The Daily Audio Bible

Fasting and Prayer for Protection

²¹ Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the River Ahava, that we might humble ourselves^[a] before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions.^{(A) 22} For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and cavalry to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king that the hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his power and his wrath are against all who forsake him.^{(B) 23} So we fasted and petitioned our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.^(C)

Gifts for the Temple

²⁴ Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kin with them. ²⁵ And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king, his counselors, his lords, and all Israel there present had offered;^{(D) 26} I weighed out into their hand six hundred fifty talents of silver, and one hundred silver vessels worth . . . talents,^[b] and one hundred talents of gold,^{(E) 27} twenty gold bowls worth a thousand darics, and two vessels of fine polished bronze as precious as gold. ²⁸ And I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your ancestors.^{(F) 29} Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of families in Israel at Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house of the Lord.”^{(G) 30} So the priests and the Levites took over the silver, the gold, and the vessels as they were weighed out, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.

The Return to Jerusalem

³¹ Then we left the River Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem; the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes along the way.^{(H) 32} We came to Jerusalem and remained there three days.^{(I) 33} On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver, the gold, and the vessels were weighed into the hands of the priest Meremoth son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui.^{(J) 34} The total was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.

³⁵ At that time those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats; all this was a burnt offering to the Lord.^{(K) 36} They also delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s satraps and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they supported the people and the house of God.^(L)

Denunciation of Mixed Marriages

9 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.^{(M) 2} For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons. Thus the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands, and in this faithlessness the officials and leaders have led the way.”^{(N) 3} When I heard this, I tore my garment and my mantle and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled.^{(O) 4} Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice.^(P)

Ezra’s Prayer

⁵ At the evening sacrifice I got up from my fasting, with my garments and my mantle torn, and fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the Lord my God,^{(Q) 6} and said,

“O my God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.^{(R) 7} From the days of our ancestors to this day we have been deep in guilt, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as is now the case.^{(S) 8} But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, who has left us a remnant and given us a stake in his holy place, in order that he^[c] may brighten our eyes and grant us a little sustenance in our slavery.^{(T) 9} For we are slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to give us new life to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem.^(U)

¹⁰ “And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, ¹¹ which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land unclean with the pollutions of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations. They have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness.^{(V) 12} Therefore, do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’^{(W) 13} After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this,^{(X) 14} shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you destroy us without remnant or survivor?^{(Y) 15} O Lord, God of Israel, you are just, but we have escaped as a remnant, as is now the case. Here we are before you in our guilt, though no one can face you because of this.”^(Z)

Sexual Immorality Defiles the Church

5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you and the sort of sexual immorality that is not found even among gentiles, for a man is living with his father’s wife.^{(A) 2} And you are arrogant! Should you not rather have mourned, so that he who has done this would have been removed from among you?

³ For I, though absent in body, am present in spirit, and as if present I have already pronounced judgment ⁴ in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing.^[a] When you are assembled and my spirit is present with the power of our Lord Jesus,^{(B) 5} you are to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.^[b](C)

⁶ Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all of the dough?^{(D) 7} Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.^{(E) 8} Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.^(F)

Sexual Immorality Must Be Judged

⁹ I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral persons, ¹⁰ not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since you would then need to go out of the world.^{(G) 11} But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother or sister who is sexually immoral or greedy or an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler. Do not even eat with such a one. ¹² For what have I to do with judging those outside? Are you not judges of those who are inside?^{(H) 13} God will judge those outside. “Drive out the wicked person from among you.”^(I)

Psalm 31

Prayer and Praise for Deliverance from Enemies

To the leader. A Psalm of David.