Foreigners Excluded

13 On that day the Book of Moses was ^(A)read aloud ^[a]as the people listened; and there was found written in it that ^(B)no Ammonite or Moabite was ever to enter the assembly of God, ² because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, but ^(C)hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, ^(D)our God turned the curse into a blessing. ³ So when they heard the Law, ^(E)they excluded ^(F)all foreigners from Israel.

Tobiah Expelled and the Temple Cleansed

⁴ Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, ^(G)who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being ^[b]related to ^(H)Tobiah, ⁵ had prepared a large ^[c]room for him, where previously they used to put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil ^(I)prescribed for the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the ^[d]contributions for the priests. ⁶ But during all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in ^(J)the thirty-second year of ^(K)Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had come to the king. After some time, however, I requested a leave of absence from the king, ⁷ and I came to Jerusalem and ^[e]learned about the evil that Eliashib had committed for ^[f]Tobiah, ^(L)by preparing a ^[g]room for him in the courtyards of the house of God. ⁸ It was very displeasing to me, so I ^(M)threw all of Tobiah’s household articles out of the room. ⁹ Then I gave an order, and ^(N)they cleansed the rooms; and I returned the utensils of the house of God there with the grain offering and the frankincense.

Tithes Restored

¹⁰ I also ^[h]discovered that ^(O)the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so the Levites and the singers who performed the service had ^[i]gone away, ^(P)each to his own field. ¹¹ So I ^[j](Q)reprimanded the officials and said, “^(R)Why has the house of God been neglected?” Then I gathered them together and stationed them at their posts. ¹² All Judah then brought ^(S)the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. ¹³ To be in charge of the storehouses, I appointed Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah from the Levites, and in addition to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for ^(T)they were considered reliable, and it was ^[k]their task to distribute to their kinsmen. ^14 (U)Remember me for this, my God, and do not wipe out my loyal deeds which I have performed for the house of my God and its services.

Sabbath Restored

¹⁵ In those days I saw in Judah people who were treading wine presses ^(V)on the Sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and every kind of load, ^(W)and they were bringing them into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So ^(X)I admonished them on the day they sold food. ¹⁶ Also people of Tyre were living ^[l]there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the Sabbath, even in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ Then ^(Y)I ^[m]reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, ^[n]by profaning the Sabbath day? ^18 (Z)Did your fathers not do the same, so that our God brought on us and on this city all this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath against Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

¹⁹ And ^(AA)it came about that just as it became dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered that the doors be shut, ^[o]and that they were not to open them until after the Sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load would enter on the Sabbath day. ²⁰ Once or twice the traders and merchants of every kind of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem. ²¹ Then ^(AB)I warned them and said to them, “Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will ^[p]use force against you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. ²² And I ordered the Levites that ^(AC)they were to purify themselves and come as gatekeepers to sanctify the Sabbath day. For this also ^(AD)remember me, my God, and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your mercy.

Mixed Marriages Forbidden

²³ In those days I also saw that the Jews had ^[q](AE)married women from ^(AF)Ashdod, ^(AG)Ammon, and Moab. ²⁴ As for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod, and none of them knew how to speak the language of Judah, but ^[r]only the language of his own people. ²⁵ So ^(AH)I quarreled with them and cursed them, and ^(AI)struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and ^(AJ)made them swear by God, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take any of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. ^26 (AK)Did Solomon the king of Israel not sin regarding these things? ^(AL)Yet among the many nations there was no king like him, and ^(AM)he was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; yet the foreign women caused even him to sin. ²⁷ Has it not then been reported about you that you have committed all this great evil ^(AN)by acting unfaithfully against our God, by ^[s]marrying foreign women?” ²⁸ Even one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, became a son-in-law of ^(AO)Sanballat the Horonite, so I chased him away from me. ^29 (AP)Remember them, my God, ^[t]because they have defiled the priesthood and the ^(AQ)covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

^30 (AR)So I purified them from everything foreign, and assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each in his work, ³¹ and I arranged ^(AS)for the delivery of wood at appointed times and for the first fruits. ^(AT)Remember me, my God, for good.

Babylon Is Fallen

18 After these things I saw another ^(A)angel ^(B)coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was ^(C)illuminated from his glory. ² And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “^[a](D)Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She ^(E)has become a dwelling place of demons and a ^[b]prison of every ^(F)unclean spirit, and a ^[c]prison of every unclean and hateful bird. ³ For all the nations have fallen because of the ^(G)wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and ^(H)the kings of the earth have committed acts of sexual immorality with her, and the ^(I)merchants of the earth have become rich from the ^[d]excessive wealth of her ^[e](J)luxury.”

⁴ I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “^(K)Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues; ⁵ for her sins have ^[f](L)piled up as high as heaven, and God has ^(M)remembered her offenses. ^6 (N)Pay her back even as she has paid, and ^[g]give back to her double according to her deeds; in the ^(O)cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. ^7 (P)To the extent that she glorified herself and ^(Q)lived luxuriously, to the same extent give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘^(R)I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ ⁸ For this reason ^(S)in one day her plagues will come, ^[h]plague and mourning and famine, and she will be ^(T)burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her ^(U)is strong.

Grief over Babylon

⁹ “And ^(V)the kings of the earth, who committed acts of sexual immorality and ^(W)lived luxuriously with her, will ^(X)weep and mourn over her when they ^(Y)see the smoke of her burning, ^10 (Z)standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘^(AA)Woe, woe, ^(AB)the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in ^(AC)one hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹ “And the ^(AD)merchants of the earth ^(AE)weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more— ¹² cargo of ^(AF)gold, silver, precious ^[i]stones, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; every kind of citron wood, every article of ivory, and every article made from very valuable wood, ^[j]bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³ cinnamon, ^[k]spice, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, and cargo of horses, carriages, ^[l]slaves, and ^(AG)human lives. ¹⁴ The fruit ^[m]you long for has left you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and people will no longer find them. ¹⁵ The ^(AH)merchants of ^(AI)these things, who became rich from her, will ^(AJ)stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, ¹⁶ saying, ‘^(AK)Woe, woe, ^(AL)the great city, she who ^(AM)was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and ^[n]adorned with gold, precious ^[o]stones, and pearls; ¹⁷ for in ^(AN)one hour such great wealth has been laid ^(AO)waste!’ And ^(AP)every shipmaster and every ^[p]passenger and sailor, and all who ^[q]make their living by the sea, ^(AQ)stood at a distance, ¹⁸ and were ^(AR)crying out as they ^(AS)saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘^(AT)What city is like ^(AU)the great city?’ ¹⁹ And they threw ^(AV)dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘^(AW)Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea ^(AX)became rich from her prosperity, for in ^(AY)one hour she has been laid ^(AZ)waste!’ ^20 (BA)Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you ^[r]saints and ^(BB)apostles and prophets, because ^(BC)God has ^[s]pronounced judgment for you against her.”

²¹ Then ^[t]a ^(BD)strong angel ^(BE)picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, ^(BF)the great city, be thrown down with violence, and ^(BG)will never be found again. ²² And ^(BH)the sound of harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again; and no craftsman of any craft will ever be found in you again; and the ^(BI)sound of a mill will never be heard in you again; ²³ and the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the ^(BJ)voice of the groom and bride will never be heard in you again; for your ^(BK)merchants were the powerful people of the earth, because all the nations were deceived ^(BL)by your witchcraft. ²⁴ And in her was found the ^(BM)blood of prophets and of ^[u]saints, and of ^(BN)all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”