Repent or Perish
1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you xrepent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
6 And he told this parable: “A man had a yfig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
Greeting
1 Paul, an aapostle of Christ Jesus bby command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our chope,
2 To Timothy, dmy true child in the faith:
eGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Warning Against False Teachers
3 fAs I urged you gwhen I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to hteach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to imyths and endless jgenealogies, which promote kspeculations rather than the lstewardship1 from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is mlove that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a nsincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by oswerving from these, have pwandered away into qvain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, rwithout understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
8 Now we know that sthe law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, tfor the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for uthose who strike their fathers and mothers, for vmurderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, wenslavers,2 liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to xsound3 doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the yblessed God with which I have been zentrusted.
The Beginning of Knowledge
1 The aproverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 bTo know wisdom and cinstruction,
to understand words of insight,
3 to dreceive instruction in wise dealing,
in erighteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to fgive prudence to the gsimple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and hincrease in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a iproverb and a saying,
jthe words of the wise and their riddles.
7 kThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and linstruction.
The Enticement of Sinners
8 Hear, my son, your mfather’s ninstruction,
and oforsake not pyour mother’s teaching,
9 for they are a qgraceful garland for your head
and pendants rfor your neck.
10 My son, if sinners sentice you,
do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us, let us tlie in wait for blood;
let us ambush the innocent without reason;
12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
and whole, like uthose who go down to the pit;
13 we shall find all precious goods,
we shall fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse”—
15 vmy son, do not wwalk in the way with them;
xhold back your foot from their paths,
16 for ytheir feet run to evil,
and they make haste to shed blood.
17 For in vain is a net spread
in the sight of any bird,
18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood;
they set an ambush for their own lives.
19 Such are the ways of everyone who is zgreedy for unjust gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.
The Call of Wisdom
20 aWisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools bhate knowledge?
23 If you cturn at my reproof,1
behold, I will dpour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 eBecause I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
25 because you have fignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
26 I also will glaugh at your calamity;
I will mock when terror strikes you,
27 when terror strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 would have none of my hcounsel
and idespised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall jeat the fruit of their way,
and have their fill of their own devices.
32 For the ksimple are killed by their turning away,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
33 but whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, lwithout dread of disaster.”
The Proclamation of Cyrus
1 aIn the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, bthat the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:
2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the cGod of heaven, dhas given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and ehe has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and frebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God gwho is in Jerusalem. 4 And let each hsurvivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”
5 Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem. 6 And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered. 7 Cyrus the king also ibrought out the jvessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. 8 Cyrus king of Persia brought these out in the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to kSheshbazzar the prince of Judah. 9 And this was the number of them: 30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers, 10 30 bowls of gold, 410 bowls of silver, and 1,000 other vessels; 11 all the vessels of gold and of silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.
The Exiles Return
1 lNow these were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles mwhom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried captive to Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town. 2 They came with nZerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and oBaanah.
The number of the men of the people of Israel: 3 the sons of pParosh, 2,172. 4 The sons of qShephatiah, 372. 5 The sons of Arah, 775. 6 The sons of rPahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and sJoab, 2,812. 7 The sons of tElam, 1,254. 8 The sons of uZattu, 945. 9 The sons of Zaccai, 760. 10 The sons of Bani, 642. 11 The sons of vBebai, 623. 12 The sons of wAzgad, 1,222. 13 The sons of xAdonikam, 666. 14 The sons of yBigvai, 2,056. 15 The sons of zAdin, 454. 16 The sons of aAter, namely of Hezekiah, 98. 17 The sons of bBezai, 323. 18 The sons of Jorah, 112. 19 The sons of Hashum, 223. 20 The sons of Gibbar, 95. 21 The sons of Bethlehem, 123. 22 The men of Netophah, 56. 23 The men of Anathoth, 128. 24 The sons of Azmaveth, 42. 25 The sons of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743. 26 The sons of Ramah and Geba, 621. 27 The men of Michmas, 122. 28 The men of Bethel and Ai, 223. 29 The sons of Nebo, 52. 30 The sons of Magbish, 156. 31 The sons of the other Elam, 1,254. 32 The sons of Harim, 320. 33 The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 725. 34 The sons of Jericho, 345. 35 The sons of Senaah, 3,630.
36 The priests: the sons of cJedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, 973. 37 The sons of Immer, 1,052. 38 The sons of dPashhur, 1,247. 39 The sons of Harim, 1,017.
40 The Levites: the sons of eJeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodaviah, 74. 41 The singers: the fsons of Asaph, 128. 42 The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of gShallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of hTalmon, the sons of iAkkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, in all 139.
43 The temple servants: the sons of jZiha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, 44 the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon, 45 the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub, 46 the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shamlai, the sons of Hanan, 47 the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah, 48 the sons of Rezin, the sons of kNekoda, the sons of Gazzam, 49 the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai, 50 the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephisim, 51 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 52 the sons of Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 53 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, 54 the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.
55 The lsons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Hassophereth, the sons of Peruda, 56 the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 57 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, and the sons of Ami.
58 All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants were 392.
59 The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, though they could not prove their fathers’ houses or their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: 60 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, 652. 61 Also, of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of mHakkoz, and the sons of Barzillai (who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name). 62 These sought their registration among those nenrolled in the genealogies, but they were not found there, oand so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 63 The pgovernor told them that they were qnot to partake of the most holy food, until there should be a priest to consult rUrim and Thummim.
64 The whole assembly together was 42,360, 65 besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337, and they had 200 male and female singers. 66 Their horses were 736, their mules were 245, 67 their camels were 435, and their donkeys were 6,720.
68 Some of the heads of families, when they came to the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, made freewill offerings for the house of God, to erect it on its site. 69 According to their ability they gave to the treasury of the work 61,000 darics1 of gold, 5,000 minas2 of silver, and 100 priests’ garments.
70 Now the priests, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants slived in their towns, and all the rest of Israel3 in their towns.
