Old/New Testament
The Leaders and Servants in Jerusalem
12 These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, 5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah, Jehoiarib, Jedaiah, 7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These are the heads of the priests and their brothers in the days of Jeshua.
8 And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah and his brothers who were in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. 9 And Bakbukiah, Unno, their brothers stood opposite them during service. 10 Jeshua fathered Jehoiakim; Jehoiakim fathered Eliashib; Eliashib fathered Jehoiada; 11 Jehoiada fathered Jehonathan; Jehonathan fathered Jaddua.
12 Now in the days of Jehoiakim the priests and the heads of the families[a] were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; 14 of Melichu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; 15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; 16 of Adaia, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; 17 of Abijah, Zicri; of Miniamin; of Moadiah, Piltai; 18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; 19 of Jehoiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; 20 of Sallu, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; 21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; and of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22 In the days of Eliashib, Jehoiada, Jehohanan, and Jaddua the Levites were recorded as heads of the families.[b] So these were the priests during the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 The descendants[c] of Levi and the heads of the families[d] were recorded in the scroll of the Annals until the days of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. 24 And the heads of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua son of Kadmiel, and their brothers opposite them, to praise and to give thanks by the command of David the man of God, section alongside section. 25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at the storerooms of the gates. 26 These were in the days of Jehoiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jehozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and scribe.
Dedication of the Wall of Jerusalem
27 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites from all of their places in order to bring them to Jerusalem to do the dedication with joy, thanksgivings, song and cymbals, stringed instruments and lyres. 28 The singers[e] were gathered from the circuit all around Jerusalem and from the villages of Netophathite, 29 from Beth Gilgal, from the field of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers built for themselves villages all around Jerusalem. 30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves and purified the people, the gates, and the wall.
31 Then I brought the commanders of Judah up on to the wall. I appointed two great choirs; one went in a procession to the right on the wall to the Dung Gate. 32 After them went Hoshaiah, half of the commanders of Judah, 33 Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, 35 and the priests[f] with trumpets; Zechariah son of Jehonathan, 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 with the instruments of the songs of David the man of God; and Ezra the scribe went before them. 37 At the Fountain Gate opposite them they went up the steps of the city of David, at the assent to the wall, over the house of David, and up to the Water Gate to the east.
38 Then the second choir went the opposite way. I followed after them with half of the people on the wall, from over the Tower of the Ovens up to the Wide Wall 39 and over the Gate of Ephraim, at the Old Gate, at the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, and to the Sheep Gate. And they stopped and stood at the Gate of the Guard. 40 So the two choirs stood in the house of God, and I and half of the prefects with me; 41 and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah with the trumpets; 42 Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jizrahiah the chief officer. 43 They offered on that day great sacrifices and rejoiced because God brought great joy to them. And the women and children also rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.
Celebration at the Temple
44 On that day men were appointed for the storehouse rooms, the offerings, the first fruits, and the tithes, in order to gather in them from the fields of the cities the requirements of the law[g] for the priests and Levites; for the joy of Judah was upon the priests and Levites standing there. 45 They kept the responsibility of their God and the responsibility of cleansing, and the singers and gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. 46 For in the days of David and Asaph from ancient times there was the head of the singers and a song of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 So all of Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily food portions of the singers and gatekeepers. And they set apart that which was for the Levites, and the Levites set apart that which was for the descendants[h] of Aaron.
Israel Separates Itself
13 On that day the book of Moses was read in the hearing of the people and it was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God 2 because they did not come to meet the Israelites[i] with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them in order to curse them—but our God changed the curse into a blessing. 3 So it happened when they heard the law[j] that they separated all of the foreign people from Israel.
Nehemiah Brings Reform
4 Before this, Eliashib the priest who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God—the one related to Tobiah— 5 prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had formerly put the grain offering, the frankincense, the temple objects, tithes of grain, wine, and oil commanded for the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the offerings of the priests. 6 During all of this, I was not in Jerusalem because in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. At the end of some days I asked permission from the king to leave. 7 So I came to Jerusalem. And I came to learn of the wrong that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by making him a room in the courtyard of the house of God. 8 It was very displeasing for me, and I threw all of the objects from the house of Tobiah outside of the chamber. 9 And I spoke in order, and they cleansed the chambers. Then I returned the objects of the house of God—the grain offering and the frankincense.
10 And then I came to learn that the food of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, the doers of the work, had gone back each to his field. 11 So I quarreled with the prefects, and I said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them and set them at their station. 12 So all of Judah brought the tithe of grain, new wine, and olive oil into the storehouses. 13 I appointed as treasurer over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, Pedaiah from the Levites, and as their hand Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered faithful. The responsibility given to them was to distribute to their brothers. 14 Remember me, my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my loyal acts which I have done in the house of my God and in his service.
Nehemiah Begins Sabbath Reforms
15 In those days I saw in Judah people treading the wine press on the Sabbath, bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys along with wine, grapes and figs, and every kind of burden and bringing it all to Jerusalem on the day of the Sabbath. And I warned them at that time against selling food. 16 Tyrian men who lived in Jerusalem brought fish and every kind of merchandise and sold it on the Sabbath to the descendants[k] of Judah and in Jerusalem. 17 So I quarreled with the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the day of the Sabbath? 18 Did not your ancestors[l] do this also, and our God brought on us all of this disaster and on this city too? Now you are adding fierce wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath!”
19 So when it became dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors be shut and said that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I appointed some of my young men over the gates to prevent any goods[m] being brought in on the day of the Sabbath. 20 So the merchants and the sellers of merchandise spent the night outside of Jerusalem once or twice. 21 But I warned them and said to them, “Why are you spending the night opposite the wall? If you do it again, I will lay hands against you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. 22 And then I told two Levites that they must purify themselves and come to guard the gates in order to consecrate the day of the Sabbath. Remember this also, my God, and take pity on me according to the greatness of your loyal love.
Mixed Marriages are Condemned
23 Also in those days I saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 Half of their children spoke Ashdodite and could not speak Judean, but only the tongues of other nations. 25 So I quarreled with them and cursed them and beat some of their men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath by God: “Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in this way? And among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Yet the foreign women made even him sin. 27 Should we listen to you all and do this great evil, acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?”
28 One from the sons of Jehoiada, son of the high priest Eliashib, who was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonote was there. I chased him away from me. 29 Remember them, my God, because of their defilements of the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
30 So I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established responsibilities for the priests and Levites, each in his own work, 31 a contribution of the wood offering at appointed times, and for the first fruits. Remember me, my God, for good.
The Believers Pray for Continued Bold Witness
23 And when they[a] were released, they went to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they[b] heard it,[c] they lifted their voices with one mind to God and said, “Master, you are the one who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in them, 25 the one who said by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of our father David, your servant,
‘Why do the nations[d] rage,
and the peoples conspire in vain?
26 The kings of the earth stood opposed,
and the rulers assembled together at the same place,
against the Lord and against his Christ.’[e]
27 For in truth both Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, assembled together in this city against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, 28 to do all that your hand and plan[f] had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, concern yourself with their threats and grant your slaves to speak your message with all boldness, 30 as you extend your hand to heal and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when[g] they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak[h] the word[i] of God with boldness.
The Believers Share All Things in Common
32 Now the group of those who believed were one heart and soul, and no one said anything of what belonged to him was his own, but all things were theirs in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all. 34 For there was not even anyone needy among them, because all those who were owners of plots of land or houses were selling them[j] and[k] bringing the proceeds of the things that were sold 35 and placing them[l] at the feet of the apostles. And it was being distributed to each as anyone had need. 36 So Joseph, who was called Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated “son of encouragement”), a Levite of Cyprus by nationality, 37 sold a field[m] that belonged to him and[n] brought the money and placed it[o] at the feet of the apostles.
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