Bible Reading
August 7
The World English Bible
Aug.
7
Ezra
9, 10
Ezr
9:1 Now when these things were done, the princes drew near to me,
saying, The people of Israel, and the priests and the Levites, have
not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, doing
according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the
Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites,
the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
Ezr
9:2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for
their sons, so that the holy seed have mixed themselves with the
peoples of the lands: yes, the hand of the princes and rulers has
been chief in this trespass.
Ezr
9:3 When I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and
plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down
confounded.
Ezr
9:4 Then were assembled to me everyone who trembled at the words of
the God of Israel, because of the trespass of them of the captivity;
and I sat confounded until the evening offering.
Ezr
9:5 At the evening offering I arose up from my humiliation, even
with my garment and my robe torn; and I fell on my knees, and spread
out my hands to Yahweh my God;
Ezr
9:6 and I said, my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to
you, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our
guiltiness is grown up to the heavens.
Ezr
9:7 Since the days of our fathers we have been exceeding guilty to
this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests,
been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword,
to captivity, and to plunder, and to confusion of face, as it is this
day.
Ezr
9:8 Now for a little moment grace has been shown from Yahweh our
God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his
holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little
reviving in our bondage.
Ezr
9:9 For we are bondservants; yet our God has not forsaken us in our
bondage, but has extended loving kindness to us in the sight of the
kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our
God, and to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and in
Jerusalem.
Ezr
9:10 Now, our God, what shall we say after this? for we have
forsaken your commandments,
Ezr
9:11 which you have commanded by your servants the prophets, saying,
The land, to which you go to possess it, is an unclean land through
the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, through their
abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their
filthiness:
Ezr
9:12 now therefore don't give your daughters to their sons, neither
take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their
prosperity forever; that you may be strong, and eat the good of the
land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.
Ezr
9:13 After all that is come on us for our evil deeds, and for our
great guilt, seeing that you our God have punished us less than our
iniquities deserve, and have given us such a remnant,
Ezr
9:14 shall we again break your commandments, and join in affinity
with the peoples that do these abominations? wouldn't you be angry
with us until you had consumed us, so that there should be no
remnant, nor any to escape?
Ezr
9:15 Yahweh, the God of Israel, you are righteous; for we are left a
remnant that is escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before you
in our guiltiness; for none can stand before you because of this.
Ezr
10:1 Now while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting
himself down before the house of God, there was gathered together to
him out of Israel a very great assembly of men and women and
children; for the people wept very sore.
Ezr
10:2 Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered
Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have married foreign
women of the peoples of the land: yet now there is hope for Israel
concerning this thing.
Ezr
10:3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away
all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel
of my lord, and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God;
and let it be done according to the law.
Ezr
10:4 Arise; for the matter belongs to you, and we are with you: be
of good courage, and do it.
Ezr
10:5 Then arose Ezra, and made the chiefs of the priests, the
Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to
this word. So they swore.
Ezr
10:6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into
the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib: and when
he came there, he ate no bread, nor drank water; for he mourned
because of the trespass of them of the captivity.
Ezr
10:7 They made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all
the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves
together to Jerusalem;
Ezr
10:8 and that whoever didn't come within three days, according to
the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should
be forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the
captivity.
Ezr
10:9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves
together to Jerusalem within the three days; it was the ninth month,
on the twentieth day
of the month: and all the people sat in the broad place before the
house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great
rain.
Ezr
10:10 Ezra the priest stood up, and said to them, You have
trespassed, and have married foreign women, to increase the guilt of
Israel.
Ezr
10:11 Now therefore make confession to Yahweh, the God of your
fathers, and do his pleasure; and separate yourselves from the
peoples of the land, and from the foreign women.
Ezr
10:12 Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, As you have
said concerning us, so must we do.
Ezr
10:13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we
are not able to stand outside: neither is this a work of one day or
two; for we have greatly transgressed in this matter.
Ezr
10:14 Let now our princes be appointed for all the assembly, and let
all those who are in our cities who have married foreign women come
at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and its
judges, until the fierce wrath of our God be turned from us, until
this matter be dispatched.
Ezr
10:15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah
stood up against this matter:
and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.
Ezr
10:16 The children of the captivity did so. Ezra the priest, with
certain heads of fathers' houses,
after their fathers' houses, and all of them by their names, were set
apart; and they sat down in the first day of the tenth month to
examine the matter.
Ezr
10:17 They made an end with all the men who had married foreign
women by the first day of the first month.
Ezr
10:18 Among the sons of the priests there were found who had married
foreign women: namely,
of the sons of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brothers,
Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.
Ezr
10:19 They gave their hand that they would put away their wives; and
being guilty, they offered
a ram of the flock for their guilt.
Ezr
10:20 Of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.
Ezr
10:21 Of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and
Jehiel, and Uzziah.
Ezr
10:22 Of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel,
Jozabad, and Elasah.
Ezr
10:23 Of the Levites: Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (the same is
Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
Ezr
10:24 Of the singers: Eliashib. Of the porters: Shallum, and Telem,
and Uri.
Ezr
10:25 Of Israel: Of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, and Izziah, and
Malchijah, and Mijamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.
Ezr
10:26 Of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and
Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Elijah.
Ezr
10:27 Of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and
Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.
Ezr
10:28 Of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, Athlai.
Ezr
10:29 Of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub,
and Sheal, Jeremoth.
Ezr
10:30 Of the sons of Pahathmoab: Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah,
Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.
Ezr
10:31 of
the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,
Ezr
10:32 Benjamin, Malluch, Shemariah.
Ezr
10:33 Of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet,
Jeremai, Manasseh, Shimei.
Ezr
10:34 Of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, and Uel,
Ezr
10:35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi,
Ezr
10:36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,
Ezr
10:37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu,
Ezr
10:38 and Bani, and Binnui, Shimei,
Ezr
10:39 and Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,
Ezr
10:40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
Ezr
10:41 Azarel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,
Ezr
10:42 Shallum, Amariah, Joseph.
Ezr
10:43 Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Iddo,
and Joel, Benaiah.
Ezr
10:44 All these had taken foreign wives; and some of them had wives
by whom they had children.
Aug.
7, 8
Acts
22
Act
22:1 "Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense which I now
make to you."
Act
22:2 When they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language,
they were even more quiet. He said,
Act
22:3 "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought
up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the
strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even
as you all are this day.
Act
22:4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into
prisons both men and women.
Act
22:5 As also the high priest and all the council of the elders
testify, from whom also I received letters to the brothers, and
traveled to Damascus to bring them also who were there to Jerusalem
in bonds to be punished.
Act
22:6 It happened that, as I made my journey, and came close to
Damascus, about noon, suddenly there shone from the sky a great light
around me.
Act
22:7 I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul,
Saul, why are you persecuting me?'
Act
22:8 I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' He said to me, 'I am Jesus of
Nazareth, whom you persecute.'
Act
22:9 "Those who were with me indeed saw the light and were
afraid, but they didn't understand the voice of him who spoke to me.
Act
22:10 I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' The Lord said to me, 'Arise,
and go into Damascus. There you will be told about all things which
are appointed for you to do.'
Act
22:11 When I couldn't see for the glory of that light, being led by
the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
Act
22:12 One Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported
of by all the Jews who lived in Damascus,
Act
22:13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul,
receive your sight!' In that very hour I looked up at him.
Act
22:14 He said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his
will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his
mouth.
Act
22:15 For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have
seen and heard.
Act
22:16 Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your
sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'
Act
22:17 "It happened that, when I had returned to Jerusalem, and
while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance,
Act
22:18 and saw him saying to me, 'Hurry and get out of Jerusalem
quickly, because they will not receive testimony concerning me from
you.'
Act
22:19 I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat
in every synagogue those who believed in you.
Act
22:20 When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was
standing by, and consenting to his death, and guarding the cloaks of
those who killed him.'
Act
22:21 "He said to me, 'Depart, for I will send you out far from
here to the Gentiles.' "
Act
22:22 They listened to him until he said that; then they lifted up
their voice, and said, "Rid the earth of this fellow, for he
isn't fit to live!"
Act
22:23 As they cried out, and threw off their cloaks, and threw dust
into the air,
Act
22:24 the commanding officer commanded him to be brought into the
barracks, ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might
know for what crime they shouted against him like that.
Act
22:25 When they had tied him up with thongs, Paul asked the
centurion who stood by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man
who is a Roman, and not found guilty?"
Act
22:26 When the centurion heard it, he went to the commanding officer
and told him, "Watch what you are about to do, for this man is a
Roman!"
Act
22:27 The commanding officer came and asked him, "Tell me, are
you a Roman?" He said, "Yes."
Act
22:28 The commanding officer answered, "I bought my citizenship
for a great price." Paul said, "But I was born a Roman."
Act
22:29 Immediately those who were about to examine him departed from
him, and the commanding officer also was afraid when he realized that
he was a Roman, because he had bound him.
Act
22:30 But on the next day, desiring to know the truth about why he
was accused by the Jews, he freed him from the bonds, and commanded
the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought
Paul down and set him before them.
