Historical
The Israelites Confess Their Sins
9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting and sackcloth, and there was dirt on them. 2 The offspring of Israel separated themselves from all the foreigners and then stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 They stood in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day. And for another fourth, they confessed and worshipped the Lord their God. 4 Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani stood up on the stairs of the Levites and cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God. 5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said:
“Stand up and bless the Lord your God forever and ever! Let them bless Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. 6 You alone are the Lord. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and You preserve them all. And the host of heaven worships You.
7 “You are the Lord God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans. You gave him the name Abraham 8 and found his heart faithful before You. And You made a covenant with him to give him the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites—to give it to his seed. Indeed, You have fulfilled Your words because You are righteous.
9 “When You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry by the Red Sea, 10 You enacted signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his servants, and against all the people of his land because You knew how arrogantly they had acted against them. Thus, You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day. 11 You divided the sea before them, so they might pass through the midst of the sea on dry ground, and cast their pursuers into the deep like a stone into stormy waters. 12 By day You led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to light the way for them to go.
13 “You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them just requirements, true laws, good statutes and commandments. 14 You also revealed to them Your Holy Sabbath and, by the hand of Moses Your servant, set in place for them the precepts, statutes, and laws. 15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water out of the rock for them for their thirst. You told them to enter in order to possess the land which You had sworn to give them.
16 “But they and our fathers acted proudly and hardened their necks and did not obey Your commandments. 17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of Your wonders that You performed among them. But they hardened their necks and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return to their bondage. But You are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in kindness, and did not forsake them.
18 “Even when they had made themselves a molded calf and said, ‘This is your god that brought you out of Egypt,’ and committed terrible provocations, 19 yet You in Your great mercy did not forsake them in the wilderness: The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, to lead them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way they should go. 20 You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst. 21 Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing—their clothing did not wear out nor did their feet swell.
22 “You gave them kingdoms and nations, and You divided them as boundaries. They possessed the land of Sihon, which was the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, the king of Bashan. 23 Their descendants You increased like the stars of heaven, and You brought them into the land, which You had promised to their fathers that they would enter and possess it. 24 So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and You subdued for them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands—with their kings and the peoples of the land—to do with them as they would. 25 They captured unassailable cities and a fertile land. They possessed houses full of all goods, wells dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance, so they ate, were filled, and became fat, and they indulged themselves in Your great goodness.
26 “Nevertheless they became disobedient, and rebelled against You, and cast Your law behind their backs, and killed Your prophets who had warned them to turn back to You. But they committed terrible provocations. 27 Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who afflicted them. When they cried to You in the time of their affliction, You heard from heaven, and, according to Your abundant mercy, You gave them deliverers who delivered them out of the hand of their enemies.
28 “But after they had rest, they again did evil before You. Therefore You abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to You, You heard from heaven, and many times You delivered them according to Your mercies.
29 “You warned them in order to restore them again to Your law, but they acted arrogantly and did not listen to Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances (which would enable a man to live, if he would do them), stubbornly turning away and becoming belligerent so that they would not hear. 30 For many years You endured them and warned them by Your Spirit in Your prophets, yet they would not listen. Therefore, You gave them into the hand of the people of the lands. 31 Nevertheless, for the sake of Your abundant mercy, You did not completely destroy them or forsake them. Indeed, You are a gracious and merciful God.
32 “Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and mercy, let not all the hardship, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day, that has come on us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and on all Your people seem insignificant to You. 33 You are righteous for everything that has come upon us! You have acted faithfully while we have done wickedly. 34 For our kings, princes, priests, and fathers have failed to keep Your law and did not obey Your commandments and Your warnings even when You confronted them. 35 For whether in their kingdom or in Your abundant goodness (that You gave them) or in the spacious and fertile land (that You set before them), they have neither served You nor turned away from their wicked deeds.
36 “Here we are, slaves today. The land that You gave to our fathers was for eating its fruit and its goodness. Behold, we have become slaves on account of it, 37 because its abundant produce belongs to the kings whom You have set over us due to our sins. They have control over our bodies and over our livestock, as they please. We are in great distress.”
Signatories to the Agreement
38 So on the basis of all this, we are executing a written agreement that is being sealed by our princes, Levites, and priests.
Signatories of the Covenant
10 Now the names of those on the sealed agreement were:
Nehemiah, the magistrate, the son of Hakaliah,
and Zedekiah. 2 Next were Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah,
4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluk,
5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
8 Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah.
These were the priests.
9 The Levites were:
Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, and Kadmiel,
10 along with their relatives Shebaniah,
Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
11 Mika, Rehob, Hashabiah,
12 Zakkur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
13 Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.
14 The leaders of the people were:
Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,
15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,
18 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,
22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,
24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
26 Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
27 Malluk, Harim, and Baanah.
Summary of the Covenant
28 The remainder of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all those who on the basis of the Law of God separated themselves from the people of the lands—their wives, their sons, and their daughters, that is, every one capable of knowledge and understanding— 29 have decisively joined in with their countrymen and their nobles, and obligated themselves—by both a curse and an oath—to walk in the Law of God, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord who is our Lord, along with His judgments and His statutes 30 so that we will not give our daughters to the people of the land nor take their daughters for our sons.
31 If the people of the land bring merchandise or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or a holy day. We will also renounce the seventh year harvest and the full payment of every debt.
32 We also establish for ourselves the ordinance to collect from ourselves annually one-third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: 33 for the showbread, the continual grain offering, the continual burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the New Moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, as well as for all the work of the house of our God.
34 Also, we cast lots to determine the duty of the supply of wood that the priests, the Levites, and the people—according to the houses of our fathers, being set by annually appointed times—might bring to the house of our God, in order to burn it on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Law; 35 and, likewise, for the annual bringing of the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all fruit of all trees to the house of the Lord; 36 and for bringing to the priests who are ministering at the house of God, the firstborn of our sons and livestock, as it is written in the Law, plus the firstborn of our herds and flocks.
37 Moreover, the first of our fresh dough, our contributions, the fruit of every tree, and the new wine and oil we will bring to the priests at the chambers of the house of our God, but the tithe of our crops we will bring to the Levites, since they themselves receive the tithes in all our agricultural cities. 38 There must be a priest, a descendant of Aaron, with the Levites when they are collecting tithes, and the Levites will offer a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, for the chambers of the storehouse. 39 Both the children of Israel and the Levites should bring the contribution of the grain, new wine, and the fresh oil to the chambers because the vessels of the sanctuary and the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers are there.
We resolve not to forsake the house of our God.
The Residents of Jerusalem(A)
11 Now the rulers of the people lived at Jerusalem, so the rest of the people cast lots in order to bring one out of ten to stay in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine remained in other cities. 2 The people blessed all the men who volunteered to dwell in Jerusalem.
3 Now these are the leaders of the provinces who lived in Jerusalem (though in the cities of Judah every one lived on his own property within their cities): Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon’s servants. 4 Some of the sons of Judah and Benjamin lived in Jerusalem.
Those from Judah were:
Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel—the descendants of Perez, 5 and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Kol-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shelah. 6 All the descendants of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight valiant men.
7 These are the sons of Benjamin:
Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah, 8 and after him Gabbai and Sallai, totaling nine hundred and twenty-eight. 9 Joel, the son of Zikri, was their overseer, and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second to him over the city.
10 Of the priests there were:
Jedaiah the son of Joiarib and Jakin; 11 Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, was a ruler of the house of God. 12 Their relatives performing the work of the house were eight hundred and twenty-two. There was also Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malkijah, 13 plus his relatives who were chiefs of the fathers’ houses were two hundred and forty-two; and Amashsai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, 14 and their brothers, mighty men of valor, were one hundred and twenty-eight. Their overseer was Zabdiel, the son of Haggedolim.
15 From the Levites there were:
Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; 16 plus Shabbethai and Jozabad, who as leaders of the Levites had oversight of the outside work of the house of God. 17 Mattaniah the son of Mika, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the first to begin the thanksgiving at prayer, Bakbukiah was the second out of his relatives, and then Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. 18 All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred and eighty-four.
19 Moreover, the gatekeepers,
Akkub, Talmon, and their relatives who kept watch at the gates, were one hundred and seventy-two.
20 The rest of Israel, the priests, and the Levites were in all the cities of Judah, every one tending to his own inheritance.
21 But the temple servants lived in Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa were over them.
22 The overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mika. Some of the sons of Asaph were the singers attending to the work of the house of God, 23 for the king’s regulation about them made their unity a daily issue.
24 Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the sons of Zerah the son of Judah, was the king’s assistant[a] in all matters concerning the people.
The Residents Outside Jerusalem
25 For the villages located by their fields, some of the people of Judah lived at Kiriath Arba and its villages, others at Dibon and its villages, or at Jekabzeel and its villages, 26 as well as at Jeshua, at Moladah, and at Beth Pelet, 27 and at Hazar Shual, and at Beersheba and its villages, 28 and at Ziklag, at Mekonah and its villages, 29 and at En Rimmon, at Zorah, at Jarmuth, 30 Zanoah, Adullam and their villages, at Lachish and its fields, and at Azekah and its villages. So they lived from Beersheba as far as the Valley of Hinnom.
31 Some of the Benjamites settled from Geba onward, at Mikmash, Aija, and Bethel and their villages, 32 at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, 33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, 34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, 35 Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen.
36 From the Levites, some divisions in Judah belonged to Benjamin.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.