Study Desk

And he spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, What are these feeble Jews doing? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, seeing they are burned?

And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God had brought their counsel to nothing, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one to his work.

They all built the wall and those that bore burdens loaded themselves; every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other held his weapon;

and the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so built. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.

Likewise at the same time I said to the people, Let every one with his attendant lodge inside Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labor in the day.

So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my attendants, nor the men of the guard that followed me, none of us put off our clothes, every one [went with] his weapon [to] the water.

Then I consulted with myself, and contended with the nobles and the rulers, and said to them, You exact usury, every one of his brother. And I held a great assembly against them.

Also I shook out my lap, and said, So may God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, that does not perform this promise; even thus shall he be shaken out, and emptied. And all the assembly said, Amen, and praised Yahweh. And the people did according to this promise.

Then Sanballat sent his attendant to me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand,

And I said, Should a man such as I flee? and who is there, that, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.

For there were many in Judah sworn to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah; and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as wife.

Also they spoke of his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. [And] Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.

And I said to them, Don't let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand [on guard], let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one [to be] across from his house.

These are the sons of the province, that went up out of the captivity of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and that returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one to his city;

And Ezra the scribe stood on a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Uriah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchijah, and Hashum, and Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, [and] Meshullam.

So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one on the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the water gate, and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim.

and found his heart faithful before you, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, to give it to his seed, and have performed your words; for you are righteous.

and showed signs and wonders on Pharaoh, and on all his slaves, and on all the people of his land; for you knew that they dealt proudly against them, and you made a name for yourself, as it is this day.

They cleaved to their brothers, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the slave of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of Yahweh our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes;

Now these are the chiefs of the province that dwelt in Jerusalem: but in the cities of Judah dwelt every one in his possession in their cities, [to wit], Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and those given [to temple service], and the sons of Solomon's slaves.