1The words of Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah. Now it came about in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, and I was in Susa, the citadel, 2 and Hanani, one of my brothers, came, he and men of Judah, and I asked them about those who survived, who remained from the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “Those who remain in the city, who are left from the captivity there in the territory, are in a very bad state and in disgrace, and the walls of Jerusalem are broken down, and its gates were burned with fire.” 4 And it came about when I heard these words, I sat and wept and mourned for days, and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 And I said, “Indeed, O Lord, the strong, great, and awesome God of heaven, who keeps covenant and your mercy with those who love him and who keep his commands, 6 let indeed your ear give heed and your eyes be open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying before you today, day and night, for the children of Israel, your servants, and making known about the sin of the children of Israel which we have sinned against you, both I and the house of my father have sinned. 7 In breaking up we broke up and did not keep the commands and the ordinances and the judgments which you commanded your servant Moses. 8 Remember now the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are faithless, I will scatter you among the peoples. 9 And if you return to me and keep my commands and do them, if your dispersion is to the farthest point of the heavens, from there I will gather them and lead them into the place that I chose my name to encamp there. 10 And they are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and with your strong hand. 11 Indeed, rather let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your slave and to the prayer of your servants who want to revere your name, and make your servant prosperous now, even today, and give him compassion before this man.” Now I was a eunuch to the king.
2And it came about in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, and there was wine before me, and I took the wine and gave it to the king, and there was no other person before him. 2 And the king said to me, “On what account is your face sad? You are not well. This is nothing but a sad heart.” And I was very much afraid. 3 And I said to the king, “May the king live for eternity. On what account should my face not be sad, for the city, the house of my ancestors’ graves, was laid waste and its gates were consumed with fire?” 4 And the king said to me, “What are you seeking this about?” 5 and said to the king, “If it is good to the king and if your servant shall find favor before you so that you send him to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’ graves, I will also rebuild it.” 6 Then the king and the concubine who was seated by him said to me, “How long will your journey be, and when will you return?” And I found favor before the king, and he sent me, and I gave him a limit. 7 And I said to the king, “If it is good to the king, let him give me letters to the governors beyond the river so that I may pass through until I come to Judah, 8 and a letter to Asaph, keeper of the orchard that belongs to the king, so that he will give me timber to cover the gates and for the wall of the city and for the house into which I shall enter it.” And the king gave them to me, because the hand of God was good. 9 And I came to the governors beyond the river and gave them the letters from the king, and the king had sent leaders of the army and horsemen with me. 10 And Sanballat the Aronite heard, and it was displeasing to them that a person had come to seek good for the sons of Israel. 11 And I came to Jerusalem and was there for three days. 12 And I got up during the night, I and a few men with me, and I told no person what God had put into my heart to do with Israel, and there was no animal with me except the animal upon which I rode. 13 And I went out by the gate of the Golelaa and to the mouth of the spring of the figs and to the gate of the dung. And I was crushing in the wall of Jerusalem, which they are pulling down. And its gates were consumed by fire. 14 And I went on to the gate of Ijon and to the swimming pool of the king, and there was no place for the animal under me to pass. 15 And I was going up in the wall of the brook by night and I was crushing in the wall. And I was in the gate of the ravine and returned. 16 And those who kept watch did not know why I went and what I was doing, and the Judeans and the priests and the nobles and the rest who were doing the work, for until then I had not told. 17 So I said to them, “You see the condition in which we are in, how Jerusalem is desolate and its gates were given to fire. Come, and let us wall off the wall of Jerusalem, and we will be no longer a disgrace.” 18 And I told them about the hand of God that was good upon me, and with the words of the king that he said to me, and I said, “Let us arise and build!” And their hands were strengthened for the good. 19 And Sanballat the Horonitete and Tobiah the slave, an Ammonite, and Geshem the Arab heard, and they laughed at us and came against us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 And I returned word to them and said to them, “The God of heaven, he will prosper us and we are his pure slaves. And we shall build, and for you there is no share and righteousness and remembrance in Jerusalem.”
3And Eliashib, the high priest, and his brothers, the priests, rose and built the sheep gate. They dedicated it and set up its doors, and they dedicated as far as the tower of the hundred, as far as the tower of Hananel, 2 and at the hands of the men of the sons of Jericho and at the hands of the sons of Zaccur, son of Imri. 3 And the sons of Hassenaah built the fish gate. They covered it and covered its doors and its bars and its bolts. 4 And at their hand, Ramoth, son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, took charge. And at their hand, Zadok, son of Baanah, took charge. 5 And at their hand, the Tekoites took charge, and the Adorima did not contribute their neck for their service. 6 And Joiada, son of Passover, and Meshullam, son of Besodeiah, took possession of the gate of Old. They covered it and set up its doors and its bars and its bolts. 8 And at their hand, Hananiah, son of Rokeim, took possession and they left Jerusalem as far as broad wall. 9 And at their hand, Rephaiah, ruler of half the area around Jerusalem, took possession. 10 And at their hand, Jedaiah, son of Harumaph, and opposite his house took possession. And at his hand, Hattush, son of Hashabneiah, took possession. 11 And Malchijah, son of Harim, and Hasshub, son of Pahath-moab, took possession of a second section as far as the tower of the furnaces. 12 And at his hand, Shallum, son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the area around Jerusalem, took possession, he and his daughters. 13 Hanun and the residents of Zanoah took possession of the gate of the ravine. They built it and set up its doors and its bars and its bolts and a thousand cubits on the wall, as far as the gate of dung. 14 And Malchijah, son of Rechab, ruler of the area around Beth-haccherem, took possession of the gate of dung, he and his sons, and they covered it and set up its doors and its bars and its bolts. 15 And the wall of the reservoir of the sheepskin for the fleece of the king, and as far as the staircase that goes down from the city of David. 16 Behind him Nehemiah, son of Azbuk, ruler around the area of Bethzur, took possession as far as the garden of the tomb of David and as far as the produced reservoir and as far as Bethangabarim. 17 Behind him the Levites took possession. Basouth, son of Bani, and at his hand, Hashabiah, ruler of half the area around Keilah, took possession of his surrounding area. 18 After him, their brothers took possession under Binnui, son of Henadad, ruler over half of the area around Keilah. 19 And at his hand, Ezer, son of Joshua, the ruler over Mizpah, took possession of a second section of the tower of the ascent where it is joined together to the corner. 20 After him Baruch, the son of Zabbai, took possession of a second section from the corner up to the door of Bethelisoub, the high priest. 21 After him Meremoth, son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, took possession of a second section from the door of Bethelisoub up to where Bethelisoub stops. 22 And after him the priests, men of Achechar, took possession. 23 And after him Benjamin and Hasshub took possession opposite their house. After him Azariah, son of Maaseiah, son of Hananiah, took possession beside his house. 24 After him Bani, son of Henadad, took possession of a second section, from Bethazaria up to the corner and as far as the bend 25 of Palal, son of Uzai, from the opposite corner—and it is the tower that projects from the house of the king, the upper tower, the one at the court of the guard—and after him Pedaiah, son of Parosh. 26 And the temple servants were living in the Ophel as far as the garden of the gate of the water to the east. And the tower projects. 27 After him the Tekoites took possession of a second section from opposite the great projecting tower and as far as the wall of Ophoal 28 Above the gate of the horses the priests took possession, each man opposite his house. 29 After him Zadok, son of Immer, opposite his house. And after him Shemaiah, son of Echenia, keeper of the east side of the house, took possession. 30 After him Hananiah, son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, sixth son of Zalaph, took possession of a second section. After him Meshullam, son of Berechiah, took possession opposite his treasure chamber. 31 After him Malchijah, son of Saraphi, took possession as far as Bethanathinim and the hucksters opposite the gate of the Muster and as far as the middle of the bend. 32 And the coppersmiths and the hucksters took possession of the middle of the ascent of the sheep gate.
4aAnd it happened, when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, and it seemed displeasing to him and he became angry at much, and he laughed at the Judeans. 2 And he said in the presence of his brothers, “Is this the power of Samaria, that these Judeans are building the city for themselves?” 3 And Tobias the Ammonite came beside him and they said to themselves, “They will not sacrifice or eat in their place. Will not a fox go up and break their stone wall?” 4 Hear, O our God, for we are mocked, 5 and return their insult to their heads, and give them over to mocking in a land of captivity, 6 and do not cover over their transgression. 7 And it happened, when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites heard that the height of the walls of Jerusalem was rising because the gaps were beginning to be blocked up, and it seemed very bad to them. 8 So they all gathered against it to come and fight in Jerusalem. 9 And we prayed to our God and set up an advance guard against them day and night from their face. 10 And Judah said, “The strength of the enemies was broken. And the crowd is very great, and we will not be able to build on the wall.” 11 And those who were afflicting us said, “They will not know and they will not see until we come into their midst and kill them and stop the work.” 12 Then it happened, when the Judeans who lived close to them came, and they said to us, “They are coming up against us from all the places.” 13 So I stationed some into the lowest place behind the wall, in the sheltered areas, and I stationed the people according to districts, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked and stood up and said to the nobles and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid from their face. Remember our great and terrible God, and prepare to fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” 15 And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had scattered their council, we all returned to the wall, each man to his work. 16 And it happened from that day on, half of the outcasts were doing the work and half of them were keeping guard. And there were spears and oblong shields and the bows and the breast plates and the rulers behind every house of Judah, 17 of those who were building on the wall. And those who were lifting with the carrying devices, with a weapon in one hand he did his work and with one hand he grasped the javelin. 18 And as for the builders, a man with his sword fastened upon his waist, and they kept building, and the one who trumpeted on the horn was beside him. 19 Then I said to the nobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and much, and we are dispersed far upon the wall, each man from his brother. 20 In whatever place you hear the sound of the horn there, you shall gather to us, and our God will fight for us.” 21 And we were doing the work, and half of them were holding the spears from the rising of the dawn until the going out of the stars. 22 And at that time I said to the people, “Spend the night in the midst of Jerusalem, and let the night be for you an advance guard and the day work.” 23 And I and the men of the advance guard behind me were there, and no man from us was taking off his clothes.
5Now there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their Judean brothers. 2 And there were some saying, “With our sons and with our daughters we are many, and we will receive grain and eat and live.” 3 And there were some saying, “As for our fields and our vineyards and our houses, we are mortgaging them and we will receive grain and eat.” 4 And there are some saying, “As for our fields and our vineyards and our houses, we borrowed money for the tribute of the king. 5 Now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers; their sons like our sons, and behold we are oppressing our sons and our daughters for slaves, and some of our daughters are being oppressed, and there is no power in our hand, and our fields and our vineyards are for the nobles.” 6 And I was very distressed as I heard their outcry and these words. 7 And my heart deliberated within me, and I quarreled with the nobles and the rulers and said to them, “Will a man demand from his brother what you are demanding?” And I called a great assembly for them. 8 And I said to them, “We have voluntarily acquired our Judean brothers who were being sold to the nations. And you are selling our brothers.” And they were silent and could not find a word. 9 And I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. You shall not depart in this way, in the fear of our God, from the reproach of our enemies.” 10 And my brothers and my acquaintances and I put up money and grain for ourselves. And we gave up the right to demand this back. 11 Return now these today: their fields, their vineyards, their olive tree, and their houses. And bring out for them from the money, the grain, and the wine.” 12 And they said, “We will give these back and not seek them from them. Thus, we will do just as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear to do according to this word. 13 And I shook out my garment and said, “Thus may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not establish this word, and thus they will be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord, and the people did this word. 14 From the day that he commanded me to be their ruler in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even until the thirtysecond year of Artaxerxes, twelve years, I and our brothers ate nothing of violence from them. 15 And as for the first acts of violence, with which they burdened them before me, they also took the last money from them for bread and wine, forty didrachmas. And their outcasts exercise authority over the people, but I did not do so, from the face of the fear of God. 16 And I did not take possession over them by the work on the wall. I did not acquire a field, and all who were gathered together were there for the work. 17 And the Judeans, one hundred and fifty men, and those who came to us from the nations around us, were at my table. 18 And what was prepared for one day was one calf, and choice sheep, and they were preparing a goat for me and among ten days wine in abundance with everything, and I did not seek bread of violence with them, because the service was heavy upon this people. 19 Remember me, O God, for good, for all that I have done for this people.
6And it happened, when it was heard by Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that the wall was built, there was no breath left in them. Up to that time I had not set up doors in the gates. 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together in the villages in the plain of Ono.” Now they were plotting to do harm to me. 3 So I sent messengers to them saying, “I am doing a great work, and I will not be able to come down, in case the work stops. Whenever I finish it, I will come down to you.” 4 And they sent to me like this word, and I sent to them in accordance with this. 5 And Sanballat sent his servant to me, and an open letter was in his hand. 6 And in it was written, “It was heard among the nations that you and the Judeans are plotting to rebel. Because of this you are building the wall, and you will be their king. 7 And in addition to these, you have set up prophets for yourself so that you might sit in Jerusalem as king over Judah. And now these words will be reported to the king. So now come, let us deliberate together.” 8 Then I sent to him, saying, “It did not happen like these words that you are saying, because you are speaking them falsely from your heart.” 9 Because they were all trying to alarm us, saying, “Their hands will fail from this work, and it shall not be done.” But now I strengthened my hands. 10 And I entered into the house of Shimei, son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, since he was confined. And he said, “Let us gather together into the house of God, in the midst of it, and let us shut its doors, because they are coming by night to kill you.” 11 And I said, “Who is the man who will enter into the house and live?” 12 And I perceived, and behold, God had not sent him, because the prophecy was a message against me, and Tobias and Sanballat had hired 13 a crowd against me, that I might fear and act accordingly, and sin, and become for them a bad name so that they might taunt me. 14 Remember, O God, Tobiah and Sanballat, as these deeds of his, and Neariah the prophet and the rest of the priests who were trying to terrify me. 15 And the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And it happened, when our enemies heard, and all the nations around us were afraid, and great fear fell on their eyes, and they knew that this work came to be completed from our God. 17 And in those days letters from many of the nobles of Judah were going to Tobias, and those of Tobiah were coming to them, 18 because many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-inlaw of Shecaniah, son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam, son of Berechiah, as wife. 19 And they were telling me his words and were conveying my words to him, and Tobias sent letters to terrify me.
7Now it happened, when the wall was built, that I set up the doors, and the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were inspected. 2 And I commanded my brother Hananiah and Hananiah, ruler of the palace in Jerusalem, because he was a truthful man and feared God more than many, 3 and I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem will not be opened until at the same time as the sun, and while they are still awake let the doors be shut and locked. And set up advance guards from those who live in Jerusalem, each man at his outpost and each man opposite his house.” 4 And the city was wide and big, and the people in it were few, and no houses were built. 5 And God put it into my heart, and I assembled the nobles and the rulers and the people into a company. And I found a document of the company who went up first, and I found written in it: 6 And these are the sons of the territory who went up from the captivity of the exile which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had exiled, and he returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each man to his city, 7 with Zerubbabel and Joshua, and Nehemiah, Azariah, Naamia, Naemanei, Maldocheos, Bilshan, Maspheran, Esra, Batoei, Nahum, Baanah, and Mispar, men of the peoplea of Israel: 8 sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; 9 sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; 10 children sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two; 11 sons of Pahath-moab, in reference to the sons of Joshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen; 12 sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; 13 sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty; 14 sons of Zathou, eight hundred and sixty; 15 sons of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight; 16 sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight; 17 sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twentyeight; 18 sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven; 19 sons of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven; 20 sons of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five; 21 sons of Ater, in reference to Hezekiah, ninety-eight; 22 sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight; 23 sons of Bezai, three hundred and twentyfour; 24 sons of Hariph, one hundred and twelve; 25 sons of Gibeon, ninety-five; 28 men of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two; 29 men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and twenty-one; 30 men of Ramah and Tamal, six hundred and twenty-one; 31 men of Michmash, one hundred and twenty-two; 32 men of Bethel and Aiah, one hundred and twenty-three; 33 men of Nebo, fifty-two; 34 men of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty; 35 sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty; 36 sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; 37 sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one; 38 sons of Senaah, nine hundred and thirty. 39 The priests: sons of Jehoiada, for the house of Joshua, nine hundred and seventy-three; 40 sons of Emmer, one thousand and fifty-two; 41 sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; 42 sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen. 43 The Levites: the sons of Joshua, in reference to Kadmiel, in reference to the sons of Hodevah, seventy-four. 44 The singers: sons of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight. 45 The gatekeepers: sons of Shallum, sons of Ater, son of Ater, sons of Talmon, sons of Akkub, sons of Hatita, sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-eight. 46 The temple servants: sons of Ziha, sons of Hasupha, sons of Gabaoth, 47 sons of Keros, sons of Ziha, sons of Padon, 48 sons of Lebana, sons of Hagabah, sons of Shalmai, 49 sons of Hanan, sons of Giddel, 50 sons of Reaiah, sons of Rezin, sons of Nekoda, 51 sons of Gazzam, sons of Uzzi, sons of Paseah, 52 sons of Besai, sons of Meunim, sons of Nephushesim, 53 sons of Bakbuk, sons of Hakupha, sons of Harhur, 54 sons of Bazluth, sons of Mehida, sons of Hadashah, 55 sons of Barkos, sons of Sisera, sons of Hemath, 56 sons of Aseia, sons of Hatipha. 57 Sons of the servants of Solomon: sons of Sotai, sons of Sophereth, sons of Perida, 58 sons of Jaala, sons of Darkon, sons of Giddel, 59 sons of Shephatiah, sons of Hattil, sons of Pochereth, sons of Sabaim, sons of Amon. 60 All the temple servants and the sons of the servants of Solomon were three hundred and ninety-two. 61 And these went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, Immer, and they were not able to verify their ancestral houses and their seed, whether they were from Israel: 62 sons of Delaiah, sons of Tobiah, sons of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two. 63 And from the priests: sons of Hobaiah, sons of Hakkoz, sons of Barzillai, because they had taken wives from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and were called by their name. 64 These sought their record of the company, but it was not found, and they were made near kin from the priesthood. 65 And Athersatha spoke up so that they would not eat from the holy of holies until the priest should arise to enlighten. 66 And all the assembly was about fortytwo thousand three hundred and eight, 67 besides their male servants and their female servants—these were three hundred and thirty-seven—and two hundred and forty-five male singers and female singers; 69 atwo thousand and seven hundred donkeys. 70 And some of part of the rulers of the ancestral families gave to the work of Nehemiah, to the treasury, one thousand gold coins, fifty bowls, and thirty stands for the priests. 71 And some of the rulers of the ancestral families placed in the treasury of the year: twenty thousand gold coins and two thousand and two hundred minas of silver, 72 and sixty-seven mechonoth for the priests. 73 And the priests and the Levites and the gatekeepers and the singers and those from the people and the temple servants and all Israel settled in their cities.
8bAnd the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in their cities. And all the people assembled as one man to the square that is before the water gate, and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the document of the law of Moses, which was commanded to Israel. 2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, from man to woman and everyone who understands, to listen on the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read in it from the time the sun rose until half the day, opposite the men and the women, and they were understanding, and the ears of all the people were to the document of the law. 4 And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform, and there stood beside him Mattithiah and Shemaiah and Hananiah and Uriah and Hilkiah and Maaseiah on his right, and on his left, Pedaiah and Mishael and Malchijah and Zechariah. 5 And Ezra opened the document before all the people, because he was above the people, and it happened, when he opened it, all the people stood. 6 And he blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered and said, “Amen,” and they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their face to the ground. 7 And Joshua and Benaiah and Sherebiah were instructing the people in the law, and the people were in their place. 8 And they read in the document of the law of God, and Ezra was instructing and teaching on the knowledge of the Lord, and the people understood during the reading. 9 And Nehemiah spoke, along with Ezra the priest and scribe and the Levites instructing the people, and they said to all the people, “Today is holy to the Lord our God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. 10 And he said to them, “Go, eat fat, and drink sweet wine, and send portions to those who do not have, because today is holy to our Lord, and do not collapse, for he is our strength.” 11 And the Levites were silencing the people, saying, “Keep silent, because today is holy, and do not be downcast.” 12 And all the people departed to eat and to drink and to send portions and to make great merriment, because they had understood by the words that were explained to them. 13 And on the second day the rulers of the ancestral families gathered, together with all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to Ezra the scribe, to attend to all the words of the law. 14 And they found written in the law that the Lord had commanded Moses that the children of Israel should reside in tents during a feast in the seventh month, 15 and that they should sound trumpets in all their cities and in Jerusalem. Then Ezra said, “Go out to the mountain and bring foliage of olive trees and foliage of cypress wood and foliage of myrtle and foliage of date palm and foliage of thick wood to make tents, in accordance with what is written.” 16 So the people went out and brought them and made tents for themselves, each man on his housetop, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God and in the broad places of the city and as far as the gate of Ephraim. 17 And all the assembly, those who had returned from captivity, made tents and dwelled in tents, because from the days of Joshua, son of Nun, until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was great merriment. 18 And day by day, he read in the document of the law of God, from the first day until the last day, and they observed the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a culmination.
9And on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel assembled with fasting and with sackcloth. 2 And the children of Israel were separated from every foreign son, and they stood and confessed their sins and the transgressions of their ancestors. 3 And they stood in their position and read from the document of the law of their God, and were confessing to the Lord and doing obeisance to their God. 4 And Joshua and the sons of Kadmiel, the son of Sherebiah, sons of Arabia, stood at the ascent of the Levites and cried out with a great voice to the Lord, their God. 5 And the Levites, Joshua and Kadmiel, said, “Stand up, bless the Lord, our God, from eternity to eternity, and they will bless your glorious name and exalt it with every blessing and praise.” 6 And Ezra said, “You yourself are the Lord alone. You made heaven of heaven and all their position, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them, and you make everything alive, and the armies of heaven do obeisance to you. 7 You are God. You chose Abram and led him out from the territory of the Chaldeans and placed upon him a name, Abraham, 8 and you found his heart trustworthy before you and established a covenant with him and his seed to give him the land of the Canaanites and Hittites and Amorites and Perizzites and Jebusites and Girgashites, and you established your words, because you are righteous. 9 And you saw the humiliation of our ancestors in Egypt and heard their outcry at the Red Sea. 10 And you gave signs in Egypt against Pharaoh and against all his servants and against all the people of his land, because you knew that they had acted arrogantly against them, and you made a name for yourself, as it is this day. 11 And you split the sea before them, and they went by in the midst of the sea on dry land, and those who were pursuing them you threw into the deep, like a stone in mighty water. 12 And with a pillar of cloud you led them by day, and with a pillar of fire at night, in order to give them light on the way in which they should go in it. 13 And you came down upon Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them straightforward judgments and truthful laws and ordinances and good commandments. 14 And you made known your holy sabbath to them. You commanded them commandments and ordinances and law by the hand of Moses, your servant. 15 And you gave them bread from heaven in their famine, and you brought forth water from a rock for them in their thirst, and you told them to enter to possess the land over which you stretched out your hand to give them. 16 And they stiffened their neck and did not listen to your commandments, 17 and they refused to listen and did not pay attention to your wonders that you performed with them, and they stiffened their neck, and they gave a beginning to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a merciful and compassionate God, patient and very forgiving, and you did not forsake them. 18 Furthermore, they also made for themselves a molten calf and said, ‘These are the gods who led us out from Egypt,’ and they made great provocations. 19 And you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. You did not turn away from them the pillar of cloud to lead them by day in the way and the pillar of fire to illuminate for them by night the way in which they should go in it. 20 And you gave your good spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and you gave them water for their thirst. 21 And forty years you supported them in the wilderness; there was no lack. Their garments did not grow old and their feet were not bruised. 22 And you gave them kingdoms and allotted peoples to them, and they took possession of the land of Sihon and the land of Og, king of Bashan. 23 And you multiplied their children like the stars of the heaven, and you brought them into the land that you told their fathers, and they took possession of it. 24 And you destroyed before them the residents of the land of the Canaanites and gave them and their kings and the peoples of the land into their hands, to do with them as was acceptable before them. 25 And they captured fortified cities and took possession of houses full of all good things, hewn cisterns, vineyards, and olive groves, and all kinds of fruit trees in abundance, and they ate and were filled and grew fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness. 26 But they changed and departed from you and cast your law behind their body and killed your prophets, who warned them to return them to you, and they committed great provocations. 27 And you gave them into the hand of those who oppressed them, and they oppressed them. And they cried out to you in the time of their oppression, and you heard from your heaven, and in your great mercies you gave them deliverers and you delivered them from the hand of those oppressing them. 28 And as they rested, they returned to doing evil before you, and you abandoned them into the hands of their enemies, and they ruled among them. And again they cried out to you, and you listened from heaven and rescued them in your great mercies. 29 And you determined with them to return them to your law, and they did not listen, but sinned against your commandments and your judgments, which a person who has done them will live by them. And they offered a disobedient back and they stiffened their neck and did not listen. 30 And you lasted with them many years and warned them by your spirit, by the hand of your prophets, and they did not listen and you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the land. 31 And you in your great mercies did not make an end of them and you did not forsake them, for you are strong and merciful and compassionate. 32 And now, our strong, great, mighty, and awesome God, who keeps your covenant and your mercy, let all the hardship not become diminished before you, which found us and our kings and our rulers and our priests and our prophets and our fathers and among all your people from the days of the kings of Assyria even until this day. 33 And you are righteous in all that has come upon us, for you acted truthfully, and we did wrong. 34 And our kings and our rulers and our priests and our fathers did not carry out your law and did not give heed to your commandments and your testimonies about which you warned them. 35 And they, in your reign and in great goodness that you gave them and in the wide and rich land that you set before them, would not serve you and did not turn back from their evil habits. 36 Behold, we are slaves today, and the land that you gave our fathers to eat its fruit, 37 belongs to the kings whom you gave over us in our sins, and they exercise authority over our bodies and over our livestock as is acceptable to them, and we are in great affliction.” 38 aAnd in all this we are establishing faithfulness and writing it down, and our rulers, our Levites, and our priests are sealing it.
10And over those affixing seals were Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah, 2 son of Seraiah, and Azariah, and Jeremiah, 3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, 4 Tous, Ebanei, Malluch, 5 Harim, Ameramos, Obadiah, 6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 8 Nadeia, Belseia, Shemaiah. These are the priests. 9 And the Levites were Joshua, son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel 10 and his brothers, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kanta, 12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 13 Hodiah, sons of Beniamein. 14 The rulers of the people were Parosh, Pahathmoab, Elam, Zattu. 15 Azgad, Bebai, 16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 17 Ater, Hezekiah, Adour, 18 Hodiah, Hashum, Besai, 19 Hariph, Anathoth, Bonai 20 Bagaphes, Meshullam, Hezir, 21 Meshezabel, Zadok, 22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Aia, 23 Osee, Hananiah, Hasshub, 24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, 26 and Ara, Enan, Anan, 27 Malluch, Harim, and Baanah. 28 And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all those who turn to the law of God away from the peoples of the land, their wives, their sons, their daughters, everyone who sees and understands, 29 were prevailing against their brothers, and they cursed them and entered into a curse and an oath to go in the law of God, which was given by the hand of Moses, slave of God, to observe and to do all the commandments of our God and his judgments, 30 and in order not to give our daughters to the peoples of the land. And we will not take their daughters for our sons. 31 And the peoples of the land who bring merchandise and any sale on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the sabbath and on a holy day. 32 And we will lay upon ourselves a command to give from ourselves one-third of a didrachma per year for the service of the house of our God, 33 for the bread of the face and the sacrifice of perpetuity and for the whole burnt offering of the perpetuity of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the feasts, and for the sacred things, and the things for sins to propitiate for Israel and for the work of the house of our God. 34 And we, the priests and the Levites and the people, cast lots for the task of carrying wood, to bring it for the house of our God, for the houses of our ancestral families, for seasons of the times, year by year, to burn on the altar of our God, as it is written in the document, 35 and to bring the firstfruits of our land and the firstfruits of the fruit of every tree, year by year, for the house, 36 and to bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as it is written in the law, and the firstborn of our cattle and our flocks for the house of our God, for the priests who minister in the house of our God. 37 And we will bring the firstfruits of our grain and the fruit of every tree, wine and olive oil, for the priests, to the treasury of the house of God, and the tithe of our land for the Levites. And the Levites themselves are collecting tithes in all the cities of our service, 38 and the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites in the tithe of the Levites, and the Levites shall bring the tithe of the tithe to the house of our God, to the treasury at the house of God. 39 Because the sons of Israel and the Levites shall bring into the treasury firstfruits of the grain and the wine and the olive oil, and the sacred vessels and the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and the singers are there. And we will not forsake the house of our God.
11And the rulers 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, and nine-tenths remained in the other cities. 2 And the people blessed all the men who offered willingly to live in Jerusalem. 3 And these are the rulers of the territory who lived in Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah: they lived, each man on his possession, in their cities: Israel, the priests, and the Levites and the sons of the slaves of Solomon. 4 And in Jerusalem lived some of the sons of Judah and some of the sons of Benjamin. Of the sons of Judah: Athaiah, son of Uzziah, a son of Zechariah, a son of Amariah, a son of Shephatiah, a son of Mahalalel, and some of the sons of Phares. 5 And Maaseiah, son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Jaaziah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Thezia, son of the Delone. 6 All the sons of Phares, those who lived in Jerusalem, were four hundred and sixty-eight men of power. 7 And these are the sons of Benjamin: Shiloh, son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kelaiah, son of Magael, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah. 8 And after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred and twenty-eight. 9 And Joel, son of Zichri, was overseer over them, and Judah, son of Hassenuah, was second over the city. 10 From the priests: also Jehdeiah, son of Joiarib, Jachin, 11 Seraiah, son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Apoboch, opposite the house of God. 12 And their brothers who did the work of the house: Amasai, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah, 13 rulers of the ancestral families, two hundred and forty-two. And Amashsai, son of Azarel, 14 and his brothers, strong in battle, one hundred and twenty-eight, and the overseer was Zabdiel. 15 And from the Levites: Shemaiah, son of Hasshub, son of Abiezrites, 17 and Mattaniah, son of Mica, and Obed, son of Shammua, 18 two hundred and eighty-four. 19 And the gatekeepers: Akkub, Talmon, and their brothers, one hundred and seventy-two. 22 And overseer of the Levites was the son of Bani, Uzzi, son of Hashabiah, son of Mica, from the sons of Asaph, who sing opposite the work of the house of God, 23 because there was a command of the king for them. 24 And Pethahiah, son of Baseza, was at the hand of the king for every word to the people. 25 Now with respect to the villages with their fields, some of the sons of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba 26 and in Jeshua 27 and in Beer-sheba, 30 and their villages were Lachish and its fields, and they encamped in Beer-sheba. 31 And the sons of Benjamin were from Geba and Michmash. 36 And from the Levites were part of Judah for Benjamin.
12And these are the priests and the Levites who went up with Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and Joshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, Malluch, 3 Shecaniah. 7 These were the rulers of the priests and their brothers in the days of Joshua. 8 And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah. He and his brothers were over the hands, in the daily divisions. 10 And Joshua begat Jehoiakim, and Jehoiakim begat Eliashib, and Eliashib, Jehoiada, 11 and Jehoiada begat Jonathan, and Jonathan begat Jaddua. 12 And in days of Jehoiakim, his brothers, the priests and the rulers of the ancestral families were: for Seraiah, Meraiah; for Jeremiah, 13 for Ezra, Meshullam; for Amariah, Johanan; 14 for Malluchi. 22 The Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada and Johanan and Iadou, were recorded as the rulers of the ancestral families and priests in the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 Sons of Levi were rulers of the ancestral families, having been written in the document of the accounts of the days, even until the days of Johanan, son of Eliashib. 24 And the rulers of the Levites, Hashabiah and Sherebiah and Jeshua and the sons of Kadmiel, and their brothers were over against them to sing hymns to praise by the commandment of David, the man of God, division by division, 25 when I gathered the gatekeepers 26 in the days of Jehoiakim, son of Joshua, son of Josedech, in the days of Nehemiah. And Ezra was the priest and the scribe. 27 And at the rededication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to celebrate a feast of renovation and merriment with tholathab and with songs, while playing the cymbals and harps. 28 And the sons of the singers and some from the region round about Jerusalem and some from the villages assembled, 29 and some from the fields, because the singers in Jerusalem built villages for themselves. 30 And the priests and the Levites were cleansed, and they cleansed the people and the gatekeepers and the wall. 31 And they brought the rulers of Judah up onto the wall. 32 And after them went Hoshaiah and half the rulers of Judah 33 and Zechariah, Ezra, and Meshullam, 34 Judah and Benjamin and Shemaiah and Jeremiah, 35 and some of the sons of the priests with trumpets: Zechariah, son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mathania, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph. 36 And his brothers were Shemaiah and Azarel, to praise with the songs of David, the man of God, and Ezra the scribe was in front of them 37 at the gate of Ain, opposite them. And they went up to the stairs of the city of David, in the ascent of the wall above the house of David and as far as the gate of water 39 of Ephraim and to the fish gate and to the tower of Hananel and as far as the sheep gate. 42 And the singers were heard and inspected. 43 And they offered great sacrifices on that day and they rejoiced, because God had gladdened them greatly, and their wives and their children rejoiced, and the merriment was heard in Jerusalem from far away. 44 And on that day they appointed men over the treasury for the stores, for the first fruits, and for the tithes, and for the things collected in them for the rulers of the cities, portions for the priests and for the Levites, because there was merriment in Judah over the priests and over the Levites who were appointed. 45 And they guarded the guard stations of their God and the guard stations for the purification and the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the commandment of David and his son Solomon. 46 Because in the days of David, Asaph from the beginning was the first of those who sing songs and hymns and praise to God. 47 And in the days of Zerubbabel all Israel was giving portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, a directive of a day in its day, and were sanctifying for the Levites, and the Levites were sanctifying for the sons of Aaron.
13On that day it was read from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people, and it was found written in it that Ammonites and Moabites should not enter the assembly of God until eternity, 2 because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam to curse against him,a and our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 And it happened, when they heard the law, all mixed peoples in Israel were separated. 4 And before this, Eliashib the priest, while living in the treasury of the house of our God, being next of kin to Tobiah, 5 also prepared for him a large treasure chamber, and there they had previously put the manna and the frankincense and the vessels and the tithe of the grain and of the wine and of the olive oil (a commandment of the Levites and of the singers and of the gatekeepers) and the first fruits of the priests. 6 And in all this I was not in Jerusalem, because in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, I went to the king. And after the end of days I asked of the king, 7 and I went to Jerusalem. And I understood the wrong,b to prepare for him a treasure chamber in the court of the house of God. 8 And it seemed very bad to me, and I threw all the vessels of the house of Tobiah from the treasure chamber. 9 And I spoke, and they cleansed the treasury, and I returned there the vessels of the house of God, the manna and the frankincense. 10 And I knew that the portions of the Levites had not been given, and the Levites and the singers, doing their work, had fled, each man to his field. 11 And I quarreled and said, “On what account was the house of God forsaken?” And I assembled them and set them in their position. 12 And all Judah brought a tithe of wheat and of wine and of olive oil to the treasury 13 upon the hand of Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe and Pedaiah from the Levites. And upon their hand was Hanan, son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, because they were considered trustworthy to them to distribute to their brothers. 14 Remember me, O God, in this, and do not let my mercy that I did in the house of the Lord God be wiped out. 15 In those days I saw in Judah those treading winepresses on the sabbath and bringing in sheaves and loading them on the donkeys and also bringing to Jerusalem on the sabbath day wine, grapes, and figs, and every type of burden, and I considered them on the day of their sale. 16 And they settled in it, bringing fish and all kinds of merchandise to sell on the sabbath to the sons of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 17 And I quarreled with the free sons 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 fathers act in this way? And our God brought upon them and upon us all these bad things and upon this city. And you are adding wrath to Israel by profaning the sabbath.” 19 And it happened, when the gates of Jerusalem settled down before the sabbath, and they shut the gates, I spoke so that they would not be opened until after the sabbath. And I stationed at the gates so that no one would carry burdens on the day of the sabbath. 20 And they all spent the night and made sales outside Jerusalem once and twice. 21 And I warned them and said to them, “On what account are you spending the night in front of the wall? If you do it again I will stretch out my hand against you.” From that time on they did not come on the sabbath. 22 And I spoke to the Levites who were cleansing themselves and were coming, guarding the gates, to keep the sabbath day holy. Remember me for these things, O God, and spare me according to the abundance of your mercies. 23 And in those days I saw the Judeans who lived with women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab, 24 (and half of their sons are speaking the language of Ashdod and do not know how to speak the language of Judea), 25 and I quarreled with them and cursed them and struck the men among them, and I made them swear by God, “If you give your daughters to their sons and if you take from their daughters for your sons! 26 Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin in this way? And among many nations there was no king like him. And he was loved by God, and God gave him as king over all Israel. And foreign wives perverted this man. 27 And shall we listen to you to do all this evil, to be faithless with our God to live with foreign wives?” 28 And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib, the great priest—he was the son-in-law of Sanballat —and I expelled him from me. 29 Remember them, O God, because of their close kinship to the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. 30 And I cleansed them from all estrangement,a and established divisions for the priests and the Levites, each man according to his work, 31 and the gift of the wood carriers, in seasons of the times, and in the first fruits. Remember me, O our God, for goodness.