When I heard these words, I sat me down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,

and said, "O LORD God of heaven, thou great and terrible God, thou that keepest covenant and mercy for them that love thee and observe thy commandments:

Nevertheless I was sore afraid and said unto the king, "God save the king's life forever, should I not look sadly? The city of my fathers' burial lieth waste and the gates thereof are consumed with fire."

Then said the king unto me, "What, then, is thy request?" Then made I my prayer to the God of heaven,

And letters unto Asaph the lord of the king's wood, that he may give me wood for beams to the gates of the palace, which are hard on the house and hard on the walls of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into." And the king gave me according to the good hand of God upon me.

I gat me up in the night season, and a few men with me: for I told no man what God had given me in my heart to do at Jerusalem. And there was not one beast with me, save it that I rode upon.

And I told them of the good hand of my God which was upon me; and the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, "Then let us get up and build," and strengthened their hands to good.

Then answered I them, and said, "The God of heaven, he it is that causeth us to prosper: and we be his servants. Let us get up and build. As for you: ye have no portion, nor right, nor remembrance in Jerusalem."

And Eliashib the high priest gat him up with his brethren the priests, and builded the Sheep-gate. They hallowed it, and set up the doors of it: even unto the tower of Meah hallowed they it, namely unto the tower of Hananel.

The old gate builded Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they covered it, and set on the doors, locks and bars of it.

The valley gate builded Hanun, and the citizens of Zanoah. They builded it, and set on the doors, locks and bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall, unto the Dung port.

But the Well gate builded Shallum the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of the fourth part of Mizphah; He builded it, covered it, and set on the doors, locks, and bars thereof, and the wall unto the pool of Siloam by the king's garden, unto the steps that go down from the city of David.

After them builded Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him builded Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah the keeper of the east gate.

After him builded Malchijah the goldsmith's son, until the house of the Nethinims, and of the merchants over against the council gate, and to the parlor in the corner.

Hear, O thou our God, how we are despised! Turn their shame upon their own head, that thou mayest give them over into despising in the land of their captivity.

Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God, and set watchmen upon the wall day and night over against them.

But when the Jews that dwelt beside them came out of all the places where they dwelt about us, and told us - as good as ten times -

and looked, and gat me up, and said unto the chief men and rulers, and to the other people, "Be not ye afraid of them, but think rather upon the great LORD, which ought to be feared; and fight for your brethren, sons, daughters, wives, and houses."

Nevertheless, when our enemies heard that we had gotten word of it, God brought their counsel to nought, and we turned all again to the wall, every one unto his labour.

Look in what place now ye hear the noise of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us. Our God shall fight for us,

Also I said, "It is not good, that ye do. Ought ye not to walk in the fear of God because of the rebuke of the Heathen our enemies?

And I shook my lap, and said, "God shake out every man after the same manner from his house and labour, that maintaineth not this word: even thus be he shaken out, and void." And all the congregation said, "Amen," and praised the LORD. And the people did so.

For the old captains that were before me, had been chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, and forty sicles of silver: yea and their servants had oppressed the people. But so did not I, and that because of the fear of God.

Think upon me my God unto the best, according to all that I have done for this people.

Howbeit they sent unto me as good as four times after the same manner. And I gave the same answer.

And I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, and he had shut himself within, and said, "Let us come together in to the house of God, even unto the midst of the temple, and shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee, yea even in the night will they come to put thee to death."

For I perceived that God had not sent him; Yet spake he prophecy upon me. Nevertheless, Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him for money.

My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according unto these their works, and of the Prophetess Noadiah and of the other Prophets, that would have put me in fear.

And when all our enemies heard thereof, all the Heathen that were about us were afraid, and their courage failed them: for they perceived, that this work came of God.

And they spake good of him before me, and told him my words; and Tobiah sent letters, to put me in fear.

And I commanded my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace at Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God more than did many others,

And my God gave me in my heart, that I gathered together the principal men and the people to number them. And I found a register of the number of them, which came up afore out of the captivity: and found written therein:

And Ezra praised the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," with their hands up, and bowed themselves, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

And they read in the book of the law of God distinctly and plainly, so that men understood the thing that was read.

And Nehemiah - which is Hathirsatha - and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites that caused the people to take heed, said unto all the people, "This day is holy unto the LORD your God: be not ye sorry therefore, and weep not." For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.

And the people went up, and fetched them, and made them booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street by the Watergate, and in the street by port Ephraim.

And every day from the first day unto the last, read he in the book of the law of God. And seven days held they the feast, and on the eighth day they gathered together, according unto the manner.

and they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God four times on the day; and they acknowledged, and worshipped the LORD their God four times on the day.

And the Levites stood on high, namely Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenaniah, and cried loud unto the LORD their God.

And the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, "Stand up praise the LORD your God forever: and let thanks be given unto the name of thy glory, which exceedeth all thanksgiving and praise.

Thou art the LORD, the God that hast chosen Abram, and broughtest him out of Ur in Chaldea, and called him Abraham:

and foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give unto his seed the land of the Cananites, Hittites, Amorites, Perezites, Jebusites, and Girgashites - and hast made good thy words: for thou art righteous,

Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest unto them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, true laws, good commandments and statutes,

and refused to hear, and were not mindful of the wonders that thou didst for them: but became obstinate and heady insomuch that they turned back to their bondage in their disobedience. But thou, my God, forgavest, and wast gracious, merciful, patient, and of great goodness, and forsookest them not.

And though they made a molten calf, and said 'This is thy God, that brought thee out of the land of Egypt,' and did great blasphemies,

And thou gavest them thy good spirit to inform them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water when they were thirsty.

But for thy great mercies' sake thou hast not utterly consumed them, neither forsaken them: for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

Now our God, thou great God, mighty and terrible, thou that keepest covenant and mercy, regard not a little all the travail that hath happened unto us, and our kings, princes, priests, prophets, fathers and all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.

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,

and their lords that had rule of them, received it for their brethren. And they came to sware, and to bind themselves with an oath to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, that they would observe and do according unto all the commandments, judgments, and statutes of the LORD our God:

And we decreed a statute upon ourselves, to give yearly the third part of a sicle to the ministration in the house of our God,

namely to the shewbread, to the daily meat offering, to the daily burnt offering of the Sabbaths, of the new moons and feast days, and to the things that were sanctified, and to the sin offerings, to reconcile Israel withal, and to all the business in the house of our God.

And we cast the lot among the priests, Levites and the people, for offering of the wood to be brought unto the house of our God from year to year, after the houses of our fathers that it might be burnt at times appointed, upon 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 oxen and of our sheep, that we should bring all this to the house of our God unto the priests that minister in the house of our God:

and that we should bring the firstlings of our dough, and our heave offerings, and the fruits of all manner of trees, of wine also and of oil, unto the priests to the chests the house of our God. And the tithes of our land unto the Levites, that the Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our ministration.

And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall with the Levites have also of the tithes of the Levites, so that the Levites shall bring up the tithes of their tithes unto the house of our God to the chest in the treasure house.

For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring up the heave offerings of the corn, wine, and oil unto the chests. And there shall be the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and singers, that we forsake not the house of our God.

Seraiah the son of Hilkiah the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, was prince in the house of God:

and Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chief of the Levites, in the outward business of the house of God.

The overseer of the Levites at Jerusalem, was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica. Of the children of Asaph, there were singers about the business in the house of God:

And these were the chief among the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, and their brethren over against them, to give praise and thanks, according as David the man of God had ordained it, one watch over against another.

And I caused the princes of Judah to go up upon the wall, and appointed two great choirs of thanksgiving, which went on the righthand of the wall toward the Dung gate,

and his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, and Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe before them,

and to the port of Ephraim, and to the Oldgate, and to the Fishgate, and to the tower of Hananel, and to the tower of Meah, until the Sheepgate. And in the prison gate they stood still,

and so stood the two choirs of thanksgiving of the house of God, and I and the half of the rulers with me,

And the same day were there great sacrifices offered, and they rejoiced: for God had given them great gladness, so that both the wives and children were joyful, and the mirth of Jerusalem was heard afar off.

that they stood and waited upon the office of their God, and the office of the purification. And the singers and porters stood after the commandment of David and of Solomon his son:

for in the time of David and Asaph, were the chief singers founded, and the songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God.

And what time as the book of Moses was read in the ears of the people there was found written therein, that the Ammonites and Moabites should never come into the congregation of God,

because they met not the children of Israel with bread and water, and hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: nevertheless our God turned the curse into a blessing.

And before this had the Priest Eliashib delivered the chest of the house of our God unto his kinsman Tobiah:

to come to Jerusalem. And I gat knowledge of the evil that Eliashib did unto Tobiah, in that he had made him a chest in the court of the house of God,

and commanded them to cleanse the chest. And thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, the meat offering and the incense.

Then reproved I the rulers, and said, "Why forsake we the house of God?" But I gathered them together, and set them in their place.

Think upon me, O my God, herein, and wipe not out my mercy, that I have showed on the house of my God, and on the officers thereof!

Did not our fathers even thus, and our God brought all this plague upon us and upon this city? And ye make the wrath more yet upon Israel, in that ye break the Sabbath."

And I said unto the Levites which were clean, that they should come and keep the gates, to hallow the Sabbath day. Think upon me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to thy great mercy!

And I reproved them, and cursed them, and smote certain men of them, and plucked them up, and took an oath of them by God, "Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, neither shall ye take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.

Did not Solomon the king of Israel sin therein? And yet among many Heathen was there no king like him, and he was dear unto his God, and God made him king over all Israel, and yet nevertheless outlandish women caused him to sin?

And shall we then obey unto you, to do all this great evil, and to transgress against our God, and marry strange wives?"

O my God, think thou upon them that are quit of the priesthood, and have defiled the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites!

and to offer the wood at times appointed, and the firstfruits. Think thou upon me, O my God, for the best!