Nowata Methodists Podcast

Job’s three friends continue to try to convince him that he deserves his terrible loss and suffering. He continues to defend himself and obliquely make his case to God. All this is building towards a grand finale, by the way, if you didn’t know.

Meanwhile, Paul continues to explicitly make the case for God’s love of the Israelites/Jews in his letter to the Roman church. One might notice a lot of instructions for how we are to behave in the church. A lot of ideal treatment of “one another.” We would be wise to obey his guidance.

Job 15

Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel

or fill his belly with the hot east wind?

Should he argue with useless words

or speeches that serve no purpose?

But you even undermine the fear of God

and hinder meditation before Him.

For your iniquity instructs your mouth,

and you choose the language of the crafty.

Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you;

your own lips testify against you.

Were you the first man ever born?

Were you brought forth before the hills?

Do you listen in on the council of God

or limit wisdom to yourself?

What do you know that we do not?

What do you understand that is not clear to us?

Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—

men much older than your father.

Are the consolations of God not enough for you,

even words spoken gently to you?

Why has your heart carried you away,

and why do your eyes flash,

as you turn your spirit against God

and pour such words from your mouth?

What is man, that he should be pure,

or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

If God puts no trust in His holy ones,

if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes,

how much less man, who is vile and corrupt,

who drinks injustice like water?

Listen to me and I will inform you.

I will describe what I have seen,

what was declared by wise men

and was not concealed from their fathers,

to whom alone the land was given

when no foreigner passed among them.

A wicked man writhes in pain all his days;

only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

Sounds of terror fill his ears;

in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.

He despairs of his return from darkness;

he is marked for the sword.

He wanders about as food for vultures;

he knows the day of darkness is at hand.

Distress and anguish terrify him,

overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.

For he has stretched out his hand against God

and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,

rushing headlong at Him

with a thick, studded shield.

Though his face is covered with fat

and his waistline bulges with flesh,

he will dwell in ruined cities,

in abandoned houses destined to become rubble.

He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure.

His possessions will not overspread the land.

He will not escape from the darkness;

the flame will wither his shoots,

and the breath of God’s mouth

will carry him away.

Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness,

for emptiness will be his reward.

It will be paid in full before his time,

and his branch will not flourish.

He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,

like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.

For the company of the godless will be barren,

and fire will consume the tents of bribery.

They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;

their womb is pregnant with deceit.”

Job 16

Then Job answered:

“I have heard many things like these;

miserable comforters are you all.

Is there no end to your long-winded speeches?

What provokes you to continue testifying?

I could also speak like you

if you were in my place;

I could heap up words against you

and shake my head at you.

But I would encourage you with my mouth,

and the consolation of my lips would bring relief.

Even if I speak, my pain is not relieved,

and if I hold back, how will it go away?

Surely He has now exhausted me;

You have devastated all my family.

You have bound me, and it has become a witness;

my frailty rises up and testifies against me.

His anger has torn me and opposed me;

He gnashes His teeth at me.

My adversary pierces me with His eyes.

They open their mouths against me

and strike my cheeks with contempt;

they join together against me.

God has delivered me to unjust men;

He has thrown me to the clutches of the wicked.

I was at ease, but He shattered me;

He seized me by the neck and crushed me.

He has set me up as His target;

His archers surround me.

He pierces my kidneys without mercy

and spills my gall on the ground.

He breaks me with wound upon wound;

He rushes me like a mighty warrior.

I have sewn sackcloth over my skin;

I have buried my horn in the dust.

My face is red with weeping,

and deep shadows ring my eyes;

yet my hands are free of violence

and my prayer is pure.

O earth, do not cover my blood;

may my cry for help never be laid to rest.

Even now my witness is in heaven,

and my advocate is on high.

My friends are my scoffers

as my eyes pour out tears to God.

Oh, that a man might plead with God

as he pleads with his neighbor!

For when only a few years are past

I will go the way of no return.

Job 17

“My spirit is broken; my days are extinguished;

the grave awaits me.

Surely mockers surround me,

and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion.

Give me, I pray, the pledge You demand.

Who else will be my guarantor?

You have closed their minds to understanding;

therefore You will not exalt them.

If a man denounces his friends for a price,

the eyes of his children will fail.

He has made me a byword among the people,

a man in whose face they spit.

My eyes have grown dim with grief,

and my whole body is but a shadow.

The upright are appalled at this,

and the innocent are stirred against the godless.

Yet a righteous one holds to his way,

and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

But come back and try again, all of you.

For I will not find a wise man among you.

My days have passed; my plans are broken off—

even the desires of my heart.

They have turned night into day,

making light seem near in the face of darkness.

If I look for Sheol as my home,

if I spread out my bed in darkness,

and say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’

and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’

where then is my hope?

Who can see any hope for me?

Will it go down to the gates of Sheol?

Will we go down together into the dust?”

Romans 11

I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel:

“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well”?

And what was the divine reply to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”

In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.

What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written:

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,

eyes that could not see,

and ears that could not hear,

to this very day.”

And David says:

“May their table become a snare and a trap,

a stumbling block and a retribution to them.

May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,

and their backs be bent forever.”

I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.

But if their trespass means riches for the world, and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!

I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry

in the hope that I may provoke my own people to jealousy and save some of them.

For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root,

do not boast over those branches. If you do, remember this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.

You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”

That is correct: They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.

For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will certainly not spare you either.

Take notice, therefore, of the kindness and severity of God: severity to those who fell, but kindness to you, if you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.

And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

For if you were cut from a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into one that is cultivated, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come from Zion;

He will remove godlessness from Jacob.

And this is My covenant with them

when I take away their sins.”

Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs. For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.

Just as you who formerly disobeyed God have now received mercy through their disobedience,

so they too have now disobeyed, in order that they too may now receive mercy through the mercy shown to you.

For God has consigned everyone to disobedience so that He may have mercy on everyone.

O, the depth of the riches

of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable are His judgments,

and untraceable His ways!

“Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been His counselor?”

“Who has first given to God,

that God should repay him?”

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.

To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

Romans 12

Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function, so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another.

We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If one’s gift is prophecy, let him use it in proportion to his faith; if it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;

if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.

Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.

Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but enjoy the company of the lowly. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.

Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”

On the contrary,

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him a drink.

For in so doing,

you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.

Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval.

For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.

Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience.

This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work.

Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.

It is hard to make one’s way through Job. So much of what his ‘friends’ say is reflected in other Hebrew poetry. Even so, one gets the impression that they are actually quite wrong. While the scriptures do not argue with one another, Job’s friends seems to challengingly model some of the tensions we can sometimes feel with the clashing principles we see in the holy texts. Spoiler alert: The resolution of Job isn’t very satisfying to a modern audience. Even so, we don’t attend upon wisdom because it is satisfying, but because it is true, good, and beautiful.Romans answers the contemporary concern of what is to be done about the Jews. How should we think of them? Are they enemies? Has their covenant with God been canceled? The answer to these questions seems to be ‘no,’ but how can they still be God’s chosen people when they reject his Son?

Job 11

Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

“Should this stream of words go unanswered

and such a speaker be vindicated?

Should your babbling put others to silence?

Will you scoff without rebuke?

You have said, ‘My doctrine is sound,

and I am pure in Your sight.’

But if only God would speak

and open His lips against you,

and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,

for true wisdom has two sides.

Know then that God exacts from you

less than your iniquity deserves.

Can you fathom the deep things of God

or discover the limits of the Almighty?

They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?

They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

Their measure is longer than the earth

and wider than the sea.

If He comes along to imprison you,

or convenes a court, who can stop Him?

Surely He knows the deceit of men.

If He sees iniquity, does He not take note?

But a witless man can no more become wise

than the colt of a wild donkey can be born a man!

As for you, if you direct your heart

and lift up your hands to Him,

if you put away the iniquity in your hand,

and allow no injustice to dwell in your tents,

then indeed you will lift up your face without shame;

you will stand firm and unafraid.

For you will forget your misery,

recalling it only as waters gone by.

Your life will be brighter than noonday;

its darkness will be like the morning.

You will be secure, because there is hope,

and you will look around and lie down in safety.

You will lie down without fear,

and many will court your favor.

But the eyes of the wicked will fail,

and escape will elude them;

they will hope for their last breath.”

Job 12

Then Job answered:

“Truly then you are the people

with whom wisdom itself will die!

But I also have a mind;

I am not inferior to you.

Who does not know such things as these?

I am a laughingstock to my friends,

though I called on God, and He answered.

The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.

The one at ease scorns misfortune

as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.

The tents of robbers are safe,

and those who provoke God are secure—

those who carry their god in their hands.

But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;

ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you.

Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;

let the fish of the sea inform you.

Which of all these does not know

that the hand of the LORD has done this?

The life of every living thing is in His hand,

as well as the breath of all mankind.

Does not the ear test words

as the tongue tastes its food?

Wisdom is found with the elderly,

and understanding comes with long life.

Wisdom and strength belong to God;

counsel and understanding are His.

What He tears down cannot be rebuilt;

the man He imprisons cannot be released.

If He holds back the waters, they dry up,

and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land.

True wisdom and power belong to Him.

The deceived and the deceiver are His.

He leads counselors away barefoot

and makes fools of judges.

He loosens the bonds placed by kings

and fastens a belt around their waists.

He leads priests away barefoot

and overthrows the established.

He deprives the trusted of speech

and takes away the discernment of elders.

He pours out contempt on nobles

and disarms the mighty.

He reveals the deep things of darkness

and brings deep shadows into light.

He makes nations great and destroys them;

He enlarges nations, then disperses them.

He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason

and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

They grope in the darkness without light;

He makes them stagger like drunkards.

Job 13

“Indeed, my eyes have seen all this;

my ears have heard and understood.

What you know, I also know;

I am not inferior to you.

Yet I desire to speak to the Almighty

and argue my case before God.

You, however, smear with lies;

you are all worthless physicians.

If only you would remain silent;

for that would be your wisdom!

Hear now my argument,

and listen to the plea of my lips.

Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf

or speak deceitfully for Him?

Would you show Him partiality

or argue in His defense?

Would it be well when He examined you?

Could you deceive Him like a man?

Surely He would rebuke you

if you secretly showed partiality.

Would His majesty not terrify you?

Would the dread of Him not fall upon you?

Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;

your defenses are defenses of clay.

Be silent, and I will speak.

Then let come to me what may.

Why do I put myself at risk

and take my life in my own hands?

Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.

I will still defend my ways to His face.

Moreover, this will be my salvation,

for no godless man can appear before Him.

Listen carefully to my words;

let my declaration ring in your ears.

Behold, now that I have prepared my case,

I know that I will be vindicated.

Can anyone indict me?

If so, I will be silent and die.

Only grant these two things to me,

so that I need not hide from You:

Withdraw Your hand from me,

and do not let Your terror frighten me.

Then call me, and I will answer,

or let me speak, and You can reply.

How many are my iniquities and sins?

Reveal to me my transgression and sin.

Why do You hide Your face

and consider me as Your enemy?

Would You frighten a windblown leaf?

Would You chase after dry chaff?

For You record bitter accusations against me

and bequeath to me the iniquities of my youth.

You put my feet in the stocks

and stand watch over all my paths;

You set a limit

for the soles of my feet.

So man wastes away like something rotten,

like a moth-eaten garment.

Job 14

“Man, who is born of woman,

is short of days and full of trouble.

Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away;

like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

Do You open Your eyes to one like this?

Will You bring him into judgment before You?

Who can bring out clean from unclean?

No one!

Since his days are determined

and the number of his months is with You,

and since You have set limits

that he cannot exceed,

look away from him and let him rest,

so he can enjoy his day as a hired hand.

For there is hope for a tree:

If it is cut down, it will sprout again,

and its tender shoots will not fail.

If its roots grow old in the ground

and its stump dies in the soil,

at the scent of water it will bud

and put forth twigs like a sapling.

But a man dies and is laid low;

he breathes his last, and where is he?

As water disappears from the sea

and a river becomes parched and dry,

so a man lies down

and does not rise.

Until the heavens are no more,

he will not be awakened or roused from sleep.

If only You would hide me in Sheol

and conceal me until Your anger has passed!

If only You would appoint a time for me

and then remember me!

When a man dies, will he live again?

All the days of my hard service I will wait,

until my renewal comes.

You will call, and I will answer;

You will desire the work of Your hands.

For then You would count my steps,

but would not keep track of my sin.

My transgression would be sealed in a bag,

and You would cover over my iniquity.

But as a mountain erodes and crumbles

and a rock is dislodged from its place,

as water wears away the stones

and torrents wash away the soil,

so You destroy a man’s hope.

You forever overpower him, and he passes on;

You change his countenance and send him away.

If his sons receive honor, he does not know it;

if they are brought low, he is unaware.

He feels only the pain of his own body

and mourns only for himself.”

Romans 9

I speak the truth in Christ; I am not lying, as confirmed by my conscience in the Holy Spirit. I have deep sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my own flesh and blood,

the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.

Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them proceeds the human descent of Christ, who is God over all, forever worthy of praise! Amen.

It is not as though God’s word has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”

So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.

For this is what the promise stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”

Not only that, but Rebecca’s children were conceived by one man, our father Isaac.

Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand,

not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” So it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Certainly not! For He says to Moses:

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,

and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.

One of you will say to me, “Then why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?”

But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”

Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use?

What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction?

What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the vessels of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory—

including us, whom He has called not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles? As He says in Hosea:

“I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people,

and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,”

and,

“It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them,

‘You are not My people,’

they will be called

‘sons of the living God.’ ”

Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the Israelites is like the sand of the sea,

only the remnant will be saved.

For the Lord will carry out His sentence on the earth

thoroughly and decisively.”

It is just as Isaiah foretold:

“Unless the Lord of Hosts had left us descendants,

we would have become like Sodom,

we would have resembled Gomorrah.”

What then will we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;

but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.

Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written:

“See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling

and a rock of offense;

and the one who believes in Him

will never be put to shame.”

Romans 10

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.

Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.

For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.”

But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down)

or, ‘Who will descend into the Abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”

But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:

that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

It is just as the Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”

For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach?

And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

But not all of them welcomed the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

But I ask, did they not hear? Indeed they did:

“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.”

I ask instead, did Israel not understand? First, Moses says:

“I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation;

I will make you angry by a nation without understanding.”

And Isaiah boldly says:

“I was found by those who did not seek Me;

I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me.”

But as for Israel he says:

“All day long I have held out My hands

to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

In Job, we continue to wrestle with God’s supremacy despite how unfair life seems to be. Job’s friends continue to attempt to convince him that he has done something wrong to upset the Lord, while also coming close to something akin to Prosperity Gospel as they urge him to repent. He’s having none of it, though his response doesn’t directly meet what is said (to my mind).

And Romans expertly sets forth our theology on how Christians are called to live. Though God is an indulgent Father, or rather because of his love (which nothing can separate from us), we cast away all sin and live in righteousness. We no longer have any love for sin, or for the flesh. We rather accept our inheritance as adopted sons and heirs alongside Christ himself, dying to the flesh and living in obedience to grace through the Spirit. Beautiful stuff!

Job 8

Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

“How long will you go on saying such things?

The words of your mouth are a blustering wind.

Does God pervert justice?

Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

When your children sinned against Him,

He gave them over to their rebellion.

But if you would earnestly seek God

and ask the Almighty for mercy,

if you are pure and upright,

even now He will rouse Himself on your behalf

and restore your righteous estate.

Though your beginnings were modest,

your latter days will flourish.

Please inquire of past generations

and consider the discoveries of their fathers.

For we were born yesterday and know nothing;

our days on earth are but a shadow.

Will they not teach you and tell you,

and speak from their understanding?

Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh?

Do reeds flourish without water?

While the shoots are still uncut,

they dry up quicker than grass.

Such is the destiny of all who forget God;

so the hope of the godless will perish.

His confidence is fragile;

his security is in a spider’s web.

He leans on his web, but it gives way;

he holds fast, but it does not endure.

He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine,

spreading its shoots over the garden.

His roots wrap around the rock heap;

he looks for a home among the stones.

If he is uprooted from his place,

it will disown him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’

Surely this is the joy of his way;

yet others will spring from the dust.

Behold, God does not reject the blameless,

nor will He strengthen the hand of evildoers.

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,

and your lips with a shout of joy.

Your enemies will be clothed in shame,

and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”

Job 9

Then Job answered:

“Yes, I know that it is so,

but how can a mortal be righteous before God?

If one wished to contend with God,

he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.

God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.

Who has resisted Him and prospered?

He moves mountains without their knowledge

and overturns them in His anger.

He shakes the earth from its place,

so that its foundations tremble.

He commands the sun not to shine;

He seals off the stars.

He alone stretches out the heavens

and treads on the waves of the sea.

He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion,

of the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

He does great things beyond searching out,

and wonders without number.

Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him;

were He to move, I would not recognize Him.

If He takes away, who can stop Him?

Who dares to ask Him, ‘What are You doing?’

God does not restrain His anger;

the helpers of Rahab cower beneath Him.

How then can I answer Him

or choose my arguments against Him?

For even if I were right, I could not answer.

I could only beg my Judge for mercy.

If I summoned Him and He answered me,

I do not believe He would listen to my voice.

For He would crush me with a tempest

and multiply my wounds without cause.

He does not let me catch my breath,

but overwhelms me with bitterness.

If it is a matter of strength,

He is indeed mighty!

If it is a matter of justice,

who can summon Him ?

Even if I were righteous, my mouth would condemn me;

if I were blameless, it would declare me guilty.

Though I am blameless, I have no concern for myself;

I despise my own life.

It is all the same, and so I say,

‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

When the scourge brings sudden death,

He mocks the despair of the innocent.

The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;

He blindfolds its judges.

If it is not He, then who is it?

My days are swifter than a runner;

they flee without seeing good.

They sweep by like boats of papyrus,

like an eagle swooping down on its prey.

If I were to say, ‘I will forget my complaint

and change my expression and smile,’

I would still dread all my sufferings;

I know that You will not acquit me.

Since I am already found guilty,

why should I labor in vain?

If I should wash myself with snow

and cleanse my hands with lye,

then You would plunge me into the pit,

and even my own clothes would despise me.

For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him,

that we can take each other to court.

Nor is there a mediator between us,

to lay his hand upon us both.

Let Him remove His rod from me,

so that His terror will no longer frighten me.

Then I would speak without fear of Him.

But as it is, I am on my own.

Job 10

“I loathe my own life;

I will express my complaint

and speak in the bitterness of my soul.

I will say to God:

Do not condemn me!

Let me know why You prosecute me.

Does it please You to oppress me,

to reject the work of Your hands

and favor the schemes of the wicked?

Do You have eyes of flesh?

Do You see as man sees?

Are Your days like those of a mortal,

or Your years like those of a man,

that You should seek my iniquity

and search out my sin—

though You know that I am not guilty,

and there is no deliverance from Your hand?

Your hands shaped me and altogether formed me.

Would You now turn and destroy me?

Please remember that You molded me like clay.

Would You now return me to dust?

Did You not pour me out like milk,

and curdle me like cheese?

You clothed me with skin and flesh,

and knit me together with bones and sinews.

You have granted me life and loving devotion,

and Your care has preserved my spirit.

Yet You concealed these things in Your heart,

and I know that this was in Your mind:

If I sinned, You would take note,

and would not acquit me of my iniquity.

If I am guilty, woe to me!

And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift my head.

I am full of shame

and aware of my affliction.

Should I hold my head high,

You would hunt me like a lion,

and again display Your power against me.

You produce new witnesses against me

and multiply Your anger toward me.

Hardships assault me

in wave after wave.

Why then did You bring me from the womb?

Oh, that I had died, and no eye had seen me!

If only I had never come to be,

but had been carried from the womb to the grave.

Are my days not few?

Withdraw from me, that I may have a little comfort,

before I go—never to return—

to a land of darkness and gloom,

to a land of utter darkness,

of deep shadow and disorder,

where even the light is like darkness.”

Romans 6

What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?

Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection.

We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.

For anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.

For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.

The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. So you too must count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires.

Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.

For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not!

Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness?

But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed.

You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.

For when you were slaves to sin, you were free of obligation to righteousness.

What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death.

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 7

Do you not know, brothers (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?

For instance, a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.

So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law and is not an adulteress, even if she marries another man.

Therefore, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.

For when we lived according to the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, bearing fruit for death.

But now, having died to what bound us, we have been released from the law, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

What then shall we say? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have been mindful of sin if not for the law. For I would not have been aware of coveting if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”

But sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from the law, sin is dead.

Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.

So I discovered that the very commandment that was meant to bring life actually brought death.

For sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through the commandment put me to death.

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.

Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Certainly not! But in order that sin might be exposed as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do.

And if I do what I do not want to do, I admit that the law is good. In that case, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do. And if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

So this is the principle I have discovered: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law.

But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me.

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, with my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Romans 8

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh,

so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.

I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope

that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.

Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see? But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.

And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.

And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.

What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?

Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For Your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,

neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Much deep wisdom and beautiful Hebrew poetry today. One of Job’s friends tells of a vision, an apparition, that appeared to him. He accuses Job of having morally failed, such that the Lord would be required to dispense justice upon him. Meanwhile we pick up with Paul’s Letter to the Church in Rome, in which he explains how it is that we are all children of Abraham, Jew and Gentile, when we have faith in Christ. He also explains how it is that Christ undoes the curse of Adam. Good fundamental Christian theology here.

Job 4

Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

“If one ventures a word with you, will you be wearied?

Yet who can keep from speaking?

Surely you have instructed many,

and have strengthened their feeble hands.

Your words have steadied those who stumbled;

you have braced the knees that were buckling.

But now trouble has come upon you, and you are weary.

It strikes you, and you are dismayed.

Is your reverence not your confidence,

and the uprightness of your ways your hope?

Consider now, I plead:

Who, being innocent, has ever perished?

Or where have the upright been destroyed?

As I have observed, those who plow iniquity

and those who sow trouble reap the same.

By the breath of God they perish,

and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.

The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl,

yet the teeth of the young lions are broken.

The old lion perishes for lack of prey,

and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

Now a word came to me secretly;

my ears caught a whisper of it.

In disquieting visions in the night,

when deep sleep falls on men,

fear and trembling came over me

and made all my bones shudder.

Then a spirit glided past my face,

and the hair on my body bristled.

It stood still,

but I could not discern its appearance;

a form loomed before my eyes,

and I heard a whispering voice:

‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God,

or a man more pure than his Maker?

If God puts no trust in His servants,

and He charges His angels with error,

how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

whose foundations are in the dust,

who can be crushed like a moth!

They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;

unnoticed, they perish forever.

Are not their tent cords pulled up,

so that they die without wisdom?’

Job 5

“Call out if you please, but who will answer?

To which of the holy ones will you turn?

For resentment kills a fool,

and envy slays the simple.

I have seen a fool taking root,

but suddenly his house was cursed.

His sons are far from safety,

crushed in court without a defender.

The hungry consume his harvest,

taking it even from the thorns,

and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

For distress does not spring from the dust,

and trouble does not sprout from the ground.

Yet man is born to trouble

as surely as sparks fly upward.

However, if I were you, I would appeal to God

and lay my cause before Him—

the One who does great and unsearchable things,

wonders without number.

He gives rain to the earth

and sends water upon the fields.

He sets the lowly on high,

so that mourners are lifted to safety.

He thwarts the schemes of the crafty,

so that their hands find no success.

He catches the wise in their craftiness,

and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.

They encounter darkness by day

and grope at noon as in the night.

He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth

and from the clutches of the powerful.

So the poor have hope,

and injustice shuts its mouth.

Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects;

so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

For He wounds, but He also binds;

He strikes, but His hands also heal.

He will rescue you from six calamities;

no harm will touch you in seven.

In famine He will redeem you from death,

and in battle from the stroke of the sword.

You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,

and will not fear havoc when it comes.

You will laugh at destruction and famine,

and need not fear the beasts of the earth.

For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,

and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

You will know that your tent is secure,

and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home.

You will know that your offspring will be many,

your descendants like the grass of the earth.

You will come to the grave in full vigor,

like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.

Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true!

So hear it and know for yourself.”

Job 6

Then Job replied:

“If only my grief could be weighed

and placed with my calamity on the scales.

For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas—

no wonder my words have been rash.

For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me;

my spirit drinks in their poison;

the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass,

or an ox low over its fodder?

Is tasteless food eaten without salt,

or is there flavor in the white of an egg ?

My soul refuses to touch them;

they are loathsome food to me.

If only my request were granted

and God would fulfill my hope:

that God would be willing to crush me,

to unleash His hand and cut me off!

It still brings me comfort,

and joy through unrelenting pain,

that I have not denied

the words of the Holy One.

What strength do I have, that I should still hope?

What is my future, that I should be patient?

Is my strength like that of stone,

or my flesh made of bronze?

Is there any help within me

now that success is driven from me?

A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend,

even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

But my brothers are as faithless as wadis,

as seasonal streams that overflow,

darkened because of the ice

and the inflow of melting snow,

but ceasing in the dry season

and vanishing from their channels in the heat.

Caravans turn aside from their routes;

they go into the wasteland and perish.

The caravans of Tema look for water;

the travelers of Sheba hope to find it.

They are confounded because they had hoped;

their arrival brings disappointment.

For now you are of no help;

you see terror, and you are afraid.

Have I ever said, ‘Give me something;

offer me a bribe from your wealth;

deliver me from the hand of the enemy;

redeem me from the grasp of the ruthless’?

Teach me, and I will be silent.

Help me understand how I have erred.

How painful are honest words!

But what does your argument prove?

Do you intend to correct my words,

and treat as wind my cry of despair?

You would even cast lots for an orphan

and barter away your friend.

But now, please look at me.

Would I lie to your face?

Reconsider; do not be unjust.

Reconsider, for my righteousness is at stake.

Is there iniquity on my tongue?

Can my mouth not discern malice?

Job 7

“Is not man consigned to labor on earth?

Are not his days like those of a hired hand?

Like a slave he longs for shade;

like a hireling he waits for his wages.

So I am allotted months of futility,

and nights of misery are appointed me.

When I lie down I think:

‘When will I get up?’

But the night drags on,

and I toss and turn until dawn.

My flesh is clothed with worms

and encrusted with dirt;

my skin is cracked and festering.

My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle;

they come to an end without hope.

Remember that my life is but a breath.

My eyes will never again see happiness.

The eye that beholds me will no longer see me.

You will look for me, but I will be no more.

As a cloud vanishes and is gone,

so he who goes down to Sheol does not come back up.

He never returns to his house;

his place remembers him no more.

Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;

I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep,

that You must keep me under guard?

When I think my bed will comfort me

and my couch will ease my complaint,

then You frighten me with dreams

and terrify me with visions,

so that I would prefer strangling and death

over my life in this body.

I loathe my life! I would not live forever.

Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

What is man that You should exalt him,

that You should set Your heart upon him,

that You attend to him every morning,

and test him every moment?

Will You never look away from me,

or leave me alone to swallow my spittle?

If I have sinned, what have I done to You,

O watcher of mankind?

Why have You made me Your target,

so that I am a burden to You ?

Why do You not pardon my transgression

and take away my iniquity?

For soon I will lie down in the dust;

You will seek me, but I will be no more.”

Romans 4

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, has discovered? If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.

For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Now the wages of the worker are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation.

However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

And David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

“Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man

whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”

Is this blessing only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.

In what context was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before.

And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.

And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith is useless and the promise is worthless, because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression.

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist.

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”

Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb.

Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,

being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Now the words “it was credited to him” were written not only for Abraham,

but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.

Romans 5

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.

But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!

For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!

Not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.

For sin was in the world before the law was given; but sin is not taken into account when there is no law.

Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who did not sin in the way that Adam transgressed. He is a pattern of the One to come.

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many!

Again, the gift is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment that followed one sin brought condemnation, but the gift that followed many trespasses brought justification.

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive an abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

So then, just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men.

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,

so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Job is a book of the Old Testament, written to help us think through God’s sovereignty and his justice, our own mortality and the seeming injustice of the world. It has amazing depictions of the spiritual realm and humbling depths of wisdom that can lead a person to despair. This is a more mature book that needs to be read rightly alongside the New Testament. Thankfully, we are reading Romans alongside it. True, there are still many hard truths to accept in this book, but they are the bitter medicine needed for healing. Before the throne of God, all stand condemned. God doesn’t play favorites. It is only those blessed with saving faith that can ever hope to be welcomed into the realms of glory.

Let’s think on these things together!

Job 1

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil. He had seven sons and three daughters,

and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.

Job’s sons would take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.

“Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan.

“From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”

Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.”

Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

Have You not placed a hedge on every side around him and his household and all that he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

But stretch out Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

“Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “Everything he has is in your hands, but you must not lay a hand on the man himself.”

Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

One day, while Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

a messenger came and reported to Job: “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby,

the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The fire of God fell from heaven. It burned and consumed the sheep and the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels, and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, saying:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

and naked I will return.

The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away.

Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.

Job 2

On another day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before Him.

“Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan.

“From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”

Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”

“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life. But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

“Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “He is in your hands, but you must spare his life.”

So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.

Then Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”

“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?”

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, each of them came from his home, and they met together to go and sympathize with Job and comfort him.

When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust in the air over his head.

Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw how intense his suffering was.

Job 3

After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And this is what he said:

“May the day of my birth perish,

and the night it was said,

‘A boy is conceived.’

If only that day had turned to darkness!

May God above disregard it;

may no light shine upon it.

May darkness and gloom reclaim it,

and a cloud settle over it;

may the blackness of the day overwhelm it.

If only darkness had taken that night away!

May it not appear among the days of the year;

may it never be entered in any of the months.

Behold, may that night be barren;

may no joyful voice come into it.

May it be cursed by those who curse the day —

those prepared to rouse Leviathan.

May its morning stars grow dark;

may it wait in vain for daylight;

may it not see the breaking of dawn.

For that night did not shut the doors of the womb

to hide the sorrow from my eyes.

Why did I not perish at birth;

why did I not die as I came from the womb?

Why were there knees to receive me,

and breasts that I should be nursed?

For now I would be lying down in peace;

I would be asleep and at rest

with kings and counselors of the earth,

who built for themselves cities now in ruins,

or with princes who had gold,

who filled their houses with silver.

Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child,

like an infant who never sees daylight?

There the wicked cease from raging,

and there the weary find rest.

The captives enjoy their ease;

they do not hear the voice of the oppressor.

Both small and great are there,

and the slave is freed from his master.

Why is light given to the miserable,

and life to the bitter of soul,

who long for death that does not come,

and search for it like hidden treasure,

who rejoice and greatly exult

when they can find the grave?

Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden,

whom God has hedged in?

I sigh when food is put before me,

and my groans pour out like water.

For the thing I feared has overtaken me,

and what I dreaded has befallen me.

I am not at ease or quiet;

I have no rest, for trouble has come.”

Romans 1

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,

regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed all over the world.

God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you

in my prayers at all times, asking that now at last by God’s will I may succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,

that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, how often I planned to come to you (but have been prevented from visiting until now), in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.

For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another.

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.

For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.

Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,

slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless.

Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.

Romans 2

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?

Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?

But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

God “will repay each one according to his deeds.” To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.

But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.

There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek;

but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek. For God does not show favoritism.

All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.

For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous.

Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.

So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them

on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus, as proclaimed by my gospel.

Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;

if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those in darkness,

an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—

you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?

You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?

As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

If a man who is not circumcised keeps the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?

The one who is physically uncircumcised yet keeps the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical.

No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.

Romans 3

What, then, is the advantage of being a Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written:

“So that You may be proved right when You speak

and victorious when You judge.”

But if our unrighteousness highlights the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unjust to inflict His wrath on us? I am speaking in human terms.

Certainly not! In that case, how could God judge the world?

However, if my falsehood accentuates God’s truthfulness, to the increase of His glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?

Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved!

What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin. As it is written:

“There is no one righteous,

not even one.

There is no one who understands,

no one who seeks God.

All have turned away,

they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.”

“Their throats are open graves;

their tongues practice deceit.”

“The venom of vipers is on their lips.”

“Their mouths are full

of cursing and bitterness.”

“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

ruin and misery lie in their wake,

and the way of peace they have not known.”

“There is no fear of God

before their eyes.”

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.

But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets.

And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.

He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of works? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,

since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law.

I really enjoy Paul’s Letter to the Church in Philippi. It is something of a perfect between pastoral exhortation and life giving theology. It helps me to get clear every time I read it on the role of the church and the vision of how we are to be conformed to Christ. The psalm following provides the emotional component of seeking God’s face, acknowledging these days of suffering can be quite discouraging. Thanks to God for Paul’s example of patient suffering while in jail for the Lord’s name.

Philippians 1

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God every time I remember you. In every prayer for all of you, I always pray with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,

being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. For in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partners in grace with me.

God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,

so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel.

As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.

And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear.

It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.

The former, however, preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can add to the distress of my chains.

What then is the issue? Just this: that in every way, whether by false motives or true, Christ is preached. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,

because I know that through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, my distress will turn out for my deliverance.

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know.

I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed. But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.

Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,

so that through my coming to you again your exultation in Christ Jesus will resound on account of me.

Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending side by side for the faith of the gospel,

without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a clear sign of their destruction but of your salvation, and it is from God.

For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him,

since you are encountering the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

Philippians 2

Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,

then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:

Who, existing in the form of God,

did not consider equality with God

something to be grasped,

but emptied Himself,

taking the form of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

He humbled Himself

and became obedient to death—

even death on a cross.

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place

and gave Him the name above all names,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.

Do everything without complaining or arguing,

so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world

as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I learn how you are doing.

I have nobody else like him who will genuinely care for your needs. For all the others look after their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

But you know Timothy’s proven worth, that as a child with his father he has served with me to advance the gospel. So I hope to send him as soon as I see what happens with me.

And I trust in the Lord that I myself will come soon.

But I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my needs.

For he has been longing for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.

He was sick indeed, nearly unto death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.

Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less anxious.

Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, because he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for your deficit of service to me.

Philippians 3

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

Watch out for those dogs, those workers of evil, those mutilators of the flesh!

For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—

though I myself could have such confidence.

If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more:

circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;

as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.

But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.

More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.

I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death,

and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

All of us who are mature should embrace this point of view. And if you think differently about some issue, God will reveal this to you as well.

Nevertheless, we must live up to what we have already attained.

Join one another in following my example, brothers, and carefully observe those who walk according to the pattern we set for you.

For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.

Philippians 4

Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you must stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

I urge Euodia and Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.

Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have labored with me for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Now I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.

I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.

I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. I am accustomed to any and every situation—to being filled and being hungry, to having plenty and having need.

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Nevertheless, you have done well to share in my affliction.

And as you Philippians know, in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church but you partnered with me in the matter of giving and receiving.

For even while I was in Thessalonica, you provided for my needs again and again.

Not that I am seeking a gift, but I am looking for the fruit that may be credited to your account.

I have all I need and more, now that I have received your gifts from Epaphroditus. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.

And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus.

The brothers who are with me send you greetings.

All the saints send you greetings, especially those from the household of Caesar.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Psalm 42

As the deer pants for streams of water,

so my soul longs after You, O God.

My soul thirsts for God, the living God.

When shall I come and appear in God’s presence?

My tears have been my food

both day and night,

while men ask me all day long,

“Where is your God?”

These things come to mind as I pour out my soul:

how I walked with the multitude,

leading the procession to the house of God

with shouts of joy and praise.

Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why the unease within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him

for the salvation of His presence.

O my God, my soul despairs within me.

Therefore I remember You

from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon—

even from Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep

in the roar of Your waterfalls;

all Your breakers and waves

have rolled over me.

The LORD decrees His loving devotion by day,

and at night His song is with me

as a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God my Rock,

“Why have You forgotten me?

Why must I walk in sorrow

because of the enemy’s oppression?”

Like the crushing of my bones,

my enemies taunt me,

while they say to me all day long,

“Where is your God?”

Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why the unease within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him,

my Savior and my God.

Proverbs 20

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler,

and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion;

whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.

It is honorable for a man to resolve a dispute,

but any fool will quarrel.

The slacker does not plow in season;

at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.

The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters,

but a man of understanding draws them out.

Many a man proclaims his loving devotion,

but who can find a trustworthy man?

The righteous man walks with integrity;

blessed are his children after him.

A king who sits on a throne to judge

sifts out all evil with his eyes.

Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure;

I am cleansed from my sin”?

Differing weights and unequal measures —

both are detestable to the LORD.

Even a young man is known by his actions—

whether his conduct is pure and upright.

Ears that hear and eyes that see—

the LORD has made them both.

Do not love sleep, or you will grow poor;

open your eyes, and you will have plenty of food.

“Worthless, worthless!” says the buyer,

but on the way out, he gloats.

There is an abundance of gold and rubies,

but lips of knowledge are a rare treasure.

Take the garment of the one who posts security for a stranger;

get collateral if it is for a foreigner.

Food gained by fraud is sweet to a man,

but later his mouth is full of gravel.

Set plans by consultation,

and wage war under sound guidance.

He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip;

avoid the one who babbles with his lips.

Whoever curses his father or mother,

his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.

An inheritance gained quickly

will not be blessed in the end.

Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!”

Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.

Unequal weights are detestable to the LORD,

and dishonest scales are no good.

A man’s steps are from the LORD,

so how can anyone understand his own way?

It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly,

only later to reconsider his vows.

A wise king separates out the wicked

and drives the threshing wheel over them.

The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD,

searching out his inmost being.

Loving devotion and faithfulness preserve a king;

by these he maintains his throne.

The glory of young men is their strength,

and gray hair is the splendor of the old.

Lashes and wounds scour evil,

and beatings cleanse the inmost parts.

"Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains." - Matthew 24:5-8

This week we covered chapters 24 & 25 of the Gospel of Matthew. In these chapters Jesus speaks of the end times and tells the parables of the ten virgins & the bags of gold.

More ancient Hebrew wisdom today! How much of it applies to modern life? A lot, actually. It turns out there are still fools and wise people, and their qualities have not changed. Worldly culture seeks to distract us and to valorize fools, but our hearts know that we are actually expected to have discerning spirits. Wisdom isn’t something that a man or woman is simply born with. Rather, it is honed an facilitated. And remember: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom!

Proverbs 17

Better a dry morsel in quietness

than a house full of feasting with strife.

A wise servant will rule over a disgraceful son

and share his inheritance as one of the brothers.

A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold,

but the LORD is the tester of hearts.

A wicked man listens to evil lips;

a liar gives ear to a destructive tongue.

He who mocks the poor insults their Maker;

whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.

Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,

and the glory of a son is his father.

Eloquent words are unfit for a fool;

how much worse are lying lips to a ruler!

A bribe is a charm to its giver;

wherever he turns, he succeeds.

Whoever conceals an offense promotes love,

but he who brings it up separates friends.

A rebuke cuts into a man of discernment

deeper than a hundred lashes cut into a fool.

An evil man seeks only rebellion;

a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs

than a fool in his folly.

If anyone returns evil for good,

evil will never leave his house.

To start a quarrel is to release a flood;

so abandon the dispute before it breaks out.

Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—

both are detestable to the LORD.

Why should the fool have money in his hand

with no intention of buying wisdom?

A friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for adversity.

A man lacking judgment strikes hands in pledge

and puts up security for his neighbor.

He who loves transgression loves strife;

he who builds his gate high invites destruction.

The one with a perverse heart finds no good,

and he whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble.

A man fathers a fool to his own grief;

the father of a fool has no joy.

A joyful heart is good medicine,

but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

A wicked man takes a covert bribe

to subvert the course of justice.

Wisdom is the focus of the discerning,

but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth.

A foolish son brings grief to his father

and bitterness to her who bore him.

It is surely not good to punish the innocent

or to flog a noble for his honesty.

A man of knowledge restrains his words,

and a man of understanding maintains a calm spirit.

Even a fool is considered wise if he keeps silent,

and discerning when he holds his tongue.

Proverbs 18

He who isolates himself pursues selfish desires;

he rebels against all sound judgment.

A fool does not delight in understanding,

but only in airing his opinions.

With a wicked man comes contempt as well,

and shame is accompanied by disgrace.

The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;

the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

Showing partiality to the wicked is not good,

nor is depriving the innocent of justice.

A fool’s lips bring him strife,

and his mouth invites a beating.

A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

and his lips are a snare to his soul.

The words of a gossip are like choice morsels

that go down into the inmost being.

Whoever is slothful in his work

is brother to him who destroys.

The name of the LORD is a strong tower;

the righteous run to it and are safe.

A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city;

it is like a high wall in his imagination.

Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud,

but humility comes before honor.

He who answers a matter before he hears it—

this is folly and disgrace to him.

The spirit of a man can endure his sickness,

but who can survive a broken spirit?

The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge,

and the ear of the wise seeks it out.

A man’s gift opens doors for him,

and brings him before great men.

The first to state his case seems right

until another comes and cross-examines him.

Casting the lot ends quarrels

and separates strong opponents.

An offended brother is harder to win than a fortified city,

and disputes are like the bars of a castle.

From the fruit of his mouth a man’s belly is filled;

with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.

Life and death are in the power of the tongue,

and those who love it will eat its fruit.

He who finds a wife finds a good thing

and obtains favor from the LORD.

The poor man pleads for mercy,

but the rich man answers harshly.

A man of many companions may come to ruin,

but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.

Proverbs 19

Better a poor man who walks with integrity

than a fool whose lips are perverse.

Even zeal is no good without knowledge,

and he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark.

A man’s own folly subverts his way,

yet his heart rages against the LORD.

Wealth attracts many friends,

but a poor man is deserted by his friend.

A false witness will not go unpunished,

and one who utters lies will not escape.

Many seek the favor of the prince,

and everyone is a friend of the gift giver.

All the brothers of a poor man hate him—

how much more do his friends avoid him!

He may pursue them with pleading,

but they are nowhere to be found.

He who acquires wisdom loves himself;

one who safeguards understanding will find success.

A false witness will not go unpunished,

and one who pours out lies will perish.

Luxury is unseemly for a fool—

how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!

A man’s insight gives him patience,

and his virtue is to overlook an offense.

A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion,

but his favor is like dew on the grass.

A foolish son is his father’s ruin,

and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.

Houses and wealth are inherited from fathers,

but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

Laziness brings on deep sleep,

and an idle soul will suffer hunger.

He who keeps a commandment preserves his soul,

but he who is careless in his ways will die.

Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD,

and He will repay the lender.

Discipline your son, for in that there is hope;

do not be party to his death.

A man of great anger must pay the penalty;

if you rescue him, you will have to do so again.

Listen to counsel and accept discipline,

that you may be wise the rest of your days.

Many plans are in a man’s heart,

but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.

The desire of a man is loving devotion;

better to be poor than a liar.

The fear of the LORD leads to life,

that one may rest content, without visitation from harm.

The slacker buries his hand in the dish;

he will not even bring it back to his mouth.

Strike a mocker, and the simple will beware;

rebuke the discerning man, and he will gain knowledge.

He who assaults his father or evicts his mother

is a son who brings shame and disgrace.

If you cease to hear instruction, my son,

you will stray from the words of knowledge.

A corrupt witness mocks justice,

and a wicked mouth swallows iniquity.

Judgments are prepared for mockers,

and beatings for the backs of fools.

Psalm 40

I waited patiently for the LORD;

He inclined to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me up from the pit of despair,

out of the miry clay;

He set my feet upon a rock,

and made my footsteps firm.

He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear

and put their trust in the LORD.

Blessed is the man

who has made the LORD his trust,

who has not turned to the proud,

nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

Many, O LORD my God,

are the wonders You have done,

and the plans You have for us—

none can compare to You—

if I proclaim and declare them,

they are more than I can count.

Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,

but my ears You have opened.

Burnt offerings and sin offerings

You did not require.

Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—

it is written about me in the scroll:

I delight to do Your will, O my God;

Your law is within my heart.”

I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;

behold, I do not seal my lips,

as You, O LORD, do know.

I have not covered up Your righteousness in my heart;

I have declared Your faithfulness and salvation;

I have not concealed Your loving devotion and faithfulness

from the great assembly.

O LORD, do not withhold Your mercy from me;

Your loving devotion and faithfulness will always guard me.

For evils without number surround me;

my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see.

They are more than the hairs of my head,

and my heart has failed within me.

Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;

hurry, O LORD, to help me.

May those who seek my life

be ashamed and confounded;

may those who wish me harm

be repelled and humiliated.

May those who say to me, “Aha, aha!”

be appalled at their own shame.

May all who seek You

rejoice and be glad in You;

may those who love Your salvation

always say, “The LORD be magnified!”

But I am poor and needy;

may the Lord think of me.

You are my helper and deliverer;

O my God, do not delay.

Psalm 41

Blessed is the one who cares for the poor;

the LORD will deliver him in the day of trouble.

The LORD will protect and preserve him;

He will bless him in the land

and refuse to surrender him

to the will of his foes.

The LORD will sustain him on his bed of illness

and restore him from his bed of sickness.

I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me;

heal me, for I have sinned against You.”

My enemies say with malice:

“When will he die and be forgotten?”

My visitor speaks falsehood;

he gathers slander in his heart;

he goes out and spreads it abroad.

All who hate me whisper against me;

they imagine the worst for me:

“A vile disease has been poured into him;

he will never get up from where he lies!”

Even my close friend whom I trusted,

the one who shared my bread,

has lifted up his heel against me.

But You, O LORD, be gracious to me and raise me up,

that I may repay them.

By this I know that You delight in me,

for my enemy does not triumph over me.

In my integrity You uphold me

and set me in Your presence forever.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

Amen and Amen.

The walls have been rebuilt, and now it is time to restore the regular rhythms of religious life for the Jews. Despite the purification at the end of Ezra, and another purification at the start of today’s section, the Israelites keep tending towards faithlessness and impurity. Once again, we have lists of names and functionaries that serve as historical signposts.

Interestingly, the lists of names are part of how scholars determine the truth of any given book. Many books have been written, pretending to be contemporaneous with biblical times. However, they have been exposed as frauds because of the names they use.

Nehemiah 8

At that time all the people gathered together in the square before the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.

On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could listen and understand.

So Ezra read it aloud from daybreak until noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate, in front of the men and women and those who could understand.

And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built for this occasion. At his right side stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, and at his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was standing above them all, and as he opened it, all the people stood up.

Then Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and with their hands uplifted, all the people said, “Amen, Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law as they stood in their places.

So they read from the Book of the Law of God, explaining it and giving insight, so that the people could understand what was being read.

Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.”

For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the Law.

Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

And the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, since today is holy. Do not grieve.”

Then all the people began to eat and drink, to send out portions, and to rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that had been made known to them.

On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to study the words of the Law.

And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month.

So they proclaimed this message and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.”

And the people went out, brought back branches, and made booths on their own rooftops, in their courtyards, in the court of the house of God, and in the squares by the Water Gate and by the Gate of Ephraim.

The whole assembly who had returned from exile made booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated like this. And there was great rejoicing.

Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. The Israelites kept the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an assembly, according to the ordinance.

Nehemiah 9

On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads.

Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all the foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and they spent another quarter of the day in confession and worship of the LORD their God.

And the Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani—stood on the raised platform and cried out in a loud voice to the LORD their God.

Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting:

Blessed be Your glorious name,

and may it be exalted

above all blessing and praise.

You alone are the LORD.

You created the heavens,

the highest heavens with all their host,

the earth and all that is on it,

the seas and all that is in them.

You give life to all things,

and the host of heaven worships You.

You are the LORD,

the God who chose Abram,

who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans

and gave him the name Abraham.

You found his heart faithful before You,

and made a covenant with him

to give the land of the Canaanites and Hittites,

of the Amorites and Perizzites,

of the Jebusites and Girgashites—

to give it to his descendants.

You have kept Your promise,

because You are righteous.

You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt;

You heard their cry at the Red Sea.

You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,

all his officials, and all the people of his land,

for You knew they had acted with arrogance

against our fathers.

You made a name for Yourself

that endures to this day.

You divided the sea before them,

and they crossed through it on dry ground.

You hurled their pursuers into the depths

like a stone into raging waters.

You led them with a pillar of cloud by day

and a pillar of fire by night,

to light for them the way

in which they should travel.

You came down on Mount Sinai

and spoke with them from heaven.

You gave them just ordinances, true laws,

and good statutes and commandments.

You revealed to them Your holy Sabbath

and gave them commandments and statutes and laws

through Your servant Moses.

In their hunger You gave them bread from heaven;

in their thirst You brought them water from the rock.

You told them to go in and possess the land

which You had sworn to give them.

But they and our fathers became arrogant and stiff-necked

and did not obey Your commandments.

They refused to listen and failed to remember

the wonders You performed among them.

They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader

to return them to their bondage in Egypt.

But You are a forgiving God,

gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in loving devotion,

and You did not forsake them.

Even when they cast for themselves

an image of a calf and said,

‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’

and when they committed terrible blasphemies,

You in Your great compassion

did not forsake them in the wilderness.

By day the pillar of cloud never turned away

from guiding them on their path;

and by the night the pillar of fire

illuminated the way they should go.

You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them.

You did not withhold Your manna from their mouths,

and You gave them water for their thirst.

For forty years You sustained them in the wilderness,

so that they lacked nothing.

Their clothes did not wear out

and their feet did not swell.

You gave them kingdoms and peoples

and allotted to them every corner of the land.

So they took the land of Sihon king of Heshbon

and of Og king of Bashan.

You multiplied their descendants

like the stars of heaven

and brought them to the land

You had told their fathers to enter and possess.

So their descendants went in and possessed the land;

You subdued before them the Canaanites dwelling in the land.

You delivered into their hands the kings and peoples of the land,

to do with them as they wished.

They captured fortified cities and fertile land

and took houses full of all goods,

wells already dug,

vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance.

So they ate and were filled;

they grew fat and delighted in Your great goodness.

But they were disobedient and rebelled against You;

they flung Your law behind their backs.

They killed Your prophets,

who had admonished them to return to You.

They committed terrible blasphemies.

So You delivered them into the hands

of enemies who oppressed them,

and in their time of distress they cried out to You.

From heaven You heard them,

and in Your great compassion You gave them deliverers

who saved them from the hands of their enemies.

But as soon as they had rest,

they again did evil in Your sight.

So You abandoned them to the hands of their enemies,

who had dominion over them.

When they cried out to You again,

You heard from heaven,

and You delivered them many times

in Your compassion.

You admonished them to turn back to Your law,

but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments.

They sinned against Your ordinances,

by which a man will live if he practices them.

They stubbornly shrugged their shoulders;

they stiffened their necks and would not obey.

You were patient with them for many years,

and Your Spirit admonished them through Your prophets.

Yet they would not listen,

so You gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.

But in Your great compassion,

You did not put an end to them;

nor did You forsake them,

for You are a gracious and compassionate God.

So now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God

who keeps His gracious covenant,

do not view lightly all the hardship

that has come upon us,

and upon our kings and leaders,

our priests and prophets,

our ancestors and all Your people,

from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.

You are just in all that has befallen us,

because You have acted faithfully,

while we have acted wickedly.

Our kings and leaders and priests and fathers

did not obey Your law

or listen to Your commandments

and warnings that You gave them.

For even while they were in their kingdom,

with the abundant goodness

that You had given them,

and in the spacious and fertile land

that You had set before them,

they would not serve You

or turn from their wicked ways.

So here we are today as slaves

in the land You gave our fathers to enjoy its fruit and goodness—

here we are as slaves!

Its abundant harvest goes to the kings

You have set over us because of our sins.

And they rule over our bodies and our livestock as they please.

We are in great distress.

In view of all this, we make a binding agreement, putting it in writing and sealing it with the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests.”

Nehemiah 10

Now these were the ones who sealed the document:

Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah,

and also Zedekiah,

Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,

Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,

Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,

Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,

Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah.

These were the priests.

The Levites:

Jeshua son of Azaniah,

Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,

and their associates: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,

Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.

And the leaders of the people:

Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,

Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,

Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,

Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,

Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,

Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,

Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,

Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,

Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,

Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,

Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,

Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,

Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.

“The rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the people of the land to obey the Law of God—along with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand,

hereby join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath to follow the Law of God given through His servant Moses and to carefully obey all the commandments, ordinances, and statutes of the LORD our Lord.

We will not give our daughters in marriage to the people of the land, and we will not take their daughters for our sons.

When the people of the land bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on a Sabbath or holy day. Every seventh year we will let the fields lie fallow, and will cancel every debt.

We also place ourselves under the obligation to contribute a third of a shekel yearly for the service of the house of our God:

for the showbread, for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings, for the Sabbath offerings, for the New Moons and appointed feasts, for the holy offerings, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the duties of the house of our God.

We have cast lots among the priests, Levites, and people for the donation of wood by our families at the appointed times each year. They are to bring it to the house of our God to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the Law.

We will also bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree to the house of the LORD year by year.

And we will bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as it is written in the Law, and will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God.

Moreover, we will bring to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God the firstfruits of our dough, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees, and of our new wine and oil. A tenth of our produce belongs to the Levites, so that they shall receive tithes in all the towns where we labor.

A priest of Aaron’s line is to accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of these tithes to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God.

For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept and where the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers stay.

Thus we will not neglect the house of our God.”

Nehemiah 11

Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in the holy city of Jerusalem, while the remaining nine were to dwell in their own towns.

And the people blessed all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

These are the heads of the provinces who settled in Jerusalem. (In the villages of Judah, however, each lived on his own property in their towns—the Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon’s servants—

while some of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin settled in Jerusalem.)

From the descendants of Judah:

Athaiah son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, a descendant of Perez;

and Maaseiah son of Baruch, the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, a descendant of Shelah.

The descendants of Perez who settled in Jerusalem totaled 468 men of valor.

From the descendants of Benjamin:

Sallu son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah;

and his followers Gabbai and Sallai—928 men. Joel son of Zichri was the officer over them, and Judah son of Hassenuah was over the Second District of the city.

From the priests:

Jedaiah son of Joiarib; Jachin;

Seraiah son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the chief official of the house of God;

and their associates who did the work at the temple—822 men;

Adaiah son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah;

and his associates, the leaders of families—242 men;

Amashai son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer;

and his associates —128 mighty men of valor. Zabdiel son of Haggedolim was their overseer.

From the Levites:

Shemaiah son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni;

Shabbethai and Jozabad, two leaders of the Levites, who supervised the work outside the house of God;

Mattaniah son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, who led in thanksgiving and prayer; Bakbukiah, second among his associates; and Abda son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.

The Levites in the holy city totaled 284.

And the gatekeepers:

Akkub, Talmon, and their associates, who kept watch at the gates—172 men.

The rest of the Israelites, with the priests and Levites, were in all the villages of Judah, each on his own inheritance.

The temple servants lived on the hill of Ophel, with Ziha and Gishpa over them.

Now the overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica. He was one of Asaph’s descendants, who were the singers in charge of the service of the house of God.

For there was a command from the king concerning the singers, an ordinance regulating their daily activities.

Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, a descendant of Zerah son of Judah, was the king’s agent in every matter concerning the people.

As for the villages with their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba, Dibon, Jekabzeel, and their villages; in Jeshua, Moladah, and Beth-pelet;

in Hazar-shual; in Beersheba and its villages; in Ziklag; in Meconah and its villages; in En-rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth,

Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages; in Lachish and its fields; and in Azekah and its villages. So they settled from Beersheba all the way to the Valley of Hinnom.

The descendants of Benjamin from Geba lived in Michmash, Aija, and Bethel with its villages; in Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,

Lod, and Ono; and in the Valley of the Craftsmen.

And some divisions of the Levites of Judah settled in Benjamin.

Nehemiah 12

Now these are the priests and Levites who went up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua:

Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,

Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,

Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah,

Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,

Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,

Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah.

These were the leaders of the priests and their associates in the days of Jeshua.

The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who, with his associates, led the songs of thanksgiving.

Bakbukiah and Unni, their associates, stood across from them in the services.

Jeshua was the father of Joiakim,

Joiakim was the father of Eliashib,

Eliashib was the father of Joiada,

Joiada was the father of Jonathan,

and Jonathan was the father of Jaddua.

In the days of Joiakim, these were the heads of the priestly families:

of the family of Seraiah, Meraiah;

of Jeremiah, Hananiah;

of Ezra, Meshullam;

of Amariah, Jehohanan;

of Malluchi, Jonathan;

of Shebaniah, Joseph;

of Harim, Adna;

of Meraioth, Helkai;

of Iddo, Zechariah;

of Ginnethon, Meshullam;

of Abijah, Zichri;

of Miniamin and of Moadiah, Piltai;

of Bilgah, Shammua;

of Shemaiah, Jonathan;

of Joiarib, Mattenai;

of Jedaiah, Uzzi;

of Sallai, Kallai;

of Amok, Eber;

of Hilkiah, Hashabiah;

and of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, during the reign of Darius the Persian, the heads of the families of the Levites and priests were recorded.

As for the descendants of Levi, the family heads up to the days of Johanan son of Eliashib were recorded in the Book of the Chronicles.

The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, along with their associates, who stood across from them to give praise and thanksgiving as one section alternated with the other, as prescribed by David the man of God.

Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms at the gates.

They served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and scribe.

At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from all their homes and brought to Jerusalem to celebrate the joyous dedication with thanksgiving and singing, accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres.

The singers were also assembled from the region around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites,

from Beth-gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for they had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem.

After the priests and Levites had purified themselves, they purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

Then I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and I appointed two great thanksgiving choirs. One was to proceed along the top of the wall to the right, toward the Dung Gate.

Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah followed, along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah,

and some of the priests with trumpets, and also Zechariah son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph,

and his associates—Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani—with the musical instruments prescribed by David the man of God. Ezra the scribe led the procession.

At the Fountain Gate they climbed the steps of the City of David on the ascent to the wall and passed above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.

The second thanksgiving choir proceeded to the left, and I followed it with half the people along the top of the wall, past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall,

over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.

The two thanksgiving choirs then stood in the house of God, as did I, along with the half of the officials accompanying me,

as well as the priests with their trumpets—Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah—

and also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. Then the choirs sang out under the direction of Jezrahiah.

On that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.

And on that same day men were appointed over the rooms that housed the supplies, contributions, firstfruits, and tithes. The portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites were gathered into these storerooms from the fields of the villages, because Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who were serving.

They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, along with the singers and gatekeepers, as David and his son Solomon had prescribed.

For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there were directors for the singers and for the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.

So in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the singers and gatekeepers. They also set aside daily portions for the Levites, and the Levites set aside daily portions for the descendants of Aaron.

Nehemiah 13

At that time the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people, and in it they found the passage stating that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,

because they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but had hired Balaam to call down a curse against them (although our God had turned the curse into a blessing).

As soon as the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all of foreign descent.

Now before this, Eliashib the priest, a relative of Tobiah, had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God

and had prepared for Tobiah a large room where they had previously stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the temple articles, and the tithes of grain, new wine, and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, along with the contributions for the priests.

While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to Artaxerxes king of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign. Some time later I obtained leave from the king

to return to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done on behalf of Tobiah by providing him a room in the courts of the house of God.

And I was greatly displeased and threw all of Tobiah’s household goods out of the room.

Then I ordered that the rooms be purified, and I had the articles of the house of God restored to them, along with the grain offerings and frankincense.

I also learned that because the portions for the Levites had not been given to them, all the Levites and singers responsible for performing the service had gone back to their own fields.

So I rebuked the officials and asked, “Why has the house of God been neglected?”

Then I gathered the Levites and singers together and stationed them at their posts, and all Judah brought a tenth of the grain, new wine, and oil into the storerooms.

I appointed as treasurers over the storerooms Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, with Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, to assist them, because they were considered trustworthy. They were responsible for distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites.

Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out my deeds of loving devotion for the house of my God and for its services.

In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day.

Additionally, men of Tyre who lived there were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem.

Then I rebuked the nobles of Judah and asked, “What is this evil you are doing—profaning the Sabbath day?

Did not your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this disaster on us and on this city? And now you are rekindling His wrath against Israel by profaning the Sabbath!”

When the evening shadows began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem, just before the Sabbath, I ordered that the gates be shut and not opened until after the Sabbath. I posted some of my servants at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day.

Once or twice, the merchants and those who sell all kinds of goods camped outside Jerusalem,

but I warned them, “Why are you camping in front of the wall? If you do it again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on, they did not return on the Sabbath.

Then I instructed the Levites to purify themselves and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy.

Remember me for this as well, O my God, and show me mercy according to Your abundant loving devotion.

In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of the other peoples, but could not speak the language of Judah.

I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair.

Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!

Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin.

Must we now hear that you too are doing all this terrible evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?”

Even one of the sons of Jehoiada son of Eliashib the high priest had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I drove him away from me.

Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.

Thus I purified the priests and Levites from everything foreign, and I assigned specific duties to each of the priests and Levites.

I also arranged for contributions of wood at the appointed times, and for the firstfruits.

Remember me, O my God, with favor.

Nehemiah picks up where Ezra left off. We are being told the story of how the Israelites returned to the Promised Land. Most of us are so privileged as to never have had to think about what this would be like. God is faithful. Even when it feels like all is lost, God can restore us. He restored them. Someday the Lord will restore all things.

Nehemiah 1

These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:

In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,

Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah. So I questioned them about the remnant of the Jews who had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”

When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

Then I said:

“O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion with those who love Him and keep His commandments,

let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to hear the prayer that I, Your servant, now pray before You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites.

I confess the sins that we Israelites have committed against You. Both I and my father’s house have sinned.

We have behaved corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that You gave Your servant Moses.

Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses when You said, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations,

but if you return to Me and keep and practice My commandments, then even if your exiles have been banished to the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for My Name.’

They are Your servants and Your people. You redeemed them by Your great power and mighty hand.

O Lord, may Your ear be attentive to my prayer and to the prayers of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

(At that time I was the cupbearer to the king.)

Nehemiah 2

Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence,

so the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? This could only be sadness of the heart.”

I was overwhelmed with fear

and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

“What is your request?” replied the king.

So I prayed to the God of heaven

and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city where my fathers are buried, so that I may rebuild it.”

Then the king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I set a time.

I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may letters be given to me for the governors west of the Euphrates, so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah.

And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house I will occupy.”

And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.

Then I went to the governors west of the Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were deeply disturbed that someone had come to seek the well-being of the Israelites.

After I had arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days,

I set out at night with a few men. I did not tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal with me was the one on which I was riding.

So I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Well of the Serpent and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and the gates that had been destroyed by fire.

Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to get through;

so I went up the valley by night and inspected the wall. Then I headed back and reentered through the Valley Gate.

The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, for I had not yet told the Jews or priests or nobles or officials or any other workers.

Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned down. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”

I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me, and what the king had said to me.

“Let us start rebuilding,” they replied, and they set their hands to this good work.

But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked us and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

So I answered them and said, “The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start rebuilding, but you have no portion, right, or claim in Jerusalem.”

Nehemiah 3

At the Sheep Gate, Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests began rebuilding. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel, they dedicated the wall.

The men of Jericho built next to Eliashib, and Zaccur son of Imri built next to them.

The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

Next to them, Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, made repairs. Next to him, Meshullam son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs; and next to him, Zadok son of Baana made repairs as well.

Next to him, the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.

The Jeshanah Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

Next to them, repairs were made by Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, and the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, who were under the authority of the governor of the region west of the Euphrates.

Next to them, Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs, and next to him, Hananiah son of the perfumer made repairs. They fortified Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.

Next to them, Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, made repairs;

next to him, Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs across from his house; and next to him, Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs.

Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab repaired another section, as well as the Tower of the Ovens.

And next to them, Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of the other half-district of Jerusalem, made repairs, with the help of his daughters.

The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the residents of Zanoah. They rebuilt it, installed its doors, bolts, and bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Dung Gate.

The Dung Gate was repaired by Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem. He rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofed it, and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah near the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that descend from the City of David.

Beyond him, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of a half-district of Beth-zur, made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and the House of the Mighty.

Next to him, the Levites made repairs under Rehum son of Bani, and next to him, Hashabiah, ruler of a half-district of Keilah, made repairs for his district.

Next to him, their countrymen made repairs under Binnui son of Henadad, ruler of the other half-district of Keilah.

And next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the Ascent to the Armory, near the angle in the wall.

Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai diligently repaired another section, from the angle to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

Next to him, Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired another section, from the doorway of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house.

And next to him, the priests from the surrounding area made repairs.

Beyond them, Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house, and next to them, Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house.

After him, Binnui son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the angle and the corner,

and Palal son of Uzai made repairs opposite the angle and the tower that juts out from the upper palace of the king near the courtyard of the guard. Next to him, Pedaiah son of Parosh

and the temple servants living on the hill of Ophel made repairs opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the tower that juts out.

And next to them, the Tekoites repaired another section, from a point opposite the great tower that juts out to the wall of Ophel.

Above the Horse Gate, each of the priests made repairs in front of his own house.

Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house, and next to him, Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the guard of the East Gate, made repairs.

Next to him, Hananiah son of Shelemiah, as well as Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. Next to them, Meshullam son of Berechiah made repairs opposite his own quarters.

Next to him, Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the upper room above the corner.

And between the upper room above the corner and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs.

Nehemiah 4

Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious and filled with indignation. He ridiculed the Jews

before his associates and the army of Samaria, saying, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Can they restore the wall by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?”

Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!”

Hear us, O God, for we are despised. Turn their scorn back upon their own heads, and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity.

Do not cover up their iniquity or let their sin be blotted out from Your sight, for they have provoked the builders.

So we rebuilt the wall until all of it was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

When Sanballat and Tobiah, together with the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites, heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed, they were furious,

and all of them conspired to come and fight against Jerusalem and create a hindrance.

So we prayed to our God and posted a guard against them day and night.

Meanwhile, the people of Judah said:

“The strength of the laborer fails,

and there is so much rubble

that we will never be able

to rebuild the wall.”

And our enemies said, “Before they know or see a thing, we will come into their midst, kill them, and put an end to the work.”

At that time the Jews who lived nearby came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”

So I stationed men behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. I stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows.

After I had made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”

When our enemies heard that we were aware of their scheme and that God had frustrated it, each of us returned to his own work on the wall.

And from that day on, half of my servants did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor.

The officers stationed themselves behind all the people of Judah

who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried materials worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other.

And each of the builders worked with his sword strapped at his side. But the trumpeter stayed beside me.

Then I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “The work is great and extensive, and we are spread out far from one another along the wall.

Wherever you hear the sound of the horn, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!”

So we continued the work, while half of the men held spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out.

At that time I also said to the people, “Let every man and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they can stand guard by night and work by day.”

So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the guards with me changed out of our clothes; each carried his weapon, even to go for water.

Nehemiah 5

About that time there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews.

Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous. We must get grain in order to eat and stay alive.”

Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine.”

Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards.

We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to redeem them because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

When I heard their outcry and these complaints, I became extremely angry,

and after serious thought I rebuked the nobles and officials, saying, “You are exacting usury from your own brothers!”

So I called a large assembly against them

and said, “We have done our best to buy back our Jewish brothers who were sold to foreigners, but now you are selling your own brothers, that they may be sold back to us!”

But they remained silent, for they could find nothing to say.

So I continued, “What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our foreign enemies?

I, as well as my brothers and my servants, have been lending the people money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury.

Please restore to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, along with the percentage of the money, grain, new wine, and oil that you have been assessing them.”

“We will restore it,” they replied, “and will require nothing more from them. We will do as you say.”

So I summoned the priests and required of the nobles and officials an oath that they would do what they had promised.

I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “May God likewise shake out of His house and possession every man who does not keep this promise. May such a man be shaken out and have nothing!”

The whole assembly said, “Amen,” and they praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.

Furthermore, from the day King Artaxerxes appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah, from his twentieth year until his thirty-second year (twelve years total), neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.

The governors before me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them bread and wine plus forty shekels of silver. Their servants also oppressed the people, but I did not do this because of my fear of God.

Instead, I devoted myself to the construction of the wall, and all my servants were gathered there for the work; we did not acquire any land.

There were 150 Jews and officials at my table, besides the guests from the surrounding nations.

Each day one ox, six choice sheep, and some fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine was provided. But I did not demand the food allotted to the governor, because the burden on the people was so heavy.

Remember me favorably, O my God, for all that I have done for this people.

Nehemiah 6

When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left—though to that time I had not yet installed the doors in the gates—

Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.”

But they were planning to harm me.

So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to go down to you?”

Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave the same reply.

The fifth time, Sanballat sent me this same message by his young servant, who had in his hand an unsealed letter that read:

“It is reported among the nations—and Geshem agrees—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and this is why you are building the wall. According to these reports, you are to become their king,

and you have even appointed prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim on your behalf: ‘There is a king in Judah.’ Soon these rumors will reach the ears of the king. So come, let us confer together.”

Then I sent him this reply: “There is nothing to these rumors you are spreading; you are inventing them in your own mind.”

For they were all trying to frighten us, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will never be finished.”

But now, my God, strengthen my hands.

Later, I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his house. He said:

“Let us meet at the house of God

inside the temple.

Let us shut the temple doors

because they are coming to kill you—

by night they are coming to kill you!”

But I replied, “Should a man like me run away? Should one like me go into the temple to save his own life? I will not go!”

I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would sin by doing as he suggested, so they could give me a bad name in order to discredit me.

O my God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat for what they have done, and also Noadiah the prophetess and the other prophets who tried to intimidate me.

So the wall was completed in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth of Elul.

When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and disheartened, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.

Also in those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came back to them.

For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, since he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.

Moreover, these nobles kept reporting to me Tobiah’s good deeds, and they relayed my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.

Nehemiah 7

When the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed.

Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah the commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.

And I told them, “Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot. While the guards are on duty, keep the doors shut and securely fastened. And appoint the residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some at their own homes.”

Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt.

Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials, and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. I found the genealogical register of those who had first returned, and I found the following written in it:

These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar its king. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town,

accompanied by Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.

This is the count of the men of Israel:

the descendants of Parosh, 2,172;

the descendants of Shephatiah, 372;

the descendants of Arah, 652;

the descendants of Pahath-moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab), 2,818;

the descendants of Elam, 1,254;

the descendants of Zattu, 845;

the descendants of Zaccai, 760;

the descendants of Binnui, 648;

the descendants of Bebai, 628;

the descendants of Azgad, 2,322;

the descendants of Adonikam, 667;

the descendants of Bigvai, 2,067;

the descendants of Adin, 655;

the descendants of Ater (through Hezekiah), 98;

the descendants of Hashum, 328;

the descendants of Bezai, 324;

the descendants of Hariph, 112;

the descendants of Gibeon, 95;

the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188;

the men of Anathoth, 128;

the men of Beth-azmaveth, 42;

the men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743;

the men of Ramah and Geba, 621;

the men of Michmash, 122;

the men of Bethel and Ai, 123;

the men of the other Nebo, 52;

the descendants of the other Elam, 1,254;

the descendants of Harim, 320;

the men of Jericho, 345;

the men of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721;

and the descendants of Senaah, 3,930.

The priests:

the descendants of Jedaiah (through the house of Jeshua), 973;

the descendants of Immer, 1,052;

the descendants of Pashhur, 1,247;

and the descendants of Harim, 1,017.

The Levites:

the descendants of Jeshua (through Kadmiel, through the line of Hodevah ), 74.

The singers:

the descendants of Asaph, 148.

The gatekeepers:

the descendants of Shallum,

the descendants of Ater,

the descendants of Talmon,

the descendants of Akkub,

the descendants of Hatita,

and the descendants of Shobai,

138 in all.

The temple servants:

the descendants of Ziha,

the descendants of Hasupha,

the descendants of Tabbaoth,

the descendants of Keros,

the descendants of Sia,

the descendants of Padon,

the descendants of Lebanah,

the descendants of Hagabah,

the descendants of Shalmai,

the descendants of Hanan,

the descendants of Giddel,

the descendants of Gahar,

the descendants of Reaiah,

the descendants of Rezin,

the descendants of Nekoda,

the descendants of Gazzam,

the descendants of Uzza,

the descendants of Paseah,

the descendants of Besai,

the descendants of Meunim,

the descendants of Nephushesim,

the descendants of Bakbuk,

the descendants of Hakupha,

the descendants of Harhur,

the descendants of Bazlith,

the descendants of Mehida,

the descendants of Harsha,

the descendants of Barkos,

the descendants of Sisera,

the descendants of Temah,

the descendants of Neziah,

and the descendants of Hatipha.

The descendants of the servants of Solomon:

the descendants of Sotai,

the descendants of Sophereth,

the descendants of Perida,

the descendants of Jaala,

the descendants of Darkon,

the descendants of Giddel,

the descendants of Shephatiah,

the descendants of Hattil,

the descendants of Pochereth-hazzebaim,

and the descendants of Amon.

The temple servants and descendants of the servants of Solomon numbered 392 in all.

The following came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but could not prove that their families were descended from Israel:

the descendants of Delaiah,

the descendants of Tobiah,

and the descendants of Nekoda,

642 in all.

And from among the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah,

the descendants of Hakkoz,

and the descendants of Barzillai (who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name).

These men searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.

The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.

The whole assembly numbered 42,360, in addition to their 7,337 menservants and maidservants, as well as their 245 male and female singers.

They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

Some of the heads of the families contributed to the project. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 bowls, and 530 priestly garments.

And some of the heads of the families gave to the treasury for the project 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver.

The rest of the people gave a total of 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priestly garments.

So the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with some of the people and the rest of the Israelites, settled in their own towns. And by the seventh month the Israelites had settled in their towns.