Nehemiah 11-13

New Life Version

The People Who Lived in Jerusalem

11 Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. But the rest of the people drew names to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while nine-tenths stayed in the other cities. ² And the people praised all the men who were willing to live in Jerusalem.

³ These are the leaders of the lands who lived in Jerusalem but in the cities of Judah every one lived on his own land there: Israel, the religious leaders, the Levites, the servants in the house of God, and the children of Solomon’s servants. ⁴ Some of the sons of Judah and some of the sons of Benjamin lived in Jerusalem. Of the sons of Judah there was Athaiah the son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of the sons of Perez, ⁵ and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, son of the Shilonite. ⁶ All the sons of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were 468 able men.

⁷ The sons of Benjamin are Sallu the 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 men. ⁹ Joel the son of Zichri watched over them, and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second over the city.

¹⁰ Of the religious leaders there were Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin, ¹¹ Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the leader of the house of God, ¹² and their brothers who did the work of the house of God, 822 men. And there was Adaiah the son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah, ¹³ and his brothers, heads of family groups, 242 men. And there was Amashsai the son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer, ¹⁴ and their brothers, 128 men with strength of heart. Zabdiel, the son of Haggedolim, watched over them.

¹⁵ Of the Levites there was Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni, ¹⁶ and Shabbethai and Jozabad, from the leaders of the Levites. They watched over the outside work of the house of God. ¹⁷ And there was Mattaniah the son of Mica, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, who was the leader in beginning the giving of thanks at prayer, and Bakbukiah, the second among his brothers. And there was Abda the son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun. ¹⁸ All the Levites in the holy city were 284.

¹⁹ The gate-keepers, Akkub, Talmon, and their brothers, who kept watch at the gates, were 172. ²⁰ The rest of Israel, of the religious leaders and of the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, each in the land he had been given. ²¹ But the servants of the house of God were living in Ophel. Ziha and Gishpa were over the servants of the house of God.

²² The one who watched over the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, from the sons of Asaph, the singers for the work of the house of God. ²³ For the king had said that the singers must be given what they need each day. ²⁴ Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the sons of Zerah the son of Judah, was the king’s workman in everything to do with the people.

The People Living outside Jerusalem

²⁵ As for the villages with their fields, some of the sons of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba and its villages, in Dibon and its villages, in Jekabzeel and its villages, ²⁶ in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth-pelet, ²⁷ Hazar-shual, Beersheba and its villages, ²⁸ Ziklag, Meconah and its villages, ²⁹ En-rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, ³⁰ Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, and Azekah and its villages. So they lived from Beersheba as far as the valley of Hinnom. ³¹ The sons of Benjamin lived in Geba, Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its villages, ³² Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, ³³ Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ³⁴ Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ³⁵ Lod, and Ono, the valley of able workmen. ³⁶ And certain groups of the Levites in Judah were joined to Benjamin.

The Religious Leaders and Levites

12 These are the religious leaders and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua. There were 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, and Jedaiah. These were the heads of the religious leaders and their brothers in the days of Jeshua.

⁸ The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his brothers was over the songs of giving thanks. ⁹ Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, stood beside them in their work. ¹⁰ Jeshua was the father of Joiakim. Joiakim was the father of Eliashib. Eliashib was the father of Joiada. ¹¹ Joiada was the father of Jonathan. Jonathan was the father of Jaddua.

¹² In the days of Joiakim the religious leader, these were the heads of the family groups: Meraiah of Seraiah, Hananiah of Jeremiah, ¹³ Meshullam of Ezra, Jehohanan of Amariah, ¹⁴ Jonathan of Malluchi, Joseph of Shebaniah, ¹⁵ Adna of Harim, Helkai of Meraioth, ¹⁶ Zechariah of Iddo, Meshullam of Ginnethon, ¹⁷ Zichri of Abijah, Piltai of Moadiah of Miniamin, ¹⁸ Shammua of Bilgah, Jehonathan of Shemaiah, ¹⁹ Mattenai of Joiarib, Uzzi of Jedaiah, ²⁰ Kallai of Sallai, Eber of Amok, ²¹ Hashabiah of Hilkiah, and Nethanel of Jedaiah.

²² As for the Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the heads of the family groups were written down. So were the religious leaders in the rule of Darius the Persian. ²³ The sons of Levi, the heads of the family groups, were written down in the Book of the Chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. ²⁴ The heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers beside them. Each group praised and gave thanks, as David the man of God had told them. ²⁵ Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon and Akkub were gate-keepers. They watched at the store-houses of the gates. ²⁶ These men worked in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the ruler and of Ezra the religious leader and writer.

Nehemiah Sets Apart the Jerusalem Wall for God

²⁷ At the special time to praise God for the wall of Jerusalem, they looked for all the Levites in the places where they lived and brought them to Jerusalem so they might join them at this special time with happiness. They sang songs of thanks and other songs as timbrels and harps were played. ²⁸ So the sons of the singers were gathered from the land around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Nethophathites, ²⁹ from Beth-gilgal, and from their fields in Geba and Azmaveth. For the singers had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem. ³⁰ The religious leaders and the Levites made themselves holy, and they made the people, the gates, and the wall holy.

³¹ Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on top of the wall. And I picked two large groups of singers to give thanks. One group was to go to the right on top of the wall to the Waste Gate. ³² Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah followed them, ³³ with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, ³⁴ Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, ³⁵ and some of the sons of the religious leaders blowing horns. Then followed Zechariah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph, ³⁶ and his brothers, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the objects that David the man of God had made for playing music. And Ezra the writer went before them. ³⁷ At the Well Gate they went straight up the steps of the city of David, by the steps of the wall above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east.

³⁸ The second group went to the left. I followed them with half of the people on the wall, above the Tower of Stoves, to the Wide Wall. ³⁹ They went above the Gate of Ephraim, by the Old Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of the Watchmen. ⁴⁰ Then the two groups stood in the house of God. So did I and half of the leaders with me, ⁴¹ and the religious leaders, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with the horns, ⁴² and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader. ⁴³ On that day they gave many good gifts and were glad because God had given them great joy. Even the women and children were filled with joy, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from far away.

⁴⁴ On that day men were chosen for the work of the store-rooms for the gifts, the first-fruits, and the tenth part for the Lord. They were to gather into them from the fields near the towns what was to be given by the Law to the religious leaders and Levites. For Judah was filled with joy because of the religious leaders and Levites who did the work. ⁴⁵ They did the work of their God and the work of making everything clean from sin, together with the singers and the gate-keepers. They did as David and his son Solomon had told them. ⁴⁶ For in the days of David and Asaph, long ago, there were leaders of the singers, and songs of praise and thanks to God. ⁴⁷ So all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah gave what was to be given to the singers and gate-keepers each day. They set apart what was for the Levites. And the Levites set apart what was for the sons of Aaron.

Nehemiah’s Last Words

13 On that day they read from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And there was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever gather together to worship with the people of God. ² It was because they did not meet the sons of Israel with food and water, but paid Balaam to curse them. Yet our God turned the curse into good. ³ When the people heard the Law, they kept out all those of other nations from Israel.

⁴ Before this, Eliashib the religious leader, who watched over the store-rooms of the house of our God, being close to Tobiah, ⁵ made a room for him. They had before used the room to store the grain gifts, special perfume, dishes, and the tenth part of grain, wine and oil to be given to the Levites, the singers and the gate-keepers, and the gifts for the religious leaders. ⁶ But during all this time I was not in Jerusalem. For in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon, I had gone to the king. Then after some time, I asked the king to let me go, ⁷ and came to Jerusalem. I learned about the sinful thing Eliashib had done for Tobiah, by giving a room for him in the house of God. ⁸ I was very angry, and threw all the things of Tobiah’s house out of the room. ⁹ Then I said that the rooms must be made clean, and put back the things of the house of God with the grain gifts and the special perfume.

¹⁰ I also learned that what was to be given to the Levites had not been given. So the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to their own fields. ¹¹ So I spoke sharp words to the leaders and said, “Why is the house of God no longer cared for?” Then I gathered them together and returned them to their duties. ¹² All the people of Judah then brought the tenth part of the grain, wine and oil into the store-houses. ¹³ I had Shelemiah the religious leader, Zadok the writer, and Pedaiah of the Levites, watch over the store-houses. With them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah. For they were trusted, and it was their duty to give the needed things to their brothers. ¹⁴ Remember me for this, O my God. Do not forget my good works which I have done for the house of my God and His worship.

¹⁵ In those days I saw in Judah some who were crushing grapes to make wine on the Day of Rest. I saw them bringing in bags of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads. And they brought them into Jerusalem on the Day of Rest. So I spoke sharp words to them on the day they sold food. ¹⁶ Men of Tyre were living there who brought in fish and all kinds of things to sell. They sold them to the people of Judah on the Day of Rest, even in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ Then I spoke sharp words to the leaders of Judah, saying, “What is this sinful thing you are doing by not keeping the Day of Rest holy? ¹⁸ Did not your fathers do the same, so that our God brought all this trouble to us and to this city? Yet you are bringing more anger to Israel by not keeping the Day of Rest holy.”

¹⁹ Just as it became dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Day of Rest, I had them shut the doors. And I would not let them be opened until after the Day of Rest. Then I had some of my servants watch the gates, that no load should come in on the Day of Rest. ²⁰ Once or twice the traders and sellers stayed the night outside Jerusalem. ²¹ Then I spoke sharp words to them, saying, “Why do you stay the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will send men out to make you leave.” From that time on they did not come on the Day of Rest. ²² Then I told the Levites to make themselves free from sin and come and watch the gates to keep the Day of Rest holy. Remember me for this also, O my God. Be good to me because of Your great loving-kindness.

²³ In those days I saw that the Jews had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. ²⁴ Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod. They could not speak the language of Judah, but the language of their own people. ²⁵ So I fought with them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them promise in the name of God, saying, “You must not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. ²⁶ Did not King Solomon of Israel sin because of these women? Yet among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. But the women from other nations caused even him to sin. ²⁷ Should we hear now that you also are sinning in the same way by not being faithful to our God, by marrying women from other nations?” ²⁸ Even one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the religious leader, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. So I drove him away from me. ²⁹ Remember them, O my God, because they have brought sin to the religious leaders and to the agreement of the religious leaders and the Levites.

³⁰ So I made them free from the sin of other nations. I gave the religious leaders and the Levites their duties, each in his work. ³¹ And I saw to it that wood would be brought at the right times, and also the first-fruits. O my God, remember me for good.