The Priests and Levites
1 Now thesearethepriests and the Levites who came up withZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua:Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
3 Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
4 Iddo, Ginnethoi,Abijah,
5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah,andJedaiah.
# Thesewerethe heads of the priests and their brethren in the days ofJeshua.
8 Moreover the LeviteswereJeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah,andMattaniahwholedthe thanksgivingpsalms,he and his brethren.
9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren,stoodacross from them intheirduties.
10 Jeshua begot Joiakim, Joiakim begot Eliashib, Eliashib begot Joiada,
11 Joiada begot Jonathan, and Jonathan begot Jaddua.
12 Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, theheads of the fathers’houseswere:of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
14 of Melichu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;
16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17 of Abijah, Zichri;thesonof Minjamin; of Moadiah, Piltai;
18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah;andof Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22 During the reign of Darius the Persian, a recordwasalsokeptof the Levites and priestswhohadbeenheads of their fathers’housesin the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua.
23 The sons of Levi, the heads of the fathers’housesuntil the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib,werewritten in the book of thechronicles.
24 And the heads of the LeviteswereHashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers across from them, topraiseandgive thanks,group alternating with group,according to the command of David the man of God.
25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkubweregatekeepers keeping the watch at the storerooms of the gates.
26 Theselivedin the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiahthe governor, and of Ezra the priest,the scribe.
Nehemiah Dedicates the Wall
27 Now atthe dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness,both with thanksgivings and singing,withcymbals and stringed instruments and harps.
28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Jerusalem, from thevillages of the Netophathites,
29 from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built themselves villages all around Jerusalem.
30 Then the priests and Levitespurified themselves, and purified the people, the gates, and the wall.
31 So I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs.Onewent to the right hand on the walltoward the Refuse Gate.
32 After them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah,
33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,
34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah,
35 and some of the priests’ sonswith trumpets—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 brethren, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah,andHanani, withthe musicalinstruments of David the man of God. Ezra the scribewentbefore them.
37 By the Fountain Gate, in front of them, they went upthe stairs of theCity of David, on the stairway of the wall, beyond the house of David, as far asthe Water Gate eastward.
38 The other thanksgiving choir went the oppositeway,and Iwasbehind them with half of the people on the wall, going past theTower of the Ovens as far asthe Broad Wall,
39 and above the Gate of Ephraim, abovethe Old Gate, abovethe Fish Gate,the Tower of Hananel, the Tower of the Hundred, as far asthe Sheep Gate; and they stopped bythe Gate of the Prison.
40 So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God, likewise I and the half of the rulers with me;
41 and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Minjamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah,andHananiah, with trumpets;
42 also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loudly with Jezrahiah the director.
43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heardafar off.
Temple Responsibilities
44 And at the same time some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouse for the offerings, the firstfruits, and thetithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who ministered.
45 Both the singers and the gatekeepers kept the charge of their God and the charge of the purification,according to the command of DavidandSolomon his son.
46 For in the days of Davidand Asaph of oldtherewerechiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.
47 In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, a portion foreach day.They also consecratedholythingsfor the Levites,and the Levites consecratedthemfor the children of Aaron.