Nehemiah 12
Legacy Standard Bible
Priests and Levites Come Up with Zerubbabel
12 Now these are (A)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 [a]relatives in the days of Jeshua.
8 The Levites were
Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who was over of the songs of thanksgiving, he and his brothers.
9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, stood opposite them (B)in keeping their responsibilities.
10 Jeshua [b]became the father of Joiakim,
and Joiakim became the father of Eliashib,
and Eliashib became the father of Joiada,
11 and Joiada became the father of Jonathan,
and Jonathan became the father of 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 [c]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.
The Heads of the Levites
22 As for the Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan and Jaddua, the heads of fathers’ households were written down; the priests were also in the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 The sons of Levi, the heads of fathers’ households, were written down in the Book of the Chronicles up to the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.
24 The heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers opposite them, (C)to praise and give thanks, by the commandment of David the man of God, (D)watch by watch.
25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping watch at (E)the storerooms of the gates.
26 These served in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of (F)Nehemiah the governor and of 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 might celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving and with songs (G)to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps and lyres. 28 So the sons of the singers were gathered from the district around Jerusalem and from (H)the villages of the Netophathites, 29 from Beth-gilgal and from their fields in Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem. 30 The priests and the Levites (I)cleansed themselves; they also cleansed the people, the gates, and the wall.
The Choirs in the House of God
31 Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on top of the wall, and I had two great choirs of thanksgiving stand, [d](J)the first proceeding to the right on top of the wall toward (K)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 [e]relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, (L)with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them.
37 At (M)the Spring Gate they went directly up (N)the steps of the city of David by the stairway of the wall above the house of David to (O)the Water Gate on the east.
38 (P)The second [f]choir proceeded to the [g]left, while I followed them with half of the people on the wall, (Q)above the Tower of Furnaces, to (R)the Broad Wall, 39 and above (S)the Gate of Ephraim, by (T)the Old Gate, by the (U)Fish Gate, (V)the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate; and they stood at (W)the Gate of the Guard. 40 Then the two choirs took their stand 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 made their voices heard, with Jezrahiah their overseer, 43 and on that day they offered great sacrifices and were glad because (X)God had given them great gladness, even the women and children were glad, so that the gladness of Jerusalem was heard from afar.
44 On that day (Y)men were also appointed over the chambers for the stores, 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 was glad over the priests and Levites who stood to minister. 45 And they kept their responsibility given by their God and the responsibility of cleansing, together with the singers and the gatekeepers, (Z)according to the commandment of David and his son Solomon. 46 For in the days of David and (AA)Asaph, in ancient times, there were [h](AB)chiefs of the singers, songs of praise and hymns of thanksgiving to God. 47 So all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah were giving the portions due the singers and the gatekeepers (AC)as each day required, and (AD)set apart the holy portion for the Levites, and the Levites set apart the holy portion for the sons of Aaron.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 12:7 Lit brothers
- Nehemiah 12:10 Lit begot, so through v 12
- Nehemiah 12:14 In Neh 12:2, Malluch
- Nehemiah 12:31 Heb and processions to the right
- Nehemiah 12:36 Lit brothers
- Nehemiah 12:38 Lit thanksgiving choir
- Nehemiah 12:38 Lit front
- Nehemiah 12:46 Lit heads
Nehemiah 12
Christian Standard Bible
12 These(A) are the priests and Levites(B) who went up with Zerubbabel(C) son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua:
Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
4 Iddo,(D) Ginnethoi, Abijah,(E)
5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,(F)
7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah.
These were the heads of the priests and their relatives in the days of Jeshua.(G)
8 The Levites:
Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel,
Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah(H)—
he and his relatives were in charge of the songs of praise.
9 Bakbukiah, Unni,[a] and their relatives stood opposite them in the services.
10 Jeshua fathered Joiakim,
Joiakim fathered Eliashib,
Eliashib(I) fathered Joiada,
11 Joiada fathered Jonathan,
and Jonathan fathered Jaddua.[b]
12 In the days of Joiakim, the heads of the priestly families were
| Meraiah | of Seraiah, |
| Hananiah | of Jeremiah, |
| 13 Meshullam | of Ezra, |
| Jehohanan | of Amariah, |
| 14 Jonathan | of Malluchi, |
| Joseph | of Shebaniah, |
| 15 Adna | of Harim, |
| Helkai | of Meraioth, |
| 16 Zechariah | of Iddo, |
| Meshullam | of Ginnethon, |
| 17 Zichri | of Abijah, |
| Piltai | of Moadiah, of Miniamin, |
| 18 Shammua | of Bilgah, |
| Jehonathan | of Shemaiah, |
| 19 Mattenai | of Joiarib, |
| Uzzi | of Jedaiah, |
| 20 Kallai | of Sallai, |
| Eber | of Amok, |
| 21 Hashabiah | of Hilkiah, |
| and Nethanel | of Jedaiah. |
22 In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the heads of the families of the Levites and priests were recorded while Darius the Persian ruled. 23 Levi’s descendants, the family heads, were recorded in the Book of the Historical Events(J) during the days of Johanan son of Eliashib. 24 The heads of the Levites—Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, along with their relatives opposite them—gave praise and thanks, division by division, as David the man of God had prescribed.(K) 25 This included Mattaniah,(L) Bakbukiah, and Obadiah. Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms at the city gates.(M) 26 These served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor(N) and Ezra the priest and scribe.(O)
Dedication of the Wall
27 At the dedication of the wall(P) of Jerusalem, they sent for the Levites wherever they lived and brought them to Jerusalem to celebrate the joyous dedication with thanksgiving and singing accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres.(Q) 28 The singers gathered from the region around Jerusalem, from the settlements of the Netophathites,(R) 29 from Beth-gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for they had built settlements for themselves around Jerusalem. 30 After the priests and Levites had purified themselves, they purified the people, the city gates, and the wall.(S)
31 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up on top of the wall, and I appointed two large processions that gave thanks. One went to the right on the wall, toward the Dung Gate.(T) 32 Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah followed, 33 along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, 35 and some of the priests’ sons with trumpets, and Zechariah son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph followed 36 as well as his relatives—Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David, the man of God.(U) Ezra the scribe(V) went in front of them. 37 At the Fountain Gate(W) they climbed the steps of the city of David(X) on the ascent of the wall and went above the house of David to the Water Gate(Y) on the east.
38 The second thanksgiving procession went to the left, and I followed it with half the people along the top of the wall, past the Tower of the Ovens(Z) to the Broad Wall,(AA) 39 above the Ephraim Gate,(AB) and by the Old Gate,(AC) the Fish Gate,(AD) the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate.(AE) They stopped at the Gate of the Guard.(AF) 40 The two thanksgiving processions stood in the house of God. So did I and half of the officials accompanying me, 41 as well as the priests:
Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin,
Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah,
and Hananiah, with trumpets;
42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar,
Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer.
Then the singers sang, with Jezrahiah as the leader. 43 On that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy.(AG) The women and children also celebrated, and Jerusalem’s rejoicing was heard far away.(AH)
Support of the Levites’ Ministry
44 On that same day men were placed in charge of the rooms(AI) that housed the supplies, contributions, firstfruits, and tenths.(AJ) The legally required portions for the priests and Levites(AK) were gathered from the village fields, because Judah was grateful to the priests and Levites who were serving.(AL) 45 They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, along with the singers and gatekeepers,(AM) as David and his son Solomon had prescribed.(AN) 46 For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph,(AO) there were heads[c] of the singers and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.(AP) 47 So in the days of Zerubbabel(AQ) and Nehemiah,(AR) all Israel contributed the daily portions(AS) for the singers and gatekeepers. They also set aside daily portions for the Levites, and the Levites set aside daily portions(AT) for Aaron’s descendants.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.