NEHEMIAH
Nehemiah 1
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And
it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the
twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,
2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and
[certain] men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped,
which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of
the captivity there in the province [are] in great affliction and reproach: the
wall of
4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and
mourned [certain] days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
5 And said, I beseech Thee, O Yahweh, God of heaven, the great and terrible
God, That keepeth covenant and mercy for them that
love Him and observe His commandments:
6 Let Thine ear now be attentive, and Thine eyes open, that Thou mayest hear the prayer of Thy servant, which I pray before
Thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel Thy servants, and confess
the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against Thee: both I
and my father's house have sinned.
7 We have dealt very corruptly against Thee, and have not kept the
commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which Thou commandedst Thy servant Moses.
8 Remember, I beseech Thee, the word that Thou commandedst
Thy servant Moses, saying, [If] ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among
the nations:
9 But [if] ye turn unto Me, and keep My commandments, and do them; though there
were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, [yet] will I gather
them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set
My name there.
10 Now these [are] Thy servants and Thy people, whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy
great power, and by Thy strong hand.
11 O Yahweh, I beseech Thee, let now Thine ear be attentive to the prayer of
Thy servant, and to the prayer of Thy servants, who desire to fear Thy name:
and prosper, I pray Thee, Thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the
sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
1 And it came to pass in the month
Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, [that] wine [was] before
him: and I took up the wine, and gave [it] unto the king. Now I had not been
[beforetime] sad in his presence.
2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why [is] thy countenance sad, seeing thou
[art] not sick? this [is] nothing [else] but sorrow of heart. Then I was very
sore afraid,
3 And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my
countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres,
[lieth] waste, and the gates thereof are consumed
with fire?
4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to
the God of heaven.
5 And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have
found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me
unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres,
that I may build it.
6 And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long
shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send
me; and I set him a time.
7 Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me
to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come
into Judah;
8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me
timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which [appertained] to the
house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into.
And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
9 Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's
letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite,
and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard [of it],
it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of
the children of
11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
12 And I arose in the night, I and
some few men with me; neither told I [any] man what my God had put in my heart
to do at Jerusalem: neither [was there any] beast with me, save the beast that
I rode upon.
13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon
well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of
14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but
[there was] no place for the beast [that was] under me to pass.
15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned
back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and [so] returned.
16 And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet
told [it] to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the
rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we [are] in, how
18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the
king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and
build. So they strengthened their hands for [this] good [work].
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite,
and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard [it], they laughed us to scorn,
and despised us, and said, What [is] this thing that ye do? will ye rebel
against the king?
20 Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, He will prosper
us; therefore we His servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor
right, nor memorial, in
1 Then Eliashib
the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the
doors of it; even unto the
2 And next unto him builded the men of
3 But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build,
who [also] laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks
thereof, and the bars thereof.
4 And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of
Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah,
the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana.
5 And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their
nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.
6 Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the
doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.
7 And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite,
the men of
8 Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of [one of] the apothecaries, and they
fortified
9 And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of
10 And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him
repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah.
11 Malchijah the son of Harim,
and Hashub the son of Pahathmoab,
repaired the other piece, and the tower of the furnaces.
12 And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh,
the ruler of the half part of
13 The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the
inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the
doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits
on the wall unto the dung gate.
14 But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Bethhaccerem;
he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars
thereof.
15 But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the
son of Colhozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors
thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden, and unto the stairs that go
down from the city of David.
16 After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the
ruler of the half part of Bethzur, unto [the place]
over against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool
that was made, and unto the house of the mighty.
17 After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah,
the ruler of the half part of Keilah, in his part.
18 After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son
of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah.
19 And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah,
another piece over against the going up to the armoury
at the turning [of the wall].
20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly
repaired the other piece, from the turning [of the wall] unto the door of the
house of Eliashib the high priest.
21 After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the
son of Koz another piece, from the door of the house
of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib.
22 And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain.
23 After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the
son of Ananiah by his house.
24 After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another piece, from the house of Azariah unto the turning [of the wall], even unto the
corner.
25 Palal the son of Uzai,
over against the turning [of the wall], and the tower which lieth
out from the king's high house, that [was] by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah
the son of Parosh.
26 Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto [the place] over against the water gate toward
the east, and the tower that lieth out.
27 After them the Tekoites repaired another piece,
over against the great tower that lieth out, even
unto the wall of Ophel.
28 From above the horse gate
repaired the priests, every one over against his house.
29 After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him repaired also
Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the
east gate.
30 After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth
son of Zalaph, another piece. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah
over against his chamber.
31 After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith's son
unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants,
over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of
the corner.
32 And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate repaired the
goldsmiths and the merchants.
1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded
the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of
3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite [was] by him, and he said,
Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their
stone wall.
4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own
head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:
5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from
before Thee: for they have provoked [Thee] to anger before the builders.
6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half
thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
7 But it came to pass, [that] when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up,
[and] that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,
8 And conspired all of them together to come [and] to fight against Jerusalem,
and to hinder it.
9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them
day and night, because of them.
10 And
11 And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the
midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said
unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us [they will be
upon you].
13 Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, [and] on the higher
places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their
spears, and their bows.
14 And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and
to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember Yahweh, [Which
is] great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your
daughters, your wives, and your houses.
15 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and
God had brought their counsel to nought, that we
returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.
16 And it came to pass from that time forth, [that] the half of my servants
wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the
shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers [were] behind all the
house of
17 They which builded on the wall, and they that bare
burdens, with those that laded, [every one] with one of his hands wrought in
the work, and with the other [hand] held a weapon.
18 For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and [so] builded. And he that sounded the trumpet [was] by me.
19 And I said unto the nobles, and
to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work
[is] great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.
20 In what place [therefore] ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye
thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.
21 So we laboured in the work: and half of them held
the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.
22 Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his
servant lodge within
23 So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard
which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, [saving that] every one put
them off for washing.
1 And there was a great cry of the
people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.
2 For there were that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, [are] many:
therefore we take up corn [for them], that we may eat, and live.
3 [Some] also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and
houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth.
4 There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute,
[and that upon] our lands and vineyards.
5 Yet now our flesh [is] as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their
children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be
servants, and [some] of our daughters are brought unto bondage [already]:
neither [is it] in our power [to redeem them]; for other men have our lands and
vineyards.
6 And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.
7 Then I consulted with myself, and
I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye
exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them.
8 And I said unto them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews,
which were sold unto the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall
they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace, and found nothing [to
answer].
9 Also I said, It [is] not good that ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of
our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies?
10 I likewise, [and] my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money
and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury.
11 Restore, I pray you, to them,
even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their
houses, also the hundredth [part] of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and
the oil, that ye exact of them.
12 Then said they, We will restore [them], and will require nothing of them; so
will we do as thou sayest. Then I called the priests,
and took an oath of them, that they should do according to this promise.
13 Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house,
and from his labour, that performeth
not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the
congregation said, Amen, and praised Yahweh. And the people did according to
this promise.
14 Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the
15 But the former governors that [had been] before me were chargeable unto the
people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver;
yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because
of the fear of God.
16 Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land:
and all my servants [were] gathered thither unto the work.
17 Moreover [there were] at my table an hundred and fifty of the Jews and
rulers, beside those that came unto us from among the heathen that [are] about
us.
18 Now [that] which was prepared [for me] daily [was] one ox [and] six choice
sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts
of wine: yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor, because the
bondage was heavy upon this people.
19 Think upon me, my God, for good, [according] to all that I have done for
this people.
1 Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that
I had builded the wall, and [that] there was no
breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the
gates;)
2 That Sanballat and Geshem
sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in [some one of] the villages
in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.
3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I [am] doing a great work, so that I
cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down
to you?
4 Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after
the same manner.
5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like
manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;
6 Wherein [was] written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith [it, that] thou and
the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest
the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according
to these words.
7 And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at
8 Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them
out of thine own heart.
9 For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the
work, that it be not done. Now therefore, [O God], strengthen my hands.
10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah
the son of Mehetabeel, who [was] shut up; and he
said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us
shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the
night will they come to slay thee.
11 And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who [is there], that, [being]
as I [am], would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.
12 And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this
prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
13 Therefore [was] he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and
[that] they might have [matter] for an evil report, that they might reproach
me.
14 My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the
prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets,
that would have put me in fear.
15 So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth [day] of [the month] Elul,
in fifty and two days.
16 And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard [thereof], and all the
heathen that [were] about us saw [these things], they were much cast down in
their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.
17 Moreover in those days the nobles of
18 For [there were] many in Judah sworn unto him, because he [was] the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.
19 Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. [And] Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.
1 Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors,
and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed,
2 That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem:
for he [was] a faithful man, and feared God above many.
3 And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun
be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar [them]: and
appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and
every one [to be] over against his house.
4 Now the city [was] large and great: but the people [were] few therein, and
the houses [were] not builded.
5 And my God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers,
and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a
register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first, and found written
therein,
6 These [are] the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity,
of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon
had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his
city;
7 Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number, [I
say], of the men of the people of
8 The children of Parosh, two thousand an hundred
seventy and two.
9 The children of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy
and two.
10 The children of Arah, six hundred fifty and two.
11 The children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand and eight hundred [and]
eighteen.
12 The children of
13 The children of Zattu, eight hundred forty and
five.
14 The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and
threescore.
15 The children of Binnui, six hundred forty and
eight.
16 The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and
eight.
17 The children of Azgad, two thousand three hundred
twenty and two.
18 The children of Adonikam, six hundred threescore
and seven.
19 The children of Bigvai, two thousand threescore
and seven.
20 The children of Adin, six hundred fifty and five.
21 The children of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety and
eight.
22 The children of Hashum, three hundred twenty and
eight.
23 The children of Bezai, three hundred twenty and
four.
24 The children of Hariph, an hundred and twelve.
25 The children of
26 The men of
27 The men of Anathoth, an hundred twenty and eight.
28 The men of Bethazmaveth, forty and two.
29 The men of Kirjathjearim, Chephirah,
and Beeroth, seven hundred forty and three.
30 The men of Ramah and Gaba, six hundred twenty and
one.
31 The men of Michmas, an hundred and twenty and two.
32 The men of
33 The men of the other Nebo, fifty and two.
34 The children of the other
35 The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty.
36 The children of
37 The children of Lod, Hadid,
and Ono, seven hundred twenty and 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 seventy and three.
40 The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two.
41 The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred
forty and seven.
42 The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.
43 The Levites: the children of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, [and] of the children of Hodevah,
seventy and four.
44 The singers: the children of Asaph, an hundred forty and eight.
45 The porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater,
the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita,
the children of Shobai, an hundred thirty and eight.
46 The Nethinims: the children of Ziha,
the children of Hashupha, the children of Tabbaoth,
47 The children of Keros, the children of Sia, the children of Padon,
48 The children of Lebana, the children of Hagaba, 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 Meunim, the children of Nephishesim,
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
of Zebaim, the children of Amon.
60 All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's
servants, [were] three hundred ninety and two.
61 And these [were] they which went up [also] from Telmelah,
Telharesha, Cherub, Addon,
and Immer: but they could not shew their father's
house, nor their seed, whether they [were] of
62 The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda,
six hundred forty and two.
63 And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the
children of Koz, the children of Barzillai,
which took [one] of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their name.
64 These sought their register [among] those that were reckoned by genealogy,
but it was not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the
priesthood.
65 And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should
not eat of the most holy things, till there stood [up] a priest with Urim and Thummim.
66 The whole congregation together [was] forty and two thousand three hundred
and threescore,
67 Beside their manservants and their maidservants, of whom [there were] seven
thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and they had two hundred forty and
five singing men and singing women.
68 Their horses, seven hundred thirty and six: their mules, two hundred forty
and five:
69 [Their] camels, four hundred thirty and five: six thousand seven hundred and
twenty asses.
70 And some of the chief of the fathers gave unto the work. The Tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold,
fifty basons, five hundred and thirty priests'
garments.
71 And [some] of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work
twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pound of
silver.
72 And [that] which the rest of the people gave [was] twenty thousand drams of
gold, and two thousand pound of silver, and threescore and seven priests'
garments.
73 So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and
[some] of the people, and the Nethinims, and all
1 And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street
that [was] before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring
the book of the law of Moses, which Yahweh had commanded to
2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and
women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the
seventh month.
3 And he read therein before the street that [was] before the water gate from
the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could
understand; and the ears of all the people [were attentive] unto the book of
the law.
4 And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose;
and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and
Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, 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 up:
6 And Ezra blessed Yahweh, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen,
Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped
Yahweh with [their] faces to the ground.
7 Also Jeshua, and Bani,
and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand
the law: and the people [stood] in their place.
8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense,
and caused [them] to understand the reading.
9 And Nehemiah, which [is] the Tirshatha, and Ezra
the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all
the people, This day [is] holy unto Yahweh your God; mourn not, nor weep. For
all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.
10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and
send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for [this] day [is] holy
unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of Yahweh is your strength.
11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day
[is] holy; neither be ye grieved.
12 And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send
portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that
were declared unto them.
13 And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all
the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to
understand the words of the law.
14 And they found written in the law which Yahweh had commanded by Moses, that
the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:
15 And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in
Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine
branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees,
to make booths, as [it is] written.
16 So the people went forth, and brought [them], and made themselves booths,
every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of
the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the
gate of Ephraim.
17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity
made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of
18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book
of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day
[was] a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.
1 Now in the twenty and fourth day
of this month the children of
2 And the seed of
3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of Yahweh
their God [one] fourth part of the day; and [another] fourth part they
confessed, and worshipped Yahweh their God.
4 Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua,
and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, [and] Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto Yahweh their God.
5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel,
Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, [and] Pethahiah, said,
Stand up [and] bless Yahweh your God for ever and ever: and blessed be Thy
glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
6 Thou, [even] Thou, [art] Yahweh alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of
heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all [things] that [are] therein,
the seas, and all that [is] therein, and Thou preservest
them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth Thee.
7 Thou [art] Yahweh, the God Who didst choose Abram, and broughtest
him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him
the name of Abraham;
8 And foundest his heart faithful before Thee, and madest 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, I say], to his seed, and hast performed Thy words;
for Thou [art] righteous:
9 And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest
their cry by the Red sea;
10 And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and
on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for Thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst Thou
get Thee a name, as [it is] this day.
11 And Thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the
midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors Thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.
12 Moreover Thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy
pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way
wherein they should go.
13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest
them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:
14 And madest known unto them Thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them
precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses Thy servant:
15 And gavest them bread from heaven for their
hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of
the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that
they should go in to possess the land which Thou hadst
sworn to give them.
16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and
hearkened not to Thy commandments,
17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of Thy wonders that Thou didst
among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a
captain to return to their bondage: but Thou [art] a God ready to pardon,
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.
18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This [is] thy God that
brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;
19 Yet Thou in Thy manifold mercies forsookest them
not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day,
to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them
light, and the way wherein they should go.
20 Thou gavest also Thy good spirit to instruct them,
and withheldest not Thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.
21 Yea, forty years didst Thou sustain them in the wilderness, [so that] they
lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.
22 Moreover Thou gavest them kingdoms and nations,
and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the
23 Their children also multipliedst Thou as the stars
of heaven, and broughtest them into the land,
concerning which Thou hadst promised to their
fathers, that they should go in to possess [it].
24 So the children went in and possessed the land, and Thou subduedst
before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the
people of the land, that they might do with them as they would.
25 And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of
all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat,
and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in Thy great
goodness.
26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against Thee, and cast Thy
law behind their backs, and slew Thy prophets which testified against them to
turn them to Thee, and they wrought great provocations.
27 Therefore Thou deliveredst them into the hand of
their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they
cried unto Thee, Thou heardest [them] from heaven;
and according to Thy manifold mercies Thou gavest
them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of
their enemies.
28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before Thee: therefore leftest Thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that
they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto Thee,
Thou heardest [them] from heaven; and many times
didst Thou deliver them according to Thy mercies;
29 And testifiedst against them, that Thou mightest bring them again unto Thy law: yet they dealt
proudly, and hearkened not unto Thy commandments, but sinned against Thy
judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the
shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.
30 Yet many years didst Thou forbear them, and testifiedst
against them by Thy spirit in Thy prophets: yet would they not give ear:
therefore gavest Thou them into the hand of the
people of the lands.
31 Nevertheless for Thy great mercies' sake Thou didst not utterly consume
them, nor forsake them; for Thou [art] a gracious and merciful God.
32 Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, Who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem
little before Thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and
on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all Thy people,
since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.
33 Howbeit Thou [art] just in all
that is brought upon us; for Thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:
34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept Thy
law, nor hearkened unto Thy commandments and Thy testimonies, wherewith Thou
didst testify against them.
35 For they have not served Thee in their kingdom, and in Thy great goodness
that Thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land
which Thou gavest before them, neither turned they
from their wicked works.
36 Behold, we [are] servants this day, and [for] the land that Thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the
good thereof, behold, we [are] servants in it:
37 And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom
Thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our
bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we [are] in great distress.
38 And because of all this we make a sure [covenant], and write [it]; and our
princes, Levites, [and] priests, seal [unto it].
1 Now those that sealed [were], Nehemiah, the Tirshatha,
the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah,
2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
3 Pashur, Amariah, Malchijah,
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: both Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel;
10 And their brethren, Shebaniah, Hodijah,
Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
11 Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah,
12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
13 Hodijah, Bani, Beninu.
14 The chief of the people; Parosh, Pahathmoab, Elam, Zatthu, Bani,
15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
17 Ater, Hizkijah, Azzur,
18 Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,
19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
21 Meshezabeel, Zadok, Jaddua,
22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hashub,
24 Hallohesh, Pileha, 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 porters, the
singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had
separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their
wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one having knowledge, and having
understanding;
29 They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and
into an oath, to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of
God, and to observe and do all the commandments of Yahweh our Lord, and His
judgments and His statutes;
30 And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor
take their daughters for our sons:
31 And [if] the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath
day to sell, [that] we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy
day: and [that] we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every
debt.
32 Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third
part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God;
33 For the shewbread, and for the continual meat
offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths,
of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy [things], and for the
sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and [for] all the work of the
house of our God.
34 And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the
wood offering, to bring [it] into the house of our God, after the houses of our
fathers, at times appointed year by year, to burn upon the altar of Yahweh our
God, as [it is] written in the law:
35 And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and
the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by
year, unto the house of Yahweh:
36 Also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as [it is] written in the
law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house
of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God:
37 And [that] we should bring the firstfruits of our
dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of
oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes
of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in
all the cities of our tillage.
38 And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites
take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the
house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house.
39 For the children of
1 And the rulers of the people
dwelt at
2 And the people blessed all the men, that willingly offered themselves to
dwell at
3 Now these [are] the chief of the province that dwelt in
4 And at
5 And Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Colhozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the
son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib,
the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni.
6 All the sons of Perez that dwelt at
7 And these [are] the sons of Benjamin; Sallu the son
of Meshullam, the son of Joed,
the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah,
the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel,
the son of Jesaiah.
8 And after him Gabbai, Sallai,
nine hundred twenty and eight.
9 And Joel the son of Zichri [was] their overseer:
and Judah the son of Senuah [was] second over the
city.
10 Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin.
11 Seraiah the son of Hilkiah,
the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok,
the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub,
[was] the ruler of the house of God.
12 And their brethren that did the work of the house [were] eight hundred
twenty and two: and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the
son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchiah,
13 And his brethren, chief of the fathers, two hundred forty and two: and Amashai the son of Azareel, the
son of Ahasai, the son of Meshillemoth,
the son of Immer,
14 And their brethren, mighty men of valour, an
hundred twenty and eight: and their overseer [was] Zabdiel,
the son of [one of] the great men.
15 Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hashub, the
son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah,
the son of Bunni;
16 And Shabbethai and Jozabad,
of the chief of the Levites, [had] the oversight of the outward business of the
house of God.
17 And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, [was] the principal to begin the
thanksgiving in prayer: and Bakbukiah the second
among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the
son of Jeduthun.
18 All the Levites in the holy city [were] two hundred fourscore and four.
19 Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon,
and their brethren that kept the gates, [were] an hundred seventy and two.
20 And the residue of
21 But the Nethinims dwelt in
Ophel: and Ziha and Gispa [were] over the Nethinims.
22 The overseer also of the Levites at
23 For [it was] the king's commandment concerning them, that a certain portion
should be for the singers, due for every day.
24 And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel,
of the children of Zerah the son of
25 And for the villages, with their fields, [some] of the children of Judah
dwelt at Kirjatharba, and [in] the villages thereof,
and at Dibon, and [in] the villages thereof, and at Jekabzeel, and [in] the villages thereof,
26 And at Jeshua, and at Moladah,
and at Bethphelet,
27 And at Hazarshual, and at Beersheba, and [in] the
villages thereof,
28 And at Ziklag, and at Mekonah,
and in the villages thereof,
29 And at Enrimmon, and at Zareah,
and at Jarmuth,
30 Zanoah, Adullam, and
[in] their villages, at Lachish, and the fields thereof, at Azekah,
and [in] the villages thereof. And they dwelt from
31 The children also of Benjamin from Geba [dwelt] at
Michmash, and Aija, and
Bethel, and [in] their villages,
32 [And] at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,
33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,
34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,
35 Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen.
36 And of the Levites [were] divisions [in]
1 Now these [are] the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel
the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua:
Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
3 Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
4 Iddo, Ginnetho, Abijah,
5 Miamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
6 Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These [were] the chief of the priests and of their
brethren in the days of Jeshua.
8 Moreover the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui,
Kadmiel,
9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni,
their brethren, [were] over against them in the watches.
10 And Jeshua begat Joiakim,
Joiakim also begat Eliashib,
and Eliashib begat Joiada,
11 And Joiada begat Jonathan, and Jonathan begat Jaddua.
12 And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief
of the fathers: of Seraiah, Meraiah;
of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
13 Of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah,
Jehohanan;
14 Of Melicu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah,
Joseph;
15 Of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;
16 Of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon,
Meshullam;
17 Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
18 Of Bilgah, Shammua; of
Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
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, [were] recorded chief of the fathers: also the
priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian.
23 The sons of Levi, the chief of the fathers, [were] written in the book of
the chronicles, even until the days of Johanan the
son of Eliashib.
24 And the chief of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over against them, to praise
[and] to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God,
ward over against ward.
25 Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah,
Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon,
Akkub, [were] porters keeping the ward at the
thresholds of the gates.
26 These [were] in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and
in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.
27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out
of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with
gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, [with] cymbals,
psalteries, and with harps.
28 And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the
plain country round about
29 Also from the house of Gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba
and Azmaveth: for the singers had builded
them villages round about
30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the
people, and the gates, and the wall.
31 Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two
great [companies of them that gave] thanks, [whereof one] went on the right
hand upon the wall toward the dung gate:
32 And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the
princes of Judah,
33 And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,
34 Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,
35 And [certain] of the priests' sons with trumpets; [namely], Zechariah the
son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah,
the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur,
the son of Asaph:
36 And his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of
God, and Ezra the scribe before them.
37 And at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by the
stairs of the city of
38 And the other [company of them that gave] thanks went over against [them],
and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the
tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall;
39 And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the
fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower
of Meah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood
still in the prison gate.
40 So stood the two [companies of them that gave] thanks in the house of God,
and I, and the half of the rulers with me:
41 And the priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah,
Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, [and] Hananiah,
with trumpets;
42 And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and
43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made
them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that
the joy of
44 And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures,
for the offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the
tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the
law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the
Levites that waited.
45 And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God, and the
ward of the purification, according to the commandment of David, [and] of
Solomon his son.
46 For in the days of David and Asaph of old [there were] chief of the singers,
and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God.
47 And all
1 On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people;
and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not
come into the congregation of God for ever;
2 Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but
hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned
the curse into a blessing.
3 Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from
4 And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the
oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, [was] allied unto Tobiah:
5 And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the
meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn,
the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded [to be given] to the Levites,
and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests.
6 But in all this [time] was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth
year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days
obtained I leave of the king:
7 And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib
did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the
courts of the house of God.
8 And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber.
9 Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again
the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense.
10 And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given [them]:
for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his
field.
11 Then contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God
forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place.
12 Then brought all
13 And I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah
the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites,
Pedaiah: and next to them [was] Hanan
the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah:
for they were counted faithful, and their office [was] to distribute unto their
brethren.
14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that
I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof.
15 In those days saw I in Judah [some] treading wine presses on the sabbath,
and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and
all [manner of] burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day:
and I testified [against them] in the day wherein they sold victuals.
16 There dwelt men of
17 Then I contended with the nobles of
18 Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us,
and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon
19 And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark
before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that
they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and [some] of my servants set
I at the gates, [that] there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.
20 So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without
21 Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the
wall? if ye do [so] again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came
they no [more] on the sabbath.
22 And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and [that]
they should come [and] keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember
me, O my God, [concerning] this also, and spare me according to the greatness
of Thy mercy.
23 In those days also saw I Jews [that] had married wives of
24 And their children spake half in the speech of
25 And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and
plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, [saying], Ye shall not give
your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for
yourselves.
26 Did not Solomon king of
27 Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress
against our God in marrying strange wives?
28 And [one] of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, [was] son in law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore
I chased him from me.
29 Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the
covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.
30 Thus cleansed I them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the
priests and the Levites, every one in his business;
31 And for the wood offering, at times appointed, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.