But we, going ahead onto the ship, set sail for Assos, from there intending to pick up Paul, for so he had arranged it, himself intending to go by foot.

And when he met us in Assos, we picked him up and came to Mitylene.

And sailing away from there, on the following day we arrived opposite Chios; and on the next day we put in at Samos. And on the day following we came to Miletus,

For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying so that if possible he might be in Jerusalem on the  ¹day of Pentecost.

And from Miletus he sent word to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church.

And when they came to him, he said to them, You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you all the time,

Serving the Lord as a slave with all humility and tears and trials which came upon me by the plots of the Jews;

How I did not withhold any of those things that are profitable by not declaring them to you and by not teaching you publicly and from house to house,

Solemnly testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance unto God and faith  ¹in our Lord  ²Jesus.

And now, behold, I am going  ¹bound in the  ²spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will meet me  ³there,

 ¹Except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in city after city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.

But I  ¹consider my  ²life of no account as if precious to myself, in order that I may finish my course and the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus to solemnly testify of the gospel of the grace of God.

And now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the  ¹kingdom, will see my face  ²no more.

Therefore I testify to you  ¹on this day that  ²I am clean from the blood of all men,

For I did not shrink from declaring to you all the counsel of God.

Take heed to yourselves and to all the  ¹flock, among whom the Holy  ²Spirit has placed you as  ³overseers to  ⁴shepherd the church of God, which He obtained through  ⁵His own blood.

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not  ¹sparing the flock.

And from among you yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverted things to  ¹draw away the disciples after them.

Therefore watch, remembering that for three years, night and day, I did not cease admonishing each one with tears.

And now I commit you to  ¹God and to the word of His  ²grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the  ³inheritance among all those who have been  ⁴sanctified.

I have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothing.

You yourselves know that these  ¹hands have ministered to my needs and to those who are with me.

In all things I have shown you by example that toiling in this way we ought to support  ¹the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said,  ²It is more blessed to give than to receive.

And when he had said these things, he knelt down with them all and prayed.

And there was considerable weeping by all; and falling on Paul's neck, they kissed him affectionately,

Especially pained over the word which he had spoken, that they would no longer behold his face. And they escorted him to the ship.

And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem in order to hold the dedication with rejoicing and thanksgiving and singing with cymbals, harps, and lyres.

So the sons of the singers gathered together from the plain around Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites

And from Beth-gilgal and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built outlying villages for themselves around Jerusalem.

And the priests and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.

Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great companies that gave thanks and went in procession. One went to the right upon the wall toward the Dung Gate;

And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the leaders of Judah,

And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,

Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,

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;

And his brothers, Shemaiah and Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God; and Ezra the scribe was before them.

And at the Fountain Gate, and straight in front of them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east.

And the second company that gave thanks went to meet them, and I after them, with half of the people, upon the wall, above the Tower of the Furnaces, to the Broad Wall,

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 the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.

So the two companies that gave thanks stood in the house of God, as well as I and half of the rulers with me;

And the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets;

And Maaseiah and Shemaiah and Eleazar and Uzzi and Jehohanan and Malchijah and Elam and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah as the overseer.

And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had caused them to rejoice greatly; and the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.

And on that day men were appointed over the chambers for the stores, for the heave offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them, according to the cities' fields, the  ¹portions assigned by the law for the priests and the Levites, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who served.

And they kept the charge of their God and the charge of the purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and Solomon his son.

For in the days of David and Asaph, long ago, there were leaders of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.

And in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers as each day required; and they consecrated portions for the Levites, and the Levites consecrated portions for the sons of Aaron.

On that day they read in the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and it was found written in it that no  ¹Ammonite or Moabite should enter the assembly of God forever,

For they did not meet the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them; yet our God turned the curse into a blessing.

And when they heard the law, they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.

Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who had been appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, because he was related to Tobiah,

Had prepared for him a large chamber where previously they had put the meal offering, the frankincense, and the vessels, as well as the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the fresh oil, as commanded for the Levites and the singers and the gatekeepers, and the heave offerings for the priests.

But during all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king of Babylon I went to the king; then after some time I asked leave from the king.

And I came to Jerusalem and perceived the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.

And it grieved me much; therefore I cast all the household utensils of Tobiah out of the chamber.

Then I gave commands, and they purified the chambers; and I returned the vessels of the house of God, the meal offering, and the frankincense there.

I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them and thus the Levites and the singers, who performed the service, had gone back, each to his own fields.

So I contended with the rulers and said, Why has the house of God been forsaken? Then I gathered them together and set them in their stations.

And all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the fresh oil to the storehouses.

And I appointed treasurers over the storehouses, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were counted faithful, and it was their charge to distribute to their brothers.

Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not blot out my loyal deeds, which I have done for the house of my God and for its services.

In those days I saw some in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on their donkeys, as well as wine, grapes and figs, and every kind of load, and they were bringing them into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; and I protested on the day that they sold food.

And Tyrians who dwelt there were also bringing in fish and every kind of merchandise, and selling it on the Sabbath to the children of Judah and in Jerusalem.

Then I contended with the nobles of Judah and said to them, What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?

Did not your fathers act this way, and did not our God bring all this trouble upon us and upon this city? But you bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath.

And when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors be shut and commanded that they not be opened until after the Sabbath; and I set some of my servants at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day.

Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem once or twice.

But I testified against them and said to them, Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.

And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and that they should come and keep the gates, in order to sanctify the Sabbath day. For this also remember me, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness.

In those days I also saw that the Jews had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab;

And as for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod; and none of them could speak the language of Judah, but they spoke the language of the respective peoples.

And I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair; and I made them swear by God, saying, You shall not give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

Did not Solomon the king of Israel sin in these matters? And among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel; yet the foreign wives caused even him to sin.

Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil by acting unfaithfully against our God in marrying foreign women?

And one of the sons of Joiada the son of Eliashib the high priest was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite, so I chased him away from me.

Remember them, O my God; for they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.

Thus I  ¹cleansed them from everything foreign.

And I appointed duties for the priests and the Levites, each in his work,

And for the wood offering, at the appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.