Amplified Bible (AMP)

Ezra Reads the Law

1 Then all the people gathered together as one man at the open square in front of the Water Gate; and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses which the Lordhad given to Israel.

2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men, women and all whocouldlisten with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month.

3 Then he read from it, in front of the open square which was in front of the Water Gate, fromearly morning until midday, in the presence of the men and women, those who could understand; andall the people listened carefully to the Book of the Law.

4 Ezra the scribe stood on a [large] wooden platform which they had constructed for this purpose. And beside him [on the platform] stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left.

5 Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above them; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.

6 Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; and they knelt down and worshiped the Lordwiththeirfaces toward the ground.

7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, explained the Law to the people, and the peopleremainedin their places.

8 So they read from the Book of the Law of God, translating and explaining it so that the people understood the reading.

“This Day Is Holy”

9 Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lordyour God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the Law.

10 Then Ezra said to them, “Go [your way], eat the rich festival food, drink the sweetdrink,and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be worried, for the joy of the Lordis your strengthandyour stronghold.”

11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be worried.”

12 Then all the people went on their way to eat, to drink, to send portions [of food to others] and to celebrate a great festival, because they understood the words which had beencommunicated to them.

Feast of Booths Restored

13 On the second day, all of the heads of fathers’householdsof all the people, the priests, and the Levites, were gathered before Ezra the scribe to gain insight into the words ofthe Law (divine instruction).

14 They found written in the Law how the Lordhad commanded through Moses that the Israelites should live in booths (huts) during the feast of the seventh month.

15 So they proclaimed and published an announcement in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hills and bring olive branches, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy branches to make booths, as it is written.”

16 So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on the roofof his house,and in their courtyards and the courtyards of God’s house, and in the open square of the Water Gate and in the square of the Gate of Ephraim.

17 The entire assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in them. Indeed since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until thatveryday, the Israelites had not done so. And there was great rejoicingandcelebration.

18 Every day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the feast for seven days; on the eighth daythere wasa [closing] solemn assembly in accordance with the ordinance.

The People Confess Their Sin

1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites assembled with fasting and in sackcloth and with dirton their heads.

2 Thedescendants of Israel (Jacob) separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the wrongdoings of their fathers.

3 While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the Lordtheir God for a fourth of the day and foranotherfourth [of it] they confessed [their sins] and worshiped the Lordtheir God.

4 On the platform of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and they called out with a loud voice to the Lordtheir God.

5 Then the Levites–Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah–said, “Stand up and bless (praise, honor) the Lordyour God fromeverlasting to everlasting.

May Your glorious name be blessed

And exalted above all blessing and praise.”

6 [And Ezra said],

“You are the Lord, You alone;

You have made the heavens,

The heaven of heavens with all their host (the heavenly bodies),

The earth and everything that is on it,

The seas and everything that is in them.

You give life to all of them,

And the heavenly host is bowing down [in worship] to You.

7 “You are the LordGod,

Who chose Abram

And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees,

And gave him the name Abraham.

8 “You found his heart to be faithfulbefore You,

And Youmade a covenant with him

To give him the land of the Canaanite,

Of the Hittite, of the Amorite,

Of the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite–

To give it to his descendants.

And You have fulfilled Your promise,

For You are righteousandjust.

9 “You saw our fathers’ affliction in Egypt,

And You heard their cry by the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds).

10 “Then You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,

Against all his servants and all the people of his land;

For You knew that they behaved arrogantly toward them (the Israelites),

And You made a name for Yourself, as it is to this day.

11 “You divided the sea before them,

So that they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land;

You hurled their pursuers into the depths,

Like a stone into mightyandraging waters.

12 “And with a pillar of cloud You led them by day,

And with a pillar of fire by night

To light the way for them

In which they were to go.

13 “Then You came down on Mount Sinai,

And spoke with them from heaven;

And You gave them fair ordinances and true laws,

Good statutes and commandments.

14 “So You made known to them Your holy Sabbath,

And gave them commandments, statutes, and law,

Through Your servant Moses.

15 “You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger,

And brought water for them out of a rock for their thirst,

And You told them to enter and take possession of

The land that Youswore to give them.

16 “But they, our fathers, acted arrogantly;

They stiffened their necks and would not heed Your commandments.

17 “They refused to listenandobey,

And did not remember Your wondrous acts which You had performed among them;

So they stiffened their necks and [in their rebellion] appointed a leader in order to return them to slavery in Egypt.

But You are a God of forgiveness,

Gracious and mercifulandcompassionate,

Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness;

And You did not abandon them.

18 “Even when they had made for themselves

Acalf of cast metal

And said, ‘This is your god

Who brought you up from Egypt,’

And committed great [and contemptible] blasphemies,

19 You, in Your great mercyandcompassion,

Did not abandon them in the wilderness;

The pillar of the cloud did not leave them by day,

To lead them in the way,

Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way they should go.

20 “You [also] gave Your good Spirit to instruct them,

You did not withhold Your manna from their mouth,

And You gave them water for their thirst.

21 “Indeed, for forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing,

Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell.

22 “You also gave them kingdoms and peoples,

And You allottedthe kingdomsto them as a boundary.

So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon

And the land of Og king of Bashan.

23 “You made their children as numerous as the stars of heaven,

And You brought them into the land

Which You told their fathers to enter and possess.

24 “So their sons (descendants) went in and took possession of the land;

And You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites,

And You gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land,

To do with them as they pleased.

25 “They captured fortified cities and a fertile land.

They took possession of houses full of all good things,

Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves,

Andfruit trees in abundance.

So they ate and were filled and became fat,

And they reveledandwere delighted in Your great goodness.

26 “Yet they were disobedient and rebelled against You,

And cast Your law behind their backs

And killed Your prophets who warned them

To return to You;

And they committed great [and contemptible] blasphemies.

27 “Therefore You handed them over to their enemies who oppressed them.

But whenthey cried out to You in the time of their sufferinganddistress,

You heard them from heaven, and according to Your great compassion You gave thempeople to rescuethem.

Who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.

28 “But as soon as they had rest, they again did evil before You;

Therefore You abandoned them into the hand of their enemies, so that they ruled over them.

Yet when they turned and cried out again to You, You heard them from heaven,

And You rescued them many times in accordance with Your compassion,

29 And You admonished themandwarned them to turn them back to Your law.

Yet they acted presumptuouslyandarrogantly and did not heed Your commandments, but sinned against Your ordinances,

Which by keeping, a man will live.

But they turned a stubborn shoulder, stiffened their neck, and would not listen.

30 “Yet You were patient with them for many years,

And admonished themandwarned them by Your Spirit through Your prophets;

Still they would notlisten.

Therefore You gave them into the hand (power) of the peoples of the lands.

31 “Yet in Your great compassion You did not utterly destroy them or abandon them,

For You are a gracious and merciful God.

32 “Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps the covenant and lovingkindness,

Do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before You,

Which has come upon us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers and on all Your people,

Since the time of the kings of Assyria to this day.

33 “However, You are justandrighteous in everything that has come upon us;

For You have dealt faithfully, but we have acted wickedly.

34 Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept Your law

Or paid attention to Your commandments and Your warnings which You have given them.

35 “But they, in their kingdom,

With Your great goodness which You gave them,

With the broad and rich land which You set before them,

Did not serve You or turn from their wicked deeds.

36 “Behold, we are slaves today,

And as for the land which You gave our fathers, to eat of its fruit and its goodness,

Behold, we are slaves in it.

37 “Its abundant produce is for the kings

Whom You have set over us because of our sins;

They also rule over our bodies

And over our cattle as they please,

So we are in great distress.

A Covenant Results

38 “Now because of all this

We are making an agreement in writing;

And on the sealed documentare the namesof our princes, our Levites, and our priests.”

Signers of the Document

1 Nowthese were the nameson the sealed document: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah. And Zedekiah,

2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,

3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,

4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,

5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,

7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

8 Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah–these were the priests.

9 And the Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,

10 and their brothers: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

11 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,

12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

13 Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.

14 The leaders of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,

16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,

17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,

18 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,

19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,

20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,

21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,

22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,

23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,

24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,

25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,

26 Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,

27 Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

Obligations of the Document

28 Now the rest of the people–the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all those who had knowledge and understanding–

29 are joining with their fellow Israelites, their nobles, and are taking on themselves a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given through Moses the servant of God, and to keep and to observe all the commandments ofGodour Lord, and His ordinances and statutes:

30 and that we will not give our daughters [as wives] to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons.

31 As for the peoples of the land who bring merchandise or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day; and we will give upraising crops duringthe seventh year [leaving the land uncultivated], andforgiveeverydebt.

32 Also we pledge ourselves to contribute yearly one third of a shekel for the service [expenses] of the house of our God:

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

34 We have also cast lots–the priests, the Levites, and the people–for [contributing]the supply of wood, to bring it to the house of our God, according to our fathers’ households, at set times annually, to burn on the altar of the Lordour God, as it is written in the Law;

35 and [we obligate ourselves] to bring the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all the fruit of every tree to the house of the Lordannually,

36 as well as the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and flocks, to bring to the house of our God, for the priests who minister in the house of our God.

37 We will bring the first [and best] of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the new wine and the [olive] oil to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithe of our ground to the Levites, for the Levites are the ones who receive the tithes in all therural towns.

38 The priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when they receive tithes, and they shall bring one-tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse.

39 For the Israelites and the sons of Levi shall bring the offering of the grain, the new wine, and the oil to the chambers; the utensils of the sanctuary, the priests who are ministering, the gatekeepers, and the singers are there. In this manner, we will not neglect the house of our God.

Time Passes; Heads of Provinces

1 Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem; but the rest of the people cast lots to bring one [person] out of ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while nine-tenthsremainedin theothercities.

2 And the people blessed all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

3 These are the heads of the provinces who lived in Jerusalem, but in the cities of Judah everyone lived on his property in their cities–the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon’s servants.

4 And some of the sons of Judah and some of the sons of Benjamin lived in Jerusalem. From the sons of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the sons of Perez;

5 Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of the Shilonite.

6 All the sons of Perez who lived at Jerusalem were 468 able men.

7 These are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah;

8 and after him Gabbai and Sallai, 928.

9 Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer, and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second in command of the city.

10 Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin,

11 Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the leader of the house of God,

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

13 and his brothers, heads of fathers’households, 242; and Amashsai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer,

14 and their brothers, brave men, 128. Their overseer was Zabdiel the son of Haggedolim [one of the great men].

15 Now from the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni;

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

17 Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, who was the leader to begin the thanksgiving in prayer, and Bakbukiah, second among his brothers; and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.

18 All the Levites in the holy citytotaled284.

19 The gatekeepers: Akkub, Talmon, and their kinsmen, who kept watch at the gates,totaled172.

Outside Jerusalem

20 Now the rest of Israel, the priests and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, each on his own inheritance.

21 But the temple servants were living in Ophel; Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of the temple servants.

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

23 Forthere wasacommand from the [Persian] king regarding the singers,as to theirdaily task.

24 Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the sons of Zerah the son of Judah, was the king’s representative in all matters concerning the people.

25 As for the villages with their fields, some sons (descendants) of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba and itstowns, Dibon and its towns, and Jekabzeel and its villages,

26 in Jeshua, in Moladah, in Beth-pelet,

27 in Hazar-shual and in Beersheba and its towns,

28 in Ziklag and in Meconah and its towns,

29 in En-rimmon, in Zorah, and in Jarmuth,

30 Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, and Azekah and its towns. So they camped from Beersheba as far as the Hinnom Valley.

31 The sons (descendants) of Benjamin alsolivedfrom Gebaonward,at Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its towns,

32 at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,

33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,

34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,

35 Lod, and Ono, the Valley of the Craftsmen.

36 And certain divisions of the Levites in Judah belonged to Benjamin.

Priests and Levites who Returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel

1 Now these are the priests and Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,

3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,

4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,

5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,

6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,

7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and theirkinsman in the days of Jeshua.

8 The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who was in charge of the songs of thanksgivingandpraise, he and his brothers.

9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, stood opposite them in their divisions of service.

10 Now Jeshua became the father of Joiakim, Joiakim of Eliashib, Eliashib of Joiada,

11 and Joiada became the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan of Jaddua.

12 And in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the heads of fathers’householdswere: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;

13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;

14 ofMalluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;

15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;

16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;

17 of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin and of Moadiah, Piltai;

18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;

19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;

20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;

21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

The Chief Levites

22 As for the Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the heads of fathers’householdswere registered; so were the priests, during the reign of Darius the Persian.

23 The sons of Levi, heads of fathers’households, were recorded in the Book of the Chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.

24 The heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, and their brothers opposite them, to praise and to give thanks, as commanded by David the man of God, [one] division [singing] in response to [the men in the opposite] division.

25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping watch at the storehouses of the gates.

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

Dedication of the Wall

27 Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites from all their places in order to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving, and with songsto the accompanimentof cymbals, harps, and lyres.

28 So the sons of the singers gathered together from the district around Jerusalem, and from the villages of the Netophathites,

29 from Beth-gilgal and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem.

30 The priests and the Levites purified themselves; they also purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

Procedures for the Temple

31 Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on the wall, and I appointed two large thanksgiving choirs, the first one proceeding to the right on top of the wall toward the Refuse Gate.

32 Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah followed them,

33 with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,

34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,

35 and some of the priests’ sons with trumpets, and Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph,

36 and his brothers, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went in front of them.

37 At the Fountain Gate they went directly up the steps of the City of David by the stairway of the wall above David’s house to the Water Gate on the east.

38 The secondchoir went to the left; I followed with half of the people on the wall, above the Tower of the Furnaces, to the Broad Wall,

39 and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Old Gate, by the Fish Gate, by the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate; and they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.

40 Then the two choirs stood in the house of God. So did I, and half of the officials with me;

41 and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah and Hananiah, with trumpets;

42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang, with Jezrahiah as their leader.

43 Also on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy; the women and children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from far away.

44 On that day men were appointed over the chambers for the stores, the contributions, the first fruits, and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions required by the law for the priests and the Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who served.

45 And they performed the worship of their God and the service of purification; so did the singers and gatekeepers, as David and his son Solomon had commanded.

46 For in the days of David and Asaph, in ancient times, there were leaders of singers, songs of praise and hymns of thanksgiving to God.

47 So in the days of Zerubbabel and [later of] Nehemiah, all Israel would give the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart the consecratedportionfor the Levites, and the Levites set apart the consecratedportionfor the sons of Aaron [the priests].

Foreigners Excluded

1 On that day they read aloud from the book of Moses so that the people could hear [its words], and in it was found written thatno Ammonite or Moabite could ever enter the assembly of God,

2 because they did not meet the Israelites with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. Yet our God turned the curse into a blessing.

3 When the Jews heard the law, they separated from Israel all who were of foreign descent.

Tobiah Expelled and the Temple Cleansed

4 Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and wasrelated to Tobiah [our adversary],

5 had prepared for Tobiah a large room (chamber) where previously they had put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils, and the tithes of grain, new wine, and [olive] oil which were given by commandment for the Levites, the singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.

6 But during all thistimeI was not at Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes [Persian] king of Babylon I went to the king. Then after some time I asked for a leave [of absence] from the king,

7 and I came to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil [thing] that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by preparing a room for him in the courtyards of the house of God.

8 It was very displeasing to me, so I threw all of Tobiah’s household furnishings out of the room.

9 Then I gave an order, and they cleaned the rooms; and I put back there the utensils of the house of God with the grain offerings and the frankincense.

Tithes Restored

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

11 Then I reprimanded the officials and said, “Why is the house of God neglected?” So I gathered the Levites and singers together and restored them at their posts.

12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, the new wine, and the oil to the storehouses.

13 I appointed [as treasurers] over the storehouses: Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites; assisting them was Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered faithfulandreliable, and their task was to distribute [supplies] to their brothers (fellow Levites).

14 O my God, remember me concerning this and do not wipe out my loyal deedsandkindnesses which I have done for the house of my God and for its services.

Sabbath Restored

15 In those days I saw some in Judah who were treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheavesorsacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I protestedandwarned them on the day they sold the produce.

16 Also men of Tyre were living there who brought fish and all kinds of merchandise, and they were selling them to the people of Judah on the Sabbath, even in Jerusalem.

17 Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing–profaning the Sabbath day?

18 Did your fathers (ancestors) not do the same, and did our God not bring all this trouble on us and on this city? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

19 Now when it began to get dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath [began], I commanded that the doors be shut and not be opened until after the Sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load [of merchandise] would enter [Jerusalem] on the Sabbath day.

20 So once or twice the merchants and sellers of every kind of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem.

21 But I warned them, saying, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do so again, I willuse force against you.” From that time on, they did not come on the Sabbath.

22 And I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard the gates to keep the Sabbath day holy. O my God, remember meconcerningthis also and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness.

Mixed Marriages Forbidden

23 In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

24 As for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod, and none of them knew how to speak [Hebrew] the language of Judah, but only the language of his own people.

25 So I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters [in marriage] to their sons, nor take [any of] their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin [greatly against God] regarding these things? Yet among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless the foreign women caused even him to sin [by turning to other gods and so, judged by God, he lost his kingdom].

27 Do we then hear about you that you have done all this great evil, acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign (pagan) women?”

28 One of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite, so I chased him away from me.

29 O my God, remember them, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

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

31 andI providedfor the wood offering at appointed times and for the first fruits. O my God, [please] remember me for good [and imprint me on Your heart].