¹⁵ Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, the official of the district of Mizpah, ^(A)repaired the Fountain Gate. He built it, made a roof for it, and installed its doors with its bolts and its bars, and the wall of the Pool of Shelah at ^(B)the king’s garden as far as ^(C)the steps that descend from the city of David. ¹⁶ After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ^(D)official of half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs as far as a point opposite the tombs of David, and as far as ^(E)the ^[a]artificial pool and the house of the mighty men. ¹⁷ After him the Levites carried out repairs under Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, the official of half the district of Keilah, carried out repairs for his district. ¹⁸ After him their brothers carried out repairs under Bavvai the son of Henadad, official of the other half of the district of Keilah. ¹⁹ And next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, ^(F)the official of Mizpah, repaired ^[b]another section in front of the ascent of the armory ^(G)at the Angle. ²⁰ After him Baruch the son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the Angle to the doorway of the house of ^(H)Eliashib the high priest. ²¹ After him Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz repaired another section, from the doorway of Eliashib’s house even as far as the end of ^[c]his house. ²² And after him the priests, ^(I)the men of the ^[d]vicinity, carried out repairs. ²³ After ^[e]them Benjamin and Hasshub carried out repairs in front of their house. After ^[f]them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, carried out repairs beside his house. ²⁴ After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah as far as ^(J)the Angle and as far as the corner. ²⁵ Palal the son of Uzai made repairs in front of the Angle and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king, which is by ^(K)the courtyard of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs. ²⁶ Now ^(L)the temple servants living in ^(M)Ophel made repairs as far as the front of ^(N)the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower. ²⁷ After ^[g]them ^(O)the Tekoites repaired another section in front of the great projecting tower and as far as the wall of Ophel.

²⁸ Above ^(P)the Horse Gate the priests carried out repairs, each in front of his house. ²⁹ After ^[h]them Zadok the son of Immer carried out repairs in front of his house. And after him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, carried out 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 carried out repairs in front of his own quarters. ³¹ After him Malchijah, ^[i]one of ^(Q)the goldsmiths, carried out repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, in front of the ^[j]Inspection Gate and as far as the upper room of the corner. ³² And between the upper room of the corner and ^(R)the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants carried out repairs.

Work Is Ridiculed

4 ^[k]Now it came about that when ^(S)Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry, and he mocked the Jews. ² And he spoke in the presence of his brothers and ^(T)the ^[l]wealthy people of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore the temple for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in a day? Can they revive the stones from the ^(U)heaps of rubble, even the burned ones?” ³ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him, and he said, “Even what they are building—^(V)if a fox were to ^[m]jump on it, it would break their stone wall down!”

^4 (W)Hear, O our God, how we are an object of contempt! ^(X)Return their taunting on their own heads, and turn them into plunder in a land of captivity. ⁵ Do not ^[n](Y)forgive their guilt and do not let their sin be wiped out before You, for they have ^[o]demoralized the builders.

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

^7 [q]Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the ^[r]repair of the walls of Jerusalem went ^[s]on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. ⁸ So all of them ^(Z)conspired together to come to fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.

Discouragement Overcome

⁹ But we prayed to our God, and because of them we ^(AA)set up a guard against them day and night.

¹⁰ And so ^[t]in Judah it was said:

¹¹ And our enemies said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work.” ¹² When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “^[u]They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,” ¹³ then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I ^(AB)stationed the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows. ¹⁴ When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “^(AC)Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and ^(AD)fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

¹⁵ Now when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that ^(AE)God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. ¹⁶ And from that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them kept hold of the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the captains were behind all the house of Judah. ¹⁷ Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens carried with one hand doing the work, and the other keeping hold of a weapon. ¹⁸ As for the builders, each wore his sword strapped to his waist as he built, while ^[v]the trumpeter stood near me. ¹⁹ And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. ²⁰ At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, assemble to us there. ^(AF)Our God will fight for us.”

²¹ So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from ^[w]dawn until the stars ^[x]appeared. ²² At that time I also said to the people, “Each man with his servant shall spend the night within Jerusalem, so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day.” ²³ So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me—none of us ^[y]removed our clothes; each took his weapon even to the water.

Charging Interest Abolished

5 Now ^(AG)there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their ^(AH)Jewish brothers. ² For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let’s ^(AI)get grain so that we may eat and live.” ³ And there were others who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses so that we might get grain because of the famine.” ⁴ There also were those who said, “We have borrowed money ^(AJ)for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. ⁵ And now ^(AK)our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. Yet behold, ^(AL)we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and ^[z]we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

⁶ Then I was very ^(AM)angry when I heard their outcry and these words. ⁷ So I thought it over and contended with the nobles and the leading people, and said to them, “^(AN)You are lending at interest, each to his brother!” Therefore, I held a great assembly against them. ⁸ And I said to them, “We, according to our ability, ^(AO)have ^[aa]redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?” Then they were silent and could not find a word to say. ⁹ So I said, “The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of ^(AP)the taunting of the nations, our enemies? ¹⁰ And likewise I, my brothers, and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let’s ^[ab]do without this interest. ¹¹ Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, as well as the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine, and the oil that you are charging as interest from them.” ¹² Then they said, “We ^(AQ)will give it back and ^(AR)will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you say.” So I called the priests and made them ^(AS)take an oath to act in accordance with this ^[ac]promise. ¹³ I ^(AT)also shook out the ^[ad]front of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every person from his house and from his possessions who does not keep this ^[ae]promise; just so may he be shaken out and emptied.” And ^(AU)all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the Lord. Then the people acted in accordance with this ^[af]promise.

²⁵ Now concerning virgins, I have ^(A)no command of the Lord, but I am offering direction as one who ^[a](B)by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. ²⁶ I think, then, that this is good in view of the ^[b]present ^(C)distress, that ^(D)it is good for a man ^[c]to remain as he is. ²⁷ Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. ²⁸ But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such people as yourselves will have ^[d]trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. ²⁹ But this I say, brothers, ^(E)the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; ³⁰ and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; ³¹ and those who use the world, as though they did not ^(F)make full use of it; for ^(G)the present form of this world is passing away.

³² But I want you to be free from concern. One who is ^(H)unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; ³³ but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, ³⁴ and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. ³⁵ I say this for your own benefit, not to put a restraint on you, but ^[e]to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.

³⁶ But if anyone thinks that he is acting dishonorably toward his virgin, if she is ^[f]past her youth and it ought to be so, let him do what he wishes, he is not sinning; let ^[g]them marry. ³⁷ But the one who stands firm in his heart, ^[h]if he is not under constraint, but has authority ^[i]over his own will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep his own virgin, he will do well. ³⁸ So then, both the one who gives his own virgin in marriage does well, and the one who does not give her in marriage will do better.

^39 (I)A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband ^[j]dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only ^(J)in the Lord. ⁴⁰ But ^(K)in my opinion she is ^[k]happier if she remains as she is; and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. A ^[a]Maskil.