Bible in 90 Days

1 The autobiography of Nehemiah, the son of Hecaliah:

In December of the twentieth year of the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia,^[a] when I was at the palace at Shushan, ² one of my fellow Jews named Hanani came to visit me with some men who had arrived from Judah. I took the opportunity to inquire about how things were going in Jerusalem.

“How are they getting along—,” I asked, “the Jews who returned to Jerusalem from their exile here?”

³ “Well,” they replied, “things are not good; the wall of Jerusalem is still torn down, and the gates are burned.”

⁴ When I heard this, I sat down and cried. In fact, I refused to eat for several days, for I spent the time in prayer to the God of heaven.

⁵ “O Lord God,” I cried out; “O great and awesome God who keeps his promises and is so loving and kind to those who love and obey him! Hear my prayer! ^6-7 Listen carefully to what I say! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you; yes, I and my people have committed the horrible sin of not obeying the commandments you gave us through your servant Moses. ⁸ Oh, please remember what you told Moses! You said,

“‘If you sin, I will scatter you among the nations; ⁹ but if you return to me and obey my laws, even though you are exiled to the farthest corners of the universe, I will bring you back to Jerusalem. For Jerusalem is the place in which I have chosen to live.’

¹⁰ “We are your servants, the people you rescued by your great power. ¹¹ O Lord, please hear my prayer! Heed the prayers of those of us who delight to honor you. Please help me now as I go in and ask the king for a great favor—put it into his heart to be kind to me.” (I was the king’s cupbearer.)

2 ^1-2 One day in April, four months later, as I was serving the king his wine he asked me, “Why so sad? You aren’t sick, are you? You look like a man with deep troubles.” (For until then I had always been cheerful when I was with him.) I was badly frightened, ³ but I replied, “Sir,^[b] why shouldn’t I be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been burned down.”

⁴ “Well, what should be done?” the king asked.

With a quick prayer to the God of heaven, I replied, “If it please Your Majesty and if you look upon me with your royal favor, send me to Judah to rebuild the city of my fathers!”

^5-6 The king replied, with the queen sitting beside him, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?”

So it was agreed! And I set a time for my departure!

⁷ Then I added this to my request: “If it please the king, give me letters to the governors west of the Euphrates River instructing them to let me travel through their countries on my way to Judah; ⁸ also a letter to Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber for the beams and for the gates of the fortress near the Temple, and for the city walls, and for a house for myself.”

And the king granted these requests, for God was being gracious to me.

⁹ When I arrived in the provinces west of the Euphrates River, I delivered the king’s letters to the governors there. (The king, I should add, had sent along army officers and troops to protect me!) ¹⁰ But when Sanballat (the Horonite) and Tobiah (an Ammonite who was a government official) heard of my arrival, they were very angry that anyone was interested in helping Israel.

^11-12 Three days after my arrival at Jerusalem I stole out during the night, taking only a few men with me; for I hadn’t told a soul about the plans for Jerusalem that God had put into my heart. I was mounted on my donkey and the others were on foot, ¹³ and we went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal’s Well and over to the Dung Gate to see the broken walls and burned gates. ^14-15 Then we went to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but my donkey couldn’t get through the rubble. So we circled the city, and I followed the brook, inspecting the wall, and entered again at the Valley Gate.

¹⁶ The city officials did not know I had been out there or why, for as yet I had said nothing to anyone about my plans—not to the political or religious leaders, or even to those who would be doing the work.

¹⁷ But now I told them, “You know full well the tragedy of our city; it lies in ruins and its gates are burned. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and rid ourselves of this disgrace!”

¹⁸ Then I told them about the desire God had put into my heart, and of my conversation with the king, and the plan to which he had agreed.

They replied at once, “Good! Let’s rebuild the wall!” And so the work began.

¹⁹ But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed and said, “What are you doing, rebelling against the king like this?”

²⁰ But I replied, “The God of heaven will help us, and we, his servants, will rebuild this wall; but you may have no part in this affair.”

3 Then Eliashib the High Priest and the other priests rebuilt the wall as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel; then they rebuilt the Sheep Gate, hung its doors, and dedicated it. ² Men from the city of Jericho worked next to them, and beyond them was the work crew led by Zaccur (son of Imri).

³ The Fish Gate was built by the sons of Hassenaah; they did the whole thing—cut the beams, hung the doors, and made the bolts and bars. ⁴ Meremoth (son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz) repaired the next section of wall, and beyond him were Meshullam (son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel) and Zadok (son of Baana). ⁵ Next were the men from Tekoa, but their leaders were lazy and didn’t help.

⁶ The Old Gate was repaired by Joiada (son of Paseah) and Meshullam (son of Besodeiah). They laid the beams, set up the doors, and installed the bolts and bars. ⁷ Next to them were Melatiah from Gibeon; Jadon from Meronoth; and men from Gibeon and Mizpah, who were citizens of the province. ⁸ Uzziel (son of Harhaiah) was a goldsmith by trade, but he too worked on the wall. Beyond him was Hananiah, a manufacturer of perfumes. Repairs were not needed from there to the Broad Wall.

⁹ Rephaiah (son of Hur), the mayor of half of Jerusalem, was next down the wall from them. ¹⁰ Jedaiah (son of Harumaph) repaired the wall beside his own house, and next to him was Hattush (son of Hashabneiah). ¹¹ Then came Malchijah (son of Harim) and Hasshub (son of Pahath-moab), who repaired the Furnace Tower in addition to a section of the wall. ¹² Shallum (son of Hallohesh) and his daughters repaired the next section. He was the mayor of the other half of Jerusalem.

¹³ The people from Zanoah, led by Hanun, built the Valley Gate, hung the doors, and installed the bolts and bars; then they repaired the 1,500 feet of wall to the Dung Gate.

¹⁴ The Dung Gate was repaired by Malchijah (son of Rechab), the mayor of the Beth-haccherem area; and after building it, he hung the doors and installed the bolts and bars.

¹⁵ Shallum (son of Col-hozeh), the mayor of the Mizpah district, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it, roofed it, hung its doors, and installed its locks and bars. Then he repaired the wall from the pool of Siloam to the king’s garden and the stairs that descend from the City of David section of Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Next to him was Nehemiah (son of Azbuk), the mayor of half the Beth-zur district; he built as far as the royal cemetery, the water reservoir, and the old Officers’ Club building.^{[c] 17} Next was a group of Levites working under the supervision of Rehum (son of Bani). Then came Hashabiah, the mayor of half the Keilah district, who supervised the building of the wall in his own district. ¹⁸ Next down the line were his clan brothers led by Bavvai (son of Henadad), the mayor of the other half of the Keilah district.

¹⁹ Next to them the workers were led by Ezer (son of Jeshua), the mayor of another part of Mizpah; they also worked on the section of wall across from the armory where the wall turns. ²⁰ Next to him was Baruch (son of Zabbai), who built from the turn in the wall to the home of Eliashib the High Priest. ²¹ Meremoth (son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz) built a section of the wall extending from a point opposite the door of Eliashib’s house to the side of the house.

²² Then came the priests from the plains outside the city.^{[d] 23} Benjamin, Hasshub, and Azariah (son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah) repaired the sections next to their own houses. ²⁴ Next was Binnui (son of Henadad), who built the portion of the wall from Azariah’s house to the corner. ²⁵ Palal (son of Uzai) carried on the work from the corner to the foundations of the upper tower of the king’s castle beside the prison yard. Next was Pedaiah (son of Parosh).

²⁶ The Temple attendants living in Ophel repaired the wall as far as the East Water Gate and the Projecting Tower. ²⁷ Then came the Tekoites, who repaired the section opposite the Castle Tower and over to the wall of Ophel. ²⁸ The priests repaired the wall beyond the Horse Gate, each one doing the section immediately opposite his own house.

²⁹ Zadok (son of Immer) also rebuilt the wall next to his own house, and beyond him was Shemaiah (son of Shecaniah), the gatekeeper of the East Gate. ³⁰ Next was Hananiah (son of Shelemiah); Hanun (the sixth son of Zalaph); and Meshullam (son of Berechiah), who built next to his own house. ³¹ Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the Temple attendants’ and merchants’ Guild Hall, opposite the Muster Gate; then to the upper room at the corner. ³² The other goldsmiths and merchants completed the wall from that corner to the Sheep Gate.

4 ^1-2 Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage, and insulted and mocked us and laughed at us, and so did his friends and the Samaritan army officers. “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they are doing?” he scoffed. “Do they think they can build the wall in a day if they offer enough sacrifices? And look at those charred stones they are pulling out of the rubbish and using again!”

³ Tobiah, who was standing beside him, remarked, “If even a fox walked along the top of their wall, it would collapse!”

⁴ Then I prayed, “Hear us, O Lord God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back upon their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! ⁵ Do not ignore their sin. Do not blot it out, for they have despised you in despising us who are building your wall.”

⁶ At last the wall was completed to half its original height around the entire city—for the workers worked hard.

⁷ But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going right ahead and that the breaks in the wall were being repaired, they became furious. ⁸ They plotted to lead an army against Jerusalem to bring about riots and confusion. ⁹ But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.

¹⁰ Then some of the leaders began complaining that the workmen were becoming tired; and there was so much rubble to be removed that we could never get it done by ourselves. ¹¹ Meanwhile, our enemies were planning to swoop down upon us and kill us, thus ending our work. ¹² And whenever the workers who lived in the nearby cities went home for a visit, our enemies tried to talk them out of returning to Jerusalem. ¹³ So I placed armed guards from each family in the cleared spaces behind the walls.

¹⁴ Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the leaders and the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Remember the Lord who is great and glorious; fight for your friends, your families, and your homes!”

¹⁵ Our enemies learned that we knew of their plot, and that God had exposed and frustrated their plan. Now we all returned to our work on the wall; ¹⁶ but from then on, only half worked while the other half stood guard behind them. ¹⁷ And the masons and laborers worked with weapons within easy reach beside them ¹⁸ or with swords belted to their sides. The trumpeter stayed with me to sound the alarm.

¹⁹ “The work is so spread out,” I explained to them, “and we are separated so widely from each other, that when you hear the trumpet blow, you must rush to where I am; and God will fight for us.”

^20-21 We worked early and late, from sunrise to sunset; and half the men were always on guard. ²² I told everyone living outside the walls to move into Jerusalem so that their servants could go on guard duty as well as work during the day. ²³ During this period none of us—I, nor my brothers, nor the servants, nor the guards who were with me—ever took off our clothes except for washing.^[e] And we carried our weapons with us at all times.

5 About this time there was a great outcry of protest from parents against some of the rich Jews who were profiteering on them. ^2-4 What was happening was that families who ran out of money for food had to sell their children or mortgage their fields, vineyards, and homes to these rich men; and some couldn’t even do that, for they already had borrowed to the limit to pay their taxes.

⁵ “We are their brothers, and our children are just like theirs,” the people protested. “Yet we must sell our children into slavery to get enough money to live. We have already sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to redeem them, for our fields, too, are mortgaged to these men.”

⁶ I was very angry when I heard this; ⁷ so after thinking about it I spoke out against these rich government officials.

“What is this you are doing?” I demanded. “How dare you demand a mortgage as a condition for helping another Israelite!”

Then I called a public trial to deal with them.

⁸ At the trial I shouted at them, “The rest of us are doing all we can to help our Jewish brothers who have returned from exile as slaves in distant lands, but you are forcing them right back into slavery again. How often must we redeem them?”

And they had nothing to say in their own defense.

⁹ Then I pressed further. “What you are doing is very evil,” I exclaimed. “Should you not walk in the fear of our God? Don’t we have enough enemies among the nations around us who are trying to destroy us? ¹⁰ The rest of us are lending money and grain to our fellow Jews without any interest. I beg you, gentlemen, stop this business of usury. ¹¹ Restore their fields, vineyards, olive yards, and homes to them this very day and drop your claims against them.”

¹² So they agreed to do it and said that they would assist their brothers without requiring them to mortgage their lands and sell them their children. Then I summoned the priests and made these men formally vow to carry out their promises. ¹³ And I invoked the curse of God upon any of them who refused.^[f]

“May God destroy your homes and livelihood if you fail to keep this promise,” I declared.

And all the people shouted, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the rich men did as they had promised.

¹⁴ I would like to mention that for the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah—from the twentieth until the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes—my aides and I accepted no salaries or other assistance from the people of Israel. ¹⁵ This was quite a contrast to the former governors who had demanded food and wine and $100 a day in cash, and had put the population at the mercy of their aides who tyrannized them; but I obeyed God and did not act that way. ¹⁶ I stayed at work on the wall and refused to speculate in land; I also required my officials to spend time on the wall. ¹⁷ All this despite the fact that I regularly fed 150 Jewish officials at my table, besides visitors from other countries! ¹⁸ The provisions required for each day were one ox, six fat sheep, and a large number of domestic fowls; and we needed a huge supply of all kinds of wines every ten days. Yet I refused to make a special levy against the people, for they were already having a difficult time. ¹⁹ O my God, please keep in mind all that I’ve done for these people and bless me for it.

6 When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies found out that we had almost completed the rebuilding of the wall—though we had not yet hung all the doors of the gates— ² they sent me a message asking me to meet them in one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But I realized they were plotting to kill me, ³ so I replied by sending back this message to them: “I am doing a great work! Why should I stop to come and visit with you?”

⁴ Four times they sent the same message, and each time I gave the same reply. ^5-6 The fifth time, Sanballat’s servant came with an open letter in his hand, and this is what it said:

“Geshem tells me that everywhere he goes he hears that the Jews are planning to rebel, and that is why you are building the wall. He claims you plan to be their king—that is what is being said. ⁷ He also reports that you have appointed prophets to campaign for you at Jerusalem by saying, ‘Look! Nehemiah is just the man we need!’

“You can be very sure that I am going to pass along these interesting comments to King Artaxerxes! I suggest that you come and talk it over with me—for that is the only way you can save yourself!”

⁸ My reply was, “You know you are lying. There isn’t one bit of truth to the whole story. ⁹ You’re just trying to scare us into stopping our work.” (O Lord God, please strengthen me!)

¹⁰ A few days later I went to visit Shemaiah (son of Delaiah, who was the son of Mehetabel), for he said he was receiving a message from God.

“Let us hide in the Temple and bolt the door,” he exclaimed, “for they are coming tonight to kill you.”

¹¹ But I replied, “Should I, the governor, run away from danger? And if I go into the Temple, not being a priest, I would forfeit my life. No, I won’t do it!”

^12-13 Then I realized that God had not spoken to him, but Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him to scare me and make me sin by fleeing to the Temple; and then they would be able to accuse me.

¹⁴ “O my God,” I prayed, “don’t forget all the evil of Tobiah, Sanballat, Noadiah the prophetess, and all the other prophets who have tried to discourage me.”

¹⁵ The wall was finally finished in early September^[g]—just fifty-two days after we had begun!

¹⁶ When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated, and they realized that the work had been done with the help of our God. ¹⁷ During those fifty-two days many letters went back and forth between Tobiah and the wealthy politicians of Judah. ¹⁸ For many in Judah had sworn allegiance to him because his father-in-law was Shecaniah (son of Arah) and because his son Jehohanan was married to the daughter of Meshullam (son of Berechiah). ¹⁹ They all told me what a wonderful man Tobiah was, and then they told him everything I had said; and Tobiah sent many threatening letters to frighten me.

7 After the wall was finished and we had hung the doors in the gates and had appointed the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites, ² I gave the responsibility of governing Jerusalem to my brother Hanani and to Hananiah, the commander of the fortress—a very faithful man who revered God more than most people do. ³ I issued instructions to them not to open the Jerusalem gates until well after sunrise, and to close and lock them while the guards were still on duty. I also directed that the guards be residents of Jerusalem, and that they must be on duty at regular times, and that each homeowner who lived near the wall must guard the section of wall next to his own home. ⁴ For the city was large, but the population was small; and only a few houses were scattered throughout the city.

⁵ Then the Lord told me to call together all the leaders of the city, along with the ordinary citizens, for registration. For I had found the record of the genealogies of those who had returned to Judah before, and this is what was written in it:

⁶ “The following is a list of the names of the Jews who returned to Judah after being exiled by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

⁷ “Their leaders were: Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah.

“The others who returned at that time were:

^39-42 “Here are the statistics concerning the returning priests:

^43-45 “Here are the statistics concerning the Levites:

^46-56 “Of the Temple assistants, the following subclans were represented: Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, Keros, Sia, Padon, Lebana, Hagaba, Shalmai, Hanan, Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah, Besai, Asnah, Meunim, Nephushesim, Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, Bazlith, Mehida, Harsha, Barkos, Sisera, Temah, Neziah, Hatipha.

^57-59 “Following is a list of the descendants of Solomon’s officials who returned to Judah: Sotai, Sophereth, Perida, Jaala, Darkon, Giddel, Shephatiah, Hattil, Pochereth-hazzebaim, Amon.

⁶⁰ “In all, the Temple assistants and the descendants of Solomon’s officers numbered 392.”

⁶¹ Another group returned to Jerusalem at that time from the Persian cities of Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer. But they had lost their genealogies and could not prove their Jewish ancestry; ⁶² these were the subclans of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda—a total of 642.

⁶³ There were also several subclans of priests named after Hobaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai (he married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and took her family name), ^64-65 whose genealogies had been lost. So they were not allowed to continue as priests or even to receive the priests’ share of food from the sacrifices until the Urim and Thummim had been consulted to find out from God whether or not they actually were descendants of priests.

⁶⁶ There was a total of 42,360 citizens who returned to Judah at that time; ⁶⁷ also, 7,337 slaves and 245 choir members, both men and women. ^68-69 They took with them 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

⁷⁰ Some of their leaders gave gifts for the work. The governor gave $5,000 in gold, 50 gold bowls, and 530 sets of clothing for the priests. ⁷¹ The other leaders gave a total of $100,000 in gold and $77,000 in silver; ⁷² and the common people gave $100,000 in gold, $70,000 in silver, and sixty-seven sets of clothing for the priests.

⁷³ The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the choir members, the Temple attendants, and the rest of the people now returned home to their own towns and villages throughout Judah. But during the month of September, they came back to Jerusalem.

8 ^1-5 Now, in mid-September, all the people assembled at the plaza in front of the Water Gate and requested Ezra, their religious leader, to read to them the law of God, which he had given to Moses.

So Ezra the priest brought out to them the scroll of Moses’ laws. He stood on a wooden stand made especially for the occasion so that everyone could see him as he read. He faced the square in front of the Water Gate and read from early morning until noon. Everyone stood up as he opened the scroll. And all who were old enough to understand paid close attention. To his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. To his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddenah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

⁶ Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people said, “Amen,” and lifted their hands toward heaven; then they bowed and worshiped the Lord with their faces toward the ground.

^7-8 As Ezra read from the scroll, Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites went among the people^[h] and explained the meaning of the passage that was being read. ⁹ All the people began sobbing when they heard the commands of the law.

Then Ezra the priest, and I as governor, and the Levites who were assisting me said to them, “Don’t cry on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God— ¹⁰ it is a time to celebrate with a hearty meal and to send presents to those in need, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. You must not be dejected and sad!”

¹¹ And the Levites, too, quieted the people, telling them, “That’s right! Don’t weep! For this is a day of holy joy, not of sadness.”

¹² So the people went away to eat a festive meal and to send presents; it was a time of great and joyful celebration because they could hear and understand God’s words.

¹³ The next day the clan leaders and the priests and Levites met with Ezra to go over the law in greater detail. ¹⁴ As they studied it, they noted that Jehovah had told Moses that the people of Israel should live in tents during the Festival of Tabernacles to be held that month. ¹⁵ He had said also that a proclamation should be made throughout the cities of the land, especially in Jerusalem, telling the people to go to the hills to get branches from olive, myrtle, palm, and fig trees and to make huts in which to live for the duration of the feast.

¹⁶ So the people went out and cut branches and used them to build huts on the roofs of their houses, or in their courtyards, or in the court of the Temple, or on the plaza beside the Water Gate, or at the Ephraim Gate Plaza. ¹⁷ They lived in these huts for the seven days of the feast, and everyone was filled with joy! (This procedure had not been carried out since the days of Joshua.) ¹⁸ Ezra read from the scroll on each of the seven days of the feast, and on the eighth day there was a solemn closing service as required by the laws of Moses.

9 ^1-2 On October 10^[i] the people returned for another observance; this time they fasted and clothed themselves with sackcloth and sprinkled dirt in their hair. And the Israelis separated themselves from all foreigners. ³ The laws of God were read aloud to them for two or three hours, and for several more hours they took turns confessing their own sins and those of their ancestors. And everyone worshiped the Lord their God. ⁴ Some of the Levites were on the platform praising the Lord God with songs of joy. These men were Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani.

⁵ Then the Levite leaders called out to the people, “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, for he lives from everlasting to everlasting. Praise his glorious name! It is far greater than we can think or say.”

The leaders in this part of the service were Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah.

⁶ Then Ezra prayed, “You alone are God. You have made the skies and the heavens, the earth and the seas, and everything in them. You preserve it all; and all the angels of heaven worship you.

⁷ “You are the Lord God who chose Abram and brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and renamed him Abraham. ⁸ When he was faithful to you, you made a contract with him to forever give him and his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites; and now you have done what you promised, for you are always true to your word.

⁹ “You saw the troubles and sorrows of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cries from beside the Red Sea. ¹⁰ You displayed great miracles against Pharaoh and his people, for you knew how brutally the Egyptians were treating them; you have a glorious reputation because of those never-to-be-forgotten deeds. ¹¹ You divided the sea for your people so they could go through on dry land! And then you destroyed their enemies in the depths of the sea; they sank like stones beneath the mighty waters. ¹² You led our ancestors by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night so that they could find their way.

¹³ “You came down upon Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them good laws and true commandments, ¹⁴ including the laws about the holy Sabbath; and you commanded them, through Moses your servant, to obey them all.

¹⁵ “You gave them bread from heaven when they were hungry and water from the rock when they were thirsty. You commanded them to go in and conquer the land you had sworn to give them; ¹⁶ but our ancestors were a proud and stubborn lot, and they refused to listen to your commandments.

¹⁷ “They refused to obey and didn’t pay any attention to the miracles you did for them; instead, they rebelled and appointed a leader to take them back into slavery in Egypt! But you are a God of forgiveness, always ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and full of love and mercy; you didn’t abandon them, ¹⁸ even though they made a calf idol and proclaimed, ‘This is our God! He brought us out of Egypt!’ They sinned in so many ways, ¹⁹ but in your great mercy you didn’t abandon them to die in the wilderness! The pillar of cloud led them forward day by day, and the pillar of fire showed them the way through the night. ²⁰ You sent your good Spirit to instruct them, and you did not stop giving them bread from heaven or water for their thirst. ²¹ For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing in all that time. Their clothes didn’t wear out, and their feet didn’t swell!

²² “Then you helped them conquer great kingdoms and many nations, and you placed your people in every corner of the land; they completely took over the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan. ²³ You caused a population explosion among the Israelis and brought them into the land you had promised to their ancestors. ²⁴ You subdued whole nations before them—even the kings and the people of the Canaanites were powerless! ²⁵ Your people captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took over houses full of good things, with cisterns and vineyards and olive yards and many, many fruit trees; so they ate and were full and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings.

²⁶ “But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They threw away your law, killed the prophets who told them to return to you, and they did many other terrible things. ²⁷ So you gave them to their enemies. But in their time of trouble they cried to you, and you heard them from heaven, and in great mercy you sent them saviors who delivered them from their enemies. ²⁸ But when all was going well, your people turned to sin again, and once more you let their enemies conquer them. Yet whenever your people returned to you and cried to you for help, once more you listened from heaven, and in your wonderful mercy delivered them! ²⁹ You punished them in order to turn them toward your laws; but even though they should have obeyed them,^[j] they were proud and wouldn’t listen, and continued to sin. ³⁰ You were patient with them for many years. You sent your prophets to warn them about their sins, but still they wouldn’t listen. So once again you allowed the heathen nations to conquer them. ³¹ But in your great mercy you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!

³² “And now, O great and awesome God, you who keep your promises of love and kindness—do not let all the hardships we have gone through become as nothing to you. Great trouble has come upon us and upon our kings and princes and priests and prophets and ancestors from the days when the kings of Assyria first triumphed over us until now. ³³ Every time you punished us you were being perfectly fair; we have sinned so greatly that you gave us only what we deserved. ³⁴ Our kings, princes, priests, and ancestors didn’t obey your laws or listen to your warnings. ³⁵ They did not worship you despite the wonderful things you did for them and the great goodness you showered upon them. You gave them a large, fat land, but they refused to turn from their wickedness.

³⁶ “So now we are slaves here in the land of plenty that you gave to our ancestors! Slaves among all this abundance! ³⁷ The lush yield of this land passes into the hands of the kings whom you have allowed to conquer us because of our sins. They have power over our bodies and our cattle, and we serve them at their pleasure and are in great misery. ³⁸ Because of all this, we again promise to serve the Lord! And we and our princes and Levites and priests put our names to this covenant.”

10 ^1-8 I, Nehemiah the governor, signed the covenant. The others who signed it were: Zedekiah, Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah. (All those listed above were priests.)

^9-13 These were the Levites who signed: Jeshua (son of Azaniah), Binnui (son of Henadad), Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.

^14-27 The political leaders who signed: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

²⁸ These men signed on behalf of the entire nation—for the common people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the choir members, the Temple servants, and all the rest who, with their wives and sons and daughters who were old enough to understand, had separated themselves from the heathen people of the land in order to serve God. ²⁹ For we all heartily agreed to this oath and vowed to accept the curse of God unless we obeyed God’s laws as issued by his servant Moses.

³⁰ We also agreed not to let our daughters marry non-Jewish men and not to let our sons marry non-Jewish girls.

³¹ We further agreed that if the heathen people in the land should bring any grain or other produce to be sold on the Sabbath or on any other holy day, we would refuse to buy it. And we agreed not to do any work every seventh year and to forgive and cancel the debts of our brother Jews.

³² We also agreed to charge ourselves annually with a Temple tax so that there would be enough money to care for the Temple of our God; ³³ for we needed supplies of the special Bread of the Presence, as well as grain offerings and burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, the new moon feasts, and the annual feasts. We also needed to purchase the other items necessary for the work of the Temple and for the atonement of Israel.

³⁴ Then we tossed a coin^[k] to determine when—at regular times each year—the families of the priests, Levites, and leaders should supply the wood for the burnt offerings at the Temple as required in the law.

³⁵ We also agreed always to bring the first part of every crop to the Temple—whether it be a ground crop or from our fruit and olive trees.

³⁶ We agreed to give to God our oldest sons and the firstborn of all our cattle, herds, and flocks, just as the law requires; we presented them to the priests who minister in the Temple of our God. ³⁷ They stored the produce in the Temple of our God—the best of our grain crops, and other contributions, the first of our fruit, and the first of the new wine and olive oil. And we promised to bring to the Levites a tenth of everything our land produced, for the Levites were responsible to collect the tithes in all our rural towns. ³⁸ A priest—a descendant of Aaron—would be with the Levites as they received these tithes, and a tenth of all that was collected as tithes was delivered to the Temple and placed in the storage areas. ³⁹ The people and the Levites were required by law to bring these offerings of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple and place them in the sacred containers for use by the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the choir singers.

So we agreed together not to neglect the Temple of our God.

11 The Israeli officials were living in Jerusalem, the Holy City, at this time; but now a tenth of the people from the other cities and towns of Judah and Benjamin were selected by lot to live there too. ² Some who moved to Jerusalem at this time were volunteers, and they were highly honored.

³ Following is a list of the names of the provincial officials who came to Jerusalem (though most of the leaders, the priests, the Levites, the Temple assistants, and the descendants of Solomon’s servants continued to live in their own homes in the various cities of Judah).

^4-6 Leaders from the tribe of Judah:

^7-9 Leaders from the tribe of Benjamin:

^10-14 Leaders from among the priests:

In all, there were 822 priests doing the work at the Temple under the leadership of these men. And there were 242 priests under the leadership of Adaiah (son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah).

There were also 128 stalwart men under the leadership of Amashsai (son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer), who was assisted by Zabdiel (son of Haggedolim).

^15-17 Levite leaders:

¹⁸ In all, there were 284 Levites in Jerusalem.

¹⁹ There were also 172 gatekeepers, led by Akkub, Talmon, and others of their clan. ²⁰ The other priests, Levites, and people lived wherever their family inheritance was located. ²¹ However, the Temple workers (whose leaders were Ziha and Gishpa) all lived in Ophel.

^22-23 The supervisor of the Levites in Jerusalem and of those serving at the Temple was Uzzi (son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica), a descendant of Asaph, whose clan became the Tabernacle singers. He was appointed by King David,^[l] who also set the pay scale of the singers.

²⁴ Pethahiah (son of Meshezabel, a descendant of Zerah, a son of Judah) assisted in all matters of public administration.

^25-30 Some of the towns where the people of Judah lived were: Kiriath-arba, Dibon, Jekabzeel (and their surrounding villages), Jeshua, Moladah, Beth-pelet, Hazar-shual, Beersheba (and its surrounding villages), Ziklag, Meconah and its villages, En-rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, Zanoah, Adullam (and their surrounding villages), Lachish and its nearby fields, Azekah and its towns.

So the people spread from Beersheba to the valley of Hinnom.

^31-35 The people of the tribe of Benjamin lived at: Geba, Michmash, Aija, Bethel (and its surrounding villages), Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, Lod, Ono (the Valley of the Craftsmen).

³⁶ Some of the Levites who lived in Judah were sent to live with the tribe of Benjamin.

12 ^1-7 Here is a list of the priests who accompanied Zerubbabel (son of Shealtiel) and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah.

⁸ The Levites who went with them were: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, Mattaniah—who was the one in charge of the thanksgiving service.

⁹ Bakbukiah and Unni, their fellow clansmen, helped them during the service.

^12-21 The following were the clan leaders of the priests who served under the High Priest Joiakim:

²² A genealogical record of the heads of the clans of the priests and Levites was compiled during the reign of King Darius of Persia, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua—all of whom were Levites. ²³ In The Book of the Chronicles the Levite names were recorded down to the days of Johanan, the son of Eliashib.

²⁴ These were the chiefs of the Levites at that time: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua (son of Kadmiel).

Their fellow clansmen helped them during the ceremonies of praise and thanksgiving, just as commanded by David, the man of God.

²⁵ The gatekeepers who had charge of the collection centers at the gates were: Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub.

²⁶ These were the men who were active in the time of Joiakim (son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak), and when I was the governor, and when Ezra was the priest and teacher of religion.

²⁷ During the dedication of the new Jerusalem wall, all the Levites throughout the land came to Jerusalem to assist in the ceremonies and to take part in the joyous occasion with their thanksgiving, cymbals, psaltries, and harps. ²⁸ The choir members also came to Jerusalem from the surrounding villages and from the villages of the Netophathites; ²⁹ they also came from Beth-gilgal and the area of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built their own villages as suburbs of Jerusalem. ³⁰ The priests and Levites first dedicated themselves, then the people, the gates, and the wall.

^31-32 I led the Judean leaders to the top of the wall and divided them into two long lines to walk in opposite directions along the top of the wall, giving thanks as they went. The group which went to the right toward the Dung Gate consisted of half of the leaders of Judah, ³³ including Hoshaiah, Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, ³⁴ Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah.

^35-36 The priests who played the trumpets were Zechariah (son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph), Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani. (They used the original musical instruments of King David.) Ezra the priest led this procession. ³⁷ When they arrived at the Fountain Gate they went straight ahead and climbed the stairs that go up beside the castle to the old City of David; then they went to the Water Gate on the east.

³⁸ The other group, of which I was a member, went around the other way to meet them. We walked from the Tower of Furnaces to the Broad Wall, ³⁹ then from the Ephraim Gate to the Old Gate, passed the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel, and went on to the gate of the Tower of the Hundred; then we continued on to the Sheep Gate and stopped at the Prison Gate.

^40-41 Both choirs then proceeded to the Temple. Those with me were joined by the trumpet-playing priests—Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, ⁴² and by the singers—Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer.

They sang loudly and clearly under the direction of Jezrahiah the choirmaster.

⁴³ Many sacrifices were offered on that joyous day, for God had given us cause for great joy. The women and children rejoiced, too, and the joy of the people of Jerusalem was heard far away!

⁴⁴ On that day men were appointed to be in charge of the treasuries, the wave offerings, the tithes, and first-of-the-harvest offerings, and to collect these from the farms as decreed by the laws of Moses. These offerings were assigned to the priests and Levites, for the people of Judah appreciated the priests and Levites and their ministry. ⁴⁵ They also appreciated the work of the singers and gatekeepers, who assisted them in worshiping God and performing the purification ceremonies as required by the laws of David and his son Solomon. ⁴⁶ (It was in the days of David and Asaph that the custom began of having choir directors to lead the choirs in hymns of praise and thanks to God.) ⁴⁷ So now, in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, the people brought a daily supply of food for the members of the choir, the gatekeepers, and the Levites. The Levites, in turn, gave a portion of what they received to the priests.^[m]

13 On that same day, as the laws of Moses were being read, the people found a statement which said that the Ammonites and Moabites should never be permitted to worship at the Temple.^{[n] 2} For they had not been friendly to the people of Israel. Instead, they had hired Balaam to curse them—although God turned the curse into a blessing. ³ When this rule was read, all the foreigners were immediately expelled from the assembly.

⁴ Before this had happened, Eliashib the priest, who had been appointed as custodian of the Temple storerooms and who was also a good friend of Tobiah, ⁵ had converted a storage room into a beautiful guest room for Tobiah. The room had previously been used for storing the grain offerings, frankincense, bowls, and tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil. Moses had decreed that these offerings belonged to the priests, Levites, the members of the choir, and the gatekeepers.

⁶ I was not in Jerusalem at the time, for I had returned to Babylon in the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes (though I later received his permission to go back again to Jerusalem). ⁷ When I arrived back in Jerusalem and learned of this evil deed of Eliashib—that he had prepared a guest room in the Temple for Tobiah— ⁸ I was very upset and threw out all of his belongings from the room. ⁹ Then I demanded that the room be thoroughly cleaned, and I brought back the Temple bowls, the grain offerings, and frankincense.

¹⁰ I also learned that the Levites had not been given what was due them, so they and the choir singers who were supposed to conduct the worship services had returned to their farms. ¹¹ I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, “Why has the Temple been forsaken?” Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties. ¹² And once more all the people of Judah began bringing their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple treasury.

¹³ I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah the Levite in charge of the administration of the storehouses; and I appointed Hanan (son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah) as their assistant. These men had an excellent reputation, and their job was to make an honest distribution to their fellow Levites.

¹⁴ O my God, remember this good deed and do not forget all that I have done for the Temple.