Hello, and welcome
to His Words are Life.
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I'm Kelly Mowrer and
today we're going to be reading
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in the book of Ezra. But before
we start, let's pray together.
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Dear God, we thank you for
an opportunity to come now apart
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from the business of life.
We ask you to be with us in a
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special way as we read
your words. And we ask that your
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still small voice will speak
to our hearts and teach us the
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truth that has come down through
the ages to be relevant to our
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lives today. Thank you for
loving us and we love you so
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much. Amen. We're reading in the
book of Ezra his account of the
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rebuilding of Jerusalem.
Starting in chapter 8, verse 32,
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this is the King James Version.
And we came to Jerusalem and
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abode there three days. Now on
the 4th day was the silver and
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the gold and the vessels weighed
in the house of our God by the
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hand of Meremoth the son of
Uriah the priest; and with him
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was Eleazar the son of Phinehas;
and with them was Jozabad
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the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah
the son of Binnui, Levites;
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By number and by weight of every
one: and all the weight was
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written at that time. Also the
children of those that had been
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carried away, which were
come out of the captivity,
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offered burnt offerings unto
the God of Israel, 12 bullocks
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for all Israel, ninety and six
rams, seventy and seven lambs,
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12 he goats for a sin offering:
all this was a burnt offering
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unto the Lord. And they
delivered the king's commissions
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unto the king's lieutenants,
and to the governors on this
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side the river: and
they furthered the people,
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and the house of God.
Continuing with Ezra's account
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of the rebuilding of the temple,
in the book of Ezra, chapter 9,
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and this is the
King James Version.
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Now when these things were done,
the princes came to me, saying,
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The people of Israel, and
the priests, and the Levites,
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have not separated themselves
from the people of the lands,
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doing according to
their abominations,
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even of the Canaanites,
the Hittites, the Perizzites,
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the Jebusites, the Ammonites,
the Moabites, the Egyptians,
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and the Amorites. For they
have taken of their daughters
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for themselves, and for their
sons: so that the holy seed
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have mingled themselves
with the people of those lands:
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yea, the hand of the princes
and rulers hath been chief
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in this trespass. And
when I heard this thing,
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I rent my garment and my
mantle, and plucked off the hair
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of my head and of my
beard, and sat down astonied.
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Then were assembled unto
me every one that trembled
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at the words of the God
of Israel, because of the
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transgression of those
that had been carried away;
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and I sat astonied
until the evening sacrifice.
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And at the evening sacrifice
I arose up from my heaviness;
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and having rent my garment and
my mantle, I fell upon my knees,
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and spread out my hands unto the
Lord my God, and said, O my God,
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I am ashamed and blush to
lift up my face to thee, my God,
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for our iniquities are increased
over our head, and our trespass
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is grown up unto the heavens.
Since the days of our fathers
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have we been in a
great trespass unto this day:
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and for our iniquities have
we, our kings, and our priests,
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been delivered into the
hand of the kings of the lands,
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to the sword, to captivity,
and to a spoil, and to confusion
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of face, as it is this
day. And now for a little space
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grace hath been shewed from
the Lord our God, to leave us
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a remnant to escape, and to
give us a nail in his holy place
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that our God may lighten
our eyes, and give us a little
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reviving in our bondage.
For we were bondmen; yet our God
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hath not forsaken us in our
bondage, but hath extended mercy
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unto us in the sight of the
kings of Persia, to give us a
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reviving, to set up the house
of our God, and to repair the
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desolations thereof, and
to give us a wall in Judah
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and in Jerusalem. And now,
O our God, what shall we say
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after this? for we have
forsaken thy commandments,
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Which thou hast commanded
by thy servants the prophets,
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saying, The land, unto
which ye go to possess it,
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is an unclean land with
the filthiness of the people
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of the lands, with their
abominations, which have filled
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it from one end to
another with their uncleanness.
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Now therefore give not
your daughters unto their sons,
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neither take their daughters
unto your sons, nor seek
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their peace or their wealth
for ever: that ye may be strong,
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and eat the good of the land,
and leave it for an inheritance
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to your children for ever. And
after all that is come upon us
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for our evil deeds,
and for our great trespass,
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seeing that thou our God
hast punished us less than our
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iniquities deserve, and
hast given us such deliverance
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as this; should we again break
thy commandments, and join in
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affinity with the
people of these abominations?
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wouldest not thou be angry
with us till thou hadst consumed
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us, so that there should
be no remnant nor escaping?
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O Lord God of Israel, thou
art righteous: for we remain yet
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escaped, as it is this
day: behold, we are before thee
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in our trespasses: for
we can not stand before thee
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because of this.
Continuing in the book of Ezra,
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chapter 10, and this
is the King James Version.
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Now when Ezra had prayed, and
when he had confessed, weeping
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and casting himself
down before the house of God,
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there assembled unto him out of
Israel a very great congregation
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of men and women and children:
for the people wept very sore.
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And Shechaniah the son of
Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam,
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answered and said unto Ezra, We
have trespassed against our God,
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and have taken strange
wives of the people of the land:
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yet now there is hope in
Israel concerning this thing.
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Now therefore let us make a
covenant with our God to put
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away all the wives, and such as
are born of them, according to
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the counsel of my lord,
and of those that tremble
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at the commandment of our God;
and let it be done according to
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the law. Arise; for this
matter belongeth unto thee:
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we also will be with thee:
be of good courage, and do it.
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Then arose Ezra, and made
the chief priests, the Levites,
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and all Israel, to swear that
they should do according to this
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word. And they sware. Then Ezra
rose up from before the house
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of God, and went into the
chamber of Johanan the son of
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Eliahaib: and when he came
thither, he did eat no bread,
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nor drink water: for he mourned
because of the transgression
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of them that had been carried
away. And they made proclamation
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throughout Judah and Jerusalem
unto all the children of the
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captivity, that they should
gather themselves together
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unto Jerusalem; And
that whosoever would not come
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within three days, according
to the counsel of the princes
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and the elders, all his
substance should be forfeited,
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and himself separated from the
congregation of those that had
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been carried away. Then all
the men of Judah and Benjamin
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gathered themselves together
unto Jerusalem within 3 days.
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It was the 9th month, on
the 20th day of the month;
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and all the people sat in
the street of the house of God,
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trembling because of this
matter and for the great rain.
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And Ezra the priest
stood up, and said unto them,
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Ye have transgressed,
and have taken strange wives,
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to increase the trespass
of Israel. Now therefore make
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confession unto the Lord
God of your fathers, and do his
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pleasure: and separate
yourselves from the people
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of the land, and
from the strange wives.
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Then all the congregation
answered and said with a loud
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voice, As thou hast
said, so must we do.
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But the people are many,
and it is a time of much rain,
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and we are not able to stand
without, neither is this a work
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of one day or two: for we
are many that have transgressed
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in this thing. Let now our
rulers of all the congregation
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stand, and let all them
which have taken strange wives
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in our cities come at appointed
times, and with them the elders
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of every city, and the judges
thereof, until the fierce wrath
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of our God for this
matter be turned from us.
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Only Jonathan the son of Asahel
and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah
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were employed about this matter:
and Meshullam and Shabbethai
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the Levite helped them. And the
children of the captivity did so
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and Ezra the priest with
certain chief of the fathers,
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after the house of their fathers
and all of them by their names,
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were separated and sat down
in the 1st day of the 10th month
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to examine the matter. And they
made an end with all the men
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that had taken strange wives
by the 1st day of the 1st month.
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To finish out the book of Ezra,
there is another long listing of
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names as they separated
themselves from the strange
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wives. And so this will conclude
our reading of the book of Ezra.
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We'll turn over to the
book of Nehemiah, chapter 1,
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and this is the
King James Version.
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The words of Nehemiah the son of
Hachaliah. And it came to pass
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in the month Chisleu, in the
20th year, as I was in Shushan
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the palace, that Hanani,
one of my brethren, came,
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he and certain men of Judah;
and I asked them concerning
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the Jews that had escaped, which
were left of the captivity,
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and concerning Jerusalem.
And they said unto me,
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The remnant that are left of the
captivity there in the province
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are in great affliction and
reproach: the wall of Jerusalem
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also is broken down, and
the gates thereof are burned
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with fire. And it came to
pass when I heard these words
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that I sat down and
wept, and mourned certain days,
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and fasted, and prayed
before the God of heaven,
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And said, I beseech thee, O Lord
God of heaven, the great and
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terrible God, that keepeth
covenant and mercy for them
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that love him and observe his
commandments: Let thine ear now
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be attentive, and thine
eyes open, that thou mayest hear
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the prayer of thy servant,
which I pray before thee now,
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day and night, for the
children of Israel thy servants,
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and confess the sins of the
children of Israel, which we
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have sinned against thee:
both I and my father's house
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have sinned. We have dealt
very corruptly against thee,
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and have not kept the
commandments, nor the statutes,
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nor the judgments, which thou
commandest thy servant Moses.
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Remember, I beseech thee,
the word that thou commandedst
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thy servant Moses, saying, If ye
transgress, I will scatter you
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abroad among the nations: But
if ye turn unto me, and keep my
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commandments, and do them;
though there were of you cast
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out unto the uttermost part
of the heaven, yet will I gather
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them from thence, and
will bring them unto the place
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that I have chosen
to set my name there.
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Now these are thy servants
and thy people, whom thou hast
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redeemed by thy great
power, and by thy strong hand.
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O Lord, I beseech thee, let now
thine ear be attentive to the
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prayer of thy servant, and
to the prayer of thy servants,
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who desire to fear thy
name: and prosper, I pray thee,
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thy servant this day, and grant
him mercy in the sight of this
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man. For I was
the king's cupbearer.
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We're continuing with
Nehemiah's account in chapter 2.
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This is the King James Version.
And it came to pass in the month
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Nisan, in the 20th
year of Artaxerxes the king,
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that wine was before him: and
I took up the wine, and gave it
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unto the king. Now I had
not been beforetime sad in
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his presence. Wherefore the
king said unto me, Why is thy
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countenance sad, seeing thou art
not sick? this is nothing else
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but sorrow of heart.
Then I was very sore afraid,
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and said unto the king,
Let the king live for ever:
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why should not my countenance be
sad, when the city, the place of
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my fathers' sepulchres, lieth
waste, and the gates thereof
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are consumed with fire? Then the
king said unto me, For what dost
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thou make request? So I
prayed to the God of heaven.
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And I said unto the
king, If it please the king,
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and if thy servant have
found favor in thy sight,
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that thou wouldest send
me unto Judah, unto the city
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of my fathers'
sepulchres, that I may build it.
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And the king said unto me,
the queen also sitting by him.
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For how long shall thy journey
be? and when wilt thou return?
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So it pleased the king to
send me; and I set him a time.
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Moreover I said unto the
king, If it please the king,
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let letters be given me to
the governors beyond the river,
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that they may convey me
over till I come into Judah;
00:14:24.69\00:14:28.98
Thank you for joining with me
today to read the word of God,
00:14:29.01\00:14:33.40
and when we come together
again next time, we'll continue
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the story of
Nehemiah. God bless. Goodbye.
00:14:36.13\00:14:38.93