1 And so these are the leaders of the families, with their genealogy, of those who ascended with me from Babylon, during the reign of king Artaxerxes.
2 From the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. From the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. From the sons of David, Hattush.
3 From the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Parosh, Zechariah, and one hundred fifty men were numbered with him.
4 From the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai, the son of Zerahiah, and two hundred men were with him.
5 From the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel, and three hundred men were with him.
6 From the sons of Adin, Ebed, the son of Jonathan, and fifty men were with him.
7 From the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah, the son of Athaliah, and seventy men were with him.
8 From the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah, the son of Michael, and eighty men were with him.
9 From the sons of Joab, Obadiah, the son of Jehiel, and two hundred eighteen men were with him.
10 From the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and one hundred sixty men were with him.
11 From the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and twenty-eight men were with him.
12 From the sons of Azgad, Johanan, the son of Hakkatan, and one hundred and ten men were with him.
13 From the sons of Adonikam, who were the last, and these were their names: Eliphelet, and Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and sixty men were with them.
14 From the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and seventy men were with them.
15 Now I gathered them together at the river that runs down to Ahava, and we stayed there for three days. And I sought among the people and among the priests for the sons of Levi, and I found none there.
16 And so I sent Eliezer, and Ariel, and Shemaiah, and Elnathan, and Jarib, and another Elnathan, and Nathan, and Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were wise.
17 And I sent them to Iddo, who is first within the place of Casiphia. And I placed in their mouth the words that they should speak to Iddo and his brothers, the temple servants, in the place of Casiphia, so that they would lead to us ministers for the house of our God.
18 And because the good hand of our God was over us, they led to us a very learned man from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, with Sherebiah, and his sons, and his eighteen brothers,
19 and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah, of the sons of Merari, and his brothers, and his sons, numbering twenty.
20 And from the temple servants, whom David, and the leaders had provided for the ministry of the Levites, there were two hundred twenty temple servants. All these were called by their names.
21 And I proclaimed a fast in that place, beside the river Ahava, so that we might afflict ourselves in the sight of the Lord our God, and so that we might request of him the right way for us, and for our sons, and for all our substance.
22 For I was ashamed to petition the king for assistance and for horsemen, who would defend us from the enemy along the way. For we had said to the king: “The hand of our God is over all those who seek him in goodness. And his authority, and his strength and fury, is over all those who forsake him.”
23 And so we fasted and begged our God for this; and as a result, we prospered.
24 And I separated twelve from among the leaders of the priests: Sherebiah, and Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers.
25 And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold, and the vessels consecrated to the house of our God, which had been offered by the king, and by his counselors and his leaders, and by all those of Israel who had been found.
26 And I weighed out to their hands six hundred fifty talents of silver, and one hundred vessels of silver, and one hundred talents of gold,
27 and twenty gold bowls which had the weight of one thousand coins, and two vessels of the finest shining brass, as beautiful as gold.
28 And I said to them: “You are the holy ones of the Lord, and the vessels are holy, with the silver and the gold, which has been offered freely to the Lord, the God of our fathers.
29 Watch and guard them, until you weigh them out before the leaders of the priests and the Levites, and the rulers of the families of Israel in Jerusalem, into the treasury of the house of the Lord.”
30 Then the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, so that they might carry these to Jerusalem, into the house of our God.
31 Therefore, we set out from the river Ahava, on the twelfth day of the first month, so that we might travel to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was over us, and he freed us from the hand of the enemy and of those who lay in ambush along the way.
32 And we arrived at Jerusalem, and we stayed there for three days.
33 Then, on the fourth day, the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed out in the house of our God, by the hand of Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the priest; and with him was Eleazar, the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad, the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, the son of Binnui.
34 This was done according to the number and weight of everything; and every weight was written down at that time.
35 Moreover, those who came from the captivity, the sons of the transmigration, offered holocausts to the God of Israel: twelve calves on behalf of all the people of Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve he-goats for sin. All these were a holocaust to the Lord.
36 Then they gave the edicts of the king to the rulers who served in the sight of the king, and to the governors beyond the river, and they exalted the people and the house of God.
1 Then, after these things were completed, the leaders came to me, saying: “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, have not been separated from the peoples of the lands and from their abominations, especially those of the Canaanites, and Hittites, and Perizzites, and Jebusites, and Ammonites, and Moabites, and Egyptians, and Amorites.
2 For they have taken from their daughters for themselves and for their sons, and they have mixed a holy lineage with the peoples of the lands. And even the hand of the leaders and the magistrates has been first in this transgression.”
3 And when I had heard this word, I tore my cloak and my tunic, and I pulled out the hairs of my head and beard, and I sat in mourning.
4 Then all those who feared the word of the God of Israel gathered to me, because of the transgression of those who had arrived from the captivity. And I sat in sorrow, until the evening sacrifice.
5 And at the evening sacrifice, I rose up from my affliction, and, having torn my cloak and my tunic, I fell to my knees, and I reached out my hands to the Lord, my God.
6 And I said: “My God, I am confounded and ashamed to lift up my face to you. For our iniquities have been multiplied over our heads, and our offenses have increased, even up to heaven,
7 from the days of our fathers. But also, we ourselves have sinned gravely, even to this day. And for our iniquities, we ourselves, and our kings and our priests, have been delivered into the hands of the kings of the lands, and to the sword, and to captivity, and to plunder, and to confusion of face, just as it is also in this day.
8 And now, to a small extent and for a moment, our petition has been made with the Lord our God, so that they may leave us a remnant, and so that a secure place in his holy land may be given to us, and so that our God may illuminate our eyes, and may give us a little life in our servitude.
9 For we are servants, yet in our servitude our God has not forsaken us, but he has inclined mercy upon us in the sight of the king of the Persians, so that he may give us life, and may raise up the house of our God, and repair its desolations, and give us a hedge in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 And now, our God, what should we say after these things? For we abandoned your commandments,
11 which you instructed by the hand of your servants, the prophets, saying: ‘The land, which you shall enter so that you may possess it, is an unclean land, due to the uncleanness of the peoples and of the other lands, the abominations of those who have filled it, from mouth to mouth, with their filth.’
12 Now therefore, you should not give your daughters to their sons, nor should you receive their daughters for your sons. And you should not seek their peace, nor their prosperity, even forever. So shall you be strengthened, and so shall you eat the good things of the land, and have your sons as your heirs, even for all time.
13 And after all that has happened to us because of our very wicked works and our great offense, you, our God, have freed us from our iniquity, and you have given us salvation, just as it is this day,
14 so that we would not turn away and make your commandments void, and so that we would not unite in marriage with the peoples of these abominations. Could you be angry with us even to the very end, so that you would not to leave us a remnant to be saved?
15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just. For we have been left behind to be saved, just as it is this day. Behold, we are before your sight in our offense. And it is not possible to withstand you in this matter.”
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1 For, behold, in those days and in that time, when I will have converted the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather all the Gentiles, and will lead them into the valley of Jehoshaphat. And there I will dispute with them over my people, and over Israel, my inheritance, for they have scattered them among the nations and have divided my land.
3 And they have cast lots over my people; and the boy they have placed in the brothel, and the girl they have sold for wine, so that they might drink.
4 Truly, what is there between you and me, Tyre and Sidon and all the distant places of the Philistines? How will you take vengeance on me? And if you were to revenge yourselves against me, I would deliver a repayment to you, quickly and soon, upon your head.
5 For you have carried away my silver and gold. And my desirable and most beautiful, you have taken into your shrines.
6 And you, sons of Judah and sons of Jerusalem, you have sold the sons of the Greeks, so that you might drive them far from their own territory.
7 Behold, I will raise them up from the place into which you have sold them, and I will turn back your retribution on your own head.
8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a distant nation, for the Lord has spoken.
9 Proclaim this among the Gentiles: “Sanctify a war, raise up the strong. Approach, ascend, all men of war.
10 Cut your ploughs into swords and your hoes into spears. Let the weak say, ‘For I am strong.’
11 Break out and advance, all nations of the world, and gather together. There the Lord will cause all your strong ones to meet death.”
12 Let them arise and ascend to the valley of Jehoshaphat. For there I will sit, so as to judge all the nations of the world.
13 Send forth the sickles, because the harvest has matured. Advance and descend, for the press is full, the pressing room is overflowing. For their malice has been increasing.
14 Nations, nations in the valley of being cut to pieces: for the day of the Lord fittingly takes place in the valley of being cut to pieces.
15 The sun and the moon have been darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their splendor.
16 And the Lord will roar from Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem. And the heavens and the earth will be moved. And the Lord will be the hope of his people and the strength of the sons of Israel.
17 And you will know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem will be holy, and strangers will not cross through it anymore.
18 And it will happen, in that day, that the mountains will drip sweetness, and the hills will flow with milk. And the waters will pass through all the rivers of Judah. And a fountain will go forth from the house of the Lord, and it will irrigate the desert of thorns.
19 Egypt will be in desolation, and Edom will be a wilderness destroyed, because of what they have unfairly done to the sons of Judah, and because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
20 And Judea will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem for generation upon generation.
21 And I will cleanse their blood, which I had not cleansed. And the Lord will remain in Zion.
23 And Israel went into Egypt: and Jacob was a sojourner in the land of Cham.
24 And he increased his people exceedingly: and strengthened them over their enemies,
25 He turned their heart to hate his people: and to deal deceitfully with his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant: Aaron the man whom he had chosen.
27 He gave them power to shew his signs, and his wonders in the land of Cham.
28 He sent darkness, and made it obscure: and grieved not his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood, and destroyed their fish.
1 Now concerning spiritual things, I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers.
2 You know that when you were Gentiles, you approached mute idols, doing what you were led to do.
3 Because of this, I would have you know that no one speaking in the Spirit of God utters a curse against Jesus. And no one is able to say that Jesus is Lord, except in the Holy Spirit.
4 Truly, there are diverse graces, but the same Spirit.
5 And there are diverse ministries, but the same Lord.
6 And there are diverse works, but the same God, who works everything in everyone.
7 However, the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one toward what is beneficial.
8 Certainly, to one, through the Spirit, is given words of wisdom; but to another, according to the same Spirit, words of knowledge;
9 to another, in the same Spirit, faith; to another, in the one Spirit, the gift of healing;
10 to another, miraculous works; to another, prophecy; to another, the discernment of spirits; to another, different kinds of languages; to another, the interpretation of words.
11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one according to his will.
12 For just as the body is one, and yet has many parts, so all the parts of the body, though they are many, are only one body. So also is Christ.
13 And indeed, in one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether servant or free. And we all drank in the one Spirit.
14 For the body, too, is not one part, but many.
15 If the foot were to say, “Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body,” would it then not be of the body?
16 And if the ear were to say, “Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body,” would it then not be of the body?
17 If the whole body were the eye, how would it hear? If the whole were hearing, how would it smell?
18 But instead, God has placed the parts, each one of them, in the body, just as it has pleased him.
19 So if they were all one part, how would it be a body?
20 But instead, there are many parts, indeed, yet one body.
21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need for your works.” And again, the head cannot say to the feet, “You are of no use to me.”
22 In fact, so much more necessary are those parts of the body which seem to be weaker.
23 And though we consider certain parts of the body to be less noble, we surround these with more abundant dignity, and so, those parts which are less presentable end up with more abundant respect.
24 However, our presentable parts have no such need, since God has tempered the body together, distributing the more abundant honor to that which has the need,
25 so that there might be no schism in the body, but instead the parts themselves might take care of one another.
26 And so, if one part suffers anything, all the parts suffer with it. Or, if one part finds glory, all the parts rejoice with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and parts like any part.
28 And indeed, God has established a certain order in the Church: first Apostles, second Prophets, third Teachers, next miracle-workers, and then the grace of healing, of helping others, of governing, of different kinds of languages, and of the interpretation of words.
29 Are all Apostles? Are all Prophets? Are all Teachers?
30 Are all workers of miracles? Do all have the grace of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?
31 But be zealous for the better charisms. And I reveal to you a yet more excellent way.
