Nehemiah 7-9

New Life Version

7 When the wall was built and I had set up the doors, and the gate-keepers and singers and Levites were chosen, ² I gave my brother Hanani, and Hanaiah the captain of the strong place, the work of watching over Jerusalem. For he was a faithful man and honored God with fear more than many. ³ I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while the soldiers are on duty watching the gates, let them shut and lock the doors. Choose soldiers from the people of Jerusalem, each one for the place he is to keep watch, and each in front of his own house.”

The Jews Return to Jerusalem

⁴ Now the city was wide and large, but the people in it were few and the houses were not built. ⁵ Then my God put it into my heart to gather together the rulers, the leaders and the people to have their names written down by families. And I found the book of the family names of those who came up first. This is what I found written in it: ⁶ These are the people who left the land of Babylon and returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own city. Their families had been taken away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon. ⁷ These people returned with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.

The number of the men of Israel: ⁸ 2,172 sons of Parosh, ⁹ 372 sons of Shephatiah, ¹⁰ 652 sons of Arah, ¹¹ 2,818 sons of Pahath-moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, ¹² 1,254 sons of Elam, ¹³ 845 sons of Zattu, ¹⁴ 760 sons of Zaccai, ¹⁵ 648 sons of Binnui, ¹⁶ 628 sons of Bebai, ¹⁷ 2,322 sons of Azgad, ¹⁸ 667 sons of Adonikam, ¹⁹ 2,067 sons of Bigvai, ²⁰ 655 sons of Adin, ²¹ 98 sons of Ater, of Hezekiah, ²² 328 sons of Hashum, ²³ 324 sons of Bezai, ²⁴ 112 sons of Hariph, ²⁵ 95 sons of Gibeon, ²⁶ 188 sons of Bethlehem and Netophah, ²⁷ 128 sons of Anathoth, ²⁸ 42 sons of Beth-azmaveth, ²⁹ 743 sons of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, ³⁰ 621 sons of Ramah and Geba, ³¹ 122 sons of Michmas, ³² 123 sons of Bethel and Ai, ³³ 52 sons of the other Nebo, ³⁴ 1,254 sons of the other Elam, ³⁵ 320 sons of Harim, ³⁶ 345 sons of Jericho, ³⁷ 721 sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, ³⁸ and 3,930 sons of Senaah.

³⁹ The religious leaders: 973 sons of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua, ⁴⁰ 1,052 sons of Immer, ⁴¹ 1,247 sons of Pashhur, ⁴² 1,017 sons of Harim.

⁴³ The Levites: 74 sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodevah. ⁴⁴ The singers: 148 sons of Asaph. ⁴⁵ The gate-keepers: 138 sons of Shallum, of Ater, of Talmon, of Akkub, of Hatita, and of Shobai.

⁴⁶ The servants of the house of God: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁷ the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon, ⁴⁸ the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Shalmai, ⁴⁹ the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, ⁵⁰ the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, ⁵¹ the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, ⁵² the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephushesim, ⁵³ the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, ⁵⁴ the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, ⁵⁵ the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, ⁵⁶ the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.

⁵⁷ The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida, ⁵⁸ the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, ⁵⁹ the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, and the sons of Amon. ⁶⁰ All the servants in the house of God and the sons of Solomon’s servants were 392.

⁶¹ Now these were the men who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer. But they were not able to prove their fathers’ houses or that they were children of Israel: ⁶² 642 sons of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda. ⁶³ And the sons of the religious leaders: the sons of Hobaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai, who had married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name. ⁶⁴ These men looked for their names among the names of all the families, but could not find them. So they were thought of as being unclean, and were not allowed to work as religious leaders. ⁶⁵ And the leader told them that they should not eat from the most holy things until a religious leader learned God’s will by the Urim and Thummin.

⁶⁶ There were 42,360 people in all, ⁶⁷ besides the 7,337 men and women servants, and 245 singing men and women. ⁶⁸ They had 736 horses, 245 mules, ⁶⁹ 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

⁷⁰ Some from among the heads of the family groups gave to the work. The ruler gave 1,000 gold pieces, fifty deep dishes, and 530 sets of clothing for the religious leaders. ⁷¹ And some of the leaders of family groups gave 20,000 gold pieces and 2,200 silver pieces. ⁷² The rest of the people gave 20,000 gold pieces, 2,000 silver pieces, and 67 sets of clothing for the religious leaders.

⁷³ Now the religious leaders, the Levites, the gate-keepers, the singers, some of the people, the servants in the house of the Lord, and all Israel, lived in their cities.

When the seventh month had come, the sons of Israel were in their cities.

Ezra Reads the Law

8 Then all the people gathered as one man at the open space in front of the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the writer to bring the book of the Law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. ² And on the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the religious leader brought the Law to the gathering of men, women, and all who were able to understand. ³ He read from it in the open space by the Water Gate from early morning until noon. He read it in front of men and women and those who were able to understand and all the people listened to the book of the Law. ⁴ Ezra the writer stood on a raised floor of wood which they had made for this reason. Beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right. And Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam stood on his left. ⁵ All the people saw Ezra open the book, for he was standing above all of them. And all the people stood up when he opened it. ⁶ Then Ezra gave honor and thanks to the Lord the great God. And all the people answered, “Let it be so!” while lifting up their hands. They bowed low with their faces to the ground and worshiped the Lord. ⁷ Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the people understand the Law, while the people stayed in their places. ⁸ They read from the book of the Law of God, telling the meaning of it so that they understood what was read.

⁹ Then Nehemiah, who was the ruler, and Ezra the religious leader and writer, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all of them, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not cry or be filled with sorrow.” For all the people were crying when they heard the words of the Law. ¹⁰ Ezra said to them, “Go, eat and drink what you enjoy, and give some to him who has nothing ready. For this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be sad for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” ¹¹ So the Levites made all the people quiet, saying, “Be quiet, for this is a holy day. Do not be sad.” ¹² And all the people went away to eat and drink, to share what they had, and to show their joy. They understood the words which had been made known to them.

¹³ On the second day the heads of the family groups of all the people, the religious leaders, and the Levites were gathered to Ezra the writer, that they might better understand the words of the Law. ¹⁴ They found written in the Law how the Lord had said through Moses that the sons of Israel should live in tents during the special supper of the seventh month. ¹⁵ So they made it known in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other trees with leaves, to make tents, as it is written.” ¹⁶ So the people went out and brought them and made tents for themselves, each on his roof. And they made tents in their open spaces, in the open spaces of the house of God, in the place by the Water Gate, and in the place by the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷ All the people who had returned from Babylon made tents and lived in them. The sons of Israel had not done so since the days of Joshua the son of Nun. And there was much joy. ¹⁸ Every day Ezra read from the book of the Law of God, from the first day to the last day. They held the special supper seven days, and on the eighth day there was a special gathering, as it is written in the Law.

The People Tell Their Sins to God

9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel gathered together, but they did not eat. They dressed in cloth made from hair, and put dirt on their heads. ² The children of Israel separated themselves from all those of other nations. They stood and told their sins and the sins of their fathers to God. ³ While they stood in their place, they read from the book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day. And for another fourth they told their sins and worshiped the Lord their God. ⁴ Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the Levites’ raised floor. And they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God.

⁵ Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and give honor and thanks to the Lord your God forever and ever! O may Your great name be praised!”

The Prayer—Telling of Their Sins

⁶ “You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their angels. You have made the earth and all that is on it, and the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them, and the angels of heaven bow down to You. ⁷ You are the Lord God, Who chose Abram and brought him out from Ur of the Chaldees and gave him the name Abraham. ⁸ You found his heart faithful to You and made an agreement with him, to give his children and their children’s children the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. And You have done what You promised, for You are right and good.

⁹ “You saw the trouble of our fathers in Egypt. You heard their cry by the Red Sea. ¹⁰ Then You made special things to see and did powerful works against Pharaoh, against all his servants and all the people of his land. For You knew that they were proud and made it hard for our fathers. And You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day. ¹¹ You divided the sea in front of them, so they passed through the sea on dry ground. And You threw those who went after them into the deep sea, like a stone into troubled waters. ¹² You led the people during the day with a cloud, and with a pillar of fire during the night to light the way they were to go. ¹³ Then You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them Laws that are right and true and good. ¹⁴ You made known to them Your holy Day of Rest, and gave them Laws through Your servant Moses. ¹⁵ You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger. You brought them water from a rock for their thirst. And You told them to go in to take for their own the land You promised to give them.

¹⁶ “But they, our fathers, acted with pride. They became strong-willed and would not listen to Your Words. ¹⁷ They would not listen, and did not remember Your powerful works which You had done among them. So they became strong-willed and chose a leader to return to their hard work in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God. You are kind and loving, slow to anger, and full of loving-kindness. You did not leave them. ¹⁸ They even melted gold and made a calf, and said, ‘This is your God Who brought you up from Egypt.’ They spoke sinful words against You. ¹⁹ But You, in Your great loving-kindness, did not leave them in the desert. The pillar of cloud which led them on their way during the day did not leave them. And the pillar of fire which gave light to the way they were to go during the night did not leave them. ²⁰ You gave Your good Spirit to teach them. You did not keep Your bread from heaven from their mouths. And You gave them water when they were thirsty. ²¹ For forty years You kept them alive in the desert and gave them everything they needed. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not become sore. ²² You gave them nations and peoples, and You gave them every part. For their own they took the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan. ²³ You made their sons as many as the stars of heaven. And You brought them into the land which You had told their fathers to go into and take for their own. ²⁴ So their sons went into the land and took it. You gave them power over the people of the land, the Canaanites. You gave these people into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, to do with them as they would. ²⁵ They took strong cities and a rich land. They took houses full of every good thing. They took wells that had been dug, grape-vines, olive trees, and many fruit trees. So they ate and were filled and became fat. They were glad because You were so good to them.

²⁶ “But they would not obey and they turned against You. They put Your Law behind their backs. They killed the men who tell what will happen who had spoken sharp words to them telling them to return to You. The people spoke very sinful words against You. ²⁷ So You gave them into the hand of those who made it hard for them. But when they cried to You in the time of their trouble, You heard from heaven. And by Your great loving-kindness You sent men to save them from those who made it hard for them. ²⁸ But as soon as they had rest, they sinned against You again. So You left them in the hand of those who hated them, so that they ruled over them. When they cried again to You, You heard from heaven. And many times You took them away from trouble because of Your loving-kindness. ²⁹ You spoke sharp words to them to turn them back to Your Law. Yet they acted in pride and did not listen to Your Words, but sinned against Your Laws, by which if a man obeys them he will live. They were strong-willed and made their hearts hard against You, and would not listen. ³⁰ But You did not give up taking care of them for many years. You spoke sharp words to them by Your Spirit through the men who tell what will happen. Yet they would not listen. So You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. ³¹ But in Your great loving-kindness, You did not make an end of them or leave them for You are a kind and loving God.

³² “So now, our God, the great and powerful God, honored with fear, Who keeps His agreement and loving-kindness, do not let all this trouble look small in Your eyes which has come upon us, our kings, our princes, our religious leaders, our men who tell what will happen, our fathers, and on all Your people since the days of the kings of Assyria to this day. ³³ Yet You have been right and fair in all that has come upon us. For You have been faithful, but we have sinned. ³⁴ Our kings, leaders, religious leaders, and fathers have not kept Your Law or listened to Your Laws and Your strong words which You have given them. ³⁵ Even when they were in their own nation, with all the good things You gave them and with the great rich land You gave them, they did not serve You or turn from their sins. ³⁶ See, we are servants today. We are servants in the land You gave to our fathers. You gave it to them so they could eat the fruit and have other good things. ³⁷ The many good things the land gives are used by the kings whom You have put over us because of our sins. They also rule over our bodies and over our cattle as they please. So we are in much trouble.

The People Sign an Agreement

³⁸ “Now because of all this we are making an agreement in writing. And our leaders, our Levites, and our religious leaders have put their mark on it.”