26
But they were disobedient and rebelled against You.
They flung Your law behind their backs
and killed Your prophets
who warned them
in order to turn them back to You.
They committed terrible blasphemies.
27
So You handed them over to their enemies,
who oppressed them.
In their time of distress, they cried out to You,
and You heard from heaven.
In Your abundant compassion
You gave them deliverers, who rescued them
from the power of their enemies.
28
But as soon as they had relief,
they again did what was evil in Your sight.
So You abandoned them to the power of their enemies,
who dominated them.
When they cried out to You again,
You heard from heaven and rescued them
many times in Your compassion.
29
You warned them to turn back to Your law,
but they acted arrogantly
and would not obey Your commands.
They sinned against Your ordinances,
which a person will live by if he does them.
They stubbornly resisted,
stiffened their necks, and would not obey.
30
You were patient with them for many years,
and Your Spirit warned them through Your prophets,
but they would not listen.
Therefore, You handed them over to the surrounding peoples.
31
However, in Your abundant compassion,
You did not destroy them or abandon them,
for You are a gracious and compassionate God.
32
So now, our God — the great, mighty,
and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant —
do not view lightly all the hardships that have afflicted us,
our kings and leaders,
our priests and prophets,
our ancestors and all Your people,
from the days of the Assyrian kings until today.
33
You are righteous concerning all that has come on us,
because You have acted faithfully,
while we have acted wickedly.
34
Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors
did not obey Your law
or listen to Your commands
and warnings You gave them.
35
When they were in their kingdom,
with Your abundant goodness that You gave them,
and in the spacious and fertile land You set before them,
they would not serve You or turn from their wicked ways.
36
Here we are today,
slaves in the land You gave our ancestors
so that they could enjoy its fruit and its goodness.
Here we are — slaves in it!
37
Its abundant harvest goes to the kings
You have set over us,
because of our sins.
They rule over our bodies
and our livestock as they please.
We are in great distress.
Israel's Vow of Faithfulness
38
In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement in writing on a sealed document containing the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests.
Nehemiah
10
Those whose seals were on the document were:
Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah,
2
Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
3
Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,
4
Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,
5
Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
6
Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
7
Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
8
Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah.
These were the priests.
9
The Levites were:
Jeshua son of Azaniah,
Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,
10
and their brothers
Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
11
Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,
12
Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
13
Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.
14
The leaders of the people were:
Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,
15
Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
16
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
17
Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,
18
Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
19
Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
20
Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
21
Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,
22
Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
23
Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,
24
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
25
Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
26
Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,
27
Malluch, Harim, Baanah.
28
The rest of the people — the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with their wives, sons, and daughters, everyone who is able to understand and who has separated themselves from the surrounding peoples to obey the law of God —
29
join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath to follow the law of God given through God's servant Moses and to carefully obey all the commands, ordinances, and statutes of
•Yahweh
our Lord.
Details of the Vow
30
We will not give our daughters in marriage to the surrounding peoples and will not take their daughters as wives for our sons.
31
When the surrounding peoples bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or a holy day. We will also leave the land uncultivated in the seventh year and will cancel every debt.
32
We will impose the following commands on ourselves:
To give an eighth of an ounce of silver yearly for the service of the house of our God:
33
the bread displayed before the
Lord
, the daily
•grain
offering, the regular
•burnt
offering, the Sabbath and New Moon offerings, the appointed festivals, the holy things, the
•sin
offerings to
•atone
for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.
34
We have cast lots among the priests, Levites, and people for the donation of wood by our ancestral houses at the appointed times each year. They are to bring the wood to our God's house to burn on the altar of the
Lord
our God, as it is written in the law.
35
We will bring the
•firstfruits
of our land and of every fruit tree to the
Lord
's house year by year.
36
We will also bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as prescribed by the law, and will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who serve in our God's house.
37
We will bring a loaf from our first batch of dough to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God. We will also bring the firstfruits of our grain offerings, of every fruit tree, and of the new wine and oil. A tenth of our land's produce belongs to the Levites, for the Levites are to collect the one-tenth offering in all our agricultural towns.
38
A priest of Aaronic descent must accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites must take a tenth of this offering to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God.
39
For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept and where the priests who minister are, along with the gatekeepers and singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.
Nehemiah
Resettling Jerusalem
11
Now the leaders of the people stayed in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots for one out of ten to come and live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine-tenths remained in their towns.
2
The people praised all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.
3
These are the heads of the province who stayed in Jerusalem (but in the villages of Judah each lived on his own property in their towns — the Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon's servants —
4
while some of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin settled in Jerusalem):
Judah's descendants:
Athaiah son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of Perez's descendants;
5
and Maaseiah son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, a descendant of the Shilonite.
6
The total number of Perez's descendants, who settled in Jerusalem, was 468 capable men.
7
These were Benjamin's descendants:
Sallu son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah,
8
and after him Gabbai and Sallai: 928.
9
Joel son of Zichri was the officer over them, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command over the city.
10
The priests:
Jedaiah son of Joiarib, Jachin, and
11
Seraiah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the chief official of God's temple,
12
and their relatives who did the work at the temple: 822. Adaiah son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah
13
and his relatives, the leaders of families: 242. Amashsai son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer,
14
and their relatives, capable men: 128. Zabdiel son of Haggedolim, was their chief.
15
The Levites:
Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni;
16
and Shabbethai and Jozabad, from the leaders of the Levites, who supervised the work outside the house of God;
17
Mattaniah son of Mica, son of Zabdi, son of
•Asaph
, the leader who began the thanksgiving in prayer; Bakbukiah, second among his relatives; and Abda son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun.
18
All the Levites in the holy city: 284.
19
The gatekeepers:
Akkub, Talmon, and their relatives, who guarded the gates: 172.
20
The rest of Israel, the priests, and the Levites were in all the villages of Judah, each on his own inherited property.
21
The temple servants lived on Ophel;Ziha and Gishpa supervised the temple servants.
The Levites and Priests
22
The leader of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, of the descendants of Asaph, who were singers for the service of God's house.
23
There was, in fact, a command of the king regarding them, and an ordinance regulating the singers' daily tasks.
24
Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, of the descendants of Zerah son of Judah, was the king's agent in every matter concerning the people.
25
As for the farming settlements with their fields:
Some of Judah's descendants lived in Kiriath-arba and its villages,
Dibon and its villages, and Jekabzeel and its villages;
26
in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth-pelet,
27
Hazar-shual, and Beer-sheba and its villages;
28
in Ziklag and Meconah and its villages;
29
in En-rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, and
30
Zanoah and Adullam with their villages;
in Lachish with its fields and Azekah and its villages.
So they settled from Beer-sheba to the Valley of Hinnom.
31
Benjamin's descendants:
from Geba, Michmash, Aija,
and Bethel — and its villages,
32
Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,
33
Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,
34
Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,
35
Lod, and Ono, the Valley of Craftsmen.
36
Some of the Judean divisions of Levites were in Benjamin.
Nehemiah
12
These are the priests and Levites who went up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua:
Seraiah, 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 leaders of the priests and their relatives in the days of Jeshua.
8
The Levites:
Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel,
Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah —
he and his relatives were in charge of the praise songs.
9
Bakbukiah, Unni, and their relatives stood opposite them in the services.
10
Jeshua fathered Joiakim,
Joiakim fathered Eliashib,
Eliashib fathered Joiada,
11
Joiada fathered Jonathan,
and Jonathan fathered Jaddua.