When I heard these words, I sat and wept and mourned for days, and I was fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.

I said, "O Yahweh God of the heavens, the great and awesome one who keeps the covenant and loyal love for the ones who love him and for those who keep his commands.

Then the king said to me, "What is your request?" So I prayed to the God of the heavens.

Then I said to the king, "If it is good for the king, let letters be given to me for the governors [in the province] Beyond the River, that they may let me pass until I come to Judah.

Also, a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's land reserve, that he should give me timber for laying the beams for the gates of the citadel of the house and for the walls of the city, and for the house which I will enter." And the king gave [permission] to me, according to the good hand of God on me.

I got up during the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anybody what my God put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. No animal [was] with me except the animal that I was riding on.

I went out during the night at the gate of the valley by the Dragon spring and to the Dung Gate. And I examined the walls in Jerusalem and its gates that had been destroyed by the fire.

I crossed over to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no place for {my mount} to cross over.

So I went up by the valley during the night and was examining the wall. Then I returned and came to the Valley Gate and returned.

I told them of the good hand of my God that was upon me and surely the words of the king that were spoken to me. And they said, "Let us arise and build!" And they strengthened their hands for [this] good work.

Then I answered and said to them, "The God of the heavens himself will let us succeed, and we his servants shall arise and build. But for you there is no share, right, or memorial in Jerusalem."

Then Eliashib the high priest and his brothers the priests arose and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and erected its doors. They consecrated it up to the Tower of the Hundred and up to the Tower of Hananel.

The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam repaired the old Yeshanah Gate. They laid its beams and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and a thousand cubits of the wall up to the Dung Gate.

Malkijah son of Recab, commander of the district of Beth-haccherem, repaired the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

Shallun son of Col-Hozeh, the commander of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and erected its doors, its bolts, its bars, and [he built] the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the king's garden, right up to the steps going down from the city of David.

and the temple servants who were living on Ophel [repaired] up to opposite the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower.

Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his house.

After them Zadok son of Immer repaired opposite his house. After him Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, keeper of the East Gate, repaired.

After him Malkijah, {one of the goldsmiths}, repaired up to the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Enrollment Gate and up to the upper room of the corner.

Between the upper room of the corner to the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and merchants repaired.

Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn their scorn on their head and give them over to plunder in the land of captivity.

So we prayed to our God and set up a guard against them day and night.

And I looked, got up, and said to the nobles, prefects, and the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses."

It happened when our enemies heard that their plan was known to us, that God had frustrated [it], and we all returned to the wall--each to his work.

Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, come together to us there. Our God will fight for us."

There were those who were saying, "Our sons and daughters, we are many. We must get grain so that we may eat and live."

There were also those saying, "We have pledged our fields and our vineyards and our houses so that we can get grain in the famine."

So I said, "The thing that you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God [to prevent] the disgrace from the nations, our enemies?

I also shook out my garment and said, "This is how God will shake out everyone from his house who will not keep this promise. So this is how his possessions will be shaken out and emptied." And all the assembly said, "Amen!" And they praised Yahweh, and the people kept this promise.

The former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and they took food and wine from them, besides forty shekels. Also, their servants controlled the people, but I did not do so because of the fear of God.

Remember me for good, my God, all that I have done for this people.

for all of them [sought] to frighten us, saying, "their hands will not do the work." And now, [God], strengthen my hands.

Now I went into the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined [at home], and he said, "Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple; for they are coming to kill you--during the night they are coming to kill you."

Then I look and realized God had not sent him; rather, he had spoken the prophecy against me [because] Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to their works, and also Noadiah the prophetess, and the remainder of the prophets who were frightening me.

When our enemies heard of this, all of the nations surrounding us were afraid and {lost their confidence}. They knew that this work had been done with [the help of] our God.

They also were speaking of his good deeds in my presence, and they were sending my words out to him. Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.

I gave command over Jerusalem to my brother Hanani and Hananiah the commander of the citadel. For he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.

Then my God put into my heart to assemble the nobles, the prefects, and the people to be enrolled. I found the book of the genealogy of those who first came back, and I found [this] written upon it:

All of the people gathered as one to the public square before the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses that Yahweh had commanded Israel.

He read from it facing the public square before the Water Gate from dawn until noon that day, opposite the men, women, and those with understanding. The ears of all the people [were attentive] to the book of the law.

Then Ezra blessed Yahweh the great God, and all of the people answered, "Amen! Amen!" while lifting their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped Yahweh [with their] noses to the ground.

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

Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all of the people, "This day is holy to Yahweh your God. Do not mourn nor weep." For all of the people wept when they heard the words of the law.

So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the house of God, in the public square of the Water Gate, and in the public square of the Gate of Ephraim.

And he read from the scroll of the law of God day by day from the first day up to the last day. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was an assembly according to the rule.

They stood up in their place and read from the book of the law of Yahweh their God for a fourth part of the day, and for a fourth they were confessing and worshiping Yahweh their God.

Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani stood on the platform of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to Yahweh their God.

Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, "Stand up, bless Yahweh your God from everlasting until everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name that is being exalted above all blessing and praise!

You are Yahweh, the God who chose Abram and brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham.

Then you came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right judgments and true teachings, good regulations and commandments.

They refused to listen and did not remember your wonders that you did among them. They stiffened their neck and in their rebellion {determined} to return to their slavery. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, {slow to anger}, abundant in loyal love, so you did not abandon them.

Even when they made for themselves a molten idol of a calf and said, 'This is your God who brought you out from Egypt,' and committed great blasphemies.

And you gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst.

And they captured fortified cities and a fertile land and took possession of houses filled with every good thing: hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, and many [fruit] trees. They ate and became full, and they became fat and took delight in your great goodness.

But in your great compassions you did not put an end to them, and you did not abandon them. For you are a gracious and compassionate God.

"And now our God, the great, mighty, and awesome God who keeps [his] covenant and loyal love, do not belittle in your presence all of the hardship that is found in us, our kings, our officials, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all of our people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.

"The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to [observe] the law of God--their wives, their sons, their daughters, and all who know and understand--

[are] helping their brothers, their nobles, and entering into a solemn oath to walk in the law of God which was given by the hand of Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all of the commandments of Yahweh our Lord and his judgments and regulations.

"We put on ourselves the commandment upon us to yearly give a third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God:

for the rows of bread, the offering of the daily sacrifice, the continual [burnt] sacrifice, the Sabbaths, the new moon festivals, the appointed [festival] times, the holy objects, the sin offerings that make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.

And we have cast lots for the contributions of the wood offering of the priests, the Levites, and the people to bring [it] to the house of our God, by our fathers' houses, at designated times, year by year, to burn on the altar of Yahweh our God--as it is written in the law.

And the firstborn of our sons and beasts--as it is written in the law--and the firstborn of our cattle and sheep, to bring to the house of our God [and] to the priests serving in the house of our God.

And we bring the best of our dough, our offerings, the fruit of every tree, new wine, and olive oil to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and [to bring] the tithe of our soil to the Levites, for the Levites [receive] the tithes in all of our rural towns.

And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, will be with the Levites during the tithe the Levites receive. The Levites will bring up a tithe of the tithes for the house of our God to the chambers of the storehouse.

For the {Israelites} and the {Levites} will bring to the storerooms the offering of grain, new wine, and olive oil. These are the objects of the sanctuary and the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and singers. We will not neglect the house of our God."

Seraiah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub--the leader of the house of God--

and Shabbethai and Jehozabad, leaders over the work of the Levites outside of the house of God;

The chief officer of the Levites in Jerusalem [was] Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, from the descendants of Asaph, the singers over the work of the house of God.

And the heads of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua son of Kadmiel, and their brothers opposite them, to praise and to give thanks by the command of David the man of God, section alongside section.

Then I brought the commanders of Judah up on to the wall. I appointed two great choirs; [one went in] a procession to the right on the wall to the Dung Gate.

and his brothers Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani with the instruments of the songs of David the man of God; and Ezra the scribe [went] before them.

At the Fountain Gate opposite them they went up the steps of the city of David, at the assent to the wall, over the house of David, and up to the Water Gate to the east.

and over the Gate of Ephraim, at the Old Gate, at the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, and [to] the Sheep Gate. And they [stopped and] stood at the Gate of the Guard.

So the two choirs stood in the house of God, and I and half of the prefects with me;

They offered on that day great sacrifices and rejoiced because God brought great joy to them. And the women and children also rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.

They kept the responsibility of their God and the responsibility of cleansing, and the singers and gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon.

For in the days of David and Asaph from ancient times there was the head of the singers and a song of praise and thanksgiving to God.

On that day the book of Moses was read in the hearing of the people and it was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God

because they did not come to meet the {Israelites} with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them in order to curse them--but our God changed the curse into a blessing.

Before this, Eliashib the priest who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God--the one related to Tobiah--

So I came to Jerusalem. And I came to learn of the wrong that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by making him a room in the courtyard of the house of God.

And I spoke [in order], and they cleansed the chambers. Then I returned the objects of the house of God--the grain offering and the frankincense.

So I quarreled with the prefects, and I said, "Why is the house of God forsaken?" And I gathered them and set them at their station.

Remember me, my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my loyal acts which I have done in the house of my God and in his service.

Did not your ancestors do this also, and our God brought on us all of this disaster and on this city [too]? Now you are adding fierce wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath!"

And then I told two Levites that they must purify themselves and come to guard the gates in order to consecrate the day of the Sabbath. Remember this also, my God, and take pity on me according to the greatness of your loyal love.

So I quarreled with them and cursed them and beat some of their men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath by God: "Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in this way? And among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Yet the foreign women made even him sin.

Should we listen to you all and do this great evil, acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?"

Remember them, my God, because of their defilements of the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

a contribution of the wood offering at appointed times, and for the first fruits. Remember me, my God, for good.