Nehemiah 12-13
Priests and Levites
These are athe priests and the Levites who came up with bZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and cJeshua: dSeraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, 5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua.
8 And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his brothers was ain charge of the songs of thanksgiving. 9 And Bakbukiah and Unni and their brothers stood opposite them ain the service. 10 And Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim the father of Eliashib, Eliashib the father of Joiada, 11 Joiada the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jaddua.
12 aAnd in the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers’ houses: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; 14 of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; 15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; 16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; 17 of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; 18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; 19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; 20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; 21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22 In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the Levites were recorded as heads of fathers’ houses; so too were the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 As for the sons of Levi, their heads of fathers’ houses awere written in the Book of the Chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. 24 And the chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and aJeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers who stood opposite them, bto praise and to give thanks, caccording to the commandment of David dthe man of God, ewatch by watch. 25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at athe storehouses of the gates. 26 These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and in the days of aNehemiah the governor and of aEzra, the priest and scribe.
Dedication of the Wall
27 And at athe dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, bwith cymbals, harps, and lyres. 28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites; 29 also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. 30 And the priests and the Levites apurified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.
31 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. aOne went to the south on the wall to bthe Dung Gate. 32 And after them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah, 33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, 35 and certain of the priests’ sons awith trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph; 36 and his relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, awith the musical instruments of David bthe man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. 37 At athe Fountain Gate they went up straight before them by bthe stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to cthe Water Gate on the east.
38 aThe other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people, on the wall, above bthe Tower of the Ovens, to cthe Broad Wall, 39 and above athe Gate of Ephraim, and by bthe Gate of Yeshanah, and by cthe Fish Gate and dthe Tower of Hananel and dthe Tower of the Hundred, to ethe Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at fthe Gate of the Guard. 40 So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me; 41 and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, awith trumpets; 42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader. 43 And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.
Service at the Temple
44 aOn that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. 45 And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, aaccording to the command of David and his son Solomon. 46 For long ago in the days of David and aAsaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the adaily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; band they set apart that which was for the Levites; cand the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.
Nehemiah’s Final Reforms
On that day athey read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written bthat no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, 2 for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 As soon as the people heard the law, athey separated from Israel all bthose of foreign descent.
4 Now before this, aEliashib the priest, who bwas appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to cTobiah, 5 prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, awhich were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. 6 While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for ain the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes bking of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king 7 and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, apreparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 8 And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9 Then I gave orders, and they acleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.
10 I also found out that athe portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each bto his field. 11 aSo I confronted the officials and said, b“Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. 12 Then all Judah brought athe tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13 And aI appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan the son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, bfor they were considered reliable, and their duty was to distribute to their brothers. 14 aRemember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.
15 In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses aon the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, bwhich they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And cI warned them on the day when they sold food. 16 Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself! 17 aThen I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, bprofaning the Sabbath day? 18 aDid not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
19 As soon as it abegan to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. 21 aBut I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. 22 Then I commanded the Levites athat they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy. bRemember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.
23 In those days also I saw the Jews awho had married women bof Ashdod, cAmmon, and cMoab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. 25 aAnd I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. bAnd I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 aDid not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? bAmong the many nations there was no king like him, and he was cbeloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and aact treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?”
28 And one of the sons of aJehoiada, the son of bEliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of cSanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me. 29 aRemember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood band the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
30 aThus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; 31 and I provided afor the wood offering bat appointed times, and for the firstfruits.
cRemember me, O my God, for good.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway,
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