NehemiahChapter 12

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¹These are the priests and Levites who came back with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, ²Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, ³Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, ⁴Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah, ⁵Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, ⁶Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, ⁷Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the leaders of the priests and the priests who worked with them in the days of Jeshua. ⁸The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah. Mattaniah and the men with him led the songs of thanks. ⁹Bakbukiah and Unni helped them. They stood across from them when they all sang. ¹⁰Jeshua was the father of Joiakim. Joiakim was the father of Eliashib. Eliashib was the father of Joiada. ¹¹Joiada was the father of Jonathan. Jonathan was the father of Jaddua. ¹²In the days of Joiakim, these were the heads of the priests' families: Meraiah led the family of Seraiah. Hananiah led the family of Jeremiah. ¹³Meshullam led the family of Ezra. Jehohanan led the family of Amariah. ¹⁴Jonathan led the family of Malluchi. Joseph led the family of Shebaniah. ¹⁵Adna led the family of Harim. Helkai led the family of Meraioth. ¹⁶Zechariah led the family of Iddo. Meshullam led the family of Ginnethon. ¹⁷Zichri led the family of Abijah. Piltai led the families of Miniamin and Moadiah. ¹⁸Shammua led the family of Bilgah. Jonathan led the family of Shemaiah. ¹⁹Mattenai led the family of Joiarib. Uzzi led the family of Jedaiah. ²⁰Kallai led the family of Sallai. Eber led the family of Amok. ²¹Hashabiah led the family of Hilkiah. Nethanel led the family of Jedaiah. ²²The heads of the families of the Levites and priests were written down. This was done in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua. It was while Darius the Persian was king. ²³The heads of the families of Levi were written down in the Book of the Chronicles. The list goes up to the time of Johanan son of Eliashib. ²⁴The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel. The men who worked with them stood across from them. They gave praise and thanks, one group answering the other. This is what David the man of God had ordered. ²⁵Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers. They guarded the storerooms at the gates. ²⁶They served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak. They also served in the days of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and scribe. ²⁷Then the wall of Jerusalem was set apart to God. For this, the Levites were looked for in all the places where they lived. They were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate with joy. They gave thanks and sang songs. They played cymbals, harps, and lyres. ²⁸The singers also came in from the land around Jerusalem. They came from the towns of the Netophathites, ²⁹from Beth-gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth. The singers had built towns for themselves all around Jerusalem. ³⁰The priests and Levites made themselves pure. Then they made the people, the gates, and the wall pure. ³¹Then I brought the leaders of Judah up on top of the wall. I chose two large choirs to give thanks. One choir was to walk along the top of the wall to the right, toward the Dung Gate. ³²Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah went after them. ³³So did Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, ³⁴Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, ³⁵and some of the priests with trumpets. Zechariah son of Jonathan went too. Jonathan was the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph. ³⁶The men who worked with Zechariah went too. They were Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani. They played the kinds of instruments David the man of God had ordered. Ezra the scribe walked in front of them. ³⁷At the Fountain Gate they went straight up the steps of the City of David. They went up the slope to the wall. They passed above the house of David. Then they went on to the Water Gate on the east side. ³⁸The second choir went to the left. I followed it with half of the people along the top of the wall. We went past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall. ³⁹We went over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, and the Fish Gate. We passed the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. Then they stopped at the Gate of the Guard. ⁴⁰Then the two choirs took their places in the house of God. So did I, and half of the officials who were with me. ⁴¹So did the priests with their trumpets. They were Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah. ⁴²Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer were there too. Then the choirs sang out loudly. Jezrahiah led them. ⁴³That day they offered many sacrifices. They were full of joy, because God had given them great joy. The women and children were glad too. The joyful sound in Jerusalem could be heard far away. ⁴⁴That same day, men were put in charge of the storerooms. These rooms held the supplies, the gifts, the firstfruits, and the tenths. The Law said what part should go to the priests and Levites. Those parts were brought into the storerooms from the fields around the towns. For the people of Judah were glad for the priests and Levites who served. ⁴⁵The priests and Levites did the work of their God. They did the work of making things pure. The singers and gatekeepers served too. They did it all the way David and his son Solomon had ordered. ⁴⁶For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there were leaders for the singers. They also led the songs of praise and thanks to God. ⁴⁷So in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, all Israel gave a share each day to the singers and gatekeepers. They also set aside a share for the Levites. And the Levites set aside a share for the descendants of Aaron.