Study Desk

But You did not give up taking care of them for many years. You spoke sharp words to them by Your Spirit through the men who tell what will happen. Yet they would not listen. So You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

"So now, our God, the great and powerful God, honored with fear, Who keeps His agreement and loving-kindness, do not let all this trouble look small in Your eyes which has come upon us, our kings, our princes, our religious leaders, our men who tell what will happen, our fathers, and on all Your people since the days of the kings of Assyria to this day.

See, we are servants today. We are servants in the land You gave to our fathers. You gave it to them so they could eat the fruit and have other good things.

The many good things the land gives are used by the kings whom You have put over us because of our sins. They also rule over our bodies and over our cattle as they please. So we are in much trouble.

Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, and Azekah and its villages. So they lived from Beersheba as far as the valley of Hinnom.

As for the Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the heads of the family groups were written down. So were the religious leaders in the rule of Darius the Persian.

At the special time to praise God for the wall of Jerusalem, they looked for all the Levites in the places where they lived and brought them to Jerusalem so they might join them at this special time with happiness. They sang songs of thanks and other songs as timbrels and harps were played.

So the sons of the singers were gathered from the land around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Nethophathites,

Then the two groups stood in the house of God. So did I and half of the leaders with me,

On that day they gave many good gifts and were glad because God had given them great joy. Even the women and children were filled with joy, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from far away.

So all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah gave what was to be given to the singers and gate-keepers each day. They set apart what was for the Levites. And the Levites set apart what was for the sons of Aaron.

I also learned that what was to be given to the Levites had not been given. So the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to their own fields.

So I spoke sharp words to the leaders and said, "Why is the house of God no longer cared for?" Then I gathered them together and returned them to their duties.

In those days I saw in Judah some who were crushing grapes to make wine on the Day of Rest. I saw them bringing in bags of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads. And they brought them into Jerusalem on the Day of Rest. So I spoke sharp words to them on the day they sold food.

Did not your fathers do the same, so that our God brought all this trouble to us and to this city? Yet you are bringing more anger to Israel by not keeping the Day of Rest holy."

Then I spoke sharp words to them, saying, "Why do you stay the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will send men out to make you leave." From that time on they did not come on the Day of Rest.

So I fought with them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them promise in the name of God, saying, "You must not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

Even one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the religious leader, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. So I drove him away from me.

So I made them free from the sin of other nations. I gave the religious leaders and the Levites their duties, each in his work.

But Queen Vashti would not come when the king sent his servants to bring her. So the king became very angry and his anger burned within him.