1 The history of Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah. Now it came about, in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, when I was in Shushan, the castle,
2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came with men from Judah. This was in answer to my request for news about the Jews who had been prisoners and escaped from captivity and about Jerusalem.
3 They said to me: »The small band of Jews now living there in the land is in deep trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem has been broken down, and its doorways burned with fire.«
4 After I heard these words I sat down on the ground and cried for days. I ate no food and offered prayer to the God of heaven.
5 I said: »O Jehovah, the God of heaven, the great God, greatly to be respected, keeping faith and mercy with those who have love for him and are true to his laws:
6 »Let your ear now take note and let your eyes be open. Please give ear to the prayer of your servant. At this time, day and night I pray for the children of Israel, your servants. I put before you the sins of the children of Israel that we have done against you: truly, my fathers people and I are sinners.
7 »We have done great wrong against you. We have not obeyed the orders, the rules, and the decisions, which you gave to your servant Moses.
8 »Keep in mind, O Jehovah, the order you gave your servant Moses, saying: If you do wrong I will send you wandering among the peoples:
9 »If you come back to me and obey my orders, even if you have been forced out and are living in the farthest horizons, I will gather you from there, and bring you to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my name.
10 »These are your servants and your people, whom you have made yours by your great power and by your strong hand.
11 »O Jehovah, let your ear take note of the prayer of your servant. Of the prayers of all your servants, who take delight in worshipping your name: give help, O Jehovah, to your servant this day, and let him have mercy in the eyes of this man.« Now I was the king's wine-servant.
1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him. I served the wine to the king. Never before had I been sad when the king was present.
2 The king said to me: »Why is your face sad, seeing that you are not ill? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.« Then I was full of fear.
3 I said to the king: »May the king live a very long time. My face should look sad for the town where my fathers are buried is devastated. It has been destroyed by fire.«
4 The king asked: »What is your desire?« So I made prayer to the God of heaven.
5 I said to the king: »If it is the king's will, and if your servant has your approval, send me to Judah, to the town where the bodies of my fathers are buried, so that I may rebuild it.«
6 The queen sat by him when the king said: »How long will your journey take? When will you come back? So the king was pleased to send me, and I gave him a fixed time.
7 Further, I said to the king: »If it is the king's pleasure, let letters be given to me for the rulers across the river so that they may let me go through till I come to Judah.
8 »I need a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's park, so that he may give me wood to make boards for the doors of the tower of the house, and for the wall of the town, and for the house which is to be mine.« The king gave me this, for the hand of my God was on me.
9 Then I came to the rulers of the lands across the river and gave them the king's letters. Now the king sent with me captains of the army and horsemen.
10 Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard I was coming. They were greatly troubled because a man came to help from the children of Israel.
11 I stayed at Jerusalem for three days.
12 I got up in the night and took a small band of men with me. I said nothing to any man of what God put into my heart to do for Jerusalem, I had no beast with me but the one on which I was seated.
13 I went in the dark through the gateway of the valley past the Fountain of the Snake Serpents Well as far as the place where waste material was stored. From there I viewed the broken down walls of Jerusalem and the gateways that were burned with fire.
14 Then I went on to the door of the fountain and to the king's pool: but there was no room for my beast to get through.
15 Then in the night I went up by the stream, viewed the wall and then turned back. I went in by the valley gate.
16 The chiefs had no knowledge of where I had been or what I was doing. I had not then said anything to the Jews or to the priests or the great ones or the chiefs or the rest of those who were doing the work.
17 Then I said to them: »You see what a bad condition we are in. How Jerusalem is a waste. Its gateways burned with fire. Come; let us get to work, building up the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer be put to shame.«
18 Then I gave them an account of how the hand of my God was on me, helping me. I told them of the king's words he said to me. They said: »Let us get to work on the building.« So they made their hands strong for the good work.
19 But Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, hearing of it, made sport of us. They laughed at us and said: »What are you doing? Will you go against the king?«
20 I answered them: »The God of heaven will be our help; so we, his servants, will go on with our building. But you have no part or right or any name in Jerusalem.«
1 The high priest Eliashib worked with his brother priest to rebuild the Sheep Gateway. They made it holy and put its doors in position. They sanctified everything as far as the tower of Hammeah including to the tower of Hananel.
2 The men of Jericho worked along with them. Zaccur, the son of Imri worked there also.
3 The sons of Hassenaah were the builders of the fish doorway. They put its boards in place and put up its doors, with their locks and rods.
4 By their side Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, was making good the walls. There was Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel; and by him, Zadok, the son of Baana.
5 Near them, the Tekoites were at work; but their chiefs did not put their necks to the work of their masters.
6 Joiada, the son of Paseah, and Meshullam, the son of Besodeiah, repaired the old doorway. They put its boards in place and put up its doors, with their locks and rods.
7 Working by their side included: Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah from the seat of the ruler across the river.
8 Near them was working Uzziel, the son of Harhaiah, the gold-worker. And by him was Hananiah, one of the perfume-makers, building up Jerusalem as far as the wide wall.
9 Working near them was Rephaiah, the son of Hur, the ruler of half Jerusalem.
10 By his side was Jedaiah, the son of Harumaph, opposite his house. And by him was Hattush, the son of Hashabneiah.
11 Malchijah, the son of Harim, and Hasshub, the son of Pahath-moab, were working on another part, and the tower of the ovens.
12 Near them was Shallum, the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of half Jerusalem, with his daughters.
13 Hanun and the people of Zanoah were working on the doorway of the valley. They put it up and put up its doors, with their locks and rods, and fifteen hundred feet of the wall as far as the doorway where the waste material was placed.
14 And Malchijah, the son of Rechab, the ruler of the division of Beth-haccherem, made good the repair of the doorway with their locks and rods.
15 And Shallun, the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of the division of Mizpah, made good the doorway of the fountain, building it up and covering it and putting up its doors, with their locks and rods, with the wall of the pool of Shelah by the king's garden, as far as the steps which go down from the town of David.
16 By his side was working Nehemiah, the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the division of Beth-zur, as far as the place opposite the last resting-places of David's family and as far as the pool that had been made and the house of the men of war.
17 Then came the Levites and Rehum the son of Bani. By his side was working Hashabiah, ruler of half the division of Keilah, for his division.
18 After him were working their brothers, Bavvai, the son of Henadad, ruler of half the division of Keilah.
19 And by his side was working Ezer, the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, making good another part opposite the way up to the store of arms at the turning of the wall.
20 After him Baruch, the son of Zabbai, was hard at work on another part, from the turning of the wall to the door of the house of Eliashib, the chief priest.
21 After him Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, was working on another part, from the door of the house of Eliashib as far as the end of his house.
22 After him were working the priests, the men of the lowland.
23 After them came Benjamin and Hasshub, opposite their house. After them Azariah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made good the wall by the house where he himself was living.
24 After him Binnui, the son of Henadad, was working on another part, from the house of Azariah as far as the turning of the wall and the angle.
25 Palal, the son of Uzai, made good the wall opposite the angle and the tower which comes out from the higher part of the king's house, by the open space of the watch. After him was Pedaiah, the son of Parosh.
26 Now the Nethinim were living in the Ophel, as far as the place facing the water doorway to the east, and the tower that comes out.
27 After him the Tekoites were making good another part, opposite the great tower that comes out, and up to the wall of the Ophel.
28 Further on, past the Horse Gate, the priests were at work, every one opposite his house.
29 After them Zadok, the son of Immer, was working opposite his house. And after him was Shemaiah, the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the east door.
30 After him Hananiah, the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, were making good another part. After him Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, made good the wall opposite his room.
31 After him Malchijah, one of the gold-workers to the Nethinim and the traders, made good the wall opposite the doorway of Hammiphkad and as far as the way up to the angle.
32 And between the way up to the angle and the Sheep Gate, the gold-workers and the traders made good the wall.
1 Now, Sanballat, hearing that we were building the wall, was very angry, and in his wrath made sport of the Jews.
2 And in the hearing of his countrymen and the army of Samaria he said: »What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they make themselves strong? Will they make offerings? Will they get the work done in a day? Will they make the stones that have been burned come again out of the dust?«
3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was with him, and he said: Such is their building that if a fox climbs to the top of it, their stonewall will be broken down.
4 Give ear, O our God, for we are ridiculed. Let their words of shame be turned back upon them, and let them be given up to plunder in a land where they are prisoners.
5 Do not let their wrongdoing be covered or their sin be washed away from before you: for they have made you angry before the builders.
6 So we went on building the wall. The entire wall was joined together halfway up. The people were working hard.
7 When the Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites, heard that the building of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and the broken places were being made good, they were very angry.
8 All of them conspired to come and launch an attack on Jerusalem, causing trouble there.
9 We prayed to God and stationed men on watch against them day and night.
10 Judah said: »The strength of the workmen is giving way. There is a lot of rubbish so it is impossible for us to put up the wall.«
11 And our adversaries kept saying: »They will not know and they will not see until we come right in among them and put them to death. We will cause the work to cease.«
12 When the Jews who were living near them came, they said to us ten times: »From all directions they are coming against us.«
13 So in the lowest part of the space at the back of the walls, in the open places, I put the people by families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
14 And after looking, I got up and said to the great ones and to the chiefs and to the rest of the people, »Have no fear of them. Keep in mind Jehovah who is great and greatly to be feared. Take up arms for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives and your houses.«
15 When our enemies heard that we had knowledge of their designs and that God had made their purpose come to nothing, we all went back to the wall, everyone to his work.
16 From that time, half of my servants were doing their part of the work, and half kept the spears and body-covers and the bows and the metal wardresses. The leaders were in back of the men of Judah.
17 Those who were building the wall and those who were moving material did their part. Everyone worked with one hand and with his spear in the other.
18 Every builder was working with his sword at his side. By my side was a man for sounding the warning horn.
19 I said to the leaders and the rest of the people: »The work is extensive and widely spaced and we are far away from one another on the wall.
20 »Wherever you may be when the horn is sounded, come here to us. Our God will fight for us.«
21 So we went on with the work. Half of them had spears in their hands from the dawn of the morning till the stars were seen.
22 At the same time I said to the people: »Let everyone with his servant come inside Jerusalem for the night. At night they may keep watch for us, and go on working by day.«
23 Not one of us, I or my brothers or my servants or the watchmen who were with me, changed clothes. Everyone went armed to the water.
1 Then there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their countrymen the Jews.
2 Some said: »We with our sons and our daughters are a great number. Let us get grain, so that we may have food for our needs.«
3 There were some who said: »We are giving our fields and our vine-gardens and our houses for debt. Let us get grain because we are in need.«
4 Yet others said: »We have given up our fields and our vine-gardens to get money for the king's taxes.
5 »But our flesh is the same as the flesh of our countrymen, and our children as their children. Now we give our sons and daughters into the hands of others, to be their servants. Some of our daughters are servants even now. We have no power to stop this. For other men have our fields and our vine-gardens.«
6 On hearing their outcry and what they said I was very angry.
7 After giving it much thought, I made a protest to the chiefs and the rulers, and said to them: »Everyone of you is collecting interest from his brothers.« I organized a big meeting of protest.
8 I said to them: »We have given whatever we were able to give, to make our brothers the Jews free. They were servants and prisoners of the nations. Would you now give up your brothers for a price? Are they to become our property?« They said nothing. They answered not a word!
9 I said: »What you are doing is not good. Is it not necessary for you to walk out of respect for our God, because of the shame the nations put on us?
10 »Even I and my servants have been collecting interest Usury for the money and the grain we have let them have. So now, let us give this up.
11 »Give back to them this very day their fields, their vine-gardens, their olive-gardens, and their houses, as well as a hundredth part of the money and the grain and the wine and the oil that you have taken from them.«
12 They said: »We will give them back, and take nothing for them. We will do as you say.« Then I sent for the priests and made them take an oath that they would keep this agreement.
13 Shaking out the folds of my robe, I said: »So, may God send out from his house and his work every man who does not keep this agreement. Even so let him be sent out and made as nothing.« All the people said: »Amen!« They praised Jehovah. The people did as they said.
14 From the time when I was made ruler of the people in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year till the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, for twelve years, my servants and I have never taken the food that was the right of the ruler.
15 Earlier rulers who came before me made the people responsible for their upkeep, and took from them bread and wine at the rate of forty shekels of silver. Even their servants were lords over the people. But I did not do so, out of reverence for God.
16 I kept on with the work of this wall. We got no land for ourselves. All my servants helped with the work.
17 There is more, a hundred and fifty of the Jews and the rulers were guests at my table, in addition to those who came to us from the nations nearby.
18 The food for one day included: one bull and six fat sheep, as well as fowls; and once in ten days a store of all sorts of wine. All the same, I did not take the food to which the ruler had a right, because the people were crushed under a hard yoke.
19 Keep in mind, O my God, for my good, all I have done for this people.
1 Word was given to Sanballat and Tobiah and to Geshem the Arabian and to the rest of our enemies, that I had done the building of the wall and that there were no more broken places in it though even then I had not put up the gates in the gateways.
2 Sanballat and Geshem sent to me saying: »Come; let us have a meeting in one of the little towns in the lowland of Ono.« But their purpose was to do me evil.
3 I sent men to them saying: »I am doing a great work, so that it is not possible for me to come. Should the work to be stopped while I go away from it and come to you?«
4 They sent this to me four times. I sent them the same answer.
5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me a fifth time with an open letter in his hand.
6 There was written in it: »It has been heard among the nations what Geshem is saying. / He is saying that you and the Jews are hoping to make yourselves free from the king's authority. That this is why you are building the wall. They say that it is your purpose to be their king.
7 »And that you have prophets preaching about you in Jerusalem, and saying: There is a king in Judah. Now an account of these things will be sent to the king. So come now, and let us have a discussion.«
8 I responded to him, saying: »No such things as you say are being done. They are only a fiction you have made up yourself.«
9 They hoped to put fear in us, saying: »Their hands will become feeble and give up the work so that it may not get done.« But now, O God, make my hands strong.
10 And I went to the house of Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was confined in his house. He said: »Let us have a meeting in the house of God, inside the Temple, and let the doors be closed for they will come to kill you. Truly, in the night they will come to kill you.«
11 I replied: »Am I the sort of man to go in flight? What man, in my position, would go into the Temple to keep safe? I will not go in.«
12 Then it became clear to me that God had not sent him. He spoke prophecy against me. Tobiah and Sanballat paid him money to do so.
13 For this reason they paid him money, in order that I might be overcome by fear and do what he said and do wrong. Then they would have reason to say evil about me and put shame on me.
14 Keep in mind, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat and what they did, and Noadiah, the woman prophet, and the rest of the prophets whose purpose was to frighten me.
15 The wall was complete on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul. It took fifty-two days.
16 When our enemies had news of this, all the nations round about us were full of fear and were greatly shamed. They saw that our God had done this work.
17 The leaders of Judah exchanged letters with Tobiah.
18 For in Judah there were a number of people who had made an agreement by oath with him. For he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah, the son of Arah and his son Jehohanan had taken as his wife the daughter of Meshullam, the son of Berechiah.
19 They spoke a good deal about the good he had done in my presence, and reported what I said to him. Tobiah sent letters with the purpose of causing me fear.
1 When the building of the wall was complete I put up the doors. The doorkeepers and the music-makers and the Levites had been given their places,
2 I appointed my brother Hanani, and Hananiah, the ruler of the tower, responsible for the government of Jerusalem. For he was a man of good faith, respecting God more than most.
3 I said to them: »Do not let the doors of Jerusalem be open till the sun is high and when the watchmen are in their places. Shut the doors and lock them. Let the people of Jerusalem be responsible for the watch, every one in his watch near his house.«
4 The town was large and spacious. But the people in it were only a small number, and the houses had not been built.
5 My God put it into my heart to get together the rulers and the chiefs and the people to list them by families. I came across a record of the names of those who came up at the first, and in it I saw these words:
6 These are the people of the divisions of the kingdom, among those who had been made prisoners by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and taken away by him, who went back to Jerusalem and Judah, every one to his town:
7 They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:
8 The children of Parosh, two thousand, one hundred and seventy-two.
9 The children of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two.
10 The children of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two.
11 The children of Pahath-moab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand, eight hundred and eighteen.
12 The children of Elam, a thousand, two hundred and fifty-four.
13 The children of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five.
14 The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty.
15 The children of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight.
16 The children of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight.
17 The children of Azgad, two thousand, three hundred and twenty-two.
18 The children of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven.
19 The children of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven.
20 The children of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five.
21 The children of Ater, of Hezekiah, ninety-eight.
22 The children of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight.
23 The children of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four.
24 The children of Hariph, a hundred and twelve.
25 The children of Gibeon, ninety-five.
26 The men of Beth-lehem and Netophah, a hundred and eighty-eight.
27 The men of Anathoth, a hundred and twenty-eight.
28 The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two.
29 The men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three.
30 The men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one.
31 The men of Michmas, a hundred and twenty-two.
32 The men of Beth-el and Ai, a hundred and twenty-three.
33 The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two.
34 The children of the other Elam, a thousand, two hundred and fifty-four.
35 The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty.
36 The children of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five.
37 The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one.
38 The children of Senaah, three thousand, nine hundred and thirty.
39 The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the family of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three.
40 The children of Immer, a thousand and fifty-two.
41 The children of Pashhur, a thousand, two hundred and forty-seven.
42 The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.
43 The Levites: the children of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, of the children of Hodevah, seventy-four.
44 The music-makers: the children of Asaph, a hundred and forty-eight.
45 The gate-keepers: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, a hundred and thirty-eight.
46 The Nethinim: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth,
47 The children of Keros, the children of Sia, the children of Padon,
48 The children of Lebana, the children of Hagaba, the children of Salmai,
49 The children of Hanan, the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar,
50 The children of Reaiah, the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda,
51 The children of Gazzam, the children of Uzza, the children of Paseah,
52 The children of Besai, the children of Meunim, the children of Nephushesim,
53 The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur,
54 The children of Bazlith, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha,
55 The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Temah,
56 The children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha.
57 The children of Solomon's servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida,
58 The children of Jaala, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel,
59 The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the children of Amon.
60 All the Nethinim and the children of Solomon's servants were three hundred and ninety-two.
61 All these were the people who went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer; but because they had no knowledge of their fathers' families or offspring, it was not certain if they were Israelites:
62 The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two.
63 And of the priests: the children of Hobaiah, the children of Hakkoz, the children of Barzillai, who was married to one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and took their name.
64 They searched for their record among the lists of families, but their names were nowhere to be seen, so they were looked on as unclean and no longer priests.
65 And the Tirshatha governor said that they were not to have the most holy things for their food, till a priest came to give decision by the Urim and Thummim.
66 The number of all the people together was forty-two thousand, three hundred and sixty.
67 As well as their men-servants and their women-servants, of whom there were seven thousand, three hundred and thirty-seven. They had two hundred and forty-five men and women to make music.
68 They had seven hundred and thirty-six horses, two hundred and forty-five transport beasts.
69 They also had four hundred and thirty-five camels, six thousand, seven hundred and twenty asses.
70 Some of the heads of families gave money for the work. The Tirshatha gave to the store a thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, and five hundred and thirty priests' robes.
71 Some of the heads of families gave to the store for the work twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand, two hundred pounds of silver.
72 That which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand pounds of silver, and sixty-seven priests' robes.
73 The priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, some of the people and the Nethinim, and all Israel, were living in their towns. When the seventh months arrived, the sons of Israel were then in their cities.
1 When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their towns. All the people came together like one man into the wide place in front of the Water Gate. They requested Ezra the scribe that he would bring them the book of the Law of Moses that Jehovah gave to Israel.
2 Ezra the priest brought the law to the meeting of the people. They were all able to listen to it. It was the first day of the seventh month.
3 He read it in the wide place in front of the Water Gate from early morning till the middle of the day. Everyone who could understand it, men and women alike were able to listen to it. All the people got to hear the Book of the Law.
4 Ezra the scribe took his place on a tower podium of wood that they had made for the purpose. By his side were placed Mattithiah and Shema and Anaiah and Uriah and Hilkiah and Maaseiah on the right; and on the left, Pedaiah and Mishael and Malchijah and Hashum and Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.
5 Ezra took the book and opened it before the eyes of all the people for he was higher than the people. When it was open, all the people stood on their feet.
6 Ezra praised Jehovah, the great God. And all the people said: »Amen!« With lifted hands and bent heads they worshiped Jehovah. They dropped to their faces on the earth.
7 And Jeshua and Bani and Sherebiah and Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites made the law clear to the people: and the people kept in their places.
8 They read from the book the Law of God making it clear translating it , so that their minds were able to take it in.
9 Nehemiah, who was the Tirshatha Governor , and Ezra, the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were the teachers of the people, said to all the people: »This day is holy to Jehovah your God. Let there be no sorrow or weeping.« For all the people were weeping on hearing the words of the law.
10 He said to them: »Go away now, and take the fat for your food and the sweet for your drink, and send some to him for whom nothing is made ready. This day is holy to our Lord. Let there be no grief in your hearts. The joy of Jehovah is your strong place.«
11 So the Levites made all the people quiet, saying: »Be quiet, for the day is holy; and do not give way to grief.«
12 All the people went away to take food and drink, and to send food to others, and to be glad, because the words that were said to them had been clearly communicated.
13 The second day the heads of families of all the people and the priests and the Levites came together to Ezra the scribe, to give attention to the words of the law.
14 They saw that it was recorded in the law that Jehovah gave orders by Moses, that the children of Israel were to have tents for their living-places in the feast of the seventh month:
15 They were to give an order, and make it public in all their towns and in Jerusalem, saying: Go out to the mountain and get olive branches and branches of field olives oil trees and of myrtle, and palm branches and branches of thick trees, to make tents, as it says in the book.
16 The people went out and got them and made themselves tents. Every one on the roof of his house, and in the open spaces and in the open squares of the House of God, and in the wide place of the Water Gate, and the wide place of the Gate of Ephraim.
17 All the people who had been prisoners and had come back, made tents and were living in them. From the time of Jeshua, the son of Nun, till that day, the children of Israel had not done so. There was very great joy!
18 Day by day, from the first day till the last, he read from the book of the Law of God. They kept the feast for seven days: and on the eighth day there was a holy meeting, as it is ordered in the law.
1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel came together, taking no food and putting sackcloth and dust on their bodies.
2 The seed of Israel made themselves separate from all the men of other nations. They publicly requested forgiveness for their sins and the wrongdoing of their fathers.
3 For a fourth part of the day, upright in their places, they read from the book of the Law of their God. For a fourth part of the day they requested forgiveness and worshipped Jehovah their God.
4 Then Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani took their places on the steps of the Levites and cried in a loud voice to Jehovah their God.
5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said: »Get up and give praise to Jehovah your God forever and ever. Praise your great name that is lifted up high over all, blessing and praise.
6 »You are Jehovah, even you only! You made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their armies, the earth and all things in it, the seas and everything in them. You keep them from destruction and the armies of heaven are your worshippers.
7 »You are Jehovah, the true God, who took Abram and made him yours, guiding him from Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham;
8 »You saw that his heart was true to you, and made an agreement with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite and the Girgashite, even to give it to his seed, and you have done what you said; for righteousness is yours.
9 »You saw the trouble of our fathers in Egypt, and their cry came to your ears by the Red Sea.
10 »You did signs and wonders on Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land. You saw how cruel they were to them. So you made a name for yourself as it is today.
11 »You parted the sea before them, so that they went through the sea on dry land; and those who went after them went down into the deep, like a stone into great waters.
12 »And you went before them by day in a pillar of cloud and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light on the way they were to go.
13 »You came down on Mount Sinai, and your voice came to them from heaven, giving them right decisions and true laws, good rules and orders.
14 »They received word of your holy Sabbath from you. You gave them orders and rules and a law, by the hand of Moses your servant.
15 »They received bread from heaven when they were in need, and you made water come out of the rock for their drink, and gave them orders to go in and take for their heritage the land that your hand give them.
16 »But they and our fathers, in their pride, made their necks stiff, and paid no attention to your orders.
17 »They would not obey you and gave no thought to the wonders you did among them. They became stubborn and turning away from you. They appointed a leader over themselves to take them back to their prison in Egypt. However, you are a God of forgiveness, full of grace and pity, slow to wrath and great in mercy, and you did not give them up.
18 »Even when they made for themselves a bull out of metal, and said: This is your God who took you up out of Egypt, and had done so much to make you angry.
19 »Even then, in your great mercy, you did not give them up in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud still went before them by day, guiding them on their way, and the pillar of fire by night, to give them light, and make clear the way they were to go.
20 »You gave your good Spirit to be their teacher. You did not hold back your manna from their mouths. You gave them water when they had need of it.
21 »Truly, for forty years you were their support in the wilderness. They needed nothing. Their clothing did not get old or their feet become tired.
22 »You gave them kingdoms and peoples, making distribution to them in every part of the land. They took for their heritage the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, king of Bashan.
23 »You made their children as great in number as the stars of heaven. You took them into the land, of which you had said to their fathers that they were to go in and take it for themselves.
24 »So the children went in and took the land. You overcame before them the people of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them up into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land, so that they might do with them whatever it was their pleasure to do.
25 »And they took walled towns and a fat land. They became the owners of houses full of all good things, water-holes cut in the rock, vine-gardens and olive-gardens and a wealth of fruit-trees. They had food enough and became fat, and had joy in the good you gave them.
26 »But they were hard-hearted, and went against your authority. They turned their backs on your law, and murdered your prophets. These prophets gave witness against them with the purpose of turning them back again to you. They did much to make you angry.
27 »So you gave them up into the hands of their enemies who were cruel to them. In the time of their trouble, when they prayed to you, you listened to them from heaven. In your great mercy you gave them saviors, who made them free from the hands of their enemies.
28 »When they had rest, they did evil again before you: so you gave them into the hands of their enemies who ruled over them. When they came back and prayed to you, you listened to them from heaven; again and again, in your mercy, you gave them salvation.
29 »You admonished them so that you might make them come back again to your law. Their hearts were lifted up, and they paid no attention to your orders. They went against your life giving decisions and turned their backs on you. They were stubborn and did not listen.
30 »You put up with them for years. You admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they did not listen. So you gave them up into the hands of the peoples of the lands.
31 »Even then, in your great mercy, you did not put an end to them completely, or give them up; for you are a God of grace loving-kindness and mercy.
32 »Now, our God, the great, the strong, the God who is to be respected, who keeps faith and mercy, do not let his trouble seem small to you. It has come on us, and on our kings and our rulers and on our priests and our prophets and our fathers and on all your people from the time of the kings of Assyria till this day.
33 »You have been in the right in everything that happened to us. You have been true to us, but we have done evil!
34 »Our kings, our rulers, our priests, and our fathers have not obeyed your Law or given attention to your orders and your witness, with which you gave witness against them.
35 »They have not been your servants in their kingdom! In all the good things you gave them, and in the great and fat land you gave them they have not turned away from their evil doing.
36 »Today, we are servants! As for the land you gave to our fathers, so that the produce of it and the good might be theirs, see, we are servants in it!
37 »And it gives much increase to the kings whom you have put over us because of our sins. They have power over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great trouble.
38 »And because of all this we are making an agreement in good faith, and putting it in writing. Our rulers, our Levites, and our priests are putting their names to it.«
1 Now those who put down their names were Nehemiah the Tirshatha Governor , the son of Hacaliah, 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, Shemaiah; these were the priests.
9 And the Levites: by name, Jeshua, the son of Azaniah, Binnui, of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,
10 And their brothers, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
11 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,
12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
13 Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.
14 The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,
15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,
18 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nobai,
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 And Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
27 Malluch, Harim, Baanah.
28 And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gate keepers, the music-makers, the Nethinim, and all those who made themselves separate from the peoples of the lands, to keep the Law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge and wisdom;
29 They were united with their brothers, their rulers, and put themselves under a curse and an oath, to keep their steps in the way of God's law, which was given by Moses, the servant of God, and to keep and do all the orders of the Jehovah, our Lord, and his decisions and his rules.
30 That way we would not give our daughters to the peoples of the lands, or take their daughters for our sons;
31 If the peoples of the lands come to do trade in goods or food on the Sabbath day, that we would do no trade with them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. In the seventh year we would take no payment from any debtor.
32 We made rules for ourselves, taxing ourselves a third of a shekel every year for the upkeep of the House of our God.
33 For the holy bread, and for the regular meal offering and the regular burned offering on the Sabbaths and at the new moon and the fixed feasts, and for the sin-offerings to take away the sin of Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.
34 And we, the priests and the Levites and the people, made selection, by the decision of Jehovah, of those who were to take the wood offering into the house of God, by families at the regular times, year by year, to be burned on the altar of Jehovah our God, as it is recorded in the law;
35 To take the first fruits of our land, and the first fruits of every sort of tree, year by year, into the house of Jehovah.
36 As well as the first of our sons and of our cattle, as it is recorded in the law. The first lambs of our herds and of our flocks, which are to be taken to the house of our God, to the priests who are servants in the house of our God:
37 That we would take the first of our rough meal, and our lifted offerings, and the fruit of every sort of tree, and wine and oil, to the priests, to the rooms of the house of our God. The tenth of the produce of our land to the Levites for the Levites, take a tenth in all the towns of our ploughed land.
38 The priest, the son of Aaron, is to be with the Levites, when the Levites take the tenths. The Levites are to take a tenth of the tenths into the house of our God, to the rooms, into the storehouse.
39 The children of Israel and the children of Levi are to take the lifted offering of the grain and wine and oil into the rooms where the vessels of the holy place are. This is together with the priests and the gatekeepers and the makers of music. We will not give up caring for the House of our God.
1 The rulers of the people lived in Jerusalem. One out of every ten people was selected by chance to live in Jerusalem, the holy town. The other nine were to go to the other towns.
2 the people gave a blessing to all the men who freely offered to take up their places in Jerusalem.
3 These are the chiefs of the divisions of the country who were living in Jerusalem: but in the towns of Judah everyone was living on his heritage in the towns, that is, Israel, the priests, the Levites, the Nethinim, and the children of Solomon's servants.
4 Other people of the children of Judah and of Benjamin lived in Jerusalem. Of the children 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 children 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 the Shilonite.
6 All the sons of Perez living in Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight men of good position.
7 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, Sallai, nine hundred and twenty-eight.
9 Joel, the son of Zichri, was their overseer; and Judah, the son of Hassenuah, was second over the town.
10 Of the priests: Jedaiah, the son of Joiarib, Jachin,
11 Seraiah, the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God,
12 Their brothers who did the work of the house, 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 His brothers, heads of families, two hundred and forty-two; and Amashsai, the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer,
14 Their brothers, men of war, a hundred and twenty-eight; and their overseer was Zabdiel, the son of Haggedolim.
15 Of the Levites: Shemaiah, the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni,
16 And Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who were responsible for the outside business of the house of God;
17 And Mattaniah, the son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, who had to give the first note of the song of praise in prayer, and Bakbukiah, the second among his brothers, and Abda, the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.
18 All the Levites in the holy town were two hundred and eighty-four.
19 In addition the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon, and their brothers who kept watch at the gates, were a hundred and seventy-two.
20 And the rest of Israel, of the priests, the Levites, in all the towns of Judah, every one in his heritage.
21 But the Nethinim were living in the Ophel; and Ziha and Gishpa were over the Nethinim.
22 The overseer of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi, the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica, of the sons of Asaph, the music-makers, who was over the business of the house of God.
23 There was an order from the king about them and a regular amount for the music-makers, for their needs day by day.
24 Pethahiah, the son of Meshezabel, of the sons of Zerah, the son of Judah, was the king's servant in everything to do with the people.
25 And for the villages with their fields, some of the men of Judah were living in Kiriath-arba Hebron and its villages, and in Dibon and its villages, and in Jekabzeel and its villages,
26 In Jeshua, and in Moladah, and Beth-pelet,
27 In Hazar-shual, and in Beer-sheba and its villages,
28 And in Ziklag, and in Meconah and its villages.
29 In En-rimmon, and in Zorah, and in Jarmuth,
30 And Zanoah, Adullam and their villages, Lachish and its fields, Azekah and its villages. So they were living from Beer-sheba to the valley of Hinnom.
31 The children of Benjamin were living from Geba, at Michmash and Aija, and at Beth-el and its villages.
32 At Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,
33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,
34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,
35 Lod and Ono, the valley of expert workers.
36 Certain divisions in Judah were joined to Benjamin of the Levites.
1 These are the priests and the Levites who went up with Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,
5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
6 Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua.
8 The Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who was over the music-makers, he and his brothers.
9 Bakbukiah and Unno, their brothers, were opposite them in their watches.
10 Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, and Joiakim was the father of Eliashib, and Eliashib was the father of Joiada,
11 And Joiada was the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan was the father of Jaddua.
12 In the days of Joiakim there were priests, heads of families: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
13 Of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
14 Of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
15 Of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;
16 Of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17 Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
18 Of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
19 And of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
20 Of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
21 Of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22 The Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were listed as heads of families; and the priests, when Darius the Persian was king.
23 The sons of Levi, heads of families, were recorded in the book of the histories, even till the days of Johanan, the son of Eliashib.
24 The chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua, the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers opposite them, to give blessing and praise as ordered by David, the man of God, watch against watch.
25 Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were gatekeepers keeping the watch at the storehouses 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 ruler and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.
27 When the time came for the wall of Jerusalem to be made holy, they sent for the Levites out of all their places to come to Jerusalem, to keep the feast with joy, and with praise and melody, with brass and corded instruments of music.
28 The sons of the music-makers came together from the lowland round about Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites,
29 From Beth-gilgal and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the music-makers made villages for themselves round about Jerusalem.
30 The priests and the Levites made themselves clean; and they made the people clean, and the gateways and the wall.
31 Then I made the rulers of Judah come up on the wall, and I put in position two great bands of them who gave praise, walking in ordered lines. One went to the right on the wall toward the gateway where the waste was put.
32 Hoshaiah and half of the rulers of Judah followed after them,
33 And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,
34 Judah and Benjamin and Shemaiah and Jeremiah,
35 Some of the priests' sons with wind instruments; Zechariah, the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph,
36 His brothers, Shemaiah, and Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel and Judah, Hanani, with the music-instruments of David, the man of God; and Ezra the scribe was at their head;
37 By the doorway of the fountain and straight in front of them, they went up by the steps of the town of David, at the slope up of the wall, over the house of David, as far as the water-doorway to the east.
38 The other band of those who gave praise went to the left, and I went after them with half the people, on the wall, over the tower of the ovens, as far as the wide wall,
39 Over the Gate of Ephraim and by the old door and the fish door and the tower of Hananel and the tower of Hammeah, as far as the Sheep Gate: and at the doorway of the watchmen they came to a stop.
40 So the two bands of those who gave praise took up their positions in the house of God, and I and half of the chiefs with me:
41 The priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with wind instruments;
42 And Maaseiah and Shemaiah and Eleazar and Uzzi and Jehohanan and Malchijah and Elam and Ezer. The makers of melody made their voices loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer.
43 On that day they made great offerings and were glad. God made them glad with great joy. The women and the children were glad with them. The joy of Jerusalem came to the ears of those who were far off.
44 Men were stationed over the houses where the contributions and the first fruits and the tenths were stored. They were to take into them the amounts, from the fields of every town. The law fixed this for the priests and the Levites: Judah was glad on account of the priests and the Levites who were in their places.
45 They kept the watch of their God, and were responsible for making things clean. So did the music-makers and the gatekeepers, as David and Solomon his son ordered it.
46 For in the days of David and Asaph in the past, there was a master of the music, and songs of blessing and praise to God.
47 All Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave what the music-makers and the gatekeepers deeded day by day. They made the offerings holy for the Levites; and the Levites did the same for the sons of Aaron.
1 On that day there was a reading from the book of Moses while the people listened. They heard that it said in the book that no Ammonite or Moabite might ever come into the meeting of God at any time.
2 This is because they did not give the children of Israel bread and water when they came to them, but got Balaam to put a curse on them. Our God turned the curse into a blessing.
3 So after hearing the law, they took out of Israel all the mixed people.
4 Before this, Eliashib the priest had been placed over the rooms of the house of our God. He was a friend of Tobiah.
5 Had made a great room ready for him. This is where they once kept the meal offerings, the perfume, the vessels and the tenths of the grain and wine and oil. They were given by order to the Levites and the music-makers and the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.
6 I was not at Jerusalem all this time in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon. I went to the king; and after some days, I got the king to let me go.
7 I went to Jerusalem. It was clear to me what evil Eliashib had done for Tobiah by making ready for him a room in the buildings of the house of God.
8 It was evil in my eyes so I had all Tobiah's things removed from the room.
9 Then I gave orders, and they made the rooms clean. I put the vessels of the House of God, along with the meal offerings and the perfume, back in the rooms.
10 I saw that the Levites had not been given what was needed for their support. So the Levites and the music-makers, who did the work, had gone away, everyone to his field.
11 Then I made protests to the chiefs, and said: »Why has the house of God been given up?« I got them together and put them in their places.
12 All Judah came with the tenth part of the grain and wine and oil and put it into the storehouses.
13 I made controllers over the storehouses, Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah: and with them was Hanan, the son of Zaccur the son of Mattaniah. They were taken to be honest men and their business was the distribution of these things to their brothers.
14 Nehemiahs prayer: »Keep me in mind, O my God, in connection with this, and do not let the good which I have done for the house of my God and its worship go from your memory completely.«
15 In those days, I saw in Judah some who were crushing grapes on the Sabbath, and harvesting grain and putting it on Asses; as well as wine and grapes and figs and all sorts of goods that they took into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. I gave witness against them on the day when they were marketing food.
16 There were men of Tyre there. They came with fish and all sorts of goods, trading with the children of Judah and in Jerusalem on the Sabbath.
17 Then I made protests to the chiefs of Judah, and said to them: »What is this evil you are doing, not keeping the Sabbath day holy?
18 »Did not your fathers do the same, and did not our God send all this evil on us and on this town? You are causing more anger to come on Israel by not keeping the Sabbath holy.«
19 When the streets of Jerusalem were getting dark before the Sabbath, I gave orders for the gate to be shut and not to be open again until after the Sabbath. I put some of my servants by the gate so that nothing might be taken in on the Sabbath day.
20 So the traders in all sorts of goods took their night's rest outside Jerusalem once or twice.
21 Then I gave witness against them and said: »Why are you waiting all night by the wall? If you do so again I will have you taken prisoners.« From that time they did not come again on the Sabbath.
22 I gave the Levites orders to make themselves clean and come and keep the gates and make the Sabbath holy. »Keep this in mind to my credit, O my God, and have mercy on me, for great is your mercy.«
23 I saw the Jews who were married to women of Ashdod and Ammon and Moab:
24 Their children were talking half in the language of Ashdod; they had no knowledge of the Jews' language, but made use of the language of the two peoples.
25 I took up the cause against them, cursing them and giving blows to some of them and pulling out their hair. I made them take an oath by God, saying: »You are not to give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.
26 »Was it not in these things that Solomon, king of Israel, did wrong? Among a number of nations there was no king like him. He was dear to his God, and God made him king over all Israel. But even he was made to do evil by strange women.
27 »Are we then without protest to let you do all this great evil, sinning against our God by taking strange women for your wives?«
28 One of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib, the chief priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite, so I sent him away from me.
29 »Keep them in mind, O my God, because they have put shame on the priests' name and on the agreement of the priests and the Levites.«
30 I made them clean from all strange people. Regular watches were fixed for the priests and for the Levites, everyone in his work.
31 »And for the wood offering, at fixed times, and for the first fruits. Keep me in mind, O my God, for good.«