The Message (MSG)

Ezra and The Revelation

1 By the time the seventh month arrived, the People of Israel were settled in their towns. Then all the people gathered as one person in the town square in front of the Water Gate and asked the scholar Ezra to bring the Book of The Revelation of Moses thatGodhad commanded for Israel.

2-3 So Ezra the priest brought The Revelation to the congregation, which was made up of both men and women—everyone capable of understanding. It was the first day of the seventh month. He read it facing the town square at the Water Gate from early dawn until noon in the hearing of the men and women, all who could understand it. And all the people listened—they were all ears—to the Book of The Revelation.

4 The scholar Ezra stood on a wooden platform constructed for the occasion. He was flanked on the right by Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, and on the left by Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

5-6 Ezra opened the book. Every eye was on him (he was standing on the raised platform) and as he opened the book everyone stood. Then Ezra praisedGod, the great God, and all the people responded, “Oh Yes! Yes!” with hands raised high. And then they fell to their knees in worship ofGod, their faces to the ground.

7-8 Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, all Levites, explained The Revelation while people stood, listening respectfully. They translated the Book of The Revelation of God so the people could understand it and then explained the reading.

9 Nehemiah the governor, along with Ezra the priest and scholar and the Levites who were teaching the people, said to all the people, “This day is holy toGod, your God. Don’t weep and carry on.” They said this because all the people were weeping as they heard the words of The Revelation.

10 He continued, “Go home and prepare a feast, holiday food and drink; and share it with those who don’t have anything: This day is holy to God. Don’t feel bad. The joy ofGodis your strength!”

11 The Levites calmed the people, “Quiet now. This is a holy day. Don’t be upset.”

12 So the people went off to feast, eating and drinking and including the poor in a great celebration. Now they got it; they understood the reading that had been given to them.

13-15 On the second day of the month the family heads of all the people, the priests, and the Levites gathered around Ezra the scholar to get a deeper understanding of the words of The Revelation. They found written in The Revelation thatGodcommanded through Moses that the People of Israel are to live in booths during the festival of the seventh month. So they published this decree and had it posted in all their cities and in Jerusalem: “Go into the hills and collect olive branches, pine branches, myrtle branches, palm branches, and any other leafy branches to make booths, as it is written.”

16-17 So the people went out, brought in branches, and made themselves booths on their roofs, courtyards, the courtyards of The Temple of God, the Water Gate plaza, and the Ephraim Gate plaza. The entire congregation that had come back from exile made booths and lived in them. The People of Israel hadn’t done this from the time of Joshua son of Nun until that very day—a terrific day! Great joy!

18 Ezra read from the Book of The Revelation of God each day, from the first to the last day—they celebrated the feast for seven days. On the eighth day they held a solemn assembly in accordance with the decree.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/NEH/8-50a5f5397e61f4ede659ad3554f6b1d8.mp3?version_id=97—

1-3 Then on the twenty-fourth day of this month, the People of Israel gathered for a fast, wearing burlap and faces smudged with dirt as signs of repentance. The Israelites broke off all relations with foreigners, stood up, and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their parents. While they stood there in their places, they read from the Book of The Revelation ofGod, their God, for a quarter of the day. For another quarter of the day they confessed and worshiped theirGod.

4-5 A group of Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani—stood on the platform and cried out toGod, their God, in a loud voice. The Levites Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, “On your feet! BlessGod, your God, for ever and ever!”

5-6 Blessed be your glorious name,

exalted above all blessing and praise!

You’re the one,

God, you alone;

You made the heavens,

the heavens of heavens, and all angels;

The earth and everything on it,

the seas and everything in them;

You keep them all alive;

heaven’s angels worship you!

7-8 You’re the one,God,theGod

who chose Abram

And brought him from Ur of the Chaldees

and changed his name to Abraham.

You found his heart to be steady and true to you

and signed a covenant with him,

A covenant to give him the land of the Canaanites,

the Hittites, and the Amorites,

The Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites,

—to give it to his descendants.

And you kept your word

because you are righteous.

9-15 You saw the anguish of our parents in Egypt.

You heard their cries at the Red Sea;

You amazed Pharaoh, his servants, and the people of his land

with wonders and miracle-signs.

You knew their bullying arrogance against your people;

you made a name for yourself that lasts to this day.

You split the sea before them;

they crossed through and never got their feet wet;

You pitched their pursuers into the deep;

they sank like a rock in the storm-tossed sea.

By day you led them with a Pillar of Cloud,

and by night with a Pillar of Fire

To show them the way

they were to travel.

You came down onto Mount Sinai,

you spoke to them out of heaven;

You gave them instructions on how to live well,

true teaching, sound rules and commands;

You introduced them

to your Holy Sabbath;

Through your servant Moses you decreed

commands, rules, and instruction.

You gave bread from heaven for their hunger,

you sent water from the rock for their thirst.

You told them to enter and take the land,

which you promised to give them.

16-19 But they, our ancestors, were arrogant;

bullheaded, they wouldn’t obey your commands.

They turned a deaf ear, they refused

to remember the miracles you had done for them;

They turned stubborn, got it into their heads

to return to their Egyptian slavery.

And you, a forgiving God,

gracious and compassionate,

Incredibly patient, with tons of love—

you didn’t dump them.

Yes, even when they cast a sculpted calf

and said, “This is your god

Who brought you out of Egypt,”

and continued from bad to worse,

You in your amazing compassion

didn’t walk off and leave them in the desert.

The Pillar of Cloud didn’t leave them;

daily it continued to show them their route;

The Pillar of Fire did the same by night,

showed them the right way to go.

20-23 You gave them your good Spirit

to teach them to live wisely.

You never stinted with your manna,

gave them plenty of water to drink.

You supported them forty years in that desert;

they had everything they needed;

Their clothes didn’t wear out

and their feet never blistered.

You gave them kingdoms and peoples,

establishing generous boundaries.

They took over the country of Sihon king of Heshbon

and the country of Og king of Bashan.

You multiplied children for them,

rivaling the stars in the night skies,

And you brought them into the land

that you promised their ancestors

they would get and own.

24-25 Well, they entered all right,

they took it and settled in.

The Canaanites who lived there

you brought to their knees before them.

You turned over their land, kings, and peoples

to do with as they pleased.

They took strong cities and fertile fields,

they took over well-furnished houses,

Cisterns, vineyards, olive groves,

and lush, extensive orchards.

And they ate, grew fat on the fat of the land;

they reveled in your bountiful goodness.

26-31 But then they mutinied, rebelled against you,

threw out your laws and killed your prophets,

The very prophets who tried to get them back on your side—

and then things went from bad to worse.

You turned them over to their enemies,

who made life rough for them.

But when they called out for help in their troubles

you listened from heaven;

And in keeping with your bottomless compassion

you gave them saviors:

Saviors who saved them

from the cruel abuse of their enemies.

But as soon as they had it easy again

they were right back at it—more evil.

So you turned away and left them again to their fate,

to the enemies who came right back.

They cried out to you again; in your great compassion

you heard and helped them again.

This went on over and over and over.

You warned them to return to your Revelation,

they responded with haughty arrogance:

They flouted your commands, spurned your rules

—the very words by which men and women live!

They set their jaws in defiance,

they turned their backs on you and didn’t listen.

You put up with them year after year

and warned them by your spirit through your prophets;

But when they refused to listen

you abandoned them to foreigners.

Still, because of your great compassion,

you didn’t make a total end to them.

You didn’t walk out and leave them for good;

yes, youarea God of grace and compassion.

32-37 And now, our God, the great God,

God majestic and terrible, loyal in covenant and love,

Don’t treat lightly the trouble that has come to us,

to our kings and princes, our priests and prophets,

Our ancestors, and all your people from the time

of the Assyrian kings right down to today.

You are not to blame

for all that has come down on us;

You did everything right,

we did everything wrong.

None of our kings, princes, priests, or ancestors

followed your Revelation;

They ignored your commands,

dismissed the warnings you gave them.

Even when they had their own kingdom

and were enjoying your generous goodness,

Living in that spacious and fertile land

that you spread out before them,

They didn’t serve you

or turn their backs on the practice of evil.

And here we are, slaves again today;

and here’s the land you gave our ancestors

So they could eat well and enjoy a good life,

and now look at us—no better than slaves on this land.

Its wonderful crops go to the kings

you put over us because of our sins;

They act like they own our bodies

and do whatever they like with our cattle.

We’re in deep trouble.

38 “Because of all this we are drawing up a binding pledge, a sealed document signed by our princes, our Levites, and our priests.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/NEH/9-2a3c844375766dba4e141bf0582b8c1a.mp3?version_id=97—

1-8 The sealed document bore these signatures:

Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah,

Zedekiah, Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,

Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah,

Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,

Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,

Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah.

These were the priests.

9-13 The Levites:

Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,

and their kinsmen: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,

Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.

14-27 The heads of the people:

Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,

Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,

Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,

Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,

Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,

Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,

Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,

Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,

Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,

Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,

Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,

Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,

Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.

28-30 The rest of the people, priests, Levites, security guards, singers, Temple staff, and all who separated themselves from the foreign neighbors to keep The Revelation of God, together with their wives, sons, daughters—everyone old enough to understand—all joined their noble kinsmen in a binding oath to follow The Revelation of God given through Moses the servant of God, to keep and carry out all the commandments ofGodour Master, all his decisions and standards. Thus:

We will not marry our daughters to our foreign neighbors nor let our sons marry their daughters.

31 When the foreign neighbors bring goods or grain to sell on the Sabbath we won’t trade with them—not on the Sabbath or any other holy day.

Every seventh year we will leave the land fallow and cancel all debts.

32-33 We accept the responsibility for paying an annual tax of one-third of a shekel (about an eighth ounce) for providing The Temple of our God with

bread for the Table

regular Grain-Offerings

regular Whole-Burnt-Offerings

offerings for the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts

Dedication-Offerings

Absolution-Offerings to atone for Israel

maintenance of The Temple of our God.

34 We—priests, Levites, and the people—have cast lots to see when each of our families will bring wood for burning on the Altar of ourGod, following the yearly schedule set down in The Revelation.

35-36 We take responsibility for delivering annually to The Temple ofGodthe firstfruits of our crops and our orchards, our firstborn sons and cattle, and the firstborn from our herds and flocks for the priests who serve in The Temple of our God—just as it is set down in The Revelation.

37-39 We will bring the best of our grain, of our contributions, of the fruit of every tree, of wine, and of oil to the priests in the storerooms of The Temple of our God.

We will bring the tithes from our fields to the Levites, since the Levites are appointed to collect the tithes in the towns where we work. We’ll see to it that a priest descended from Aaron will supervise the Levites as they collect the tithes and make sure that they take a tenth of the tithes to the treasury in The Temple of our God. We’ll see to it that the People of Israel and Levites bring the grain, wine, and oil to the storage rooms where the vessels of the Sanctuary are kept and where the priests who serve, the security guards, and the choir meet.

We will not neglect The Temple of our God.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/NEH/10-7f5aa9d6f43542a1a7665ef4fa149fff.mp3?version_id=97—

1-2 The leaders of the people were already living in Jerusalem, so the rest of the people drew lots to get one out of ten to move to Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine remained in their towns. The people applauded those who voluntarily offered to live in Jerusalem.

3-4 These are the leaders in the province who resided in Jerusalem (some Israelites, priests, Levites, Temple staff, and descendants of Solomon’s slaves lived in the towns of Judah on their own property in various towns; others from both Judah and Benjamin lived in Jerusalem):

4-6 From the family of Judah:

Athaiah son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, from the family line of Perez; Maaseiah son of Baruch, the son of Col-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of the Shilonite. The descendants of Perez who lived in Jerusalem numbered 468 valiant men.

7-9 From the family of Benjamin:

Sallu son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah, and his brothers Gabbai and Sallai: 928 men. Joel son of Zicri was their chief and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command over the city.

10-14 From the priests:

Jedaiah son of Joiarib; Jakin; Seraiah son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, supervisor of The Temple of God, along with their associates responsible for work in The Temple: 822 men. Also Adaiah son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malkijah, and his associates who were heads of families: 242 men; Amashsai son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, and his associates, all valiant men: 128 men. Their commander was Zabdiel son of Haggedolim.

15-18 From the Levites:

Shemaiah son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; Shabbethai and Jozabad, two of the leaders of the Levites who were in charge of the outside work of The Temple of God; Mattaniah son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, the director who led in thanksgiving and prayer; Bakbukiah, second among his associates; and Abda son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. The Levites in the holy city totaled 284.

19 From the security guards:

Akkub, Talmon, and their associates who kept watch over the gates: 172 men.

20 The rest of the Israelites, priests, and Levites were in all the towns of Judah, each on his own family property.

21 The Temple staff lived on the hill Ophel. Ziha and Gishpa were responsible for them.

22-23 The chief officer over the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica. Uzzi was one of Asaph’s descendants, singers who led worship in The Temple of God. The singers got their orders from the king, who drew up their daily schedule.

24 Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, a descendant of Zerah son of Judah, represented the people’s concerns at the royal court.

25-30 Some of the Judeans lived in the villages near their farms:

Kiriath Arba (Hebron) and suburbs

Dibon and suburbs

Jekabzeel and suburbs

Jeshua

Moladah

Beth Pelet

Hazar Shual

Beersheba and suburbs

Ziklag

Meconah and suburbs

En Rimmon

Zorah

Jarmuth

Zanoah

Adullam and their towns

Lachish and its fields

Azekah and suburbs.

They were living all the way from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom.

31-36 The Benjaminites from Geba lived in:

Micmash

Aijah

Bethel and its suburbs

Anathoth

Nob and Ananiah

Hazor

Ramah and Gittaim

Hadid, Zeboim, and Neballat

Lod and Ono and the Valley of the Craftsmen.

Also some of the Levitical groups of Judah were assigned to Benjamin.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/NEH/11-acd1454b55ba81c17838af63ed0525df.mp3?version_id=97—

1-7 These are the priests and Levites who came up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua:

Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,

Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,

Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah,

Mijamin, Moadiah, Bilgah,

Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,

Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah.

These were the leaders of the priests during the time of Jeshua.

8-9 And the Levites:

Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah;

Mattaniah, with his brothers, was in charge of songs of praise, and their brothers Bakbukiah and Unni stood opposite them in the services of worship.

10-11 Jeshua fathered Joiakim,

Joiakim fathered Eliashib,

Eliashib fathered Joiada,

Joiada fathered Jonathan,

and Jonathan fathered Jaddua.

12-21 During the time of Joiakim, these were the heads of the priestly families:

of the family of Seraiah, Meraiah;

of Jeremiah, Hananiah;

of Ezra, Meshullam;

of Amariah, Jehohanan;

of Malluch, Jonathan;

of Shecaniah, Joseph;

of Harim, Adna;

of Meremoth, Helkai;

of Iddo, Zechariah;

of Ginnethon, Meshullam;

of Abijah, Zicri;

of Miniamin and Moadiah, Piltai;

of Bilgah, Shammua;

of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;

of Joiarib, Mattenai;

of Jedaiah, Uzzi;

of Sallu, Kallai;

of Amok, Eber;

of Hilkiah, Hashabiah;

and of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

22 During the time of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the Levites were registered as heads of families. During the reign of Darius the Persian, the priests were registered.

23-24 The Levites who were heads of families were registered in the Book of the Chronicles until the time of Johanan son of Eliashib. These were:

Hashabiah,

Sherebiah,

and Jeshua son of Kadmiel.

Their brothers stood opposite them to give praise and thanksgiving, one side responding to the other, as had been directed by David the man of God.

25-26 The security guards included:

Mattaniah,

Bakbukiah,

Obadiah,

Meshullam,

Talmon,

and Akkub.

They guarded the storerooms at the gates. They lived during the time of Joiakim son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, the time of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest and scholar.

Dedication of the Wall

27-29 When it came time for the dedication of the wall, they tracked down and brought in the Levites from all their homes in Jerusalem to carry out the dedication exuberantly: thanksgiving hymns, songs, cymbals, harps, and lutes. The singers assembled from all around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites, from Beth Gilgal, from the farms at Geba and Azmaveth—the singers had built villages for themselves all around Jerusalem.

30 The priests and Levites ceremonially purified themselves; then they did the same for the people, the gates, and the wall.

31-36 I had the leaders of Judah come up on the wall, and I appointed two large choirs. One proceeded on the wall to the right toward the Dung Gate. Hashaiah and half the leaders of Judah followed them, including Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah. Some of the young priests had trumpets. Next, playing the musical instruments of David the man of God, came Zechariah son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph, and his brothers Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani. Ezra the scholar led them.

37 At the Fountain Gate they went straight ahead, up the steps of the City of David using the wall stairway above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.

38-39 The other choir proceeded to the left. I and half of the people followed them on the wall from the Tower of Furnaces to the Broad Wall, over the Ephraim Gate, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred as far as the Sheep Gate, stopping at the Prison Gate.

40-42 The two choirs then took their places in The Temple of God. I was there with half of the officials, along with the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah with their trumpets. Also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers, directed by Jezrahiah, made the rafters ring.

43 That day they offered great sacrifices, an exuberant celebration because God had filled them with great joy. The women and children raised their happy voices with all the rest. Jerusalem’s jubilation was heard far and wide.

44-46 That same day men were appointed to be responsible for the storerooms for the offerings, the firstfruits, and the tithes. They saw to it that the portion directed by The Revelation for the priests and Levites was brought in from the farms connected to the towns. Judah was so appreciative of the priests and Levites and their service; they, along with the singers and security guards, had done everything so well, conducted the worship of their God and the ritual of ceremonial cleansing in a way that would have made David and his son Solomon proud. That’s the way it was done in the olden days, the days of David and Asaph, when they had choir directors for singing songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.

47 During the time of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily allowances for the singers and security guards. They also set aside what was dedicated to the Levites, and the Levites did the same for the Aaronites.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/NEH/12-667360c84f87c5ff68f10e3d3361a48e.mp3?version_id=97—

1-3 Also on that same day there was a reading from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. It was found written there that no Ammonite or Moabite was permitted to enter the congregation of God, because they hadn’t welcomed the People of Israel with food and drink; they even hired Balaam to work against them by cursing them, but our God turned the curse into a blessing. When they heard the reading of The Revelation, they excluded all foreigners from Israel.

4-5 Some time before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of The Temple of God. He was close to Tobiah and had made available to him a large storeroom that had been used to store Grain-Offerings, incense, worship vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil for the Levites, singers, and security guards, and the offerings for the priests.

6-9 When this was going on I wasn’t there in Jerusalem; in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon, I had traveled back to the king. But later I asked for his permission to leave again. I arrived in Jerusalem and learned of the wrong that Eliashib had done in turning over to him a room in the courts of The Temple of God. I was angry, really angry, and threw everything in the room out into the street, all of Tobiah’s stuff. Then I ordered that they ceremonially cleanse the room. Only then did I put back the worship vessels of The Temple of God, along with the Grain-Offerings and the incense.

10-13 And then I learned that the Levites hadn’t been given their regular food allotments. So the Levites and singers who led the services of worship had all left and gone back to their farms. I called the officials on the carpet, “Why has The Temple of God been abandoned?” I got everyone back again and put them back on their jobs so that all Judah was again bringing in the tithe of grain, wine, and oil to the storerooms. I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms. I made Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, their right-hand man. These men had a reputation for honesty and hard work. They were responsible for distributing the rations to their brothers.

14 Remember me, O my God, for this. Don’t ever forget the devoted work I have done for The Temple of God and its worship.

15-16 During those days, while back in Judah, I also noticed that people treaded wine presses, brought in sacks of grain, and loaded up their donkeys on the Sabbath. They brought wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of stuff to sell on the Sabbath. So I spoke up and warned them about selling food on that day. Tyrians living there brought in fish and whatever else, selling it to Judeans—in Jerusalem, mind you!—on the Sabbath.

17-18 I confronted the leaders of Judah: “What’s going on here? This evil! Profaning the Sabbath! Isn’t this exactly what your ancestors did? And because of it didn’t God bring down on us and this city all this misery? And here you are adding to it—accumulating more wrath on Jerusalem by profaning the Sabbath.”

19 As the gates of Jerusalem were darkened by the shadows of the approaching Sabbath, I ordered the doors shut and not to be opened until the Sabbath was over. I placed some of my servants at the gates to make sure that nothing to be sold would get in on the Sabbath day.

20-21 Traders and dealers in various goods camped outside the gates once or twice. But I took them to task. I said, “You have no business camping out here by the wall. If I find you here again, I’ll use force to drive you off.”

And that did it; they didn’t come back on the Sabbath.

22 Then I directed the Levites to ceremonially cleanse themselves and take over as guards at the gates to keep the sanctity of the Sabbath day.

Remember me also for this, my God. Treat me with mercy according to your great and steadfast love.

23-27 Also in those days I saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Half the children couldn’t even speak the language of Judah; all they knew was the language of Ashdod or some other tongue. So I took those men to task, gave them a piece of my mind, even slapped some of them and jerked them by the hair. I made them swear to God: “Don’t marry your daughters to their sons; and don’t let their daughters marry your sons—and don’t you yourselves marry them! Didn’t Solomon the king of Israel sin because of women just like these? Even though there was no king quite like him, and God loved him and made him king over all Israel, foreign women were his downfall. Do you call this obedience—engaging in this extensive evil, showing yourselves faithless to God by marrying foreign wives?”

28 One of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite; I drove him out of my presence.

29 Remember them, O my God, how they defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priests and Levites.

30-31 All in all I cleansed them from everything foreign. I organized the orders of service for the priests and Levites so that each man knew his job. I arranged for a regular supply of altar wood at the appointed times and for the firstfruits.

Remember me, O my God, for good.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/NEH/13-875cba8d132afdafa0f1314c31dc9075.mp3?version_id=97—