Nehemiah 7–8

7The wall had been rebuilt. I had put up the gates at the main entrances to the city. Those who guarded the gates were appointed to their positions. So were the singers and Levites. ²I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem. Hananiah helped him. Hananiah was commander of the fort that was by the temple. Hanani was an honest man. He had more respect for God than most people do.

³I said to Hanani and Hananiah, “Don’t open the gates of Jerusalem until the hottest time of the day. Tell the men who guard the gates to shut them before they go off duty. Make sure they lock them up tight. Also appoint as guards some people who live in Jerusalem. Station some of them at their appointed places. Station others near their own homes.”

A List of People Who Returned to Judah

⁴Jerusalem was large. It had a lot of room. But only a few people lived there. The houses hadn’t been rebuilt yet. ⁵So my God stirred me up to gather the people together. He also told me to gather the nobles and officials together with them. He wanted me to list them by families. I found the family history of those who had been the first to return. Here is what I found written in it.

⁶Nebuchadnezzar had taken many Jews away from the land of Judah. He had forced them to go to Babylonia as prisoners. Now they returned to Jerusalem and Judah. All of them went back to their own towns. Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylonia. ⁷The leaders of the Jews included Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah and Nahamani. They also included Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum and Baanah.

Here is a list of the men of Israel who returned home.

⁸There were 2,172 from the family line of Parosh.

⁹There were 372 from Shephatiah.

¹⁰There were 652 from Arah.

¹¹There were 2,818 from Pahath-Moab through the family line of Jeshua and Joab.

¹²There were 1,254 from Elam.

¹³There were 845 from Zattu.

¹⁴There were 760 from Zaccai.

¹⁵There were 648 from Binnui.

¹⁶There were 628 from Bebai.

¹⁷There were 2,322 from Azgad.

¹⁸There were 667 from Adonikam.

¹⁹There were 2,067 from Bigvai.

²⁰There were 655 from Adin.

²¹There were 98 from Ater through the family line of Hezekiah.

²²There were 328 from Hashum.

²³There were 324 from Bezai.

²⁴There were 112 from Hariph.

²⁵There were 95 from Gibeon.

²⁶There were 188 from the men of Bethlehem and Netophah.

²⁷There were 128 from Anathoth.

²⁸There were 42 from Beth Azmaveth.

²⁹There were 743 from Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah and Beeroth.

³⁰There were 621 from Ramah and Geba.

³¹There were 122 from Micmash.

³²There were 123 from Bethel and Ai.

³³There were 52 from Nebo.

³⁴There were 1,254 from the other Elam.

³⁵There were 320 from Harim.

³⁶There were 345 from Jericho.

³⁷There were 721 from Lod, Hadid and Ono.

³⁸There were 3,930 from Senaah.

³⁹Here is a list of the priests.

There were 973 from the family line of Jedaiah through the line of Jeshua.

⁴⁰There were 1,052 from Immer.

⁴¹There were 1,247 from Pashhur.

⁴²There were 1,017 from Harim.

⁴³The Levites belonged to

the family line of Jeshua through Kadmiel through the line of Hodaviah. The total number of men was 74.

⁴⁴The singers belonged to

the family line of Asaph. The total number of men was 148.

⁴⁵The men who guarded the temple gates belonged to

the family lines of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita and Shobai. The total number of men was 138.

⁴⁶Here is a list of the members of the family lines of the temple servants.

Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,

⁴⁷Keros, Sia, Padon,

⁴⁸Lebana, Hagaba, Shalmai,

⁴⁹Hanan, Giddel, Gahar,

⁵⁰Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda,

⁵¹Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah,

⁵²Besai, Meunim, Nephussim,

⁵³Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur,

⁵⁴Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha,

⁵⁵Barkos, Sisera, Temah,

⁵⁶Neziah, Hatipha

⁵⁷Here is a list of the members of the family lines of the servants of Solomon.

Sotai, Sophereth, Perida,

⁵⁸Jaala, Darkon, Giddel,

⁵⁹Shephatiah, Hattil,

Pokereth-Hazzebaim, Amon

⁶⁰The total number of the members of the family lines of the temple servants and the servants of Solomon was 392.

⁶¹Many people came up to Judah from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon and Immer. But they weren’t able to prove that their families belonged to the people of Israel.

⁶²There were 642 of them from the family lines of

Delaiah, Tobiah and Nekoda.

⁶³Here is a list of the members of the family lines of the priests.

They were

Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai. Barzillai had married a daughter of Barzillai from Gilead. So he was also called Barzillai.

⁶⁴The priests looked for their family records. But they couldn’t find them. So they weren’t able to serve as priests. They weren’t “clean.”

⁶⁵The governor gave them an order. He told them not to eat any of the most sacred food. They had to wait until there was a priest who could use the Urim and Thummim to get decisions from the Lord.

⁶⁶The total number of the entire group that returned was 42,360. ⁶⁷That didn’t include their 7,337 male and female slaves. There were also 245 male and female singers. ⁶⁸And there were 736 horses, 245 mules, ⁶⁹435 camels and 6,720 donkeys.

⁷⁰Some of the family leaders helped pay for the work. The governor gave 19 pounds of gold to be added to the temple treasure. He also gave 50 bowls and 530 sets of clothes for the priests. ⁷¹Some of the family leaders gave 375 pounds of gold for the work. They also gave one and a third tons of silver. All of that was added to the temple treasure. ⁷²The rest of the people gave a total of 375 pounds of gold and one and a fourth tons of silver. They also gave 67 sets of clothes for the priests.

⁷³The priests and Levites settled down in their own towns. So did the singers, the temple servants and the men who guarded the gates. The rest of the people of Israel also settled in their own towns.

Ezra Reads the Law to the People

8The people of Israel had settled down in their towns. In the seventh month, ¹all of them gathered together. They went to the open area in front of the Water Gate. They told Ezra to bring out the Scroll of the Law of Moses. The Lord had given Israel that law so they would obey him. Ezra was a teacher of the law.

²The priest Ezra brought the Law out to the whole community. It was the first day of the seventh month. The group was made up of men and women and everyone who was old enough to understand what Ezra was going to read.

³He read the Law to them from sunrise until noon. He did it as he faced the open area in front of the Water Gate. He read it to the men, women and others who could understand. And all of the people paid careful attention as Ezra was reading the Scroll of the Law.

⁴Ezra, the teacher, stood on a high wooden stage. It had been built for the occasion. Mattithiah, Shema and Anaiah stood at his right side. So did Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah. Pedaiah, Mishael and Malkijah stood at his left side. So did Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.

⁵Ezra opened the scroll. All of the people could see him. That’s because he was standing above them. As he opened the scroll, the people stood up. ⁶Ezra praised the Lord. He is the great God. All of the people lifted up their hands. They said, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down. They turned their faces toward the ground. And they worshiped the Lord.

⁷The Levites taught the Law to the people. They remained standing while the Levites taught them. The Levites who were there included Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai and Hodiah. They also included Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah. ⁸All of those Levites read parts of the Scroll of the Law of God to the people. They made it clear to them. They told them what it meant. So the people were able to understand what was being read.

⁹Then Nehemiah and Ezra spoke up. So did the Levites who were teaching the people. All of those men said to the people, “This day is set apart to honor the Lord your God. So don’t sob. Don’t be sad.” All of the people had been sobbing as they listened to the words of the Law. Nehemiah was governor. Ezra was a priest and a teacher of the law.

¹⁰Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy some good food and sweet drinks. Send some of it to those who don’t have any. This day is set apart to honor our Lord. So don’t be sad. The joy of the Lord makes you strong.”

¹¹The Levites calmed all of the people down. They said, “Be quiet. This is a sacred day. So don’t be sad.”

¹²Then all of the people went away to eat and drink. They shared their food with others. They celebrated with great joy. Now they understood the words they had heard. That’s because everything had been explained to them.

¹³All of the family leaders gathered around Ezra, the teacher. So did the priests and Levites. All of them paid attention to the words of the Law. It was the second day of the month.

¹⁴The Lord had given the Law through Moses. He wanted the people of Israel to obey it. It is written there that they were supposed to live in booths during the Feast of Booths. That Feast was celebrated in the seventh month. ¹⁵They were also supposed to spread the message all through their towns and in Jerusalem. They were supposed to announce, “Go out into the central hill country. Bring back some branches from olive and wild olive trees. Also bring some from myrtle, palm and shade trees. Use the branches to make booths.”

¹⁶So the people went out and brought some branches back. They built themselves booths on their own roofs. They made them in their courtyards. They put them up in the courtyards of the house of God. They built them in the open area in front of the Water Gate. And they built them in the open area in front of the Gate of Ephraim.

¹⁷All those who had returned from Babylonia made booths. They lived in them during the Feast of Booths. They hadn’t celebrated the Feast with so much joy for a long time. In fact, they had never celebrated it like that from the days of Joshua, the son of Nun, until that very day. So their joy was very great.

¹⁸Day after day, Ezra read parts of the Scroll of the Law of God to them. He read it out loud from the first day to the last. They…