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Ezra Reads the Law
8 And all the people gathered as one person at the public square which was in front of (A)the Water Gate, and they [a]asked (B)Ezra the scribe to bring (C)the Book of the Law of Moses which the Lord had [b]given to Israel. 2 Then (D)Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding, on (E)the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it before the public square which was in front of (F)the Water Gate, from [c]early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and [d]all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4 Ezra the scribe stood at a wooden podium which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left. 5 Then Ezra opened (G)the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people (H)stood up. 6 Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, “(I)Amen, Amen!” with the raising of their hands; then (J)they kneeled down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites explained the Law to the people while the people remained in their place. 8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, [e]translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.
This Day Is Holy
9 Then Nehemiah, who was the [f](K)governor, and Ezra (L)the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “(M)This day is holy to the Lord your God; (N)do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go, eat the festival foods, drink the sweet drinks, and (O)send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your [g]refuge.” 11 So the Levites silenced all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” 12 Then all the people went away to eat, drink, (P)to send portions, and to [h]celebrate a great feast, (Q)because they understood the words which had been made known to them.
Feast of Booths Restored
13 Then on the second day the heads of fathers’ households of all the people, the priests, and the Levites were gathered to Ezra the scribe so that they might gain insight into the words of the Law. 14 And they found written in the Law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the sons of Israel (R)were to live in [i]booths during the feast of the seventh month. 15 (S)And that they were to proclaim and circulate a proclamation in all their cities and (T)in Jerusalem, saying, “(U)Go out to the hills, and bring olive branches and [j]wild olive branches, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of other trees with thick branches, to make booths, as it is written.” 16 So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each (V)on his roof, and in their courtyards and in the courtyards of the house of God, and in the public square at (W)the Water Gate, and in the square at (X)the Gate of Ephraim. 17 The entire assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths. Indeed, the sons of Israel (Y)had not done so since the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day. And (Z)there was very great rejoicing. 18 (AA)He read from the Book of the Law of God daily, from the first day to the last day. And they (AB)celebrated the feast seven days, and on (AC)the eighth day there was a festive assembly in accordance with the ordinance.
The People Confess Their Sin
9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of (AD)this month the sons of Israel assembled (AE)with fasting, in sackcloth and with (AF)dirt upon them. 2 The [k](AG)descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and (AH)confessed their sins and the wrongdoings of their fathers. 3 While (AI)they stood in their place, they read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God. 4 (AJ)Now on the Levites’ platform stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and they cried out with a loud voice to the Lord their God.
5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, “Arise, bless the Lord your God forever and ever!
May Your glorious name be blessed
And exalted above all blessing and praise!
6 (AK)You alone are the Lord.
(AL)You have made the heavens,
The heaven of heavens with all their [l]lights,
The earth and everything that is on it,
The seas and everything that is in them.
(AM)You give life to all of them,
And the heavenly [m]lights bow down before You.
7 You are the Lord God,
(AN)Who chose Abram
And brought him out from (AO)Ur of the Chaldees,
And (AP)gave him the name Abraham.
8 You found (AQ)his heart faithful before You,
And made a covenant with him
To give him the land of the Canaanite,
Of the Hittite and the Amorite,
Of the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite—
To give it to his [n]descendants.
And You (AR)have fulfilled Your [o]promise,
Because You are righteous.
9 “(AS)You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,
And (AT)heard their cry by the [p]Red Sea.
10 Then You performed (AU)signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
Against all his servants and all the people of his land;
For You knew that (AV)they acted arrogantly toward them,
And You (AW)made a name for Yourself as it is this day.
11 (AX)You divided the sea before them,
So they passed through the midst of the sea on dry ground;
And You hurled (AY)their pursuers into the depths,
Like a stone into [q]raging waters.
12 And with a pillar of cloud (AZ)You led them by day,
And with a pillar of fire by night
To light for them the way
In which they were to go.
13 Then (BA)You came down on Mount Sinai,
And (BB)spoke with them from heaven;
You gave them (BC)just ordinances and true laws,
Good statutes and commandments.
14 So You made known to them (BD)Your holy Sabbath,
And gave them commandments, statutes, and law,
Through Your servant Moses.
15 You (BE)provided bread from heaven for them for their hunger,
You (BF)brought out water from a rock for them for their thirst,
And You (BG)told them to enter in order to take possession of
The land which You [r]swore to give them.
16 “But they, our fathers, (BH)acted arrogantly;
They [s](BI)became stubborn and would not listen to Your commandments.
17 They refused to listen,
And (BJ)did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You performed among them;
So they became stubborn and (BK)appointed a leader to return to their slavery in [t]Egypt.
But You are a God (BL)of forgiveness,
Gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger and abounding in [u]mercy;
And You did not abandon them.
18 Even when they (BM)made for themselves
A calf of cast metal
And said, ‘This is your [v]god
Who brought you up from Egypt,’
And committed great blasphemies,
19 (BN)You, in Your great compassion,
Did not abandon them in the wilderness;
(BO)The pillar of cloud did not leave them by day,
To guide them on their way,
Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go.
20 Instead, (BP)You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them,
You did not withhold Your manna from their mouth,
And You gave them water for their thirst.
21 Indeed, for (BQ)forty years You provided for them in the wilderness and they were not lacking;
Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell up.
Paul’s Use of Freedom
9 Am I not (A)free? Am I not an (B)apostle? Have I not (C)seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not (D)my work in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you; for you are the (E)seal of my (F)apostleship in the Lord.
3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 [a](G)Do we not have a right to eat and drink? 5 [b](H)Do we not have a right to take along a [c]believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the (I)brothers of the Lord, and [d](J)Cephas? 6 Or do only [e](K)Barnabas and I have no right to refrain from [f]working? 7 Who at any time serves (L)as a soldier at his own expense? Who (M)plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not [g]consume some of the milk of the flock?
8 I am not just asserting these things (N)according to human judgment, am I? Or does the Law not say these things as well? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “(O)You shall not muzzle the ox while it is threshing.” God is not concerned about (P)oxen, is He? 10 Or is He speaking entirely for our sake? Yes, it was written (Q)for our sake, because (R)the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing in the crops. 11 (S)If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we (T)did not use this right, but we endure all things (U)so that we will cause no hindrance to the (V)gospel of Christ. 13 (W)Do you not know that those who (X)perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share [h]from the altar? 14 So also (Y)the Lord directed those who proclaim the (Z)gospel to (AA)get their living from the gospel.
15 But I have (AB)used none of these things. And I have not written these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than that. No one shall make (AC)my boast an empty one! 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for (AD)I am under compulsion; for woe to me if I do not preach (AE)the gospel. 17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a (AF)reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a (AG)commission nonetheless. 18 What, then, is my (AH)reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel (AI)without charge, so as (AJ)not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
12 Blessed is the (A)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has (B)chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The Lord (C)looks from heaven;
He (D)sees all the sons of mankind;
14 From (E)His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (F)fashions [a]the hearts of them all,
He who (G)understands all their works.
16 (H)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not rescued by great strength.
17 A (I)horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it rescue anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, (J)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who (K)wait for His faithfulness,
19 To (L)rescue their soul from death
And to keep them alive (M)in famine.
20 Our soul (N)waits for the Lord;
He is our (O)help and our shield.
21 For our (P)heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your favor, Lord, be upon us,
Just as we have waited for You.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.