⁴⁷ In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, a portion for ^(A)each day. ^(B)They also ^[a]consecrated holy things for the Levites, ^(C)and the Levites consecrated them for the children of Aaron.

Be Generous and Do Good

^6 (A)Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.

Do Not Rob God

¹⁰ I also realized that the portions for the Levites had ^(A)not been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to ^(B)his field. ¹¹ So ^(C)I contended with the rulers, and said, ^(D)“Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place. ^12 (E)Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse.

²⁶ These lived in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of ^[a]Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah ^(A)the governor, and of Ezra the priest, ^(B)the scribe.

¹² Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the ^(A)heads of the fathers’ houses were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;

The Priests and Levites^(A)

12 Now these are the ^(B)priests and the Levites who came up with ^(C)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: ^(D)Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

²³ For ^(A)it was the king’s command concerning them that a ^[a]certain portion should be for the singers, a quota day by day.

³⁵ And we made ordinances ^(A)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; ³⁶ to bring the ^(B)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 (C)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 ^[a]house of our God; and to bring ^(D)the tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming communities. ³⁸ And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be with the Levites ^(E)when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to ^(F)the rooms of the storehouse.

³⁹ For the children of Israel and the children of Levi ^(G)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 ^(H)and the singers are; and we will not ^(I)neglect the house of our God.