Book of Nehemiah
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Verse by verse, account of the book of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah: chapter 1

¹The personal record of Nehemiah which came to pass, in the ninth month of the twentieth year, of the reign of king Artaxerxes, of the Persian empire, (year 446bc). ²Hanani, one of my brethren and certain other men of Judah came to me. And I asked them of the Jews that had survived their captivity and of Jerusalem? ³And they answered; Those who have survived their captivity that are here in this province are under great affliction and reproach, also the walls of Jerusalem have been broken down and the city gates have been burned with fire. ⁴When I heard these words, I sat down wept and mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

⁵Saying; I beseech You, O LORD, the great and fearful God of heaven, for You keep Your covenant and have mercy on them that love You and keep Your commandments. ⁶May Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, to the prayer that your servant prays before You, both day and night for Your servants, the children of Israel. Confessing their sins, that we committed against You, for we have all sinned, both I and the house of Israel. ⁷We have dealt corruptly against You, not keeping Your commandments, statutes, or judgments, that Your servant Moses gave us. ⁸And I do remember, the word that you gave Moses, saying; that if we transgress Your law, You will scatter us throughout the nations. ⁹But if you turn to Me, keeping and obeying My commandments, even though you have been scattered throughout the nations, yet I will gather you up and bring you unto the place where I have placed My name and have chosen to dwell. ¹⁰For these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power and strong hand. ¹¹Now Lord, I beseech You, hear the prayer of Your servant and the prayers of Your people, who desire to fear Your name. I pray that You would prosper Your servant this day and grant him favor in the sight of the king, for I am his cupbearer.

Nehemiah: chapter 2

¹And it came to pass in the first month of the twentieth year of king Artaxerxes, (NOTE: four months later). When I took the cup of wine to the king. For the first time, I appeared to be sad in his presence. ²And the king asked me, why my countenance was sad? For I was not physically sick, so he reasoned that it was sorrow of heart and this made me very much afraid. ³I then addressed the king, saying; Let the king live forever, my countenance is sad because my fathers graves lie in waste and the city gates have been burnt. ⁴And the king said to me; What is your request? And upon his words, I prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵And I said to the king; If it pleases the king, if your servant has found favor in your sight, I pray that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' that I may rebuild it. ⁶The king then asked me, sitting along side the queen. How long my journey would be and when I would return? Thus it pleased the king to send me and we set times and dates. ⁷I then said to the king; If it please the king, may letters be given to me addressed to the governors beyond the river, that they might allow me to pass through their lands until I enter the land of Judah. ⁸Also a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may supply me with timber to make beams for the gates of the palace, for the walls of the city and for the house that I stay in. And the king granted all my requests, according to the good hand of God, that was upon me.

⁹When I came to the governors beyond the river, I presented the king's letters. Also, the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. ¹⁰When the district magistrates, Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite heard of my assignment, it grieved them exceedingly that a man had come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. ¹¹I then came to Jerusalem and after I had been there three days. ¹²I arose in the night, taking a few men with me, however they did not know what God had put upon my heart to do at Jerusalem and the only beast that was with me was the animal that I was riding upon. ¹³Under the cover of night I circled the city, going past the gate of the valley, past the front of the foundation of the dragon to the dung port, to view the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and the gates that were burnt. ¹⁴I then went on to the gate of the fountain and to the king's pool, but there was not enough room for the animal that I was riding to pass through. ¹⁵I then went up the brook and viewed the wall, returning and entering by the gate of the valley. ¹⁶And the rulers did not know where I had gone or what I had done. neither did the Jews, the priests, the nobles, or any of the workers.

¹⁷I then announced to them all; See the distress that we are in! How Jerusalem lies in waste for the gates are burnt, let us now rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, that we will not be disgraced any longer. ¹⁸I then told them that the favor of my God was upon me and the words that the king had spoken to me. At hearing this, they said; Let us rebuild the city and they all became united as one, to do this good work. ¹⁹However, when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite and Geshem the Arabian, heard of the plan. They mocked it and despised us, saying; What is this plan of yours, are you going to rebel against the king? ²⁰And I answered them and said; The God of heaven will prosper us and His servants will rebuild, but you have no part, or right, or memorial within Jerusalem.

Nehemiah: chapter 3

¹As the work begun. Eliashib the high priest together with the other priests, rebuilt the sheep gate, sanctified it and set up its doors. They rebuilt the wall as far as to the tower of Meah and sanctified the wall as far as the tower of Hananeel. ²Working next to the priests were the men of Jericho and next to them was Zaccur the son of Imri. ³The sons of Hassenaah laid the beams, hung the doors and set the locks on the fish gate. ⁴Working next to them was Meremoth the son of Urijah, Behind him was Meshullam the son of Berechiah, followed by Zadok the son of Baana. ⁵Along side to them were the people of Tekoites, but their nobles refused to put their hand to the work of their Lord. ⁶The old gate was repaired by Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah, they laid its beams, hung its doors and set its locks in place. ⁷Working next to them was Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and the men of Mizpah, the men that were under the governor on this side of the river. ⁸Next to him was Uzziel, a goldsmith, the son of Harhaiah and Hananiah the son of one of the perfumers and they fortified the wall of Jerusalem as far as the broad wall. ⁹The next section of the wall was worked on by Rephaiah the son of Hur, the mayor of half the district of Jerusalem. ¹⁰Next to them was Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, whom rebuilt the wall where his house was. And next to him was Hattush the son of Hashabniah. ¹¹Malchijah the son of Harim and Hashub the son of Pahath-moab, rebuilt the other section of the wall, along with the tower of the furnaces. ¹²Next to him was Shallum the son of Halohesh, the mayor of the other half of the district of Jerusalem, together with his daughters. ¹³Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah, laid the beams, hung the doors and set the locks of the valley gate. And they also rebuilt 1,500 feet of the wall, as far as to the dung gate. ¹⁴The dung gate was rebuilt by Malchiah the son of Rechab, the mayor of part of the district of Beth-haccerem, he laid the beams, hung the doors and set the locks of the dung gate ¹⁵The gate of the fountain was rebuilt by Shallun the son of Col-hozeh, the mayor of part of Mizpah, he re-roofed it, hung its doors and set the locks of the gate of the fountain. Also, rebuilding the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden and the stairs that go down from the city of David. ¹⁶Next to him was Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the mayor of half the district of Beth-zur. He worked from where the tombs of David are, all the way to the pool that was made for the house of the mighty. ¹⁷Next were the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani, along with Hashabiah, the mayor of half the district of Keilah. ¹⁸Next to him were his brethren, headed up by Bavai the son of Henadad, the mayor of half the district of Keilah. ¹⁹And next to him was Ezer the son of Jeshua, the mayor of Mizpah, who rebuilt the wall from the armory to the turning of the wall. ²⁰After him Baruch the son of Zabbai rebuilt the other section, from the turning of the wall to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. ²¹The next section was rebuilt by Meremoth the son of Urijah, from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of Eliashib's house. ²²The priests that were local to the plain land repaired the next section. ²³And after them Benjamin and Hashub repaired the wall over where their house was. Followed by Azariah the son of Maaseiah alongside his house. ²⁴The next section was rebuilt by Binnui the son of Henadad, from the house of Azariah to the turning of the wall and even into the corner. ²⁵Palal the son of Uzai along with Pedaiah the son of Parosh, rebuilt the wall from the turning of the wall, to the tower which is from the king's high house, to the court of the prison. ²⁶Moreover the Nethinims who dwelt in Ophel, worked from the water gate eastward towards the tower. ²⁷After them the men of Tekoa repaired the section of wall, from the great tower to the wall of Ophel. ²⁸Above the horse gate, the priests each rebuilt the wall in front of his own house. ²⁹Also Zadok the son of Immer, rebuilt the wall against his house, together with Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate. ³⁰Next to him, Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, rebuilt another section. And Meshullam the son of Berechiah rebuilt the wall over against his shed. ³¹After him was Malchiah the goldsmith's son, rebuilt the wall from the housing of the temple servants and merchants to the gate of Miphkad, to the rounding of the corner. ³²And the rounded corner section to the sheep gate was rebuilt by the goldsmiths and the merchants.

Nehemiah: chapter 4

¹But, when Sanballat heard that the wall was being rebuilt, he was very much displeased, filled with anger and began to mock the Jews. ²Bringing issue before his brethren and the army of Samaria, saying; Do these feeble Jews believe they can fortify themselves? Will they again make sacrifices? Trying to quickly rebuild the walls in a days time? Using the burnt stones from the rubbish heaps? ³Then Tobiah the Ammonite, spoke up and said; This wall that they are building, even the weight of a fox would cause the wall to tumble.

⁴Nehemiah hearing of their displeasure, prayed; Hear us our God, for we are despised, turn their reproach upon their own heads and may their enemies carry them off to the land of their captivity. ⁵Do not cover their iniquity nor blot out their sin from before You, for they have provoked Your anger by mocking the builders.

⁶And the people kept on rebuilding the wall and soon the whole wall was joined together and rebuilt to half of its original height, for the people were set on finishing the task. ⁷But, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being rebuilt, they were very much displeased. ⁸And conspiring among themselves, planning to fight against Jerusalem, so as to hinder the work. ⁹When this was known to the Jews, they prayed to their God and set a watch around the wall both day and night. ¹⁰However, the people of Judah said; The builders having to bear this further burden, their strength has become weak and there is much rubbish where we are not able to rebuild the wall. ¹¹Meanwhile their adversaries were conspiring, to overtake them unaware and slay them, causing the work to cease. ¹²And the Jews that dwelt on the outskirts were taunted by these adversaries as they repeatedly said; we will attack you from all places. ¹³Therefore guards were stationed at key locations of the wall and I set the people and their families with swords, spears and bows. ¹⁴I then said to the nobles, the rulers and the people; Do not be afraid of them, remember the Lord, whom is great and fearful, will fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses. ¹⁵When our enemies realized that all this was known to us, that we had taken it to God and He had brought their counsel to nought. All of us returned to the work of the wall. ¹⁶And from that time forth, half of the workforce worked on the construction of the wall, while the other half held spears, shields and bows, dressed in armor, in accordance with the leader of Judah. ¹⁷Even they that built the wall also carried the burdens, for everyone with one hand did his work and with the other hand held a weapon. ¹⁸For each builder had a sword girded by his side and the trumpeter stood nearby.

¹⁹Then I Nehemiah, said to the nobles, the rulers and the rest of the people; The work is great and we are spread out upon the wall. ²⁰Wherever you may be when you hear the alarm of the trumpet sound, we shall all group together and our God shall fight for us. ²¹And the labor of the wall was intense, half held spears from early morning until late at night when the stars appeared. ²²So I instructed the people to lodge with his servant in Jerusalem, so that by night, they may be a guard to us and labor during the day. ²³Neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, took off their work clothes except for washing, for we all slept prepared.

Nehemiah: chapter 5

¹At this time there was a great out cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews. ²For some said that; our families are many and we need to bring food for them, that they may survive. ³Some of us have mortgaged our lands, vineyards and houses, to buy food. ⁴While some have borrowed money for the king's tribute, from our lands and vineyards. ⁵Even though we are Jews just as our brethren and our children are just as their children, we have been brought into bondage. Our sons and daughters will become servants and it is not in our power to redeem them, for our lands and vineyards are not ours. ⁶When I heard their words and cries, I was very angry. ⁷I then let my heart rule and I rebuked the nobles and rulers, saying to them; Each one of you requires interest of his brother. ⁸We have redeemed our brethren the Jews once from being servants to the foreigners, are you planning to sell your brethren again to the foreigners or shall they be sold to us Jews? Upon hearing this, they held their peace for they had nothing to say. ⁹I then said; It is not right that you do not walk in the fear of our God, you should at least do so because of the reproach of our heathen enemies? ¹⁰I have also loaned my brethren and servants money for food, now I ask of you, do not charge them interest. ¹¹I ask you to restore to them this day their lands, vineyards, olive groves and their houses and forgive the current claims you have on their crops. ¹²And they agreed and said they would restore all that I had said. So I then called in the priests and had them take an oath according to this promise. ¹³And I emptied my pockets and said; May God also empty every man from his house and his labors, that does not carry out this promise. At this everyone replied, Amen. Praising the LORD and all did according to the promise.

¹⁴From that time on I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, for the next twelve years, (444-432bc). And for these twelve years, neither I nor my brethren have used government aid. ¹⁵However the former governors that had come before me had put taxes upon the people, of up to forty shekels of silver. Thus even their servants ruled over the people, but I refused to do so because of the fear of God. ¹⁶I then continued in the work of the wall with all of my servants working with me, for we did not give time to the regular business of the day. ¹⁷The workers alone were one hundred fifty of the Jews and rulers were at my table, plus those foreigners who had come to us from the surrounding nations. ¹⁸And our daily food preparation was one ox, six choice sheep and several fowls were prepared, every ten days I had a large store of wine delivered. And even with all of this I still did not require aid from the governor, for the taxation this would have brought upon the people would have been very great. ¹⁹Remember me, my God, for all the good I have done for these people.

Nehemiah: chapter 6

¹Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arabian and the rest of our enemies, heard that we had rebuilt the wall, though at that time, the doors were not yet set upon the gates. ²Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, to meet with them in a village located in the plain of Ono. But, I suspected they meant to do me evil. ³And I relayed by messenger, saying; I cannot leave this great work that I am doing to come down, why should the work cease while I come down to you? ⁴Even so they sent the same sort of message to me four more times and I replied to them after the same manner of the first letter. ⁵Sanballat then sent the fifth message to me, but this time his servant was carrying an unsealed letter in his hand, (NOTE: showing disrespect for me). ⁶And the message read; It is reported among the foreign nations that the Jews are thinking of rebelling and that is why you are rebuilding the wall, that you may become their king. ⁷For you have appointed prophets to proclaim these things at Jerusalem, saying; There is a king in Judah. This shall now be reported to the king. Therefore, come and let us take counsel together. ⁸I then relayed to him, saying; No such things as you say are being done, you have derived these things from out of your own heart. ⁹For they were trying to alarm us, saying; Our hands would be weakened from the work, telling us to cease the work. Therefore, may our God, strengthen our hands.

¹⁰After this I went to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, who was a priest and he encouraged me to meet with him inside the temple, behind closed doors, (NOTE: where only the priests were allowed to go), for he said they will surely come in the night to slay you. ¹¹But I questioned this, saying; Why should I flee? And why would I run to the temple, a place where I should not be? ¹²I perceived that you are not God's true messenger, but that Sanballat and Tobiah had hired you to pronounce this prophecy against me. ¹³Knowing that he was hired, to intimidate me and cause me to sin, so that they might harm me through an evil report. ¹⁴Therefore, God, repay Tobiah and Sanballat according to their evil works and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets, that would have tried to intimidate me. ¹⁵And the wall was finished on the 25th of August, completed in fifty-two days, in the year of 445bc. ¹⁶And when all our enemies of the foreign countries heard that the wall was completed, they were afraid and their courage failed them, for they knew that this work was of our God.

¹⁷During those days, many letters were sent between the nobles of Judah and Tobiah. ¹⁸For many in Judah were loyal to him because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, for his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. ¹⁹These traitors then kept on reporting Tobiah's good deeds to me and repeated my words to him, while Tobiah kept on sending letters of intimidation to me.

Nehemiah: chapter 7

¹When the wall was built with the doors hung, the guards, the singers and the priests were appointed, ²I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God above most other men. ³Then I instructed them, not to open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is high in the sky and shut the doors and bar them while the guards are still standing by. And they were to appoint guards from the citizens of Jerusalem to watch their own home area. ⁴Now the city was vast, but the people were few and the houses were not yet built. ⁵And my God put into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers and all the people and make a registry and a record of their genealogy of all who had returned from their exile. ⁶These are the names of the children of Israel, that came out of captivity, who had been carried away by king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Now coming back again to Jerusalem and to Judah, everyone unto his city. ⁷The people who had come with either Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum or Baanah.

8-45          The sons and men and descendants according to their family name.
Parosh: 2,172	Shephatiah: 372	Arah: 652	Elam: 1,254	Zattu: 845
Pahath-moab, of Jeshua & Joab: 2,812		Zaccai: 760	Banniu: 648	Bebai: 628
Azgad: 2,322	Adonikam: 667	Bigvai: 2,067	Adin: 655	Hashum: 328
Ater of Hezekiah: 98	Bezai: 324	Hariph: 112	Gibeon:95	Anathoth: 128
Bethlehem & Netophah: 188		Beth-azmaveth: 42	Kirjath-jearim, Chephirah, & Beeroth: 743
Ramah & Geba: 621	Michmas: 122	Bethel & Ai: 123	Nebo: 52	Elam: 1,254
Immer: 1,052	Harim: 320	Lod, Hadid & Ono: 721	Jericho: 345	Senaah: 3,930
Priests of Jedaiah house of Jeshua: 973			Pashur: 1,247	Harim: 1,017
Levites, of Jeshua & Kadmiel & of Hodevah: 74			Singers of Asaph: 148
Gatekeepers, Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita & Shobai: 138

46-60          Nethinims, people of non Jewish background and the children of Solomon's servants.
Ziha	Hashupha	Tabbaoth	Keros	Sia	Padon	Lebana	Hagaba
Shalmai	Hanan	Giddel	Gahar	Reaiah	Rezin	Nekoda	Gazzam
Uzza	Phaseah	Besai	Meunim	Nephishesim	Bakbuk	Hakupha	Harhur
Bazlith	Mehida	Harsha	Barkos	Sisera	Tamah	Neziah	Hatipha
= = = Children of Solomon's servants = = =
Sotai	Sophereth	Perida	Jaala	Darkon	Giddel	Shephatiah	Hattil
Pochereth	Zebaim	Amon	392 people

61-62          They who came from exile but could not prove their identity as Israelites
Delaiah	Tobiah	Nekoda	641 people

63-65          Priests who intermarried taking on their wife's name, thus defiling their priesthood
Habaiah	Koz	Barzillai	They were told not to eat of the most holy things, until a priest could verify their priesthood with a Urim & Thumin

66-67              The whole congregation was 42,360
Beside their man and maid servants of whom were 7,337 and 245 singing men and women.

NOTE: (This list of the returning Jews to Israel is almost identical to the list given in Ezra 2:3-65).

⁶⁸There were 736 horses, 245 mules, ⁶⁹435 camels and 6,720 donkeys ⁷⁰The governor gave 1,000 drams of gold, 50 basins and 530 priest's garments. ⁷¹Some of the heads of the families gave to the work 20,000 drams of gold and 2,200 pounds of silver. ⁷²The rest of the people gave 20,000 drams of gold, 2,000 pounds of silver and 37 priests' garments. ⁷³And by the seventh month, of 445bc. the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the foreigners together with the Nethinims and all the children of Israel, dwelt in their cities.

Nehemiah: chapter 8

¹All the people then gathered together as one in the street before the water gate and spoke with Ezra the scribe asking him to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded and given to Israel. ²So on the first day of the seventh month. Ezra the priest brought the book and the law before both the men and the women of the congregation and those who were able to hear and understand. ³He then read of the law, right there in the street before the water gate, from morning until midday, before all the people and all the people were very attentive to hearing the book of the law. ⁴As Ezra read from the book, he stood on a wooden platform, that had been made for that purpose. On his right side stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah and on his left side stood, Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchiah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah and Meshullam. ⁵The book was opened in the sight of all the people and all the people were standing in respect for the reading of God's Word. ⁶Ezra then blessed the LORD, the great God and all the people said; Amen, Amen. With hands lifted up and heads bowed, they worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

⁷Certain men plus the Levites were then appointed to help the people understand the law and the people respected this and stayed within their place. ⁸And as the law of God was distinctly read, these men helped the people to understand. ⁹And Nehemiah, the governor and Ezra the priest and scribe and the Levites taught the people, saying to them; This day is holy unto the LORD your God, do not mourn or weep, for all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. ¹⁰Then he instructed the people to go their way and eat and drink, sharing with them that have not. Do not be sorry, for this day is holy and the joy of the LORD is your strength. ¹¹Even so, the Levites still had to quiet all the people, saying; Hold your peace and do not be grieved, for this day is holy.

¹²All the people then went their way rejoicing, eating and drinking and sending portions to the poor, for at last they understood the words that were declared to them. ¹³On the second day the heads of the families, the priests and the Levites, gathered together unto Ezra the scribe, to further understand the words of the law. ¹⁴And they found written in the law, which the LORD had commanded them to keep through the words of Moses, that on the seventh month the children of Israel should dwell in booths, NOTE: (called, The feast of Tabernacles). ¹⁵This was proclaimed in Jerusalem and all their cities, that everyone was to gather branches and construct booths, as it is written in the law. ¹⁶ So all the people made booths either on the roof of their own house, in their courtyards or in the street by the gates. ¹⁷And all the congregation that had come out of captivity sat under their booths with great joy, for the children of Israel had not done this since the days of Joshua. ¹⁸Each of the seven days of the feast, Ezra read from the book of the law of God. And on the eighth day the people held a solemn assembly, according to the law.

Nehemiah: chapter 9

¹The twenty-fourth day of the month the children of Israel assembled together, both in fasting and wearing sackcloth and ashes. ²And the true Israelites separated themselves from the foreigners and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. ³They stood and read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for one quarter of the day and for another quarter of the day they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God. ⁴Then a number of the Levites, Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Baunni, Chenani, cried out with a loud voice unto the LORD their God. ⁵While others Levites, Hashabniah, Hodijah and Pethahiah and the same, replied; Stand up and bless the LORD your God forever and ever, blessed be His glorious name, which is exalted above all blessings and praise.

The prayer of the Levites.

⁶For the LORD alone has made heaven and all the hosts of heavens, the earth and all things in the earth and the seas. He sustains all and the hosts of heaven worship Him. ⁷You are the LORD God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees and later gave him the name Abraham. ⁸For his heart was faithful before You and You established a covenant with him to give him the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites and the Girgashites, to give to his descendants. And You, O LORD have kept and performed Your Word, for You are righteous: ⁹You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cries by the Red sea. ¹⁰For You knew the people of Egypt dwelt proudly with the Israelites, thus You showed Your signs and wonders to Pharaoh, his servants and all the people of the land and have thus attainted a great name, as it also is to this very day. ¹¹You parted the Red Sea before them and the Israelites went through the midst of the sea on dry land. And You drowned their persecutors in the depths of the sea, as a stone sinks into mighty waters. ¹²You then lead the Israelites by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, lighten their path in the way they should go. ¹³At Mount Sinai, You came down from heaven and spoke with the people, giving them just judgments and true laws, statutes and commandments. ¹⁴Making known to them Your holy Sabbath, commanding them by Your precepts, statutes and laws, spoken through Your servant Moses. ¹⁵You gave them bread, (manna) from heaven for their hunger and water from out of the rock for their thirst. Promising that they would inherit the land that you had sworn to give them.

¹⁶But, the people and our fathers were arrogant, hardening their hearts and not following Your commandments. ¹⁷They refused to obey them, neither were mindful of the wonders that You did for them. And in their rebellion they appointed a captain to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But, our God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, of great kindness and You did not forsake them. ¹⁸Even when they had made a golden calf, saying; This is our God that brought us up out of Egypt, thus committing great blasphemies. ¹⁹You with Your many mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness, neither did the cloud nor the pillar of fire departed from them, providing light for them and giving them direction. ²⁰Still You gave them Your good spirit to instruct them and did not withhold their food or drink. ²¹For forty years You sustained them in the wilderness and they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell, Deuteronomy 8:4.

²²Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations, giving them generous portions. Thus they possessed the land of Sihon, the land of the king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan. ²³And the children multiplied as the stars of heaven and You brought them into the land that You had promised to their fathers. ²⁴As the children possessed the land, You subdued the Canaanites within the land and gave them and their kings over into their hands to do with them as they would. ²⁵They took flatlands and fortified cities, possessing furnished houses and lands complete with wells, vineyards, olive yards and fruit trees in abundance. And they ate, becoming fat, delighting themselves in Your great goodness. ²⁶Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against You. Disregarding Your law while slaying Your prophets which testified against them as the prophets tried to turn them to You, thus they created great blasphemies. ²⁷Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who oppressed them. And in their troubles, as they cried to out to You, You heard them and according to Your many mercies You gave them saviors that brought them out from the hand of their enemies.

²⁸But, shortly after they had rest, they did evil again in Your sight. Therefore, You left them in the hands of their enemies to have dominion over them. Even though this cycle continued to go on, You would always hear and deliver them. ²⁹Even though You testified against them to bring them back unto Your law, they still responded in arrogance and refused to hear, they did not regard Your commandments, but sinned against Your judgments, (which if a man does, he shall live in his judgments). ³⁰For many years You had patience with them, testifying against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets, yet they would not listen, therefore You gave them over into the hands of the inhabitants of the lands. ³¹Yet, because of Your great mercies You did not utterly consume them, nor forsake them, for You are a gracious and merciful God.

³²Therefore, our great, mighty and fearful God, who keeps His covenant and has mercy. Do not minimize or overlook the troubles that have come upon us, on our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, the fathers and on all Your people, from early on to this very day. ³³Surely all that has come upon us is just, for You have dealt rightly, but we have done wickedly. ³⁴Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept Your law, nor obeyed Your commandments, even though You testified against them. ³⁵For they have not served You in their ability, amidst the great possessions You have given them, they do not turn from their wicked works. ³⁶This day we are servants, in the good land that You gave to our fathers. ³⁷The land yields a great increase to the kings whom You have set over us because of our sins. And at their pleasure they rule over us and our cattle and we are in great distress. ³⁸Because of this we have formed and written a sure covenant and our leaders, Levites and priests have sealed it.

Nehemiah: chapter 10

1-28          = = = The active priests who placed their seal on the document = = =
Nehemiah the governor		Zidkijah	Seraiah	Azariah	Jeremiah	Pashur	Amariah
Malchijah	Hattush	Shebaniah	Malluch	Harim	Meremoth	Obadiah	Daniel
Ginnethon	Baruch	Meshullam	Abijah	Mijamin	Maaziah	Bilgai	Bilgai
Shemaiah	= = = The Levites = = =
Jeshua	Binnui	Kadmiel	Shebaniah	Hodijah	Kelita	Pelaiah	Hanan
Micha	Rehob	Hashabiah	Zaccur	Sherebiah	Shebaniah	Hodijah	Bani
Beninu	= = = The heads of the families = = =
Parosh	Pahath-moab	Elam	Zatthu	Bani	Bunni	Azgad	Bebai
Adonijah	Bigvai	Adin	Hizkijah	Ater	Azzur	Hodijah	Hashum
Bezai	Hariph	Anathoth	Nebai	Magpiash	Meshullam	Hezir	Meshezabeel
Zadok	Jaddua	Pelatiah	Hanan	Anaiah	Hoshea	Hananiah	Hashub
Hallohesh	Pileha	Shobek	Rehum	Hashabnah	Maaseiah	Ahijah	Hanan
Anan	Malluch	Harim	Baanah
= = = And the rest = = =		the priests	the Levites	the singers	the gatekeepers		the Nethinims
And all whom had separated themselves from the foreigners of the lands unto the law of God, wives, sons and daughters, everyone having knowledge and understanding.

²⁹All the people were holding fast to their honored brothers. Both entering into a curse and an oath, to walk in God's Law which was given by Moses, God's servant and to keep all the commandments, judgments and statutes of the Lord. ³⁰Vowing not give our daughters to the foreigners within the land in marriage, nor take their daughters for our sons in marriage. ³¹That we will not trade on the Sabbath day or any other holy day. That we will honor the seventh year, not planting crops and canceling every Hebrew debt. ³²We also vow to pay one third of a shekel to the service of the house of our God. ³³For the operating of the temple, the showbread, for the continual offerings and the holy offerings of the Sabbaths, the new moons, for the set feasts, for the holy things and to make an atonement for Israel.

³⁴The priests then cast lots, to set up a yearly schedule among the people for the supply of wood that was needed for the alter of the house of God. ³⁵As we also agreed to bring the firstfruits of our crops each year to the house of the LORD: ³⁶Redeeming our firstborn sons and bringing our firstborn cattle, herds and flocks, as it is written in the law to the house of our God. ³⁷That we shall bring the first and best of our wine and of oil and our tithes to the Levites, in our village. ³⁸And we shall see that a priest from the son of Aaron is with the Levites, when they accept tithes, for the house of God. ³⁹ For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of corn, new wine and oil, into the house of the LORD. And the priests that minister, the gatekeepers and the singers, no one shall neglect the house of our God.

Nehemiah: chapter 11

¹Now all the rulers were living outside the holy city of Jerusalem. So the people cast lots, to bring one of every ten of the rulers to live in the holy city, allowing the other nine to remain in the surrounding cities. ²And the men that willingly offered to dwell in the holy city Jerusalem, were blessed by the people. ³In the cities of Judah everyone lived in their own possession in their cities, the tribes of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants and the sons of Solomon's servants. ⁴And the province leaders, some of the children of Judah and the children of Benjamin, dwelt at Jerusalem.

The children of Judah were: 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. ⁵Maaseiah 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. ⁶All the sons of Perez that dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred sixty-eight valiant men.

⁷The sons of Benjamin were: 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. ⁸And after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred twenty-eight. ⁹And Joel the son of Zichri was their governor and Judah the son of Senuah was second over the city.

¹⁰The priests who dwelt there were Jedaiah the son of Joiarib and Jachin. ¹¹Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth and the son of Ahitub was the ruler of the house of God. ¹²Alone with their brethren that did the work of the house of God were eight hundred twenty-two. Plus 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, ¹³And his brethren, chief of the fathers, two hundred forty-two and Amashai the son of Azareel, the son of Ahasai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, ¹⁴And their brethren one hundred twenty-eight mighty men of valor and their governor was Zabdiel, the son of one of the great men. ¹⁵Also the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hashub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; ¹⁶Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chief of the Levites, had the oversight of the outward business of the house of God. ¹⁷Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the director to lead the thanksgiving prayer and Bakbukiah the second in charge and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. ¹⁸All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred forty-four. ¹⁹Moreover the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon and their brethren that kept the gates were a one hundred seventy-two.

²⁰The rest of the Israelites, the priests and the Levites, were spread throughout all the cities of Judah, everyone unto his own inheritance. ²¹But the Nethinims, (the non-Jewish people) dwelt in Ophel and the men Ziha and Gispa were over the Nethinims. ²²The overseer 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. ²³For it was the Persians king's commandment that the singers have a certain portion supplied to them each day. ²⁴Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, a descendant of Zerah the son of Judah, represented the people's concerns at the royal court. ²⁵As for the villages and their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt at Kirjath-arba, at Dibon and at the villages of Jekabzeel. ²⁶At Jeshua, at Moladah and Beth-phelet, ²⁷At Hazar-shual and at Beer-sheba, ²⁸At Ziklag and Mekonah, ²⁹At En-rimmon, at Zareah and Jarmuth, ³⁰At Zanoah, at Adullam, the villages and fields of Lachish, at Azekah. The children of Israel dwelt from Beer-sheba to the valley of Hinnom. ³¹And the children of Benjamin from Geba dwelt in the villages of Michmash, Aija and Bethel, ³²At Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, ³³Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ³⁴Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ³⁵Lod, Ono and in the valley of craftsmen. ³⁶And certain divisions of the Levites in Judah were joined to the people of Benjamin.

Nehemiah: chapter 12

1-9          These are the priests and the Levites that came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, out of exile.
Amariah	Malluch	Hattush	Shechaniah	Rehum	Meremoth	Iddo	Ginnetho
Abijah	Miamin	Maadiah	Bilgah	Shemaiah	Joiarib	Jediah	Sallu
Amok	Hilkiah	Jedaiah	= = = These were the chief priests in the days of Jeshua = = =
Jeshua	Binnui	Kadmiel	Sherebiah	Judah	Mattaniah	Bakbukiah	Unni

¹⁰Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim begat Eliashib, Eliashib begat Joiada, ¹¹Joiada begat Jonathan and Jonathan begat Jaddua.

¹²And in the days of Joiakim these were the priests, the heads of the fathers: the family of Seraiah, the family of Meraiah; Jeremiah and Hananiah. ¹³Ezra, the family of Meshullam; Amariah and Jehohanan, ¹⁴the family of Melicu; Jonathan, the family of Shebaniah; Joseph, ¹⁵The family of Harim, Adna; the family of Meraioth, Helkai; ¹⁶The family of Iddo; Zechariah, The family of Ginnethon and Meshullam, ¹⁷The family of Abijah and Zichri, the family of Miniamin, the family of Moadiah and Piltai, ¹⁸The family of Bilgah; Shammua, the family of Shemaiah; Jehonathan, ¹⁹The family of Joiarib, Mattenai, the family of Jedaiah, Uzzi, ²⁰The family of Sallai; Kallai, the family of Amok; Eber, ²¹The family of Hilkiah; Hashabiah, the family of Jedaiah; Nethaneel.

²²In the days of Eliashib, (the next generation), the Levites, Joiada, Johanan and Jaddua, were registered as heads of their father's house, for during the reign of Darius the Persian king, (423-404bc), the priests were registered. ²³The sons of Levi and the heads of their families, were written in the book of the Chronicles, until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. ²⁴And the heads of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, stood along side their brethren giving praise and thanks, according to the commandment of David, the man of God. ²⁵The porters were, Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon and Akkub and they kept the thresholds of the gates. ²⁶And this occurred during the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak and during the time of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and scribe.

²⁷At the time of the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, all the Levites were sought out and brought to Jerusalem, in order to keep the dedication with joy, singing and musical instruments while giving thanksgivings. ²⁸Then the singers also gathered themselves together, from the plain lands around Jerusalem and from the villages of Netophathi. ²⁹From the city of Gilgal and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, around Jerusalem. ³⁰The priests and the Levites then purified themselves and the people, the gates and the wall. ³¹The leaders of Judah were then brought up on the wall and I appointed two great companies of singers to give thanks, one on the right side of the wall going towards the dung gate. ³²After them was Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah. ³³Followed by Azariah, Ezra and Meshullam, ³⁴Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah and Jeremiah. ³⁵Some of the priests' sons then followed with trumpets, these were: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur and the son of Asaph. ³⁶His brethren then followed; Shemaiah, Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, Judah, Hanani, with musical instruments, being led by Ezra the scribe. ³⁷Now the fountain gate was behind them and the stairs went above the house of David eastward, to the water gate.

³⁸The other thanksgiving choirs proceeded this way and I was right behind them with the other half of the people behind me. We went from beyond the tower of the furnaces to the broad wall. ³⁹Onto the gate of Ephraim, above the old gate and the fish gate, past the tower of Hananeel and the tower of Meah, to the sheep gate and we all stood still in the prison gate. ⁴⁰The two thanksgiving choirs along with myself and the rulers with me, then took our places in the house of God. ⁴¹The priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah and Hananiah, were carrying trumpets. ⁴²And Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam and Ezer together with the singers all directed by Jezrahiah, loudly sang. ⁴³That day great sacrifices were offered and they rejoiced, for God had given them great joy. The wives and the children were also rejoicing, so much so that the joy of Jerusalem could be heard from afar off.

⁴⁴That day some of the men were appointed to be responsible for the treasures of the offerings, the firstfruits and the tithes, to gather them and disburse them to the priests and Levites, in accordance to the law. Also, Judah rejoiced because of the priests and Levites. ⁴⁵Both the singers and the gatekeepers kept the charge of God and did everything just as the command of David and of Solomon his son stated. ⁴⁶ For in the days of David and Asaph, there were also singers, singing songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God. ⁴⁷Now in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, all of Israel gave daily allowances to the singers and the gatekeepers. And the people sanctified holy things unto the Levites and thus the Levites also sanctified the people as the children of Aaron.

Nehemiah: chapter 13

¹That day the book of Moses was read and the people found written in the book, that the Ammonite and Moabite should not ever come into the congregation of God, Deuteronomy 23:3-6. ²Because they did not meet the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them, however, God turned the curse into a blessing. ³When the Israelites had heard the law, they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel. ⁴However before this, Eliashib the priest, had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God and he was related by marriage to Tobiah the Ammonite. ⁵And Eliashib had prepared for Tobiah a great chamber, that had before held the meat offerings, the frankincense, the corn, the new wine and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers and the offerings for the priests. ⁶During this time I Nehemiah, was not at Jerusalem: for in the thirty-second year of the Persian king Artaxerxes, I went to the king but after certain days I was granted my leave. ⁷I then came to Jerusalem and was informed of the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. ⁸This report grieved me very much. And I removed all of Tobiah's household furnishing out of the chamber. ⁹So I commanded the chambers be cleansed and afterwards restored to it original purpose, to hold the vessels of the house of God, the meat offering and the frankincense. ¹⁰I then learned that portions of these had not been given out to the Levites and the singers and they had all gone back to their own fields. ¹¹So I called in the rulers and questioned them harshly as to why was the house of God was abandoned? And I gathered all the Levites and singers together and restored them to their rightful place. ¹² Then all the people of Judah started to bring a tithe of their corn, new wine and oil unto the treasuries. ¹³And I put offices of accountability over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe and Pedaiah of the Levites. Also, next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, for they were counted faithful and their office was to distribute to their brethren. ¹⁴God, remember me concerning this, do not wipe out the good deeds that I have done for the house of my God.

¹⁵During those days, I saw men in Judah doing all kinds of work on the Sabbath day. Treading a wine press, harvesting their fields and selling their wares and I testified against them ¹⁶For men of Tyre also dwelt there and they brought and sold all manner of wares on the Sabbath to the children of Judah that lived in Jerusalem. ¹⁷Nonetheless I confronted the nobles of Judah, as to what evil thing this is and why they profane the Sabbath day? ¹⁸Reminding them that this is exactly what their fathers did and our God brought all of this evil upon us and our city. Therefore, why do you now bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath? ¹⁹So I instructed that the gates of Jerusalem remain closed for the entire Sabbath and I stationed some of my servants at the gates. ²⁰Even so, some of the merchants lodged outside of the gates of Jerusalem once or twice. ²¹I then spoke to them, saying; If you again lodge here outside the wall, I will forcibly drive you off! And from that time on they quit coming on the Sabbath. ²²I then commanded the Levites to cleanse themselves and to guard the city gates on the Sabbath, thus keeping the Sabbath holy. And my prayer was that my God would remember me concerning this and pardon me according to His great mercies.

²³During those days I also saw that some of the Jews had married wives of Ashdod, Ammon and of Moab. ²⁴And half of their children spoke in their foreign language and could not even speak the Hebrew language. ²⁵I reproved the men for this, cursing them, even pulling off their hair and made them swear unto God, that they would not allow their sons or daughters to intermarry with non-Israelites or to further do so themselves, Deuteronomy 7:3. ²⁶For Solomon the king of Israel also sinned by doing these things. Even though there was no king like him and he was loved by his God and was king over all of Israel, yet foreign women lead him to sin and was his downfall. ²⁷Shall we then repeat this great evil because of you, as you transgress against our God and marry foreign wives? ²⁸And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite and I drove him out from my presence. ²⁹My God, be mindful of them, for they have defiled the priesthood, the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites. ³⁰All together I cleansed them from the foreigners and re-appointed the companies of the priests and Levites, to their proper task. ³¹I also scheduled the supply of wood for the burnt offerings and arranged for the firstfruits. Remember me for this good I have done, O my God.