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After we finished building the wall and put the doors in the gates, we chose the men who would guard the gates and the men to sing in the Temple and help the priests. Next, I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem. I chose another man named Hananiah to be the commander of the fort. I picked Hanani because he was a very honest man and he feared God more than most people do. Then I said to Hanani and Hananiah, “Each day you must wait until the sun has been up for several hours before you open the gates of Jerusalem. You must shut and lock the gates before the sun goes down. Also choose people who live in Jerusalem as guards. Put some of them at special places to guard the city, and put the other people near their own houses.”

The List of Captives Who Returned

Now the city was large and there was plenty of room. But there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt. So my God put it in my heart to have all the people meet together. I called together all the important people, the officials, and the common people. I did this so that I could make a list of all the families. I found the family lists[a] of the people who had been the first to return from captivity. This is what I found written there:

These are the people of the province who came back from captivity. In the past, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took them as prisoners to Babylon. These people came back to Jerusalem and Judah. They all went to their own towns. They returned with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. This is the list of names and numbers of men from Israel who came back:

the descendants of Parosh 2172

the descendants of Shephatiah 372

10 the descendants of Arah 652

11 the descendants of Pahath Moab of the family line of Jeshua and Joab 2818

12 the descendants of Elam 1254

13 the descendants of Zattu 845

14 the descendants of Zaccai 760

15 the descendants of Binnui 648

16 the descendants of Bebai 628

17 the descendants of Azgad 2322

18 the descendants of Adonikam 667

19 the descendants of Bigvai 2067

20 the descendants of Adin 655

21 the descendants of Ater through the family of Hezekiah 98

22 the descendants of Hashum 328

23 the descendants of Bezai 324

24 the descendants of Hariph 112

25 the descendants of Gibeon 95

26 from the towns of Bethlehem and Netophah 188

27 from the town of Anathoth 128

28 from the town of Beth Azmaveth 42

29 from the towns of Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah, and Beeroth 743

30 from the towns of Ramah and Geba 621

31 from the town of Micmash 122

32 from the towns of Bethel and Ai 123

33 from the other town of Nebo 52

34 from the other town of Elam 1254

35 from the town of Harim 320

36 from the town of Jericho 345

37 from the towns of Lod, Hadid, and Ono 721

38 from the town of Senaah 3930

39 These are the priests:

the descendants of Jedaiah through the family of Jeshua 973

40 the descendants of Immer 1052

41 the descendants of Pashhur 1247

42 the descendants of Harim 1017

43 These are the people from the tribe of Levi:

the descendants of Jeshua through Kadmiel through the family of Hodeiah[b] 74

44 These are the singers:

the descendants of Asaph 148

45 These are the gatekeepers:

the descendants of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai 138

46 These are the special Temple servants:

the descendants of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,

47 Keros, Sia, Padon,

48 Lebana, Hagaba, Shalmai,

49 Hanan, Giddel, Gahar,

50 Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda,

51 Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah,

52 Besai, Meunim, Nephussim,

53 Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur,

54 Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha,

55 Barkos, Sisera, Temah,

56 Neziah, and Hatipha.

57 These are the descendants of the servants of Solomon:

Sotai, Sophereth, Perida,

58 Jaala, Darkon, Giddel,

59 Shephatiah, Hattil, Pokereth Hazzebaim, and Amon,

60 the Temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants 392

61 Some people came to Jerusalem from these towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer. But these people could not prove that their families really came from the Israelites:

62 the descendants of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda 642

63 From the family of priests there were the descendants of

Hobaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai. (If a man married a daughter of Barzillai from Gilead, he was counted as a descendant of Barzillai.)

64 These people searched for their family histories, but they could not find them. They could not prove that their ancestors were priests, so they could not serve as priests. Their names were not included in the list of priests. 65 The governor ordered them not to eat any of the most holy food until a priest could use the Urim and Thummim to ask God what to do.

66-67 All together, there were 42,360 people in the group who came back. This is not counting their 7337 men and women slaves. They also had 245 men and women singers with them. 68-69 They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6720 donkeys.

70 Some of the family leaders gave money to support the work. The governor gave 19 pounds[c] of gold to the treasury. He also gave 50 bowls and 530 pieces of clothing for the priests. 71 The family leaders gave 375 pounds[d] of gold to the treasury to support the work. They also gave 2750 pounds[e] of silver. 72 All together the other people gave 375 pounds of gold, 2500 pounds[f] of silver, and 67 pieces of clothing for the priests.

73 So the priests, the people from the tribe of Levi, the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Temple servants settled down in their own towns. And all the other Israelites settled down in their own towns. By the seventh month[g] of the year, all the Israelites had settled down in their own towns.

Ezra Reads the Law

So all the Israelites met together in the seventh month of the year. They were united and in complete agreement. They all met together in the open place in front of the Water Gate. All the people asked Ezra the teacher to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given to the Israelites. So Ezra the priest brought the law before those who had met together. This was on the first day of the month.[h] It was the seventh month of the year. Men, women, and anyone old enough to listen and understand were at the meeting. Ezra read in a loud voice from the Book of the Law from early morning until noon. He was facing the open place that was in front of the Water Gate. He read to all the men and women, and to everyone old enough to listen and understand. All the people listened carefully and paid attention to the Book of the Law.

Ezra stood on a high wooden stage. It had been built just for this special time. On his right side stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. And on his left side stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

So Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them on the high stage. As he opened the Book of the Law, all the people stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people held up their hands and said, “Amen! Amen!” Then all the people bowed down and put their faces low to the ground and they worshiped the Lord.

These men from the tribe of Levi taught the people about the law as they were all standing there. The Levites were Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah. They read the Book of the Law of God. They made it easy to understand, and explained what it meant. They did this so that the people could understand what was being read.

Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher, and the Levites who were teaching the people spoke. They said, “Today is a special day[i] to the Lord your God. Don’t be sad and cry.” They said that because all the people had begun to cry as they were listening to the messages of God in the law.

10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy the good food and sweet drinks. Give some food and drinks to those who didn’t prepare any food. Today is a special day to our Lord. Don’t be sad, because the joy of the Lord will make you strong.”

11 The Levites helped the people to calm down. They said, “Be quiet, calm down, this is a special day. Don’t be sad.”

12 Then all the people went to eat the special meal. They shared their food and drinks. They celebrated that special day. They were happy that they could hear the reading of God’s law and were now able to understand it.

13 Then on the second day of the month,[j] the leaders of all the families went to meet with Ezra, the priests, and the Levites. They all gathered around Ezra the teacher to study the words of the law.

14-15 They studied and found these commands in the law. The Lord gave this command to the people through Moses: In the seventh month of the year, the Israelites must go to Jerusalem to celebrate a special festival. They must live in temporary shelters. And the people are supposed to go through all of their towns and Jerusalem and say this: “Go out into the hill country and get branches from different kinds of olive trees. Get branches from myrtle trees, palm trees, and shade trees. Use the branches to make temporary shelters. Do what the law says.”

16 So the people went out and got tree branches. Then they built temporary shelters for themselves. They built shelters on their own roofs and in their own yards. And they built shelters in the Temple yard, in the open place near the Water Gate, and near Ephraim Gate. 17 The whole group that had come back from captivity built shelters. They lived in the shelters they had built. Since the days of Joshua son of Nun up until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated the Festival of Shelters like this. Everyone was very happy!

18 Ezra read to them from the Book of the Law every day of the festival from the first day of the festival to the last day. The Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days. Then on the eighth day, the people met together for a special meeting, as the law says.

The People of Israel Confess Their Sins

Then on the 24th day of that same month, the Israelites gathered together for a day of fasting. They wore sackcloth and put ashes on their heads to show they were sad and upset. Those people who were true Israelites separated themselves from foreigners. The Israelites stood and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors. They stood there for about three hours, and the people read the Book of the Law of the Lord their God. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and bowed down to worship the Lord their God.

Then these Levites stood on the stairs: Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani. They called out to the Lord their God with loud voices. Then these Levites spoke again: Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah. They said, “Stand up and praise the Lord your God! God has always lived and will live forever.

“People should praise your glorious name.
    May your name be lifted above all blessing and praise.
You are God.
    Lord, only you are God.
You made the sky and the highest heavens
    and everything in them.
You made the earth
    and everything on it.
You made the seas
    and everything in them.
You give life to everything.
    All the heavenly angels bow down and worship you.
You are the Lord,
    the God who chose Abram.
You led him from Ur in Babylonia.
    You changed his name to Abraham.
You saw he was true and loyal to you,
    and you made an agreement with him.
You promised to give him the land
    of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites.
But you promised to give that land to Abraham’s descendants.
    And you kept your promise because you are good.
You saw our ancestors suffering in Egypt
    and heard them call for help by the Red Sea.
10 You showed the miracles to Pharaoh.
    You did amazing things to his officials and his people.
You knew that the Egyptians thought
    they were better than our ancestors.
But you proved how great you are,
    and they remember that even today.
11 You split the Red Sea in front of them,
    and they walked through on dry land.
The Egyptian soldiers were chasing them,
    but you threw that enemy into the sea.
    And they sank like a rock into the sea.
12 With the tall cloud, you led them by day,
    and at night you used the column of fire.
That is the way you lit their path
    and showed them where to go.
13 Then you came down to Mount Sinai.
    You spoke to them from heaven.
You gave them good laws.
    You gave them true teachings.
    You gave them laws and commands that were very good.
14 You told them about your special day of rest—the Sabbath.
    Through your servant Moses,
    you gave them commands, laws, and teachings.
15 They were hungry,
    so you gave them food from heaven.
They were thirsty,
    so you gave them water from a rock.
You told them,
    ‘Come, take this land.’
You used your power,
    and took the land for them.
16 But our ancestors became proud and stubborn.
    They refused to obey your commands.
17 They refused to listen.
    They forgot the amazing things you did with them.
They became stubborn.
    They decided to return to Egypt and become slaves again.

“But you are a forgiving God!
    You are kind and full of mercy.
You are patient and full of love.
So you didn’t leave them!
18 You didn’t leave them even when they made golden calves and said,
    ‘These are the gods that led us out of Egypt.’
19 You are very kind,
    so you didn’t leave them in the desert.
You didn’t take the tall cloud
    away from them by day.
You continued to lead them.
You didn’t take the column of fire
    away from them at night.
You continued to light their path
    and to show them which way to go.
20 You gave them your good Spirit to make them wise.
    You gave them manna for food.
    You gave them water for their thirst.
21 You took care of them for 40 years.
    They had all they needed in the desert.
Their clothes didn’t wear out,
    and their feet didn’t swell and hurt.
22 You gave them kingdoms and nations,
    and you gave them faraway places where few people live.
They got the land of King Sihon of Heshbon.
    They got the land of King Og of Bashan.
23 You made their descendants
    as many as the stars in the sky.
You brought them to the land
    you promised to give their ancestors.
    They went in and took that land.
24 Their children took the land.
They defeated the Canaanites living there.
    You let them defeat those people.
You let them do whatever they wanted
    to those nations, people, and kings.
25 They defeated powerful cities.
    They took the fertile land.
They got houses filled with good things.
    They got wells that were already dug.
They got vineyards, olive trees, and plenty of fruit trees.
    They ate until they were full and fat.
They enjoyed all the wonderful things you gave them.
26 And then they turned against you.
    They threw away your teachings.
    They killed your prophets.
Those prophets warned the people.
    They tried to bring them back to you.
    But our ancestors said terrible things against you.
27 So you let their enemies have them.
    The enemy caused them much trouble.
When trouble came, our ancestors called to you for help.
    And in heaven, you heard them.
You are very kind,
    so you sent people to save them.
    And they rescued them from their enemies.
28 Then as soon as our ancestors were rested,
    they started doing terrible things again!
So you let the enemy defeat them
    and punish them.
They called to you for help,
    and in heaven you heard them and helped them.
You are so kind.
    That happened so many times.
29 You warned them.
You told them to come back,
    but they were too proud.
    They refused to listen to your commands.
If people obey your laws, they will live.
    But our ancestors broke your laws.
They were stubborn.
    They turned their backs on you.
    They refused to listen.

30 “You were very patient with our ancestors.
    You let them mistreat you for many years.
You warned them with your Spirit.
    You sent the prophets to warn them.
But our ancestors didn’t listen.
    So you gave them to people in other countries.

31 “But you are so kind!
    You didn’t completely destroy them.
You didn’t leave them.
    You are such a kind and merciful God!
32 Our God, you are the great God,
    the awesome, powerful soldier!
You are kind and loyal.
    You keep your agreement.
We have had many troubles,
    and our troubles are important to you.
Bad things happened to all our people,
    and to our kings and leaders,
    and to our priests and prophets.
Those terrible things have happened
    from the days of the king of Assyria until today!
33 But God, you were right about everything that happened to us.
    You were right, and we were wrong.
34 Our kings, leaders, priests, and fathers did not obey your law.
    They didn’t listen to your commands.
    They ignored your warnings.
35 Our ancestors didn’t serve you even when they were living in their own kingdom.
    They didn’t stop doing evil.
    They enjoyed all the wonderful things you gave them.
They enjoyed the rich land and had plenty of room,
    but they didn’t stop their evil ways.
36 And now, we are slaves.
We are slaves in this land,
    the land you gave our ancestors
    so they could enjoy its fruit
    and all the good things that grow here.
37 The harvest is big in this land.
    But we sinned, so that harvest goes to the kings you put over us.
They control us and our cattle.
    They do anything they want.
    We are in a lot of trouble.

38 “Because of all these things, we are making an agreement that cannot be changed. We are putting this agreement in writing. Our leaders, Levites, and priests are signing their names to this agreement and sealing it with a seal.”

Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 7:5 family lists See Ezra 2.
  2. Nehemiah 7:43 Hodeiah Or “Hodaviah.”
  3. Nehemiah 7:70 19 pounds Literally, “1000 drachmas” (8.63 kg).
  4. Nehemiah 7:71 375 pounds Literally, “20,000 drachmas” (172.5 kg).
  5. Nehemiah 7:71 2750 pounds Literally, “2200 minas” (1265 kg).
  6. Nehemiah 7:72 2500 pounds Literally, “2000 minas” (1150 kg).
  7. Nehemiah 7:73 seventh month That is, September–October. Also in 8:1, 14-15.
  8. Nehemiah 8:2 first day of the month This was a special day of worship. The people met together and shared a fellowship meal.
  9. Nehemiah 8:9 special day The first and second days of each month were special days of worship. The people met together and shared a fellowship meal.
  10. Nehemiah 8:13 second day of the month The first and second days of each month were special days of worship. The people met together and shared a fellowship meal.

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