Nehemiah 12

• 1. Here is the list of the priests and Levites who had returned with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the high priest: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
• 2. Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
• 3. Shecaniah, Harim, Meremoth,
• 4. Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah,
• 5. Miniamin, Moadiah, Bilgah,
• 6. Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,
• 7. Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the leaders of the priests and their associates in the days of Jeshua.
• 8. The Levites who had returned with them were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his associates was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving.
• 9. Their associates, Bakbukiah and Unni, stood opposite them during the service.
• 10. Jeshua the high priest was the father of Joiakim. Joiakim was the father of Eliashib. Eliashib was the father of Joiada.
• 11. Joiada was the father of Johanan. Johanan was the father of Jaddua.
• 12. Now when Joiakim was high priest, the family leaders of the priests were as follows: Meraiah was leader of the family of Seraiah. Hananiah was leader of the family of Jeremiah.
• 13. Meshullam was leader of the family of Ezra. Jehohanan was leader of the family of Amariah.
• 14. Jonathan was leader of the family of Malluch. Joseph was leader of the family of Shecaniah.
• 15. Adna was leader of the family of Harim. Helkai was leader of the family of Meremoth.
• 16. Zechariah was leader of the family of Iddo. Meshullam was leader of the family of Ginnethon.
• 17. Zicri was leader of the family of Abijah. There was also a leader of the family of Miniamin. Piltai was leader of the family of Moadiah.
• 18. Shammua was leader of the family of Bilgah. Jehonathan was leader of the family of Shemaiah.
• 19. Mattenai was leader of the family of Joiarib. Uzzi was leader of the family of Jedaiah.
• 20. Kallai was leader of the family of Sallu. Eber was leader of the family of Amok.
• 21. Hashabiah was leader of the family of Hilkiah. Nethanel was leader of the family of Jedaiah.
• 22. During the reign of Darius II of Persia, a list was compiled of the family leaders of the Levites and the priests in the days of the following high priests: Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua.
• 23. The heads of the Levite families were recorded in The Book of History down to the days of Johanan, the grandson of Eliashib.
• 24. These were the family leaders of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, and other associates, who stood opposite them during the ceremonies of praise and thanksgiving, one section responding to the other, just as commanded by David, the man of God.
• 25. This included Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, and Obadiah. Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were the gatekeepers in charge of the storerooms at the gates.
• 26. These all served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jehozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest and scribe.
• 27. During the dedication of the new wall of Jerusalem, the Levites throughout the land were asked to come to Jerusalem to assist in the ceremonies. They were to take part in the joyous occasion with their songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, lyres, and harps.
• 28. The singers were brought together from Jerusalem and its surrounding villages and from the villages of the Netophathites.
• 29. They also came from Beth-gilgal and the area of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built their own villages around Jerusalem.
• 30. The priests and Levites first dedicated themselves, then the people, the gates, and the wall.
• 31. I led the leaders of Judah to the top of the wall and organized two large choirs to give thanks. One of the choirs proceeded southward along the top of the wall to the Dung Gate.
• 32. Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah followed them,
• 33. along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,
• 34. Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah,
• 35. and some priests who played trumpets. Then came Zechariah son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, a descendant of Asaph.
• 36. And finally came Zechariah's colleagues Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani. They used the musical instruments prescribed by David, the man of God. Ezra the scribe led this procession.
• 37. At the Fountain Gate they went straight up the steps on the ascent of the city wall toward the City of David. They passed the house of David and then proceeded to the Water Gate on the east.
• 38. The second choir went northward around the other way to meet them. I followed them, with the other half of the people, along the top of the wall past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall,
• 39. then past the Ephraim Gate to the Old City Gate, past the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel, and went on to the Tower of the Hundred. Then we continued on to the Sheep Gate and stopped at the Guard Gate.
• 40. The two choirs that were giving thanks then proceeded to the Temple of God, where they took their places. So did I, together with the group of leaders who were with me.
• 41. We went together with the trumpet-playing priests--Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah--
• 42. and the singers--Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer. They played and sang loudly and clearly under the direction of Jezrahiah the choir director.
• 43. Many sacrifices were offered on that joyous day, for God had given the people cause for great joy. The women and children also participated in the celebration, and the joy of the people of Jerusalem could be heard far away.
• 44. On that day men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the gifts, the first part of the harvest, and the tithes. They were responsible to collect these from the fields as required by the law for the priests and Levites, for all the people of Judah valued the priests and Levites and their work.
• 45. They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as required by the laws of David and his son Solomon, and so did the singers and the gatekeepers.
• 46. The custom of having choir directors to lead the choirs in hymns of praise and thanks to God began long ago in the days of David and Asaph.
• 47. So now, in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, the people brought a daily supply of food for the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Levites. The Levites, in turn, gave a portion of what they received to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

Nehemiah 13

• 1. On that same day, as the Book of Moses was being read, the people found a statement which said that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be permitted to enter the assembly of God.
• 2. For they had not been friendly to the Israelites when they left Egypt. Instead, they hired Balaam to curse them, though our God turned the curse into a blessing.
• 3. When this law was read, all those of mixed ancestry were immediately expelled from the assembly.
• 4. Before this had happened, Eliashib the priest, who had been appointed as supervisor of the storerooms of the Temple of our God and who was also a relative of Tobiah,
• 5. had converted a large storage room and placed it at Tobiah's disposal. The room had previously been used for storing the grain offerings, frankincense, Temple utensils, and tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the special portion set aside for the priests. Moses had decreed that these offerings belonged to the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers.
• 6. I was not in Jerusalem at that time, for I had returned to the king in the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes of Babylon, though I later received his permission to return.
• 7. When I arrived back in Jerusalem and learned the extent of this evil deed of Eliashib--that he had provided Tobiah with a room in the courtyards of the Temple of God--
• 8. I became very upset and threw all of Tobiah's belongings from the room.
• 9. Then I demanded that the rooms be purified, and I brought back the utensils for God's Temple, the grain offerings, and the frankincense.
• 10. I also discovered that the Levites had not been given what was due them, so they and the singers who were to conduct the worship services had all returned to work their fields.
• 11. I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, "Why has the Temple of God been neglected?" Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties.
• 12. And once more all the people of Judah began bringing their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple storerooms.
• 13. I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah, one of the Levites, in charge of the storerooms. And I appointed Hanan son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah as their assistant. These men had an excellent reputation, and it was their job to make honest distributions to their fellow Levites.
• 14. Remember this good deed, O my God, and do not forget all that I have faithfully done for the Temple of my God.
• 15. One Sabbath day I saw some men of Judah treading their winepresses. They were also bringing in bundles of grain and loading them on their donkeys. And on that day they were bringing their wine, grapes, figs, and all sorts of produce to Jerusalem to sell. So I rebuked them for selling their produce on the Sabbath.
• 16. There were also some men from Tyre bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise. They were selling it on the Sabbath to the people of Judah--and in Jerusalem at that!
• 17. So I confronted the leaders of Judah, "Why are you profaning the Sabbath in this evil way?
• 18. Wasn't it enough that your ancestors did this sort of thing, so that our God brought the present troubles upon us and our city? Now you are bringing even more wrath upon the people of Israel by permitting the Sabbath to be desecrated in this way!"
• 19. So I commanded that from then on the gates of the city should be shut as darkness fell every Friday evening, not to be opened until the Sabbath ended. I also sent some of my own servants to guard the gates so that no merchandise could be brought in on the Sabbath day.
• 20. The merchants and tradesmen with a variety of wares camped outside Jerusalem once or twice.
• 21. But I spoke sharply to them and said, "What are you doing out here, camping around the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you!" And that was the last time they came on the Sabbath.
• 22. Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and to guard the gates in order to preserve the holiness of the Sabbath. Remember this good deed also, O my God! Have compassion on me according to your great and unfailing love.
• 23. About the same time I realized that some of the men of Judah had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
• 24. Even worse, half their children spoke in the language of Ashdod or some other people and could not speak the language of Judah at all.
• 25. So I confronted them and called down curses on them. I beat some of them and pulled out their hair. I made them swear before God that they would not let their children intermarry with the pagan people of the land.
• 26. "Wasn't this exactly what led King Solomon of Israel into sin?" I demanded. "There was no king from any nation who could compare to him, and God loved him and made him king over all Israel. But even he was led into sin by his foreign wives.
• 27. How could you even think of committing this sinful deed and acting unfaithfully toward God by marrying foreign women?"
• 28. One of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest had married a daughter of Sanballat the Horonite, so I banished him from my presence.
• 29. Remember them, O my God, for they have defiled the priesthood and the promises and vows of the priests and Levites.
• 30. So I purged out everything foreign and assigned tasks to the priests and Levites, making certain that each knew his work.
• 31. I also made sure that the supply of wood for the altar was brought at the proper times and that the first part of the harvest was collected for the priests. Remember this in my favor, O my God.

New Living Translation: 148 of 324 days.