Nehemiah 13 Cross References - Webster

¹ On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever: ² Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Baalam against them, that he should curse them: but our God turned the curse into a blessing. ³ Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude. ⁴ And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied to Tobiah: ⁵ And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where formerly they laid the meat-offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests. ⁶ But in all this time I was not at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I came to the king, and after certain days I obtained leave of the king: ⁷ And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. ⁸ And it grieved me greatly: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. ⁹ Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither I brought again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat-offering and the frankincense. ¹⁰ And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, had fled every one to his field. ¹¹ Then I contended with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? and I assembled them, and set them in their place. ¹² Then all Judah brought the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil to the treasuries. ¹³ And I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah: and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah: for they were accounted faithful; and their office was to distribute to their brethren. ¹⁴ Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its offices. ¹⁵ In those days I saw in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day in which they sold provisions. ¹⁶ There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, who brought fish, and all manner of wares, and sold on the sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? ¹⁸ Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. ¹⁹ And it came to pass, that, when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and I set some of my servants at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. ²⁰ So the merchants and sellers of all kind of wares lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. ²¹ Then I testified against them, and said to them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth they came no more on the sabbath. ²² And I commanded the Levites, that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy. ²³ In those days also I saw Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: ²⁴ And their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews language, but according to the language of each people. ²⁵ And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons, or for yourselves. ²⁶ Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin. ²⁷ Shall we then hearken to you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying foreign wives? ²⁸ And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me. ²⁹ Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites. ³⁰ Thus I cleansed them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business; ³¹ And for the wood-offering, at times appointed, and for the first-fruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

³ An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: ⁴ Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth from Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. ⁵ Nevertheless, the LORD thy God would not hearken to Balaam: but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing to thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee.

¹¹ When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. ¹² Convene the people, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:

² And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD.

¹⁰ When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there had come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.

¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?

³ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox should go up, he would even break down their stone wall.

³ And he read therein before the street that was before the water-gate from the morning until mid-day, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. ⁴ And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. ⁵ And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) 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, with lifting their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. ⁷ Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. ⁸ So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

³ And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshiped the LORD their God.

²³ In those days also I saw Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab:

⁷ (83:6)The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; ⁸ (83:7)Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; ⁹ (83:8)Assur also is joined with them: they have helped the children of Lot. Selah.

¹ The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; ² He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard shorn. ³ In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly. ⁴ And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even to Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous to him. ⁵ My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee to Zoar, a heifer of three years old: for they shall go up the ascent of Luhith with weeping; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise a cry of destruction. ⁶ For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the herb is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing. ⁷ Therefore the abundance they have gained, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows. ⁸ For the cry hath gone round the borders of Moab, her howling to Eglaim, and her howling to Beer-elim. ⁹ For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.

¹⁶ Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.

¹ Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe to Nebo! for it is laid waste: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed. ² There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee. ³ A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, devastation and great destruction. ⁴ Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard. ⁵ For in the ascent of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the descent of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction. ⁶ Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.

¹ Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities? ² Therefore behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir to them that were his heirs, saith the LORD. ³ Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together. ⁴ Why gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come to me? ⁵ Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts, from all those that are about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth. ⁶ And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the LORD.

¹ The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, ² Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them; ³ And say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity; ⁴ Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk. ⁵ And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching-place for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. ⁶ For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped thy hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel; ⁷ Behold, therefore I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. ⁸ Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like all the heathen; ⁹ Therefore behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim, ¹⁰ To the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations. ¹¹ And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

¹³ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away their punishment: because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:

¹⁶ And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And there was delivered to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, ¹⁸ The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, ¹⁹ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

²⁶ He said to him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

¹⁵ And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, Men, brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, speak.

²¹ For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath.

³ And Moab was greatly afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. ⁴ And Moab said to the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are around us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. ⁵ He sent messengers therefore to Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there has a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me: ⁶ Come now therefore, I pray thee, Curse for me this people; for they are too mighty for me: it may be I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I know that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed. ⁷ And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balak. ⁸ And he said to them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak to me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam. ⁹ And God came to Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee? ¹⁰ And Balaam said to God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent to me, saying, ¹¹ Behold, there has a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse them for me: it may be I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.

⁸ How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied? ⁹ For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. ¹⁰ Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his! ¹¹ And Balak said to Balaam, What hast thou done to me? I took thee to curse my enemies, and behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.

¹⁸ And he took up his parable, and said, Rise, Balak, and hear; hearken to me, thou son of Zippor:

⁵ How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! ⁶ As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign-aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar-trees beside the waters. ⁷ He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. ⁸ God brought him forth from Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. ⁹ He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall rouse him? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee. ¹⁰ And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said to Balaam, I called thee to curse my enemies, and behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.

⁵ Nevertheless, the LORD thy God would not hearken to Balaam: but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing to thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee.

²⁸ Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.

⁵ O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.

⁴⁰ And the king will answer and say to them, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it to me.

³⁸ And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very many cattle.

⁴ And the mixed multitude that was among them fell to lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?

¹¹ Now therefore make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the foreign wives.

² And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

²⁸ And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one having knowledge, and having understanding;

⁷ (19:6)His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit to the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from his heat. ⁸ (19:7)The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. ⁹ (19:8)The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. ¹⁰ (19:9)The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. ¹¹ (19:10)More to be desired are they than gold, yes, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb.

⁹ BETH. Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed to it, according to thy word.

¹¹ Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.

²³ For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

²⁰ Therefore by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

²⁷ Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

¹⁷ Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them. ¹⁸ For there were many in Judah sworn to 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.

¹⁰ And Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim also begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begat Joiada,

⁴⁴ And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the offerings, for the first-fruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited.

²⁸ And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me.

²¹ And behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. ²² Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die. ²³ But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: It shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance. ²⁴ But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave-offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said to them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

¹¹ Even to the artificers and builders they gave it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.

³⁸ And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house.

¹ And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, the people assembled themselves to Aaron, and said to him, Arise, make us gods which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.

¹⁷ Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened to them. ¹⁸ And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.

²² And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

¹ And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I had not before been sad in his presence.

⁵ And I said to the king, If it should please the king, and if thy servant hath found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldst send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' sepulchers, that I may build it. ⁶ And the king said to me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

¹⁴ Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor.

²⁵ But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and departed.

¹ Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

¹ On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever:

⁵ And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where formerly they laid the meat-offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests.

¹⁰ The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: for she hath seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation.

¹² And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves. ¹³ And said to them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves.

²⁸ Crying out, Men of Israel, help. This is the man that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further, hath brought Greeks also into the temple; and hath polluted this holy place. ²⁹ (For they had seen before with him in the city, Trophimus, an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

¹¹ For it hath been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by them who are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

³ And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded. ⁴ Then were assembled to me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat confounded until the evening sacrifice.

¹ Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled to him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very bitterly.

⁹ (69:8)I am become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to my mother's children.

¹⁵ And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves; ¹⁶ And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. ¹⁷ And he taught, saying to them, Is it not written, My house shall be called by all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.

¹³ And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, ¹⁴ And found in the temple those that sold oxen, and sheep, and doves, and the changers of money, sitting: ¹⁵ And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; ¹⁶ And said to them that sold doves, Take these things hence: make not my Father's house a house of merchandise. ¹⁷ And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up.

⁵ And said to them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.

¹⁵ And they assembled their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD. ¹⁶ And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron. ¹⁷ Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end. ¹⁸ Then they went in to Hezekiah the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, and the altar of burnt-offering, with all its vessels, and the show-bread table, with all its vessels. ¹⁹ Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign cast away in his transgression, have we prepared and sanctified, and behold, they are before the altar of the LORD.

⁴⁵ And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God, and the ward of the purification, according to the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son.

² Command the children of Israel, that they give to the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also to the Levites suburbs for the cities around them.

¹⁹ Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.

³⁷ And that we should bring the first-fruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground to the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.

²⁸ And the sons of the singers assembled, both out of the plain country around Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi; ²⁹ Also from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had built them villages around Jerusalem.

⁴⁷ And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified holy things to the Levites; and the Levites sanctified them to the children of Aaron.

⁶ A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master: if then I am a father, where is my honor? and if I am a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, In what have we despised thy name? ⁷ Ye offer polluted bread upon my altar? and ye say, In what have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. ⁸ And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now to thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts. ⁹ And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious to us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your person? saith the LORD of hosts. ¹⁰ Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on my altar for naught. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. ¹¹ For from the rising of the sun even to the setting of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered to my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts. ¹² But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit of it, even his provision, is contemptible. ¹³ Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this from your hand? saith the LORD. ¹⁴ But cursed be the deceiver, who hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth to the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.

⁸ Will a man rob God? yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, In what have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

¹⁷ Let the elders that rule well, be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. ¹⁸ For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The laborer is worthy of his reward.

¹⁷ Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.

⁶ And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. ⁷ Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said to them, Ye exact interest, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them. ⁸ And I said to them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, who were sold to the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold to us? Then they held their peace, and found nothing to answer. ⁹ Also I said, That is not good which ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies? ¹⁰ I likewise, my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury. ¹¹ Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive-yards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them. ¹² Then said they, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do as thou sayest. Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they would do according to this promise. ¹³ Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise.

³⁹ For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, to the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God.

¹⁷ Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?

²⁵ And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons, or for yourselves.

³⁴ Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?

⁴ They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.

⁸ Will a man rob God? yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, In what have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. ⁹ Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. ¹⁰ Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now with this, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. ¹¹ And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

³⁰ And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy to the LORD.

²⁰ And the LORD spoke to Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thy inheritance among the children of Israel. ²¹ And behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. ²² Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die. ²³ But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: It shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance. ²⁴ But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave-offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said to them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. ²⁵ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶ Thus speak to the Levites, and say to them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up a heave-offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.

²² Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.

³⁷ And that we should bring the first-fruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground to the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage. ³⁸ And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house. ³⁹ For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, to the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God.

¹⁰ Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now with this, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

¹⁵ Moreover, they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully.

⁷ But there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.

¹² And brought in the offerings and the tithes, and the dedicated things faithfully: over which Conaniah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was the next. ¹³ And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Conaniah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God. ¹⁴ And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter towards the east, was over the free-will-offerings of God, to distribute the oblations of the LORD, and the most holy things. ¹⁵ And next him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in their set office, to give to their brethren by courses, as well to the great as to the small:

³⁰ After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another piece. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber.

² That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.

⁴ And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

¹² Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

²² The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha. Of the sons of Asaph, the singers were over the business of the house of God.

³⁵ And certain of the priests' sons with trumpets; namely, Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph:

⁴² And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of provisions in due season?

¹⁰ He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much. ¹¹ If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? ¹² And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who will give you that which is your own?

³⁵ And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made to every man according as he had need.

¹ And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

³ Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

² Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.

¹² And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

¹⁰ And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.

³ Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of my own possessions, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,

¹⁶ And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both towards God, and towards his house.

²⁰ And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and performed that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God. ²¹ And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.

²⁰ And whatever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure-house.

²⁴ Also we certify you, that concerning any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom upon them.

²⁷ Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, who hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem:

¹⁹ Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

²² And I commanded the Levites, that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.

³¹ And for the wood-offering, at times appointed, and for the first-fruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. ⁷ Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. ⁸ For my brethren and companions' sake, I will now say, Peace be within thee. ⁹ Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.

¹⁰ For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shown towards his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

⁵ He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

⁸ Remember the sabbath-day to keep it holy. ⁹ Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: ¹⁰ But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹ For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath-day, and hallowed it.

²¹ Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in time of plowing and in harvest thou shalt rest.

² Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whoever doth work therein shall be put to death.

³² And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath-day. ³³ And they that found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. ³⁴ And they put him in custody, because it was not declared what should be done to him. ³⁵ And the LORD said to Moses, The man shall surely be put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. ³⁶ And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.

¹² Keep the sabbath-day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. ¹³ Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work: ¹⁴ But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy ox, nor thy ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou.

¹⁹ And it shall be, if thou shalt at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

¹⁹ Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again to the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.

²⁹ And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again to thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not to thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man doeth, he shall live in them:) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.

³¹ And if the people of the land should bring wares or any provisions on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.

²¹ Then I testified against them, and said to them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth they came no more on the sabbath.

⁷ Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.

¹³ If thou shalt turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thy own ways, nor finding thy own pleasure, nor speaking thy own words:

²¹ Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; ²² Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

²⁴ And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken to me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;

²⁷ But if ye will not hearken to me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

¹⁹ The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day.

¹³ But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man doeth, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly profaned: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

³ O my people, what have I done to thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me,

⁴⁰ And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this perverse generation.

²¹ Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ.

³ For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

¹⁷ This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

⁶ That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

¹⁸ For I testify to every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book: ¹⁹ And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

¹² Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thy ox and thy ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

¹⁴ But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy ox, nor thy ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou.

⁷ Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said to them, Ye exact interest, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them.

¹¹ Then I contended with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? and I assembled them, and set them in their place.

¹ A Psalm of Asaph. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. ² How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

¹⁰ Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

⁵ I will go to the great men, and will speak to them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.

¹⁸ Say to the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.

² And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter by these gates: ³ Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver him that is laid waste out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. ⁴ For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter, by the gates of this house, kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. ⁵ But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation. ⁶ For thus saith the LORD to the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead to me, and the head of Lebanon; yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited. ⁷ And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. ⁸ And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, Why hath the LORD done thus to this great city? ⁹ Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshiped other gods, and served them. ¹⁰ Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep bitterly for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. ¹¹ For thus saith the LORD concerning Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place; He shall not return thither any more: ¹² But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more. ¹³ Woe to him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; ¹⁴ That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. ¹⁵ Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? ¹⁶ He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD. ¹⁷ But thy eyes and thy heart are only for thy covetousness, and for shedding innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. ¹⁸ Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory! ¹⁹ He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. ²⁰ Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed. ²¹ I spoke to thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidest, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou hast not obeyed my voice. ²² The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. ²³ O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!

¹ And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know judgment?

⁹ Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.

¹⁸ And if ye will not yet for all this hearken to me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

²⁸ Then I will walk contrary to you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

¹⁴ And behold, ye have risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD towards Israel.

¹³ And after all that hath come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; ¹⁴ Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldst thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? ¹⁵ O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we having escaped, remain yet, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.

²¹ Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; ²² Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. ²³ But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.

⁹ Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

²² So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.

⁸ Neither left she her lewd deeds brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they first corrupted her, and poured their impurities upon her.

²⁶ They shall also strip thee of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.

⁴ Be ye not as your fathers, to whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken to me, saith the LORD. ⁵ Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? ⁶ But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, As the LORD of hosts thought to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.

¹⁴ Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore: for it is holy to you. Every one that profaneth it shall surely be put to death: for whoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. ¹⁵ Six days may work be done, but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whoever doeth any work in the sabbath-day, he shall surely be put to death. ¹⁶ Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷ It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.

²² And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them to the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

³² It shall be to you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls in the ninth day of the month at evening: from evening to evening shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

³ And I said to them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun shall be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house.

¹⁹ Thus said the LORD to me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah come in, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; ²⁰ And say to them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter by these gates:

²⁶ And whoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be to death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.

¹⁵ In those days I saw in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day in which they sold provisions.

³ For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power; do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise from the same: ⁴ For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou doest that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, an avenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

¹⁴ Or to governors, as to them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well.

¹² Keep the sabbath-day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.

⁴ And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them to Beth-el.

¹² And said to them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place that I have prepared for it. ¹³ For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order. ¹⁴ So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel.

⁴ And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and assembled them in the east street, ⁵ And said to them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.

²⁴ And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt-offering and the sin-offering should be made for all Israel.

²⁷ And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt-offering upon the altar. And when the burnt-offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.

³⁰ Moreover, Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise to the LORD, with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.

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 to them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there should stand up a priest with Urim and Thummim.

³⁰ And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.

¹⁴ Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its offices.

⁷ (5:6)Thou shalt destroy them that speak falsehood: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

⁶ Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses; for they have been ever of old. ⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.

¹ +

³ If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? ⁴ But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

⁷ Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

¹ A Song of degrees. LORD, remember David and all his afflictions; ² How he swore to the LORD, and vowed to the mighty God of Jacob; ³ Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; ⁴ I will not give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids, ⁵ Until I find a place for the LORD, a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.

¹ A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. ² And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

³ And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

²³ And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow to thee with their face towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return to the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

¹² For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our manner of life in the world, and more abundantly toward you.

⁷ I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: ⁸ Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me at that day: and not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing.

¹ And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Eben-ezer to Ashdod.

¹ Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. ² For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.

¹¹ Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, to which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness. ¹² Now therefore give not your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.

¹⁰ And Ezra the priest stood up, and said to them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken foreign wives to increase the trespass of Israel.

⁴⁴ All these had taken foreign wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

⁷ But it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were set up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,

³⁰ And that we would not give our daughters to the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons:

¹⁴ Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

⁹ For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.

¹⁶ And thou take of their daughters to thy sons, and their daughters go astray after their gods, and make thy sons go astray after their gods.

¹³ Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.

³ Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give to his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take to thy son.

² And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number. ³ Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile to thee.

¹⁴ And the Levites shall speak, and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice, ¹⁵ Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the artificer, and putteth it in a secret place: and all the people shall answer, and say Amen. ¹⁶ Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother: and all the people shall say, Amen. ¹⁷ Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor's landmark: and all the people shall say, Amen. ¹⁸ Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way: and all the people shall say, Amen. ¹⁹ Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow: and all the people shall say, Amen. ²⁰ Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife; because he uncovereth his father's skirt: and all the people shall say, Amen. ²¹ Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast: and all the people shall say, Amen. ²² Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother: and all the people shall say, Amen. ²³ Cursed be he that lieth with his mother-in-law: and all the people shall say, Amen. ²⁴ Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbor secretly: and all the people shall say, Amen. ²⁵ Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person: and all the people shall say, Amen. ²⁶ Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them: and all the people shall say, Amen.

¹² And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; ¹³ That whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. ¹⁴ And they swore to the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. ¹⁵ And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found by them: and the LORD gave them rest on all sides.

⁵ Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. And they swore.

¹³ Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise.

²⁹ They united with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes; ³⁰ And that we would not give our daughters to the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons:

⁴ In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoreth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

⁶ I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

⁴⁵ Then answered one of the lawyers, and said to him, Master, thus saying, thou reproachest us also. ⁴⁶ And he said, Woe to you also, ye lawyers, for ye load men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

²⁴ And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in to her, and lay with her: and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him. ²⁵ And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.

¹³ And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like to thee all thy days,

¹ But king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; ² Of the nations concerning which the LORD said to the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in to you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon cleaved to these in love. ³ And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. ⁴ For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. ⁵ For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. ⁶ And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. ⁷ Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. ⁸ And likewise did he for all his foreign wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed to their gods.

¹² Wisdom and knowledge are granted to thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honor, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.

²² And king Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

²⁶ And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoever pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

²⁴ For who will hearken to you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the goods: they shall part alike.

² And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken foreign wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

¹ Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brethren the priests, and they built the sheep-gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even to the tower of Meah they sanctified it, to the tower of Hananeel.

¹⁷ Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them. ¹⁸ For there were many in Judah sworn to 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 Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.

²² The Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chief of the fathers: also the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian.

⁴ And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied to Tobiah: ⁵ And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where formerly they laid the meat-offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests.

⁸ I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all who practice wickedness from the city of the LORD.

⁸ A king that sitteth on the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.

²⁶ A wise king scatterreth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.

¹ And the LORD said to Moses, Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people: ² But for his kin, that is near to him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother, ³ And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh to him, who hath had no husband: for her he may be defiled. ⁴ But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. ⁵ They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. ⁶ They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God they do offer: therefore they shall be holy. ⁷ They shall not take a wife that is a lewd woman, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy to his God.

⁹ Seemeth it but a small thing to you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them? ¹⁰ And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?

¹² Wherefore say, Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace. ¹³ And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.

³⁰ Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

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 would have put me in fear.

⁵ (59:4)They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me, and behold. ⁶ (59:5)Thou therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah. ⁷ (59:6)They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go about the city. ⁸ (59:7)Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear? ⁹ (59:8)But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision. ¹⁰ (59:9)Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defense. ¹¹ (59:10)The God of my mercy will succor me: God will let me see my desire upon my enemies. ¹² (59:11)Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord our shield. ¹³ (59:12)For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.

⁴ And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. ⁵ My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear with which he feared me, and was afraid before my name. ⁶ The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity. ⁷ For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. ⁸ But ye have departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.

¹⁰ Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? ¹¹ Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD whom he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god. ¹² The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering to the LORD of hosts.

¹⁴ Alexander the copper-smith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:

¹ So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. ² And he assembled all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. ³ Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. ⁴ Of which, twenty and four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of the LORD; and six thousand were officers and judges: ⁵ Moreover, four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise with them. ⁶ And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ⁷ Of the Gershonites, were, Laadan and Shimei. ⁸ The sons of Laadan: the chief was Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three. ⁹ The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the chief of the fathers of Laadan. ¹⁰ And the sons of Shimei were, Jahath, Zina, and Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. ¹¹ And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they were in one reckoning, according to their father's house. ¹² The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. ¹³ The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister to him, and to bless in his name for ever. ¹⁴ Now concerning Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵ The sons of Moses were, Gershom, and Eliezer. ¹⁶ Of the sons of Gershom; Shebuel was the chief. ¹⁷ And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. ¹⁸ Of the sons of Izhar; Shelomith the chief. ¹⁹ Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jehaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰ Of the sons of Uzziel; Micah the first, and Jesiah the second. ²¹ The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish. ²² And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them. ²³ The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three. ²⁴ These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and upward. ²⁵ For David said, The LORD God of Israel hath given rest to his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever; ²⁶ And also to the Levites: they shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for its service.

¹ Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, ² Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, ³ Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, ⁴ Iddo, Ginnetho, Abijah, ⁵ Miamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, ⁶ Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah, ⁷ Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chief of the priests and of their brethren in the days of Jeshua. ⁸ Moreover the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who was over the thanksgiving, he and his brethren. ⁹ Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, were over against them in the watches. ¹⁰ And Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim also begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begat Joiada, ¹¹ And Joiada begat Jonathan, and Jonathan begat Jaddua. ¹² And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; ¹³ Of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; ¹⁴ Of Melicu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; ¹⁵ Of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; ¹⁶ Of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; ¹⁷ Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; ¹⁸ Of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; ¹⁹ And of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; ²⁰ Of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; ²¹ Of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethaneel. ²² The Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chief of the fathers: also the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian. ²³ The sons of Levi, the chief of the fathers, were written in the book of the chronicles, even till the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. ²⁴ And the chief of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over against them, to praise and to give thanks according to the commandment of David the man of God, ward over against ward. ²⁵ Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the ward at the threshholds of the gates. ²⁶ These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.

³⁴ And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood-offering, to bring it into the house of our God, after the houses of our fathers, at times appointed year by year, to burn upon the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law:

⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.

⁸ LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thy honor dwelleth. ⁹ Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:

⁴ Remember me, O LORD, with the favor that thou bearest to thy people: O visit me with thy salvation;

⁴² And he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.