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15 And Shallum, Col-hozeh’s son, ruler of the Mizpah district, repaired the Spring Gate. He rebuilt and covered it, and set up its doors, bolts, and bars. He also built the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the King’s Garden, as far as the stairs that go down from David’s City.
16 After him, Nehemiah, Azbuk’s son, ruler of half the Beth-zur district, repaired from the point opposite David’s tombs as far as the artificial pool and the Warriors’ House. 17 After him, the Levites made repairs: Rehum, Bani’s son, and next to him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, made repairs for his district. 18 After him, their relatives made repairs: Binnui,[a] Henadad’s son, ruler of half the district of Keilah.
19 Next to him, Ezer, Jeshua’s son, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the Angle. 20 After him, Baruch, Zabbai’s son, thoroughly repaired another section from the Angle to the door of the house of the high priest Eliashib. 21 After him, Meremoth, Uriah’s son and Hakkoz’s grandson, repaired another section from the door to the back of Eliashib’s house.
22 After him, the priests from the surrounding area made repairs. 23 After them, Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs opposite their house. After them, Azariah, Maaseiah’s son and Ananiah’s grandson, repaired beside his house. 24 After him, Binnui, Henadad’s son, repaired another section from the house of Azariah to the Angle and to the corner. 25 Palal, Uzai’s son, repaired[b] from the point opposite the Angle and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king at the court of the guard. After him, Pedaiah, Parosh’s son, 26 and the temple servants living on Ophel made repairs[c] up to the point opposite the Water Gate to the east and the projecting tower. 27 After them, the people of Tekoa repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel. 28 From the Horse Gate, the priests made repairs, each one opposite his own house.
29 After them, Zadok, Immer’s son, made repairs opposite his own house. After him, Shemaiah, Shecaniah’s son, the keeper of the East Gate, made repairs. 30 After him, Hananiah, Shelemiah’s son, and Hanun, Zalaph’s sixth son, repaired another section. After them, Meshullam, Berechiah’s son, made repairs opposite his own room.
31 After him, Malchiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Parade Gate,[d] and as far as the upper room at the corner. 32 And between the upper room of the corner and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants made repairs.
Opposition mounts
4 [e] When Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he became angry and raged. He mocked the Jews, 2 saying in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria: “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the piles of rubble, even though they are burned?”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, added: “If even a fox climbs on whatever they build, their wall of stones will crumble.”
4 Listen, God; we are despised! Turn their insults to us[f] back on their heads and make them like plunder in a captive land. 5 Don’t forgive their iniquity or blot out their sins from your sight. They have thrown insults at the builders!
6 We continued to build the wall. All of it was joined together, and it reached half of its intended height because the people were eager to work. 7 [g] But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the work on the walls was progressing and the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. 8 They plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to create a disturbance in it.
9 So we prayed to our God and set a guard as protection against them day and night.
10 But in Judah it was said,
“The carrier’s strength is failing,
for there is too much rubble.
We are unable to rebuild the wall!”
11 Meanwhile, our enemies were saying: “Before they know or see anything, we can be in their midst and start to kill them. We’ll stop the work!”
12 Now the Jews who were living near them came and said to us again and again,[h] “You must return to us!”[i]
Armed guards protect the builders
13 So I took up a position in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall in an open area.[j] Then I stationed the people by families, and they had their swords, spears, and bows. 14 After reviewing this, I stood up and said to the officials, the officers, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them! Remember that the Lord is great and awesome! Fight for your families, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses!”
15 Then our enemies heard that we had found out and that God had spoiled their plans. So we all returned to doing our own work on the wall. 16 But from that day on, only half of my workers continued in the construction, while the other half held the spears, shields, bows, and body armor. Meanwhile, the leaders positioned themselves[k] behind the whole house of Judah, 17 who were building the wall. The carriers did their work with a load in one hand and a weapon in the other. 18 The builders built with swords fastened in their belts, and the trumpeter stayed by my side.
19 Then I said to the officials, the officers, and the rest of the people, “The work is very spread out, and we are far apart from each other along the wall. 20 When you hear the trumpet sound, come and gather where we are. Our God will fight for us!” 21 So we continued the work, with half of them holding spears from dawn until dusk.
22 I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant spend the night in Jerusalem so that we can guard during the night and work during the day.” 23 Neither I nor my relatives, nor my servants, nor my bodyguards took off our clothes, even when they sent for water.[l]
Internal unrest
5 Then there was a great protest of the people and their wives against their fellow Jews. 2 Some said, “With our sons and daughters we are many, and we all need grain to eat and stay alive.”
3 Others said, “We have to mortgage our fields, our vineyards, and our houses in order to get grain during the famine.”
4 Still others said, “We have had to borrow money against our fields and vineyards in order to pay the king’s tax.”
5 “We are of the same flesh and blood as our kin, and our children are the same as theirs. Yet we are just about to force our sons and daughters into slavery, and some of our daughters are already slaves! There is nothing we can do since our fields and vineyards now belong to others.”
6 I was very angry when I heard their protest and these complaints. 7 After thinking it over, I brought charges against the officials and the officers. I told them, “You are all taking interest from your own people!” I also called for a large assembly in order to deal with them. 8 “To the best of our ability,” I said to them, “we have bought back our Jewish kin who had been sold to other nations. But now you are selling your own kin, who must then be bought back by us!” At this they were silent, unable to offer a response.
9 So I continued, “What you are doing isn’t good! Why don’t you walk in the fear of our God? This will prevent the taunts of the nations that are our enemies! 10 I myself, along with my family and my servants, am lending them money and grain. But let’s stop charging this interest! 11 Give it back to them, right now. Return their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses. And give back the interest on money, grain, wine, and oil that you are charging them.”
12 They replied, “We’ll return everything, and we won’t charge anything else.[m] We’ll do what you’ve asked.”
So I called the priests and made them swear to do what they had promised. 13 I also shook out the fold of my robe, saying, “So may God shake out everyone from their house and property if they don’t keep this promise. So may they be shaken out and emptied!”
The whole assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.
25 I don’t have a command from the Lord about people who have never been married,[a] but I’ll give you my opinion as someone you can trust because of the Lord’s mercy. 26 So I think this advice is good because of the present crisis: Stay as you are. 27 If you are married, don’t get a divorce. If you are divorced, don’t try to find a spouse. 28 But if you do marry, you haven’t sinned; and if someone who hasn’t been married gets married, they haven’t sinned. But married people will have a hard time, and I’m trying to spare you that. 29 This is what I’m saying, brothers and sisters: The time has drawn short. From now on, those who have wives should be like people who don’t have them. 30 Those who are sad should be like people who aren’t crying. Those who are happy should be like people who aren’t happy. Those who buy something should be like people who don’t have possessions. 31 Those who use the world should be like people who aren’t preoccupied with it, because this world in its present form is passing away.
32 I want you to be free from concerns. A man who isn’t married is concerned about the Lord’s concerns—how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the world’s concerns—how he can please his wife. 34 His attention is divided. A woman who isn’t married or who is a virgin is concerned about the Lord’s concerns so that she can be dedicated to God in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the world’s concerns—how she can please her husband. 35 I’m saying this for your own advantage. It’s not to restrict you but rather to promote effective and consistent service to the Lord without distraction.
36 If someone thinks he is acting inappropriately toward an unmarried woman whom he knows, and if he has strong feelings and it seems like the right thing to do, he should do what he wants—he’s not sinning—they should get married. 37 But if a man stands firm in his decision, and doesn’t feel the pressure, but has his own will under control, he does right if he decides in his own heart not to marry the woman. 38 Therefore, the one who marries the unmarried woman does right, and the one who doesn’t get married will do even better. 39 A woman is obligated to stay in her marriage as long as her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry whomever she wants, only it should be a believer in the Lord. 40 But in my opinion, she will be happier if she stays the way she is. And I think that I have God’s Spirit too.
Psalm 32
A maskil[a] of David.
32 The one whose wrongdoing is forgiven,
whose sin is covered over, is truly happy!
2 The one the Lord doesn’t consider guilty—
in whose spirit there is no dishonesty—
that one is truly happy!
3 When I kept quiet, my bones wore out;
I was groaning all day long—
every day, every night!—
4 because your hand was heavy upon me.
My energy was sapped as if in a summer drought. Selah
5 So I admitted my sin to you;
I didn’t conceal my guilt.
“I’ll confess my sins to the Lord, ” is what I said.
Then you removed the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 That’s why all the faithful should pray to you during troubled times,[b]
so that a great flood of water won’t reach them.
7 You are my secret hideout!
You protect me from trouble.
You surround me with songs of rescue! Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you
about the direction you should go.
I’ll advise you and keep my eye on you.
9 Don’t be like some senseless horse or mule,
whose movement must be controlled
with a bit and a bridle.[c]
Don’t be anything like that![d]
10 The pain of the wicked is severe,
but faithful love surrounds the one who trusts the Lord.
11 You who are righteous, rejoice in the Lord and be glad!
All you whose hearts are right, sing out in joy!
5 The plans of the diligent end up in profit,
but those who hurry end up with loss.
6 Those who gain treasure with lies
are like a drifting fog, leading to death.
7 The violence of the wicked will sweep them away,
for they refuse to act with justice.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible