Nehemiah 7-12

Revised Standard Version

7 Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, ² I gave my brother Hana′ni and Hanani′ah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. ³ And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they are still standing guard^[a] let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each to his station and each opposite his own house.” ⁴ The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few and no houses had been built.

Lists of the Returned Exiles

⁵ Then God put it into my mind to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it:

⁶ These were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnez′zar the king of Babylon had carried into exile; they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town. ⁷ They came with Zerub′babel, Jeshua, Nehemi′ah, Azari′ah, Raami′ah, Naham′ani, Mor′decai, Bilshan, Mis′pereth, Big′vai, Nehum, Ba′anah.

The number of the men of the people of Israel: ⁸ the sons of Parosh, two thousand a hundred and seventy-two. ⁹ The sons of Shephati′ah, three hundred and seventy-two. ¹⁰ The sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two. ¹¹ The sons of Pa′hath-mo′ab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Jo′ab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen. ¹² The sons of Elam, a thousand two hundred and fifty-four. ¹³ The sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five. ¹⁴ The sons of Zac′cai, seven hundred and sixty. ¹⁵ The sons of Bin′nui, six hundred and forty-eight. ¹⁶ The sons of Be′bai, six hundred and twenty-eight. ¹⁷ The sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two. ¹⁸ The sons of Adoni′kam, six hundred and sixty-seven. ¹⁹ The sons of Big′vai, two thousand and sixty-seven. ²⁰ The sons of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five. ²¹ The sons of Ater, namely of Hezeki′ah, ninety-eight. ²² The sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight. ²³ The sons of Be′zai, three hundred and twenty-four. ²⁴ The sons of Hariph, a hundred and twelve. ²⁵ The sons of Gibeon, ninety-five. ²⁶ The men of Bethlehem and Neto′phah, a hundred and eighty-eight. ²⁷ The men of An′athoth, a hundred and twenty-eight. ²⁸ The men of Beth-az′maveth, forty-two. ²⁹ The men of Kir′iath-je′arim, Chephi′rah, and Be-er′oth, seven hundred and forty-three. ³⁰ The men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one. ³¹ The men of Michmas, a hundred and twenty-two. ³² The men of Bethel and Ai, a hundred and twenty-three. ³³ The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two. ³⁴ The sons of the other Elam, a 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 Sena′ah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.

³⁹ The priests: the sons of Jedai′ah, namely the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three. ⁴⁰ The sons of Immer, a thousand and fifty-two. ⁴¹ The sons of Pashhur, a thousand two hundred and forty-seven. ⁴² The sons of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.

⁴³ The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, namely of Kad′mi-el of the sons of Ho′devah, seventy-four. ⁴⁴ The singers: the sons of Asaph, a 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 Hati′ta, the sons of Sho′bai, a hundred and thirty-eight.

⁴⁶ The temple servants:^[b] the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasu′pha, the sons of Tabba′oth, ⁴⁷ the sons of Keros, the sons of Si′a, the sons of Padon, ⁴⁸ the sons of Leba′na, the sons of Hag′aba, the sons of Shalmai, ⁴⁹ the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, ⁵⁰ the sons of Re-ai′ah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Neko′da, ⁵¹ the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Pase′ah, ⁵² the sons of Besai, the sons of Me-u′nim, the sons of Nephush′esim, ⁵³ the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Haku′pha, the sons of Harhur, ⁵⁴ the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehi′da, the sons of Harsha, ⁵⁵ the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sis′era, the sons of Temah, ⁵⁶ the sons of Nezi′ah, the sons of Hati′pha.

⁵⁷ The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of So′tai, the sons of So′phereth, the sons of Peri′da, ⁵⁸ the sons of Ja′ala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, ⁵⁹ the sons of Shephati′ah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Po′chereth-hazzeba′im, the sons of Amon.

⁶⁰ All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants were three hundred and ninety-two.

⁶¹ The following were those who came up from Tel-me′lah, Tel-har′sha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove their fathers’ houses nor their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: ⁶² the sons of Delai′ah, the sons of Tobi′ah, the sons of Neko′da, six hundred and forty-two. ⁶³ Also, of the priests: the sons of Hobai′ah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzil′lai (who had taken a wife of the daughters of Barzil′lai the Gileadite and was called by their name). ⁶⁴ These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but it was not found there, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean; ⁶⁵ the governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food, until a priest with Urim and Thummim should arise.

⁶⁶ The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, ⁶⁷ besides their menservants and maidservants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five singers, male and female. ⁶⁸ Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five,^{[c] 69} their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and their asses six thousand seven hundred and twenty.

⁷⁰ Now some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury a thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests’ garments. ⁷¹ And some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave into the treasury of the work twenty thousand darics of gold and two thousand two hundred minas of silver. ⁷² And what the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, two thousand minas of silver, and sixty-seven priests’ garments.

⁷³ So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their towns.

Ezra Summons the People to Obey the Law

And when the seventh month had come, the children of Israel were in their towns. 8 ¹ And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. ² And Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. ³ And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. ⁴ And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden pulpit which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithi′ah, Shema, Anai′ah, Uri′ah, Hilki′ah, and Ma-asei′ah on his right hand; and Pedai′ah, Mish′a-el, Malchi′jah, Hashum, Hash-bad′danah, Zechari′ah, and Meshul′lam on his left hand. ⁵ And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people; and when he opened it all the people stood. ⁶ And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God; and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands; and they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. ⁷ Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebi′ah, Jamin, Akkub, Shab′bethai, Hodi′ah, Ma-asei′ah, Keli′ta, Azari′ah, Jo′zabad, Hanan, Pelai′ah, the Levites,^[d] helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places. ⁸ And they read from the book, from the law of God, clearly;^[e] and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

⁹ And Nehemi′ah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. ¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” ¹¹ So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” ¹² And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

The Festival of Booths Celebrated

¹³ On the second day the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the law. ¹⁴ And they found it written in the law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, ¹⁵ and that they should publish and proclaim in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” ¹⁶ So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of E′phraim. ¹⁷ And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and dwelt in the booths; for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. ¹⁸ And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the book of the law of God. They kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance.

National Confession

9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth upon their heads. ² And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. ³ And they stood up in their place and read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; for another fourth of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. ⁴ Upon the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kad′mi-el, Shebani′ah, Bunni, Sherebi′ah, Bani, and Chena′ni; and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God. ⁵ Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kad′miel, Bani, Hashabnei′ah, Sherebi′ah, Hodi′ah, Shebani′ah, and Pethahi′ah, said, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be thy glorious name which is exalted above all blessing and praise.”

⁶ And Ezra said:^[f] “Thou art the Lord, thou alone; thou hast 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 thou preservest all of them; and the host of heaven worships thee. ⁷ Thou art the Lord, the God who didst choose Abram and bring him forth out of Ur of the Chalde′ans and give him the name Abraham; ⁸ and thou didst find his heart faithful before thee, and didst make with him the covenant to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Per′izzite, the Jeb′usite, and the Gir′gashite; and thou hast fulfilled thy promise, for thou art righteous.

⁹ “And thou didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and hear their cry at the Red Sea, ¹⁰ and didst perform signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for thou knewest that they acted insolently against our fathers; and thou didst get thee a name, as it is to this day. ¹¹ And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land; and thou didst cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters. ¹² By a pillar of cloud thou didst lead them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. ¹³ Thou didst come down upon Mount Sinai, and speak with them from heaven and give them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments, ¹⁴ and thou didst make known to them thy holy sabbath and command them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses thy servant. ¹⁵ Thou didst give them bread from heaven for their hunger and bring forth water for them from the rock for their thirst, and thou didst tell them to go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.

¹⁶ “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey thy commandments; ¹⁷ they refused to obey, and were not mindful of the wonders which thou didst perform among them; but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their bondage in Egypt. But thou art a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and didst not forsake them. ¹⁸ Even when they had made for themselves a molten calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies, ¹⁹ thou in thy great mercies didst not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud which led them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night which lighted for them the way by which they should go. ²⁰ Thou gavest thy good Spirit to instruct them, and didst not withhold thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. ²¹ Forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. ²² And thou didst give them kingdoms and peoples, and didst allot to them every corner; so they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan. ²³ Thou didst multiply their descendants as the stars of heaven, and thou didst bring them into the land which thou hadst told their fathers to enter and possess. ²⁴ So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and thou didst subdue before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and didst give them into their hands, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. ²⁵ And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns hewn out, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance; so they ate, and were filled and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.

²⁶ “Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against thee and cast thy law behind their back and killed thy prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to thee, and they committed great blasphemies. ²⁷ Therefore thou didst give them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer; and in the time of their suffering they cried to thee and thou didst hear them from heaven; and according to thy great mercies thou didst give them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. ²⁸ But after they had rest they did evil again before thee, and thou didst abandon them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them; yet when they turned and cried to thee thou didst hear from heaven, and many times thou didst deliver them according to thy mercies. ²⁹ And thou didst warn them in order to turn them back to thy law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey thy commandments, but sinned against thy ordinances, by the observance of which a man shall live, and turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey. ³⁰ Many years thou didst bear with them, and didst warn them by thy Spirit through thy prophets; yet they would not give ear. Therefore thou didst give them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. ³¹ Nevertheless in thy great mercies thou didst not make an end of them or forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

³² “Now therefore, our God, the great and mighty and terrible God, who keepest covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to thee that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. ³³ Yet thou hast been just in all that has come upon us, for thou hast dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly; ³⁴ our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept thy law or heeded thy commandments and thy warnings which thou didst give them. ³⁵ They did not serve thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness which thou gavest them, and in the large and rich land which thou didst set before them; and they did not turn from their wicked works. ³⁶ Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that thou gavest to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. ³⁷ And its rich yield goes to the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins; they have power also over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.”

Those Who Signed the Covenant

^38 [g] Because of all this we make a firm covenant and write it, and our princes, our Levites, and our priests set their seal to it.

10 ^[h] Those who set their seal are Nehemi′ah the governor, the son of Hacali′ah, Zedeki′ah, ² Serai′ah, Azari′ah, Jeremiah, ³ Pashhur, Amari′ah, Malchi′jah, ⁴ Hattush, Shebani′ah, Malluch, ⁵ Harim, Mer′emoth, Obadi′ah, ⁶ Daniel, Gin′nethon, Baruch, ⁷ Meshul′lam, Abi′jah, Mi′jamin, ⁸ Ma-azi′ah, Bil′gai, Shemai′ah; these are the priests. ⁹ And the Levites: Jeshua the son of Azani′ah, Bin′nui of the sons of Hen′adad, Kad′mi-el; ¹⁰ and their brethren, Shebani′ah, Hodi′ah, Keli′ta, Pelai′ah, Hanan, ¹¹ Mica, Rehob, Hashabi′ah, ¹² Zaccur, Sherebi′ah, Shebani′ah, ¹³ Hodi′ah, Bani, Beni′nu. ¹⁴ The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pa′hath-mo′ab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, ¹⁵ Bunni, Azgad, Be′bai, ¹⁶ Adoni′jah, Big′vai, Adin, ¹⁷ Ater, Hezeki′ah, Azzur, ¹⁸ Hodi′ah, Hashum, Be′zai, ¹⁹ Hariph, An′athoth, Ne′bai, ²⁰ Mag′piash, Meshul′lam, Hezir, ²¹ Meshez′abel, Zadok, Jad′du-a, ²² Pelati′ah, Hanan, Anai′ah, ²³ Hoshe′a, Hanani′ah, Hasshub, ²⁴ Hallo′hesh, Pil′ha, Shobek, ²⁵ Rehum, Hashab′nah, Ma-asei′ah, ²⁶ Ahi′ah, Hanan, Anan, ²⁷ Malluch, Harim, Ba′anah.

Summary of the Covenant

²⁸ The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, ²⁹ join with their brethren, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s law which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord and his ordinances and his statutes. ³⁰ We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons; ³¹ and if the peoples of the land bring in wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or on a holy day; and we will forego the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.

³² We also lay upon ourselves the obligation to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: ³³ for the showbread, the continual cereal offering, the continual burnt offering, the sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. ³⁴ We have likewise cast lots, the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn upon the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law. ³⁵ We obligate ourselves to bring the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord; ³⁶ also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the first-born of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks; ³⁷ and to bring the first of our coarse meal, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our rural towns. ³⁸ And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes; and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers, to the storehouse. ³⁹ For the people of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of grain, wine, and oil to the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.

Population of the City Increased

11 Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem; and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city, while nine tenths remained in the other towns. ² And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.

³ These are the chiefs of the province who lived in Jerusalem; but in the towns of Judah every one lived on his property in their towns: Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon’s servants. ⁴ And in Jerusalem lived certain of the sons of Judah and of the sons of Benjamin. Of the sons of Judah: Athai′ah the son of Uzzi′ah, son of Zechari′ah, son of Amari′ah, son of Shephati′ah, son of Mahal′alel, of the sons of Perez; ⁵ and Ma-asei′ah the son of Baruch, son of Col-ho′zeh, son of Hazai′ah, son of Adai′ah, son of Joi′arib, son of Zechari′ah, son of the Shilo′nite. ⁶ All the sons of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight valiant men.

⁷ And these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshul′lam, son of Jo′ed, son of Pedai′ah, son of Kolai′ah, son of Ma-asei′ah, son of Ith′i-el, son of Jeshai′ah. ⁸ And after him Gabba′i, Sal′lai, nine hundred and twenty-eight. ⁹ Jo′el the son of Zichri was their overseer; and Judah the son of Hassenu′ah was second over the city.

¹⁰ Of the priests: Jedai′ah the son of Joi′arib, Jachin, ¹¹ Serai′ah the son of Hilki′ah, son of Meshul′lam, son of Zadok, son of Merai′oth, son of Ahi′tub, ruler of the house of God, ¹² and their brethren who did the work of the house, eight hundred and twenty-two; and Adai′ah the son of Jero′ham, son of Pelali′ah, son of Amzi, son of Zechari′ah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchi′jah, ¹³ and his brethren, heads of fathers’ houses, two hundred and forty-two; and Amash′sai, the son of Az′arel, son of Ah′zai, son of Meshil′lemoth, son of Immer, ¹⁴ and their brethren, mighty men of valor, a hundred and twenty-eight; their overseer was Zab′diel the son of Haggedo′lim.

¹⁵ And of the Levites: Shemai′ah the son of Hasshub, son of Azri′kam, son of Hashabi′ah, son of Bunni; ¹⁶ and Shab′bethai and Jo′zabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who were over the outside work of the house of God; ¹⁷ and Mattani′ah the son of Mica, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, who was the leader to begin the thanksgiving in prayer, and Bakbuki′ah, the second among his brethren; and Abda the son of Sham′mua, son of Galal, son of Jedu′thun. ¹⁸ All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred and eighty-four.

¹⁹ The gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon and their brethren, who kept watch at the gates, were a hundred and seventy-two. ²⁰ And the rest of Israel, and of the priests and the Levites, were in all the towns of Judah, every one in his inheritance. ²¹ But the temple servants lived on Ophel; and Ziha and Gishpa were over the temple servants.

²² The overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, son of Hashabi′ah, son of Mattani′ah, son of Mica, of the sons of Asaph, the singers, over the work of the house of God. ²³ For there was a command from the king concerning them, and a settled provision for the singers, as every day required. ²⁴ And Pethahi′ah the son of Meshez′abel, of the sons of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people.

Villages outside Jerusalem

²⁵ And as for the villages, with their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kir′iath-ar′ba and its villages, and in Dibon and its villages, and in Jekab′zeel and its villages, ²⁶ and in Jeshua and in Mola′dah and Beth-pe′let, ²⁷ in Ha′zar-shu′al, in Beer-sheba and its villages, ²⁸ in Ziklag, in Meco′nah and its villages, ²⁹ in En-rim′mon, in Zorah, in Jarmuth, ³⁰ Zano′ah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, and Aze′kah and its villages. So they encamped from Beer-sheba to the valley of Hinnom. ³¹ The people of Benjamin also lived from Geba onward, at Michmash, Ai′ja, Bethel and its villages, ³² An′athoth, Nob, Anani′ah, ³³ Hazor, Ramah, Git′taim, ³⁴ Hadid, Zebo′im, Nebal′lat, ³⁵ Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen. ³⁶ And certain divisions of the Levites in Judah were joined to Benjamin.

A List of Priests and Levites

12 These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerub′babel the son of She-al′ti-el, and Jeshua: Serai′ah, Jeremiah, Ezra, ² Amari′ah, Malluch, Hattush, ³ Shecani′ah, Rehum, Mer′emoth, ⁴ Iddo, Gin′nethoi, Abi′jah, ⁵ Mi′jamin, Ma-adi′ah, Bilgah, ⁶ Shemai′ah, Joi′arib, Jedai′ah, ⁷ Sallu, Amok, Hilki′ah, Jedai′ah. These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brethren in the days of Jeshua.

⁸ And the Levites: Jeshua, Bin′nui, Kad′mi-el, Sherebi′ah, Judah, and Mattani′ah, who with his brethren was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. ⁹ And Bakbuki′ah and Unno their brethren stood opposite them in the service. ¹⁰ And Jeshua was the father of Joi′akim, Joi′akim the father of Eli′ashib, Eli′ashib the father of Joi′ada, ¹¹ Joi′ada the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jad′du-a.

¹² And in the days of Joi′akim were priests, heads of fathers’ houses: of Serai′ah, Merai′ah; of Jeremiah, Hanani′ah; ¹³ of Ezra, Meshul′lam; of Amari′ah, Jehoha′nan; ¹⁴ of Mal′luchi, Jonathan; of Shebani′ah, Joseph; ¹⁵ of Harim, Adna; of Merai′oth, Hel′kai; ¹⁶ of Iddo, Zechari′ah; of Gin′nethon, Meshul′lam; ¹⁷ of Abi′jah, Zichri; of Mini′amin, of Moadi′ah, Pil′tai; ¹⁸ of Bilgah, Sham′mu-a; of Shemai′ah, Jehon′athan; ¹⁹ of Joi′arib, Matte′nai; of Jedai′ah, Uzzi; ²⁰ of Sal′lai, Kal′lai; of Amok, Eber; ²¹ of Hilki′ah, Hashabi′ah; of Jedai′ah, Nethan′el.

²² As for the Levites, in the days of Eli′ashib, Joi′ada, Joha′nan, and Jad′du-a, there were recorded the heads of fathers’ houses; also the priests until the reign of Darius the Persian. ²³ The sons of Levi, heads of fathers’ houses, were written in the Book of the Chronicles until the days of Joha′nan the son of Eli′ashib. ²⁴ And the chiefs of the Levites: Hashabi′ah, Sherebi′ah, and Jeshua the son of Kad′mi-el, with their brethren over against them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, watch corresponding to watch. ²⁵ Mattani′ah, Bakbuki′ah, Obadi′ah, Meshul′lam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at the storehouses of the gates. ²⁶ These were in the days of Joi′akim the son of Jeshua son of Jo′zadak, and in the days of Nehemi′ah the governor and of Ezra the priest the scribe.

Dedication of the City Wall

²⁷ And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. ²⁸ And the sons of the singers gathered together from the circuit round Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netoph′athites; ²⁹ also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Az′maveth; for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. ³⁰ And the priests and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.

³¹ Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies which gave thanks and went in procession. One went to the right upon the wall to the Dung Gate; ³² and after them went Hoshai′ah and half of the princes of Judah, ³³ and Azari′ah, Ezra, Meshul′lam, ³⁴ Judah, Benjamin, Shemai′ah, and Jeremiah, ³⁵ and certain of the priests’ sons with trumpets: Zechari′ah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemai′ah, son of Mattani′ah, son of Micai′ah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph; ³⁶ and his kinsmen, Shemai′ah, Az′arel, Mil′alai, Gil′alai, Ma′ai, Nethan′el, Judah, and Hana′ni, with the musical instruments of David the man of God; and Ezra the scribe went before them. ³⁷ At the Fountain Gate they went up straight before them by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east.

³⁸ The other company of those who gave thanks went to the left, and I followed them with half of the people, upon the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall, ³⁹ and above the Gate of E′phraim, and by the Old Gate, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hanan′el and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard. ⁴⁰ So both companies of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me; ⁴¹ and the priests Eli′akim, Ma-asei′ah, Mini′amin, Micai′ah, Eli-o-e′nai, Zechari′ah, and Hanani′ah, with trumpets; ⁴² and Ma-asei′ah, Shemai′ah, Elea′zar, Uzzi, Jehoha′nan, Malchi′jah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahi′ah as their leader. ⁴³ And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off.

Temple Responsibilities

⁴⁴ On that day men were appointed over the chambers for the stores, the contributions, the first fruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. ⁴⁵ And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. ⁴⁶ For in the days of David and Asaph of old there was a chief of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. ⁴⁷ And all Israel in the days of Zerub′babel and in the days of Nehemi′ah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.