Opposition to the Work
1 1 Now when qSanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. 2 And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of rSamaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves?2 Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” 3 qTobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—sif a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” 4 tHear, O our God, for we are despised. uTurn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. 5 vDo not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.
6 So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
7 3 But when qSanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. 8 wAnd they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. 9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.
Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, you have psearched me and known me!
2 You qknow when I sit down and when I rise up;
you rdiscern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, syou know it altogether.
5 You them me in, behind and before,
and ulay your hand upon me.
6 vSuch knowledge is wtoo wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 xWhere shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where yshall I flee from your presence?
8 zIf I ascend to heaven, you are there!
aIf I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall blead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, c“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 deven the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you eformed my inward parts;
you fknitted me together in my mother’s womb.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
12 Now when he heard that nJohn had been arrested, ohe withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving pNazareth he went and lived in qCapernaum by rthe sea, in the territory of sZebulun and Naphtali, 14 tso that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 u“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 vthe people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and wshadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”
17 xFrom that time Jesus began to preach, saying, z“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”1
