Nehemiah 10
New English Translation
10 On the sealed documents were the following names:[a]
Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah, along with Zedekiah,
2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah,
4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,
5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
8 Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These were the priests.
9 The Levites were as follows:
Jeshua[b] son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel.
10 Their colleagues[c] were as follows:
Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
11 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,
12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
13 Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.
14 The leaders[d] of the people were as follows:
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, and Baanah.
28 “Now the rest of the people—the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple attendants, and all those who have separated themselves from the neighboring peoples[e] because of the law of God, along with their wives, their sons, and their daughters, all of whom are able to understand— 29 hereby participate with their colleagues the town leaders[f] and enter into a curse and an oath[g] to adhere to[h] the law of God which was given through Moses the servant of God, and to obey[i] carefully all the commandments of the Lord our Lord,[j] along with his ordinances and his statutes.
30 “We will not give our daughters in marriage to the neighboring peoples, and we will not take their daughters in marriage for our sons. 31 We will not buy[k] on the Sabbath or on a holy day from the neighboring peoples who bring their wares and all kinds of grain to sell on the Sabbath day. We will let the fields lie fallow every seventh year, and we will cancel every loan.[l] 32 We accept responsibility for fulfilling[m] the commands to give[n] one third of a shekel each year for the work of the temple[o] of our God, 33 for the loaves of presentation and for the regular grain offerings and regular burnt offerings, for the Sabbaths, for the new moons, for the appointed meetings, for the holy offerings, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the temple of our God.
34 “We—the priests, the Levites, and the people—have cast lots concerning the wood offerings, to bring them to the temple of our God according to our families[p] at the designated times year by year to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as is written in the law. 35 We also accept responsibility for[q] bringing the firstfruits of our land and the firstfruits of every fruit tree year by year to the temple of the Lord. 36 We also accept responsibility, as is written in the law, for bringing the firstborn of our sons and our cattle and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks to the temple of our God, to the priests who are ministering in the temple of our God. 37 We will also bring the first of our coarse meal, of our contributions, of the fruit of every tree, of new wine, and of olive oil to the priests at the storerooms of the temple of our God, along with a tenth of the produce[r] of our land to the Levites, for the Levites are the ones who collect the tithes in all the cities where we work.[s] 38 A priest of Aaron’s line[t] will be with the Levites when the Levites collect the tithes, and the Levites will bring up a tenth of the tithes to the temple of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury. 39 The Israelites and the Levites will bring the contribution of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil to the storerooms where the utensils of the sanctuary are kept, and where the priests who minister stay, along with the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not neglect the temple of our God.”
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 10:1 tn The words “were the following names” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity. Cf. vv. 9, 10, 14.
- Nehemiah 10:9 tc With many medieval Hebrew manuscripts and the ancient versions the translation reads יְשׁוּעַ (yeshuaʿ, “Jeshua”) rather than the reading וְיֵשׁוּעַ (veyeshuaʿ, “and Jeshua”) of BHS.
- Nehemiah 10:10 tn Heb “brothers” (also in v. 29 [ET]).
- Nehemiah 10:14 tn Heb “heads”; ASV “chiefs.”
- Nehemiah 10:28 tn Heb “from the peoples of the lands.” Cf. vv. 30, 31.
- Nehemiah 10:29 tn Heb “the nobles.”
- Nehemiah 10:29 tn The expression “a curse and an oath” may be a hendiadys, meaning “an oath with penalties.”
- Nehemiah 10:29 tn Heb “to walk in.”
- Nehemiah 10:29 tn Heb “keep.” See the note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.
- Nehemiah 10:29 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
- Nehemiah 10:31 tn Heb “take.”
- Nehemiah 10:31 tn Heb “debt of every hand,” an idiom referring to the hand that holds legally binding contractual agreements.
- Nehemiah 10:32 tn Heb “cause to stand on us.”
- Nehemiah 10:32 tc The MT reads “to give upon us.” However, the term עָלֵינוּ (ʿalenu, “upon us”) should probably be deleted, following a few medieval Hebrew mss, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate.
- Nehemiah 10:32 tn Heb “house” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39).
- Nehemiah 10:34 tn Heb “the house of our fathers.”
- Nehemiah 10:35 tn The words “we accept responsibility” are not included in the Hebrew text, but are inferred from v. 33 (so also in v. 36).
- Nehemiah 10:37 tn Heb “a tithe of our land.”
- Nehemiah 10:37 tn Heb “of our work.”
- Nehemiah 10:38 tn Heb “And the priest the son of Aaron.”
Nehemiah 10
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 10
Signatories to the Pact. 1 [a]In view of all this, we are entering into a firm pact, which we are putting into writing. On the sealed document appear the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.
2 On the sealed document: the governor Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah.
3 (A)Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, 4 Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, 5 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, 6 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, 7 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 8 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 9 Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah: these are the priests.
10 The Levites: Jeshua, son of Azaniah; Binnui, of the descendants of Henadad; Kadmiel; 11 (B)and their kinsmen Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 12 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, 13 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 14 Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.
15 The leaders of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, 16 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, 17 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 18 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, 19 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, 20 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, 21 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, 22 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, 23 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, 24 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, 25 Hallhohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 26 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, 27 Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, 28 Malluch, Harim, Baanah.
Provisions of the Pact. 29 The rest of the people, priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants, and all others who have separated themselves from the local inhabitants in favor of the law of God, with their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who are of the age of discretion, 30 (C)join their influential kindred, and with the sanction of a curse take this oath to follow the law of God given through Moses, the servant of God, and to observe carefully all the commandments of the Lord, our Lord, his ordinances and his statutes.
31 (D)We will not marry our daughters to the local inhabitants, and we will not accept their daughters for our sons.
32 (E)When the local inhabitants bring in merchandise or any kind of grain for sale on the sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or on any other holy day. In the seventh year we will forgo the produce, and forgive every kind of debt.
33 (F)We impose these commandments on ourselves: to give a third of a shekel each year for the service of the house of our God, 34 for the showbread, the daily grain offering, the daily burnt offering, for the sabbaths, new moons, and festivals, for the holy offerings and sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, for every service of the house of our God. 35 (G)We, priests, Levites, and people, have determined by lot concerning the procurement of wood: it is to be brought to the house of our God by each of our ancestral houses at stated times each year, to be burnt on the altar of the Lord, our God, as the law prescribes. 36 (H)We have agreed to bring each year to the house of the Lord the first fruits of our fields and of our fruit trees, of every kind; 37 also, as is prescribed in the law, to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who serve in the house of our God, the firstborn of our children and our animals, including the firstborn of our flocks and herds. 38 (I)The first batch of our dough, and our offerings of the fruit of every tree, of wine and oil, we will bring to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God. The tithe of our fields we will bring to the Levites; they, the Levites, shall take the tithe in all the cities of our service. 39 An Aaronite priest shall be with the Levites when they take the tithe, and the Levites shall bring the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the treasury. 40 For to these chambers the Israelites and Levites bring the offerings of grain, wine, and oil; there also are housed the vessels of the sanctuary, and the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.
Footnotes
- 10:1–39 This section belongs to the Nehemiah narrative rather than to that of Ezra. It is best read after Neh 13:31, since the stipulations of the pact seem to presuppose Nehemiah’s measures recorded in Neh 13. In view of all this: considering the situation described in Neh 13:4–31.
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