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10 I also discovered that the Levites had not been given their prescribed portions of food, so they and the singers who were to conduct the worship services had all returned to work their fields. 11 I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, “Why has the Temple of God been neglected?” Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties. 12 And once more all the people of Judah began bringing their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple storerooms.

13 I assigned supervisors for the storerooms: Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah, one of the Levites. And I appointed Hanan son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah as their assistant. These men had an excellent reputation, and it was their job to make honest distributions to their fellow Levites.

14 Remember this good deed, O my God, and do not forget all that I have faithfully done for the Temple of my God and its services.

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10 I also discovered that the portions for the Levites had not been provided, and that as a result the Levites and the singers who performed this work had all gone off to their fields. 11 So I registered a complaint with the leaders, asking, “Why is the temple of God neglected?” Then I gathered them and reassigned them to their positions.[a]

12 Then all of Judah brought the tithe of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil to the storerooms. 13 I gave instructions[b] that Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a certain Levite named Pedaiah be put in charge of[c] the storerooms, and that Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, be their assistant,[d] for they were regarded as trustworthy. It was then their responsibility to oversee the distribution to their colleagues.[e]

14 Please remember me for this, O my God, and do not wipe out the kindness that I have done for the temple of my God and for its services!

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Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 13:11 tn Heb “and I stood them on their standing.”
  2. Nehemiah 13:13 tc Probably one should read with the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate וָאֲצַוֶּה (vaʾatsavveh, “and I commanded”) rather than the rare denominative verb וָאוֹצְרָה (vaʾotserah, “and I appointed over the storeroom”) of the MT.
  3. Nehemiah 13:13 tn Heb “be over”
  4. Nehemiah 13:13 tn Heb “on their hand.”
  5. Nehemiah 13:13 tn Heb “brothers.”