The Narrow Door

22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be ^hfew?” And he said to them, 24 ⁱ“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ^j‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ^k‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. ^lDepart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 ^mIn that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come ⁿfrom east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, ^osome are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Lament over Jerusalem

31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32 And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. 33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a ^pprophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ 34 ^qO Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that ^rkills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a ^shen gathers her brood under her wings, and ^tyou were not willing! 35 Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ^u‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Pray for All People

1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 ^zfor kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and ^aquiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is ^bpleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 ^cwho desires all people to be saved and to come to the ^dknowledge of the truth. 5 For ^ethere is one God, and ^fthere is one ^gmediator between God and men, the man¹ Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ^hransom for ⁱall, which is the testimony given ^jat the proper time. 7 For this I was ^kappointed a preacher and an ^lapostle ^m(I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

8 I desire then that in every place the men should ⁿpray, lifting ^oholy hands without anger or ^pquarreling; 9 likewise also that ^qwomen should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and ^rself-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 11 ^sLet a woman learn quietly ^twith all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For ^uAdam was formed first, ^vthen Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but ^wthe woman was ^xdeceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved ^ythrough ^zchildbearing—if they continue in ^afaith and love and holiness, with self-control.

Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart

Blessed Is the One Who Finds Wisdom

Adversaries Oppose the Rebuilding

1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of ^oEsarhaddon king of Assyria who ^pbrought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, ^q“You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, ^ras King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

4 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them ^safraid to build 5 and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of ^tDarius king of Persia.

6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

The Letter to King Artaxerxes

7 In the days of ^uArtaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in ^vAramaic and translated.¹ 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows: 9 Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of ^wSusa, that is, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and ^xsettled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province ^yBeyond the River. 11 ^z(This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now 12 be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that ^arebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13 Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay ^btribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. 14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace² and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, 15 in order that ^csearch may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste. 16 We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”

The King Orders the Work to Cease

17 The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now 18 the letter that you sent to us has been ^dplainly read before me. 19 And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. 20 And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the ^ewhole province Beyond the River, ^fto whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid. 21 Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me. 22 And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?”

23 Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease. 24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased ^guntil the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Rebuilding Begins Anew

1 Now the prophets, ^hHaggai and ⁱZechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

3 At the same time ^jTattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to ^kfinish this structure?” 4 They also asked them this:³ “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” 5 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.

Tattenai’s Letter to King Darius

6 ^lThis is a copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the governors who were in the province Beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. 7 They sent him a report, in which was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace. 8 Be it known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. 9 Then we asked those elders and spoke to them thus: ‘Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?’ 10 We also asked them their names, for your information, that we might write down the names of their leaders.⁴ 11 And this was their reply to us: ‘We are the servants of the ^mGod of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was ⁿbuilt many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But because our fathers had angered the God of heaven, ^ohe gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia. 13 However, ^pin the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt. 14 And the gold and silver ^qvessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, ^rthese Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was ^sSheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; 15 and he said to him, “Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.” 16 Then this Sheshbazzar came and ^tlaid the foundations of the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been in building, and it is not yet finished.’ 17 Therefore, if it seems good to the king, let ^usearch be made in the royal archives there in Babylon, to see whether a decree was issued by Cyrus the king for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. And let the king send us his pleasure in this matter.”