NEHEMIAH

 

Nehemiah Chapter 12

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

2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,

3 Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,

4 Iddo, Ginnetho, Abijah,

5 Miamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,

6 Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah,

7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the leaders of the priests and of their brethren in the days of Jeshua.

8 And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his brethren was over the thanksgiving hymns.

9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their relatives, who stood opposite them in their places of service.

10 And Jeshua fathered Joiakim, Joiakim in turn fathered Eliashib, and Eliashib fathered Joiada,

11 And Joiada fathered Jonathan, and Jonathan fathered Jaddua.

12 At the time of Joiakim, the priests who were leaders of their families were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;

13 Of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;

14 Of Melicu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;

15 Of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;

16 Of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;

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

18 Of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;

19 And of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;

20 Of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;

21 Of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethaneel.

22 A record of the leaders of the Levitical clans was kept at the time of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua: and also of the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian.

23 But the leaders of the Levitical clans, were only recorded in the book of records until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.

24 And the heads of the Levites were: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, who with their brethren stood in groups opposite one another, to sing praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God.

25 Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were gatekeepers standing guard at the storehouses by the gates.

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

27 ¶ And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their settlements, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with joy, both with thanksgiving, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.

28 And the sons of the singers gathered together, from the plain and country around Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi;

29 Also from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem.

30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.

31 Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on the wall, and arranged two large choirs to give thanks and march in procession, one went to the right on the wall toward the dung gate:

32 And they were followed by Hoshaiah, and half of the leaders of Judah,

33 And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,

34 Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,

35 And certain of the priests’ sons with trumpets; namely, Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph:

36 And his kinsmen, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe went before them.

37 And at the fountain gate, which was opposite them, they went up by the stairs of David’s city, where the wall rises, by David’s palace, even to the water gate in the east.

38 And the other choir went to the left, and I followed them, with the other half of the people on the wall, past the tower of the furnaces to the broad wall;

39 Then by the gate of Ephraim, and over the gate of the old city, and over the fish gate, and by the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even to the sheep gate: and they came to a stop at the prison gate.

40 So the two choirs of those who gave thanks stood at the house of God, I too, and half of the officials with me:

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

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

43 That day they also offered great sacrifices, and were happy: for God had given them reason to rejoice greatly: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem could be heard a long way off.

44 ¶ On that day some were put in charge of the storerooms for the contributions, for the offerings, for the first-fruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by law for the priests and Levites, from the fields around the towns. For Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who served faithfully,

45 And were doing what their God required, what needed to be done for cleansing; and so did the singers and the gatekeepers, as David, and his son Solomon had commanded.

46 For long ago in the time of David, Asaph was the leader of the singers, and of singing praise and thanksgiving to God.

47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and later of Nehemiah, gave gifts for the singers and the gatekeepers, whatever was needed each day: and they set aside holy gifts for the Levites; and the Levites set aside holy gifts for the children of Aaron.