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Nehemiah 11-12
English Standard Version
Nehemiah 11-12
English Standard Version
The Leaders in Jerusalem
11 Now the leaders of the people (A)lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people (B)cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem (C)the holy city, while nine out of ten[a] remained in the other towns. 2 And the people blessed all the men (D)who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.
3 (E)These are the chiefs of the province who lived in Jerusalem; but in the towns of Judah (F)everyone lived on his property in their towns: Israel, the priests, the Levites, (G)the temple servants, (H)and the descendants of Solomon's servants. 4 And in Jerusalem lived certain of the sons of Judah and of the sons of Benjamin. Of the sons of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of the sons of (I)Perez; 5 and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, son of the Shilonite. 6 All the sons of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were 468 valiant men.
7 And these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah, 8 and his brothers, men of valor, 928.[b] 9 Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer; and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second over the city.
10 Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin, 11 Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, ruler of the house of God, 12 and their brothers who did the work of the house, 822; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah, 13 and his brothers, heads of fathers' houses, 242; and Amashsai, the son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer, 14 and their brothers, mighty men of valor, 128; their overseer was Zabdiel the son of Haggedolim.
15 And of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni; 16 and Shabbethai and (J)Jozabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who were over (K)the outside work of the house of God; 17 and (L)Mattaniah the son of Mica, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, who was the leader of the praise,[c] who gave thanks, and Bakbukiah, the second among his brothers; and Abda the son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun. 18 All the Levites in (M)the holy city were 284.
19 The gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon and their brothers, who kept watch at the gates, were 172. 20 And the rest of Israel, and of the priests and the Levites, were in all the towns of Judah, (N)every one in his inheritance. 21 (O)But the temple servants lived on Ophel; and Ziha and Gishpa were over the temple servants.
22 The overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, of the sons of Asaph, the singers, over the work of the house of God. 23 (P)For there was a command from the king concerning them, and a fixed provision for the singers, (Q)as every day required. 24 And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the sons of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king's side[d] in all matters concerning the people.
Villages Outside Jerusalem
25 And as for the villages, with their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in (R)Kiriath-arba and its villages, and in Dibon and its villages, and in Jekabzeel and its villages, 26 and in Jeshua and in Moladah and Beth-pelet, 27 in Hazar-shual, in Beersheba and its villages, 28 in Ziklag, in Meconah and its villages, 29 in En-rimmon, in Zorah, in Jarmuth, 30 Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, and Azekah and its villages. So they encamped from Beersheba to (S)the Valley of Hinnom. 31 The people of Benjamin also lived from Geba onward, at Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its villages, 32 Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, 33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, 34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, 35 Lod, and (T)Ono, the valley of craftsmen. 36 And certain divisions of the Levites in Judah were assigned to Benjamin.
Priests and Levites
12 These are (U)the priests and the Levites who came up with (V)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and (W)Jeshua: (X)Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, 5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua.
8 And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his brothers was (Y)in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. 9 And Bakbukiah and Unni and their brothers stood opposite them (Z)in the service. 10 And Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim the father of Eliashib, Eliashib the father of Joiada, 11 Joiada the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jaddua.
12 (AA)And in the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers' houses: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; 14 of 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; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22 In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the Levites were recorded as heads of fathers' houses; so too were the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 As for the sons of Levi, their heads of fathers' houses (AB)were written in the Book of the Chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. 24 And the chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and (AC)Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers who stood opposite them, (AD)to praise and to give thanks, (AE)according to the commandment of David (AF)the man of God, (AG)watch by watch. 25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at (AH)the storehouses of the gates. 26 These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and in the days of (AI)Nehemiah the governor and of (AJ)Ezra, the priest and scribe.
Dedication of the Wall
27 And at (AK)the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, (AL)with cymbals, harps, and lyres. 28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites; 29 also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. 30 And the priests and the Levites (AM)purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.
31 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. (AN)One went to the south on the wall to (AO)the Dung Gate. 32 And after them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah, 33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, 35 and certain of the priests' sons (AP)with trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph; 36 and his relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, (AQ)with the musical instruments of David (AR)the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. 37 At (AS)the Fountain Gate they went up straight before them by (AT)the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to (AU)the Water Gate on the east.
38 (AV)The other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people, on the wall, above (AW)the Tower of the Ovens, to (AX)the Broad Wall, 39 and above (AY)the Gate of Ephraim, and by (AZ)the Gate of Yeshanah,[e] and by (BA)the Fish Gate and (BB)the Tower of Hananel and (BC)the Tower of the Hundred, to (BD)the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at (BE)the Gate of the Guard. 40 So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me; 41 and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, (BF)with trumpets; 42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader. 43 And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.
Service at the Temple
44 (BG)On that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. 45 And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, (BH)according to the command of David and his son Solomon. 46 For long ago in the days of David and (BI)Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs[f] of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the (BJ)daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; (BK)and they set apart that which was for the Levites; (BL)and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 11:1 Hebrew nine hands
- Nehemiah 11:8 Compare Septuagint; Hebrew Jeshaiah, and after him Gabbai, Sallai, 928
- Nehemiah 11:17 Compare Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew beginning
- Nehemiah 11:24 Hebrew hand
- Nehemiah 12:39 Or of the old city
- Nehemiah 12:46 Or leaders
Nehemiah 11-12
New International Version
Nehemiah 11-12
New International Version
The New Residents of Jerusalem(A)
11 Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem. The rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten of them to live in Jerusalem,(B) the holy city,(C) while the remaining nine were to stay in their own towns.(D) 2 The people commended all who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.
3 These are the provincial leaders who settled in Jerusalem (now some Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants and descendants of Solomon’s servants lived in the towns of Judah, each on their own property in the various towns,(E) 4 while other people from both Judah and Benjamin(F) lived in Jerusalem):(G)
From the descendants of Judah:
Athaiah son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, a descendant of Perez; 5 and Maaseiah son of Baruch, the son of Kol-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, a descendant of Shelah. 6 The descendants of Perez who lived in Jerusalem totaled 468 men of standing.
7 From the descendants of Benjamin:
Sallu 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 his followers, Gabbai and Sallai—928 men. 9 Joel son of Zikri was their chief officer, and Judah son of Hassenuah was over the New Quarter of the city.
10 From the priests:
Jedaiah; the son of Joiarib; Jakin; 11 Seraiah(H) son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub,(I) the official in charge of the house of God, 12 and their associates, who carried on work for the temple—822 men; Adaiah son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malkijah, 13 and his associates, who were heads of families—242 men; Amashsai son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, 14 and his[a] associates, who were men of standing—128. Their chief officer was Zabdiel son of Haggedolim.
15 From the Levites:
Shemaiah son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; 16 Shabbethai(J) and Jozabad,(K) two of the heads of the Levites, who had charge of the outside work of the house of God; 17 Mattaniah(L) son of Mika, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph,(M) the director who led in thanksgiving and prayer; Bakbukiah, second among his associates; and Abda son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.(N) 18 The Levites in the holy city(O) totaled 284.
19 The gatekeepers:
Akkub, Talmon and their associates, who kept watch at the gates—172 men.
20 The rest of the Israelites, with the priests and Levites, were in all the towns of Judah, each on their ancestral property.
21 The temple servants(P) lived on the hill of Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of them.
22 The chief officer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah,(Q) the son of Mika. Uzzi was one of Asaph’s descendants, who were the musicians responsible for the service of the house of God. 23 The musicians(R) were under the king’s orders, which regulated their daily activity.
24 Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, one of the descendants of Zerah(S) son of Judah, was the king’s agent in all affairs relating to the people.
25 As for the villages with their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriath Arba(T) and its surrounding settlements, in Dibon(U) and its settlements, in Jekabzeel and its villages, 26 in Jeshua, in Moladah,(V) in Beth Pelet,(W) 27 in Hazar Shual,(X) in Beersheba(Y) and its settlements, 28 in Ziklag,(Z) in Mekonah and its settlements, 29 in En Rimmon, in Zorah,(AA) in Jarmuth,(AB) 30 Zanoah,(AC) Adullam(AD) and their villages, in Lachish(AE) and its fields, and in Azekah(AF) and its settlements. So they were living all the way from Beersheba(AG) to the Valley of Hinnom.
31 The descendants of the Benjamites from Geba(AH) lived in Mikmash,(AI) Aija, Bethel(AJ) and its settlements, 32 in Anathoth,(AK) Nob(AL) and Ananiah, 33 in Hazor,(AM) Ramah(AN) and Gittaim,(AO) 34 in Hadid, Zeboim(AP) and Neballat, 35 in Lod and Ono,(AQ) and in Ge Harashim.
36 Some of the divisions of the Levites of Judah settled in Benjamin.
Priests and Levites
12 These were the priests(AR) and Levites(AS) who returned with Zerubbabel(AT) son of Shealtiel(AU) and with Joshua:(AV)
Seraiah,(AW) Jeremiah, Ezra,
2 Amariah, Malluk, Hattush,
3 Shekaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
4 Iddo,(AX) Ginnethon,[b] Abijah,(AY)
5 Mijamin,[c] Moadiah, Bilgah,
6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,(AZ)
7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah and Jedaiah.
These were the leaders of the priests and their associates in the days of Joshua.
8 The Levites were Jeshua,(BA) Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and also Mattaniah,(BB) who, together with his associates, was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. 9 Bakbukiah and Unni, their associates, stood opposite them in the services.
10 Joshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim the father of Eliashib,(BC) Eliashib the father of Joiada, 11 Joiada the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jaddua.
12 In the days of Joiakim, these were the heads of the priestly families:
of Seraiah’s family, Meraiah;
of Jeremiah’s, Hananiah;
13 of Ezra’s, Meshullam;
of Amariah’s, Jehohanan;
14 of Malluk’s, Jonathan;
of Shekaniah’s,[d] Joseph;
15 of Harim’s, Adna;
of Meremoth’s,[e] Helkai;
16 of Iddo’s,(BD) Zechariah;
of Ginnethon’s, Meshullam;
17 of Abijah’s,(BE) Zikri;
of Miniamin’s and of Moadiah’s, Piltai;
18 of Bilgah’s, Shammua;
of Shemaiah’s, Jehonathan;
19 of Joiarib’s, Mattenai;
of Jedaiah’s, Uzzi;
20 of Sallu’s, Kallai;
of Amok’s, Eber;
21 of Hilkiah’s, Hashabiah;
of Jedaiah’s, Nethanel.
22 The family heads of the Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan and Jaddua, as well as those of the priests, were recorded in the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 The family heads among the descendants of Levi up to the time of Johanan son of Eliashib were recorded in the book of the annals. 24 And the leaders of the Levites(BF) were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua son of Kadmiel, and their associates, who stood opposite them to give praise and thanksgiving, one section responding to the other, as prescribed by David the man of God.(BG)
25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon and Akkub were gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms at the gates. 26 They served in the days of Joiakim son of Joshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest, the teacher of the Law.
Dedication of the Wall of Jerusalem
27 At the dedication(BH) of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals,(BI) harps and lyres.(BJ) 28 The musicians also were brought together from the region around Jerusalem—from the villages of the Netophathites,(BK) 29 from Beth Gilgal, and from the area of Geba and Azmaveth, for the musicians had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem. 30 When the priests and Levites had purified themselves ceremonially, they purified the people,(BL) the gates and the wall.
31 I had the leaders of Judah go up on top of[f] the wall. I also assigned two large choirs to give thanks. One was to proceed on top of[g] the wall to the right, toward the Dung Gate.(BM) 32 Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah followed them, 33 along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin,(BN) Shemaiah, Jeremiah, 35 as well as some priests with trumpets,(BO) and also Zechariah son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zakkur, the son of Asaph, 36 and his associates—Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah and Hanani—with musical instruments(BP) prescribed by David the man of God.(BQ) Ezra(BR) the teacher of the Law led the procession. 37 At the Fountain Gate(BS) they continued directly up the steps of the City of David on the ascent to the wall and passed above the site of David’s palace to the Water Gate(BT) on the east.
38 The second choir proceeded in the opposite direction. I followed them on top of[h] the wall, together with half the people—past the Tower of the Ovens(BU) to the Broad Wall,(BV) 39 over the Gate of Ephraim,(BW) the Jeshanah[i] Gate,(BX) the Fish Gate,(BY) the Tower of Hananel(BZ) and the Tower of the Hundred,(CA) as far as the Sheep Gate.(CB) At the Gate of the Guard they stopped.
40 The two choirs that gave thanks then took their places in the house of God; so did I, together with half the officials, 41 as well as the priests—Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah and Hananiah with their trumpets— 42 and also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam and Ezer. The choirs sang under the direction of Jezrahiah. 43 And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.
44 At that time men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms(CC) for the contributions, firstfruits and tithes.(CD) From the fields around the towns they were to bring into the storerooms the portions required by the Law for the priests and the Levites, for Judah was pleased with the ministering priests and Levites.(CE) 45 They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did also the musicians and gatekeepers, according to the commands of David(CF) and his son Solomon.(CG) 46 For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph,(CH) there had been directors for the musicians and for the songs of praise(CI) and thanksgiving to God. 47 So in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the musicians and the gatekeepers. They also set aside the portion for the other Levites, and the Levites set aside the portion for the descendants of Aaron.(CJ)
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 11:14 Most Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew their
- Nehemiah 12:4 Many Hebrew manuscripts and Vulgate (see also verse 16); most Hebrew manuscripts Ginnethoi
- Nehemiah 12:5 A variant of Miniamin
- Nehemiah 12:14 Very many Hebrew manuscripts, some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also verse 3); most Hebrew manuscripts Shebaniah’s
- Nehemiah 12:15 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also verse 3); Hebrew Meraioth’s
- Nehemiah 12:31 Or go alongside
- Nehemiah 12:31 Or proceed alongside
- Nehemiah 12:38 Or them alongside
- Nehemiah 12:39 Or Old
English Standard Version (ESV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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