Old/New Testament
7 Now when the wall was built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites had been appointed,
2 I gave my brother Hanani, with Hananiah the ruler of the castle, charge over Jerusalem, for Hananiah was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many.
3 I said to them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while the watchmen are still on guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from the people of Jerusalem, each to his watch [on the wall] and each opposite his own house.
4 Now the city was wide and large, but the people in it were few, and their houses were not yet built.
5 And my God put it into my mind and heart to assemble the nobles, the officers, and the people, that they might be counted by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who came [from Babylon] at the first, and found written in it:
6 These are the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away; they returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each to his town,
7 Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah [not the author], Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The men of Israel numbered:
8 The sons of Parosh, 2,172.
9 The sons of Shephatiah, 372.
10 The sons of Arah, 652.
11 The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818.
12 The sons of Elam, 1,254.
13 The sons of Zattu, 845.
14 The sons of Zaccai, 760.
15 The sons of Binnui, 648.
16 The sons of Bebai, 628.
17 The sons of Azgad, 2,322.
18 The sons of Adonikam, 667.
19 The sons of Bigvai, 2,067.
20 The sons of Adin, 655.
21 The sons of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, 98.
22 The sons of Hashum, 328.
23 The sons of Bezai, 324.
24 The sons of Hariph, 112.
25 The sons of Gibeon, 95.
26 The men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188.
27 The men of Anathoth, 128.
28 The men of Beth-azmaveth, 42.
29 The men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743.
30 The men of Ramah and Geba, 621.
31 The men of Michmas, 122.
32 The men of Bethel and Ai, 123.
33 The men of the other Nebo, 52.
34 The sons of the other Elam, 1,254.
35 The sons of Harim, 320.
36 The sons of Jericho, 345.
37 The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721.
38 The sons of Senaah, 3,930.
39 The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, namely the house of Jeshua, 973.
40 The sons of Immer, 1,052.
41 The sons of Pashhur, 1,247.
42 The sons of Harim, 1,017.
43 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, namely of Kadmiel of the sons of Hodevah, 74.
44 The singers: the sons of Asaph, 148.
45 The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, of Ater, of Talmon, of Akkub, of Hatita, and of Shobai, 138.
46 The Nethinim [temple servants]: the sons of Ziha, of Hasupha, of Tabbaoth,
47 Of Keros, of Sia, of Padon,
48 Of Lebana, of Hagaba, of Shalmai,
49 Of Hanan, of Giddel, of Gahar,
50 Of Reaiah, of Rezin, of Nekoda,
51 Of Gazzam, of Uzza, of Paseah,
52 Of Besai, of Meunim, of Nephushesim,
53 Of Bakbuk, of Hakupha, of Harhur,
54 Of Bazlith, of Mehida, of Harsha,
55 Of Barkos, of Sisera, of Temah,
56 Of Neziah, of Hatipha.
57 The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, of Sophereth, of Perida,
58 Of Jaala, of Darkon, of Giddel,
59 Of Shephatiah, of Hattil, of Pochereth-hazzebaim, of Amon.
60 All the Nethinim [temple servants] and the sons of Solomon’s servants, 392.
61 And these were they who went up also from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they [had no birth records and] could not prove their father’s house nor their descent, whether they were of Israel:
62 The sons of Delaiah, of Tobiah, of Nekoda, 642.
63 Of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, of Hakkoz, and of Barzillai, who [was so named because he] married one of the daughters of the [noted] Gileadite Barzillai and was called by their name.
64 These sought their registration among those recorded in the genealogies, but it was not found; so they were excluded from the priesthood as [ceremonially] unclean.
65 The governor told them that they should refrain from eating any of the most holy food until a priest with Urim and Thummim should arise [to determine the will of God in the matter].
66 The congregation all together was 42,360,
67 Besides their manservants and their maidservants, of whom there were 7,337; and they had 245 singers, men and women.
68 Their horses were 736; their mules, 245;
69 Their camels, 435; their donkeys, 6,720.
70 And some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave to the work. The Tirshatha or governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 basins, 530 priests’ garments.
71 Some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave to the treasury for the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver.
72 What the rest of the people gave was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priests’ garments.
73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim [the temple servants], along with all Israel, dwelt in their towns, and were in them when the seventh month came.
8 Then all the people gathered together as one man in the broad place before the Water Gate; and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel.
2 And Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of both men and women and all who could hear with understanding, on the first of the seventh month.
3 He read from it, facing the broad place before the Water Gate, from early morning until noon, in the presence of the men and women and those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
4 Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden pulpit which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
5 Ezra opened the book in sight of all the people, for he was standing above them; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.
6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, lifting up their hands; and they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with faces to the ground.
7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah—the Levites—helped the people to understand the Law, and the people [remained] in their place.
8 So they read from the Book of the Law of God distinctly, faithfully amplifying and giving the sense so that [the people] understood the reading.
9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all of them, This day is holy to the Lord your God; mourn not nor weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law.
10 Then [Ezra] told them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold.
11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, Be still, for the day is holy. And do not be grieved and sad.
12 And all the people went their way to eat, drink, send portions, and make great rejoicing, for they had understood the words that were declared to them.
13 On the second day, all the heads of fathers’ houses, with the priests and Levites, gathered to Ezra the scribe to study and understand the words of [a]divine instruction.
14 And they found written in the law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month
15 And that they should publish and proclaim in all their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.(A)
16 So the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each on the roof of his house and in their courts and the courts of God’s house and in the squares of the Water Gate and the Gate of Ephraim.
17 All the assembly of returned exiles made booths and dwelt in them; for since the days of Jeshua (Joshua) son of Nun up to that day, the Israelites had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing.
18 Also day by day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast for seven days; the eighth day was a [closing] solemn assembly, according to the ordinance.
9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month, the Israelites were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth and with earth upon their heads.
2 And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
3 And they stood in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day, and for another fourth of it they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God.
4 On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God.
5 Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be Your glorious name which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
6 [And Ezra said], You are the Lord, You alone; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and You preserve them all, and the hosts of heaven worship You.
7 You are the Lord, the God Who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees and gave him the name Abraham.
8 You found his heart faithful before You, and You made the covenant with him to give his descendants the land of the Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite, Perizzite, Jebusite, and Girgashite. And You have fulfilled Your promise, for You are just and righteous.
9 You saw our fathers’ affliction in Egypt, and You heard their cry at the Red Sea.
10 You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for You knew that they dealt insolently against the Israelites. And You got for Yourself a name, as it is today.
11 You divided the sea before them, so that they went through its midst on dry land; their persecutors You threw into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters.
12 Moreover, by a pillar of cloud You led them by day, and by a pillar of fire by night to light the way they should go.
13 You came down also upon Mount Sinai and spoke with them from Heaven and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments.
14 And You made known to them Your holy Sabbath and gave them commandments, statutes, and a law through Moses Your servant.
15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst; and You told them to go in and possess the land You had sworn to give them.(B)
16 But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their necks, and did not heed Your commandments.
17 They refused to obey, nor were they mindful of Your wonders and miracles which You did among them; but they stiffened their necks and in their rebellion appointed a captain, that they might return to their bondage [in Egypt]. But You are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great steadfast love; and You did not forsake them.
18 Even when they had made for themselves a molten calf and said, This is your god, who brought you out of Egypt, and had committed great and contemptible blasphemies,
19 You in Your great mercy forsook them not in the wilderness; the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day to lead them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night to light the way they should go.
20 You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, and withheld not Your manna from them, and gave water for their thirst.
21 Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell.
22 Also You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. So they possessed the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan.
23 Their children You also multiplied as the stars of heaven and brought them into the land which You told their fathers they should go in and possess.
24 So the descendants went in and possessed the land; and You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would.
25 And they captured fortified cities and a rich land and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns hewn out, vineyards, olive orchards, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in Your great goodness.
26 Yet they were disobedient and rebelled against You and cast Your law behind their back and killed Your prophets who accused and warned them to turn to You again; and they committed great and contemptible blasphemies.
27 Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who distressed them. In the time of their suffering when they cried to You, You heard them from heaven, and according to Your abundant mercy You gave them deliverers, who saved them from their enemies.
28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before You; therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to You, You heard them from heaven, and many times You delivered them according to Your mercies,
29 And reproved and warned them, that You might bring them again to Your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not heed Your commandments, but sinned against Your ordinances, which by keeping, a man shall live. And they turned a stubborn shoulder, stiffened their neck, and would not listen.
30 Yet You bore with them many years more and reproved and warned them by Your Spirit through Your prophets; still they would not listen. Therefore You gave them into the power of the peoples of the lands.
31 Yet in Your great mercies You did not utterly consume them or forsake them, for You are a gracious and merciful God.
32 Now therefore, our God, the great, mighty, and terrible God, Who keeps covenant and mercy and loving-kindness, let not all the trouble and hardship seem little to You—the hardship that has come upon us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and on all Your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria to this day.
33 However, You are just in all that has come upon us; for You have dealt faithfully, but we have done wickedly;
34 Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept Your law or hearkened to Your commandments and Your warnings and reproofs which You gave them.
35 They did not serve You in their kingdom, and in Your great goodness that You gave them and in the large and rich land You set before them, nor did they turn from their wicked works.
36 Behold, we are slaves this day, and as for the land that You gave to our fathers to eat the fruit and the good of it, behold, we are slaves in it.
37 And its rich yield goes to the kings whom You have set over us because of our sins; they have power also over our bodies and over our livestock at their pleasure. And we are in great distress.
38 Because of all this, we make a firm and sure written covenant, and our princes, Levites, and priests set their seal to it.
3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour (three o’clock in the afternoon),
2 [When] a certain man crippled from his birth was being carried along, who was laid each day at that gate of the temple [which is] called Beautiful, so that he might beg for charitable gifts from those who entered the temple.
3 So when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them to give him a gift.
4 And Peter directed his gaze intently at him, and so did John, and said, Look at us!
5 And [the man] paid attention to them, expecting that he was going to get something from them.
6 But Peter said, Silver and gold (money) I do not have; but what I do have, that I give to you: in [the [a]use of] the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!
7 Then he took hold of the man’s right hand with a firm grip and raised him up. And at once his feet and ankle bones became strong and steady,
8 And leaping forth he stood and [b]began to walk, and he went into the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking about and praising God,
10 And they recognized him as the man who usually sat [begging] for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement (bewilderment, consternation) over what had occurred to him.
11 Now while he [still] firmly clung to Peter and John, all the people in utmost amazement ran together and crowded around them in the covered porch (walk) called Solomon’s.
12 And Peter, seeing it, answered the people, You men of Israel, why are you so surprised and wondering at this? Why do you keep staring at us, as though by our [own individual] power or [active] piety we had made this man [able] to walk?
13 The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has glorified His Servant and [c]Son Jesus [doing Him this honor], Whom you indeed delivered up and denied and rejected and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to let Him go.(A)
14 But you denied and rejected and disowned the Pure and Holy, the Just and Blameless One, and demanded [the pardon of] a murderer to be granted to you.
15 But you killed the very Source (the Author) of life, Whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.
16 And His name, through and by faith in His name, has made this man whom you see and recognize well and strong. [Yes] the faith which is through and by Him [Jesus] has given the man this perfect soundness [of body] before all of you.
17 And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance [not aware of what you were doing], as did your rulers also.
18 Thus has God fulfilled what He foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ (the Messiah) should undergo ill treatment and be afflicted and suffer.
19 So repent (change your mind and purpose); turn around and return [to God], that your sins may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean), that times of refreshing (of recovering from the effects of heat, of [d]reviving with fresh air) may come from the presence of the Lord;
20 And that He may send [to you] the Christ (the Messiah), Who before was designated and appointed for you—even Jesus,
21 Whom heaven must receive [and retain] until the time for the complete restoration of all that God spoke by the mouth of all His holy prophets for ages past [from the most ancient time in the memory of man].
22 Thus Moses said to the forefathers, The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophet from among your brethren as [He raised up] me; Him you shall listen to and understand by hearing and heed in all things whatever He tells you.
23 And it shall be that every soul that does not listen to and understand by hearing and heed that Prophet shall be utterly [e]exterminated from among the people.(B)
24 Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel and those who came afterwards, as many as have spoken, also promised and foretold and proclaimed these days.
25 You are the descendants (sons) of the prophets and the heirs of the covenant which God made and gave to your forefathers, saying to Abraham, And in your Seed (Heir) shall all the families of the earth be blessed and benefited.(C)
26 It was to you first that God sent His Servant and Son Jesus, when He raised Him up [[f]provided and gave Him for us], to bless you in turning every one of you from your wickedness and evil ways.(D)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation