Ezra Sent to Teach the People

7 Now after this, ^(A)in the reign of ^(B)Artaxerxes king of Persia, ^(C)Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, ² son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, ³ son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, ⁴ son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, ⁵ son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest— ⁶ this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe ^(D)skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, ^(E)for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

⁷ And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and ^(F)some of the priests and ^(G)Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple ^(H)servants. ⁸ And Ezra^[a] came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. ⁹ For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^(I)for the good hand of his God was on him. ¹⁰ For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it ^(J)and to ^(K)teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

¹¹ This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel: ¹² “Artaxerxes, ^(L)king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the ^(M)scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace.^{[b] (N)}And now ^13 (O)I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. ¹⁴ For you are sent by the king ^(P)and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand, ¹⁵ and also to carry the silver and gold that the king ^(Q)and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, ^(R)whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, ^16 (S)with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and ^(T)with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, vowed willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and ^(U)you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God. ¹⁹ The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. ²⁰ And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king's treasury.

²¹ “And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence, ²² up to 100 talents^[c] of silver, 100 cors^[d] of wheat, 100 baths^[e] of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. ²³ Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons. ²⁴ We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose ^(V)tribute, custom, or toll on anyone of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

²⁵ “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, ^(W)appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. ^(X)And those who do not know them, you shall teach. ²⁶ Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.”

^27 (Y)Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, ^(Z)who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, ^28 (AA)and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.

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

Ezra Sends for Levites

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

Fasting and Prayer for Protection

^21 (AP)Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river ^(AQ)Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, ^(AR)to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. ²² For 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, ^(AS)“The hand of our God is for good on ^(AT)all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” ²³ So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Priests to Guard Offerings

²⁴ Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: ^(AU)Sherebiah, ^(AV)Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them. ²⁵ And I weighed out to them the ^(AW)silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his ^(AX)counselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered. ^26 (AY)I weighed out into their hand 650 talents^[i] of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents,^[j] and 100 talents of gold, ²⁷ 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics,^[k] and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold. ²⁸ And I said to them, ^(AZ)“You are holy to the Lord, and ^(BA)the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers. ²⁹ Guard 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, ^(BB)within the chambers of the house of the Lord.” ³⁰ So the priests and the Levites ^(BC)took over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.

³¹ Then we departed from the river Ahava ^(BD)on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. ^(BE)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 (BF)We came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days. ³³ On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were ^(BG)weighed into the hands of ^(BH)Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, ^(BI)Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of ^(BJ)Binnui. ³⁴ The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.

³⁵ At that time ^(BK)those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, ^(BL)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 (BM)They also delivered the king's commissions to the king's ^(BN)satraps^[l] and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God.

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

20 ^(A)One day, ^(B)as Jesus^[a] was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, ^(C)the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up ² and said to him, “Tell us ^(D)by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” ³ He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, ⁴ was the baptism of John ^(E)from heaven or from man?” ⁵ And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^(F)‘Why did you not believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was ^(G)a prophet.” ⁷ So they answered that they did not know where it came from. ⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

^9 (H)And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted ^(I)a vineyard and ^(J)let it out to tenants and ^(K)went into another country for a long while. ¹⁰ When the time came, he sent a servant^[b] to the tenants, so that ^(L)they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. ^(M)But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ^11 (N)And ^(O)he sent another servant. But they also beat and ^(P)treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. ^12 (Q)And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. ¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my ^(R)beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ ¹⁴ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ^(S)‘This is the heir. ^(T)Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ ¹⁵ And they ^(U)threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ^16 (V)He will ^(W)come and destroy those tenants and ^(X)give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” ¹⁷ But he ^(Y)looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

^18 (AA)Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls ^(AB)on anyone, it will crush him.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

^19 (AC)The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. ^20 (AD)So they ^(AE)watched him and sent spies, who ^(AF)pretended to be sincere, that they might ^(AG)catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of ^(AH)the governor. ²¹ So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and ^(AI)show no partiality,^[d] but truly teach ^(AJ)the way of God. ²² Is it lawful for us to give ^(AK)tribute to ^(AL)Caesar, or not?” ²³ But he perceived their ^(AM)craftiness, and said to them, ²⁴ “Show me ^(AN)a denarius.^[e] Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar's.” ²⁵ He said to them, “Then ^(AO)render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” ²⁶ And they were not able in the presence of the people ^(AP)to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent.

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

²⁷ There came to him ^(AQ)some Sadducees, ^(AR)those who deny that there is a resurrection, ²⁸ and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us ^(AS)that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man^[f] must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. ³⁰ And the second ³¹ and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. ³² Afterward the woman also died. ³³ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”

³⁴ And Jesus said to them, ^(AT)“The sons of this age ^(AU)marry and ^(AV)are given in marriage, ³⁵ but those who are ^(AW)considered worthy to attain to ^(AX)that age and to the resurrection from the dead ^(AY)neither marry ^(AZ)nor are given in marriage, ³⁶ for ^(BA)they cannot die anymore, because they are ^(BB)equal to angels and ^(BC)are ^(BD)sons of God, being ^(BE)sons^[g] of the resurrection. ³⁷ But that the dead are raised, ^(BF)even Moses showed, in ^(BG)the passage about the bush, where he calls ^(BH)the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. ³⁸ Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all ^(BI)live to him.” ³⁹ Then some of the scribes ^(BJ)answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” ⁴⁰ For ^(BK)they no longer dared to ask him any question.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

^41 (BL)But he said to them, “How can they say that ^(BM)the Christ is ^(BN)David's son? ⁴² For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,

⁴⁴ David thus calls him Lord, so ^(BQ)how is he his son?”

Beware of the Scribes

^45 (BR)And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and ^(BS)the places of honor at feasts, ^47 (BT)who devour widows' houses and ^(BU)for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”