Today’s
Reading : Nehemiah 4 – 7 and Philippians
3 (KJV)
Nehemiah 4
Neh 4:1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we built the wall, he was wroth, and
took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
Neh 4:2 And he spoke before his brethren and the army
of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves?
will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the
stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?
Neh 4:3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite
was by him, and he said, Even that which
they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.
Neh 4:4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and
turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land
of captivity:
Neh 4:5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not
their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.
Neh 4:6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was
joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
Neh 4:7 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat,
and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and
the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem
were made up, and that the breaches
began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,
Neh 4:8 And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.
Neh 4:9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God,
and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
Neh 4:10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers
of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build
the wall.
Neh 4:11 And our adversaries said, They shall not
know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and
cause the work to cease.
Neh 4:12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews which
dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye
shall return unto us they will be upon you.
Neh 4:13 Therefore set I in the lower places behind
the wall, and on the higher places, I
even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and
their bows.
Neh 4:14 And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the
nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of
them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your
brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.
Neh 4:15 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard
that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to naught, that we
returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.
Neh 4:16 And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work,
and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and
the habergeons; and the rulers were
behind all the house of Judah.
Neh 4:17 They which built on the wall, and they that
bore burdens, with those that laded, every
one with one of his hands wrought in the
work, and with the other hand held a
weapon.
Neh 4:18 For the builders, every one had his sword
girded by his side, and so built. And he
that sounded the trumpet was by me.
Neh 4:19 And I said unto the nobles, and to the
rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is
great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.
Neh 4:20 In what place therefore
ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall
fight for us.
Neh 4:21 So we laboured in the work: and half of them
held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.
Neh 4:22 Likewise at the same time said I unto the
people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the
night they may be a guard to us, and labour on the day.
Neh 4:23 So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my
servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our
clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing.
Nehemiah 5
Neh 5:1 And there was a great cry of the people and
of their wives against their brethren the Jews.
Neh 5:2 For there were that said, We, our sons, and
our daughters, are many: therefore we
take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live.
Neh 5:3 Some
also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses,
that we might buy corn, because of the dearth.
Neh 5:4 There were also that said, We have borrowed
money for the king's tribute, and that upon
our lands and vineyards.
Neh 5:5 Yet now our flesh is
as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring
into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is
it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.
Neh 5:6 And I was very angry when I heard their cry
and these words.
Neh 5:7 Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked
the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of
his brother. And I set a great assembly against them.
Neh 5:8 And I said unto them, We after our ability
have redeemed our brethren the Jews, which were sold unto the heathen; and will
ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? Then held they their
peace, and found nothing to answer.
Neh 5:9 Also I said, It is
not good that ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the
reproach of the heathen our enemies?
Neh 5:10 I likewise, and
my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn: I pray you,
let us leave off this usury.
Neh 5:11 Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day,
their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and
their houses, also the hundredth part of
the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them.
Neh 5:12 Then said they, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will
we do as thou sayest. Then I called the priests, and
took an oath of them, that they should do according to this promise.
Neh 5:13 Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake
out every man from his house, and from his labour, that performeth
not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the
congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did according to
this promise.
Neh 5:14 Moreover from the time that I was appointed
to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto
the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is,
twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor.
Neh 5:15 But the former governors that had been
before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and
wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bore rule over
the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God.
Neh 5:16 Yea, also I continued in the work of this
wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work.
Neh 5:17 Moreover there
were at my table a hundred and fifty of
the Jews and rulers, beside those that came unto us from among the heathen that
are about us.
Neh 5:18 Now that
which was prepared for me daily was
one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls
were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine: yet for
all this required not I the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy
upon this people.
Neh 5:19 Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this
people.
Nehemiah 6
Neh 6:1 Now it came to pass, when Sanballat,
and Tobiah, and Geshem the
Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at
that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;)
Neh 6:2 That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they
thought to do me mischief.
Neh 6:3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come
down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?
Neh 6:4 Yet they sent unto me four times after this
sort; and I answered them after the same manner.
Neh 6:5 Then sent Sanballat
his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his
hand;
Neh 6:6 Wherein was
written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu
saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which
cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words.
Neh 6:7 And thou hast also appointed prophets to
preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There
is a king in Judah: and now shall it be
reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us
take counsel together.
Neh 6:8 Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no
such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own
heart.
Neh 6:9 For they all made us afraid, saying, Their
hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God,
strengthen my hands.
Neh 6:10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the
son of Mehetabeel, who was
shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the
temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay
thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.
Neh 6:11 And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and
who is there,
that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I
will not go in.
Neh 6:12 And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent
him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah
and Sanballat had hired him.
Neh 6:13 Therefore was
he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter
for an evil report, that they might reproach me.
Neh 6:14 My God, think thou upon Tobiah
and Sanballat according to these their works, and on
the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets,
that would have put me in fear.
Neh 6:15 So the wall was finished in the twenty and
fifth day of the
month Elul, in fifty and two days.
Neh 6:16 And it came to pass, that when all our
enemies heard thereof, and all the
heathen that were about us saw these things,
they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work
was wrought of our God.
Neh 6:17 Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah
sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters
of Tobiah came unto them.
Neh 6:18 For there
were many in Judah sworn unto him,
because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and
his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.
Neh 6:19 Also they reported his good deeds before me,
and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.
Nehemiah 7
Neh 7:1 Now it came to pass, when the wall was built,
and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites
were appointed,
Neh 7:2 That I gave my brother Hanani,
and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over
Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man,
and feared God above many.
Neh 7:3 And I said unto them, Let not the gates of
Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them
shut the doors, and bar them: and
appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and
every one to be
over against his house.
Neh 7:4 Now the city was
large and great: but the people were few
therein, and the houses were not built.
Neh 7:5 And my God put into mine heart to gather
together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be
reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them which
came up at the first, and found written therein,
Neh 7:6 These are
the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that
had been carried awa, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of
Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one
unto his city;
Neh 7:7 Who came with Zerubbabel,
Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number, I
say, of the men of the people of Israel was this;
Neh 7:8 The children of Parosh,
two thousand a hundred seventy and two.
Neh 7:9 The children of Shephatiah,
three hundred seventy and two.
Neh 7:10 The children of Arah,
six hundred fifty and two.
Neh 7:11 The children of Pahath-moab,
of the children of Jeshua and Joab,
two thousand and eight hundred and
eighteen.
Neh 7:12 The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred
fifty and four.
Neh 7:13 The children of Zattu,
eight hundred forty and five.
Neh 7:14 The children of Zaccai,
seven hundred and threescore.
Neh 7:15 The children of Binnui,
six hundred forty and eight.
Neh 7:16 The children of Bebai,
six hundred twenty and eight.
Neh 7:17 The children of Azgad,
two thousand three hundred twenty and two.
Neh 7:18 The children of Adonikam,
six hundred threescore and seven.
Neh 7:19 The children of Bigvai,
two thousand threescore and seven.
Neh 7:20 The children of Adin,
six hundred fifty and five.
Neh 7:21 The children of Ater
of Hezekiah, ninety and eight.
Neh 7:22 The children of Hashum,
three hundred twenty and eight.
Neh 7:23 The children of Bezai,
three hundred twenty and four.
Neh 7:24 The children of Hariph,
a hundred and twelve.
Neh 7:25 The children of Gibeon, ninety and five.
Neh 7:26 The men of Bethlehem and Netophah,
a hundred fourscore and eight.
Neh 7:27 The men of Anathoth,
a hundred twenty and eight.
Neh 7:28 The men of Beth-azmaveth,
forty and two.
Neh 7:29 The men of Kirjath-jearim,
Chephirah, and Beeroth,
seven hundred forty and three.
Neh 7:30 The men of Ramah and Geba,
six hundred twenty and one.
Neh 7:31 The men of Michmas,
a hundred and twenty and two.
Neh 7:32 The men of Bethel and Ai, a hundred twenty
and three.
Neh 7:33 The men of the other Nebo, fifty and two.
Neh 7:34 The children of the other Elam, a thousand
two hundred fifty and four.
Neh 7:35 The children of Harim,
three hundred and twenty.
Neh 7:36 The children of Jericho, three hundred forty
and five.
Neh 7:37 The children of Lod,
Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty and one.
Neh 7:38 The children of Senaah,
three thousand nine hundred and thirty.
Neh 7:39 The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua,
nine hundred seventy and three.
Neh 7:40 The children of Immer,
a thousand fifty and two.
Neh 7:41 The children of Pashur,
a thousand two hundred forty and seven.
Neh 7:42 The children of Harim,
a thousand and seventeen.
Neh 7:43 The Levites: the children of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of the children of Hodevah,
seventy and four.
Neh 7:44 The singers: the children of Asaph, a hundred forty and eight.
Neh 7:45 The porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater,
the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita,
the children of Shobai, a hundred thirty and eight.
Neh 7:46 The Nethinims: the
children of Ziha, the children of Hashupha,
the children of Tabbaoth,
Neh 7:47 The children of Keros,
the children of Sia, the children of Padon,
Neh 7:48 The children of Lebana,
the children of Hagaba, the children of Shalmai,
Neh 7:49 The children of Hanan,
the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar,
Neh 7:50 The children of Reaiah,
the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda,
Neh 7:51 The children of Gazzam,
the children of Uzza, the children of Phaseah,
Neh 7:52 The children of Besai,
the children of Meunim, the children of Nephishesim,
Neh 7:53 The children of Bakbuk,
the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur,
Neh 7:54 The children of Bazlith,
the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha,
Neh 7:55 The children of Barkos,
the children of Sisera, the children of Tamah,
Neh 7:56 The children of Neziah,
the children of Hatipha.
Neh 7:57 The children of Solomon's servants: the
children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida,
Neh 7:58 The children of Jaala,
the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel,
Neh 7:59 The children of Shephatiah,
the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children
of Amon.
Neh 7:60 All the Nethinims,
and the children of Solomon's servants, were
three hundred ninety and two.
Neh 7:61 And these were
they which went up also from Tel-melah, Tel-haresha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer: but they could
not show their father's house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel.
Neh 7:62 The children of Delaiah,
the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred forty and two.
Neh 7:63 And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the
children of Barzillai, which took one of the daughters of Barzillai
the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their
name.
Neh 7:64 These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but
it was not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.
Neh 7:65 And the Tirshatha
said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there
stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim.
Neh 7:66 The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and
threescore,
Neh 7:67 Beside their menservants and their
maidservants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and
seven: and they had two hundred forty and five singing men and singing women.
Neh 7:68 Their horses, seven hundred thirty and six:
their mules, two hundred forty and five:
Neh 7:69 Their
camels, four hundred thirty and five: six thousand seven hundred and twenty
asses.
Neh 7:70 And some of the chief of the fathers gave
unto the work. The Tirshatha gave to the treasure a
thousand drams of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests'
garments.
Neh 7:71 And some
of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work twenty thousand
drams of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pound of silver.
Neh 7:72 And that
which the rest of the people gave was
twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pound of silver, and threescore
and seven priests' garments.
Neh 7:73 So the priests, and the Levites, and the
porters, and the singers, and some of
the people, and the Nethinims, and all Israel, dwelt
in their cities; and when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.
Philippians 3
Php 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.
To write the same things to you, to me indeed is
not grievous, but for you it is safe.
Php 3:2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers,
beware of the concision.
Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship
God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the
flesh.
Php 3:4 Though I might also have confidence in the
flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof
he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Php 3:5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of
Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a
Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Php 3:6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church;
touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I
counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of
all things, and do count them but dung,
that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own
righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto
his death;
Php 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the
resurrection of the dead.
Php 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either
were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for
which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended: but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things
which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Php 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be
thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even
this unto you.
Php 3:16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already
attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
Php 3:17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and
mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example.
Php 3:18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you
often, and now tell you even weeping, that
they are
the enemies of the cross of Christ:
Php 3:19 Whose end is
destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose
glory is in their shame, who mind earthly
things.)
Php 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from
whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Php 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may
be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he
is able even to subdue all things unto himself.