Historical
Chapter 7
1 When the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, 2 I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, and I appointed Hananiah as the commander of the citadel, for he was a trustworthy man and more God-fearing than most.
3 I said to them: “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot,[a] and when the sun begins to go down, have the gatekeepers shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their posts and others in front of their own homes.”
Census of the Province. 4 Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few inhabitants within it, and the houses had not been rebuilt. 5 Then my God put it into my mind to assemble the nobles, the magistrates, and the common people to be enrolled by families. I also discovered the genealogical record of those who had been the first to come back. This is what I found written in it:
6 These are the inhabitants of the province who returned from the captivity of those exiles whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had carried away. Each returned to his own town. 7 They were the ones who returned with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.
The number of the Israelite people: 8 the sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; 9 the sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; 10 the sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two; 11 the sons of Pahath-moab who were sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen; 12 the sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; 13 the sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five; 14 the sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; 15 the sons of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight; 16 the sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight; 17 the sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two; 18 the sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven; 19 the sons of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven; 20 the sons of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five; 21 the sons of Ater who were sons of Hezekiah, ninety-eight; 22 the sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight; 23 the sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four; 24 the sons of Hariph, one hundred and twelve; 25 the sons of Gibeon, ninety-five; 26 the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty-eight; 27 the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight; 28 the men of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two; 29 the men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three; 30 the men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one; 31 the men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two; 32 the men of Bethel and Ai, one hundred and twenty-three; 33 the men of Nebo, fifty-two; 34 the sons of another Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; 35 the sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty; 36 the sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; 37 the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one; 38 the sons of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.
39 The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three; 40 the sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two; 41 the sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; 42 the sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.
43 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel of the descendants of Hodeviah, seventy-four.
44 The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight.
45 The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai: one hundred and thirty-eight.
46 The temple slaves: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, 47 the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon, 48 the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Shalmai, 49 the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, 50 the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, 51 the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, 52 the sons of Besai, the sons of the Meunites, the sons of the Nephusites, 53 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 54 the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 55 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, 56 the sons of Nezaiah, the sons of Hatipha.
57 The descendants of the slaves of Solomon: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida, 58 the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 59 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Amon. 60 The total of the temple slaves and the sons of Solomon’s slaves; three hundred and ninety-two.
61 The following were those who returned from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer but were unable to prove that their families were of Israelite descent:[b] 62 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, numbering six hundred and forty-two. 63 Also, among the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, and the sons of Barzillai (he had married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and adopted that name). 64 These men had sought to find their entries among those enrolled in the genealogies, but their names were not able to be found there, and as a result, they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 65 Consequently, His Excellency forbade them to partake of any of the consecrated food until a priest appeared who was able to consult the Urim and the Thummim.
66 The entire assembly numbered forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, 67 not including their male and female slaves, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven, as well as two hundred and forty-five male and female singers. 68 They also had seven hundred and thirty-six horses, two hundred and forty-five mules, 69 four hundred and thirty-five camels, and six thousand seven hundred and twenty donkeys.
70 Some of the heads of families contributed to the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand drachmas of gold, fifty bowls, and five hundred and thirty priestly garments. 71 And some of the heads of ancestral houses gave to the building fund twenty thousand drachmas of gold and two thousand two hundred minas of silver. 72 The contributions of the rest of the people amounted to twenty thousand gold drachmas, two thousand minas of silver, and sixty-seven priestly garments.
73 The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, and the temple servants, along with some of the people and the rest of the Israelites, took up residence in their own towns.
Promulgation of the Law
Chapter 8
Ezra Reads the Law.[c] 1 Now when the seventh month came, and the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people assembled together as a unit in the square in front of the Water Gate. Then they asked Ezra the scribe to bring forth the Book of the Law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. 2 Accordingly, on the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women, as well as all those old enough to comprehend what was said.
3 Facing the square in front of the Water Gate, Ezra read from the book of the law from dawn until noon in the presence of the men and women as well as those who could understand what was being said. All the people listened attentively to the book of the law. 4 Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that had been constructed for the occasion, and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left.
5 Then Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people—for he was standing above them. As soon as he opened it, all the people rose to their feet. 6 Next he blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people lifted up their hands as they answered, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the Lord with their face to the ground.
7 In addition, the Levites Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah helped the people to understand the law while the people remained in their places. 8 Ezra read plainly from the book of the law of God, making its meaning clear so that the people could understand what was being said.
9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest-scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all the people: “This day is holy to the Lord, your God. Do not mourn, and do not weep.” For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. 10 Then Nehemiah added: “You now may go. Eat rich food and drink what is sweet. Moreover, send some of these to those for whom nothing has been prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord. Furthermore, do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
11 The Levites, thereupon, calmed all the people, saying: “Be quiet, for this is a sacred day. There is no reason for you to be saddened.” 12 Then all the people went off to eat and drink, to distribute portions, and to celebrate with great rejoicing, since they had come to comprehend the meaning of what had been proclaimed to them.
13 The Feast of Booths. On the second day of the month, the family heads of all the people, together with the priests and the Levites, gathered around the scribe Ezra to study the words of the law. 14 And written in the law that the Lord had prescribed through Moses, they found that the Israelites were to live in booths[d] during the feast of the seventh month.
15 In addition, they were to issue this proclamation and circulate it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go forth into the hills and bring branches of olive and wild olive trees, and of myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as the law prescribes.” 16 Therefore the people went out and brought back branches to make shelters for themselves, each on his own roof, and in their courtyards and in the precincts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim.
17 Therefore the whole community of those who had returned from their captivity made booths and lived in them, something that the Israelites had not done from the days of Joshua, the son of Nun, until that day, and there was very great rejoicing. 18 Each day, from the first to the last day, Ezra read from the book of the law of God. They celebrated the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day, as prescribed, they held a solemn assembly.
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