Nehemiah
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of
Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I
was in Shushan the citadel,
2that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from
3And they said to me, "The survivors who are left
from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach.
The wall of
4So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down
and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God
of heaven.
5And I said: "I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great
and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You
and observe Your commandments,
6please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open,
that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day
and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of
the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father's house
and I have sinned.
7We have acted very corruptly against You, and have
not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded
Your servant Moses.
8Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your
servant Moses, saying, "If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among
the nations;
9but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and
do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens,
yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have
chosen as a dwelling for My name.'
10Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You
have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand.
11O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to
the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to
fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him
mercy in the sight of this man." For I was the king's cupbearer.
2And it came to pass in the month of
Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that
I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his
presence before.
2Therefore the king said to me, "Why is your face
sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart." So I
became dreadfully afraid,
3and said to the king, "May the king live
forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers'
tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?"
4Then the king said to me, "What do you
request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven.
5And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king,
and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to
6Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting
beside him), "How long will your journey be? And when will you
return?" So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
7Furthermore I said to the king, "If it pleases
the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the
River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to
8and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's
forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel
which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will
occupy." And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my
God upon me.
9Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the
River, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the
army and horsemen with me.
10When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite
official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek
the well-being of the children of
11So I came to
12Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I
told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at
13And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to
the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of
14Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's
Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass.
15So I went up in the night by the valley, and viewed
the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.
16And the officials did not know where I had gone or
what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the
officials, or the others who did the work.
17Then I said to them, "You see the distress that
we are in, how
18And I told them of the hand of my God which had been
good upon me, and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. So they
said, "Let us rise up and build." Then they set their hands to this
good work.
19But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite
official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us,
and said, "What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against
the king?"
20So I answered them, and said to them, "The God
of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and
build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in
3Then Eliashib the high priest rose
up with his brethren the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it
and hung its doors. They built as far as the Tower of the Hundred, and
consecrated it, then as far as the
2Next to Eliashib the men of
3Also the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they
laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and bars.
4And next to them Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son
of Koz, made repairs. Next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of
Meshezabel, made repairs. Next to them Zadok the son of Baana made repairs.
5Next to them the Tekoites made repairs; but their
nobles did not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord.
6Moreover Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the
son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors,
with its bolts and bars.
7And next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the
Meronothite, the men of
8Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, one of the
goldsmiths, made repairs. Also next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made
repairs; and they fortified
9And next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, leader of
half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs.
10Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs
in front of his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabniah made
repairs.
11Malchijah the son of Harim and Hashub the son of
Pahath-Moab repaired another section, as well as the Tower of the Ovens.
12And next to him was Shallum the son of Hallohesh,
leader of half the district of Jerusalem; he and his daughters made repairs.
13Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the
Valley Gate. They built it, hung its doors with its bolts and bars, and
repaired a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Refuse Gate.
14Malchijah the son of Rechab, leader of the district
of Beth Haccerem, repaired the Refuse Gate; he built it and hung its doors with
its bolts and bars.
15Shallun the son of Col-Hozeh, leader of the district
of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate; he built it, covered it, hung its doors
with its bolts and bars, and repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah by the
King's Garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the City of David.
16After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, leader of half
the district of Beth Zur, made repairs as far as the place in front of the
tombs of David, to the man-made pool, and as far as the House of the Mighty.
17After him the Levites, under Rehum the son of Bani,
made repairs. Next to him Hashabiah, leader of half the district of Keilah,
made repairs for his district.
18After him their brethren, under Bavai the son of
Henadad, leader of the other half of the district of Keilah, made repairs.
19And next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the leader of
Mizpah, repaired another section in front of the Ascent to the Armory at the
buttress.
20After him Baruch the son of Zabbai carefully repaired
the other section, from the buttress to the door of the house of Eliashib the
high priest.
21After him Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz,
repaired another section, from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of
the house of Eliashib.
22And after him the priests, the men of the plain, made
repairs.
23After him Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs opposite
their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made
repairs by his house.
24After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another
section, from the house of Azariah to the buttress, even as far as the corner.
25Palal the son of Uzai made repairs opposite the
buttress, and on the tower which projects from the king's upper house that was
by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs.
26Moreover the Nethinim who dwelt in Ophel made repairs
as far as the place in front of the Water Gate toward the east, and on the
projecting tower.
27After them the Tekoites repaired another section,
next to the great projecting tower, and as far as the wall of Ophel.
28Beyond the Horse Gate the priests made repairs, each
in front of his own house.
29After them Zadok the son of Immer made repairs in
front of his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of
the East Gate, made repairs.
30After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun,
the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son
of Berechiah made repairs in front of his dwelling.
31After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made
repairs as far as the house of the Nethinim and of the merchants, in front of
the Miphkad Gate, and as far as the upper room at the corner.
32And between the upper room at the corner, as far as
the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants made repairs.
4But it so happened, when Sanballat
heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant,
and mocked the Jews.
2And he spoke before his brethren and the army of
3Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said,
"Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down
their stone wall."
4Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their
reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity!
5Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin
be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the
builders.
6So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined
together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
7Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs,
the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being
restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry,
8and all of them conspired together to come and attack
9Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and
because of them we set a watch against them day and night.
10Then
11And our adversaries said, "They will neither
know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause
the work to cease."
12So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came,
that they told us ten times, "From whatever place you turn, they will be
upon us."
13Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of
the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families,
with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
14And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to
the leaders, and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them.
Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons,
your daughters, your wives, and your houses."
15And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was
known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us
returned to the wall, everyone to his work.
16So it was, from that time on, that half of my
servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the
shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of
17Those who built on the wall, and those who carried
burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction,
and with the other held a weapon.
18Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his
side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.
19Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest
of the people, "The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far
from one another on the wall.
20Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to
us there. Our God will fight for us."
21So we labored in the work, and half of the men held
the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared.
22At the same time I also said to the people, "Let
each man and his servant stay at night in
23So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of
the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them
off for washing.
5And there was a great outcry of the
people and their wives against their Jewish brethren.
2For there were those who said, "We, our sons,
and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain, that we may eat and
live."
3There were also some who said, "We have
mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because
of the famine."
4There were also those who said, "We have
borrowed money for the king's tax on our lands and vineyards.
5Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren,
our children as their children; and indeed we are forcing our sons and our
daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery.
It is not in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and
vineyards."
6And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and
these words.
7After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and
rulers, and said to them, "Each of you is exacting usury from his
brother." So I called a great assembly against them.
8And I said to them, "According to our ability we
have redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed,
will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?" Then they
were silenced and found nothing to say.
9Then I said, "What you are doing is not good.
Should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the
nations, our enemies?
10I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending
them money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury!
11Restore now to them, even this day, their lands,
their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a hundredth of the
money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them."
12So they said, "We will restore it, and will
require nothing from them; we will do as you say." Then I called the
priests, and required an oath from them that they would do according to this
promise.
13Then I shook out the fold of my garment and said,
"So may God shake out each man from his house, and from his property, who
does not perform this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and
emptied." And all the assembly said, "Amen!" and praised the
LORD. Then the people did according to this promise.
14Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be
their governor in the
15But the former governors who were before me laid
burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels
of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but I did not do
so, because of the fear of God.
16Indeed, I also continued the work on this wall, and
we did not buy any land. All my servants were gathered there for the work.
17And at my table were one hundred and fifty Jews and
rulers, besides those who came to us from the nations around us.
18Now that which was prepared daily was one ox and six
choice sheep. Also fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an
abundance of all kinds of wine. Yet in spite of this I did not demand the
governor's provisions, because the bondage was heavy on this people.
19Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that
I have done for this people.
6Now it happened when Sanballat,
Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt
the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not
hung the doors in the gates),
2that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying,
"Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono."
But they thought to do me harm.
3So I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am
doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while
I leave it and go down to you?"
4But they sent me this message four times, and I
answered them in the same manner.
5Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the
fifth time, with an open letter in his hand.
6In it was written: It is reported among the nations,
and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to
these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king.
7And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim
concerning you at
8Then I sent to him, saying, "No such things as
you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart."
9For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying,
"Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done."
Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.
10Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah,
the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, "Let us meet
together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of
the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to
kill you."
11And I said, "Should such a man as I flee? And
who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will
not go in!"
12Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all,
but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat
had hired him.
13For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid
and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report,
that they might reproach me.
14My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to
these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who
would have made me afraid.
15So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of
Elul, in fifty-two days.
16And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it,
and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very
disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by
our God.
17Also in those days the nobles of
18For many in
19Also they reported his good deeds before me, and
reported my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.
7Then it was, when the wall was built
and I had hung the doors, when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites
had been appointed,
2that I gave the charge of
3And I said to them, "Do not let the gates of
Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand guard, let them
shut and bar the doors; and appoint guards from among the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in front of his own
house."
4Now the city was large and spacious, but the people
in it were few, and the houses were not rebuilt.
5Then my God put it into my heart to gather the
nobles, the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered by genealogy.
And I found a register of the genealogy of those who had come up in the first
return, and found written in it:
6These are the people of the province who came back
from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the
king of
7Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah,
Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and
Baanah. The number of the men of the people of
8the sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and
seventy-two;
9the sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and
seventy-two;
10the sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two;
11the sons of Pahath-Moab, of the sons of Jeshua and
Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen;
12the sons of
13the sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five;
14the sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty;
15the sons of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight;
16the sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight;
17the sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and
twenty-two;
18the sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven;
19the sons of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven;
20the sons of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five;
21the sons of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety-eight;
22the sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight;
23the sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four;
24the sons of Hariph, one hundred and twelve;
25the sons of
26the men of
27the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight;
28the men of Beth Azmaveth, forty-two;
29the men of Kirjath Jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth,
seven hundred and forty-three;
30the men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and
twenty-one;
31the men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two;
32the men of
33the men of the other Nebo, fifty-two;
34the sons of the other
35the sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty;
36the sons of
37the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and
twenty-one;
38the sons of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and
thirty.
39The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of
Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three;
40the sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two;
41the sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and
forty-seven;
42the sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.
43The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of
the sons of Hodevah, seventy-four.
44The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and
forty-eight.
45The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of
Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of
Shobai, one hundred and thirty-eight.
46The Nethinim: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha,
the sons of Tabbaoth,
47the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon,
48the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of
Salmai,
49the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of
Gahar,
50the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of
Nekoda,
51the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of
Paseah,
52the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of
Nephishesim,
53the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of
Harhur,
54the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of
Harsha,
55the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of
Tamah,
56the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.
57The sons of Solomon's servants: the sons of Sotai,
the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida,
58the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of
Giddel,
59the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons
of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the sons of Amon.
60All the Nethinim, and the sons of Solomon's servants,
were three hundred and ninety-two.
61And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah,
Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not identify their
father's house nor their lineage, whether they were of
62the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of
Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two;
63and of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of
Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the
Gileadite, and was called by their name.
64These sought their listing among those who were
registered by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore they were excluded
from the priesthood as defiled.
65And the governor said to them that they should not
eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and
Thummim.
66Altogether the whole assembly was forty-two thousand
three hundred and sixty,
67besides their male and female servants, of whom there
were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred
and forty-five men and women singers.
68Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their
mules two hundred and forty-five,
69their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and
donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.
70And some of the heads of the fathers' houses gave to
the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand gold drachmas, fifty
basins, and five hundred and thirty priestly garments.
71Some 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.
72And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty
thousand gold drachmas, two thousand silver minas, and sixty-seven priestly
garments.
73So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the
singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all
8Now all the people gathered together
as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they
told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had
commanded Israel.
2So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the
assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the
first day of the seventh month.
3Then he read from it in the open square that was in
front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and
those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to
the Book of the Law.
4So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which
they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood
Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand
Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
5And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the
people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all
the people stood up.
6And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. Then all
the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up their hands. And
they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
7Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub,
Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and
the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in
their place.
8So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God;
and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.
9And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest
and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people,
"This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep." For
all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.
10Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat,
drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for
this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your
strength."
11So the Levites quieted all the people, saying,
"Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved."
12And all the people went their way to eat and drink,
to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that
were declared to them.
13Now on the second day the heads of the fathers'
houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra
the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law.
14And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had
commanded by Moses, that the children of
15and that they should announce and proclaim in all
their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, "Go out to the mountain, and bring
olive branches, branches of oil trees, myrtle branches, palm branches, and
branches of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written."
16Then the people went out and brought them and made
themselves booths, each one on the roof of his house, or in their courtyards or
the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the Water Gate and in
the open square of the Gate of Ephraim.
17So the whole assembly of those who had returned from
the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of
Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of
18Also day by day, from the first day until the last
day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven
days; and on the eighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the
prescribed manner.
9Now on the twenty-fourth day of this
month the children of
2Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves
from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities
of their fathers.
3And they stood up in their place and read from the
Book of the Law of the LORD their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another
fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God.
4Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni,
Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the stairs of the Levites and cried out
with a loud voice to the LORD their God.
5And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah,
Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said: "Stand up and bless
the LORD your God Forever and ever! "Blessed be Your glorious name, Which
is exalted above all blessing and praise!
6You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, The
heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The
seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven
worships You.
7"You are the LORD God, Who chose Abram, And
brought him out of
8You found his heart faithful before You, And made a
covenant with him To give the land of the Canaanites, The Hittites, the
Amorites, The Perizzites, the Jebusites, And the Girgashites-- To give it to
his descendants. You have performed Your words, For You are righteous.
9"You saw the affliction of our fathers in
10You showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, Against
all his servants, And against all the people of his land. For You knew that
they acted proudly against them. So You made a name for Yourself, as it is this
day.
11And You divided the sea before them, So that they
went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; And their persecutors You
threw into the deep, As a stone into the mighty waters.
12Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar,
And by night with a pillar of fire, To give them light on the road Which they
should travel.
13"You came down also on
14You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And
commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, By the hand of Moses Your servant.
15You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, And
brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, And told them to go in to
possess the land Which You had sworn to give them.
16"But they and our fathers acted proudly,
Hardened their necks, And did not heed Your commandments.
17They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of
Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in
their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage. But You are
God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in
kindness, And did not forsake them.
18"Even when they made a molded calf for
themselves, And said, "This is your god That brought you up out of
19Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them
in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To
lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And
the way they should go.
20You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And
did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their
thirst.
21Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness;
They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not
swell.
22"Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations,
And divided them into districts. So they took possession of the
23You also multiplied their children as the stars of
heaven, And brought them into the land Which You had told their fathers To go
in and possess.
24So the people went in And possessed the land; You
subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, The Canaanites, And gave them
into their hands, With their kings And the people of the land, That they might
do with them as they wished.
25And they took strong cities and a rich land, And
possessed houses full of all goods, Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive
groves, And fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and grew fat,
And delighted themselves in Your great goodness.
26"Nevertheless they were disobedient And rebelled
against You, Cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets, who
testified against them To turn them to Yourself; And they worked great
provocations.
27Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their
enemies, Who oppressed them; And in the time of their trouble, When they cried
to You, You heard from heaven; And according to Your abundant mercies You gave
them deliverers who saved them From the hand of their enemies.
28"But after they had rest, They again did evil
before You. Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies, So that they
had dominion over them; Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard
from heaven; And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies,
29And testified against them, That You might bring them
back to Your law. Yet they acted proudly, And did not heed Your commandments,
But sinned against Your judgments, "Which if a man does, he shall live by
them.' And they shrugged their shoulders, Stiffened their necks, And would not
hear.
30Yet for many years You had patience with them, And
testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not
listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
31Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly
consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful.
32"Now therefore, our God, The great, the mighty,
and awesome God, Who keeps covenant and mercy: Do not let all the trouble seem
small before You That has come upon us, Our kings and our princes, Our priests
and our prophets, Our fathers and on all Your people, From the days of the
kings of Assyria until this day.
33However You are just in all that has befallen us; For
You have dealt faithfully, But we have done wickedly.
34Neither our kings nor our princes, Our priests nor
our fathers, Have kept Your law, Nor heeded Your commandments and Your
testimonies, With which You testified against them.
35For they have not served You in their kingdom, Or in
the many good things that You gave them, Or in the large and rich land which
You set before them; Nor did they turn from their wicked works.
36"Here we are, servants today! And the land that
You gave to our fathers, To eat its fruit and its bounty, Here we are, servants
in it!
37And it yields much increase to the kings You have set
over us, Because of our sins; Also they have dominion over our bodies and our
cattle At their pleasure; And we are in great distress.
38"And because of all this, We make a sure
covenant and write it; Our leaders, our Levites, and our priests seal it."
10Now those who placed their seal on
the document were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah,
2Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
3Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,
4Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,
5Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
6Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
7Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
8Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These were the
priests.
9The Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the
sons of Henadad, and Kadmiel.
10Their brethren: Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah,
Hanan,
11Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah,
12Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
13Hodijah, Bani, and Beninu.
14The leaders of the people: Parosh,
15Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
16Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
17Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,
18Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,
19Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
20Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
21Meshezabel,
Zadok, Jaddua,
22Pelatiah,
Hanan, Anaiah,
23Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,
24Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
25Rehum,
Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
26Ahijah,
Hanan, Anan,
27Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.
28Now the rest of the people--the priests, the Levites,
the gatekeepers, the singers, the Nethinim, and all those who had separated
themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their
sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge and understanding--
29these joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered
into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law, which was given by Moses the
servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our
Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes:
30We would not give our daughters as wives to the peoples
of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons;
31if the peoples of the land brought wares or any grain
to sell on the Sabbath day, we would not buy it from them on the Sabbath, or on
a holy day; and we would forego the seventh year's produce and the exacting of
every debt.
32Also we made ordinances for ourselves, to exact from
ourselves yearly one-third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God:
33for the showbread, for the regular grain offering,
for the regular burnt offering of the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the set
feasts; for the holy things, for the sin offerings to make atonement for
Israel, and all the work of the house of our God.
34We cast lots among the priests, the Levites, and the
people, for bringing the wood offering into the house of our God, according to
our fathers' houses, at the appointed times year by year, to burn on the altar
of the LORD our God as it is written in the Law.
35And we made ordinances to bring the firstfruits of
our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the
house of the LORD;
36to bring the firstborn of our sons and our cattle, as
it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks, to the
house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God;
37to bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings,
the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil, to the priests, to the
storerooms of the house of our God; and to bring the tithes of our land to the
Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming
communities.
38And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be
with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall bring
up a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the rooms of the
storehouse.
39For the children of Israel and the children of Levi
shall bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine and the oil, to the
storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are, where the priests who
minister and the gatekeepers and the singers are; and we will not neglect the
house of our God.
11Now the leaders of the people dwelt
at Jerusalem; the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to dwell
in Jerusalem, the holy city, and nine-tenths were to dwell in other cities.
2And the people blessed all the men who willingly
offered themselves to dwell at
3These are the heads of the province who dwelt in
4Also in
5and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-Hozeh,
the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of
Zechariah, the son of Shiloni.
6All the sons of Perez who dwelt at
7And 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;
8and after him Gabbai and Sallai, nine hundred and
twenty-eight.
9Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer, and Judah
the son of Senuah was second over the city.
10Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, and
Jachin;
11Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the
son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, was the leader of the
house of God.
12Their brethren who did the work of the house were
eight hundred and twenty-two; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of
Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of
Malchijah,
13and his brethren, heads of the fathers' houses, were
two hundred and forty-two; and Amashai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the
son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer,
14and their brethren, mighty men of valor, were one
hundred and twenty-eight. Their overseer was Zabdiel the son of one of the
great men.
15Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the
son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni;