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Psalm 106

1  Alleluia.
      Give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious, ♦︎
   for his faithfulness endures for ever.
2  Who can express the mighty acts of the Lord ♦︎
   or show forth all his praise?
3  Blessed are those who observe what is right ♦︎
   and always do what is just.
4  Remember me, O Lord, in the favour you bear for your people; ♦︎
   visit me in the day of your salvation;
5  That I may see the prosperity of your chosen
      and rejoice in the gladness of your people, ♦︎
   and exult with your inheritance.
6  We have sinned like our forebears; ♦︎
   we have done wrong and dealt wickedly.
7  In Egypt they did not consider your wonders,
      nor remember the abundance of your faithful love; ♦︎
   they rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.
8  But he saved them for his name’s sake, ♦︎
   that he might make his power to be known.
9  He rebuked the Red Sea and it was dried up; ♦︎
   so he led them through the deep as through the wilderness.
10  He saved them from the adversary’s hand ♦︎
   and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11  As for those that troubled them, the waters overwhelmed them; ♦︎
   there was not one of them left.
12  Then they believed his words ♦︎
   and sang aloud his praise.
13  But soon they forgot his deeds ♦︎
   and would not wait for his counsel.
14  A craving seized them in the wilderness, ♦︎
   and they put God to the test in the desert.
15  He gave them their desire, ♦︎
   but sent a wasting sickness among them.
16  They grew jealous of Moses in the camp ♦︎
   and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
17  So the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan ♦︎
   and covered the company of Abiram.
18  A fire was kindled in their company; ♦︎
   the flame burnt up the wicked.
19  They made a calf at Horeb ♦︎
   and worshipped the molten image;
20  Thus they exchanged their glory ♦︎
   for the image of an ox that feeds on hay.

Intrigues of Enemies Foiled

6Now when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah and to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had built the wall and that there was no gap left in it (though up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), ²Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, ‘Come and let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono.’ But they intended to do me harm. ³So I sent messengers to them, saying, ‘I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to come down to you?’ ⁴They sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. ⁵In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. ⁶In it was written, ‘It is reported among the nations—and Geshem^* also says it—that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall; and according to this report you wish to become their king. ⁷You have also set up prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, “There is a king in Judah!” And now it will be reported to the king according to these words. So come, therefore, and let us confer together.’ ⁸Then I sent to him, saying, ‘No such things as you say have been done; you are inventing them out of your own mind’ ⁹—for they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, ‘Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.’ But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

10 One day when I went into the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his house, he said, ‘Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, tonight they are coming to kill you.’ ¹¹But I said, ‘Should a man like me run away? Would a man like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!’ ¹²Then I perceived and saw that God had not sent him at all, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³He was hired for this purpose, to intimidate me and make me sin by acting in this way, and so they could give me a bad name, in order to taunt me. ¹⁴Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.

The Wall Completed

15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. ¹⁶And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid^* and fell greatly in their own esteem; for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. ¹⁷Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. ¹⁸For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah. ¹⁹Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence, and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.

7Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, ²I gave my brother Hanani charge over Jerusalem, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel—for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many. ³And I said to them, ‘The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot; while the gatekeepers^* are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their watch-posts, and others before their own houses.’ ⁴The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few and no houses had been built.

The Death of John the Baptist

14At that time Herod the ruler^* heard reports about Jesus; ²and he said to his servants, ‘This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him.’ ³For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,^{* 4}because John had been telling him, ‘It is not lawful for you to have her.’ ⁵Though Herod^* wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet. ⁶But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and she pleased Herod ⁷so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask. ⁸Prompted by her mother, she said, ‘Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.’ ⁹The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given; ¹⁰he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹The head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother. ¹²His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.