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, ² the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, ³ the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, ⁴ the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, ⁵ the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— ⁶ this 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. ⁸ And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. ⁹ On 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. ¹⁰ For 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

¹¹ This 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:

^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, ²⁸ and ^(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: ² of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, ^(AA)Hattush; ³ of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of ^(AB)Parosh, Zechariah; and registered with him were one hundred and fifty males; ⁴ of the sons of ^(AC)Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males; ⁵ of ^[j]the sons of Shechaniah, Ben-Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males; ⁶ of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males; ⁷ of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; ⁸ of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males; ⁹ of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males; ¹⁰ of ^[k]the sons of Shelomith, Ben-Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males; ¹¹ of the sons of ^(AD)Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males; ¹² of the sons of Azgad, Johanan ^[l]the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males; ¹³ of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these—Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah—and with them sixty males; ¹⁴ also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and ^[m]Zabbud, and with them seventy males.

Servants for the Temple

¹⁵ Now 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. ¹⁶ Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and ^(AF)Meshullam, leaders; also for Joiarib and Elnathan, men of understanding. ¹⁷ And 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. ¹⁸ Then, 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; ¹⁹ and ^(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.

Fasting and Prayer for Protection

²¹ Then I ^(AJ)proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might ^(AK)humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the ^(AL)right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. ²² For ^(AM)I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, ^(AN)“The hand of our God is upon all those for ^(AO)good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are ^(AP)against all those who ^(AQ)forsake Him.” ²³ So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He ^(AR)answered our prayer.

Gifts for the Temple

²⁴ And I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them— ²⁵ and weighed out to them ^(AS)the silver, the gold, and the articles, the offering for the house of our God which the king and his counselors and his princes, and all Israel who were present, had offered. ²⁶ I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, silver articles weighing one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold, ²⁷ twenty gold basins worth a thousand drachmas, and two vessels of fine polished bronze, precious as gold. ²⁸ And I said to them, “You are ^(AT)holy^[p] to the Lord; the articles are ^(AU)holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers. ²⁹ Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites and ^(AV)heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.” ³⁰ So the priests and the Levites received the silver and the gold and the articles by weight, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

The Return to Jerusalem

³¹ Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And ^(AW)the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road. ³² So we ^(AX)came to Jerusalem, and stayed there three days.

³³ Now on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the articles were ^(AY)weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; with them were the Levites, ^(AZ)Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui, ³⁴ with the number and weight of everything. All the weight was written down at that time.

³⁵ The children of those who had been ^(BA)carried away captive, who had come from the captivity, ^(BB)offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord.

³⁶ And they delivered the king’s ^(BC)orders to the king’s satraps and the governors in the region beyond ^[q]the River. So they gave support to the people and the ^[r]house of God.

Intermarriage with Pagans

9 When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not ^(BD)separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, ^(BE)with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. ² For they have ^(BF)taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the ^(BG)holy seed is ^(BH)mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this ^[s]trespass.” ³ So when I heard this thing, ^(BI)I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down ^(BJ)astonished. ⁴ Then everyone who ^(BK)trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the ^(BL)evening sacrifice.

⁵ At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and ^(BM)spread out my hands to the Lord my God. ⁶ And I said: “O my God, I am too ^(BN)ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for ^(BO)our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has ^(BP)grown up to the heavens. ⁷ Since the days of our fathers to this day ^(BQ)we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities ^(BR)we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the ^(BS)sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to ^(BT)humiliation,^[t] as it is this day. ⁸ And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may ^(BU)enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. ^9 (BV)For we were slaves. ^(BW)Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but ^(BX)He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us ^(BY)a wall in Judah 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 which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the ^(BZ)uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. ¹² Now therefore, ^(CA)do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and ^(CB)never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and ^(CC)leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’ ¹³ And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God ^(CD)have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, ¹⁴ should we ^(CE)again break Your commandments, and ^(CF)join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be ^(CG)angry with us until You had ^[u]consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor? ¹⁵ O Lord God of Israel, ^(CH)You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. ^(CI)Here we are before You, ^(CJ)in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!”

Confession of Improper Marriages

10 Now ^(CK)while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down ^(CL)before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very ^(CM)bitterly. ² And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, “We have ^(CN)trespassed^[v] against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this. ³ Now therefore, let us make ^(CO)a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who ^(CP)tremble at ^(CQ)the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the ^(CR)law. ⁴ Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. ^(CS)Be of good courage, and do it.”

⁵ Then Ezra arose, and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel ^(CT)swear an oath that they would do according to this word. So they swore an oath. ⁶ Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came there, he ^(CU)ate no bread and drank no water, for he mourned because of the guilt of those from the captivity.

⁷ And they issued a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the descendants of the captivity, that they must gather at Jerusalem, ⁸ and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the instructions of the leaders and elders, all his property would be confiscated, and he himself would be separated from the assembly of those from the captivity.

⁹ So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month; and ^(CV)all the people sat in the open square of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of heavy rain. ¹⁰ Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have ^[w]transgressed and ^[x]have taken pagan wives, adding to the guilt of Israel. ¹¹ Now therefore, ^(CW)make confession to the Lord God of your fathers, and do His will; ^(CX)separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the pagan wives.”

¹² Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, “Yes! As you have said, so we must do. ¹³ But there are many people; it is the season for heavy rain, and we are not able to stand outside. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for there are many of us who have transgressed in this matter. ¹⁴ Please, let the leaders of our entire assembly stand; and let all those in our cities who have taken pagan wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of their cities, until ^(CY)the fierce wrath of our God is turned away from us in this matter.” ¹⁵ Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and ^(CZ)Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite gave them support.

¹⁶ Then the descendants of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain ^(DA)heads of the fathers’ households, were set apart by the fathers’ households, each of them by name; and they sat down on the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. ¹⁷ By the first day of the first month they finished questioning all the men who had taken pagan wives.

Pagan Wives Put Away

¹⁸ And among the sons of the priests who had taken pagan wives the following were found of the sons of ^(DB)Jeshua the son of ^[y]Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. ¹⁹ And they ^(DC)gave their promise that they would put away their wives; and being ^(DD)guilty, they presented a ram of the flock as their ^(DE)trespass offering.

²⁰ Also of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah; ²¹ of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah; ²² of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

²³ Also of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (the same is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

²⁴ Also of the singers: Eliashib; and of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

²⁵ And others of Israel: of the ^(DF)sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Jeziah, Malchiah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah; ²⁶ of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Eliah; ²⁷ of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza; ²⁸ of the ^(DG)sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai; ²⁹ of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and ^[z]Ramoth; ³⁰ of the ^(DH)sons of Pahath-Moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh; ³¹ of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³² Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah; ³³ of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei; ³⁴ of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, ³⁵ Benaiah, Bedeiah, ^[aa]Cheluh, ³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai, ^[ab]Jaasai, ³⁸ Bani, Binnui, Shimei, ³⁹ Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, ⁴⁰ Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹ Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴² Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph; ⁴³ of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, ^[ac]Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.

⁴⁴ All these had taken pagan wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

Jesus’ Authority Questioned^(A)

20 Now ^(B)it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him ² and spoke to Him, saying, “Tell us, ^(C)by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?”

³ But He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me: ⁴ The ^(D)baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?”

⁵ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why ^[a]then did you not believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, ^(E)for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.” ⁷ So they answered that they did not know where it was from.

⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers^(F)

⁹ Then He began to tell the people this parable: ^(G)“A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to ^[b]vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. ¹⁰ Now at ^[c]vintage-time he ^(H)sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. ¹² And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.

¹³ “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.’ ¹⁴ But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the ^(I)heir. Come, ^(J)let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ^(K)ours.’ ¹⁵ So they cast him out of the vineyard and ^(L)killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to ^(M)others.”

And when they heard it they said, “Certainly not!”

¹⁷ Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

¹⁸ Whoever falls on that stone will be ^(O)broken; but ^(P)on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

¹⁹ And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they ^[d]feared the people—for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?^(Q)

^20 (R)So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.

²¹ Then they asked Him, saying, ^(S)“Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: ²² Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³ But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, ^[e]“Why do you test Me? ²⁴ Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?”

They answered and said, “Caesar’s.”

²⁵ And He said to them, ^(T)“Render^[f] therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

²⁶ But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection?^(U)

^27 (V)Then some of the Sadducees, ^(W)who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, ²⁸ saying: “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. ³⁰ And the second ^[g]took her as wife, and he died childless. ³¹ Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven ^[h]also; and they left no children, and died. ³² Last of all the woman died also. ³³ Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife.”

³⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵ But those who are ^(X)counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; ³⁶ nor can they die anymore, for ^(Y)they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, ^(Z)being sons of the resurrection. ³⁷ But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ^(AA)‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ ³⁸ For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for ^(AB)all live to Him.”

³⁹ Then some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” ⁴⁰ But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?^(AC)

⁴¹ And He said to them, ^(AD)“How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David? ⁴² Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms:

⁴⁴ Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord’; ^(AF)how is He then his Son?”

Beware of the Scribes^(AG)

^45 (AH)Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, ^46 (AI)“Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, ^(AJ)love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, ^47 (AK)who devour widows’ houses, and for a ^(AL)pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Two Mites^(AM)

21 And He looked up ^(AN)and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, ² and He saw also a certain ^(AO)poor widow putting in two ^(AP)mites.^{[i] 3} So He said, “Truly I say to you ^(AQ)that this poor widow has put in more than all; ⁴ for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings ^[j]for God, but she out of her poverty put in ^(AR)all the livelihood that she had.”

Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple^(AS)

^5 (AT)Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was ^[k]adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, ⁶ “These things which you see—the days will come in which ^(AU)not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.”

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age^(AV)

⁷ So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?”

⁸ And He said: ^(AW)“Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ ^[l]Therefore do not ^[m]go after them. ⁹ But when you hear of ^(AX)wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.”

^10 (AY)Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ And there will be great ^(AZ)earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. ^12 (BA)But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and ^(BB)prisons. ^(BC)You will be brought before kings and rulers ^(BD)for My name’s sake. ¹³ But ^(BE)it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. ^14 (BF)Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will ^[n]answer; ¹⁵ for I will give you a mouth and wisdom ^(BG)which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or ^[o]resist. ^16 (BH)You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put ^(BI)some of you to death. ¹⁷ And ^(BJ)you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. ^18 (BK)But not a hair of your head shall be lost. ¹⁹ By your patience possess your souls.

The Destruction of Jerusalem^(BL)

^20 (BM)“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. ²² For these are the days of vengeance, that ^(BN)all things which are written may be fulfilled. ^23 (BO)But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. ²⁴ And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles ^(BP)until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Coming of the Son of Man^(BQ)

^25 (BR)“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; ²⁶ men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, ^(BS)for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see the Son of Man ^(BT)coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because ^(BU)your redemption draws near.”

The Parable of the Fig Tree^(BV)

^29 (BW)Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. ³⁰ When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. ³¹ So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. ³² Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. ^33 (BX)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My ^(BY)words will by no means pass away.

The Importance of Watching^(BZ)

³⁴ “But ^(CA)take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with ^[p]carousing, drunkenness, and ^(CB)cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. ³⁵ For ^(CC)it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. ^36 (CD)Watch therefore, and ^(CE)pray always that you may ^[q]be counted ^(CF)worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and ^(CG)to stand before the Son of Man.”

^37 (CH)And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but ^(CI)at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. ³⁸ Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.

The Plot to Kill Jesus^(CJ)

22 Now ^(CK)the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. ² And ^(CL)the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.

^3 (CM)Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the ^(CN)twelve. ⁴ So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. ⁵ And they were glad, and ^(CO)agreed to give him money. ⁶ So he promised and sought opportunity to ^(CP)betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

Jesus and His Disciples Prepare the Passover

^7 (CQ)Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be ^[r]killed. ⁸ And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”

⁹ So they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare?”

¹⁰ And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. ¹¹ Then you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ ¹² Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.”

¹³ So they went and ^(CR)found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper

^14 (CS)When the hour had come, He sat down, and the ^[s]twelve apostles with Him. ¹⁵ Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it ^(CT)until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; ¹⁸ for ^(CU)I say to you, ^[t]I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

^19 (CV)And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My ^(CW)body which is given for you; ^(CX)do this in remembrance of Me.”

²⁰ Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ^(CY)“This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. ^21 (CZ)But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. ^22 (DA)And truly the Son of Man goes ^(DB)as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”

^23 (DC)Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

The Disciples Argue About Greatness

^24 (DD)Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. ^25 (DE)And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ ^26 (DF)But not so among you; on the contrary, ^(DG)he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. ^27 (DH)For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet ^(DI)I am among you as the One who serves.

²⁸ “But you are those who have continued with Me in ^(DJ)My trials. ²⁹ And ^(DK)I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, ³⁰ that ^(DL)you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, ^(DM)and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial^(DN)

^31 [u]And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, ^(DO)Satan has asked for you, that he may ^(DP)sift you as wheat. ³² But ^(DQ)I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, ^(DR)strengthen your brethren.”

³³ But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”

^34 (DS)Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”

Supplies for the Road

^35 (DT)And He said to them, “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?”

So they said, “Nothing.”

³⁶ Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. ³⁷ For I say to you that this which is written must still be ^[v]accomplished in Me: ^(DU)‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For the things concerning Me have an end.”

³⁸ So they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.”

And He said to them, “It is enough.”

The Prayer in the Garden^(DV)

^39 (DW)Coming out, ^(DX)He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. ^40 (DY)When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

^41 (DZ)And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, ⁴² saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless ^(EA)not My will, but Yours, be done.” ^43 [w]Then ^(EB)an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. ^44 (EC)And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

⁴⁵ When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. ⁴⁶ Then He said to them, “Why ^(ED)do you sleep? Rise and ^(EE)pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

Betrayal and Arrest in Gethsemane^(EF)

⁴⁷ And while He was still speaking, ^(EG)behold, a multitude; and he who was called ^(EH)Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. ⁴⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a ^(EI)kiss?”

⁴⁹ When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” ⁵⁰ And ^(EJ)one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

⁵¹ But Jesus answered and said, “Permit even this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.

^52 (EK)Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, “Have you come out, as against a ^(EL)robber, with swords and clubs? ⁵³ When I was with you daily in the ^(EM)temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your ^(EN)hour, and the power of darkness.”

Peter Denies Jesus, and Weeps Bitterly^(EO)

^54 (EP)Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest’s house. ^(EQ)But Peter followed at a distance. ^55 (ER)Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. ⁵⁶ And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, “This man was also with Him.”

⁵⁷ But he denied ^[x]Him, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.”

^58 (ES)And after a little while another saw him and said, “You also are of them.”

But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”

^59 (ET)Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a ^(EU)Galilean.”

⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying!”

Immediately, while he was still speaking, ^[y]the rooster crowed. ⁶¹ And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then ^(EV)Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, ^(EW)“Before the rooster ^[z]crows, you will deny Me three times.” ⁶² So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

Jesus Mocked and Beaten^(EX)

^63 (EY)Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and ^(EZ)beat Him. ^64 [aa]And having blindfolded Him, they ^(FA)struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, “Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?” ⁶⁵ And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.

Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin^(FB)

^66 (FC)As soon as it was day, ^(FD)the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, ^67 (FE)“If You are the Christ, tell us.”

But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will ^(FF)by no means believe. ⁶⁸ And if I ^[ab]also ask you, you will by no means answer ^[ac]Me or let Me go. ^69 (FG)Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.”

⁷⁰ Then they all said, “Are You then the Son of God?”

So He said to them, ^(FH)“You rightly say that I am.”

^71 (FI)And they said, “What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”

Jesus Handed Over to Pontius Pilate^(FJ)

23 Then ^(FK)the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to ^(FL)Pilate. ² And they began to ^(FM)accuse Him, saying, “We found this fellow ^(FN)perverting ^[ad]the nation, and ^(FO)forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying ^(FP)that He Himself is Christ, a King.”

^3 (FQ)Then Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”

⁴ So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, ^(FR)“I find no fault in this Man.”

⁵ But they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from ^(FS)Galilee to this place.”

Jesus Faces Herod

⁶ When Pilate heard ^[ae]of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean. ⁷ And as soon as he knew that He belonged to ^(FT)Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸ Now when Herod saw Jesus, ^(FU)he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because ^(FV)he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. ⁹ Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him ^(FW)nothing. ¹⁰ And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him. ^11 (FX)Then Herod, with his ^[af]men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹² That very day ^(FY)Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

Taking the Place of Barabbas^(FZ)

^13 (GA)Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, ¹⁴ said to them, ^(GB)“You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, ^(GC)having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; ¹⁵ no, neither did Herod, for ^[ag]I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. ^16 (GD)I will therefore chastise Him and release Him” ^17 (GE)(for^[ah] it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).

¹⁸ And ^(GF)they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”— ¹⁹ who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.

²⁰ Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. ²¹ But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

²² Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.”

²³ But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men ^[ai]and of the chief priests prevailed. ²⁴ So ^(GG)Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. ^25 (GH)And he released ^[aj]to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

The King on a Cross^(GI)

^26 (GJ)Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.

²⁷ And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. ²⁸ But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ^29 (GK)For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ ³⁰ Then they will begin ^(GL)‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’ ^31 (GM)For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”

^32 (GN)There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. ³³ And ^(GO)when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. ^34 [ak]Then Jesus said, “Father, ^(GP)forgive them, for ^(GQ)they do not know what they do.”

And ^(GR)they divided His garments and cast lots. ³⁵ And ^(GS)the people stood looking on. But even the ^(GT)rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”

³⁶ The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him ^(GU)sour wine, ³⁷ and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”

^38 (GV)And an inscription also was ^[al]written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

^39 (GW)Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, ^[am]“If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”

⁴⁰ But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done ^(GX)nothing wrong.” ⁴² Then he said ^[an]to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

⁴³ And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in ^(GY)Paradise.”

Jesus Dies on the Cross^(GZ)

^44 (HA)Now it ^[ao]was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. ⁴⁵ Then the sun was ^[ap]darkened, and ^(HB)the veil of the temple was torn in ^[aq]two. ⁴⁶ And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ^(HC)‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” ^(HD)Having said this, He breathed His last.

^47 (HE)So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

⁴⁸ And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. ^49 (HF)But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb^(HG)

^50 (HH)Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. ⁵¹ He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, ^(HI)who^[ar] himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵² This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ^53 (HJ)Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. ⁵⁴ That day was ^(HK)the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.

⁵⁵ And the women ^(HL)who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and ^(HM)they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they returned and ^(HN)prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath ^(HO)according to the commandment.

He Is Risen^(HP)

24 Now ^(HQ)on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, ^[as]and certain other women with them, came to the tomb ^(HR)bringing the spices which they had prepared. ^2 (HS)But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. ^3 (HT)Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ And it happened, as they were ^[at]greatly perplexed about this, that ^(HU)behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. ⁵ Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but is risen! ^(HV)Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, ⁷ saying, ‘The Son of Man must be ^(HW)delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”

⁸ And ^(HX)they remembered His words. ^9 (HY)Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, ^(HZ)Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. ^11 (IA)And their words seemed to them like ^[au]idle tales, and they did not believe them. ^12 (IB)But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths ^[av]lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

The Road to Emmaus^(IC)

^13 (ID)Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was ^[aw]seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And they talked together of all these things which had happened. ¹⁵ So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that ^(IE)Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. ¹⁶ But ^(IF)their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

¹⁷ And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you ^[ax]walk and are sad?”

¹⁸ Then the one ^(IG)whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”

¹⁹ And He said to them, “What things?”

So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, ^(IH)who was a Prophet ^(II)mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ^20 (IJ)and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. ²¹ But we were hoping ^(IK)that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. ²² Yes, and ^(IL)certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. ²³ When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. ²⁴ And ^(IM)certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”

²⁵ Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ^26 (IN)Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His ^(IO)glory?” ²⁷ And beginning at ^(IP)Moses and ^(IQ)all the Prophets, He ^[ay]expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

The Disciples’ Eyes Opened

²⁸ Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and ^(IR)He ^[az]indicated that He would have gone farther. ²⁹ But ^(IS)they constrained Him, saying, ^(IT)“Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.

³⁰ Now it came to pass, as ^(IU)He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

³² And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” ³³ So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and ^(IV)has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was ^[ba]known to them in the breaking of bread.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples^(IW)

^36 (IX)Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” ³⁷ But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen ^(IY)a spirit. ³⁸ And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹ Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. ^(IZ)Handle Me and see, for a ^(JA)spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”

^40 [bb]When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. ⁴¹ But while they still did not believe ^(JB)for joy, and marveled, He said to them, ^(JC)“Have you any food here?” ⁴² So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish ^[bc]and some honeycomb. ^43 (JD)And He took it and ate in their presence.

The Scriptures Opened

⁴⁴ Then He said to them, ^(JE)“These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” ⁴⁵ And ^(JF)He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

⁴⁶ Then He said to them, ^(JG)“Thus it is written, ^[bd]and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance and ^(JH)remission of sins should be preached in His name ^(JI)to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ And ^(JJ)you are witnesses of these things. ^49 (JK)Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city ^[be]of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

The Ascension^(JL)

⁵⁰ And He led them out ^(JM)as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. ^51 (JN)Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. ^52 (JO)And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³ and were continually ^(JP)in the temple ^[bf]praising and blessing God. ^[bg]Amen.

Nehemiah Prays for His People

1 The words of ^(A)Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah.

It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the ^(B)twentieth year, as I was in ^(C)Shushan^[a] the ^[b]citadel, ² that ^(D)Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. ³ And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the ^(E)province are there in great distress and ^(F)reproach. ^(G)The wall of Jerusalem ^(H)is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”

⁴ So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

⁵ And I said: “I pray, ^(I)Lord God of heaven, O great and ^(J)awesome God, ^(K)You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love ^[c]You and observe ^[d]Your commandments, ⁶ please let Your ear be attentive and ^(L)Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and ^(M)confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned. ^7 (N)We have acted very corruptly against You, and have ^(O)not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. ⁸ Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ^(P)‘If you ^[e]are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; ^9 (Q)but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, ^(R)though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’ ^10 (S)Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. ¹¹ O Lord, I pray, please ^(T)let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who ^(U)desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

For I was the king’s ^(V)cupbearer.

Nehemiah Sent to Judah

2 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of ^(W)King ^[f]Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that ^(X)I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. ² Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but ^(Y)sorrow of heart.”

So I became ^[g]dreadfully afraid, ³ and said to the king, ^(Z)“May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when ^(AA)the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with ^(AB)fire?”

⁴ Then the king said to me, “What do you request?”

So I ^(AC)prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵ And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”

⁶ Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him ^(AD)a time.

⁷ Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the ^(AE)governors of the region beyond ^[h]the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, ⁸ and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the ^[i]citadel which pertains ^(AF)to the ^[j]temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me ^(AG)according to the good hand of my God upon me.

⁹ Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. ¹⁰ When ^(AH)Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite ^[k]official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.

Nehemiah Views the Wall of Jerusalem

¹¹ So I ^(AI)came to Jerusalem and was there three days. ¹² Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode. ¹³ And I went out by night ^(AJ)through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the ^[l]Refuse Gate, and ^[m]viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were ^(AK)broken down and its gates which were burned with fire. ¹⁴ Then I went on to the ^(AL)Fountain Gate and to the ^(AM)King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass. ¹⁵ So I went up in the night by the ^(AN)valley,^[n] and ^[o]viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. ¹⁶ And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who did the work.

¹⁷ Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies ^[p]waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be ^(AO)a reproach.” ¹⁸ And I told them of ^(AP)the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me.

So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they ^(AQ)set^[q] their hands to this good work.

¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? ^(AR)Will you rebel against the king?”

²⁰ So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, ^(AS)but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”

Rebuilding the Wall

3 Then ^(AT)Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests ^(AU)and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They built ^(AV)as far as the Tower of ^[r]the Hundred, and consecrated it, then as far as the Tower of ^(AW)Hananel. ^2 [s]Next to Eliashib ^(AX)the men of Jericho built. And next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.

³ Also the sons of Hassenaah built ^(AY)the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and ^(AZ)hung its doors with its bolts and bars. ⁴ And next to them ^(BA)Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of ^[t]Koz, made repairs. Next to them ^(BB)Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs. Next to them Zadok the son of Baana made repairs. ⁵ Next to them the Tekoites made repairs; but their nobles did not put their ^[u]shoulders to ^(BC)the work of their Lord.

⁶ Moreover Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired ^(BD)the Old Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors, with its bolts and bars. ⁷ And next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, the ^(BE)men of Gibeon and Mizpah, repaired the ^(BF)residence^[v] of the governor of the region ^[w]beyond the River. ⁸ Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. Also next to him Hananiah, ^[x]one of the perfumers, made repairs; and they ^[y]fortified Jerusalem as far as the ^(BG)Broad Wall. ⁹ And next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, leader of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. ¹⁰ Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs in front of his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabniah made repairs.

¹¹ Malchijah the son of Harim and Hashub the son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section, ^(BH)as well as the Tower of the Ovens. ¹² And next to him was Shallum the son of Hallohesh, leader of half the district of Jerusalem; he and his daughters made repairs.

¹³ Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired ^(BI)the Valley Gate. They built it, hung its doors with its bolts and bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall as far as ^(BJ)the Refuse Gate.

¹⁴ Malchijah the son of Rechab, leader of the district of ^(BK)Beth Haccerem, repaired the Refuse Gate; he built it and hung its doors with its bolts and bars.

¹⁵ Shallun the son of Col-Hozeh, leader of the district of Mizpah, repaired ^(BL)the Fountain Gate; he built it, covered it, hung its doors with its bolts and bars, and repaired the wall of the Pool of ^(BM)Shelah^[z] by the ^(BN)King’s Garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the City of David. ¹⁶ After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, leader of half the district of Beth Zur, made repairs as far as the place in front of the ^[aa]tombs of David, to the ^(BO)man-made pool, and as far as the House of the Mighty.

¹⁷ After him the Levites, under Rehum the son of Bani, made repairs. Next to him Hashabiah, leader of half the district of Keilah, made repairs for his district. ¹⁸ After him their brethren, under ^[ab]Bavai the son of Henadad, leader of the other half of the district of Keilah, made repairs. ¹⁹ And next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the leader of Mizpah, repaired another section in front of the Ascent to the Armory at the ^(BP)buttress.^{[ac] 20} After him Baruch the son of ^[ad]Zabbai carefully repaired the other section, from the ^[ae]buttress to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. ²¹ After him Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of ^[af]Koz, repaired another section, from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib.

²² And after him the priests, the men of the plain, made repairs. ²³ After him Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs opposite their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs by his house. ²⁴ After him ^(BQ)Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to ^(BR)the ^[ag]buttress, even as far as the corner. ²⁵ Palal the son of Uzai made repairs opposite the ^[ah]buttress, and on the tower which projects from the king’s upper house that was by the ^(BS)court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs.

²⁶ Moreover ^(BT)the Nethinim who dwelt in ^(BU)Ophel made repairs as far as the place in front of ^(BV)the Water Gate toward the east, and on the projecting tower. ²⁷ After them the Tekoites repaired another section, next to the great projecting tower, and as far as the wall of Ophel.

²⁸ Beyond the ^(BW)Horse Gate the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house. ²⁹ After them Zadok the son of Immer made repairs in front of his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, made repairs. ³⁰ After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah made repairs in front of his ^[ai]dwelling. ³¹ After him Malchijah, ^[aj]one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the Nethinim and of the merchants, in front of the ^[ak]Miphkad Gate, and as far as the upper room at the corner. ³² And between the upper room at the corner, as far as the ^(BX)Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants made repairs.

The Wall Defended Against Enemies

4 But it so happened, ^(BY)when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. ² And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?”

³ Now ^(BZ)Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.”

^4 (CA)Hear, O our God, for we are despised; ^(CB)turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity! ^5 (CC)Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders.

⁶ So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

⁷ Now it happened, ^(CD)when Sanballat, Tobiah, ^(CE)the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the ^[al]gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, ⁸ and all of them ^(CF)conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. ⁹ Nevertheless ^(CG)we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.

¹⁰ Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.”

¹¹ And our adversaries said, “They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.”

¹² So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, “From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us.”

¹³ Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. ¹⁴ And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, ^(CH)“Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, ^(CI)great and awesome, and ^(CJ)fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

¹⁵ And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and ^(CK)that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work. ¹⁶ So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders ^[am]were behind all the house of Judah. ¹⁷ Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. ¹⁸ Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.

¹⁹ Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. ²⁰ Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. ^(CL)Our God will fight for us.”

²¹ So we labored in the work, and half of ^[an]the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared. ²² At the same time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day.” ²³ So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing.

Nehemiah Deals with Oppression

5 And there was a great ^(CM)outcry of the people and their wives against their ^(CN)Jewish brethren. ² For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain, that we may eat and live.”

³ There were also some who said, “We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine.”

⁴ There were also those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our lands and vineyards. ⁵ Yet now ^(CO)our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and indeed we ^(CP)are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards.”

⁶ And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. ⁷ After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, ^(CQ)“Each of you is ^[ao]exacting usury from his brother.” So I ^[ap]called a great assembly against them. ⁸ And I said to them, “According to our ability we have ^(CR)redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?”

Then they were silenced and found nothing to say. ⁹ Then I said, “What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk ^(CS)in the fear of our God ^(CT)because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? ¹⁰ I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop this ^[aq]usury! ¹¹ Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them.”

¹² So they said, “We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we will do as you say.”

Then I called the priests, ^(CU)and required an oath from them that they would do according to this promise. ¹³ Then ^(CV)I shook out ^[ar]the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out each man from his house, and from his property, who does not perform this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.”

And all the assembly said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord. ^(CW)Then the people did according to this promise.

The Generosity of Nehemiah

¹⁴ Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year ^(CX)until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ^(CY)ate the governor’s provisions. ¹⁵ But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but ^(CZ)I did not do so, because of the ^(DA)fear of God. ¹⁶ Indeed, I also continued the ^(DB)work on this wall, and ^[as]we did not buy any land. All my servants were gathered there for the work.

¹⁷ And ^(DC)at my table were one hundred and fifty Jews and rulers, besides those who came to us from the nations around us. ¹⁸ Now that ^(DD)which was prepared daily was one ox and six choice sheep. Also fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine. Yet in spite of this ^(DE)I did not demand the governor’s provisions, because the bondage was heavy on this people.

^19 (DF)Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

Conspiracy Against Nehemiah

6 Now it happened ^(DG)when Sanballat, Tobiah, ^[at]Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it ^(DH)(though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), ² that Sanballat and ^[au]Geshem ^(DI)sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together ^[av]among the villages in the plain of ^(DJ)Ono.” But they ^(DK)thought to do me harm.

³ So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”

⁴ But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner.

⁵ Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. ⁶ In it was written:

⁸ Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.”

⁹ For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.”

Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.

¹⁰ Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the ^[ax]temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.”

¹¹ And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!” ¹² Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that ^(DM)he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³ For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me.

^14 (DN)My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the ^(DO)prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid.

The Wall Completed

¹⁵ So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. ¹⁶ And it happened, ^(DP)when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for ^(DQ)they perceived that this work was done by our God.

¹⁷ Also in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them. ¹⁸ For many in Judah were pledged to him, because he was the ^(DR)son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of ^(DS)Meshullam the son of Berechiah. ¹⁹ Also they reported his good deeds before me, and reported my ^[ay]words to him. Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.

List of Returning Exiles

7 Then it was, when the wall was built and I had ^(DT)hung the doors, when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, ² that I gave the charge of Jerusalem to my brother ^(DU)Hanani, and Hananiah the leader ^(DV)of the ^[az]citadel, for he was a faithful man and ^(DW)feared God more than many.

³ And I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand guard, let them shut and bar the doors; and appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in front of his own house.”

The Captives Who Returned to Jerusalem^(DX)

⁴ Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were ^(DY)few, and the houses were not rebuilt. ⁵ Then my God put it into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who had come up in the first return, and found written in it:

⁷³ So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their cities.

Ezra Reads the Law

^(EI)When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.

Ezra Reads and Explains the Law

8 Now all ^(EJ)the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was ^(EK)in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the ^(EL)scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. ² So Ezra the priest brought ^(EM)the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding ^(EN)on the first day of the seventh month. ³ Then he ^(EO)read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate ^[bu]from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

⁴ So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. ⁵ And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people ^(EP)stood up. ⁶ And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God.

Then all the people ^(EQ)answered, “Amen, Amen!” while ^(ER)lifting up their hands. And they ^(ES)bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

⁷ Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, ^(ET)helped the people to understand the Law; and the people ^(EU)stood in their place. ⁸ So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.

^9 (EV)And Nehemiah, who was the ^[bv]governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ^(EW)“This day is holy to the Lord your God; ^(EX)do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.

¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, ^(EY)and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

¹¹ So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” ¹² And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to ^(EZ)send portions and rejoice greatly, because they ^(FA)understood the words that were declared to them.

The Feast of Tabernacles^(FB)

¹³ Now on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law. ¹⁴ And they found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in ^(FC)booths^[bw] during the feast of the seventh month, ¹⁵ and ^(FD)that they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and ^(FE)in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the mountain, and ^(FF)bring olive branches, branches of oil trees, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.”

¹⁶ Then the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each one on the ^(FG)roof of his house, or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the ^(FH)Water Gate ^(FI)and in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷ So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made ^[bx]booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very ^(FJ)great gladness. ¹⁸ Also ^(FK)day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast ^(FL)seven days; and on the ^(FM)eighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed manner.

The People Confess Their Sins

9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of ^(FN)this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, ^(FO)and with ^[by]dust on their heads. ² Then ^(FP)those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and ^(FQ)confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. ³ And they stood up in their place and ^(FR)read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God.

⁴ Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the ^[bz]stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the Lord their God. ⁵ And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said:

The People Who Sealed the Covenant

10 Now those who placed their seal on the document were:

Nehemiah the ^[cp]governor, ^(IJ)the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah, ^2 (IK)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, and Shemaiah. These were the priests.

⁹ The Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, and Kadmiel.

¹⁰ Their brethren: Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, ¹¹ Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah, ¹² Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, ¹³ Hodijah, Bani, and Beninu.

¹⁴ The leaders of the people: ^(IL)Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, ¹⁵ Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, ¹⁶ Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, ¹⁷ Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, ¹⁸ Hodijah, 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 Ahijah, Hanan, Anan, ²⁷ Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.

The Covenant That Was Sealed

^28 (IM)Now the rest of the people—the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Nethinim, ^(IN)and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge and understanding— ²⁹ these joined with their brethren, their nobles, ^(IO)and entered into a curse and an oath ^(IP)to walk in God’s Law, which was given by 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 would not give ^(IQ)our daughters as wives to the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons; ^31 (IR)if the peoples of the land brought ^[cq]wares or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we would not buy it from them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day; and we would forego the ^(IS)seventh year’s produce and the ^(IT)exacting^[cr] of every debt.

³² Also we made ordinances for ourselves, to exact from ourselves yearly ^(IU)one-third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: ³³ for ^(IV)the showbread, for the regular grain offering, for the ^(IW)regular burnt offering of the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the set feasts; for the holy things, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God. ³⁴ We cast lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, ^(IX)for bringing the wood offering into the house of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at the appointed times year by year, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God ^(IY)as it is written in the Law.

³⁵ And we made ordinances ^(IZ)to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the Lord; ³⁶ to bring the ^(JA)firstborn of our sons and our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks, to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God; ^37 (JB)to bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the ^[cs]house of our God; and to bring ^(JC)the tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming communities. ³⁸ And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be with the Levites ^(JD)when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to ^(JE)the rooms of the storehouse.

³⁹ For the children of Israel and the children of Levi ^(JF)shall bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine and the oil, to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are, where the priests who minister and the gatekeepers ^(JG)and the singers are; and we will not ^(JH)neglect the house of our God.