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\id NEH EN_UST en_English_ltr Wed Aug 25 2021 12:29:45 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time) tc
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\usfm 3.0
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\ide UTF-8
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\h Nehemiah
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\toc1 The Book of Nehemiah
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\toc2 Nehemiah
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\toc3 Neh
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\mt1 NEHEMIAH
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\c 1
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\p
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\v 1 I am Nehemiah, son of Hakaliah. \add I am writing this account.\add*
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\p My story begins in the month of Kislev during the twentieth year of the reign of King Artaxerxes \add over the Persian Empire\add*. I was in the capital city of Susa.
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\v 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came to see me, along with some other people from the province of Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had escaped and remained in Judah \add many years earlier\add* when soldiers had forced many Jews to go \add to Babylon\add*. I also asked about \add the condition of\add* the city of Jerusalem.
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\p
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\v 3 They said to me, “The Jews who escaped the exile and remained in the province of Judah are in a desperate situation. \add The Babylonian soldiers\add* broke down the wall of Jerusalem \add to get into the city\add*, and \add they\add* burned down all of its gates. The people \add living there\add* are defenseless.”
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\p
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\v 4 When I heard about these things, I sat down and cried. I could not stop mourning for days. I went without food, and I prayed to the God who is in heaven.
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\p
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\v 5 I said, “O Yahweh, you are the God who is in heaven. You are the great and awesome God. You always keep your promises faithfully to those who love you and obey your commandments.
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\v 6 Now please pay careful attention and listen to my prayer that I am praying to you now, as I have been constantly, for the people of Israel, your chosen people. I must confess the sins that we, the people of Israel, have committed against you. Both I and my family have also sinned.
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\v 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. \add Many years ago\add* you gave us your Law through your servant Moses. But we have not obeyed your Law.
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\p
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\v 8 Please call to mind the promise that you made to your servant Moses. You told him, ‘If you Israelites do not obey my commandments, I will take you from your land and make you live among the other nations.
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\v 9 But if you become loyal to me again and start obeying my commandments once more, then I will bring you back to \add your homeland of Judah\add*. That is the place \add from\add* which I chose to start making myself famous throughout the world. I will do this no matter how far you have been taken away.’
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\p
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\v 10 We are your chosen people, whom you rescued \add from slavery in Egypt\add*. \add You did that easily because\add* you are so very powerful.
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\v 11 O my Lord, please pay careful attention to my prayer and to the prayers of \add my fellow Israelites\add*. We are eager to honor you. Please grant that the king \add will agree to the request that I hope to make soon\add*.” At that time, I was \add an important official who served the wine at\add* the king’s \add table\add*.
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\c 2
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\p
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\v 1 I prayed like this for four months. Then one day in the month of Nisan, still in the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, something happened. \add When it was time to serve\add* the wine, I took some and gave it to the king. I had never before looked sad in his presence.
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\p
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\v 2 \add No one was supposed to look unhappy in the king’s presence. But the king noticed that I did look sad.\add* So he asked me, “Why are you sad? I can tell that you are not sick. You must be unhappy about something.” This made me very afraid.
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\p
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\v 3 I replied to the king, “Your Majesty, I hope you will live \add a very long time\add*! \add I am sorry, but I cannot help being sad.\add* I am sad because the city of Jerusalem, the place where my ancestors are buried, lies in ruins. \add Our enemies\add* have burned down its gates.”
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\p
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\v 4 The king replied to me, “What do you want \add me to do for you\add*?” \add Before I answered him\add*, I prayed to the God who is in heaven.
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\p
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\v 5 Then I replied to the king, “If it seems like a good \add idea\add* to you, and if you are pleased with me, then \add please\add* allow me to go to Judah, to Jerusalem. \add I would like\add* to \add help my people\add* rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”
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\p
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\v 6 \add I was able to speak freely because this was a private meal,\add* with the queen sitting next to the king. The king asked me, “How long would you be away?” I told him how long I would be gone. That was acceptable to him, and he gave me permission to go. So I told him what day \add I wanted to leave\add*.
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\p
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\v 7 I also said to the king, “If it seems like a good \add idea\add* to you, \add please\add* give me letters \add that I can show\add* to the governors of \add the province\add* Beyond the River. In these letters, \add please tell them\add* to give me \add safe\add* passage through their province to Judah.
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\v 8 \add Please\add* also \add write\add* a letter \add for me\add* to Asaph, the man who takes care of your royal forest \add in that area\add*. \add Please tell\add* him to give me timber to make the beams to support the gates of the fortress that is near the temple. \add Please\add* also \add tell him to give me timber\add* for the city wall and for the house that I will live in.”
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\p God was with me and helping me, and so the king agreed to \add all of\add* my \add requests\add*.
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\p
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\v 9 \add When I left to travel to Judah,\add* the king sent along some army officers and soldiers riding on horses \add to protect me\add*. When I reached \add the province\add* Beyond the River, I went \add to see\add* its governors. I showed them the letters the king had given me, \add and they gave me safe passage\add*.
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\p
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\v 10 \add One of the people I showed my letters to was\add* Sanballat the Horonite. \add He was the governor of Samaria, the area right next to Judah.\add* He and his deputy, Tobiah the Ammonite, became very upset when they learned that someone had come to help the people of Israel. \add They did not want to see Judah become strong again, because that would be a threat to Samaria.\add*
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\v 11 But I made it \add safely\add* to Jerusalem \add despite their opposition\add*. I stayed there for three days,
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\p
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\v 12 I did not say \add publicly\add* what God was leading me to do for Jerusalem. Instead, I got up \add secretly\add* in the night \add to inspect the city walls\add*. I brought \add only\add* a few other men with me. \add So that we could work quietly,\add* the only animal I brought with me was the one that I was riding.
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\p
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\v 13 That night we went out through the Valley Gate and went past the Dragon Well to the Rubbish Gate. We made a careful inspection of the walls of Jerusalem. We \add noted where our enemies\add* had broken down the walls, and \add where\add* they had burned up the wooden gates.
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\v 14 Then we came to the Fountain Gate and the Royal Pool. \add The opening there was so narrow that\add* the animal I was riding could not get through.
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\v 15 So we followed \add the path of\add* the \add Kidron\add* Brook, \add even though\add* it was night. \add From there\add* we were able to look \add up\add* at the wall \add and see its condition\add*. \add This route\add* brought us back \add to where we started\add*. We re-entered \add the city\add* through the Valley Gate, and I went back \add home without being seen\add*.
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\p
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\v 16 The city officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing. To that point I had not said \add anything about it\add* to the Jewish leaders, the priests, the leading citizens, or the city officials. \add I had not approached\add* anyone \add about\add* doing the work \add of rebuilding the walls\add*.
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\p
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\v 17 \add But\add* now I said to them, “You see what a desperate situation we are in. You see that Jerusalem lies in ruins, and \add our enemies\add* have burned down its gates. \add We need to\add* do something \add about this!\add* \add I challenge all of you to\add* join me in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Then we will not have to feel ashamed any more.”
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\v 18 Then I told them how God had been with me and had been helping me. I also told them how the king had given me permission to come.
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\p \add When they heard this,\add* they said, “Let’s get going and start building!” They encouraged one another \add and committed themselves\add* to the project.
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\p
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\v 19 Then Sanballat the Horonite, his deputy Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian heard \add that we had started to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem\add*. They ridiculed us mercilessly. They said, “What you are doing is not going to amount to anything! \add But\add* you should not be rebelling against the king \add like that\add*!”
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\p
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\v 20 But I answered them \add firmly\add*. I said, “The God who is in heaven is the one who will enable us to complete this project. We are his chosen people. We are going to start rebuilding. But you have absolutely nothing to do with what happens in Jerusalem.”
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\c 3
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\p
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\v 1 \add These are the names of the people who helped to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem.\add* Eliashib the Supreme Priest and his fellow priests began by rebuilding the Sheep Gate. They dedicated this gate \add to God, as a symbolic way of dedicating the entire wall.\add* Then they set the doors of the Sheep Gate in place. They rebuilt the wall as far as the Tower of 100 Soldiers and \add beyond that\add* to the Tower of Hananel. Then they dedicated that part of the wall \add to God\add* as well.
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\p
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\v 2 Next to them, people from Jericho rebuilt \add part of the wall\add*.
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\p Next to them, Zaccur, the son of Imri, rebuilt \add part of the wall\add*.
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\p
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\v 3 The sons of Hassenaah rebuilt the Fish Gate. They framed it with \add wooden\add* beams, they set its doors in place, and they installed bolts and bars \add for locking the gate\add*.
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\p
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\v 4 Next to them, Meremoth, the son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz, repaired \add part of the wall\add*.
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\p Next to him, Meshullam, the son of Berekiah and grandson of Meshezabel, repaired \add part of the wall\add*.
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\p Next to him, Zadok the son of Baana repaired \add part of the wall\add*.
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\p
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\v 5 Next to him, some people from Tekoa repaired \add part of the wall\add*. But the leading citizens of Tekoa were too proud to do the work that the leaders \add of Judah had asked them to do\add*.
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\p
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\v 6 Joiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah, repaired the Old Gate. They framed it with \add wooden\add* beams, they set its doors in place, and they installed bolts and bars \add for locking the gate\add*.
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\p
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\v 7 Next to them, Melatiah from \add the city of\add* Gibeon, Jadon from \add the town of\add* Meronoth, and other men from Gibeon and from the \add city of\add* Mizpah repaired \add part of the wall\add*. They repaired it as far as the residence of the governor of \add the province\add* Beyond the River.
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\p
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\v 8 Next to them, Uzziel the son of Harhaiah repaired \add part of the wall\add*. He was one of the goldsmiths, \add the workers who made jewelry and other objects from gold\add*.
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\p Next to him, Hananiah repaired \add part of the wall\add*. He was one of the workers who made perfumes. They rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.
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\p
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\v 9 Next to them, Rephaiah the son of Hur repaired \add part of the wall\add*. Rephaiah ruled half of the district of Jerusalem.
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\p
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\v 10 Next to him, Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired \add the part of the wall\add* near his house.
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\p Next to him, Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired \add part of the wall\add*.
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\p
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\v 11 Malkijah the son of Harim and Hashub the son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section \add of the wall\add*, along with the Tower of the Ovens.
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\p
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\v 12 Next to them, Shallum the son of Hallohesh repaired \add part of the wall\add*. Shallum ruled the \add other\add* half of the district of Jerusalem. His daughers worked with him on the repairs.
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\p
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\v 13 Hanun and some people from \add the city of\add* Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt the gate, they set its doors in place, and they installed bolts and bars \add for locking the gate\add*. They also repaired 1500 feet of the wall, as far as the Rubbish Gate.
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\p
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\v 14 Malkijah. the son of Rechab, repaired the Rubbish Gate. Malkijah ruled the district of Beth-Hakkerem. He rebuilt the gate, he set its doors in place, and he installed bolts and bars \add for locking the gate\add*.
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\p
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\v 15 Shallun the son of Kol-Hozeh repaired the Fountain Gate. Shallun ruled the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt the gate and put a roof over it, he set its doors in place, and he installed bolts and bars \add for locking the gate\add*. Near the Pool of Siloam he also repaired the wall next to the royal garden, as far as the steps that went down from the City of David.
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\p
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\v 16 Next to him, Nehemiah the son of Azbuk repaired \add the wall\add* as far as the place opposite the tombs in \add the City of\add* David, to the reservoir that the people had made and the army barracks. Nehemiah ruled half of the district of Beth-Zur.
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\p
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\v 17 Next to him, some Levites repaired \add parts of the wall\add*. One of them was Rehum the son of Bani. Next to them, Hashabiah, who ruled half of the district of Keilah, repaired \add a section of the wall\add* on behalf of the people of his district.
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\p
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\v 18 \add Some other Levites\add* repaired the next \add section of the wall\add*. Next to them, Binnui the son of Henadad, who ruled the other half of the district of Keilah, repaired \add more of the wall\add*.
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\p
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\v 19 Next to him, Ezer the son of Jeshua repaired another section \add of the wall\add*. Ezer ruled the \add city of\add* Mizpah. \add He started\add* from a place in front of the steps that went up to the building for storing weapons, \add and he finished\add* at the place where the wall bends slightly.
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\p
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\v 20 Next to him, Baruch the son of Zabbai repaired another section with great enthusiasm, from the bend in the wall as far as the door of the house of Eliashib the Supreme Priest.
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\p
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\v 21 Next to him, Meremoth, the son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz, repaired another section, from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of that house.
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\p
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\v 22 Next to him, some priests from the area around \add Jerusalem\add* repaired \add a section of the wall\add*.
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\p
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\v 23 Next to them, Benjamin and Hasshub repaired \add a section\add* opposite their house.
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\p Azariah, the son of Maaseiah and grandson of Ananiah, repaired the next \add section\add*, beside his house.
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\p
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\v 24 Next to him, Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the bend in the wall as far as the bulwark.
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\v 25 \add Next to him,\add* Palal the son of Uzai \add repaired a section\add*. He began at the place opposite the bend in the wall \add where\add* the watchtower is taller than the upper palace that King \add Solomon built\add*. That is near the courtyard where the guards live. Next to him, Pedaiah the son of Parosh \add repaired a section\add*.
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\p
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\v 26 The temple servants who lived on Ophel \add Hill\add* \add repaired the wall\add* as far as the eastern side of the Water Gate, \add where there is\add* a tall tower.
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\p
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\v 27 Next to them, the people from Tekoa repaired another section, from opposite the very tall watchtower as far as the wall at Ophel \add Hill\add*.
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\p
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\v 28 A group of priests repaired \add the wall\add* starting at the Horse Gate. Each one repaired \add the section\add* in front of his own house.
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\p
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\v 29 Next to them, Zadok the son of Immer repaired \add the section\add* in front of his house.
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\p Then Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, who was the gatekeeper at the East Gate, repaired the next \add section\add*.
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\p
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\v 30 Next to him, Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section.
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\p Next to them, Meshullam the son of Berechiah repaired \add the section\add* opposite the rooms \add where\add* he \add lived\add*.
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\p
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\v 31 Malkijah, who was \add another\add* one of the goldsmiths, repaired the next \add section\add*, as far as the building used by the temple servants and the merchants. That building was opposite the Appointment Gate. He \add rebuilt the wall\add* as far as the upper apartments \add of this building\add*, which were on the corner.
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\p
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\v 32 Some of the \add other\add* goldsmiths, along with some merchants, repaired \add the last section of the wall\add* from the corner apartments to the Sheep Gate.
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\c 4
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\p
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\v 1 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the \add city\add* wall, he became furious, and he mocked the Jews.
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\p
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\v 2 He spoke to the \add other provincial\add* officials and army officers. He said, “These weak Jews will not be able to accomplish anything! They will never restore \add the city! Their God\add* will not help them. They do not realize what a long time it would take to repair \add that wall. The only way\add* they can get stones \add is\add* by pulling them out of rubbish heaps. And \add the Babylonians\add* burned \add the city, so those\add* stones are probably weak \add anyway\add*.”
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\p
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\v 3 Tobiah the Ammonite was standing beside Sanballat. He made fun of the Jews by saying, “Right! The wall that they are building \add is so weak\add* that if a fox walked across the top \add of it\add*, it would fall down!”
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\p
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\v 4 \add When I heard about what they were saying, I prayed to God and said,\add* “O our God, listen \add to the way\add* they are mocking us! Make \add them fail in their attempts to stop us,\add* so that \add other\add* people will mock them! Allow their enemies to capture them and force them to go to a foreign land!
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\v 5 \add They are guilty, and they have sinned against you.\add* Do not take away their guilt, and do not ignore their sin! \add I am asking this\add* because they are also causing others to be angry at the people who are rebuilding the wall!”
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\p
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\v 6 But we kept building the wall, \add and after some time,\add* we finished the wall around the whole city to about half the necessary height. Everyone was determined to accomplish this.
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\p
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\v 7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the men from \add the land of\add* Arabia, the men from \add the nation of\add* Ammon, and the men from \add the city of\add* Ashdod heard that we were continuing to repair the wall of Jerusalem and to fill in the gaps, they became furious.
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\v 8 All of them together made a plan to come and fight against the people of Jerusalem. They wanted to make the people inside the city confused \add and divided\add*.
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\v 9 But we prayed to our God \add to protect us\add*, and we stationed lookouts \add on the walls\add* at all times to watch out for them.
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\p
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\v 10 Then the people of Judah started saying, “The people who are carrying \add the stones\add* are getting worn out. There is too much rubbish. We are not going to be able to \add finish\add* rebuilding the wall.”
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\p
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\v 11 Then our enemies \add started\add* saying, “Before \add the Jews\add* know we are coming, we will rush \add down\add* on them and kill them and stop their work \add on the wall\add*!’”
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\p
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\v 12 And when some of the Jews who lived near \add our enemies\add* came \add to Jerusalem\add*, they pleaded with us repeatedly, “Let \add our men\add* return \add home so\add* they \add can defend\add* us!”
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\p
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\v 13 But I put \add guards\add* behind the wall at the places where it was low or where there were gaps. I also had people from each family group stand \add guard\add* with their swords, spears, and bows and arrows.
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\v 14 After I had inspected \add everything\add*, I summoned the leading citizens and the city officials and many of the other people, and I said to them, “Do not be afraid of our enemies! The Lord is great and awesome, \add so\add* think about \add what he can do\add*. And fight to \add protect\add* your families, your sons and daughters, your wives, and your homes!”
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\p
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\v 15 When our enemies learned that we had found out about \add their plan\add*, they realized that God had kept them \add from launching a surprise attack\add*. \add They decided not to attack us.\add* So we all went back to \add working on\add* the wall. Each person continued doing \add the same\add* work \add as before\add*.
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\v 16 But after that, \add only\add* half of my servants worked \add on the wall\add*. The other half of them \add stood guard\add* armed with spears, shields, bows and arrows, and metal armor. Officers \add stood\add* behind the workers and guards \add to encourage everyone and to give orders in case there was an attack\add*.
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\v 17 Those who were building the wall and those who carried the heavy loads \add always\add* had their weapons with them \add so that they would be prepared to fight off an attack\add*.
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\v 18 Each builder worked with his sword strapped to his side. \add I stationed\add* someone next to me who would blow a ram’s horn \add if we needed a signal\add*.
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\p
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\v 19 Then I said to the leading citizens, the city officials, and many of the other people, “We are working over a very wide area, and we are far apart from each other along the wall.
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\v 20 But wherever you hear \add the man\add* sounding the ram’s horn, gather around us at that place. Our God will fight for us!”
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\p
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\v 21 So we continued to work \add on rebuilding the wall\add*. Half of the men \add served as guards\add* and kept their weapons ready at \add all\add* times.
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\v 22 At that time, I also said to the people, “Each \add worker\add* and his servant must spend the night inside Jerusalem \add and not go home if they live outside the city\add*. \add That way\add* the city will have plenty of defenders \add even\add* at night, and they can \add still\add* work \add on the wall\add* during the daytime.”
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\v 23 \add During that time\add* none of us took off our clothes. I did not, and my brothers, my servants, and my personal bodyguard did not. Each of us \add always had\add* our weapons \add with us\add*, \add even when we were washing ourselves\add*.
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\c 5
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\p
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\v 1 \add Around this same time,\add* many of the men and their wives complained bitterly about what their fellow Jews were doing to them.
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\p
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\v 2 Some of them began, “We have many children. We need to get \add a lot of\add* food to feed them \add all\add*.”
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\p
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\v 3 Others added, “We have had to promise to give someone our fields, vineyards, and houses if we do not pay back the money \add he\add* has loaned us. We had \add to borrow the money\add* to buy food during this time when food is scarce.”
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\p
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\v 4 Still others said, “We have had to borrow money to \add pay\add* the taxes that the king \add commanded us to pay\add* on our fields and our vineyards.
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\v 5 \add This is how bad things have gotten.\add* We are selling our children into slavery. In fact, we have even sold some of our daughters. Our creditors took the fields and vineyards \add we pledged as security for loans\add*, so there was nothing \add else\add* we could do. But we are Jews, just like the people who are doing these things to us!”
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\p
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\v 6 I got very angry when I heard these things that they were complaining about.
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\v 7 I thought hard about what to do. Then I brought charges against the leading citizens and the city officials. I called together a large group of people \add to hear\add* the charges against them. I told these leaders, “You are charging interest \add on loans\add* to your fellow Jews. \add You know that is forbidden in the Law of Moses\add*.”
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\p
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\v 8 I said to them, “Whenever our fellow Jews have had to sell themselves into slavery to people from \add other\add* nations, to \add the best of\add* our ability we have been buying them back. But you are actually selling your fellow Jews into slavery to get back the money they owe you. These are some of the very people we have been buying back!” They knew that these charges were true, so there was absolutely nothing they could say in response.
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\p
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\v 9 Then I said to them, “What you are doing is wrong! You certainly ought to obey God and do what is right! Otherwise, our enemies will mock us even more.
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\v 10 I myself, my relatives, and my servants have been lending money and grain \add to anyone in need without charging interest\add*. All of us should stop charging interest on loans.
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\v 11 Give them back their fields, vineyards, olive orchards, and houses. Do it right away! And pay back the 12% annual \add interest you have been collecting\add* on the money, grain, wine, and olive oil that you have lent them.”
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\p
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\v 12 These leaders replied, “Yes, we will do what you say. We will give back \add their fields, vineyards, olive orchards, and houses\add*. And we will stop \add charging\add* them \add interest\add*.”
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\p Then I called the priests, and I made the leaders swear \add to God in front of them\add* that they would do what they had promised.
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\v 13 I also shook out the folds of my robe and said to them, “In this same way, may God fling anyone who does not keep this oath away from everything he owns. Yes, may that person lose everything!”
|
||
\p Then everyone who was there said, “We agree!” And they praised Yahweh. After that none of the Jews took houses or fields to guarantee loans, and none of them charged interest any more.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 14 Here is something else I did to help the people. Artaxerxes, the king \add of Persia\add*, had appointed me to be the governor of \add the province of\add* Judah during the twentieth year \add of his reign\add*. During the twelve years from the time that he appointed me until the thirty-second year of his reign, I did not accept the governor’s food allowance, and \add I did not use it to feed\add* my relatives. \add I knew that the people were poor and could not afford to pay for it.\add*
|
||
\v 15 The governors before me had made life very difficult for the people. They had demanded that the people supply them with bread and wine and forty silver shekels every day. Even their servants oppressed the people. But I respected and honored God, and so I did not oppress them.
|
||
\v 16 I devoted myself to the work of \add rebuilding\add* the wall. \add My relatives and I\add* did not buy any property, \add even though we could have gotten it cheaply because the poor were so desperate\add*. I also assigned all of my servants to work \add on the wall\add*.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 17 \add As governor,\add* I \add was responsible for\add* feeding 150 Jewish leaders and city officials. I also entertained \add Jewish\add* visitors who came from nearby countries.
|
||
\v 18 Each day \add I told my servants\add* to prepare \add for us\add* one ox, six good sheep, and various kinds of poultry. I paid for these myself. Every ten days I also brought in an abundant supply of various kinds of wine. But \add I knew that\add* the people were struggling to survive, and so \add I paid for all of these things at my own expense\add*. I did not accept the governor’s food allowance.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 19 My God, think of me, and reward me for all the good that I have done for the people of Judah.
|
||
\c 6
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 1 Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arabian, and our other enemies learned that we had finished rebuilding the wall, and that there were now no more gaps in it. (However, we had not yet put the doors in the gates.)
|
||
\v 2 So Sanballat and Geshem sent me \add a message that\add* said, “We want to arrange to meet with you in one of the villages in the plain of Ono.” But \add I knew that they were saying this because\add* they wanted to harm me.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 3 So I sent messengers to tell them, “The work I am doing \add here\add* is very important. I am not able to travel \add while it is going on\add*. There is no reason for me to stop the work and leave it so that I can meet with you.”
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 4 They sent me the same message four times, and \add each time\add* I refused them for this same reason.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 5 Then Sanballat sent one of his servants to me bringing the same request for a fifth time. This time the message was written, but it was not sealed. Sanballat \add left the letter unsealed so that others would find out what it said, because he wanted to pressure me to meet with him\add*.
|
||
\v 6 The letter said, “\add The people in\add* the countries \add around us\add* are saying, and Geshem confirms \add that it is true\add*, that you and the Jewish people are planning to rebel \add against King Artaxerxes\add*. That is why you are rebuilding the wall. \add They are also\add* saying that you intend to become the king of the Jews yourself.
|
||
\v 7 \add These people are\add* also \add saying that\add* you have appointed prophets to make a proclamation about you in Jerusalem. They are saying, ‘The Jews \add now\add* have a king \add of their own\add*!’ King Artaxerxes will certainly hear these reports, \add and when he does, he will be very angry with you\add*. So we really should meet together and talk \add about this\add*.”
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 8 I sent \add a message\add* back to him saying, “None of these things that you are saying are true. You are just making them up yourself.”
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 9 I knew that they were all \add just trying to\add* frighten us. They thought, “\add The Jews will become so afraid that\add* they will stop working \add on the wall\add*, and they will never finish \add rebuilding it\add*.” So \add I prayed, “O God,\add* give me courage.\add ”\add*
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 10 \add Around this time\add* I went to visit Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah and grandson of Mehetabel. \add I went to see him in his home, because\add* he was not leaving \add his house\add*. He was a priest, and he was trying to show that it was not safe for Jewish leaders to go out in public. He told me, “\add We are not safe even here.\add* We need to go into the temple and lock the doors, because people are trying to kill you. One night they are going to come and kill you.”
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 11 I responded, “I am not the kind of man who would run away! Besides, I am the governor, \add and everyone knows me,\add* so I could not save my life by \add trying to\add* hide in the temple. I refuse to do it!”
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 12 All of a sudden I realized that God had not given Shemaiah a prophetic message for me. Instead, he was saying these things because Tobiah and Sanballat had paid him \add to say them\add*.
|
||
\v 13 \add They\add* had paid him the money specifically to \add say things that\add* would scare me. They were hoping they could make me sin \add by abandoning my responsibilities and hiding in the temple\add*. \add If I had done that,\add* they would have ruined my reputation and discredited me.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 14 \add So I prayed,\add* “My God, treat Tobiah and Sanballat the way they deserve for what they have done. Do the same for the female prophet Noadiah and all the other prophets who are \add trying to\add* make me afraid.”
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 15 We finished \add rebuilding\add* the wall on the twenty-fifth \add day\add* of the month of Elul, after \add working on it\add* for 52 days.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 16 When all of our enemies learned that we had completed the rebuilding in such a short time, they realized that our God must have helped \add us\add*. This made the people in the countries around us lose all of their confidence.
|
||
\v 17 During this time, the leading citizens of Judah were writing many letters to Tobiah \add to give him information about me\add*, and he was sending letters back to them \add with instructions\add*.
|
||
\v 18 Tobiah was married to the daughter of \add a powerful and influential member of the community,\add* Shecaniah the son of Arah. His son Jehohanan was married to the daughter of \add another powerful and influential man,\add* Meshullam the son of Berechiah. And so, for those reasons, many people in Judah had sworn oaths to \add be loyal to\add* Tobiah.
|
||
\v 19 \add The people who were loyal to Tobiah\add* would also \add come and\add* tell me what good things he was doing, and then they would report to him everything I said \add in response\add*. Tobiah also sent me many letters to try to make me afraid.
|
||
\c 7
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 1 Once we had finished rebuilding the wall and we had put the doors in the gates, we assigned the gatekeepers and singers and Levites to their tasks.
|
||
\v 2 I appointed two men to \add help me\add* govern Jerusalem, my brother Hanani and Hananiah, the commander of the fortress \add in Jerusalem\add*. I appointed Hananiah because he was trustworthy, and because he showed God more reverence and respect than most people do.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 3 I told them, “Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until broad daylight. \add That way we will be able to see anything our enemies are doing.\add* Have the gatekeepers close \add the gates\add* and put the bars across the doors while they are still guarding \add the gates before they go home for the night\add*.” I also told them, “Have the men who live in Jerusalem take turns keeping watch in their own neighborhoods.”
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 4 The city of Jerusalem covered a large area, but \add at that time\add* not many people lived in the city, and they had not yet built houses \add for themselves\add*.
|
||
\v 5 So \add as a first step towards filling Jerusalem with people again\add*, God led me to gather together the leading citizens and the city officials and the other people \add living in the city\add* to register them according to their family histories. I also found a book containing the records of the first group of people who had returned \add to Jerusalem\add* from the exile. This is what those records said.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 6 “These are \add the names of\add* the people from Judah who returned home from exile. Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had taken \add their ancestors\add* away \add to Babylon\add*. But they returned to Jerusalem and to \add other places in\add* Judah. They returned to the \add same\add* towns where their \add ancestors had lived\add*.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 7 The people who came back were following Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. \p \add This is a list of\add* the number of men from \add each\add* Israelite \add clan who returned\add*:
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 8 2172 men from \add the clan of\add* Parosh;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 9 372 men from \add the clan of\add* Shephatiah;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 10 652 men from \add the clan of\add* Arah;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 11 2818 men from \add the clan of\add* Pahath-Moab, who are descendants of Jeshua and Joab;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 12 1254 men from \add the clan of\add* Elam;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 13 845 men from \add the clan of\add* Zattu;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 14 760 men from \add the clan of\add* Zakkai;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 15 648 men from \add the clan of\add* Binnui;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 16 628 men from \add the clan of\add* Bebai;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 17 2322 men from \add the clan of\add* Azgad;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 18 667 men from \add the clan of\add* Adonikam;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 19 2067 men from \add the clan of\add* Bigvai;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 20 655 men from \add the clan of\add* Adin;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 21 98 men from \add the clan of\add* Ater who were descendants of Hezekiah;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 22 328 men from \add the clan of\add* Hashum;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 23 324 men from \add the clan of\add* Bezai;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 24 112 men from \add the clan of\add* Hariph;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 25 95 men from \add the clan of\add* Gibeon.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 26 \add Some other\add* men \add also returned, whose ancestors had lived in these towns\add*:
|
||
\p 188 men from Bethlehem and Netophah;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 27 128 men from Anathoth;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 28 42 men from Beth-Azmaveth;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 29 743 men from Kiriath-Jearim, Kephirah and Beeroth;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 30 621 men from Ramah and Geba;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 31 122 men from Michmas;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 32 123 men from Bethel and Ai;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 33 52 men from a \add small town\add* called Nebo;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 34 1254 men from a \add small town\add* called Elam;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 35 320 men from Harim;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 36 345 men from Jericho;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 37 721 men from Lod, Hadid, and Ono;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 38 3930 men from Senaah.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 39 These priests also returned:
|
||
\p 973 men from \add the clan of\add* Jedaiah who are descendants of Jeshua;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 40 1052 men from \add the clan of\add* Immer;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 41 1247 men from \add the clan of\add* Pashhur;
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 42 1017 men from \add the clan of\add* Harim.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 43 These Levites also returned:
|
||
\p 74 men from the clan of Jeshua and \add the clan of\add* Kadmiel, all of them descendants of Hodevah.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 44 148 members of the \add sacred\add* choir \add also returned\add*. All of them were from the clan of Asaph.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 45 138 \add temple\add* gatekeepers \add also returned\add*. They were from the clan of Shallum, the clan of Ater, the clan of Talmon, the clan of Akkub, the clan of Hatita, and the clan of Shobai.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 46 Some temple workers also returned. They were from the clan of Ziha, the clan of Hasupha, the clan of Tabbaoth,
|
||
\v 47 the clan of Keros, the clan of Sia, the clan of Padon,
|
||
\v 48 the clan of Lebanah, the clan of Hagabah, the clan of Shalmai,
|
||
\v 49 the clan of Hanan, the clan of Giddel, the clan of Gahar,
|
||
\v 50 the clan of Reaiah, the clan of Rezin, the clan of Nekoda,
|
||
\v 51 the clan of Gazzam, the clan of Uzza, the clan of Paseah,
|
||
\v 52 the clan of Besai, the clan of Meunim, the clan of Nephushesim,
|
||
\v 53 the clan of Bakbuk, the clan of Hakupha, the clan of Harhur,
|
||
\v 54 the clan of Bazlith, the clan of Mehida, the clan of Harsha,
|
||
\v 55 the clan of Barkos, the clan of Sisera, the clan of Temah,
|
||
\v 56 the clan of Neziah, and the clan of Hatipha.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 57 Some descendants of the laborers that King Solomon \add first conscripted also returned\add*. \p These were from the clan of Sotai, the clan of Sophereth, the clan of Perida,
|
||
\v 58 the clan of Jaalah, the clan of Darkon, the clan of Giddel,
|
||
\v 59 the clan of Shephatiah, the clan of Hattil, the clan of Pochereth-Hazzebaim, and the clan of Amon.
|
||
\v 60 Altogether, there were 392 descendants of the \add temple\add* workers and \add conscripted\add* laborers \add who returned\add*.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 61 Another group also returned \add that came from the towns of\add* Tel-Melah, Tel-Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer \add in Babylonia\add*. But they could not prove that they were descendants of Israelites.
|
||
\pi
|
||
\v 62 These 642 men were from the clan of Delaiah, the clan of Tobiah, and the clan of Nekoda.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 63 Some priests \add also returned who were\add* from the clan of Hobaiah, the clan of Hakkoz, and the clan of Barzillai. Barzillai had married a woman who was a descendant of a man named Barzillai from the region of Gilead. He had taken the family name of his wife.
|
||
\v 64 These \add priests\add* searched the records that contained the names of the Israelite ancestors, but they could not find the names of their families. \add They did not qualify to be priests because they could not trace their family history,\add* so they were not allowed to have \add the rights and duties of\add* priests.
|
||
\v 65 The governor told them that they must not eat any of the share of food taken from the sacrifices and kept for the priests. They would have to wait until the priest \add in charge of the temple\add* had begun his duties and could ask \add God\add* what to do \add about this situation\add*.
|
||
\v 66 Altogether, 42360 people \add returned to Judea\add*.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 67 There were also 7337 male servants and female servants, and 245 male singers and female singers.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 68 \add The Israelites also brought back from Babylonia\add* 736 horses, 245 mules,
|
||
\v 69 435 camels, and 6720 donkeys.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 70 Some of the leaders of the ancestral clans gave \add gifts\add* for the work \add of rebuilding the temple\add*.
|
||
\p The governor gave into the treasury more than 8 kilograms of gold, 50 bowls \add to be used in the temple\add*, and 530 robes for the priests.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 71 Some of the leaders of the ancestral clans also gave into the \add temple\add* treasury for the work \add of rebuilding the temple a total of\add* 153 kilograms of gold, and 1460 kilograms of silver.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 72 And the remainder of the people gave \add a total of\add* 153 kilograms of gold, 1330 kilograms of silver, and 67 robes for the priests.”
|
||
\v 73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the \add temple\add* workers, and many ordinary people \add started to\add* live in the \add towns and\add* cities \add of Judea where\add* their \add ancestors had lived\add*. All these people were Israelites. By the seventh month \add all of\add* the Israelites had gone to their cities and had started living in them.
|
||
\c 8
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 1 A huge crowd of people gathered together in the plaza that was near the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the scroll of the law that Moses \add had written down\add*, and which Yahweh had given to the people of Israel \add for them to obey its rules and commands\add*.
|
||
\v 2 Ezra the priest, \add who served God by offering sacrifices in the temple,\add* brought out the law \add and presented it\add* before all the people, to both men and women, and \add children\add* who were old enough to understand what he read. He did this on the first day of the seventh month \add of that year\add*.
|
||
\v 3 So he read aloud from the book in the plaza that was near the Water Gate throughout the whole morning. He read it in front of all the people, both men and women and \add children\add* who \add were old enough\add* to understand what he read. And all the people listened carefully to the laws that were written \add on the scroll\add*.
|
||
\v 4 Ezra the scribe stood on top of a \add high\add* wooden platform that the people had built for this purpose. At his right side stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. At his left side stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
|
||
\v 5 Ezra \add stood on the platform\add* above all the people so that everyone could see him. He opened the scroll, and as he did that all the people stood up.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 6 Then Ezra praised Yahweh, the great God, and all the people lifted up their hands \add to show that they were praying with him\add*. \add At the end of his prayer\add* they said, “We agree!” Then they all bowed down with their faces touching the ground, and they worshiped Yahweh.
|
||
\v 7 Then Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, who were all Levites, explained the meaning of the laws \add of Moses\add* to the people who were standing there.
|
||
\v 8 They read clearly from the scroll of the law of God, and they explained what it meant, so that the people understood what \add Ezra and the others\add* were reading.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 9 Then the people began to cry from sadness when they heard what the law said. So Nehemiah (who was the governor), Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were explaining the meaning to the people, said to all the people, “Today is a festival day on which you are supposed to worship Yahweh your God. Do not mourn or cry!”
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 10 Then Nehemiah said to them, “\add Now\add* go home, eat some good food, and drink something sweet. And share some of it with those who are not able to afford \add rich food and drink\add*, because today is a holy day set apart \add to worship\add* our Lord. So do not grieve, because the joy that Yahweh gives will strengthen you.”
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 11 The Levites also told the people \add who were crying\add* to stop, saying, “Today is a holy day! So, shhh. Do not grieve.”
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 12 So all the people went \add home\add* to eat and drink and share what they had. And they were very happy, because they understood \add the meaning of\add* the words that \add Ezra had read and\add* the others had explained to them.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 13 On the next day, the clan leaders of all the people and the priests and the Levites met together with Ezra the scribe. They wanted \add to study\add* carefully what was written in the law \add that Yahweh had given to Moses\add*. They wanted to understand it \add better\add*.
|
||
\v 14 They learned that the law said that Yahweh had told Moses to command the Israelite people to live in shelters during a festival in the seventh month. \add This was so that they would remember that their ancestors had lived in shelters when they walked in the wilderness after leaving Egypt.\add*
|
||
\v 15 \add They\add* also \add learned\add* that they should publicly proclaim, in all their towns and in Jerusalem, that the people should go into the hills and cut branches. These should be from olive trees, wild olive trees, myrtle trees, palm trees, and shade trees. They must bring these branches and make shelters \add to live in during the festival\add*. That was what the scroll instructed.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 16 So the people went out \add of the towns and cut branches\add* and brought \add them\add* to make shelters for themselves. They built shelters on the \add flat\add* roofs \add of their houses\add*, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the temple, in the plaza near the Water Gate, and in the plaza near the Ephraim Gate.
|
||
\v 17 All of the Israelite people who had returned from Babylon built shelters and lived in them \add for one week\add*. Now the Israelite people had never celebrated \add that festival\add* like this since Joshua the son of Nun \add led them into this territory\add*. This was the \add first\add* time they were doing it. And the people were very happy.
|
||
\v 18 Every day during that week \add Ezra\add* read aloud \add to the people\add* from the scroll of the law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days. On the eighth day, they called for all the people to come together \add so they could hold a ceremony to bring the festival to an end\add*. That was what the scroll instructed.
|
||
\c 9
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 1 Two days later, the Israelite people gathered together again. \add To show that they were sorry for their sins,\add* they went without food, they wore \add clothes made from\add* rough cloth, and they put dirt on their \add heads\add*.
|
||
\v 2 The descendants of Israel separated themselves away from all the descendants of foreigners. They stood there and confessed their own sins and the wicked things their ancestors had done.
|
||
\v 3 They stood in place and \add listened to someone\add* read from the scroll of the law of Yahweh their God for three hours. Then for another three hours they confessed their sins and bowed down and worshiped Yahweh their God.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 4 \add Some of\add* the Levites stood up on the stairs, including Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, another \add man\add* named Bani, and Kenani. And they cried out \add sorrowfully\add* in a loud voice to Yahweh their God.
|
||
\v 5 Then some Levites spoke. They were named Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah.
|
||
\p They said, “Stand up and praise Yahweh your God, who has always \add lived\add* and will \add live\add* forever! Yahweh, we praise your glorious name! Your name is more important than everything else that is good and wonderful!
|
||
\v 6 You are Yahweh, and no one else. You made the heavens that are above everything, and all that lives in the heavens \add above the earth\add*. You made the earth and everything that is on it, and you made the seas and everything that is in them. You are the one who causes all living things to be alive. Everything that \add lives\add* in the heavens \add above the earth\add* worships you.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 7 You are Yahweh! You are the God who chose Abram and brought him out of \add the city of\add* Ur, where the Chaldean people \add lived\add*. You changed his name to Abraham.
|
||
\v 8 You saw that he was faithful to you in his inner being. You made a promise to him \add pledged with blood\add*, promising that you would give a land \add to him\add* and to his descendants. This was the land where the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites \add lived\add*. And you did what you promised, because you \add always\add* do what is right.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 9 You saw how \add the Egyptians\add* mistreated our ancestors in Egypt. You heard them cry out \add to you for help\add* when they were beside the Red Sea.
|
||
\v 10 You knew that \add the leaders of Egypt\add* were treating \add our ancestors\add* very arrogantly. So you performed miracles for Pharaoh and his officials and all the people of Egypt. \add These proved you are the true God.\add* You made yourself famous, and you are still famous!
|
||
\v 11 You divided the sea in front of \add your people Israel\add*, and they \add walked\add* through the middle of the sea on dry land. But you drowned \add the soldiers of the Egyptian army\add* under the waters. They sank as a stone sinks in deep water!
|
||
\v 12 During the day you led \add your people\add* by a cloud \add that looked like a huge\add* pillar. At night you led them by a fire \add that looked like a huge\add* pillar. It shone on the path in front of them to show them where they should walk.
|
||
\v 13 When \add our ancestors\add* were at Sinai Mountain, you appeared to them and spoke to them from heaven. You gave them honest instructions and trustworthy laws. You gave them good rules and commands.
|
||
\v 14 You taught them about your Sabbath \add day of rest\add*. It is set apart \add from the other days of the week\add*. You gave commands and rules and laws for the people by your servant Moses.
|
||
\v 15 When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven. When they were thirsty, you gave them water from a rock. You told them to go and take the land \add of Canaan\add*, which you had promised with a vow to give them.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 16 But our ancestors were proud and stubborn. They refused to obey what you commanded them \add to do\add*.
|
||
\v 17 They refused to obey you. They did not consider all the miracles that you had performed for them. They became stubborn and rebelled against you. They appointed a leader to take \add them\add* back \add to Egypt\add*, where they would be slaves \add again\add*! But you are a God who forgives us. You act kindly and mercifully \add toward us\add*. You do not become angry quickly. Instead, you faithfully love \add us\add* very much. So you did not leave \add our ancestors\add* alone \add in the desert\add*.
|
||
\v 18 Indeed \add you did not leave them alone\add*, even though they made an idol for themselves \add that resembled\add* a calf. They said \add about the idol\add*, ‘This is our god, who brought us up out of Egypt.’ By doing that they insulted you greatly.
|
||
\v 19 But because you always act mercifully, you did not leave them alone in the desert. During the daytime, the cloud \add that looked like a huge\add* pillar above them continued to lead them in the way \add you wanted them to go\add*. And during the night, the fire \add that looked like a huge\add* pillar shone on the path in front of them to show them where to walk.
|
||
\v 20 You gave them your good Spirit to instruct them. You continued to give them manna when they were hungry, and you gave them water when they were thirsty.
|
||
\v 21 For forty years you took care of them in the desert. During all that time, they had everything they needed. Their clothes did not wear out. Their feet did not swell up, \add even though they were continually walking\add*.
|
||
\v 22 You helped \add our ancestors\add* to defeat \add the armies of great\add* kings \add who ruled\add* many people. \add By doing that,\add* you allowed \add our ancestors\add* to settle in every part \add of this land\add*. They took over the land that King Sihon ruled from \add the city of\add* Heshbon and the land that King Og ruled in the Bashan \add area\add*.
|
||
\v 23 You gave so many children to \add our ancestors\add* that they were like the stars \add in the sky\add*. You brought them into this land, which you had told their parents to enter and take for themselves \add so that they could live there\add*.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 24 Their children went in and took the land. You enabled them to defeat the people who were living there. They were \add the descendants of\add* Canaan. You enabled them to conquer their kings and all the people who \add lived\add* there. They were able to do whatever they wanted to those people.
|
||
\v 25 \add Our ancestors\add* captured cities that had walls around them. They took possession of fertile fields. They took possession of houses that were already full of all kinds of good things, and wells that someone had already dug. They took possession of many vineyards and groves of olive trees and fruit trees. They ate all that they wanted and became fat. They enjoyed \add all\add* the many good things you did \add for them\add*.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 26 But they turned against you. They rejected your law. They killed the prophets who warned them that they should return to \add obeying\add* you. They \add said and\add* did very evil things \add against you\add*.
|
||
\v 27 So you allowed their enemies to defeat them. But when their enemies caused them to suffer, they called out to you. You heard them from heaven, and because you are very merciful, you sent them people to help them. Those \add leaders\add* rescued them from their enemies.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 28 But when there was \add a time of\add* peace \add again\add*, \add our ancestors\add* again did evil things that you \add hated\add*. So you allowed their enemies to conquer \add them\add* and rule over them. But \add whenever\add* they returned to you and cried out to you again \add to help them\add*, you heard them from heaven. You rescued them many times, because you \add always\add* act mercifully.
|
||
\v 29 You warned them that they should return to \add obeying\add* your laws \add again\add*. But they became proud \add and stubborn\add*. They would not listen to your commands. They sinned by disobeying your decrees, even though a person lives by obeying them. They purposely ignored what you commanded them to do. They became stubborn and refused to obey.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 30 You were patient with them for a long time. You warned them by \add the messages\add* your Spirit gave to your prophets. But they did not listen \add to those messages\add*. So again you allowed \add the armies\add* of the nations nearby to defeat them.
|
||
\v 31 But because you act very mercifully, you did not destroy them completely. You never left them alone. Yes, you are a very gracious and merciful God!
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 32 Our God, you are great and mighty and awesome! You \add always\add* fulfill \add your\add* promises and \add always\add* faithfully love \add us\add*! So now \add we are praying\add*: Do not ignore all our difficulties. Consider all the troubles that our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all of your people have experienced. We have been experiencing these troubles since \add the armies of\add* the kings of Assyria \add conquered us\add* until now. We are still experiencing them today.
|
||
\v 33 \add We know that\add* you have acted fairly in \add letting\add* all these things happen to us. Yes, you have treated \add us\add* as \add we\add* deserve. But we have done evil things.
|
||
\v 34 \add In the past,\add* our kings, our leaders, our priests and our \add other\add* ancestors did not obey your laws. They did not listen to your commands or the warnings that you gave them.
|
||
\v 35 They had their own kings. They \add enjoyed\add* the many good things that you provided in this large and fertile land that you gave them. But \add even then,\add* they did not serve you. They would not stop doing evil things.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 36 Consider our situation! Today we \add live like\add* slaves here in this land that you gave to our ancestors. You gave them this land so that they could enjoy all the good things that grow here. But consider us now! We are \add like\add* slaves on this land.
|
||
\v 37 The kings whom you have allowed to rule over us are enjoying \add all\add* the good things that grow here. This is because we have sinned. They rule over our bodies and our cattle. They do whatever they please. We feel great distress.
|
||
\v 38 Because of all this, we \add the Israelite people\add* are making a solemn agreement. We are writing it on a scroll. We will write down \add the names of\add* our leaders, our Levites, and our priests. Then we will seal the scroll.”
|
||
\c 10
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 1 These are \add the names of\add* the people who signed the agreement:
|
||
\p Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hakaliah; Zedekiah the scribe.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 2 \add The priests who signed the agreement included:\add*
|
||
\p Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
|
||
\v 3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah,
|
||
\v 4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluk,
|
||
\v 5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
|
||
\v 6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
|
||
\v 7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
|
||
\v 8 Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. Those are \add the names of\add* the priests \add who signed the agreement\add*.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 9 The Levites \add who signed the agreement\add* were: \p Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui from the clan of Henadad, Kadmiel,
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 10 \add Some of\add* their associates also \add signed the agreement, including\add*: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
|
||
\q
|
||
\v 11 Mika, Rehob, Hashabiah,
|
||
\v 12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
|
||
\v 13 Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 14 The Israelite leaders \add who signed the agreement\add* were: \p Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, and Bani,
|
||
\v 15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
|
||
\v 16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
|
||
\v 17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,
|
||
\v 18 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
|
||
\v 19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
|
||
\v 20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
|
||
\v 21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,
|
||
\v 22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
|
||
\v 23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,
|
||
\v 24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
|
||
\v 25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
|
||
\v 26 also Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
|
||
\v 27 Malluk, Harim, and Baanah.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 28 The rest of the people \add joined in this solemn agreement. This included\add* the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, and the \add temple\add* workers. \add It also included\add* everyone who agreed only to worship and obey the God of Israel, along with their wives and their sons and daughters who were \add old enough\add* to understand what they were \add doing\add*.
|
||
\v 29 They \add all\add* joined with their leaders, who were important people, and together they all made a solemn agreement to obey \add all\add* the laws that God had given by Moses his servant. They agreed that they would strictly obey everything that Yahweh our God had commanded, yes, \add all of\add* his instructions.
|
||
\v 30 This is what \add they promised to do\add*: “We will not give our daughters \add in marriage\add* to people \add who live\add* in this land \add who do not worship Yahweh\add*. We will not allow our sons to marry their daughters.
|
||
\v 31 People from other groups \add who live\add* in this land might bring merchandise and all kinds of food to sell on Sabbath days. But we will not buy anything from them on a Sabbath \add day\add* or any other sacred day. Every seventh year, we will let \add the fields\add* rest \add and not plant any crops. That same year\add* we will not make anyone pay back \add anything they owe\add* to another person.
|
||
\v 32 We each also agreed to a pledge that \add every\add* year we would pay 4 grams of silver for the \add supplies\add* needed for the temple.
|
||
\v 33 \add Here is a list of those supplies.\add* The \add sacred\add* bread that is placed \add before God\add*. The grain that is \add burned on the altar\add* each day. \add The animals that\add* are completely burned up \add on the altar\add* each day. The sacred offerings for the Sabbath days and for celebrating each new moon and other \add festivals\add* that \add God\add* told \add us to celebrate\add*. \add Other\add* offerings that are dedicated \add to God\add*. \add The animals\add* to be sacrificed to atone for the sins of the Israelite people. Anything else \add that is needed\add* for the work of \add taking care of\add* the temple.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 34 We have cast lots to determine when each clan of the priests, the Levites, and \add the rest of\add* the people will bring an offering of wood to the temple. Each clan will do this at an appointed time every year. \add The Levites will use\add* the wood to burn \add the sacrifices\add* on the altar that belongs to Yahweh our God. He commanded this in the law \add he gave through Moses\add*.
|
||
\v 35 We will also bring \add an offering\add* to the temple every year from the first \add grain\add* that we \add harvest\add* and from all the first fruit that \add grows on\add* all our trees.
|
||
\v 36 We will also do something else that God commanded. We will bring our firstborn sons to the temple \add for dedication\add*, and our firstborn calves and lambs and goats \add as sacrifices\add*, to the priests who minister in the temple.
|
||
\v 37 We will also bring supplies to the priests that \add they\add* can store in the temple. These will include the first grain that we \add harvest\add*, the first flour we \add make\add*, the first fruit from all \add our\add* trees, and the first wine and olive oil \add that we produce\add*. We will also bring 10 percent of our harvest to the Levites. We will allow them to collect this 10 percent right in all the towns where we work.
|
||
\v 38 A priest, one of the descendants of Aaron, will be with the Levites \add and supervise\add* them when they collect that 10 percent. Then the Levites must bring 10 percent of what they have received to the temple. \add The priests will put it\add* in the storerooms and it will support \add them\add*.
|
||
\v 39 That is how it will work. The Israelites and the Levites will bring their offerings of grain, wine, and olive oil to those storerooms. That is where \add the priests\add* will store the equipment for the temple. And that is where \add they will keep the food supplies\add* for the priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers who are serving at that time.
|
||
\p We promise that we will keep taking care of the temple.”
|
||
\c 11
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 1 So the \add Israelite\add* leaders settled in Jerusalem \add with their families\add*. The rest of the people cast lots to select one family out of ten to live in Jerusalem. That was the city set apart \add for God\add*. The remaining nine families lived in the \add other\add* towns.
|
||
\v 2 The people \add asked God to\add* bless all those who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.
|
||
\b
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 3 These are \add the names of\add* the provincial officials who settled in Jerusalem. But in the towns of Judah, everyone lived on his own family property in their towns. This included the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of the servants of Solomon.
|
||
\v 4 But some of the people of Judah and some of the people of Benjamin stayed and lived in Jerusalem.
|
||
\p Here are \add the names of\add* the leaders who lived in Jerusalem.
|
||
\p From the descendants of Judah, one of them was Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, a descendant of Perez.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 5 Another one was Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Kol-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, who was one of the descendants of Shelah.
|
||
\v 6 Altogether 468 men who were descendants of Perez lived in \add the city of\add* Jerusalem. These men were \add very\add* brave and skilled in combat.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 7 These are the descendants of Benjamin \add who decided to live in Jerusalem\add*.
|
||
\p One of them was 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 Jeshaiah.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 8 Two men who assisted him were Gabbai and Sallai. Altogether 928 people \add from the tribe of Benjamin settled in Jerusalem\add*.
|
||
\v 9 Their leader was Joel the son of Zichri. Judah the son of Hassenuah was \add the official who was\add* second in command in Jerusalem.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 10 The priests \add who settled in Jerusalem\add* included Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, and Jachin.
|
||
\v 11 Another priest was Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub. He was in charge of the temple.
|
||
\v 12 Another 822 of their associates \add settled in Jerusalem and\add* performed work for the temple. Another priest \add who settled in Jerusalem\add* was Adaiah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malkijah.
|
||
\v 13 Another 242 of his associates, including the leaders of their ancestral clans, \add settled in Jerusalem\add*. \add Another priest who settled there\add* was Amashsai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer.
|
||
\v 14 Another 128 of their associates who were strong men \add settled in Jerusalem\add*. Their leader was Zabdiel the son of Haggedolim.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 15 One of the Levites \add who settled in Jerusalem\add* was Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni.
|
||
\v 16 Two others were Shabbethai and Jozabad, who supervised the work outside the temple and were leaders of the Levites.
|
||
\v 17 Another Levite \add who settled in Jerusalem\add* was Mattaniah, who directed the temple choir when they sang the prayers to thank God. He was the son of Mika, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph. His assistant choir director was Bakbukiah. Another Levite was Abda, the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.
|
||
\v 18 Altogether, 284 Levites settled in \add Jerusalem\add*, the city set apart \add for God\add*.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 19 The gatekeepers \add who settled in Jerusalem\add* included Akkub, Talmon, and 172 of their associates who kept watch at the gates.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 20 The rest of the Israelite people, including the priests and the Levites, all lived on their own property in all the other towns in Judea.
|
||
\v 21 The \add temple\add* workers lived on Ophel \add Hill in Jerusalem\add*; and Ziha and Gishpa supervised them.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 22 The man who supervised the Levites who lived in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mika. Uzzi was one of the descendants of Asaph. These were the singers responsible for the music in the temple \add services\add*.
|
||
\v 23 Now the king \add of Persia\add* had said \add that his kingdom would provide support\add* for the singers. The king had said to give them whatever they needed to maintain the singing in the temple services.
|
||
\v 24 Pethahiah was the \add ambassador\add* to the king \add of Persia\add* for any matter pertaining to the \add Israelites\add*. He was the son of Meshezabel, who was one of the descendants of Zerah, the son of Judah.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 25 Some of the descendants of Judah did not settle in Jerusalem. They lived in \add towns and\add* villages near their farms. These included \add the city of\add* Kiriath-Arba and its neighboring villages, \add the city of\add* Dibon and its neighboring villages, and \add the town of\add* Jekabzeel and its neighboring villages.
|
||
\v 26 \add Some descendants of Judah\add* also \add lived\add* in \add the town of\add* Jeshua, \add the town of\add* Moladah, \add the town of\add* Beth-Pelet,
|
||
\v 27 \add the town of\add* Hazar-Shual, and \add the city of\add* Beersheba and its neighboring villages.
|
||
\v 28 \add Some\add* also \add lived\add* in \add the town of\add* Ziklag, \add the town of\add* Mekonah and its neighboring villages,
|
||
\v 29 \add the town of\add* En-Rimmon, \add the town of\add* Zora, \add the town of\add* Jarmuth,
|
||
\v 30 \add the towns of\add* Zanoah and Adullam and the nearby villages, \add the city of\add* Lachish and the nearby farms, and \add the town of\add* Azekah and the nearby villages.
|
||
\p \add All of\add* those people settled \add in the territory of Judah, in the area\add* between Beersheba \add in the south\add* and the Valley of Hinnom \add in the north\add*.
|
||
\v 31 Some people who were descendants of Benjamin \add settled in these cities and towns\add*: Geba, Michmas, Aija, Bethel and its neighboring villages,
|
||
\v 32 Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,
|
||
\v 33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,
|
||
\v 34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,
|
||
\v 35 Lod, and Ono the Valley of Craftsmen.
|
||
\v 36 Some Levites who had previously lived in \add the territory of\add* Judah \add went and settled\add* in \add the land that had belonged to the old tribe of\add* Benjamin.
|
||
\c 12
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 1 These are \add the names of\add* the priests and Levites who returned \add from Babylonia\add* with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and with Joshua \add the Supreme Priest\add*. The priests included Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
|
||
\v 2 Amariah, Malluk, Hattush,
|
||
\v 3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
|
||
\v 4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,
|
||
\v 5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
|
||
\v 6 Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah,
|
||
\v 7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. \m All those men were leaders of the priests, their associates, during the time when Joshua \add was the Supreme Priest\add*.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 8 The Levites \add who returned\add* included Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah. Mattaniah and his associates led \add the people in singing songs\add* to thank \add God\add*.
|
||
\v 9 Their associates Bakbukiah and Unni \add stood\add* opposite them during the worship services \add and led a choir that sang responses\add*.
|
||
\v 10 Joshua \add the Supreme Priest\add* was the father of Joiakim. Joiakim was the father of Eliashib. Eliashib was the father of Joiada.
|
||
\v 11 Joiada was the father of Jonathan. Jonathan was the father of Jaddua.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 12 When Joiakim was \add the Supreme Priest\add*, these priests were the leaders of their clans. Meraiah was the leader of the clan of Seraiah. Hananiah was the leader of the clan of Jeremiah.
|
||
\v 13 Meshullam was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Ezra. \q Jehohanan was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Amariah.
|
||
\q
|
||
\v 14 Jonathan was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Malluchi. Joseph was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Shecaniah.
|
||
\v 15 Adna was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Harim. Helkai was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Meraioth.
|
||
\v 16 Zechariah was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Iddo. Meshullam was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Ginnethon.
|
||
\v 17 Zichri was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Abijah. Piltai was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Miniamin and \add the clan\add* of Moadiah.
|
||
\v 18 Shammua was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Bilgah. Jehonathan was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Shemaiah.
|
||
\v 19 Mattenai was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Joiarib. Uzzi was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Jedaiah.
|
||
\v 20 Kallai was the \add leader of the clan\add* of Sallai. \q Eber was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Amok.
|
||
\q
|
||
\v 21 Hashabiah was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Hilkiah. Nethanel was \add the leader of the clan\add* of Jedaiah.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 22 \add Some scribes\add* wrote down \add the names of\add* the clan leaders of the Levites during the time when Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua were \add Supreme Priests\add*. They wrote down \add the names of\add* the clan leaders of the priests when Darius was king of Persia.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 23 \add Scribes\add* recorded \add the names of\add* the clan leaders of the Levites in their record books up until the time when Johanan the descendant of Eliashib was \add the Supreme Priest\add*.
|
||
\v 24 Hashabiah, Serebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel were Levite leaders \add who directed one choir\add*. Their associates \add stood\add* opposite them \add directing another choir\add*. The singers praised \add God\add* and gave thanks \add to him\add*, with one group facing the other. This was what King David, the man who served God faithfully, had instructed.
|
||
\v 25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers. They \add stood\add* guard at the storerooms near the gates.
|
||
\v 26 They did that \add work\add* during the time when Joiakim, the son of Jeshua and grandson of Jozadak, was \add the Supreme Priest\add*. They did it \add again\add* during the time when Nehemiah \add served\add* as governor and Ezra \add served\add* as priest and scribe.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 27 When \add we\add* dedicated the wall around Jerusalem, we summoned the Levites from all the places \add where\add* they were \add living\add*. We brought them to Jerusalem to assist in dedicating the wall by rejoicing and giving thanks and by singing \add accompanied by\add* cymbals and harps and other stringed instruments.
|
||
\v 28 We summoned the Levites who \add were used to\add* singing \add together\add*. They came to Jerusalem from nearby areas where they had settled around the city. They also came from places around \add the village of\add* Netophah \add southeast of Jerusalem\add*.
|
||
\v 29 They also came from \add three places northeast of\add* Jerusalem, Beth-Gilgal and the areas around Geba and Azmaveth. \add We summoned\add* those singers because they had built villages to live in near Jerusalem.
|
||
\v 30 The priests and Levites performed rituals to make themselves acceptable \add to God\add*. Then they performed \add similar\add* rituals to purify the other people, the gates, and the wall.
|
||
\v 31 Then I gathered the leaders of Judah together on top of the wall. I assigned them \add to lead\add* two large groups that would march \add around the city\add* on top of the wall, thanking \add God\add*. \add As they faced the city, one group\add* walked to the right toward the Rubbish Gate.
|
||
\v 32 Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah marched behind that group.
|
||
\v 33 \add The people who marched with that group\add* included Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,
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\v 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah.
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\v 35 Some descendants of the priests \add also marched with that group\add* playing musical instruments. They included Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph.
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\v 36 Some associates \add of Zechariah\add* also \add marched and played musical instruments\add*. They included Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani. They all were playing \add the same kinds of\add* musical instruments that King David, the man who served God faithfully, \add had told the Levite musicians to play many years previously\add*. Ezra the scribe \add marched\add* in front of this group.
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\v 37 When the people in this group reached the Fountain Gate, they went up the steps that were in front of them to \add the area known as\add* the City of David. Then they went along the top of the wall past the location of the \add royal\add* palace of David, and then to the Water Gate, on the east \add side of the temple\add*.
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\v 38 The other group of those who were \add singing and\add* thanking \add Yahweh\add* marched to the left on top of the wall. I followed them with half of the people. We marched past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall.
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\v 39 From there \add we marched\add* past the Ephraim Gate, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred Soldiers to the Sheep Gate. We finished marching near a gate that \add leads into the temple area\add*.
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\v 40 Both of the groups \add reached\add* the temple \add as they were singing and\add* giving thanks. They stood \add in their places there\add*. I was there with the half of the city officials who had come with me.
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\v 41 \add My group\add* included the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah. All of them were blowing trumpets.
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\v 42 \add Others who were blowing trumpets\add* included Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang with Jezrahiah who was their leader.
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\v 43 The people offered many sacrifices that day. They \add all\add* rejoiced because God had made them very happy. The women and the children rejoiced along with the men, so the sound of the celebration in Jerusalem was so loud that people far away could hear it.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 44 On that day \add we\add* appointed men to be in charge of the storerooms. That was where \add the priests\add* kept the money and the food and the grain and the tithes. \add The people\add* brought these things from the fields near the cities into the storerooms for the priests and the Levites, as Moses had commanded in the law. \add The people of\add* Judah did all this because they were so happy about the priests and the Levites serving \add in the temple\add*.
|
||
\v 45 The priests and the Levites served God by performing rituals to purify things. The singers and the gatekeepers also \add did their work\add* as King David and his son Solomon had declared they should.
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||
\v 46 \add We did all this\add* because that was how it was in the days of old, when David was \add king\add* and Asaph was \add in charge of the temple musicians\add*. There was someone to lead the singers, and they sang songs to praise and thank God.
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||
\v 47 During the time when Zerubbabel was \add the governor\add*, the people all contributed the food that the singers and temple gatekeepers needed each day. They did the same during the time when Nehemiah was \add the governor\add*. They gave a tenth \add of their crops\add* to the Levites, and the Levites gave a tenth \add of that\add* to the priests, who were descendants of Aaron, \add the first Supreme Priest\add*.
|
||
\c 13
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 1 Then someone read out loud to the people from a scroll \add that contained the law that God gave to\add* Moses. They learned that the \add law\add* said that no one from the Ammonite or Moabite \add people groups\add* should ever join the \add Israelite\add* people \add when they gathered together to worship God\add*.
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||
\v 2 \add The law said this\add* because \add the people of Ammon and the people of Moab\add* did not give any food or water to the Israelites \add while they were traveling through their areas after leaving Egypt\add*. Instead, they paid Balaam to get him to curse the Israelites. But our God turned that attempt to curse Israel into a blessing.
|
||
\v 3 So the people obeyed that law. They sent away all the people whose ancestors had come from other countries.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 4 When he became the \add Supreme\add* Priest, Eliashib got control of the storerooms in the temple. Now he was related to Tobiah.
|
||
\v 5 He allowed \add Tobiah\add* to have a large room in which the priests used to store supplies. These included the grain offerings and the incense, the equipment for the temple, and the tithes of grain and wine and olive oil. \add God\add* had commanded \add the people to bring\add* these to the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers. This room had also held the offerings for the priests.
|
||
\v 6 During that time I was not in Jerusalem, because in the thirty-second year that Artaxerxes was the king of Babylonia, I had gone back \add to report to the king what I had been doing\add*. After I had been there a while, I asked the king to allow me to return \add to Jerusalem\add*.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 7 When I arrived in Jerusalem, I discovered the evil thing that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by allowing him to use this room in the temple area.
|
||
\v 8 That grieved me very much. I threw everything that belonged to Tobiah out of that room.
|
||
\v 9 Then I commanded \add the priests to perform a ritual to cleanse\add* that room and make it pure again. I also \add ordered\add* the equipment for the temple and the grain offerings and incense \add to be\add* put back in that room \add where they belonged\add*.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 10 I also learned that the singers and the other Levites who were responsible for the \add temple\add* services had left Jerusalem. They had returned to their own fields because the people had stopped giving them \add 10 percent of their\add* harvests, \add since Tobiah had occupied the storeroom\add*.
|
||
\v 11 So I rebuked the city officials. I told them, “You have neglected \add the work of\add* the temple!” Then I brought \add the Levites and the singers\add* back to the temple and told them to do their work \add again\add*.
|
||
\v 12 Then all \add the people of\add* Judah started bringing their tithes of grain, wine, and olive oil to the \add temple\add* storerooms \add once again\add*.
|
||
\v 13 I appointed some \add men\add* to be in charge of the storerooms. They were Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah the Levite. I also appointed Hanan the son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah to assist them. I appointed these \add men\add* because \add everyone\add* knew that they were trustworthy and would distribute \add the offerings fairly\add* to their associates.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 14 “My God, please bless me for this. Yes, bless me for the good things that I have done for your temple and for the temple services!”
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 15 During that time, I saw \add some people\add* in Judea \add who were working\add* on the Sabbath day. Some were pressing grapes to make wine. Others were taking their grain and loading it on donkeys. Others were also loading \add bags of\add* wine, baskets of grapes, figs, and many other things onto donkeys and bringing them into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. I warned them not to sell \add food to the people of Judea\add* on \add Sabbath\add* days.
|
||
\v 16 I also saw some people from \add the city of\add* Tyre who were living there in \add Jerusalem\add* bringing fish and other things into Jerusalem to sell to the people of Judah on the Sabbath day.
|
||
\v 17 So I rebuked the Jewish leading citizens. I said to them, “This is a very evil thing that you are doing! You are making the Sabbath day into something \add God never wanted\add* it to be.
|
||
\v 18 You know that your ancestors did these same things, and God \add punished\add* our nation \add by\add* bringing great trouble to this city! But \add now\add* you too are breaking \add the laws\add* for the Sabbath day. You are going to cause \add God\add* to be angry with \add the nation of\add* Israel \add again\add*. \add He will punish us\add* even more!”
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 19 So I commanded \add the gatekeepers\add* to shut the doors of the gates of the city when it started to get dark on Friday evening. I commanded them not to open the gates until Saturday evening. I also stationed some of my men at the gates \add so they would make sure that\add* no one brought things to sell into \add the city in between those times\add*, on the Sabbath day.
|
||
\v 20 One or two times traders and merchants selling all kinds of things camped outside the city on the night \add before the Sabbath day\add*. \add They were hoping\add* to sell \add something the next day\add*.
|
||
\v 21 I warned them. I said to them, “It is useless for you to camp here outside the walls on Friday night. If you do this again, I will arrest you by force!” After that, they did not come on Sabbath days.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 22 I also commanded the Levites to \add perform a ritual to\add* purify themselves and then \add take up stations\add* to guard the city gates. I wanted them to ensure that Sabbath days were kept holy \add by not allowing merchants to enter the city on that holy day\add*. \p “My God, please bless me for doing this too! And be kind to me, because your kindness is so great.”
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 23 During that time, I also learned that many of the Jewish men had married women from \add the city of\add* Ashdod, and from the Ammonite and Moabite \add people groups\add*.
|
||
\v 24 So half of their children spoke a foreign language, and they did not know how to speak Hebrew. They spoke whatever language \add their\add* foreign \add parent spoke\add*.
|
||
\v 25 So I rebuked those men. I \add asked God\add* to curse them. I struck some of them \add with my fists\add*. I pulled out their hair. Then I forced them to make a solemn promise, knowing that God was listening. I made them promise that they would \add never\add* again allow their daughters to marry foreign men. I also made them promise that they and their sons would not marry foreign women.
|
||
\v 26 \add I said to them,\add* “You know that Solomon, the king of Israel, sinned as a result of \add marrying foreign women who worshiped idols\add*! You know that he was greater than any of the kings of other nations. God loved him, and God set him as the king over all \add the people of\add* Israel. But his foreign wives caused even him to sin!
|
||
\v 27 \add I am grieved\add* to hear this about you! You have married foreign wives \add who worship idols\add*. You have commited a great sin against our God!”
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 28 A man who was a son of Joiada and a grandson of Eliashib the Supreme Priest had married the daughter of \add our enemy\add* Sanballat the Horonite. So I forced this man to leave \add Jerusalem\add*.
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 29 “My God, these \add men\add* have brought shame to the priesthood. \add They have broken\add* the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites. Punish them as they deserve!”
|
||
\p
|
||
\v 30 I took away everything from \add the priests\add* that came from other nations and religions. I also established regulations for the priests and for the Levites \add so they would know\add* what work each of them was supposed to do.
|
||
\v 31 \add I\add* also \add arranged\add* for the people to bring their offerings of wood at the set times \add to burn on the altar\add*, and to bring the first part of what they harvested \add of each crop during the year\add*. \p “My God, please consider that I \add have done all these things\add*, and bless me \add for doing them\add*.” |