Old/New Testament
4 ¶ But it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was wroth and took great indignation and mocked the Jews.
2 And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria and said, What are these feeble Jews doing? Is this to be permitted them? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish on time? Will they resurrect the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which were burned?
3 Now Tobiah, the Ammonite, was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox were to go up it, he would break down their stone wall.
4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised; and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of their captivity.
5 And do not cover their iniquity, nor let their sin be blotted out from before thee, for they have become angry against the builders.
6 But we built the wall, and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof, for the people were motivated to work.
7 ¶ And it came to pass when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were sound and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth
8 and conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem and to hinder it.
9 Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God and set a watch over the builders day and night because of them.
10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish so that we are not able to build the wall.
11 And our adversaries said, They shall not know or see until we come in the midst among them and slay them and cause the work to cease.
12 But it came to pass, that when the Jews who dwelt among them came, they advised us ten times of all the places from which they would come upon us.
13 Therefore, I set in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I set the people by families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
14 Then I looked and rose up and said unto the nobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, Do not be afraid of them: remember the Lord, who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.
15 And it came to pass when our enemies heard that we had understood it, God brought their counsel to nought, and we returned all of us to the wall, each one unto his work.
16 ¶ And it came to pass from that time forth that half of the young men wrought in the work, and the other half of them held spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail; and the princes were behind all the house of Judah.
17 Those that built on the wall and those that bore burdens and those that laded wrought with one hand in the work and with the other held a weapon.
18 For the builders, each one had his sword girded by his side, and so they built. And he that sounded the shofar was by me.
19 And I said unto the principals and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.
20 In whatever place that you hear the voice of the shofar, join us there; our God shall fight for us.
21 So we laboured in the work, and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.
22 Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let each one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that by night they may be a guard to us, and labour by day.
23 So neither I nor my brethren nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us put off our clothes, each one put them off only for washing.
5 ¶ Then there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren, the Jews.
2 For there were some that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many; therefore we have bought grain that we may eat and live.
3 There were also some that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine.
4 And there were some that said, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards.
5 Yet now, given that the flesh of our brethren is as our flesh and their sons as our sons, behold, we subject our sons and our daughters to slavery, and there are some of our daughters in bondage already; neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.
6 ¶ And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.
7 Then I meditated unto myself, and I rebuked the principals and the rulers and said unto them, Does each one of you exact usury of his brother? And I set a great assembly against them.
8 And I said unto them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren, the Jews who had been sold unto the Gentiles; and will ye even sell your brethren? And shall they be sold unto us? Then they remained silent, for they had nothing to answer.
9 Also I said, What you do is not good, do you not walk in the fear of our God, that ye not be the reproach of our enemies the Gentiles?
10 I, likewise, and my brethren and my servants, have lent them money and grain; let us now release them from this burden.
11 Restore, I pray you, to them, today, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, and even the hundredth part of the money, and of the grain, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them.
12 Then they said, We will return it and will require nothing of them; so we will do as thou sayest. Then I called the priests and caused them to sware that they should do according to this promise.
13 Also I shook my lap and said, Thus will God shake out each man from his house and from his labour, that does not perform this promise, even thus shall he be shaken out and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise.
14 ¶ Moreover, from the day that I was appointed by the king to be their captain in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the captain.
15 But the former captains that had been before me had charged the people and had taken of them for bread and wine, upon forty shekels of silver; and in addition to this their servants bore rule over the people; but I did not do so because of the fear of God.
16 In addition to this, I restored my part in the work of this wall, neither did we buy any inheritance; and all my servants were gathered together unto the work.
17 I also had at my table one hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, besides those that came unto us from among the Gentiles that are around us.
18 Now that which was prepared for each day was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and every ten days wine in all abundance; yet with all this I did not require the bread of the captain because the bondage was heavy upon this people.
19 Remember me, my God, for good and all that I have done for this people.
6 ¶ Now it came to pass when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem, the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates),
2 that Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they had thought to do me evil.
3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work so that I cannot come down; why should the work cease, whilst I leave it and come down to you?
4 Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort, and I answered them after the same manner.
5 Then Sanballat sent his slave to say the same thing for the fifth time with an open letter in his hand,
6 in which was written, It is reported among the Gentiles, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel, for which cause thou dost build the wall, that thou may be their king, according to these words.
7 And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah! And now these words shall be heard by the king. Come now, therefore, and let us take counsel together.
8 Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou dost feign them out of thine own heart.
9 For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it not be done. Now, therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.
10 ¶ Afterward I came in secret unto the house of Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple; for they are coming to slay thee; yea, tonight they will come to slay thee.
11 Then I said, Should such a man as I flee? And who is there as I who could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.
12 And I perceived that God had not sent him, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me, for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13 For he was bribed to make me be thus afraid and sin and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.
14 My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works and on the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets, that did things to put me in fear.
15 ¶ So the wall was finished the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.
16 And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard of it, all the Gentiles that were about us feared, and they were much cast down in their own eyes, and they knew that this work was wrought of our God.
17 Likewise, in those days the principals of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them.
18 For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah, the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam, the son of Berechiah.
19 They also reported his good deeds before me and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.
7 ¶ Now it came to pass, when the wall was built and I had set up the doors and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed,
2 that I commanded my brother Hanani, and Hananiah, the prince of the palace in Jerusalem (for he was as a man of truth and feared God above many);
3 and I said unto them, Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot and even with the guards present, let them shut the doors and bar them. And appoint guards of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each one in his watch and each one to be in front of his house.
4 Now the city was large and great, but there were few people in it, and the houses were not rebuilt.
5 ¶ And my God put it into my heart to gather together the principals and the rulers and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found the register of the genealogy of those who had come up before and found written therein:
6 These are the sons of the province, that came up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried away and returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each one unto his city,
7 who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:
8 The sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two.
9 The sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two.
10 The sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two.
11 The sons of Pahathmoab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen.
12 The sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four.
13 The sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five.
14 The sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty.
15 The sons of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight.
16 The sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight.
17 The sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two.
18 The sons of Adonikam, six hundred and seventy-seven.
19 The sons of Bigvai, two thousand sixty-seven.
20 The sons of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five.
21 The sons of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety-eight.
22 The sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight.
23 The sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four.
24 The sons of Hariph, one hundred and twelve.
25 The sons of Gibeon, ninety-five.
26 The men of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty-eight.
27 The men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight.
28 The men of Bethazmaveth, forty-two.
29 The men of Kirjathjearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three.
30 The men of Ramah and of Geba, six hundred and twenty-one.
31 The men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two.
32 The men of Bethel and Ai, one hundred and twenty-three.
33 The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two.
34 The sons of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four.
35 The sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty.
36 The sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five.
37 The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one.
38 The sons of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.
39 The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three.
40 The sons of Immer, one thousand fifty-two.
41 The sons of Pashur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven.
42 The sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.
43 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of the sons of Hodevah, seventy-four.
44 The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight.
45 The porters: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, one hundred thirty-eight.
46 The Nethinims: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hashupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,
47 the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon,
48 the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Shalmai,
49 the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar,
50 the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda,
51 the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Phaseah,
52 the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephishesim,
53 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,
54 the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,
55 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah,
56 the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.
57 The sons of Solomon’s slaves: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida,
58 the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,
59 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim, the sons of Amon.
60 All the Nethinims, and the sons of Solomon’s slaves, were three hundred and ninety-two.
61 And these were they which came up also from Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer; but they could not show their father’s house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel.
62 The sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two.
63 And of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their name.
64 These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore, were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.
65 And the Tirshatha said unto them that they should not eat of the most holy things until there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim.
66 The whole congregation united as one man was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty,
67 not counting their menslaves and their maidslaves, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five men and women singers.
68 Their horses, seven hundred and thirty-six; their mules, two hundred and forty-five:
69 Their camels, four hundred and thirty-five; their asses, six thousand seven hundred and twenty.
70 And some of the princes of the families gave unto the work. The Tirshatha gave for the treasure one thousand drams of gold, fifty basins, and five hundred and thirty priests’ garments.
71 And the princes of the families gave for the treasure of the work twenty thousand drams of gold and two thousand two hundred pounds of silver.
72 And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drams of gold and two thousand pounds of silver and sixty-seven priests’ garments.
73 So the priests and the Levites and the porters and the singers and those of the people and the Nethinims and all Israel dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month came, the sons of Israel were in their cities.
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know,
23 him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain,
24 whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
25 For David speaks concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved,
26 therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover even my flesh shall rest in hope
27 because thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30 Therefore being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne;
31 he, seeing this before, spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, neither did his flesh see corruption.
32 This Jesus God has raised up, of whom we all are witnesses.
33 Therefore being raised up by the right hand of God and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which ye now see and hear.
34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand
35 until I make thy foes thy footstool.
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
37 ¶ Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized each one of you into the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation.
41 So that those who gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
42 ¶ And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
44 And all that believed were together and had all things common
45 and sold their possessions and property and distributed them to everyone, as each one had need.
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food together with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 praising God and having grace with all the people. And the Lord added to the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} daily such as should be saved.
Copyright © 2013, 2020 by Ransom Press International