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 ^(A)Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, ^(B)Hattush. ³ Of 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. ⁵ Of the sons of Zattu,^[a] 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,^[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. 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 ^(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. ¹⁶ Then 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, ¹⁷ and 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. ¹⁸ And ^(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; ¹⁹ also ^(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. 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, ^(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.” 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: ^(T)Sherebiah, ^(U)Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them. ²⁵ And 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, ²⁷ 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics,^[f] and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold. ²⁸ And 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. 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, ^(AA)within the chambers of the house of the Lord.” ³⁰ So 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.

³¹ Then 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. ³³ On 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. ³⁴ The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.

³⁵ At 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.

Ezra Prays About Intermarriage

9 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the ^(AN)Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands ^(AO)with their abominations, from the ^(AP)Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. ^2 (AQ)For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the ^(AR)holy race^[h] has ^(AS)mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” ³ As soon as I heard this, I ^(AT)tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and ^(AU)sat appalled. ⁴ Then all who ^(AV)trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat ^(AW)appalled until the evening sacrifice. ⁵ And at the ^(AX)evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment ^(AY)and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees ^(AZ)and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, ⁶ saying:

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities ^(BA)have risen higher than our heads, and our ^(BB)guilt has ^(BC)mounted up to the heavens. ^7 (BD)From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great ^(BE)guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, ^(BF)and to utter shame, as it is today. ⁸ But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a ^(BG)remnant and to give us a ^(BH)secure hold^[i] within his holy place, that our God may ^(BI)brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. ^9 (BJ)For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, ^(BK)but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection^[j] in Judea and Jerusalem.

¹⁰ “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, ¹¹ which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with ^(BL)their uncleanness. ^12 (BM)Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land ^(BN)and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ ¹³ And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for ^(BO)our great guilt, seeing that you, our ^(BP)God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a ^(BQ)remnant as this, ¹⁴ shall we break your commandments again and ^(BR)intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us ^(BS)until you consumed us, so that there should be no ^(BT)remnant, nor any to escape? ¹⁵ O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a ^(BU)remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our ^(BV)guilt, ^(BW)for none can stand before you because of this.”

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two

10 After this the Lord appointed ^(A)seventy-two^[a] others and ^(B)sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. ^2 (C)And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ^(D)Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. ³ Go your way; ^(E)behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. ^4 (F)Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and ^(G)greet no one on the road. ⁵ Whatever house you enter, first say, ^(H)‘Peace be to this house!’ ⁶ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, ^(I)it will return to you. ⁷ And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for ^(J)the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. ⁸ Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. ⁹ Heal the sick in it and say to them, ^(K)‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ^11 (L)‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that ^(M)the kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹² I tell you, ^(N)it will be more bearable on ^(O)that day for Sodom than for that town.

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

^13 (P)“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in ^(Q)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ^14 (R)But it will be more bearable in the judgment for ^(S)Tyre and Sidon than for you. ¹⁵ And you, Capernaum, ^(T)will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to ^(U)Hades.

^16 (V)“The one who hears you hears me, and ^(W)the one who rejects you rejects me, and ^(X)the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

The Return of the Seventy-Two

^17 (Y)The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, ^(Z)even the demons are subject to us in your name!” ¹⁸ And he said to them, ^(AA)“I saw Satan ^(AB)fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority ^(AC)to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of ^(AD)the enemy, and ^(AE)nothing shall hurt you. ^20 (AF)Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that ^(AG)your names are written in heaven.”

Jesus Rejoices in the Father's Will

^21 (AH)In that same hour ^(AI)he rejoiced ^(AJ)in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, ^(AK)Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(AL)you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ^(AM)revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for ^(AN)such was your gracious will.^{[b] 22 (AO)}All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is ^(AP)except the Father, or who the Father is ^(AQ)except the Son and anyone ^(AR)to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

²³ Then turning to the disciples he said privately, ^(AS)“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! ²⁴ For I tell you ^(AT)that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

^25 (AU)And behold, a ^(AV)lawyer stood up to ^(AW)put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to ^(AX)inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” ²⁷ And he answered, ^(AY)“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and ^(AZ)your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; ^(BA)do this, and you will live.”

²⁹ But he, ^(BB)desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man ^(BC)was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a ^(BD)priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise ^(BE)a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a ^(BF)Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and ^(BG)bound up his wounds, pouring on ^(BH)oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ And the next day he took out two ^(BI)denarii^[c] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Martha and Mary

³⁸ Now as they went on their way, Jesus^[d] entered a village. And a woman named ^(BJ)Martha ^(BK)welcomed him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called ^(BL)Mary, who ^(BM)sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are ^(BN)anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴² but one thing is necessary.^[e] Mary has chosen ^(BO)the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”