Worship in Heaven

4 After this, I looked and saw a door that opened into heaven. Then the voice that had spoken to me at first and that sounded like a trumpet said, “Come up here! I will show you what must happen next.” ^2 (A) Right then the Spirit took control of me, and there in heaven I saw a throne and someone sitting on it. ³ The one who was sitting there sparkled like precious stones of jasper^[a] and carnelian.^[b] A rainbow that looked like an emerald^[c] surrounded the throne.

⁴ Twenty-four other thrones were in a circle around that throne. And on each of these thrones there was an elder dressed in white clothes and wearing a gold crown. ^5 (B) Flashes of lightning and roars of thunder came out from the throne in the center of the circle. Seven torches, which are the seven spirits of God, were burning in front of the throne. ^6 (C)(D) Also in front of the throne was something that looked like a glass sea, clear as crystal.

Around the throne in the center were four living creatures covered front and back with eyes. ⁷ The first creature was like a lion, the second one was like a bull, the third one had the face of a human, and the fourth was like a flying eagle. ^8 (E) Each of the four living creatures had six wings, and their bodies were covered with eyes. Day and night they never stopped singing,

⁹ The living creatures kept praising, honoring, and thanking the one who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever. ¹⁰ At the same time the 24 elders knelt down before the one sitting on the throne. And as they worshiped the one who lives forever, they placed their crowns in front of the throne and said,

Nehemiah's Concern for the Poor

5 Some of the men and their wives complained about the Jews in power ² and said, “We have large families, and it takes a lot of grain merely to keep us alive.”

³ Others said, “During the famine we even had to mortgage our fields, vineyards, and homes to them in order to buy grain.”

⁴ Then others said, “We had to borrow money from those in power to pay the government tax on our fields and vineyards. ⁵ We are Jews just as they are, and our children are as good as theirs. But we still have to sell our children as slaves, and some of our daughters have already been raped. We are completely helpless; our fields and vineyards have even been taken from us.”

⁶ When I heard their complaints and their charges, I became very angry. ^7 (A) So I thought it over and said to the leaders and officials, “How can you charge your own people interest?”

Then I called a public meeting and accused the leaders ⁸ by saying, “We have tried to buy back all of our people who were sold into exile. But here you are, selling more of them for us to buy back!” The officials and leaders did not say a word, because they knew this was true.

⁹ I continued, “What you have done is wrong! We must honor our God by the way we live, so the Gentiles can't find fault with us. ¹⁰ My relatives, my friends, and I are also lending money and grain, but we must no longer demand payment in return. ¹¹ Now give back the fields, vineyards, olive orchards, and houses you have taken and also the interest you have been paid.”

¹² The leaders answered, “We will do whatever you say and return their property, without asking to be repaid.”

So I made the leaders promise in front of the priests to give back the property. ¹³ Then I emptied my pockets and said, “If you don't keep your promise, that's what God will do to you. He will empty out everything you own, even taking away your houses.”

The people answered, “We will keep our promise.” Then they praised the Lord and did as they had promised.

Nehemiah Is Generous

¹⁴ I was governor of Judah from the twentieth year that Artaxerxes^[a] was king until the thirty-second year. And during these entire twelve years, my relatives and I refused to accept the food that I was allowed. ¹⁵ Each governor before me had been a burden to the people by making them pay for his food and wine and by demanding forty silver coins a day. Even their officials had been a burden to the people. But I respected God, and I didn't think it was right to be so hard on them. ¹⁶ I spent all my time getting the wall rebuilt and did not buy any property. Everyone working for me did the same thing. ¹⁷ I usually fed 150 of our own Jewish people and their leaders, as well as foreign visitors from surrounding lands. ¹⁸ Each day one ox, six of the best sheep, and lots of chickens were prepared. Then every ten days, a large supply of wine was brought in. I knew what a heavy burden this would have been for the people, and so I did not ask for my food allowance as governor.

¹⁹ I pray that God will bless me for everything I have done for my people.

Plots against Nehemiah

6 Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and our other enemies learned that I had completely rebuilt the wall. All I lacked was hanging the doors in the gates. ² Then Sanballat and Geshem sent a message, asking me to meet with them in one of the villages in Ono Valley. I knew they were planning to harm me in some way. ³ So I sent messengers to tell them, “My work is too important to stop now and go there. I can't afford to slow down the work just to visit with you.” ⁴ They invited me four times, but each time I refused to go.

⁵ Finally, Sanballat sent an official to me with an unsealed letter, ⁶ which said:

A rumor is going around among the nations that you and the other Jews are rebuilding the wall and planning to rebel, because you want to be their king. And Geshem^[b] says it's true! ⁷ You even have prophets in Jerusalem, claiming you are now the king of Judah. You know the Persian king will hear about this, so let's get together and talk it over.

⁸ I sent a message back to Sanballat, saying, “None of this is true! You are making it all up.”

⁹ Our enemies were trying to frighten us and to keep us from our work. But I asked God to give me strength.

¹⁰ One day I went to visit Shemaiah.^[c] He wasn't supposed to leave his house, but he said, “Let's hurry to the holy place of the temple and hide there.^[d] We will lock the temple doors, because your enemies are planning to kill you tonight.”

¹¹ I answered, “Why should someone like me have to run and hide in the temple to save my life? I won't go!”

¹² Suddenly I realized that God had not given Shemaiah this message. But Tobiah and Sanballat had paid him to trick me ¹³ and to frighten me into doing something wrong, because they wanted to ruin my good name.

¹⁴ Then I asked God to punish Tobiah and Sanballat for what they had done. I prayed that God would punish the prophet Noadiah and the other prophets who, together with her, had tried to frighten me.

The Work Is Finished

¹⁵ On the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul,^[e] the wall was completely rebuilt. It had taken 52 days. ¹⁶ When our enemies in the surrounding nations learned that the work was finished, they felt helpless, because they knew that our God had helped us rebuild the wall.

¹⁷ All this time the Jewish leaders and Tobiah had been writing letters back and forth. ¹⁸ Many people in Judah were loyal to Tobiah for two reasons: Shecaniah son of Arah was his father-in-law, and Tobiah's son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.^{[f] 19} The people would always tell me about the good things Tobiah had done, and then they would tell Tobiah everything I had said. So Tobiah kept sending letters, trying to frighten me.

7 After the wall had been rebuilt and the gates hung, then the temple guards, the singers, and the other Levites were assigned their work. ² I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah, the commander of the fortress, because Hananiah could be trusted, and he respected God more than most people did. ³ I said to them, “Don't let the gates to the city be opened until the sun has been up for a while. And make sure that they are closed and barred before the guards go off duty at sunset. Choose people from Jerusalem to stand guard at different places around the wall and others to stand guard near their own houses.”

A List of Exiles Who Returned

(Ezra 2.1-70)

⁴ Although Jerusalem covered a large area, not many people lived there, and no new houses had been built.

Our Lord Is King