Because there is one loaf of bread, we, who are many, are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf of bread. 1 Corinthians 10:17

Nehemiah 11-12

Nehemiah 11

The New Settlers in Jerusalem

¹ The leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. The rest of the people also cast lots, to bring ten percent of their people to live in Jerusalem the holy city, and ninety percent in the other cities. ² The people blessed all the men who willingly offered themselves to dwell in Jerusalem.

³ Now these are the leaders of the province who lived in Jerusalem, but in the cities of Judah everyone lived on his own property in their towns: the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon’s servants. ⁴ Some of the descendants of Judah and of Benjamin lived in Jerusalem.

Of the descendants of Judah:

Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the descendants of Perez; ⁵ and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Colhozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of the Shilonite. ⁶ All the sons of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were 468 valiant men.

⁷ These are from the descendants of Benjamin:

Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah. ⁸ After him Gabbai, Sallai, 928 men. ⁹ Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer; and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second over the city.

¹⁰ Of the priests:

Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin, ¹¹ Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of the Lord, ¹² and their brothers who did the work of the house, 822; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, ¹³ and his brothers, leaders of their families, 242; and Amashsai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, ¹⁴ and their brothers, mighty men of valor, 128; and their overseer was Zabdiel, the son of Haggedolim.

¹⁵ Of the Levites:

Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; ¹⁶ and Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the leaders of the Levites, who had the oversight of the outside of the house of the Lord; ¹⁷ and Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, who was the leader to begin the thanksgiving in prayer, and Bakbukiah, the second among his brothers; and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. ¹⁸ All the Levites in the holy city were 284.

¹⁹ Moreover the gatekeepers,

Akkub, Talmon, and their brothers, who kept watch at the gates, were 172.

Residents outside Jerusalem

²⁰ The rest of Israel, of the priests and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, everyone in his inheritance, ²¹ but the temple servants lived in Ophel; and Ziha and Gishpa were over the temple servants.

²² The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica, of the sons of Asaph, the singers, over the service of the house of the Lord. ²³ For there was a commandment from the king concerning them, and a settled provision for the singers, as every day required. ²⁴ Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the descendants of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people.

²⁵ As for the villages, with their fields, some of the descendants of Judah lived in Kiriath Arba and its towns, in Dibon and its towns, in Jekabzeel and its villages, ²⁶ in Jeshua, in Moladah, Beth Pelet, ²⁷ in Hazar Shual, in Beersheba and its towns, ²⁸ in Ziklag, in Meconah and in its towns, ²⁹ in En Rimmon, in Zorah, in Jarmuth, ³⁰ Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, and Azekah and its towns. So they encamped from Beersheba to the valley of Hinnom.

³¹ The descendants of Benjamin also lived from Geba onward, at Michmash and Aija, and at Bethel and its towns, ³² at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, ³³ Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ³⁴ Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ³⁵ Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen.

³⁶ Of the Levites, certain divisions in Judah settled in Benjamin’s territory.

Nehemiah 12

The Priests and Levites who Returned

¹ Now these are the priests and the Levites who went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua:

Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
² Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
³ Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
⁴ Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,
⁵ Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
⁶ Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah.
⁷ Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah.

These were the leaders of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua.

⁸ The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who was over the thanksgiving songs, he and his brothers. ⁹ Also Bakbukiah and Unno, their brothers, were close to them according to their offices.

The Succession of High Priests

¹⁰ Jeshua became the father of Joiakim,
and Joiakim became the father of Eliashib,
and Eliashib became the father of Joiada,
¹¹ and Joiada became the father of Jonathan,
and Jonathan became the father of Jaddua.

¹² In the days of Joiakim these were the priests, the heads of families:

of Seraiah, Meraiah;
of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
¹³ of Ezra, Meshullam;
of Amariah, Jehohanan;
¹⁴ of Malluchi, Jonathan;
of Shebaniah, Joseph;
¹⁵ of Harim, Adna;
of Meraioth, Helkai;
¹⁶ of Iddo, Zechariah;
of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
¹⁷ of Abijah, Zichri;
of Miniamin,
of Moadiah, Piltai;
¹⁸ of Bilgah, Shammua;
of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
¹⁹ and of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
²⁰ of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
²¹ of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

The Chief Levites

²² As for the Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, the heads of families and also the priests, were recorded in the reign of Darius the Persian.

²³ The descendants of Levi, heads of families, were written in the book of the chronicles, until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. ²⁴ The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, along with their brothers who stood opposite them, to praise and give thanks, section by section, according to the commandment of David the man of God.

²⁵ Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were gatekeepers keeping the watch at the storehouses of the gates. ²⁶ These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest and scribe.

Dedication of the Wall

²⁷ At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with giving thanks and with singing, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and with harps. ²⁸ The sons of the singers gathered together, both from the plain around Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites, ²⁹ also from Beth Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem. ³⁰ The priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.

³¹ Then I brought up the leaders of Judah on the wall and appointed two great choirs who gave thanks and went in procession. One went on the right side on the wall toward the dung gate, ³² and after them went Hoshaiah, with half of the leaders of Judah, ³³ and Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam, ³⁴ Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, ³⁵ and some of the priests’ sons with trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph; ³⁶ and his brothers, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God; and Ezra the scribe was before them. ³⁷ By the spring gate and straight before them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David at the ascent of the wall, above David’s house, all the way to the water gate eastward.

³⁸ The other choir of those who gave thanks went to meet them, and I after them, with the half of the people, on the wall, above the tower of the furnaces, all the way to the wide wall, ³⁹ and above the gate of Ephraim, and by the old gate, and by the fish gate, and the tower of Hananel, and the tower of Hammeah, to the sheep gate; and they stood still at the gate of the guard.

⁴⁰ So the two choirs of those who gave thanks in the house of God stood, and I, and the half of the rulers with me; ⁴¹ and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; ⁴² and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loudly, with Jezrahiah their overseer.

⁴³ They offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had caused them to rejoice with great joy, and the women and the children also rejoiced so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from far away.

Provisions for Temple Worship

⁴⁴ On that day, men were appointed over the rooms for the treasures, for the wave offerings, for the first fruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them, according to the fields of the cities, the portions appointed by the law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites who waited.

⁴⁵ They performed the duty of their God and the duty of the purification and so did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the commandment of David and of Solomon his son. ⁴⁶ For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were choir directors and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.

⁴⁷ All Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the gatekeepers, as every day required, and they set apart that which was for the Levites, and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.

1 Corinthians 10:14-33

Flee from Idolatry

¹⁴ Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. ¹⁵ I speak as to wise men. Judge what I say. ¹⁶ The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a sharing of the body of Christ? ¹⁷ Because there is one loaf of bread, we, who are many, are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf of bread. ¹⁸ Consider Israel according to the flesh. Do those who eat the sacrifices not participate in the altar?

¹⁹ What am I saying then? That food that is sacrificed to idols is anything or that an idol is anything? ²⁰ But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God, and I do not desire that you would have fellowship with demons. ²¹ You cannot drink both the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake both of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons. ²² Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Do All to the Glory of God

²³ “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are profitable. “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things build up. ²⁴ Let no one seek his own good, but each one his neighbor’s good. ²⁵ Whatever is sold in the butcher shop, eat, asking no question for the sake of conscience, ²⁶ for “the earth is the Lord’s, and its fullness.” ^a

²⁷ But if one of those who do not believe invites you to a meal, and you are inclined to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no questions for the sake of conscience. ²⁸ But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for the sake of conscience.  ²⁹ By “conscience” I mean not your own, but the other’s conscience. For why is my freedom judged by another conscience? ³⁰ If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced for something for which I give thanks?

³¹ Whether, therefore, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. ³² Give no occasion for stumbling, whether to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, ³³ just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the masses, that they may be saved.

^{a Psalm 24:1}

Psalm 34:11-22

¹¹ Come, children, listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² What man is he that desires life
and loves many days, that he may see good?

¹³ Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
¹⁴ Depart from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous.
His ears are open to their cry.
¹⁶ The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry, and the Lord hears,
and delivers them out of all their troubles.

¹⁸ The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves those who have a contrite spirit.

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him from all of them.
²⁰ He protects all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
²¹ Evil shall slay the wicked.
Those who hate the righteous shall bear their own guilt.
²² The Lord redeems the soul of his servants.
None of those who trust in him shall be found guilty.

Proverbs 21:14-16

¹⁴ A gift in secret pacifies anger,
and a bribe in the cloak pacifies strong wrath.
¹⁵ Upholding justice is a joy to the righteous,
but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.
¹⁶ The man who wanders out of the way of understanding
shall rest in the assembly of the departed spirits.

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