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22 “You gave them kingdoms and peoples and You allotted them their boundaries of the land. They possessed the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the country of Og king of Bashan. 23 You multiplied their descendants like the stars of heaven, and You brought them into the land that You told their ancestors to enter and inherit. 24 So the children went in and possessed the land. You subdued before them the Canaanites who were the inhabitants of the land. You delivered them into their hands, along with their kings and the peoples of the land to deal with them as they pleased. 25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took possession of houses full of every good thing—hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, and an abundance of fruit trees. They ate and were satisfied, and grew fat. They enjoyed Your great goodness.
26 “Nonetheless they became contentious and rebelled against You. They cast Your Torah behind their back. They killed Your prophets who warned them[a] to return to You; they committed appalling blasphemies. 27 Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies who oppressed them. But in the time of their distress, they cried out to You and You heard from heaven. According to Your great compassion, You gave them deliverers, who rescued them out of the hand of their enemies.
28 “But as soon as they were at rest, they returned to doing evil before You. Therefore You abandoned them into the hand of their enemies who ruled over them. When they repented and cried out to You, You heard from heaven, and according to Your compassion You delivered them many times.
29 “You warned them in order to turn them back to Your Torah, but they became insolent and disobeyed Your mitzvot. They sinned against Your ordinances—those by which if a man does them he will live. They turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck, and would not listen. 30 You bore with them for many years and admonished them by Your Ruach through the hand of Your prophets. Yet they would not listen, so You handed them over to the peoples of the lands. 31 Nevertheless, in Your great compassion, You did not put an end to them or abandon them, for You are a gracious and compassionate God.
32 “So now, our God—the great, mighty and awesome God, who keeps covenant and mercy—do not let all the hardship that has befallen us seem insignificant to you—our kings, our leaders, our kohanim, our prophets, our ancestors and all Your people, from the time of the kings of Assyria to this day. 33 You are righteous in all that has come upon us. For You have acted faithfully while we have done wickedly. 34 Our kings, our leaders, our kohanim, and our ancestors have not kept Your Torah or paid attention to Your mitzvot or Your testimonies by which you have admonished them.
35 “Even in their own kingdom with the abundance of Your good things that You gave them, or with the spacious and fertile land that You set before them, they did not serve You or turn back from their evil deeds.
36 “But see, even today we are slaves! Slaves in the land that You gave to our ancestors to eat of its fruit and its bounty. We are slaves in it. 37 Its abundant produce goes to the kings You have set over us due to our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please. We are in great distress!
Renewed Covenant
10 “Now because of all this, we are making a binding agreement in writing, and the names of our leaders, our Levites and our kohanim are affixing their seals on the document. 2 On the sealed document were:
Nehemiah, the governor, son of Hachaliah, Zedekiah, 3 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, 4 Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, 5 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, 6 Harim, Meremot, Obadiah, 7 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 8 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 9 Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These were the kohanim.
10 And the Levites were:
Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui from the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,
11 and their associates Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
12 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,
13 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
14 Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.
15 The leaders of the people:
Parosh, Pahat-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,
16 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
17 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
18 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,
19 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
20 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
21 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
22 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,
23 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
24 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,
25 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
26 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
27 and Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
28 Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.
29 “Now the rest of the people—the kohanim, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands for the sake of the Torah of God, along with their wives, their sons and their daughters who were able to understand— 30 all join their brothers the nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in the Torah of God given through Moses the servant of God, and to keep and do all the mitzvot of Adonai our Lord, along with His ordinances and His statutes.
31 “Furthermore, we will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land, and we will not take their daughters for our sons. 32 When the peoples of the land bring merchandise or any kind of grain on Shabbat, we will not buy from them on Shabbat or on a holy day. Also every seventh year we will forego working the land and the debt of every hand. 33 We also assume responsibility for the mitzvot to give a third of a shekel each year for the work of the House of our God: [b] 34 for the rows of bread, the regular grain offering and regular burnt offering, the Shabbatot, the New Moons, for the moadim, for the holy things, for the sin offerings to atone for Israel, and for all the service of the House of our God.
35 “We—the kohanim, the Levites and the people—have cast lots concerning the offering of wood, to bring it into the House of our God according to our ancestral house at the appointed times year by year to burn on the altar of Adonai, our God, as it is written in the Torah. 36 Also to bring the firstfruits of our land and the first fruits of all fruit trees year by year to the House of Adonai, 37 and the firstborn of our sons and our livestock as written in the Torah; the firstborn of our cattle and our sheep to the House of our God—to the kohanim ministering in the House of our God; 38 and the first of our coarse meal, along with our offerings—the fruit from every kind of tree, new wine and oil—to the kohanim at the storerooms of the House of our God, as well as a tenth of the crop of our land to the Levites, for they, the Levites, receive tithes in all the towns where we labor.
39 “Also the kohen, a descendant of Aaron, will be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithe, and the Levites will bring a tenth of the tithes up to the House of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury.
19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win over more of them. 20 To the Jewish people I identified[a] as a Jew, so that I might win over the Jewish people. To those under Torah I became like one under Torah (though not myself being under Torah), so that I might win over those under Torah; 21 to those outside Torah, like one outside Torah (though not being outside God’s Torah but in Messiah’s Torah), so that I might win over those outside Torah. 22 To the weak I became weak, so that I might win over the weak. I have become all things to all men, so that by all means possible I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the Good News, so that I might be a fellow partaker of it.
24 Don’t you know that in a stadium the runners all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win! 25 Every competitor exercises self-control in all respects. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we do it to receive an imperishable one. 26 So I run in this way—not aimlessly. So I box in this way—not beating the air. 27 Rather, I punish my body and bring it into submission, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Warnings from History
10 For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea. [b] 2 They all were immersed into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 And all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink—for they were drinking from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the Rock was Messiah. [c] 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert.[d]
6 Now these things happened as examples for us, so we wouldn’t crave evil things, just as they did. [e] 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” [f] 8 And let’s not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day 23,000 fell. [g] 9 And let’s not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were destroyed by serpents. [h] 10 And let’s not grumble, as some of them did—and were destroyed by the destroying angel. [i] 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, and it was written down as a warning to us—on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let the one who thinks that he stands watch out that he doesn’t fall. 13 No temptation has taken hold of you except what is common to mankind. But God is faithful—He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can handle. But with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape, so you will be able to endure it.
Taste and See
Psalm 34
1 Of David, when he feigned insanity before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.
2 I will bless Adonai at all times.
His praise is continually in my mouth.
3 My soul boasts in Adonai.
The humble ones hear of it and rejoice.
4 Magnify Adonai with me
and let us exalt His Name together.
5 I sought Adonai, and He answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
6 They who looked to Him were radiant,
and their faces will never be ashamed.
7 This poor man cried, and Adonai heard,
and saved him out of all his troubles.
8 The angel of Adonai encamps around those who fear Him,
and delivers them.
9 Taste and see how good Adonai is.
Blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.
10 Fear Adonai, His kedoshim,
For those who fear Him lack nothing.
13 Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,
will also cry out but not be answered.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.