The Priests and Levites
12 Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua:
Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
2 Amariah, Malluk, Hattush,
3 Shekaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
4 Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah,
5 Mijamin, Moadiah, Bilgah,
6 Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah.
These were the leaders of the priests and of their relatives in the days of Joshua.
8 Moreover the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who was over the thanksgiving songs, in conjunction with his relatives. 9 There were also their relatives Bakbukiah and Unni, positioned across from each other in the watches.
10 Joshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim was the father of Eliashib, Eliashib was the father of Joiada, 11 Joiada was the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan was the father of Jaddua.
12 Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, these were the heads of the fathers’ houses:
of Seraiah, Meraiah;
of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
13 of Ezra, Meshullam;
of Amariah, Jehohanan;
14 of Malluk, Jonathan;
of Shebaniah, Joseph;
15 of Harim, Adna;
of Meraioth, Helkai;
16 of Iddo, Zechariah;
of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17 of Abijah, Zikri;
of Miniamin and of Moadiah, Piltai;
18 of Bilgah, Shammua;
of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
19 of Joiarib, Mattenai;
of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
20 of Sallu, Kallai;
of Amok, Eber;
21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah;
and of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22 The Levites, as well as the priests, were recorded as the chiefs of the fathers’ houses in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua during the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 The descendants of Levi who served as the chiefs of the fathers’ house were recorded in the book of the chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. 24 The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers across from them, to praise and to give thanks, section opposite section, according to the commandment of David the man of God.
25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers maintaining the guard duty at the storehouse of the gates. 26 These leaders served during the days of Joiakim the son of Joshua, the son of Jozadak, during the days of Nehemiah the governor, and during the days of Ezra the priest, the scribe.
Nehemiah Dedicates the City Wall
27 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought to bring the Levites from all their places to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication appropriately with thanksgiving songs and singing, accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres. 28 The members of choirs had assembled from the regions all around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites, 29 from Beth Gilgal, and from fields of Geba and Azmaveth, because they had built villages for themselves all around Jerusalem. 30 Then the priests and the Levites purified themselves. They also purified the people, the gates, and the wall.
31 Then I led the commanders of Judah up to the top of the wall and appointed two great thanksgiving choirs. The first choir proceeded to the right on the wall toward the Dung Gate. 32 Behind them followed Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah, 33 with Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, 35 and some of the priests with trumpets—Zechariah, the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zakkur, the son of Asaph, 36 in conjunction with his relatives—Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, being accompanied with the musical instruments of David the man of God. Ezra the scribe went before them. 37 At the Fountain Gate, directly across from them, they ascended the steps of the City of David, following that sloped section of the wall up to the house of David, then eastward to the Water Gate.
38 The second thanksgiving choir proceeded to the left where I followed them with the other half of the people on top of the wall, from the Tower of the Furnaces to the Broad Wall, 39 then from above the Ephraim Gate past the Old Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate, but they stood still at the Gate of the Guard.
40 So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God, as did I and the 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, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loudly. Jezrahiah was their director. 43 On that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great cause for rejoicing. The wives and the children rejoiced, too. From far away the joyful celebration of Jerusalem was heard.
Temple Responsibilities
44 At that time men were appointed to govern over the chambers for the treasures, for the contributions, for the first fruits, and for the tithes, so that they might gather into them out of the fields of the cities the legal portions belonging to the priests and Levites. This was because the celebration of Judah survived on the basis of the priests and the Levites 45 who, accompanied by the singers and the gatekeepers, attentively preserved the practices of their God and the practices of purification, according to the commandment of David and of his son Solomon. 46 For in the former days of David and Asaph there were leaders for the singers, the songs of praise, and thanksgivings to God. 47 All Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah gave the singers and the gatekeepers their portions, as specified daily. Likewise, they consecrated what was due to the Levites, who then consecrated what was due to the descendants of Aaron.
