That Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah; and in answer to my request for news of the Jews who had been prisoners and had got away, and of Jerusalem,

and ye have turned back unto Me, and kept My commands, and done them -- if your outcast is in the end of the heavens, thence I gather them, and have brought them in unto the place that I have chosen to cause My name to tabernacle there.

O Lord, let your ear take note of the prayer of your servant, and of the prayers of your servants, who take delight in worshipping your name: give help, O Lord, to your servant this day, and let him have mercy in the eyes of this man. (Now I was the king's wine-servant.)

So I went out at night by the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Well and on to the Refuse Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire.

Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.

And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.

Then I gave them an account of how the hand of my God was on me, helping me; and of the king's words which he had said to me. And they said, Let us get to work on the building. So they made their hands strong for the good work.

And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river.

After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib.

After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith's son unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner.

Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him and said, "Their wall of stone that they are building would break down if a fox went on it!"

So we went on building the wall; and all the wall was joined together half-way up: for the people were working hard.

Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry.

Therefore I set in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

So we went on with the work: and half of them had spears in their hands from the dawn of the morning till the stars were seen.

And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.

And on hearing their outcry and what they said I was very angry.

Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them.

And they say, 'We give back, and of them we seek nothing; so we do as thou art saying.' And I call the priests, and cause them to swear to do according to this thing;

and of the Jews, and of the prefects, a hundred and fifty men, and those coming in unto us of the nations that are round about us, are at my table;

My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.

The Levites: the children of Jeshua and of Kadmiel, of the children of Hodvah, seventy-four.

The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, 138.

And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, which took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their name.

apart from their servants and their handmaids -- these are seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven; and of them are singers and songstresses, two hundred forty and five.

And of the heads of the fathers they have given to the treasure of the work, of gold, drams two myriads, and of silver, pounds two thousand and two hundred.

And that which the rest of the people have given is of gold, drams two myriads, and of silver, pounds two thousand, and of priests coats, sixty and seven.

And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and of all that could understand it, upon the first day of the seventh month.

And he read therein before the broad place that was before the water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women, and of those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.

And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.

And that they were to give out an order, and make it public in all their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, Go out to the mountain and get olive branches and branches of field olives and of myrtle, and palm branches and branches of thick trees, to make tents, as it says in the book.

Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

And on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.

And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day.

and leddest them in the daytime in a cloudy pillar; and on the night season in a pillar of fire, to show them light in the way that they went.

'And on mount Sinai Thou hast come down, even to speak with them from the heavens, and Thou dost give to them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commands.

And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.

You gave them kingdoms and peoples
and assigned them to be a boundary.
They took possession
of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon
and of the land of Og king of Bashan.

Nevertheless in thy manifold mercies thou didst not make a full end of them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.

“Now because of all this
We are making an agreement in writing;
And on the sealed document are the names of our leaders, our Levites and our priests.”

and the peoples of the land who are bringing in the wares and any corn on the sabbath-day to sell, we receive not of them on the sabbath, and on a holy day, and we leave the seventh year, and usury on every hand.

for the bread to be set in rows, and for the continual oblation, and for the continual burnt-offering, for that of the sabbaths and of the new moons, for the set feasts and for the holy things, and for the sin-offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.

We will bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree to the Lord’s house year by year.

Also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God:

And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.

For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the heave-offering of the grain, of the new wine, and of the oil, unto the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God.

And at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin. Of the children of Judah; Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalaleel, of the children of Perez;

And of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni;

The rest of Israel, of the priests and of the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, each on his own inheritance.

And of the Levites were divisions in Judah, and in Benjamin.

Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chief of the priests and of their brethren in the days of Jeshua.

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

And of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;

of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; [and] of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

The Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, are written, heads of fathers, and of the priests, in the kingdom of Darius the Persian.

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

Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks, whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate:

and of the sons of the priests with trumpets, Zechariah son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Michaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph,

And on that day they made great offerings and were glad; for God had made them glad with great joy; and the women and the children were glad with them: so that the joy of Jerusalem came to the ears of those who were far off.

And on that day were men appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the heave-offerings, for the first-fruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them, according to the fields of the cities, the portions appointed by the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited.

And they kept the charge of their God, and the charge of the purification, and'so did the singers and the porters, according to the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son.

And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, are giving the portions of the singers, and of the gatekeepers, the matter of a day in its day, and are sanctifying to the Levites, and the Levites are sanctifying to the sons of Aaron.

And during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty and second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon did I come unto the king, and at the end of days I have asked of the king,

and all Judah have brought in the tithe of the corn, and of the new wine, and of the oil, to the treasuries.

And I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah: and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah: for they were counted faithful, and their office was to distribute unto their brethren.

Think upon me, O my God, herein, and wipe not out my mercy, that I have showed on the house of my God, and on the officers thereof!

Thus did not your fathers do? and our God bringeth in on us all this evil, and on this city, and ye are adding fierceness on Israel, to pollute the sabbath.'

And it cometh to pass, when the gates of Jerusalem have been dark before the sabbath, that I speak, and the doors are shut, and I say, that they do not open them till after the sabbath; and of my servants I have stationed at the gates; there doth not come in a burden on the sabbath-day.

In those days also saw I the Jews that had married women of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab:

And of their sons, half are speaking Ashdoditish -- and are not knowing to speak Jewish -- and according to the language of people and people.

Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.