Nehemiah 8-12

New King James Version

Ezra Reads and Explains the Law

8 Now all ^(A)the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was ^(B)in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the ^(C)scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. ²So Ezra the priest brought ^(D)the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding ^(E)on the first day of the seventh month. ³Then he ^(F)read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate ^[a]from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

⁴So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. ⁵And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people ^(G)stood up. ⁶And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God.

Then all the people ^(H)answered, “Amen, Amen!” while ^(I)lifting up their hands. And they ^(J)bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

⁷Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, ^(K)helped the people to understand the Law; and the people ^(L)stood in their place. ⁸So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.

⁹^(M)And Nehemiah, who was the ^[b]governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ^(N)“This day is holy to the Lord your God; ^(O)do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.

¹⁰Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, ^(P)and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

¹¹So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” ¹²And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to ^(Q)send portions and rejoice greatly, because they ^(R)understood the words that were declared to them.

The Feast of Tabernacles^(S)

¹³Now on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law. ¹⁴And they found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in ^(T)booths^[c] during the feast of the seventh month, ¹⁵and ^(U)that they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and ^(V)in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the mountain, and ^(W)bring olive branches, branches of oil trees, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.”

¹⁶Then the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each one on the ^(X)roof of his house, or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the ^(Y)Water Gate ^(Z)and in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made ^[d]booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very ^(AA)great gladness. ¹⁸Also ^(AB)day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast ^(AC)seven days; and on the ^(AD)eighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed manner.

The People Confess Their Sins

9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of ^(AE)this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, ^(AF)and with ^[e]dust on their heads. ²Then ^(AG)those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and ^(AH)confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. ³And they stood up in their place and ^(AI)read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God.

⁴Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the ^[f]stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the Lord their God. ⁵And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said:

“Stand up and bless the Lord your God
Forever and ever!

“Blessed be ^(AJ)Your glorious name,
Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!
⁶^(AK)You alone are the Lord;
^(AL)You have made heaven,
^(AM)The heaven of heavens, with ^(AN)all their host,
The earth and everything on it,
The seas and all that is in them,
And You ^(AO)preserve them all.
The host of heaven worships You.

⁷“You are the Lord God,
Who chose ^(AP)Abram,
And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans,
And gave him the name ^(AQ)Abraham;
⁸You found his heart ^(AR)faithful before You,
And made a ^(AS)covenant with him
To give the land of the Canaanites,
The Hittites, the Amorites,
The Perizzites, the Jebusites,
And the Girgashites—
To give it to his descendants.
You ^(AT)have performed Your words,
For You are righteous.

⁹“You^(AU) saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,
And ^(AV)heard their cry by the Red Sea.
¹⁰You ^(AW)showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
Against all his servants,
And against all the people of his land.
For You knew that they ^(AX)acted ^[g]proudly against them.
So You ^(AY)made a name for Yourself, as it is this day.
¹¹^(AZ)And You divided the sea before them,
So that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land;
And their persecutors You threw into the deep,
^(BA)As a stone into the mighty waters.
¹²Moreover You ^(BB)led them by day with a cloudy pillar,
And by night with a pillar of fire,
To give them light on the road
Which they should travel.

¹³“You^(BC) came down also on Mount Sinai,
And spoke with them from heaven,
And gave them ^(BD)just ordinances and true laws,
Good statutes and commandments.
¹⁴You made known to them Your ^(BE)holy Sabbath,
And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws,
By the hand of Moses Your servant.
¹⁵You ^(BF)gave them bread from heaven for their hunger,
And ^(BG)brought them water out of the rock for their thirst,
And told them to ^(BH)go in to possess the land
Which You had ^[h]sworn to give them.

¹⁶“But^(BI) they and our fathers acted ^[i]proudly,
^(BJ)Hardened^[j] their necks,
And did not heed Your commandments.
¹⁷They refused to obey,
And ^(BK)they were not mindful of Your wonders
That You did among them.
But they hardened their necks,
And ^[k]in their rebellion
They appointed ^(BL)a leader
To return to their bondage.
But You are God,
Ready to pardon,
^(BM)Gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger,
Abundant in kindness,
And did not forsake them.

¹⁸“Even ^(BN)when they made a molded calf for themselves,
And said, ‘This is your god
That brought you up out of Egypt,’
And worked great provocations,
¹⁹Yet in Your ^(BO)manifold mercies
You did not forsake them in the wilderness.
The ^(BP)pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day,
To lead them on the road;
Nor the pillar of fire by night,
To show them light,
And the way they should go.
²⁰You also gave Your ^(BQ)good Spirit to instruct them,
And did not withhold Your ^(BR)manna from their mouth,
And gave them ^(BS)water for their thirst.
²¹^(BT)Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness;
They lacked nothing;
Their ^(BU)clothes did not wear out
And their feet did not swell.

²²“Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations,
And divided them into ^[l]districts.
So they took possession of the land of ^(BV)Sihon,
^[m]The land of the king of Heshbon,
And the land of Og king of Bashan.
²³You also multiplied ^(BW)their children as the stars of heaven,
And brought them into the land
Which You had told their fathers
To go in and possess.
²⁴So ^(BX)the ^[n]people went in
And possessed the land;
^(BY)You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land,
The Canaanites,
And gave them into their hands,
With their kings
And the people of the land,
That they might do with them as they wished.
²⁵And they took strong cities and a ^(BZ)rich land,
And possessed ^(CA)houses full of all goods,
Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves,
And ^[o]fruit trees in abundance.
So they ate and were filled and ^(CB)grew fat,
And delighted themselves in Your great ^(CC)goodness.

²⁶“Nevertheless they ^(CD)were disobedient
And rebelled against You,
^(CE)Cast Your law behind their backs
And killed Your ^(CF)prophets, who ^[p]testified against them
To turn them to Yourself;
And they worked great provocations.
²⁷^(CG)Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies,
Who oppressed them;
And in the time of their trouble,
When they cried to You,
You ^(CH)heard from heaven;
And according to Your abundant mercies
^(CI)You gave them deliverers who saved them
From the hand of their enemies.

²⁸“But after they had rest,
^(CJ)They again did evil before You.
Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies,
So that they had dominion over them;
Yet when they returned and cried out to You,
You heard from heaven;
And ^(CK)many times You delivered them according to Your mercies,
²⁹And ^[q]testified against them,
That You might bring them back to Your law.
Yet they acted ^[r]proudly,
And did not heed Your commandments,
But sinned against Your judgments,
^(CL)‘Which if a man does, he shall live by them.’
And they shrugged their shoulders,
^[s]Stiffened their necks,
And would not hear.
³⁰Yet for many years You had patience with them,
And ^[t]testified ^(CM)against them by Your Spirit ^(CN)in Your prophets.
Yet they would not listen;
^(CO)Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
³¹Nevertheless in Your great mercy
^(CP)You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them;
For You are God, gracious and merciful.

³²“Now therefore, our God,
The great, the ^(CQ)mighty, and awesome God,
Who keeps covenant and mercy:
Do not let all the ^[u]trouble seem small before You
That has come upon us,
Our kings and our princes,
Our priests and our prophets,
Our fathers and on all Your people,
^(CR)From the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.
³³However ^(CS)You are just in all that has befallen us;
For You have dealt faithfully,
But ^(CT)we have done wickedly.
³⁴Neither our kings nor our princes,
Our priests nor our fathers,
Have kept Your law,
Nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies,
With which You testified against them.
³⁵For they have ^(CU)not served You in their kingdom,
Or in the many good things that You gave them,
Or in the large and rich land which You set before them;
Nor did they turn from their wicked works.

³⁶“Here ^(CV)we are, servants today!
And the land that You gave to our fathers,
To eat its fruit and its bounty,
Here we are, servants in it!
³⁷And ^(CW)it yields much increase to the kings
You have set over us,
Because of our sins;
Also they have ^(CX)dominion over our bodies and our cattle
At their pleasure;
And we are in great distress.

³⁸“And because of all this,
We ^(CY)make a sure covenant and write it;
Our leaders, our Levites, and our priests ^(CZ)seal it.”

The People Who Sealed the Covenant

10 Now those who placed their seal on the document were:

Nehemiah the ^[v]governor, ^(DA)the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah, ²^(DB)Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, ³Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, ⁴Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, ⁵Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, ⁶Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, ⁷Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, ⁸Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These were the priests.

⁹The Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, and Kadmiel.

¹⁰Their brethren: Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, ¹¹Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah, ¹²Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, ¹³Hodijah, Bani, and Beninu.

¹⁴The leaders of the people: ^(DC)Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, ¹⁵Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, ¹⁶Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, ¹⁷Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, ¹⁸Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai, ¹⁹Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, ²⁰Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, ²¹Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, ²²Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, ²³Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, ²⁴Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, ²⁵Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, ²⁶Ahijah, Hanan, Anan, ²⁷Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.

The Covenant That Was Sealed

²⁸^(DD)Now the rest of the people—the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Nethinim, ^(DE)and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge and understanding— ²⁹these joined with their brethren, their nobles, ^(DF)and entered into a curse and an oath ^(DG)to walk in God’s Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes: ³⁰We would not give ^(DH)our daughters as wives to the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons; ³¹^(DI)if the peoples of the land brought ^[w]wares or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we would not buy it from them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day; and we would forego the ^(DJ)seventh year’s produce and the ^(DK)exacting^[x] of every debt.

³²Also we made ordinances for ourselves, to exact from ourselves yearly ^(DL)one-third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: ³³for ^(DM)the showbread, for the regular grain offering, for the ^(DN)regular burnt offering of the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the set feasts; for the holy things, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God. ³⁴We cast lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, ^(DO)for bringing the wood offering into the house of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at the appointed times year by year, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God ^(DP)as it is written in the Law.

³⁵And we made ordinances ^(DQ)to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the Lord; ³⁶to bring the ^(DR)firstborn of our sons and our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks, to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God; ³⁷^(DS)to bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the ^[y]house of our God; and to bring ^(DT)the tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming communities. ³⁸And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be with the Levites ^(DU)when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to ^(DV)the rooms of the storehouse.

³⁹For the children of Israel and the children of Levi ^(DW)shall bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine and the oil, to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are, where the priests who minister and the gatekeepers ^(DX)and the singers are; and we will not ^(DY)neglect the house of our God.

The People Dwelling in Jerusalem

11 Now the leaders of the people dwelt at Jerusalem; the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to dwell in Jerusalem, ^(DZ)the holy city, and nine-tenths were to dwell in other cities. ²And the people blessed all the men who ^(EA)willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.

³^(EB)These are the heads of the province who dwelt in Jerusalem. (But in the cities of Judah everyone dwelt in his own possession in their cities—Israelites, priests, Levites, ^(EC)Nethinim, and ^(ED)descendants of Solomon’s servants.) ⁴Also ^(EE)in Jerusalem dwelt some of the children of Judah and of the children of Benjamin.

The children of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the children of ^(EF)Perez; ⁵and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni. ⁶All the sons of Perez who dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight valiant men.

⁷And these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah; ⁸and after him Gabbai and Sallai, nine hundred and twenty-eight. ⁹Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer, and Judah the son of ^[z]Senuah was second over the city.

¹⁰^(EG)Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, and Jachin; ¹¹Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, was the leader of the house of God. ¹²Their brethren who did the work of the house were eight hundred and twenty-two; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, ¹³and his brethren, heads of the fathers’ houses, were two hundred and forty-two; and Amashai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, ¹⁴and their brethren, mighty men of valor, were one hundred and twenty-eight. Their overseer was Zabdiel ^[aa]the son of one of the great men.

¹⁵Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; ¹⁶^(EH)Shabbethai and ^(EI)Jozabad, of the heads of the Levites, had the oversight of ^(EJ)the business outside of the ^[ab]house of God; ¹⁷Mattaniah the son of ^[ac]Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, the leader who began the thanksgiving with prayer; Bakbukiah, the second among his brethren; and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. ¹⁸All the Levites in ^(EK)the holy city were two hundred and eighty-four.

¹⁹Moreover the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren who kept the gates, were one hundred and seventy-two.

²⁰And the rest of Israel, of the priests and Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, everyone in his inheritance. ²¹^(EL)But the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel. And Ziha and Gishpa were over the Nethinim.

²²Also the overseer of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha, of the sons of Asaph, the singers in charge of the ^[ad]service of the ^[ae]house of God. ²³For ^(EM)it was the king’s command concerning them that a ^[af]certain portion should be for the singers, a quota day by day. ²⁴Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the children of ^(EN)Zerah the son of Judah, was ^(EO)the^[ag] king’s deputy in all matters concerning the people.

The People Dwelling Outside Jerusalem

²⁵And as for the villages with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt in ^(EP)Kirjath Arba and its villages, Dibon and its villages, Jekabzeel and its villages; ²⁶in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth Pelet, ²⁷Hazar Shual, and Beersheba and its villages; ²⁸in Ziklag and Meconah and its villages; ²⁹in En Rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, ³⁰Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages; in Lachish and its fields; in Azekah and its villages. They dwelt from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom.

³¹Also the children of Benjamin from Geba dwelt in Michmash, Aija, and Bethel, and their villages; ³²in Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah; ³³in Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim; ³⁴in Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat; ³⁵in Lod, Ono, and ^(EQ)the Valley of Craftsmen. ³⁶Some of the Judean divisions of Levites were in Benjamin.

The Priests and Levites^(ER)

12 Now these are the ^(ES)priests and the Levites who came up with ^(ET)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: ^(EU)Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, ²Amariah, ^[ah]Malluch, Hattush, ³^[ai]Shechaniah, ^[aj]Rehum, ^[ak]Meremoth, ⁴Iddo, ^[al]Ginnethoi, ^(EV)Abijah, ⁵^[am]Mijamin, ^[an]Maadiah, Bilgah, ⁶Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, ⁷^[ao]Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah.

These were the heads of the priests and their brethren in the days of ^(EW)Jeshua.

⁸Moreover the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah ^(EX)who led the thanksgiving psalms, he and his brethren. ⁹Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, stood across from them in their duties.

¹⁰Jeshua begot Joiakim, Joiakim begot Eliashib, Eliashib begot Joiada, ¹¹Joiada begot Jonathan, and Jonathan begot Jaddua.

¹²Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the ^(EY)heads of the fathers’ houses were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; ¹³of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; ¹⁴of ^[ap]Melichu, Jonathan; of ^[aq]Shebaniah, Joseph; ¹⁵of ^[ar]Harim, Adna; of ^[as]Meraioth, Helkai; ¹⁶of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; ¹⁷of Abijah, Zichri; the son of ^[at]Minjamin; of ^[au]Moadiah, Piltai; ¹⁸of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; ¹⁹of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; ²⁰of ^[av]Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; ²¹of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; and of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

²²During the reign of Darius the Persian, a record was also kept of the Levites and priests who had been ^(EZ)heads of their fathers’ houses in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua. ²³The sons of Levi, the heads of the fathers’ houses until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib, were written in the book of the ^(FA)chronicles.

²⁴And the heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers across from them, to ^(FB)praise and give thanks, ^(FC)group^[aw] alternating with group, ^(FD)according to the command of David the man of God. ²⁵Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping the watch at the storerooms of the gates. ²⁶These lived in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of ^[ax]Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah ^(FE)the governor, and of Ezra the priest, ^(FF)the scribe.

Nehemiah Dedicates the Wall

²⁷Now at ^(FG)the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, ^(FH)both with thanksgivings and singing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps. ²⁸And the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Jerusalem, from the ^(FI)villages of the Netophathites, ²⁹from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built themselves villages all around Jerusalem. ³⁰Then the priests and Levites ^(FJ)purified themselves, and purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

³¹So I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs. ^(FK)One went to the right hand on the wall ^(FL)toward the Refuse Gate. ³²After them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah, ³³and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, ³⁴Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, ³⁵and some of the priests’ sons ^(FM)with trumpets—Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph, ³⁶and his brethren, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with ^(FN)the musical ^(FO)instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. ³⁷^(FP)By the Fountain Gate, in front of them, they went up ^(FQ)the stairs of the ^(FR)City of David, on the stairway of the wall, beyond the house of David, as far as ^(FS)the Water Gate eastward.

³⁸^(FT)The other thanksgiving choir went the opposite way, and I was behind them with half of the people on the wall, going past the ^(FU)Tower of the Ovens as far as ^(FV)the Broad Wall, ³⁹^(FW)and above the Gate of Ephraim, above ^(FX)the Old Gate, above ^(FY)the Fish Gate, ^(FZ)the Tower of Hananel, the Tower of ^[ay]the Hundred, as far as ^(GA)the Sheep Gate; and they stopped by ^(GB)the Gate of the Prison.

⁴⁰So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God, likewise I and the half of the rulers with me; ⁴¹and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, ^[az]Minjamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; ⁴²also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers ^[ba]sang loudly with Jezrahiah the director.

⁴³Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard ^(GC)afar off.

Temple Responsibilities

⁴⁴^(GD)And at the same time some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouse for the offerings, the firstfruits, and the ^(GE)tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who ^[bb]ministered. ⁴⁵Both the singers and the gatekeepers kept the charge of their God and the charge of the purification, ^(GF)according to the command of David and Solomon his son. ⁴⁶For in the days of David ^(GG)and Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. ⁴⁷In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, a portion for ^(GH)each day. ^(GI)They also ^[bc]consecrated holy things for the Levites, ^(GJ)and the Levites consecrated them for the children of Aaron.