Chronological

Resettlement of the Land

11 So the leaders of the people dwelt in Jerusalem while the remainder of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine remained in the other towns. ² Then the people blessed all the men who volunteered to dwell in Jerusalem.

³ These are the leaders of the province who dwelt in Jerusalem. (Some of Israel, the kohanim, the Levites, the Temple servants, and the children of Solomon’s servants dwelt in the towns of Judah, each on his own property in their towns, ⁴ and some of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin dwelt in Jerusalem).

From the sons of Judah: Athaiah son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, from the descendants of Perez; ⁵ also Maaseiah son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, son of the Shilonite. ⁶ In all, 468 sons of Perez dwelt in Jerusalem—valiant men.

⁷ Now these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah. ⁸ Following him were 928 valiant men. ⁹ Joel son of Zichri was in charge over them; Judah son of Hassenuah was second over the city.

¹⁰ Of the kohanim: Jedaiah son of Joiarib, Jachin, ¹¹ Seraiah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the ruler of the House of God, ¹² their relatives who performed the work of the House—822. Also Adaiah son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah, ¹³ and his relatives, leaders of ancestral lines—242. Also Amashsai son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer, ¹⁴ and their relatives were 128 valiant warriors. Zabdiel son of Haggedolim was in charge over them.

¹⁵ From the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah of Bunni. ¹⁶ From the leaders of the Levites, Shabbethai and Jozabad had oversight over the external business of the House of God. ¹⁷ Mattaniah son of Mica, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, the director who led the thanksgiving prayer. Also Bakbukiah, second among his relatives, and then Abda son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun. ¹⁸ In all there were 284 Levites in the holy city.

¹⁹ Also there were 172 gatekeepers Akkub, Talmon and their brothers—who kept watch at the gates.

²⁰ The rest of Israel, the kohanim, and the Levites, were in all the towns of Judah, each in his own inheritance.

²¹ But the Temple servants dwelt on the Ophel, with Ziha and Gishpa over the Temple servants. ²² The one in charge over the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, from the sons of Asaph who were singers responsible for the service in the House of God. ²³ The king’s command concerning them was to provide regular daily support for the singers. ²⁴ Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, from the descendants of Zerah the son of Judah, was the king’s agent for any matter concerning the people.

²⁵ Now as for the villages with their fields, some of the people of Judah dwelt in Kiriat-arba and its towns, in Dibon and its towns, in Jekabzeel and its villages, ²⁶ in Jeshua; in Moladah, in Beth-pelet; ²⁷ in Hazar-shual, in Beersheba and its towns, ²⁸ in Ziklag, in Meconah and its towns, ²⁹ in En-rimmon, in Zorah, in Jarmuth, ³⁰ in Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, in Lachish and its fields, and in Azekah and its towns. So they settled from Beersheba to the Hinnom valley.

³¹ The descendants of Benjamin dwelt in Geba, Michmas and Aijah, Bethel and its towns, ³² Anatoth, Nob, Ananiah, ³³ Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ³⁴ Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ³⁵ Lod, Ono and Ge-harashim. ³⁶ Some of the divisions of the Levites of Judah settled with Benjamin.

Identifying the Kohanim and Levites

12 Now these are the kohanim and the Levites who returned with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, ² Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, ³ Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremot, ⁴ Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, ⁵ Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, ⁶ Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, ⁷ Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the leaders of the kohanim and their brothers in the days of Jeshua.

⁸ The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and also Mattaniah—he and his brothers conducted the songs of praise— ⁹ and Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, were opposite them in ranks. ¹⁰ Jeshua fathered Joiakim, Joiakim fathered Eliashib, Eliashib fathered Joiada, ¹¹ Joiada fathered Jonathan, and Jonathan fathered Jaddua.

¹² In the days of Joiakim, the family leaders of the kohanim were: Meraiah for Seraiah, Hananiah for Jeremiah, ¹³ Meshullam for Ezra, Jehohanan for Amariah, ¹⁴ Jonathan for Melicu, Joseph for Shebaniah, ¹⁵ Adna for Harim, Helkai for Meraiot, ¹⁶ Zechariah for Iddo, Meshullam for Ginnethon, ¹⁷ Zichri for Abijah, Piltai for Miniamin and Moadiah, ¹⁸ Shammua for Bilgah, Jehonathan for Shemaiah, ¹⁹ Mattenai for Joiarib, Uzzi for Jedaiah, ²⁰ Kallai for Sallai, Eber for Amok, ²¹ Hashabiah for Hilkiah, and Nethanel for Jedaiah.

²² The family heads of the Levites were recorded in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, as well as for the kohanim, up until the reign of Darius the Persian. ²³ The family leaders among the sons of Levi were recorded in the Book of the Chronicles up to the days of Johanan son of Eliashib.

²⁴ So the leaders of the Levites were: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, with their brothers facing them, to give praise and thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, one section responding to the other. ²⁵ Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers guarding the storehouses at the gates. ²⁶ These served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak, in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the kohen-scribe.

Dedicating the Wall

²⁷ At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sought out Levites from all their places to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with joy and thanksgiving, and songs with cymbals, harps and lyres. ²⁸ The companies of singers were also assembled from the district around Jerusalem and from the Netophathite villages, ²⁹ and from Beth-gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmavet, for the singers had built communities for themselves round about Jerusalem.

³⁰ After the kohanim and the Levites had purified themselves, they purified the people, the gates, and the wall. ³¹ Then I led the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and I appointed two great choirs to give thanks. One of the processions went to the right on the wall toward the Dung Gate, ³² and going after them, Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah— ³³ Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam, ³⁴ Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah and Jeremiah, ³⁵ some of the kohanim with trumpets, Zechariah son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph, ³⁶ and his brothers, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah and Hanani—all with the musical instruments of David the man of God—and Ezra the scribe was ahead of them. ³⁷ They went over the Fountain Gate and continued up the stairs of the city of David at the ascent to the wall, and passed, above the house of David all the way to the Water Gate toward the east.

³⁸ The second thanksgiving choir proceeded to the left. I followed them, along with half of the people on the wall above the Tower of the Furnaces as far as the Broad Wall, ³⁹ over the Ephraim Gate, the gate of the old city, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate. They stopped at the Gate of the Guard.

⁴⁰ So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the House of God. ⁴¹ So did I along with half the officials with me, and the kohanim—Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah with their trumpets— ⁴² and also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam and Ezer. The singers sang under the direction of Jezrahiah. ⁴³ On that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced, for God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The joy in Jerusalem could be heard from far off.

⁴⁴ On that day men were appointed over the storehouses for the offerings, firstfruits and tithes. They were to gather into them the portions from the fields of the cities required by the Torah for the kohanim and the Levites. For Judah delighted in the kohanim and in the Levites who were ministering. ⁴⁵ They kept the ceremonial functions of their God and the ceremony of the purification according to the command of David and of Solomon his son. ⁴⁶ For of old, in the days of David and Asaph, there were leaders of the singers who sang songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.

⁴⁷ So in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel gave daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers. They also set apart the portion for the Levites, and the Levites set apart the portion for the sons of Aaron.

Please Remember This, My God

13 On that day, the scroll of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people. The command was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should enter into the assembly of God forever. ² For they did not meet Bnei-Yisrael with bread and water, but instead hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. ³ When they heard the Torah, they separated from Israel all of mixed ancestry.

⁴ Prior to this Eliashib the kohen was given authority over the storerooms in the House of our God. ⁵ He was closely associated with Tobiah and provided him with a large chamber previously used to store the offerings, frankincense, and the Temple vessels, and also the tithes of grain, wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers, along with the offerings for the kohanim.

⁶ I was not in Jerusalem during all this, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon, I went to the king. After a period of time, I requested to take leave from the king ⁷ and returned to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done by preparing a chamber for Tobiah in the courts of the House of God. ⁸ It greatly displeased me, so I threw all of Tobiah’s household goods outside of the storeroom ⁹ and commanded the storerooms to be cleansed. Then I restored the utensils of the House of God, the offerings and the frankincense.

¹⁰ I also learned that the portions for the Levites had not been provided, and that each of the Levites and singers who performed the work had gone back to his own field. ¹¹ So I rebuked the leaders and asked, “Why has the House of God been forsaken?” I assembled them and stationed them at their posts.

¹² Then all Judah brought the tithe of grain, new wine and oil to the storehouses. ¹³ I put Shelemiah the kohen, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah from the Levites in charge over the storehouses, and made Hanan son of Zaccur son of Mattaniah their assistant, because these men were considered faithful. They were responsible for distributing to their brothers.

¹⁴ Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out my loving kindness that I have done for the House of my God and for overseeing it.

¹⁵ In those days, I saw in Judah some people treading winepresses on the Shabbat, some bringing and loading heaps of grain on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs and various other burdens, bringing them into Jerusalem on the Shabbat day. So I warned them about selling food on that day. ¹⁶ Men from Tyre who lived there were bringing fish and all kinds of merchandise and were selling it on the Yom Shabbat to the children of Judah, even in Jerusalem.

¹⁷ So I complained to the nobles of Judah and asked them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing? You are profaning Yom Shabbat! ¹⁸ Didn’t your ancestors do exactly the same causing our God to bring all this evil upon us and upon this city? So now you are bringing even more wrath upon Israel by profaning Yom Shabbat.”

¹⁹ When evening darkness began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem before Yom Shabbat, I commanded the doors to be shut. I further commanded that they should not be opened till after Yom Shabbat. I appointed some of my attendants over the gates so that no burden could enter during Shabbat.

²⁰ Once or twice the traders and those selling all kinds of merchandise camped outside Jerusalem. ²¹ But I warned them and said to them, “Why are you camping next to the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time they no longer came on the Shabbat.

²² Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves, and to come and guard the gates in order to sanctify Yom Shabbat. Remember this also on my behalf, O my God, and have compassion on me according to the greatness of your lovingkindness.

²³ In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. ²⁴ Half of their children spoke the dialect of Ashdod or the language of other peoples, but none of them understood the language of Judah. ²⁵ So I rebuked them. I cursed them, beat some of their men and pulled their beards. I made them swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons—or for yourselves. ²⁶ Didn’t Solomon king of Israel sin about these things? Yet among many nations there was never any king like him. Yes, he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, the foreign women caused even him to sin. ^{[a] 27} Must we then hear about you doing all this great evil, thereby being unfaithful with our God by marrying foreign women?”

²⁸ Now one of the sons of Joiada, son of Eliashib the kohen gadol, was son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. So I drove him from me. ²⁹ O my God, please remember them for the defilement of the priesthood as well as the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. ³⁰ So I purged them from everything foreign and I assigned duties for the kohanim and the Levites, each to his own task, ³¹ and for the wood offering at appointed times and for the first fruits.

Remember me, O my God, for good.

Joyful Restoration of Zion

Psalm 126