Meditate

7. Completion of the Wall

 7

Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed,²I gave my brother Hanani charge over Jerusalem, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel—for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.³And I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot; while the gatekeepers are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their watch posts, and others before their own houses.”⁴The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few and no houses had been built.

Lists of the Returned Exiles

⁵ Then my God put it into my mind to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who were the first to come back, and I found the following written in it:

⁶ These are the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had carried into exile; they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town.⁷They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah.

The number of the Israelite people:⁸the descendants of Parosh, two thousand one hundred seventy-two.⁹Of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy-two.¹⁰Of Arah, six hundred fifty-two.¹¹Of Pahath-moab, namely the descendants of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred eighteen.¹²Of Elam, one thousand two hundred fifty-four.¹³Of Zattu, eight hundred forty-five.¹⁴Of Zaccai, seven hundred sixty.¹⁵Of Binnui, six hundred forty-eight.¹⁶Of Bebai, six hundred twenty-eight.¹⁷Of Azgad, two thousand three hundred twenty-two.¹⁸Of Adonikam, six hundred sixty-seven.¹⁹Of Bigvai, two thousand sixty-seven.²⁰Of Adin, six hundred fifty-five.²¹Of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, ninety-eight.²²Of Hashum, three hundred twenty-eight.²³Of Bezai, three hundred twenty-four.²⁴Of Hariph, one hundred twelve.²⁵Of Gibeon, ninety-five.²⁶The people of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred eighty-eight.²⁷Of Anathoth, one hundred twenty-eight.²⁸Of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two.²⁹Of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred forty-three.³⁰Of Ramah and Geba, six hundred twenty-one.³¹Of Michmas, one hundred twenty-two.³²Of Bethel and Ai, one hundred twenty-three.³³Of the other Nebo, fifty-two.³⁴The descendants of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred fifty-four.³⁵Of Harim, three hundred twenty.³⁶Of Jericho, three hundred forty-five.³⁷Of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty-one.³⁸Of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred thirty.

³⁹ The priests: the descendants of Jedaiah, namely the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy-three.⁴⁰Of Immer, one thousand fifty-two.⁴¹Of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred forty-seven.⁴²Of Harim, one thousand seventeen.

⁴³ The Levites: the descendants of Jeshua, namely of Kadmiel of the descendants of Hodevah, seventy-four.⁴⁴The singers: the descendants of Asaph, one hundred forty-eight.⁴⁵The gatekeepers: the descendants of Shallum, of Ater, of Talmon, of Akkub, of Hatita, of Shobai, one hundred thirty-eight.

⁴⁶ The temple servants: the descendants of Ziha, of Hasupha, of Tabbaoth,⁴⁷of Keros, of Sia, of Padon,⁴⁸of Lebana, of Hagaba, of Shalmai,⁴⁹of Hanan, of Giddel, of Gahar,⁵⁰of Reaiah, of Rezin, of Nekoda,⁵¹of Gazzam, of Uzza, of Paseah,⁵²of Besai, of Meunim, of Nephushesim,⁵³of Bakbuk, of Hakupha, of Harhur,⁵⁴of Bazlith, of Mehida, of Harsha,⁵⁵of Barkos, of Sisera, of Temah,⁵⁶of Neziah, of Hatipha.

⁵⁷ The descendants of Solomon’s servants: of Sotai, of Sophereth, of Perida,⁵⁸of Jaala, of Darkon, of Giddel,⁵⁹of Shephatiah, of Hattil, of Pochereth-hazzebaim, of Amon.

⁶⁰ All the temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants were three hundred ninety-two.

⁶¹ The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove their ancestral houses or their descent, whether they belonged to Israel:⁶²the descendants of Delaiah, of Tobiah, of Nekoda, six hundred forty-two.⁶³Also, of the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, of Hakkoz, of Barzillai (who had married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name).⁶⁴These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but it was not found there, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean;⁶⁵the governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food, until a priest with Urim and Thummim should come.

⁶⁶ The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred sixty,⁶⁷besides their male and female slaves, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty-seven; and they had two hundred forty-five singers, male and female.⁶⁸They had seven hundred thirty-six horses, two hundred forty-five mules,⁶⁹four hundred thirty-five camels, and six thousand seven hundred twenty donkeys.

⁷⁰ Now some of the heads of ancestral houses contributed to the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, and five hundred thirty priestly robes.⁷¹And some of the heads of ancestral houses gave into the building fund twenty thousand darics of gold and two thousand two hundred minas of silver.⁷²And what the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, two thousand minas of silver, and sixty-seven priestly robes.

⁷³ So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel settled in their towns.

Ezra Summons the People to Obey the Law

When the seventh month came—the people of Israel being settled in their towns—

12. God Disciplines His Sons

Warnings against Rejecting God’s Grace

¹⁴ Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.¹⁵See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled.¹⁶See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal.¹⁷You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing with tears.

¹⁸ You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest,¹⁹and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them.²⁰(For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.”²¹Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”)

67. Psalm 67

Psalm 67

The Nations Called to Praise God

To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

1

May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face to shine upon us,Selah

2

that your way may be known upon earth,

your saving power among all nations.

3

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you.

4

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you judge the peoples with equity

and guide the nations upon earth.Selah

5

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you.

6

The earth has yielded its increase;

God, our God, has blessed us.

7

May God continue to bless us;

let all the ends of the earth revere him.