The Daily Audio Bible

1 During the first year of King Cyrus of Persia’s reign in 539 b.c., the Eternal One influenced the spirit of the Persian king to send a proclamation and written letter throughout his empire, fulfilling the Eternal’s earlier message through the prophet Jeremiah.^[a]

⁵ The tribal leaders of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and Levites, and everyone motivated in his or her spirit by the True God prepared to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Eternal’s temple. ⁶ All their neighbors gave them silver, gold, goods, cattle, and valuable things for the journey, just as Cyrus had requested, and sent freewill offerings. ^7-8 Even King Cyrus commanded his treasurer, Mithredath, to return the vessels from the Eternal’s temple (which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and stored in his gods’ temple) to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. ⁹ The vessels included 30 gold basins, 1,000 silver basins, 29 extra dishes, ¹⁰ 30 gold bowls, 410 silver bowls of a different pattern, and 1,000 other articles. ¹¹ Sheshbazzar and the exiles carried a total of 5,400 gold and silver vessels from Babylon to Jerusalem.

2 ^1-2 These leaders of Israel followed Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah back to the province of Judah, to their ancestral cities or the city of Jerusalem, from their Babylonian exile at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon: ³ The descendants of Parosh (2,172), ⁴ Shephatiah (372), ⁵ Arah (775), ⁶ Pahath-moab of the families of Jeshua and Joab (2,812), ⁷ Elam (1,254), ⁸ Zattu (945), ⁹ Zaccai (760), ¹⁰ Bani (642), ¹¹ Bebai (623), ¹² Azgad (1,222), ¹³ Adonikam (666), ¹⁴ Bigvai (2,056), ¹⁵ Adin (454), ¹⁶ Ater of Hezekiah (98), ¹⁷ Bezai (323), ¹⁸ Jorah (112), ¹⁹ Hashum (223), and ²⁰ Gibbar (95); ²¹ the citizens of Bethlehem (123), ²² Netophah (56), and ²³ Anathoth (128); ²⁴ the descendants of Azmaveth (42); ²⁵ Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth (743); and ²⁶ Ramah and Geba (621); ²⁷ the citizens of Michmas (122) and ²⁸ Bethel and Ai (223); ²⁹ the descendants of Nebo (52), ³⁰ Magbish (156), ³¹ the other Elam (1,254), ³² Harim (320), and ³³ Lod, Hadid, and Ono (725); ³⁴ the citizens of Jericho (345); ³⁵ The descendants of Senaah (3,630).

³⁶ These priests returned to Jerusalem: the descendants of Jedaiah the Jeshuite (973), ³⁷ Immer (1,052), ³⁸ Pashhur (1,247), ³⁹ and Harim (1,017).

⁴⁰ These Levites returned to Jerusalem: the descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel the Hodaviahites (74).

⁴¹ These singers returned to Jerusalem: the descendants of Asaph (128).

⁴² These sons of the gatekeepers: the descendants Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai (139).

⁴³ These temple servants returned to Jerusalem: the descendants of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, ⁴⁴ Keros, Siaha, Padon, ⁴⁵ Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub, ⁴⁶ Hagab, Shalmai, Hanan, ⁴⁷ Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah, ⁴⁸ Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, ⁴⁹ Uzza, Paseah, Besai, ⁵⁰ Asnah, Meunim, Nephisim, ⁵¹ Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, ⁵² Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, ⁵³ Barkos, Sisera, Temah, ⁵⁴ Neziah, and Hatipha.

⁵⁵ These descendants of Solomon’s servants returned to Jerusalem: the descendants of Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda, ⁵⁶ Jaalah, Darkon, Giddel, ⁵⁷ Shephatiah, Hattil, Pochereth-hazzebaim, and Ami. ⁵⁸ All the temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants totaled 392.

^59-60 But not everyone was readily accepted into Jerusalem. These people returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian provinces of Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer: the descendants of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda (652). These people could not produce genealogies to prove their identities as Israelites.

⁶¹ Three priestly lines—the descendants of Habaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai (so called because he married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite)— ⁶² could not be located in their genealogies. Therefore they were considered ritually impure and excluded from the priesthood in case they should taint the Lord’s new temple. ⁶³ The governor decided they should abstain from eating the most holy things until the high priest could divine answers using the Urim and Thummim. ⁶⁴ This decision affected 42,360 people, ⁶⁵ in addition to 7,337 male and female servants, 200 male and female singers, ⁶⁶ 736 horses, 245 mules, ⁶⁷ 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

⁶⁸ When some of the tribal leaders arrived at the Eternal’s temple in Jerusalem, they gave their offerings willingly, hoping to rebuild the True God’s house on the same site Solomon had used. ⁶⁹ Their gifts, which the treasury used to finance the construction of the new temple, amounted to about 1,000 pounds^[b] of gold, 3 tons^[c] of silver, and 100 priestly garments.

⁷⁰ From that time forward, the priests, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, the temple servants, and all Israel lived in their ancestral cities.

¹⁸ For people who are stumbling toward ruin, the message of the cross is nothing but a tall tale for fools by a fool. But for those of us who are already experiencing the reality of being rescued and made right, it is nothing short of God’s power. ¹⁹ This is why the Scripture says:

²⁰ So now, where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar? Where is the skilled debater, the best of your time? Step up, if you dare. Hasn’t God made fools out of those who count on the wisdom of this rebellious, broken world? ²¹ For in God’s deep wisdom, He made it so that the world could not even begin to comprehend Him through its own style of wisdom; in fact, God took immense pleasure in rescuing people of faith through the foolishness of the message we preach. ²² It seems the Jews are always asking for signs and the Greeks are always on the prowl for wisdom. ²³ But we tell a different story. We proclaim a crucified Jesus, God’s Anointed. For Jews this is scandalous, for outsiders^[b] this is moronic, ²⁴ but for those of us living out God’s call—regardless of our Jewish or Greek heritage—we know the Anointed embodies God’s dynamic power and God’s deep wisdom. ²⁵ You can count on this: God’s foolishness will always be wiser than mere human wisdom, and God’s weakness will always be stronger than mere human strength.

²⁶ Look carefully at your call, brothers and sisters. By human standards, not many of you are deemed to be wise. Not many are considered powerful. Not many of you come from royalty, right? ²⁷ But celebrate this: God selected the world’s foolish to bring shame upon those who think they are wise; likewise, He selected the world’s weak to bring disgrace upon those who think they are strong. ²⁸ God selected the common and the castoff, whatever lacks status, so He could invalidate the claims of those who think those things are significant. ²⁹ So it makes no sense for any person to boast in God’s presence. ³⁰ Instead, credit God with your new situation: you are united with Jesus the Anointed. He is God’s wisdom for us and more. He is our righteousness and holiness and redemption. ³¹ As the Scripture says: “If someone wants to boast, he should boast in the Lord.”^[c]

2 My brothers and sisters, I did not pose as an expert with all the answers. I did not pretend to explain the mystery of God with eloquent speech and human wisdom. ² I claimed to know nothing with certainty other than the reality that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Liberating King, who was crucified on our behalf. ³ I was moved to utter despair during my time with you. I would find myself trembling in dread and fear. ⁴ The sermons I preached were not delivered with the kind of persuasive elegance some have come to expect, but they were effective because I relied on God’s Spirit to demonstrate God’s power. ⁵ If this were not so, your faith would be based on human wisdom and not the power of God.