Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
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Nehemiah
Nehemiah 1
¶1.The words of Nehemiah ben-Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, that I was in Shushan the citadel.
2. And Hanani, one of my brothers, came in with men from Judah, and I asked them about the escaped remnant of Jews who were left of the captivity, and about Jerusalem.
3. And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who remain of the captives are in great distress and reproach, and Jerusalem’s wall is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
4. And it came to pass when I heard these words that I sat down and wept. And I mourned for days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
5. And I said, “I beseech you, O Jehovah, God of heaven, the great and fearful God, who keeps covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments.
6.Let your ear, I pray, be attentive, and your eyes open, that you might hear the prayer of your servant which I am praying to you this day, day and night, for the children of Israel your servants, and confessing the sins of the children of Israel which we sinned against you, that I and my father’s house have sinned.
7.We have been very corrupt toward you and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which you commanded Moses your servant.
8.Remember, I pray, the word which you commanded Moses your servant, saying, ‘You will be unfaithful, and I will scatter you among the nations.
9.But you will return to me and keep my commandments, and you will do them. Though you be driven out to the ends of the heavens, from there will I gather them and bring them back to the place that I chose as a dwelling place for my name.’
10.For they are your servants and your people whom you redeemed by your great power, and your strong hand.
11.O Lord, I pray you, let your ear, I pray you, be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants, who delight to fear your name, and prosper, I pray, your servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s cupbearer.
Nehemiah 2
¶1. And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now, I had not been sad in his presence.
2. And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad? For you are not sick. This is certainly sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid.
3. And I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why would my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies in ruins, and its gates have been consumed by fire?”
4. And the king said to me, “What is it that you want?” So, I prayed to the God of heaven.
5. And I said to the king, “If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”
6. And the king said to me (with the queen sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So, it was good in the sight of the king to send me, and I gave him a set time.
7. I also said to the king, “If it please the king, let letters be given to me for the governors beyond the river, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah.
8.And a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to provide beams for the gates of the fortress, which is by the temple, and for the city walls, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king gave this to me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
9. And I came to the governors beyond the river, and I gave them the king’s letters. And the king had also sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
¶10. And Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah[1] the Ammonite servant heard it, and it very greatly displeased them that a man had come to seek good for the children of Israel.
11. And I came to Jerusalem and had been there three days
12.when I arose at night, I and a few men with me. Now, I had not told any man what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem, and there was no beast with me except the beast that I rode upon.
13. And I went out at night through the Valley Gate, and before the Serpent Spring, and to the Dung Gate, for I was inspecting the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates that had been consumed by fire.
14. Then I passed on to the Fountain Gate, and to the King’s Pool, but there was no place for the beast to pass through beneath me.
15. So I went up by the brook at night while inspecting the wall, and then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and I returned.
16. And the officials did not know where I had gone, or what I was doing, for I had not yet told the Jews, or the priests, or the nobles, or the officials, or the rest who would do the work.
¶17. Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we no longer be a reproach.”
18. And I told them of the hand of my God that had been good to me, and of the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So, they strengthened their hands for the good work.
19. But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they mocked us and despised us, saying, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20. And I returned a message to them, and I said to them, “The God of heaven, He will make us successful, and we, His servants, will rise up and rebuild the wall, and you have no portion, or righteousness, or memorial in Jerusalem.”
Nehemiah 3
¶1. Then Eliashib the high priest and his brothers the priests rose up, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set up its doors. They consecrated it to the Tower of the Hundred, and to the Tower of Hananeel.
2. And next to them, the men of Jericho built. And next to them, Zaccur ben-Imri built.
3. And the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams, and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars.
4. And next to them, Meremoth ben-Urijah, the son of Koz, made repairs. And next to them, Meshullam ben-Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel, made repairs. And next to them, Zadok ben-Baana made repairs.
5. And next to them, the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not put their necks to the service of their Lord.
6. And Jehoiada ben-Paseah and Meshullam ben-Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid its beams, and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars.
7. And next to them, Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, of the jurisdiction of the governor beyond the river, made repairs.
8. Next to them, Uzziel ben-Harhaiah and the goldsmiths made repairs. And next to them, Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs, and they fortified Jerusalem as far as the broad wall.
9. And next to them, Rephaiah ben-Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs.
10. And next to them, Jedaiah ben-Harumaph, made repairs in front of his house. And next to them, Hattush ben-Hashabniah made repairs.
11. Malchiah ben-Harim and Hashub ben-Pahath-Moab repaired another section, and the Tower of the Ovens.
12. And next to them, Shallum ben-Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs, he and his daughters.
13. Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate; they built it, and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars, and a thousand cubits of the wall to the Dung Gate.
14. And Malchiah ben-Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-Haccerem, repaired the Dung Gate; he built it, and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars.
15. And Shallun ben-Col-Hozeh, the ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate; he built it, and made a roof for it, and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars, and the wall of the Pool of Shelah by the king’s garden as far as the steps that come down from the city of David.
16. After them, Nehemiah ben-Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-Zur, repaired to opposite the tombs of David, and to the pool that was made, and to the house of the mighty men.
17. After them, the Levites, Rehum ben-Bani, made repairs. Next to them, Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, made repairs on behalf of his district.
18. After them, their brothers made repairs under Bavai ben-Henadad, the ruler of half the district of Keilah.
19. And next to them, Ezer ben-Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the corner.
20. After them, Baruch ben-Zabbai zealously made repairs to another section from the corner to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.
21. After them, Meremoth ben-Urijah, the son of Koz, made repairs to another section from the door of Eliashib’s house as far as the end of Eliashib’s house.
22. And after them, the priests, men from the surrounding area, made repairs.
23. After them, Benjamin and Hashub made repairs opposite their house. After them, Azariah ben-Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house.
24. After them, Binnui ben-Henadad made repairs to another section from Azariah’s house as far as the corner buttress, even to the corner.
25. Palal ben-Uzai repaired from the corner buttress and the tower which projected from the king’s upper house, which was by the court of the prison. After them, Pedaiah ben-Parosh
26. and the Nethinim, who dwelt in the Ophel, repaired as far as opposite the Water Gate to the east, and the tower that projects outward.
27. After them, the Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of the Ophel.
28. From above the Gate of Horse Gate, the priests made repairs, each man in front of his own house.
29. After them, Zadok ben-Immer made repairs in front of his house. And after him, Shemaiah ben-Shechaniah, keeper of the Eastern Gate, made repairs.
30. After him, Hananiah ben-Shelemiah and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After them, Meshullam ben-Berechiah made repairs in front of his storehouse.
31. After him, Malchiah, the goldsmith’s son, made repairs as far as the house of the Nethinim and of the merchantmen, opposite the Miphkad Gate, and to the ascent of the corner.
32. And between the ascent of the corner and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchantmen made repairs.
Nehemiah 4
¶1. But it came to pass, when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, that he was angry and greatly enraged, and he mocked the Jews.
2. And he spoke before his brothers and the wealthy of Samaria, and he said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they free themselves? Will they make sacrifices? Will they be finished in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish that were burned?”
3. And Tobiah the Ammonite was at his side, and he said, “Even if a fox went up on what they are building, that would break down their stone wall.”
¶4. Hear, O our God, for we are despised! And turn back their reproach on their own heads and give them as spoil in a land of captivity.
5.And do not cover over their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before you, for they are provoking you in the presence of the builders.
6. Yet we kept building the wall, and the whole wall was joined together to half of its height, for the people had a mind to work.
¶7. But it came to pass when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem progressed, so that the breaches began to be closed, that it was very displeasing to them.
8. And they all conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion in it.
9. And we prayed to our God because of them, and we set a guard against them day and night.
10. For Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing and there is much rubble; we are unable to continue building on the wall.”
11. And our enemies said, “They will neither know nor see until we come into their midst and slay them, and we will put an end to the work.”
12. And it came to pass that when the Jews who dwelt by them came, they said to us ten times, “They are coming against us at all the places that you are repairing.”
13. So I set a guard in the lower places, behind the wall in the open places, and I set the people by families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
14. When I had made an inspection, then I arose and said to the nobles, and the officials, and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, the great and terrible, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
¶15. And it came to pass when our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their scheme, then all of us returned to the wall, each to his work.
16. And it came to pass from that day, half of my servants labored in the work, and half held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the armor; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.
17. Those who were building the wall and those who were doing the heavy labor, burden-bearers, were working with one of his hands and holding a weapon with the other,
18.for the builders each had his sword girded at his side as they built. And he who sounded the shofar was beside me.
19. And I said to the nobles, and the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is immense and extensive, and we are separated on the wall, each man far from his brother.
20.Wherever you hear the sound of the shofar, rally to us there; our God will fight for us.”
21. So we labored in the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out.
22. I also said to the people at that time, “Let each man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us at night and a worker by day.”
23. And neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us, took off our clothes. Each took his weapon to the water.
Nehemiah 5
¶1. Now there was a great cry from the people and their wives against their Jewish brothers.
2. For there were some saying, “Our sons and daughters, we are many, let us get grain that we may eat and live.”
3. And there were some saying, “We have pledged our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses that we might get grain because of the famine.”
4. And there were others saying, “We have borrowed money against our fields and vineyards for the king’s tribute.
5.Yet now, our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children are as their children, and, behold, we are forcing our sons and daughters into bondage as slaves. Yea, there are some of our daughters who have been forced into bondage, and our hands are not able to redeem them, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.”
6. And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.
7. And I considered it in my heart. Then I contended with the nobles and the officials, and I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each of you from his brother!” And I called a great assembly against them.
8. And I said to them, “On our part, we have redeemed our Jewish brothers who had been sold to the Gentiles as we were able. But you, you are even selling your brothers, and they are sold back to us!” And they were silent and did not find a thing to say.
9. Then I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Should you not be walking in the fear of our God because of the reproach of our Gentile enemies?
10.And moreover, I, my brothers, and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us leave off, I pray, this usury.
11.Restore to them this day, I pray, their fields, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, and the hundredth part of the money, and grain, the new wine, and fresh oil that you have been exacting from them.”
12. And they said, “We will restore it and require nothing from them. We will do just as you are saying.” Then I called for the priests, that I might make them swear to act according to this promise.
13. Also, I shook out my lap and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and his property who does not keep this promise. For thus shall he be shaken out and emptied.” And the whole assembly said, “Amen”, and they praised Jehovah. And the people did according to this promise.
14. Moreover, from the day that he appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the governor’s food.
15. But the former governors who were before me made themselves burdensome to the people, for they had taken from them bread 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.
16. And I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we did not buy land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.
17. And there were at my table one hundred and fifty men, Jews and officials, as well as those who came to us from the Gentiles who were round about us.
18. Now that which was prepared each day was one ox and six choice sheep; also, fowls were prepared for me, and every ten days all manner of wine in abundance. Yet for this, I did not require the governor’s food allowance because the work was heavy upon this people.
19. Remember for my good, O God, all that I have done for this people.
Nehemiah 6
¶1. And it came to pass, when it was heard by Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left in it (even though at that time, I had not set up the doors in the gates),
2.that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come, and let us meet together at Chephirim,[2] in the valley of Ono.” But they were thinking to do me harm.
3. So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I abandon it and come down to you?”
4. And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same way.
5. Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in like manner the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand,
6.in which was written, “Among the nations it has been heard (and Gashmu is saying it), that you and the Jews are thinking to rebel, for which reason you are building the wall. And you will become their king, according to these reports.
7.And you have also set up prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim concerning you, saying, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And it will now be heard of by the king according to these words. So, come now, and let us take counsel together.”
8. Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, but you are inventing them out of your own heart.”
9. For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will refrain from the work so that it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands!
¶10. Then I went to the house of Shemaiah ben-Delaiah, the son of Mehetabeel, who was confined, and he said, “Let us meet in the house of God within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; yea, by night, they are coming to kill you.”
11. But I said, “Should a man like me flee? Who is there like me who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.”
12. And I perceived that, behold, God had not sent him, but that he had spoken this prophecy against me, and that Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13. He was hired so that I would fear and act in this way and do wrong, and they have an evil report with which they could reproach me.
14. My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these works of theirs, and also the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets who would make me fear.
¶15. And the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.
16. And it came to pass when all our enemies heard of it and all the nations who were round about us saw it, that they were very crestfallen, for they understood that it was of our God that this work was accomplished.
17. Also in those days, many nobles of Judah sent their letters to Tobiah, and those from Tobiah came to them.
18. For there were many in Judah bound by oath to him because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah ben-Arah, and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam ben-Berechiah.
19. They were even speaking of his good works before me, and they were taking my words to him, Tobiah, who sent letters to put me in fear.
Nehemiah 7
¶1. And it came to pass when the wall had been built, and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, and the singers, and the Levites had been appointed,
2.that I gave Hanani my brother and Hananiah, the commander of the fortress, a charge concerning Jerusalem (for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many).
3. And I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot, and while they are standing guard, close the doors and bar them. And you shall station guards from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each in his watch and each in front of his house.”
4. For the city was wide and great, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been built.
¶5. Then my God put it into my heart, and I assembled the nobles, and the officials, and the people, to be reckoned according to genealogy. And I found a record of the genealogy of those who had come up to Jerusalem at the beginning, and in which I found written:
6.These are the children of the province who came up from exile of the captives whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had carried away, and they returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each to his own city,
7.who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel was:
8.The children of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two.
9.The children of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two.
10.The children of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two.
11.The children of Pahath-Moab, of the children Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen.
12.The children of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four.
13.The children of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five.
14.The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty.
15.The children of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight.
16.The children of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight.
17.The children of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two.
18.The children of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven.
19.The children of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven.
20.The children of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five.
21.The children of Ater, of Hezekiah, ninety-eight.
22.The children of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight.
23.The children of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four.
24.The children of Hariph, one hundred and twelve.
25.The children of Gibeon, ninety-five.
26.The men of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty-eight.
27.The men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight.
28.The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two.
29.The men of Kirjath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three.
30.The men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one.
31.The men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two.
32.The men of Bethel and Ai, one hundred and twenty-three.
33.The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two.
34.The children of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four.
35.The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty.
36. The children of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five.
37.The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one.
38.The children of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.
¶39. The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three.
40.The children of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two.
41.The children of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven.
42.The children of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.
¶43. The Levites: the children of Jeshua of Kadmiel, of the children of Hodevah, seventy-four.
¶44. The singers: the children of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight.
¶45. The gatekeepers: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-eight.
¶46. The Nethinim: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth,
47.the children of Keros, the children of Sia, the children of Padon,
48.the children of Lebanah, the children of Hagabah, the children of Shalmai,
49.the children of Hanan, the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar,
50.the children of Reaiah, the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda,
51.the children of Gazzam, the children of Uzza, the children of Phaseah,
52.the children of Besai, the children of Meh-unim, the children of Nephushesim,
53.the children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur,
54.the children of Bazlith, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha,
55.the children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Tamah,
56.the children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha.
57. The children of Solomon’s servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida,
58.the children of Jaala, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel,
59.the children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the children of Amon.
60. All the Nethinim and the children of Solomon’s servants, three hundred and ninety-two.
¶61. And these were those who went up from Tel-melah, Tel-haresha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer. But they were not able to declare their father’s house or their lineage, whether they were of Israel.
62. The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two.
63. And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Hakkoz, the children of Barzillai, who took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite as a wife and was called by their name.
64. These sought their record among those who were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found, so they were excluded from the priesthood as polluted.
65. And the governor told them that they should not eat of the most holy things until a priest arose with the Urim and Thummim.
¶66. The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty,
67.besides their male servants and their female servants. These were seven-thousand three hundred and thirty-seven. And they had two hundred and forty-five male and female singers.
68. Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules were two hundred and forty-five,[3]
69.camels, four hundred and thirty-five, donkeys, six thousand seven hundred and twenty.
¶70. And some of the chiefs of the fathers gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand drachmas of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priestly tunics.
71. And some of the chiefs of the fathers gave to the treasury for the work twenty-thousand drachmas of gold, and two thousand two hundred minas of silver.
72. And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drachmas of gold, and two thousand minas of silver, and sixty-seven priestly tunics.
¶73. And the priests, and the Levites, and the gatekeepers, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinim, even all Israel, dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.
Nehemiah 8
¶1. And all the people gathered as one man to the square which is before the Water Gate, and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Jehovah had commanded Israel.
2. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the Assembly, both men and women, even all who could hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month.
3. And he read from it before the square which was before the Water Gate from early morning until midday in the presence of the men and women, even those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.
4. Now Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And at his side stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right, and on his left Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbaddanah, and Zechariah, and Meshullam.
5. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was above all the people), and when he opened it, all the people stood.
6. And Ezra blessed Jehovah, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen! Amen!” while lifting up their hands. Then they bowed down and worshipped Jehovah, faces to the ground.
7. And Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites made the people to understand the law, and the people stood in their place.
8. And they read in the book of the law of God, expounding and giving the meaning, so that they understood the reading.
9. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites, made the people to understand and said to all the people, “This day is holy to Jehovah your God. Do not mourn! And do not weep!” For all the people began weeping when they heard the words of the law.
10. And he said to them, “Go! Eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared! For this day is holy to our Lord, and be not grieved because the joy of Jehovah is your strength.”
11. Then the Levites stilled all the people, saying, “Be quiet! For today is holy, and you shall not be grieved.”
12. So all the people went to eat and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great rejoicing because they had understood the words that were declared to them.
13. And on the second day, the chiefs of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites were gathered to Ezra the scribe to gain understanding of the words of the law.
14. And they found written in the law which Jehovah had commanded by the hand of Moses, that the children of Israel were to dwell in booths at the feast of the seventh month,
15.which they then proclaimed, and they sent word throughout all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring the foliage of the olive, and branches of the olive[4], and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and the branches of leafy trees to make booths as it is written.”
16. So the people went out and brought them, and they made booths for themselves, each on his roof or in their courtyards, 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 Ephraim.
17. And the whole Assembly who had returned from the captivity made booths, and they dwelt in the booths. Truly, the children of Israel had not done so since the days of Jeshua ben-Nun until that day. And there was very great rejoicing.
18. And day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day was a solemn Assembly, according to the ordinance.
Nehemiah 9
¶1. And on the twenty-fourth day of that month, the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth and earth on them.
2. And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
3. And they stood up in their place and read in the book of the law of Jehovah their God for a quarter of the day, and for a quarter, they were confessing and worshipping Jehovah their God.
4. Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, Chenani stood on the ascent and cried out with a great voice to Jehovah their God.
5. Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabeniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up! Bless Jehovah your God forever and ever.” And they blessed your glorious name and exalted it above all blessing and praise.
6. And Ezra said,[5] “You, O Jehovah, you alone made heaven, the heaven of heavens, and all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them, and you preserve them all. And the host of heaven worship you.
7.You are Jehovah, the God who chose Abram and brought him out from Ur of the Chaldeans, and you gave him his name ‘Abraham’.
8.And you found his heart to be faithful before you, and you made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it to his seed, and you fulfilled your word, for you are righteous.
9.And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and you heard their cry at the Red Sea.
10.And you performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, and against all his servants, and against all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted with arrogance toward them. And you made a name for yourself, as it is this day.
11.And you divided the sea before them, and they passed through the midst of the sea on dry ground, but their pursuers, you cast into the depths, like a stone into mighty waters.
12.And by day, you led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night, with a pillar of fire, to light for them the way that they should go.
13.And you came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven, and you gave them right judgments, and laws of truth, and good statutes and commandments.
14.And you made known to them your holy Sabbath, and you charged them with commandments, and statutes, and the law by the hand of Moses your servant.
15.And you gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought forth water from a rock for them for their thirst, and you said to them that they should go in to possess the land which you lifted up your hand to give to them.
16.But they and our fathers were rebellious, and they stiffened their necks and did not obey your commandments.
17.And they refused to take heed, nor did they remember your wonders which you did among them, and in their rebellion, they stiffened their necks and appointed a captain to return to their slavery. But you are a God of abundant forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and you did not forsake them.
18.Even when they made a molten calf for themselves and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up from Egypt,’ and committed great blasphemies,
19.you, in your abundant mercies, did not forsake them in the wilderness, neither did the pillar of cloud depart from being over them by day, to lead them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way that they should go.
20.And you gave your good Spirit to give them wisdom, and did not withhold your manna from their mouth, and you gave them water for their thirst.
21.And forty years, you sustained them in the wilderness. They lacked nothing, their garments did not wear out, and their feet did not swell.
22.And you gave them kingdoms and peoples and divided them by a border, and they possessed the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, king of Bashan.
23.And their children, you multiplied like the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land which you had told their fathers to go in to possess.
24.So, the children went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and you gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, to do with them as they pleased.
25.And they captured fortified cities with fertile land, and they took possession of houses full of every good thing, wells already dug, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance. And they ate and were sated, and they grew fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness.
26.But they were disobedient and rebelled against you, and they cast your law behind their back and murdered your prophets who testified against them to turn them back to you; yea, they committed great blasphemies.
27.So, you delivered them into the hand of their enemies, and they oppressed them. And in the time of their distress, they cried out to you, and you heard from heaven, and according to your abundant mercies, you gave them saviors, and they delivered them from the hand of their enemies.
28.But when they had rest, they returned to doing evil before you, and you abandoned them into the hand of their enemies, and they ruled over them. Yet, when they repented and cried out to you, you heard from heaven and many times delivered them according to your abundant mercies.
29.And you testified against them to turn them back to your law, but they were rebellious and would not take heed to your commandments. And they sinned against your judgments (which if a man do, he shall also live by them), and they gave you the shoulder, and stiffened their neck, and would not hear.
30.And for many years, you bore with them, yet, you testified against them by your Spirit, by the hand of your prophets, but they would not give ear. Therefore, you delivered them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
31.Yet, in your abundant mercies, you did not utterly destroy them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and compassionate God.
32.Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and dreadful God, who keeps covenant and mercy, let not all the hardship which has befallen us, our kings, our princes, and our priests, and our prophets, and our fathers, and all your people since the days of the kings of Assyria until this day be a small thing before you.
33.Truly, you are just in all that has befallen us (for you have dealt faithfully, and we have done wickedly),
34.even our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers. They did not observe your law, nor heed your commands or your testimonies which you testified against them.
35.And in their kingdom, and in your abundant goodness which you gave them, and in the wide and fertile land that you set before them, they did not serve you, nor did they turn from their wicked deeds.
36.Behold, we are slaves this day; even upon the land which you gave to our fathers, to eat of its fruit and its goodness, behold, we are slaves.
37.And its abundant produce belongs to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins, and they rule over our bodies, and over our livestock, according to their pleasure, and we are in great distress.
38.And because of all this, we are making a firm covenant in writing, and our princes, our Levites, and our priests are setting their seal upon it.”
Nehemiah 10
¶1. And those who sealed it: Nehemiah ben-Hachaliah, the governor, and Zedekijah,
2.Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
3.Pashhur, Amariah, Malchiah,
4.Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,
5.Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
6.Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
7.Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
8.Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah. These were the priests.
9. And the Levites: Jeshua ben-Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,
10.and their kinsmen, Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
11.Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah,
12.Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
13.Hodijah, Bani, Beninu.
14. The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,
15.Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
16.Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
17.Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,
18.Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,
19.Hariph, Anathoth, Nobai,
20.Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
21.Meshezabeel, Zadok, Jaddua,
22.Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
23.Hoshea, Hananiah, Hashub,
24.Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
25.Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
26.and Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,
27.Malluch, Harim, Baanah.
28. And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Nethinim, and all who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge and understanding,
29.joined with their brothers, their nobles and entered into a curse and an oath, to walk in the law of God which was given by the hand of Moses the servant of God, and to observe and to do all the commandments of Jehovah our Lord and His judgments and His statutes,
30.and that we would not give our daughters to the peoples of the land nor take their daughters for our sons,
31.and as for the peoples of the land who bring in wares or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, that we would not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day, and that we would forego our crops in the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.
32. We also established for ourselves commandments: to charge ourselves a third of a shekel yearly for the service of the house of our God,
33.for the bread of the rows, and the continual grain offering, and the continual burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, for the appointed times, and for the holy portions, and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God
34.(we also cast lots for the wood offering among the priests, the Levites, and the people, to bring it to the house of our God, according to the house of our fathers, at the times appointed year by year, to burn on the altar of Jehovah our God, as it is written in the law);
35.and to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit from every tree year by year to the house of Jehovah;
36.and to bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock (as is written in the law), even the firstborn of our herds and flocks, to the house of our God to the priests who minister in the house of our God;
37.and that we would bring the firstfruits of our dough, even our exsect offerings, also of the fruit of every tree, new wine, and fresh oil to the priests for the chambers of the house of our God, and to the Levites the tithe of our ground, that they, the Levites, might collect the tithes in all the cities where we labor.
38. And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites render the tithe, when the Levites bring the tithe of the tithe up to the house of our God, to the chambers of the treasure-house.
39. For the children of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring up the exsect offering of grain, the new wine, and the fresh oil to the chambers. And the accoutrements of the sanctuary are there, with the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers, and the singers. And so, we will not neglect the house of our God.
Nehemiah 11
¶1. Now, the rulers of the people dwelt in Jerusalem, but the rest of the people cast lots to bring one in ten to dwell in Jerusalem, the holy city, and nine parts in the towns.
2. And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to dwell in Jerusalem.
¶3. And these are the heads of the province who dwelt in Jerusalem while in the cities of Judah, every man dwelt in his possession in their cities of Israel: the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinim, and the children of Solomon’s servants.
¶4. And in Jerusalem dwelt some of the children of Judah, and some of the children of Benjamin. Of the children of Judah: Athaiah ben-Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalaleel, of the children of Pharez,
5.and Maaseiah ben-Baruch, the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of the Shilonite.
6. All the children of Pharez who dwelt in Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight mighty men.
¶7. And these are the children of Benjamin: Sallu ben-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 after him, Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred and twenty-eight.
9. And Joel ben-Zichri was their overseer, and Judah ben-Hassnuah was second over the city.
¶10. Of the priests: Jedaiah ben-Joiarib, Jachin,
11.Seraiah ben-Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, ruler of the house of God.
12. And their brothers who did the work of the house were eight hundred and twenty-two. And Adaiah ben-Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchiah,
13.and his brothers, heads of the fathers, were two hundred and forty-two. And Amashsai ben-Azareel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer,
14.and their brothers, mighty men of valor, were one hundred and twenty-eight. And their overseer was Zabdiel ben-Haggedolim.
¶15. And of the Levites: Shemaiah ben-Hashub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni,
16.and Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, were over the exterior work of the house of God.
17. And Mattaniah ben-Michah, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the leader at the commencement of the thanksgiving prayer, and Bakbukiah was the second among his brothers, and Abda ben-Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.
18. All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred and eighty-four.
¶19. And the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon, and their brothers, who kept watch at the gates were one hundred and seventy-two.
20. And the rest of Israel, the priests, and the Levites were in all the cities of Judah, each in his inheritance.
21. But the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa were over the Nethinim.
¶22. And the overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi ben-Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha. Of the sons of Asaph, the singers were over the service of the house of God,
23.for it was the king’s commandment concerning them that provision be made for the singers as each day required.
24. And Pethahiah ben-Meshezabeel, of the sons of Zerah ben-Judah, was at the king’s side in every matter concerning the people.
25. And as for the villages, with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt in Kirjath-arba and its towns, and in Dibon and its towns, and in Jekabzeel and its villages.
26.and in Jeshua and in Moladah and in Beth-palet,
27.and in Hazar-shual, and in Beersheba and its towns,
28.and in Ziklag, in Mechonah and its towns,
29.and in En-rimmon, and in Zorah, and in Jarmuth,
30.Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish, and its fields, Azekah and its towns. And they settled from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom.
31. And the children of Benjamin, from Geba to Michmash, and Aijah, and Bethel and its towns,
32.Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,
33.Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,
34.Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,
35.Lod, and Ono, the Valley of the Craftsmen.
36. And of the Levites, some of the courses in Judah belonged to Benjamin.
Nehemiah 12
¶1. And these are the priests and the Levites who went up with Zerubbabel ben-Shealtiel and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
2.Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
3.Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
4.Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,
5.Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
6.Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7.Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and their brothers in the days of Jeshua.
¶8. And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah was over the songs of praise, he and his brothers.
9. And Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, stood opposite them according to the charges.
10. And Jeshua fathered Joiakim, and Joiakim fathered Eliashib, and Eliashib, Joiada,
11.and Joiada fathered Jonathan, and Jonathan fathered Jaddua.
12. And in the days of Joiakim there were priests, chiefs of the fathers. Of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
13.of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
14.of Meluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
15.of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;
16.of Adaia, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17.of Abijah, Zichri; of Minjamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
18.of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jonathan;
19.and of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
20.of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
21.of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethaneel.
¶22. The Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, the chiefs of the fathers and the priests were recorded up to the reign of Darius the Persian.
¶23. The sons of Levi, the chiefs of the fathers, were recorded in the scroll of the chronicles until the days of Johanan ben-Eliashib.
24. And the chiefs of the Levites, Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua ben-Kadmiel, and their brothers opposite them, gave praise and thanks according to the commandment of David, the man of God, division by division.
25. Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub were gatekeepers keeping watch, the guard at the storehouses of the gates.
26. These were in the days of Joiakim ben-Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe.
¶27. And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sought the Levites to bring them to Jerusalem from all their places, to keep the dedication with joy, and with giving of thanks, and with song, cymbals, harps, and with lyres.
28. And the sons of the singers were assembled from both the area around Jerusalem and the villages of the Netophathites,
29.and from Beth-Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages round about Jerusalem.
30. And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, then they purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.
¶31. Then I brought the rulers of Judah up onto the wall, and I appointed two great companies who gave thanks, and one of the processions went to the south on the wall to the Dung Gate.
32. And after them went Hoshaiah and half of the rulers of Judah,
33.and Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,
34.Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,
35.and some of the priest’s sons with the trumpets, Zechariah ben-Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zacchur, the son of Asaph,
36.and his brothers, Shemaiah, and Azareel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David, the man of God, with Ezra the scribe before them.
37. And at the Fountain Gate, they went up straight ahead by the steps of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall above the house of David, as far as the Water Gate eastward.
¶38. And the second company who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed it with half of the people on the wall, from above the Tower of the Ovens as far as the broad wall,
39.and from above the Gate of Ephraim, and over the Old Gate, and over the Fish Gate, and the Tower of Hananeel, and the Tower of Meah, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stood at the Prison Gate.
40. And the two companies who gave thanks stood at the house of God, and I, and the half of the officials with me,
41.and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Minjamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with the trumpets,
42.and Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchiah, and Elam, and Azer. And the singers made themselves heard, with Jezrahiah as the leader.
43. And on that day, they offered great sacrifices, and they rejoiced because God had made them glad with great joy. And the women and children rejoiced also, and the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off.
¶44. And on that day, men were appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the exsect offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the lawful portions for the priests and the Levites. Truly, there was joy in Judah for the priests and the Levites who were ministering.
45. And they kept the charge of their God, even the charge of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the commandment of David and of Solomon his son.
46. For in the days of David and Asaph of old, there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.
47. And in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, all Israel gave daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, and things consecrated for the Levites. And the Levites gave things consecrated for the sons of Aaron.
Nehemiah 13
¶1. On that day, the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people, and in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter into the Assembly of God,
2.for they did not meet the children of Israel with bread and water, and Moab hired Balaam against them to curse them, but our God turned the curse into a blessing.
3. And it came to pass that when they heard the law, they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.
¶4. Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who had been set over the chambers of the house of our God, had become close to Tobiah
5.and had prepared for him a great chamber where they formerly laid the grain offering, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of grain, the new wine, and the fresh oil designated for the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the exsect offering for the priests.
6. But during all of that, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, I came to the king, and after a time, I asked leave of the king,
7.and I came to Jerusalem and learned of the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah in preparing a chamber for him in the courts of the house of God.
8. And it grieved me deeply, and I threw all Tobiah’s household stuff out of the chamber.
9. And I gave orders, and they purified the chambers. And to there, I returned the vessels of the house of God, the grain offering, and the frankincense.
¶10. And I found out that the portions for the Levites had not been given, and that the Levites and the singers who did the work had fled, each to his field.
11. And I contended with the officials, and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them and set them at their stations.
12. Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, and the wine, and the oil into the storehouses.
13. And I made treasurers over the storehouses, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah from the Levites, and at their side was Hanan ben-Zacchur, the son of Mattaniah, for they were considered faithful. And it was upon them to distribute to their brothers.
¶14. Remember me, O my God, for this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its charges.
¶15. In those days, I saw in Judah some treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of goods, and also loading donkeys with wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, and bringing them into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them that day about selling their provision.
16. Men of Tyre also dwelt therein, who brought fish and all kinds of merchandise, and who were selling on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.
17. And I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing and profaning the Sabbath day?
18.Did not your fathers do so, and our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? Yet, you are bringing even more burning wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
19. And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem fell into shadow before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut, and gave an order that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I set some of my servants at the gates, so that no burden would be brought in on the Sabbath day.
20. Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside of Jerusalem a time or two.
21. So I admonished them, and said to them, “Why are you lodging in front of the wall? If you do this again, I will lay hands on you.” From then on, they came no more on the Sabbath.
22. And I commanded the Levites that they were to purify themselves and come to watch the gates to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, for this also, and spare me according to your lovingkindness.
¶23. Also, in those days, I saw that Jews were married to women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab,
24.and half their children were speaking in the language of Ashdod and could not speak in the language of the Jews, but they spoke the language of each people.
25. And I contended with them, and cursed them, and beat some of the men and pulled out their hair, and I made them swear by God, saying, “May God damn you if you give your daughters to their sons, or if you take their daughters for your sons or yourselves.
26.Did not Solomon, king of Israel sin by these things? For among many nations there was not a king like him. And he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel, yet foreign women caused even him to sin.
27.Should we then consent for you to do all this great evil, to deal unfaithfully with our God by marrying foreign women?”
28. And one of the sons of Joiada ben-Eliashib the high priest was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. So, I chased him away from me.
29. Remember them, O my God, for the defilements of the priesthood and the covenant of priesthood and the Levites.
30. But I cleansed them of every foreigner, and I set up the offices for the priests and for the Levites, each with his work,
31.and the wood for the offering in the times appointed, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good!
Footnotes
[1] Or, “Tobijah”, meaning “Jehovah is my Good One”.
[2] Translated “young lions” elsewhere, and often as “one of the villages” here.
[3] Ezra 2:66. Hebrew lacking in Nehemiah.
[4] Hebrew: “oil tree”.
[5] LXX reading.