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Justice & Generosity · The Chosen People

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Previously on The Chosen People.
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  Speaker 2: Look at them.
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  Speaker 3: Pathetic.
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  Speaker 2: If even the smallest of foxes should spring up and
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  Speaker 2: dart along that wall, it would crumble beneath them.
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  Speaker 4: Rally the others.
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  Speaker 3: Let them know Jerusalem is defying Persia's peace.
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  Speaker 2: They plan to strike. In secret.
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  Speaker 4: When our hands are busy and our backs are turned.
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  Speaker 2: But we do not retreat.
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  Speaker 4: We do not pause.
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  Speaker 1: Weeks passed. The wall grew higher, stronger, but so did
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  Speaker 1: the threats. And though the sword still hung by his side,
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  Speaker 1: it was the hammer in his hand that told the
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  Speaker 1: true story. Jerusalem was not just defending herself from annihilation.
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  Speaker 1: She was rebuilding, becoming whole again. The dawn emerged gently
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  Speaker 1: over Jerusalem, its soft glow slowly brightening streets already filled
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  Speaker 1: with whispers and murmurs. The morning wind carried more than
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  Speaker 1: dust that day. Voices, angry and weary, rose from the
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  Speaker 1: streets of Jerusalem. No sound of clanging stone or rhythm
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  Speaker 1: of chisels, only cries of injustice and of desperation. Nehemiah
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  Speaker 1: stood at the edge of the market square, watching and listening.
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  Speaker 1: Dust rose in swirling currents from sandaled feet pacing anxiously
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  Speaker 1: along alleyways and marketplaces. Progress and determination had been all
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  Speaker 1: but replaced by poverty and destitution. The governor observed with
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  Speaker 1: quiet intensity. He had always been a careful listener. one
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  Speaker 1: who heard not only words, but the heart behind them.
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  Speaker 1: He approached a crowd of agitated citizens, their words sharpened
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  Speaker 1: with anger and desperation. Nehemiah whispered a prayer to himself
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  Speaker 1: as their footsteps quickened. A man stepped forward from the group,
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  Speaker 1: his voice hoarse from nights spent working on the city walls.
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  Speaker 3: We're starving, Nehemiah. Our fields lie untended, our crops dying,
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  Speaker 3: because we've spent every hour building these blasted walls. Now
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  Speaker 3: we've mortgaged everything we own just to buy enough grain
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  Speaker 3: to feed our families.
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  Speaker 1: A woman holding a child too weak to stand on
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  Speaker 1: his own feet pressed through. She cried out, wavering between
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  Speaker 1: fury and sorrow.
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  Speaker 4: And now they say it's not enough to pay the
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  Speaker 4: king's taxes. We've borrowed silver, borrowed against our vineyards and
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  Speaker 4: olive groves.
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  Speaker 5: Some of us have even had to sell our sons
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  Speaker 5: and daughters into slavery.
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  Speaker 1: Nehemiah's heart twisted sharply within him at the woman's words.
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  Speaker 1: The image of Israelite children in bondage was more bitter
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  Speaker 1: than anything he had imagined. The people had risen courageously
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  Speaker 1: against surrounding threats, but now faced a darker enemy, one
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  Speaker 1: from within.
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  Speaker 5: And who profits from our suffering? Our own brothers. The nobles,
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  Speaker 5: the wealthy, they are the ones lending silver. Even you
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  Speaker 5: would blush to hear the interest they place on it.
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  Speaker 5: And you know what they take when we can't pay.
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  Speaker 5: Our own children suffer.
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  Speaker 1: The man smashed his clenched fist against a broken cart
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  Speaker 1: next to him that shattered under the force. The murmuring
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  Speaker 1: of the crowd rose louder, tension boiling beneath every word.
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  Speaker 1: Nehemiah slowly stepped back, the weight of this betrayal settling
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  Speaker 1: heavily on his shoulders. His heart darted between his empathy
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  Speaker 1: for the people and disdain for the nobles that so
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  Speaker 1: callously afflicted their own brothers and sisters. Both perpetrator and
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  Speaker 1: victim alike were in desperate need of God's mercy. Turning
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  Speaker 1: away from the crowd, Nehemiah moved toward a quieter street.
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  Speaker 1: The people had intended to follow, but upon seeing his
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  Speaker 1: fists clenched tightly at his sides, determined they had poured
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  Speaker 1: enough fuel onto the fires that raged within the governor.
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  Speaker 1: Away from the crowd, Nehemiah's carefully held composure broke. He
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  Speaker 1: pressed his forehead against a cool stone wall, whispering fiercely
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  Speaker 1: to himself and God, O Lord.
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  Speaker 6: How can we build walls of stone while tearing each
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  Speaker 6: other apart from within? How can we restore your city
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  Speaker 6: when we devour one another with greed?
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  Speaker 1: His chest rose and fell with controlled breaths as he
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  Speaker 1: struggled to steady his thoughts. After several moments of deep contemplation,
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  Speaker 1: He lifted his head, eyes now clear with renewed purpose.
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  Speaker 1: This injustice could not be ignored, not while breath still
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  Speaker 1: filled his lungs. He straightened his shoulders and walked decisively
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  Speaker 1: toward the hall where the city's leaders gathered. Inside a
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  Speaker 1: large stone chamber, richly dressed nobles and landowners assembled at
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  Speaker 1: Nehemiah's summons. Their fine robes shimmered against the rough-hewn stone walls,
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  Speaker 1: an ironic contrast to the suffering of those outside. Some
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  Speaker 1: wore expressions of calm arrogance, others discomfort. They all watched
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  Speaker 1: carefully as Nehemiah stepped forward. His voice was quiet, but
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  Speaker 1: brimming with restrained fury.
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  Speaker 4: Do you know why I have called you here?
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  Speaker 1: An elder nobleman, grey-haired and accustomed to respect, stepped forward,
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  Speaker 1: eyes narrowing slightly.
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  Speaker 2: Perhaps you might enlighten us, governor.
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  Speaker 1: Nehemiah's eyes flashed sharply. The nobleman jolted in place.
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  Speaker 4: I have heard the cries of our people, your own
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  Speaker 4: brothers and sisters. They starve while you grow wealthy. They
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  Speaker 4: have mortgaged their lands, their homes, even their own children,
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  Speaker 4: to your greed.
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  Speaker 1: The nobles shifted uncomfortably, some refusing to meet Nehemiah's gaze.
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  Speaker 1: He stepped closer, confronting them directly, his voice rising.
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  Speaker 4: You charge them interest on loans they cannot repay, placing
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  Speaker 4: them into bondage. We fought enemies from without, and now
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  Speaker 4: you become enemies within us?
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  Speaker 1: He paused, allowing his words to pierce deep.
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  Speaker 4: Is this how we repay the Lord, who freed us
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  Speaker 4: from slavery in Egypt, who brought us home from exile,
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  Speaker 4: by enslaving one another?
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  Speaker 1: The silence stretched painfully until one of the younger nobles
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  Speaker 1: finally stepped forward hesitantly, face flushed with embarrassment.
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  Speaker 4: What should we do then?
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  Speaker 1: Nehemiah's eyes softened only slightly. But his voice carried on
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  Speaker 1: firm and unyielding.
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  Speaker 4: Restore to them, today, their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves,
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  Speaker 4: their homes, and their children. Cancel their deaths. Let justice
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  Speaker 4: reign once again among God's people.
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  Speaker 1: A stunned silence fell. Nehemiah stared each noble down individually.
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  Speaker 1: challenging any further resistance. Finally, an older noble, clearly moved,
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  Speaker 1: stepped forward.
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  Speaker 2: You are right, Nehemiah. We, all of us, have done wrong.
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  Speaker 2: We will return everything. We will demand nothing more from
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  Speaker 2: our brothers and our sisters.
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  Speaker 1: A ripple of quiet ascent passed through the gathered men Nehemiah,
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  Speaker 1: unsatisfied with mere words, called priests to witness the oath.
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  Speaker 1: He lifted the folds of his own robe, shaking it
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  Speaker 1: vigorously so the dust below dramatically into the air.
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  Speaker 4: May God shake from his house anyone who breaks this
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  Speaker 4: promise until they are as empty as this robe.
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  Speaker 1: The nobles echoed in unified humility.
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  Speaker 2: May it be as you have said.
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: The days following this confrontation saw a rebirth of community
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  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem. Fields returned, families reunited, debts forgiven, signs of
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  Speaker 1: true restoration and justice. Yet Nehemiah knew actions spoke louder
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  Speaker 1: than words. He would lead not merely by command, but
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  Speaker 1: by example. Though entitled to a governor's food allowance, Nehemiah
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  Speaker 1: refused to claim it, For twelve years he laboured without
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  Speaker 1: demanding payment. Every evening he invited dozens, then hundreds, to
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  Speaker 1: dine at his own table. Meals simple yet abundant, freely
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  Speaker 1: shared with nobles, craftsmen, farmers, even strangers from foreign lands.
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  Speaker 1: One evening, while servants poured grain and wine generously, a
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  Speaker 1: visiting official watched with astonishment.
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  Speaker 2: You eat and live modestly, Nehemiah. Why not take what's
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  Speaker 2: owed you? Why sacrifice so much?
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  Speaker 1: Nehemiah paused, looking thoughtfully around his table at the faces
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  Speaker 1: of his people, then smiled gently.
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  Speaker 4: Generosity that costs nothing. is worth nothing. How could I
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  Speaker 4: ask my people to give without giving first myself?
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  Speaker 1: The official nodded, deeply moved, quietly humbled. Late into the night,
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  Speaker 1: beneath Jerusalem's rising walls, Nehemiah often wandered alone, listening to
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  Speaker 1: the whispers of the wind, the distant songs of families reunited.
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  Speaker 1: and the gentle murmurs of grateful prayers rising from homes
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  Speaker 1: now safe from greed's grasp. Tonight, as he walked slowly
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  Speaker 1: along the rebuilt western wall, the quiet of the city
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  Speaker 1: pressed lovingly around him. Stars glittered serenely overhead, witnesses of
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  Speaker 1: the justice that now echoed through these streets. He looked
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  Speaker 1: upward toward the heavens, his voice quiet yet assured.
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  Speaker 4: Remember me, O my God, for good, for all I
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  Speaker 4: have done for these people.
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  Speaker 1: In the hush that followed, the silence was profound, gentle
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  Speaker 1: and comforting, an affirmation from heaven itself. And Nehemiah knew
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  Speaker 1: in his heart the true rebuilding had happened today, not
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  Speaker 1: just with stone and mortar, but within hearts once hardened
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  Speaker 1: by selfishness, now softened by mercy, justice, and generosity. And
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  Speaker 1: Nehemiah smiled, knowing it was only the beginning of all
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  Speaker 1: God intended to restore. This Pray.com production is only made
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  Speaker 1: possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina,
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  Speaker 1: Max Bard, Zach Schellewager, and Ben Gammon are the executive
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  Speaker 1: producers of The Chosen People, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters
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  Speaker 1: are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan,
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  Speaker 1: Stephen Ringwald, Sylvia Zaradok, Thomas Copeland Jr., Rosanna Pilcher, and
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  Speaker 1: Mitch Lashinsky. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith. Written by Aaron Salvato,
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  Speaker 1: Brie Rosely, and Chris Baig. You can hear more Prey.com
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  Speaker 1: productions on the Prey.com app, available on the Apple App
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People,
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: please rate and leave a review.