⁵ And he had prepared for him a large room, ^(A)where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, ^(B)which were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests. ⁶ But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, ^(C)for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Then after certain days I obtained leave from the king, ⁷ and I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in ^(D)preparing a room for him in the courts of the ^[a]house of God. ⁸ And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room. ⁹ Then I commanded them to ^(E)cleanse the rooms; and I brought back into them the articles of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.

¹⁰ I also realized that the portions for the Levites had ^(F)not been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to ^(G)his field. ¹¹ So ^(H)I contended with the rulers, and said, ^(I)“Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place. ^12 (J)Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse. ^13 (K)And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered ^(L)faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren.

² Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, ^(A)onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. ³ Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver: ⁴ three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of ^(B)Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses; ⁵ the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is ^(C)willing to ^[a]consecrate himself this day to the Lord?”

⁶ Then ^(D)the leaders of the fathers’ houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with ^(E)the officers over the king’s work, ^(F)offered willingly. ⁷ They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. ⁸ And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, into the hand of ^(G)Jehiel^[b] the Gershonite. ⁹ Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had ^(H)offered willingly to the Lord; and King David also rejoiced greatly.

⁵² Then He said to them, “Therefore every ^[a]scribe instructed ^[b]concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure ^(A)things new and old.”

³⁹ For the children of Israel and the children of Levi ^(A)shall bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine and the oil, to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are, where the priests who minister and the gatekeepers ^(B)and the singers are; and we will not ^(C)neglect the house of our God.