The Daily Audio Bible

²¹ Then I announced a fast there at the Ahava River so that we might humble ourselves in the presence of our God to ask him for a safe journey for ourselves, for our little ones, and for all our goods. ²² I was ashamed to ask the king for an armed escort with cavalry to help us against an enemy attack on the way. We had already told the king, “Our God works things out for the good of everyone who dedicates his life to serving him, but his power and his anger oppose everyone who abandons him.” ²³ So we fasted and asked our God for a safe journey, and he answered our prayer.

²⁴ Then I selected 12 leaders from the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and 10 of their relatives. ²⁵ I weighed for them the silver, the gold, and the utensils. ⌞These were⌟ the contributions that the king, his advisers, his officials, and all the Israelites had contributed for our God’s temple. ²⁶ I weighed ⌞the contributions⌟ for them to guard: about 24 tons of silver, 100 silver utensils weighing 150 pounds apiece, 7,500 pounds of gold, ²⁷ 20 gold bowls weighing 18 pounds apiece, and two utensils of fine polished bronze that were as precious as gold. ²⁸ I told them, “You and the utensils are holy to the Lord. The silver and gold are freewill offerings to the Lord God of your ancestors. ²⁹ Guard them carefully. In Jerusalem, inside the storerooms of the Lord’s temple, weigh these items. Do this in front of the chief priests, Levites, and the leaders of Israel’s families.” ³⁰ So the priests and the Levites took charge of the silver, the gold, and the utensils. They were responsible for bringing these items to the temple of our God in Jerusalem.

The People Arrive in Jerusalem

³¹ Then we left the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. God was guiding us, and he rescued us from our enemies and from ambushes along the way. ³² When we reached Jerusalem, we rested for three days. ³³ On the fourth day we weighed the silver, the gold, and the utensils in our God’s temple. We put them under the supervision of Meremoth, son of the priest Uriah, as well as Eleazar, the son of Phinehas. The Levites, Jeshua’s son Jozabad, and Binnui’s son Noadiah, assisted them. ³⁴ Everything was counted and weighed, and the entire weight was recorded at that time.

³⁵ The exiles who had come back from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and 12 male goats for an offering for sin. All of these animals were burnt offerings for the Lord.

³⁶ The exiles delivered the king’s orders to the king’s satraps and governors ⌞in the province⌟ west of the Euphrates River. These officials then gave their support to the people and the temple of God.

Ezra Leads the People in Prayer

9 After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have failed to keep themselves separate from the neighboring groups of people and from the disgusting practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. ² The Israelites and their sons have married some of these foreign women. They have mixed our holy race with the neighboring groups of people. Furthermore, the leaders and officials have led the way in being unfaithful.”

³ When I heard this, I tore my clothes ⌞in distress⌟, pulled hair from my scalp and my beard, and sat down in shock. ⁴ Since the former exiles had been unfaithful, everyone who gathered around me there trembled at the words of the God of Israel. I sat in shock until the evening sacrifice. ⁵ At the evening sacrifice I got up from my misery, and with my clothes torn, I knelt down, stretched out my hands to the Lord my God in prayer, ⁶ and said,

“I am ashamed, my God. I am embarrassed to look at you. Our sins have piled up over our heads, and our guilt is so overwhelming that it reaches heaven. ⁷ From our ancestors’ days until now, we have been deep in guilt. Our kings and our priests have been handed over to foreign kings to be executed. We have been taken captive, robbed, and humiliated, as we still are today because of our sins. ⁸ And now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been kind enough to leave us a few survivors from Babylon and to give us a secure hold on his holy place. Our God has made our eyes light up and has given us new opportunities while we were slaves. ⁹ We are slaves, but our God hasn’t abandoned us in our slavery. Instead, he has made the kings of Persia treat us kindly. He did this to give us an opportunity to rebuild our God’s temple and restore its ruins and to give us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁰ “And now, our God, what can we say after all this? We have abandoned your commandments! ¹¹ The commandments you gave us through your servants the prophets, said, ‘The land you are going to take possession of has been polluted by its perverted people and by their disgusting practices that have filled it with wickedness from one end to another. ¹² So never let your daughters marry their sons or your sons marry their daughters, and never seek peace or trade with them. Then you will be strong, be able to eat the good things the land produces, and be able to give this land as a long-lasting inheritance to your children.’

¹³ “After all that has happened to us because of the evil things we have done and because of our overwhelming guilt, you, our God, have punished us far less than we deserve and have permitted a few of us to survive. ¹⁴ If we break your commandments again and intermarry with people doing these disgusting things, you will become even more angry with us until you finally destroy us and no survivors are left. ¹⁵ Lord God of Israel, because you are fair, a few of us continue to remain as survivors. Look at us. All of us are guilty. None of us can stand in your presence because of this.”

How to Treat Christians Who Live Like Non-Christians

5 Your own members are aware that there is sexual sin going on among them. This kind of sin is not even heard of among unbelievers—a man is actually married to his father’s wife. ² You’re being arrogant when you should have been more upset about this. If you had been upset, the man who did this would have been removed from among you. ³ Although I’m not physically present with you, I am with you in spirit. I have already judged the man who did this as though I were present with you. ⁴ When you have gathered together, I am with you in spirit. Then, in the name of our Lord Jesus, and with his power, ⁵ hand such a person over to Satan to destroy his corrupt nature so that his spiritual nature may be saved on the day of the Lord.

⁶ It’s not good for you to brag. Don’t you know that a little yeast spreads through the whole batch of dough? ⁷ Remove the old yeast ⌞of sin⌟ so that you may be a new batch of dough, since you don’t actually have the yeast ⌞of sin⌟.

Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸ So we must not celebrate our festival with the old yeast ⌞of sin⌟ or with the yeast of vice and wickedness. Instead, we must celebrate it with the bread of purity and truth that has no yeast.

⁹ In my letter to you I told you not to associate with people who continue to commit sexual sins. ¹⁰ I didn’t tell you that you could not have any contact with unbelievers who commit sexual sins, are greedy, are dishonest, or worship false gods. If that were the case, you would have to leave this world. ¹¹ Now, what I meant was that you should not associate with people who call themselves brothers or sisters in the Christian faith but live in sexual sin, are greedy, worship false gods, use abusive language, get drunk, or are dishonest. Don’t eat with such people.

¹² After all, do I have any business judging those who are outside ⌞the Christian faith⌟? Isn’t it your business to judge those who are inside? ¹³ God will judge those who are outside. Remove that wicked man from among you.

For the choir director; a psalm by David.

The Lord Controls Wise and Foolish People