And when these things were fulfilled, Paul  ¹purposed in his  ²spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and  ³go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also  ⁴see Rome.

And having sent into Macedonia two of those who served him, Timothy and  ¹Erastus, he himself  ²stayed in Asia for a time.

And about that time no small disturbance took place concerning the  ¹Way.

For a certain man named  ¹Demetrius, a silversmith who  ²made silver shrines of  ³Artemis, afforded no little business to the craftsmen.

These he  ¹assembled together with the workmen of similar trades as well and said,  ²Men, you know that from this business we have our prosperity.

And you observe and hear that not only at Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and perverted a considerable number, saying that the gods being made by hands are no gods at all.

And not only is there danger that our trade will come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be counted as nothing and that the magnificence of her whom the whole of Asia and the inhabited earth worships will also be overthrown.

And when they heard this, they became full of rage and began to cry out, saying, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!

And the city was filled with confusion; and they rushed with one accord into the theater, seizing  ¹Gaius and Aristarchus of Macedonia, Paul's traveling companions.

And when Paul intended to enter into the populace, the disciples would not allow him.

And some of the  ¹Asiarchs also, who were his friends, sent to him and entreated him not to venture into the theater himself.

So then some were crying out one thing, and some another; for the assembly was in confusion, and the majority did not know for what cause they had come together.

And they drew  ¹Alexander out of the crowd, the Jews having pushed him forward; and Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the populace.

But when they realized that he was a Jew, one voice arose from all for about two hours, crying out, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!

And the town clerk, having quieted the crowd, said,  ¹Men of Ephesus, which of you men is there then who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple keeper of the great Artemis and of the image  ²fallen from Zeus?

Since these things therefore cannot be disputed, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash;

For you have brought forth these men who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.

If then Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a matter against anyone, courts are being conducted and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges against one another.

But if you seek after anything further, it shall be settled in the  ¹legal assembly.

For indeed we are in danger of being charged with insurrection for today's affair, since there is no reason for it; and with reference to it we will not be able to give an account concerning this disorderly gathering.

And when he had said these things, he  ¹dismissed the assembly.

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, with earth  ¹on their heads.

And the descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

And they stood up in their place and read in the book of the law of Jehovah their God for a fourth part of the day, and for another fourth part they confessed and worshipped Jehovah their God.

Then Jeshua and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood up on the Levites' platform and cried out with a loud voice to Jehovah their God.

Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless Jehovah your God from eternity to eternity:
And may Your glorious name be blessed,
Which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

You are Jehovah,
You alone;
You have made heaven,
The heaven of heavens with all its host,
The earth and all that is on it,
The seas and all that is in them;
And You give life to all of them;
And the host of heaven worships You.

You are Jehovah God,
Who chose Abram
And brought him forth from Ur of the Chaldees
And gave him the name Abraham.

And You found his heart faithful before You
And made a covenant with him,
To give him the land of the Canaanites,
The Hittites, the Amorites,
And the Perizzites and the Jebusites and the Girgashites,
To give it to his seed.
And You have fulfilled Your promises,
For You are righteous.

And You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt
And heard their cry by the Red Sea,

And You performed signs and wonders on Pharaoh,
And on all his servants, and on all the people of his land;
For You knew that they acted arrogantly toward them;
And You made Yourself a name, as it is to this day.

And You divided the sea before them,
So that they might pass through the midst of the sea on the dry land;
But their pursuers You threw into the depths,
Like a stone into mighty waters.

Then in a pillar of cloud You led them by day,
And in a pillar of fire by night,
To light the way for them,
On which they should go.

And You came down upon Mount Sinai
And spoke with them from heaven.
And You gave them just ordinances and true laws,
Good statutes and commandments.

And You made known to them
Your holy Sabbath
And prescribed commandments and statutes and a law for them
Through Moses Your servant.

And You gave them bread from heaven
For their hunger,
And You made water come forth from a rock for them
For their thirst.
And You told them to enter
In order to possess the land,
Which You swore
To give them.

But they and our fathers acted arrogantly
And stiffened their neck and would not listen to Your commandments.

And they refused to listen
And would not remember Your wondrous acts,
Which You had done among them.
And they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader
To return to their slavery in Egypt.
But You are a God of forgiveness,
Gracious and compassionate,
Long-suffering and abounding in lovingkindness;
So You did not forsake them.

Indeed when they made for themselves
A molten calf,
And said, This is your God,
Who brought you up out of Egypt,
And showed great contempt;

You, in Your great compassion,
Did not forsake them in the wilderness;
The pillar of cloud did not depart from over them by day,
To guide them on their way;
Nor the pillar of fire by night,
To light the way for them, on which they should go.

And You gave Your good Spirit
To instruct them,
And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth,
And gave them water for their thirst.

Indeed for forty years You sustained them in the wilderness;
They did not lack;
Their clothes did not wear out,
And their feet did not swell.

And You gave them kingdoms and peoples,
And divided these to them as boundaries.
So they took possession of the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon,
And the land of Og the king of Bashan.

And their children You multiplied
Like the stars of heaven,
And You brought them into the land
That You told their fathers
To enter and possess.

And the children entered
And possessed the land;
And You subdued before them
The inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites;
And You gave them into their hand,
With their kings and the peoples of the land,
That they might do with them as they pleased.

And they took their fortified cities
And a fertile land,
And took possession of their houses,
Full of every good thing,
Hewn cisterns, vineyards, and olive groves,
And fruit trees in abundance;
And they ate and were satisfied and grew fat,
And they delighted in Your great goodness.

But they were disobedient and rebelled against You
And cast Your law behind their back.
And they slew Your prophets,
Who had testified against them
In order to turn them back to You;
And they showed great contempt.

Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their oppressors,
And they oppressed them;
But when they cried out to You in the time of their oppression,
You heard from heaven,
And according to Your great compassions You gave them deliverers,
Who delivered them from the hand of their oppressors.

Then after they had rest,
They again did evil before You;
And You abandoned them to the hand of their enemies,
And they had dominion over them.
But when they cried out to You again,
You heard from heaven
And delivered them many times
According to Your compassions.

And You testified against them in order to turn them back to Your law,
But they acted arrogantly and would not listen to Your commandments;
And they sinned against Your ordinances
(By which, if a man does them, he will live),
And they turned a stubborn shoulder
And stiffened their neck and would not listen.

Yet You bore with them
For many years
And testified to them by Your Spirit
Through Your prophets,
But they would not give heed;
So You delivered them
Into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

Nevertheless in Your abundant compassions
You did not make an end of them;
And You did not forsake them,
For You are a gracious and compassionate God.

And now, our God,
The great, the mighty, and the awesome God,
Who keeps covenant and lovingkindness,
Do not let all the hardship seem small in Your sight
Which has come upon us, on our kings, on our rulers,
And on our priests and on our prophets
And on our fathers and on all Your people,
Since the days of the kings of Assyria
Until this day.

But You are righteous
In all that has come upon us,
For You have acted faithfully
While we have acted wickedly;

And our kings, our rulers, our priests, and our fathers
Have not performed Your law
Nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies,
By which You testified against them.

But they, in their kingdom and in Your great goodness,
Which You gave them,
And in the broad and fat land
That You put before them,
Did not serve You, nor did they turn
From their evil works.

Here we are, slaves today;
And as for the land that You gave to our fathers
To eat of its fruit and its goodness,
Here we are, slaves upon it.

And its bundant aproduce is for the kings
Whom You have put over us because of our sins;
And they rule over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure,
And we are in great distress.

And because of all this we are making a firm covenant and setting it in writing, and upon the sealed document are the names of our rulers, our Levites, and our priests.

And those who are upon the sealed document are: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah,

Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,

Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,

Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,

Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,

Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these were the priests.

And the Levites: namely, Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel;

And their brothers, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,

Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.

The heads of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,

Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,

Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,

Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,

Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,

Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,

Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,

Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,

Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,

Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,

Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,

And Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,

Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, all who had knowledge and who had understanding,

Join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a  ¹curse and an oath, to walk in the law of God, which was given through Moses the servant of God, and to keep and do all the commandments of Jehovah our Lord, as well as His ordinances and His statutes;

And swear that we will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land nor take their daughters for our sons;

And if the peoples of the land bring in wares or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy it from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day; and we will forego the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.

We also lay upon ourselves obligations to charge ourselves one-third shekel yearly for the service of the house of our God,

For the rows of bread, and for the continual meal offering, and for the continual burnt offering, for the Sabbaths, for the new moons, for the appointed feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings, to make expiation for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.

And we the priests, the Levites, and the people have cast lots for the wood offering, in order to bring it to the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at appointed times year by year, to burn on the altar of Jehovah our God as it is written in the law;

And in order to bring the firstfruits of our land and the firstfruits of all the fruit of every tree year by year to the house of Jehovah,

As well as the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the law; and in order to bring the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God.

We will also bring the first of our dough and our heave offerings and of the fruit of every tree and the new wine and the fresh oil to the priests at the chambers of the house of our God, and the  ¹tithe of our land to the Levites; for they, the Levites, are those who receive the tithes in all our rural towns.

And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes; and the Levites shall bring the tithe of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse.

For the children of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the heave offering of the grain, of the new wine, and of the fresh oil to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary, the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers are; and we will not forsake the house of our God.