21 iThen I proclaimed a fast there, at the river jAhava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, kto seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, l“The hand of our God is for good on mall who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.
24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: eSherebiah, eHashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them. 25 And I weighed out to them the nsilver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his ocounselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered. 26 pI weighed out into their hand 650 talents1 of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents,2 and 100 talents of gold, 27 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics,3 and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold. 28 And I said to them, q“You are holy to the Lord, and rthe vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers. 29 Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers' houses in Israel at Jerusalem, swithin the chambers of the house of the Lord.” 30 So the priests and the Levites ptook over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.
31 Then we departed from the river Ahava ton the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. uThe hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. 32 vWe came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days. 33 On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were wweighed into the hands of xMeremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, yJozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of zBinnui. 34 The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.
35 At that time athose who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, btwelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 cThey also delivered the king's commissions to the king's dsatraps4 and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God.
9 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the eLevites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands fwith their abominations, from the gCanaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 hFor they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the iholy race5 has jmixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” 3 As soon as I heard this, I ktore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and lsat appalled. 4 Then all who mtrembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat nappalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the nevening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment kand my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees oand spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6 saying:
“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities phave risen higher than our heads, and our qguilt has rmounted up to the heavens. 7 sFrom the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great qguilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, tand to utter shame, as it is today. 8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a uremnant and to give us a vsecure hold6 within his holy place, that our God may wbrighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 xFor we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, ybut has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection7 in Judea and Jerusalem.
10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with ztheir uncleanness. 12 aTherefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land band leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for cour great guilt, seeing that you, our dGod, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a eremnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and fintermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us guntil you consumed us, so that there should be no eremnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a eremnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our hguilt, ifor none can stand before you because of this.”
[1] 8:26
[2] 8:26
[3] 8:27
[4] 8:36
[5] 9:2
[6] 9:8
[7] 9:9
5 It is actually reported that there is wsexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, xfor a man has his father's wife. 2 And yyou are arrogant! Ought you znot rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
3 For though aabsent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled bin the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are cto deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so dthat his spirit may be saved ein the day of the Lord.1
6 fYour boasting is not good. Do you not know that ga little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, hnot with the old leaven, ithe leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 I wrote to you in my letter jnot to associate with sexually immoral people—10 knot at all meaning lthe sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, msince then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone nwho bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging ooutsiders? pIs it not those inside the church2 whom you are to judge? 13 God judges3 those outside. q“Purge the evil person from among you.”
31 oIn you, O Lord, do I ptake refuge;
qlet me never be put to shame;
in your rrighteousness deliver me!
3 For you are my rock and my fortress;
and for your uname's sake you lead me and guide me;
4 you vtake me out of wthe net they have hidden for me,
for you are my xrefuge.
5 yInto your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O Lord, zfaithful God.
6 I ahate1 those who pay bregard to worthless cidols,
7 I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,
because you have seen my affliction;
you have dknown the distress of my soul,
8 and you have not edelivered me into the hand of the enemy;
you have set my feet in fa broad place.
[1] 31:6