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Old/New Testament

Each day includes a passage from both the Old Testament and New Testament.
Duration: 365 days
International Children’s Bible (ICB)
Version
Nehemiah 7-9

After the wall had been rebuilt, I had set the doors in place. Then the gatekeepers, singers and Levites were chosen. I put my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah, in charge of Jerusalem. Hananiah was commander of the palace. He was honest, and he feared God more than most men. I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem should not be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut and bolt the doors. Appoint people who live in Jerusalem as guards. Put some at guard posts and some near their own houses.”

The Captives Who Returned

The city was large and full of room. But there were few people in it. And the houses had not yet been rebuilt. So my God caused me to gather the people. I gathered the important men, the leaders and the common people. This was so I could register them by families. I found the family history of those who had returned first. This is what I found written there:

These are the people of the area who returned from captivity. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken them captive. Now they returned to Jerusalem and Judah. Each one went back to his own town. These people returned with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum and Baanah.

These are the men from Israel: the descendants of Parosh—2,172; the descendants of Shephatiah—372; 10 the descendants of Arah—652; 11 the descendants of Pahath-Moab (through the family of Jeshua and Joab)—2,818; 12 the descendants of Elam—1,254; 13 the descendants of Zattu—845; 14 the descendants of Zaccai—760; 15 the descendants of Binnui—648; 16 the descendants of Bebai—628; 17 the descendants of Azgad—2,322; 18 the descendants of Adonikam—667; 19 the descendants of Bigvai—2,067; 20 the descendants of Adin—655; 21 the descendants of Ater (through Hezekiah)—98; 22 the descendants of Hashum—328; 23 the descendants of Bezai—324; 24 the descendants of Hariph—112; 25 the descendants of Gibeon—95.

26 These are the men from the towns of Bethlehem and Netophah—188; 27 the men from Anathoth—128; 28 the men from Beth Azmaveth—42; 29 the men from Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah and Beeroth—743; 30 the men from Ramah and Geba—621; 31 the men from Micmash—122; 32 the men from Bethel and Ai—123; 33 the men from the other Nebo—52; 34 the men from the other Elam—1,254; 35 the men from Harim—320; 36 the men from Jericho—345; 37 the men from Lod, Hadid and Ono—721; 38 the men from Senaah—3,930.

39 These are the priests: the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family of Jeshua)—973; 40 the descendants of Immer—1,052; 41 the descendants of Pashhur—1,247; 42 the descendants of Harim—1,017.

43 These are the Levites: the descendants of Jeshua (through Kadmiel through the family of Hodaviah)—74.

44 These are the singers: the descendants of Asaph—148.

45 These are the gatekeepers: the descendants of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita and Shobai—138.

46 These are the Temple servants: the descendants of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, 47 Keros, Sia, Padon, 48 Lebana, Hagaba, Shalmai, 49 Hanan, Giddel, Gahar, 50 Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda, 51 Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah, 52 Besai, Meunim, Nephusim, 53 Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, 54 Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, 55 Barkos, Sisera, Temah, 56 Neziah and Hatipha.

57 These are the descendants of the servants of Solomon: the descendants of Sotai, Sophereth, Perida, 58 Jaala, Darkon, Giddel, 59 Shephatiah, Hattil, Pokereth-Hazzebaim and Amon.

60 The Temple servants and the descendants of the servants of Solomon totaled 392 people.

61 Some people came to Jerusalem from these towns: Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon and Immer. But they could not prove that their families came from the family of Israel. Here are their names and their number: 62 the descendants of Delaiah, Tobiah and Nekoda—642.

63 And these priests could not prove that their families came from Israel: the descendants of Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai. (He had married a daughter of Barzillai from Gilead and was called by her family name.)

64 These people searched for their family records. But they could not find them. So they could not be priests because they were thought to be unclean. 65 So the governor ordered them not to eat any of the food offered to God. First a priest had to settle this matter by using the Urim and Thummim.

66 The total number of those who returned was 42,360. 67 This is not counting their 7,337 male and female servants. They also had 245 men and women singers with them. 68 They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 69 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys.

70 Some of the family leaders gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury about 19 pounds of gold. He also gave 50 bowls and 530 pieces of clothing for the priests. 71 Some of the family leaders gave about 375 pounds of gold to the treasury for the work. They also gave about 2,660 pounds of silver. 72 This is the total of what the other people gave: about 375 pounds of gold, about 2,250 pounds of silver and 67 pieces of clothing for the priests. 73 So these people all settled in their own towns: the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Temple servants and all the other people of Israel.

Ezra Reads the Teachings

By the seventh month the Israelites were settled in their own towns.

All the people of Israel gathered together in the square by the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the teacher to bring out the Book of the Teachings of Moses. These are the Teachings the Lord had given to Israel.

So Ezra the priest brought out the Teachings for the crowd. This was on the first day of the seventh month. Men, women and all who could listen and understand had gathered. Ezra read the Teachings out loud. He read from early morning until noon. He was facing the square by the Water Gate. He read to the men, women and everyone who could listen and understand. All the people listened carefully to the Book of the Teachings.

Ezra the teacher stood on a high wooden platform. It had been built just for this time. On his right were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah. And on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.

Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was above them. As he opened it, all the people stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God. And all the people held up their hands and said, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

These Levites taught the people the Teachings as they stood there: Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah. They read the Book of the Teachings of God. They read so the people could understand. And they explained what it meant. Then the people understood what was being read.

Then Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and teacher spoke up. And the Levites who were teaching spoke up. They said to all the people, “This is a holy day to the Lord your God. Don’t be sad or cry.” All the people had been crying as they listened to the words of the Teachings.

10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy good food and sweet drinks. Send some to people who have none. Today is a holy day to the Lord. Don’t be sad. The joy of the Lord will make you strong.”

11 The Levites helped calm the people. They said, “Be quiet. This is a holy day. Don’t be sad.”

12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink. They sent some of their food to others. And they celebrated with great joy. They finally understood what they had been taught.

13 On the second day of the month, the leaders of all the families met with Ezra the teacher. The priests and Levites also met with him. They gathered to study the words of the Teachings. 14 This is what they found written in the Teachings: The Lord had commanded through Moses that the people of Israel were to live in shelters. This was during the feast of the seventh month. 15 The people were supposed to preach this message. They were to spread it through all of their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the mountains. Bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, myrtle trees, palms and shade trees. Make shelters with them. It is written in the Law.”

16 So the people went out and got tree branches. They built shelters on their roofs[a] and in their courtyards. They built shelters in the courtyards of the Temple. And they built them in the square by the Water Gate and the square next to the Gate of Ephraim. 17 The whole group that had come back from captivity built shelters. And they lived in them. The Israelites had not done this since the time of Joshua son of Nun. And they were very happy.

18 Ezra read to them from the Book of the Teachings. He read every day, from the first day to the last. The people of Israel celebrated the feast for seven days. Then on the eighth day the people gathered as the law said.

Israel Confesses Sins

It was on the twenty-fourth day of that same month. The people of Israel gathered together. They did not eat. And they put on rough cloth and put dust on their heads. This was to show their sadness. Those people whose ancestors were from Israel had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood and confessed their sins and their ancestors’ sins. For a fourth of the day they stood where they were. And they read from the Book of the Teachings of the Lord their God. Then they spent another fourth of the day confessing their sins. And they worshiped the Lord their God. These Levites were standing on the stairs: Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kanani. They called out to the Lord their God with loud voices. And these Levites spoke: Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah. They said, “Stand up and praise the Lord your God. He lives forever and ever.”

The People’s Prayer

“Blessed be your wonderful name.
    It is more wonderful than all blessing and praise.
You are the only Lord.
    You made the heavens, even the highest heavens.
    You made all the stars.
You made the earth and everything that is on it.
    You made the seas and everything that is in them.
    You give life to everything.
The heavenly army worships you.

“You are the Lord God.
    You chose Abram.
You brought him out of Ur of the Babylonians.
    You named him Abraham.
You found that he was faithful to you.
    So you made an agreement with him.
You promised to give his descendants the land of the Canaanites,
    Hittites, Amorites,
    Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites.
You have kept your promise.
    You are fair.

“You saw our ancestors suffering in Egypt.
    You heard them cry out at the Red Sea.
10 You did signs and miracles against the king of Egypt.
    And you did them against all his officers and all the people of Egypt.
    You knew how proud they were.
You made everyone know your name.
    And it is still known today.
11 You divided the sea in front of our ancestors.
    They walked through it on dry ground.
But you threw the people chasing them into the deep water.
    They were like a stone being thrown into mighty waters.
12 You led our ancestors with a pillar of cloud in the daytime.
    And you led them with a pillar of fire at night.
It lit the way
    they were supposed to go.
13 You came down to Mount Sinai.
    You talked to our ancestors from heaven.
You gave them fair rules and true teachings.
    You gave them good orders and commands.
14 You told them about your holy Sabbath.
    You gave commands, orders and teachings to them
    through your servant Moses.
15 When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven.
    When they were thirsty, you brought them water from the rock.
You told them to go into the land and take it over.
    You had promised to give it to them.

16 “But our ancestors were proud and stubborn.
    They did not obey your commands.
17 They refused to listen.
    They forgot the miracles you did for them.
They became stubborn and turned against you.
    They chose a leader to lead them back to their slavery.
But you are a forgiving God.
    You are kind and full of mercy.
You do not become angry quickly. And you have great love.
    So you did not leave them.
18 Our ancestors even made an idol of a calf for themselves.
    They said, ‘This is your god, Israel.
    It brought you up out of Egypt.’
They spoke against you.

19 “You have great mercy.
    So you did not leave them in the desert.
During the day the pillar of cloud guided them on their way.
    And the pillar of fire led them at night.
    It lit the way they were supposed to go.
20 You gave your good Spirit to teach them.
    You gave them manna to eat.
    And you gave them water when they were thirsty.
21 You took care of them for 40 years in the desert.
    They needed nothing.
Their clothes did not wear out.
    And their feet did not swell.

22 “You gave them kingdoms and nations.
    You gave them more land.
They took over the country of Sihon king of Heshbon.
    And they took over the country of Og king of Bashan.
23 You made their children as many as the stars in the sky.
    And you brought them into the land.
    This was where you had told their ancestors to enter and take over.
24 So their children went into the land and took over.
    The Canaanites lived there.
But you defeated them for our ancestors.
    You handed over to them the Canaanites, their kings and the people of the land.
    Our ancestors could do what they wanted with them.
25 Our ancestors captured strong, walled cities and fertile land.
    They took over houses full of good things.
They took over wells that were already dug.
    They took vineyards, olive trees and many fruit trees.
They ate until they were full and became fat.
    They enjoyed your great goodness.

26 “But they were disobedient and turned against you.
    They ignored your teachings.
Your prophets warned them to come back to you.
    But they killed those prophets.
    And they spoke against you.
27 So you allowed their enemies to defeat them.
    Their enemies treated them badly.
But in this time of trouble our ancestors cried out to you.
    And you heard from heaven.
You had great mercy.
    You gave them saviors who saved them from the power of their enemies.
28 But as soon as they had rest,
    they again did what was evil.
So you left them to their enemies
    who ruled over them.
But they cried out to you again.
    And you heard from heaven.
    Because of your mercy, you saved them again and again.
29 You warned them to return to obeying your teachings.
    But they were proud. They did not obey your commands.
If a man obeys your laws, he will live.
    But they sinned against your laws.
They were stubborn and disobedient.
    They would not listen.
30 You were patient with them for many years.
    You warned them by your Spirit through the prophets.
But they did not pay attention.
    So you allowed them to be defeated by other countries.
31 But because your mercy is great, you did not kill them all.
    You did not leave them.
    You are a kind and merciful God.

32 “And so, our God, you are the great and mighty and wonderful God.
    You keep your agreement of love.
    Do not let all our trouble seem unimportant in your eyes.
This trouble has come to us, to our kings and to our leaders.
    It has come to our priests and prophets.
    It has come to our ancestors and all your people.
This trouble has come to us since the days of the kings of Assyria.
    And it has lasted until today.
33 You have been fair in everything that has happened to us.
    You have been loyal, but we have been wicked.
34 Our kings, leaders, priests and ancestors did not obey your teachings.
    They did not pay attention to the commands and warnings you gave them.
35 Even when our ancestors were living in their kingdom,
    they did not serve you.
They were enjoying all the good things you had given them.
    They were enjoying the land that was fertile and full of room.
    But they did not stop their evil ways.

36 “Look, we are slaves today
    in the land you gave our ancestors.
They were to enjoy its fruit and its good things.
    But look, we are slaves here.
37 The land’s great harvest belongs to the kings you have put over us.
    This is because of our sins.
Those kings rule over us and our cattle as they please.
    And we are in much trouble.

The People’s Agreement

38 “Because of all this, we are making an agreement in writing. Our leaders, Levites and priests are putting their seals on it.”

Acts 3

Peter Heals a Crippled Man

One day Peter and John went to the Temple. It was three o’clock in the afternoon. This was the time for the daily prayer service. There, at the Temple gate called Beautiful Gate, was a man who had been crippled all his life. Every day he was carried to this gate to beg. He would ask for money from the people going into the Temple. The man saw Peter and John going into the Temple and asked them for money. Peter and John looked straight at him and said, “Look at us!” The man looked at them; he thought they were going to give him some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold, but I do have something else I can give you: By the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth—stand up and walk!” Then Peter took the man’s right hand and lifted him up. Immediately the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk. He went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9-10 All the people recognized him. They knew he was the crippled man who always sat by the Beautiful Gate begging for money. Now they saw this same man walking and praising God. The people were amazed. They could not understand how this could happen.

Peter Speaks to the People

11 The man was holding on to Peter and John. All the people were amazed and ran to Peter and John at Solomon’s Porch. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them, “Men of Israel, why are you surprised? You are looking at us as if it were our own power that made this man walk. Do you think this happened because we are good? No! 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, gave glory to Jesus, his servant. But you gave him up to be killed. Pilate decided to let him go free. But you told Pilate you did not want Jesus. 14 He was pure and good, but you said you did not want him. You told Pilate to give you a murderer[a] instead of Jesus. 15 And so you killed the One who gives life! But God raised him from death. We are witnesses to this. 16 It was the power of Jesus that made this crippled man well. This happened because we trusted in the power of Jesus. You can see this man, and you know him. He was made completely well because of trust in Jesus. You all saw it happen!

17 “Brothers, I know you did those things to Jesus because you did not understand what you were doing. Your leaders did not understand either. 18 God said this would happen. He said through the prophets that his Christ would suffer and die. And now God has made these things come true in this way. 19 So you must change your hearts and lives! Come back to God, and he will forgive your sins. 20 Then the Lord will give you times of spiritual rest. He will give you Jesus, the One he chose to be the Christ. 21 But Jesus must stay in heaven until the time comes when all things will be made right again. God told about this time long ago when he spoke through his holy prophets. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will give you a prophet like me. He will be one of your own people. You must obey everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not obey him will die, separated from God’s people.’[b] 24 Samuel, and all the other prophets who spoke for God after Samuel, told about this time now. 25 You have received what the prophets talked about. You have received the agreement God made with your ancestors. He said to your father Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the nations on the earth will be blessed.’[c] 26 God has raised up his servant and sent him to you first. He sent Jesus to bless you by turning each of you away from doing evil things.”

International Children’s Bible (ICB)

The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.