Get up, Ezra. This matter is in your hands. Do what you need to. We will be behind you all the way. Be brave and do it.”

你起来，这是你当办的事，我们必帮助你，你当奋勉而行。”

起来，这是你当办的事，我们必支持你，你当奋勇而行。”

起来，这是你当办的事，我们必支持你，你当奋勇而行。”

起来吧！这事由你处理，我们支持你，放胆去做吧！”

你起来！因为这事全在你身上，我们支持你，你当坚强地去作。”

你起來，這是你當辦的事，我們必幫助你，你當奮勉而行。」

起來，這是你當辦的事，我們必支持你，你當奮勇而行。」

起來，這是你當辦的事，我們必支持你，你當奮勇而行。」

起來吧！這事由你處理，我們支持你，放膽去做吧！」

你起來！因為這事全在你身上，我們支持你，你當堅強地去作。”

你起來；這是你應當行的事；我們擁護着你；你要剛強去作。』

爾起、此屬爾事、我儕偕爾、強乃志而為之、

爾當理此事、強厥志、我為扶翼。

起、爾當理此事、我必助爾、惟奮勉奮勉或作強心而行、

Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.”

Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it.”

Get up, for it is your duty to tell us how to proceed in setting things straight. We are behind you, so be strong and take action.”

Get up, for this matter is your responsibility, and we support you. Be strong and take action!”

Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous and act.”

Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it.”

Arise; for the matter belongeth unto thee, and we are with thee: be of good courage, and do it.

Get up, for this matter is your responsibility, and we support you. Be strong and take action!”

Arise; for[ this] matter[ belongeth] unto thee: we also[ will be] with thee: be of good courage, and do[ it].

Get up, for this matter concerns you. We are with you, so be strong and act decisively!”

Arise; for the matter belongs to you, and we are with you. Be courageous, and do it.”

So put your hands to work. Strengthen your legs for the journey.“ Make level paths for your feet to walk on.”( Proverbs 4:26) Then those who have trouble walking won’t be disabled. Instead, they will be healed.

Think about it. The Lord has chosen you to build a house as a holy place where he can live. So be strong. Get to work.”

So be committed to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Start building the temple of the Lord God. Then bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord into it. Also bring in the sacred objects that belong to God. The temple will be built for the Name of the Lord.”

Strengthen the hands of those who are weak. Help those whose knees give way.Say to those whose hearts are afraid,“ Be strong and do not fear. Your God will come. He will pay your enemies back. He will come to save you.”

Let us consider how we can stir up one another to love. Let us help one another to do good works.

The Lord said to Joshua,“ Get up! What are you doing down there on your face?Israel has sinned. I made a covenant with them. I commanded them to keep it. But they have broken it. They have taken some of the things that had been set apart to me in a special way to be destroyed. They have stolen. They have lied. They have taken the things they stole and have put them with their own things.That is why the Israelites can’t stand up against their enemies. They turn their backs and run. That’s because I have decided to let them be destroyed. You must destroy the things you took that had been set apart to me. If you do not, I will not be with you anymore.“ Go and set the people apart. Tell them,‘ Make yourselves pure. Get ready for tomorrow. Here is what the Lord, the God of Israel, wants you to do. He says,“ People of Israel, you have kept some of the things that had been set apart to me to be destroyed. You can’t stand up against your enemies until you get rid of those things.”“‘ In the morning, come forward tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses will come forward group by group. The group the Lord chooses will come forward family by family. And the men in the family the Lord chooses will come forward one by one.Whoever is caught with the things that had been set apart to the Lord will be destroyed by fire. Everything that belongs to that person will also be destroyed. He has broken the Lord’ s covenant. He has done a very terrible thing in Israel!’ ”Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes. The tribe of Judah was chosen.The groups of Judah came forward. The group of Zerah was chosen. Joshua had the group of Zerah come forward by families. The family of Zimri was chosen.He had their men come forward one by one. Achan was chosen. Achan was the son of Karmi. Karmi was the son of Zimri. And Zimri was the son of Zerah. Zerah was from the tribe of Judah.Joshua said to Achan,“ My son, the Lord is the God of Israel. So give him glory and honor him by telling the truth! Tell me what you have done. Don’t hide it from me.”Achan replied,“ It’s true! I’ve sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. Here is what I’ve done.I saw a beautiful robe from Babylonia among the things we had taken. I saw five pounds of silver. And I saw a gold bar that weighed 20 ounces. I wanted them, so I took them. I hid them in the ground inside my tent. The silver is on the bottom.”So Joshua sent some messengers. They ran to Achan’s tent. And there was everything, hidden in his tent! The silver was on the bottom.They brought the things out of the tent. They took them to Joshua and all the Israelites. And they spread them out in the sight of the Lord.Then Joshua and all the people grabbed Achan, the son of Zerah. They took the silver, the robe and the gold bar. They took Achan’s sons and daughters. They took his cattle, donkeys and sheep. They also took his tent and everything he had. They carried all of it out to the Valley of Achor.Joshua said to Achan,“ Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.” Then all the people killed Achan by throwing stones at him. They also killed the rest of his family with stones. They burned all of them up.They placed a large pile of rocks on top of Achan’s body. The place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since. That pile is still there to this day. After the people killed Achan, the Lord was no longer angry with them.

No matter what you do, work at it with all your might. Remember, you are going to the place of the dead. And there isn’t any work or planning or knowledge or wisdom there.

It’s like a man going away. He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge. Each one is given a task to do. He tells the one at the door to keep watch.

Work hard for the temple of the God of heaven. Do everything he has required. I don’t want him to be angry with my kingdom and the kingdom of my sons.Here is something else I want you to know. You have no authority to collect taxes, gifts or fees from these people. You may not collect them from the priests, Levites or musicians. You may not collect them from those who guard the temple gates. You may not collect them from the temple servants. And you may not collect them from other workers at the house of God in Jerusalem.Ezra, appoint judges and other court officials. When you do it, use the wisdom your God gives you. Those you appoint should do what is right and fair when they judge people. They should do it for everyone who lives west of the Euphrates River. They should do it for everyone who knows the laws of your God. And I want you to teach the people who don’t know those laws.Anyone who doesn’t obey the law of your God must be punished. The same thing applies to anyone who doesn’t obey my law. The people must be punished in keeping with the laws they have broken. Some of them must be put to death. Others must be forced to leave the places where they live. Others must have their property taken away from them. Still others must be put in prison.So here is what I, Ezra, say to you people of Israel.“ Give praise to the Lord. He is the God of our people who lived long ago. He has put it in the king’s heart to bring honor to the Lord’ s temple in Jerusalem. The king has honored the Lord in his letter.The Lord has been kind to me. He has caused the king and his advisers to be kind to me. In fact, all the king’s powerful officials have been kind to me. The strong hand of the Lord my God helped me. That gave me new strength. So I gathered together leaders from Israel to go up to Jerusalem with me.”

Some of them can work with gold and silver. Others can work with bronze and iron. There are more workers than anyone can count. So begin the work. May the Lord be with you.”

The groups of the priests and Levites are ready to do all the work on God’s temple. Every person who is willing and skilled can help you do all the work. The officials and all the people will obey every command you give them.”

Then the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh answered Joshua. They said,“ We’ll do what you have commanded us to do. We’ll go where you send us.We obeyed Moses completely. And we’ll obey you just as completely. But may the Lord your God be with you, just as he was with Moses.Suppose people question your authority. And suppose they refuse to obey anything you command them to do. Then they will be put to death. Just be strong and brave!”