NEHEMIAH 8

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Ezra Reads the Law  8:1 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4 And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. 5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. 8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. This Day Is Holy9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” 11 So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” 12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them. Feast of Booths Celebrated13 On the second day the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law. 14 And they found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, 15 and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” 16 So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. 17 And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. 18 And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.

PSALM 22

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Why Have You Forsaken Me?To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.
22:1

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? 2

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.
3

Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel. 4

In you our fathers trusted;

they trusted, and you delivered them. 5

To you they cried and were rescued;

in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6

But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by mankind and despised by the people. 7

All who see me mock me;

they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; 8

“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;

let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
9

Yet you are he who took me from the womb;

you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. 10

On you was I cast from my birth,

and from my mother’s womb you have been my God. 11

Be not far from me,

for trouble is near,

and there is none to help.
12

Many bulls encompass me;

strong bulls of Bashan surround me; 13

they open wide their mouths at me,

like a ravening and roaring lion.
14

I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint;

my heart is like wax;

it is melted within my breast; 15

my strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death.
16

For dogs encompass me;

a company of evildoers encircles me;

they have pierced my hands and feet— 17

I can count all my bones—

they stare and gloat over me; 18

they divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.
19

But you, O Lord, do not be far off!

O you my help, come quickly to my aid! 20

Deliver my soul from the sword,

my precious life from the power of the dog! 21

Save me from the mouth of the lion!

You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
22

I will tell of your name to my brothers;

in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: 23

You who fear the Lord, praise him!

All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,

and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! 24

For he has not despised or abhorred

the affliction of the afflicted,

and he has not hidden his face from him,

but has heard, when he cried to him.
25

From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

my vows I will perform before those who fear him. 26

The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;

those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

May your hearts live forever!
27

All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before you. 28

For kingship belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.
29

All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

even the one who could not keep himself alive. 30

Posterity shall serve him;

it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; 31

they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,

that he has done it.

PROVERBS 25

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More Proverbs of Solomon  25:1 These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.
2

It is the glory of God to conceal things,

but the glory of kings is to search things out. 3

As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,

so the heart of kings is unsearchable. 4

Take away the dross from the silver,

and the smith has material for a vessel; 5

take away the wicked from the presence of the king,

and his throne will be established in righteousness. 6

Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence

or stand in the place of the great,
7

for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”

than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

What your eyes have seen 8

do not hastily bring into court,

for what will you do in the end,

when your neighbor puts you to shame? 9

Argue your case with your neighbor himself,

and do not reveal another’s secret, 10

lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,

and your ill repute have no end.
11

A word fitly spoken

is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. 12

Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold

is a wise reprover to a listening ear. 13

Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest

is a faithful messenger to those who send him;

he refreshes the soul of his masters. 14

Like clouds and wind without rain

is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.
15

With patience a ruler may be persuaded,

and a soft tongue will break a bone. 16

If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,

lest you have your fill of it and vomit it. 17

Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house,

lest he have his fill of you and hate you. 18

A man who bears false witness against his neighbor

is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow. 19

Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble

is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips. 20

Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart

is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,

and like vinegar on soda. 21

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, 22

for you will heap burning coals on his head,

and the Lord will reward you. 23

The north wind brings forth rain,

and a backbiting tongue, angry looks. 24

It is better to live in a corner of the housetop

than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. 25

Like cold water to a thirsty soul,

so is good news from a far country. 26

Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain

is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. 27

It is not good to eat much honey,

nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory. 28

A man without self-control

is like a city broken into and left without walls.