Ezra 7 - Nehemiah 7

English Standard Version

Ezra Sent to Teach the People

7 Now after this, ^(A)in the reign of ^(B)Artaxerxes king of Persia, ^(C)Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, ² son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, ³ son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, ⁴ son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, ⁵ son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest— ⁶ this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe ^(D)skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, ^(E)for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

⁷ And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and ^(F)some of the priests and ^(G)Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple ^(H)servants. ⁸ And Ezra^[a] came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. ⁹ For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^(I)for the good hand of his God was on him. ¹⁰ For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it ^(J)and to ^(K)teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

¹¹ This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel:^{[b] 12} “Artaxerxes, ^(L)king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the ^(M)scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace.^{[c] (N)}And now ^13 (O)I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. ¹⁴ For you are sent by the king ^(P)and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand, ¹⁵ and also to carry the silver and gold that the king ^(Q)and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, ^(R)whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, ^16 (S)with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and ^(T)with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, vowed willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and ^(U)you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God. ¹⁹ The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. ²⁰ And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king's treasury.

²¹ “And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence, ²² up to 100 talents^[d] of silver, 100 cors^[e] of wheat, 100 baths^[f] of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. ²³ Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons. ²⁴ We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose ^(V)tribute, custom, or toll on anyone of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

²⁵ “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, ^(W)appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. ^(X)And those who do not know them, you shall teach. ²⁶ Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.”

^27 (Y)Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, ^(Z)who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, ^28 (AA)and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.

Genealogy of Those Who Returned with Ezra

8 These are the heads of their fathers' houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king: ² Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of ^(AB)Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, ^(AC)Hattush. ³ Of the sons of Shecaniah, who was of the sons of ^(AD)Parosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered 150 men. ^4 (AE)Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men. ⁵ Of the sons of Zattu,^[g] Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men. ⁶ Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men. ⁷ Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men. ⁸ Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him 80 men. ⁹ Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men. ¹⁰ Of the sons of Bani,^[h] Shelomith the son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men. ^11 (AF)Of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and with him 28 men. ¹² Of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men. ¹³ Of the sons of Adonikam, those who came later, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men. ¹⁴ Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men.

Ezra Sends for Levites

¹⁵ I gathered them to the river that runs to ^(AG)Ahava, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there ^(AH)none of the sons of Levi. ¹⁶ Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and ^(AI)Meshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of insight, ¹⁷ and sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers and^[i] the temple servants at the place Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for the house of our God. ¹⁸ And ^(AJ)by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of ^(AK)Mahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen, 18; ¹⁹ also ^(AL)Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of ^(AM)the sons of Merari, with his kinsmen and their sons, 20; ^20 (AN)besides 220 of the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. These were all ^(AO)mentioned by name.

Fasting and Prayer for Protection

^21 (AP)Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river ^(AQ)Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, ^(AR)to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. ²² For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, ^(AS)“The hand of our God is for good on ^(AT)all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” ²³ So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Priests to Guard Offerings

²⁴ Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: ^(AU)Sherebiah, ^(AV)Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them. ²⁵ And I weighed out to them the ^(AW)silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his ^(AX)counselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered. ^26 (AY)I weighed out into their hand 650 talents^[j] of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents,^[k] and 100 talents of gold, ²⁷ 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics,^[l] and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold. ²⁸ And I said to them, ^(AZ)“You are holy to the Lord, and ^(BA)the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers. ²⁹ Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers' houses in Israel at Jerusalem, ^(BB)within the chambers of the house of the Lord.” ³⁰ So the priests and the Levites ^(BC)took over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.

³¹ Then we departed from the river Ahava ^(BD)on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. ^(BE)The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. ^32 (BF)We came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days. ³³ On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were ^(BG)weighed into the hands of ^(BH)Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, ^(BI)Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of ^(BJ)Binnui. ³⁴ The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.

³⁵ At that time ^(BK)those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, ^(BL)twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. ^36 (BM)They also delivered the king's commissions to the king's ^(BN)satraps^[m] and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God.

Ezra Prays About Intermarriage

9 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the ^(BO)Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands ^(BP)with their abominations, from the ^(BQ)Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. ^2 (BR)For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the ^(BS)holy race^[n] has ^(BT)mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” ³ As soon as I heard this, I ^(BU)tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and ^(BV)sat appalled. ⁴ Then all who ^(BW)trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat ^(BX)appalled until the evening sacrifice. ⁵ And at the ^(BY)evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment ^(BZ)and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees ^(CA)and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, ⁶ saying:

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities ^(CB)have risen higher than our heads, and our ^(CC)guilt has ^(CD)mounted up to the heavens. ^7 (CE)From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great ^(CF)guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, ^(CG)and to utter shame, as it is today. ⁸ But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a ^(CH)remnant and to give us a ^(CI)secure hold^[o] within his holy place, that our God may ^(CJ)brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. ^9 (CK)For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, ^(CL)but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection^[p] in Judea and Jerusalem.

¹⁰ “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, ¹¹ which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with ^(CM)their uncleanness. ^12 (CN)Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land ^(CO)and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ ¹³ And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for ^(CP)our great guilt, seeing that you, our ^(CQ)God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a ^(CR)remnant as this, ¹⁴ shall we break your commandments again and ^(CS)intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us ^(CT)until you consumed us, so that there should be no ^(CU)remnant, nor any to escape? ¹⁵ O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a ^(CV)remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our ^(CW)guilt, ^(CX)for none can stand before you because of this.”

The People Confess Their Sin

10 ^(CY)While Ezra prayed and ^(CZ)made confession, weeping and ^(DA)casting himself down ^(DB)before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly. ² And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: ^(DC)“We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. ³ Therefore ^(DD)let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and ^(DE)their children, according to the counsel of my lord^[q] and of ^(DF)those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done ^(DG)according to the Law. ⁴ Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; ^(DH)be strong and do it.” ⁵ Then Ezra arose and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel ^(DI)take an oath that they would do as had been said. So they took the oath.

⁶ Then Ezra withdrew ^(DJ)from before the house of God and went to the ^(DK)chamber of ^(DL)Jehohanan the son of ^(DM)Eliashib, where he spent the night,^[r] neither ^(DN)eating bread nor drinking water, for he was mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles. ⁷ And a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles that they should assemble at Jerusalem, ⁸ and that if anyone did not come within three days, by order of the officials and the elders all his property should be forfeited, and he himself banned from the congregation of the exiles.

⁹ Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. And all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the ^(DO)heavy rain. ¹⁰ And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have broken faith and married foreign women, and so increased the guilt of Israel. ¹¹ Now then ^(DP)make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers and do his will. ^(DQ)Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” ¹² Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, “It is so; we must do as you have said. ¹³ But the people are many, and it is a time of heavy rain; we cannot stand in the open. Nor is this a task for one day or for two, for we have greatly transgressed in this matter. ¹⁴ Let our officials stand for the whole assembly. Let all in our cities who have taken foreign wives come ^(DR)at appointed times, and with them the elders and judges of every city, ^(DS)until the fierce wrath of our God over this matter is turned away from us.” ¹⁵ Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and ^(DT)Meshullam and ^(DU)Shabbethai the Levite supported them.

¹⁶ Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest selected men,^[s] heads of fathers' houses, according to their fathers' houses, each of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to examine the matter; ¹⁷ and by the first day of the first month they had come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women.

Those Guilty of Intermarriage

¹⁸ Now there were found some of the sons of the priests who had married foreign women: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah, some of the sons of ^(DV)Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers. ¹⁹ They ^(DW)pledged themselves to put away their wives, and their guilt offering was ^(DX)a ram of the flock for their guilt.^{[t] 20 (DY)}Of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah. ^21 (DZ)Of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah. ²² Of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

²³ Of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. ²⁴ Of the singers: Eliashib. Of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

²⁵ And of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Hashabiah,^[u] and Benaiah. ²⁶ Of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah. ²⁷ Of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza. ²⁸ Of the sons of Bebai were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. ²⁹ Of the sons of Bani were Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth. ³⁰ Of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh. ³¹ Of the ^(EA)sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³² Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. ³³ Of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. ³⁴ Of the sons of ^(EB)Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, ³⁵ Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, ³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu. ³⁸ Of the sons of Binnui:^[v] Shimei, ³⁹ Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, ⁴⁰ Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹ Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴² Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. ⁴³ Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah. ⁴⁴ All these had married foreign women, and some of the women ^(EC)had even borne children.^[w]

Report from Jerusalem

1 The words of ^(ED)Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in the month of ^(EE)Chislev, ^(EF)in the twentieth year, as I was in ^(EG)Susa the citadel, ² that ^(EH)Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. ³ And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and ^(EI)shame. ^(EJ)The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, ^(EK)and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

Nehemiah's Prayer

⁴ As soon as I heard these words I ^(EL)sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the ^(EM)God of heaven. ⁵ And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, ^(EN)the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ^6 (EO)let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, ^(EP)confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even ^(EQ)I and my father's house have sinned. ^7 (ER)We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules ^(ES)that you commanded your servant Moses. ⁸ Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, ^(ET)I will scatter you among the peoples, ^9 (EU)but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, ^(EV)though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them ^(EW)to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ ^10 (EX)They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. ¹¹ O Lord, ^(EY)let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

Now I was ^(EZ)cupbearer to the king.

Nehemiah Sent to Judah

2 In the month of Nisan, ^(FA)in the twentieth year of King ^(FB)Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, ^(FC)I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. ² And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but ^(FD)sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. ³ I said to the king, ^(FE)“Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, ^(FF)when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” ⁴ Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed ^(FG)to the God of heaven. ⁵ And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it.” ⁶ And the king said to me (^(FH)the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me ^(FI)when I had given him a time. ⁷ And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me ^(FJ)to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, ⁸ and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of ^(FK)the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, ^(FL)for the good hand of my God was upon me.

Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem's Walls

⁹ Then I came to ^(FM)the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. ¹⁰ But when ^(FN)Sanballat the Horonite and ^(FO)Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

^11 (FP)So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. ¹² Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. ¹³ I went out by night by ^(FQ)the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to ^(FR)the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem ^(FS)that were broken down ^(FT)and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. ¹⁴ Then I went on to ^(FU)the Fountain Gate and to ^(FV)the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. ¹⁵ Then I went up in the night ^(FW)by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. ¹⁶ And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.

¹⁷ Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, ^(FX)how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer ^(FY)suffer derision.” ¹⁸ And I told them ^(FZ)of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” ^(GA)So they strengthened their hands for the good work. ¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and ^(GB)Geshem the Arab heard of it, ^(GC)they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? ^(GD)Are you rebelling against the king?” ²⁰ Then I replied to them, ^(GE)“The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim^[x] in Jerusalem.”

Rebuilding the Wall

3 Then ^(GF)Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built ^(GG)the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and ^(GH)set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the ^(GI)Tower of Hananel. ² And next to him ^(GJ)the men of Jericho built. And next to them^[y] Zaccur the son of Imri built.

³ The sons of Hassenaah built ^(GK)the Fish Gate. ^(GL)They laid its beams and ^(GM)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁴ And next to them ^(GN)Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired. And next to them ^(GO)Meshullam the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel repaired. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana repaired. ⁵ And next to them ^(GP)the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.^[z]

⁶ Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah ^(GQ)repaired the Gate of Yeshanah.^{[aa] (GR)}They laid its beams and ^(GS)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁷ And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of ^(GT)the governor of the province Beyond the River. ⁸ Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as ^(GU)the Broad Wall. ⁹ Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ^(GV)ruler of half the district of^[ab] Jerusalem, repaired. ¹⁰ Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired. ¹¹ Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and ^(GW)the Tower of the Ovens. ¹² Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ^(GX)ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters.

¹³ Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired ^(GY)the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and ^(GZ)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and repaired a thousand cubits^[ac] of the wall, as far as ^(HA)the Dung Gate.

¹⁴ Malchijah the son of Rechab, ruler of the district of ^(HB)Beth-haccherem, repaired ^(HC)the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and ^(HD)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

¹⁵ And Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired ^(HE)the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and ^(HF)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And he built the wall of ^(HG)the Pool of Shelah of ^(HH)the king's garden, as far as ^(HI)the stairs that go down from the city of David. ¹⁶ After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired to a point opposite ^(HJ)the tombs of David, as far as ^(HK)the artificial pool, and as far as the house of the mighty men. ¹⁷ After him the Levites repaired: Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district. ¹⁸ After him their brothers repaired: Bavvai the son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah. ¹⁹ Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at ^(HL)the buttress.^{[ad] 20} After him Baruch the son of Zabbai repaired^[ae] another section from the buttress to the door of the house of ^(HM)Eliashib the high priest. ²¹ After him ^(HN)Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. ²² After him the priests, the men of ^(HO)the surrounding area, repaired. ²³ After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah repaired beside his own house. ²⁴ After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the buttress and to ^(HP)the corner. ²⁵ Palal the son of Uzai repaired opposite the buttress and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king at ^(HQ)the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh ^26 (HR)and the temple servants living on ^(HS)Ophel repaired to a point opposite ^(HT)the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower. ²⁷ After him ^(HU)the Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.

²⁸ Above ^(HV)the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house. ²⁹ After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired. ³⁰ After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him ^(HW)Meshullam the son of Berechiah repaired opposite ^(HX)his chamber. ³¹ After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the Muster Gate,^[af] and to the upper chamber of the corner. ³² And between the upper chamber of the corner and ^(HY)the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired.

Opposition to the Work

4 ^[ag] Now when ^(HZ)Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. ² And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of ^(IA)Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves?^[ah] Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” ^3 (IB)Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—^(IC)if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” ^4 (ID)Hear, O our God, for we are despised. ^(IE)Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. ^5 (IF)Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.

⁶ So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

^7 [ai] But when ^(IG)Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. ^8 (IH)And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. ⁹ And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

¹⁰ In Judah it was said,^[aj] “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” ¹¹ And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” ¹² At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.”^{[ak] 13} So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. ¹⁴ And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, ^(II)“Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, ^(IJ)who is great and awesome, ^(IK)and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

The Work Resumes

¹⁵ When our enemies heard that it was known to us ^(IL)and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. ¹⁶ From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and ^(IM)coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, ¹⁷ who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. ¹⁸ And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. ¹⁹ And I said to ^(IN)the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. ²⁰ In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. ^(IO)Our God will fight for us.”

²¹ So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. ²² I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” ²³ So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; ^(IP)each kept his weapon at his right hand.^[al]

Nehemiah Stops Oppression of the Poor

5 Now there arose ^(IQ)a great outcry of the people and of their wives ^(IR)against their Jewish brothers. ² For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.” ³ There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.” ⁴ And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for ^(IS)the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. ⁵ Now ^(IT)our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet ^(IU)we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.”

⁶ I was very angry when I heard ^(IV)their outcry and these words. ⁷ I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, ^(IW)“You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them ⁸ and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, ^(IX)have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say. ⁹ So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk ^(IY)in the fear of our God ^(IZ)to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? ¹⁰ Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest. ¹¹ Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.” ¹² Then they said, “We will restore these and ^(JA)require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and ^(JB)made them swear ^(JC)to do as they had promised. ^13 (JD)I also shook out the fold^[am] of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” ^(JE)And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

Nehemiah's Generosity

¹⁴ Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from ^(JF)the twentieth year to ^(JG)the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, ^(JH)neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. ¹⁵ The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration^[an] forty shekels^[ao] of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, ^(JI)because of the fear of God. ¹⁶ I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. ¹⁷ Moreover, there were ^(JJ)at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. ^18 (JK)Now what was prepared at my expense^[ap] for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this ^(JL)I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people. ^19 (JM)Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.

Conspiracy Against Nehemiah

6 Now when ^(JN)Sanballat and Tobiah and ^(JO)Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (^(JP)although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), ² Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of ^(JQ)Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. ³ And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” ⁴ And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. ⁵ In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. ⁶ In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem^[aq] also says it, that you and ^(JR)the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. ⁷ And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.” ⁸ Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” ⁹ For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God,^[ar] strengthen my hands.

¹⁰ Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was ^(JS)confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.” ¹¹ But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live?^[as] I will not go in.” ¹² And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, ^(JT)but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³ For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me. ^14 (JU)Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also ^(JV)the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.

The Wall Is Finished

¹⁵ So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. ¹⁶ And ^(JW)when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, ^(JX)for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. ¹⁷ Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah's letters came to them. ¹⁸ For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of ^(JY)Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of ^(JZ)Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife. ¹⁹ Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.

7 Now when the wall had been built ^(KA)and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, ² I gave ^(KB)my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of ^(KC)the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was ^(KD)a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. ³ And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.”