1 The words of Neḥemyah son of Ḥaḵalyah. And it came to be in the new moon of Kislĕw, in the twentieth year, as I was in the citadel of Shushan,
2 that Ḥanani, one of my brothers, came with men from Yehuḏah. And I asked them concerning the Yehuḏim who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Yerushalayim.
3 And they said to me, “The remnant who are left of the captivity in the province are there in great evil and reproach. And the wall of Yerushalayim is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
4 And it came to be, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days. And I was fasting and praying before the Elohim of the heavens,
5 and I said, “I pray, יהוה Elohim of the heavens, O great and awesome Ěl, guarding the covenant and loving-commitment with those who love You, and with those guarding Your commands,
6 please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, for the children of Yisra’ĕl Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Yisra’ĕl 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 guarded the commands, nor the laws, nor the right-rulings which You commanded Your servant Mosheh.
8 “Please remember the word that You commanded Your servant Mosheh, saying, ‘If you trespass, I shall scatter you among the peoples,
9 but if you shall turn back to Me, and guard My commands and do them, though you were cast out to the end of the heavens, I shall gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen, to make My Name dwell there.’
10 “And they are Your servants and Your people, whom You have ransomed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand.
11 “O יהוה, I pray, please 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 let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him compassion in the presence of this man.” For I was cupbearer to the sovereign.
1 And it came to be in the new moon of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaḥshashta the sovereign, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the sovereign. And I had never been sad in his presence.
2 And the sovereign said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is none else but sorrow of heart.” Then I was very much afraid,
3 and said to the sovereign, “Let the sovereign live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ burial-sites, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?”
4 And the sovereign said to me, “What are you asking for?” Then I prayed to the Elohim of the heavens,
5 and said to the sovereign, “If it seems good to the sovereign, and if your servant is pleasing before you, I ask that you send me to Yehuḏah, to the city of my fathers’ burial-sites, so that I build it.”
6 And the sovereign, with the sovereigness sitting beside him, said to me, “How long would your journey take? And when do you return?” So it seemed good before the sovereign to send me. And I set him a time.
7 And I said to the sovereign, “If it seems good to the sovereign, let letters be given to me for the governors beyond the River, that they should let me to pass through till I come to Yehuḏah,
8 and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the sovereign’s forest, that he should give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace that belongs to the House, and for the city wall, and for the house I would enter.” And the sovereign gave them to me according to the good hand of my Elohim upon me.
9 Then I came to the governors beyond the River, and gave to them the letters of the sovereign. Now the sovereign had sent commanders of the army and horsemen with me.
10 And Sanballat the Ḥoronite and Toḇiyah the Ammonite official heard of it, and to them it was evil, a great evil that a man had come to seek good for the children of Yisra’ĕl.
11 Then I came to Yerushalayim and was there three days.
12 And I rose up in the night, I and a few men with me, but informed no one what my Elohim had put in my heart to do at Yerushalayim, nor was there any beast with me, except the beast on which I rode.
13 And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Jackals’ Fountain and the Dung Gate, and examined the walls of Yerushalayim which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire.
14 And I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the Sovereign’s Pool, but there was no room for the beast that was under me to pass.
15 And I went up in the night by the wadi, and examined the wall, and turned back, and entered by the Valley Gate, and returned.
16 And the deputy rulers did not know where I had gone nor what I had done. Nor had I yet informed the Yehuḏim, or the priests, or the nobles, or the deputy rulers, or the others who did the work.
17 Then I said to them, “You see the evil which we are in, how Yerushalayim lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Yerushalayim, and let us no longer be a reproach.”
18 And I informed them of the hand of my Elohim which had been good upon me, and also of the sovereign’s words he had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and we shall build.” So they made their hands strong for good.
19 But when Sanballat the Ḥoronite heard, and Toḇiyah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Araḇ, they mocked us and despised us, and said, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the sovereign?”
20 And I answered them, and said to them, “The Elohim of the heavens, He shall bless us and let us, His servants, rise and build, but you have no portion or right or remembrance in Yerushalayim.”
1 And Elyashiḇ the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate. They set it apart and set up its doors, even as far as the Tower of Ḥanan’ĕl they set it apart, as far as the Tower of Ḥanane’ĕl.
2 And at his hand the men of Yeriḥo built. And at his hand Zakkur son of Imri built.
3 And the sons of Hassena’ah built the Fish Gate, who laid its beams and set up its doors, its bolts and bars.
4 And at their hand Merĕmoth son of Uriyah, son of Qots, strengthened. And at their hand Meshullam son of Bereḵyah, son of Meshĕyzaḇ’ĕl, strengthened. And at their hand Tsaḏoq son of Ba‛ana strengthened.
5 And at their hand the Teqowites strengthened, but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work of their Master.
6 And Yehoyaḏa son of Pasĕaḥ and Meshullam son of Besoḏeyah strengthened the Old Gate. They laid its beams and set up its doors, and its bolts and its bars.
7 And at their hand Melatyah the Giḇ‛onite, and Yaḏon the Mĕronothite, the men of Giḇ‛on and Mitspah, strengthened the official seat of the governor beyond the River.
8 At his hand Uzzi’ĕl son of Ḥarhayah, one of the goldsmiths, strengthened. And at his hand Ḥananyah, one of the perfumers, strengthened. And they restored Yerushalayim as far as the Broad Wall.
9 And at their hand Rephayah son of Ḥur, ruler of half the district of Yerushalayim, strengthened.
10 And at their hand Yeḏayah son of Ḥarumaph strengthened, even opposite his house. And at his hand Ḥattush son of Ḥashaḇneyah strengthened.
11 Malkiyah son of Ḥarim and Ḥashshuḇ son of Paḥath-Mo’aḇ strengthened another section, and the Tower of the Ovens.
12 And at his hand Shallum son of Halloḥĕsh ruler of half the district of Yerushalayim strengthened, he and his daughters.
13 Ḥanun and the people of Zanowaḥ strengthened the Valley Gate. They built it, and set up its doors, its bolts and bars — and a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Dung Gate.
14 And the Dung Gate was strengthened by Malkiyah son of Rĕḵaḇ, ruler of the district of Bĕyth Hakkerem. He built it and set up its doors, its bolts and bars.
15 And the Fountain Gate was strengthened by Shallun son of Kol-Ḥozeh, ruler of the district of Mitspah. He built it and covered it, and set up its doors, its bolts and bars — also the wall of the Pool of Shelaḥ by the Sovereign’s Garden, as far as the stairs going down from the City of Dawiḏ.
16 After him Neḥemyah son of Azbuq, ruler of half the district of Bĕyth Tsur, strengthened as far as opposite the burial-sites of Dawiḏ, and to the man-made pool, and as far as the house of the mighty men.
17 After him the Lĕwites, Reḥum son of Bani, strengthened. At his hand strengthened Ḥashaḇyah, ruler of half the district of Qe‛ilah, for his district.
18 After him their brothers, Bawwai son of Ḥĕnaḏaḏ, ruler of the other half of the district of Qe‛ilah, strengthened.
19 And at his hand Ězer son of Yĕshua, the ruler of Mitspah, strengthened another section before the going up to the armoury at the corner.
20 After him Baruḵ son of Zabbai eagerly strengthened the other section, from the buttress to the door of the house of Elyashiḇ the high priest.
21 After him Merĕmoth son of Uriyah, son of Qots, strengthened another section, from the door of the house of Elyashiḇ to the end of the house of Elyashiḇ.
22 And after him the priests, the men of the neighbourhood, strengthened.
23 After him Binyamin and Ḥashshuḇ strengthened opposite their house. After them Azaryah son of Ma‛asĕyah, son of Ananyah, strengthened near his house.
24 After him Binnui son of Ḥĕnaḏaḏ strengthened another section, from the house of Azaryah to the angle, even as far as the corner.
25 Palal son of Uzai strengthened opposite the corner, and on the tower which projects from the sovereign’s upper house that was by the courtyard of the prison. After him Peḏayah son of Parosh.
26 Now the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel as far as opposite the Water Gate toward the east, and on the projecting tower.
27 After him the Teqowites strengthened another section, opposite the great projecting tower, and as far as the wall of Ophel.
28 Beyond the Horse Gate the priests strengthened, each opposite his own house.
29 After them Tsaḏoq son of Immĕr strengthened opposite his own house. After him Shemayah son of Sheḵanyah, keeper of the East Gate, strengthened.
30 After him Ḥananyah son of Shelemyah, and Ḥanun, the sixth son of Tsalaph, strengthened another section. After him Meshullam son of Bereḵyah strengthened opposite his room.
31 After him Malkiyah, one of the goldsmiths, strengthened as far as the house of the Nethinim and of the merchants, opposite the Miphqaḏ Gate, and as far as the going up of the corner.
32 And between the going up of the corner to the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants strengthened.
1 And it came to be, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was wroth and highly offended, and mocked the Yehuḏim.
2 And he spoke before his brothers and the army of Shomeron, and said, “What are these feeble Yehuḏim doing? Are they going to restore, slaughter, complete it in a day? Are they going to bring to life the stones from the heaps of rubbish which are burned?”
3 And Toḇiyah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if a fox should climb on it, he shall break down their stone wall.”
4 “Hear, O our Elohim, for we have become despised. And turn back their reproach on their own heads, and give them as a prey in a land of captivity!
5 “And do not cover over their crookedness, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You, for they have provoked You before the builders.”
6 So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to the half of it, for the people had a heart to work.
7 And it came to be, when Sanballat and Toḇiyah, and the Araḇs, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdoḏites heard that the walls of Yerushalayim were being repaired and the broken places began to be filled, that they became very wroth,
8 and all of them conspired together to come to fight against Yerushalayim and to do harm to it.
9 But we prayed to our Elohim, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
10 And Yehuḏah said, “The strength of the burden bearers is weakening, and there is so much rubbish that we are unable to build the wall.”
11 And our adversaries said, “Let them not know or see it until we come into their midst and shall kill them, and cause the work to cease.”
12 And it came to be, when the Yehuḏim who dwelt near them came, that they said to us ten times, “From whatever place you turn, they are against us.”
13 So I set men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings — I set the people according to their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
14 And I looked, and rose up and said to the nobles, and to the deputy rulers, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the great and awesome, יהוה, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses.”
15 And it came to be, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that Elohim had brought their counsel to naught, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.
16 And it came to be, from that time on, that half of my servants were working in the work, while the other half were holding the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the breastplates. And the rulers were behind all the house of Yehuḏah,
17 who were building on the wall, and those bearing burdens, those loading, working with one hand in the work, and with the other holding a weapon.
18 As for the builders, each one had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded with the shophar was beside me.
19 And I said to the nobles, and to the deputy rulers, and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and large, and we are separated far from one another on the wall.
20 “In whatever place you hear the voice of the shophar, join us there. Our Elohim fights for us.”
21 So we laboured in the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of day until the stars appeared.
22 At that time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant spend the night in Yerushalayim, and they shall be our guard by night, and for the work by day.”
23 So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our garments, each one his weapon even at the water.
1 And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their brothers, the Yehuḏim.
2 And there were some who were saying, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many. Let us get grain for them, and eat, and live.”
3 And there were some who were saying, “We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses. Let us buy grain because of the scarcity of food.”
4 And there were those who were saying, “We have borrowed silver for the sovereign’s tax on our lands and vineyards.
5 “And now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. And see, we are subjecting our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been subjected, and there is no power in our hands, for other men have our lands and vineyards.”
6 And it was very displeasing to me when I heard their outcry and these words.
7 And my heart ruled over me, and I strove with the nobles and with the deputy rulers, and said to them, “You are exacting interest, each one from his brother.” And I called a great assembly against them,
8 and said to them, “According to our ability we have redeemed our brothers, the Yehuḏim, who were sold to the nations. And you even sell your brothers! Or should they be sold to us?” And they were silent and found not a word to say.
9 I also said, “What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our Elohim because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?
10 “And also, I, my brothers and my servants, am lending them silver and grain. Please, let us leave off this interest!
11 “Please, give back to them, even today, their lands, their vineyards, their olive-trees, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the silver and of the grain, and of the new wine, and of the oil, that you have taken from them.”
12 And they said, “Let us give it back, and ask no more from them, we do as you say.” Then I called the priests, and made them swear to do according to this word.
13 I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “Let Elohim in this way shake out each man from his house, and from his property, who does not do this word, even to be thus shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amĕn!” and praised יהוה. And the people did according to this word.
14 Also, from the day I was commanded to be their governor in the land of Yehuḏah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of Sovereign Artaḥshashta, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the governor’s food.
15 But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty sheqels of silver. Their servants also oppressed the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of Elohim.
16 And I also worked strongly in the work on this wall. We did not buy any land. And all my servants were gathered there for the work.
17 And at my table were one hundred and fifty of the Yehuḏim and deputy rulers, besides those who came to us from the nations around us.
18 And that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep, and birds were prepared for me, and once every ten days plenty of all kinds of wine. And in spite of this I did not seek the governor’s food, because the bondage was heavy on this people.
19 O my Elohim, remember me for the good — all that I have done for this people.
1 And it came to be when Sanballat, and Toḇiyah, and Geshem the Araḇ, 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 the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they were planning to do evil to me.
3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, and I am unable to come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and come down to you?”
4 However, they sent me the same word four times, and I answered them the same word.
5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand, the same word, the fifth time.
6 In it was written: Among the nations it has been heard, and Gashmu is saying, that you and the Yehuḏim are planning to rebel, therefore you are rebuilding the wall, and you are to be their sovereign — according to these words.
7 And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Yerushalayim, saying, ‘A sovereign is in Yehuḏah!’ And now these words are heard by the sovereign. Therefore come now, and let us take counsel together.
8 Then I sent to him, saying, “There are no such matters done as you are saying, but you are inventing them in your own heart.”
9 For all of them were making us afraid, saying, “Let their hands slacken for the work, and it not be done.” But now, make my hands strong.
10 And when I came to the house of Shemayah son of Delayah, son of Mehĕtaḇ’ĕl, who was restrained, he said, “Let us meet together in the House of Elohim, inside the Hĕḵal, and let us close the doors of the Hĕḵal, for they are coming to kill you — by night they are coming to kill you.”
11 And I said, “Should a man like me flee? And who is there like me who would go into the Hĕḵal to save his life? I do not go in!”
12 And see, I perceived that Elohim had not sent him, but that he spoke this prophecy against me because Toḇiyah and Sanballat had hired him —
13 because he was a hireling — that I should be afraid, and do so, and shall sin, and so they could give me an evil name, to reproach me.
14 My Elohim, remember Toḇiyah and Sanballat, according to these works of theirs, and the prophetess No‛aḏyah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid.
15 And the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month of Elul, in fifty-two days.
16 And it came to be, when all our enemies heard, and all the nations around us saw, that they fell greatly in their own eyes, and knew that this work was done by our Elohim.
17 In those days the nobles of Yehuḏah also sent many letters to Toḇiyah, while those of Toḇiyah came to them.
18 For many in Yehuḏah were sworn to him, because he was the son-in-law of Sheḵanyah son of Araḥ, and his son Yehoḥanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Bereḵyah.
19 They were also speaking about his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. Toḇiyah sent letters to frighten me.
1 And it came to be, when the wall was rebuilt, that I set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, and the singers, and the Lĕwites were appointed.
2 And I put my brother Ḥanani in command of Yerushalayim, and Ḥananyah the head of the palace, for he was a trustworthy man and feared Elohim more than many.
3 And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Yerushalayim be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are standing by, let them shut the doors and bolt them. And appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, each at his post, and each in front of his own house.”
4 And the city was wide on both sides and great, but the people in it were few, and the houses were not rebuilt.
5 And my Elohim put it into my heart to gather the nobles, and the deputy rulers, and the people, in order to be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who had come up at the beginning, and I found written in it:
6 These are the sons of the province who came back from the captivity of the exiles whom Neḇuḵaḏnetstsar the sovereign of Baḇel had exiled, and who returned to Yerushalayim and Yehuḏah, each to his city,
7 who came with Zerubbaḇel, Yĕshua, Neḥemyah, Azaryah, Ra‛amyah, Naḥamani, Mordeḵai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Biḡwai, Neḥum, Ba‛anah. The number of the men of the people of Yisra’ĕl:
8 sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two;
9 sons of Shephatyah, three hundred and seventy-two;
10 sons of Araḥ, six hundred and fifty-two;
11 sons of Paḥath-Mo’aḇ, of the sons of Yĕshua and Yo’aḇ, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen;
12 sons of Ěylam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;
13 sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five;
14 sons of Zakkai, seven hundred and sixty;
15 sons of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight;
16 sons of Bĕḇai, six hundred and twenty-eight;
17 sons of Azgaḏ, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two;
18 sons of Aḏoniqam, six hundred and sixty-seven;
19 sons of Biḡwai, two thousand and sixty-seven;
20 sons of Aḏin, six hundred and fifty-five;
21 sons of Atĕr of Ḥizqiyah, ninety-eight;
22 sons of Ḥashum, three hundred and twenty-eight;
23 sons of Bĕtsai, three hundred and twenty-four;
24 sons of Ḥariph, one hundred and twelve;
25 sons of Giḇ‛on, ninety-five;
26 men of Bĕyth Leḥem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty-eight;
27 men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight;
28 men of Bĕyth Azmaweth, forty-two;
29 men of Qiryath Ye‛arim, Kephirah, and Be’ĕroth, seven hundred and forty-three;
30 men of Ramah and Geḇa, six hundred and twenty-one;
31 men of Miḵmas, one hundred and twenty-two;
32 men of Bĕyth Ěl and Ai, one hundred and twenty-three;
33 men of the other Neḇo, fifty-two;
34 sons of the other Ěylam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;
35 sons of Ḥarim, three hundred and twenty;
36 sons of Yeriḥo, three hundred and forty-five;
37 sons of Loḏ, Ḥaḏiḏ, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one;
38 sons of Sena’ah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.
39 The priests: sons of Yeḏayah, of the house of Yĕshua, nine hundred and seventy-three;
40 sons of Immĕr, one thousand and fifty-two;
41 sons of Pashḥur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven;
42 sons of Ḥarim, one thousand and seventeen.
43 The Lĕwites: sons of Yĕshua, of Qaḏmi’ĕl, of the sons of Hoḏewah, seventy-four.
44 The singers: sons of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight.
45 The gatekeepers: sons of Shallum, sons of Atĕr, sons of Talmon, sons of Aqquḇ, sons of Ḥatita, sons of Shoḇai, one hundred and thirty-eight.
46 The Nethinim: sons of Tsiḥa, sons of Ḥasupha, sons of Tabba‛oth,
47 sons of Qĕyros, sons of Si‛a, sons of Paḏon,
48 sons of Leḇanah, sons of Ḥaḡaḇa, sons of Salmai,
49 sons of Ḥanan, sons of Giddĕl, sons of Gaḥar,
50 sons of Re’ayah, sons of Retsin, sons of Neqoḏa,
51 sons of Gazzam, sons of Uzza, sons of Pasĕaḥ,
52 sons of Bĕsai, sons of Me‛unim, sons of Nephishesim,
53 sons of Baqbuq, sons of Ḥaqupha, sons of Ḥarḥur,
54 sons of Batslith, sons of Meḥiḏa, sons of Ḥarsha,
55 sons of Barqos, sons of Sisera, sons of Temaḥ,
56 sons of Netsiyaḥ, and sons of Ḥatipha.
57 The sons of Shelomoh’s servants: sons of Sotai, sons of Sophereth, sons of Periḏa,
58 sons of Ya‛ala, sons of Darqon, sons of Giddĕl,
59 sons of Shephatyah, sons of Ḥattil, sons of Poḵereth of Tseḇayim, sons of Amon.
60 All the Nethinim, and the sons of Shelomoh’s servants, were three hundred and ninety-two.
61 And these were the ones who came up from Tĕl Melaḥ, Tĕl Ḥarsha, Keruḇ, Addon, and Immĕr, but they were unable to show their father’s house, and their seed, whether they were of Yisra’ĕl:
62 sons of Delayah, sons of Toḇiyah, sons of Neqoḏa, six hundred and forty-two.
63 And of the priests: sons of Ḥaḇayah, sons of Qots, sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gil‛aḏite, and was called by their name.
64 These sought their register among those who were counted by genealogy, but it was not found, so they were barred from the priesthood as defiled.
65 And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most set-apart gifts until a priest stood up with the Urim and Tummim.
66 All the assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty,
67 besides their male and female servants, these were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven. And they had two hundred and forty-five men and women singers.
68 Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five,
69 camels four hundred and thirty-five, donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.
70 And some of the heads of the fathers’ houses contributed 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’ houses gave to the treasury of the work twenty thousand gold drachmas, and two thousand two hundred silver minas.
72 And the rest of the people gave twenty thousand gold drachmas, two thousand silver minas, and sixty-seven priestly garments.
73 So the priests, and the Lĕwites, and the gatekeepers, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinim, and all Yisra’ĕl dwelt in their cities.
1 And when the seventh new moon came, the children of Yisra’ĕl were in their cities. And all the people gathered together as one man in the open space that was in front of the Water Gate. And they spoke to Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Torah of Mosheh, which יהוה had commanded Yisra’ĕl.
2 And Ezra the priest brought the Torah before the assembly of both men and women and all who could hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh new moon.
3 And he read from it in the open space 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 listened to the Book of the Torah.
4 And Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose. And beside him on his right stood Mattithyah, and Shema, and Anayah, and Uriyah, and Ḥilqiyah, and Ma‛asĕyah. And on his left stood Peḏayah, and Misha’ĕl, and Malkiyah, and Ḥashum, and Ḥashbaddanah, Zeḵaryah, Meshullam.
5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people. And when he opened it, all the people stood up.
6 And Ezra blessed יהוה, the great Elohim. Then all the people answered, “Amĕn, Amĕn!” while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshipped יהוה with faces to the ground.
7 And Yĕshua, and Bani, and Shĕrĕḇyah, Yamin, Aqquḇ, Shabbethai, Hoḏiyah, Ma‛asĕyah, Qelita, Azaryah, Yozaḇaḏ, Ḥanan, Pelayah, and the Lĕwites, caused the people to understand the Torah while the people were in their place.
8 And they read in the Book of the Torah of Elohim, translating to give the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
9 And Neḥemyah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Lĕwites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is set-apart to יהוה your Elohim. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Torah.
10 Then he said to them, “Go, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom none is prepared. For this day is set-apart to our Master. Do not be sad, for the joy of יהוה is your strength.”
11 And the Lĕwites were silencing all the people, saying, “Hush, for the day is set-apart, do not be sad.”
12 And all the people went to eat and to drink, and to send portions and make a great rejoicing, because they understood the words that were made known to them.
13 And on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and Lĕwites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to study the words of the Torah.
14 And they found written in the Torah, which יהוה had commanded by Mosheh, that the children of Yisra’ĕl should dwell in booths in the festival of the seventh new moon,
15 and that they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and in Yerushalayim, saying, “Go out to the mountain, and bring olive branches, branches of oil trees, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.”
16 So the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each one on the roof of his house, and in their courtyards and in the courtyards of the House of Elohim, and in the open space of the Water Gate and in the open space of the Gate of Ephrayim.
17 And the entire assembly of those who had come back from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths, for since the days of Yĕshua son of Nun until that day the children of Yisra’ĕl had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing.
18 And day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the Book of the Torah of Elohim. And they performed the festival seven days. And on the eighth day there was an assembly, according to the right-ruling.
1 And on the twenty-fourth day of this new moon the children of Yisra’ĕl were assembled with fasting, and in sackcloth, and with earth on them.
2 And the descendants of Yisra’ĕl separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins, and the crookednesses of their fathers,
3 and they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Torah of יהוה their Elohim a fourth part of the day, and a fourth part they were confessing and worshipping יהוה their Elohim.
4 Then Yĕshua and Bani, Qaḏmi’ĕl, Sheḇanyah, Bunni, Shĕrĕḇyah, Bani, Kenani stood on the stairs of the Lĕwites and cried out with a loud voice to יהוה their Elohim.
5 Then the Lĕwites, Yĕshua and Qaḏmi’ĕl, Bani, Ḥashaḇneyah, Shĕrĕḇyah, Hoḏiyah, Sheḇanyah, Pethaḥyah, said, “Rise, bless יהוה your Elohim forever and ever! And let them bless Your esteemed Name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise!
6 “You are יהוה, You alone. You have made the heavens, the heavens of the heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that are on it, the seas and all that are in them, and You give life to them all. And the host of the heavens are bowing themselves to You.
7 “You are יהוה, the Elohim who chose Aḇram, and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Aḇraham,
8 and found his heart trustworthy before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Kena‛anites, the Ḥittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Yeḇusites, and the Girgashites — to give it to his seed. And You have established Your words, for You are righteous,
9 and saw the affliction of our fathers in Mitsrayim, and heard their cry by the Sea of Reeds,
10 and gave signs and wonders against Pharaoh, and against all his servants, and against all the people of his land. For You knew that they acted proudly against them. And You made a Name for Yourself, as it is this day.
11 “And You split the sea before them, and they passed over into the midst of the sea on the dry land. And their pursuers You threw into the deep as a stone into the mighty waters.
12 “And You led them by day with a cloudy column, and by night with a column of fire, to give them light in the way they were to go.
13 “And You came down on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from the heavens, and gave them straight right-rulings and Torot of truth, good laws and commands.
14 “And You made known to them Your set-apart Sabbath, and You commanded them commands and laws and Torot, by the hand of Mosheh Your servant.
15 “And You gave them bread from the heavens for their hunger, and brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, and said to them to go in to possess the land which You had sworn to give them.
16 “But they and our fathers acted proudly, and hardened their necks, and did not obey Your commands.
17 “And they refused to obey, and they remembered not Your wonders that You did among them, and hardened their necks, and in their rebellion they appointed a leader to return to their bondage. But You are a forgiving Eloah, showing favour, and compassionate, patient, and of great loving-commitment, and did not forsake them.
18 “Even when they made a moulded calf for themselves, and said, ‘This is your mighty one that brought you up out of Mitsrayim,’ and worked great blasphemies,
19 yet You, in Your great compassion did not forsake them in the wilderness. The column of the cloud did not turn away from them by day to lead them on the way, nor the column of fire by night to give them light in the way they were to go.
20 “You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.
21 “And for forty years You sustained them in the wilderness — they lacked not. Their garments did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
22 “And You gave them reigns and peoples, and apportioned them their lot. So they took possession of the land of Siḥon, and the land of the sovereign of Ḥeshbon, and the land of Oḡ sovereign of Bashan.
23 “And You increased their children as the stars of the heavens, and brought them into the land which You had said to their fathers to go in and possess.
24 “So the sons went in and possessed the land, and You humbled before them the people of the land, the Kena‛anites, and gave them into their hands, with their sovereigns and the people of the land, to do with them as they desired.
25 “And they captured walled cities and a rich land, and possessed houses filled with all good, cisterns already dug, vineyards, and olive-trees, and fruit trees, in plenty. So they ate and were satisfied and grew fat, and delighted themselves in Your great goodness.
26 “But they became disobedient and rebelled against You, and cast Your Torah behind their backs. And they kill Your prophets who had warned them, to bring them back to Yourself. And they worked great blasphemies.
27 “Therefore You gave them into the hand of their enemies, who distressed them. And in the time of their distress, when they cried to You, You heard from the heavens. And according to Your great compassion You gave them saviours who saved them from the hand of their enemies.
28 “But after they had rest, they turned back to do evil before You. Then You left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they ruled over them. But when they turned back and cried out to You, You heard from the heavens, and delivered them according to Your compassion, many times,
29 and warned them, to bring them back to Your Torah. But they acted proudly, and did not obey Your commands, and sinned against Your right-rulings, ‘which if a man does, he shall live by them.’ And they gave the rebellious shoulder and hardened their necks, and would not hear.
30 “And You had patience with them for many years, and did warn them by Your Spirit, by the hand of Your prophets, yet they would not give ear. Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
31 “But in Your great compassion You did not make an end of them nor forsake them, for You are an Ěl of favour and compassion.
32 “And now, our Elohim, the great, the mighty, and awesome Ěl, guarding the covenant and the loving-commitment, let not all the trouble that has come upon us, our sovereigns and our heads, our priests and our prophets, our fathers and on all Your people, from the days of the sovereigns of Ashshur until this day, seem little before You.
33 “And in all that has come upon us You are righteous, for You have done truth, but we have done wrong.
34 “And our sovereigns, our rulers, our priests, and our fathers, have not done Your Torah, nor heeded Your commands and Your witnesses, with which You witnessed against them.
35 “For they have not served You in their reign, or in Your great goodness that You gave them, or in the large and rich land which You set before them — neither turned back from their evil deeds.
36 “See, we are servants today! And the land that You gave to our fathers, to eat its fruit and the good of it, see, we are servants in it!
37 “And its rich yield goes to the sovereigns You have set over us, because of our sins. And they rule over our bodies and our livestock at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.
38 “And because of all this, we are making a trustworthy pledge, and write it. And our rulers, our Lĕwites, our priests set their seal on it.”
1 And those who set their seal were: Neḥemyah the governor, son of Ḥaḵalyah, and Tsiḏqiyah,
2 Serayah, Azaryah, Yirmeyah,
3 Pashḥur, Amaryah, Malkiyah,
4 Ḥattush, Sheḇanyah, Malluḵ,
5 Ḥarim, Merĕmoth, Oḇaḏyah,
6 Dani’ĕl, Ginnethon, Baruḵ,
7 Meshullam, Aḇiyah, Miyamin,
8 Ma‛azyah, Bilgai, and Shemayah. These were the priests.
9 And the Lĕwites: both Yĕshua son of Atsanyah, Binnui of the sons of Ḥĕnaḏaḏ, Qaḏmi’ĕl.
10 And their brothers: Sheḇanyah, Hoḏiyah, Qelita, Pelayah, Ḥanan,
11 Miḵa, Reḥoḇ, Ḥashaḇyah,
12 Zakkur, Shĕrĕḇyah, Sheḇanyah,
13 Hoḏiyah, Bani, and Beninu.
14 The leaders of the people: Parosh, Paḥath-Mo’aḇ, Ěylam, Zattu, Bani,
15 Bunni, Azgaḏ, Bĕḇai,
16 Aḏoniyah, Biḡwai, Aḏin,
17 Atĕr, Ḥizqiyah, Azzur,
18 Hoḏiyah, Ḥashum, Bĕtsai,
19 Ḥariph, Anathoth, Nĕḇai,
20 Maḡpi‛ash, Meshullam, Ḥĕzir,
21 Meshĕyzaḇ’ĕl, Tsaḏoq, Yaddua,
22 Pelatyah, Ḥanan, Anayah,
23 Hoshĕa, Ḥananyah, Ḥashshuḇ,
24 Halloḥĕsh, Pilḥa, Shoḇĕq,
25 Reḥum, Ḥashaḇnah, Ma‛asĕyah,
26 Aḥiyah, Ḥanan, Anan,
27 Malluḵ, Ḥarim, Ba‛anah.
28 And the rest of the people, the priests, the Lĕwites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Nethinim, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands unto the Torah of Elohim, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, all who had knowledge and understanding,
29 were strengthening their brothers, their nobles, and were entering into a curse and into an oath to walk in the Torah of Elohim, which was given by Mosheh the servant of Elohim, and to guard and do all the commands of יהוה our Master, and His right-rulings and His laws,
30 and that we would not give our daughters as wives to the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons,
31 and that if the peoples of the land bring wares or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we would not buy it from them on the Sabbath, or on a set-apart day, and we would forego the seventh year and the interest of every hand.
32 And we imposed commands on ourselves, to give from ourselves yearly one-third of a sheqel for the service of the House of our Elohim:
33 for the showbread, and for the continual grain offering, and for the continual ascending offering of the Sabbaths, of the New Moons, for the appointed times, and for the set-apart offerings, and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Yisra’ĕl, and all the work of the House of our Elohim.
34 And we cast lots among the priests, and the Lĕwites, and the people, for bringing the wood offering into the House of our Elohim, according to our fathers’ houses, at the appointed times year by year, to burn on the slaughter-place of יהוה our Elohim as it is written in the Torah,
35 and to bring the first-fruits of our soil and the first-fruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the House of יהוה,
36 also to bring the first-born of our sons and our livestock, as it is written in the Torah, and the firstlings of our herds and our flocks, to the House of our Elohim, to the priests attending in the House of our Elohim.
37 And that we should bring the first-fruits of our dough, and our contributions, and the fruit from all kinds of trees, of new wine and of oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the House of our Elohim; and the tithes of our land to the Lĕwites, for the Lĕwites should receive the tithes in all our rural towns.
38 And the priest, son of Aharon, shall be with the Lĕwites when the Lĕwites receive tithes, and the Lĕwites bring up a tenth of the tithes to the House of our Elohim, to the rooms of the storehouse.
39 For the children of Yisra’ĕl and the children of Lĕwi bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine and the oil, to the storerooms where the vessels of the set-apart place are, where the priests who attend and the gatekeepers and the singers are, and we should not neglect the House of our Elohim.
1 Now the rulers of the people dwelt at Yerushalayim, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to dwell in Yerushalayim, the set-apart city, and nine-tenths were to dwell in other cities.
2 And the people blessed all the men who volunteered to dwell at Yerushalayim.
3 And these are the heads of the province who dwelt in Yerushalayim, but in the cities of Yehuḏah everyone dwelt in his own possession in their cities — Yisra’ĕl, the priests, and the Lĕwites, and the Nethinim, and the sons of Shelomoh’s servants.
4 And in Yerushalayim dwelt certain of the children of Yehuḏah and of the children of Binyamin. Of the children of Yehuḏah: Athayah son of Uzziyah, son of Zeḵaryah, son of Amaryah, son of Shephatyah, son of Mahalal’ĕl, of the children of Perets;
5 and Ma‛asĕyah son of Baruḵ, son of Kol-Ḥozeh, son of Ḥazayah, son of Aḏayah, son of Yoyariḇ, son of Zeḵaryah, son of Shiloni.
6 All the sons of Perets who dwelt at Yerushalayim were four hundred and sixty-eight brave men.
7 And these are the sons of Binyamin: Sallu son of Meshullam, son of Yow‛ĕḏ, son of Peḏayah, son of Qolayah, son of Ma‛asĕyah, son of Ithi’ĕl, son of Yeshayah;
8 and after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred and twenty-eight.
9 And Yo’ĕl son of Ziḵri was their overseer, and Yehuḏah son of Senuah was second over the city.
10 Of the priests: Yeḏayah son of Yoyariḇ, Yaḵin,
11 Serayah son of Ḥilqiyah, son of Meshullam, son of Tsaḏoq, son of Merayoth, son of Aḥituḇ, was the leader of the House of Elohim.
12 And their brothers who did the work of the House were eight hundred and twenty-two; and Aḏayah son of Yeroḥam, son of Pelalyah, son of Amtsi, son of Zeḵaryah, son of Pashḥur, son of Malkiyah,
13 and his brothers, heads of the fathers’ houses, were two hundred and forty-two; and Amashai son of Azar’ĕl, son of Aḥzai, son of Meshillĕmoth, son of Immĕr,
14 and their brothers, mighty brave ones, were one hundred and twenty-eight. And their overseer was Zaḇdi’ĕl, son of the great ones.
15 Also of the Lĕwites: Shemayah son of Ḥashshuḇ, son of Azriqam, son of Ḥashaḇyah, son of Bunni;
16 and Shabbethai and Yozaḇaḏ, of the heads of the Lĕwites, over the outside work of the House of Elohim;
17 and Mattanyah son of Miḵa, son of Zaḇdi, son of Asaph, who was the leader who began the thanksgiving with prayer, and Baqbuqyah the second among his brothers, and Aḇda son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Yeḏuthun.
18 All the Lĕwites in the set-apart city were two hundred and eighty-four.
19 And the gatekeepers, Aqquḇ, Talmon, and their brothers keeping guard at the gates, were one hundred and seventy-two.
20 And the rest of Yisra’ĕl, of the priests, Lĕwites, were in all the cities of Yehuḏah, each one in his inheritance.
21 But the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel. And Tsiḥa and Gishpa were over the Nethinim.
22 And the overseer of the Lĕwites at Yerushalayim was Uzzi son of Bani, son of Ḥashaḇyah, son of Mattanyah, son of Miḵa. Of the sons of Asaph, the singers were over the work of the House of Elohim,
23 for the sovereign’s command was upon them — and support for the singers, a matter day by day.
24 And Pethaḥyah son of Meshĕyzaḇ’ĕl, of the children of Zeraḥ son of Yehuḏah, was the sovereign’s deputy in all matters concerning the people.
25 And at the villages with their fields, some of the children of Yehuḏah dwelt in Qiryath Arba and its villages, and in Diḇon and its villages, and in Yeqaḇtse’ĕl and its villages,
26 and in Yĕshua, and in Molaḏah, and in Bĕyth Pelet,
27 and in Ḥatsar Shu‛al, and in Be’ĕrsheḇa and its villages,
28 and in Tsiqlaḡ, and in Meḵonah and its villages,
29 and in Ěn Rimmon, and in Tsorah, and in Yarmuth,
30 Zanowaḥ, Aḏullam, and their villages; in Laḵish and its fields; in Azĕqah and its villages. So they dwelt from Be’ĕrsheḇa to the Valley of Hinnom.
31 And the children of Binyamin: from Geḇa, Miḵmash, and Ayyah, and Bĕyth Ěl, and their villages;
32 Anathoth, Noḇ, Ananyah;
33 Ḥatsor, Ramah, Gittayim;
34 Ḥaḏiḏ, Tseḇo‛im, Neḇallat;
35 Loḏ, and Ono, and the Valley of Craftsmen.
36 And of the Lĕwites, the divisions of Yehuḏah were for Binyamin.
1 And these were the priests and the Lĕwites who came up with Zerubbaḇel son of She’alti’ĕl, and Yĕshua: Serayah, Yirmeyah, Ezra,
2 Amaryah, Malluḵ, Ḥattush,
3 Sheḵanyah, Reḥum, Merĕmoth,
4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Aḇiyah,
5 Miyamin, Ma‛aḏyah, Bilgah,
6 Shemayah, and Yoyariḇ, Yeḏayah,
7 Sallu, Amoq, Ḥilqiyah, and Yeḏayah. These were the heads of the priests and their brothers in the days of Yĕshua.
8 And the Lĕwites: Yĕshua, Binnui, Qaḏmi’ĕl, Shĕrĕḇyah, Yehuḏah, Mattanyah over the thanksgiving, he and his brothers.
9 And Baqbuqyah and Unni, their brothers, were opposite them for guard duties.
10 And Yĕshua brought forth Yoyaqim, and Yoyaqim brought forth Elyashiḇ, and Elyashiḇ brought forth Yoyaḏa,
11 and Yoyaḏa brought forth Yonathan, and Yonathan brought forth Yaddua.
12 And in the days of Yoyaqim, the priests, the heads of the fathers’ houses were: of Serayah, Merayah; of Yirmeyah, Ḥananyah;
13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amaryah, Yehoḥanan;
14 of Meliḵu, Yonathan; of Sheḇanyah, Yosĕph;
15 of Ḥarim, Aḏna; of Merayoth, Ḥelqai;
16 of Iddo, Zeḵaryah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17 of Aḇiyah, Ziḵri, son of Minyamin; of Mo‛aḏyah, Piltai;
18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemayah, Yehonathan;
19 of Yoyariḇ, Mattenai; of Yeḏayah, Uzzi;
20 of Sallai, Qallai; of Amoq, Ěḇer;
21 of Ḥilqiyah, Ḥashaḇyah. And of Yeḏayah, Nethan’ĕl.
22 The Lĕwites and priests in the days of Elyashiḇ, Yoyaḏa, Yoḥanan, and Yaddua, were recorded heads of their fathers’ houses, also the priests in the reign of Dareyawesh the Persian.
23 The sons of Lĕwi, the heads of the fathers’ houses until the days of Yoḥanan son of Elyashiḇ, were written in the book of the annals.
24 And the heads of the Lĕwites were Ḥashaḇyah, Shĕrĕḇyah, and Yĕshua son of Qaḏmi’ĕl, with their brothers opposite them, to praise, to give thanks, watch opposite watch, according to the command of Dawiḏ the man of Elohim.
25 Mattanyah, and Baqbuqyah, Oḇaḏyah, Meshullam, Talmon, Aqquḇ were gatekeepers guarding at the storerooms of the gates.
26 These were in the days of Yoyaqim son of Yĕshua, son of Yotsaḏaq, and in the days of Neḥemyah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.
27 And at the dedication of the wall of Yerushalayim they sought out the Lĕwites in all their places, to bring them to Yerushalayim to perform the dedication with gladness, and with thanksgivings, and with singing, cymbals, harps and lyres.
28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Yerushalayim, from the villages of the Netophathites,
29 and from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geḇa and Azmaweth — for the singers had built themselves villages all around Yerushalayim.
30 And the priests and Lĕwites cleansed themselves, and they cleansed the people, and the gates, and the wall.
31 And I brought the rulers of Yehuḏah up on the wall, and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs, to go to the right on the wall toward the Dung Gate,
32 and after them went Hoshayah and half of the rulers of Yehuḏah,
33 then Azaryah, Ezra, and Meshullam,
34 Yehuḏah, and Binyamin, and Shemayah, and Yirmeyah,
35 and of the sons of the priests with trumpets: Zeḵaryah son of Yonathan, son of Shemayah, son of Mattanyah, son of Miḵayah, son of Zakkur, son of Asaph,
36 and his brothers Shemayah and Azar’ĕl, Milalai, Gilalai, Ma‛ai, Nethan’ĕl, and Yehuḏah, Ḥanani with instruments of songs of Dawiḏ the man of Elohim, with Ezra the scribe before them.
37 And at the Fountain Gate and straight ahead of them, they went up the stairs of the City of Dawiḏ, on the stairway of the wall, beyond the house of Dawiḏ, as far as the Water Gate eastward.
38 And the other thanksgiving choir went over against them, and I 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 Ephrayim, and above the Old Gate, and above the Fish Gate, and the Tower of Ḥanan’ĕl, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stood still at the Gate of the Prison.
40 Then the two thanksgiving choirs took their stand in the House of Elohim, and I and half of the deputy rulers with me,
41 and the priests, Elyaqim, Ma‛asĕyah, Minyamin, Miḵayah, Elyo‛ĕynai, Zeḵaryah, and Ḥananyah, with trumpets,
42 and Ma‛asĕyah, and Shemayah, and El‛azar, and Uzzi, and Yehoḥanan, and Malkiyah, and Ěylam, and Ězer. And the singers sang aloud, with Yizraḥyah in charge.
43 And on that day they slaughtered great slaughterings and rejoiced, for Elohim had made them rejoice with great joy. And the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Yerushalayim was heard far away.
44 And on that day some were appointed over the rooms for the stores, for the contributions, for the first-fruits, and for tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions required by the Torah for the priests and for the Lĕwites. For Yehuḏah rejoiced over the priests and the Lĕwites who stood up.
45 Both the singers and the gatekeepers guarded the charge of their Elohim and the charge of the cleansing, according to the command of Dawiḏ and Shelomoh his son.
46 For in the days of Dawiḏ and Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to Elohim.
47 And in the days of Zerubbaḇel and in the days of Neḥemyah all Yisra’ĕl gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, a portion for each day. And they set apart what was for the Lĕwites, and the Lĕwites set apart what was for the children of Aharon.
1 On that day was read from the Book of Mosheh in the hearing of the people, and in it was found written that an Ammonite and Mo’aḇite should not come into the assembly of Elohim forever,
2 because they had not met the children of Yisra’ĕl with bread and water, and hired Bil‛am against them to curse them, although our Elohim turned the curse into a blessing.
3 And it came to be, when they had heard the Torah, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Yisra’ĕl.
4 And before this, Elyashiḇ the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the House of our Elohim, was a relative of Toḇiyah,
5 and he had prepared for him a large room, where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, and the utensils, and the tithes of grain, the new wine and the oil, which were commanded to be given to the Lĕwites and the singers and the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.
6 But in all this I was not in Yerushalayim, for in the thirty-second year of Artaḥshashta sovereign of Baḇel I came to the sovereign. And after some days I asked leave from the sovereign to return,
7 and I came to Yerushalayim and learned of the evil which Elyashiḇ had done for Toḇiyah, in preparing a room for him in the courts of the House of Elohim.
8 And it was very displeasing to me. Therefore I threw all the household goods of Toḇiyah out of the room,
9 and I commanded them to cleanse the rooms. And I put back into them the utensils of the House of Elohim, with the grain offering and the frankincense.
10 And I learned that the portions for the Lĕwites had not been given them, for each of the Lĕwites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field.
11 Then I contended with the deputy rulers, and said, “Why is the House of Elohim forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place.
12 And all Yehuḏah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse.
13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemyah the priest and Tsaḏoq the scribe, and Peḏayah of the Lĕwites. And at their hand was Ḥanan son of Zakkur, son of Mattanyah. For they were reckoned trustworthy, and it was on them to distribute to their brothers.
14 Remember me, O my Elohim, concerning this, and do not wipe out my loving-commitments that I have done for the House of my Elohim, and for its charges!
15 In those days I saw in Yehuḏah those treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, and figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Yerushalayim on the Sabbath day. So I warned them on the day they sold food.
16 And men of Tsor dwelt there, bringing in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Yehuḏah, and in Yerushalayim.
17 Then I contended with the nobles of Yehuḏah, and said to them, “What evil matter is this that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?
18 “Did not your fathers do the same so that our Elohim brought all this evil on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Yisra’ĕl by profaning the Sabbath.”
19 And it came to be, when the gates of Yerushalayim were shaded before the Sabbath, that I commanded the doors to be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day.
20 And the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares spent the night outside Yerushalayim once or twice,
21 and I warned them, and said to them, “Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I lay hands on you!” From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath.
22 And I commanded the Lĕwites that they should cleanse themselves, and they should come, guarding the gates, to set apart the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my Elohim, concerning this also, and pardon me according to the greatness of Your loving-commitment!
23 In those days I also saw Yehuḏim who had married women of Ashdoḏ, Ammon, Mo’aḇ.
24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdoḏ, and could not speak the language of Yehuḏah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people.
25 Then I contended with them and cursed them, and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by Elohim, saying, “You do not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves.
26 “Did not Shelomoh sovereign of Yisra’ĕl sin because of them? Among the many nations there was no sovereign like him, who was beloved of his Elohim, and Elohim made him sovereign over all Yisra’ĕl. Even him foreign women caused to sin.
27 “Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, trespassing against our Elohim by marrying foreign wives?”
28 And one of the sons of Yoyaḏa, son of Elyashiḇ the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Ḥoronite. And I drove him from me.
29 Remember them, O my Elohim, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Lĕwites.
30 Thus I cleansed them from all that is foreign. And I appointed duties to the priests and the Lĕwites, each in his task,
31 and for the wood offering and the first-fruits at appointed times. Remember me, O my Elohim, for good!