Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

1 The words of Nechemyah the son of Hakhalyah:

It was in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the capital, ² that Hanani, one of my kinsmen, came out of Y’hudah with some men; and I asked them about the remnant of Judeans who had escaped the exile, and about Yerushalayim. ³ They answered me, “The remnant of the exile left there in the province are in great distress and are held in contempt, the wall of Yerushalayim is in ruins, and its gates have been completely burned up.”

⁴ On hearing this answer, I sat down and wept; I mourned for several days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven. ⁵ I said, “Please, Adonai! God of heaven! You great and fearsome God, who keeps his covenant and extends grace to those who love him and observe his mitzvot! ⁶ Let your ear now be attentive and your eyes be open, so that you will listen to the prayer of your servant, which I am praying before you these days, day and night, for the people of Isra’el your servants — even as I confess the sins of the people of Isra’el that we have committed against you. Yes, I and my father’s house have sinned. ⁷ We have deeply offended you. We haven’t observed the mitzvot, laws or rulings you ordered your servant Moshe. ⁸ Remember, please, the word you gave through your servant Moshe, ‘If you break faith, I will scatter you among the peoples; ⁹ but if you return to me, observe my mitzvot and obey them, then, even if your scattered ones are in the most distant part of heaven, nevertheless, I will collect them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen for bearing my name.’ ¹⁰ Now these are your servants, your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and strong hand. ¹¹ Adonai, please, let your ear now be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who take joy in fearing your name: please let your servant succeed today and win this man’s compassion” — for I was the king’s personal attendant.

¹¹ Therefore, if it had been possible to reach the goal through the system of cohanim derived from Levi (since in connection with it, the people were given the Torah), what need would there have been for another, different kind of cohen, the one spoken of as to be compared with Malki-Tzedek and not to be compared with Aharon? ¹² For if the system of cohanim is transformed, there must of necessity occur a transformation of Torah. ¹³ The one about whom these things are said belongs to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar; ¹⁴ for everyone knows that our Lord arose out of Y’hudah, and that Moshe said nothing about this tribe when he spoke about cohanim.

¹⁵ It becomes even clearer if a “different kind of cohen,” one like Malki-Tzedek, arises, ¹⁶ one who became a cohen not by virtue of a rule in the Torah concerning physical descent, but by virtue of the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is stated,

¹⁸ Thus, on the one hand, the earlier rule is set aside because of its weakness and inefficacy ¹⁹ (for the Torah did not bring anything to the goal); and, on the other hand, a hope of something better is introduced, through which we are drawing near to God.

²⁰ What is more, God swore an oath. For no oath was sworn in connection with those who become cohanim now; ²¹ but Yeshua became a cohen by the oath which God swore when he said to him,

²² Also this shows how much better is the covenant of which Yeshua has become guarantor.