Study Desk

Then all the assembly answered with a great voice and said, "It is so. We must do according to your words.

The returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest selected men, the heads of the families according to the house of their fathers, all of them by name. They sat down to examine the matter on the first day of the tenth month.

So the king said to me, "Why is your face sad since you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart." And I was very much afraid.

Then the king said to me, "What is your request?" So I prayed to the God of the heavens.

Then I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your presence, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors' burial sites, so that I may rebuild it."

With the queen sitting beside him, the king said to me, "How long will your journey be and when will you return?" So it pleased the king and he sent me, and I set for him an appointed time.

So I went up by the valley during the night and was examining the wall. Then I returned and came to the Valley Gate and returned.

So we rebuilt the wall, and all of the wall was joined up to half its height. For the people had a heart to do it.

So all of them plotted together to come fight against Jerusalem and to make trouble for it.

So we prayed to our God and set up a guard against them day and night.

So we labored at the work, and half of them were holding the spears from dawn until the stars came out.

At the time I also said to the people, "Let each man and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they will be a guard for us in the night and work in the day."

So neither I nor my brothers nor my young men nor the men of the guard who were behind me took off our clothes. Each one kept his weapon even in the water.

There were those who were saying, "Our sons and daughters, we are many. We must get grain so that we may eat and live."

There were also those saying, "We have pledged our fields and our vineyards and our houses so that we can get grain in the famine."

I thought over this in my heart, and then I quarreled with the nobles and the prefects. I said to them, "You yourselves are taking interest from your own brother!" So I called the great assembly against them,

and I said to them: "We ourselves have bought back our brothers the Jews who were sold to the nations as we were able. But now you yourselves have sold your brothers so they may be sold to us!" They were silent and could not find a word to say.

So I said, "The thing that you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God to prevent the disgrace from the nations, our enemies?

So they said, "We will restore it and will not request anything more. So we will do as you say." Then I called the priests and made them take an oath to do this promise.

I also shook out my garment and said, "This is how God will shake out everyone from his house who will not keep this promise. So this is how his possessions will be shaken out and emptied." And all the assembly said, "Amen!" And they praised Yahweh, and the people kept this promise.