²¹ Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. ²² For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them that seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. ²³ So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated of us.

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²⁴ Then I set apart twelve of the chiefs of the priests, even Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, ²⁵ and weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his princes, and all Israel there present, had offered: ²⁶ I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels a hundred talents; of gold a hundred talents; ²⁷ and twenty bowls of gold, of a thousand darics; and two vessels of fine bright brass, precious as gold. ²⁸ And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto Jehovah, and the vessels are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill-offering unto Jehovah, the God of your fathers. ²⁹ Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites, and the princes of the fathers’ houses of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of Jehovah. ³⁰ So the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.

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³¹ Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the lier-in-wait by the way. ³² And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days. ³³ And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest (and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas: and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levites)— ³⁴ the whole by number and by weight: and all the weight was written at that time.

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³⁵ The children of the captivity, that were come out of exile, offered burnt-offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering: all this was a burnt-offering unto Jehovah. ³⁶ And they delivered the king’s commissions unto the king’s satraps, and to the governors beyond the River: and they furthered the people and the house of God.

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9 Now when these things were done, the princes drew near unto 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. ² For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the peoples of the lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been ^‍chief in this trespass. ³ And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my robe, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded. ⁴ Then were assembled unto me every one that 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 oblation.

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⁵ And at the evening oblation I arose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe rent; and I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto Jehovah my God; ⁶ and I said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our guiltiness is grown up unto the heavens. ⁷ Since the days of our fathers we have been ^‍exceeding guilty unto 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. ⁸ And now for a little moment grace hath been showed from Jehovah 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. ⁹ For we are bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended lovingkindness unto 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 the ruins thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. ¹⁰ And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments, ¹¹ which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye 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: ¹² now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity for ever; that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever. ¹³ And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great guilt, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such a remnant, ¹⁴ shall we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the peoples that do these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? ¹⁵ O Jehovah, the God of Israel, thou art righteous; for we are left a remnant that is escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our guiltiness; for none can stand before thee because of this.

5 It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even among the Gentiles, that one of you hath his father’s wife. ² And ye are puffed up, and ^‍did not rather mourn, that he that had done this deed might be taken away from among you. ³ For I verily, being absent in body but present in spirit, have already as though I were present judged him that hath so wrought this thing, ⁴ in the name of our Lord Jesus, ye being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, ⁵ to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? ⁷ Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, even as ye are unleavened. For our passover also hath been sacrificed, even Christ: ⁸ wherefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

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⁹ I wrote unto you in my epistle to have no company with fornicators; ¹⁰ not at all meaning with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world: ¹¹ but as it is, I wrote unto you not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no, not to eat. ¹² For what have I to do with judging them that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within? ¹³ But them that are without God judgeth. Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.

A psalm of complaint and of praise.

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For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

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31 In thee, O Jehovah, do I take refuge;
Let me never be put to shame:
Deliver me in thy righteousness.
² Bow down thine ear unto me; deliver me speedily:
Be thou to me a strong rock,
A house of defence to save me.
³ For thou art my rock and my fortress;
Therefore for thy name’s sake lead me and guide me.
⁴ Pluck me out of the net that they have laid privily for me;
For thou art my stronghold.
⁵ Into thy hand I commend my spirit:
Thou hast redeemed me, O Jehovah, thou God of truth.
⁶ I hate them that regard lying vanities;
But I trust in Jehovah.
⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in thy lovingkindness;
For thou hast seen my affliction:
Thou hast known my soul in adversities;
⁸ And thou hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy;
Thou hast set my feet in a large place.

21 The king’s heart is in the hand of Jehovah as the watercourses:
He turneth it whithersoever he will.
² Every way of a man is right in his own eyes;
But Jehovah weigheth the hearts.

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