The Captives Who Returned to Jerusalem^(A)

2 Now ^(B)these are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, ^(C)whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his own city.

² Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, ^[a]Seraiah, ^[b]Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, ^[c]Mispar, Bigvai, ^[d]Rehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: ³ the people of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; ⁴ the people of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; ⁵ the people of Arah, ^(D)seven hundred and seventy-five; ⁶ the people of ^(E)Pahath-Moab, of the people of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve; ⁷ the people of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ⁸ the people of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five; ⁹ the people of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; ¹⁰ the people of ^[e]Bani, six hundred and forty-two; ¹¹ the people of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three; ¹² the people of Azgad, one thousand two hundred and twenty-two; ¹³ the people of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-six; ¹⁴ the people of Bigvai, two thousand and fifty-six; ¹⁵ the people of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four; ¹⁶ the people of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety-eight; ¹⁷ the people of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-three; ¹⁸ the people of ^[f]Jorah, one hundred and twelve; ¹⁹ the people of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three; ²⁰ the people of ^[g]Gibbar, ninety-five; ²¹ the people of Bethlehem, one hundred and twenty-three; ²² the men of Netophah, fifty-six; ²³ the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight; ²⁴ the people of ^[h]Azmaveth, forty-two; ²⁵ the people of ^[i]Kirjath Arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three; ²⁶ the people of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one; ²⁷ the men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two; ²⁸ the men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred and twenty-three; ²⁹ the people of Nebo, fifty-two; ³⁰ the people of Magbish, one hundred and fifty-six; ³¹ the people of the other ^(F)Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ³² the people of Harim, three hundred and twenty; ³³ the people of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five; ³⁴ the people of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; ³⁵ the people of Senaah, three thousand six hundred and thirty.

³⁶ The priests: the sons of ^(G)Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three; ³⁷ the sons of ^(H)Immer, one thousand and fifty-two; ³⁸ the sons of ^(I)Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; ³⁹ the sons of ^(J)Harim, one thousand and seventeen.

⁴⁰ The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of ^[j]Hodaviah, seventy-four.

⁴¹ The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and twenty-eight.

⁴² The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-nine in all.

^43 (K)The Nethinim: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁴ the sons of Keros, the sons of ^[k]Siaha, the sons of Padon, ⁴⁵ the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub, ⁴⁶ the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shalmai, the sons of Hanan, ⁴⁷ the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah, ⁴⁸ the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam, ⁴⁹ the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai, ⁵⁰ the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of ^[l]Nephusim, ⁵¹ the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, ⁵² the sons of ^[m]Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, ⁵³ the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah, ⁵⁴ the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.

⁵⁵ The sons of ^(L)Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of ^(M)Sophereth, the sons of ^[n]Peruda, ⁵⁶ the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, ⁵⁷ the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the sons of ^[o]Ami. ⁵⁸ All the ^(N)Nethinim and the children of ^(O)Solomon’s servants were three hundred and ninety-two.

⁵⁹ And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, ^[p]Addan, and Immer; but they could not ^[q]identify their father’s house or their ^[r]genealogy, whether they were of Israel: ⁶⁰ the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two; ⁶¹ and of the sons of the priests: the sons of ^(P)Habaiah, the sons of ^[s]Koz, and the sons of ^(Q)Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name. ⁶² These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; ^(R)therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled. ⁶³ And the ^[t]governor said to them that they ^(S)should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the ^(T)Urim and Thummim.

^64 (U)The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, ⁶⁵ besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred men and women singers. ⁶⁶ Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five, ⁶⁷ their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.

^68 (V)Some of the heads of the fathers’ houses, when they came to the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God, to erect it in its place: ⁶⁹ According to their ability, they gave to the ^(W)treasury for the work sixty-one thousand gold drachmas, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priestly garments.

^70 (X)So the priests and the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

Worship Restored at Jerusalem

3 And when the ^(Y)seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. ² Then ^[u]Jeshua the son of ^(Z)Jozadak^[v] and his brethren the priests, ^(AA)and Zerubbabel the son of ^(AB)Shealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is ^(AC)written in the Law of Moses the man of God. ³ Though fear had come upon them because of the people of those countries, they set the altar on its ^[w]bases; and they offered ^(AD)burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening burnt offerings. ^4 (AE)They also kept the Feast of Tabernacles, ^(AF)as it is written, and ^(AG)offered the daily burnt offerings in the number required by ordinance for each day. ⁵ Afterwards they offered the ^(AH)regular burnt offering, and those for New Moons and for all the appointed feasts of the Lord that were consecrated, and those of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to the Lord. ⁶ From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, although the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not been laid. ⁷ They also gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and ^(AI)food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to the sea, to ^(AJ)Joppa, ^(AK)according to the permission which they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

Restoration of the Temple Begins

⁸ Now in the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, ^(AL)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of ^[x]Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began work ^(AM)and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work of the house of the Lord. ⁹ Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of ^[y]Judah, arose as one to oversee those working on the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren the Levites.

¹⁰ When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, ^(AN)the^[z] priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the ^(AO)ordinance^[aa] of David king of Israel. ^11 (AP)And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord:

Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

¹² But many of the priests and Levites and ^(AS)heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, ¹³ so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off.

Many Women Minister to Jesus

8 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and ^[a]bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, ² and ^(A)certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and ^[b]infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, ^(B)out of whom had come seven demons, ³ and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for ^[c]Him from their ^[d]substance.

The Parable of the Sower^(C)

^4 (D)And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: ⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶ Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. ⁸ But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded ^[e]a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, ^(E)“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Purpose of Parables^(F)

^9 (G)Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”

¹⁰ And He said, “To you it has been given to know the ^[f]mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

The Parable of the Sower Explained^(I)

^11 (J)“Now the parable is this: The seed is the ^(K)word of God. ¹² Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. ¹³ But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of ^[g]temptation fall away. ¹⁴ Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, ^(L)riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. ¹⁵ But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with ^(M)patience.^[h]

The Parable of the Revealed Light^(N)

^16 (O)“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the ^(P)light. ^17 (Q)For nothing is secret that will not be ^(R)revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸ Therefore take heed how you hear. ^(S)For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he ^[i]seems to ^(T)have will be taken from him.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers Come to Him^(U)

^19 (V)Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. ²⁰ And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.”

²¹ But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

Wind and Wave Obey Jesus^(W)

^22 (X)Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. ²³ But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in ^[j]jeopardy. ²⁴ And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”

Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. ²⁵ But He said to them, ^(Y)“Where is your faith?”

And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, ^(Z)“Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

A Demon-Possessed Man Healed^(AA)

^26 (AB)Then they sailed to the country of the ^[k]Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons ^[l]for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he ^(AC)cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, ^(AD)“What have I to do with ^(AE)You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” ²⁹ For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.

³⁰ Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?”

And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. ³¹ And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out ^(AF)into the abyss.

³² Now a herd of many ^(AG)swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. ³³ Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.

³⁴ When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. ³⁵ Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, ^(AH)sitting at the ^(AI)feet of Jesus, clothed and in his ^(AJ)right mind. And they were afraid. ³⁶ They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was ^[m]healed. ^37 (AK)Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the ^[n]Gadarenes ^(AL)asked Him to ^(AM)depart from them, for they were seized with great ^(AN)fear. And He got into the boat and returned.

³⁸ Now ^(AO)the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

⁴⁰ So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. ^41 (AP)And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house, ⁴² for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she ^(AQ)was dying.

But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. ^43 (AR)Now a woman, having a ^(AS)flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, ⁴⁴ came from behind and ^(AT)touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.

⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”

When all denied it, Peter ^[o]and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, ^[p]and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived ^(AU)power going out from Me.” ⁴⁷ Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

⁴⁸ And He said to her, “Daughter, ^[q]be of good cheer; ^(AV)your faith has made you well. ^(AW)Go in peace.”

^49 (AX)While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the ^[r]Teacher.”

⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; ^(AY)only believe, and she will be made well.” ⁵¹ When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go ^[s]in except ^[t]Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. ⁵² Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, ^(AZ)“Do not weep; she is not dead, ^(BA)but sleeping.” ⁵³ And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.

⁵⁴ But He ^[u]put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, ^(BB)arise.” ⁵⁵ Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. ⁵⁶ And her parents were astonished, but ^(BC)He charged them to tell no one what had happened.