Legacy Standard Bible

Nehemiah 3 - 4

Building and Repairing the Wall

3Then aEliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built bthe Sheep Gate; they set it apart as holy and cmade its doors stand. And they set apart as holy 1the wall to dthe Tower of the Hundred and ethe Tower of Hananel. 2Next to him athe men of Jericho built, and next to 1them Zaccur the son of Imri built.
3Now the sons of Hassenaah built athe Fish Gate; they laid its beams and made its doors stand with its bolts and bars. 4Next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz made repairs. And next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah the son of Meshezabel made repairs. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana also made repairs. 5Moreover, next to them the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not 1support the service of their masters.
6Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired athe Old Gate; they laid its beams and made its doors stand with its bolts and its bars. 7Next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, 1also made repairs for the official seat of the agovernor of the province beyond the River. 8Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah of the agoldsmiths made repairs. And next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs, and they restored Jerusalem as far as bthe Broad Wall. 9Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, athe official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. 10Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah made repairs. 11Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired 1another section and athe Tower of Furnaces. 12Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, athe official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs, he and his daughters.
13Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired athe Valley Gate. They built it and made its doors stand with its bolts and its bars, and 1one thousand cubits of the wall to the 2Dung Gate.
14Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of aBeth-haccherem, repaired the 1,bDung Gate. He built it and made its doors stand with its bolts and its bars.
15Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, the official of the district of Mizpah, arepaired the Spring Gate. He built it, covered it and made its doors stand with its bolts and its bars, and the wall of the Pool of Shelah at bthe king’s garden as far as cthe steps that descend from the city of David. 16After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, aofficial of half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs as far as a point opposite the tombs of David, and as far as bthe artificial pool and the house of the mighty men. 17After him the Levites made repairs under Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, the official of half the district of Keilah, made repairs for his district. 18After him their brothers made repairs under Bavvai the son of Henadad, the official of the other half of the district of Keilah. 19Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, athe official of Mizpah, repaired another section in front of the ascent of the armory bat the Angle. 20After him Baruch the son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the Angle to the doorway of the house of aEliashib the high priest. 21After him Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz repaired another section, from the doorway of Eliashib’s house even as far as the end of Eliashib’s house. 22After him the priests, athe men of the 1valley, made repairs. 23After 1them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house. After 2them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house. 24After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah as far as athe Angle and as far as the corner. 25Palal the son of Uzai made repairs in front of the Angle and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king, which is by athe court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs. 26aThe temple servants living in bOphel made repairs as far as the front of cthe Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower. 27After 1them athe Tekoites repaired another section in front of the great projecting tower and as far as the wall of Ophel.
28Above athe Horse Gate the priests made repairs, each in front of his house. 29After 1them Zadok the son of Immer made repairs in front of his house. And after him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, made repairs. 30After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah made repairs in front of his own 1quarters. 31After him Malchijah, 1one of athe goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, in front of the 2Inspection Gate, and as far as the upper room of the corner. 32Between the upper room of the corner and athe Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants made repairs.

Sanballat and Tobiah Mock the Jews’ Work

41Now it happened that when aSanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and very vexed and mocked the Jews. 2He spoke in the presence of his brothers and athe 1wealthy men of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they complete it in a day? Can they bring the stones to life from the 2,bdusty rubble, though they are burned?” 3Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, “Even what they are building—aif a fox should 1jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!”
4aHear, O our God, for we are despised! bReturn their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity. 5Do not 1,aforgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have 2vexed the builders.
6So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, and the people had a heart to work.
71Now it happened that when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the 2repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the places broken down began to be closed, they were very angry. 8All of them ajoined together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it. 9But we prayed to our God, and because of them we astood a guard against them day and night.
10Then Judah said, “The 1strength of the burden bearers is failing,Yet there is much 2rubbish;And we ourselves are unableTo rebuild the wall.”
11Our adversaries said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work.” 12Now it happened when the Jews who lived near them came and said to us ten times, “1They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,” 13that I had men stand in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the 1exposed places, and I ahad the people stand by families with their swords, spears, and bows. 14Then I saw their fear. And I arose and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “aDo not fear them; remember the Lord who is great and fearsome, and bfight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

Doing the Work and Holding a Weapon

15Now it happened that when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that aGod had thwarted their counsel, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. 16And it happened that from that day on, half of my young men carried on the work while half of them took hold of the spears, the shields, the bows, and the breastplates; and the commanders were behind the whole house of Judah. 17Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon. 18As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while 1the trumpeter stood near me. 19I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. 20“At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, there gather together to us. aOur God will fight for us.”
21So we kept doing the work with half of them holding spears from 1dawn until the stars came out. 22At that time I also said to the people, “Let each man with his young man spend the night within Jerusalem so that they may be a guard for us by night and a worker by day.” 23So neither I, my brothers, my young men, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us removed our clothes, each took his weapon even to the water.

Revelation 2

To the Church in Ephesus

2“To the angel of the church in aEphesus write: This is what the One who holds bthe seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks 1,camong the seven golden lampstands, says:
2‘aI know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot bear with those who are evil, and you bput to the test those who call themselves capostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3and you have perseverance and have 1endured afor My name’s sake, you also have not grown weary. 4‘But I have this against you, that you have aleft your first love. 5‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and arepent and bdo the 1deeds you did at first. But if not, I am coming to you and will remove your clampstand out of its place, unless you repent. 6‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the aNicolaitans, which I also hate. 7‘aHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. bTo him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of cthe tree of life which is in the dParadise of God.’

To the Church in Smyrna

8“And to the angel of the church in aSmyrna write: bThis is what the first and the last, who 1,cwas dead, and has come to life, says:
9‘I know your atribulation and your bpoverty (but you are crich), and the blasphemy by those who dsay they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of eSatan. 10‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be atested, and you will have tribulation bfor ten days. 1Be cfaithful until death, and I will give you dthe crown of life. 11‘aHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. bHe who overcomes will never be hurt by the csecond death.’

To the Church in Pergamum

12“And to the angel of the church in aPergamum write: This is what the One who has bthe sharp two-edged sword says:
13‘I know where you dwell, where aSatan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny bMy faith even in the days of Antipas, My cwitness, My dfaithful one, who was killed among you, ewhere Satan dwells. 14‘But aI have a few things against you, that you have there some who hold the bteaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, cto eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. 15‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the aNicolaitans. 16‘Therefore arepent. But if not, bI am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with cthe sword of My mouth. 17‘aHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. bTo him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden cmanna, and I will give him a white stone, and a dnew name written on the stone ewhich no one knows but he who receives it.’

To the Church in Thyatira

18“And to the angel of the church in aThyatira write: bThis is what the Son of God, the One cwho has 1eyes like a flame of fire and His feet are like burnished bronze, says:
19‘aI know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your last deeds are greater than 1at first. 20‘But aI have this against you, that you tolerate the woman bJezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and deceives My slaves so that they ccommit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21‘aAnd I gave her time to repent, and she bdoes not wish to repent of her sexual immorality. 22‘Behold, I will throw her 1on a bed of sickness, and those who acommit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of 2her deeds. 23‘And I will kill her children with 1pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who asearches the 2minds and hearts; and bI will give to each one of you according to your deeds. 24‘But I say to you, the rest who are in aThyatira, who do not have this teaching, who have not known the bdeep things of Satan, as they call them—I cplace no other burden on you. 25‘Nevertheless awhat you have, hold fast buntil I come. 26‘aAnd he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds buntil the end, cto him I will give authority over the 1nations; 27and he shall 1,arule them with a rod of iron, bas the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; 28and I will give him athe morning star. 29‘aHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

3There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a atime for every 1matter under heaven—
2A time to give birth and a atime to die;A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.3A atime to kill and a time to heal;A time to tear down and a time to build up.4A time to aweep and a time to blaugh;A time to mourn and a time to cdance.5A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.6A time to search and a time to lose;A time to keep and a time to throw away.7A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;A time to abe silent and a time to speak.8A time to love and a time to ahate;A time for war and a time for peace.
9aWhat advantage is there to the worker from that in which he labors? 10I have seen the aendeavor which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man

11He has amade everything 1beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, 2yet so that man bwill not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.
12I know that 1there is anothing better for them than to be glad and to do good in one’s lifetime; 13moreover, that every man who eats and drinks and sees good in all his labor—it is the agift of God. 14I know that everything God does will be forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it—God has so worked that men should 1,afear Him. 15That awhich is has been already and that which will be has already been, yet God seeks what is pursued.
16Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is awickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. 17I said in my heart, “aGod will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man,” for a btime for every 1matter and for every work is there. 18I said in my heart concerning the sons of men, “God is testing them in order for them to see that they are but abeasts.” 19aFor the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same fate for each of them. As one dies so dies the other, and they all have the same breath. So there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is 1vanity. 20All go to the same place. All came from the adust, and all return to the dust. 21Who knows that the abreath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth? 22I have seen that anothing is better than that man should be glad in his works, for that is his portion. For who will bring him to see bwhat will occur after him?