⁴When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days; and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. ⁵And I said, “O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God who keeps covenant and merciful love with those who love him and keep his commandments; ⁶let your ear be attentive, and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant which I now pray before you day and night for the sons of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Yes, I and my father’s house have sinned. ⁷We have acted very corruptly against you, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances which you commanded your servant Moses. ⁸Remember the word which you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; ⁹but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your dispersed be under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place which I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ ¹⁰They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. ¹¹O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name; and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

Now I was cupbearer to the king.

⁹Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. ¹⁰But when Sanbal'lat the Hor'onite and Tobi'ah the servant, the Am'monite, heard this, it displeased them greatly that some one had come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.

¹¹So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. ¹²Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; and I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no beast with me but the beast on which I rode. ¹³I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Jackal’s Well and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which had been destroyed by fire. ¹⁴Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool; but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. ¹⁵Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall; and 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 was doing; and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest that were to do the work.

¹⁷Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer disgrace.” ¹⁸And I told them of the hand of my God which had been upon me for good, and also of the words which the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. ¹⁹But when Sanbal'lat the Hor'onite and Tobi'ah the servant, the Am'monite, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they derided us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” ²⁰Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build; but you have no portion or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”

³And the sons of Hassena'ah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁴And next to them Mer'emoth the son of Uri'ah, son of Hakkoz repaired. And next to them Meshul'lam the son of Berechi'ah, son of Meshez'abel repaired. And next to them Za'dok the son of Ba'ana repaired. ⁵And next to them the Teko'ites repaired; but their nobles did not put their necks to the work of their Lord.^b

⁶And Joi'ada the son of Pase'ah and Meshul'lam the son of Besodei'ah repaired the Old Gate; they laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁷And next to them repaired Melati'ah the Gib'eonite and Ja'don the Meron'othite, the men of Gib'eon and of Mizpah, who were under the jurisdiction of the governor of the province Beyond the River. ⁸Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhai'ah, goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him Hanani'ah, one of the perfumers, repaired; and they restored^c Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. ⁹Next to them Rephai'ah the son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired. ¹⁰Next to them Jedai'a the son of Haru'maph repaired opposite his house; and next to him Hattush the son of Hashabnei'ah repaired. ¹¹Malchi'jah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pa'hath-mo'ab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens. ¹²Next to him Shallum the son of Hallo'hesh, ruler of half the district of^d Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters.

¹³Ha'nun and the inhabitants of Zano'ah repaired the Valley Gate; they rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall, as far as the Dung Gate.

¹⁴Malchi'jah the son of Re'chab, ruler of the district of^d Beth-hacche'rem, repaired the Dung Gate; he rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

¹⁵And Shallum the son of Colho'zeh, ruler of the district of^d Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate; he rebuilt it and covered it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars; and he built the wall of the Pool of She'lah of the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the City of David. ¹⁶After him Nehemi'ah the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of^d Beth-zur, repaired to a point opposite the sepulchres of David, to the artificial pool, and to the house of the mighty men. ¹⁷After him the Levites repaired: Re'hum the son of Ba'ni; next to him Hashabi'ah, ruler of half the district of^d Kei'lah, repaired for his district. ¹⁸After him their brethren repaired: Bavvai the son of Hen'adad, ruler of half the district of^d Kei'lah; ¹⁹next to him E'zer the son of Jeshu'a, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the Angle. ²⁰After him Baruch the son of Zabbai repaired another section from the Angle to the door of the house of Eli'ashib the high priest. ²¹After him Mer'emoth the son of Uri'ah, son of Hakkoz repaired another section from the door of the house of Eli'ashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. ²²After him the priests, the men of the Plain, repaired. ²³After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them Azari'ah the son of Ma-asei'ah, son of Anani'ah repaired beside his own house. ²⁴After him Bin'nui the son of Hen'adad repaired another section, from the house of Azari'ah to the Angle ²⁵and to the corner. Pa'lal the son of U'zai repaired opposite the Angle and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king at the court of the guard. After him Pedai'ah the son of Pa'rosh ²⁶and the temple servants living^e on O'phel repaired to a point opposite the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower. ²⁷After him the Teko'ites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of O'phel.

²⁸Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house. ²⁹After them Za'dok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemai'ah the son of Shecani'ah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired. ³⁰After him Hanani'ah the son of Shelemi'ah and Ha'nun the sixth son of Za'laph repaired another section. After him Meshul'lam the son of Berechi'ah repaired opposite his chamber. ³¹After him Malchi'jah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the Muster Gate,^f and to the upper chamber of the corner. ³²And between the upper chamber of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired.

⁶So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together to half its height. For the people had a mind to work.

^7hBut when Sanbal'lat and Tobi'ah and the Arabs and the Am'monites and the Ash'dodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry; ⁸and they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. ⁹And we prayed to our God, and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

¹⁰But Judah said, “The strength of the burden-bearers is failing, and there is much rubbish; we are not able to work on the wall.” ¹¹And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come into the midst of them and kill them and stop the work.” ¹²When the Jews who lived by them came they said to us ten times, “From all the places where they liveⁱ they will come up against us.”^{j 13}So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. ¹⁴And I looked, and arose, and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

¹⁵When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. ¹⁶From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail; and the leaders stood behind all the house of Judah, ¹⁷who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were laden in such a way that each with one hand labored on the work and with the other held his weapon. ¹⁸And each of the builders had his sword belted at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. ¹⁹And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. ²⁰In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

²¹So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn till the stars came out. ²²I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day.” ²³So neither I nor my brethren nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon in his hand.^k

⁶I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. ⁷I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them, ⁸and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brethren who have been sold to the nations; but you even sell your brethren that they may be sold to us!” They were silent, and could not find a word to say. ⁹So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? ¹⁰Moreover I and my brethren and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us leave off this interest. ¹¹Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the hundredth of money, grain, wine, and oil which you have been exacting of them.” ¹²Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests, and took an oath of them to do as they had promised. ¹³I also shook out my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not perform this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.

¹⁴Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Ar-ta-xerx'es the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brethren ate the food allowance of the governor. ¹⁵The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens upon the people, and took from them food and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God. ¹⁶I also held to the work on this wall, and acquired no land; and all my servants were gathered there for the work. ¹⁷Moreover there were at my table a hundred and fifty men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations which were about us. ¹⁸Now that which was prepared for one day was one ox and six choice sheep; fowls likewise were prepared for me, and every ten days skins of wine in abundance; yet with all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the servitude was heavy upon this people. ¹⁹Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.

¹⁰Now when I went into the house of Shemai'ah the son of Delai'ah, son of Mehet'abel, who was shut up, 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, at night they are coming to kill you.” ¹¹But I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live?^m I will not go in.” ¹²And I understood, and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobi'ah and Sanbal'lat had hired him. ¹³For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me an evil name, in order to taunt me. ¹⁴Remember Tobi'ah and Sanbal'lat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess No-adi'ah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.

¹⁵So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month E'lul, in fifty-two days. ¹⁶And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations round about us were afraidⁿ and fell greatly in their own esteem; for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. ¹⁷Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobi'ah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. ¹⁸For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecani'ah the son of A'rah: and his son Je'ho-ha'nan had taken the daughter of Meshul'lam the son of Berechi'ah as his wife. ¹⁹Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence, and reported my words to him. And Tobi'ah sent letters to make me afraid.

7Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, ²I gave my brother Hana'ni and Hanani'ah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. ³And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they are still standing guard^o let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each to his station and each opposite his own house.” ⁴The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few and no houses had been built.

⁵Then God put it into my mind to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it:

⁶These were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnez'zar the king of Babylon had carried into exile; they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town. ⁷They came with Zerub'babel, Jesh'ua, Nehemi'ah, Azari'ah, Raami'ah, Naham'ani, Mor'decai, Bilshan, Mis'pereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Ba'anah.

The number of the men of the sons of Israel: ⁸the sons of Pa'rosh, two thousand a hundred and seventy-two. ⁹The sons of Shephati'ah, three hundred and seventy-two. ¹⁰The sons of A'rah, six hundred and fifty-two. ¹¹The sons of Pa'hath-mo'ab, namely the sons of Jesh'ua and Jo'ab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen. ¹²The sons of E'lam, a thousand two hundred and fifty- four. ¹³The sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five. ¹⁴The sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty. ¹⁵The sons of Bin'nui, 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 Adoni'kam, six hundred and sixty-seven. ¹⁹The sons of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven. ²⁰The sons of A'din, six hundred and fifty-five. ²¹The sons of A'ter, namely of Hezeki'ah, ninety-eight. ²²The sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight. ²³The sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four. ²⁴The sons of Hariph, a hundred and twelve. ²⁵The sons of Gib'eon, ninety-five. ²⁶The men of Bethlehem and Netoph'ah, a hundred and eighty-eight. ²⁷The men of An'athoth, a hundred and twenty-eight. ²⁸The men of Beth-az'maveth, forty-two. ²⁹The men of Kir'iath-je'arim, Chephi'rah, and Be-er'oth, seven hundred and forty-three. ³⁰The men of Ra'mah and Ge'ba, six hundred and twenty-one. ³¹The men of Michmas, a hundred and twenty-two. ³²The men of Bethel and Ai, a hundred and twenty-three. ³³The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two. ³⁴The sons of the other E'lam, a thousand two hundred and fifty-four. ³⁵The sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty. ³⁶The sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five. ³⁷The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one. ³⁸The sons of Sena'ah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.

³⁹The priests: the sons of Jedai'ah, namely the house of Jesh'ua, nine hundred and seventy-three. ⁴⁰The sons of Immer, a thousand and fifty-two. ⁴¹The sons of Pashhur, a thousand two hundred and forty-seven. ⁴²The sons of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.

⁴³The Levites: the sons of Jesh'ua, namely of Kad'mi-el of the sons of Ho'devah, seventy-four. ⁴⁴The singers: the sons of A'saph, a hundred and forty-eight. ⁴⁵The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of A'ter, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hati'ta, the sons of Shobai, a hundred and thirty-eight.

⁴⁶The temple servants:^p the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasu'pha, the sons of Tabba'oth, ⁴⁷the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Pa'don, ⁴⁸the sons of Leba'na, the sons of Hag'aba, the sons of Shalmai, ⁴⁹the sons of Ha'nan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Ga'har, ⁵⁰the sons of Re-ai'ah, the sons of Re'zin, the sons of Neko'da, ⁵¹the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Pase'ah, ⁵²the sons of Besai, the sons of Me-u'nim, the sons of Nephush'esim, ⁵³the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Haku'pha, the sons of Harhur, ⁵⁴the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehi'da, the sons of Harsha, ⁵⁵the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sis'era, the sons of Te'mah, ⁵⁶the sons of Nezi'ah, the sons of Hati'pha.

⁵⁷The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of So'phereth, the sons of Peri'da, ⁵⁸the sons of Ja'ala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, ⁵⁹the sons of Shephati'ah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Po'chereth-hazzeba'im, the sons of A'mon.

⁶⁰All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants were three hundred and ninety-two.

⁶¹The following were those who came up from Tel-me'lah, Tel-har'sha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove their fathers’ houses nor their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: ⁶²the sons of Delai'ah, the sons of Tobi'ah, the sons of Neko'da, six hundred and forty-two. ⁶³Also, of the priests: the sons of Hobai'ah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzil'lai (who had taken a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name). ⁶⁴These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but it was not found there, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean; ⁶⁵the governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food, until a priest with U'rim and Thummim should arise.

⁶⁶The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, ⁶⁷besides their menservants and maidservants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five singers, male and female. ⁶⁸Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five,^{q 69}their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.

⁷⁰Now some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury a thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests’ garments. ⁷¹And some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave into the treasury of the work twenty thousand darics of gold and two thousand two hundred minas of silver. ⁷²And what the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, two thousand minas of silver, and sixty-seven priests’ garments.

⁷³So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their towns.

And when the seventh month had come, the children of Israel were in their towns.

⁹And Nehemi'ah, who was the governor, and 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 or 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 and drink sweet wine and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” ¹¹So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” ¹²And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

¹³On the second day the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the law. ¹⁴And they found it written in the law that the LORD had commanded by Moses that the sons of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, ¹⁵and that they should publish and proclaim in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” ¹⁶So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of E'phraim. ¹⁷And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and dwelt in the booths; for from the days of Jesh'ua the son of Nun to that day the sons of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. ¹⁸And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the book of the law of God. They kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance.

⁶And Ezra said:^t “You are the LORD, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. ⁷You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him forth out of Ur of the Chalde'ans and gave him the name Abraham; ⁸and you found his heart faithful before you, and made with him the covenant to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Am'orite, the Per'izzite, the Jeb'usite, and the Gir'gashite; and you have fulfilled your promise, for you are righteous.

⁹“And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea, ¹⁰and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted insolently against our fathers; and you got yourself a name, as it is to this day. ¹¹And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land; and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters. ¹²By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. ¹³You came down upon Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments, ¹⁴and you made known to them your holy sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. ¹⁵You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought forth water for them from the rock for their thirst, and you told them to go in to possess the land which you had sworn to give them.

¹⁶“But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments; ¹⁷they refused to obey, and were not mindful of the wonders which you performed among them; but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their bondage in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and did not forsake them. ¹⁸Even when they had made for themselves a molten calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies, ¹⁹you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud which led them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night which lighted for them the way by which they should go. ²⁰You 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, and they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. ²²And you gave them kingdoms and peoples, and allotted to them every corner; so they took possession of the land of Si'hon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan. ²³You multiplied their descendants as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land which you had told their fathers to enter and possess. ²⁴So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. ²⁵And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns hewn out, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance; so they ate, and were filled and became fat, and delighted themselves in your great goodness.

²⁶“Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. ²⁷Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer; and in the time of their suffering they cried to you and you heard them from heaven; and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. ²⁸But after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them; yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, and many times you delivered them according to your mercies. ²⁹And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your ordinances, by the observance of which a man shall live, and turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey. ³⁰Many years you bore with them, and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets; yet they would not give ear. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. ³¹Nevertheless in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them; for you are a gracious and merciful God.

³²“Now therefore, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God, who keep covenant and mercy, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. ³³Yet you have been just in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly; ³⁴our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or heeded your commandments and your warnings which you gave them. ³⁵They did not serve you in their kingdom, and in your great goodness which you gave them, and in the large and rich land which you set before them; and they did not turn from their wicked works. ³⁶Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. ³⁷And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins; they have power also over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.”

²⁸The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, ²⁹join with their brethren, their nobles, and enter 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 will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons; ³¹and if the peoples of the land bring in wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or on a holy day; and we will forego the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.

³²We also lay upon ourselves the obligation to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: ³³for the showbread, the continual cereal offering, the continual burnt offering, the sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. ³⁴We have likewise cast lots, the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn upon the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law. ³⁵We obligate ourselves to bring the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the LORD; ³⁶also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the first-born of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks; ³⁷and to bring the first of our coarse meal, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our rural towns. ³⁸And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes; and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers, to the storehouse. ³⁹For the sons of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of grain, wine, and oil to the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.

³These are the chiefs of the province who lived in Jerusalem; but in the towns of Judah every one lived on his property in their towns: Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon’s servants. ⁴And in Jerusalem lived certain of the sons of Judah and of the sons of Benjamin. Of the sons of Judah: Athai'ah the son of Uzzi'ah, son of Zechari'ah, son of Amari'ah, son of Shephati'ah, son of Ma-hal'alel, of the sons of Per'ez; ⁵and Ma-asei'ah the son of Baruch, son of Col-ho'zeh, son of Hazai'ah, son of Adai'ah, son of Joi'arib, son of Zechari'ah, son of the Shilon'ite. ⁶All the sons of Per'ez who lived in Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight valiant men.

⁷And these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshul'lam, son of Jo'ed, son of Pedai'ah, son of Kolai'ah, son of Ma-asei'ah, son of I'thi-el, son of Jeshai'ah. ⁸And after him Gabba'i, Sallai, nine hundred and twenty-eight. ⁹Joel the son of Zich'ri was their overseer; and Judah the son of Hassenu'ah was second over the city.

¹⁰Of the priests: Jedai'ah the son of Joi'arib, Ja'chin, ¹¹Serai'ah the son of Hilki'ah, son of Meshul'lam, son of Za'dok, son of Mera'ioth, son of Ahi'tub, ruler of the house of God, ¹²and their brethren who did the work of the house, eight hundred and twenty-two; and Adai'ah the son of Jero'ham, son of Pelali'ah, son of Amzi, son of Zechari'ah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchi'jah, ¹³and his brethren, heads of fathers’ houses, two hundred and forty-two; and Amash'sai, the son of Az'arel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshil'lemoth, son of Immer, ¹⁴and their brethren, mighty men of valor, a hundred and twenty-eight; their overseer was Zab'diel the son of Haggedo'lim.

¹⁵And of the Levites: Shemai'ah the son of Hasshub, son of Azri'kam, son of Hashabi'ah, son of Bunni; ¹⁶and Shab'bethai and Jo'zabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who were over the outside work of the house of God; ¹⁷and Mattani'ah the son of Mica, son of Zabdi, son of A'saph, who was the leader to begin the thanksgiving in prayer, and Bakbuki'ah, the second among his brethren; and Abda the son of Sham'mu-a, son of Galal, son of Jedu'thun. ¹⁸All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred and eighty-four.

¹⁹The gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon and their brethren, who kept watch at the gates, were a hundred and seventy-two. ²⁰And the rest of Israel, and of the priests and the Levites, were in all the towns of Judah, every one in his inheritance. ²¹But the temple servants lived on O'phel; and Ziha and Gishpa were over the temple servants.

²²The overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Ba'ni, son of Hashabi'ah, son of Mattani'ah, son of Mica, of the sons of A'saph, the singers, over the work of the house of God. ²³For there was a command from the king concerning them, and a settled provision for the singers, as every day required. ²⁴And Pethahi'ah the son of Meshez'abel, of the sons of Ze'rah the son of Judah, was at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people.

²⁵And as for the villages, with their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kir'iath-ar'ba and its villages, and in Di'bon and its villages, and in Jekab'zeel and its villages, ²⁶and in Jesh'ua and in Mo'ladah and Beth-pel'et, ²⁷in Ha'zar-shu'al, in Be'er-she'ba and its villages, ²⁸in Zik'lag, in Meco'nah and its villages, ²⁹in En-rim'mon, in Zo'rah, in Jarmuth, ³⁰Zano'ah, Adul'lam, and their villages, La'chish and its fields, and Aze'kah and its villages. So they encamped from Be'er-she'ba to the valley of Hinnom. ³¹The people of Benjamin also lived from Ge'ba onward, at Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its villages, ³²An'athoth, Nob, Anani'ah, ³³Ha'zor, Ra'mah, Git'taim, ³⁴Hadid, Zebo'im, Nebal'lat, ³⁵Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen. ³⁶And certain divisions of the Levites in Judah were joined to Benjamin.

⁸And the Levites: Jesh'ua, Bin'nui, Kad'mi-el, Sherebi'ah, Judah, and Mattani'ah, who with his brethren was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. ⁹And Bakbuki'ah and Unno their brethren stood opposite them in the service. ¹⁰And Jesh'ua was the father of Joi'akim, Joiakim the father of Eli'ashib, Eliashib the father of Joi'ada, ¹¹Joi'ada the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jad'du-a.

¹²And in the days of Joi'akim were priests, heads of fathers’ houses: of Serai'ah, Merai'ah; of Jeremi'ah, Hanani'ah; ¹³of Ezra, Meshul'lam; of Amari'ah, Jeho-ha'nan; ¹⁴of Mal'luchi, Jonathan; of Shebani'ah, Joseph; ¹⁵of Harim, Adna; of Mera'ioth, Helkai; ¹⁶of Iddo, Zechari'ah; of Gin'nethon, Meshul'lam; ¹⁷of Abi'jah, Zich'ri; of Mini'amin, of Moadi'ah, Piltai; ¹⁸of Bilgah, Sham'mu-a; of Shemai'ah, Jehon'athan; ¹⁹of Joi'arib, Matte'nai; of Jedai'ah, Uzzi; ²⁰of Sallai, Kallai; of A'mok, E'ber; ²¹of Hilki'ah, Hashabi'ah; of Jedai'ah, Nethan'el.

²²As for the Levites, in the days of Eli'ashib, Joi'ada, Joha'nan, and Jad'du-a, there were recorded the heads of fathers’ houses; also the priests until the reign of Dari'us the Persian. ²³The sons of Levi, heads of fathers’ houses, were written in the Book of the Chronicles until the days of Joha'nan the son of Eli'ashib. ²⁴And the chiefs of the Levites: Hashabi'ah, Sherebi'ah, and Jesh'ua the son of Kad'mi-el, with their brethren over against them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, watch corresponding to watch. ²⁵Mattani'ah, Bakbuki'ah, Obadi'ah, Meshul'lam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at the storehouses of the gates. ²⁶These were in the days of Joi'akim the son of Jesh'ua son of Jo'zadak, and in the days of Nehemi'ah the governor and of Ezra the priest the scribe.

²⁷And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. ²⁸And the sons of the singers gathered together from the circuit round Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netoph'athites; ²⁹also from Beth-gil'gal and from the region of Ge'ba and Az'maveth; for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. ³⁰And the priests and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.

³¹Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies which gave thanks and went in procession. One went to the right upon the wall to the Dung Gate; ³²and after them went Hoshai'ah and half of the princes of Judah, ³³and Azari'ah, Ezra, Meshul'lam, ³⁴Judah, Benjamin, Shemai'ah, and Jeremi'ah, ³⁵and certain of the priests’ sons with trumpets: Zechari'ah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemai'ah, son of Mattani'ah, son of Micai'ah, son of Zaccur, son of A'saph; ³⁶and his kinsmen, Shemai'ah, Az'arel, Mil'alai, Gil'alai, Ma'ai, Nethan'el, Judah, and Hana'ni, with the musical instruments of David the man of God; and Ezra the scribe went before them. ³⁷At the Fountain Gate they went up straight before them by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east.

³⁸The other company of those who gave thanks went to the left, and I followed them with half of the people, upon the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall, ³⁹and above the Gate of E'phraim, and by the Old Gate, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hanan'el and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard. ⁴⁰So both companies of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me; ⁴¹and the priests Eli'akim, Ma-asei'ah, Mini'amin, Micai'ah, El'i-o-e'nai, Zechari'ah, and Hanani'ah, with trumpets; ⁴²and Ma-asei'ah, Shemai'ah, Elea'zar, Uzzi, Je'ho-ha'nan, Malchi'jah, E'lam, and E'zer. And the singers sang with Jezrahi'ah as their leader. ⁴³And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off.

⁴⁴On that day men were appointed over the chambers for the stores, the contributions, the first fruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. ⁴⁵And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. ⁴⁶For in the days of David and A'saph of old there was a chief of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. ⁴⁷And all Israel in the days of Zerub'babel and in the days of Nehemi'ah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.

⁴Now before this, Eli'ashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was connected with Tobi'ah, ⁵prepared for Tobi'ah a large chamber where they had previously put the cereal offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. ⁶While this was taking place I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Ar-ta-xerx'es king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king ⁷and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eli'ashib had done for Tobi'ah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. ⁸And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobi'ah out of the chamber. ⁹Then I gave orders and they cleansed the chambers; and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the cereal offering and the frankincense.

¹⁰I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them; so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field. ¹¹So I remonstrated with the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. ¹²Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. ¹³And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemi'ah the priest, Za'dok the scribe, and Pedai'ah of the Levites, and as their assistant Ha'nan the son of Zaccur, son of Mattani'ah, for they were counted faithful; and their duty was to distribute to their brethren. ¹⁴Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.

¹⁵In those days I saw in Judah men treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys; and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day; and I warned them on the day when they sold food. ¹⁶Men of Tyre also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of wares and sold them on the sabbath to the people of Judah, and in Jerusalem. ¹⁷Then I remonstrated with the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing which you are doing, profaning the sabbath day? ¹⁸Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this evil on us and on this city? Yet you bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath.”

¹⁹When it began to be dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the sabbath. And I set some of my servants over the gates, that no burden might be brought in on the sabbath day. ²⁰Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. ²¹But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge before the wall? If you do so again I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the sabbath. ²²And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your mercy.

²³In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ash'dod, Ammon, and Moab; ²⁴and half of their children spoke the language of Ash'dod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but the language of each people. ²⁵And I contended with them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair; and I made them take oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. ²⁶Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless foreign women made even him to sin. ²⁷Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?”

²⁸And one of the sons of Jehoi'ada, the son of Eli'ashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanbal'lat the Hor'onite; therefore I chased him from me. ²⁹Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

³⁰Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; ³¹and I provided for the wood offering, at appointed times, and for the first fruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.