clear glass. ¹⁹^(AP)The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. ²¹And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and ^(AQ)the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

²²And ^(AR)I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³And the city ^(AS)has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for ^(AT)the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴By its light ^(AU)will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth ^(AV)will bring their glory into it, ²⁵and ^(AW)its gates will never be shut by day—and ^(AX)there will be no night there. ²⁶They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. ²⁷But ^(AY)nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's ^(AZ)book of life.

The River of Life

22 Then the angel^[f] showed me ^(BA)the river of ^(BB)the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²through the middle of ^(BC)the street of the city; ^(BD)also, on either side of the river, ^(BE)the tree of life^[g] with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were ^(BF)for the healing of the nations. ³^(BG)No longer will there be anything accursed, but ^(BH)the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and ^(BI)his servants will worship him. ⁴^(BJ)They will see his face, and ^(BK)his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵And ^(BL)night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp ^(BM)or sun, for ^(BN)the Lord God will be their light, and ^(BO)they will reign forever and ever.

Jesus Is Coming

⁶And he said to me, ^(BP)“These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of ^(BQ)the spirits of the prophets, ^(BR)has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

⁷“And behold, ^(BS)I am coming soon. ^(BT)Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

⁸I, ^(BU)John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, ^(BV)I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, ⁹^(BW)but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those ^(BX)who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

¹⁰And he said to me, ^(BY)“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. ¹¹^(BZ)Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

¹²“Behold, ^(CA)I am coming soon, ^(CB)bringing my recompense with me, ^(CC)to repay each one for what he has done. ¹³^(CD)I am the Alpha and the Omega, ^(CE)the first and the last, ^(CF)the beginning and the end.”

¹⁴Blessed are those who ^(CG)wash their robes,^[h] so that they may have the right to ^(CH)the tree of life and that ^(CI)they may enter the city by the gates. ¹⁵^(CJ)Outside are ^(CK)the dogs ^(CL)and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

¹⁶^(CM)“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things ^(CN)for the churches. I am ^(CO)the root and ^(CP)the descendant of David, ^(CQ)the bright morning star.”

¹⁷The Spirit and ^(CR)the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And ^(CS)let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the ^(CT)water of life without price.

¹⁸I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: ^(CU)if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in ^(CV)the tree of life and in ^(CW)the holy city, which are described in this book.

²⁰He who testifies to these things says, “Surely ^(CX)I am coming soon.” Amen. ^(CY)Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.^[i] Amen.

Footnotes

Revelation 21:3 Or tabernacle
Revelation 21:3 Some manuscripts peoples
Revelation 21:3 Some manuscripts omit as their God
Revelation 21:16 About 1,380 miles; a stadion was about 607 feet or 185 meters
Revelation 21:17 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
Revelation 22:1 Greek he
Revelation 22:2 Or the Lamb. In the midst of the street of the city, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life
Revelation 22:14 Some manuscripts do his commandments
Revelation 22:21 Some manuscripts all the saints