Builders of the Wall

3 Eliashib^(A) the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt^(B) the Sheep Gate.^(C) They dedicated it and set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and as far as the Tower of Hananel.^{(D) 2} The men of Jericho^(E) built the adjoining section, and Zakkur son of Imri built next to them.

³ The Fish Gate^(F) was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and put its doors and bolts and bars in place. ⁴ Meremoth^(G) son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired the next section. Next to him Meshullam son of Berekiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs, and next to him Zadok son of Baana also made repairs. ⁵ The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa,^(H) but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.^[a]

⁶ The Jeshanah^[b] Gate^(I) was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and put its doors with their bolts and bars in place. ⁷ Next to them, repairs were made by men from Gibeon^(J) and Mizpah—Melatiah of Gibeon and Jadon of Meronoth—places under the authority of the governor of Trans-Euphrates. ⁸ Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired the next section; and Hananiah, one of the perfume-makers, made repairs next to that. They restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.^{(K) 9} Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section. ¹⁰ Adjoining this, Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house, and Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs next to him. ¹¹ Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens.^{(L) 12} Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section with the help of his daughters.

¹³ The Valley Gate^(M) was repaired by Hanun and the residents of Zanoah.^(N) They rebuilt it and put its doors with their bolts and bars in place. They also repaired a thousand cubits^[c] of the wall as far as the Dung Gate.^(O)

¹⁴ The Dung Gate was repaired by Malkijah son of Rekab, ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem.^(P) He rebuilt it and put its doors with their bolts and bars in place.

¹⁵ The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Kol-Hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofing it over and putting its doors and bolts and bars in place. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Siloam,^[d](Q) by the King’s Garden, as far as the steps going down from the City of David. ¹⁶ Beyond him, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of a half-district of Beth Zur,^(R) made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs^[e](S) of David, as far as the artificial pool and the House of the Heroes.

¹⁷ Next to him, the repairs were made by the Levites under Rehum son of Bani. Beside him, Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah,^(T) carried out repairs for his district. ¹⁸ Next to him, the repairs were made by their fellow Levites under Binnui^[f] son of Henadad, ruler of the other half-district of Keilah. ¹⁹ Next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section, from a point facing the ascent to the armory as far as the angle of the wall. ²⁰ Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the angle to the entrance of the house of Eliashib the high priest. ²¹ Next to him, Meremoth^(U) son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired another section, from the entrance of Eliashib’s house to the end of it.

²² The repairs next to him were made by the priests from the surrounding region. ²³ Beyond them, Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house; and next to them, Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house. ²⁴ Next to him, Binnui^(V) son of Henadad repaired another section, from Azariah’s house to the angle and the corner, ²⁵ and Palal son of Uzai worked opposite the angle and the tower projecting from the upper palace near the court of the guard.^(W) Next to him, Pedaiah son of Parosh^{(X) 26} and the temple servants^(Y) living on the hill of Ophel^(Z) made repairs up to a point opposite the Water Gate^(AA) toward the east and the projecting tower. ²⁷ Next to them, the men of Tekoa^(AB) repaired another section, from the great projecting tower^(AC) to the wall of Ophel.

²⁸ Above the Horse Gate,^(AD) the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house. ²⁹ Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house. Next to him, Shemaiah son of Shekaniah, the guard at the East Gate, made repairs. ³⁰ Next to him, Hananiah son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. Next to them, Meshullam son of Berekiah made repairs opposite his living quarters. ³¹ Next to him, Malkijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the room above the corner; ³² and between the room above the corner and the Sheep Gate^(AE) the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs.

Further Opposition to the Rebuilding

6 When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah,^(A) Geshem^(B) the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates— ² Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages^[a] on the plain of Ono.^(C)”

But they were scheming to harm me; ³ so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” ⁴ Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.

⁵ Then, the fifth time, Sanballat^(D) sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter ⁶ in which was written:

⁸ I sent him this reply: “Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.”

⁹ They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.”

But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”

¹⁰ One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple^(F), and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.”

¹¹ But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” ¹² I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me^(G) because Tobiah and Sanballat^(H) had hired him. ¹³ He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me.^(I)

¹⁴ Remember^(J) Tobiah and Sanballat,^(K) my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophet^(L) Noadiah and how she and the rest of the prophets^(M) have been trying to intimidate me. ¹⁵ So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.

Opposition to the Completed Wall

¹⁶ When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.

¹⁷ Also, in those days the nobles of Judah were sending many letters to Tobiah, and replies from Tobiah kept coming to them. ¹⁸ For many in Judah were under oath to him, since he was son-in-law to Shekaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. ¹⁹ Moreover, they kept reporting to me his good deeds and then telling him what I said. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.

7 After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers,^(N) the musicians^(O) and the Levites^(P) were appointed. ² I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani,^(Q) along with Hananiah^(R) the commander of the citadel,^(S) because he was a man of integrity and feared^(T) God more than most people do. ³ I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut the doors and bar them. Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some near their own houses.”

The List of the Exiles Who Returned^(U)

⁴ Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it,^(V) and the houses had not yet been rebuilt. ⁵ So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return. This is what I found written there:

The list of the men of Israel:

³⁹ The priests:

⁴³ The Levites:

⁴⁴ The musicians:^(AG)

⁴⁵ The gatekeepers:^(AH)

⁴⁶ The temple servants:^(AI)

⁶³ And from among the priests:

Ezra Reads the Law

When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns,^(AP) 8 ¹ all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate.^(AQ) They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses,^(AR) which the Lord had commanded for Israel.

² So on the first day of the seventh month^(AS) Ezra the priest brought the Law^(AT) before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. ³ He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate^(AU) in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

⁴ Ezra the teacher of the Law stood on a high wooden platform^(AV) built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.

⁵ Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing^(AW) above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. ⁶ Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands^(AX) and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

⁷ The Levites^(AY)—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed^(AZ) the people in the Law while the people were standing there. ⁸ They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear^[h] and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.

⁹ Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites^(BA) who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.”^(BB) For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

¹⁰ Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing^(BC) prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy^(BD) of the Lord is your strength.”

¹¹ The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.”

¹² Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy,^(BE) because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.

¹³ On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the teacher to give attention to the words of the Law. ¹⁴ They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters^(BF) during the festival of the seventh month ¹⁵ and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make temporary shelters”—as it is written.^[i]

¹⁶ So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate^(BG) and the one by the Gate of Ephraim.^{(BH) 17} The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them.^(BI) From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated^(BJ) it like this. And their joy was very great.

¹⁸ Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read^(BK) from the Book of the Law^(BL) of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation,^(BM) there was an assembly.^(BN)

The Israelites Confess Their Sins

9 On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads.^{(BO) 2} Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners.^(BP) They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors.^{(BQ) 3} They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God. ⁴ Standing on the stairs of the Levites^(BR) were Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kenani. They cried out with loud voices to the Lord their God. ⁵ And the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah—said: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God,^(BS) who is from everlasting to everlasting.^[j]”

The Agreement of the People

³⁸ “In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement,^(FO) putting it in writing,^(FP) and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.”^[m]

10 ^[n]Those who sealed it were:

⁹ The Levites:^(FU)

¹⁴ The leaders of the people: