Nehemiah 7–8

7Then it was, when the wall was built and I had ^ahung the doors, when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, ²that I gave the charge of Jerusalem to my brother ^bHanani, and Hananiah the leader ^cof the ¹citadel, for he was a faithful man and ^dfeared God more than many.

³And I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand guard, let them shut and bar the doors; and appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in front of his own house.”

The Captives Who Returned to Jerusalem

⁴Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were ^efew, and the houses were not rebuilt. ⁵Then my God put it into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who had come up in the first return, and found written in it:

^6fThese are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his city.

⁷Those who came with ^gZerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, ²Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, ³Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.

The number of the men of the people of Israel: ⁸the sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two;

⁹the sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two;

¹⁰the sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two;

¹¹the sons of Pahath-Moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen;

¹²the sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;

¹³the sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five;

¹⁴the sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty;

¹⁵the sons of ⁴Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight;

¹⁶the sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight;

¹⁷the sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two;

¹⁸the sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven;

¹⁹the sons of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven;

²⁰the sons of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five;

²¹the sons of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety-eight;

²²the sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight;

²³the sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four;

²⁴the sons of ⁵Hariph, one hundred and twelve;

²⁵the sons of ⁶Gibeon, ninety-five;

²⁶the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty-eight;

²⁷the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight;

²⁸the men of ⁷Beth Azmaveth, forty-two;

²⁹the men of ⁸Kirjath Jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three;

³⁰the men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one;

³¹the men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two;

³²the men of Bethel and Ai, one hundred and twenty-three;

³³the men of the other Nebo, fifty-two;

³⁴the sons of the other ^hElam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four;

³⁵the sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty;

³⁶the sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five;

³⁷the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one;

³⁸the sons of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.

³⁹The priests: the sons of ⁱJedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three;

⁴⁰the sons of ^jImmer, one thousand and fifty-two;

⁴¹the sons of ^kPashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven;

⁴²the sons of ^lHarim, one thousand and seventeen.

⁴³The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel,

and of the sons of ⁹Hodevah, seventy-four.

⁴⁴The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight.

⁴⁵The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum,

the sons of Ater,

the sons of Talmon,

the sons of Akkub,

the sons of Hatita,

the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-eight.

⁴⁶The Nethinim: the sons of Ziha,

the sons of Hasupha,

the sons of Tabbaoth,

⁴⁷the sons of Keros,

the sons of ¹Sia,

the sons of Padon,

⁴⁸the sons of ²Lebana,

the sons of ³Hagaba,

the sons of ⁴Salmai,

⁴⁹the sons of Hanan,

the sons of Giddel,

the sons of Gahar,

⁵⁰the sons of Reaiah,

the sons of Rezin,

the sons of Nekoda,

⁵¹the sons of Gazzam,

the sons of Uzza,

the sons of Paseah,

⁵²the sons of Besai,

the sons of Meunim,

the sons of ⁵Nephishesim,

⁵³the sons of Bakbuk,

the sons of Hakupha,

the sons of Harhur,

⁵⁴the sons of ⁶Bazlith,

the sons of Mehida,

the sons of Harsha,

⁵⁵the sons of Barkos,

the sons of Sisera,

the sons of Tamah,

⁵⁶the sons of Neziah,

and the sons of Hatipha.

⁵⁷The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai,

the sons of Sophereth,

the sons of ⁷Perida,

⁵⁸the sons of Jaala,

the sons of Darkon,

the sons of Giddel,

⁵⁹the sons of Shephatiah,

the sons of Hattil,

the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim,

and the children of ⁸Amon.

⁶⁰All the Nethinim, and the sons of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred and ninety-two.

⁶¹And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, ⁹Addon, and Immer, but they could not identify their father’s house nor their lineage, whether they were of Israel: ⁶²the sons of Delaiah,

the sons of Tobiah,

the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two;

⁶³and of the priests: the sons of Habaiah,

the sons of ¹Koz,

the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name.

⁶⁴These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled. ⁶⁵And the ²governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim.

⁶⁶Altogether the whole assembly was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, ⁶⁷besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five men and women singers. ⁶⁸Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five, ⁶⁹their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.

⁷⁰And some of the heads of the fathers’ houses gave to the work. ^mThe ³governor gave to the treasury one thousand gold drachmas, fifty basins, and five hundred and thirty priestly garments. ⁷¹Some of the heads of the fathers’ houses gave to the treasury of the work ⁿtwenty thousand gold drachmas, and two thousand two hundred silver minas. ⁷²And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand gold drachmas, two thousand silver minas, and sixty-seven priestly garments.

⁷³So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their cities.

Ezra Reads the Law

^oWhen the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.

8Now all ^athe people gathered together as one man in the open square that was ^bin front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the ^cscribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. ²So Ezra the priest brought ^dthe Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding ^eon the first day of the seventh month. ³Then he ^fread from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate ¹from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

⁴So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. ⁵And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people ^gstood up. ⁶And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God.

Then all the people ^hanswered, “Amen, Amen!” while ⁱlifting up their hands. And they ^jbowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

⁷Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, ^khelped the people to understand the Law; and the people ^lstood in their place. ⁸So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.

^9mAnd Nehemiah, who was the ²governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ⁿ“This day is holy to the Lord your God; ^odo not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.

¹⁰Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, ^pand send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

¹¹So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” ¹²And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to ^qsend portions and rejoice greatly, because they ^runderstood the words that were declared to them.

The Feast of Tabernacles

¹³Now on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law. ¹⁴And they found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in ^sbooths ³during the feast of the seventh month, ¹⁵and ^tthat they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and ^uin Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the mountain, and ^vbring olive branches, branches of oil trees, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.”

¹⁶Then the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each one on the ^wroof of his house, or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the ^xWater Gate ^yand in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made ⁴booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And…