^3:1And when the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people came together like one man to Jerusalem. ^3:2Then Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, with his brothers, got up and made the altar of the God of Israel for burned offerings as is recorded in the law of Moses, the man of God. ^3:3They put the altar on its base; for fear was on them because of the people of the countries: and they made burned offerings on it to the Lord, even burned offerings morning and evening. ^3:4And they kept the feast of tents, as it is recorded, making the regular burned offerings every day by number, as it is ordered; for every day what was needed. ^3:5And after that, the regular burned offering and the offerings for the new moons and all the fixed feasts of the Lord which had been made holy, and the offering of everyone who freely gave his offering to the Lord. ^3:6From the first day of the seventh month they made a start with the burned offerings, but the base of the Temple of the Lord had still not been put in its place. ^3:7And they gave money to the stoneworkers and woodworkers; and meat and drink and oil to the people of Zidon and of Tyre, for the transport of cedar-trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, as Cyrus, king of Persia, had given them authority to do. ^3:8Now in the second year of their coming into the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, the work was taken in hand by Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come from the land where they were prisoners to Jerusalem: and they made the Levites, of twenty years old and over, responsible for overseeing the work of the house of the Lord. ^3:9Then Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, the sons of Hodaviah, together took up the work of overseeing the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brothers, the Levites. ^3:10And when the builders put in position the base of the Temple of the Lord, the priests, dressed in their robes, took their places with horns, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with brass instruments, to give praise to the Lord in the way ordered by David, king of Israel. ^3:11And they gave praise to the Lord, answering one another in their songs and saying, For he is good, for his mercy to Israel is eternal. And all the people gave a great cry of joy, when they gave praise to the Lord, because the base of the Lord's house was put in place. ^3:12But a number of the priests and Levites and the heads of families, old men who had seen the first house, when the base of this house was put down before their eyes, were overcome with weeping; and a number were crying out with joy: ^3:13So that in the ears of the people the cry of joy was mixed with the sound of weeping; for the cries of the people were loud and came to the ears of those who were a long way off.

^4:1Now news came to the haters of Judah and Benjamin that the people who had come back were building a Temple to the Lord, the God of Israel; ^4:2Then they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of families, and said to them, Let us take part in the building with you; for we are servants of your God, even as you are; and we have been making offerings to him from the days of Esar-haddon, king of Assyria, who put us here. ^4:3But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of families in Israel said to them, You have no part with us in the building of a house for our God; we ourselves will do the work together for the Lord, the God of Israel, as Cyrus, king of Persia, has given us orders. ^4:4Then the people of the land made the hands of the people of Judah feeble, troubling them with fear in their building; ^4:5And they gave payment to men who made designs against them and kept them from effecting their purpose, all through the time of Cyrus, king of Persia, till Darius became king. ^4:6And in the time of Ahasuerus, when he first became king, they put on record a statement against the people of Judah and Jerusalem. ^4:7And in the time of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his friends, sent a letter to Artaxerxes, king of Persia, writing it in the Aramaean writing and language. ^4:8Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe, sent a letter against Jerusalem, to Artaxerxes the king; ^4:9The letter was sent by Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe and their friends; the Dinaites and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites, ^4:10And the rest of the nations which the great and noble Osnappar took over and put in Samaria and the rest of the country over the river: ^4:11This is a copy of the letter which they sent to Artaxerxes the king: Your servants living across the river send these words: ^4:12We give news to the king that the Jews who came from you have come to us at Jerusalem; they are building up again that uncontrolled and evil town; the walls are complete and they are joining up the bases. ^4:13The king may be certain that when the building of this town and its walls is complete, they will give no tax or payment in goods or forced payments, and in the end it will be a cause of loss to the kings. ^4:14Now because we are responsible to the king, and it is not right for us to see the king's honour damaged, we have sent to give the king word of these things, ^4:15So that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers: and you will see in the book of the records that this town has been uncontrolled, and a cause of trouble to kings and countries, and that there were outbursts against authority there in the past: for which reason the town was made waste. ^4:16We give you word, that if the building of this town and its walls is made complete, there will be an end of your power in the country across the river. ^4:17Then the king sent an answer to Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe, and their friends living in Samaria, and to the rest of those across the river, saying, Peace to you: ^4:18And now the sense of the letter which you sent to us has been made clear to me, ^4:19And I gave orders for a search to be made, and it is certain that in the past this town has made trouble for kings, and that outbursts against authority have taken place there. ^4:20Further, there have been great kings in Jerusalem, ruling over all the country across the river, to whom they gave taxes and payments in goods and forced payments. ^4:21Give an order now, that these men are to do nothing more, and that the building of the town is to be stopped, till I give an order. ^4:22Be certain to do this with all care: do not let trouble be increased to the king's damage. ^4:23Then, after reading the king's letter, Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their friends went quickly to Jerusalem, to the Jews, and had them stopped by force. ^4:24So the work of the house of God at Jerusalem came to an end; so it was stopped, till the second year of the rule of Darius, king of Persia.

^5:1Now the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the son of Iddo, were preaching to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel. ^5:2Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, got up and made a start at building the house of God at Jerusalem: and the prophets of God were with them, helping them. ^5:3At the same time, Tattenai, ruler of the land across the river, and Shethar-bozenai, and their men, came to them and said, Who gave you orders to go on building this house and this wall? ^5:4Then they said these words to them: What are the names of the men who are at work on this building? ^5:5But the eye of their God was on the chiefs of the Jews, and they did not make them give up working till the question had been put before Darius and an answer had come by letter about it. ^5:6This is a copy of the letter which Tattenai, the ruler of the land across the river, and Shethar-bozenai and his friends the Apharsachites, living across the river, sent to Darius the king: ^5:7They sent him a letter saying, To Darius the king, all peace: ^5:8This is to give the king word that we went into the land of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is made of great stones, and has its walls supported with wood, and the work is going on with industry, and they are doing it well. ^5:9Then we said to the men responsible, who gave you authority for the building of this house and these walls? ^5:10And we made request for their names, so that we might send you word, and give you the names of the men at the head of them. ^5:11And they made answer to us, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are building the house which was put up in times long past and was designed and made complete by a great king of Israel. ^5:12But when the God of heaven was moved to wrath by our fathers, he gave them up into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the Chaldaean, who sent destruction on this house and took the people away into Babylon. ^5:13But in the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, Cyrus the king gave an order for the building of this house of God; ^5:14And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple which was in Jerusalem, and put into the house of his god in Babylon, these Cyrus the king took from the house of his god in Babylon, and gave to one named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made ruler; ^5:15And he said to him, Go, take these vessels, and put them in the Temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be put up again in its place. ^5:16Then this same Sheshbazzar came and put the house of God in Jerusalem on its bases: and from that time till now the building has been going on, but it is still not complete. ^5:17So now, if it seems good to the king, let search be made in the king's store-house at Babylon, to see if it is true that an order was given by Cyrus the king for the building of this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send us word of his pleasure in connection with this business.

^6:1Then Darius the king gave an order and a search was made in the house of the records, where the things of value were stored up in Babylon. ^6:2And at Achmetha, in the great house of the king in the land of Media, they came across a roll, in which this statement was put on record: ^6:3In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made an order: In connection with the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be put up, the place where they make offerings, and let the earth for the bases be put in place; let it be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide; ^6:4With three lines of great stones and one line of new wood supports; and let the necessary money be given out of the king's store-house; ^6:5And let the gold and silver vessels from the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple at Jerusalem to Babylon, be given back and taken again to the Temple at Jerusalem, every one in its place, and put them in the house of God. ^6:6So now, Tattenai, ruler of the land across the river, and Shethar-bozenai and your people the Apharsachites across the river, keep far from that place: ^6:7Let the work of this house of God go on; let the ruler of the Jews and their responsible men put up this house of God in its place. ^6:8Further, I give orders as to what you are to do for the responsible men of the Jews in connection with the building of this house of God: that from the king's wealth, that is, from the taxes got together in the land over the river, the money needed is to be given to these men readily, so that their work may not be stopped. ^6:9And whatever they have need of, young oxen and sheep and lambs, for burned offerings to the God of heaven, grain, salt, wine, and oil, whatever the priests in Jerusalem say is necessary, is to be given to them day by day regularly: ^6:10So that they may make offerings of a sweet smell to the God of heaven, with prayers for the life of the king and of his sons. ^6:11And I have given orders that if anyone makes any change in this word, one of the supports is to be pulled out of his house, and he is to be lifted up and fixed to it; and his house is to be made waste for this; ^6:12And may the God who has made it a resting-place for his name send destruction on all kings and peoples whose hands are outstretched to make any change in this or to do damage to this house of God at Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given this order, let it be done with all care. ^6:13Then Tattenai, the ruler across the river, and Shethar-bozenai and their people, because of the order given by King Darius, did as he had said with all care. ^6:14And the responsible men of the Jews went on with their building, and did well, helped by the teaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, the son of Iddo. They went on building till it was complete, in keeping with the word of the God of Israel, and the orders given by Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes, king of Persia. ^6:15And the building of this house was complete on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the rule of Darius the king. ^6:16And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of those who had come back, kept the feast of the opening of this house of God with joy. ^6:17And they gave as offerings at the opening of this house of God a hundred oxen, two hundred sheep, four hundred lambs; and for a sin-offering for all Israel, twelve he-goats, being the number of the tribes of Israel. ^6:18And they put the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their order, for the worship of God at Jerusalem; as it is recorded in the book of Moses. ^6:19And the children of Israel who had come back kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. ^6:20For the priests and the Levites had made themselves clean together; they were all clean: and they put the Passover lamb to death for all those who had come back, and for their brothers the priests and for themselves. ^6:21And the children of Israel, who had come back, and all those who were joined to them, after separating themselves from the evil ways of the people of the land to become the servants of the Lord, the God of Israel, took food together, ^6:22And kept the feast of unleavened bread for seven days with joy: for the Lord had made them full of joy, by turning the heart of the king of Assyria to them to give them help in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

^7:1Now after these things, when Artaxerxes was king of Persia, Ezra, the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, ^7:2The son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, ^7:3The son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, ^7:4The son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, ^7:5The son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest: ^7:6This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a scribe, expert in the law of Moses which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given: and the king, moved by the Lord his God, gave him whatever he made request for. ^7:7And some of the children of Israel went up, with some of the priests and the Levites and the music-makers and the door-keepers and the Nethinim, to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. ^7:8And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, in the seventh year of the king's rule. ^7:9For, starting his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, he came to Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, by the good help of his God. ^7:10For Ezra had given his mind to learning the law of the Lord and doing it, and to teaching his rules and decisions in Israel. ^7:11Now this is a copy of the letter which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra, the priest and the scribe, who put into writing the words of the orders of the Lord, and of his rules for Israel: ^7:12Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, scribe of the law of the God of heaven, all peace; ^7:13And now it is my order that all those of the people of Israel, and their priests and Levites in my kingdom, who are ready and have a desire to go to Jerusalem, are to go with you. ^7:14Because you are sent by the king and his seven wise men, to get knowledge about Judah and Jerusalem, as you are ordered by the law of your God which is in your hand; ^7:15And to take with you the silver and gold freely offered by the king and his wise men to the God of Israel, whose Temple is in Jerusalem, ^7:16As well as all the silver and gold which you get from the land of Babylon, together with the offering of the people and of the priests, freely given for the house of their God, which is in Jerusalem: ^7:17So with this money get with care oxen, sheep, and lambs, with their meal offerings and their drink offerings, to be offered on the altar of the house of your God, which is in Jerusalem. ^7:18And whatever seems right to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, that do, as may be pleasing to your God. ^7:19And the vessels which have been given to you for the uses of the house of your God, you are to give to the God of Jerusalem. ^7:20And whatever more is needed for the house of your God, and which you may have to give, take it from the king's store-house. ^7:21And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, now give orders to all keepers of the king's money across the river, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may have need of from you, is to be done with all care, ^7:22Up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred measures of grain, a hundred measures of wine, and a hundred measures of oil, and salt without measure. ^7:23Whatever is ordered by the God of heaven, let it be done completely for the house of the God of heaven; so that there may not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons. ^7:24In addition, we make it clear to you, that it will be against the law to put any tax or payment in goods or forced payment on any of the priests or Levites, the music-makers, door-keepers, Nethinim, or any servants of this house of God. ^7:25And you, Ezra, by the wisdom of your God which is in you, are to put rulers and judges to have authority over all the people across the river who have knowledge of the laws of your God; and you are to give teaching to him who has no knowledge of them. ^7:26And if anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, take care that punishment is given to him, by death or by driving him from his country or by taking away his goods or by putting him in prison. ^7:27Praise be to the Lord, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing into the heart of the king, to make fair the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem; ^7:28And has given mercy to me before the king and his government and before all the king's great captains. And I was made strong by the hand of the Lord my God which was on me, and I got together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.

^8:1Now these are the heads of families who were listed of those who went up with me from Babylon, when Artaxerxes was king. ^8:2Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush; ^8:3Of the sons of Shecaniah; of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and with him were listed a hundred and fifty males. ^8:4Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai, the son of Zerahiah; and with him two hundred males. ^8:5Of the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel; and with him three hundred males. ^8:6And of the sons of Adin, Ebed, the son of Jonathan; and with him fifty males. ^8:7And of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah; the son of Athaliah; and with him seventy males. ^8:8And of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah, the son of Michael; and with him eighty males. ^8:9Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah, the son of Jehiel; and with him two hundred and eighteen males. ^8:10And of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah; and with him a hundred and sixty males. ^8:11And of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai; and with him twenty-eight males. ^8:12And of the sons of Azgad, Johanan, the son of Hakkatan; and with him a hundred and ten males. ^8:13And of the sons of Adonikam, the last, whose names were Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah; and with them sixty males. ^8:14And of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud; and with them seventy males. ^8:15And I made them come together by the river flowing to Ahava; and we were there in tents for three days: and after viewing the people and the priests I saw that no sons of Levi were there. ^8:16Then I sent for Eliezer and Ariel and Shemaiah and Elnathan Jarib and Elnathan and Nathan and Zechariah and Meshullam, all responsible men; and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were wise men. ^8:17And I sent them to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and gave them orders what to say to Iddo and his brothers the Nethinim at the place Casiphia, so that they might come back to us with men to do the work of the house of our God. ^8:18And by the help of our God they got for us Ish-sechel, one of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah with his sons and brothers, eighteen; ^8:19And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty; ^8:20And of the Nethinim, to whom David and the captains had given the work of helping the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim, all of them specially named. ^8:21Then I gave orders for a time of going without food, there by the river Ahava, so that we might make ourselves low before our God in prayer, requesting from him a straight way for us and for our little ones and for all our substance. ^8:22For I would not, for shame, make request to the king for a band of armed men and horsemen to give us help against those who might make attacks on us on the way: for we had said to the king, The hand of our God is on his servants for good, but his power and his wrath are against all those who are turned away from him. ^8:23So we went without food, requesting our God for this: and his ear was open to our prayer. ^8:24So I put on one side twelve of the chiefs of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them, ^8:25And gave to them by weight the silver and the gold and the vessels, all the offering for the house of our God which the king and his wise men and his captains and all Israel there present had given: ^8:26Measuring into their hands six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels, a hundred talents' weight, and a hundred talents of gold, ^8:27And twenty gold basins, of a thousand darics, and two vessels of the best bright brass, equal in value to gold. ^8:28And I said to them, You are holy to the Lord and the vessels are holy: and the silver and the gold are an offering freely given to the Lord, the God of your fathers. ^8:29Take care of them and keep them, till you put them on the scales before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites and the chiefs of the families of Israel, in Jerusalem, in the rooms of the house of the Lord. ^8:30So the priests and the Levites took the weight of silver and gold and the vessels, to take them to Jerusalem into the house of our God. ^8:31Then we went away from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was on us, and he gave us salvation from our haters and those who were waiting to make an attack on us by the way. ^8:32And we came to Jerusalem and were there for three days. ^8:33And on the fourth day, the silver and the gold and the vessels were measured out by weight in the house of our God into the hands of Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the priest; and with him was Eleazar, the son of Phinehas; and with them were Jozabad, the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, the son of Binnui, the Levites; ^8:34All was handed over by number and by weight: and the weight was put on record at that time. ^8:35And those who had been prisoners, who had come back from a strange land, made burned offerings to the God of Israel, twelve oxen for all Israel, ninety-six male sheep, seventy-seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering: all this was a burned offering to the Lord. ^8:36And they gave the king's orders to the king's captains and the rulers across the river, and they gave the people and the house of God the help which was needed.

^9:1Now after these things were done, the captains came to me and said, The people of Israel and the priests and Levites have not kept themselves separate from the people of the lands, but have taken part in the disgusting ways of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. ^9:2For they have taken their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed has been mixed with the peoples of the lands; and in fact the captains and rulers have been the first to do this evil. ^9:3And hearing this, with signs of grief and pulling out the hair of my head and my chin, I took my seat on the earth deeply troubled. ^9:4Then everyone who went in fear of the words of the God of Israel, because of the sin of those who had come back, came together to me; and I kept where I was, overcome with grief, till the evening offering. ^9:5And at the evening offering, having made myself low before God, I got up, and with signs of grief, falling down on my knees, with my hands stretched out to the Lord my God, ^9:6I said, O my God, shame keeps me from lifting up my face to you, my God: for our sins are increased higher than our heads and our evil-doing has come up to heaven. ^9:7From the days of our fathers till this day we have been great sinners; and for our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been given up into the hands of the kings of the lands, to the sword and to prison and to loss of goods and to shame of face, as it is this day. ^9:8And now for a little time grace has come to us from the Lord our God, to let a small band of us get free and to give us a nail in his holy place, so that our God may give light to our eyes and a measure of new life in our prison chains. ^9:9For we are servants; but our God has not been turned away from us in our prison, but has had mercy on us before the eyes of the kings of Persia, to give us new strength to put up again the house of our God and to make fair its waste places, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. ^9:10And now, O our God, what are we to say after this? for we have not kept your laws, ^9:11Which you gave to your servants the prophets, saying, The land into which you are going, to take it for a heritage, is an unclean land, because of the evil lives of the peoples of the land and their disgusting ways, which have made the land unclean from end to end. ^9:12So now do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or do anything for their peace or well-being for ever; so that you may be strong, living on the good of the land, and handing it on to your children for a heritage for ever. ^9:13And after everything which has come on us because of our evil-doing and our great sin, and seeing that the punishment which you, O God, have given us, is less than the measure of our sins, and that you have kept from death those of us who are here; ^9:14Are we again to go against your orders, taking wives from among the people who do these disgusting things? would you not be angry with us till our destruction was complete, till there was not one who got away safe? ^9:15O Lord God of Israel, righteousness is yours; we are only a small band which has been kept from death, as at this day: see, we are before you in our sin; for no one may keep his place before you because of this.

^10:1Now while Ezra was making his prayer and his statement of wrongdoing, weeping and falling down before the house of God, a very great number of men and women and children out of Israel came together round him: for the people were weeping bitterly. ^10:2And Shecaniah, the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answering, said to Ezra, We have done evil against our God, and have taken as our wives strange women of the peoples of the land: but still there is hope for Israel in this question. ^10:3Let us now make an agreement with our God to put away all the wives and all their children, if it seems right to my lord and to those who go in fear of the words of our God; and let it be done in keeping with the law. ^10:4Up, now! for this is your business, and we are with you; take heart and do it. ^10:5Then Ezra got up, and made the chiefs of the priests and the Levites and all Israel take an oath that they would do this. So they took an oath. ^10:6Then Ezra got up from before the house of God and went into the room of Jehohanan, the son of Eliashib; but when he came there, he took no food or drink, for he was sorrowing for the sin of those who had come back. ^10:7And they made a public statement through all Judah and Jerusalem, to all those who had come back, that they were to come together to Jerusalem; ^10:8And that if anyone did not come before three days were past, as ordered by the rulers and the responsible men, all his goods would be put under the curse, and he himself would be cut off from the meeting of the people who had come back. ^10:9Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin came together to Jerusalem before three days were past; it was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people were seated in the wide square in front of the house of God, shaking with fear because of this business and because of the great rain. ^10:10And Ezra the priest got to his feet and said to them, You have done wrong and taken strange women for your wives, so increasing the sin of Israel. ^10:11So now, give praise to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure; and make yourselves separate from the peoples of the land and from the strange women. ^10:12Then all the people, answering, said with a loud voice, As you have said, so it is right for us to do. ^10:13But the number of people is great, and it is a time of much rain; it is not possible for us to go on waiting outside, and this is not a thing which may be done in one day or even two: for our sin in this business is great. ^10:14So now let our rulers be representatives for all the people, and let all those in our towns who are married to strange women come at fixed times, and with them the responsible men and the judges of every town, till the burning wrath of our God is turned away from us, and this has been done. ^10:15Only Jonathan, the son of Asahel, and Jahzeiah, the son of Tikvah, were against this, Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supporting them. ^10:16So those who had come back did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain heads of families, by their fathers' families, all of them by their names, were marked out; and on the first day of the tenth month they took their places to go into the question with care. ^10:17And they got to the end of all the men who were married to strange women by the first day of the first month. ^10:18And among the sons of the priests who were married to strange women were these: of the sons of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak and his brothers, Maaseiah and Eliezer and Jarib and Gedaliah. ^10:19And they gave their word that they would put away their wives; and for their sin, they gave an offering of a male sheep of the flock. ^10:20And of the sons of Immer, Hanani and Zebadiah. ^10:21And of the sons of Harim, Maaseiah and Elijah and Shemaiah and Jehiel and Uzziah. ^10:22And of the sons of Pashhur, Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah. ^10:23And of the Levites, Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (that is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. ^10:24And of the music-makers, Eliashib; and of the door-keepers, Shallum and Telem and Uri. ^10:25And of Israel, the sons of Parosh, Ramiah and Izziah and Malchijah and Mijamin and Eleazar and Malchijah and Benaiah. ^10:26And of the sons of Elam, Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel and Abdi and Jeremoth and Elijah. ^10:27And of the sons of Zattu, Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth and Zabad and Aziza. ^10:28And of the sons of Bebai, Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, Athlai. ^10:29And of the sons of Bani, Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub and Sheal, Jeremoth. ^10:30And of the sons of Pahath-moab, Adna and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel and Binnui and Manasseh. ^10:31And of the sons of Harim, Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ^10:32Benjamin, Malluch, Shemariah. ^10:33Of the sons of Hashum, Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, Shimei. ^10:34Of the sons of Bani, Maadai, Amram, and Uel, ^10:35Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, ^10:36Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ^10:37Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu, ^10:38And Bani and Binnui, Shimei; ^10:39And Shelemiah and Nathan and Adaiah, ^10:40Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ^10:41Azarel and Shelemiah, Shemariah, ^10:42Shallum, Amariah, Joseph. ^10:43Of the sons of Nebo, Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Iddo, and Joel, Benaiah. ^10:44All these had taken strange wives; and some of them had wives by whom they had offspring.

Nehemiah

^1:1The history of Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah. Now it came about, in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, when I was in Shushan, the king's town, ^1:2That Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah; and in answer to my request for news of the Jews who had been prisoners and had got away, and of Jerusalem, ^1:3They said to me, The small band of Jews now living there in the land are in great trouble and shame: the wall of Jerusalem has been broken down, and its doorways burned with fire. ^1:4Then, after hearing these words, for some days I gave myself up to weeping and sorrow, seated on the earth; and taking no food I made prayer to the God of heaven, ^1:5And said, O Lord, the God of heaven, the great God, greatly to be feared, keeping faith and mercy with those who have love for him and are true to his laws: ^1:6Let your ear now take note and let your eyes be open, so that you may give ear to the prayer of your servant, which I make before you at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel, your servants, while I put before you the sins of the children of Israel, which we have done against you: truly, I and my father's people are sinners. ^1:7We have done great wrong against you, and have not kept the orders, the rules, and the decisions, which you gave to your servant Moses. ^1:8Keep in mind, O Lord, the order you gave your servant Moses, saying, If you do wrong I will send you wandering among the peoples: ^1:9But if you come back to me and keep my orders and do them, even if those of you who have been forced out are living in the farthest parts of heaven, I will get them from there, and take them back to the place marked out by me for the resting-place of my name. ^1:10Now these are your servants and your people, whom you have made yours by your great power and by your strong hand. ^1:11O Lord, let your ear take note of the prayer of your servant, and of the prayers of your servants, who take delight in worshipping your name: give help, O Lord, to your servant this day, and let him have mercy in the eyes of this man. (Now I was the king's wine-servant.)

^2:1And it came about in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never before been sad when the king was present. ^2:2And the king said to me, Why is your face sad, seeing that you are not ill? this is nothing but sorrow of heart. Then I was full of fear; ^2:3And said to the king, May the king be living for ever: is it not natural for my face to be sad, when the town, the place where the bodies of my fathers are at rest, has been made waste and its doorways burned with fire? ^2:4Then the king said to me, What is your desire? So I made prayer to the God of heaven. ^2:5And I said to the king, If it is the king's pleasure, and if your servant has your approval, send me to Judah, to the town where the bodies of my fathers are at rest, so that I may take in hand the building of it. ^2:6And the king said to me (the queen being seated by his side), How long will your journey take, and when will you come back? So the king was pleased to send me, and I gave him a fixed time. ^2:7Further, I said to the king, If it is the king's pleasure, let letters be given to me for the rulers across the river, so that they may let me go through till I come to Judah; ^2:8And a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's park, so that he may give me wood to make boards for the doors of the tower of the house, and for the wall of the town, and for the house which is to be mine. And the king gave me this, for the hand of my God was on me. ^2:9Then I came to the rulers of the lands across the river and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me captains of the army and horsemen. ^2:10And Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, hearing of it, were greatly troubled because a man had come to the help of the children of Israel. ^2:11So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. ^2:12And in the night I got up, taking with me a small band of men; I said nothing to any man of what God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem: and I had no beast with me but the one on which I was seated. ^2:13And I went out by night, through the doorway of the valley, and past the dragon's water-spring as far as the place where waste material was put, viewing the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down, and the doorways which had been burned with fire. ^2:14Then I went on to the door of the fountain and to the king's pool: but there was no room for my beast to get through. ^2:15Then in the night, I went up by the stream, viewing the wall; then turning back, I went in by the door in the valley, and so came back. ^2:16And the chiefs had no knowledge of where I had been or what I was doing; and I had not then said anything to the Jews or to the priests or the great ones or the chiefs or the rest of those who were doing the work. ^2:17Then I said to them, You see what a bad condition we are in; how Jerusalem is a waste, and its doorways burned with fire: come, let us get to work, building up the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer be put to shame. ^2:18Then I gave them an account of how the hand of my God was on me, helping me; and of the king's words which he had said to me. And they said, Let us get to work on the building. So they made their hands strong for the good work. ^2:19But Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, hearing of it, made sport of us, laughing at us and saying, What are you doing? will you go against the king? ^2:20Then answering them I said, The God of heaven, he will be our help; so we his servants will go on with our building: but you have no part or right or any name in Jerusalem.

^3:1Then Eliashib, the chief priest, got up with his brothers the priests, and took in hand the building of the sheep doorway; they made it holy and put its doors in position; as far as the tower of Hammeah they made it holy, even to the tower of Hananel. ^3:2And by his side the men of Jericho were building. And after them, Zaccur, the son of Imri. ^3:3The sons of Hassenaah were the builders of the fish doorway; they put its boards in place and put up its doors, with their locks and rods. ^3:4By their side Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, was making good the walls. Then Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel; and by him, Zadok, the son of Baana. ^3:5Near them, the Tekoites were at work; but their chiefs did not put their necks to the work of their Lord. ^3:6Joiada, the son of Paseah, and Meshullam, the son of Besodeiah, made good the old doorway; they put its boards in place and put up its doors, with their locks and rods. ^3:7By their side were working Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah from the seat of the ruler across the river. ^3:8Near them was working Uzziel, the son of Harhaiah, the gold-worker. And by him was Hananiah, one of the perfume-makers, building up Jerusalem as far as the wide wall. ^3:9Near them was working Rephaiah, the son of Hur, the ruler of half Jerusalem. ^3:10By his side was Jedaiah, the son of Harumaph, opposite his house. And by him was Hattush, the son of Hashabneiah. ^3:11Malchijah, the son of Harim, and Hasshub, the son of Pahath-moab, were working on another part, and the tower of the ovens. ^3:12Near them was Shallum, the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of half Jerusalem, with his daughters. ^3:13Hanun and the people of Zanoah were working on the doorway of the valley; they put it up and put up its doors, with their locks and rods, and a thousand cubits of wall as far as the doorway where the waste material was placed. ^3:14And Malchijah, the son of Rechab, the ruler of the division of Beth-haccherem, made good the doorway of the waste, building it up and putting up its doors, with their locks and rods. ^3:15And Shallun, the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of the division of Mizpah, made good the doorway of the fountain, building it up and covering it and putting up its doors, with their locks and rods, with the wall of the pool of Shelah by the king's garden, as far as the steps which go down from the town of David. ^3:16By his side was working Nehemiah, the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the division of Beth-zur, as far as the place opposite the last resting-places of David's family, and the pool which was made and the house of the men of war. ^3:17Then came the Levites, Rehum, the son of Bani. By his side was working Hashabiah, ruler of half the division of Keilah, for his division. ^3:18After him were working their brothers, Bavvai, the son of Henadad, ruler of half the division of Keilah. ^3:19And by his side was working Ezer, the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, making good another part opposite the way up to the store of arms at the turning of the wall. ^3:20After him Baruch, the son of Zabbai, was hard at work on another part, from the turning of the wall to the door of the house of Eliashib, the chief priest. ^3:21After him Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, was working on another part, from the door of the house of Eliashib as far as the end of his house. ^3:22After him were working the priests, the men of the lowland. ^3:23After them came Benjamin and Hasshub, opposite their house. After them Azariah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made good the wall by the house where he himself was living. ^3:24After him Binnui, the son of Henadad, was working on another part, from the house of Azariah as far as the turning of the wall and the angle. ^3:25Palal, the son of Uzai, made good the wall opposite the angle and the tower which comes out from the higher part of the king's house, by the open space of the watch. After him was Pedaiah, the son of Parosh. ^3:26(Now the Nethinim were living in the Ophel, as far as the place facing the water doorway to the east, and the tower which comes out.) ^3:27After him the Tekoites were making good another part, opposite the great tower which comes out, and up to the wall of the Ophel. ^3:28Further on, past the horse doorway, the priests were at work, every one opposite his house. ^3:29After them Zadok, the son of Immer, was working opposite his house. And after him Shemaiah, the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the east door. ^3:30After him Hananiah, the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, were making good another part. After him Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, made good the wall opposite his room. ^3:31After him Malchijah, one of the gold-workers to the Nethinim and the traders, made good the wall opposite the doorway of Hammiphkad and as far as the way up to the angle. ^3:32And between the way up to the angle and the sheep door, the gold-workers and the traders made good the wall.

^4:1Now, Sanballat, hearing that we were building the wall, was very angry, and in his wrath made sport of the Jews. ^4:2And in the hearing of his countrymen and the army of Samaria he said, What are these feeble Jews doing? will they make themselves strong? will they make offerings? will they get the work done in a day? will they make the stones which have been burned come again out of the dust? ^4:3Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Such is their building that if a fox goes up it, their stone wall will be broken down. ^4:4Give ear, O our God, for we are looked down on: let their words of shame be turned back on themselves, and let them be given up to wasting in a land where they are prisoners: ^4:5Let not their wrongdoing be covered or their sin washed away from before you: for they have made you angry before the builders. ^4:6So we went on building the wall; and all the wall was joined together half-way up: for the people were working hard. ^4:7But when it came to the ears of Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites, that the building of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and the broken places were being made good, they were full of wrath; ^4:8And they made designs, all of them together, to come and make an attack on Jerusalem, causing trouble there. ^4:9But we made our prayer to God, and had men on watch against them day and night because of them. ^4:10And Judah said, The strength of the workmen is giving way, and there is much waste material; it is impossible for us to put up the wall. ^4:11And those who were against us said, Without their knowledge and without their seeing us, we will come among them and put them to death, causing the work to come to a stop. ^4:12And it came about that when the Jews who were living near them came, they said to us ten times, From all directions they are coming against us. ^4:13So in the lowest part of the space at the back of the walls, in the open places, I put the people by families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. ^4:14And after looking, I got up and said to the great ones and to the chiefs and to the rest of the people, Have no fear of them: keep in mind the Lord who is great and greatly to be feared, and take up arms for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives and your houses. ^4:15And when it came to the ears of those who were against us, that we had knowledge of their designs and that God had made their purpose come to nothing, we all went back to the wall, everyone to his work ^4:16And from that time, half of my servants were doing their part of the work, and half kept the spears and body-covers and the bows and the metal war-dresses; and the chiefs were at the back of the men of Judah. ^4:17Those who were building the wall and those who were moving material did their part, everyone working with one hand, with his spear in the other; ^4:18Every builder was working with his sword at his side. And by my side was a man for sounding the horn. ^4:19And I said to the great ones and the chiefs and the rest of the people, The work is great and widely spaced and we are far away from one another on the wall: ^4:20Wherever you may be when the horn is sounded, come here to us; our God will be fighting for us. ^4:21So we went on with the work: and half of them had spears in their hands from the dawn of the morning till the stars were seen. ^4:22And at the same time I said to the people, Let everyone with his servant come inside Jerusalem for the night, so that at night they may keep watch for us, and go on working by day. ^4:23So not one of us, I or my brothers or my servants or the watchmen who were with me, took off his clothing, everyone went armed to the water.

^5:1Then there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their countrymen the Jews. ^5:2For there were some who said, We, our sons and our daughters, are a great number: let us get grain, so that we may have food for our needs. ^5:3And there were some who said, We are giving our fields and our vine-gardens and our houses for debt: let us get grain because we are in need. ^5:4And there were others who said, We have given up our fields and our vine-gardens to get money for the king's taxes. ^5:5But our flesh is the same as the flesh of our countrymen, and our children as their children: and now we are giving our sons and daughters into the hands of others, to be their servants, and some of our daughters are servants even now: and we have no power to put a stop to it; for other men have our fields and our vine-gardens. ^5:6And on hearing their outcry and what they said I was very angry. ^5:7And after turning it over in my mind, I made a protest to the chiefs and the rulers, and said to them, Every one of you is taking interest from his countryman. And I got together a great meeting of protest. ^5:8And I said to them, We have given whatever we were able to give, to make our brothers the Jews free, who were servants and prisoners of the nations: and would you now give up your brothers for a price, and are they to become our property? Then they said nothing, answering not a word. ^5:9And I said, What you are doing is not good: is it not the more necessary for you to go in the fear of our God, because of the shame which the nations may put on us? ^5:10Even I and my servants have been taking interest for the money and the grain we have let them have. So now, let us give up this thing. ^5:11Give back to them this very day their fields, their vine-gardens, their olive-gardens, and their houses, as well as a hundredth part of the money and the grain and the wine and the oil which you have taken from them. ^5:12Then they said, We will give them back, and take nothing for them; we will do as you say. Then I sent for the priests and made them take an oath that they would keep this agreement. ^5:13And shaking out the folds of my robe, I said, So may God send out from his house and his work every man who does not keep this agreement; even so let him be sent out and made as nothing. And all the meeting of the people said, So be it, and gave praise to the Lord. And the people did as they had said. ^5:14Now from the time when I was made ruler of the people in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year till the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, for twelve years, I and my servants have never taken the food which was the right of the ruler. ^5:15But earlier rulers who were before me made the people responsible for their upkeep, and took from them bread and wine at the rate of forty shekels of silver; and even their servants were lords over the people: but I did not do so, because of the fear of God. ^5:16And I kept on with the work of this wall, and we got no land for ourselves: and all my servants were helping with the work. ^5:17And more than this, a hundred and fifty of the Jews and the rulers were guests at my table, in addition to those who came to us from the nations round about us. ^5:18Now the food made ready for one day was one ox and six fat sheep, as well as fowls; and once in ten days a store of all sorts of wine: but all the same, I did not take the food to which the ruler had a right, because the people were crushed under a hard yoke. ^5:19Keep in mind, O my God, for my good, all I have done for this people.

^6:1Now when word was given to Sanballat and Tobiah and to Geshem the Arabian and to the rest of our haters, that I had done the building of the wall and that there were no more broken places in it (though even then I had not put up the doors in the doorways); ^6:2Sanballat and Geshem sent to me saying, Come, let us have a meeting in one of the little towns in the lowland of Ono. But their purpose was to do me evil. ^6:3And I sent men to them saying, I am doing a great work, so that it is not possible for me to come down: is the work to be stopped while I go away from it and come down to you? ^6:4And four times they sent to me in this way, and I sent them the same answer. ^6:5Then Sanballat sent his servant to me a fifth time with an open letter in his hand; ^6:6And in it these words were recorded: It is said among the nations, and Geshem says so, that you and the Jews are hoping to make yourselves free from the king's authority; and that this is why you are building the wall: and they say that it is your purpose to be their king; ^6:7And that you have prophets preaching about you in Jerusalem, and saying, There is a king in Judah: now an account of these things will be sent to the king. So come now, and let us have a discussion. ^6:8Then I sent to him, saying, No such things as you say are being done, they are only a fiction you have made up yourself. ^6:9For they were hoping to put fear in us, saying, Their hands will become feeble and give up the work so that it may not get done. But now, O God, make my hands strong. ^6:10And I went to the house of Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us have a meeting in the house of God, inside the Temple, and let the doors be shut: for they will come to put you to death; truly, in the night they will come to put you to death. ^6:11And I said, Am I the sort of man to go in flight? what man, in my position, would go into the Temple to keep himself safe? I will not go in. ^6:12Then it became clear to me that God had not sent him: he had given this word of a prophet against me himself: and Tobiah and Sanballat had given him money to do so. ^6:13For this reason they had given him money, in order that I might be overcome by fear and do what he said and do wrong, and so they would have reason to say evil about me and put shame on me. ^6:14Keep in mind, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat and what they did, and Noadiah, the woman prophet, and the rest of the prophets whose purpose was to put fear into me. ^6:15So the wall was complete on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. ^6:16And when our haters had news of this, all the nations round about us were full of fear and were greatly shamed, for they saw that this work had been done by our God. ^6:17And further, in those days the chiefs of Judah sent a number of letters to Tobiah, and his letters came to them. ^6:18For in Judah there were a number of people who had made an agreement by oath with him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah, the son of Arah; and his son Jehohanan had taken as his wife the daughter of Meshullam, the son of Berechiah. ^6:19And they said much before me of the good he had done, and gave him accounts of my words. And Tobiah sent letters with the purpose of causing me fear.

^7:1Now when the building of the wall was complete and I had put up the doors, and the door-keepers and the music-makers and the Levites had been given their places, ^7:2I made my brother Hanani, and Hananiah, the ruler of the tower, responsible for the government of Jerusalem: for he was a man of good faith, fearing God more than most. ^7:3And I said to them, Do not let the doors of Jerusalem be open till the sun is high; and while the watchmen are in their places, let the doors be shut and locked: and let the people of Jerusalem be put on watch, every one in his watch, opposite his house. ^7:4Now the town was wide and great: but the people in it were only a small number, and the houses had not been put up. ^7:5And my God put it into my heart to get together the rulers and the chiefs and the people so that they might be listed by families. And I came across a record of the names of those who came up at the first, and in it I saw these words: ^7:6These are the people of the divisions of the kingdom, among those who had been made prisoners by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and taken away by him, who went back to Jerusalem and Judah, every one to his town; ^7:7Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: ^7:8The children of Parosh, two thousand, one hundred and seventy-two. ^7:9The children of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two. ^7:10The children of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two. ^7:11The children of Pahath-moab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand, eight hundred and eighteen. ^7:12The children of Elam, a thousand, two hundred and fifty-four. ^7:13The children of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five. ^7:14The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty. ^7:15The children of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight. ^7:16The children of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight. ^7:17The children of Azgad, two thousand, three hundred and twenty-two. ^7:18The children of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven. ^7:19The children of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven. ^7:20The children of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five. ^7:21The children of Ater, of Hezekiah, ninety-eight. ^7:22The children of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight. ^7:23The children of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four. ^7:24The children of Hariph, a hundred and twelve. ^7:25The children of Gibeon, ninety-five. ^7:26The men of Beth-lehem and Netophah, a hundred and eighty-eight. ^7:27The men of Anathoth, a hundred and twenty-eight. ^7:28The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two. ^7:29The men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three. ^7:30The men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one. ^7:31The men of Michmas, a hundred and twenty-two. ^7:32The men of Beth-el and Ai, a hundred and twenty-three. ^7:33The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two. ^7:34The children of the other Elam, a thousand, two hundred and fifty-four. ^7:35The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty. ^7:36The children of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five. ^7:37The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one. ^7:38The children of Senaah, three thousand, nine hundred and thirty. ^7:39The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the family of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three. ^7:40The children of Immer, a thousand and fifty-two. ^7:41The children of Pashhur, a thousand, two hundred and forty-seven. ^7:42The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen. ^7:43The Levites: the children of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, of the children of Hodevah, seventy-four. ^7:44The music-makers: the children of Asaph, a hundred and forty-eight. ^7:45The door-keepers: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, a hundred and thirty-eight. ^7:46The Nethinim: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth, ^7:47The children of Keros, the children of Sia, the children of Padon, ^7:48The children of Lebana, the children of Hagaba, the children of Salmai, ^7:49The children of Hanan, the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, ^7:50The children of Reaiah, the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, ^7:51The children of Gazzam, the children of Uzza, the children of Paseah, ^7:52The children of Besai, the children of Meunim, the children of Nephushesim, ^7:53The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur, ^7:54The children of Bazlith, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha, ^7:55The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Temah, ^7:56The children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha. ^7:57The children of Solomon's servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida, ^7:58The children of Jaala, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel, ^7:59The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the children of Amon. ^7:60All the Nethinim and the children of Solomon's servants were three hundred and ninety-two. ^7:61All these were the people who went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer; but because they had no knowledge of their fathers' families or offspring, it was not certain if they were Israelites: ^7:62The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two. ^7:63And of the priests: the children of Hobaiah, the children of Hakkoz, the children of Barzillai, who was married to one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and took their name. ^7:64They made search for their record among the lists of families, but their names were nowhere to be seen, so they were looked on as unclean and no longer priests. ^7:65And the Tirshatha said that they were not to have the most holy things for their food, till a priest came to give decision by the Urim and Thummim. ^7:66The number of all the people together was forty-two thousand, three hundred and sixty; ^7:67As well as their men-servants and their women-servants, of whom there were seven thousand, three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five men and women to make music. ^7:68They had seven hundred and thirty-six horses, two hundred and forty-five transport beasts; ^7:69Four hundred and thirty-five camels, six thousand, seven hundred and twenty asses. ^7:70And some of the heads of families gave money for the work. The Tirshatha gave into the store a thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests' robes. ^7:71And some of the heads of families gave into the store for the work twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand, two hundred pounds of silver. ^7:72And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand pounds of silver, and sixty-seven priests' robes. ^7:73So the priests and the Levites and the door-keepers and the music-makers and some of the people and the Nethinim, and all Israel, were living in their towns.

^8:1And when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their towns. And all the people came together like one man into the wide place in front of the water-doorway; and they made a request to Ezra the scribe that he would put before them the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. ^8:2And Ezra the priest put the law before the meeting of the people, before the men and women and all those who were able to take it in, on the first day of the seventh month. ^8:3He was reading it in the wide place in front of the water-doorway, from early morning till the middle of the day, in the hearing of all those men and women whose minds were able to take it in; and the ears of all the people were open to the book of the law. ^8:4And Ezra the scribe took his place on a tower of wood which they had made for the purpose; and by his side were placed Mattithiah and Shema and Anaiah and Uriah and Hilkiah and Maaseiah on the right; and on the left, Pedaiah and Mishael and Malchijah and Hashum and Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam. ^8:5And Ezra took the book, opening it before the eyes of all the people (for he was higher than the people); and when it was open, all the people got to their feet: ^8:6And Ezra gave praise to the Lord, the great God. And all the people in answer said, So be it, so be it; lifting up their hands; and with bent heads they gave worship to the Lord, going down on their faces to the earth. ^8:7And Jeshua and Bani and Sherebiah and Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites made the law clear to the people: and the people kept in their places. ^8:8And they gave out the words of the book the law of God, clearly, and gave the sense of it, so that their minds were able to take it in. ^8:9And Nehemiah, who was the Tirshatha, and Ezra, the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were the teachers of the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the Lord your God; let there be no sorrow or weeping; for all the people were weeping on hearing the words of the law. ^8:10Then he said to them, Go away now, and take the fat for your food and the sweet for your drink, and send some to him for whom nothing is made ready: for this day is holy to our Lord: and let there be no grief in your hearts; for the joy of the Lord is your strong place. ^8:11So the Levites made all the people quiet, saying, Be quiet, for the day is holy; and do not give way to grief. ^8:12And all the people went away to take food and drink, and to send food to others, and to be glad, because the words which were said to them had been made clear. ^8:13And on the second day the heads of families of all the people and the priests and the Levites came together to Ezra the scribe, to give attention to the words of the law. ^8:14And they saw that it was recorded in the law that the Lord had given orders by Moses, that the children of Israel were to have tents for their living-places in the feast of the seventh month: ^8:15And that they were to give out an order, and make it public in all their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, Go out to the mountain and get olive branches and branches of field olives and of myrtle, and palm branches and branches of thick trees, to make tents, as it says in the book. ^8:16And the people went out and got them and made themselves tents, every one on the roof of his house, and in the open spaces and in the open squares of the house of God, and in the wide place of the water-doorway, and the wide place of the doorway of Ephraim. ^8:17All the people who had been prisoners and had come back, made tents and were living in them: for from the time of Jeshua, the son of Nun, till that day, the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great joy. ^8:18And day by day, from the first day till the last, he was reading from the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast for seven days: and on the eighth day there was a holy meeting, as it is ordered in the law.

^9:1Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel came together, taking no food and putting haircloth and dust on their bodies. ^9:2And the seed of Israel made themselves separate from all the men of other nations, publicly requesting forgiveness for their sins and the wrongdoing of their fathers. ^9:3And for a fourth part of the day, upright in their places, they were reading from the book of the law of their God; and for a fourth part of the day they were requesting forgiveness and worshipping the Lord their God. ^9:4Then Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani took their places on the steps of the Levites, crying in a loud voice to the Lord their God. ^9:5Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, Get up and give praise to the Lord your God for ever and ever. Praise be to your great name which is lifted up high over all blessing and praise. ^9:6You are the Lord, even you only; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their armies, the earth and all things in it, the seas and everything in them; and you keep them from destruction: and the armies of heaven are your worshippers. ^9:7You are the Lord, the God, who took Abram and made him yours, guiding him from Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham; ^9:8You saw that his heart was true to you, and made an agreement 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 to his seed, and you have done what you said; for righteousness is yours: ^9:9And you saw the trouble of our fathers in Egypt, and their cry came to your ears by the Red Sea; ^9:10And you did signs and wonders on Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land; for you saw how cruel they were to them. So you got yourself a name as it is today. ^9:11By you the sea was parted before them, so that they went through the sea on dry land; and those who went after them went down into the deep, like a stone into great waters. ^9:12And you went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light on the way they were to go. ^9:13And you came down on Mount Sinai, and your voice came to them from heaven, giving them right decisions and true laws, good rules and orders: ^9:14And you gave them word of your holy Sabbath, and gave them orders and rules and a law, by the hand of Moses your servant: ^9:15And you gave them bread from heaven when they were in need, and made water come out of the rock for their drink, and gave them orders to go in and take for their heritage the land which your hand had been lifted up to give them. ^9:16But they and our fathers, in their pride, made their necks stiff, and gave no attention to your orders, ^9:17And would not do them, and gave no thought to the wonders you had done among them; but made their necks stiff, and turning away from you, made a captain over themselves to take them back to their prison in Egypt: but you are a God of forgiveness, full of grace and pity, slow to wrath and great in mercy, and you did not give them up. ^9:18Even when they had made for themselves an ox of metal, and said, This is your God who took you up out of Egypt, and had done so much to make you angry; ^9:19Even then, in your great mercy, you did not give them up in the waste land: the pillar of cloud still went before them by day, guiding them on their way, and the pillar of fire by night, to give them light, and make clear the way they were to go. ^9:20And you gave your good spirit to be their teacher, and did not keep back your manna from their mouths, and gave them water when they had need of it. ^9:21Truly, for forty years you were their support in the waste land, and they were in need of nothing; their clothing did not get old or their feet become tired. ^9:22And you gave them kingdoms and peoples, making distribution to them in every part of the land: so they took for their heritage the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, king of Bashan. ^9:23And you made their children as great in number as the stars of heaven, and took them into the land, of which you had said to their fathers that they were to go in and take it for themselves. ^9:24So the children went in and took the land, and you overcame before them the people of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them up into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land, so that they might do with them whatever it was their pleasure to do. ^9:25And they took walled towns and a fat land, and became the owners of houses full of all good things, water-holes cut in the rock, vine-gardens and olive-gardens and a wealth of fruit-trees: so they had food enough and became fat, and had joy in the good you gave them. ^9:26But they were hard-hearted, and went against your authority, turning their backs on your law, and putting to death your prophets, who gave witness against them with the purpose of turning them back again to you, and they did much to make you angry. ^9:27And so you gave them up into the hands of their haters who were cruel to them: and in the time of their trouble, when they made their prayer to you, you gave ear to them from heaven; and in your great mercy gave them saviours, who made them free from the hands of their haters. ^9:28But when they had rest, they did evil again before you: so you gave them into the hands of their haters, who had rule over them: but when they came back and made their prayer to you, you gave ear to them from heaven; again and again, in your mercy, you gave them salvation; ^9:29And gave witness against them so that you might make them come back again to your law: but their hearts were lifted up, and they gave no attention to your orders and went against your decisions (which, if a man keeps them, will be life to him), and turning their backs on you, made their necks stiff and did not give ear. ^9:30Year after year you put up with them, and gave witness against them by your spirit through your prophets: still they did not give ear: and so you gave them up into the hands of the peoples of the lands. ^9:31Even then, in your great mercy, you did not put an end to them completely, or give them up; for you are a God of grace and mercy. ^9:32And now, our God, the great, the strong, the God who is to be feared, who keeps faith and mercy, let not all this trouble seem small to you, which has come on us, and on our kings and our rulers and on our priests and our prophets and our fathers and on all your people from the time of the kings of Assyria till this day. ^9:33But still, you have been in the right in everything which has come on us; you have been true to us, but we have done evil: ^9:34And our kings, our rulers, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or given attention to your orders and your witness, with which you gave witness against them. ^9:35For they have not been your servants in their kingdom, and in all the good things you gave them, and in the great and fat land you gave them, and they have not been turned away from their evil-doing. ^9:36Now, today, we are servants, and as for the land which you gave to our fathers, so that the produce of it and the good might be theirs, see, we are servants in it: ^9:37And it gives much increase to the kings whom you have put over us because of our sins: and they have power over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great trouble. ^9:38And because of all this we are making an agreement in good faith, and putting it in writing; and our rulers, our Levites, and our priests are putting their names to it.

^10:1Now those who put down their names were Nehemiah the Tirshatha, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah, ^10:2Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, ^10:3Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, ^10:4Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, ^10:5Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, ^10:6Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, ^10:7Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, ^10:8Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these were the priests. ^10:9And the Levites: by name, Jeshua, the son of Azaniah, Binnui, of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel, ^10:10And their brothers, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, ^10:11Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, ^10:12Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, ^10:13Hodiah, Bani, Beninu. ^10:14The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, ^10:15Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, ^10:16Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, ^10:17Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, ^10:18Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, ^10:19Hariph, Anathoth, Nobai, ^10:20Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, ^10:21Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, ^10:22Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, ^10:23Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, ^10:24Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, ^10:25Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, ^10:26And Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, ^10:27Malluch, Harim, Baanah. ^10:28And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the door-keepers, the music-makers, the Nethinim, and all those who had made themselves separate from the peoples of the lands, to keep the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge and wisdom; ^10:29They were united with their brothers, their rulers, and put themselves under a curse and an oath, to keep their steps in the way of God's law, which was given by Moses, the servant of God, and to keep and do all the orders of the Lord, our Lord, and his decisions and his rules; ^10:30And that we would not give our daughters to the peoples of the lands, or take their daughters for our sons; ^10:31And if the peoples of the lands come to do trade in goods or food on the Sabbath day, that we would do no trade with them on the Sabbath or on a holy day: and that in the seventh year we would take no payment from any debtor. ^10:32And we made rules for ourselves, taxing ourselves a third of a shekel every year for the upkeep of the house of our God; ^10:33For the holy bread, and for the regular meal offering and the regular burned offering on the Sabbaths and at the new moon and the fixed feasts, and for the sin-offerings to take away the sin of Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. ^10:34And we, the priests and the Levites and the people, made selection, by the decision of the Lord, of those who were to take the wood offering into the house of God, by families at the regular times, year by year, to be burned on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is recorded in the law; ^10:35And to take the first-fruits of our land, and the first-fruits of every sort of tree, year by year, into the house of the Lord; ^10:36As well as the first of our sons and of our cattle, as it is recorded in the law, and the first lambs of our herds and of our flocks, which are to be taken to the house of our God, to the priests who are servants in the house of our God: ^10:37And that we would take the first of our rough meal, and our lifted offerings, and the fruit of every sort of tree, and wine and oil, to the priests, to the rooms of the house of our God; and the tenth of the produce of our land to the Levites; for they, the Levites, take a tenth in all the towns of our ploughed land. ^10:38And the priest, the son of Aaron, is to be with the Levites, when the Levites take the tenths: and the Levites are to take a tenth of the tenths into the house of our God, to the rooms, into the store-house; ^10:39For the children of Israel and the children of Levi are to take the lifted offering of the grain and wine and oil into the rooms where the vessels of the holy place are, together with the priests and the door-keepers and the makers of music: and we will not give up caring for the house of our God.

^11:1And the rulers of the people were living in Jerusalem: the rest of the people made selection, by the decision of chance, of one out of every ten to be living in Jerusalem, the holy town; the other nine to go to the other towns. ^11:2And the people gave a blessing to all the men who were freely offering to take up their places in Jerusalem. ^11:3Now these are the chiefs of the divisions of the country who were living in Jerusalem: but in the towns of Judah everyone was living on his heritage in the towns, that is, Israel, the priests, the Levites, the Nethinim, and the children of Solomon's servants. ^11:4And in Jerusalem there were living certain of the children of Judah and 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; ^11:5And 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. ^11:6All the sons of Perez living in Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight men of good position. ^11:7And 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. ^11:8And after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred and twenty-eight. ^11:9And Joel, the son of Zichri, was their overseer; and Judah, the son of Hassenuah, was second over the town. ^11:10Of the priests: Jedaiah, the son of Joiarib, Jachin, ^11:11Seraiah, 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, ^11:12And their brothers who did the work of the house, eight hundred and twenty-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, ^11:13And his brothers, heads of families, two hundred and forty-two; and Amashsai, the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, ^11:14And their brothers, men of war, a hundred and twenty-eight; and their overseer was Zabdiel, the son of Haggedolim. ^11:15And of the Levites: Shemaiah, the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni, ^11:16And Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who were responsible for the outside business of the house of God; ^11:17And Mattaniah, the son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, who had to give the first note of the song of praise in prayer, and Bakbukiah, the second among his brothers, and Abda, the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. ^11:18All the Levites in the holy town were two hundred and eighty-four. ^11:19In addition the door-keepers, Akkub, Talmon, and their brothers who kept watch at the doors, were a hundred and seventy-two. ^11:20And the rest of Israel, of the priests, the Levites, were in all the towns of Judah, every one in his heritage. ^11:21But the Nethinim were living in the Ophel; and Ziha and Gishpa were over the Nethinim. ^11:22And the overseer 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 music-makers, who was over the business of the house of God. ^11:23For there was an order from the king about them and a regular amount for the music-makers, for their needs day by day. ^11:24And Pethahiah, the son of Meshezabel, of the sons of Zerah, the son of Judah, was the king's servant in everything to do with the people. ^11:25And for the daughter-towns with their fields, some of the men of Judah were living in Kiriath-arba and its daughter-towns, and in Dibon and its daughter-towns, and in Jekabzeel and its daughter-towns, ^11:26And in Jeshua, and in Moladah, and Beth-pelet, ^11:27And in Hazar-shual, and in Beer-sheba and its daughter-towns, ^11:28And in Ziklag, and in Meconah and its daughter-towns, ^11:29And in En-rimmon, and in Zorah, and in Jarmuth, ^11:30Zanoah, Adullam and their daughter-towns, Lachish and its fields, Azekah and its daughter-towns. So they were living from Beer-sheba to the valley of Hinnom. ^11:31And the children of Benjamin were living from Geba, at Michmash and Aija, and at Beth-el and its daughter-towns, ^11:32At Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, ^11:33Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ^11:34Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ^11:35Lod and Ono, the valley of expert workers. ^11:36And of the Levites, certain divisions in Judah were joined to Benjamin.