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Nehemiah

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

 These are the priests and the Levites who came back with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua:

 Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,

 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,

 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,

 Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah,

 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah -- these were the heads of the priests and their kinsmen in the days of Jeshua.

 The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, Mattaniah -- this last, with his brothers, was in charge of the songs of praise,

 while Bakbukiah and Unno, their colleagues, formed the alternate choir to theirs.

 Jeshua fathered Joiakim, Joiakim fathered Eliashib, Eliashib fathered Joiada,

 Joiada fathered Johanan, and Johanan fathered Jaddua.

 In the days of Joiakim the heads of the priestly families were: family of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;

 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;

 of Malluch, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;

 of Harim, Adna; of Meremoth, Helkai;

 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;

 of Abijah, Zichri; of Minjamin, . . .; of Moadiah, Piltai;

 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;

 and of Jojarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;

 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;

 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

 In the time of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan and Jaddua, the heads of the families of priests were registered in the Book of Chronicles, up to the reign of Darius the Persian.

 The Levites who were heads of families were registered in the Book of Chronicles up to the time of Johanan, grandson of Eliashib.

 The heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, while their brothers who formed an alternate choir for the hymns of praise and thanksgiving, as David, man of God, had prescribed, section corresponding to section,

 were Mattaniah, Bakbukiah and Obadiah. Meshullam, Talmon and Akkub were the gatekeepers guarding the stores at the gates.

 These lived in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest-scribe.

 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem the Levites were sent for, wherever they lived, to come to Jerusalem and joyfully perform the dedication with hymns of thanksgiving and songs to the accompaniment of cymbals, lyres and harps.

 Accordingly, the levitical singers assembled from the district round Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites,

 from Beth-Gilgal and from their farms at Geba and Azmaveth -- for the singers had built themselves villages all round Jerusalem.

 When the priests and Levites had purified themselves, they then purified the people, the gates and the wall.

 I then made the leaders of Judah come on to the top of the wall and appointed two large choirs. One made its way along the top of the wall, to the right, towards the Dung Gate;

 bringing up the rear were Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah,

 and also Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,

 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah and Jeremiah,

 of the priests, with trumpets; then Zechariah son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph,

 with his kinsmen, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Juda, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David, man of God. The scribe Ezra walked at their head.

 At the Fountain Gate they went straight on up the steps of the City of David, along the top of the rampart by the stairway of the wall, above the Palace of David as far as the Water Gate, on the east.

 The other choir made its way to the left; I and half the leaders of the people followed them along the top of the wall from the Tower of the Furnaces to the Broad Wall,

 from the Ephraim Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred as far as the Sheep Gate, and they came to a halt at the Prison Gate.

 The two choirs then took their places in the Temple of God. But I had half the magistrates with me

 as well as the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, Hananiah with the trumpets,

 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam and Ezer. The singers sang loudly under the direction of Jezrahiah.

 There were great sacrifices offered that day and the people rejoiced, God having given them good cause for rejoicing; the women and children rejoiced too, and the joy of Jerusalem could be heard from far away.

 For the rooms intended for the treasures, contributions, first-fruits and tithes, supervisors were then appointed whose business it was to collect in them those portions from the town lands awarded by the Law to the priests and Levites. For Judah rejoiced in the officiating priests and Levites,

 since they -- with the singers and gatekeepers -- performed the liturgy of their God and the rites of purification as ordained by David and his son Solomon.

 For from ancient times, from the days of David and Asaph, they had been the leaders in rendering hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God.

 In the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, all Israel supplied regular daily portions for the singers and gatekeepers, and gave the dedicated contributions to the Levites; and the Levites gave the dedicated contributions to the Aaronites.

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