but if you turn to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though you were cast out to the outermost part of the heavens, yet I will gather you from there and will bring you to the place that I have chosen to set My name there.

Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths, repaired. And next to him Hananiah, the son of one of the perfumers, repaired. And they fortified Jerusalem to the Broad Wall.

And next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem repaired.

And next to him Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters repaired.

But the Dung Gate was repaired by Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Beth-haccerem. He built it and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars.

And the Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallum the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah. He built it and covered it, and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars, and the wall of the Pool of Shelah by the King's Garden, and to the stairs that go down from the City of David.

After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Beth-zur, repaired across from the tombs of David, and to the pool that was made, and to the house of the mighty men.

After him the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani, repaired. Next to him Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, repaired in his part.

After him their brothers, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, repaired.

And it happened when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their counsel to nothing, all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work.

Yet now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our sons like their sons. And, lo, we bring our sons and our daughters into bondage, to be slaves, and some of our daughters are brought into bondage. And there is no power for our hand, for other men have our lands and vineyards.

Please even today give back to them their lands, their vineyards, their olive-yards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the wine, and the oil, that you take from them.

And from the time that I was chosen to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, I and my brothers have not eaten the bread of the governor.

But the former governors that had been before me were too heavy upon the people, and had taken bread and wine from them, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people. But I did not do this, because of the fear of God.

And that which was prepared daily was one ox and six choice sheep; and birds were prepared; and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine. Yet for all this I did not seek the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people.

The sons of Solomon's servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida,

And Ezra the priest brought the Law before the congregation, both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.

And the people went out and brought in, and made themselves booths, each one upon his roof, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the Water Gate, and in the street of the Gate of Ephraim.

And they stood up in their place, and read in the Book of the Law of Jehovah their God a fourth part of the day. And another fourth part they confessed and worshiped Jehovah their God.

You are Jehovah, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham,

And You gave them bread from the heavens for their hunger, and brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst. And You promised them that they should go in to possess the land which You had sworn to give them.

Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt, and had worked great blasphemies,

And You multiplied their sons like the stars of the heavens, and brought them into the land concerning which You had promised to their fathers that they should go in to possess it.

But You are just in all that is brought upon us, for You have done right, but we have done wickedly.

Also we put commands upon ourselves, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God,

Then I brought up the rulers of Judah on the wall, and chose two great choirs of praise. One went to the right upon the wall toward the Dung Gate.

And the other choirs of praise went across from them, and I after them, and half of the people on the wall, from beyond the Tower of the Furnaces even to the Broad Wall,

because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them so that he should curse them. But our God turned the curse into a blessing.

Then I commanded, and they purified the rooms. And I brought there again the vessels of the house of God, with the food offering and the frankincense.

And all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil into the treasuries.

In those days I saw in Judah some treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading asses and also wine, grapes, and figs, and all kinds of burdens which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I testified against them in the day in which they sold food.

And men of Tyre lived in it, who brought fish and all kinds of goods, and sold on the Sabbath to the sons of Judah and in Jerusalem.

And it happened when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I set some of my servants at the gates, so that there should be no burden brought in on the Sabbath day.