Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
The One Year Bible TLB (169 page)
August 8Here is the genealogy of Ezra, who traveled from Babylon to Jerusalem
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during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia:
Ezra was the son of Seriah;
Seriah was the son of Azariah;
Azariah was the son of Hilkiah;
Hilkiah was the son of Shallum;
Shallum was the son of Zadok;
Zadok was the son of Ahitub;
Ahitub was the son of Amariah;
Amariah was the son of Meraioth;
Meraioth was the son of Zerahiah;
Zerahiah was the son of Uzzi;
Uzzi was the son of Bukki;
Bukki was the son of Abishua;
Abishua was the son of Phinehas;
Phinehas was the son of Eleazar;
Eleazar was the son of Aaron, the chief priest.
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As a Jewish religious leader, Ezra was well versed in Jehovah’s laws, which Moses had given to the people of Israel. He asked to be allowed to return to Jerusalem, and the king granted his request; for the Lord his God was blessing him.
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Many ordinary people as well as priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and Temple workers traveled with him. They left Babylon in the middle of March in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes and arrived at Jerusalem in the month of August; for the Lord gave them a good trip.
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This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the laws of the Lord and to become a Bible teacher, teaching those laws to the people of Israel.
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King Artaxerxes presented this letter to Ezra the priest, the student of God’s commands:
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“From: Artaxerxes, the king of kings.
“To: Ezra the priest, the teacher of the laws of the God of heaven.
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“I decree that any Jew in my realm, including the priests and Levites, may return to Jerusalem with you.
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I and my Council of Seven hereby instruct you to take a copy of God’s laws to Judah and Jerusalem and to send back a report of the religious progress being made there.
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We also commission you to take with you to Jerusalem the silver and gold, which we are presenting as an offering to the God of Israel.
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“Moreover, you are to collect voluntary Temple offerings of silver and gold from the Jews and their priests in all of the provinces of Babylon.
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These funds are to be used primarily for the purchase of oxen, rams, lambs, grain offerings, and drink offerings, all of which will be offered upon the altar of your Temple when you arrive in Jerusalem.
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The money that is left over may be used in whatever way you and your brothers feel is the will of your God.
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And take with you the gold bowls and other items we are giving you for the Temple of your God at Jerusalem.
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If you run short of money for the construction of the Temple or for any similar needs, you may requisition funds from the royal treasury.
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“I, Artaxerxes the king, send this decree to all the treasurers in the provinces west of the Euphrates River: ‘You are to give Ezra whatever he requests of you (for he is a priest and teacher of the laws of the God of heaven),
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up to $200,000 in silver; 1,225 bushels of wheat; 990 gallons of wine; any amount of salt;
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and whatever else the God of heaven demands for his Temple; for why should we risk God’s wrath against the king and his sons?
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I also decree that no priest, Levite, choir member, gatekeeper, Temple attendant, or other worker in the Temple shall be required to pay taxes of any kind.’
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“And you, Ezra, are to use the wisdom God has given you to select and appoint judges and other officials to govern all the people west of the Euphrates River; if they are not familiar with the laws of your God, you are to teach them.
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Anyone refusing to obey the law of your God and the law of the king shall be punished immediately by death, banishment, confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.”
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Well, praise the Lord God of our ancestors, who made the king want to beautify the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem!
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And praise God for demonstrating such loving-kindness to me
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by honoring me before the king and his Council of Seven and before all of his mighty princes! I was given great status because the Lord my God was with me; and I persuaded some of the leaders of Israel to return with me to Jerusalem.
8:
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These are the names and genealogies of the leaders who accompanied me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:
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From the clan of Phinehas—Gershom;
From the clan of Ithamar—Daniel;
From the subclan of David of the clan of Shecaniah—Hattush;
From the clan of Parosh—Zechariah, and 150 other men;
From the clan of Pahath-moab—Eliehoenai (son of Zerahiah), and 200 other men;
From the clan of Shecaniah—the son of Jahaziel, and 300 other men;
From the clan of Adin—Ebed (son of Jonathan), and 50 other men;
From the clan of Elam—Jeshaiah (son of Athaliah), and 70 other men;
From the clan of Shephatiah—Zebadiah (son of Michael), and 80 other men;
From the clan of Joab—Obadiah (son of Jehiel), and 218 other men;
From the clan of Bani—Shelomith (son of Josiphiah), and 160 other men;
From the clan of Bebai—Zechariah (son of Bebai), and 28 other men;
From the clan of Azgad—Johanan (son of Hakkatan), and 110 other men;
From the clan of Adonikam—Eliphelet, Jeuel, Shemaiah, and 60 other men (they arrived at a later time);
From the clan of Bigvai—Uthai, Zaccur, and 70 other men.
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We assembled at the Ahava River and camped there for three days while I went over the lists of the people and the priests who had arrived; and I found that not one Levite had volunteered!
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So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, the Levite leaders; I also sent for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were very wise men.
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I sent them to Iddo, the leader of the Jews at Casiphia, to ask him and his brothers and the Temple attendants to send us priests for the Temple of God at Jerusalem.
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And God was good! He sent us an outstanding man named Sherebiah, along with eighteen of his sons and brothers; he was a very astute man and a descendant of Mahli, the son of Levi and grandson of Israel.
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God also sent Hashabiah; and Jeshaiah (the son of Merari), with twenty of his sons and brothers;
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and 220 Temple attendants. (The Temple attendants were assistants to the Levites—a job classification of Temple employees first instituted by King David.) These 220 men were all listed by name.
So Apollos and I should be looked upon as Christ’s servants who distribute God’s blessings by explaining God’s secrets.
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Now the most important thing about a servant is that he does just what his master tells him to.
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What about me? Have I been a good servant? Well, I don’t worry over what you think about this or what anyone else thinks. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point.
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My conscience is clear, but even that isn’t final proof. It is the Lord himself who must examine me and decide.
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So be careful not to jump to conclusions before the Lord returns as to whether someone is a good servant or not. When the Lord comes, he will turn on the light so that everyone can see exactly what each one of us is really like, deep down in our hearts. Then everyone will know why we have been doing the Lord’s work. At that time God will give to each one whatever praise is coming to him.
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I have used Apollos and myself as examples to illustrate what I have been saying: that you must not have favorites. You must not be proud of one of God’s teachers more than another.
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What are you so puffed up about? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all you have is from God, why act as though you are so great, and as though you have accomplished something on your own?
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You seem to think you already have all the spiritual food you need. You are full and spiritually contented, rich kings on your thrones, leaving us far behind! I wish you really were already on your thrones, for when that time comes you can be sure that we will be there, too, reigning with you.
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Sometimes I think God has put us apostles at the very end of the line, like prisoners soon to be killed, put on display at the end of a victor’s parade, to be stared at by men and angels alike.
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Religion has made us foolish, you say, but of course you are all such wise and sensible Christians! We are weak, but not you! You are well thought of, while we are laughed at.
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To this very hour we have gone hungry and thirsty, without even enough clothes to keep us warm. We have been kicked around without homes of our own.
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We have worked wearily with our hands to earn our living. We have blessed those who cursed us. We have been patient with those who injured us.
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We have replied quietly when evil things have been said about us. Yet right up to the present moment we are like dirt underfoot, like garbage.
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I am not writing about these things to make you ashamed, but to warn and counsel you as beloved children.
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For although you may have ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, remember that you have only me as your father. For I was the one who brought you to Christ when I preached the Gospel to you.
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So I beg you to follow my example and do as I do.
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That is the very reason why I am sending Timothy—to help you do this. For he is one of those I won to Christ, a beloved and trustworthy child in the Lord. He will remind you of what I teach in all the churches wherever I go.
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I know that some of you will have become proud, thinking that I am afraid to come to deal with you.
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But I will come, and soon, if the Lord will let me, and then I’ll find out whether these proud men are just big talkers or whether they really have God’s power.
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The Kingdom of God is not just talking; it is living by God’s power.
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Which do you choose? Shall I come with punishment and scolding, or shall I come with quiet love and gentleness?
I will praise you, Lord, for you have saved me from my enemies. You refuse to let them triumph over me.
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O Lord my God, I pleaded with you, and you gave me my health again.
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You brought me back from the brink of the grave, from death itself, and here I am alive!
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Oh, sing to him you saints of his; give thanks to his holy name.
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His anger lasts a moment; his favor lasts for life! Weeping may go on all night, but in the morning there is joy.
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In my prosperity I said, “This is forever; nothing can stop me now! The Lord has shown me his favor. He has made me steady as a mountain.” Then, Lord, you turned your face away from me and cut off your river of blessings.
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Suddenly my courage was gone; I was terrified and panic-stricken.
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I cried to you, O Lord; oh, how I pled:
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“What will you gain, O Lord, from killing me? How can I praise you then to all my friends? How can my dust in the grave speak out and tell the world about your faithfulness?
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Hear me, Lord; oh, have pity and help me.”
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Then he turned my sorrow into joy! He took away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy
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so that I might sing glad praises to the Lord instead of lying in silence in the grave. O Lord my God, I will keep on thanking you forever!
If a king is kind, honest, and fair, his kingdom stands secure.
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The glory of young men is their strength; of old men, their experience.
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Punishment that hurts chases evil from the heart.
August 9Then I declared a fast while we were at the Ahava River so that we would humble ourselves before our God; and we prayed that he would give us a good journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled.
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For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and cavalry to accompany us and protect us from the enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king that our God would protect all those who worshiped him, and that disaster could come only to those who had forsaken him!
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So we fasted and begged God to take care of us. And he did.
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I appointed twelve leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten other priests—
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to be in charge of transporting the silver, gold, the gold bowls, and the other items that the king and his council and the leaders and people of Israel had presented to the Temple of God.
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I weighed the money as I gave it to them and found it to total $1,300,000 in silver; $200,000 in silver utensils; many millions in gold; and twenty gold bowls worth a total of $100,000. There were also two beautiful pieces of brass that were as precious as gold.
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I consecrated these men to the Lord and then consecrated the treasures—the equipment and money and bowls that had been given as freewill offerings to the Lord God of our fathers.
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“Guard these treasures well!” I told them; “present them without a penny lost to the priests and the Levite leaders and the elders of Israel at Jerusalem, where they are to be placed in the treasury of the Temple.”
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So the priests and the Levites accepted the responsibility of taking them to God’s Temple in Jerusalem.
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We broke camp at the Ahava River at the end of March
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and started off to Jerusalem; and God protected us and saved us from enemies and bandits along the way.
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So at last we arrived safely at Jerusalem.
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On the fourth day after our arrival, the silver, gold, and other valuables were weighed in the Temple by Meremoth (the son of Uriah the priest), Eleazar (son of Phinehas), Jozabad (son of Jeshua), and Noadiah (son of Binnui)—all of whom were Levites.
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A receipt was given for each item, and the weight of the gold and silver was noted.
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Then everyone in our party sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel—twelve oxen for the nation of Israel; ninety-six rams; seventy-seven lambs; and twelve goats as a sin offering.
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The king’s decrees were delivered to his lieutenants and the governors of all the provinces west of the Euphrates River, and of course they then cooperated in the rebuilding of the Temple of God.
9:
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But then the Jewish leaders came to tell me that many of the Jewish people and even some of the priests and Levites had taken up the horrible customs of the heathen people who lived in the land—the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.
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The men of Israel had married girls from these heathen nations and had taken them as wives for their sons. So the holy people of God were being polluted by these mixed marriages, and the political leaders were some of the worst offenders.
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When I heard this, I tore my clothing and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down utterly baffled.
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Then many who feared the God of Israel because of this sin of his people came and sat with me until the time of the evening burnt offering.
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Finally I stood before the Lord in great embarrassment; then I fell to my knees and lifted my hands to the Lord,
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and cried out, “O my God, I am ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you, for our sins are piled higher than our heads and our guilt is as boundless as the heavens.
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Our whole history has been one of sin; that is why we and our kings and our priests were slain by the heathen kings—we were captured, robbed, and disgraced, just as we are today.
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But now we have been given a moment of peace, for you have permitted a few of us to return to Jerusalem from our exile. You have given us a moment of joy and new life in our slavery.
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For we were slaves, but in your love and mercy you did not abandon us to slavery; instead, you caused the kings of Persia to be favorable to us. They have even given us their assistance in rebuilding the Temple of our God and in giving us Jerusalem as a walled city in Judah.
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“And now, O God, what can we say after all of this? For once again we have abandoned you and broken your laws!
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The prophets warned us that the land we would possess was totally defiled by the horrible practices of the people living there. From one end to the other it is filled with corruption.
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You told us not to let our daughters marry their sons, and not to let our sons marry their daughters, and not to help those nations in any way. You warned us that only if we followed this rule could we become a prosperous nation and forever leave that prosperity to our children as an inheritance.
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And now, even after our punishment in exile because of our wickedness (and we have been punished far less than we deserved), and even though you have let some of us return,
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we have broken your commandments again and intermarried with people who do these awful things. Surely your anger will destroy us now until not even this little remnant escapes.
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O Lord God of Israel, you are a just God; what hope can we have if you give us justice as we stand here before you in our wickedness?”
Everyone is talking about the terrible thing that has happened there among you, something so evil that even the heathen don’t do it: you have a man in your church who is living in sin with his father’s wife.
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And are you still so conceited, so “spiritual”? Why aren’t you mourning in sorrow and shame and seeing to it that this man is removed from your membership?
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Although I am not there with you, I have been thinking a lot about this, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I have already decided what to do, just as though I were there. You are to call a meeting of the church—and the power of the Lord Jesus will be with you as you meet, and I will be there in spirit—
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and cast out this man from the fellowship of the church and into Satan’s hands, to punish him, in the hope that his soul will be saved when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.
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What a terrible thing it is that you are boasting about your purity and yet you let this sort of thing go on. Don’t you realize that if even one person is allowed to go on sinning, soon all will be affected?
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Remove this evil cancer—this wicked person—from among you, so that you can stay pure. Christ, God’s Lamb, has been slain for us.
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So let us feast upon him and grow strong in the Christian life, leaving entirely behind us the cancerous old life with all its hatreds and wickedness. Let us feast instead upon the pure bread of honor and sincerity and truth.
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When I wrote to you before I said not to mix with evil people.
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But when I said that I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who live in sexual sin or are greedy cheats and thieves and idol worshipers. For you can’t live in this world without being with people like that.
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What I meant was that you are not to keep company with anyone who claims to be a brother Christian but indulges in sexual sins, or is greedy, or is a swindler, or worships idols, or is a drunkard, or abusive. Don’t even eat lunch with such a person.
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It isn’t our job to judge outsiders. But it certainly is our job to judge and deal strongly with those who are members of the church and who are sinning in these ways.
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God alone is the Judge of those on the outside. But you yourselves must deal with this man and put him out of your church.
Lord, I trust in you alone. Don’t let my enemies defeat me. Rescue me because you are the God who always does what is right.
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Answer quickly when I cry to you; bend low and hear my whispered plea.
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Be for me a great Rock of safety from my foes.
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Yes, you are my Rock and my fortress; honor your name by leading me out of this peril.
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Pull me from the trap my enemies have set for me. For you alone are strong enough.
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Into your hand I commit my spirit.
You have rescued me, O God who keeps his promises. I worship only you; how you hate all those who worship idols, those imitation gods.
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I am radiant with joy because of your mercy, for you have listened to my troubles and have seen the crisis in my soul.
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You have not handed me over to my enemy but have given me open ground in which to maneuver.
Just as water is turned into irrigation ditches, so the Lord directs the king’s thoughts. He turns them wherever he wants to.
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We can justify our every deed, but God looks at our motives.