And I went over unto the well port, and to the king's conduit; and there was no room for my beast, that it could go under me.

Near them was working Uzziel, the son of Harhaiah, the gold-worker. And by him was Hananiah, one of the perfume-makers, building up Jerusalem as far as the wide wall.

After him Malchijah, one of the gold-workers to the Nethinim and the traders, made good the wall opposite the doorway of Hammiphkad and as far as the way up to the angle.

And between the way up to the angle and the sheep door, the gold-workers and the traders made good the wall.

Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before you. They have {provoked the builders to anger}.

Now there was a great outcry of the [poorer] people and their wives against their Jewish brothers [to whom they were deeply in debt].

and I said to them: "We ourselves have bought back our brothers the Jews who were sold to the nations as we were able. But now you yourselves have sold your brothers so they may be sold to us!" They were silent and could not find a word [to say].

And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, could go into the temple, and live? I will not go in.

For this reason he was hired: to frighten [me] so that I would act and sin, so that they would have a bad report so they could taunt me.

So my God gave me the idea to gather together the nobles, the officials, and the people so they could be registered according to their genealogies.

And these were they which went up also from Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer: but they could not shew their father's house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel.

Of the Priests: Descendants of Habaiah, Koz, and Barzillai, who married one of the daughters of Barzillai from Gilead and took that name.

These searched for their entries in the genealogical records, but they could not be found, so they were disqualified from the priesthood.

So the governor said to them that they could not eat the most holy food until a priest could come with Urim and Thummim.

And some of the chief of the fathers gave unto the work. The Tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold, fifty basons, five hundred and thirty priests' garments.

And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pound of silver.

And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pound of silver, and threescore and seven priests' garments.

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

Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.

So they read the book from the law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that they could understand the reading.

And all the people went away to take food and drink, and to send food to others, and to be glad, because the words which were said to them had been made clear.

Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the guilt of their fathers.

Moreover in a pillar of cloud thou leddest them by day; and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.

Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.

So their descendants entered and took possession of the land. Before their eyes you subdued those living in the land the Canaanites putting them under their control, along with their kings and the nations of the land, so they could do with them as they pleased.

Here we are today,
slaves in the land You gave our ancestors
so that they could enjoy its fruit and its goodness.
Here we are—slaves in it!

And their brethren, Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

And the other people, the priests, Levites, Porters, singers, Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people in the lands unto the law of God, with their wives, sons and daughters, as many as could understand it,

We also determined to present the first fruits of our ground grain, our offerings, the fruit of all kinds of trees, wines, and oil to the priests, to the chambers of the Temple of our God, and the tithes of our land to the descendants of Levi, so those descendants of Levi could collect the tithes in all the towns where we worked:

At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they invited the descendants of Levi to come from wherever they lived to Jerusalem so they could celebrate the dedication with joy, thanksgiving, and songs, accompanied by cymbals, lyres, and harps.

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 certain men were put over the rooms where the things which had been given were stored, for the lifted offerings and the first-fruits and the tenths, and to take into them the amounts, from the fields of every town, fixed by the law for the priests and the Levites: for Judah was glad on account of the priests and the Levites who were in their places.

Later that day the book of Moses was read aloud so the people could hear it, and a written command was discovered therein permanently prohibiting the Ammonites and Moabites from coming into the congregation of God

so I could return to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done on behalf of Tobiah by providing him a room in the courts of God’s house.

When shadows began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem just before the Sabbath, I gave orders that the gates be closed and not opened until after the Sabbath. I posted some of my men at the gates, so that no goods could enter during the Sabbath day.

And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people.