12 These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, ² Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, ³ Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, ⁴ Iddo, Ginnethon,^[a] Abijah, ⁵ Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, ⁶ Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, ⁷ Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah.

These were the leaders of the priests and of their associates in the days of Jeshua. ⁸ The Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and also Mattaniah, who was in charge of the thanksgiving songs along with his associates. ⁹ Bakbukiah and Unn and their associates stood opposite them in the service.

¹⁰ 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 These were the heads of the priestly families in the days of Joiakim: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; ¹³ of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; ¹⁴ of Malluch,^[b] 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 and the priests were recorded as heads of families in the rule of^[c] Darius the Persian.

²³ The Levites who were heads of families were recorded in the official records until the time of Johanan, Eliashib’s son. ²⁴ These were the leaders of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua, Kadmiel’s son, and their associates who stood opposite them to praise and give thanks in turn according to the commandment of David, the man of God, namely, ²⁵ Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, and Obadiah.

Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard by the storerooms of the gates. ²⁶ These served in the days of Joiakim, Jeshua’s son and Jozadak’s grandson, and in the days of Governor Nehemiah and of Ezra the priest and scribe.

Dedication of the wall

²⁷ When it was time for the dedication of Jerusalem’s wall, they sought out the Levites in all the places where they lived in order to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with joy, with thanks and singing, and with cymbals, harps, and lyres.

²⁸ The singers also gathered together both from the region around Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites, ²⁹ also from Beth-hagilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, because the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem. ³⁰ After the priests and the Levites purified themselves, they purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

³¹ Then I^[d] brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and organized two large groups to give thanks. The first group went in procession on the wall toward the right, in the direction of the Dung Gate. ³² Following them went Hoshaiah and half the officials of Judah, ³³ along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, ³⁴ Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah. ³⁵ There were also some young priests with trumpets—Zechariah son of Jonathan son of Shemaiah son of Mattaniah son of Micaiah son of Zaccur son of Asaph— ³⁶ along with his associates Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani. They brought^[e] the musical instruments of David the man of God. Ezra the scribe went in front of them.

³⁷ When they reached the Fountain Gate they went straight up by the stairs of David’s City, on the ascent to the wall, past the house of David to the Water Gate on the east. ³⁸ The second group went in procession to the left.^[f] I followed them with half of the people along the wall past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall, ³⁹ past the Gate of Ephraim and over the Mishneh Gate,^[g] the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred as far as the Sheep Gate. They came to a stop at the Gate of the Guard.

In God’s house

⁴⁰ Then both groups of those who gave thanks stood in God’s house. I was there too along with the half of the officials who were with me. ⁴¹ Also there were the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah with trumpets. ⁴² Also there were Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader.

⁴³ They offered great sacrifices on that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy. The women and children also rejoiced, and the sound of the joy in Jerusalem could be heard from far away.

⁴⁴ On that day, people were appointed over the rooms for the things to be stored, the contributions, the early produce, and the tenth-part gifts. They were to gather into them the portions required by the Instruction for the priests and for the Levites from the fields belonging to the towns, for the people of Judah were delighted with the ministry of the priests and the Levites.

⁴⁵ They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon.

⁴⁶ Long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there was a leader of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanks to God.

⁴⁷ In the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah all Israel gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers. They also set aside the portion for the Levites, and the Levites set aside the portion for the Aaronites.