Nehemiah 7-12

English Standard Version

7 Now when the wall had been built ^(A)and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, ² I gave ^(B)my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of ^(C)the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was ^(D)a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. ³ And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.” ⁴ The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.

Lists of Returned Exiles

⁵ Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of ^(E)those who came up at the first, and I found written in it:

^6 (F)These were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried into exile. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town. ⁷ They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, ^(G)Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah.

The number of the men of the people of Israel: ⁸ the sons of Parosh, 2,172. ⁹ The sons of Shephatiah, 372. ¹⁰ The sons of Arah, ^(H)652. ¹¹ The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818. ¹² The sons of ^(I)Elam, 1,254. ¹³ The sons of Zattu, 845. ¹⁴ The sons of Zaccai, 760. ¹⁵ The sons of ^(J)Binnui, 648. ¹⁶ The sons of Bebai, 628. ¹⁷ The sons of Azgad, 2,322. ¹⁸ The sons of Adonikam, 667. ¹⁹ The sons of Bigvai, 2,067. ²⁰ The sons of Adin, 655. ²¹ The sons of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, 98. ²² The sons of Hashum, 328. ²³ The sons of ^(K)Bezai, 324. ²⁴ The sons of Hariph, 112. ²⁵ The sons of ^(L)Gibeon, 95. ²⁶ The men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188. ²⁷ The men of Anathoth, 128. ²⁸ The men ^(M)of Beth-azmaveth, 42. ²⁹ The men of ^(N)Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743. ³⁰ The men of Ramah and Geba, 621. ³¹ The men of Michmas, 122. ³² The men of Bethel and Ai, 123. ³³ The men of the other Nebo, 52. ³⁴ The sons of ^(O)the other Elam, 1,254. ³⁵ The sons of Harim, 320. ³⁶ The sons of Jericho, 345. ³⁷ The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721. ³⁸ The sons of Senaah, 3,930.

³⁹ The priests: the sons of ^(P)Jedaiah, namely the house of Jeshua, 973. ⁴⁰ The sons of ^(Q)Immer, 1,052. ⁴¹ The sons of ^(R)Pashhur, 1,247. ⁴² The sons of ^(S)Harim, 1,017.

⁴³ The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, namely of Kadmiel of the sons of ^(T)Hodevah, 74. ⁴⁴ The singers: the sons of Asaph, 148. ⁴⁵ The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, 138.

⁴⁶ The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁷ the sons of Keros, the sons of ^(U)Sia, the sons of Padon, ⁴⁸ the sons of Lebana, the sons of ^(V)Hagaba, the sons of ^(W)Shalmai, ⁴⁹ the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, ⁵⁰ the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, ⁵¹ the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, ⁵² the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of ^(X)Nephushesim, ⁵³ the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, ⁵⁴ the sons of ^(Y)Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, ⁵⁵ the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, ⁵⁶ the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.

⁵⁷ The sons of Solomon's servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of ^(Z)Perida, ⁵⁸ the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, ⁵⁹ the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of ^(AA)Amon.

⁶⁰ All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon's servants were 392.

^61 (AB)The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, ^(AC)Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove their fathers' houses nor their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: ⁶² the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 642. ⁶³ Also, of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai (who had taken a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name). ⁶⁴ These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but it was not found there, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. ^65 (AD)The ^(AE)governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food until a priest with Urim and Thummim should arise.

Totals of People and Gifts

⁶⁶ The whole assembly together was 42,360, ⁶⁷ besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337. And they had 245 singers, male and female. ⁶⁸ Their horses were 736, their mules 245,^{[a] 69} their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720.

⁷⁰ Now some of the heads of fathers' houses gave to the work. The ^(AF)governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics^[b] of gold, 50 basins, 30 priests' garments and 500 minas^[c] of silver.^{[d] 71} And some of the heads of fathers' houses gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. ^72 (AG)And what the rest of the people gave was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priests' garments.

⁷³ So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their towns.

^(AH)And when the seventh month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns.

Ezra Reads the Law

8 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before ^(AI)the Water Gate. And they told ^(AJ)Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. ² So Ezra the priest ^(AK)brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, ^(AL)on the first day of the seventh month. ^3 (AM)And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. ⁴ And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. ⁵ And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. ⁶ And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, ^(AN)“Amen, Amen,” ^(AO)lifting up their hands. ^(AP)And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. ^7 (AQ)Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites,^{[e] (AR)}helped the people to understand the Law, ^(AS)while the people remained in their places. ⁸ They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly,^[f] and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

This Day Is Holy

⁹ And Nehemiah, who was ^(AT)the governor, and Ezra ^(AU)the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ^(AV)“This day is holy to the Lord your God; ^(AW)do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. ¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and ^(AX)send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” ¹¹ So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” ¹² And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because ^(AY)they had understood the words that were declared to them.

Feast of Booths Celebrated

¹³ On the second day the heads of fathers' houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law. ¹⁴ And they found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by Moses ^(AZ)that the people of Israel should dwell in booths^[g] during the feast of the seventh month, ¹⁵ and that they should proclaim it and ^(BA)publish it in all their towns and ^(BB)in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring ^(BC)branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” ¹⁶ So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each ^(BD)on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at ^(BE)the Water Gate and in the square at ^(BF)the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷ And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day ^(BG)the people of Israel had not done so. And there was ^(BH)very great rejoicing. ¹⁸ And day by day, from the first day to the last day, ^(BI)he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and ^(BJ)on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.

The People of Israel Confess Their Sin

9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of ^(BK)this month the people of Israel were assembled ^(BL)with fasting ^(BM)and in sackcloth, ^(BN)and with earth on their heads. ^2 (BO)And the Israelites^[h] separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. ^3 (BP)And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. ⁴ On the stairs of the Levites stood ^(BQ)Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God. ⁵ Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. ^(BR)Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

^{6 [i] (BS)}“You are the Lord, you alone. ^(BT)You have made heaven, ^(BU)the heaven of heavens, ^(BV)with all their host, ^(BW)the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; ^(BX)and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. ⁷ You are the Lord, the God ^(BY)who chose Abram and brought him out of ^(BZ)Ur of the Chaldeans ^(CA)and gave him the name Abraham. ^8 (CB)You found his heart faithful before you, ^(CC)and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring ^(CD)the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. ^(CE)And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.

^9 (CF)“And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard ^(CG)their cry at the Red Sea, ^10 (CH)and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that ^(CI)they acted arrogantly against our fathers. And ^(CJ)you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day. ^11 (CK)And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, ^(CL)as a stone into mighty waters. ¹² By ^(CM)a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. ^13 (CN)You came down on Mount Sinai ^(CO)and spoke with them from heaven and gave them ^(CP)right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, ^14 (CQ)and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. ^15 (CR)You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and ^(CS)brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you ^(CT)told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.

¹⁶ “But they and our fathers ^(CU)acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. ¹⁷ They refused to obey ^(CV)and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt.^[j] But you are a God ready to forgive, ^(CW)gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. ¹⁸ Even ^(CX)when they had made for themselves a golden^[k] calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ ^(CY)and had committed great blasphemies, ¹⁹ you ^(CZ)in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. ^(DA)The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, ^(DB)nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. ^20 (DC)You gave your good Spirit to instruct them ^(DD)and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. ^21 (DE)Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

²² “And you gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. ^(DF)So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon ^(DG)and the land of Og king of Bashan. ²³ You multiplied their children ^(DH)as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess. ^24 (DI)So the descendants went in and possessed the land, ^(DJ)and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. ²⁵ And they captured ^(DK)fortified cities and ^(DL)a rich land, and took possession of ^(DM)houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled ^(DN)and became fat and delighted themselves in ^(DO)your great goodness.

^26 (DP)“Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you ^(DQ)and cast your law behind their back ^(DR)and killed your prophets, who ^(DS)had warned them in order to turn them back to you, ^(DT)and they committed great blasphemies. ^27 (DU)Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. ^(DV)And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them ^(DW)saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. ^28 (DX)But after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, ^(DY)and many times you delivered them according to your mercies. ^29 (DZ)And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet ^(EA)they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your rules, ^(EB)which if a person does them, he shall live by them, ^(EC)and they turned a stubborn shoulder ^(ED)and stiffened their neck and would not obey. ³⁰ Many years ^(EE)you bore with them ^(EF)and warned them ^(EG)by your Spirit through your prophets. ^(EH)Yet they would not give ear. ^(EI)Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. ³¹ Nevertheless, ^(EJ)in your great mercies ^(EK)you did not make an end of them or forsake them, ^(EL)for you are a gracious and merciful God.

³² “Now, therefore, our God, ^(EM)the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, ^(EN)since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. ^33 (EO)Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully ^(EP)and we have acted wickedly. ³⁴ Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them. ³⁵ Even in their own kingdom, ^(EQ)and amid your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and ^(ER)rich land that you set before them, ^(ES)they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works. ³⁶ Behold, ^(ET)we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. ^37 (EU)And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress.

^38 [l] “Because of all this ^(EV)we make a firm covenant in writing; on ^(EW)the sealed document are the names of^[m] our princes, our Levites, and our priests.

The People Who Sealed the Covenant

10 ^{[n] (EX)}“On the seals are the names of^[o] Nehemiah ^(EY)the governor, ^(EZ)the son of Hacaliah, Zedekiah, ^2 (FA)Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, ³ Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, ^4 (FB)Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, ⁵ Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, ⁶ Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, ⁷ Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, ⁸ Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these are the priests. ⁹ And the Levites: ^(FC)Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of ^(FD)Henadad, Kadmiel; ¹⁰ and their brothers, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, ¹¹ Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, ¹² Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, ¹³ Hodiah, Bani, Beninu. ¹⁴ The chiefs of the people: ^(FE)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, Baanah.

The Obligations of the Covenant

^28 (FF)“The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, ^(FG)and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, ²⁹ join with their brothers, their nobles, ^(FH)and enter into a curse and an oath ^(FI)to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord and his rules and his statutes. ^30 (FJ)We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. ^31 (FK)And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. And we will forego the crops of the ^(FL)seventh year and the ^(FM)exaction of every debt.

³² “We also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly ^(FN)a third part of a shekel^[p] for the service of the house of our God: ^33 (FO)for the showbread, ^(FP)the regular grain offering, ^(FQ)the regular burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. ^34 (FR)We, the priests, the Levites, and the people, have likewise cast lots ^(FS)for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, ^(FT)as it is written in the Law. ³⁵ We obligate ourselves ^(FU)to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord; ³⁶ also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, ^(FV)as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks; ^37 (FW)and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, ^(FX)to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our towns where we labor. ³⁸ And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes. And the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of ^(FY)the storehouse. ³⁹ For the people of Israel and the sons of Levi ^(FZ)shall bring the contribution of grain, wine, and oil to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary are, as well as the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers. ^(GA)We will not neglect the house of our God.”

The Leaders in Jerusalem

11 Now the leaders of the people ^(GB)lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people ^(GC)cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem ^(GD)the holy city, while nine out of ten^[q] remained in the other towns. ² And the people blessed all the men ^(GE)who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.

^3 (GF)These are the chiefs of the province who lived in Jerusalem; but in the towns of Judah ^(GG)everyone lived on his property in their towns: Israel, the priests, the Levites, ^(GH)the temple servants, ^(GI)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 ^(GJ)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.^{[r] 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 ^(GK)Jozabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who were over ^(GL)the outside work of the house of God; ¹⁷ and ^(GM)Mattaniah the son of Mica, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, who was the leader of the praise,^[s] 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 ^(GN)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, ^(GO)every one in his inheritance. ^21 (GP)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 (GQ)For there was a command from the king concerning them, and a fixed provision for the singers, ^(GR)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^[t] 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 ^(GS)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 ^(GT)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 ^(GU)Ono, the valley of craftsmen. ³⁶ And certain divisions of the Levites in Judah were assigned to Benjamin.

Priests and Levites

12 These are ^(GV)the priests and the Levites who came up with ^(GW)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and ^(GX)Jeshua: ^(GY)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 ^(GZ)in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. ⁹ And Bakbukiah and Unni and their brothers stood opposite them ^(HA)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 (HB)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 ^(HC)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 ^(HD)Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers who stood opposite them, ^(HE)to praise and to give thanks, ^(HF)according to the commandment of David ^(HG)the man of God, ^(HH)watch by watch. ²⁵ Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at ^(HI)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 ^(HJ)Nehemiah the governor and of ^(HK)Ezra, the priest and scribe.

Dedication of the Wall

²⁷ And at ^(HL)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, ^(HM)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 ^(HN)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. ^(HO)One went to the south on the wall to ^(HP)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 ^(HQ)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, ^(HR)with the musical instruments of David ^(HS)the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. ³⁷ At ^(HT)the Fountain Gate they went up straight before them by ^(HU)the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to ^(HV)the Water Gate on the east.

^38 (HW)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 ^(HX)the Tower of the Ovens, to ^(HY)the Broad Wall, ³⁹ and above ^(HZ)the Gate of Ephraim, and by ^(IA)the Gate of Yeshanah,^[u] and by ^(IB)the Fish Gate and ^(IC)the Tower of Hananel and ^(ID)the Tower of the Hundred, to ^(IE)the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at ^(IF)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, ^(IG)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 (IH)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, ^(II)according to the command of David and his son Solomon. ⁴⁶ For long ago in the days of David and ^(IJ)Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs^[v] of praise and thanksgiving to God.