Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 93^[a]

Glory of the Lord’s Kingdom

Psalm 96^[a]

God, Sovereign and Judge of the Universe

Psalm 34^[a]

Presence of God, Protector of the Righteous

¹ Of David. When he pretended to be mad before Abimelech, who forced him to depart.^[b]

Chapter 10

The People’s Response. ¹ While Ezra was praying and acknowledging their guilt as he wept and prostrated himself in front of the temple of God, a vast assemblage of men, women, and children gathered around him as the people wept profusely. ² Then Shecaniah, the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples of this land. However, in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel. ³ Let us now make a covenant with our God to send away all these wives and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commandments of our God. Let it be done in accordance with the law.^{[a] 4} Rise up, then, for the matter is in your hands. We will support you. Therefore, have courage and take action!”

⁵ Then Ezra rose to his feet and put the leading priests and Levites and all Israel under oath to do what had been said. In unison they took the oath. ⁶ Then Ezra departed from his place before the house of God and entered the room of Jehohanan, the son of Eliashib, where he spent the night without eating food or drinking water, because he was in mourning over the betrayal by the exiles.

⁷ A proclamation was issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all of the exiles were to assemble in Jerusalem, ⁸ and that those who failed to appear within three days, as specified by the officials and the elders, would forfeit their property and be excluded from the assembly of the exiles.

⁹ All the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered together in Jerusalem three days later, on the twentieth day of the ninth month. All the people sat down in the open square before the house of God, greatly distressed because of the matter at hand and because they had no shelter from the heavy rain. ¹⁰ Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them: “You have been unfaithful in marrying foreign wives, thus adding to Israel’s guilt. ¹¹ Now confess to the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from foreign women.”

¹² Then all those who had assembled replied loudly, saying in unison: “We shall do as you say. ¹³ However, there are many people here; it is the rainy season, and we cannot stay out in the open. Besides, this is something that cannot be resolved in one or two days, since those of us who have sinned in this regard comprise a vast number.

¹⁴ “Therefore, permit our officials to represent the entire community, and let all those in our towns who have married foreign wives present themselves at designated times, accompanied by the elders and the judges for each town, until the fierce anger of our God at what has occurred has been turned away from us.” ¹⁵ Only Jonathan, the son of Asahel, and Jahzeiah, the son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai, the Levites, opposed this proposal.^[b]

¹⁶ The Guilty. The exiles did as had been proposed, while Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, representing their families, each of them designated by name. They met in sessions to examine the matter, beginning with the first day of the tenth month. ¹⁷ By the first day of the first month they had passed judgment on all the men who had married foreign women.

¹⁰ Then the governor motioned to Paul to speak, and he replied, “I know that you have administered justice to this nation for many years, and therefore I feel confident in presenting my defense. ¹¹ As you can verify for yourself, no more than twelve days have elapsed since I went up to worship in Jerusalem. ¹² They did not find me disputing with anyone in the temple or stirring up a crowd either in the synagogues or throughout the city. ¹³ Nor can they offer you any proof concerning their charges against me.

¹⁴ “But this much I will admit to you: it is as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect, that I worship the God of my ancestors, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law or is written in the Prophets. ¹⁵ I hold the same hope in God as they do that there will be a resurrection of the righteous and the wicked alike. ¹⁶ Accordingly, I strive at all times to have a clear conscience before God and man.

¹⁷ “After several years, I came to bring charitable gifts to my people and to offer sacrifices. ¹⁸ They found me in the temple after I had completed the rite of purification. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance.

“However, some Jews from the province of Asia were there, ¹⁹ and they are the ones who should have appeared before you to give such evidence if they had any charge against me. ²⁰ At the very least, those who are present here should state what crime they discovered when I was brought before the Sanhedrin, ²¹ unless it has to do with this one declaration I made when I stood up among them, ‘I am on trial on account of the resurrection of the dead.’ ”

¹² Invite the Needy.^[a] Then he said to the one who had invited him, “When you host a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, lest they invite you back and thus repay you. ¹³ Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴ Then indeed will you be blessed because they have no way to repay you. But you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

¹⁵ The Parable of the Great Supper.^[b] On hearing this, one of the dinner guests said to him, “Blessed is the man who will dine in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁶ Jesus said in reply, “A man gave a sumptuous banquet, to which he invited many. ¹⁷ When the hour for the banquet drew near, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited: ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

¹⁸ “But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have bought a parcel of land, and I must go out to inspect it. Please accept my apologies.’ ¹⁹ Another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am on my way to try them out. Please accept my regrets.’ ²⁰ Still another said, ‘I have just gotten married, and therefore I am unable to come.’

²¹ “When the servant returned, he reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became enraged, and he said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ ²² Shortly afterward, the servant told him, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out, and some room is still available.’ ²³ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the open roads and along the hedgerows and compel people to come,^[c] so that my house may be filled. ²⁴ For I tell you, not one of those who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”