and Hanani, one of my brethren, came with certain men of Judah, and I asked them how the Jews did that were delivered and escaped from the captivity, and how it went at Jerusalem.

And did ye turn back to me and watch my commands and do them; if there shall be a thrusting forth of you into the extremity of the heavens, from thence will I gather them and bring them to the place which I chose for my name to dwell there.

And I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my mind to do for Jerusalem and there was no animal with me except the animal on which I was riding.

The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; nor had I as yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials or the rest who did the work.

Men from Jericho did repairs next to him, and Imri's son Zaccur did repairs next to them.

And, the fish-gate, did the sons of Hassenaah build, - they, laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof;

Moreover, next to him the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not support the work of their masters.

And, the old gate, did Joiada son of Paseah, and Meshullam, son of Besodeiah, repair, - they, laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof;

Next to him, Hur's son Rephaiah, ruling official for half of the Jerusalem district, did repairs.

Then next to them, Harumaph's son Jedaiah did repairs opposite his house, and next to him Hashabneiah's son Hattush carried on repairs.

a second length, did Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab, repair, - also the tower of the ovens;

and next to him Hallohesh's son Shallum, ruling official for the other half of the Jerusalem district, did repairs, as did his daughters.

The valley-gate, did Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah, repair, - they, built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, - also a thousand cubits in the wall, as far as the dung-gate.

And, the dung-gate, did Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the circuit of Beth-haccherem, repair, - he, built it, and set up the doors thereof, he locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

And, the fountain-gate, did Shallun son of Col-hozeh ruler of the circuit of Mizpah, repair, he, built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, - also the wall of the pool of Shelah, by the garden of the king, even as far as the stairs that go down from the city of David;

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.

Then next to them, Immer's son Zadok did repairs as far as his own house. Next to him, Shecaniah's son Shemaiah, custodian of the East Gate, carried on repairs.

From that day on, half of my men did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers supported all the people of Judah,

who were rebuilding the wall. Those who were carrying loads did so by keeping one hand on the work and the other on their weapon.

We did not change clothes -- not I, nor my relatives, nor my workers, nor the watchmen who were with me. Each had his weapon, even when getting a drink of water.

And I said to them, According to our ability we have redeemed our brothers, the Jews who were sold to the nations. And will you even sell your brothers? Or shall they be sold to us? And they were silent and did not find an answer.

I also shook out the front of my garment and said, “Thus may God shake out every man from his house and from his possessions who does not fulfill this promise; even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the Lord. Then the people did according to this promise.

Moreover, from the appointed day I was made their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes--twelve years. My brothers and I did not eat the food [allowance] of the governor.

But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God.

I also applied myself to the work on this wall; we did not buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.

Now that which was prepared for each day was one ox and six choice sheep, also birds were prepared for me; and once in ten days all sorts of wine were furnished in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the governor’s food allowance, because the servitude was heavy on this people.

Remember to me, my God, for good, all that I did for this people

Keep in mind, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat and what they did, and Noadiah, the woman prophet, and the rest of the prophets whose purpose was to put fear into me.

Moreover, his good deeds, were they telling before me, and, my affairs, were they carrying out to him, - letters, did Tobiah send to put me in fear.

I appointed my brother Hanani and fortress commander Hananiah to be over Jerusalem, since he was a faithful person who revered God more than many others did.

These, are the sons of the province, who came up from among the Captives of the Exile, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did exile, - but they came back to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one to his own city;

And, Jeshua and Bani and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, did cause the people to understand the law, the people, remaining in their places.

And all the convocation of those turning back from the captivity will make booths, and they will dwell in booths; for from the days of Joshua son of Nun, the sons of Israel did not thus even to this day. And there will be great gladness exceedingly.

You are the LORD, the God who did choose Abram, and brought him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham;

And did see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red sea;

And you did signs and wonders on Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land; for you saw how cruel they were to them. So you got yourself a name as it is today.

And you did divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors you threw into the deep, as a stone into the mighty waters.

"But they -- our ancestors -- behaved presumptuously; they rebelled and did not obey your commandments.

“They refused to listen,
And did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You had performed among them;
So they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt.
But You are a God of forgiveness,
Gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness;
And You did not forsake them.

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,

You, in Your great compassion,
Did not forsake them in the wilderness;
The pillar of cloud did not leave them by day,
To guide them on their way,
Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go.

“You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them,
Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth,
And You gave them water for their thirst.

“Indeed, forty years You provided for them in the wilderness and they were not in want;
Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell.

Moreover you gave them kingdoms and nations, and did distribute them even into the corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.

And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.

But they were hard-hearted, and went against your authority, turning their backs on your law, and putting to death your prophets, who gave witness against them with the purpose of turning them back again to you, and they did much to make you angry.

But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;

And admonished them in order to turn them back to Your law.
Yet they acted arrogantly and did not listen to Your commandments but sinned against Your ordinances,
By which if a man observes them he shall live.
And they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck, and would not listen.

And thou didst suffer many years to pass over them, and didst testify against them by thy Spirit through thy prophets, yet did they not give ear, - therefore didst thou deliver them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

“Nevertheless, in Your great compassion You did not make an end of them or forsake them,
For You are a gracious and compassionate God.

Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors
did not obey Your law
or listen to Your commands
and warnings You gave them.

“But they, in their own kingdom,
With Your great goodness which You gave them,
With the broad and rich land which You set before them,
Did not serve You or turn from their evil deeds.

Also, lots, did we cast, concerning the offering of wood among the priests, the Levites, and the people, to bring it unto the house of our God, by our ancestral houses, at times arranged, year by year, - to burn upon the altar of Yahweh our God, as it is written in the law.

And their brethren that did the work of the house were eight hundred twenty and two: and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchiah,

Then the two choirs took their stand in the house of God. So did I and half of the officials with me;

So they kept the charge of their God, and the charge of the purification, and so did the singers and the doorkeepers, - according to the commandment of David and of Solomon his son.

And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave what was needed by the music-makers and the door-keepers day by day: and they made the offerings holy for the Levites; and the Levites did the same for the sons of Aaron.

because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing.

And during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty and second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon did I come unto the king, and at the end of days I have asked of the king,

And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.

And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field.

Remember to me, O my God, concerning this, and thou wilt not wipe out my kindness which I did in the house of my God, and in its watches.

Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath.

Then I warned them and said to them, “Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will use force against you.” From that time on they did not come on the sabbath.

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.