The Leaders in Jerusalem

1 Now the leaders of the people ^hlived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people ⁱcast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem ^jthe holy city, while nine out of ten¹ remained in the other towns. 2 And the people blessed all the men ^kwho willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.

3 ^lThese are the chiefs of the province who lived in Jerusalem; but in the towns of Judah ^meveryone lived on his property in their towns: Israel, the priests, the Levites, ⁿthe temple servants, ^oand the descendants of Solomon’s servants. 4 And in Jerusalem lived certain of the sons of Judah and of the sons of Benjamin. Of the sons of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of the sons of ^pPerez; 5 and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, son of the Shilonite.

20 And the rest of Israel, and of the priests and the Levites, were in all the towns of Judah, ^uevery one in his inheritance. 21 ^vBut the temple servants lived on Ophel; and Ziha and Gishpa were over the temple servants.

22 In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the Levites were recorded as heads of fathers’ houses; so too were the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 As for the sons of Levi, their heads of fathers’ houses ⁱwere written in the Book of the Chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. 24 And the chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and ^jJeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers who stood opposite them, ^kto praise and to give thanks, ^laccording to the commandment of David ^mthe man of God, ⁿwatch by watch. 25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at ^othe storehouses of the gates. 26 These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and in the days of ^pNehemiah the governor and of ^pEzra, the priest and scribe.

Dedication of the Wall

27 And at ^qthe dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, ^rwith cymbals, harps, and lyres. 28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites; 29 also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. 30 And the priests and the Levites ^spurified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.

31 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. ^tOne went to the south on the wall to ^uthe Dung Gate. 32 And after them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah,

35 and certain of the priests’ sons ^vwith trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph; 36 and his relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, ^wwith the musical instruments of David ^xthe man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them.

38 ^bThe other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people, on the wall, above ^cthe Tower of the Ovens, to ^dthe Broad Wall,

40 So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me;

43 And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.

Service at the Temple

44 ^lOn that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. 45 And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, ^maccording to the command of David and his son Solomon. 46 For long ago in the days of David and ⁿAsaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs¹ of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the ^odaily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; ^pand they set apart that which was for the Levites; ^qand the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.