ESTHER 8

Mordecai Promoted

1 On that day King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) gave thehouse of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai came before the king, because Esther had disclosed what [relation] he was to her.

2 The king took off his signet ring which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther put Mordecai in charge of the house of Haman.

3 Then Esther spoke again to the king and fell down at his feet and wept and implored him to avert the evilplotof Haman the Agagite and his plan which he had devised against the Jews [because the decree to annihilate the Jews was still in effect].

4 Then the king held out to Esther the golden scepter. So Esther arose and stood before the king.

5 Then she said, “If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter is proper in the king’s view and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, which he wrote [in order] to destroy the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces.

6 For how can I endure to see the tragedy that will happen to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?”

7 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he stretched out his hand against the Jews.

The King’s Decree Avenges the Jews

8 Also, concerning the Jews, write as you see fit, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring–for a decree which is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring may not be revoked.”

9 So the king’s scribes were called at that time in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan) on the twenty-third day; and it was written in accordance with everything that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, to the chief rulers (satraps), and the governors and officials of the provinces whichextendedfrom India to Ethiopia (Cush), 127 provinces, to every province in its own script (writing), and to every people in their own language and to the Jews according to their script and their language.

10 He wrote [a decree] in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king’s ring, and sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on the royal [mail] relay horses, the offspring of the racing mares.

11 In it the king granted the Jews who were in every citythe rightto assemble and to defend their lives; to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force that might attack them, their little children, and women; and to take the enemies’ goods as plunder,

12 on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar).

13 A copy of the edict was to be issued as a law in every province and as a proclamation to all peoples, so that the Jews would be ready on that day, to avenge themselves on their enemies.

14 So the couriers, who were mounted on the royal relay horses, left quickly, urged on by the king’s command; and the decree was issued at the citadel in Susa [the capital].

15 Then Mordecai departed from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a large crown of gold and with a robe of fine linen and purple wool; and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.

16 For [at this time] the Jews had light [a dawn of new hope] and gladness and joy and honor.

17 In each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king’s command and his decree arrived, the Jewscelebrated withgladness and joy, a feast and a holiday. And many among the peoples of the landbecame Jews, for the fear of the Jews [and their God] had fallen on them.

ESTHER 9

The Jews Destroy Their Enemies

1 Now in the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar) on the thirteenth day when the king’s command and edict were about to be executed, on the [very] day when the enemies of the Jews had hoped to gain power over them [and slaughter them], it happened the other way around so that the Jews themselves gained power over those who hated them.

2 The Jews assembled in their cities throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) to apprehend those who wanted to do them harm; and no one could stand before them, for the fear of them [and their God] had fallen on all the peoples.

3 Even all the officials of the provinces and the chief rulers (satraps) and the governors and those who attended to the king’s business supported the Jews [in defeating their enemies], because the fear of Mordecai [and his God’s power] had fallen on them.

4 For Mordecai was greatandrespected in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai became greater and greater.

5 So the Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them; and they did what they pleased to those who hated them.

6 At the citadel in Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men,

7 and [they killed] Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,

8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,

9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha,

10 the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews’ enemy; but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

11 On that day the number of those who were killed at the citadel in Susa was reported to the king.

12 The king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman at the citadel in Susa. What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! Now what is your petition? It shall be granted to you. What is your further request? It shall also be done.”

13 Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Susa to act tomorrow also in accordance with the decree of today; and let [the dead bodies of] Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”

14 So the king commanded it to be done; the decree was given in Susa, and they hanged [the bodies of] Haman’s ten sons.

15 The Jews who were in Susa also gathered together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men in Susa, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

16 Now the rest of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces assembled, to defend their lives and rid themselves of their enemies, and kill 75,000 of those who hated them; but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

17 This was doneon the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing.

18 But the Jews who were in Susa assembled on the thirteenth and on the fourteenth of the same month, and on the fifteenth day they rested and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing.

19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the rural [unwalled] towns, make the fourteenth day of the month of Adar a holiday for rejoicing and feasting and sending choice portionsof foodto one another.

The Feast of Purim Instituted

20 Now Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who lived in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,

21 obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually,

22 because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and as the month which was turned for them from grief to joy and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending choice portionsof foodto one another and gifts to the poor.

23 So the Jews undertook what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.

24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, [to find the right time] to disturb and destroy them.

25 But when it came before the king, he commanded in writing that Haman’s wicked scheme which he had devised against the Jews was to return on his own head, and that he and his sons should [endure what he planned for the Jews and] be hanged on the gallows.

26 Therefore they called these days Purim after the name Pur (lot). And because of all the instructions in this letter, and what they had faced in this regard and what had happened to them,

27 the Jews established and made it a custom for themselves and for their descendants and for all who joined them, so that they would not fail to celebrate these two days as it was written and at the appointed time annually.

28 So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province and every city; and these days of Purim were not to cease from among the Jews, nor their memory fade from their descendants.

29 Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full powerandauthority to confirm this second letter about Purim.

30 He sent letters to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, in words of peace and truth,

31 to establish these days of Purim [to be observed] at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and as they had established for themselves and for their descendants with instructions regarding their times of fasting and their lamentations (expressions of needing help).

32 The command of Esther established these customs for Purim, and it was written in the book [of the royal archives].

ESTHER 10

Mordecai’s Greatness

1 King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) imposed a tax on the land and on the coastlands of the sea.

2 And all the accomplishments of his authority and strength, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai to which the king had raised him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia?

3 For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and in favor with his many fellow people, for he worked for the good of his people and spoke for the welfareandpeace of his whole nation.

NEHEMIAH 1

Nehemiah’s Grief for the Exiles

1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:

Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in thetwentieth year [of thePersian king], as I was in thecapitol of Susa,

2 Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them about the surviving Jews who had escaped and survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem.

3 They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its [fortified] gates have been burned (destroyed) by fire.”

4 Now it came about when I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying [constantly] before the God of heaven.

5 And I said, “Please, O LordGod of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,

6 please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You, day and night, on behalf of Your servants, thesons (descendants) of Israel (Jacob), confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have committed against You; I and my father’s house have sinned.

7 We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.

8 Please remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithfulandviolate your obligations to Me I will scatter you [abroad] among the peoples;

9 but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered are in the most remote part of theheavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen for MyName to dwell.’

10 Now they are Your servants and Your people whom You have redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand.

11 Please, O Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to [reverently] fear Your Name [Your essence, Your nature, Your attributes, with awe]; and make Your servant successful this day and grant him compassion in the sight of this man [the king].”

For I wascupbearer to the king [of Persia].

NEHEMIAH 2

Nehemiah’s Prayer Answered

1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine wasplacedbefore him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not [previously] been sad in his presence.

2 So the king said to me, “Why do you look sad when you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very frightened,

3 and I said to the king, “Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?”

4 The king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.

5 I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your presence, [I ask] that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, so that I may rebuild it.”

6 The king, beside whom the queen was sitting, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time [for my return].

7 Then I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governorsof the provincesbeyond the [Euphrates] River, so that they will allow me to pass through until I reach Judah,

8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to construct beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, and for the city wall and for the house which I will occupy.” And the king granted mewhat I asked,for the good hand of my God was upon me.

9 Then I came to the governorsof the provincesbeyond the [Euphrates] River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent officers of the army and horsemen with me.

10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammoniteofficial heard this, it caused them great displeasure that someone had come to see about the welfareandprosperity of the Israelites.

Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls

11 So I came to Jerusalem and was there for three days.

12 Then I got up in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting in my heart to do for Jerusalem, and there was no animal with me except the one on which I was riding [so as not to attract attention].

13 So I went out at night by the Valley Gate toward the Dragon’s Well and to the Refuse Gate and inspected the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire.

14 Then I passed over to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no place for the animal that I was riding to pass.

15 So I went up at night by the ravine [of Kidron] and inspected the wall; then I turned back and entered [the city] by the Valley Gate, and returned.

16 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.

17 Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation that we are in–how Jerusalem is desolateandlies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, and let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”

18 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 usrise up and build.” So they thoroughly supported the goodwork.

19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked us and regarded us with contempt and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

20 I answered them, “The God of heaven [has appointed us for His purpose and] will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right, or memorial in Jerusalem.”

NEHEMIAH 3

Builders of the Walls

1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests and builtthe Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set up its doors; and they consecrated the wall [westward] to the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel.

2 Next to Eliashib the men of Jericho built, and next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.

3 Now the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and set up its doors with its bolts and its bars.

4 Next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, made repairs. Next to him Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs. And next to him Zadok the son of Baanaalsomade repairs.

5 Next to him the men of Tekoa made repairs, but their nobles did notsupport the work of their overseers.

6 Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repairedthe Old Gate. They laid its beams and set up its doors with its bolts and its bars.

7 Next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, made repairs for the official seat (Jerusalem residence) of the governor [of the province] beyond the [Euphrates] River.

8 Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs, and they restored Jerusalem as far asthe Broad Wall.

9 Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs.

10 Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his own house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah made repairs.

11 Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Furnaces.

12 Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs, he and his daughters.

13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They built it and set up its doors with its bolts and its bars, andrepaireda thousand cubits (1,500 ft.) of the wall as far as the Refuse Gate.

14 Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of Beth-haccherem repaired the Refuse Gate. He rebuilt it and set its doors with its bolts and its bars.

15 Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, official of the district of Mizpah repaired theFountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it [with a roof], and set up its doors with its bolts and its bars, and [he rebuilt] the wall of the Pool of Shelah (Siloam) by the King’s Garden as far as the stairs that descend [the eastern slope] from [the section of Jerusalem known as] the City of David.

16 After himNehemiah the son of Azbuk, official of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired [the wall] as far as [a point] in front of the tombs of David, and as far as the artificial pool and the house of the guards.

17 After him the Levites carried out repairsunderRehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, official of half the district of Keilah, carried out repairs for his district.

18 After him their brothers carried out repairsunderBavvai the son of Henadad, official of [the other] half of the district of Keilah.

19 Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the official of Mizpah, repaired another section [northward] in front of the ascent to the armory at the Angle [in the wall].

20 After him Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section [toward the hill], from the Angle [in the wall] to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

21 After him Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired another [eastern] section, from the door of Eliashib’s house as far as the end of his house.

22 After him the priests, the men of the [lower Jordan] valley, carried out repairs.

23 After them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, carried out repairs beside his own house.

24 After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section [of the wall], from the house of Azariah to the Angle [in the wall] and to the corner.

25 Palal the son of Uzaimade repairsin front of the Angle [in the wall] and the tower projecting from the upper house (palace) of the king, which is by the courtyard of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Paroshmade repairs.

26 The temple servants were living in Ophel [the hill south of the temple], and theymade repairsas far as the front of the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower.

27 After them the Tekoites repaired another section in front of the great projecting tower and as far as the wall of Ophel.

28 Above the Horse Gate the priests made repairs, each one in front of his own house.

29 After them Zadok the son of Immer carried out repairs in front of his house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, keeper of the East Gate, repairedthe wall.

30 After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah carried out repairs in front of his own quarters.

31 After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, carried out repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, in front of theInspection Gate and as far as the upper room of the corner.

32 Between the upper room of the corner andthe Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and merchants carried out repairs.

NEHEMIAH 4

Work Is Ridiculed

1 But when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious, completely enraged, and he ridiculed the Jews.

2 He spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Can they restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the heaps of dustandrubbish, even the ones that have been burned?”

3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Even what they are building–if a fox should get up on it, he would break down their stone wall.”

4 [And Nehemiah prayed] Hear, O our God, how we are despised! Return their taunts on their own heads. Give them up as prey in a land of captivity.

5 Do not forgive their wrongdoing and do not let their sin be wiped out before You, for they have offended the builders [and provoked You].

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

7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches were being closed, they were very angry.

8 They all conspired together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to cause a disturbance in it.

Discouragement Overcome

9 But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night.

10 Then [the leaders of] Judah said,

“The strength of the burden bearers is failing,

And there is much rubble;

We ourselves are unable

To rebuild the wall.”

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

12 When the Jews who lived near them came, they said to us ten times (repeatedly), “From every place you turn, they will come up against us.”

13 So I stationedarmed menbehind the wall in the lowest places, at the open positions [where it was least protected]; and I stationed the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows.

14 When I sawtheir fear,I stood and said to the nobles and officials and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; [confidently] remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and [with courage from Him] fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and for your homes.”

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

16 From that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while the other half held the spears, shields, bows, and breastplates; and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah.

17 Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens loaded themselvesso that everyoneworked with one hand and held a weapon with the other.

18 Every builderhadhis sword secured at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet [to summon the troops] stood at my side.

19 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.

20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, gather to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

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

22 At that time I also said to the people, “Let each man with his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem so that they may serve as a guard for us at night and a laborer during the day.”

23 So neither I, my brothers (relatives), my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each took his weapon [even] to the water.

NEHEMIAH 5

Usury Abolished

1 Now there was a great outcry of the [poorer] people and their wives against their Jewish brothers [to whom they were deeply in debt].

2 For there were some who were saying, “We,along withour sons and our daughters, are many; therefore allow us to get grain, so that we may eat and survive.”

3 There wereotherswho were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to buy grain because of the famine.”

4 There were alsootherswho were saying, “We have borrowed money on our fields and vineyards for the [Persian] king’s [heavy] tax.

5 Now our flesh (skin) is the same as that of our brothers (relatives), and our children are like their children, yet here we are forcing (selling) our sons and our daughters to be slaves; and some of our daughters are forced into bondagealready,andwe are powerless [to redeem them] because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

6 Then I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words [of accusation].

7 I thought it over and then challenged the nobles and the rulers. I said to them, “You are exacting usury (excessive interest) from your own brother (relative).” So I held a great assembly to confront them.

8 I said to them, “According to our ability we have redeemed (purchased back) our Jewish brothers who were sold to the [Gentile] nations; now would you even sell your brothers, that they might be sold to us?” Then they were silent and could not find a [single] wordto say.

9 So I said, “What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunting by the [pagan] nations, our enemies?

10 And likewise I, my brothers, and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop [charging] this interest.

11 Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, and also a hundredth part of the money, the grain, the new wine, and the oil that you are lending them.”

12 Then they said, “We will give it back and not require anything from them. We will do exactly as you say.” Then I called the priests and took an oath from them that they would act in accordance with this promise.

13 I alsoshook out thefront of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his possessions who does not keep this promise; like this may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the Lord. Then the people acted in accordance with this promise.

Nehemiah’s Example

14 Moreover, from the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my relatives have eaten the governor’s foodallowance.

15 But the former governors who were [in office] before me put heavy burdens on the people and took food and wine from them in addition to forty shekels of silver [as an excessive monthly salary]; even their servants assumed authority over the people. But I did not do so because of the [reverent] fear of God.

16 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.

17 Moreover, there were at my table a hundred and fifty Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.

18 Now the following were prepared for each day: one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls (poultry) were prepared for me; and in intervals of ten days all sorts of winewas providedin abundance. Yet for all this, I did not demand the governor’s foodallowance,because the servitude was heavy on this people.

19 Remember me, O my God, for good,according toall I have done for this people.

NEHEMIAH 6

The Enemy’s Plot

1 Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there was no breach left in it, although at that time I had not set up doors in the gates,

2 Sanballat and Geshem sentwordto me, saying, “Come, let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they were planning to harm me.

3 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?”

4 They sentwordto me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same way.

5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same way the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand.

6 In it was written, “It is reported among the [neighboring] nations, and Gashmu is saying that you and the Jews are planning to revolt, and that is the reason you are rebuilding the wall. And according to these reports, you are to be their king.

7 Also [it is reported that] you have appointed prophets to make a proclamation concerning you in Jerusalem, saying, ‘There is a king in Judah!’ And now these things will be reported to the [Persian] king. So come now, and let us consult together.”

8 I senta messageto him, saying, “Such things as you are saying have not been done; you are inventing them in your own mind.”

9 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.

10 When I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who wasconfined at home, he said, “Let us meet [and take refuge] together in the house of God,within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple, because they are coming to kill you, and they are coming to kill you at night.”

11 But I said, “Should a man like me flee [in fear and hide]? Shouldsomeone like me enter the temple [for sanctuary] to save his life? I will not go.”

12 Then I realized that God had not sent him, but he spoke this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

13 He was hired for this reason, that I would be frightened and do as he said and sin, so that they would have [grounds to make] a malicious report in order to censureanddisgrace me.

14 Remember, O My God, Tobiah and Sanballat in regard to these actions of theirs, and also [remember] the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who weretrying tofrighten me.

The Wall Is Finished

15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth [day] of [the month] Elul, in fifty-two days.

16 When all our enemies heardabout 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.

17 Moreover, in those days many letters went from the nobles of Judah to Tobiah, and Tobiah’sletterscame to them.

18 Formany in Judah were bound by oath to him because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.

19 Also, they were speaking about Tobiah’s good deeds in my presence, and reporting to him what I said. Then Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.

NEHEMIAH 7

Census of First Returned Exiles

1 Now when the wall had been rebuilt and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites had been appointed,

2 I put my brother Hanani, with Hananiah the commander of the fortress, in charge of Jerusalem, for Hananiah was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many [of the others].

3 I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until thesun is hot; and while the watchmen are still standingguard,have them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from the residents of Jerusalem, each at his post [on the wall], and each in front of his own house.”

4 Now the city was spacious and large, but there were few people in it and the houses had not [yet] been built.

5 Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials, and the people to be registered by genealogy. Then I found the register of the genealogy of those who came [from Babylon] first, and I found the following record:

6 These are the sons (descendants, people) of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had deported [to Babylon]; they returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each to his city,

7 the ones who came withZerubbabel, Jeshua,Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.

The men of the people of Israelnumbered:

8 the sons of Parosh, 2,172;

9 the sons of Shephatiah, 372;

10 the sons of Arah, 652;

11 the sons of Pahath-moab of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818;

12 the sons of Elam, 1,254;

13 the sons of Zattu, 845;

14 the sons of Zaccai, 760;

15 the sons of Binnui, 648;

16 the sons of Bebai, 628;

17 the sons of Azgad, 2,322;

18 the sons of Adonikam, 667;

19 the sons of Bigvai, 2,067;

20 the sons of Adin, 655;

21 the sons of Ater, of Hezekiah, 98;

22 the sons of Hashum, 328;

23 the sons of Bezai, 324;

24 the sons of Hariph, 112;

25 the sons of Gibeon, 95;

26 the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188;

27 the men of Anathoth, 128;

28 the men of Beth-azmaveth, 42;

29 the men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah and Beeroth, 743;

30 the men of Ramah and Geba, 621;

31 the men of Michmas, 122;

32 the men of Bethel and Ai, 123;

33 the men of the other Nebo, 52;

34 the sons of the other Elam, 1,254;

35 the sons of Harim, 320;

36 the sons of Jericho, 345;

37 the sons of Lod, Hadid and Ono, 721;

38 the sons of Senaah, 3,930.

39 These arethe priests: the sons of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua, 973;

40 the sons of Immer, 1,052;

41 the sons of Pashhur, 1,247;

42 the sons of Harim, 1,017.

43 These arethe Levites: the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodevah, 74.

44 The singers: the sons of Asaph, 148.

45 The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, 138.

46 The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,

47 the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon,

48 the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Shalmai,

49 the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar,

50 the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda,

51 the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah,

52 the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephushesim,

53 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,

54 the sons of Bazlith, 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 Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.

57 The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida,

58 the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,

59 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Amon.

60 All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants,totaled392.

61 And these were the ones who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon and Immer; but they [had no birth records and] could not prove their fathers’ houses or their descent, whether they were of Israel:

62 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 642.

63 Of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, and the sons of Barzillai, who [was so named because he had] married one of the daughters of Barzillai, the [well-known] Gileadite, and was named after them.

64 These men searched for their ancestral registrationamongthose recorded in the genealogies, but it was not located; so they wereexcludedfrom the priesthood as [ceremonially] unclean.

65 The governor told them that they should not eat any of the most holy food until a priest arose withUrim and Thummim [to determine God’s will in the matter].

Total of People and Gifts

66 The entire assembly together was 42,360,

67 besides their male and their female servants, of whomthere were7,337; and they had 245 male and female singers.

68 Their horses were 736; their mules, 245;

69 theircamels, 435;theirdonkeys, 6,720.

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

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

72 And what the rest of the people gave was 20,000 gold drachmas, 2,000 silver minas, and 67 priests’ garments.

73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, along with all Israel, lived in their cities.

And when the seventh month came, the sons (descendants) of Israel (Jacob) were in their cities.