The First Disciples of Jesus

John 1 ³⁵The next day John was standing there again with two of his disciples, ³⁶when he saw Jesus walking by. "There is the Lamb of God!" he said.
³⁷The two disciples heard him say this and went with Jesus. ³⁸Jesus turned, saw them following him, and asked, "What are you looking for?"
They answered, "Where do you live, Rabbi?" (This word means "Teacher.")
³⁹"Come and see," he answered. (It was then about four o'clock in the afternoon.) So they went with him and saw where he lived, and spent the rest of that day with him.
⁴⁰One of them was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. ⁴¹At once he found his brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messiah." (This word means "Christ.") ⁴²Then he took Simon to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, "Your name is Simon son of John, but you will be called Cephas." (This is the same as Peter and means "a rock.")

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

⁴³The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Come with me!" ( ⁴⁴Philip was from Bethsaida, the town where Andrew and Peter lived.) ⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the book of the Law and whom the prophets also wrote about. He is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth."
⁴⁶"Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Nathanael asked.
"Come and see," answered Philip.
⁴⁷When Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, he said about him, "Here is a real Israelite; there is nothing false in him!"
⁴⁸Nathanael asked him, "How do you know me?"
Jesus answered, "I saw you when you were under the fig tree before Philip called you."
⁴⁹"Teacher," answered Nathanael, "you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"
⁵⁰Jesus said, "Do you believe just because I told you I saw you when you were under the fig tree? You will see much greater things than this!" ⁵¹And he said to them, "I am telling you the truth: you will see heaven open and God's angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man."

The People Who Returned from Captivity

1 Chronicles 9 All the people of Israel were listed according to their families, and this information was recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel.
The people of Judah had been deported to Babylon as punishment for their sins. ²The first to return to their property in the cities included Israelite citizens, priests, Levites, and Temple workers. ³People from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh went to live in Jerusalem.
^4-6There were 690 families of the tribe of Judah who lived in Jerusalem.
The descendants of Judah's son Perez had as their leader Uthai, the son of Ammihud and grandson of Omri. His other ancestors included Imri and Bani.
The descendants of Judah's son Shelah had as their leader Asaiah, who was the head of his family.
The descendants of Judah's son Zerah had Jeuel as their leader.
^7-8The following members of the tribe of Benjamin lived in Jerusalem:
Sallu son of Meshullam, who was the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah
Ibneiah son of Jeroham
Elah, the son of Uzzi and grandson of Michri
Meshullam son of Shephatiah, who was the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah
⁹There were 956 families of this tribe living there. All the men named above were heads of families.

The Priests Who Lived in Jerusalem

^10-12The following priests lived in Jerusalem:
Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin
Azariah son of Hilkiah (the chief official in the Temple), whose ancestors included Meshullam, Zadok, Meraioth, and Ahitub
Adaiah son of Jeroham, whose ancestors included Pashhur and Malchijah
Maasai son of Adiel, whose ancestors included Jahzerah, Meshullam, Meshillemith, and Immer
¹³The priests who were heads of families totaled 1,760. They were experts in all the work carried on in the Temple.

The Levites Who Lived in Jerusalem

^14-16The following Levites lived in Jerusalem:
Shemaiah son of Hasshub, whose ancestors included Azrikam and Hashabiah, of the clan of Merari
Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal
Mattaniah son of Mica, whose ancestors included Zichri and Asaph
Obadiah son of Shemaiah, whose ancestors included Galal and Jeduthun
Berechiah, the son of Asa and grandson of Elkanah, who lived in the territory that belonged to the town of Netophah

The Temple Guards Who Lived in Jerusalem

¹⁷The following Temple guards lived in Jerusalem: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, and Ahiman. Shallum was their leader. ¹⁸Down to that time members of their clans had been stationed at the eastern entrance to the King's Gate. Formerly they had stood guard at the gates to the camps of the Levites.
¹⁹Shallum, the son of Kore and grandson of Ebiasaph, together with his fellow members of the clan of Korah, was responsible for guarding the entrance to the Tent of the LORD's presence, just as their ancestors had been when they were in charge of the LORD's camp. ²⁰Phinehas son of Eleazar--may the LORD be with him!--had supervised them at one time.
²¹Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was also a guard at the entrance to the Tent of the LORD's presence.
²²In all, 212 men were chosen as guards for the entrances and gates. They were registered according to the villages where they lived. It was King David and the prophet Samuel who had put their ancestors in these responsible positions. ²³They and their descendants continued to guard the gates to the Temple. ²⁴There was a gate facing in each direction, north, south, east, and west, and each had a chief guard. ²⁵These guards were assisted by their relatives, who lived in the villages and who had to take turns at guard duty for seven days at a time. ²⁶The four chief guards were Levites and had the final responsibility. They were also responsible for the rooms in the Temple and for the supplies kept there. ²⁷They lived near the Temple, because it was their duty to guard it and to open the gates every morning.

The Other Levites

²⁸Other Levites were responsible for the utensils used in worship. They checked them out and checked them back in every time they were used. ²⁹Others were in charge of the other sacred equipment, and of the flour, wine, olive oil, incense, and spices. ³⁰But the responsibility for mixing the spices belonged to the priests.
³¹A Levite named Mattithiah, oldest son of Shallum, of the clan of Korah, was responsible for preparing the baked offerings. ³²Members of the clan of Kohath were responsible for preparing the sacred bread for the Temple every Sabbath.
³³Some Levite families were responsible for the Temple music. The heads of these families lived in some of the Temple buildings and were free from other duties, because they were on call day and night.
³⁴The men named above were heads of Levite families, according to their ancestral lines. They were the leaders who lived in Jerusalem.

The Ancestors and Descendants of King Saul
(1 Chronicles 8.29 -38)

³⁵Jeiel founded the city of Gibeon and settled there. His wife was named Maacah. ³⁶His oldest son was Abdon, and his other sons were Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, ³⁷Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth, ³⁸the father of Shimeah. Their descendants lived in Jerusalem near other families of their clan.
³⁹Ner was the father of Kish, and Kish was the father of Saul. Saul had four sons: Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal. ⁴⁰Jonathan was the father of Meribbaal, who was the father of Micah. ⁴¹Micah had four sons: Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz. ⁴²Ahaz was the father of Jarah, who was the father of three sons: Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri was the father of Moza, ⁴³Moza the father of Binea, Binea of Rephaiah, Rephaiah of Eleasah, and Eleasah of Azel.
⁴⁴Azel had six sons: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan.

The Book of
HAGGAI

The LORD's Command to Rebuild the Temple

Haggai 1 During the second year that Darius was emperor of Persia, on the first day of the sixth month, the LORD spoke through the prophet Haggai. The message was for the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and for the High Priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak.
²The LORD Almighty said to Haggai, "These people say that this is not the right time to rebuild the Temple." ³The LORD then gave this message to the people through the prophet Haggai: ⁴"My people, why should you be living in well-built houses while my Temple lies in ruins? ⁵Don't you see what is happening to you? ⁶You have planted much grain, but have harvested very little. You have food to eat, but not enough to make you full. You have wine to drink, but not enough to get drunk on! You have clothing, but not enough to keep you warm. And workers cannot earn enough to live on. ⁷Can't you see why this has happened? ⁸Now go up into the hills, get lumber, and rebuild the Temple; then I will be pleased and will be worshiped as I should be.
⁹"You hoped for large harvests, but they turned out to be small. And when you brought the harvest home, I blew it away. Why did I do that? Because my Temple lies in ruins while every one of you is busy working on your own house. ¹⁰That is why there is no rain and nothing can grow. ¹¹I have brought drought on the land--on its hills, grainfields, vineyards, and olive orchards--on every crop the ground produces, on people and animals, on everything you try to grow."

The People Obey the LORD's Command

¹²Then Zerubbabel and Joshua and all the people who had returned from the exile in Babylonia, did what the LORD their God told them to do. They were afraid and obeyed the prophet Haggai, the LORD's messenger. ¹³Then Haggai gave the LORD's message to the people: "I will be with you--that is my promise." ¹⁴The LORD inspired everyone to work on the Temple: Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah; Joshua, the High Priest, and all the people who had returned from the exile. They began working on the Temple of the LORD Almighty, their God, ¹⁵on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month of the second year that Darius was emperor.

The Splendor of the New Temple

Haggai 2 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month of that same year, the LORD spoke again through the prophet Haggai. ²He told Haggai to speak to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, to Joshua, the High Priest, and to the people, and to say to them, ³"Is there anyone among you who can still remember how splendid the Temple used to be? How does it look to you now? It must seem like nothing at all. ⁴But now don't be discouraged, any of you. Do the work, for I am with you. ⁵When you came out of Egypt, I promised that I would always be with you. I am still with you, so do not be afraid.
⁶"Before long I will shake heaven and earth, land and sea. ⁷I will overthrow all the nations, and their treasures will be brought here, and the Temple will be filled with wealth. ⁸All the silver and gold of the world is mine. ⁹The new Temple will be more splendid than the old one, and there I will give my people prosperity and peace." The LORD Almighty has spoken.

The Prophet Consults the Priests

¹⁰On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of the second year that Darius was emperor, the LORD Almighty spoke again to the prophet Haggai. ¹¹He said, "Ask the priests for a ruling on this question: ¹²Suppose someone takes a piece of consecrated meat from a sacrifice and carries it in a fold of his robe. If he then lets his robe touch any bread, cooked food, wine, olive oil, or any kind of food at all, will it make that food consecrated also?"
When the question was asked, the priests answered, "No."
¹³Then Haggai asked, "Suppose someone is defiled because he has touched a dead body. If he then touches any of these foods, will that make them defiled too?"
The priests answered, "Yes."
¹⁴Then Haggai said, "The LORD says that the same thing applies to the people of this nation and to everything they produce; and so everything they offer on the altar is defiled."

The LORD Promises His Blessing

¹⁵The LORD says, "Can't you see what has happened to you? Before you started to rebuild the Temple, ¹⁶you would go to a pile of grain expecting to find twenty bushels, but there would be only ten. You would go to draw fifty gallons of wine from a vat, but find only twenty. ¹⁷I sent scorching winds and hail to ruin everything you tried to grow, but still you did not repent. ¹⁸Today is the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, the day that the foundation of the Temple has been completed. See what is going to happen from now on. ¹⁹Although there is no grain left, and the grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced, yet from now on I will bless you."

The LORD's Promise to Zerubbabel

²⁰On that same day, the twenty-fourth of the month, the LORD gave Haggai a second message ²¹for Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah: "I am about to shake heaven and earth ²²and overthrow kingdoms and end their power. I will overturn chariots and their drivers; the horses will die, and their riders will kill one another. ²³On that day I will take you, Zerubbabel my servant, and I will appoint you to rule in my name. You are the one I have chosen." The LORD Almighty has spoken.