⁵ and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes^(A) of grain, new wine and olive oil prescribed for the Levites, musicians and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests.

⁶ But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes^(B) king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission ⁷ and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib^(C) had done in providing Tobiah^(D) a room in the courts of the house of God. ⁸ I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room.^{(E) 9} I gave orders to purify the rooms,^(F) and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.^(G)

¹⁰ I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them,^(H) and that all the Levites and musicians responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields.^{(I) 11} So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?”^(J) Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts.

¹² All Judah brought the tithes^(K) of grain, new wine and olive oil into the storerooms.^{(L) 13} I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zakkur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because they were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites.^(M)

² With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold^(A) for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise,^[a](B) stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities.^{(C) 3} Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided^(D) for this holy temple: ⁴ three thousand talents^[b] of gold (gold of Ophir)^(E) and seven thousand talents^[c] of refined silver,^(F) for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, ⁵ for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”

⁶ Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials^(G) in charge of the king’s work gave willingly.^{(H) 7} They^(I) gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents^[d] and ten thousand darics^[e] of gold, ten thousand talents^[f] of silver, eighteen thousand talents^[g] of bronze and a hundred thousand talents^[h] of iron. ⁸ Anyone who had precious stones^(J) gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.^{(K) 9} The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly^(L) to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

⁵² He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”