Nehemiah 12:1-26
New English Translation
The Priests and the Levites Who Returned to Jerusalem
12 These are the priests and Levites who returned[a] with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4 Iddo, Ginnethon,[b] Abijah, 5 Mijamin, Moadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the leaders[c] of the priests and their colleagues[d] in the days of Jeshua.
8 And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who together with his colleagues[e] was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. 9 Bakbukiah and Unni,[f] their colleagues, stood opposite them in the services.
10 Jeshua was the father of[g] Joiakim, Joiakim was the father of Eliashib, Eliashib was the father of Joiada, 11 Joiada was the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan was the father of Jaddua.
12 In the days of Joiakim, these were the priests who were leaders of the families: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; 14 of Malluch,[h] Jonathan; of Shecaniah,[i] Joseph; 15 of Harim, Adna; of Meremoth,[j] Helkai; 16 of Iddo,[k] Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; 17 of Abijah, Zicri; of Miniamin and[l] of Moadiah, Piltai; 18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; 19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; 20 of Sallu,[m] Kallai; of Amok, Eber; 21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22 As for the Levites,[n] in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan and Jaddua the heads of families were recorded, as were the priests during the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 The descendants of Levi were recorded in the Book of the Chronicles[o] as heads of families up to the days of Johanan son of Eliashib. 24 And the leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua son of Kadmiel, and their colleagues, who stood opposite them to offer praise and thanks, one contingent corresponding to the other, as specified by[p] David the man of God.
25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers who were guarding the storerooms at the gates. 26 These all served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priestly scribe.[q]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Nehemiah 12:1 tn Heb “who went up.”
- Nehemiah 12:4 tc Most Hebrew mss read “Ginnethoi”; the present translation follows a number of Hebrew mss and the Vulgate (cf. Neh 12:16 and NIV, NCV, NLT).
- Nehemiah 12:7 tn Heb “heads” (so also in v. 12).
- Nehemiah 12:7 tn Heb “brothers” (also in vv. 8, 9, 24, 36).
- Nehemiah 12:8 tn Heb “he and his brothers.”
- Nehemiah 12:9 tc The translation reads וְעֻנִּי (veʿunni) with the Qere rather than וְעֻנּוֹ (veʿunno) of the MT Kethib.
- Nehemiah 12:10 tn Heb “begat.”
- Nehemiah 12:14 tc The present translation reads with the LXX לְמַלּוּךְ (lemallukh) rather than לִמְלוּכִי (limlukhi) of the Kethib (by dittography) or לִמְלִיכוּ (limlikhu) of the Qere.
- Nehemiah 12:14 tc Most Hebrew mss read “Shebaniah” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV, CEV); the present translation follows the reading of some Hebrew mss, some LXX mss, and the Syriac (cf. Neh 12:3 and NIV, NCV, NLT).
- Nehemiah 12:15 tc The present translation reads with the Lucianic Greek recension and the Syriac Peshitta לִמְרֵמוֹת (limremot, cf. NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT “Meremoth”) rather than the MT reading לִמְרָיוֹת (limrayot, cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV, CEV “Meraioth”). Cf. v. 3.
- Nehemiah 12:16 tc The present translation (along with most English versions) reads with the Qere and the Syriac Peshitta לְעִדּוֹא (leʿiddoʾ, “Iddo”) rather than the MT reading לַעֲדָיָא (laʿadayaʾ) which probably arose through graphic confusion. Cf. v. 4.
- Nehemiah 12:17 tn Or “of Miniamin,…; of Moadiah, Piltai,” where the name of the leader of the family of Miniamin has dropped out of the text due to a problem in transmission.
- Nehemiah 12:20 tc The present translation reads סַלּוּ (sallu, cf. NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT “Sallu”) rather than the MT reading סַלַּי (sallai, cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV, CEV “Sallai”) . Cf. v. 7.
- Nehemiah 12:22 tn Some scholars delete these words, regarding them as a later scribal addition to the text.
- Nehemiah 12:23 tn Or “the Book of the Official Records”; NRSV “the Book of the Annals”; NLT “The Book of History.”
- Nehemiah 12:24 tn Heb “in [accord with] the commandment of.”
- Nehemiah 12:26 tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.”
Nehemiah 12:1-26
Expanded Bible
Priests and Levites
12 These are the priests and Levites who ·returned [L went up] with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua [Ezra 1—2]. There were Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4 Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah, 5 Mijamin, Moadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. They were the leaders of the priests and their ·relatives [colleagues; kinsmen; L brothers] in the days of Jeshua.
8 The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah. Mattaniah and his ·relatives [colleagues; kinsmen; L brothers] were in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. 9 Bakbukiah and Unni, their ·relatives [colleagues; kinsmen; L brothers], stood ·across from [opposite; L as an antiphonal choir; v. 24] them in the services.
10 Jeshua was the father of Joiakim. Joiakim was the father of Eliashib. Eliashib was the father of Joiada. 11 Joiada was the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan was the father of Jaddua.
12 In the days of Joiakim, these priests were the ·leaders [heads] of the families of priests: Meraiah, from Seraiah’s family; Hananiah, from Jeremiah’s family; 13 Meshullam, from Ezra’s family; Jehohanan, from Amariah’s family; 14 Jonathan, from Malluch’s family; Joseph, from Shecaniah’s family; 15 Adna, from Harim’s family; Helkai, from Meremoth’s family; 16 Zechariah, from Iddo’s family; Meshullam, from Ginnethon’s family; 17 Zicri, from Abijah’s family; Piltai, from Miniamin’s and Moadiah’s families; 18 Shammua, from Bilgah’s family; Jehonathan, from Shemaiah’s family; 19 Mattenai, from Joiarib’s family; Uzzi, from Jedaiah’s family; 20 Kallai, from Sallu’s family; Eber, from Amok’s family; 21 Hashabiah, from Hilkiah’s family; and Nethanel, from Jedaiah’s family.
22 The ·leaders [heads] of the families of the Levites and the priests were written down in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, while Darius the Persian was king. 23 The family ·leaders [heads] among the Levites were written down in the ·history book [Book/Scroll of the Chronicles/Annals/History] up to the time of Johanan son of Eliashib. 24 The ·leaders [heads] of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua son of Kadmiel, and their ·relatives [colleagues; kinsmen; L brothers]. Their ·relatives [colleagues; kinsmen; L brothers] stood ·across from [opposite] them and ·gave [offered] praise and thanksgiving. One group ·answered the [responded to the; C antiphonally] other group, as David, the man of God, had ·commanded [prescribed].
25 These were the gatekeepers who ·guarded [kept watch at] the storerooms next to the gates: Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub. 26 They served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak. They also served in the days of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and ·teacher [scribe].
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