The Daily Audio Bible

²² Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and peoples, ^[a]which thou didst allot after their portions: so they possessed the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. ²³ Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land concerning which thou didst say to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. ²⁴ So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. ²⁵ And they took fortified cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all good things, cisterns hewn out, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit-trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.

²⁶ Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their back, and slew thy prophets that testified against them to turn them again unto thee, and they wrought great provocations. ²⁷ Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours who saved them out of the hand of their adversaries. ²⁸ But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee; therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies, ²⁹ and testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law. Yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thine ordinances (which if a man do, he shall live in them), and ^[b]withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. ³⁰ Yet many years didst thou bear with them, and testifiedst against them by thy Spirit through thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. ³¹ Nevertheless in thy manifold mercies thou didst not make a full end of them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

³² Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and lovingkindness, let not all the travail seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. ³³ Howbeit thou art just in all that is come upon us; for thou hast dealt truly, but we have done wickedly; ³⁴ neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies wherewith thou didst testify against them. ³⁵ For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. ³⁶ Behold, we are servants this day, and as for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it. ³⁷ And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have power over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. ³⁸ And ^[c]yet for all this we make a ^[d]sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, our Levites, and our priests, ^[e]seal unto it.

10 Now those that sealed were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah, ² Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, ³ Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, ⁴ Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, ⁵ Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, ⁶ Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, ⁷ Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, ⁸ Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these were the priests. ⁹ And the Levites: namely, Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; ¹⁰ and their brethren, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, ¹¹ Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, ¹² Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, ¹³ Hodiah, Bani, Beninu. ¹⁴ The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, ¹⁵ Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, ¹⁶ Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, ¹⁷ Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, ¹⁸ Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, ¹⁹ Hariph, Anathoth, ^[f]Nobai, ²⁰ Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, ²¹ Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, ²² Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, ²³ Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, ²⁴ Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, ²⁵ Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, ²⁶ and Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, ²⁷ Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

²⁸ And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinim, and all they that had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one that had knowledge, and understanding; ²⁹ they clave to 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 Jehovah our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes; ³⁰ and that we would not give our daughters unto the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons; ³¹ and if the peoples of the land bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy of them on the sabbath, or on a holy day; and that we would forego the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.

³² Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God; ³³ for the showbread, and for the continual meal-offering, and for the continual burnt-offering, for the sabbaths, for the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin-offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. ³⁴ And we cast lots, the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood-offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn upon the altar of Jehovah our God, as it is written in the law; ³⁵ and to bring the first-fruits of our ground, and the first-fruits of all fruit of all manner of trees, year by year, unto the house of Jehovah; ³⁶ also the first-born of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God; ³⁷ and that we should bring the first-fruits of our ^[g]dough, and our heave-offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, ^[h]the new wine and the oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites; for they, the Levites, take 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 tithe of the tithes unto 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 heave-offering of the grain, of ^[i]the new wine, and of the oil, unto 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.

¹⁹ For though I was free from all men, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more. ²⁰ And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, not being myself under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; ²¹ to them that are without law, as without law, not being without law to God, but under law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without law. ²² To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak: I am become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. ²³ And I do all things for the ^[a]gospel’s sake, that I may be a joint partaker thereof. ²⁴ Know ye not that they that run in a ^[b]race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain. ²⁵ And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. ²⁶ I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so ^[c]fight I, as not beating the air: ²⁷ but I ^[d]buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I ^[e]have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.

10 For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; ² and were all baptized ^[f]unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; ³ and did all eat the same spiritual food; ⁴ and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was ^[g]Christ. ⁵ Howbeit with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. ⁶ Now ^[h]these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. ⁷ Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, ^[i]The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. ⁸ Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. ⁹ Neither let us make trial of the ^[j]Lord, as some of them made trial, and perished by the serpents. ¹⁰ Neither murmur ye, as some of them murmured, and perished by the destroyer. ¹¹ Now these things happened unto them ^[k]by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. ¹² Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. ¹³ There hath no temptation taken you but such as man can bear: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that ye may be able to endure it.

Jehovah a provider and deliverer.

A Psalm of David; ^[a]when he ^[b]changed his behavior before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.