And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.

Our adversaries also boasted, "Before they are aware or anticipate anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!"

And it cometh to pass, when the Jews have come who are dwelling near them, that they say to us ten times from all the places whither ye return -- they are against us.

yea, it cometh to pass, from that day, half of my servants are working in the business, and half of them are keeping hold of both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the heads are behind all the house of Judah.

And the builders are each with his sword, girded on his loins, and building, and he who is blowing with a trumpet is beside me.

And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.

in the place that ye hear the voice of the trumpet thither ye are gathered unto us; our God doth fight for us.'

And we are working in the business, and half of them are keeping hold of the spears, from the going up of the dawn till the coming forth of the stars.

and there are none -- I and my brethren and my servants, the men of the guard who are after me -- there are none of us putting off our garments, each hath his vessel of water.

For there were that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many: therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live.

Some also there were that said, We are mortgaging our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses: let us get grain, because of the dearth.

And there are who are saying, 'We have borrowed money for the tribute of the king, on our fields, and our vineyards;

Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.

and my heart reigneth over me, and I strive with the freemen, and with the prefects, and say to them, 'Usury one upon another ye are exacting;' and I set against them a great assembly,

and say to them, 'We have acquired our brethren the Jews, those sold to the nations, according to the ability that is in us, and ye also sell your brethren, and they have been sold to us!' and they are silent, and have not found a word.

And I say, 'Not good is the thing that ye are doing; in the fear of our God do ye not walk, because of the reproach of the nations our enemies?

And also, I, my brethren, and my servants, are exacting of them silver and corn; let us leave off, I pray you, this usury.

Give back, I pray you, to them, as to-day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive-yards, and their houses, and the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, of the new wine, and of the oil, that ye are exacting of them.'

They responded, "We will restore these things, and will assess no interest charges against them. We will do what you are requesting!"

the former governors who are before me have made themselves heavy on the people, and take of them in bread and wine, besides in silver forty shekels; also, their servants have ruled over the people -- and I have not done so, because of the fear of God.

And also, in the work of this wall I have done mightily, even a field we have not bought, and all my servants are gathered there for the work;

Moreover there were at my table an hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, beside those that came unto us from among the heathen that are about us.

that Sanballat sendeth, also Geshem, unto me, saying, 'Come and we meet together in the villages, in the valley of Ono;' and they are thinking to do to me evil.

it is written in it, 'Among the nations it hath been heard, and Gashmu is saying: Thou and the Jews are thinking to rebel, therefore thou art building the wall, and thou hast been to them for a king -- according to these words!

It is reported among the nations and Gashmu confirms this that you and the Jews are planning a revolt, and that you're rebuilding the wall in order to declare yourself king. According to these reports, you also have appointed prophets to proclaim about you in Jerusalem, "There is a king in Judah!" Since these words are being reported to the king, come and let's meet together.

Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.

for all of them are making us afraid, saying, 'Their hands are too feeble for the work, and it is not done;' and now, strengthen Thou my hands.

And I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabeel, who had shut himself up. And he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple; for they are coming to kill thee; even in the night are they coming to kill thee.

But I said, “Should a man like me flee [in fear and hide]? Should someone like me enter the temple [for sanctuary] to save his life? I will not go.”

"Remember me, my God, and take note of what Tobiah and Sanballat are doing. Also take note of the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who intend to make me afraid."

and it cometh to pass, when all our enemies have heard, and all the nations who are round about us see, that they fall greatly in their own eyes, and know that by our God hath this work been done.

Also, in those days the freemen of Judah are multiplying their letters going unto Tobiah, and those of Tobiah are coming in unto them;

for many in Judah are sworn to him, for he is son-in-law to Shechaniah son of Arah, and Jehohanan his son hath taken the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah;

And it cometh to pass, when the wall hath been built, that I set up the doors, and the gatekeepers are appointed, and the singers, and the Levites,

and I say to them, 'Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened till the heat of the sun, and while they are standing by let them shut the doors, and fasten, and appoint guards of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each in his guard, and each over-against his house.'

And the city is broad on both sides, and great, and the people are few in its midst, and there are no houses builded;

These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city;

who are coming in with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. Number of the men of the people of Israel:

All the Nethinim and the sons of the servants of Solomon are three hundred ninety and two.

And these are they that went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub-Addon and Immer; but they could not shew their father's house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel.

These have sought their register among those reckoning themselves by genealogy, and it hath not been found, and they are redeemed from the priesthood,

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.

Their horses are seven hundred thirty and six; their mules, two hundred and forty and five;

And they dwell -- the priests, and the Levites, and the gatekeepers, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinim, and all Israel -- in their cities, and the seventh month cometh, and the sons of Israel are in their cities.

And all the people are gathered as one man unto the broad place that is before the water-gate, and they say to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, that Jehovah commanded Israel.

and he readeth in it before the broad place that is before the water-gate, from the light till the middle of the day, over-against the men, and the women, and those intelligent, and the ears of all the people are unto the book of the law.

And Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, giving the people understanding in the law, and the people, are on their station,

And Nehemiah -- he is the Tirshatha -- saith (and Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites who are instructing the people) to all the people, 'To-day is holy to Jehovah your God, do not mourn, nor weep:' for all the people are weeping at their hearing the words of the law.

And the Levites are keeping all the people silent, saying, 'Be silent, for to-day is holy, and be not grieved.'

and the seed of Israel are separated from all sons of a stranger, and stand and confess concerning their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers,

and rise up on their station, and read in the book of the law of Jehovah their God a fourth of the day, and a fourth they are confessing and bowing themselves to Jehovah their God.

Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.

“You are the Lord God,
Who chose Abram
And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees,
And gave him the name Abraham.

“You found his heart to be faithful before You,
And You made a covenant with him
To give him the land of the Canaanite,
Of the Hittite, of the Amorite,
Of the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite—
To give it to his descendants.
And You have fulfilled Your promise,
For You are righteous and just.

“They refused to listen and obey,
And did not remember Your wondrous acts which You had performed among them;
So they stiffened their necks and [in their rebellion] appointed a leader in order to return them to slavery in Egypt.
But You are a God of forgiveness,
Gracious and merciful and compassionate,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness;
And You did not abandon them.

And they capture fenced cities, and fat ground, and possess houses full of all good, digged-wells, vineyards, and olive-yards, and fruit-trees in abundance, and they eat, and are satisfied, and become fat, and delight themselves in Thy great goodness.

'And they are disobedient, and rebel against Thee, and cast Thy law behind their back, and Thy prophets they have slain, who testified against them, to bring them back unto Thee, and they do great despisings,

“Yet in Your great compassion You did not utterly destroy them or abandon them,
For You are a gracious and merciful God.

“However, You are just and righteous in everything that has come upon us;
For You have dealt faithfully, but we have acted wickedly.

Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it:

And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, our Levites, and our priests are at the sealing.

And over those sealed are Nehemiah the Tirshatha, son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah,

Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these are the priests.

"Now the rest of the people -- the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple attendants, and all those who have separated themselves from the neighboring peoples because of the law of God, along with their wives, their sons, and their daughters, all of whom are able to understand --

are laying hold on their brethren, their honourable ones, and coming in to an execration, and in to an oath, to walk in the law of God, that was given by the hand of Moses, servant of God, and to observe and to do all the commands of Jehovah our Lord, and His judgments, and His statutes;

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.

Also we pledge ourselves to contribute yearly one third of a shekel for the service [expenses] of the house of our God:

We have cast lots among the priests, Levites, and people for the donation of wood by our ancestral houses at the appointed times each year. They are to bring the wood to our God’s house to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law.

and the firstlings of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and our flocks, to bring in to the house of our God, to the priests who are ministering in the house of our God.

We will bring a loaf from our first batch of dough to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God. We will also bring the firstfruits of our grain offerings, of every fruit tree, and of the new wine and oil. A tenth of our land’s produce belongs to the Levites, for the Levites are to collect the one-tenth offering in all our agricultural towns.

And the priest, the son of Aaron, is to be with the Levites, when the Levites take the tenths: and the Levites are to take a tenth of the tenths into the house of our God, to the rooms, into the store-house;

For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and 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 the people give a blessing to all the men who are offering themselves willingly to dwell in Jerusalem.

Now these are the chief of the province that dwelt in Jerusalem: but in the cities of Judah dwelt every one in his possession in their cities, to wit, Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants.

all the sons of Perez who are dwelling in Jerusalem are four hundred sixty and eight, men of valour.

And these are the sons of Benjamin; Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jesaiah.

and their brethren doing the work of the house are eight hundred twenty and two; and Adaiah son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchiah,

and Shabbethai, and Jozabad, are over the outward work of the house of God, of the heads of the Levites,

All the Levites, in the holy city, are two hundred eighty and four.

And the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren, those watching at the gates, are a hundred seventy and two.

And the rest of Israel, of the priests, of the Levites, are in all cities of Judah, each in his inheritance;

and the Nethinim are dwelling in Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa are over the Nethinim.

And the overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem is Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micha: of the sons of Asaph, the singers are over-against the work of the house of God,

And sons of Benjamin are at Geba, Michmash, and Aija, and Beth-El, and its small towns,

And of the Levites, the courses of Judah are for Benjamin.

Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah; these are heads of the priests and of their brethren in the days of Jeshua.

And the Levites are Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, Mattaniah, he is over the thanksgiving, and his brethren,

and Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, are over-against them in charges.

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.

Sons of Levi, heads of the fathers, are written on the book of the Chronicles even till the days of Johanan son of Eliashib;

and heads of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, and their brethren, are over-against them, to give praise, to give thanks, by command of David the man of God, charge over-against charge.

Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, are gatekeepers, keeping charge in the gatherings of the gates.

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

and sons of the singers are gathered together even from the circuit round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi,

from Beth-gilgal, and from the area of Geba and Azmaveth, because the singers had built villages for themselves in the vicinity of Jerusalem.

and the priests and the Levites are cleansed, and they cleanse the people, and the gates, and the wall.

And certain are appointed on that day over the chambers for treasures, for heave-offerings, for first-fruits, and for tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the law for priests, and for Levites, for the joy of Judah is over the priests, and over the Levites, who are standing up.

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.