Chapter 12

Priests and Levites Who Returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel

1 Now these are athe priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,

3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,

4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,

5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,

6 Shemaiah and Joiarib, Jedaiah,

7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah and Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and their 1kinsmen in the days of Jeshua.

8 The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who was 1in charge of the songs of thanksgiving, he and his brothers.

9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, stood opposite them ain their service divisions.

10 Jeshua 1became the father of Joiakim, and Joiakim 1became the father of Eliashib, and Eliashib 1became the father of Joiada,

11 and Joiada became the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan became the father of Jaddua.

12 Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the heads of fathers’ households were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;

13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;

14 of 1Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;

15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;

16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;

17 of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;

18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;

19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;

20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;

21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

The Chief Levites

22 As for the Levites, the heads of fathers’ households were registered in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan and Jaddua; so were the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian.

23 The sons of Levi, the heads of fathers’ households, were registered in the Book of the Chronicles up to the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.

24 The heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers opposite them, ato praise and give thanks, 1as prescribed by David the man of God, bdivision corresponding to division.

25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping watch at athe storehouses of the gates.

26 These served in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of aNehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest and scribe.

Dedication of the Wall

27 Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem so that they might celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving and with songs ato the accompaniment of cymbals, harps and lyres.

28 So the sons of the singers were assembled from the district around Jerusalem, and from athe villages of the Netophathites,

29 from Beth-gilgal and from their fields in Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem.

30 The priests and the Levites apurified themselves; they also purified the people, the gates and the wall.

Procedures for the Temple

31 Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on top of the wall, and I appointed two great 1choirs, 2athe first proceeding to the right on top of the wall toward bthe Refuse Gate.

32 Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah followed them,

33 with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,

34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah,

35 and some of the sons of the priests with trumpets; and Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph,

36 and his 1kinsmen, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah and Hanani, awith the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them.

37 At athe Fountain Gate they went directly up bthe steps of the city of David by the stairway of the wall above the house of David to cthe Water Gate on the east.

38 aThe second 1choir proceeded to the 2left, while I followed them with half of the people on the wall, babove the Tower of Furnaces, to cthe Broad Wall,

39 and above athe Gate of Ephraim, by bthe Old Gate, by the cFish Gate, dthe Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate; and they stopped at ethe Gate of the Guard.

40 Then the two choirs took their stand in the house of God. So did I and half of the officials with me;

41 and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah and Hananiah, with the trumpets;

42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam and Ezer. And the singers 1sang, with Jezrahiah their leader,

43 and on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because aGod had given them great joy, even the women and children rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.

44 On that day amen were also appointed over the chambers for the stores, the contributions, the first fruits and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions required by the law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who 1served.

45 For they performed the 1worship of their God and the service of purification, together with the singers and the gatekeepers ain accordance with the command of David and of his son Solomon.

46 For in the days of David and aAsaph, in ancient times, there were 1bleaders of the singers, songs of praise and hymns of thanksgiving to God.

47 So all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah gave the portions due the singers and the gatekeepers aas each day required, and bset apart the consecrated portion for the Levites, and the Levites set apart the consecrated portion for the sons of Aaron.