home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
MacWorld 1996 July
/
Macworld (1996-07).dmg
/
Shareware World
/
Communication
/
WarpSearch CGI 1.0
/
The_Bible
/
nehemiah.txt
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1996-04-13
|
60KB
|
1,144 lines
The next file is: 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,
1:2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and [certain] men
of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had
escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning
Jerusalem.
1:3 And they said to me, The remnant that are left of the
captivity there in the province [are] in great affliction and
reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also [is] broken down, and its
gates are burned with fire.
1:4 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,
1:5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great
and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that
love him and observe his commandments:
1:6 Let thy ear now be attentive, and thy 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.
1:7 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.
1:8 Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy
servant Moses, saying, [If] ye transgress, I will scatter you
abroad among the nations:
1:9 But [if] ye turn to me, and keep my commandments, and do
them; though there were of you driven to the uttermost part of
the heaven, [yet] will I gather them from thence, and will
bring them to the place that I have chosen to set my name
there.
1:10 Now these [are] thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast
redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
1:11 O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thy 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 cup-bearer.
2:1 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] to the king. Now I had not
[before] been sad in his presence.
2:2 Wherefore the king said to me, Why [is] thy countenance sad,
seeing thou [art] not sick? this [is] nothing but sorrow of
heart. Then I was very greatly afraid,
2:3 And said to the king, Let the king live for ever: why should
not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my
fathers' sepulchers, [lieth] waste, and its gates are consumed
with fire?
2:4 Then the king said to me, For what dost thou make request?
So I prayed to the God of heaven.
2:5 And I said to the king, If it should please the king, and if
thy servant hath found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldst
send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' sepulchers, that I
may build it.
2:6 And the king said to 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.
2:7 Moreover, I said to the king, If it should 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:
2:8 And a letter to 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. And the king granted me,
according to the good hand of my God upon me.
2:9 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.
2:10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the
Ammonite, heard [of it], it grieved them exceedingly that there
had come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
2:11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
2:12 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.
2:13 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 Jerusalem, which were broken down, and their gates
were consumed with fire.
2:14 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.
2:15 Then I went 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.
2:16 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.
2:17 Then said I to them, Ye see the distress that we [are] in,
how Jerusalem [lieth] waste, and its gates are burned with
fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we
may be no more a reproach.
2:18 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 to me. And they
said, Let us rise and build. So they strengthened their hands
for [this] good [work].
2:19 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?
2:20 Then I answered them, and said to 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
Jerusalem.
3:1 Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brethren the
priests, and they built the sheep-gate; they sanctified it, and
set up the doors of it; even to the tower of Meah they
sanctified it, to the tower of Hananeel.
3:2 And next to him built the men of Jericho. And next to them
built Zaccur the son of Imri.
3:3 But the fish-gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who
[also] laid its beams, and set up its doors, its locks and its
bars.
3:4 And next to them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the
son of Koz. And next to them repaired Meshullam the son of
Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next to them repaired
Zadok the son of Baana.
3:5 And next to them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put
not their necks to the work of their LORD.
3:6 Moreover, the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah,
and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid its beams, and
set up its doors, and its locks, and its bars.
3:7 And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon
the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, to the
throne of the governor on this side of the river.
3:8 Next to him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the
goldsmiths. Next to him also repaired Hananiah the son of [one
of] the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem to the broad
wall.
3:9 And next to them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler
of the half part of Jerusalem.
3:10 And next to them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even
over against his house. And next to him repaired Hattush the
son of Hashabniah.
3:11 Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of
Pahath-moab, repaired the other piece, and the tower of the
furnaces.
3:12 And next to him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the
ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.
3:13 The valley-gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of
Zanoah; they built it, and set up its doors, its locks, and its
bars, and a thousand cubits on the wall to the dung-gate.
3:14 But the dung-gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the
ruler of part of Beth-haccerem; he built it, and set up its
doors, its locks, and its bars.
3:15 But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of
Col-hozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and
covered it, and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars, and
the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden, and to the
stairs that go down from the city of David.
3:16 After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of
the half part of Beth-zur, to [the place] over against the
sepulchers of David, and to the pool that was made, and to the
house of the mighty.
3:17 After him repaired the Levites Rehum the son of Bani. Next
to him repaired Hashabiah the ruler of the half part of Keilah,
in his part.
3:18 After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of
Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah.
3:19 And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler
of Mizpah, another piece over against the ascent to the armory,
at the turning [of the wall].
3:20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai, earnestly repaired the
other piece, from the turning [of the wall] to the door of the
house of Eliashib the high priest.
3:21 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.
3:22 And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain.
3:23 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.
3:24 After him repaired Binnui, the son of Henadad, another
piece, from the house of Azariah to the turning [of the wall],
even to the corner.
3:25 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.
3:26 Moreover, the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, to [the place] over
against the water-gate towards the east, and the projecting
tower.
3:27 After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, over
against the great projecting tower, even to the wall of Ophel.
3:28 From above the horse-gate repaired the priests, every one
over against his house.
3:29 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.
3:30 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.
3:31 After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith's son, to the
place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants, over against the
gate Miphkad, and to the ascent of the corner.
3:32 And between the ascent of the corner to the sheep-gate
repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.
4:1 But it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we were
building the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation,
and mocked the Jews.
4:2 And he spoke before his brethren, and the army of Samaria,
and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify
themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a
day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the
rubbish which are burned?
4:3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite [was] by him, and he said, Even that
which they build, if a fox should go up, he would even break
down their stone wall.
4:4 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:
4:5 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.
4:6 So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together
to the half of it, for the people had a mind to work.
4:7 But it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the
Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the
walls of Jerusalem were set up, [and] that the breaches began
to be stopped, then they were very wroth,
4:8 And conspired all of them together to come [and] to fight
against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.
4:9 Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and set a watch
against them day and night, because of them.
4:10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is
decayed, and [there is] much rubbish; so that we are not able
to build the wall.
4:11 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.
4:12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews who dwelt by them
came, they said to us ten times, From all places whence ye
shall return to us [they will be upon you].
4:13 Therefore I set 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.
4:14 And I looked, and arose, and said to the nobles, and to the
rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be ye not afraid of
them: remember the LORD [who is] great and terrible, and fight
for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives,
and your houses.
4:15 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was
known to us, and God had brought their counsel to naught, that
we returned all of us to the wall, every one to his work.
4:16 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
Judah.
4:17 They who built on the wall, and they that bore burdens,
with those that laded, [every one] with one of his hands
wrought in the work, and with the other [hand] held a weapon.
4:18 For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his
side, and [so] built. And he that sounded the trumpet [was] by
me.
4:19 And I said to 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.
4:20 In what place [therefore] ye hear the sound of the trumpet,
resort ye thither to us: our God will fight for us.
4:21 So we labored in the work: and half of them held the spears
from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.
4:22 Likewise at the same time said I to the people, Let every
one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night
they may be a guard to us, and labor in the day.
4:23 So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men
of the guard who followed me, none of us put off our clothes,
[saving that] every one put them off for washing.
5:1 And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives
against their brethren the Jews.
5:2 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.
5:3 [Some] also there were that said, We have mortgaged our
lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because
of the dearth.
5:4 There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the
king's tribute, [and that upon] our lands and vineyards.
5:5 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 to bondage [already]: neither [is it] in
our power [to redeem them]; for other men have our lands and
vineyards.
5:6 And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words.
5:7 Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and
the rulers, and said to them, Ye exact interest, every one of
his brother. And I set a great assembly against them.
5:8 And I said to them, We after our ability have redeemed our
brethren the Jews, who were sold to the heathen; and will ye
even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold to us? Then they
held their peace, and found nothing [to answer].
5:9 Also I said, That [is] not good which ye do: ought ye not to
walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the
heathen our enemies?
5:10 I likewise, my brethren, and my servants, might exact of
them money and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury.
5:11 Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands,
their vineyards, their olive-yards, and their houses, also the
hundredth [part] of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and
the oil, that ye exact of them.
5:12 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 would do
according to this promise.
5:13 Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man
from his house, and from his labor, that performeth not this
promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the
congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people
did according to this promise.
5:14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their
governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to
the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, [that is],
twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the
governor.
5:15 But the former governors, that [had been] before me were
chargeable to the people, and had taken of them bread and wine,
besides forty shekels of silver; yes, even their servants bore
rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of
God.
5:16 Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither
bought we any land: and all my servants [were] gathered thither
to the work.
5:17 Moreover, [there were] at my table a hundred and fifty of
the Jews and rulers, besides those that came to us from among
the heathen that [were] about us.
5:18 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 an abundance of all sorts of wine: yet for all
this I required not the bread of the governor, because the
bondage was heavy upon this people.
5:19 Think upon me, my God, for good, [according] to all that I
have done for this people.
6:1 Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem
the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had
built the wall, and [that] there was no breach left in it,
(though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the
gates;)
6:2 That Sanballat and Geshem sent to 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.
6:3 And I sent messengers to 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?
6:4 Yet they sent to me four times after this sort; and I
answered them after the same manner.
6:5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in like manner the
fifth time with an open letter in his hand;
6:6 In which [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.
6:7 And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at
Jerusalem, saying, [There is] a king in Judah: and now shall it
be reported to the king according to these words. Come now
therefore, and let us take counsel together.
6:8 Then I sent to him, saying, There are no such things done as
thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thy own heart.
6:9 For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be
weakened from the work, that it may not be done. Now therefore,
[O God], strengthen my hands.
6:10 Afterward I came to 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.
6:11 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.
6:12 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.
6:13 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.
6:14 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.
6:15 So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth [day] of
[the month] Elul, in fifty and two days.
6:16 And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard [of
it], 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 by our God.
6:17 Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many
letters to Tobiah, and [the letters] of Tobiah came to them.
6:18 For [there were] many in Judah sworn to 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.
6:19 Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my
words to him. [And] Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.
7:1 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,
7:2 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.
7:3 And I said to them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened
until the sun shall 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.
7:4 Now the city [was] large and great: but the people in it
[were] few, and the houses [were] not built.
7:5 And my God put into my heart to assemble 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 who
came up at the first, and found written in it,
7:6 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 to his city;
7:7 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 Israel
[was this];
7:8 The children of Parosh, two thousand a hundred and seventy
two.
7:9 The children of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy two.
7:10 The children of Arah, six hundred and fifty two.
7:11 The children of Pahath-moab, of the children of Jeshua and
Joab, two thousand and eight hundred [and] eighteen.
7:12 The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred and fifty
four.
7:13 The children of Zattu, eight hundred and forty five.
7:14 The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty.
7:15 The children of Binnui, six hundred and forty eight.
7:16 The children of Bebai, six hundred and twenty eight.
7:17 The children of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and
twenty two.
7:18 The children of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty seven.
7:19 The children of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty seven.
7:20 The children of Adin, six hundred and fifty five.
7:21 The children of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety eight.
7:22 The children of Hashum, three hundred and twenty eight.
7:23 The children of Bezai, three hundred and twenty four.
7:24 The children of Hariph, a hundred and twelve.
7:25 The children of Gibeon, ninety five.
7:26 The men of Beth-lehem and Netophah, a hundred and eighty
eight.
7:27 The men of Anathoth, a hundred and twenty eight.
7:28 The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty two.
7:29 The men of Kirjath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven
hundred and forty three.
7:30 The men of Ramah and Gaba, six hundred and twenty one.
7:31 The men of Michmas, a hundred and twenty two.
7:32 The men of Beth-el and Ai, a hundred and twenty three.
7:33 The men of the other Nebo, fifty two.
7:34 The children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred and
fifty four.
7:35 The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty.
7:36 The children of Jericho, three hundred and forty five.
7:37 The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and
twenty one.
7:38 The children of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and
thirty.
7:39 The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of
Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy three.
7:40 The children of Immer, a thousand and fifty two.
7:41 The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred and forty
seven.
7:42 The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.
7:43 The Levites: the children of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, [and] of
the children of Hodevah, seventy four.
7:44 The singers: the children of Asaph, a hundred and forty
eight.
7:45 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, a hundred and thirty eight.
7:46 The Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children of
Hashupha, the children of Tabbaoth,
7:47 The children of Keros, the children of Sia, the children of
Padon,
7:48 The children of Lebana, the children of Hagaba, the
children of Shalmai,
7:49 The children of Hanan, the children of Giddel, the children
of Gahar,
7:50 The children of Reaiah, the children of Rezin, the children
of Nekoda,
7:51 The children of Gazzam, the children of Uzza, the children
of Phaseah,
7:52 The children of Besai, the children of Meunim, the children
of Nephishesim,
7:53 The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the
children of Harhur,
7:54 The children of Bazlith, the children of Mehida, the
children of Harsha,
7:55 The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the
children of Tamah,
7:56 The children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha.
7:57 The children of Solomon's servants: the children of Sotai,
the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida,
7:58 The children of Jaala, the children of Darkon, the children
of Giddel,
7:59 The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the
children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Amon.
7:60 All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants,
[were] three hundred and ninety two.
7:61 And these [were] they who went up [also] from Tel-mela,
Tel-haresha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer: but they could not show
their fathers house, nor their seed, whether they [were] of
Israel.
7:62 The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the
children of Nekoda, six hundred and forty two.
7:63 And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children
of Koz, the children of Barzillai, who took [one] of the
daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite for a wife, and was called
after their name.
7:64 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.
7:65 And the Tirshatha said to them, that they should not eat of
the most holy things, till there should stand [up] a priest
with Urim and Thummim.
7:66 The whole congregation together [was] forty two thousand
three hundred and sixty.
7:67 Besides their man-servants and their maid-servants, of whom
[there were] seven thousand three hundred and thirty seven: and
they had two hundred and forty five singing-men and
singing-women.
7:68 Their horses, seven hundred and thirty six: their mules,
two hundred and forty five:
7:69 [Their] camels, four hundred and thirty five: six thousand
seven hundred and twenty asses.
7:70 And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the work. The
Tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold, fifty
basins, five hundred and thirty priests' garments.
7:71 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 pounds of silver.
7:72 And [that] which the rest of the people gave [was] twenty
thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pounds of silver, and
sixty seven priests' garments.
7:73 So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the
singers, and [some] of the people, and the Nethinims, and all
Israel, dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month came,
the children of Israel [were] in their cities.
8:1 And all the people assembled as one man in the street that
[was] before the water-gate; and they spoke to Ezra the scribe
to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had
commanded to Israel.
8:2 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.
8:3 And he read therein before the street that [was] before the
water-gate from the morning until mid-day, before the men and
the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all
the people [were attentive] to the book of the law.
8:4 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.
8:5 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:
8:6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people
answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting their hands: and they bowed
their heads, and worshiped the LORD with [their] faces to the
ground.
8:7 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.
8:8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and
gave the sense, and caused [them] to understand the reading.
8:9 And Nehemiah, who [is] the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest,
the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said to all
the people, This day [is] holy to the LORD your God; mourn not,
nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of
the law.
8:10 Then he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink
the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing is
prepared: for [this] day [is] holy to our LORD: neither be ye
sad; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
8:11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your
peace, for the day [is] holy; neither be ye grieved.
8:12 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 to them.
8:13 And on the second day were assembled the chief of the
fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to
Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.
8:14 And they found written in the law which the LORD had
commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in
booths in the feast of the seventh month:
8:15 And that they should publish and proclaim in all their
cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth to 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.
8:16 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.
8:17 And all the congregation of them that had returned from the
captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the
days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day, had not the children
of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.
8:18 Also day by day, from the first day to 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 to the manner.
9:1 Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children
of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes,
and earth upon them.
9:2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all
strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the
iniquities of their fathers.
9:3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of
the law of the LORD their God [one] fourth part of the day; and
[another] fourth part they confessed, and worshiped the LORD
their God.
9:4 Then stood upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and
Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, [and]
Chenani, and cried with a loud voice to the LORD their God.
9:5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah,
Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, [and] Pethahiah, said, Stand up
[and] bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be
thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and
praise.
9:6 Thou, [even] thou, [art] LORD alone; thou hast made heaven,
the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all
[things] that [are] in it, the seas, and all that [is] in them,
and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshipeth
thee.
9:7 Thou [art] the LORD the God, who chosest Abram, and
broughtest him forth from Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him
the name of Abraham;
9:8 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:
9:9 And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and
heardest their cry by the Red sea;
9:10 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.
9:11 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.
9:12 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 in which they should go.
9:13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spokest with
them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true
laws, good statutes and commandments:
9:14 And madest known to them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst
them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy
servant:
9:15 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.
9:16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their
necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
9:17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders
that thou didst perform 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.
9:18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This
[is] thy God that brought thee out of Egypt, and had wrought
great provocations;
9:19 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 show them light, and the way in which they should go.
9:20 Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and
withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them
water for their thirst.
9:21 Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness,
[so that] they lacked nothing; their clothes grew not old, and
their feet swelled not.
9:22 Moreover, thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst
divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon,
and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of
Bashan.
9:23 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].
9:24 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.
9:25 And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed
houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards and
olive-yards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they ate and were
filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great
goodness.
9:26 Nevertheless, they were disobedient, and rebelled against
thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy
prophets who testified against them to turn them to thee, and
they wrought great provocations.
9:27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their
enemies, who distressed them: and in the time of their trouble,
when they cried to thee, thou hearedest [them] from heaven; and
according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them deliverers,
who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.
9:28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee:
therefore thou leftest them in the hand of their enemies, so
that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned
and cried to thee, thou hearedest [them] from heaven; and many
times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;
9:29 And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them
again to thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not to
thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a
man doeth, he shall live in them:) and withdrew the shoulder,
and hardened their neck, and would not hear.
9:30 Yet many years didst thou forbear over them, and
testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet
would they not give ear: therefore thou gavest them into the
hand of the people of the lands.
9:31 Nevertheless, for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not
utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou [art] a
gracious and merciful God.
9:32 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 to this day.
9:33 But thou [art] just in all that is brought upon us; for
thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:
9:34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our
fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened to thy commandments and
thy testimonies, with which thou didst testify against them.
9:35 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.
9:36 Behold, we [are] servants this day, and [for] the land that
thou gavest to our fathers to eat the fruit of it and the good
of it, behold, we [are] servants in it:
9:37 And it yieldeth much increase to 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.
9:38 And because of all this we make a sure [covenant], and
write [it]; and our princes, Levites, [and] priests, set their
seals [to it].
10:1 Now those that sealed [were], Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, the
son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah,
10:2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
10:3 Pashur, Amariah, Malchijah,
10:4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,
10:5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
10:6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
10:7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
10:8 Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah: these [were] the priests.
10:9 And the Levites: both Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of
the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel;
10:10 And their brethren, Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah,
Hanan,
10:11 Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah,
10:12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
10:13 Hodijah, Bani, Beninu,
10:14 The chief of the people; Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam,
Zatthu, Bani,
10:15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
10:16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
10:17 Ater, Hizkijah, Azzur,
10:18 Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,
10:19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
10:20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
10:21 Meshezabeel, Zadok, Jaddua,
10:22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
10:23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hashub,
10:24 Hallohesh, Pileha, Shobek,
10:25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
10:26 And Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,
10:27 Malluch, Harim, Baanah.
10:28 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 to the law of
God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one
having knowledge, and having understanding;
10:29 They united with 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 the LORD our LORD, and his judgments and
his statutes;
10:30 And that we would not give our daughters to the people of
the land, nor take their daughters for our sons:
10:31 And [if] the people of the land should bring wares or any
provisions 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.
10:32 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;
10:33 For the show-bread, 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.
10:34 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 the LORD our God, as
[it is] written in the law:
10:35 And to bring the first-fruits of our ground, and the
first-fruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the
house of the LORD:
10:36 Also the first-born of our sons, and of our cattle, as [it
is] written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of
our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, to the priests
that minister in the house of our God:
10:37 And [that] we should bring the first-fruits of our dough,
and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of
wine and of oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house
of our God; and the tithes of our ground to the Levites, that
the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our
tillage.
10:38 And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites,
when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up
the tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the
chambers, into the treasure house.
10:39 For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall
bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil,
to the chambers, where [are] the vessels of the sanctuary, and
the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers:
and we will not forsake the house of our God.
11:1 And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest
of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in
Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts [to dwell] in [other]
cities.
11:2 And the people blessed all the men that willingly offered
themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.
11:3 Now these [are] the chief of the province that dwelt in
Jerusalem: but in the cities of Judah dwelt every one in his
possession in their cities, [to wit], Israel, the priests, and
the Levites, and the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's
servants.
11:4 And at Jerusalem dwelt [certain] of the children of Judah,
and of the children of Benjamin. Of the children of Judah;
Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of
Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalaleel, of the
children of Perez;
11:5 And Maaseiah the son of 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 Shiloni.
11:6 All the sons of Perez that dwelt at Jerusalem [were] four
hundred sixty and eight valiant men.
11:7 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.
11:8 And after him, Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred twenty and
eight.
11:9 And Joel the son of Zichri [was] their overseer: and Judah
the son of Senuah [was] second over the city.
11:10 Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin.
11:11 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.
11:12 And their brethren that performed 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,
11:13 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,
11:14 And their brethren, mighty men of valor, a hundred twenty
and eight: and their overseer [was] Zabdiel, the son of [one
of] the great men.
11:15 Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hashub, the son
of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni;
11:16 And Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chief of the Levites,
[had] the oversight of the outward business of the house of
God.
11:17 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.
11:18 All the Levites in the holy city [were] two hundred and
eighty four.
11:19 Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren
that kept the gates, [were] an hundred and seventy two.
11:20 And the residue of Israel, of the priests, [and] the
Levites, [were] in all the cities of Judah every one in his
inheritance.
11:21 But the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel: and Ziha and Gispa
[were] over the Nethinims.
11:22 The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem [was] Uzzi
the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah,
the son of Micha. Of the sons of Asaph, the singers [were] over
the business of the house of God.
11:23 For [it was] the king's commandment concerning them, that
a certain portion should be for the singers, due for every day.
11:24 And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, of the children of
Zerah the son of Judah [was] at the king's hand in all matters
concerning the people.
11:25 And for the villages, with their fields, [some] of the
children of Judah dwelt at Kirjath-arba, and [in] its villages,
and at Dibon, and [in] its villages, and at Jekabzeel, and [in]
its villages,
11:26 And at Jeshua, and at Moladah, and at Beth-phelet,
11:27 And at Hazar-shual, and at Beer-sheba, and [in] its
villages,
11:28 And at Ziklag, and at Mekonah, and in its villages,
11:29 And at En-rimmon, and at Zareah, and at Jarmuth,
11:30 Zanoah, Adullam, and [in] their villages, at Lachish, and
its fields, at Azekah, and [in] its villages. And they dwelt
from Beer-sheba to the valley of Hinnom.
11:31 The children also of Benjamin from Geba [dwelt] at
Michmash, and Aija, and Beth-el, and [in] their villages.
11:32 [And] at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,
11:33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,
11:34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,
11:35 Lod, and Ono, the valley of artificers.
11:36 And of the Levites [were] divisions [in] Judah, [and] in
Benjamin.
12:1 Now these [are] the priests and the Levites that went up
with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah,
Jeremiah, Ezra,
12:2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
12:3 Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
12:4 Iddo, Ginnetho, Abijah,
12:5 Miamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
12:6 Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah,
12:7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These [were] the chief of
the priests and of their brethren in the days of Jeshua.
12:8 Moreover the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah,
Judah, [and] Mattaniah, [who was] over the thanksgiving, he and
his brethren.
12:9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, [were] over
against them in the watches.
12:10 And Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim also begat Eliashib, and
Eliashib begat Joiada,
12:11 And Joiada begat Jonathan, and Jonathan begat Jaddua.
12:12 And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the
fathers: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
12:13 Of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
12:14 Of Melicu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
12:15 Of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;
12:16 Of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
12:17 Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
12:18 Of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
12:19 And of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
12:20 Of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
12:21 Of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethaneel.
12:22 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.
12:23 The sons of Levi, the chief of the fathers, [were] written
in the book of the chronicles, even till the days of Johanan
the son of Eliashib.
12:24 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.
12:25 Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon,
Akkub, [were] porters keeping the ward at the threshholds of
the gates.
12:26 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.
12:27 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.
12:28 And the sons of the singers assembled, both out of the
plain country around Jerusalem, and from the villages of
Netophathi;
12:29 Also from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba
and Azmaveth: for the singers had built them villages around
Jerusalem.
12:30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and
purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.
12:31 Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and
appointed two great [companies of them that gave] thanks, [of
which one] went on the right hand upon the wall towards the
dung-gate:
12:32 And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of
Judah,
12:33 And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,
12:34 Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,
12:35 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:
12:36 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.
12:37 And at the fountain-gate, which was over against them,
they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent
of the wall, above the house of David, even to the water-gate
eastward.
12:38 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 to
the broad wall;
12:39 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 to the sheep-gate: and they stood still
in the prison-gate.
12:40 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:
12:41 And the priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah,
Elioenai, Zechariah, [and] Hananiah, with trumpets;
12:42 And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and
Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers
sang loud, with Jezrahiah [their] overseer.
12:43 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 Jerusalem was
heard even afar off.
12:44 And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for
the treasures, for the offerings, for the first-fruits, 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.
12:45 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.
12:46 For in the days of David, and Asaph of old [there were]
chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to
God.
12:47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days
of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters,
every day his portion: and they sanctified [holy things] to the
Levites; and the Levites sanctified [them] to the children of
Aaron.
13:1 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:
13:2 Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and
with water, but hired Baalam against them, that he should curse
them: but our God turned the curse into a blessing.
13:3 Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they
separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.
13:4 And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight
of the chamber of the house of our God, [was] allied to Tobiah:
13:5 And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where formerly
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.
13:6 But in all this [time] I was not at Jerusalem: for in the
two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I came to
the king, and after certain days I obtained leave of the king:
13:7 And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that
Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing for him a chamber in the
courts of the house of God.
13:8 And it grieved me greatly: therefore I cast forth all the
household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber.
13:9 Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and
thither I brought again the vessels of the house of God, with
the meat-offering and the frankincense.
13:10 And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not
been given [them]: for the Levites and the singers, that did
the work, had fled every one to his field.
13:11 Then I contended with the rulers, and said, Why is the
house of God forsaken? and I assembled them, and set them in
their place.
13:12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the corn and the new
wine and the oil to the treasuries.
13:13 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 accounted faithful; and their office
[was] to distribute to their brethren.
13:14 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
its offices.
13:15 In those days I saw 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 in which they sold provisions.
13:16 There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, who brought fish,
and all manner of wares, and sold on the sabbath to the
children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.
13:17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to
them, What evil thing [is] this that ye do, and profane the
sabbath day?
13:18 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 Israel by profaning the sabbath.
13:19 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 I set [some] of my servants at the
gates, [that] there should no burden be brought in on the
sabbath day.
13:20 So the merchants and sellers of all kind of wares lodged
without Jerusalem once or twice.
13:21 Then I testified against them, and said to them, Why lodge
ye about the wall? if ye do [so] again, I will lay hands on
you. From that time forth they came no [more] on the sabbath.
13:22 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.
13:23 In those days also I saw Jews [that] had married wives of
Ashdod, of Ammon, [and] of Moab:
13:24 And their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and
could not speak in the Jews language, but according to the
language of each people.
13:25 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 to
their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons, or for
yourselves.
13:26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet
among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved
by his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless
even him did outlandish women cause to sin.
13:27 Shall we then hearken to you to do all this great evil, to
transgress against our God in marrying foreign wives?
13:28 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.
13:29 Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the
priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood and of the
Levites.
13:30 Thus I cleansed them from all strangers, and appointed the
wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his
business;
13:31 And for the wood-offering, at times appointed, and for the
first-fruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.