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

Then I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they thoroughly supported the good work.

Next to him the men of Tekoa made repairs, but their nobles did not support the work of their overseers.

So we built the wall and the entire wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a heart to work.

Then [the leaders of] Judah said,“The strength of the burden bearers is failing,And there is much rubble;We ourselves are unableTo rebuild the wall.”

Our enemies said, “They will not know or see us until we are among them, kill them and put a stop to the work.”

Now when our enemies heard that we knew about their plot against us, and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each one to his work.

I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another.

So we carried on with the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars came out.

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

So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave to come down to [meet with] you?”

For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.” But now, [O God,] strengthen my hands.

When all our enemies heard about it, and all the [Gentile] nations around us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

Some from among the heads of fathers’ households gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 gold drachmas, 50 basins, 530 priests’ garments.

Some of the heads of fathers’ households gave to the treasury for the work 20,000 gold drachmas and 2,200 silver minas.

for the showbread; for the continual grain offerings and the continual burnt offerings; [for the offerings on] the Sabbaths, the New Moons, the [feasts at] appointed times; for the holy things, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel; and for all the work of the house of our God.

and their brothers (relatives, fellow workers) who did the work of the house, 822; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah,

and Shabbethai and Jozabad, from the leaders of the Levites, who were in charge of the outside work of the house of God;

The overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica, from Asaph’s sons, who were the singers in regard to the work of the house of God.

I also discovered that the portions due the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone away, each one back to his own field.

Thus I cleansed and purified them from everything foreign (pagan), and I defined the duties of the priests and Levites, each one in his task;