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15 Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, the official of the district of Mizpah, (A)repaired the Spring Gate. He built it, covered it and made its doors stand with its bolts and its bars, and the wall of the Pool of Shelah at (B)the king’s garden as far as (C)the steps that descend from the city of David. 16 After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, (D)official of half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs as far as a point opposite the tombs of David, and as far as (E)the artificial pool and the house of the mighty men. 17 After him the Levites made repairs under Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, the official of half the district of Keilah, made repairs for his district. 18 After him their brothers made repairs under Bavvai the son of Henadad, the official of the other half of the district of Keilah. 19 Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, (F)the official of Mizpah, repaired another section in front of the ascent of the armory (G)at the Angle. 20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the Angle to the doorway of the house of (H)Eliashib the high priest. 21 After him Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz repaired another section, from the doorway of Eliashib’s house even as far as the end of Eliashib’s house. 22 After him the priests, (I)the men of the [a]valley, made repairs. 23 After [b]them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house. After [c]them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house. 24 After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah as far as (J)the Angle and as far as the corner. 25 Palal the son of Uzai made repairs in front of the Angle and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king, which is by (K)the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs. 26 (L)The temple servants living in (M)Ophel made repairs as far as the front of (N)the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower. 27 After [d]them (O)the Tekoites repaired another section in front of the great projecting tower and as far as the wall of Ophel.
28 Above (P)the Horse Gate the priests made repairs, each in front of his house. 29 After [e]them Zadok the son of Immer made repairs in front of his house. And after him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, made repairs. 30 After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah made repairs in front of his own [f]quarters. 31 After him Malchijah, [g]one of (Q)the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, in front of the [h]Inspection Gate, and as far as the upper room of the corner. 32 Between the upper room of the corner and (R)the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants made repairs.
Sanballat and Tobiah Mock the Jews’ Work
4 [i]Now it happened that when (S)Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and very vexed and mocked the Jews. 2 He spoke in the presence of his brothers and (T)the [j]wealthy men of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they complete it in a day? Can they bring the stones to life from the [k](U)dusty rubble, though they are burned?” 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, “Even what they are building—(V)if a fox should [l]jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!”
4 (W)Hear, O our God, for we are despised! (X)Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not [m](Y)forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have [n]vexed the builders.
6 So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, and the people had a heart to work.
7 [o]Now it happened that when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the [p]repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the places broken down began to be closed, they were very angry. 8 All of them (Z)joined together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it. 9 But we prayed to our God, and because of them we (AA)stood a guard against them day and night.
10 Then Judah said,
“The [q]strength of the burden bearers is failing,
Yet there is much [r]rubbish;
And we ourselves are unable
To rebuild the wall.”
11 Our adversaries said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work.” 12 Now it happened when the Jews who lived near them came and said to us ten times, “[s]They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,” 13 that I had men stand in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the [t]exposed places, and I (AB)had the people stand by families with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 Then I saw their fear. And I arose and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “(AC)Do not fear them; remember the Lord who is great and fearsome, and (AD)fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
Doing the Work and Holding a Weapon
15 Now it happened that when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that (AE)God had thwarted their counsel, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. 16 And it happened that from that day on, half of my young men carried on the work while half of them took hold of the spears, the shields, the bows, and the breastplates; and the commanders were behind the whole house of Judah. 17 Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon. 18 As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while [u]the trumpeter stood near me. 19 I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. 20 At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, there gather together to us. (AF)Our God will fight for us.”
21 So we kept doing the work with half of them holding spears from [v]dawn until the stars came out. 22 At that time I also said to the people, “Let each man with his young man spend the night within Jerusalem so that they may be a guard for us by night and a worker by day.” 23 So neither I, my brothers, my young men, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us removed our clothes, each took his weapon even to the water.
Each Usury Is Forsaken
5 Then (AG)there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their (AH)Jewish brothers. 2 Now there were those who were saying, “We, with our sons and our daughters, are many; therefore let us (AI)get grain that we may eat and live.” 3 There were others who were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses, that we might get grain because of the famine.” 4 Also there were those who were saying, “We have borrowed money (AJ)for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. 5 But now (AK)our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. Yet behold, (AL)we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into subjugation, and we have no power in our hands to help, and our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
6 Then I was very (AM)angry when I had heard their outcry and these words. 7 I consulted within my own heart and contended with the nobles and the officials and said to them, “(AN)You are exacting usury, each from his brother!” Therefore, I held a great assembly against them. 8 I said to them, “We, according to our ability, (AO)have bought back our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; and now would you also sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?” Then they were silent and could not find a word to say. 9 And I said, “The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of (AP)the reproach of the nations, our enemies? 10 And likewise I, my brothers, and my young men are lending them money and grain. Please, let us forsake this usury. 11 Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine and the oil that you are exacting from them.” 12 Then they said, “We (AQ)will give it back and (AR)will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you are saying.” So I called the priests and (AS)made them swear that they would do according to this word. 13 I (AT)also shook out the [w]front of my garment and said, “Thus may God shake out every man from his house and from his possessions who does not establish this word; even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.” And (AU)all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised Yahweh. Then the people did according to this word.
25 Now concerning virgins I have (A)no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who [a](B)by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. 26 I think then that this is good because of the [b]present (C)distress, that (D)it is good for a man [c]to remain as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have [d]trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. 29 But this I say, brothers, (E)the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; 30 and those who cry, as though they did not cry; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; 31 and those who use the world, as though they did not (F)make full use of it. For (G)the form of this world is passing away.
32 But I want you to be free from concern. One who is (H)unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. 33 But one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, 34 and his interests have been divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit. But one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. 35 Now this I say for your own benefit, not to put a restraint upon you, but [e]to promote propriety and undistracted devotion to the Lord.
36 But if any man thinks that he is acting unbecomingly toward his virgin daughter, if she is past her youth, and if it must be so, let him do what he wishes, he does not sin; let [f]her marry. 37 But he who stands firm in his heart, [g]being under no compulsion, but has authority [h]over his own will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep his own virgin daughter, he will do well. 38 So then both he who gives his own virgin daughter in marriage does well, and he who does not give her in marriage will do better.
39 (I)A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband has [i]fallen asleep, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only (J)in the Lord. 40 But (K)in my opinion she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I also have the Spirit of God.
You Forgave the Iniquity of My Sin
Of David. A [a]Maskil.
32 (A)How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man whose iniquity Yahweh (B)will not take into account,
And in whose spirit there is (C)no deceit!
3 When (D)I kept silent about my sin, (E)my [b]bones wasted away
Through my [c](F)groaning all day long.
4 For day and night (G)Your hand was heavy upon me;
My [d](H)vitality was drained away as with the heat of summer. [e]Selah.
5 I (I)acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I (J)did not cover up;
I said, “(K)I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh;”
And You (L)forgave the [f]iniquity of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore, let every holy one pray to You [g](M)at a time when You may be found;
Surely (N)in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
7 You are (O)my hiding place; You (P)guard me from trouble;
You surround me with [h](Q)songs of deliverance. Selah.
8 I will (R)give you insight and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you (S)with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be (T)as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose harness are bit and bridle to control them,
Otherwise they will not come near you.
10 Many are the (U)sorrows of the wicked,
But (V)he who trusts in Yahweh, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be (W)glad in Yahweh and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are (X)upright in heart.
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