The Daily Audio Bible

²² And you gave them kingdoms and nations and allotted them a portion. They took into possession the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan. ²³ You made their children^[a] numerous like the stars of the heavens and brought them to the land that you told their ancestors^[b] to enter in order to take possession. ²⁴ So the children^[c] went in and took possession of the land. You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites; you gave them into their hand, and their kings and the nations of the land to do with them according to their pleasure. ²⁵ And they captured fortified cities and a fertile land and took possession of houses filled with every good thing: hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, and many fruit trees. They ate and became full, and they became fat and took delight in your great goodness.

²⁶ “But they rebelled and were rebellious against you and cast your law^[d] behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them to turn back to you, and they did great blasphemies. ²⁷ Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemy, and they brought trouble to them. Then in the time of their trouble they cried out to you, and you heard from the heavens, and according to your great compassions, you gave them saviors, and you saved them from the hand of their enemies. ²⁸ But when they had rest they returned to doing evil before you, and you abandoned them in the hand of their enemies, and they ruled over them. Then they returned and cried out to you, and from the heavens you heard and many times rescued them according to your compassions. ²⁹ You warned them so that they would return to your law.^[e] Yet they acted arrogantly and did not listen to your commandments but sinned against your judgments that a person must do so that they may live. They turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not listen. ³⁰ You were patient toward them for many years, and you have warned them by your spirit through the hand of your prophets, but they did not listen. So you gave them into the hand of the nations of the lands. ³¹ But in your great compassions you did not put an end to them, and you did not abandon them. For you are a gracious and compassionate God.

³² “And now our God, the great, mighty, and awesome God who keeps his covenant and loyal love, do not belittle in your presence all of the hardship that is found in us, our kings, our officials, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors,^[f] and all of our people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until this day. ³³ You are righteous in everything that has come on us, for you dealt faithfully, and we have acted wickedly. ³⁴ Our kings, our officials, our priests, and our ancestors^[g] did not keep your law^[h] and did not listen to your commandments and statutes that you declared to them. ³⁵ And in their kingdom and in the greatness you gave to them, and in the wide and fertile land that you gave before them, they did not serve you and did not turn from their evil deeds. ³⁶ Behold, we are slaves to this day, and the land that you have given to our ancestors^[i] to eat its fruits and enjoy its goodness—behold, we are slaves in it! ³⁷ Its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have given over us because of our sins, and they are ruling over our dead bodies and our livestock at their pleasure. We are in great trouble.

^38 [j] “Now because of all of this we make a binding written agreement and are writing on the sealed documents the names of our commanders, our Levites, and our priests.”

The Names of Those Who Signed the Covenant

10 Upon the sealed documents: Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah and Zedekiah; ² Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, ³ Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah, ⁴ Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, ⁵ Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, ⁶ Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, ⁷ Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, ⁸ Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah—these are the priests. ⁹ And the Levites: Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui from the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; ¹⁰ their brothers Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, ¹¹ Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, ¹² Zaccur, Shereiah, Shebanaih, ¹³ Hodiah, Bani, Beninu. ¹⁴ The heads 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, 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 Ahijah, Hanan, Anan, ²⁷ Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

A Summary of the Covenant

²⁸ “The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to observe the law^[k] of God—their wives, their sons, their daughters, and all who know and understand— ²⁹ are helping their brothers, their nobles, and entering into a solemn oath to walk in the law^[l] of God which was given by the hand of Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all of the commandments of Yahweh our Lord and his judgments and regulations. ³⁰ We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land nor take their daughters for our sons. ³¹ And the peoples of the land who bring merchandise and any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not accept it from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. We will forego the crops of the seventh year and cancel every debt.

³² “We put on ourselves the commandment upon us to yearly give a third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: ³³ for the rows of bread, the offering of the daily sacrifice, the continual burnt sacrifice, the Sabbaths, the new moon festivals, the appointed festival times, the holy objects, the sin offerings that make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. ³⁴ And we have cast lots for the contributions of the wood offering of the priests, the Levites, and the people to bring it to the house of our God, by our fathers’ houses, at designated times, year by year, to burn on the altar of Yahweh our God—as it is written in the law.^{[m] 35} We also bring the first fruits of our soil and the first fruits of all the fruit trees, year by year, for the house of Yahweh. ³⁶ And the firstborn of our sons and beasts—as it is written in the law^[n]—and the firstborn of our cattle and sheep, to bring to the house of our God and to the priests serving in the house of our God. ³⁷ And we bring the best of our dough, our offerings, the fruit of every tree, new wine, and olive oil to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring the tithe of our soil to the Levites, for the Levites receive the tithes in all of our rural towns. ³⁸ And the priest, the descendant^[o] of Aaron, will be with the Levites during the tithe the Levites receive. The Levites will bring up a tithe of the tithes for the house of our God to the chambers of the storehouse. ³⁹ For the Israelites^[p] and the Levites^[q] will bring to the storerooms the offering of grain, new wine, and olive oil. These are the objects of the sanctuary and the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.”

¹⁹ For although I^[a] am free from all people, I have enslaved myself to all, in order that I may gain more. ²⁰ I have become like a Jew to the Jews, in order that I may gain the Jews. To those under the law I became as under the law (although I^[b] myself am not under the law) in order that I may gain those under the law. ²¹ To those outside the law I became as outside the law (although I^[c] am not outside the law of God, but subject to the law of Christ) in order that I may gain those outside the law. ²² To the weak I became weak, in order that I may gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, in order that by all means I may save some. ²³ I do all this for the sake of the gospel, in order that I may become a participant with it.

²⁴ Do you not know that those who run in the stadium all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. ²⁵ And everyone who competes exercises self-control in all things. Thus those do so in order that they may receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. ²⁶ Therefore I run in this way, not as running aimlessly; I box in this way, not as beating the air. ²⁷ But I discipline my body and subjugate it, lest somehow after^[d] preaching to others, I myself should become disqualified.

A History Lesson from Israel

10 For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all went through the sea, ² and all were baptized 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 drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. ⁵ But God was not pleased with the majority of them, for they were struck down in the desert.

⁶ Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we should not be desirers of evil things, just as those also desired them, ⁷ and not become idolaters, as some of them did, just as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play,”^{[e] 8} nor commit sexual immorality, as some of them committed sexual immorality, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day, ⁹ nor put Christ to the test, as some of them tested him, and were destroyed by snakes, ¹⁰ nor grumble, just as some of them grumbled, and were destroyed by the destroyer. ¹¹ Now these things happened to those people as an example, but are written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come. ¹² Therefore, the one who thinks that he stands must watch out lest he fall. ¹³ Temptation has not come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will also make a way out together with the temptation, so that you may be able to endure it.

Thanksgiving for Yahweh’s Deliverance

Of David, when he pretended to be crazy^[a] in front of Abimelech^[b]

so that he drove him out, and so he departed.^[c]