The Daily Audio Bible

Ezra reads God's Law to the people

8 All the people met together in the open place near the Water Gate. They asked Ezra to bring the book of the Law of Moses. The Lord had given those laws to the Israelites so that they would obey them. ² On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra brought the book of the Law to the people. In the crowd, there were men and women, as well as children who were old enough to understand. ³ Ezra read aloud while he stood there, in the open place near the Water Gate. He read to all the men, women and children from dawn until noon. Everyone listened carefully to Ezra while he read the book of the Law.

⁴ Ezra stood on a tall tower to speak to the people. They had built it from wood so that they could hear him. Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah stood at his right side. Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam stood at his left side. ⁵ Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was high above them. When he opened the book, the crowd all stood up. ⁶ Ezra praised the Lord, the great God. All the people lifted their hands and they shouted, ‘Amen! Amen!’ They bent their heads to the ground and they worshipped the Lord.

⁷ As the people listened, some Levites taught them the meaning of God's Law. The names of the Levites were: Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah. ⁸ They read the book of the Law and they explained it to the people.^[a] They helped the people to understand what Ezra read to them.

⁹ Then Ezra (the priest who studied God's Law), Nehemiah (the ruler) and the Levites who were teaching the people said to all the people, ‘Do not cry or weep. Today is a special holy day for the Lord your God.’

They said this because the people were weeping. The words of the Law had made them sad. ¹⁰ Nehemiah said to the people, ‘Go to your homes and eat some good food. Drink sweet drinks. Share your food and your drink with people who do not have enough for themselves. This is a holy day for our Lord, so do not be sad. The Lord will give you joy so that you can be strong.’

¹¹ The Levites also comforted the people. They said, ‘Do not weep. Today is a holy day, so do not be sad.’ ¹² Then the people went away to eat and to drink. They shared their food with other people. They were very happy because they now understood God's word that they had heard.

The feast of the seventh month

¹³ On the second day of the seventh month, the leaders of families met together. They met with the priests, the Levites and with Ezra. They wanted to study the message of God's Law. ¹⁴ They discovered what the Lord had commanded about a certain feast. The Lord had told Moses that the Israelites should live in huts during this feast. They should do that in the seventh month of each year.^[b]

¹⁵ They discovered that they must send a message to everyone in Jerusalem and all Judah's cities. They must tell people, ‘Go into the hill country. Bring back branches from olive trees, wild olive trees, myrtle trees, palm trees and other trees with lots of leaves. Use these branches to build huts to live in. That is what God's Law teaches.’

¹⁶ So the people went out and they brought back branches. They built huts on their roofs and in the yards of their houses. They also built them in the yards of the temple and in the open places near the Water Gate and the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷ Everyone who had returned from exile built a hut. They lived in them during the feast and they were very happy. The Israelites had not done this before, since the time of Nun's son, Joshua.

¹⁸ Every day of the feast, Ezra read aloud from the book of God's Law. The feast continued for seven days. On the eighth day, the people all met together, as the Law said that they should do.

The people pray to God

9 On the 24th day of the same month, the Israelite people met together. They did not eat or drink. They wore sackcloth and they put dust on their heads.^[c]

² The Israelite people made themselves separate from foreign people. They stood up and they told God that they were sorry for their sins. They agreed that their ancestors had also done many bad things. ³ While the Israelites stood there, they read from the book of God's Law during a quarter of the day. During another quarter of the day they told the Lord their God about their sins and they worshipped him. ⁴ The Levites stood on some high steps. They called out in a loud voice to the Lord their God. Those Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kenani. ⁵ Then the Levites (Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah) said, ‘Stand up and praise the Lord your God. He lives always and for ever.’

They said, ‘Your name is great and wonderful.^[d] We praise you more than words could ever say. ⁶ Only you are the Lord. You made the sky and the heavens above the sky. You made all the stars, the earth and everything on it. You made the seas and everything in them. You give life to everything. The great crowd of angels in heaven bend down low to worship you.

⁷ You are the Lord God who chose Abram. You brought him out of Ur, in Babylonia. You changed his name to be Abraham. ⁸ You knew that Abraham trusted you, so you made a covenant with him. You promised to give the land of Canaan to his descendants. That was the country where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites lived. You have done what you promised to do, because you are righteous.

⁹ You saw that our ancestors had trouble and pain in Egypt. You heard them cry to you for help at the Red Sea. ¹⁰ You did great miracles to show your power against Pharaoh, his officers and all his people.^[e] You knew that they were being cruel to your people. You showed everyone that you are a great God. And people still know that it is true. ¹¹ You divided the sea into two parts so that your people could cross it on a dry path. When Pharaoh's soldiers chased after them, you threw them into the sea. They drowned in the water, like a heavy stone. ¹² During the day, you led your people with a pillar of cloud. At night, you led them with a pillar of fire to give them light. You showed them the way that they should travel.

¹³ At Sinai mountain, you came down from heaven and you spoke to your people. You gave them your laws, rules and commands, which are good, fair and true. ¹⁴ You told them about the Sabbath and how to make it a special day. You gave all your laws to Moses so that he would teach them to your people. ¹⁵ You gave your people bread from heaven when they were hungry. You gave them water from a rock to drink when they were thirsty. You commanded them to go to the land that you had promised to give them. You told them to take it for themselves.

¹⁶ But our ancestors turned away from you. They would not agree to obey your commands. ¹⁷ They refused to obey you. They forgot about all the miracles that you had done to help them. Instead, they turned against you. They chose a leader to take them back to Egypt, where they had been slaves. But you are a God who forgives people. You are kind to people. You are slow to get angry and your love for your people always continues. So you did not leave your people alone.

¹⁸ Our ancestors made an image of a young cow to be their god.^[f] They said to each other, “This is our god who brought us out of Egypt.” They insulted you in that way, but you still did not turn away from your people.

¹⁹ You were kind to them while they travelled in the desert. You continued to lead them with a pillar of cloud in the day. At night, you continued to show them the way with a pillar of fire. So they always knew which way to go. ²⁰ You gave them your good Spirit to teach them what to do. You continued to give them manna from heaven to eat. You gave them water from a rock to drink. ²¹ During 40 years you took care of them in the desert. Their clothes did not spoil. Their feet did not become big with pain.

Paul's work as an apostle

9 I am a free man. I am an apostle. I have seen Jesus, our Lord. You yourselves are the result of the work that I do to serve the Lord. You know that is all true. ² Other people may not accept me as a true apostle. But you surely must accept me. As a result of my work, you now belong to the Lord. That shows that I am truly his apostle.

³ Some people do not like what I do. This is my answer to what they say against me: ⁴ As apostles, Barnabas and I should receive food and drink from the people that we help. ⁵ If we have a Christian wife, we should take her with us as we travel. The other apostles do this. So do the Lord's brothers, and also Peter. We have the same authority that they have. ⁶ Barnabas and I seem to be the only leaders who must work at other jobs. We should not need to do that!

⁷ Think about these examples: A soldier never has to pay for his own food and clothes. A farmer who plants vines will eat some of the grapes. A person who takes care of sheep or goats will drink some of the milk from those animals. You know that is what always happens.

⁸ I am not just telling you human ideas. God's Law teaches the same thing. ⁹ God's Law that he gave to Moses says this: ‘Do not tie shut the mouth of your ox while it walks on your grain.’^[a]

But God's Law does not teach this only to help bulls. ¹⁰ No, God wanted to help us too. That is why he gave this rule to Moses for his people. Any farmer who works hard to grow food should get some of the food for himself. He ploughs his fields and he prepares the seeds because he hopes to eat some of the food. ¹¹ Our spiritual work among you is like we have planted seeds. In return, you should give to us the food and clothes that we need to live. That is like the harvest that we should receive from our work. ¹² You agree to help other people who teach God's message to you. So surely we should receive even more help from you!

But Barnabas and I have not used our authority to make you help us like that. Instead, we accept all these difficult things patiently. We want the good news about Christ to go everywhere. We do not want to do anything that might stop it.

¹³ Think about this: The people who work in the temple get their food from that place. The priests who offer sacrifices on the altar receive part of the animals for themselves. ¹⁴ In the same way, the people who tell God's good news to others should receive what they need to live. They should receive it from the people who hear the good news from them.

¹⁵ But I have not used my authority as an apostle to demand these things from you. And I am not writing this letter to demand that you help me now. No! It would be better for me to die than to change the way that I live. I can be proud of that and nobody should stop me. ¹⁶ I tell God's good news to people. But I have no reason to be proud because of that. It is something that I have to do. If I did not tell the good news, it would bring me great trouble.

¹⁷ If I were doing this work because I chose to do it, I would receive my pay. But I myself did not choose to do it. God has given me this work, so I have to do it. ¹⁸ So what kind of pay do I receive? It is this: I do not take any money from people when I tell them God's good news. I do not use all the authority that I could use when I tell God's good news to people.