17th November

¹ But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.² And he spake 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?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.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: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.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.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,⁸ And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.⁹ Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.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.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.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.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.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.¹⁵ And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.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.¹⁷ They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.¹⁸ For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.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.²⁰ In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.²¹ So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.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.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.

¹ O israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.² Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.³ Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.⁴ I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.⁵ I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.⁶ His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.⁷ They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.⁸ Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.⁹ Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.

¹ Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone;² And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:³ That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.⁴ For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.⁵ For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.⁶ But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you:⁷ Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith:⁸ For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.⁹ For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God;¹⁰ Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith?¹¹ Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.¹² And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:¹³ To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

¹ Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.² For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.³ For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:⁴ That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;⁵ Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:⁶ That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.⁷ For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.⁸ He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.⁹ But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.¹⁰ And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;¹¹ And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;¹² That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.¹³ But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.¹⁵ For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.¹⁶ For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:¹⁷ Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.¹⁸ Wherefore comfort one another with these words.