Nehemiah 5 Cross References - MSB

¹ About that time there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews. ² Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous. We must get grain in order to eat and stay alive.” ³ Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine.” ⁴ Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. ⁵ 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.” ⁶ When I heard their outcry and these complaints, I became extremely angry, ⁷ 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 ⁸ 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. ⁹ 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? ¹⁰ I, as well as my brothers and my servants, have been lending the people money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury. ¹¹ 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.” ¹² “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. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ There were 150 Jews and officials at my table, besides the guests from the surrounding nations. ¹⁸ 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. ¹⁹ Remember me favorably, O my God, for all that I have done for this people.

⁷ The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.

²⁵ If you lend money to one of My people among you who is poor, you must not act as a creditor to him; you are not to charge him interest. ²⁶ If you take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him by sunset, ²⁷ because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? And if he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

³⁵ Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you. ³⁶ Do not take any interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your countryman may live among you. ³⁷ You must not lend him your silver at interest or sell him your food for profit.

⁷ If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother. ⁸ Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs. ⁹ Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin. ¹⁰ Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything to which you put your hand. ¹¹ For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land.

³⁸ if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together, ³⁹ if I have devoured its produce without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,

²⁸ They caused the cry of the poor to come before Him, and He heard the outcry of the afflicted.

⁷ For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.

⁷ Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help?

²⁶ The next day he came upon two Israelites who were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’

⁶ Instead, one brother goes to law against another, and this in front of unbelievers! ⁷ The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means that you are thoroughly defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? ⁸ Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, even against your own brothers!

⁴ Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

⁵⁷ And every nation came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.

² “Look,” he added, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”

⁸ And Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will go at once, so that we may live and not die—neither we, nor you, nor our children.

³ Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward. ⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children born in one’s youth. ⁵ Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. He will not be put to shame when he confronts the enemies at the gate.

² For when you eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours. ³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table. ⁴ In this way indeed shall blessing come to the man who fears the LORD.

² If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the LORD of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already begun to curse them, because you are not taking it to heart.

¹⁵ When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our funds have run out!” ¹⁶ “Then bring me your livestock,” said Joseph. “Since the money is gone, I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock.” ¹⁷ So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their flocks and herds, and their donkeys. Throughout that year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock. ¹⁸ When that year was over, they came to him the second year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord that our money is gone and all our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. ¹⁹ Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Purchase us and our land in exchange for food. Then we, along with our land, will be slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.” ²⁰ So Joseph acquired for Pharaoh all the land in Egypt; the Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields because the famine was so severe upon them. The land became Pharaoh’s, ²¹ and Joseph reduced the people to servitude from one end of Egypt to the other. ²² However, he did not acquire the priests’ portion of the land, for it had been given to them by Pharaoh. They ate the rations that Pharaoh supplied; so they did not sell their land. ²³ Then Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh this day, here is seed for you to sow in the land. ²⁴ At harvest time, you are to give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and food for yourselves and your households and children.” ²⁵ “You have saved our lives,” they said. “We have found favor in our lord’s eyes, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”

³⁵ Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you. ³⁶ Do not take any interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your countryman may live among you. ³⁷ You must not lend him your silver at interest or sell him your food for profit. ³⁸ I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. ³⁹ If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor.

⁷ If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother.

⁸ Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings. ⁹ You are cursed with a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me. ¹⁰ Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure. ¹¹ I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts.

⁴⁷ Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance, ⁴⁸ you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

¹⁰ But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, but they are forced laborers.

²¹ their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to devote to destruction—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day.

¹³ Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, they will not pay tribute, duty, or toll, and the royal treasury will suffer.

²⁰ And mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates; and tribute, duty, and toll were paid to them.

²⁴ And be advised that you have no authority to impose tribute, duty, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

³⁷ 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.

¹⁴ Then Laban declared, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month,

²⁷ Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed.

¹ “These are the ordinances that you are to set before them: ² If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything. ³ If he arrived alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrived with a wife, she is to leave with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. ⁵ But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’ ⁶ then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life. ⁷ And if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants do. ⁸ If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has broken faith with her. ⁹ And if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her as with a daughter. ¹⁰ If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife. ¹¹ If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without monetary payment.

³⁹ If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor. ⁴⁰ Let him stay with you as a hired worker or temporary resident; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. ⁴¹ Then he and his children are to be released, and he may return to his clan and to the property of his fathers. ⁴² Because the Israelites are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves. ⁴³ You are not to rule over them harshly, but you shall fear your God.

¹ Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!”

⁷ Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

²⁵ Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.

⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

⁸ And all these officials of yours will come and bow before me, saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that, I will depart.” And hot with anger, Moses left Pharaoh’s presence.

¹⁵ Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”

⁸ And I was greatly displeased and threw all of Tobiah’s household goods out of the room.

²⁵ 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!

⁵ Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other.

²⁶ “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,

²⁵ If you lend money to one of My people among you who is poor, you must not act as a creditor to him; you are not to charge him interest.

¹⁵ You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.

³⁶ Do not take any interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your countryman may live among you.

² This is the manner of remission: Every creditor shall cancel what he has loaned to his neighbor. He is not to collect anything from his neighbor or brother, because the LORD’s time of release has been proclaimed. ³ You may collect something from a foreigner, but you must forgive whatever your brother owes you.

¹⁹ Do not charge your brother interest on money, food, or any other type of loan. ²⁰ You may charge a foreigner interest, but not your brother, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything to which you put your hand in the land that you are entering to possess.

¹⁰ When you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect security. ¹¹ You are to stand outside while the man to whom you are lending brings the security out to you. ¹² If he is a poor man, you must not go to sleep with the security in your possession; ¹³ be sure to return it to him by sunset, so that he may sleep in his own cloak and bless you, and this will be credited to you as righteousness before the LORD your God.

⁶ Then he said to the judges, “Consider carefully what you do, for you are not judging for man, but for the LORD, who is with you when you render judgment. ⁷ And now, may the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for with the LORD our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”

⁹ But a prophet of the LORD named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army that returned to Samaria. “Look,” he said to them, “because of His wrath against Judah, the LORD, the God of your fathers, has delivered them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches up to heaven. ¹⁰ And now you intend to reduce to slavery the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem. But are you not also guilty before the LORD your God? ¹¹ Now therefore, listen to me and return the captives you took from your kinsmen, for the fierce anger of the LORD is upon you.” ¹² Then some of the leaders of the Ephraimites—Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai—stood in opposition to those arriving from the war. ¹³ “You must not bring the captives here,” they said, “for you are proposing to bring guilt upon us from the LORD and to add to our sins and our guilt. For our guilt is great, and fierce anger is upon Israel.”

⁴ Be angry, yet do not sin; on your bed, search your heart and be still. Selah

¹ A Psalm of David. O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy mountain?

⁵ who lends his money without interest and refuses a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

⁸ My heart said, “Seek His face.” Your face, O LORD, I will seek.

¹ A Psalm of Asaph. God presides in the divine assembly; He renders judgment among the gods: ² “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah ³ Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed. ⁴ Rescue the weak and needy; save them from the hand of the wicked.

⁵ Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed.

¹² In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

⁹ For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Enough, O princes of Israel! Cease your violence and oppression, and do what is just and right. Stop dispossessing My people, declares the Lord GOD.’

¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

¹¹ When Peter came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood to be condemned.

²⁰ Those who persist in sin should be rebuked in front of everyone, so that the others will stand in fear of sin.

¹⁵ Speak these things as you encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

¹⁶ Whoever kidnaps another man must be put to death, whether he sells him or the man is found in his possession.

⁴⁷ If a foreigner residing among you prospers, but your countryman dwelling near him becomes destitute and sells himself to the foreigner or to a member of his clan, ⁴⁸ he retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his brothers may redeem him: ⁴⁹ either his uncle or cousin or any close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.

⁷ If a man is caught kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. So you must purge the evil from among you.

¹⁰ The voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.

¹⁵ Job’s friends are dismayed, with no more to say; words have escaped them.

¹² ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man was speechless.

¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent—each according to his own ability. And he went on his journey.

²⁹ For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

¹⁹ 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.

¹⁵ If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother, for whom Christ died.

¹¹ So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. ¹² For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.

⁷ And there was discord between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land. ⁸ So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are brothers.

¹¹ Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’

¹⁸ and on the third day he said to them, “I fear God. So do this and you will live:

²⁴ No, my sons; it is not a good report I hear circulating among the LORD’s people.

¹⁴ Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD, the son born to you will surely die.”

⁴ 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.

¹⁵ 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.

²⁹ A violent man entices his neighbor and leads him down a path that is not good.

²⁶ It is surely not good to punish the innocent or to flog a noble for his honesty.

⁵ Showing partiality to the wicked is not good, nor is depriving the innocent of justice.

² Even zeal is no good without knowledge, and he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark.

²³ These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.

²⁰ And wherever they went among the nations, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, yet they had to leave His land.’

³¹ Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced a time of peace. It grew in strength and numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.

²⁴ As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

¹⁴ So I advise the younger widows to marry, have children, and manage their households, denying the adversary occasion for slander.

⁵ to be self-controlled, pure, managers of their households, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be discredited.

¹² Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.

⁷ 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

⁸ He does not engage in usury or take excess interest, but he withholds his hand from iniquity and executes true justice between men.

¹³ He engages in usury and takes excess interest. Will this son live? He will not! Since he has committed all these abominations, he will surely die; his blood will be on his own head.

¹ Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.

¹³ “Collect no more than you are authorized,” he answered. ¹⁴ Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” “Do not take money by force or false accusation,” he said. “Be content with your wages.”

¹² If others have this right to your support, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not exercise this right. Instead, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. ¹³ Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings? ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord has prescribed that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. ¹⁵ But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that something be done for me. Indeed, I would rather die than let anyone nullify my boast. ¹⁶ Yet when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! ¹⁷ If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility. ¹⁸ What then is my reward? That in preaching the gospel I may offer the gospel of Christ free of charge, and so not use up my rights in preaching it.

¹¹ Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.

²⁰ Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.

¹ As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

⁸ So although in Christ I am bold enough to order you to do what is proper, ⁹ I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Jesus Christ as well.

⁴ once he has sinned and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, ⁵ or anything else about which he has sworn falsely. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value, and pay it to the owner on the day he acknowledges his guilt.

³ Here I am. Bear witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe and closed my eyes? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.”

⁶ Because he has done this thing and has shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.”

³ Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine.” ⁴ Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards.

⁶ Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke?

⁸ Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

² And he went up to the house of the LORD with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets—all the people small and great—and in their hearing he read all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD. ³ So the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments, decrees, and statutes with all his heart and all his soul, and to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.

²² When a man sins against his neighbor and is required to take an oath, and he comes to take an oath before Your altar in this temple, ²³ then may You hear from heaven and act. May You judge Your servants, condemning the wicked man by bringing down on his own head what he has done, and justifying the righteous man by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

¹³ And whoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, would be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. ¹⁴ They took an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, trumpets, and rams’ horns.

¹⁴ So the armed men left the captives and the plunder before the leaders and all the assembly. ¹⁵ Then the men who were designated by name arose, took charge of the captives, and provided from the plunder clothing for the naked. They clothed them, gave them sandals and food and drink, anointed their wounds, and put all the feeble on donkeys. So they brought them to Jericho, the City of Palms, to their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.

⁵ So Ezra got up and made the leading priests, Levites, and all Israel take an oath to do what had been said. And they took the oath.

¹² And the whole assembly responded in a loud voice: “Truly we must do as you say!

²⁹ 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.

³¹ 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.

⁸ After King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim liberty, the word came to Jeremiah from the LORD ⁹ that each man should free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female, and no one should hold his fellow Jew in bondage. ¹⁰ So all the officials and all the people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their menservants and maidservants and no longer hold them in bondage. They obeyed and released them,

²¹ Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” ²² When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.

⁶³ But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.”

⁸ But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.”

²² May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’ Then the woman is to say, ‘Amen, Amen.’

¹⁴ Then the Levites shall proclaim in a loud voice to every Israelite: ¹⁵ ‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ¹⁶ ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ¹⁷ ‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ¹⁸ ‘Cursed is he who lets a blind man wander in the road.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ¹⁹ ‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ²⁰ ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his father’s wife, for he has violated his father’s marriage bed.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ²¹ ‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ²² ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ²³ ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his mother-in-law.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ²⁴ ‘Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ²⁵ ‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ ²⁶ ‘Cursed is he who does not put the words of this law into practice.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

²⁸ So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.

²⁹ During that time, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met Jeroboam on the road as he was going out of Jerusalem. Now Ahijah had wrapped himself in a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the open field. ³⁰ And Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing, tore it into twelve pieces, ³¹ and said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and I will give you ten tribes.

³ So the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments, decrees, and statutes with all his heart and all his soul, and to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.

³⁶ Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.” Then all the people said, “Amen!” and “Praise the LORD!”

⁶ 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.

¹⁴ Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and fulfill your vows to the Most High.

¹¹ Make and fulfill your vows to the LORD your God; let all the neighboring lands bring tribute to Him who is to be feared.

¹⁰⁶ I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments.

⁵ It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.

³ Then he told me, “This is the curse that is going out over the face of all the land, for according to one side of the scroll, every thief will be removed; and according to the other side, every perjurer will be removed. ⁴ I will send it out, declares the LORD of Hosts, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by My name. It will remain inside his house and destroy it, down to its timbers and stones.”

¹⁴ And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.

⁵¹ So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.

⁶ But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

¹³ Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, they will not pay tribute, duty, or toll, and the royal treasury will suffer. ¹⁴ Now because we are in the service of the palace and it is not fitting for us to allow the king to be dishonored, we have sent to inform the king

¹ 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,

⁶ 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

⁶ This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work. ⁷ Therefore 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.

⁴ Have we no right to food and to drink? ⁵ Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? ⁶ Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living? ⁷ Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk? ⁸ Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? ⁹ For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? ¹⁰ Isn’t He actually speaking on our behalf? Indeed, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they should also expect to share in the harvest. ¹¹ If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much for us to reap a material harvest from you? ¹² If others have this right to your support, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not exercise this right. Instead, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. ¹³ Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings? ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord has prescribed that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. ¹⁵ But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that something be done for me. Indeed, I would rather die than let anyone nullify my boast.

¹⁸ What then is my reward? That in preaching the gospel I may offer the gospel of Christ free of charge, and so not use up my rights in preaching it.

⁸ nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ Not that we lack this right, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate.

¹⁵ Even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.” ¹⁶ And if any man said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you may take whatever you want,” the servant would reply, “No, you must give it to me right now. If you refuse, I will take it by force!” ¹⁷ Thus the sin of these young men was severe in the sight of the LORD, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt.

¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and grape harvest and give it to his officials and servants.

⁹ 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?

²³ For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower.

¹ Hallelujah! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments.

¹¹ The LORD is pleased with those who fear Him, who hope in His loving devotion.

⁶ By loving devotion and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns aside from evil.

¹² If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials will be wicked.

¹³ When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man. ¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

¹⁰ Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His Servant? Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD; let him lean on his God.

⁴⁷ And if you greet only your friends, what are you doing more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

² “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected men. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴ For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect men,

⁹ And when I was with you and in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. I have refrained from being a burden to you in any way, and I will continue to do so.

¹³ In what way were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was not a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!

¹⁵ But the seeds on good soil are those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, cling to it, and by persevering produce a crop.

³³ I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. ³⁴ You yourselves know that these hands of mine have ministered to my own needs and those of my companions. ³⁵ In everything, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus Himself: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

⁷ To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

¹⁶ Be that as it may, I was not a burden to you; but crafty as I am, I caught you by trickery. ¹⁷ Did I exploit you by anyone I sent you? ¹⁸ I urged Titus to visit you, and I sent our brother with him. Did Titus exploit you in any way? Did we not walk in the same Spirit and follow in the same footsteps?

⁹ Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

²⁰ I have nobody else like him who will genuinely care for your needs. ²¹ For all the others look after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

⁵ As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness! ⁶ Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.

⁷ “Do not be afraid,” said David, “for surely I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

¹³ So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table, and he was lame in both feet.

¹⁹ Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

⁸ But a noble man makes honorable plans; he stands up for worthy causes.

¹³ Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.

⁹ Show hospitality to one another without complaining. ¹⁰ As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.

²² Solomon’s provisions for a single day were thirty cors of fine flour, sixty cors of meal, ²³ ten fat oxen, twenty range oxen, and a hundred sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened poultry.

¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ 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.

²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous are gracious and giving.

²⁶ They are ever generous and quick to lend, and their children are a blessing.

¹⁴ But when it goes well for you, please remember me and show me kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh, that he might bring me out of this prison.

¹⁴ 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.

²² 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.

³¹ I also arranged for contributions of wood at the appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, with favor.

²³ And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity. ²⁴ So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. ²⁵ To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

⁶ Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and loving devotion, for they are from age to age. ⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my rebellious acts; remember me according to Your loving devotion, because of Your goodness, O LORD.

¹⁷ But I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my helper and deliverer; O my God, do not delay.

⁴ Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor to Your people; visit me with Your salvation,

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

⁴² And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”

³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

⁴¹ Indeed, if anyone gives you even a cup of water in My name because you are Christ’s, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.