Nehemiah 12

1 [Many] priests and [other] descendants of Levi returned (from Babylonia/to Jerusalem) with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. They included Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,

3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,

4 Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah,

5 Mijamin, Moadiah, Bilgah,

6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,

7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. All those men were leaders of the priests during the time that Jeshua [was the Supreme Priest].

8 [Some of the other] descendants of Levi who returned were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah. They were in charge of singing songs to thank [God].

9 Bakbukiah, Unni, and other descendants of Levi formed a choir that stood opposite the other group [and sang in reply to them].

10 Jeshua [who was the Supreme Priest] was the father of Joiakim, who was the father of Eliashib, who was the father of Joiada,

11 who was the father of Jonathan, who was the father of Jaddua.

12 When Joiakim was the Supreme Priest, these were the leaders of the clans of priests: Meraiah, from [the clan of] Seraiah; Hananiah, from [the clan of] Jeremiah;

13 Meshullam, from [the clan of] Ezra; Jehohanan, from [the clan of] Amariah;

14 Jonathan, from [the clan of] Malluch; Joseph, from [the clan of] Shecaniah;

15 Adna, from [the clan of] Harim; Helkai, from [the clan of] Meremoth/Maraioth;

16 Zechariah, from [the clan of] Iddo; Meshullam, from [the clan of] Ginnethon;

17 Zicri, from [the clan of] Abijah. There was also a leader from [the clan of] Miniamin; Piltai, from [the clan of] Moadiah;

18 Shammua, from [the clan of] Bilgah; Jehonathan, from [the clan of] Shemaiah;

19 Mattenai, from [the clan of] Joiarib; Uzzi, from [the clan of] Jedaiah;

20 Kallai, from [the clan of] Sallu/Sallai; Eber, from [the clan of] Amok;

21 Hashabiah, from [the clan of] Hilkiah; and Nethanel, from [the clan of] Jedaiah.

22 During the years that Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua [were Supreme Priests], they (wrote/kept a list of) the names of the clans who were descendants of Levi. When Darius was the king of Persia, they stopped writing that list.

23 They wrote the names of the leaders of the clans who were descendants of Levi in the Book of Events [in Israel], but they stopped writing those names when Eliashib’s grandson Johanan [was the Supreme Priest].

24 These are the leaders of the clans [who are] descendants of Levi: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel and others who were divided into two groups. The two groups faced each other, one group replying to the other, during the time that they praised and thanked God. They did that just as King David, the man who served God well, had instructed.

25 These singers included Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, and Obadiah. The men who guarded the storerooms close to the gates [of the temple] were Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub.

26 They did that work during the time that Joiakim, who was the son of Jeshua and the grandson of Jehozadak, [was the Supreme Priest, ] and I was the governor, and Ezra was the priest who knew the Jewish laws very well.

27 When we dedicated the wall around Jerusalem, we summoned the descendants of Levi [who help the priests] from the nearby places where they [were living]. We asked them to [join with us to] celebrate when we dedicated the wall. We wanted them to sing songs to thank [Yahweh] and make music by playing cymbals and harps and other stringed instruments.

28 We summoned the descendants of Levi who habitually sang together. They came to Jerusalem from nearby areas [where they had settled], and from places around Netophah [town southeast of Jerusalem],

29 and from three places [northeast of Jerusalem]—Beth Gilgal [city] and the areas around Geba and Azmaveth. Those singers had built villages to live in near Jerusalem.

30 [When they came to Jerusalem], the priests and [other] descendants of Levi [who help the priests] performed rituals to cause themselves to be acceptable to God, and then they performed similar rituals to purify the [other] people, the gates, and the wall.

31 Then I gathered together the leaders of Judah on top of the wall, and I appointed them to lead two large groups to march around the city [on top of the wall], thanking God. [As they faced the city, ] one group walked to the right toward the Dung Gate.

32 Behind their leaders marched Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah.

33 Behind them marched a group of priests who were blowing trumpets. They were Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah. Next came Zechariah, the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, a descendant of Asaph.

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36 Behind them marched other members of Zechariah’s clan: Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani. They all were playing the same kinds of musical instruments that King David had played [many years previously]. Ezra, the man who knew the Jewish laws very well, marched in front of this group.

37 When they reached the Fountain Gate, they went up the steps to David’s City, past his palace, and then to the wall at the Water Gate, on the east side [of the city].

38 The other group of those who were thanking [Yahweh] marched to the left on top of the wall. I followed them with half of the people. [We marched] past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall.

39 [From there we marched] past Ephraim Gate, Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, the Tower of the Hundred Soldiers, to the Sheep Gate. We finished marching near the gate into the temple.

40 Both the groups reached the temple while they were thanking God. They stood in their places there. The leaders who were with me [also stood with me in our places].

41 My group included these priests who were [all blowing] trumpets: Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, Hananiah,

42 [another] Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers, whose leader was Jezrahiah, sang loudly.

43 [After we went outside the temple, ] we offered many sacrifices. We men all rejoiced because God had caused us to be very happy. The women and the children also rejoiced. People far away could hear the noise that we made there in Jerusalem.

44 On that day, men were appointed {they appointed men} to be in charge of the storerooms where they kept the money that people contributed [for the temple]. They also kept there [the other things that the people contributed—] the tithes and the first part of the grain and fruit that was harvested each year. Those men collected those things from the fields/farms near the cities, and [took them to Jerusalem and] gave them to the priests and the [other] descendants of Levi, as [Moses had said in his] laws that they should do. All the Israeli people were happy about the work that the priests and the descendants of Levi did,

45 because they performed the rituals to purify things, and the other rituals that God had commanded. The musicians in the temple also did their work as King David and his son Solomon had declared that they should do.

46 Ever since the time that David had been the king and Asaph had been his chief musician, the musicians had led the people while they sang songs to praise and thank God.

47 During the years that Zerubbabel and I governed the Israeli people, they all contributed the food that the singers and temple gatekeepers needed each day. They gave (a tithe/10%) of their crops to the descendants of Levi [who helped the priests], and those descendants of Levi gave (a tithe/10%) of that to [the priests, who were] descendants of Aaron [the first Supreme Priest].