Manasseh Succeeds Hezekiah in Judah

33 ^(A)Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ^2 (B)He did evil in the sight of the Lord according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel. ³ For ^(C)he rebuilt the high places which his father Hezekiah had torn down; ^(D)he also set up altars for the Baals and made ^[a]Asherim, and he worshiped all the heavenly ^[b]lights and served them. ^4 (E)He built altars in the house of the Lord of which the Lord had said, “My name shall be ^(F)in Jerusalem forever.” ⁵ He built altars for all the heavenly ^[c]lights in ^(G)the two courtyards of the house of the Lord. ^6 (H)He also made his sons pass through the fire in the Valley of Ben-hinnom; and he practiced witchcraft, used divination, practiced sorcery, and ^(I)dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger. ⁷ Then he put ^(J)the carved image of the idol which he had made in the house of God, of which God had said to David and his son Solomon, “^(K)In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; ⁸ and I will not remove the foot of Israel again from the land ^(L)which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will take care to do everything that I have commanded them according to all the Law, the statutes, and the ordinances given through Moses.” ⁹ So Manasseh encouraged Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel.

Manasseh’s Idolatry Rebuked

¹⁰ So the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but ^(M)they paid no attention. ^11 (N)Therefore the Lord brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with hooks, ^(O)bound him with bronze chains, and led him to Babylon. ¹² When ^(P)he was in distress, he appeased the Lord his God and ^(Q)humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. ¹³ When he prayed to Him, ^(R)He was moved by him and heard his pleading, and brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh ^(S)knew that the Lord alone is God.

¹⁴ Now after this he built the outer wall of the city of David on the west side of ^(T)Gihon, in the valley, up to the entrance of the ^(U)Fish Gate; and he encircled the ^(V)Ophel with it and made it very high. Then he put army commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah. ¹⁵ He also ^(W)removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, as well as all the altars which he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. ¹⁶ He set up the altar of the Lord and sacrificed ^(X)peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it; and he ordered Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁷ However, ^(Y)the people still sacrificed on the high places, although only to the Lord their God.

¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and ^(Z)his prayer to his God, and the words of ^(AA)the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, behold, they are among the records of the kings of ^(AB)Israel. ¹⁹ His prayer also and ^(AC)how God was moved by him, and all his sin, his unfaithfulness, and ^(AD)the sites on which he built high places and erected the ^[d]Asherim and the carved images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the records of ^[e]Hozai. ²⁰ So Manasseh ^[f]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. And his son Amon became king in his place.

Amon Becomes King in Judah

^21 (AE)Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. ²² He did evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his father Manasseh ^(AF)had done, and Amon sacrificed to all ^(AG)the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and he served them. ²³ Furthermore, he did not humble himself before the Lord ^(AH)as his father Manasseh had ^[g]done, but Amon multiplied his guilt. ²⁴ Finally, ^(AI)his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his own house. ²⁵ But the people of the land ^[h]killed all the conspirators against King Amon, and the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.

Josiah Succeeds Amon in Judah

34 ^(AJ)Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ^2 (AK)He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or the left. ³ For in the eighth year of his reign while he was still a youth, he began to ^(AL)seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began ^(AM)to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the ^[i]Asherim, the carved images, and the cast metal images. ⁴ They tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he chopped down ^(AN)the incense altars that were high above them; also he broke in pieces the Asherim, the carved images, and the cast metal images, and ^(AO)ground them to powder, and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵ Then ^(AP)he burned the bones of the priests on their altars and purged Judah and Jerusalem. ^6 (AQ)In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding spaces, ⁷ he also tore down the altars and ^(AR)crushed the ^[j]Asherim and the carved images into powder, and chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah Repairs the Temple

^8 (AS)Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah ^(AT)an official of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the secretary, to repair the house of the Lord his God. ⁹ They came to ^(AU)Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the ^[k]doorkeepers, had collected ^[l]from ^(AV)Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ Then they handed it over to the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the Lord, and the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord ^[m]used it to restore and repair the house. ¹¹ They in turn gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stone and timber for couplings, and to make beams for the houses ^(AW)which the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. ^12 (AX)The men did the work faithfully with foremen over them to supervise: Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites of the sons of Merari, Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites, and ^(AY)the Levites, all who were skillful with musical instruments. ¹³ They were also in charge of ^(AZ)the burden bearers, and supervised all the workmen from job to job; and some of the Levites were scribes, and officials, and gatekeepers.

Hilkiah Discovers the Lost Book of the Law

¹⁴ When they were bringing out the money which had been brought into the house of the Lord, ^(BA)Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses. ¹⁵ Hilkiah responded and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. ¹⁶ Then Shaphan brought the book to the king and ^[n]reported further word to the king, saying, “Everything that was ^[o]entrusted to your servants, they are doing. ¹⁷ They have also emptied out the money which was found in the house of the Lord, and have handed it over to the supervisors and the workmen.” ¹⁸ Moreover, Shaphan the scribe informed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

¹⁹ When the king heard ^(BB)the words of the Law, ^(BC)he tore his clothes. ²⁰ Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, ^[p]Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, ²¹ “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found; for ^(BD)the wrath of the Lord which has poured out on us is great, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to act in accordance with everything that is written in this book.”

Huldah, the Prophetess, Speaks

²² So Hilkiah and those ^[q]whom the king had told went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ^[r]Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe (she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her regarding this. ²³ Then she said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, ²⁴ this is what the Lord says: “Behold, ^(BE)I am bringing ^[s]evil on this place and on its inhabitants, all ^(BF)the curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah. ^25 (BG)Since they have abandoned Me and have burned incense to other gods, so that they may provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands, My wrath will be poured out on this place and it will not be quenched.”’ ²⁶ But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord, this is what you shall say to him: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: In regard to the words which you have heard, ²⁷ “^(BH)Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes, and wept before Me, I have indeed heard you,” declares the Lord. ²⁸ “Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I am bringing on this place and its inhabitants.”’” And they brought back word to the king.

^29 (BI)Then the king sent word and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ The king went up to the house of the Lord ^[t]with ^(BJ)all the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people, from the greatest to the least; and he read in their ^[u]presence all the words of the Book of the Covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.

Josiah’s Good Reign

³¹ Then the king ^(BK)stood ^[v]in his place and ^(BL)made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments, His testimonies, and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that are written in this book. ³² Furthermore, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. ³³ Josiah ^(BM)removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. Throughout his ^[w]lifetime they did not turn from following the Lord God of their fathers.

The Passover Held Again

35 Then Josiah ^(BN)celebrated the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and ^(BO)they slaughtered the Passover animals on the fourteenth day of the first month. ² He appointed the priests to their offices and ^(BP)encouraged them in the service of the house of the Lord. ³ He also said to ^(BQ)the Levites who taught all Israel and who were holy to the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; ^(BR)it will not be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel. ^4 (BS)Prepare yourselves by your fathers’ households in your divisions, according to the writing of David king of Israel and ^(BT)according to the writing of his son Solomon. ⁵ Furthermore, ^(BU)stand in the holy place according to the sections of the fathers’ households of your countrymen, the ^[x]lay people, and according to the Levites, by division of a father’s household. ⁶ Now ^(BV)slaughter the Passover animals, ^(BW)keep one another consecrated, and prepare for your countrymen to act in accordance with the word of the Lord by Moses.”

⁷ Josiah contributed to the lay people, to all who were present, flocks of lambs and young goats, all for the Passover offerings, numbering thirty thousand, plus three thousand bulls; these were from the king’s property. ⁸ His officers also contributed a ^[y]voluntary offering to the people, the priests, and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, ^(BX)the officials of the house of God, gave the priests 2,600 from the flocks and three hundred bulls, for the Passover offerings. ^9 (BY)Conaniah also, and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the officers of the Levites, contributed five thousand from the flocks and five hundred bulls to the Levites for the Passover offerings.

¹⁰ So the service was prepared, and ^(BZ)the priests stood at their positions and the Levites by their divisions according to the king’s command. ^11 [z](CA)They slaughtered the Passover animals, and while ^(CB)the priests ^[aa]sprinkled the blood received from their hand, ^(CC)the Levites skinned the animals. ¹² Then they removed the burnt offerings so that they might give them to the sections of the fathers’ households of the lay people to present to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. They did this with the bulls as well. ¹³ So ^(CD)they roasted the Passover animals on the fire according to the ordinance, and they boiled ^(CE)the holy things in pots, in kettles, and in pans and carried them quickly to all the lay people. ¹⁴ Afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night; so the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. ¹⁵ The singers, the sons of Asaph, were also at their positions ^(CF)according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and ^(CG)the gatekeepers at each gate did not have to leave their service, because their kinsmen the Levites prepared for them.

¹⁶ So all the service of the Lord was prepared on that day to celebrate the Passover, and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord according to the command of King Josiah. ¹⁷ And ^(CH)the sons of Israel who were present celebrated the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. ^18 (CI)There had not been a Passover celebrated like it in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet; nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did with the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹ In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign this Passover was celebrated.

Josiah Dies in Battle

^20 (CJ)After all this, when Josiah had set the ^[ab]temple in order, Neco king of Egypt came up to wage war at ^(CK)Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to engage him. ²¹ But ^[ac]Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “^[ad](CL)What business do you have with me, King of Judah? I am not coming against you today, but against the house with which I am at war, and God has told me to hurry. For your own sake, stop interfering with God who is with me, so that He does not destroy you.” ²² However, Josiah would not turn ^[ae]away from him, but ^(CM)disguised himself in order to fight against him; nor did he listen to the words of Neco ^(CN)from the mouth of God, but he came to wage war on the plain of ^(CO)Megiddo. ²³ The archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded.” ²⁴ So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him on the second chariot which he had, and brought him to Jerusalem ^[af]where he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. ^(CP)All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. ²⁵ Then ^(CQ)Jeremiah chanted a song of mourning for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their songs of mourning to this day. And they made them an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are also written in the Lamentations. ²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his deeds of devotion as written in the Law of the Lord, ²⁷ and his acts, the first to the last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

Joahaz, Jehoiakim, Then Jehoiachin Rule

36 ^(CR)Then the people of the land took ^[ag](CS)Joahaz the son of Josiah and made him king in place of his father in Jerusalem. ² Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. ³ Then the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem, and imposed a fine on the land of ^[ah]a hundred talents of silver and ^[ai]one talent of gold. ⁴ The king of Egypt made ^[aj]Joahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But ^(CT)Neco took his brother Joahaz and brought him to Egypt.

^5 (CU)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord his God. ⁶ Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up ^(CV)against him and ^(CW)bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon. ^7 (CX)Nebuchadnezzar also brought some of the articles of the house of the Lord to Babylon, and he put them in his temple in Babylon. ^8 (CY)Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and ^[ak]the abominations which he committed, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.

^9 (CZ)Jehoiachin was ^[al]eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord.

Captivity in Babylon Begun

^10 (DA)At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent men and had him brought to Babylon with the valuable articles of the house of the Lord; and he made his relative ^(DB)Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah Rules in Judah

^11 (DC)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God; ^(DD)he did not humble himself ^(DE)before Jeremiah the prophet ^[am]who spoke for the Lord. ^13 (DF)He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear allegiance by God. But ^(DG)he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁴ Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the Lord which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.

¹⁵ Yet the Lord, the God of their fathers, ^(DH)sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; ¹⁶ but they continually ^(DI)mocked the messengers of God, ^(DJ)despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, ^(DK)until the wrath of the Lord rose against His people, until there was no remedy. ^17 (DL)So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or frail; He handed them all over to him. ^18 (DM)He brought all the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and his officers, to Babylon. ¹⁹ Then ^(DN)they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. ²⁰ He ^(DO)took into exile those who had escaped from the sword to Babylon; and ^(DP)they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, ^21 (DQ)to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until ^(DR)the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. ^(DS)All the days of its desolation it kept the Sabbath ^[an](DT)until seventy years were complete.

Cyrus Permits Return

^22 (DU)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the Lord ^(DV)by the mouth of Jeremiah—the Lord ^(DW)stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, ²³ “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the Lord his God be with him; ^[ao]go up then!’”

Cyrus’ Proclamation

1 ^(A)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he ^(B)sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:

² “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and ^(C)He has appointed me to rebuild for Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. ³ Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! ^[a]Go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; ^(D)He is the God who is in Jerusalem. ⁴ And every survivor, at whatever place he may ^[b]live, the people of ^[c]that place are to support him with silver and gold, with equipment and cattle, together with a ^[d]voluntary offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.’”

Holy Vessels Restored

⁵ Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites rose up, ^(E)everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. ⁶ And all of those around them ^[e](F)encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with equipment, cattle, and with valuables, aside from everything that was given as a ^[f]voluntary offering. ^7 (G)Also King Cyrus brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, ^(H)which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and put in the house of his gods; ⁸ and Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and he counted them out to ^(I)Sheshbazzar, the leader of Judah. ⁹ Now this was their number: thirty ^(J)gold dishes, a thousand silver dishes, twenty nine ^[g]duplicates; ¹⁰ thirty gold bowls, 410 silver bowls of a second kind, and a thousand other articles. ¹¹ All the articles of gold and silver totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought them all up with the exiles who went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Number of Those Returning

2 ^(K)Now these are the ^[h]people of the province who came up out of the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had taken into exile to Babylon, and they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city. ^2 [i]These came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, ^[j]Seraiah, ^[k]Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, ^[l]Mispar, Bigvai, ^[m]Rehum, and Baanah.

This is the number of the men of the people of Israel: ³ the sons of Parosh, 2,172; ⁴ the sons of Shephatiah, 372; ⁵ the sons of ^(L)Arah, 775; ⁶ the sons of ^(M)Pahath-moab of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,812; ⁷ the sons of Elam, 1,254; ⁸ the sons of Zattu, 945; ⁹ the sons of Zaccai, 760; ¹⁰ the sons of ^[n]Bani, 642; ¹¹ the sons of Bebai, 623; ¹² the sons of Azgad, 1,222; ¹³ the sons of ^(N)Adonikam, 666; ¹⁴ the sons of Bigvai, 2,056; ¹⁵ the sons of Adin, 454; ¹⁶ the sons of Ater, of Hezekiah, 98; ¹⁷ the sons of Bezai, 323; ¹⁸ the sons of ^[o]Jorah, 112; ¹⁹ the sons of Hashum, 223; ²⁰ the sons of ^[p]Gibbar, 95; ²¹ the ^[q]men of ^(O)Bethlehem, 123; ²² the men of Netophah, 56; ²³ the men of Anathoth, 128; ²⁴ the sons of ^[r]Azmaveth, 42; ²⁵ the sons of ^[s]Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743; ²⁶ the sons of ^(P)Ramah and Geba, 621; ²⁷ the men of Michmas, 122; ²⁸ the men of Bethel and Ai, 223; ²⁹ the sons of Nebo, 52; ³⁰ the sons of Magbish, 156; ³¹ the sons of the other Elam, 1,254; ³² the sons of Harim, 320; ³³ the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 725; ³⁴ the ^[t]men of ^(Q)Jericho, 345; ³⁵ the sons of Senaah, 3,630.

Priests Returning

^36 (R)The priests: the sons of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua, 973; ³⁷ the sons of ^(S)Immer, 1,052; ^38 (T)the sons of Pashhur, 1,247; ³⁹ the sons of ^(U)Harim, 1,017.

Levites Returning

⁴⁰ The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of ^[u]Hodaviah, 74. ⁴¹ The singers: the sons of Asaph, 128. ⁴² The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, 139 in all.

⁴³ The ^(V)temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁴ the sons of Keros, the sons of ^[v]Siaha, the sons of Padon, ⁴⁵ the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub, ⁴⁶ the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shalmai, the sons of Hanan, ⁴⁷ the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah, ⁴⁸ the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam, ⁴⁹ the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai, ⁵⁰ the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of ^[w]Nephisim, ⁵¹ the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, ⁵² the sons of ^[x]Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, ⁵³ the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, ⁵⁴ the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.

⁵⁵ The sons of ^(W)Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of ^[y]Hassophereth, the sons of ^[z]Peruda, ⁵⁶ the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, ⁵⁷ the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, and the sons of ^[aa]Ami.

⁵⁸ All the ^(X)temple servants and the sons of ^(Y)Solomon’s servants totaled 392.

⁵⁹ Now these were the ones who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, ^[ab]Addan, and Immer, but they were not able to ^[ac]provide evidence of their fathers’ households and their ^[ad]descendants, whether they were of Israel: ⁶⁰ the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, 652.

Priests Removed

⁶¹ Of the sons of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of ^(Z)Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and he was called by their name. ⁶² These searched among their genealogical registration but they could not be located; ^(AA)so they were considered defiled and excluded from the priesthood. ⁶³ The ^[ae]governor said to them ^(AB)that they were not to eat from the most holy things until a priest stood up with ^(AC)Urim and Thummim.

⁶⁴ The whole assembly together totaled 42,360, ⁶⁵ besides their male and female slaves ^[af]who totaled 7,337; and they had two hundred ^(AD)singing men and women. ⁶⁶ Their horses numbered 736; their mules, 245; ⁶⁷ their camels, 435; their donkeys, 6,720.

⁶⁸ Some of the heads of fathers’ households, when they arrived at the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, offered willingly for the house of God to erect it on its site. ⁶⁹ According to their ability they gave ^(AE)to the treasury for the work sixty-one thousand gold drachmas, five thousand silver minas, and a hundred priestly ^[ag]garments.

^70 (AF)Now the priests and the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants lived in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

Altar and Sacrifices Restored

3 Now when the seventh month came, and ^(AG)the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one person to Jerusalem. ² Then ^(AH)Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and ^(AI)Zerubbabel the son ^(AJ)of Shealtiel and his brothers, rose up and ^(AK)built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it, ^(AL)as it is written in the Law of Moses, the man of God. ³ So they set up the altar on its foundation, because ^[ah](AM)they were terrified of the peoples of the lands; and they ^(AN)offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. ⁴ They also celebrated the ^(AO)Feast of ^[ai]Booths, ^(AP)as it is written, and offered ^[aj]the prescribed number of burnt offerings daily, ^(AQ)according to the ordinance, ^[ak]as each day required; ⁵ and afterward there was a ^(AR)continual burnt offering, also ^(AS)for the new moons and ^(AT)for all the appointed festivals of the Lord that were consecrated, and from everyone who offered a ^[al]voluntary offering to the Lord. ⁶ From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, but the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not been laid. ⁷ Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and ^(AU)food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians ^(AV)to bring cedar wood from Lebanon to the sea at ^(AW)Joppa, according to the permission they had ^[am]from ^(AX)Cyrus king of Persia.

Temple Restoration Begun

⁸ Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, ^(AY)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and ^(AZ)appointed the Levites who were twenty years old and upward to oversee the work of the house of the Lord. ⁹ Then ^(BA)Jeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of ^[an]Judah and the sons of Henadad with their sons and brothers the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the temple of God.

¹⁰ Now when the builders had ^(BB)laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, ^[ao]the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord ^(BC)according to the ^[ap]directions of King David of Israel. ¹¹ And ^(BD)they sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, “^(BE)For He is good, for His favor is upon Israel forever.” And all the people shouted with a great shout of joy when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. ¹² Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, ^(BF)the old men who had seen the first ^[aq]temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, ¹³ so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, because the people were shouting with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.

Enemies Hinder the Work

4 Now when ^(BG)the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that ^(BH)the people of the exile were building a temple to the Lord God of Israel, ² they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for like you, we seek your God; ^(BI)and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of ^(BJ)Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.” ³ But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “^(BK)You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build for the Lord God of Israel, ^(BL)just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”

⁴ Then ^(BM)the people of the land ^[ar]discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, ⁵ and bribed advisers against them to frustrate their advice all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

⁶ Now in the reign of ^[as](BN)Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

⁷ And in the days of ^[at]Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the ^[au]text of the letter was written in Aramaic and translated ^(BO)from Aramaic.

The Letter to King Artaxerxes

^8 [av]Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes, as follows— ^9 [aw]Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and ^(BP)the rest of their colleagues, the judges and ^(BQ)the lesser governors, the officials, the secretaries, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, ¹⁰ and the rest of the nations which the great and honorable ^[ax]Osnappar deported and settled in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the region beyond the Euphrates River. ^(BR)And now ¹¹ this is a copy of the letter which they sent to him:

“To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men of the region beyond the Euphrates River; and now ¹² let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem; they are rebuilding ^(BS)the rebellious and evil city and ^(BT)are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. ¹³ Now let it be known to the king, that if that city is rebuilt and the walls are finished, ^(BU)they will not pay tribute, custom tax, or toll, and it will ^[ay]be detrimental to the revenue of the kings. ¹⁴ Now because we ^[az]are in the service of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king’s shame, for this reason we have sent word and informed the king, ¹⁵ so that a search may be conducted in the record books of your fathers. And you will discover in the record books and learn that that city is a rebellious city and detrimental to kings and provinces, and that they have revolted within it in past days; for this reason that city was laid waste. ¹⁶ We are informing the king that if that city is rebuilt and the walls finished, then as a result of this you will have no possession in the province beyond the Euphrates River.”

The King Replies and Work Stops

¹⁷ Then the king sent a response to Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and in the rest of the provinces beyond the Euphrates River: “Peace. And now, ¹⁸ the document which you sent to us has been ^[ba](BV)translated and read before me. ¹⁹ And a decree has been ^[bb]issued by me, and a search has been conducted and it has been discovered that that city has risen up against the kings in past days, and that rebellion and revolt have been perpetrated in it, ^20 (BW)that mighty kings have ^[bc]ruled over Jerusalem, governing all the provinces ^(BX)beyond the Euphrates River, and that ^(BY)tribute, custom tax, and toll were paid to them. ²¹ Now issue a decree to make those men stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until a decree is issued by me. ²² And beware of being negligent in carrying out this matter; why should there be great damage, to the detriment of the kings?”

²³ Then as soon as the copy of King Artaxerxes’ decree was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their colleagues, they went in a hurry to Jerusalem to the Jews and stopped them by military force.

²⁴ Then work on the house of God in Jerusalem was discontinued, and it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Temple Work Resumed

5 When the prophets, ^(BZ)Haggai the prophet and ^(CA)Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them, ² then ^(CB)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and ^(CC)the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

³ At that time ^(CD)Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues came to them and spoke to them as follows: “^(CE)Who issued you a decree to rebuild this ^[bd]temple and to finish this structure?” ^4 (CF)Then we told them accordingly what the names of the men were who were reconstructing this building. ⁵ But ^(CG)the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report could reach Darius, and then the decree concerning it could be sent back.

Enemies Write to Darius

⁶ This is the copy of the letter that ^(CH)Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues ^(CI)the officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. ⁷ They sent the report to him in which it was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace. ⁸ May it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God which is being built with large stones, and ^[be]beams are being laid in the walls; and this work is being performed with great care and is succeeding in their hands. ⁹ Then we asked those elders and said to them as follows: ‘Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?’ ¹⁰ We also asked them their names so as to inform you, in order that we might write down the names of the men who were ^[bf]in charge. ¹¹ So they ^[bg]answered us as follows, saying, ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, ^(CJ)which a great king of Israel built and finished. ¹² But ^(CK)because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, ^(CL)He handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon. ¹³ However, ^(CM)in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus ^(CN)issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. ¹⁴ Also ^(CO)the gold and silver utensils of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought them to the temple of Babylon, King Cyrus took them from the temple of Babylon and they were given to one ^(CP)whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor. ¹⁵ And he said to him, “Take these utensils, go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and have the house of God rebuilt in its place.” ¹⁶ Then that Sheshbazzar came and ^(CQ)laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem; and from then until now it has been under construction and it is ^(CR)not yet completed.’ ¹⁷ And now, if it pleases the king, ^(CS)let a search be conducted in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, as to whether a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem; and let the king send to us his decision concerning this matter.”

Darius Finds Cyrus’ Decree

6 Then King Darius issued a decree, and a ^(CT)search was conducted in the ^[bh]archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. ² And in ^[bi]Ecbatana, in the fortress which is ^(CU)in the province of Media, a scroll was found; and the following was written in it: “Memorandum— ^3 (CV)In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: ‘Concerning the house of God in Jerusalem, let the ^[bj]temple, the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt, and let ^[bk]its foundations be repaired, its height being ^[bl]sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, ^4 (CW)with three layers of large stones and ^[bm]one layer of timber. And the cost is to be paid from the ^[bn]royal treasury. ⁵ Also ^(CX)the gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned and ^[bo]brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’

⁶ “Now as for you, ^(CY)Tattenai, governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and ^[bp]your colleagues, the officials of the provinces beyond the River, ^[bq]stay away from there. ⁷ Leave that work on the house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild that house of God on its site. ⁸ Furthermore, ^(CZ)I issue a decree concerning what you are to do for these elders of Judah in the rebuilding of that house of God: the full cost is to be paid to those people from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, and that without interruption. ⁹ And whatever is needed, bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine, and anointing oil, as the priests in Jerusalem order, it is to be given to them daily without fail, ¹⁰ so that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and ^(DA)pray for the lives of the king and his sons. ¹¹ And I issued a decree that ^(DB)any person who violates this decree, a timber shall be pulled out of his house and he shall be impaled on it; and ^(DC)his house shall be turned into a refuse heap on account of this. ¹² May the God who ^(DD)has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who ^[br]attempts to ^[bs]change it, so as to destroy that house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree; it is to be carried out with all diligence!”

The Temple Completed and Dedicated

¹³ Then ^(DE)Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues carried out the decree with all diligence, just as King Darius had ^[bt]ordered. ¹⁴ And ^(DF)the elders of the Jews ^[bu]were successful in building through the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And ^[bv]they finished building following the command of the God of Israel and the decree ^(DG)of Cyrus, ^(DH)Darius, and ^(DI)Artaxerxes king of Persia. ¹⁵ Now this ^[bw]temple was completed ^[bx]on the third day of the ^(DJ)month Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

¹⁶ And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the ^[by]exiles, ^(DK)celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. ¹⁷ They offered for the dedication of this temple of God a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel ^(DL)twelve male goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ Then they appointed the priests to ^(DM)their divisions and the Levites in ^(DN)their sections for the service of God in Jerusalem, ^(DO)as it is written in the Book of Moses.

The Passover Held

^19 (DP)The exiles held the Passover on ^(DQ)the fourteenth of the first month. ^20 (DR)For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were pure. Then ^(DS)they slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the exiles, both for their brothers the priests and for themselves. ²¹ And the sons of Israel who returned from exile and ^(DT)all those who had separated themselves from ^(DU)the impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek the Lord God of Israel, ate the Passover. ²² And ^(DV)they held the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the Lord had made them happy, and ^(DW)had turned the heart of ^(DX)the king of Assyria toward them to ^[bz]encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Ezra Journeys from Babylon to Jerusalem

7 ^(DY)Now after these things, in the reign of ^(DZ)Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra went up to Jerusalem; Ezra was the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, ² son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, ³ son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, ⁴ son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, ⁵ son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest. ⁶ So this Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a ^(EA)scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all ^[ca]he requested ^(EB)because the hand of the Lord his God was upon him. ^7 (EC)Some of the sons of Israel and some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

⁸ And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. ⁹ For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^(ED)because the good hand of his God was upon him. ¹⁰ For Ezra had ^[cb]firmly resolved to study the Law of the Lord and to practice it, and ^(EE)to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

King’s Decree on Behalf of Ezra

¹¹ Now this is the copy of the letter which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, ^[cc]learned in the words of the commandments of the Lord and His statutes to Israel: ¹² “^[cd]Artaxerxes, ^(EF)king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, ^[ce]perfect peace. And now ^13 (EG)I have issued a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. ¹⁴ Since you are sent ^[cf]on the part of the king and his ^(EH)seven advisers to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God which is in your hand, ¹⁵ and to bring the silver and gold, which the king and his advisers have voluntarily given to the God of Israel, ^(EI)whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶ with ^(EJ)all the silver and gold which you find in the entire province of Babylon, along ^(EK)with the ^[cg]voluntary offering of the people and of the priests, who ^(EL)offered willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem; ¹⁷ with this money, therefore, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams, and lambs, ^(EM)with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and ^(EN)offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ And whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do according to the will of your God. ¹⁹ Also the utensils which are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. ²⁰ And the rest of the needs of the house of your God, for which it may be incumbent upon you to provide, ^(EO)provide for them from the royal treasury.

²¹ “I myself, King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, that whatever Ezra the priest, ^(EP)the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it shall be done diligently, ²² up to ^[ch]a hundred talents of silver, ^[ci]a hundred kors of wheat, ^[cj]a hundred baths of wine, ^[ck]a hundred baths of anointing oil, and salt ^[cl]as needed. ²³ Whatever is ^[cm]commanded by the God of heaven, it shall be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, ^(EQ)so that there will not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons. ²⁴ We also inform you that ^(ER)it is not allowed to impose tax, tribute, or toll ^(ES)on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

²⁵ “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which is in your hand, ^(ET)appoint magistrates and judges so that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the Euphrates River, that is, all those who know the laws of your God; and you may ^(EU)teach anyone who is ignorant of them. ²⁶ And ^(EV)whoever does not comply with the Law of your God and the law of the king, judgment is to be executed upon him strictly, whether for death or for banishment, or for ^[cn]confiscation of property or for imprisonment.”

The King’s Kindness

²⁷ Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, ^(EW)who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to glorify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, ²⁸ and ^(EX)has extended favor to me before the king and his counselors and before all the king’s mighty officials. So I was strengthened according to ^(EY)the hand of the Lord my God that was upon me, and I gathered ^[co]leading men from Israel to go up with me.

People Who Went with Ezra

8 Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households and the genealogical enrollment of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes: ² of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, ^(EZ)Hattush; ³ of the sons of Shecaniah who was of the sons of ^(FA)Parosh, Zechariah, and with him 150 males who were in the genealogical list; ⁴ of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and two hundred males with him; ⁵ of the sons of ^[cp]Zattu, Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel and three hundred males with him; ⁶ and of the sons of ^(FB)Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and fifty males with him; ⁷ and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and seventy males with him; ⁸ and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael and eighty males with him; ⁹ of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 218 males with him; ¹⁰ and of the sons of ^[cq]Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah and 160 males with him; ¹¹ and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai and twenty-eight males with him; ¹² and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 males with him; ¹³ and of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones, these being their names: Eliphelet, ^[cr]Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and sixty males with them; ¹⁴ and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and ^[cs]Zabbud, and seventy males with ^[ct]them.

Ezra Sends for Levites

¹⁵ Now I assembled them at ^(FC)the river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days; and when I paid close attention to the people and the priests, I ^(FD)did not find any Levites there. ¹⁶ So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, ^[cu]leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, teachers. ¹⁷ And I sent them to Iddo the ^[cv]leading man at the place called Casiphia; and I ^[cw]told them what to say to ^[cx]Iddo and his brothers, ^(FE)the temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring ministers to us for the house of our God. ^18 (FF)And as the good hand of our God was upon us, they brought us a ^(FG)man of insight from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, and his sons and brothers, eighteen men; ¹⁹ and Hashabiah and ^[cy]Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty men; ²⁰ and 220 of ^(FH)the temple servants, whom David and the officials had provided for the service of the Levites, all of them designated by name.

Protection of God Invoked

²¹ Then I proclaimed ^(FI)a fast there at ^(FJ)the river of Ahava, to ^(FK)humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a ^[cz]safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. ²² For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to ^[da]protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “^(FL)The hand of our God is ^[db]favorably disposed to all who seek Him, but ^(FM)His power and His anger are against all those who ^(FN)abandon Him.” ²³ So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He ^[dc](FO)listened to our pleading.

²⁴ Then I selected twelve of the leading priests: ^(FP)Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers; ²⁵ and I ^(FQ)weighed out to them ^(FR)the silver, the gold, and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king, ^(FS)his counselors, his officials, and all Israel who were present there had contributed. ^26 (FT)So I weighed into their hands ^[dd]650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth ^[de]a hundred talents, and a hundred gold talents, ²⁷ and twenty gold bowls worth a thousand ^[df]darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold. ²⁸ Then I said to them, “^(FU)You are holy to the Lord, and the ^(FV)utensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a ^[dg]voluntary offering to the Lord God of your fathers. ²⁹ Watch and keep them ^(FW)until you weigh them before the leading priests, the Levites, and the leaders of the fathers’ households of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.” ³⁰ So the priests and the Levites ^(FX)accepted the weight of silver and gold and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

³¹ Then we journeyed from ^(FY)the river Ahava on ^(FZ)the twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and ^(GA)the hand of our God was upon us, and He rescued us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the road. ^32 (GB)So we came to Jerusalem and remained there for three days.

Treasure Placed in the Temple

³³ And on the fourth day the silver, the gold, and the utensils ^(GC)were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of ^(GD)Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. ³⁴ A notation was made for everything by number and weight, and all the weight was recorded at that time.

^35 (GE)The exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: ^(GF)twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to the Lord. ³⁶ Then ^(GG)they delivered the king’s edicts to ^(GH)the king’s satraps and the governors in the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, and they supported the people and the house of God.

Mixed Marriages

9 Now when these things had been completed, the officials approached me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not ^(GI)separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, ^(GJ)as to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. ² For ^(GK)they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that ^(GL)the holy ^[dh]race has ^(GM)intermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the officials and the leaders have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness.” ³ When I heard about this matter, I ^(GN)tore my garment and my robe, and pulled out some of the hair from my head and my beard, and ^(GO)sat down ^[di]appalled. ⁴ Then ^(GP)everyone who was frightened by the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat ^[dj]appalled until ^(GQ)the evening offering.

Prayer of Confession

⁵ But at the evening offering I stood up from my ^[dk]humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I bowed down on my knees and ^(GR)spread out my ^[dl]hands to the Lord my God; ⁶ and I said, “My God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God, for our wrongful deeds have ^[dm]risen above our heads, and our ^(GS)guilt has grown even to the heavens. ^7 (GT)Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and because of our wrongful deeds we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to ^[dn](GU)open shame, as it is this day. ⁸ But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God, ^(GV)to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a ^[do](GW)peg in His holy place, so that our God may ^(GX)enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage. ^9 (GY)For we are slaves; yet in our bondage our God has not abandoned us, but ^(GZ)has extended favor to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to erect the house of our God, to restore its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁰ “And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have abandoned Your commandments, ¹¹ which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from end to end, and ^(HA)with their impurity. ¹² So now do not ^(HB)give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters for your sons, and ^(HC)never seek their peace or their prosperity, so that you may be strong and may eat the good things of the land, and ^(HD)leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.’ ¹³ And after everything that has come upon us for our evil deeds and ^(HE)our great guilt, since You our God have spared us by inflicting less than our wrongdoing deserves, and have given us such ^(HF)an escaped remnant as this, ^14 (HG)shall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples ^[dp]who commit these abominations? ^(HH)Would You not be angry with us ^[dq]to the point of destruction, until there would be no remnant nor any who would escape? ¹⁵ Lord God of Israel, ^(HI)You are righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before You in ^(HJ)our guilt, for ^(HK)no one can stand before You because of this.”

Reconciliation with God

10 Now ^(HL)while Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself ^(HM)before the house of God, a very large assembly, men, women, and children, gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept greatly. ² Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, “^(HN)We have been unfaithful to our God and have ^[dr]married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. ³ So now ^(HO)let’s make a covenant with our God to send away all the wives and ^[ds](HP)their children, following the counsel of ^[dt]my lord and of ^(HQ)those who fear the commandment of our God; and let it be done ^(HR)according to the Law. ⁴ Arise! For this matter is ^[du]your responsibility, but we will be with you; ^(HS)be courageous and act.”

⁵ Then Ezra stood and ^(HT)made the leading priests, the Levites, and all Israel take an oath that they would do according to this ^[dv]proposal; so they took the oath. ⁶ Then Ezra ^(HU)rose from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. Although he went there, ^(HV)he did not eat bread nor drink water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles. ⁷ So they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the exiles, that they were to assemble at Jerusalem, ⁸ and that whoever did not come within three days, in accordance with the counsel of the leaders and the elders, all his property would be forfeited, and he himself would be excluded from the assembly of the exiles.

⁹ So all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sat in the public square before the house of God, ^(HW)trembling because of this matter and the heavy rain. ¹⁰ Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives, adding to the guilt of Israel. ¹¹ Now therefore, ^(HX)make confession to the Lord God of your fathers and ^(HY)do His will; and ^(HZ)separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” ¹² Then all the assembly replied with a loud voice, “It is ^[dw]our duty to do exactly as you have said! ¹³ However, there are many people, it is the rainy season, and we are not able to stand in the open. Nor can the task be done in one or two days, because we have done a great wrong in this matter. ¹⁴ Please let our leaders ^[dx]represent all the assembly and have all those in our cities who have married foreign wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of each city, until the ^(IA)fierce anger of our God on account of this matter is turned away from us.” ¹⁵ Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah ^[dy]opposed this, with Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supporting them.

¹⁶ But the exiles did so. And ^[dz]Ezra the priest selected men who were the heads of fathers’ households for each of their father’s households, all of them by name. So they ^[ea]convened on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. ¹⁷ And they finished investigating all the men who had married foreign wives by the first day of the first month.

List of Offenders

¹⁸ Now among the sons of the priests who had married foreign wives were found of the sons of ^(IB)Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. ¹⁹ They ^[eb]pledged to send away their wives, and being guilty, ^(IC)they offered a ram of the flock for their guilt. ²⁰ Of the sons of Immer, there were Hanani and Zebadiah; ²¹ and of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah; ²² and of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

²³ Of the Levites there were Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

²⁴ Of the singers there was Eliashib; and of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

²⁵ Of Israel, of the sons of ^(ID)Parosh there were Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah; ²⁶ and of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah; ²⁷ and of the sons of ^(IE)Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza; ²⁸ and of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai; ²⁹ and of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch and Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth; ³⁰ and of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh; ³¹ and of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, ^(IF)Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³² Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah; ³³ of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei; ³⁴ of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, ³⁵ Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, ³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu, ³⁸ Bani, Binnui, Shimei, ³⁹ Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, ⁴⁰ Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹ Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴² Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. ⁴³ Of the sons of ^(IG)Nebo there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah. ⁴⁴ All of these men had married ^(IH)foreign wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

Nehemiah’s Grief for the Exiles

1 The words of ^(A)Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in ^(B)the month Chislev, ^(C)in the twentieth year, while I was in ^(D)Susa the ^[a]capitol, ² that ^(E)Hanani, one of my brothers, ^[b]and some men from Judah came; and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped ^[c]and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. ³ And they said to me, “The remnant there in the ^(F)province who survived the captivity are in great distress and ^(G)disgrace, and ^(H)the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and ^(I)its gates have been burned with fire.”

⁴ Now when I heard these words, ^(J)I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before ^(K)the God of heaven. ⁵ I said, “Please, Lord God of heaven, ^(L)the great and awesome God, ^(M)who keeps the covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments: ^6 (N)let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open, to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, ^(O)confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have committed against You; ^(P)I and my father’s house have sinned. ^7 (Q)We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances ^(R)which You commanded Your servant Moses. ⁸ Remember, please, the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘^(S)If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; ^9 (T)but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I ^(U)will gather them from there and bring them ^(V)to the place where I have chosen to have My name dwell.’ ^10 (W)They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. ¹¹ Please, Lord, ^(X)may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to ^[d]revere Your name, and please make Your servant successful today and grant him mercy before this man.”

Now I was the ^(Y)cupbearer to the king.

Nehemiah’s Prayer Answered

2 And it came about in the month Nisan, ^(Z)in the twentieth year of King ^(AA)Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and ^(AB)I picked up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. ² So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? ^(AC)This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid. ³ And I said to the king, “^(AD)May the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad ^(AE)when the city, the ^[e]site of my fathers’ tombs, is desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?” ⁴ Then the king said to me, “^[f]What would you request?” ^(AF)So I prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵ Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, I request that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” ⁶ Then the king said to me, with the queen sitting beside him, “How long will your journey be, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and ^(AG)I gave him a definite time. ⁷ And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me ^(AH)for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, so that they will allow me to pass through until I come to Judah, ⁸ and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s ^(AI)forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of ^(AJ)the citadel which is by the ^[g]temple, for the wall of the city, and for the house to which I will go.” And the king granted them to me because ^(AK)the good hand of my God was on me.

⁹ Then I came to ^(AL)the governors of the provinces beyond the Euphrates River and gave them the king’s letters. Now ^(AM)the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. ¹⁰ And when ^(AN)Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite ^[h]official heard about it, it was very displeasing to them that someone had come to seek the welfare of the sons of Israel.

Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls

¹¹ So I ^(AO)came to Jerusalem and was there for three days. ¹² And I got up in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my ^[i]mind to do for Jerusalem, and there was no animal with me except the animal on which I was riding. ¹³ So I went out at night by ^(AP)the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Spring and on to the Dung Gate, and I was inspecting the walls of Jerusalem ^(AQ)which were broken down and its ^(AR)gates which had been consumed by fire. ¹⁴ Then I passed on to ^(AS)the Fountain Gate and ^(AT)the King’s Pool, but there was no place for ^[j]my mount to pass. ¹⁵ So I was going up at night by the ^(AU)ravine and inspecting the wall. Then I entered the Valley Gate again and returned. ¹⁶ However, the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing; nor had I as yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the rest who were doing the work.

¹⁷ Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that ^(AV)Jerusalem is desolate and its gates have been burned by fire. Come, let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a disgrace.” ¹⁸ And I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let’s arise and build.” ^(AW)So they put their hands to the good work. ¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite ^[k]official, and ^(AX)Geshem the Arab heard about it, ^(AY)they mocked us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? ^(AZ)Are you rebelling against the king?” ²⁰ So I answered them and said to them, “^(BA)The God of heaven will make us successful; therefore we His servants will arise and build, ^(BB)but you have no part, right, or memorial in Jerusalem.”

Builders of the Walls

3 Then ^(BC)Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built ^(BD)the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and ^(BE)installed its doors. They consecrated ^[l]the wall to ^(BF)the Tower of the Hundred and ^(BG)the Tower of Hananel. ² And next to him ^(BH)the men of Jericho built, and next to ^[m]them Zaccur the son of Imri built.

³ Now the sons of Hassenaah built ^(BI)the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and installed its doors with its bolts and bars. ⁴ Next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz made repairs. And next to ^[n]him Meshullam the son of Berechiah the son of Meshezabel made repairs. And next to ^[o]him Zadok the son of Baana also made repairs. ⁵ Moreover, next to ^[p]him the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not ^[q]support the work of their masters.

⁶ Now Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired ^(BJ)the Ancient Gate; they laid its beams and installed its doors with its bolts and its bars. ⁷ Next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, ^[r]also made repairs for the official seat of the ^(BK)governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River. ⁸ Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah of the ^(BL)goldsmiths made repairs. And next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs, and they restored Jerusalem as far as ^(BM)the Broad Wall. ⁹ And next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ^(BN)the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. ¹⁰ Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah made repairs. ¹¹ Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and ^(BO)the Tower of Furnaces. ¹² Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ^(BP)the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs, he and his daughters.

¹³ Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired ^(BQ)the Valley Gate. They built it and installed its doors with its bolts and its bars, and a ^[s]thousand cubits of the wall to the Dung Gate.

¹⁴ And Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of ^(BR)Beth-haccherem repaired the ^(BS)Dung Gate. He built it and installed its doors with its bolts and its bars.

¹⁵ Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, the official of the district of Mizpah, ^(BT)repaired the Fountain Gate. He built it, made a roof for it, and installed its doors with its bolts and its bars, and the wall of the Pool of Shelah at ^(BU)the king’s garden as far as ^(BV)the steps that descend from the city of David. ¹⁶ After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ^(BW)official of half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs as far as a point opposite the tombs of David, and as far as ^(BX)the ^[t]artificial pool and the house of the mighty men. ¹⁷ After him the Levites carried out repairs under Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, the official of half the district of Keilah, carried out repairs for his district. ¹⁸ After him their brothers carried out repairs under Bavvai the son of Henadad, official of the other half of the district of Keilah. ¹⁹ And next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, ^(BY)the official of Mizpah, repaired ^[u]another section in front of the ascent of the armory ^(BZ)at the Angle. ²⁰ After him Baruch the son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the Angle to the doorway of the house of ^(CA)Eliashib the high priest. ²¹ After him Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz repaired another section, from the doorway of Eliashib’s house even as far as the end of ^[v]his house. ²² And after him the priests, ^(CB)the men of the ^[w]vicinity, carried out repairs. ²³ After ^[x]them Benjamin and Hasshub carried out repairs in front of their house. After ^[y]them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, carried out repairs beside his house. ²⁴ After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah as far as ^(CC)the Angle and as far as the corner. ²⁵ Palal the son of Uzai made repairs in front of the Angle and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king, which is by ^(CD)the courtyard of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs. ²⁶ Now ^(CE)the temple servants living in ^(CF)Ophel made repairs as far as the front of ^(CG)the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower. ²⁷ After ^[z]them ^(CH)the Tekoites repaired another section in front of the great projecting tower and as far as the wall of Ophel.

²⁸ Above ^(CI)the Horse Gate the priests carried out repairs, each in front of his house. ²⁹ After ^[aa]them Zadok the son of Immer carried out repairs in front of his house. And after him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, carried out repairs. ³⁰ After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah carried out repairs in front of his own quarters. ³¹ After him Malchijah, ^[ab]one of ^(CJ)the goldsmiths, carried out repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, in front of the ^[ac]Inspection Gate and as far as the upper room of the corner. ³² And between the upper room of the corner and ^(CK)the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants carried out repairs.

Work Is Ridiculed

4 ^[ad]Now it came about that when ^(CL)Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry, and he mocked the Jews. ² And he spoke in the presence of his brothers and ^(CM)the ^[ae]wealthy people of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore the temple for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in a day? Can they revive the stones from the ^(CN)heaps of rubble, even the burned ones?” ³ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him, and he said, “Even what they are building—^(CO)if a fox were to ^[af]jump on it, it would break their stone wall down!”

^4 (CP)Hear, O our God, how we are an object of contempt! ^(CQ)Return their taunting on their own heads, and turn them into plunder in a land of captivity. ⁵ Do not ^[ag](CR)forgive their guilt and do not let their sin be wiped out before You, for they have ^[ah]demoralized the builders.

⁶ So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a ^[ai]mind to work.

^7 [aj]Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the ^[ak]repair of the walls of Jerusalem went ^[al]on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. ⁸ So all of them ^(CS)conspired together to come to fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.

Discouragement Overcome

⁹ But we prayed to our God, and because of them we ^(CT)set up a guard against them day and night.

¹⁰ And so ^[am]in Judah it was said:

¹¹ And our enemies said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work.” ¹² When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “^[an]They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,” ¹³ then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I ^(CU)stationed the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows. ¹⁴ When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “^(CV)Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and ^(CW)fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

¹⁵ Now when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that ^(CX)God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. ¹⁶ And from that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them kept hold of the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the captains were behind all the house of Judah. ¹⁷ Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens carried with one hand doing the work, and the other keeping hold of a weapon. ¹⁸ As for the builders, each wore his sword strapped to his waist as he built, while ^[ao]the trumpeter stood near me. ¹⁹ And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. ²⁰ At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, assemble to us there. ^(CY)Our God will fight for us.”

²¹ So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from ^[ap]dawn until the stars ^[aq]appeared. ²² At that time I also said to the people, “Each man with his servant shall spend the night within Jerusalem, so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day.” ²³ So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me—none of us ^[ar]removed our clothes; each took his weapon even to the water.

Charging Interest Abolished

5 Now ^(CZ)there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their ^(DA)Jewish brothers. ² For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let’s ^(DB)get grain so that we may eat and live.” ³ And there were others who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses so that we might get grain because of the famine.” ⁴ There also were those who said, “We have borrowed money ^(DC)for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. ⁵ And now ^(DD)our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. Yet behold, ^(DE)we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and ^[as]we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

⁶ Then I was very ^(DF)angry when I heard their outcry and these words. ⁷ So I thought it over and contended with the nobles and the leading people, and said to them, “^(DG)You are lending at interest, each to his brother!” Therefore, I held a great assembly against them. ⁸ And I said to them, “We, according to our ability, ^(DH)have ^[at]redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?” Then they were silent and could not find a word to say. ⁹ So I said, “The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of ^(DI)the taunting of the nations, our enemies? ¹⁰ And likewise I, my brothers, and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let’s ^[au]do without this interest. ¹¹ Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, as well as the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine, and the oil that you are charging as interest from them.” ¹² Then they said, “We ^(DJ)will give it back and ^(DK)will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you say.” So I called the priests and made them ^(DL)take an oath to act in accordance with this ^[av]promise. ¹³ I ^(DM)also shook out the ^[aw]front of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every person from his house and from his possessions who does not keep this ^[ax]promise; just so may he be shaken out and emptied.” And ^(DN)all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the Lord. Then the people acted in accordance with this ^[ay]promise.

Nehemiah’s Example

¹⁴ Furthermore, since the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from ^(DO)the twentieth year to the ^(DP)thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food allowance. ¹⁵ But the previous governors who were before me ^[az]laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so ^(DQ)because of my fear of God. ¹⁶ I also ^[ba]applied myself to the work on this wall; we did not buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. ¹⁷ Moreover, ^(DR)there were at my table 150 Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. ¹⁸ Now ^(DS)that which was prepared for each day was one ox and six choice sheep; also birds were prepared for me, and every ten days all sorts of wine were provided in abundance. Yet for all this ^(DT)I did not request the governor’s food allowance, because the forced labor was heavy on this people. ^19 (DU)Remember me, my God, for good, in return for all that I have done for this people.

The Enemy’s Plot

6 Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach was left in it, ^(DV)although at that time I had not installed the doors in the gates, ² Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, “Come, let’s meet together ^[bb]at Chephirim in the plain of ^(DW)Ono.” But they were plotting to ^[bc]harm me. ³ So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and am unable to come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” ⁴ Then they sent messages to me four times worded in this way, and I answered them with the same wording. ⁵ Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same way a fifth time with an open letter in his hand. ⁶ In it was written: “It is reported among the nations, and ^[bd]Gashmu says, that ^(DX)you and the Jews intend to rebel; for that reason you are rebuilding the wall. And you are to be their king, according to these reports. ⁷ You have also appointed prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning ^[be]you, ‘A king is in Judah!’ And now it will be reported to the king according to these reports. So come now, let’s consult together.”