The Book of Nehemiah
1* The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.
And in the month of Kislev of the year twenty I was in Susa Citadel, 2 and in came Hanani, one of my brothers, he and some men from Judah; and I asked them about the Judahites, the survivors that remained from the foreign servitude, and about Jerusalem; 3 and they told me “The remnant, those who remain there in the province from the foreign servitude, are in great hardship and in ignominy, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken and its gates have been burned down.”
4 And when I heard these things I sat down and wept, and mourned some days, and was fasting and praying before the God of heaven; 5 and I said “Ah, Jehovah, God of heaven, great and terrible Deity, keeper of covenant and friendship for those who love you and keep your commandments, 6 let your ears be attentive and your eyes open to hear your servant’s prayer as I am today praying before you day and night for your servants the sons of Israel and acknowledging the sins of the sons of Israel, that we have sinned against you—I and my family have sinned; 7 we have treated you badly and not kept your commandments and usages and laws which you enjoined on your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word you charged your servant Moses with: ‘You will be disloyal—I will scatter you among the peoples; 9 and you will come back to me and keep my commandments and live up to them—if your exile be at the edge of the sky, from there I will gather you and bring you to the place I choose to install my name there.’ 10 And those are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and strong hand. 11 Ah, Lord, let your ears be attentive to your servant’s prayer and to the prayer of your servants who find pleasure in fearing your name, and give your servant success today and make him an object of sympathy to this man” (I was a cupbearer of the king’s).
2** And in the month of Nisan of the year twenty of King Artaxerxes he had wine before him, and I took up the wine and gave it to the king. And I had not been sad before him; 2 and the king said to me “How comes your face to be sad, when you are not sick? this is nothing else but a heart sadness.”
And I was very much afraid, 3** but said to the king “May the king live forever—how should my face not be sad when the city, the burial-place of my fathers, is lying waste and its gates have been burned down?”
4 And the king said to me “What is it you want to ask for?”
And I prayed to the God of heaven 5 and said to the king “If the king thinks best and if you hold your servant in esteem, that you would send me to Jerusalem, to the city of my fathers’ graves, to rebuild it.”
6 And the king said to me, while my lady was sitting beside him, “In how long would you go and when would you be back?”
And the king approved and sent me; and I set him a date. 7 And I said to the king “If the king thinks best, let me be given letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates to pass me through till I come to Judah, 8* and a letter to Asaph the king’s forester to give me timber for constructing the citadel gates for the house and for the wall of the city and for the house I am to occupy”; and the king gave me these, in accordance with God’s kindly hand upon me.
9* And I came to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters; and the king sent with me army officers and cavalry. 10 And Sanballat the Horonite and Tobijah the ʽAmmonite slave heard of it and took it very hard that somebody had come to attempt something good for the sons of Israel.
11 And I came to Jerusalem and was there three days; 12 and I rose in the night, I and a few men with me (I had not told anybody what God had put it into my heart to do for Jerusalem), but had no beast with me except the beast I rode on. 13* And I went out by the Valley Gate in the night to the front of the Dragon Spring and to the Dump Gate, and kept inspecting the walls of Jerusalem, how they were broken and its gates had been burned down. 14* And I went over to the Spring Gate and to the King’s Reservoir, and there was no way for the beast to get over with me on its back. 15 And I kept on up the Arroyo in the night, and kept inspecting the wall; and I came back and went in by the Valley Gate, and home; 16* and the men on guard did not know where I had gone and what I was doing, and thus far I had not told the Judahites and the priests and the nobles and the magnates and the rest of the administrators.
17 And I said to them “You see for yourselves the bad state we are in, how Jerusalem is lying waste and its gates have been burned down. Come on, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and not be a butt for insults any longer”; 18 and I told them of God’s hand, how it had rested kindly on me, and all the words of the king, what he had said to me; and they said “Let us stand up and build,” and took heart for the good cause.
19 And Sanballat the Horonite and Tobijah the ʽAmmonite slave and Gusham the Arab heard of it and made fun of us and treated us contemptuously, and said “What’s that you are doing? rebelling against the king?” 20 But I gave them their answer, “The God of heaven himself will make us successful, and we his worshipers will stand up and build; but you have no share nor right nor memories in Jerusalem.”
3* And High Priest Eljashib and his brother priests stood up and built the Sheep Gate—it was they who performed the ceremonies for it and hung the gates in the building—and to the Hundred Tower, performed the ceremonies for it, to Hananel’s Tower. 2 And next the men of Jericho built. And next Zaccur the son of Imri built.
3 And the Fish Gate the sons of the Senaah built; it was they who framed the gateway and hung the gates in it and put in place the sockets for the bars, and the bars. 4 And next Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Hakkos repaired. And next Meshullam the son of Berekiah the son of Meshezabel repaired. And next Sadok the son of Baʽana repaired. 5 And next the Tekoʽites repaired; but their grandees did not bring their necks into their Lord’s service.
6* And the Old-Town Gate Jojadaʽ the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodiah repaired; it was they who framed the gateway and hung the gates in it and put in place the sockets for the bars, and the bars. 7 And next Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and Mispah of the throne of the governor of Trans-Euphrates repaired. 8* Next ʽUzziel the son of Harhiah, goldsmiths, repaired. And next Hananiah the son of the perfumers repaired. And they stoned up Jerusalem to the Broad Wall. 9 And next Rephajah the son of Hur, chief of half the department of Jerusalem, repaired. 10 And next Jedajah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. And next Hattush the son of Hashabnejah repaired. 11*** Malkijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath Moab repaired a second assignment, and the Baking-Crock Tower. 12 And next Shallum the son of Hallohesh, chief of half the department of Jerusalem, he and his daughters, repaired.
13 The Valley Gate Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired; it was they who built it and hung the gates in the building and put in place the sockets for the bars, and the bars; and five hundred yards to the Dump Gate.
14 And the Dump Gate Malkijah the son of Recab, chief of the department of Beth-hak-Kerem, repaired; it was he who built it and hung the gates in the building and put in place the sockets for the bars, and the bars.
15 And the Spring Gate Shallun the son of Col-Hozeh, chief of the department of Mispah, repaired; it was he who built it and canopied it and hung the gates in the building and put in place the sockets for the bars, and the bars; and the wall by the Tunnel Reservoir at the King’s Garden and to the stairs that go down from David’s City. 16 After him Nehemiah the son of ʽAzbuk, chief of half the department of Beth-Sur, repaired to opposite David’s Graves and to the Artificial Reservoir and to the Champions’ House. 17 After him the Levites repaired, Rehum the son of Bani. After him Hashabiah, chief of half the department of Keʽilah, repaired for his department. 18 After him their brothers repaired, Bavvai the son of Henadad, chief of half the department of Keʽilah. 19 And ʽEzer the son of Jeshuaʽ, chief of Mispah, next repaired a second assignment, opposite the armory stairs at the angle. 20 After him Baruc the son of Zabbai repaired a second assignment from the angle to the door of High Priest Eljashib’s house. 21* After him Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Hakkos repaired a second assignment, from the door of Eljashib’s house all along Eljashib’s house. 22 And after him the priests repaired, the men of the Pale. 23 After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them ʽAzariah the son of Maʽasejah the son of ʽAnaniah repaired alongside his house. 24 After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired a second assignment, from ʽAzariah’s house to the angle and to the corner. 25 Palal the son of Uzai from opposite the angle and the tower that bulges out from the upper royal palace with the court of the guard. After him Pedajah the son of Pareosh. 26* And the temple servants lived on the castle ridge to opposite the Eastern Water Gate and the bulging-out tower. 27 After him the Tekoʽites repaired a second assignment, from opposite the great bulging-out tower to the wall of the castle ridge. 28 Above the Pony Gate the priests repaired, each opposite his own house. 29 After it Sadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his house, and after him Shemaʽiah the son of Shecaniah, the warder of the East Gate; 30* after him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Salaph a second assignment; after him Meshullam the son of Berekiah repaired opposite his vestry. 31* After him Malkijah the son of the goldsmith repaired to the house of the temple servants and the traders, opposite the Assigned Tract Gate, and to the upper room on the corner. 32 And between the upper room on the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the traders repaired.
4 But when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall he grew angry and fell into a great passion and made fun of the Judahites, 2** and said before his brothers and the Samaritan troops “What are those forlorn Judahites doing? will they stone themselves up? will they make sacrifices? will they finish in a day? will they resurrect the stones out of the heaps of earth, burned as they are?” 3** And Tobijah the ʽAmmonite was beside him and said “If they do build, if a fox reaches up it will break a hole in their stone wall.” 4 Hear it, our God, that we were an object of contempt, and bring their taunts back on their own heads, and let them be victims of plunder in a country of foreign servitude, 5 and do not cover up their guilt, and let their sin never be wiped out from before you, because they gave provocation before the builders.
6* But we built the wall, and the whole wall was connected halfway up, because the people’s hearts were in the work. 7* And when Sanballat and Tobijah and the Arabs and ʽAmmonites and Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were mending because the breaches had begun to be stopped, they were very angry 8 and all plotted together to come to make an armed attack on Jerusalem to throw it off its course. 9 But we prayed to our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
10* And Judah said “The hod-carrier’s strength is breaking down; and there is a great deal of the rubbish and we cannot be building on the wall.” 11 And our foes said “They will not know nor see till we come in among them and kill them and stop the work.” 12 And when the Judahites that lived next them came in, they said to us ten times from all the places “You should come back to us.” 13* But I stationed the people by clans with their swords, pikes, and bows at places below the space back of the wall, on vacant lots; 14* and I looked them over, and I stood up and said to the nobles and the magnates and the rest of the people “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord, the great and terrible, and fight for your brothers, your sons and daughters, your wives and households.”
15 And when our enemies had heard that we had learned of it and God had balked their scheme, we all went back to the wall, each to his work. 16* And from that day half my men were working on the job and half were holding the pikes and shields and bows and coats of mail behind all the house of Judah 17* that were building on the wall; and those who carried the loads loaded up with one hand working on the job and one holding the throwing-spear; 18 and the builders each had his sword strapped to his waist as they built; and the man to blow the ram-horn was at my side. 19* And I said to the nobles and the magnates and the rest of the people “The work is extensive and there is a great deal of it, and we are far apart on the wall; 20 at whatever place you hear the sound of the ram-horn, gather to us there; our God will fight for us.” 21 And we worked on the job, and half of them held the pikes, from the coming up of the dawn to the coming out of the stars. 22 Also I said to the people at that time “Each one and his man should lodge for the night inside Jerusalem, and be a guard for us through the night and a working force through the day.” 23* And I and my brothers and my men and the men of the guard that had followed me did not take off our clothes; each one’s weapon, the water.
5 And there arose a great outcry of the people and their wives against their brother Judahites; 2* and there were some who said “We are pawning our sons and daughters to get grain to eat to keep ourselves alive”; 3 and there were some who said “We are pawning our fields and vineyards to get grain in the famine”; 4 and there were some who said “We have borrowed money on our fields and vineyards for the king’s taxes. 5* And now our flesh is like our brothers’ flesh, our sons like theirs, and here we are reducing our sons and daughters to slavery, and some of our daughters have been enslaved, and we are helpless; and the aristocrats have our fields and vineyards.”
6 And I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words, 7 and I followed my impulse and came down on the aristocrats and magnates and said to them “You are taking usury of your brothers”; and I held a great assembly about them, 8 and said to them “We have been buying up our brother Judahites who had been sold to, the heathens, as much as we could, and you are even selling your brothers and they get sold to us”; and they were silent and could not find a word. 9 And I said “The thing you are doing is not good; will you not go in the fear of God on account of taunts from our heathen enemies? 10 And I too, my brothers and my men, are charging them interest in money and grain; let us leave off this interest-taking; 11 return to them at once their fields, vineyards, olive-trees, and houses, and the percent of money and grain and grape-juice and oil that you are charging them.” 12* And they said “We will return these and not try to get them; we will do just as you say”; and I, called the priests and swore them to do as they said; 13 I also shook out the bosom of my robe and said “So may God shake out from his house and his goods every man who does not make good this word, and so may he be shaken out and empty”; and all the assembly said “Amen” and praised Jehovah; and the people lived up to this word.
14* Besides, from the day when he commissioned me to be governor in Judah, from the year twenty to the year thirty-two of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, I and my brothers did not live at public expense. 15* But the former governors, the ones before me, had burdened the people and taken from them in bread and wine the equivalent of forty shekels of silver; their men too lorded it over the people; but I did not do thus, on account of the fear of God. 16 And I also took hold in this work of the wall; and we bought no land, but all my men were gathered there at the wall. 17* And the Judahites and the magnates, a hundred and fifty men, and those who came to us from the nations around us, ate at my table; 18** and what was done for one day was one head of beef cattle, six select sheep or goats, and birds were done for me, and every ten days numerous skins of wine; and with this I did not take the public allowance, because the servitude was heavy on the people. 19 Remember for me for good, my God, all that I did for this people.
6 And when the report came to Sanballat and Tobijah, and Gusham the Arab and the rest of our enemies, that I had built the wall and there were no breaches left in it (even up to that time I had not hung gates in the gateways), 2 Sanballat and Gusham sent word to me “Come, let us make an appointment for an interview in the villages on the Ono plain”—and they were planning to do me harm. 3 But I sent messengers to them with the word “I am doing a great piece of work and cannot go down; why should the work come to a stop while I take time off and go down to you?” 4 And they sent me this same word four times, and I gave them this same answer.
5 And Sanballat sent his man to me a fifth time on this same errand with an open letter in his hand 6 in which was written “There is a report among the nations, and Gushmu says, you and the Judahites are planning to rebel; that is why you are building the wall; and they are going to have you for king”; things of this sort. 7 “And you have also set up prophets to proclaim about you in Jerusalem ‘There is a king in Judah’; and now the report will come to the king”—things of this sort. “Now come on, let us talk it over.” 8 But I sent them word “There are no such facts as you say, but you are inventing them out of your own head.” 9* For they were all scaring us, thinking “Get them discouraged from the work, and it will not be done.” But as it was, he braced up my determination.
10 And I had gone into the house of Shemaʽiah the son of Delajah the son of Mehetabel, he being debarred, and he said “Let us make an appointment to meet in God’s house, in the interior of the temple, and shut the temple doors, because there are people coming in to kill you, coming in in the night to kill you.” 11 But I said “Is a man in my position to play the fugitive? and who in my position would go into the temple for his life? I will not go in.” 12* And I recognized it was not God that sent him, that he uttered the prophecy against me, but Tobijah and Sanballat had hired him 13* in order that I might be scared into doing so and sinning, and they might have it as a scandal to taunt me with. 14* My God, remember Tobijah and Sanballat suitably to these deeds of his, and also Noʽadiah the prophetess and the rest of the prophets who were scaring me.
15 And the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. 16* And when all our enemies heard of it and all the nations around us saw it, they felt themselves decidedly set down and knew that the doing of this work came from our God.
17 Besides, in those days the aristocrats of Judah had many of their letters going to Tobijah and Tobijah’s coming to them; 18 for many in Judah were sworn to him because he was son-in-law to Shecaniah the son of Arah and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berekiah. 19* They also kept talking of his good points before me and carrying my words to him. And Tobijah sent letters to scare me.
7* And when the wall was built and I had hung the gates, and the gatemen and singers and Levites were posted, 2 I commissioned over Jerusalem my brother Hanani and Hananiah the commandant of the citadel; for he had the standing of a loyal and an especially God-fearing man. 3* And I said to them “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened till the sun is hot, and while they are still at their posts they are to shut and fasten the gates; and set the inhabitants of Jerusalem on guard, each with his own guard duty and each opposite his own house.” 4 And the city was large and spacious, and the people within it few, and houses were not built; 5* and my God gave me an idea, and I gathered the aristocrats and the magnates and the people for listing; and I found the record of the list of those who had come up at first, and I found written in it
6* “These are the sons of the province, those who came up out of the serfdom of the deportees whom King Nebucadnessar of Babylon had deported to Babylon and came back to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city, 7 who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshuaʽ, Nehemiah, Serajah, Raghamiah, Nahamani, Mordocai, Bishlan, Masparath, Bigvai, Rehum, Baʽanah.
“The number of the men of the people of Israel: 8 the sons of Pareosh, twenty-one hundred and seventy-two; 9 the sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; 10 the sons of Arah, seven hundred and seventy-five; 11** the sons of Pahath Moab as regards the sons of Jeshuaʽ and Joab, twenty-eight hundred and twelve; 12 the sons of ʽElam, twelve hundred and fifty-four; 13 the sons of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five; 14 the sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; 15 the sons of Bani, six hundred and forty-two; 16 the sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three; 17 the sons of ʽAzgad, twelve hundred and twenty-two; 18 the sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-six; 19 the sons of Bigvai, two thousand and fifty-six; 20 the sons of Ghadin, four hundred and fifty-four; 21 the sons of Ater on Hezekiah’s side, seventy-eight; 22 the sons of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three; 23 the sons of Besai, three hundred and twenty-three; 24 the sons of Jorah, a hundred and twelve; 25 the sons of Gibbar, ninety-five; 26 the men of Bethlehem, a hundred and twenty-three; the men of Netophah, fifty-six; 27 the men of ʽAnathoth, a hundred and twenty-eight; 28 the men of Beth-ʽAzmaveth, forty-two; 29 the men of Kirjath-Jeʽarim, Kephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three; 30 the men of Ramah and Gebaʽ, six hundred and twenty-one; 31 the men of Micmas, a hundred and twenty-two; 32 the men of Bethel and the Ghai, two hundred and twenty-three; 33 the sons of Nebo, fifty-two; the sons of Magbish, a hundred and fifty-three; 34 the sons of the other ʽElam, twelve hundred and fifty-four; 35 the sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty; 36 the sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; 37 the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five; 38 the sons of Senaah, thirty-six hundred and thirty.
39 “The priests: the sons of Jedaʽiah, of the family of Jeshuaʽ, nine hundred and seventy-three; 40 the sons of Immer, a thousand and fifty-two; 41 the sons of Pashhur, twelve hundred and forty-seven; 42 the sons of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.
43 “The Levites: the sons of Jeshuaʽ and Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodaviah, seventy-four.
44 “The singers: the sons of Asaph, a hundred and twenty-eight.
45 “The gatemen: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, total a hundred and thirty-nine.
46 “The temple servants: the sons of Siha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaʽoth, 47 the sons of Keros, the sons of Siʽaha, the sons of Padon, 48 the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of ʽAkud, the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shalmai, 49 the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, 50 the sons of Reajah, the sons of Resin, the sons of Nekoda, 51 the sons of Gazzam, the sons of ʽUzza, the sons of Passah, 52 the sons of Besai, the sons of Asnah, the sons of Maʽani, the sons of Naphisi, 53 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 54 the sons of Basluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 55 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, 56 the sons of Nesiah, the sons of Hatipha.
57 “The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of the Sophereth, the sons of Peruda, 58 the sons of Jaʽalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 59 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pokereth Hassebajim, the sons of Amon. 60 Total of temple servants and sons of Solomon’s servants, three hundred and ninety-two.
61 “And these are those who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addan, Immer, and could not state their families and their blood, whether they belonged to Israel: 62 the sons of Delajah, the sons of Tobijah, the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two.
63* “And of the priests the sons of Habajah, the sons of Hakkos, the sons of Barzillai who married one of the descendants of Barzillai the Gileadite and took their name, 64 —the registrars looked for the record of these, and they were not to be found; and they were disqualified from priestly functions, 65** and the Tarshata told them they were not to eat any of the holiest of the holy till there should stand a priest with the gift of Urim and Thummim.
66* “The whole assembly as a unit came to forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, 67 besides their slaves; of these, men and women, there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred singers, men and women. 68 And of their ponies there were seven hundred and thirty-six, of their mules two hundred and forty-five, 69 of their camels four hundred and thirty-five, of donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.
70 7:69 “And some of the number of the heads of families gave for the work: the Tarshata gave to the treasury a thousand drachmas of gold, fifty bowls, five hundred and thirty priests’ tunics. 71 7:70 And some of the heads of families gave to the treasury of the work twenty thousand drachmas of gold and twenty-two hundred minas of silver. 72 7:71 And what the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drachmas of gold and two thousand minas of silver, and sixty-seven priests’ tunics.
73 7:72 “And the priests and the Levites and part of the people settled in Jerusalem and in the country, and the singers and the gatemen and the temple servants in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.”
And the seventh month drew on, with the sons of Israel in their cities,
8 and all the people to a man came together in the square before the Water Gate and told ʽEzra the scribe to bring the book of Moses’s code which Jehovah had enjoined on Israel. 2* And Priest ʽEzra brought the code before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month, 3*** and read from it at the front of the square before the Water Gate from the first daylight to midday before the men and women and those who could understand, and all the people gave their ears to the book of the code. 4* And ʽEzra the scribe stood on a wooden platform erected for the occasion, and beside him stood Mattithiah and Shemaʽ and ʽAnajah and ʽAzariah and Urijah and Hilkijah and Maʽasejah on his right, and on his left Pedajah and Mishael and Malkijah and Hashum and Hashbaddanah, Zecariah, Meshullam; 5 and ʽEzra the scribe opened the book before the eyes of all the people, because he was above all the people; and when he opened it all the people were standing; 6 and ʽEzra blessed Jehovah, the great God, and all the people answered “Amen,” “Amen,” holding up their hands, and did reverence to Jehovah with faces bowed to the ground. 7* And Jeshuaʽ and Bani and Sherebiah, Jamin, ʽAkkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maʽasejah, Kelita, ʽAzariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelajah, the Levites, expounded the code to the people, while the people stood in their places. 8* And he read from the book of God’s code by sections, bringing out the sense, and they expounded the text.
9* And the Tarshata and Priest ʽEzra the scribe and the Levites who were expounding to the people said to all the people “The day is sacred to your God Jehovah; do not mourn nor weep”—for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the code. 10 And he said to them “Go, eat rich food and drink sweet drinks and send helpings to anybody who has nothing ready, because the day is sacred to our Lord, and do not be melancholy, for Jehovah’s glee is your security”; 11 and the Levites silenced all the people, saying “Hush, because the day is sacred, and do not be melancholy.” 12* And all the people went off to eat and drink and send out helpings and to hold a great merrymaking, because they understood the notifications that were given them.
13 And on the second day the heads of families of all the people, the priests, and the Levites came together to Priest ʽEzra for information on the points of the code, 14 and they found it written in the code that Jehovah had prescribed through Moses that the sons of Israel were to live in booths during the feast in the seventh month, 15 and that they were to give out and have the announcement made in all the cities and in Jerusalem “Go out to the mountain and bring in foliage of olive-trees and of wild olive and of myrtles and of palm trees and of leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” 16 And the people went out and brought in, and made themselves booths on their own roofs and in their yards and in the courts of God’s house and in Water Gate Square and in Ephraim Gate Square; 17 and all the assembly, those that had come back from the foreign servitude, made booths and lived in the booths. For the sons of Israel had never done so since the days of Joshuaʽ the son of Nun until that day. And there was a very great merrymaking. 18* And he read from the book of God’s code day by day, from the first day to the last day; and they held a feast for seven days, and on the eighth day there was a holiday, in due form.
9 And on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel came together with fasting and in sackcloths and with earth on them, 2 and the descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the guilts of their fathers. 3* And they stood up in their places, and they read from the book of their God Jehovah’s code a quarter of the day, and a quarter they were confessing and doing reverence to their God Jehovah. 4*** And Jeshuaʽ and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, Kanani, stood up on the Levites’ platform, and they cried out in a loud voice to their God Jehovah. 5*** And the Levites Jeshuaʽ and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabnejah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, Pethahiah, said
“Stand up, bless your God Jehovah, and let them bless your name, glorious and exalted above all blessing and praise!
6 “You it was, Jehovah, you alone, that made the sky, the sky of the sky, and all its legions, the earth and everything on it, the seas and everything in them, and you give life to them all, and the legions of the sky do reverence to you. 7 You it was, Jehovah God, that called Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham, 8 and found his heart loyal before you and made a covenant with him to give the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites and the Jebusites and the Girgashites to his descendants, and made good your words because you are a doer of right.
9 “And you saw the wretched state of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry at the Red Sea, 10 and dealt out tokens and miracles upon the Pharaoh and all his officers and all the people of his country because you knew they had been arrogant against them, and you made yourself famous as at this day. 11 And you split the sea apart before them, and took them across through the middle of the sea on dry land, and threw their pursuers into depths of ooze like a stone into a mighty water; 12 and you led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to light up for them the road they were to go on. 13 And on Mount Sinai you came down and spoke with them out of the sky and gave them correct laws and true rulings, good institutions and commandments, 14 and made known to them your holy sabbath, and enjoined on them commandments and institutions and rulings through your servant Moses, 15 and gave them bread out of the sky for their hunger and brought them out water from a crag for their thirst, and told them to go in to take possession of the country you had pledged yourself to give to them.
16 “But they, our fathers, were headstrong and stiffened up their necks and did not listen to your commandments; 17 and they refused to listen, and did not remember your wonders that you had done in their presence, but stiffened up their necks and elected a chief to go back to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, kindly and tenderhearted, patient and very friendly, and did not abandon them, 18 even when they made themselves a metal calf and said ‘This is your God that brought you up out of Egypt’ and committed acts of great contumely; 19 you in your great tenderheartedness did not abandon them in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud never left its place over them by day, guiding them on the road, and the pillar of fire by night to light up for them the road they were to go on; 20 and you gave your good Spirit to enlighten them, and did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and gave them water for their thirst, 21 and for forty years you supported them in the wilderness: they were in want of nothing; their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
22* “And you gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted them for frontier, and they took possession of the country of King Sihon of Heshbon and the country of King ‘Og of the Bashan. 23 And you made their sons numerous as the stars in the sky, and brought them into the country you had told their fathers to go into to take possession. 24* And the sons went in and took possession of the country, and you humbled before them the inhabitants of the country, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, and their kings and the peoples of the country, to do as they pleased with. 25* And they took fortified cities and fat soil, and got possession of houses full of good things, rock-hewn cisterns, vineyards and olive-trees and fruit-trees in great numbers, and they ate and had their fill and grew fat and lived in luxury by your great goodness.
26 “But they were disobedient and rebelled against you and threw your code behind their backs, and killed your prophets who had testified to them to bring them back to you, and committed acts of great contumely; and you gave them into the hands of their foes and they distressed them. 27* And in their distress they would cry out to you, and you in heaven would hear and, in accordance with your great tenderheartedness, would give them saviors who saved them out of the hands of their foes. 28* But when they were at rest they would go back to doing bad things before you, and you left them in their enemies’ hands and they had them at their mercy; and they went back to crying out to you, and you in heaven would hear and, in accordance with your great tenderheartedness, would deliver them. 29 And you testified to them to bring them back to your code; but they were headstrong and did not listen to your commands and sinned against your laws, which men should conform to and have life by them, and turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened up their necks and did not listen. 30 And you kept on with them many years, and testified to them by your Spirit through your prophets, but they did not give ear, and you gave them into the hands of the peoples of the countries. 31 But in your great tenderness you did not finish them off nor abandon them, because you are a kindly and tenderhearted Deity.
32* “And now, our God, great and invincible and terrible Deity, keeper of covenant and friendship, let all the hard experience we have had, we, our kings and our generals and our priests and our prophets and our fathers and all your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria to this day, not be a little thing before you. 33 And you are in the right as to all that has come upon us, because you have done loyally; and we are in the wrong. 34 And our kings, our generals, our priests, and our fathers did not live up to your code nor listen to your commandments and your testimonies that you gave them; 35 but they, in their independent sovereignty and in your abundant good things that you gave them and in the broad and fat country that you put before them, did not serve you nor turn back from their bad practices. 36* Here we are in servitude today; and as to the country you gave to our fathers to eat the fruits of and the good things of, here we are in servitude in it, 37 and it is bearing its produce in great crops for the kings you have put over us for our sins, and they are ruling over our bodies and our cattle as they please, and we are in great distress.”
38*** “And for all this we agree to a schedule and write it down; and on the sealed copy are our chiefs, our Levites, our priests.”
10** And on the sealed copies “Nehemiah the Tarshata the son of Hacaliah, and Sidkijah; 2 Serajah, ʽAzariah, Jeremiah, 3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah, 4* Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluc, 5 Harim, Meremoth, ʽObadiah, 6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruc, 7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 8 Maʽaziah, Bilgai, Shemaʽiah; these are the priests; 9 and the Levites, Jeshuaʽ the son of Azaniah, Binnui, of the sons of Henadad Kadmiel, 10* and their brothers She[b]aniah, Hodaviah, Kelita, Pelajah, Hanan, 11 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, 12* Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 13 Hodijah, Bani, Beninu; 14 heads of the people, Pareosh, Pahath Moab, ʽElam, Zattu, Bani, 15 Bunni, ʽAzgad, Bebai, 16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Ghadin, 17 Ater, Hizkijah, ʽAzzur, 18 Hodijah, Hashum, Besai, 19* Hariph, ʽAnathoth, Nobai, 20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, 21 Meshezabel, Sadok, Jadduaʽ, 22 Pelatiah, Hanan, ʽAnajah, 23 Hosheaʽ, Hananiah, Hasshub, 24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maʽasejah, 26 and Ahijah, Hanan, ʽAnan, 27 Malluc, Harim, Baʽanah.”
28 “And the remainder of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatemen, the singers, the temple servants, and everybody who has separated himself from the peoples of the countries to God’s code, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everybody that knows enough to understand, 29* concur with their brothers, their notables, and take upon themselves an imprecation and an oath to go by God’s code which was given through God’s servant Moses and to observe and live up to all the commandments of our Lord Jehovah and his laws and usages; 30 and that we will not give our daughters to the peoples of the country nor take their daughters for our sons; 31** and from the peoples of the country who bring commodities and provisions of any kind on the sabbath day to sell we will not take any on the sabbath or on a holy day; and we will give up enforcing claims on goods in anybody’s hands in the seventh year. 32 And we establish standing charges upon ourselves, charging ourselves with a third of a shekel a year for the service of our God’s house, 33 for the stacked bread and the regular grain-offering and the regular burnt-offering, the sabbaths, the new moons, for the dates and for the sacramental offerings and for the sin-offering to purge Israel, and all the business of our God’s house; 34 and we have cast the lots as to the wood donation, priests, Levites, and people, to bring it in by families at stated times year by year to be burned on our God Jehovah’s altar as is written in the code; 35 and to bring in the firstfruits of our soil, and the first of any fruit of any woody stem year by year, to Jehovah’s house; 36 and as to the firstborn of our sons and our animals as is written in the code, and to bring in the firstborn of our horned cattle and sheep and goats to our God’s house for the priests who officiate in our God’s house; 37* and the first of our cooked cereals and our contributions and the fruit of every woody stem, grape-juice and oil, we will bring for the priests to the vestries of our God’s house; and the tithe of our soil is for the Levites, and they, the Levites, are the ones who take up the tithes in all our working cities, 38 and the priest, the son of Aaron, is to be with the Levites when the Levites take up the tithes; and the Levites are to bring up the tithe of the tithe to Jehovah’s house, into the vestries of the storage house. 39 For it is into the vestries that the sons of Israel and the sons of Levi are to bring in the contribution of grain and grape-juice and oil, and there the belongings of the sanctuary and the officiating priests and the gatemen and the singers are. And we will not abandon our God’s house.”
11 And the chiefs of the people lived in Jerusalem, and the remainder of the people cast lots to bring in one out of ten to live in Jerusalem, the sacred city, and ten parts in the cities. 2 And the people blessed all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.
3 And these are the heads of the province who lived in Jerusalem; and in the cities of Judah Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the temple servants, and the sons of Solomon’s servants, lived each on his own holding in their cities. 4 And there lived in Jerusalem, of the sons of Judah and of the sons of Benjamin,
Of the sons of Judah: Ghathajah the son of ʽUzzijah the son of Zecariah the son of Amariah the son of Shephatiah the son of Mahalalel a son of Peres, 5* and Maʽasejah the son of Baruc the son of Col-Hozeh the son of Hazajah the son of ʽAdajah the son of Jojarib the son of Zecariah the son of the Shelanite. 6* Of all the sons of Peres who lived in Jerusalem there were four hundred and sixty-eight able-bodied men.
7 And these were the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam the son of Joʽed the son of Pedajah the son of Kolajah the son of Maʽasejah the son of Ithiel the son of Jeshaʽiah, 8* and after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred and twenty-eight; 9 and Joel the son of Zicri had the oversight over them, and Jehudah the son of Hassenuah over the city as second.
10* Of the priests: Jedaʽiah, Jojarib, Jakin, 11 Serajah the son of Hilkijah the son of Meshullam the son of Sadok the son of Merajoth the son of Ahitub the warden of God’s house, 12 and their brothers who did the, work of God’s house, eight hundred and twenty-two, and ʽAdajah the son of Jeroham the son of Pelaliah the son of Amsi the son of Zecariah the son of Pashhur the son of Malkijah, 13* and his brothers, two hundred and forty-two heads of families; and ʽAmasai the son of ʽAzarel the son of Ahzai the son of Meshillemoth the son of Immer, 14* and his brothers, a hundred and twenty-eight stalwart men; and Zabdiel the son of Haggedolim had the oversight over them.
15 And of the Levites: Shemaʽiah the son of Hasshub the son of ʽAzrikam the son of Hashabiah the son of Bunni; 16 and Shabbethai and Jozabad, over the work outside the house of God, of heads of Levites. 17* And Mattaniah the son of Micah the son of Zabdi the son of Asaph, head of the beginning, spoke the thanks in the prayer; and Bakbukiah was second of his brothers; and ʽAbda the son of Shammuaʽ the son of Galal the son of Jeduthun. 18 Of all the Levites in the sacred city there were two hundred and eighty-four.
19 And the gatemen: ʽAkkub, Talmon, and their brothers who guarded the gates, a hundred and seventy-two.
20 And the remainder of Israel, the priests, the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, each on his estate. 21 And the temple servants lived on the castle ridge, and Siha and Gishpa were over the temple servants. 22 And ʽUzzi the son of Bani the son of Hashabiah the son of Mattaniah the son of Mica, of the sons of Asaph, the singers, had they oversight over the Levites in Jerusalem with reference to the business of God’s house. 23** For the king’s command governed them, and there was a schedule for the singers, and appointment for each day. 24* And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the sons of Zerah the son of Judah, was court agent for every affair for the people. 25 And toward the villages in their country districts, sons of Judah lived in Kirjath-ha-Arbogh and its dependencies, and in Dibon and its dependencies, and in Jekabseel and its villages, 26 and in Jeshuaʽ, and in Moladah, and in Beth-Pelet, 27 and in Hasar-Shuʽal, and in Beer-Shebaʽ and its dependencies, 28 and in Siklag, and in Meconah and in its dependencies, 29 and in ʽEn-Rimmon, and in Soreah, and in Jarmuth, 30 Zanoah, ʽAdullam, and their villages, Lakish and its country districts, ʽAzekah and its dependencies, and were camped from Beer-Shebaʽ to Hinnom’s Valley. 31 And the sons of Benjamin, from Gebaʽ, Micmas and Ghaijah and Bethel and its dependencies, 32 ʽAnathoth, Nob, ʽAnaniah, 33 Hasor, Ramah, Gittaim, 34 Hadid, Seboʽim, Neballat, 35 Lod and Ono, the Carpenters’ Valley. 36 And of the Levites some Judah divisions were placed with Benjamin.
12* And these are the priests and Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshuaʽ: Serajah, Jeremiah, ʽEzra, 2 Amariah, Malluc, Hattush, 3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4 ʽIddo, Ginnethon, Abijah, 5 Mijamin, Maʽadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaʽiah and Jojarib, Jedaʽiah, 7 Sallu, ʽAmok, Hilkijah, Jedaʽiah; these were the heads of the priests and their brothers in Jeshuaʽ’s time.
8 And the Levites: Jeshuaʽ, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Jehudah, Mattaniah (he and his brothers over thanksgivings), 9 and Bakbukiah and ʽUnni, their brothers opposite to them for charges.
10 And Jeshuaʽ had the son Jojakim, and Jojakim had the son Eljashib, and Eljashib the son Jojadaʽ, 11 and Jojadaʽ had the son Jonathan, and Jonathan had the son Jadduaʽ.
12 And in Jojakim’s time were priests, the heads of families, for Serajah, Merajah; for Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13 for ʽEzra, Meshullam; for Amariah, Jehohanan; 14 for Malluc, Jonathan; for Shecaniah, Joseph; 15 for Harim, Ghadna; for Merajoth, Helkai; 16 for ʽIddo, Zecariah; for Ginnethon, Meshullam; 17 for Abijah, Zicri; for Minjamin; for Moʽadiah, Piltai; 18 for Bilgah, Shammuaʽ; for Shemaʽiah, Jehonathan, 19 and for Jojarib, Mattenai; for Jedaʽiah, ʽUzzi; 20 for Sallai, Kallai; for ʽAmok, ʽEber; 21 for Hilkijah, Hashabiah; for Jedaʽiah, Nathanel.
22* The Levites: in the times of Eljashib, Jojadaʽ and Johanan and Jadduaʽ, heads of families were written down, and the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 The sons of Levi, the heads of the families, are written in the book of the chronicles down to the time of Johanan the son of Eljashib. 24** And the heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah and Jeshuaʽ and Bani and Kadmiel, and their brothers opposite them to praise, to give thanks, in accordance with the command David the man of God, watch against watch, 25** Mattaniah and Bakbukiah, ʽObadiah; Meshullam, Talmon, ʽAkkub, gatemen keeping watch at the gate storerooms. 26 These were at the time of Jojakim the son of Jeshuaʽ the son of Josadak and of Governor Nehemiah and Priest ʽEzra the scribe.
27** And at the inauguration of the wall of Jerusalem they looked up the Levites out of all their places to bring them to Jerusalem to conduct an inauguration and jubilation with thanksgivings and with music of cymbals, harps, and lyres; 28* and the sons of the singers came together from the Pale, the environs of Jerusalem, and from the Netophathite villages 29 and from Beth-hag-Gilgal and from the countrysides of Gebaʽ and ʽAzmaveth, because the singers had built themselves villages in the environs of Jerusalem.
30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves and the people and the gates and the wall. 31* And I brought the chiefs of Judah up above the wall; and I arranged two great thanksgiving companies, and the one went to the right above the wall to the Dump Gate, 32 and behind them went Hoshaʽajah and half the princes of Judah, 33 and ʽAzariah, ʽEzra, and Meshullam, 34* Judah and Benjamin and Shemaʽiah and Jeremiah, 35* and some of the sons of the priests with trumpets; Zecariah the son of Jonathan the son of Shemaʽiah the son of Mattaniah the son of Micajah the son of Zaccur the son of Asaph, 36 and his brothers Shemaʽiah and Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maʽai, Nethanel and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and ʽEzra the scribe before them. 37 And past the Spring Gate and straight ahead they went up over the stairs of David’s City, up the slope of the wall above David’s house, to the Water Gate on the east.
38* And the second thanksgiving company went to the left, and I behind it, and half the people, above the wall, above the Baking-Crock Tower, to the Broad Wall, 39* and above the Ephraim Gate and past the Old-Town Gate and past the Fish Gate and Hananel’s Tower and the Hundred Tower to the Sheep Gate, and halted at the Guardhouse Gate. 40 And both the thanksgiving companies halted at God’s house, and I and half the magnates with me, 41 and the priests Eljakim, Maʽasejah, Minjamin, Micajah, Eljoʽenai, Zecariah, Hananiah, with trumpets, 42 and Maʽasejah and Shemaʽiah and Eleazar and ʽUzzi and Jehohanan and Malkijah and ʽElam and ʽEzer; and the singers sounded their notes, and Izrahiah had the oversight. 43 And on that day they sacrificed great sacrifices and made merry, because God had gladdened them to a great merrymaking; and the women and children made merry too, and Jerusalem’s merrymaking was heard to a great distance.
44* And on that day officers were appointed over the vestries for the stores, for the contributions, the first things, and the tithes, to collect in them by regions of cities the prescribed portions for the priests and the Levites, because Judah was happy over the priests and Levites in service, 45 and they kept their God’s charge and the charge of the purification, and the singers and the gatemen conformed to the orders of David and his son Solomon, 46* for in the days of David and Asaph of old there were heads of the singers and song of praise and thanks to God; 47* and in Zerubbabel’s days all Israel gave the portions of the singers and the gatemen punctually day by day and set apart consecrations for the Levites, and the Levites set apart consecrations for the sons of Aaron.
13* And on that day there was a public reading to the people out of the book of Moses, and it was found written in it that an ʽAmmonite or Moabite should not come into God’s assembly forever 2* because they did not offer the sons of Israel bread and water, and hired Balaam against them to misspeak them, but our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 And when they heard the ruling they separated all intruded population from Israel.
4 But earlier than this Priest Eljashib had been in office about the vestries of our God’s house, a connection of Tobijah’s, 5* and he had turned over to him a great vestry where they used to put the grain-offering and the frankincense and the vessels and the tithe of grain and grape-juice and oil, the ordinance for the Levites and singers and gatemen, and the contribution for the priests. 6* But during all this I was not in Jerusalem; for in the year thirty-two of Artaxerxes as king of Babylon I had come in to the king. And a while later I asked leave from the king, 7* and I came to Jerusalem and learned of the nuisance Eljashib had committed for Tobijah, turning over to him a vestry in the courts of God’s house; 8 and I did not like it at all, and I threw all Tobijah’s household goods outside out of the vestry; 9* and I ordered the vestries cleansed, and I put back there the vessels of God’s house, the meal-offering and frankincense.
10* And I learned that the Levites’ portions had not been given, and the Levites had gone off to their lands, and it was the singers who were doing the work; 11 and I came down on the magnates and said “How comes it that God’s house is abandoned?” and I gathered them and stationed them at their posts. 12 And all Judah brought in the tithe of grain and grape-juice and oil to the storerooms 13** into the hands of Priest Shelemiah, and Scribe Sadok and Pedajah of the Levites, and their assistant Hanan the son of Zaccur the son of Mattaniah, because they were considered reliable; and it was their responsibility to distribute to their brothers. 14* Remember me for this, my God, and do not efface the record of my befriending God’s house and his charge.
15 During that time I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the sabbath and bringing in the heaps of grain and loading donkeys with it, and also with wine, grapes, and figs, and all sorts of loads, and bringing them to Jerusalem on the sabbath day; and I warned them on the day when they sold provisions. 16* And the Tyrians lived in it, bringing in fish and all kinds of goods and selling on the sabbath to the sons of Judah and in Jerusalem. 17 And I came down on the nobles of Judah and said to them “What is this bad thing you are doing and profaning the sabbath day? 18 was it not so that your fathers did, and our God brought upon us all this disaster, and upon this city? and you are breeding additional wrath against Israel, profaning the sabbath.” 19 And when the gateways of Jerusalem grew shady before the sabbath I ordered the gates closed, and that they should not be opened till after the sabbath, and I stationed men of my own at the gates; no load was to come in on the sabbath day. 20 And the traders and those who had goods to sell put up outside Jerusalem a time or two; 21 and I warned them and said to them “How is it you are putting up in front of the wall? if you do it another time I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the sabbath. 22* And I told the Levites to be purified and in, watching the gates, to maintain the sanctity of the sabbath day. Remember this too for me, my God, and spare me in accordance with the greatness of your friendship.
23 During that time I also saw the Judahites who had taken in Ashdodite, ʽAmmonite, and Moabite wives; 24* and their sons half of them talked Ashdodite and did not know how to talk Judaic, and so in the language of each people. 25 And I came down on them and beat some of them and pulled out their beards, and swore them by God “not to give your daughters to their sons and not to take their daughters for your sons and yourselves; 26** was it not over these that King Solomon of Israel went wrong? and among the nations, many as they were, there had never been a king like him, and he was loved by his God, and God set him as king over all Israel; even him the foreign wives seduced into sin. 27* And is it not an unheard-of thing for you to do all this great evil, being unfaithful to our God, taking in foreign wives?”
28 And one of the sons of Jojadaʽ the son of High Priest Eljashib had married into the family of Sanballat the Horonite; and I drove him off. 29 Remember them, my God, for the pollution of the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood.
30 And the Levites I cleansed from every foreign element. And I arranged turns of service for the priests and Levites, each at his work, 31 and for the wood donation at stated times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, my God, for good.
MARGINAL NOTES TO NEHEMIAH
1:1 Or The history of
2:1 Var. I had wine before me
2:1 Or I was not sad before him Or he did not dislike me Var. I was sad before him Var. there was no companion before him
2:3 Lit. the city, the house of my fathers’ graves
2:3 Lit. have been devoured by fire
2:8 Lit. gave me in accordance
2:9 Or troops and cavalry (lit. captains of troops and cavalry)
2:13 Lit. devoured by fire
2:14 Var. no place for the beast to get over under me
2:16 Var. the magnates did not know
Many words in chapter 3 are of uncertain meaning or read differently in different copies
3:6 Or Old-Wall Gate
3:8 Or they left Jerusalem
3:11 Or of the governor of Moab
3:11, 19, 20, 21, 24, 27, 30 Lit. a second measure
3:11 Var. and to the
3:21 Lit. to the finish of Eljashib’s house
3:26 Or Pareosh (and the temple servants lived on the castle ridge) to opposite Conj. that the words about the temple servants belong at the end of verse 27
3:30 (sixth) Susp.
3:31 Or the gate of the Assigned Tract
4:2 Susp.
4:2 Or doing? will they let them? Var. doing? shall we let them?
4:3 Lit. Even that they build or even what they build
4:3 Or comes up
4:6 Lit. the people had hearts to do. And
4:7 Lit. that sound flesh had grown up on the walls of Jerusalem
4:10 (is breaking down) Lit. has been stumbling
4:13 Unc., susp. The Hebrew has but I stationed at two places in the sentence
4:14 Lit. and I saw, and I stood up Susp.
4:16 Codd. were holding, and the pikes and shields and bows and coats of mail and the chiefs were behind
4:17 (throwing-spear) It is uncertain what sort of weapon is meant
4:19 Lit. The work is much and broad
4:23 (last words) Susp.; probably some words have been lost in copying, as well as some misspelled; var. makes the words end with a month
5:2 Codd. said “Our sons and daughters, we are many; then let us have grain
5:5 Var. and other men have
5:12 Lit. will return and not
5:14 Lit. did not eat the governor’s bread
5:15 Lit. in bread and wine after forty
5:17 Lit. were at my table
5:18 Lit. and between ten days
5:18 (numerous skins of wine) Codd. in all wine in abundance Var. a skin of wine in abundance
6:9 Codd*. But now brace up my determination Var. But as it was I braced up my determination
6:12-13 Codd. had hired him in order that he was hired in order that I might
6:13 Lit. be afraid and do so and sin
6:14 Or remember for Tobijah and Sanballat such deeds as these of his, and also for
6:16 Conj. felt it to be a great wonder and knew
6:19 Or his kindnesses
7:1 Conj. and the gatemen were posted
7:3 Lit. while they are still standing they are to
7:5 Lit. my God put into my heart, and
7:6-68 Some of the names and numbers vary in different copies
7:11 Or of the governor of Moab
7:11 Var. Jeshuaʽ Joab Conj. Pahath Moab, (some number); the sons of Joab,
7:63 Var. one of the daughters of
7:65 Var. any of the holy things till
7:65 Lit. a priest for Urim and
7:66 Lit. was forty-two
8:2 Lit. understand by hearing
8:3 Lit. read in it or read by it
8:3 Lit. from the light to
8:3 Lit. and the ears of all the people were toward the
8:4 Lit. wooden tower which they had made for
8:7 Lit. were on their standing
8:9 Codd. And Nehemiah (he was the Tarshata) and Priest Var. And Nehemiah said, and Priest and Scribe ʽEzra and the Levites expounded to the people and said to all the people Var. And the Tarshata said to Priest and Scribe ʽEzra and the Levites who were expounding to the people, for everybody, Conj. And Priest ʽEzra without mention of Nehemiah
8:12 Lit. that they gave them
8:18 Var. they read
9:3 Lit. stood up on their standing
9:4 Or And the Levites Jeshuaʽ etc. stood up on a platform
9:4 Var. Jeshuaʽ and the sons of Kadmiel, Shekeniah, the son (var. sons) of Sherebiah, the sons of Kanani
9:4 (platform) Or stairs
9:5 Var. Bunni
9:5 Var. our God Jehovah
9:5 (last half) Susp.
9:22 Var. the country of Sihon and the country of the king of Heshbon
9:24 Var. to go into to take possession. And you humbled
9:25 Lit. olive-trees and food-trees
9:27 Lit. from heaven
9:28 Var. in accordance with your tenderheartedness, delivered them many times (ungrammatical in Hebrew)
9:32 Lit. we have had, our kings and
9:36 Lit. and the country . . . in servitude on it
9:38 Or with all this
9:38 (last half) Unc.
9:38 Conj. pact; and on the sealed copy are written our
10:1 (first words) Unc.
10:1 Var. copies “Nehemiah
10:4 Var. Shecaniah
10:10 Var. Shecaniah, Hodaviah
10:12 Var. Shecaniah
10:19 Var. Nebai
10:29 Lit. come into an imprecation
10:31 Lit. and any provisions on the
10:31 Lit. give up the seventh year and enforcement of claims against any hand
10:37 Var. cereals and the fruit of
11:5 Codd*. Shilonite
11:6 Or propertied men
11:8 Var. and his brothers Gabbai
11:10 Codd. Jedaʽiah the son of Jojarib
11:13 Codd. ʽAmashsai
11:14 Var. their brothers
11:17 Var. head of the praise
11:23 Lit. the king’s command was on them
11:23 Lit. a day’s affair on its day
11:24 Lit. was at (or for) the king’s hand for every
12:1-25 Some of the names are uncertain
12:22 Unc., susp.
12:24 Var. Jeshuaʽ the son of Kadmiel
12:24 Var. by command of David
12:25 Var. on guard as gatemen, a watch at
12:25 Or the gate thresholds
12:27 Or with thanksgivings and with song, cymbals
12:27 Lit. cymbals, harps, and with lyres
12:28 Susp.
12:31 Codd. two great thanksgivings and processions, to the right Conj. two great thanksgiving companies, and the one I had go to the right
12:34 (Benjamin) Var. Mijamin
12:35 Or and of the priests, with trumpets, Zecariah
12:38 Codd. the second thanksgiving company, that went opposite, and I Conj. the second thanksgiving company I had go to the left, and myself
12:39 Or Old-Wall Gate
12:44 Lit. Judah’s happiness was over
12:46 Susp.
12:47 Var. in Zerubbabel’s days and in Nehemiah’s all Israel
13:1 Lit. in the book or by the book
13:2 Lit. against him to misspeak him
13:5 Lit. he had made for him a
13:6 Lit. And at the end of days I asked
13:7 Lit. making for him a
13:9 Var. ordered the vestry cleansed
13:10 Or and the Levites and the singers, those who had been doing the work, had gone off to their lands
13:13 Var. to the storerooms; and I commissioned Priest Shelemiah
13:13 Or Secretary Sadok
13:14 Lit. efface my befriending
13:16 Susp.
13:22 (first half) Susp.
13:24 Lit. and in the
13:26 Lit. among the many nations there had not been (or there was not)
13:26 Or foreign women
13:27 Lit. is it a heard-of thing