Study Desk

Shaking out the fold in my garment, I said, "May God thus shake every man from his house and from his work who fails to live up to this promise — may he be shaken out like this and made empty." The whole assembly said, "Amen!" and praised Adonai ; and the people did as they had promised.

The earlier governors, before me, had burdened the people, taxing them more than one-and-a-half pounds of silver shekels for food and wine; and even their servants lorded it over the people. But I didn't, because I feared God.

My God, remember favorably everything I have done for this people!

They were all just trying to scare us, thinking, "This will sap their strength and keep them from working." But now, [God,] increase my strength!

One day, when I went to the house of Sh'ma‘yah the son of D'layah, the son of M'heitav'el, where he was confined, he said, "Let's meet together in the house of God, inside the temple, and let's shut the doors of the temple. For they are going to come and try to assassinate you; yes, they will come at night to kill you."

Then I realized that God had not sent him, that he was making this prophecy against me, and that Toviyah and Sanvalat had bribed him to say it.

My God, remember Toviyah and Sanvalat according to their deeds, also the prophet No‘adyah and the other prophets trying to intimidate me.

When all our enemies heard about it and the surrounding nations became afraid, our enemies' self-esteem fell severely; because they realized that this work had been accomplished by our God.

‘Ezra blessed Adonai , the great God; and all the people answered, "Amen! Amen!" as they lifted up their hands, bowed their heads and fell prostrate before Adonai with their faces to the ground.

They read clearly from the scroll, in the Torah of God, translated it, and enabled them to understand the sense of what was being read.

Nechemyah the Tirshata, ‘Ezra the cohen and Torah-teacher and the L'vi'im who taught the people said to all the people, "Today is consecrated to Adonai your God; don't be mournful, don't weep." For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the Torah.

So the people went out, brought them and made sukkot for themselves, each one on the roof of his house, also in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the house of God, in the open space by the Water Gate and in the open space by the Efrayim Gate.

Also they read every day, from the first day until the last day, in the scroll of the Torah of God. They kept the feast for seven days; then on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.

Standing where they were, they read in the scroll of the Torah of Adonai their God for one-quarter of the day. For another quarter they confessed and prostrated themselves before Adonai their God.

On the platform of the L'vi'im stood Yeshua, Bani, Kadmi'el, Sh'vanyah, Buni, Sherevyah, Bani and K'nani; they cried out loudly to Adonai their God.

Then the L'vi'im Yeshua, Kadmi'el, Bani, Hashavn'yah, Sherevyah, Hodiyah, Sh'vanyah and P'tachyah said, "Stand up, and bless Adonai your God from everlasting to everlasting; let them say: "‘Blessed be your glorious name, exalted above all blessing and praise!

"‘You are Adonai , the God who chose Avram, brought him out of Ur-Kasdim and gave him the name of Avraham.

they refused to listen and paid no attention to the wonders you had done among them. No, they stiffened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return them to their slavery. But because you are a God of forgiveness, merciful, full of compassion, slow to grow angry and full of grace, you did not abandon them.

Even when they cast themselves a metal calf, saying of it, "This is your god that brought you up from Egypt," and committing other gross provocations;

Even so, in your great compassion, you didn't completely destroy them; nor did you abandon them, for you are a compassionate and merciful God.