They told me, "The survivors of the captivity there in the province are living in great distress and shame. Furthermore, the Jerusalem wall remains broken down and its gates have been burned by fire."

Then I told them how good my God had been to me, and about what the king had told me. They replied, "Let's get out there and build!" So they encouraged themselves to do good.

with Uriah's son Meremoth (who was also a grandson of Hakkoz) next to them, Berechiah's son Meshullam (who was also a grandson of Meshezabel) next to them, and next to him Baana's son Zadok.

Next to him Azbuk's son Nehemiah, ruling official of half of the Beth-zur district, carried on repairs as far as the tombs of David, then to the artificial pool that had been installed there, and then as far as the military barracks.

Next to him the descendants of Levi, led by Bani's son Rehum, carried on repairs. Next to him Hashabiah, ruling official for half of the Keilah district, did repairs for his district.

Following him, Henadad's son Binnui repaired another section from Azariah's house to the angle of the wall, and then to the corner.

I accused them, "To the best of our ability, we've been buying back our fellow Jews who had been sold to foreigners. Even now you're selling your fellow countrymen, only for them to be sold back to us!" They kept quiet and never spoke a word.

He had been hired to make me afraid so I would sin by doing what he suggested. Then they could create a slanderous report to use against me.

When all of our enemies including the surrounding nations heard this, they became very discouraged, since they saw that the work had been done by our God.

After the wall had been completed and its doors installed, then the gatekeepers, singers, and descendants of Levi were appointed.

Even though the city was large and spread out, not many people were living there and not many houses had been built.

I found a register of the original inhabitants in which there was recorded a list of descendants of the province of Judah who returned from captivity, from those who had been exiled by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. They had come back to Jerusalem and to Judah, each one to his town.

They were coming with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. Here is the enumeration of: The Men of Israel:

Binnui's descendants: 648

Furthermore, Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the descendants of Levi taught the Law to the people while the people remained standing.

So they circulated a proclamation throughout their towns and in Jerusalem. It said, "Go out to the hill country and bring back olive branches, wild olive branches, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of mature trees, in order to set up tents, as has been written."

Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the rostrum assigned for use by the descendants of Levi and cried out loudly to the LORD their God.

Then the descendants of Levi Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, "Stand up and bless the LORD your God from eternity to eternity! Blessed be your glorious name! May it be exalted above all blessing and praise!

These were the descendants of Levi: Azaniah's son Jeshua, Binnui from the descendants of Henadad, Kadmiel,

Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.

The leaders of the people included Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,

Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.

Shemaiah son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni, and Shabbethai and Jozabad, from the leaders of the descendants of Levi who oversaw the exterior work of the Temple of God,

The overseer of the descendants of Levi at Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica. Singers from the descendants of Asaph oversaw the work of the Temple of God.

The descendants of Levi included Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his associates was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving.

I also learned that the allotments for the descendants of Levi had not been distributed. As a result, the descendants of Levi and singers who were responsible for the service had each left to go back to their fields.

I appointed over the storerooms: Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah from the descendants of Levi; and next to them Zaccur's son Hanan, the grandson of Mattaniah, because they had been considered faithful. Their duties were to distribute to their associates.