Nehemiah:8-13
Seeker Overlay ON
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And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate ;
and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses ,
which the LORD had commanded to Israel .
*
And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women ,
and all that could hear with understanding ,
upon the first day of the seventh month .
*
And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday ,
before the men and the women ,
and those that could understand ;
and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law .
*
And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood ,
which they had made for the purpose ;
and beside him stood Mattithiah ,
and Shema ,
and Anaiah ,
and Urijah ,
and Hilkiah ,
and Maaseiah ,
on his right hand ;
and on his left hand ,
Pedaiah ,
and Mishael ,
and Malchiah ,
and Hashum ,
and Hashbadana ,
Zechariah ,
and Meshullam .
*
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people ; (
for he was above all the people ;)
and when he opened it ,
all the people stood up :
*
And Ezra blessed the LORD ,
the great God .
And all the people answered ,
Amen ,
Amen ,
with lifting up their hands :
and they bowed their heads ,
and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground .
*
Also Jeshua ,
and Bani ,
and Sherebiah ,
Jamin ,
Akkub ,
Shabbethai ,
Hodijah ,
Maaseiah ,
Kelita ,
Azariah ,
Jozabad ,
Hanan ,
Pelaiah ,
and the Levites ,
caused the people to understand the law :
and the people stood in their place .
*
So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly ,
and gave the sense ,
and caused them to understand the reading .
*
And Nehemiah ,
which is the Tirshatha ,
and Ezra the priest the scribe ,
and the Levites that taught the people ,
said unto all the people ,
This day is holy unto the LORD your God ;
mourn not ,
nor weep .
For all the people wept ,
when they heard the words of the law .
*
Then he said unto them ,
Go your way ,
eat the fat ,
and drink the sweet ,
and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared :
for this day is holy unto our Lord :
neither be ye sorry ;
for the joy of the LORD is your strength .
*
So the Levites stilled all the people ,
saying ,
Hold your peace ,
for the day is holy ;
neither be ye grieved .
*
And all the people went their way to eat ,
and to drink ,
and to send portions ,
and to make great mirth ,
because they had understood the words that were declared unto them .
*
And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people ,
the priests ,
and the Levites ,
unto Ezra the scribe ,
even to understand the words of the law .
*
And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses ,
that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month :
*
And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities ,
and in Jerusalem ,
saying ,
Go forth unto the mount ,
and fetch olive branches ,
and pine branches ,
and myrtle branches ,
and palm branches ,
and branches of thick trees ,
to make booths ,
as it is written .
*
So the people went forth ,
and brought them ,
and made themselves booths ,
every one upon the roof of his house ,
and in their courts ,
and in the courts of the house of God ,
and in the street of the water gate ,
and in the street of the gate of Ephraim .
*
And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths ,
and sat under the booths :
for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so .
And there was very great gladness .
*
Also day by day ,
from the first day unto the last day ,
he read in the book of the law of God .
And they kept the feast seven days ;
and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly ,
according unto the manner .
*
Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting ,
and with sackclothes ,
and earth upon them .
*
And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers ,
and stood and confessed their sins ,
and the iniquities of their fathers .
*
And they stood up in their place ,
and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day ;
and another fourth part they confessed ,
and worshipped the LORD their God .
*
Then stood up upon the stairs ,
of the Levites ,
Jeshua ,
and Bani ,
Kadmiel ,
Shebaniah ,
Bunni ,
Sherebiah ,
Bani ,
and Chenani ,
and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God .
*
Then the Levites ,
Jeshua ,
and Kadmiel ,
Bani ,
Hashabniah ,
Sherebiah ,
Hodijah ,
Shebaniah ,
and Pethahiah ,
said ,
Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever :
and blessed be thy glorious name ,
which is exalted above all blessing and praise .
*
Thou ,
even thou ,
art LORD alone ;
thou hast made heaven ,
the heaven of heavens ,
with all their host ,
the earth ,
and all things that are therein ,
the seas ,
and all that is therein ,
and thou preservest them all ;
and the host of heaven worshippeth thee .
*
Thou art the LORD the God ,
who didst choose Abram ,
and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees ,
and gavest him the name of Abraham ;
*
And foundest his heart faithful before thee ,
and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites ,
the Hittites ,
the Amorites ,
and the Perizzites ,
and the Jebusites ,
and the Girgashites ,
to give it ,
I say ,
to his seed ,
and hast performed thy words ;
for thou art righteous :
*
And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt ,
and heardest their cry by the Red sea ;
*
And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh ,
and on all his servants ,
and on all the people of his land :
for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them .
So didst thou get thee a name ,
as it is this day .
*
And thou didst divide the sea before them ,
so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land ;
and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps ,
as a stone into the mighty waters .
*
Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar ;
and in the night by a pillar of fire ,
to give them light in the way wherein they should go .
*
Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai ,
and spakest with them from heaven ,
and gavest them right judgments ,
and true laws ,
good statutes and commandments :
*
And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath ,
and commandedst them precepts ,
statutes ,
and laws ,
by the hand of Moses thy servant :
*
And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger ,
and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst ,
and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them .
*
But they and our fathers dealt proudly ,
and hardened their necks ,
and hearkened not to thy commandments ,
*
And refused to obey ,
neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them ;
but hardened their necks ,
and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage :
but thou art a God ready to pardon ,
gracious and merciful ,
slow to anger ,
and of great kindness ,
and forsookest them not .
*
Yea ,
when they had made them a molten calf ,
and said ,
This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt ,
and had wrought great provocations ;
*
Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness :
the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day ,
to lead them in the way ;
neither the pillar of fire by night ,
to shew them light ,
and the way wherein they should go .
*
Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them ,
and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth ,
and gavest them water for their thirst .
*
Yea ,
forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness ,
so that they lacked nothing ;
their clothes waxed not old ,
and their feet swelled not .
*
Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations ,
and didst divide them into corners :
so they possessed the land of Sihon ,
and the land of the king of Heshbon ,
and the land of Og king of Bashan .
*
Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven ,
and broughtest them into the land ,
concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers ,
that they should go in to possess it .
*
So the children went in and possessed the land ,
and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land ,
the Canaanites ,
and gavest them into their hands ,
with their kings ,
and the people of the land ,
that they might do with them as they would .
*
And they took strong cities ,
and a fat land ,
and possessed houses full of all goods ,
wells digged ,
vineyards ,
and oliveyards ,
and fruit trees in abundance :
so they did eat ,
and were filled ,
and became fat ,
and delighted themselves in thy great goodness .
*
Nevertheless they were disobedient ,
and rebelled against thee ,
and cast thy law behind their backs ,
and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee ,
and they wrought great provocations .
*
Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies ,
who vexed them :
and in the time of their trouble ,
when they cried unto thee ,
thou heardest them from heaven ;
and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours ,
who saved them out of the hand of their enemies .
*
But after they had rest ,
they did evil again before thee :
therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies ,
so that they had the dominion over them :
yet when they returned ,
and cried unto thee ,
thou heardest them from heaven ;
and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies ;
*
And testifiedst against them ,
that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law :
yet they dealt proudly ,
and hearkened not unto thy commandments ,
but sinned against thy judgments , (
which if a man do ,
he shall live in them ;)
and withdrew the shoulder ,
and hardened their neck ,
and would not hear .
*
Yet many years didst thou forbear them ,
and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets :
yet would they not give ear :
therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands .
*
Nevertheless for thy great mercies '
sake thou didst not utterly consume them ,
nor forsake them ;
for thou art a gracious and merciful God .
*
Now therefore ,
our God ,
the great ,
the mighty ,
and the terrible God ,
who keepest covenant and mercy ,
let not all the trouble seem little before thee ,
that hath come upon us ,
on our kings ,
on our princes ,
and on our priests ,
and on our prophets ,
and on our fathers ,
and on all thy people ,
since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day .
*
Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us ;
for thou hast done right ,
but we have done wickedly :
*
Neither have our kings ,
our princes ,
our priests ,
nor our fathers ,
kept thy law ,
nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies ,
wherewith thou didst testify against them .
*
For they have not served thee in their kingdom ,
and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them ,
and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them ,
neither turned they from their wicked works .
*
Behold ,
we are servants this day ,
and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof ,
behold ,
we are servants in it :
*
And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins :
also they have dominion over our bodies ,
and over our cattle ,
at their pleasure ,
and we are in great distress .
*
And because of all this we make a sure covenant ,
and write it ;
and our princes ,
Levites ,
and priests ,
seal unto it .
*
Now those that sealed were ,
Nehemiah ,
the Tirshatha ,
the son of Hachaliah ,
and Zidkijah ,
*
Seraiah ,
Azariah ,
Jeremiah ,
*
Pashur ,
Amariah ,
Malchijah ,
*
Hattush ,
Shebaniah ,
Malluch ,
*
Harim ,
Meremoth ,
Obadiah ,
*
Daniel ,
Ginnethon ,
Baruch ,
*
Meshullam ,
Abijah ,
Mijamin ,
*
Maaziah ,
Bilgai ,
Shemaiah :
these were the priests .
*
And the Levites :
both Jeshua the son of Azaniah ,
Binnui of the sons of Henadad ,
Kadmiel ;
*
And their brethren ,
Shebaniah ,
Hodijah ,
Kelita ,
Pelaiah ,
Hanan ,
*
Micha ,
Rehob ,
Hashabiah ,
*
Zaccur ,
Sherebiah ,
Shebaniah ,
*
Hodijah ,
Bani ,
Beninu .
*
The chief of the people ;
Parosh ,
Pahathmoab ,
Elam ,
Zatthu ,
Bani ,
*
Bunni ,
Azgad ,
Bebai ,
*
Adonijah ,
Bigvai ,
Adin ,
*
Ater ,
Hizkijah ,
Azzur ,
*
Hodijah ,
Hashum ,
Bezai ,
*
Hariph ,
Anathoth ,
Nebai ,
*
Magpiash ,
Meshullam ,
Hezir ,
*
Meshezabeel ,
Zadok ,
Jaddua ,
*
Pelatiah ,
Hanan ,
Anaiah ,
*
Hoshea ,
Hananiah ,
Hashub ,
*
Hallohesh ,
Pileha ,
Shobek ,
*
Rehum ,
Hashabnah ,
Maaseiah ,
*
And Ahijah ,
Hanan ,
Anan ,
*
Malluch ,
Harim ,
Baanah .
*
And the rest of the people ,
the priests ,
the Levites ,
the porters ,
the singers ,
the Nethinims ,
and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God ,
their wives ,
their sons ,
and their daughters ,
every one having knowledge ,
and having understanding ;
*
They clave to their brethren ,
their nobles ,
and entered into a curse ,
and into an oath ,
to walk in God '
s law ,
which was given by Moses the servant of God ,
and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord ,
and his judgments and his statutes ;
*
And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land ,
nor take their daughters for our sons :
*
And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell ,
that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath ,
or on the holy day :
and that we would leave the seventh year ,
and the exaction of every debt .
*
Also we made ordinances for us ,
to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God ;
*
For the shewbread ,
and for the continual meat offering ,
and for the continual burnt offering ,
of the sabbaths ,
of the new moons ,
for the set feasts ,
and for the holy things ,
and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel ,
and for all the work of the house of our God .
*
And we cast the lots among the priests ,
the Levites ,
and the people ,
for the wood offering ,
to bring it into the house of our God ,
after the houses of our fathers ,
at times appointed year by year ,
to burn upon the altar of the LORD our God ,
as it is written in the law :
*
And to bring the firstfruits of our ground ,
and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees ,
year by year ,
unto the house of the LORD :
*
Also the firstborn of our sons ,
and of our cattle ,
as it is written in the law ,
and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks ,
to bring to the house of our God ,
unto the priests that minister in the house of our God :
*
And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough ,
and our offerings ,
and the fruit of all manner of trees ,
of wine and of oil ,
unto the priests ,
to the chambers of the house of our God ;
and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites ,
that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage .
*
And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites ,
when the Levites take tithes :
and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God ,
to the chambers ,
into the treasure house .
*
For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn ,
of the new wine ,
and the oil ,
unto the chambers ,
where are the vessels of the sanctuary ,
and the priests that minister ,
and the porters ,
and the singers :
and we will not forsake the house of our God .
*
And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem :
the rest of the people also cast lots ,
to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city ,
and nine parts to dwell in other cities .
*
And the people blessed all the men ,
that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem .
*
Now these are the chief of the province that dwelt in Jerusalem :
but in the cities of Judah dwelt every one in his possession in their cities ,
to wit ,
Israel ,
the priests ,
and the Levites ,
and the Nethinims ,
and the children of Solomon '
s servants .
*
And at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the children of Judah ,
and of the children of Benjamin .
Of the children of Judah ;
Athaiah the son of Uzziah ,
the son of Zechariah ,
the son of Amariah ,
the son of Shephatiah ,
the son of Mahalaleel ,
of the children of Perez ;
*
And Maaseiah the son of Baruch ,
the son of Colhozeh ,
the son of Hazaiah ,
the son of Adaiah ,
the son of Joiarib ,
the son of Zechariah ,
the son of Shiloni .
*
All the sons of Perez that dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred threescore and eight valiant men .
*
And these are the sons of Benjamin ;
Sallu the son of Meshullam ,
the son of Joed ,
the son of Pedaiah ,
the son of Kolaiah ,
the son of Maaseiah ,
the son of Ithiel ,
the son of Jesaiah .
*
And after him Gabbai ,
Sallai ,
nine hundred twenty and eight .
*
And Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer :
and Judah the son of Senuah was second over the city .
*
Of the priests :
Jedaiah the son of Joiarib ,
Jachin .
*
Seraiah the son of Hilkiah ,
the son of Meshullam ,
the son of Zadok ,
the son of Meraioth ,
the son of Ahitub ,
was the ruler of the house of God .
*
And their brethren that did the work of the house were eight hundred twenty and two :
and Adaiah the son of Jeroham ,
the son of Pelaliah ,
the son of Amzi ,
the son of Zechariah ,
the son of Pashur ,
the son of Malchiah ,
*
And his brethren ,
chief of the fathers ,
two hundred forty and two :
and Amashai the son of Azareel ,
the son of Ahasai ,
the son of Meshillemoth ,
the son of Immer ,
*
And their brethren ,
mighty men of valour ,
an hundred twenty and eight :
and their overseer was Zabdiel ,
the son of one of the great men .
*
Also of the Levites :
Shemaiah the son of Hashub ,
the son of Azrikam ,
the son of Hashabiah ,
the son of Bunni ;
*
And Shabbethai and Jozabad ,
of the chief of the Levites ,
had the oversight of the outward business of the house of God .
*
And Mattaniah the son of Micha ,
the son of Zabdi ,
the son of Asaph ,
was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer :
and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren ,
and Abda the son of Shammua ,
the son of Galal ,
the son of Jeduthun .
*
All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred fourscore and four .
*
Moreover the porters ,
Akkub ,
Talmon ,
and their brethren that kept the gates ,
were an hundred seventy and two .
*
And the residue of Israel ,
of the priests ,
and the Levites ,
were in all the cities of Judah ,
every one in his inheritance .
*
But the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel :
and Ziha and Gispa were over the Nethinims .
*
The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani ,
the son of Hashabiah ,
the son of Mattaniah ,
the son of Micha .
Of the sons of Asaph ,
the singers were over the business of the house of God .
*
For it was the king '
s commandment concerning them ,
that a certain portion should be for the singers ,
due for every day .
*
And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel ,
of the children of Zerah the son of Judah ,
was at the king '
s hand in all matters concerning the people .
*
And for the villages ,
with their fields ,
some of the children of Judah dwelt at Kirjatharba ,
and in the villages thereof ,
and at Dibon ,
and in the villages thereof ,
and at Jekabzeel ,
and in the villages thereof ,
*
And at Jeshua ,
and at Moladah ,
and at Bethphelet ,
*
And at Hazarshual ,
and at Beersheba ,
and in the villages thereof ,
*
And at Ziklag ,
and at Mekonah ,
and in the villages thereof ,
*
And at Enrimmon ,
and at Zareah ,
and at Jarmuth ,
*
Zanoah ,
Adullam ,
and in their villages ,
at Lachish ,
and the fields thereof ,
at Azekah ,
and in the villages thereof .
And they dwelt from Beersheba unto the valley of Hinnom .
*
The children also of Benjamin from Geba dwelt at Michmash ,
and Aija ,
and Bethel ,
and in their villages ,
*
And at Anathoth ,
Nob ,
Ananiah ,
*
Hazor ,
Ramah ,
Gittaim ,
*
Hadid ,
Zeboim ,
Neballat ,
*
Lod ,
and Ono ,
the valley of craftsmen .
*
And of the Levites were divisions in Judah ,
and in Benjamin .
*
Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel ,
and Jeshua :
Seraiah ,
Jeremiah ,
Ezra ,
*
Amariah ,
Malluch ,
Hattush ,
*
Shechaniah ,
Rehum ,
Meremoth ,
*
Iddo ,
Ginnetho ,
Abijah ,
*
Miamin ,
Maadiah ,
Bilgah ,
*
Shemaiah ,
and Joiarib ,
Jedaiah ,
*
Sallu ,
Amok ,
Hilkiah ,
Jedaiah .
These were the chief of the priests and of their brethren in the days of Jeshua .
*
Moreover the Levites :
Jeshua ,
Binnui ,
Kadmiel ,
Sherebiah ,
Judah ,
and Mattaniah ,
which was over the thanksgiving ,
he and his brethren .
*
Also Bakbukiah and Unni ,
their brethren ,
were over against them in the watches .
*
And Jeshua begat Joiakim ,
Joiakim also begat Eliashib ,
and Eliashib begat Joiada ,
*
And Joiada begat Jonathan ,
and Jonathan begat Jaddua .
*
And in the days of Joiakim were priests ,
the chief of the fathers :
of Seraiah ,
Meraiah ;
of Jeremiah ,
Hananiah ;
*
Of Ezra ,
Meshullam ;
of Amariah ,
Jehohanan ;
*
Of Melicu ,
Jonathan ;
of Shebaniah ,
Joseph ;
*
Of Harim ,
Adna ;
of Meraioth ,
Helkai ;
*
Of Iddo ,
Zechariah ;
of Ginnethon ,
Meshullam ;
*
Of Abijah ,
Zichri ;
of Miniamin ,
of Moadiah ,
Piltai ;
*
Of Bilgah ,
Shammua ;
of Shemaiah ,
Jehonathan ;
*
And of Joiarib ,
Mattenai ;
of Jedaiah ,
Uzzi ;
*
Of Sallai ,
Kallai ;
of Amok ,
Eber ;
*
Of Hilkiah ,
Hashabiah ;
of Jedaiah ,
Nethaneel .
*
The Levites in the days of Eliashib ,
Joiada ,
and Johanan ,
and Jaddua ,
were recorded chief of the fathers :
also the priests ,
to the reign of Darius the Persian .
*
The sons of Levi ,
the chief of the fathers ,
were written in the book of the chronicles ,
even until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib .
*
And the chief of the Levites :
Hashabiah ,
Sherebiah ,
and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel ,
with their brethren over against them ,
to praise and to give thanks ,
according to the commandment of David the man of God ,
ward over against ward .
*
Mattaniah ,
and Bakbukiah ,
Obadiah ,
Meshullam ,
Talmon ,
Akkub ,
were porters keeping the ward at the thresholds of the gates .
*
These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua ,
the son of Jozadak ,
and in the days of Nehemiah the governor ,
and of Ezra the priest ,
the scribe .
*
And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places ,
to bring them to Jerusalem ,
to keep the dedication with gladness ,
both with thanksgivings ,
and with singing ,
with cymbals ,
psalteries ,
and with harps .
*
And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together ,
both out of the plain country round about Jerusalem ,
and from the villages of Netophathi ;
*
Also from the house of Gilgal ,
and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth :
for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem .
*
And the priests and the Levites purified themselves ,
and purified the people ,
and the gates ,
and the wall .
*
Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall ,
and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks ,
whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate :
*
And after them went Hoshaiah ,
and half of the princes of Judah ,
*
And Azariah ,
Ezra ,
and Meshullam ,
*
Judah ,
and Benjamin ,
and Shemaiah ,
and Jeremiah ,
*
And certain of the priests '
sons with trumpets ;
namely ,
Zechariah the son of Jonathan ,
the son of Shemaiah ,
the son of Mattaniah ,
the son of Michaiah ,
the son of Zaccur ,
the son of Asaph :
*
And his brethren ,
Shemaiah ,
and Azarael ,
Milalai ,
Gilalai ,
Maai ,
Nethaneel ,
and Judah ,
Hanani ,
with the musical instruments of David the man of God ,
and Ezra the scribe before them .
*
And at the fountain gate ,
which was over against them ,
they went up by the stairs of the city of David ,
at the going up of the wall ,
above the house of David ,
even unto the water gate eastward .
*
And the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them ,
and I after them ,
and the half of the people upon the wall ,
from beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall ;
*
And from above the gate of Ephraim ,
and above the old gate ,
and above the fish gate ,
and the tower of Hananeel ,
and the tower of Meah ,
even unto the sheep gate :
and they stood still in the prison gate .
*
So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God ,
and I ,
and the half of the rulers with me :
*
And the priests ;
Eliakim ,
Maaseiah ,
Miniamin ,
Michaiah ,
Elioenai ,
Zechariah ,
and Hananiah ,
with trumpets ;
*
And Maaseiah ,
and Shemaiah ,
and Eleazar ,
and Uzzi ,
and Jehohanan ,
and Malchijah ,
and Elam ,
and Ezer .
And the singers sang loud ,
with Jezrahiah their overseer .
*
Also that day they offered great sacrifices ,
and rejoiced :
for God had made them rejoice with great joy :
the wives also and the children rejoiced :
so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off .
*
And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures ,
for the offerings ,
for the firstfruits ,
and for the tithes ,
to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the law for the priests and Levites :
for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited .
*
And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God ,
and the ward of the purification ,
according to the commandment of David ,
and of Solomon his son .
*
For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chief of the singers ,
and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God .
*
And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel ,
and in the days of Nehemiah ,
gave the portions of the singers and the porters ,
every day his portion :
and they sanctified holy things unto the Levites ;
and the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron .
*
On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people ;
and therein was found written ,
that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever ;
*
Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water ,
but hired Balaam against them ,
that he should curse them :
howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing .
*
Now it came to pass ,
when they had heard the law ,
that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude .
*
And before this ,
Eliashib the priest ,
having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God ,
was allied unto Tobiah :
*
And he had prepared for him a great chamber ,
where aforetime they laid the meat offerings ,
the frankincense ,
and the vessels ,
and the tithes of the corn ,
the new wine ,
and the oil ,
which was commanded to be given to the Levites ,
and the singers ,
and the porters ;
and the offerings of the priests .
*
But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem :
for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king ,
and after certain days obtained I leave of the king :
*
And I came to Jerusalem ,
and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah ,
in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God .
*
And it grieved me sore :
therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber .
*
Then I commanded ,
and they cleansed the chambers :
and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God ,
with the meat offering and the frankincense .
*
And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them :
for the Levites and the singers ,
that did the work ,
were fled every one to his field .
*
Then contended I with the rulers ,
and said ,
Why is the house of God forsaken ?
And I gathered them together ,
and set them in their place .
*
Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries .
*
And I made treasurers over the treasuries ,
Shelemiah the priest ,
and Zadok the scribe ,
and of the Levites ,
Pedaiah :
and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur ,
the son of Mattaniah :
for they were counted faithful ,
and their office was to distribute unto their brethren .
*
Remember me ,
O my God ,
concerning this ,
and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God ,
and for the offices thereof .
*
In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath ,
and bringing in sheaves ,
and lading asses ;
as also wine ,
grapes ,
and figs ,
and all manner of burdens ,
which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day :
and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals .
*
There dwelt men of Tyre also therein ,
which brought fish ,
and all manner of ware ,
and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah ,
and in Jerusalem .
*
Then I contended with the nobles of Judah ,
and said unto them ,
What evil thing is this that ye do ,
and profane the sabbath day ?
*
Did not your fathers thus ,
and did not our God bring all this evil upon us ,
and upon this city ?
yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath .
*
And it came to pass ,
that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath ,
I commanded that the gates should be shut ,
and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath :
and some of my servants set I at the gates ,
that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day .
*
So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice .
*
Then I testified against them ,
and said unto them ,
Why lodge ye about the wall ?
if ye do so again ,
I will lay hands on you .
From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath .
*
And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves ,
and that they should come and keep the gates ,
to sanctify the sabbath day .
Remember me ,
O my God ,
concerning this also ,
and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy .
*
In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod ,
of Ammon ,
and of Moab :
*
And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod ,
and could not speak in the Jews '
language ,
but according to the language of each people .
*
And I contended with them ,
and cursed them ,
and smote certain of them ,
and plucked off their hair ,
and made them swear by God ,
saying ,
Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons ,
nor take their daughters unto your sons ,
or for yourselves .
*
Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things ?
yet among many nations was there no king like him ,
who was beloved of his God ,
and God made him king over all Israel :
nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin .
*
Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil ,
to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives ?
*
And one of the sons of Joiada ,
the son of Eliashib the high priest ,
was son in law to Sanballat the Horonite :
therefore I chased him from me .
*
Remember them ,
O my God ,
because they have defiled the priesthood ,
and the covenant of the priesthood ,
and of the Levites .
*
Thus cleansed I them from all strangers ,
and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites ,
every one in his business ;
*
And for the wood offering ,
at times appointed ,
and for the firstfruits .
Remember me ,
O my God ,
for good .
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