Nehemiah 11
New English Translation
The Population of Jerusalem
11 So the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, while the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten to settle in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine[a] remained in other cities. 2 The people gave their blessing on all the men who volunteered to settle in Jerusalem.
3 These are the provincial leaders[b] who settled in Jerusalem. (While other Israelites, the priests, the Levites, the temple attendants, and the sons of the servants of Solomon settled in the cities of Judah, each on his own property in their cities, 4 some of the descendants of Judah and some of the descendants of Benjamin settled in Jerusalem.)
Of the descendants of Judah:
Athaiah son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, from the descendants of Perez; 5 and Maaseiah son of Baruch, the son of Col-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, from the descendants of Shelah.[c] 6 The sum total of the descendants of Perez who were settling in Jerusalem was 468 exceptional men.
7 These are the descendants of Benjamin:
Sallu son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah, 8 and his followers,[d] Gabbai and Sallai—928 in all. 9 Joel son of Zicri was the officer in charge of them, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second-in-command over the city.
10 From the priests:
Jedaiah son of Joiarib, Jakin, 11 Seraiah son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, supervisor in the temple of God, 12 and their colleagues[e] who were carrying out work for the temple—822; and Adaiah son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malkijah, 13 and his colleagues who were heads of families[f]—242; and Amashsai son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, 14 and his colleagues[g] who were exceptional men—128. The officer over them was Zabdiel the son of Haggedolim.
15 From the Levites:
Shemaiah son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; 16 Shabbethai and Jozabad, leaders[h] of the Levites, were in charge of the external work for the temple of God; 17 Mattaniah son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, the praise[i] leader who led in thanksgiving and prayer; Bakbukiah, second among his colleagues; and Abda son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. 18 The sum total of the Levites in the holy city was 284.
19 And the gatekeepers:
Akkub, Talmon and their colleagues who were guarding the gates—172.
20 And the rest of the Israelites, with the priests and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, each on his own property.
21 The temple attendants were living on Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa were over them.[j]
22 The overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica. He was one of Asaph’s descendants, who were the singers responsible for the service of the temple of God. 23 For they were under royal orders[k] which determined their activity day by day.[l]
24 Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, one of the descendants of Zerah son of Judah, was an adviser to the king[m] in every matter pertaining to the people.
25 As for the settlements with their fields, some of the people of Judah settled in Kiriath Arba and its neighboring villages,[n] in Dibon and its villages, in Jekabzeel and its settlements, 26 in Jeshua, in Moladah, in Beth Pelet, 27 in Hazar Shual, in Beer Sheba and its villages, 28 in Ziklag, in Meconah and its villages, 29 in En Rimmon, in Zorah, in Jarmuth, 30 Zanoah, Adullam and their settlements, in Lachish and its fields, and in Azekah and its villages. So they were encamped from Beer Sheba to the Valley of Hinnom.
31 Some of the descendants of[o] Benjamin settled in Geba,[p] Micmash, Aija, Bethel and its villages, 32 in Anathoth, Nob, and Ananiah, 33 in Hazor, Ramah, and Gittaim, 34 in Hadid, Zeboyim, and Neballat, 35 in Lod, Ono, and[q] the Valley of the Craftsmen.[r] 36 Some of the Judean divisions of the Levites settled in Benjamin.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 11:1 tn Heb “nine of the hands.” The word “hand” is used here in the sense or a part or portion.
- Nehemiah 11:3 tn Heb “the heads of the province.”
- Nehemiah 11:5 tc The translation reads מִן־הַשֵּׁלָנִי (min hashelani, “from the Shelahite”) rather than the MT reading בֶּן־הַשִּׁלֹנִי (ben hashiloni, “the son of the Shilionite”). See 1 Chr 9:5.
- Nehemiah 11:8 tn Heb “those behind him.” Some scholars emend the text to וְאֶחָיו (veʾekhayv, “his brothers”).
- Nehemiah 11:12 tn Heb “brothers” (also in vv. 13, 14, 17, 19).
- Nehemiah 11:13 tn Heb “heads of fathers.”
- Nehemiah 11:14 tc The translation reads with the LXX וְאֶחָיו (veʾekhayv, “and his brothers”) rather than the MT reading וַאֲחֵיהֶם (vaʾakhehem, “and their brothers”).
- Nehemiah 11:16 tn Heb “who were of the heads.”
- Nehemiah 11:17 tc The translation reads with the Lucianic Greek recension and Vulgate הַתְּהִלָּה (hattehillah, “the praise”) rather than the MT reading הַתְּחִלָּה (hattekhillah, “the beginning”).
- Nehemiah 11:21 tn Heb “the temple attendants.” The pronoun “them” has been substituted in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Nehemiah 11:23 tn Heb “the commandment of the king was over them.”
- Nehemiah 11:23 tn Heb “a thing of a day in its day.”
- Nehemiah 11:24 tn Heb “to the hand of the king.”
- Nehemiah 11:25 tn Heb “its daughters.” So also in vv. 27, 28, 30, and 31.
- Nehemiah 11:31 tc The translation reads with a few medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta וּמִבְּנֵי (umibbene, “and some of the descendants of”; cf. NLT) rather than the MT reading וּבְנֵי (uvene, “and the sons of”).
- Nehemiah 11:31 tc Heb “from Geba.” It is preferable to delete the preposition “from” read by the MT.
- Nehemiah 11:35 tc The translation reads וְגֵי (vegey, “and the valley”) rather than the MT reading גֵּי (gey, “the valley”). The original vav (ו) probably dropped out accidentally due to haplography with the final vav on the immediately preceding word.
- Nehemiah 11:35 tn Heb “Ge-harashim,” which could be left untranslated as a place name.
Nehemiah 11
The Voice
11 The leaders of the people lived in the holy city of Jerusalem. The rest of the population drew lots, and one out of every ten of them came to live in Jerusalem also. The other nine-tenths stayed in their towns.
Living in Jerusalem at this time is not ideal for raising a family. Jerusalem in every way is the target of opposition, both from foreign nations and domestic enemies.
2 So when others decided, on their own, to settle in Jerusalem willingly, the people were grateful, blessing and thanking them.
3 These are the leaders of the provinces who came to live in Jerusalem. (Most of the people of Israel—common folk, priests, Levites, servants in the temple, and those who were descendants of Solomon’s servants—continued to live in their own homes in towns around Judah, 4 though some of the people from Judah and Benjamin decided to settle in Jerusalem.)
From Judah’s tribe: Athaiah, Uzziah’s son—who is the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel—the family line of Perez; 5 Maaseiah, Baruch’s son—who is the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of a Shilonite. 6 There were 468 descendants of Perez who lived in Jerusalem, all of them courageous soldiers.
7 From Benjamin’s tribe: Sallu, Meshullam’s son—who is the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah; 8 Gabbai and Sallai followed him. There were 928 men from the tribe of Benjamin. 9 They were led by Joel, Zichri’s son. Judah, Hassenuah’s son, was second in command over the city.
10 From the priests: Jedaiah, Joiarib’s son; Jachin; 11 Seraiah, Hilkiah’s son—the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub (who was supervisor of God’s temple). 12 There were 822 of their relatives who ran the temple. Also Adaiah, Jeroham’s son—the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, 13 and his relatives who were also the heads of families. They numbered 242 men. Amashsai, Azarel’s son—the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, 14 and their relatives. There were 128 courageous warriors, led by Zabdiel, Haggedolim’s son.
15 From the Levites: Shemaiah, Hasshub’s son—the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; 16 Shabbethai and Jozabad, the Levite leaders who were responsible for the work being done on the outside of God’s temple; 17 Mattaniah, Mica’s son—the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph. Mattaniah was the worship leader who would lead us in thanksgiving prayers. His assistant was Bakbukiah; also Abda, Shammua’s son—the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. 18 There were 284 Levites in the holy city of Jerusalem.
19 From the gatekeepers: Akkub, Talmon, and the rest of their relatives who watched over the gates were 172 men. 20 All of the rest of the Israelites, priests, and Levites lived on their family’s land in Judah. 21 The temple servants lived on the hill of Ophel. Ziha and Gishpa were their leaders.
22 The leader of the Levites living in Jerusalem was Uzzi, Bani’s son—the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica. Uzzi was a descendant of Asaph, who led the singers in worship in the temple. 23 The singers answered directly to Judah’s king before the conquest, and he gave them their responsibilities day to day. 24 Now, Pethahaiah, Meshezabel’s son—a descendant of Zerah, Judah’s son—advised the king in Persia about the concerns the people had in Jerusalem.
25 The returning Israelites lived in Jerusalem’s surrounding cities, near their farms. Some of the descendants of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba and its villages, Dibon and its villages, Jekabzeel and its villages. 26 They also lived in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth-pelet, 27 Hazar-shual, Beersheba and its villages, 28 Ziklag, Meconah and its villages, 29 En-rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, 30 Zanoah, Adullam and its towns, Lachish and its farms, Azekah and its villages. Their settlement stretched from Beersheba all the way to the valley of Hinnom, covering the area God had given to Judah and his descendants.
31 The Benjaminites lived in Geba, Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its villages, 32 Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, 33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, 34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, 35 Lod, Ono, and in the valley of the craftsmen. 36 Some of the Levites from Judah were sent to live in Benjamin’s settlements.
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