The Daily Audio Bible

Ezra Comes to Jerusalem

7 Now after this, during the rule of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra went up from Babylon. Ezra was the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, ² son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, ³ son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, ⁴ son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, ⁵ son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the head religious leader. ⁶ This Ezra went up from Babylon. He was a writer who knew well the Law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king gave him everything he asked for, because the Lord his God was good to him. ⁷ Some of the sons of Israel and some of the religious leaders, the Levites, the singers, the gate-keepers and the servants of the house of God went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. ⁸ Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month in the seventh year of the king. ⁹ He left Babylon on the first day of the first month, and came to Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, because the good hand of his God was upon him. ¹⁰ For Ezra had set his heart to learn the Law of the Lord, to live by it, and to teach His Laws in Israel.

¹¹ This is what was written in the letter which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the religious leader, the writer, who had much learning in the Laws of the Lord and His Laws for Israel: ¹² “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the religious leader, the writer who knows the Law of the God of heaven: Peace. And now ¹³ I let it be known that if there are any people of Israel, religious leaders or Levites in my nation who are willing to go to Jerusalem, they may go with you. ¹⁴ For you are sent by the king and his seven men of wisdom to see if the Law of your God which is in your hand is being obeyed in Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁵ Take the silver and gold which the king and his men of wisdom have given because they wanted to give to the God of Israel, Whose house is in Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Take this with all the silver and gold you will find in the whole land of Babylon. And take the gifts of the people and of the religious leaders, who have given because they have wanted to for the house of their God in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ With this money, buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain gifts and their drink gifts. And give them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ Whatever you and your brothers think is best to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, if it is the will of your God. ¹⁹ Also take to the God of Jerusalem all the objects given to you for the work of the house of your God. ²⁰ Whatever else is needed for the house of your God, you may take it from the king’s store-house. ²¹ I, King Artaxerxes, here make this known to all those who take care of the money in the lands on the other side of the River. You should be ready and willing to give Ezra, the religious leader and writer who knows the Law of the God of heaven, whatever he needs. ²² Give silver weighing up to as much as 100 men, and as much as 1,000 baskets of grain, 1,100 jars of wine, 1,100 jars of oil, and as much salt as is needed. ²³ Whatever is wanted by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven. Or else He might be angry with the nation of the king and his sons. ²⁴ We also let you know that it is not allowed to take any taxes from any of the religious leaders, Levites, singers, door-keepers, or servants of this house of God. ²⁵ And you, Ezra, use the wisdom of your God which is in your hand to choose leaders and judges. They are to judge all the people in the land on the other side of the River, all those who know the Laws of your God. You may teach anyone who does not know them. ²⁶ Whoever will not obey the Law of your God and the law of the king, let his punishment be hard. Put him to death, or send him out of the land, or take what he has, or put him in prison.”

Ezra Gives Praise to God

²⁷ Honor and thanks be to the Lord, the God of our fathers, Who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to make the house of the Lord in Jerusalem beautiful. ²⁸ He has shown loving-kindness to me in front of the king and his wise men, and in front of all the king’s powerful leaders. I was given strength, because the hand of the Lord my God was upon me. And I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

Families Who Returned

8 These are the leaders of family groups and the family names of those who went up with me from Babylon during the rule of King Artaxerxes: ² there was Gershom of the sons of Phinehas, Daniel of the sons of Ithamar, and from the house of David, Hattush, ³ the son of Shecaniah. There was Zechariah of the sons of Parosh, and with him were 150 men whose family names were written down. ⁴ Of the sons of Pahath-moab, there was Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and 200 men with him. ⁵ Of the sons of Zattu, there was Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and 300 men with him. ⁶ Of the sons of Adin, there was Ebed the son of Jonathan, and fifty men with him. ⁷ Of the sons of Elam, there was Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and seventy men with him. ⁸ Of the sons of Shephatiah, there was Zebadiah the son of Michael, and eighty men with him. ⁹ Of the sons of Joab, there was Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and 218 men with him. ¹⁰ Of the sons of Shelomith there was the son of Josiphiah, and 160 men with him. ¹¹ Of the sons of Bebai, there was Zechariah the son of Bebai, and twenty-eight men with him. ¹² Of the sons of Azgad, there was Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and 110 men with him. ¹³ Of the sons of Adonikam, the last to come, there were Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and sixty men with them. ¹⁴ Of the sons of Bigvai, there were Uthai and Zabbud, and seventy men with them.

Ezra Finds Levites for the House of God

¹⁵ I gathered them at the river that flows to Ahava, where we had our camp for three days. When I saw the people and the religious leaders, I did not find any Levites there. ¹⁶ So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were teachers. ¹⁷ I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo and his brothers, servants in the house of worship at Casiphia. They were to bring men to us to care for the house of our God. ¹⁸ And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of wisdom, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. His name is Sherebiah, and with him came his sons and brothers, eighteen men. ¹⁹ They also brought Hashabiah and Jeshaiah of the sons of Morari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty men. ²⁰ They brought 220 men to work in the house of God, whom David and the leaders had chosen to help the Levites. All of them were chosen by name.

Servants of Christ

4 Think of us as servants who are owned by Christ. It is our job to share the secrets of God. ² A servant must be faithful to his owner. This is expected of him. ³ It is not the most important thing to me what you or any other people think of me. Even what I think of myself does not mean much. ⁴ As for me, my heart tells me I am not guilty of anything. But that does not prove I am free from guilt. It is the Lord Who looks into my life and says what is wrong. ⁵ Do not be quick to say who is right or wrong. Wait until the Lord comes. He will bring into the light the things that are hidden in men’s hearts. He will show why men have done these things. Every man will receive from God the thanks he should have.

⁶ Christian brothers, I have used Apollos and myself to show you what I am talking about. This is to help you so you will not think more of men than what God’s Word will allow. Never think more of one of God’s servants than another. ⁷ Who made you better than your brother? Or what do you have that has not been given to you? If God has given you everything, why do you have pride? Why do you act as if He did not give it to you? ⁸ You are full. You are rich. You live like kings and we do not. I wish you were kings and we could be leaders with you. ⁹ I think that God has made a show of us missionaries. We are the last and the least among men. We are like men waiting to be put to death. The whole world, men and angels alike, are watching us. ¹⁰ We are thought of as fools because of Christ. But you are thought of as wise Christians! We are weak. You are strong. People respect you. They have no respect for us. ¹¹ To this hour we are hungry and thirsty, and our clothes are worn out. People hurt us. We have no homes.

¹² We work with our hands to make a living. We speak kind words to those who speak against us. When people hurt us, we say nothing. ¹³ When people say bad things about us, we answer with kind words. People think of us as dirt that is worth nothing and as the worst thing on earth to this day.

Follow Paul’s Way of Life

¹⁴ I do not write these things to shame you. I am doing this to help you know what you should do. You are my much-loved children. ¹⁵ You may have 10,000 Christian teachers. But remember, I am the only father you have. You became Christians when I preached the Good News to you. ¹⁶ So I ask you with all my heart to follow the way I live. ¹⁷ For this reason I have sent Timothy to you. He is my much-loved child and a faithful Christian. He will tell you how I act as a Christian. This is the kind of life I teach in the churches wherever I go.

¹⁸ Some of you are full of pride. You think that I am not coming to visit you. ¹⁹ If the Lord wants me to, I will come soon. I will find out when I come if these proud people have God’s power, or if they just use a lot of big words. ²⁰ The holy nation of God is not made up of words. It is made up of power. ²¹ What do you want? Do you want me to come with a stick to whip you? Or do you want me to come with love and a gentle spirit?

Prayer of Thanks

30 I will lift You up, O Lord, for You have lifted me up. You have not let those who hate me stand over me in joy. ² O Lord my God, I cried to You for help and You healed me. ³ O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave. You have kept me alive, so that I will not go down into the deep. ⁴ Sing praise to the Lord, all you who belong to Him. Give thanks to His holy name. ⁵ For His anger lasts only a short time. But His favor is for life. Crying may last for a night, but joy comes with the new day.

⁶ As for me, when all was going well, I said, “I will never be moved.” ⁷ O Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong. But when You hid Your face, I was troubled. ⁸ I cried to You, O Lord. I begged the Lord for loving-kindness. ⁹ What good will come from my blood, if I go down to the grave? Will the dust thank You? Will it tell how You are faithful?

¹⁰ Hear, O Lord. And show me loving-kindness. O Lord, be my Helper. ¹¹ You have turned my crying into dancing.You have taken off my clothes made from hair, and dressed me with joy. ¹² So my soul may sing praise to You, and not be quiet. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

²⁸ A king will stay in power as long as he is faithful and true. He can stay on his throne if he does what is right and good.

²⁹ The honor of young men is their strength. And the honor of old men is their hair turning white.

³⁰ Beatings that hurt clean away sin. And beatings make even the inside parts clean.