Psalm 57

Praise for God’s Protection

For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David. When he fled before Saul into the cave.^(A)

Resettling Jerusalem

11 Now the leaders of the people stayed in Jerusalem,^(A) and the rest of the people cast lots^(B) for one out of ten to come and live in Jerusalem, the holy city,^(C) while the other nine-tenths remained in their towns.^{(D) 2} The people blessed all the men who volunteered^(E) to live in Jerusalem.

³ These are the heads of the province who stayed in Jerusalem^(F) (but in the villages of Judah each lived on his own property in their towns^(G)—the Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon’s servants^(H)— ⁴ while some of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin settled in Jerusalem):

Judah’s^(I) descendants:

Athaiah son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of Perez’s descendants; ⁵ and Maaseiah son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, a descendant of the Shilonite. ⁶ The total number of Perez’s descendants, who settled in Jerusalem, was 468 capable men.

⁷ These were Benjamin’s descendants:

Sallu son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah, ⁸ and after him Gabbai and Sallai: 928. ⁹ Joel son of Zichri was the officer over them, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command over the city.

¹⁰ The priests:

Jedaiah son of Joiarib, Jachin, and ¹¹ Seraiah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the chief official of God’s temple, ¹² and their relatives who did the work at the temple: 822. Adaiah son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah ¹³ and his relatives, the heads of families: 242. Amashsai son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer, ¹⁴ and their relatives, capable men: 128. Zabdiel son of Haggedolim, was their chief.

¹⁵ The Levites:

Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni; ¹⁶ and Shabbethai and Jozabad, from the heads of the Levites, who supervised the work outside the house of God; ¹⁷ Mattaniah son of Mica, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, the one^[a] who began the thanksgiving in prayer;^(J) Bakbukiah, second among his relatives; and Abda son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun.^{(K) 18} All the Levites in the holy city:^(L) 284.

¹⁹ The gatekeepers:

Akkub, Talmon, and their relatives, who guarded the city gates: 172.

²⁰ The rest of Israel, the priests, and the Levites were in all the villages of Judah, each on his own inherited property.^{(M) 21} The temple servants lived on Ophel;^(N) Ziha and Gishpa supervised the temple servants.

The Levites and Priests

²² The leader of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, of the descendants of Asaph, who were singers for the service of God’s house. ²³ There was, in fact, a command of the king regarding them, and an ordinance regulating the singers’^(O) daily tasks. ²⁴ Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, of the descendants of Zerah^(P) son of Judah, was the king’s^(Q) agent^[b] in every matter concerning the people.

²⁵ As for the farming settlements with their fields:

12 These^(AN) are the priests and Levites^(AO) who went up with Zerubbabel^(AP) son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua:

These were the heads of the priests and their relatives in the days of Jeshua.^(AT)

⁸ The Levites:

¹² In the days of Joiakim, the heads of the priestly families were

²² In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the heads of the families of the Levites and priests were recorded while Darius the Persian ruled. ²³ Levi’s descendants, the family heads, were recorded in the Book of the Historical Events^(AW) during the days of Johanan son of Eliashib. ²⁴ The heads of the Levites—Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, along with their relatives opposite them—gave praise and thanks, division by division, as David the man of God had prescribed.^{(AX) 25} This included Mattaniah,^(AY) Bakbukiah, and Obadiah. Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms at the city gates.^{(AZ) 26} These served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor^(BA) and Ezra the priest and scribe.^(BB)

Dedication of the Wall

²⁷ At the dedication of the wall^(BC) of Jerusalem, they sent for the Levites wherever they lived and brought them to Jerusalem to celebrate the joyous dedication with thanksgiving and singing accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres.^{(BD) 28} The singers gathered from the region around Jerusalem, from the settlements of the Netophathites,^{(BE) 29} from Beth-gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for they had built settlements for themselves around Jerusalem. ³⁰ After the priests and Levites had purified themselves, they purified the people, the city gates, and the wall.^(BF)

³¹ Then I brought the leaders of Judah up on top of the wall, and I appointed two large processions that gave thanks. One went to the right on the wall, toward the Dung Gate.^{(BG) 32} Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah followed, ³³ along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, ³⁴ Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, ³⁵ and some of the priests’ sons with trumpets, and Zechariah son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph followed ³⁶ as well as his relatives—Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David, the man of God.^(BH) Ezra the scribe^(BI) went in front of them. ³⁷ At the Fountain Gate^(BJ) they climbed the steps of the city of David^(BK) on the ascent of the wall and went above the house of David to the Water Gate^(BL) on the east.

³⁸ The second thanksgiving procession went to the left, and I followed it with half the people along the top of the wall, past the Tower of the Ovens^(BM) to the Broad Wall,^{(BN) 39} above the Ephraim Gate,^(BO) and by the Old Gate,^(BP) the Fish Gate,^(BQ) the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate.^(BR) They stopped at the Gate of the Guard.^{(BS) 40} The two thanksgiving processions stood in the house of God. So did I and half of the officials accompanying me, ⁴¹ as well as the priests:

Then the singers sang, with Jezrahiah as the leader. ⁴³ On that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy.^(BT) The women and children also celebrated, and Jerusalem’s rejoicing was heard far away.^(BU)