Néhémie (NAB) 10
10 1 In view of all this, we are entering into a firm pact, which we are putting into writing. On the sealed document appear the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests. 2 On the sealed document: His Excellency Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah.3 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,4 Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,5 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,6 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,7 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,8 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,9 Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah: these are the priests.10 The Levites: Jeshua, son of Azaniah; Binnui, of the sons of Henadad; Kadmiel;11 and their brethren Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,12 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,13 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,14 Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.15 The leaders of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,16 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,17 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,18 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,19 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,20 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,21 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,22 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,23 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,24 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,25 Halhohesh, Pilha, Shobek,26 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,27 Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,28 Malluch, Harim, Baanah.29 The rest of the people, priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple slaves, and all others who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands in favor of the law of God, with their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who are of the age of discretion,30 join with their brethren who are their princes, and with the sanction of a curse take this oath to follow the law of God which was given through Moses, the servant of God, and to observe carefully all the commandments of the LORD, our LORD, his ordinances and his statutes.31 Agreed, that we will not marry our daughters to the peoples of the land, and that we will not take their daughters for our sons.32 When the peoples of the land bring in merchandise or any kind of grain for sale on the sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or on any other holyday. We will forgo the seventh year, as well as every kind of debt.33 We impose these commandments on ourselves: to give a third of a shekel each year for the service of the house of our God,34 for the showbread, for the daily cereal offering, for the daily holocaust, for the sabbaths, new moons, and festivals, for the holy offerings, for sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for every service of the house of our God.35 We, priests, Levites, and people, have determined by lot concerning the procurement of wood: it is to be brought to the house of our God by each of our family houses at stated times each year, to be burnt on the altar of the LORD, our God, as the law prescribes.36 We have agreed to bring each year to the house of the LORD the first fruits of our fields and of our fruit trees, of whatever kind;37 also, as is prescribed in the law, to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who serve in the house of our God, the first-born of our children and our animals, including the first-born of our flocks and herds.38 The first batch of our dough, and our offerings of the fruit of every tree, of wine and of oil, we will bring to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God. The tithe of our fields we will bring to the Levites; they, the Levites, shall take the tithe in all the cities of our service.39 An Aaronite priest shall be with the Levites when they take the tithe, and the Levites shall bring the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the treasury.40 For to these chambers the Israelites and Levites bring the offerings of grain, wine, and oil; there also are housed the utensils of the sanctuary, and the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.
11 1 The leaders of the people took up residence in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one man in ten to reside in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine would remain in the other cities. 2 The people applauded all those men who willingly agreed to take up residence in Jerusalem.3 These are the heads of the province who took up residence in Jerusalem. (In the cities of Judah dwelt lay Israelites, priests, Levites, temple slaves, and the descendants of the slaves of Solomon, each man on the property he owned in his own city.)4 In Jerusalem dwelt both Judahites and Benjaminites. Of the Judahites: Athaiah, son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mehallalel, of the sons of Perez;5 Maaseiah, son of Baruch, son of Colhozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, a son of the Shelanites.6 The total of the sons of Perez who dwelt in Jerusalem was four hundred and sixty-eight valiant men.7 These were the Benjaminites: Sallu, son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah,8 and his brethren, warriors, nine hundred and twenty-eight in number.9 Joel, son of Zichri, was their commander, and Judah, son of Hassenuah, was second in charge of the city.10 Among the priests were: Jedaiah; Joiarib; Jachin;11 Seraiah, son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God,12 and their brethren who carried out the temple service, eight hundred and twenty-two; Adaiah, son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah,13 and his brethren, family heads, two hundred and forty-two; and Amasai, son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer,14 and his brethren, warriors, one hundred and twenty-eight. Their commander was Zabdiel, son of Haggadol.15 Among the Levites were Shemaiah, son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni;16 Shabbethai and Jozabad, levitical chiefs who were placed over the external affairs of the house of God;17 Mattaniah, son of Micah, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, director of the psalms, who led the thanksgiving at prayer; Bakbukiah, second in rank among his brethren; and Abda, son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun.18 The total of the Levites in the holy city was two hundred and eighty-four.19 The gatekeepers were Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren, who kept watch over the gates; one hundred and seventy-two in number.20 The rest of Israel, including priests and Levites, were in all the other cities of Judah, each man in his inheritance.21 The temple slaves lived on Ophel. Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of the temple slaves.22 The prefect of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi, son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micah; he was one of the sons of Asaph, the singers appointed to the service of the house of God-- 23 for they had been appointed by royal decree, and there was a fixed schedule for the singers assigning them their daily duties.24 Pethahiah, son of Meshezabel, a descendant of Zerah, son of Judah, was royal deputy in all affairs that concerned the people.
25 As concerns their villages in the country: Judahites lived in Kiriath-arba and its dependencies, in Dibon and its dependencies, in Jekabzeel and its villages,26 in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth-pelet,27 in Hazarshual, in Beer-sheba and its dependencies,28 in Ziklag, in Meconah and its dependencies,29 in En-rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth,30 Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its countryside, Azekah and its dependencies. They were settled from Beer-sheba to Ge-hinnom.31 Benjaminites were in Geba, Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its dependencies,32 Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,35 Lod, Ono, and the Valley of the Artisans.36 Some sections of the Levites from Judah settled in Benjamin.
12 1 The following are the priests and Levites who returned with Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,4 Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah,5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,6 Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah,7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the priestly heads and their brethren in the days of Jeshua.8 The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, Mattaniah; the last-mentioned, together with his brethren, was in charge of the hymns,9 while Bakbukiah and Unno and their brethren ministered opposite them by turns.
10 Jeshua became the father of Joiakim, Joiakim became the father of Eliashib, and Eliashib became the father of Joiada. 11 Joiada became the father of Johanan, and Johanan became the father of Jaddua.12 In the days of Joiakim these were the priestly family heads: for Seraiah, Meraiah; for Jeremiah, Hananiah;13 for Ezra, Meshullam; for Amariah, Jehohanan;14 for Malluchi, Jonathan; for Shebaniah, Joseph;15 for Harim, Adna; for Meremoth, Helkai;16 for Iddo, Zechariah; for Ginnethon, Meshullam;17 for Abijah, Zichri; for Miamin,...; for Maadiah, Piltai;18 for Bilgah, Shammua; for Shemaiah, Jehonathan;19 and for Joiarib, Mattenai; for Jedaiah, Uzzi;20 for Sallu, Kallai; for Amok, Eber;21 for Hilkiah, Hashabiah; for Jedaiah, Nethanel.22 In the time of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the family heads of the priests were written down in the Book of Chronicles, up until the reign of Darius the Persian.23 The sons of Levi: the family heads were written down in the Book of Chronicles, up until the time of Johanan, the son of Eliashib.24 The heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel. Their brethren who stood opposite them to sing praises and thanksgiving in fulfillment of the command of David, the man of God, one section opposite the other,25 were Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah.Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers. They kept watch over the storerooms at the gates.26 All these lived in the time of Joiakim, son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak (and in the time of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest-scribe).
27 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out wherever they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate a joyful dedication with thanksgiving hymns and the music of cymbals, harps, and lyres. 28 The levitical singers gathered together from the region about Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites,29 from Beth-gilgal, and from the plains of Geba and Azmaveth (for the singers had built themselves settlements about Jerusalem).30 The priests and Levites first purified themselves, then they purified the people, the gates, and the wall.31 I had the princes of Judah mount the wall, and I arranged two great choirs. The first of these proceeded to the right, along the top of the wall, in the direction of the Dung Gate,32 followed by Hoshaiah and half the princes of Judah,33 along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,35 priests with the trumpets, and also Zechariah, son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph,36 and his brethren Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David, the man of God. (Ezra the scribe was at their head.)37 At the Spring Gate they went straight up by the steps of the City of David and continued along the top of the wall above the house of David until they came to the Water Gate on the east.38 The second choir proceeded to the left, followed by myself and the other half of the princes of the people, along the top of the wall past the Oven Tower as far as the Broad Wall,39 then past the Ephraim Gate (the New City Gate), the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Hundred Tower, as far as the Sheep Gate (and they came to a halt at the Prison Gate).40 The two choirs took up a position in the house of God; I, too, who had with me half the magistrates,41 the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Minjamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, Hananiah, with the trumpets,42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers were heard under the leadership of Jezrahiah.43 Great sacrifices were offered on that day, and there was rejoicing over the great feast of the LORD in which they shared. The women and the children joined in, and the rejoicing at Jerusalem could be heard from afar off.
44 At that time men were appointed over the chambers set aside for stores, offerings, first fruits, and tithes; in them they were to collect from the fields of the various cities the portions legally assigned to the priests and Levites. For Judah rejoiced in its appointed priests and Levites 45 who carried out the ministry of their God and the ministry of purification (as did the singers and the gatekeepers) in accordance with the prescriptions of David and of Solomon, his son.46 For the heads of the families of the singers and the hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God came down from the days of David and Asaph in times of old.47 Thus all Israel, in the days of Zerubbabel (and in the days of Nehemiah), gave the singers and the gatekeepers their portions, according to their daily needs. They made their consecrated offering to the Levites, and the Levites made theirs to the sons of Aaron.
13 1 At that time, when there was reading from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people, it was found written there that "no Ammonite or Moabite may ever be admitted into the assembly of God; 2 for they would not succor the Israelites with food and water, but they hired Balaam to curse them, though our God turned the curse into a blessing."3 When they had heard the law, they separated from Israel every foreign element.
4 Before this, the priest Eliashib, who had been placed in charge of the chambers of the house of our God and who was an associate of Tobiah, 5 had set aside for the latter's use a large chamber in which had previously been stored the cereal offerings, incense and utensils, the tithes in grain, wine, and oil allotted to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the offerings due the priests.6 During all this time I had not been in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, I had gone back to the king. After due time, however, I asked leave of the king 7 and returned to Jerusalem, where I discovered the evil thing that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in setting aside for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.8 This displeased me very much, and I had all of Tobiah's household goods thrown outside the chamber.9 Then I gave orders to purify the chambers, and I had them replace there the utensils of the house of God, the cereal offerings, and the incense.
10 I learned, too, that the portions due the Levites were no longer being given, so that the Levites and the singers who should have been carrying out the services had deserted, each man to his own field.11 I took the magistrates to task, demanding, "Why is the house of God abandoned?" Then I brought the Levites together and had them resume their stations.12 All Judah once more brought in the tithes of grain, wine, and oil to the storerooms;13 and in charge of the storerooms I appointed the priest Shelemiah, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah, one of the Levites, together with Hanan, son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, as their assistant; for these men were held to be trustworthy. It was their duty to make the distribution to their brethren.14 Remember this to my credit, O my God! Let not the devotion which I showed for the house of my God and its services be forgotten!
15 In those days I perceived that men in Judah were treading the winepresses on the sabbath; that they were bringing in sheaves of grain, loading them on their asses, together with wine, grapes, figs, and every other kind of burden, and bringing them to Jerusalem on the sabbath day. I warned them to sell none of these victuals.16 In Jerusalem itself the Tyrians who were resident there were importing fish and every other kind of merchandise and selling it to the Judahites on the sabbath.17 I took the nobles of Judah to task, demanding of them: "What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the sabbath day?18 Did not your fathers act in this same way, with the result that our God has brought all this evil upon us and upon this city? Would you add to the wrath against Israel by once more profaning the sabbath?"19 When the shadows were falling on the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I ordered the doors to be closed and forbade them to be reopened till after the sabbath. I posted some of my own men at the gates so that no burden might enter on the sabbath day.20 The merchants and sellers of various kinds of merchandise spent the night once or twice outside Jerusalem,21 but then I warned them, saying to them: "Why do you spend the night alongside the wall? If you keep this up, I will lay hands on you!" From that time on, they did not return on the sabbath.22 Then I ordered the Levites to purify themselves and to go and watch the gates, so that the sabbath day might be kept holy. This, too, remember in my favor, O my God, and have mercy on me in accordance with your great mercy!
23 Also in those days I saw Jews who had married Ashdodite, Ammonite, or Moabite wives.24 Of their children, half spoke Ashdodite, and none of them knew how to speak Jewish; and so it was in regard to the languages of the various other peoples. 25 I took them to task and cursed them; I had some of them beaten and their hair pulled out; and I adjured them by God: "You shall not marry your daughters to their sons nor take any of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves!26 Did not Solomon, the king of Israel, sin because of them? Though among the many nations there was no king like him, and though he was beloved of his God and God had made him king over all Israel, yet even he was made to sin by foreign women.27 Must it also be heard of you that you have done this same very great evil, betraying our God by marrying foreign women?"
28 One of the sons of Joiada, son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite! I drove him from my presence.
29 Remember against them, O my God, how they defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites!
30 Thus I cleansed them of all foreign contamination. I established the various functions for the priests and Levites, so that each had his appointed task.
31 I also provided for the procurement of wood at stated times and for the first fruits. Remember this in my favor, O my God!
Néhémie (NAB) 10