Nehemiah 8-13

Nehemiah 8

¹And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the broad place 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.

²And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation, both men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.

³And he read therein before the broad place that was before the water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women, and of those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.

⁴And 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 Uriah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchijah, and Hashum, and Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

⁵And 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:

⁶and Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with the lifting up of their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

⁷Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.

⁸And they read in the book, in the law of God, distinctly; and they gave the sense, so that they understood the reading.

⁹And Nehemiah, which was 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.

¹⁰Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto him for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye grieved; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

¹¹So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.

¹²And 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.

¹³And on the second day were gathered together the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to give attention to the words of the law.

¹⁴And they found written in the law, how that the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:

¹⁵and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and branches of wild olive, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.

¹⁶So 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 broad place of the water gate, and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim.

¹⁷And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and dwelt in 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.

¹⁸Also 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 ordinance.

Nehemiah 9

¹Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth upon them.

²And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

³And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God a fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God.

⁴Then 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.

⁵Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

⁶Thou art the LORD, even thou alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are thereon, the seas and all that is in them, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.

⁷Then 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;

⁸and foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, even to give it unto his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous.

⁹And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red Sea;

¹⁰and 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; and didst get thee a name, as it is this day.

¹¹And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their pursuers thou didst cast into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.

¹²Moreover thou leddest them in a pillar of cloud by day; and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.

¹³Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments:

¹⁴and madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them commandments, and statutes, and a law, by the hand of Moses thy servant:

¹⁵and gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and commandedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst lifted up thine hand to give them.

¹⁶But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their neck, and hearkened not to thy commandments,

¹⁷and refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their neck, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy, and forsookest them not.

¹⁸Yea, 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;

¹⁹yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud departed not from over 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.

²⁰Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.

²¹Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.

²²Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and peoples, which thou didst allot after their portions: so they possessed the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.

²³Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou didst say to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.

²⁴So 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 peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would.

²⁵And they took fenced cities, and a fat land and possessed houses full of good things, cisterns hewn out, 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.

²⁶Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their back, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them again unto thee, and they wrought great provocations.

²⁷Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours who saved them out of the hand of their adversaries.

²⁸But 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 from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;

²⁹and 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.

³⁰Yet many years didst thou bear with them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit through thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

³¹Nevertheless in thy manifold mercies thou didst not make a full end of them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

³²Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the travail 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.

³³Howbeit thou art just in all that is come upon us; for thou hast dealt truly, but we have done wickedly:

³⁴neither 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.

³⁵For 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.

³⁶Behold, we are servants this day, and as for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it.

³⁷And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have power over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

³⁸And yet for all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, our Levites, and our priests, seal unto it.

Nehemiah 10

¹Now those that sealed were, Nehemiah the Tirshatha, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah;

²Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah;

³Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah;

⁴Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch;

⁵Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah;

⁶Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch;

⁷Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin;

⁸Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah: these were the priests.

⁹And the Levites: namely, Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel;

¹⁰and their brethren, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan;

¹¹Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah;

¹²Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah;

¹³Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.

¹⁴The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani;

¹⁵Bunni, Azgad, Bebai;

¹⁶Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin;

¹⁷Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur;

¹⁸Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai;

¹⁹Hariph, Anathoth, Nobai;

²⁰Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir;

²¹Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua;

²²Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah;

²³Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub;

²⁴Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek;

²⁵Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah;

²⁶and Ahiah, Hanan, Anan;

²⁷Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

²⁸And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinim, and all they that had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one that had knowledge and understanding;

²⁹They 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 to do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes;

³⁰and that we would not give our daughters unto the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons:

³¹and if the peoples of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy of them on the sabbath, or on a holy day: and that we would forgo the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.

³²Also 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;

³³for the shewbread, and for the continual meal 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 atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.

³⁴And we cast lots, the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn upon the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law:

³⁵and to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all manner of trees, year by year, unto the house of the LORD:

³⁶also 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:

³⁷and that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our heave offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, the wine and the oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites; for they, the Levites, take the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.

³⁸And 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.

³⁹For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the heave offering of the corn, of the wine, and of 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.

Nehemiah 11

¹And the princes of the people dwelt in Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts in the other cities.

²And the people blessed all the men that willingly offered themselves to dwell in Jerusalem.

³Now these are the chiefs 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 Nethinim, and the children of Solomon’s servants.

⁴And in 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 Mahalalel, of the children of Perez;

⁵and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of the Shilonite.

⁶All the sons of Perez that dwelt in Jerusalem were four hundred threescore and eight valiant men.

⁷And 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 Jeshaiah.

⁸And after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred twenty and eight.

⁹And Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer: and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second over the city.

¹⁰Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin,

¹¹Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God,

¹²and their brethren that did the work of the house, 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 Pashhur, the son of Malchijah,

¹³and his brethren, chiefs of fathers’ houses, two hundred forty and two: and Amashsai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer,

¹⁴and their brethren, mighty men of valour, an hundred twenty and eight: and their overseer was Zabdiel, the son of Haggedolim.

¹⁵And of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni;

¹⁶and Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who had the oversight of the outward business of the house of God;

¹⁷and Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, who was the chief 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.

¹⁸All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred fourscore and four.

¹⁹Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren, that kept watch at the gates, were an hundred seventy and two.

²⁰And the residue of Israel, of the priests, the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance.

²¹But the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel: and Ziha and Gishpa were over the Nethinim.

²²The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica, of the sons of Asaph, the singers, over the business of the house of God.

²³For there was a commandment from the king concerning them, and a settled provision for the singers, as every day required.

²⁴And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people.

²⁵And for the villages, with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt in Kiriath-arba and the towns thereof, and in Dibon and the towns thereof, and in Jekabzeel and the villages thereof;

²⁶and in Jeshua, and in Moladah, and Beth-pelet;

²⁷and in Hazar-shual, and in Beer-sheba and the towns thereof;

²⁸and in Ziklag, and in Meconah and in the towns thereof;

²⁹and in En-rimmon, and in Zorah, and in Jarmuth;

³⁰Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and the fields thereof, Azekah and the towns thereof. So they encamped from Beer-sheba unto the valley of Hinnom.

³¹The children of Benjamin also dwelt from Geba onward, at Michmash and Aija, and at Beth-el and the towns thereof;

³²at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah;

³³Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim;

³⁴Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat;

³⁵Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen.

³⁶And of the Levites, certain courses in Judah were joined to Benjamin.

Nehemiah 12

¹Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra;

²Amariah, Malluch, Hattush;

³Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth;

⁴Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah;

⁵Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah;

⁶Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah;

⁷Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brethren in the days of Jeshua.

⁸Moreover the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, which was over the thanksgiving, he and his brethren.

⁹Also Bakbukiah and Unno, their brethren, were over against them in wards.

¹⁰And Jeshua begat Joiakim, and Joiakim begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begat Joiada,

¹¹and Joiada begat Jonathan, and Jonathan begat Jaddua.

¹²And in the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers’ houses: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;

¹³of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;

¹⁴of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;

¹⁵of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;

¹⁶of Iddo, Zechariah; of Gennethon, Meshullam;

¹⁷of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;

¹⁸of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;

¹⁹and of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;

²⁰of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;

²¹of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

²²The Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded heads of fathers’ houses: also the priests, in the reign of Darius the Persian.

²³The sons of Levi, heads of fathers’ houses, were written in the book of the chronicles, even until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.

²⁴And the chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over against them, to praise and give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, ward against ward.

²⁵Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the ward at the storehouses of the gates.

²⁶These 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.

²⁷And 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.

²⁸And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of the Netophathites;

²⁹also from Beth-gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem.

³⁰And the priests and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.

³¹Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies that gave thanks and went in procession; whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate:

³²and after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah,

³³and Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,

³⁴Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,

³⁵and certain of the priests’ sons with trumpets: 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;

³⁶and his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God; and Ezra the scribe was before them:

³⁷And by the fountain gate, and straight before 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.

³⁸And the other company of them that gave thanks went to meet them, and I after them, with the half of the people, upon the wall, above the tower of the furnaces, even unto the broad wall;

³⁹and above the gate of Ephraim, and by the old gate, and by the fish gate, and the tower of Hananel, and the tower of Hammeah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the gate of the guard.

⁴⁰So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God, and I, and the half of the rulers with me:

⁴¹and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets;

⁴²and Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer.

⁴³And they offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced; for God had made them rejoice with great joy; and the women also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.

⁴⁴And on that day were men appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the heave offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them, according to the fields of the cities, the portions appointed by the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited.

⁴⁵And they kept the ward of their God, and the ward of the purification, and so did the singers and the porters, according to the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son.

⁴⁶For in the days of David and Asaph of old there was a chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God.

⁴⁷And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, as every day required: and they sanctified for the Levites; and the Levites sanctified for the sons of Aaron.

Nehemiah 13

¹On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that an Ammonite and a Moabite should not enter into the assembly of God for ever;

²because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, to curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.

³And it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.

⁴Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being allied unto Tobiah,

⁵had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meal offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the wine, and the oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the heave offerings for the priests.

⁶But in all this time I was not at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went unto the king, and after certain days asked I leave of the king:

⁷and I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.

⁸And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber.

⁹Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meal offerings and the frankincense.

¹⁰And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them; so that the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field.

¹¹Then 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.

¹²Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the wine and the oil unto the treasuries.

¹³And 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 business was to distribute unto their brethren.

¹⁴Remember 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 observances thereof.

¹⁵In those days saw I in Judah some treading winepresses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses therewith; 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.

¹⁶There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought in fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

¹⁷Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?

¹⁸Did 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.

¹⁹And it came to pass that, when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I over the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.

²⁰So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice.

²¹Then 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.

²²And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember unto me, O my God, this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.

²³In those days also saw I the Jews that had married women of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab:

²⁴and 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.

²⁵And 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 for your sons, or for yourselves.

²⁶Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did strange women cause to sin.

²⁷Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to trespass against our God in marrying strange women?

²⁸And 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.

²⁹Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.

³⁰Thus cleansed I them from all strangers, and appointed wards for the priests and for the Levites, every one in his work;

³¹and for the wood offering, at times appointed, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.