Ch 12-13 edits/corrections

16-NEH.usfm

@@ -924,8 +924,7 @@ These are from the relatives of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, who was the so
 \v 32 Behind their leaders marched Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah.
 \v 33 Those who followed after them were Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,
 \v 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah,
-\v 35 and some of the priests' sons who played their trumpets, including Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah,
-the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, a descendant of Asaph.
+\v 35 and some of the priests' sons who played their trumpets, including Zechariah the son of Jonathan, who was the son of Shemaiah, who was the son of Mattaniah, who was the son of Micaiah, who was the son of Zakkur, who was a descendant of Asaph.
 
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 \v 36 Behind them marched other members of Zechariah's family, including Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani. They all were playing the same kinds of musical instruments that King David had played many years previously. Ezra, the man who knew the Jewish laws very well, marched in front of this group.
@@ -933,21 +932,21 @@ the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, a descendant of Asaph.
 
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-\v 38 The other choir who were singing and thanking Yahweh 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.
-\v 39 From there we marched past Ephraim Gate, Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, the Tower of the Hundred Soldiers, to the Sheep Gate. We finished marching near the gate into the temple.
+\v 38 The other choir of people who were singing and thanking Yahweh 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.
+\v 39 From there we marched past Ephraim Gate, Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred Soldiers, to the Sheep Gate. We finished marching near the gate into the temple.
 
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 \v 40 Both the groups reached the house of God as they were singing and thanking him. They stood in their places there. I and the leaders who were with me also stood in our places.
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 \v 41 My group included the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with their trumpets.
-\v 42 There was another named Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang with Jezrahiah who was their leader.
+\v 42 It also included another Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang with Jezrahiah, who was their leader.
 
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 \v 43 After we went outside the temple, we offered many sacrifices. We men all rejoiced because God had caused us to be very happy. The women and the children also rejoiced. People far away could hear the noise that we made there in Jerusalem.
 
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-\v 44 On that day men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms where they kept the money that people gave for the temple. They also were in charge of the tithes and the first part of the grain and fruit that was harvested each year. They also brought into the storerooms a part of the harvest from the fields for the priests and the descendants of Levi. This was done because the people of Judah were so happy to have servants serving in the house of Yahweh.
+\v 44 On that day, men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms where they kept the money that people gave for the temple. They also were in charge of the tithes and the first part of the grain and fruit that was harvested each year. They also brought into the storerooms a part of the harvest from the fields for the priests and the descendants of Levi. This was done because the people of Judah were so happy to have servants serving in the house of Yahweh.
 \v 45 The priests and Levites were serving Yahweh in their rituals to purify things, and the musicians in the temple and the gatekeepers also did their work as King David and his son Solomon had declared that they should do.
 
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@@ -957,7 +956,7 @@ the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, a descendant of Asaph.
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-\v 1 On that day the priests read and the people listened, and the passage was read with the laws God gave Moses that said no Amonite or Moabite was ever to be allowed to come into the place where God's people worship.
+\v 1 On that day, the priests read and the people listened to the laws that God gave to Moses. The priests read the passage that said no Ammonite or Moabite was ever to be allowed to come into the place where God's people worship.
 \v 2 The reason for that was that the people of Ammon and the people of Moab did not give any food or water to the Israelites while the Israelites were going through their areas after they left Egypt. Instead, the people of Ammon and Moab paid money to Balaam to influence him to curse the Israelites. But God turned that attempt to curse Israel into a blessing.
 \v 3 So when the people heard these laws being read to them, they sent away all the people whose ancestors had come from other countries.
 
@@ -968,7 +967,7 @@ the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, a descendant of Asaph.
 
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-\v 6 During that time I was not in Jerusalem. It was the thirty-second year that Artaxerxes was the king of Babylonia, and I had gone back to report to the king what I had been doing. After I had been there a while, I requested the king to allow me to return to Jerusalem.
+\v 6 During that time, I was not in Jerusalem. It was the thirty-second year that Artaxerxes was the king of Babylonia, and I had gone back to report to the king what I had been doing. After I had been there a while, I requested the king to allow me to return to Jerusalem.
 \v 7 When I returned, I found out that Eliashib had done an evil thing. He let Tobiah take over a storeroom in the very house of God for his own use.
 
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@@ -977,13 +976,13 @@ the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, a descendant of Asaph.
 
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-\v 10 I also found out that the temple musicians and other Levites had left Jerusalem and returned to their fields, because the people of Israel had not been bringing into the storerooms the food they needed.
+\v 10 I also found out that the temple musicians and other Levites had left Jerusalem and returned to their fields because the people of Israel had not been bringing into the storerooms the food they needed.
 \v 11 So I rebuked the officials, saying to them, "Why have you not taken care of the services to be held in the temple? So I got them together and put them back at their stations.
 
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 \v 12 Then all the people of Judah again started to bring to the temple storerooms their tithes of grain, wine, and olive oil.
-\v 13 I appointed these men to be in charge of the storerooms. Shelemiah the priest, Zadok, an expert in the Jewish laws, and Pedaiah, a descendant of Levi. I appointed Hanan son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah to assist them. I knew that I could trust those men to distribute the offerings fairly to their fellow workers.
+\v 13 I appointed these men to be in charge of the storerooms: Shelemiah the priest; Zadok, an expert in the Jewish laws; and Pedaiah, a descendant of Levi. I appointed Hanan son of Zakkur and grandson of Mattaniah to assist them. I knew that I could trust those men to distribute the offerings fairly to their fellow workers.
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 \v 14 My God, do not forget all these good deeds that I have done for your temple and for the work that is done there!
 
@@ -993,38 +992,38 @@ the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, a descendant of Asaph.
 
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 \v 16 I also saw some people from Tyre who were living there in Jerusalem who were bringing fish and other things into Jerusalem to sell to the people of Judea on the Sabbath day.
-\v 17 So I rebuked the Jewish leaders and told them, "This is a very evil thing that you are doing! You are making the Sabbath days into something God never wanted it to be.
-\v 18 Your ancestors did things like this, so God punished them. He allowed this city to be destroyed because of their sin! And now by breaking the laws for the Sabbath day, you are going to cause God to be angry with us, and he will punish us even more!"
+\v 17 So I rebuked the Jewish leaders and told them, "This is a very evil thing that you are doing! You are making the Sabbath day into something God never wanted it to be.
+\v 18 Your ancestors did things like this, so God punished them. He allowed this city to be destroyed because of their sin! And now, by breaking the laws for the Sabbath day, you are going to cause God to be angry with us, and he will punish us even more!"
 
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-\v 19 When it became dark at the gates of Jerusalem, I put some of my men there, so they would make sure that no one could bring any goods into the city to sell on that day.
+\v 19 When it became dark at the gates of Jerusalem, I put some of my men there so they would make sure that no one could bring any goods into the city to sell on that day.
 \v 20 The merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods and merchandise camped outside Jerusalem a few times on Friday evening when the Sabbath begins, hoping to sell something the next day.
 
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 \v 21 I warned them, "It is useless for you to stay here outside the walls on Friday night! If you do this again, I will take you and remove you myself!" So after that, they did not come on Sabbath days.
-\v 22 I also commanded the descendants of Levi to perform the ritual to purify themselves and to take up their stations to guard the City Gates, to make sure that the Sabbath was kept holy by not allowing merchants to enter it on that holy day.
-\p My God, do not forget what I have done for you! And be kind to me, as kind as your love is for me.
+\v 22 I also commanded the descendants of Levi to perform the ritual to purify themselves and to take up their stations to guard the city gates, to make sure that the Sabbath was kept holy by not allowing merchants to enter it on that holy day.
+\p My God, do not forget what I have done for you! And be kind to me, as kind as your love is for me!
 
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 \v 23 During that time, I also found out that many of the Jewish men had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
-\v 24 Half of their children spoke the language that people in Ashdod speak or some other language, and they did not know how to speak the language of Judah, only the language of the people where they lived.
+\v 24 Half of their children spoke the language that people in Ashdod spoke or some other language, and they did not know how to speak the language of Judah—only the language of the people where they lived.
 
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-\v 25 So I rebuked those men, and I asked God to curse them, and I struck some of them with my fists, and some of them I pulled out their hair! Then I forced them to make a solemn promise, knowing that God was listening, that they would never again marry foreigners and never allow their children to marry foreigners.
+\v 25 So I rebuked those men, and I asked God to curse them, and I struck some of them with my fists, and I pulled out the hair of some of them! Then I forced them to make a solemn promise, knowing that God was listening, that they would never again marry foreigners and never allow their children to marry foreigners.
 \v 26 I said to them, "Solomon, the king of Israel, sinned as a result of marrying foreign women. He was greater than any of the kings of other nations. God loved him and set him as the king over all the people of Israel. But his foreign wives caused even him to sin.
-\v 27 Do you think that we should do what you have done, you who married foreign wives, and do what we know is wrong, and commit a great sin against our God by marrying foreign women who worship idols?"
+\v 27 Do you think that we should do what you have done—you who married foreign wives—and do what we know is wrong and commit a great sin against our God by marrying foreign women who worship idols?"
 
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 \v 28 One of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the leader of all the priests, married the daughter of Sanballat. So I ran Joiada's son out of Jerusalem.
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-\v 29 My God, remember those who brought shame to the priesthood, and they broke the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites by what they have done!
+\v 29 My God, remember those who brought shame to the priesthood and who broke the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites by what they have done!
 
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-\v 30 I took away everything from them that was from other nations and religions, I also established regulations for the priests and descendants of Levi, so they would know what work each of them should do.
+\v 30 I took away everything from them that was from other nations and religions. I also established regulations for the priests and descendants of Levi so they would know what work each of them should do.
 \v 31 I made sure that there was wood to be burned on the altar at the set times and days. I also arranged for the people to bring into the storerooms the first portion of the harvest.
 \p My God, do not forget that I have done all these things, and bless me for doing them.