Nehemiah 10

³⁸In view of all this, we make a binding agreement, putting it in writing and sealing it with the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests.”

⁹Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the Law.

¹These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,

⁷⁰Some of the heads of the families contributed to the project. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 bowls, and 530 priestly garments.

⁶³The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.

³³along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,

³⁴Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah,

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

²³Beyond them, Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs in front of their house, and next to them, Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house.

¹¹Seraiah son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the chief official of the house of God;

¹³of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;

¹¹Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab repaired another section, as well as the Tower of the Ovens.

²Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,

¹²and their associates who did the work at the temple—822 men; Adaiah son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah;

⁴Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built for this occasion. At his right side stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, and at his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

¹⁰next to him, Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs across from his house; and next to him, Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs.

²Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,

¹⁴of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;

¹¹Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab repaired another section, as well as the Tower of the Ovens.

³Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,

²¹Next to him, Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired another section, from the doorway of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house.

⁴Next to them, Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, made repairs. Next to him, Meshullam son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs; and next to him, Zadok son of Baana made repairs as well.

⁴Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah,

²⁰Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai diligently repaired another section, from the angle to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

⁶The Jeshanah Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

²⁵Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms at the gates.

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

⁴Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built for this occasion. At his right side stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, and at his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

¹³of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;

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

⁴Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah,

⁵Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,

²⁹Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house, and next to him, Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the guard of the East Gate, made repairs.

⁴²and also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. Then the choirs sang out under the direction of Jezrahiah.

²¹From the descendants of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.

¹⁸of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jonathan;

⁵Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,

⁶Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,

²⁴After him, Binnui son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the angle and the corner,

¹⁸Next to him, their countrymen made repairs under Binnui son of Henadad, ruler of the other half-district of Keilah.

¹⁹And next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory, near the angle in the wall.

²⁴The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, along with their associates, who stood across from them to give praise and thanksgiving as one section alternated with the other, as prescribed by David the man of God.

⁴³The Levites: the descendants of Jeshua (through Kadmiel, through the line of Hodevah), 74.

⁴And the Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani—stood on the raised platform and cried out in a loud voice to the Lord their God.

⁸The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who, with his associates, led the songs of thanksgiving.

⁴And the Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani—stood on the raised platform and cried out in a loud voice to the Lord their God.

⁵Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting: Blessed be Your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.

⁷The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law as they stood in their places.

²³Among the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

²⁴Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, together with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers,

²⁴The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, along with their associates, who stood across from them to give praise and thanksgiving as one section alternated with the other, as prescribed by David the man of God.

²²Now the overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica. He was one of Asaph’s descendants, who were the singers in charge of the service of the house of God.

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

¹⁹also Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah, from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, 20 men.

⁷The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law as they stood in their places.

⁸The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who, with his associates, led the songs of thanksgiving.

⁴And the Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani—stood on the raised platform and cried out in a loud voice to the Lord their God.

⁸the descendants of Parosh, 2,172;

¹⁵the descendants of Binnui, 648;

¹¹the descendants of Pahath-moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab), 2,818;

¹²the descendants of Elam, 1,254;

¹¹Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab repaired another section, as well as the Tower of the Ovens.

³the descendants of Parosh, 2,172;

⁴the descendants of Shephatiah, 372;

²⁸From the descendants of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

¹⁶the descendants of Bebai, 628;

¹⁷the descendants of Azgad, 2,322;

¹¹the descendants of Bebai, 623;

¹²the descendants of Azgad, 1,222;

¹¹from the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him 28 men;

¹²from the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men;

¹⁹the descendants of Bigvai, 2,067;

²⁰the descendants of Adin, 655;

¹⁴the descendants of Bigvai, 2,056;

¹⁵the descendants of Adin, 454;

¹⁴and from the descendants of Bigvai, both Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men.

²²the descendants of Hashum, 328;

²³the descendants of Bezai, 324;

¹⁷the descendants of Bezai, 323;

¹⁸the descendants of Jorah, 112;

¹⁷Next to him, the Levites made repairs under Rehum son of Bani, and next to him, Hashabiah, ruler of a half-district of Keilah, made repairs for his district.

¹⁸Next to him, their countrymen made repairs under Binnui son of Henadad, ruler of the other half-district of Keilah.

²Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all the foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

²and if you can swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him, and in Him they will glory.”

¹⁴Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?

¹⁵What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?

¹Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—

²Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.

¹¹Now, therefore, make a confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from your foreign wives.”

¹²And the whole assembly responded in a loud voice: “Truly we must do as you say!

²⁷And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.

¹⁰⁶I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments.

¹¹For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone.

¹²It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

¹⁴You are My friends if you do what I command you.

¹²“We will restore it,” they replied, “and will require nothing more from them. We will do as you say.” So I summoned the priests and required of the nobles and officials an oath that they would do what they had promised.

¹³I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “May God likewise shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep this promise. May such a man be shaken out and have nothing!” The whole assembly said, “Amen,” and they praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

³So the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments, decrees, and statutes with all his heart and all his soul, and to carry out the words of the covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.

³Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,

¹⁶And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.

¹After these things had been accomplished, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the surrounding peoples whose abominations are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.

²Indeed, the Israelites have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has been mixed with the people of the land. And the leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!”

¹⁰Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to the guilt of Israel.

¹¹Now, therefore, make a confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from your foreign wives.”

¹²Now, therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you may be strong and may eat the good things of the land, leaving it as an inheritance to your sons forever.’

¹³After all that has come upon us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt (though You, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have given us such a remnant as this),

¹⁵In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day.

¹⁶Additionally, men of Tyre who lived there were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem.

³For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the Lord.

¹⁰For six years you are to sow your land and gather its produce,

¹¹but in the seventh year you must let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people may eat from the field and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and olive grove.

¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates.

²¹This is what the Lord says: Take heed for yourselves; do not carry a load or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.

²²You must not carry a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day, but you must keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I commanded your forefathers.

²¹So the land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all the days of the desolation, until seventy years were completed, in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah.

²⁴After they had arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your Teacher pay the two drachmas?”

²⁵“Yes,” he answered. When Peter entered the house, Jesus preempted him. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs and taxes: from their own sons, or from others?”

¹¹Then the Lord said to Moses,

¹²“When you take a census of the Israelites to number them, each man must pay the Lord a ransom for his life when he is counted. Then no plague will come upon them when they are numbered.

¹²For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

⁹Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops;

²²And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”

⁴Behold, I am about to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God to dedicate to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the showbread continuously, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening as well as on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts of the Lord our God. This is ordained for Israel forever.

¹Then the Lord said to Moses,

²“Command the Israelites and say to them: See that you present to Me at its appointed time the food for My food offerings, as a pleasing aroma to Me.

⁵You are also to take fine flour and bake twelve loaves, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf,

⁶and set them in two rows—six per row—on the table of pure gold before the Lord.

⁵So he gathered the priests and Levites and said, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect the money due annually from all Israel, to repair the house of your God. Do it quickly.” The Levites, however, did not make haste.

⁶So the king called Jehoiada the high priest and said, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by Moses the servant of the Lord and by the assembly of Israel for the Tent of the Testimony?”

¹¹Day after day every priest stands to minister and to offer again and again the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

³¹I also arranged for contributions of wood at the appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, with favor.

¹²The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it must not be extinguished. Every morning the priest is to add wood to the fire, arrange the burnt offering on it, and burn the fat portions of the peace offerings on it.

¹³The fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not be extinguished.

¹⁶Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.

³Instead, those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins,

⁴because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁷The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,

¹Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in the holy city of Jerusalem, while the remaining nine were to dwell in their own towns.

²you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name,

¹⁹Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

²⁶Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

¹²I give you all the freshest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain that the Israelites give to the Lord as their firstfruits.

⁸Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings.

⁹You are cursed with a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me.

³The king contributed from his own possessions for the regular morning and evening burnt offerings and for the burnt offerings on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts, as written in the Law of the Lord.

⁴Moreover, he commanded the people living in Jerusalem to make a contribution for the priests and Levites so that they could devote themselves to the Law of the Lord.

²“Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, both of man and beast.”

²⁶But no one may consecrate a firstborn of the livestock, because a firstborn belongs to the Lord. Whether it is an ox or a sheep, it is the Lord’s.

²⁷But if it is among the unclean animals, then he may redeem it according to your valuation and add a fifth of its value. If it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.

¹²you are to present to the Lord the firstborn male of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord.

¹³You must redeem every firstborn donkey with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. And every firstborn of your sons you must redeem.

⁶To that place you are to bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and heave offerings, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, as well as the firstborn of your herds and flocks.

¹⁹The first offspring of every womb belongs to Me, including all the firstborn males among your livestock, whether cattle or sheep.

⁹A portion of the most holy offerings reserved from the fire will be yours. From all the offerings they render to Me as most holy offerings, whether grain offerings or sin offerings or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons.

¹⁰You are to eat it as a most holy offering, and every male may eat it. You shall regard it as holy.

¹⁷Bring two loaves of bread from your dwellings as a wave offering, each made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with leaven, as the firstfruits to the Lord.

²¹Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting.

²you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name,

⁵and had prepared for Tobiah a large room where they had previously stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the temple articles, and the tithes of grain, new wine, and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, along with the contributions for the priests.

⁹Then I ordered that the rooms be purified, and I had the articles of the house of God restored to them, along with the grain offerings and frankincense.

⁴You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the first wool sheared from your flock.

¹²and all Judah brought a tenth of the grain, new wine, and oil into the storerooms.

¹³I appointed as treasurers over the storerooms Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, with Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, to assist them, because they were considered trustworthy. They were responsible for distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites.

²⁶“Speak to the Levites and tell them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the Lord—a tithe of the tithe.

²⁷Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress.

²⁶But the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the rooms and the treasuries of the house of God.

¹¹Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare storerooms in the house of the Lord, and they did so.

¹²And they faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes, and dedicated gifts. Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge of them, and his brother Shimei was second.

¹²And they faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes, and dedicated gifts. Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge of them, and his brother Shimei was second.

²³And you are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks, in the presence of the Lord your God at the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.

²⁴But if the distance is too great for you to carry that with which the Lord your God has blessed you, because the place where the Lord your God will choose to put His Name is too far away,

³⁰Therefore say to the Levites, ‘When you have presented the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the produce of the threshing floor or winepress.

²⁵Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

¹⁷Within your gates you must not eat the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, the firstborn of your herds or flocks, any of the offerings that you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts.

⁶To that place you are to bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and heave offerings, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, as well as the firstborn of your herds and flocks.

⁷There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the Lord your God has blessed you.