The Daily Audio Bible

¹⁵ And the fountain gate repaired Shallun the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of the district of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the bolts thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of ^[a]Shelah by the king’s garden, even unto the stairs that go down from the city of David. ¹⁶ After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and unto the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty men. ¹⁷ After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of half the district of Keilah, for his district. ¹⁸ After him repaired their brethren, Bavvai the son of Henadad, the ruler of half the district of Keilah. ¹⁹ And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another portion, over against the ascent to the armory at the turning of the wall. ²⁰ After him Baruch the son of ^[b]Zabbai earnestly repaired another portion, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. ²¹ After him repaired Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz another portion, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib. ²² And after him repaired the priests, the men of the ^[c]Plain. ²³ After ^[d]them repaired Benjamin and Hasshub over against their house. After ^[e]them repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah beside his own house. ²⁴ After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another portion, from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall, and unto the corner. ²⁵ Palal the son of Uzai repaired over against the turning of the wall, and ^[f]the tower that standeth out from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard. After him ^[g]Pedaiah the son of Parosh repaired. ²⁶ (Now the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that standeth out.) ²⁷ After him the Tekoites repaired another portion, over against the great tower that standeth out, and unto the wall of Ophel.

²⁸ Above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his own house. ²⁹ After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his own house. And after him repaired Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the east gate. ³⁰ After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another portion. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber. ³¹ After him repaired Malchijah one of the goldsmiths unto the house of the Nethinim, and of the merchants, over against the gate of Hammiphkad, and to the ^[h]ascent of the corner. ³² And between the ^[i]ascent of the corner and the sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.

4 But it came to pass that, when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. ² And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What are these feeble Jews doing? ^[j]will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, seeing they are burned? ³ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they are building, if a ^[k]fox go up, he shall break down their stone wall. ⁴ Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn back their reproach upon their own head, and give them up for a spoil in a land of captivity; ⁵ and cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee; for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders. ⁶ So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto half the height thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

⁷ But it came to pass that, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that ^[l]the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth; ⁸ and they conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion therein. ⁹ But we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. ¹⁰ And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall. ¹¹ And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come into the midst of them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. ¹² And it came to pass that, when the Jews that dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times ^[m]from all places, Ye must return unto us. ¹³ Therefore set I in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in the open places, I set there the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. ¹⁴ And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the ^[n]rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

¹⁵ And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. ¹⁶ And it came to pass from that time forth, that half of my servants wrought in the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind ^[o]all the house of Judah. ¹⁷ They that builded the wall and they that bare burdens laded themselves; every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other held his weapon; ¹⁸ and the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. ¹⁹ And I said unto the nobles, and to the ^[p]rulers and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another: ²⁰ in what place soever ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us; our God will fight for us.

²¹ So we wrought in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. ²² Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labor in the day. ²³ So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard that followed me, none of us put off our clothes, ^[q]every one went with his weapon to the water.

5 Then there arose a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews. ² For there were that said, We, our sons and our daughters, are many: let us get grain, that we may eat and live. ³ Some also there were that said, We are mortgaging our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses: let us get grain, because of the dearth. ⁴ There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute upon our fields and our vineyards. ⁵ Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought into bondage already: neither is it in our power to help it; for other men have our fields and our vineyards.

⁶ And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. ⁷ Then I consulted with myself, and contended with the nobles and the ^[r]rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I held a great assembly against them. ⁸ And I said unto them, We after our ability have ^[s]redeemed our brethren the Jews, that were sold unto the nations; and would ye even sell your brethren, and should they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace, and found never a word. ⁹ Also I said, The thing that ye do is not good: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God, because of the reproach of the nations our enemies? ¹⁰ And I likewise, my brethren and my servants, do lend them money and grain. I pray you, let us leave off this usury. ¹¹ Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their fields, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the grain, the new 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, even 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 out 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 assembly said, Amen, and praised Jehovah. And the people did according to this promise.

²⁵ Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: but I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be trustworthy. ²⁶ I think therefore that this is good by reason of the distress that is upon us, namely, that it is good for a man ^[a]to be as he is. ²⁷ Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. ²⁸ But shouldest thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Yet such shall have tribulation in the flesh: and I would spare you. ²⁹ But this I say, brethren, the time ^[b]is shortened, that henceforth both those that have wives may be as though they had none; ³⁰ and those that weep, as though they wept not; and those that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and those that buy, as though they possessed not; ³¹ and those that use the world, as not using it to the full: for the fashion of this world passeth away. ³² But I would have you to be free from cares. He that is unmarried is careful for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord: ³³ but he that is married is careful for the things of the world, how he may please his ^[c]wife, ³⁴ and is divided. So also the woman that is unmarried and the virgin is careful for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married is careful for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. ³⁵ And this I say for your own profit; not that I may cast a ^[d]snare upon you, but for that which is seemly, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction. ³⁶ But if any man thinketh that he behaveth himself unseemly toward his ^[e]virgin daughter, if she be past the flower of her age, and if need so requireth, let him do what he will; he sinneth not; let them marry. ³⁷ But he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power as touching his own will, and hath determined this in his own heart, to keep his own ^[f]virgin daughter, shall do well. ³⁸ So then both he that giveth his own ^[g]virgin daughter in marriage doeth well; and he that giveth her not in marriage shall do better. ³⁹ A wife is bound for so long time as her husband liveth; but if the husband be ^[h]dead, she is free to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord. ⁴⁰ But she is happier if she abide as she is, after my judgment: and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

Blessedness of forgiveness and of trust in God.

A Psalm of David. Maschil.