that Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

but if ye return to me, and keep my commandments and do them, though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heavens, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

And I went out by night by the valley-gate, even toward the jackal-fountain, and to the dung-gate; and I viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were in ruins, and its gates were consumed with fire.

And it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobijah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being repaired, that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,

And from that time forth the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held the spears, and the shields, and the bows, and the corslets; and the captains were behind all the house of Judah.

And there were that said, We, our sons and our daughters, are many, and we must procure corn that we may eat and live.

And there were that said, We have had to pledge our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses, that we might procure corn in the dearth.

And there were that said, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute upon our fields and vineyards;

And I said to them, We, according to our ability, have redeemed our brethren the Jews, who were sold to the nations; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? And they were silent and found no answer.

But the former governors that were before me had been chargeable to the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver: even their servants bore rule over the people. But I did not so, because of the fear of God.

Yea, also I applied myself to this work of the wall, and we bought no fields; and all my servants were gathered thither for the work.

And there were at my table a hundred and fifty of the Jews and the rulers, besides those that came to us from among the nations that were about us.

And that which was prepared daily was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days all sorts of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I demanded not the bread of the governor; for the service was heavy upon this people.

And it came to pass that when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations that were about us were afraid and were much cast down in their own eyes, and they perceived that this work was wrought by our God.

For there were many in Judah sworn to him; for he was a son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.

And it came to pass when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, that the doorkeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed.

Now the city was large and great; but the people in it were few, and no houses were built.

And these are they that went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub-Addon and Immer; but they could not shew their father's house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel.

These sought their genealogical register, but it was not found; therefore were they, as polluted, removed from the priesthood.

besides their servants and their maids, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five singing-men and singing-women.

Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six; their mules, two hundred and forty-five;

And the priests, and the Levites, and the doorkeepers, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinim, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities. And when the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in their cities,

And he read in it before the open place that was before the water-gate from the morning until midday, in presence of the men and the women, and those that could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.

And all the people went their way, to eat and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great rejoicing. For they had understood the words that were declared to them.

And on the second day were gathered together the chief fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to Ezra the scribe, even to gain wisdom as to the words of the law.

And on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.

and refused to obey, neither were they mindful of thy wonders which thou hadst done among them; but hardened their neck, and in their rebellion made a captain to return to their bondage. But thou art a +God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great loving-kindness, and thou forsookest them not.

And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all good things, wells digged, vineyards and olive-gardens, and fruit trees in abundance. And they did eat and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.

But they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets who testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.

And at the head of those that sealed were Nehemiah the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah, and Zedekiah.

Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah: these were the priests.

All the children of Pherez that dwelt in Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight valiant men.

and Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who were over the outward work of the house of God;

all the Levites in the holy city were two hundred and eighty-four.

And the doorkeepers, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren, that kept watch at the gates, were a hundred and seventy-two.

And the residue of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance.

And the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel; and Ziha and Gispa were over the Nethinim.

And of the Levites there were divisions of Judah dwelling in Benjamin.

Sallu, Amok, Hilkijah, Jedaiah. These were the chief of the priests and of their brethren in the days of Jeshua.

and Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, were over against them as watches.

And in the days of Joiakim were priests, chief fathers: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;

of the Levites, the chief fathers were recorded in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, and the priests, until the reign of Darius the Persian.

The children of Levi, the chief fathers, were recorded in the book of the chronicles, even until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.

Mattaniah and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were doorkeepers keeping the ward at the storehouses of the gates.

These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.

And the children of the singers were assembled, both from the plain of Jordan round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of the Netophathites,

And at that time men were appointed over the chambers of the treasures for the heave-offerings, for the first-fruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them, out of the fields of the cities, the portions assigned by the law for the priests and the Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests, and over the Levites that waited.

For of old, in the days of David and Asaph, there were the chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgivings to God.

And I made storekeepers over the storehouses: Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and subordinate to them, Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were esteemed faithful, and their office was to distribute to their brethren.