Category: Nehemiah

[6:1] Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and the rest of our enemies heard that we had finished building the wall and that there were no gaps left in it, although we still had not set up the gates in the gateways.

[6:2] So Sanballat and Geshem sent me a message, suggesting that I meet with them in one of the villages in the Plain of Ono. This was a trick of theirs to try to harm me.

[6:3] I sent messengers to say to them, “I am doing important work and can't go down there. I am not going to let the work stop just to go and see you.”

[6:4] They sent me the same message four times, and each time I sent them the same reply.

[6:5] Then Sanballat sent one of his servants to me with a fifth message, this one in the form of an unsealed letter.

[6:6] It read: “Geshem tells me that a rumor is going around among the neighboring peoples that you and the Jewish people intend to revolt and that this is why you are rebuilding the wall. He also says you plan to make yourself king

[6:7] and that you have arranged for some prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem that you are the king of Judah. His Majesty is certain to hear about this, so I suggest that you and I meet to talk the situation over.”

[6:8] I sent a reply to him: “Nothing of what you are saying is true. You have made it all up yourself.”

[6:9] They were trying to frighten us into stopping work. I prayed, “But now, God, make me strong!”

[6:10] About this time I went to visit Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah and grandson of Mehetabel, who was unable to leave his house. He said to me, “You and I must go and hide together in the Holy Place of the Temple and lock the doors, because they are coming to kill you. Any night now they will come to kill you.”

[6:11] I answered, “I'm not the kind of person that runs and hides. Do you think I would try to save my life by hiding in the Temple? I won't do it.”

[6:12] When I thought it over, I realized that God had not spoken to Shemaiah, but that Tobiah and Sanballat had bribed him to give me this warning.

[6:13] They hired him to frighten me into sinning, so that they could ruin my reputation and humiliate me.

[6:14] I prayed, “God, remember what Tobiah and Sanballat have done and punish them. Remember that woman Noadiah and all the other prophets who tried to frighten me.”

[7:4] Jerusalem was a large city, but not many people were living in it, and not many houses had been built yet.

[7:5] God inspired me to assemble the people and their leaders and officials and to check their family records. I located the records of those who had first returned from captivity, and this is the information I found:

[7:6] Many of the exiles left the province of Babylon and returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own hometown. Their families had been living in exile in Babylonia ever since King Nebuchadnezzar had taken them there as prisoners.

[7:7] Their leaders were Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. – Parosh – 2,172 – Shephatiah – 372 – Arah – 652 – Pahath Moab (descendants of Jeshua and Joab) – 2,818 – Elam – 1,254 – Zattu – 845 – Zaccai – 760 – Binnui – 648 – Bebai – 628 – Azgad – 2,322 – Adonikam – 667 – Bigvai – 2,067 – Adin – 655 – Ater (also called Hezekiah) – 98 – Hashum – 328 – Bezai – 324 – Hariph – 112 – Gibeon – 95 – Bethlehem and Netophah – 188 – Anathoth – 128 – Beth Azmaveth – 42 – Kiriath Jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth – 743 – Ramah and Geba – 621 – Michmash – 122 – Bethel and Ai – 123 – The other Nebo – 52 – The other Elam – 1,254 – Harim – 320 – Jericho – 345 – Lod, Hadid, and Ono – 721 – Senaah – 3,930 – Jedaiah (descendants of Jeshua) – 973 – Immer – 1,052 – Pashhur – 1,247 – Harim – 1,017 – Jeshua and Kadmiel (descendants of Hodaviah) – 74 – Temple musicians (descendants of Asaph) – 148 – Temple guards (descendants of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai) – 138 – Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, – Keros, Sia, Padon, – Lebana, Hagaba, Shalmai, – Hanan, Giddel, Gahar, – Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda, – Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah, – Besai, Meunim, Nephushesim, – Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, – Bazlith, Mehida, Harsha, – Barkos, Sisera, Temah, – Neziah, and Hatipha. – Sotai, Sophereth, Perida, – Jaalah, Darkon, Giddel, – Shephatiah, Hattil, Pochereth Hazzebaim, and Amon.

[7:60] The total number of descendants of the Temple workers and of Solomon's servants who returned from exile was 392.

[7:65] The Jewish governor told them that they could not eat the food offered to God until there was a priest who could use the Urim and Thummim. – Their male and female servants – 7,337 – Male and female musicians – 245 – Horses – 736 – Mules – 245 – Camels – 435 – Donkeys – 6,720

[7:73] The priests, the Levites, the Temple guards, the musicians, many of the ordinary people, the Temple workers—all the people of Israel—settled in the towns and cities of Judah.

[8:1] By the seventh month the people of Israel were all settled in their towns. On the first day of that month they all assembled in Jerusalem, in the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra, the priest and scholar of the Law which the Lord had given Israel through Moses, to get the book of the Law.

[8:2] So Ezra brought it to the place where the people had gathered—men, women, and the children who were old enough to understand.

[8:3] There in the square by the gate he read the Law to them from dawn until noon, and they all listened attentively.

[8:4] Ezra was standing on a wooden platform that had been built for the occasion. The following men stood at his right: Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and the following stood at his left: Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

[8:5] As Ezra stood there on the platform high above the people, they all kept their eyes fixed on him. As soon as he opened the book, they all stood up.

[8:6] Ezra said, “Praise the Lord, the great God!” All the people raised their arms in the air and answered, “Amen! Amen!” They knelt in worship, with their faces to the ground.

[8:7] Then they rose and stood in their places, and the following Levites explained the Law to them: Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah.

[8:8] They gave an oral translation of God's Law and explained it so that the people could understand it.

[8:9] When the people heard what the Law required, they were so moved that they began to cry. So Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra, the priest and scholar of the Law, and the Levites who were explaining the Law told all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God, so you are not to mourn or cry.

[8:10] Now go home and have a feast. Share your food and wine with those who don't have enough. Today is holy to our Lord, so don't be sad. The joy that the Lord gives you will make you strong.”

[8:11] The Levites went around calming the people and telling them not to be sad on such a holy day.

[8:12] So all the people went home and ate and drank joyfully and shared what they had with others, because they understood what had been read to them.

[8:13] The next day the heads of the clans, together with the priests and the Levites, went to Ezra to study the teachings of the Law.

[8:14] They discovered that the Law, which the Lord gave through Moses, ordered the people of Israel to live in temporary shelters during the Festival of Shelters.

[8:15] So they gave the following instructions and sent them all through Jerusalem and the other cities and towns: “Go out to the hills and get branches from pines, olives, myrtles, palms, and other trees to make shelters according to the instructions written in the Law.”

[8:16] So the people got branches and built shelters on the flat roofs of their houses, in their yards, in the Temple courtyard, and in the public squares by the Water Gate and by the Ephraim Gate.

[8:17] All the people who had come back from captivity built shelters and lived in them. This was the first time it had been done since the days of Joshua son of Nun, and everybody was excited and happy.

[8:18] From the first day of the festival to the last they read a part of God's Law every day. They celebrated for seven days, and on the eighth day there was a closing ceremony, as required in the Law.

[9:3] For about three hours the Law of the Lord their God was read to them, and for the next three hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God.

[9:4] There was a platform for the Levites, and on it stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani. They prayed aloud to the Lord their God.

[9:5] The following Levites gave a call to worship: Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah. They said: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God; praise him forever and ever! Let everyone praise his glorious name, although no human praise is great enough.”

[9:6] And then the people of Israel prayed this prayer: “You, Lord, you alone are Lord; you made the heavens and the stars of the sky. You made land and sea and everything in them; you gave life to all. The heavenly powers bow down and worship you.

[9:7] You, Lord God, chose Abram and led him out of Ur in Babylonia; you changed his name to Abraham.

[9:8] You found that he was faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him. You promised to give him the land of the Canaanites, the land of the Hittites and the Amorites, the land of the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Girgashites, to be a land where his descendants would live. You kept your promise, because you are faithful.

[9:9] “You saw how our ancestors suffered in Egypt; you heard their call for help at the Red Sea.

[9:10] You worked amazing miracles against the king, against his officials and the people of his land, because you knew how they oppressed your people. You won then the fame you still have today.

[9:11] Through the sea you made a path for your people and led them through on dry ground. Those who pursued them drowned in deep water, as a stone sinks in the raging sea.

[9:12] With a cloud you led them in daytime, and at night you lighted their way with fire.

[9:13] At Mount Sinai you came down from heaven; you spoke to your people and gave them good laws and sound teachings.

[9:14] You taught them to keep your Sabbaths holy, and through your servant Moses you gave them your laws.

[9:15] “When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven, and water from a rock when they were thirsty. You told them to take control of the land which you had promised to give them.

[9:16] But our ancestors grew proud and stubborn and refused to obey your commands.

[9:17] They refused to obey; they forgot all you did; they forgot the miracles you had performed. In their pride they chose a leader to take them back to slavery in Egypt. But you are a God who forgives; you are gracious and loving, slow to be angry. Your mercy is great; you did not forsake them.

[9:18] They made an idol in the shape of a bull-calf and said it was the god who led them from Egypt! How much they insulted you, Lord!

[9:19] But you did not abandon them there in the desert, for your mercy is great. You did not take away the cloud or the fire that showed them the path by day and night.

[9:20] In your goodness you told them what they should do; you fed them manna and gave them water to drink.

[9:21] Through forty years in the desert you provided all that they needed; their clothing never wore out, and their feet were not swollen with pain.

[9:22] “You let them conquer nations and kingdoms, lands that bordered their own. They conquered the land of Heshbon, where Sihon ruled, and the land of Bashan, where Og was king.

[9:23] You gave them as many children as there are stars in the sky, and let them conquer and live in the land that you had promised their ancestors to give them.

[9:24] They conquered the land of Canaan; you overcame the people living there. You gave your people the power to do as they pleased with the people and kings of Canaan.

[9:25] Your people captured fortified cities, fertile land, houses full of wealth, cisterns already dug, olive trees, fruit trees, and vineyards. They ate all they wanted and grew fat; they enjoyed all the good things you gave them.

[9:26] “But your people rebelled and disobeyed you; they turned their backs on your Law. They killed the prophets who warned them, who told them to turn back to you. They insulted you time after time,

[9:27] so you let their enemies conquer and rule them. In their trouble they called to you for help, and you answered them from heaven. In your great mercy you sent them leaders who rescued them from their foes.

[9:28] When peace returned, they sinned again, and again you let their enemies conquer them. Yet when they repented and asked you to save them, in heaven you heard, and time after time you rescued them in your great mercy.

[9:29] You warned them to obey your teachings, but in pride they rejected your laws, although keeping your Law is the way to life. Hard-headed and stubborn, they refused to obey.

[9:30] Year after year you patiently warned them. You inspired your prophets to speak, but your people were deaf, so you let them be conquered by other nations.

[9:31] And yet, because your mercy is great, you did not forsake or destroy them. You are a gracious and merciful God!

[9:32] “O God, our God, how great you are! How terrifying, how powerful! You faithfully keep your covenant promises. From the time when Assyrian kings oppressed us, even till now, how much we have suffered! Our kings, our leaders, our priests and prophets, our ancestors, and all our people have suffered. Remember how much we have suffered!

[9:33] You have done right to punish us; you have been faithful, even though we have sinned.

[9:34] Our ancestors, our kings, leaders, and priests have not kept your Law. They did not listen to your commands and warnings.

[9:35] With your blessing, kings ruled your people when they lived in the broad, fertile land you gave them; but they failed to turn from sin and serve you.

[9:36] And now we are slaves in the land that you gave us, this fertile land which gives us food.

[9:37] What the land produces goes to the kings that you put over us because we sinned. They do as they please with us and our livestock, and we are in deep distress!”

[10:28] We, the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the Temple guards, the Temple musicians, the Temple workers, and all others who in obedience to God's Law have separated themselves from the foreigners living in our land, we, together with our wives and all our children old enough to understand,

[10:29] do hereby join with our leaders in an oath, under penalty of a curse if we break it, that we will live according to God's Law, which God gave through his servant Moses; that we will obey all that the Lord, our Lord, commands us; and that we will keep all his laws and requirements.

[10:30] We will not intermarry with the foreigners living in our land.

[10:31] If foreigners bring grain or anything else to sell to us on the Sabbath or on any other holy day, we will not buy from them. Every seventh year we will not farm the land, and we will cancel all debts.

[10:32] Every year we will each contribute one-eighth of an ounce of silver to help pay the expenses of the Temple.

[10:33] We will provide for the Temple worship the following: the sacred bread, the daily grain offering, the animals to be burned each day as sacrifices, the sacred offerings for Sabbaths, New Moon Festivals, and other festivals, the other sacred offerings, the offerings to take away the sins of Israel, and anything else needed for the Temple.

[10:34] We, the people, priests, and Levites, will draw lots each year to determine which clans are to provide wood to burn the sacrifices offered to the Lord our God, according to the requirements of the Law.

[10:35] We will take to the Temple each year an offering of the first grain we harvest and of the first fruit that ripens on our trees.

[10:36] The first son born to each of us we will take to the priests in the Temple and there, as required by the Law, dedicate him to God. We will also dedicate the first calf born to each of our cows, and the first lamb or kid born to each of our sheep or goats.

[10:37] We will take to the priests in the Temple the dough made from the first grain harvested each year and our other offerings of wine, olive oil, and all kinds of fruit. We will take to the Levites, who collect tithes in our farming villages, the tithes from the crops that grow on our land.

[10:38] Priests who are descended from Aaron are to be with the Levites when tithes are collected, and for use in the Temple the Levites are to take to the Temple storerooms one-tenth of all the tithes they collect.

[10:39] The people of Israel and the Levites are to take the contributions of grain, wine, and olive oil to the storerooms where the utensils for the Temple are kept and where the priests who are on duty, the Temple guards, and the members of the Temple choir have their quarters. We will not neglect the house of our God.

[11:1] The leaders settled in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people drew lots to choose one family out of every ten to go and live in the holy city of Jerusalem, while the rest were to live in the other cities and towns.

[11:2] The people praised anyone else who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

[11:3] In the other towns and cities the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the Temple workers, and the descendants of Solomon's servants lived on their own property in their own towns. The following is the list of the leading citizens of the province of Judah who lived in Jerusalem:

[11:4] Members of the tribe of Judah: Athaiah, the son of Uzziah and grandson of Zechariah. His other ancestors included Amariah, Shephatiah, and Mahalalel, descendants of Judah's son Perez.

[11:5] Maaseiah, the son of Baruch and grandson of Colhozeh. His other ancestors included Hazaiah, Adaiah, Joiarib, and Zechariah, descendants of Judah's son Shelah.

[11:6] Of the descendants of Perez, 468 outstanding soldiers lived in Jerusalem.

[11:7] Members of the tribe of Benjamin: Sallu, the son of Meshullam and grandson of Joed. His other ancestors included Pedaiah, Kolaiah, Maaseiah, Ithiel, and Jeshaiah.

[11:8] Gabbai and Sallai, close relatives of Sallu. In all, 928 Benjaminites lived in Jerusalem.

[11:9] Joel son of Zichri was their leader, and Judah son of Hassenuah was the second ranking official in the city.

[11:10] Priests: Jedaiah son of Joiarib, and Jachin.

[11:11] Seraiah, the son of Hilkiah and grandson of Meshullam. His ancestors included Zadok, Meraioth, and Ahitub, who was the High Priest.

[11:12] In all, 822 members of this clan served in the Temple. Adaiah, the son of Jeroham and grandson of Pelaliah. His ancestors included Amzi, Zechariah, Pashhur, and Malchijah.

[11:13] In all, 242 members of this clan were heads of families. Amashsai, the son of Azarel and grandson of Ahzai. His ancestors included Meshillemoth and Immer.

[11:14] There were 128 members of this clan who were outstanding soldiers. Their leader was Zabdiel, a member of a leading family.

[11:15] Levites: Shemaiah, the son of Hasshub and grandson of Azrikam. His ancestors included Hashabiah and Bunni.

[11:16] Shabbethai and Jozabad, prominent Levites in charge of the work outside the Temple.

[11:17] Mattaniah, the son of Mica and grandson of Zabdi, a descendant of Asaph. He led the Temple choir in singing the prayer of thanksgiving. Bakbukiah, who was Mattaniah's assistant. Abda, the son of Shammua and grandson of Galal, a descendant of Jeduthun.

[11:18] In all, 284 Levites lived in the holy city of Jerusalem.

[11:19] Temple guards: Akkub, Talmon, and their relatives, 172 in all.

[11:20] The rest of the people of Israel and the remaining priests and Levites lived on their own property in the other cities and towns of Judah.

[11:21] The Temple workers lived in the part of Jerusalem called Ophel and worked under the supervision of Ziha and Gishpa.

[11:22] The supervisor of the Levites who lived in Jerusalem was Uzzi, the son of Bani and grandson of Hashabiah. His ancestors included Mattaniah and Mica, and he belonged to the clan of Asaph, the clan that was responsible for the music in the Temple services.

[11:23] There were royal regulations stating how the clans should take turns in leading the Temple music each day.

[11:24] Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, of the clan of Zerah and the tribe of Judah, represented the people of Israel at the Persian court.