The Letter from
JUDE
1From
Jude, servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James--
To those who have been called by God, who live in the
love of God the Father and the protection of Jesus
Christ:
2May
mercy, peace, and love be yours in full measure.
False Teachers
3My
dear friends, I was doing my best to write to you about
the salvation we share in common, when I felt the need of
writing at once to encourage you to fight on for the
faith which once and for all God has given to his people.
4For some godless people have slipped in
unnoticed among us, persons who distort the message about
the grace of our God in order to excuse their immoral
ways, and who reject Jesus Christ, our only Master and
Lord. Long ago the Scriptures predicted the condemnation
they have received.
5For
even though you know all this, I want to remind you of
how the Lord once rescued the people of Israel from
Egypt, but afterward destroyed those who did not believe.
6Remember the angels who did not stay within
the limits of their proper authority, but abandoned their
own dwelling place: they are bound with eternal chains in
the darkness below, where God is keeping them for that
great Day on which they will be condemned. 7Remember
Sodom and Gomorrah, and the nearby towns, whose people
acted as those angels did and indulged in sexual
immorality and perversion: they suffer the punishment of
eternal fire as a plain warning to all.
8In
the same way also, these people have visions which make
them sin against their own bodies; they despise God's
authority and insult the glorious beings above. 9Not
even the chief angel Michael did this. In his quarrel
with the Devil, when they argued about who would have the
body of Moses, Michael did not dare condemn the Devil
with insulting words, but said, "The Lord rebuke
you!" 10But these people attack with
insults anything they do not understand; and those things
that they know by instinct, like wild animals, are the
very things that destroy them. 11How terrible
for them! They have followed the way that Cain took. For
the sake of money they have given themselves over to the
error that Balaam committed. They have rebelled as Korah
rebelled, and like him they are destroyed. 12With
their shameless carousing they are like dirty spots in
your fellowship meals. They take care only of themselves.
They are like clouds carried along by the wind, but
bringing no rain. They are like trees that bear no fruit,
even in autumn, trees that have been pulled up by the
roots and are completely dead. 13They are like
wild waves of the sea, with their shameful deeds showing
up like foam. They are like wandering stars, for whom God
has reserved a place forever in the deepest darkness.
14It
was Enoch, the seventh direct descendant from Adam, who
long ago prophesied this about them: "The Lord will
come with many thousands of his holy angels 15to
bring judgment on all, to condemn them all for the
godless deeds they have performed and for all the
terrible words that godless sinners have spoken
against him!"
16These
people are always grumbling and blaming others; they
follow their own evil desires; they brag about themselves
and flatter others in order to get their own way.
Warnings
and Instructions
17But
remember, my friends, what you were told in the past by
the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18They
said to you, "When the last days come, people will
appear who will make fun of you, people who follow their
own godless desires." 19These are the
people who cause divisions, who are controlled by their
natural desires, who do not have the Spirit. 20But
you, my friends, keep on building yourselves up on your
most sacred faith. Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, 21and
keep yourselves in the love of God, as you wait for our
Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy to give you eternal life.
22Show
mercy toward those who have doubts; 23save
others by snatching them out of the fire; and to others
show mercy mixed with fear, but hate their very clothes,
stained by their sinful lusts.
Prayer of Praise
24To
him who is able to keep you from falling and to bring you
faultless and joyful before his glorious presence-- 25to
the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
be glory, majesty, might, and authority, from all ages
past, and now, and forever and ever! Amen.
Ezra Learns
of Intermarriages with Non-Jews
Ezra 9 After
all this had been done, some of the leaders of the people
of Israel came and told me that the people, the priests,
and the Levites had not kept themselves separate from the
people in the neighboring countries of Ammon, Moab, and
Egypt or from the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites,
Jebusites, and Amorites. They were doing the same
disgusting things which these people did. 2Jewish
men were marrying foreign women, and so God's holy people
had become contaminated. The leaders and officials were
the chief offenders. 3When I heard this, I
tore my clothes in despair, tore my hair and my beard,
and sat down crushed with grief. 4I sat
there grieving until the time for the evening sacrifice
to be offered, and people began to gather around me--all
those who were frightened because of what the God of
Israel had said about the sins of those who had returned
from exile.
5When
the time came for the evening sacrifice, I got up from
where I had been grieving, and still wearing my torn
clothes, I knelt in prayer and stretched out my hands to
the LORD my God. 6I said,
"O God, I am too ashamed to raise my head in
your presence. Our sins pile up higher than our heads;
they reach as high as the heavens. 7From the
days of our ancestors until now, we, your people, have
sinned greatly. Because of our sins we, our kings, and
our priests have fallen into the hands of foreign kings,
and we have been slaughtered, robbed, and carried away as
prisoners. We have been totally disgraced, as we still
are today. 8Now for a short time, O LORD our God, you have been gracious to us
and have let some of us escape from slavery and live in
safety in this holy place. You have let us escape from
slavery and have given us new life. 9We were
slaves, but you did not leave us in slavery. You made the
emperors of Persia favor us and permit us to go on living
and to rebuild your Temple, which was in ruins, and to
find safety here in Judah and Jerusalem.
10"But
now, O God, what can we say after all that has
happened? We have again disobeyed the commands 11that
you gave us through your servants, the prophets. They
told us that the land we were going to occupy was an
impure land because the people who lived in it filled it
from one end to the other with disgusting, filthy
actions. 12They told us that we were never to
intermarry with those people and never to help them
prosper or succeed if we wanted to enjoy the land and
pass it on to our descendants forever. 13Even
after everything that has happened to us in punishment
for our sins and wrongs, we know that you, our God, have
punished us less than we deserve and have allowed us to
survive. 14Then how can we ignore your
commandments again and intermarry with these wicked
people? If we do, you will be so angry that you will
destroy us completely and let no one survive. 15LORD God of Israel, you are just, but you
have let us survive. We confess our guilt to you; we have
no right to come into your presence."
The Plan for Ending
Mixed Marriages
Ezra 10 While
Ezra was bowing in prayer in front of the Temple, weeping
and confessing these sins, a large group of
Israelites--men, women, and children--gathered around
him, weeping bitterly. 2Then Shecaniah son of
Jehiel, of the clan of Elam, said to Ezra, "We have
broken faith with God by marrying foreign women, but even
so there is still hope for Israel. 3Now we
must make a solemn promise to our God that we will send
these women and their children away. We will do what you
and the others who honor God's commands advise us to do.
We will do what God's Law demands. 4It is your
responsibility to act. We are behind you, so go ahead and
get it done."
5So
Ezra began by making the leaders of the priests, of the
Levites, and of the rest of the people take an oath that
they would do what Shecaniah had proposed. 6Then
he went from in front of the Temple into the living
quarters of Jehohanan son of Eliashib, and spent the
night there grieving over the unfaithfulness of the
exiles. He did not eat or drink anything.
7A message
was sent throughout Jerusalem and Judah that all those
who had returned from exile were to meet in Jerusalem 8by
order of the leaders of the people. If any failed to come
within three days, all their property would be
confiscated, and they would lose their right to be
members of the community. 9Within the three
days, on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the
men living in the territory of Judah and Benjamin came to
Jerusalem and assembled in the Temple square. It was
raining hard, and because of the weather and the
importance of the meeting everyone was trembling.
10Ezra
the priest stood up and spoke to them. He said, "You
have been faithless and have brought guilt on Israel by
marrying foreign women. 11Now then, confess
your sins to the LORD, the God of
your ancestors, and do what pleases him. Separate
yourselves from the foreigners living in our land and get
rid of your foreign wives."
12The
people shouted in answer, "We will do whatever you
say." 13But they added, "The crowd
is too big, and it's raining hard. We can't stand here in
the open like this. This isn't something that can be done
in one or two days, because so many of us are involved in
this sin. 14Let our officials stay in
Jerusalem and take charge of the matter. Then let anyone
who has a foreign wife come at a set time, together with
the leaders and the judges of his city. In this way God's
anger over this situation will be turned away." 15No
one was opposed to the plan except Jonathan son of Asahel
and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, who had the support of
Meshullam and of Shabbethai, a Levite.
16The
returned exiles accepted the plan, so Ezra the priest
appointed men from among the heads of the clans and
recorded their names. On the first day of the tenth month
they began their investigation, 17and within
the next three months they investigated all the cases of
men with foreign wives.
The Men Who Had Foreign
Wives
18This
is the list of the men who had foreign wives:
Priests, listed by clans:
Clan
of Joshua and his brothers, sons of Jehozadak: Maaseiah,
Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19They promised
to divorce their wives, and they offered a ram as a
sacrifice for their sins.
20Clan
of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah
21Clan
of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah
22Clan
of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel,
Jozabad, and Elasah
23Levites:
Jozabad,
Shimei, Kelaiah (also called Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah,
and Eliezer
24Musicians:
Eliashib
Temple guards:
Shallum,
Telem, and Uri
25Others:
Clan
of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar,
Malchijah, and Benaiah
26Clan
of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth,
and Elijah
27Clan
of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad,
and Aziza
28Clan
of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai
29Clan
of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and
Jeremoth
30Clan
of Pahath Moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah,
Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh
31-32Clan
of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah,
Shimeon, Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah
33Clan
of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet,
Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei
34-37Clan
of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi,
Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Mattenai, and
Jaasu
38-42Clan
of Binnui: Shimei, Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,
Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, Azarel, Shelemiah,
Shemariah, Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph
43Clan
of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel,
and Benaiah
44All
these men had foreign wives. They divorced them and sent
them and their children away.
A Song of Praise
Psalm 95 Come,
let us praise the LORD!
Let
us sing for joy to God, who protects us!
2Let
us come before him with thanksgiving
and
sing joyful songs of praise.
3For
the LORD is a mighty God,
a
mighty king over all the gods.
4He
rules over the whole earth,
from
the deepest caves to the highest hills.
5He
rules over the sea, which he made;
the
land also, which he himself formed.
6Come,
let us bow down and worship him;
let
us kneel before the LORD, our
Maker!
7He
is our God;
we
are the people he cares for,
the
flock for which he provides.
Listen
today to what he says:
8"Don't
be stubborn, as your ancestors were at Meribah,
as
they were that day in the desert at Massah.
9There
they put me to the test and tried me,
although
they had seen what I did for them.
10For
forty years I was disgusted with those people.
I
said, 'How disloyal they are!
They
refuse to obey my commands.'
11I
was angry and made a solemn promise:
'You
will never enter the land
where
I would have given you rest.'"
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