Nehemiah 10-12

New American Standard Bible

Signers of the Document

10 ^[a]Now on the ^(A)sealed document were the names of: Nehemiah the ^[b]governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah, ² Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, ³ Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, ⁴ Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, ⁵ Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, ⁶ Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, ⁷ Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, ⁸ Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These were the priests. ⁹ And the Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, and Kadmiel; ¹⁰ also their brothers Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, ¹¹ Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, ¹² Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, ¹³ Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu. ¹⁴ The leaders of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, ¹⁵ Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, ¹⁶ Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, ¹⁷ Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, ¹⁸ Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, ¹⁹ Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, ²⁰ Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, ²¹ Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, ²² Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, ²³ Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, ²⁴ Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, ²⁵ Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, ²⁶ Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, ²⁷ Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.

Obligations of the Document

²⁸ Now ^(B)the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and ^(C)all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, all those who had knowledge and understanding, ²⁹ are joining with their kinsmen, their nobles, and are ^[c](D)taking on themselves a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given through Moses, God’s servant, and to keep and to ^[d]comply with all the commandments of ^[e]God our Lord, and His ordinances and statutes; ³⁰ and ^(E)that we will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. ³¹ As ^(F)for the peoples of the land who bring wares or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not ^[f]buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day; and we will forgo the crops of the ^(G)seventh year and ^[g](H)every debt.

³² We also imposed ^[h]on ourselves the obligation to contribute yearly ^(I)a third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: ³³ for the ^(J)showbread, for the continual grain offering, for the continual burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, for the appointed times, for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God.

³⁴ Likewise ^(K)we cast lots ^(L)for the supply of wood among the priests, the Levites, and the people so that they could bring it to the house of our God, according to our fathers’ households, at set times annually, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Law; ³⁵ and so that they could bring the first fruits of our ground and ^(M)the first fruits of all the fruit of every tree to the house of the Lord annually, ³⁶ and ^(N)bring to the house of our God the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks as it is written in the Law, for the priests who are ministering in the house of our God. ^37 (O)We will also bring the first of our ^[i]dough, our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the new wine, and the oil ^(P)to the priests at the chambers of the house of our God, and the ^(Q)tithe of our ground to the Levites, for the Levites are they who receive the tithes in all the rural towns. ³⁸ And ^(R)the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes, and the Levites shall bring up the tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of ^(S)the storehouse. ³⁹ For the sons of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the ^(T)contribution of the grain, the new wine, and the oil to the chambers; the utensils of the sanctuary, the priests who are ministering, the gatekeepers, and the singers are there. So ^(U)we will not ^[j]neglect the house of our God.

Time Passes; Heads of Provinces

11 Now ^(V)the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem, but the rest of the people ^(W)cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem, ^(X)the holy city, while nine-tenths remained in the other cities. ² And the people blessed all the men who ^(Y)volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

^3 (Z)Now these are the heads of the provinces who lived in Jerusalem, but in the cities of Judah ^(AA)each lived on his own property in their cities—the ^[k]Israelites, the priests, the Levites, the ^[l](AB)temple servants, and the ^[m](AC)descendants of Solomon’s servants. ⁴ Some of the sons of Judah and some of the sons of Benjamin lived in Jerusalem. From the sons 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 sons of Perez; ⁵ and 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 the Shilonite. ⁶ All the sons of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were 468 able men.

⁷ Now 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; ⁸ and after him Gabbai and Sallai, 928. ⁹ Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer, and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second ^[n]in command of the city.

¹⁰ From the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin, ¹¹ Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the overseer of the house of God, ¹² and their kinsmen who did the work of the ^[o]temple, 822; 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, ¹³ and his kinsmen, heads of fathers’ households, 242; and Amashsai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, ¹⁴ and their brothers, valiant warriors, 128. And their overseer was Zabdiel, the son of ^[p]Haggedolim.

¹⁵ Now from the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; ¹⁶ and Shabbethai and Jozabad, from the ^[q]leaders of the Levites, who were ^[r]in charge of ^(AD)the outside work of the house of God; ¹⁷ and Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of ^[s]Zabdi, the son of Asaph, who was the ^[t]leader in beginning the thanksgiving at prayer, and Bakbukiah, the second among his kinsmen; and ^[u]Abda the son of ^[v]Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. ¹⁸ All the Levites in ^(AE)the holy city were 284.

¹⁹ Also the gatekeepers: Akkub, Talmon, and their kinsmen who kept watch at the gates, were 172.

Outside Jerusalem

²⁰ The rest of Israel, of the priests and of the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, each ^(AF)on his own inheritance. ²¹ But ^(AG)the temple servants were living in Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa were ^[w]in charge of the temple servants.

²² Now ^(AH)the overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica, from the sons of Asaph, who were the singers for the ^[x]service of the house of God. ^23 (AI)For there was a commandment from the king concerning them and a royal command for the singers ^(AJ)day by day. ²⁴ And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the sons ^(AK)of Zerah the son of Judah, was the ^(AL)king’s ^[y]representative for every matter concerning the people.

²⁵ Now as for the villages with their fields, some of the sons of Judah lived in ^(AM)Kiriath-arba and its ^[z]towns, in ^(AN)Dibon and its ^[aa]towns, and in Jekabzeel and its villages, ²⁶ and in Jeshua, in Moladah, and Beth-pelet, ²⁷ and in Hazar-shual, in Beersheba and its towns, ²⁸ and in Ziklag, in Meconah and in its towns, ²⁹ and in En-rimmon, in Zorah, and in Jarmuth, ³⁰ Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, Azekah and its towns. So they camped from Beersheba as far as the Valley of Hinnom. ³¹ The sons of Benjamin also lived from Geba onward, at Michmash and Aija, at Bethel and its towns, ³² at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, ³³ Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ³⁴ Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ³⁵ Lod, and Ono, the Valley of Craftsmen. ³⁶ And from the Levites, some divisions in Judah belonged to Benjamin.

Priests and Levites Who Returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel

12 Now these are ^(AO)the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, ² Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, ³ Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, ⁴ Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, ⁵ Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, ⁶ Shemaiah and Joiarib, Jedaiah, ⁷ Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and their kinsmen in the days of Jeshua.

⁸ And the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who was ^[ab]in charge of the songs of thanksgiving, he and his brothers. ⁹ Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, stood opposite them ^(AP)in their service divisions. ¹⁰ Jeshua fathered Joiakim, Joiakim fathered Eliashib, Eliashib fathered Joiada, ¹¹ Joiada fathered Jonathan, and Jonathan fathered Jaddua.

¹² Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the heads of fathers’ households were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; ¹³ of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; ¹⁴ of ^[ac]Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; ¹⁵ of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; ¹⁶ of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; ¹⁷ of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; ¹⁸ of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; ¹⁹ of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; ²⁰ of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; ²¹ of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; and of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

The Chief Levites

²² As for the Levites, the heads of fathers’ households were registered in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua; so were the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian. ²³ The sons of Levi, the heads of fathers’ households, were registered in the Book of the Chronicles up to the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. ²⁴ And the heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers opposite them, ^(AQ)to praise and give thanks, ^[ad]as prescribed by David the man of God, ^(AR)division corresponding to division. ²⁵ Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping watch at ^(AS)the storerooms of the gates. ²⁶ These men served in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of ^(AT)Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and scribe.

Dedication of the Wall

²⁷ Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem so that they could celebrate the dedication with joy, with songs of thanksgiving and with songs ^(AU)to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps, and lyres. ²⁸ So the sons of the singers were assembled from the territory around Jerusalem, and from ^(AV)the villages of the Netophathites, ²⁹ from Beth-gilgal and from their fields in Geba and Azmaveth, because the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem. ³⁰ The priests and the Levites ^(AW)purified themselves; they also purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

Procedures for the Temple

³¹ Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on top of the wall, and I appointed two large ^[ae]choirs, ^[af](AX)the first proceeding to the right on top of the wall toward ^(AY)the Dung Gate. ³² Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah followed them, ³³ with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, ³⁴ Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, ³⁵ and some of the sons of the priests with trumpets; and Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph, ³⁶ and his kinsmen, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, ^(AZ)with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. ³⁷ At ^(BA)the Fountain Gate they went directly up ^(BB)the steps of the city of David by the stairway of the wall, above the house of David to ^(BC)the Water Gate on the east.

^38 (BD)The second ^[ag]choir proceeded to the ^[ah]left, while I followed them with half of the people on the wall, ^(BE)above the Tower of Furnaces, to ^(BF)the Broad Wall, ³⁹ and above ^(BG)the Gate of Ephraim, by ^(BH)the Ancient Gate, by the ^(BI)Fish Gate, ^(BJ)the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate; and they stopped at ^(BK)the Gate of the Guard. ⁴⁰ Then the two choirs took their positions in the house of God. So did I and half of the officials with me; ⁴¹ and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with the trumpets; ⁴² and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers ^[ai]sang, with Jezrahiah their leader, ⁴³ and on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because ^(BL)God had given them great joy, and the women and children rejoiced as well, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from far away.

⁴⁴ On that day ^(BM)men were also appointed over the chambers for the supplies, the contributions, the first fruits, and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions required by the Law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ^[aj]served. ⁴⁵ For they performed the ^[ak]worship of their God and the service of purification, together with the singers and the gatekeepers ^(BN)in accordance with the command of David and of his son Solomon. ⁴⁶ For in the days of David and ^(BO)Asaph, in ancient times, there were ^[al](BP)leaders of the singers, songs of praise and songs of thanksgiving to God. ⁴⁷ So all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah gave the portions due the singers and the gatekeepers ^(BQ)as each day required, and they ^[am](BR)set apart the consecrated portion for the Levites, and the Levites ^[an]set apart the consecrated portion for the sons of Aaron.