The Daily Audio Bible
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People Who Settled in Jerusalem
11 The nation's leaders and their families settled in Jerusalem. But there was room for only one out of every ten of the remaining families, and so they asked God to show them[a] who would live there. 2 Then everyone else asked God to bless those who were willing to live in Jerusalem.
3 (A) Some of the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple workers, and the descendants of Solomon's servants lived on their own property in the towns of Judah. But the leaders of the province lived in Jerusalem with their families.
The Judah Tribe
4-6 From the Judah tribe, two leaders settled in Jerusalem with their relatives. One of them was Athaiah son of Uzziah. His ancestors were Zechariah, Amariah, Shephatiah, Mahalalel, and Perez, the son of Judah. From the descendants of Perez, 468 of the best men lived in Jerusalem.
The other leader from Judah was Maaseiah the son of Baruch. His ancestors were Colhozeh, Hazaiah, Adaiah, Joiarib, Zechariah, and Shelah, the son of Judah.
The Benjamin Tribe
7-8 From the Benjamin tribe, three leaders settled in Jerusalem. The first was Sallu son of Meshullam, and the others were Gabbai and Sallai. Sallu's ancestors were Joed, Pedaiah, Kolaiah, Maaseiah, Ithiel, and Jeshaiah. Altogether, there were 928 men of the Benjamin tribe living in Jerusalem. 9 Joel son of Zichri was their leader, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command.
Priests
10 Four priests settled in Jerusalem. The first was Jedaiah; he was the son of Joiarib and the uncle of Jachin.[b]
11 The second priest to settle there was Seraiah son of Hilkiah. His ancestors were Meshullam, Zadok, Meraioth, and Ahitub, who had been a high priest. 12 Altogether, there were 822 from his clan who served in the temple.
The third priest to settle there was Adaiah son of Jeroham. His ancestors were Pelaliah, Amzi, Zechariah, Pashhur, and Malchijah. 13 Altogether, there were 242 clan leaders among his relatives.
The fourth priest to settle there was Amashsai son of Azarel. His ancestors were Ahzai, Meshillemoth, and Immer. 14 Altogether, there were 128 brave warriors from their clans, and their leader was Zabdiel son of Haggedolim.
Levites
15 Several Levites settled in Jerusalem. First, there was Shemaiah son of Hasshub. His ancestors were Azrikam, Hashabiah, and Bunni.
16 Next, there were Shabbethai and Jozabad, the Levite leaders in charge of the work outside the temple.
17 Then there was Mattaniah son of Mica. His ancestors were Zabdi and Asaph. Mattaniah led the temple choir in the prayer of praise. Bakbukiah, who also settled in Jerusalem, was his assistant.
Finally, there was Abda son of Shammua; his grandfather was Galal, and his great-grandfather was Jeduthun.
18 Altogether, 284 Levites settled in the holy city.
Temple Guards and Others
19 One hundred seventy-two temple guards settled in Jerusalem; their leaders were Akkub and Talmon.
20 The rest of the Israelites, including priests and Levites, lived on their own property in the other towns of Judah. 21 But the temple workers lived in the section of Jerusalem known as Ophel, and the two men in charge of them were Ziha and Gishpa.
22 Uzzi son of Bani was the leader of the Levites in Jerusalem. His grandfather was Hashabiah, his great-grandfather was Mattaniah, and his great-great-grandfather was Mica. He belonged to the Asaph clan that was in charge of the music for the temple services, 23 though the daily choice of music and musicians was decided by royal decree of the Persian king.
24 The people of Israel were represented at the Persian court by Pethahiah son of Meshezabel from the Zerah clan of the Judah tribe.
The People in the Other Towns and Villages
25 Some of the people of Judah lived in the following towns near their farms: Kiriath-Arba, Dibon, Jekabzeel, 26 Jeshua, Moladah, Beth-Pelet, 27 Hazar-Shual, Beersheba, 28 Ziklag, Meconah, 29 Enrimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, 30 Zanoah, Adullam, Lachish, and Azekah. In fact, they settled the towns from Beersheba in the south to Hinnom Valley in the north.
31 The people of Benjamin lived in the towns of Geba, Michmash, Aija, Bethel with its nearby villages, 32 Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, 33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, 34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, 35 Lod, and Ono, as well as in Craft Valley. 36 Several groups of Levites from the territory of Judah were sent to live among the people of Benjamin.
A List of Priests and Levites
12 Many priests and Levites had returned from Babylonia with Zerubbabel[c] and Joshua as their leaders. Those priests were Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, 5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and another Jedaiah. These were the leading priests and their assistants during the time of Joshua.[d]
8 The Levites who returned were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah. They and their assistants were responsible for the songs of praise, 9 while Bakbukiah and Unno, together with their assistants, were responsible for the choral responses.
Descendants of Joshua the High Priest
10 Joshua was the father of Joiakim, the grandfather of Eliashib, and the great-grandfather of Joiada. 11 Joiada was the father of Jonathan and the grandfather of Jaddua.
Leaders of the Priestly Clans
12 When Joiakim was high priest, the following priests were leaders of their clans: Meraiah of the Seraiah clan, Hananiah of Jeremiah, 13 Meshullam of Ezra, Jehohanan of Amariah, 14 Jonathan of Malluchi, Joseph of Shebaniah, 15 Adna of Harim, Helkai of Meraioth, 16 Zechariah of Iddo, Meshullam of Ginnethon, 17 Zichri of Abijah,[e] Piltai of Moadiah, 18 Shammua of Bilgah, Jehonathan of Shemaiah, 19 Mattenai of Joiarib, Uzzi of Jedaiah, 20 Kallai of Sallai, Eber of Amok, 21 Hashabiah of Hilkiah, and Nethanel of Jedaiah.
The Priestly and Levite Families
22 During the time of the high priests Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, and including the time that Darius was king of Persia, a record was kept of the heads of the Levite and priestly families. 23 However, no official record was kept of the heads of the Levite clans after the death of Johanan,[f] the grandson of Eliashib.
24 Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua son of Kadmiel,[g] and their assistants organized two choirs of Levites to offer praises to God, just as King David, the man of God, had commanded.
25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were responsible for guarding the storerooms near the temple gates.
26 All of these men lived during the time of Joiakim[h] and during the time that I was governor and Ezra, a teacher of the Law of Moses, was priest.
14 My friends, you must keep away from idols. 15 I am speaking to you as people who have enough sense to know what I am talking about. 16 (A) When we drink from the cup we ask God to bless, isn't that sharing in the blood of Christ? When we eat the bread we break, isn't that sharing in the body of Christ? 17 By sharing in the same loaf of bread, we become one body, even though there are many of us.
18 (B)(C) Aren't the people of Israel sharing in the worship when they gather around the altar and eat the sacrifices offered there? 19 Am I saying that either the idols or the food sacrificed to them is anything at all? 20 (D) No, I am not! This food is really sacrificed to demons and not to God. I don't want you to have anything to do with demons. 21 You cannot drink from the cup of demons and still drink from the Lord's cup. You cannot eat at the table of demons and still eat at the Lord's table. 22 (E) We would make the Lord jealous if we did this. And we are not stronger than the Lord.
Always Honor God
23 (F) Some of you say, “We can do whatever we want to!” But I tell you not everything may be good or helpful. 24 We should think about others and not about ourselves. 25 However, when you buy meat in the market, go ahead and eat it. Keep your conscience clear by not asking where the meat came from. 26 (G) The Scriptures say, “The earth and everything in it belong to the Lord.”
27 If an unbeliever invites you to dinner, and you want to go, then go. Eat whatever you are served. Don't cause a problem for someone's conscience by asking where the food came from. 28-29 But if you are told it has been sacrificed to idols, don't cause a problem by eating it. I don't mean a problem for yourself, but for the one who told you. Why should my freedom be limited by someone else's conscience? 30 If I give thanks for what I eat, why should anyone accuse me of doing wrong?
31 When you eat or drink or do anything else, always do it to honor God. 32 Don't cause problems for Jews or Greeks or anyone else who belongs to God's church. 33 I always try to please others instead of myself, in the hope that many of them will be saved.
11 Come, my children, listen
as I teach you
to respect the Lord.
12 (A) Do you want to live
and enjoy a long life?
13 Then don't say cruel things
and don't tell lies.
14 Do good instead of evil
and try to live at peace.
15 If you obey the Lord,
he will watch over you
and answer your prayers.
16 But God despises evil people,
and he will wipe them all
from the earth,
till they are forgotten.
17 When his people pray for help,
he listens and rescues them
from their troubles.
18 The Lord is there to rescue
all
who are discouraged
and have given up hope.
19 The Lord's people
may suffer a lot,
but he will always
bring them safely through.
20 (B) Not one of their bones
will ever be broken.
21 Wicked people are killed
by their own evil deeds,
and if you hate God's people
you will be punished.
22 The Lord saves the lives
of his servants.
Run to him for protection,
and you won't be punished.
14 A secret bribe will save you
from someone's fierce anger.
15 When justice is done,
good citizens are glad
and crooks are terrified.
16 If you stop using good sense,
you will find yourself
in the grave.
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