The Daily Audio Bible

¹⁵ Moreover, Shallun the son of Kol-Hozeh, commander of the Mizpah district, made repairs to the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it, covered it, erected its doors, and installed the locks and bars for it. He also repaired the wall of the pool of Shelah by the king’s garden as far as the steps going down from the City of David. ¹⁶ After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, commander of half of the Beth Zur district, made repairs as far as the area across from the Tomb of David plus to the constructed pool and to the house of the mighty.

¹⁷ After him the Levites, under Rehum the son of Bani, made repairs. Next to them Hashabiah, commander of half of the Keilah district, made repairs in his area. ¹⁸ After him their brothers, under Binnui the son of Henadad, commander of the other half of the Keilah district, made repairs. ¹⁹ Next to them Ezer the son of Jeshua, commander of Mizpah, made repairs to another section across from the ascent to the armory at the corner. ²⁰ After him Baruch the son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the corner to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. ²¹ After him Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of it.

²² After him the priests, the men of the surrounding plain, made repairs. ²³ After them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs across from their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah made repairs beside his house. ²⁴ After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section from the house of Azariah as far as the corner plus the corner tower. ²⁵ Palal the son of Uzai made repairs across from the corner and to the tower protruding out of the king’s upper house next to the courtyard of the guards. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs. ²⁶ The temple servants living in Ophel made repairs from opposite the Water Gate eastward to the protruding tower. ²⁷ After them the Tekoites repaired another section across from the great protruding tower as far as the wall of Ophel.

²⁸ Up to the Horse Gate the priests made repairs—each one across from his house. ²⁹ After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired across from his house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shekaniah, who was 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 them Meshullam the son of Berekiah made repairs across from his chamber. ³¹ After him Malkijah the goldsmith’s son made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants. This was across from the Mustering Gate extending as far as the upper room of the corner tower. ³² Between the upper room of the corner tower and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants made repairs.

Opposition to the Rebuilding

4 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly irritated, and he mocked the Jews. ² He spoke before his relatives and the army of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they fortifying themselves? Will they make sacrifices? Can they complete this in a day? Can they revive the burned-up stones out of the rubbish heaps?”

³ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Even what they are rebuilding, if even a fox climbed it, that would break down their stone wall.”

⁴ Hear, O our God, that we are despised. Turn their reproach back upon their own head, and give them as spoil in a land of captivity: ⁵ No longer cover their iniquity nor blot out their sin, which is before You since they have made insults against the builders.

⁶ So we rebuilt the wall until all of it was solidified up to half its height. The people had a passion for the work.

⁷ When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard how the restoration of Jerusalem’s walls was progressing and how the breaches had begun to be sealed, it made them extremely furious. ⁸ So they all conspired together to fight against Jerusalem in order to cause it chaos. ⁹ Nevertheless we prayed to our God, and, because of them, we set up a watch for them day and night.

¹⁰ Judah had said, “The strength of the burden bearers is failing though there is much rubble. And we ourselves are unable to rebuild the wall.”

¹¹ Our adversaries said, “They will neither know nor see until we have entered in among them and slain them. Indeed, we will stop the work!”

¹² When the Jews living near them came, they told us ten times, “From every place where you turn, they will be against us.”

¹³ Therefore I set guards at the lowest positions along the wall and just inside the wall at the unrepaired areas. I also stationed the people by families providing them individually their own swords, spears, and bows. ¹⁴ After I looked around, I stood up and said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, “Stop being terrified because of them! Remember instead that the Lord is great and awesome. So fight for each other—and for your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

¹⁵ Now when our enemies heard that this had become known to us and that God had brought their counsel to nothing, then we all returned to the wall, everyone to his work.

¹⁶ After that day, half of my servants did the work while the other half handled the spears, shields, bows, and body armor. Commanders were appointed to support every house of Judah. ¹⁷ Those rebuilding the wall and those hauling the loads were working with one hand doing the task, but with the other hand holding the weapon. ¹⁸ For the builders, everyone had his sword bound to his side, even while rebuilding. The trumpet blower worked beside me.

¹⁹ I said to the nobles, the rulers, and to the rest of the people, “The work is vast and over a large area. Since we are spread along the wall far from each other, ²⁰ assemble to us there at the place where you hear the trumpet sounded. Our God shall fight for us.”

²¹ So we labored in the work with half of them holding spears from sunrise to the rising of the stars. ²² Likewise at the same time I said to the people, “Every man and his servant must lodge within Jerusalem. By night, they may be a guard to us; by day, a laborer for the work.” ²³ So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes. Each carried his weapon, even when washing.

Nehemiah Stops Oppression

5 Now there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their fellow Jews. ² Some were saying, “We and our sons and our daughters are many. Therefore, let us acquire grain so that we may eat and live.”

³ Others were saying, “We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and houses so that we might acquire grain because of hunger.”

⁴ Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute against the value of our fields and vineyards. ⁵ Now our flesh is the same as the flesh of our countrymen. Our children are like their children, but we are subjugating our sons and our daughters as servants. Indeed, some of our daughters are in bondage already, and we are powerless to do anything because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

⁶ I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. ⁷ So I contemplated about this for myself and, as a result, I rebuked the nobles and officials and said to them, “Based on the claim of each against his brother, you are exacting usury.” Then I convened a great assembly against them, ⁸ and I said to them, “By whatever means we had, we purchased our Jewish countrymen who were being sold to the nations. So, will you once more sell your countrymen so that they might again be sold to us?” Then they kept silent, because they found nothing to answer.

⁹ Also I said, “What you are doing is not good! Should not you walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? ¹⁰ Moreover, I, my relatives, and my servants are loaning them money and grain. So, I urge you, cease from this practice of usury. ¹¹ Please restore to them, even this day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, along with a hundredth part of the money, the grain, the wine, and the oil that you had exacted from them.”

¹² Then they said, “We will restore it and will require nothing of them. We will do what you have said.”

Then I called the priests and made them swear an oath to keep this promise. ¹³ Also I shook out the front of my garment and said, “Like this, may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not carry out this promise. Exactly like this, may he be shaken out and emptied.”

And all the congregation said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did according to this promise.

The Unmarried and Widows

²⁵ Now concerning virgins, I have no command from the Lord. Yet I will give my judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be faithful. ²⁶ I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. ²⁷ Are you committed to a wife? Do not seek to be uncommitted. Are you free 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. Nevertheless they will have trouble in this life, but I would spare you that.

²⁹ But this I say, brothers, the time is short. It remains that those who have wives should be as though they had none; ³⁰ those who weep, as though they did not weep; those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; those who buy, as though they possessed nothing; ³¹ and those who use this world, as though they did not make full use of it. For the form of this world is passing away.

³² But I prefer that you have no concern. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. ³³ But he who is married cares for the things of the world, how he may please his wife. ³⁴ There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. ³⁵ I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.

³⁶ If any man thinks that he is behaving improperly toward his virgin,^[a] and if she is past the flower of her youth, and passions so require, let him do what he will. He does not sin. Let them marry. ³⁷ Nevertheless he who stands steadfast in his heart without necessity, and has power over his own will, and has so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, does well. ³⁸ So then he who gives her in marriage does well, but he who gives her not in marriage does better.

³⁹ The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband lives. But if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will, but only in the Lord. ⁴⁰ But in my judgment she is happier if she so remains as she is. And I think that I have the Spirit of God.

Psalm 32

A Psalm of David. A Contemplative Maskil.