Nehemiah
Chapter:
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2
3
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6
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Nehemiah 1
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev,
in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
2 that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them
concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning
Jerusalem.
3 And they said to me, The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are
there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and its
gates have been burned with fire.
4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for days;
and was fasting and praying before the God of Heaven.
5 And I said, I beseech You, O Jehovah the God of Heaven, O great and awesome Mighty God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and keep Your commandments:
6 Let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your
servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your
servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You.
Both my father's house and I have sinned.
7 We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the
statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.
8 Remember, I beseech You, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses,
saying, If you act unfaithfully, I will scatter you among the nations;
9 but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though you were
cast out to the ends of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the
place where I have chosen to establish My name.
10 Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your
great power, and by Your strong hand.
11 O Lord, I beseech You, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to
the prayer of Your servants who delight to fear Your name; and give Your servant success
this day, and grant him mercy before this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
Nehemiah 2
1 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,
when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never
been sad in his presence before.
2 Therefore the king said to me, Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is
nothing but sorrow of heart. Then I was very much afraid,
3 and said to the king, May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when
the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates have been consumed with
fire?
4 Then the king said to me, What do you request? So I prayed to the God of Heaven.
5 And I said to the king, If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your
sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild
it.
6 Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), How long shall your
journey be? And when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a
time.
7 Furthermore I said to the king, If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me to the
governors of the region beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass through till I
come to Judah;
8 and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make
beams for the gates of the temple which pertains to the house, for the city wall, and for the
house that I will occupy. And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of
my God upon me.
9 Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king's
letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant the Ammonite, heard of it, it
made them shudder over the great evil, that a man had come to seek the welfare of the
children of Israel.
11 So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.
12 And I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I told no one what my God had put
in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which
I rode.
13 And I went out by night through the Valley Gate, to the Serpent Spring and the Refuse
Gate, and examined the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down, and its gates which
had been consumed with fire.
14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no room
for the animal under me to pass.
15 So I went up in the night by the river, and examined the wall; then I turned back and
entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.
16 And the rulers did not know where I had gone or what I was doing; I had not yet told
the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the rulers, or the others who did the work.
17 Then I said to them, You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and
its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no
longer be a reproach.
18 And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the
king's words that he had spoken to me. Then they said, Let us rise up and build. So they
encouraged their hands for this good work.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the servant the Ammonite, and Geshem the
Arab heard of it, they mocked and despised us, and said, What is this thing that you are
doing? Will you rebel against the king?
20 So I answered them, and said to them, The God of Heaven Himself will prosper us;
therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or memorial
in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 3
1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests and built the Sheep
Gate; they consecrated it and set up its doors. As far as the Tower of Meah, they
consecrated it; even as far as the Tower of Hananel.
2 Next to them the men of Jericho built. And next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.
3 Also the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and set up its doors
with its bolts and bars.
4 And next to them Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz, made repairs. Next to
them Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs. Next to them
Zadok the son of Baana made repairs.
5 Next to them the Tekoites made repairs; but their nobles did not put their necks to the
work of their Lord.
6 Moreover Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the
Old Gate; they laid its beams and set up its doors, with its bolts and bars.
7 And next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, and the men of
Gibeon and Mizpah, repaired, to the throne of the governor of the region beyond the
River.
8 Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. Also next
to him Hananiah, the son of one of the perfumers, made repairs; and they left Jerusalem
safe as far as the Broad Wall.
9 And next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made
repairs.
10 Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs in front of his house. And
next to him Hattush the son of Hashabniah made repairs.
11 Malchijah the son of Harim and Hashub the son of Pahath-Moab repaired another
section, as well as the Tower of the Ovens.
12 And next to him was Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of
Jerusalem; he and his daughters made repairs.
13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They built it, set up its
doors with its bolts and bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Refuse
Gate.
14 Malchijah the son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccerem, repaired the
Refuse Gate; he built it and set up its doors with its bolts and bars.
15 Shallun the son of Col-Hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain
Gate; he built it, covered it, set up its doors with its bolts and bars, and repaired the wall of
the Pool of Shelah by the King's Garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the City of
David.
16 After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth Zur, made
repairs as far as the place in front of the Tombs of David, to the pool that was made, and
as far as the House of the Mighty.
17 After him the Levites, under Rehum the son of Bani, made repairs. Next to him
Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, made repairs in his district.
18 After him their brethren, under Bavai the son of Henadad, ruler of the other half of the
district of Keilah, made repairs.
19 And next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section
in front of the ascent to the armory at the buttress.
20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other section, from the
buttress to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.
21 After him Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz, repaired another section, from
the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib.
22 And after him the priests, the men of the plain, made repairs.
23 After them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs across from their house. After them
Azariah the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs by his house.
24 After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of
Azariah to the buttress, even as far as the corner.
25 Palal the son of Uzai made repairs across from the buttress, and on the tower which
projects out from the king's upper house that was by the court of the prison. After him
Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs.
26 Moreover the temple slaves who dwelt in Ophel made repairs from in front of the
Water Gate toward the east, and on the projecting tower.
27 After them the Tekoites repaired another section, next to the great projecting tower,
even as far as the wall of Ophel.
28 Beyond the Horse Gate the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house.
29 After them Zadok the son of Immer made repairs in front of his own house. After him
Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, made repairs.
30 After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph,
repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah made repairs in front
of his room.
31 After him Malchijah, a son of one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house
of the temple slaves and of the merchants, in front of the Miphkad Gate, and as far as the
upper room at the corner.
32 And between the upper room at the corner, as far as the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths
and the merchants made repairs.
Nehemiah 4
1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he
was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews.
2 And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What are these
feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they
complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish; stones that are
burned?
3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, Whatever they build, if even a
fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.
4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach upon their own heads, and
give them as spoils to a land of captivity.
5 Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for
they have provoked You to anger before the builders.
6 So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the
people had a heart to work.
7 And it came to pass, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the
Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem had been restored up and the gaps had begun
to be closed, that they were greatly infuriated,
8 and all of them conspired together to come and make war against Jerusalem and to
create confusion.
9 Nevertheless we prayed unto our God, and because of them we set a watch against them
day and night.
10 Then Judah said, The strength of the laborers is stumbling, and there is so much
rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.
11 And our adversaries said, They will neither know nor see anything, till we have come
into their midst and killed them and put an end to the work.
12 So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, From
whatever place you return, they will be upon us.
13 Therefore I stationed men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the bare places; and I
stationed the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their
bows.
14 And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the rulers, and to the rest of the
people, Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for
your brethren, 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
broken their counsel, that all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work.
16 So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants did the work, while the other
half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the rulers were behind all
the house of Judah.
17 Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that
with one hand they did the work, and with the other held a weapon.
18 Every one who was building had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one
who sounded the shofar was beside me.
19 Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, The work is great and
extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall.
20 Wherever you hear the sound of the shofar, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.
21 So we did the work, and half of the men held the spears from the rising of the dawn
until the stars came out.
22 At the same time I also said to the people, Let each man and his servant lodge inside
Jerusalem, that they may be a guard to us by night and workers by day.
23 So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me
took off our clothes, except that everyone sent them away for washing.
Nehemiah 5
1 And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their brothers the
Jews.
2 For there were those who said, We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let
us get grain, that we may eat and live.
3 There were also some who said, We have mortgaged our fields and vineyards and
houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine.
4 There were also those who said, We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our
fields and vineyards.
5 Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and
indeed we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters
have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power to redeem them, for other men have
our fields and vineyards.
6 And I was extremely infuriated when I heard their outcry and these words.
7 After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, Each of you is
exacting usury from his brother. So I appointed a great assembly against them.
8 And I said to them, According to our ability we have redeemed our brothers, the Jews
who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brothers? Or should
they be sold to us? Then they were silenced and found nothing to answer.
9 Then I said, What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our
God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?
10 I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Now let
us leave off this usury!
11 Restore now to them, even this day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and
their houses, also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that
you have charged them.
12 So they said, We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we will do as you
say. Then I called the priests, and caused them to swear that they would do according to
this word.
13 I also shook out empty the bosom of my garment and said, So may God shake out each
man from his house, and from his property, who does not carry out this word. Even thus
may he be shaken out and emptied. And all the assembly said, Amen! and praised Jehovah.
Then the people did according to this word.
14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of
Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve
years, neither I nor my brothers have eaten the food of the governor.
15 But the former governors who had been before me were heavy on the people, and
took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants
bore rule over the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of God.
16 Indeed, I also prevailed in the work of this wall, and we did not buy any land. All my
servants were gathered there for the work.
17 And at my table were one hundred and fifty Jews and rulers, besides those who came
to us from the nations around us.
18 Now that which was prepared daily was one ox and six choice sheep. Also fowl were
prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine. Yet in all of
this I did not demand the food of the governor, because the labor was heavy on this
people.
19 Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.
Nehemiah 6
1 Now it came to pass when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our
enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at
that time I had not set up the doors in the gates),
2 that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, Come, let us meet together in one of the
villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do evil to me.
3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come
down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and come down to you?
4 But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner.
5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his
hand.
6 In it was written: It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the
Jews plan to rebel; for which reason, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the
wall, that you may be their king.
7 And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying,
There is a king in Judah! Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come,
therefore, and let us consult together.
8 Then I sent to him, saying, No such things as you say are being done, but you contrive
them out of your own heart.
9 For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, Their hands will be weakened in the
work, and it will not be done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.
10 Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel,
who was under restraints; and he said, Let us gather in the house of God, inside the temple,
and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night
they will come to kill you.
11 And I said, Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into
the temple to save his life? I will not go in!
12 Then I perceived that God had not sent him, but that he had spoken this prophecy
against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13 For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and do accordingly and sin, to
make for a bad reputation, that they might reproach me.
14 My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these works of theirs, and the
prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who were terrifying me.
15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.
16 And it came to pass when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw
these things, that they were cast down in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work
had been done by our God.
17 Also in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and those from
Tobiah came to them.
18 For many in Judah were pledged to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah
the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had taken in marriage the daughter of Meshullam
the son of Berechiah.
19 They also reported his good deeds before me, and were delivering my words to him.
Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.
Nehemiah 7
1 Now it came to pass when the wall was built and I had set up the doors, when the
gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed;
2 that I gave the charge of Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the
palace, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.
3 And I said to them, Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and
while they stand guard, let them shut and bar the doors; and appoint guards from among
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each one at his post, each across from his house.
4 Now the city was broad and large, but the people in it were few, and the houses were
not rebuilt.
5 Then my God put it into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers, and the people, that
they might be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those
who had come up in the first return, and found written in it:
6 These are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who
had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and
who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his city.
7 Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah,
Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. The number of the
men of the people of Israel:
8 the sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two;
9 the sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two;
10 the sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two;
11 the sons of Pahath-Moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred
and eighteen;
12 the sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;
13 the sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five;
14 the sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty;
15 the sons of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight;
16 the sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight;
17 the sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two;
18 the sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven;
19 the sons of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven;
20 the sons of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five;
21 the sons of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety-eight;
22 the sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight;
23 the sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four;
24 the sons of Hariph, one hundred and twelve;
25 the sons of Gibeon, ninety-five;
26 the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty-eight;
27 the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight;
28 the men of Beth Azmaveth, forty-two;
29 the men of Kirjath Jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three;
30 the men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one;
31 the men of Michmash, one hundred and twenty-two;
32 the men of Bethel and Ai, one hundred and twenty-three;
33 the men of the other Nebo, fifty-two;
34 the sons of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;
35 the sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty;
36 the sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five;
37 the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one;
38 the sons of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.
39 The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three;
40 the sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two;
41 the sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven;
42 the sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.
43 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of the sons of Hodevah, seventy-four.
44 The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight.
45 The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons
of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-eight.
46 The temple slaves: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,
47 the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon,
48 the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Salmai,
49 the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar,
50 the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda,
51 the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah,
52 the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephishesim,
53 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,
54 the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,
55 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah,
56 the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.
57 The sons of Solomon's servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of
Perida,
58 the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,
59 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the
sons of Amon.
60 All the temple slaves, and the sons of Solomon's servants, were three hundred and
ninety-two.
61 And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addon,
and Immer, but they could not declare their father's house nor their seed, whether they
were of Israel:
62 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two;
63 and of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took
a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name.
64 These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but it was
not found; therefore they were considered desecrated, and excluded from the priesthood.
65 And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the set apart, holy, things till a priest should stand with Urim and Thummim.
66 Altogether the whole assembly was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty,
67 besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three
hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five singing men and
singing women.
68 Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five,
69 their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and donkeys six thousand seven hundred and
twenty.
70 And some of the heads of the fathers gave to the work. The governor gave to the
treasury one thousand gold drachmas, fifty basins, and five hundred and thirty priestly
garments.
71 Some of the heads of the fathers gave to the treasury of the work twenty thousand gold
drachmas, and two thousand two hundred silver minas.
72 And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand gold drachmas, two
thousand silver minas, and sixty-seven priestly garments.
73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple
slaves, and all Israel dwelt in their cities. When the seventh month came, the children of
Israel were in their cities.
Nehemiah 8
1 Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front
of the Water Gate; and they commanded Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of
Moses, which Jehovah had charged Israel.
2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women, and all
who could hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month.
3 And he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from
morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and
the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
4 So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose;
and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and
Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana,
Zechariah, and Meshullam.
5 And Ezra opened the book in the eyes of all the people, for he was standing above all
the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.
6 And Ezra blessed Jehovah, the great God. Then all the people answered, Amen, Amen!
while lifting up their hands. And they bowed down and prostrated themselves before
Jehovah with their faces to the ground.
7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita,
Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the people to understand the
Law; and the people stood in their place.
8 So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and
helped them to understand the reading.
9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who
taught the people said to all the people, This day is holy to Jehovah your God; do not
mourn nor 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, drink the sweet, and send portions to
those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for
the joy of Jehovah is your refuge.
11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, Be still, for the day is holy; do not be
grieved.
12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly,
because they understood the Words that had been declared to them.
13 Now on the second day the heads of the fathers of all the people, with the priests and
Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to have insight into the Words of the
Law.
14 And they found written in the Law, which Jehovah had commanded by the hand of Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month,
15 and that they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying,
Go out to the mountain, and bring olive foliage, foliage of oil trees, myrtle foliage, palm
foliage, and foliage of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.
16 Then the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each one on
their roofs, or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square
of the Water Gate and in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim.
17 So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and
sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children
of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness.
18 Also day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the Book of the
Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day there was a solemn
assembly, according to the prescribed manner.
Nehemiah 9
1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with
fasting, in sackcloth, and earth upon them.
2 Then the seed of Israel separated themselves from the children of the foreigners; and
they 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 Jehovah their
God for a fourth part of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and prostrated
themselves before Jehovah their God.
4 Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood
on the stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to Jehovah their God.
5 And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah,
and Pethahiah, said: Stand up and bless Jehovah your God forever and ever! Blessed is
Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise!
6 You alone are Jehovah; You have made the heavens, the Heaven of the heavens, with
all their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You
preserve them all alive. The host of the Heavens bow down before You.
7 You are Jehovah God, who chose Abram, and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans,
and placed upon him the name Abraham;
8 You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land
of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the
Girgashites; to give it to his seed. You have performed Your words, for You are just.
9 You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red Sea.
10 You gave signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, upon all his servants, and upon all the
people of his land. For You knew that they had acted proudly against them. So You made
a name for Yourself, as it is this day.
11 And You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea
on the dry land; and those pursuing them You threw into the deep, as a stone into the
mighty waters.
12 Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, and by night with a pillar of fire,
to give them light on the way which they should travel.
13 You came down also on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from the heavens, and
gave them just ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments.
14 You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, and commanded them precepts,
statutes and Laws, by the hand of Your servant Moses.
15 You gave them bread from the heavens for their hunger, and brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and intended for them to go in to possess the land which You had raised Your hand and sworn to give them.
16 But they and our fathers acted presumptuously, hardened their necks, and did not heed
Your commandments,
17 and refused to obey, and they were not mindful of Your wonders that You did among
them. But they hardened their necks, and in their rebellion they appointed a leader to
return to their bondage. But You are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to
anger, abundant in kindness; and did not forsake them.
18 Even when they made a molten calf for themselves, and said, This is your god that
brought you up out of Egypt, and worked great blasphemies;
19 yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of
the cloud did not depart from them by day, to lead them on the road; nor the pillar of fire
by night, to show them light, and the way they should go.
20 You also gave Your good Spirit to teach them, and did not withhold Your manna from
their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.
21 Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness. They lacked nothing; their clothes
did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
22 Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations, and divided them into districts. So
they took possession of the land of Sihon, the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of
Og king of Bashan.
23 You also multiplied their children as the stars of the heavens, and brought them into the
land which You had commanded their fathers to go in and possess it.
24 So the people went in and possessed the land; You subdued before them the
inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings
and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they pleased.
25 And they captured strong cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of
all goods, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they
ate and were filled and grew fat, and lived luxuriously in Your great goodness.
26 Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against You, cast Your Law behind
their backs and killed Your prophets, who testified against them to turn them to Yourself;
and they worked great blasphemies.
27 Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who distressed them; and
in the time of their trouble, when they cried out to You, You heard from Heaven; and
according to Your abundant mercies You gave them deliverers who saved them out of the
hand of their enemies.
28 But after they had rest, they returned to doing evil before You. Therefore You left
them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them; yet when they
returned and cried out to You, You heard from Heaven; and many times You delivered
them according to Your mercies,
29 and testified against them, that You might bring them back to Your Law. Yet they
acted presumptuously, and did not heed Your commandments, but sinned against Your
judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them. And they shrugged their shoulders,
stiffened their necks, and would not obey.
30 Yet for many years You had patience with them, and testified against them by Your Spirit by the hand of Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
31 Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not annihilate them nor forsake them; for
You are the Mighty God, gracious and merciful.
32 Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and awesome Mighty God, who keeps
covenant and mercy: Do not let all the trouble seem small before You that has found us,
our kings and our rulers, our priests and our prophets, our fathers and all Your people,
since the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.
33 However You are just in all that has come upon us; for You have dealt faithfully, but
we have done wickedly.
34 Neither our kings nor our princes, our priests nor our fathers, have kept Your Law, nor
paid attention to Your commandments and Your testimonies, with which You testified
against them.
35 For they have not served You in their kingdom, nor in the great goodness that You
gave them, nor in the large and rich land which You set before them; nor did they turn
from their evil works.
36 Here we are, servants this day! And the land that You gave to our fathers, to eat its
fruit and its bounty; behold, we are servants in it.
37 And it yields much increase to the kings You have set over us, because of our sins; also
they have dominion over our bodies and our cattle at their pleasure; and we are in great
distress.
38 And because of all this, we are making a covenant in good faith, and writing it; sealed
by our rulers, our Levites, and our priests.
Nehemiah 10
1 Now those who placed their seal on the document were: Nehemiah the governor, the
son of Hachaliah, and Zedekiah,
2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,
4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,
5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
8 Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These were the priests.
9 The Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, and Kadmiel.
10 Their brethren: Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
11 Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah,
12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
13 Hodijah, Bani, and Beninu.
14 The rulers of the people: Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,
15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,
18 Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,
19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,
22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,
24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
26 Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,
27 Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.
28 Now the rest of the people; the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the
temple slaves, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to
the Law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge
and understanding;
29 these joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law, which was given by the hand of Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of Jehovah our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes:
30 We would not give our daughters to the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters
for our sons.
31 If the peoples of the land brought wares or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we
would not buy it from them on the Sabbath, nor on a holy day; and we would forego the
seventh year's produce and the tribute from every hand.
32 Also we established a command for ourselves, to designate from ourselves yearly one-third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God:
33 for the Bread in Rows, for the continual grain offering, for the continual burnt offering
of the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the set feasts; for the holy things, for the sin
offerings to make atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God.
34 We cast lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for bringing the wood
offering into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at the appointed times
year by year, to burn on the altar of Jehovah our God as it is written in the Law.
35 And to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year
by year, to the house of Jehovah;
36 to bring the firstborn of our sons and our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the
firstborn of our herds and our flocks, to the house of our God, to the priests who minister
in the house of our God;
37 to bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the
new wine and oil, to the priests, to the rooms of the house of our God; and the tithes of
our land to the Levites, that the Levites should receive the tithes in all the cities of our
labor.
38 And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive
tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the
rooms of the storehouse.
39 For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the grain,
of the new wine and the oil, to the rooms where the articles of the sanctuary are, where the
priests who minister and the gatekeepers and the singers are; and we will not neglect the
house of our God.
Nehemiah 11
1 Now the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots to
bring one out of ten to dwell in Jerusalem, the holy city, and nine-tenths were to dwell in
other cities.
2 And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered themselves to dwell at
Jerusalem.
3 These are the heads of the province who dwelt in Jerusalem. (But in the cities of Judah
everyone dwelt in his own possession in their cities; Israelites, priests, Levites, temple
slaves, and sons of Solomon's servants.)
4 Also in Jerusalem dwelt some of the children of Judah and of the children of Benjamin.
The sons of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah,
the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the sons of Perez;
5 and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of
Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni.
6 All the sons of Perez who dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight valiant
men.
7 And these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the
son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of
Jeshaiah;
8 and after him Gabbai and Sallai, nine hundred and twenty-eight.
9 Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer, and Judah the son of Senuah was second over
the city.
10 Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, and Jachin;
11 Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of
Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, was the ruler of the house of God.
12 Their brethren who did the work of the house were eight hundred and twenty-two; and
Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the
son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah,
13 and his brethren, heads of the fathers, were two hundred and forty-two; and Amashai
the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer,
14 and their brethren, mighty men of valor, were one hundred and twenty-eight. Their
overseer was Zabdiel the son of one of the great men.
15 Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of
Hashabiah, the son of Bunni;
16 Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the heads of the Levites, had the oversight of the business
outside of the house of God;
17 Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, the leader who began
the thanksgiving with prayer; Bakbukiah, the second among his brethren; and Abda the son
of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.
18 All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred and eighty-four.
19 Moreover the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren who kept the gates,
were one hundred and seventy-two.
20 And the rest of Israel, of the priests and Levites, were in all the cities of Judah,
everyone in his inheritance.
21 But the temple slaves dwelt in Ophel. And Ziha and Gishpa were over the temple
slaves.
22 Also the overseer of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of
Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha, of the sons of Asaph, the singers who
were over the service of the house of God.
23 For it was the king's command concerning them that there should be financial support
for the singers, a quota for each day.
24 Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the sons of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the
king's hand in all matters concerning the people.
25 And as for the villages with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt in Kirjath
Arba and its villages, Dibon and its villages, Jekabzeel and its villages;
26 in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth Pelet,
27 Hazar Shual, and Beer-sheba and its villages;
28 in Ziklag and Mekonah and its villages;
29 in En Rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth,
30 Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages; in Lachish and its fields; in Azekah and its
villages. They dwelt from Beer-sheba to the Valley of Hinnom.
31 Also the children of Benjamin from Geba dwelt in Michmash, Aija, and Bethel, and
their villages;
32 in Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah;
33 in Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim;
34 in Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat;
35 in Lod, Ono, and the Valley of Craftsmen.
36 Some of the divisions of the Levites of Judah were in Benjamin.
Nehemiah 12
1 Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of
Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
3 Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
4 Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah,
5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and their
brethren in the days of Jeshua.
8 Moreover the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah
who led the songs of praise, he and his brethren.
9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, stood next to them in their service.
10 Jeshua begot Joiakim, Joiakim begot Eliashib, Eliashib begot Joiada,
11 Joiada begot Jonathan, and Jonathan begot Jaddua.
12 Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the heads of the fathers were: of Seraiah,
Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
14 of Malluch, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;
16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17 of Abijah, Zichri; the son of Minjamin of Moadiah, Piltai;
18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; and of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22 During the reign of Darius the Persian, a record was also kept of the Levites and priests
who had been heads of their fathers in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua.
23 The sons of Levi, the heads of the fathers until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib,
were written in the book of the chronicles.
24 And the heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of
Kadmiel, with their brothers next to them, to praise and give thanks, group next to group,
according to the command of David the man of God.
25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers
keeping the watch at the thresholds of the gates.
26 These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the
days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.
27 Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to attend to the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgiving and singing, with cymbals and lutes and harps.
28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Jerusalem,
from the villages of Netophah,
29 from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers
had built themselves villages all around Jerusalem.
30 Then the priests and Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, the gates,
and the wall.
31 So I brought the rulers of Judah up on the wall, and stationed two large thanksgiving
choirs. One went to the right hand on the wall toward the Refuse Gate.
32 Following behind them went Hoshaiah and half of the rulers of Judah,
33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,
34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah,
35 and some of the priests' sons with trumpets; Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of
Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph,
36 and his brethren, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the instruments of song of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them.
37 And at the Fountain Gate across from them, they went up the stairs of the City of
David, at the ascent of the wall above the house of David, as far as the Water Gate
eastward.
38 And the other thanksgiving choir went the opposite way, and I followed behind them
with half of the people on the wall, going past the Tower of the Ovens as far as the Broad
Wall,
39 and above the Gate of Ephraim, above the Old Gate, above the Fish Gate, the Tower
of Hananel, the Tower of Meah, as far as the Sheep Gate; and they stood still by the Gate
of the Prison.
40 So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God, likewise I and half the rulers
with me;
41 and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Minjamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and
Hananiah, with trumpets;
42 also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The
singers sang aloud with Jezrahiah as their overseer.
43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them
rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of
Jerusalem was heard even at a distance.
44 And at the same time some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouse for the
offerings, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the
portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests
and Levites who ministered.
45 Both the singers and the gatekeepers kept the charge of their God and the charge of the
purification, according to the command of David and Solomon his son.
46 For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were heads of the singers, and songs
of praise and thanksgiving to God.
47 In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the portions for
the singers and the gatekeepers, a portion for each day. They also consecrated holy things
for the Levites, and the Levites consecrated them for the sons of Aaron.
Nehemiah 13
1 On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the ears of the people, and in it was
found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should come into the assembly of God
forever,
2 because they had not met the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam
against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing.
3 So it was, when they had heard the Law, that they separated all the mixed multitude
from Israel.
4 Now before this, Eliashib the priest, being entrusted with the rooms of the house of our
God, being related to Tobiah,
5 had prepared for him a large room, where previously they had stored the grain offerings,
the frankincense, the utensils, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, which were
commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for
the priests.
6 But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes
king of Babylon, I had come to the king. Then after certain days I obtained leave from the
king,
7 and I came to Jerusalem and perceived the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in
preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God.
8 And it grieved me exceedingly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out
of the room.
9 Then I commanded them to purify the rooms; and I brought back into them the utensils
of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.
10 I also perceived that the portions for the Levites had not been given them; for each of
the Levites and the singers who did the work had fled to his field.
11 So I contended with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I
gathered them together and set them in their place.
12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil into the
storehouse.
13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the
scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son
of Mattaniah; for they were considered faithful, and their task was to distribute to their
brethren.
14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I
have done for the house of my God, and for its services.
15 In those days I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and
bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens,
which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I admonished them about the
day on which they were selling food.
16 Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of merchandise, and
sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, even in Jerusalem.
17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, What evil thing is this
that you do, profaning the Sabbath day?
18 Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us and upon
this city? Yet you bring added wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath!
19 So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I
commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they not be opened till after the
Sabbath. Then I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens should be
brought in on the Sabbath day.
20 So the merchants and sellers of all kinds of merchandise lodged outside Jerusalem once
or twice.
21 Then I warned them, and said to them, Why do you spend the night around the wall? If
you do so again, I will lay hands on you! From that time on they came no more on the
Sabbath.
22 And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates, to consecrate the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy.
23 In those days I also saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and
Moab.
24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the Jewish language, but according to the tongue of nation to nation.
25 So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their
hair, and made them swear by God, saying, You shall not give your daughters to their sons,
nor take their daughters for your sons, or for yourselves.
26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was
no king like him, who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel.
Nevertheless foreign women caused even him to sin.
27 Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, acting treacherously against our
God by marrying foreign women?
28 And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son-in-law to
Sanballat the Horonite; therefore I drove him from me.
29 Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the
covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.
30 Thus I cleansed them of everything foreign. I also appointed duties to the priests and
the Levites, each to his service,
31 and for the wood offering and the firstfruits at the appointed times. Remember me, O
my God, for good!
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