Nehemiah 12
12
The Priests and Levites Who Returned
1Now these are the priests and Levites who went up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua:
Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
2Amariah, Malluch,#12:2 Malluch is a variant of Malluchi; see verse 14. Hattush,
3Shecaniah, Rehum,#12:3 Rehum is a variant of Harim; see verse 15, Nehemiah 7:42, and Ezra 2:39. Meremoth,
4Iddo, Ginnethon,#12:4 Many Hebrew manuscripts and Vulgate (see also verse 16); most MT manuscripts Ginnethoi Abijah,
5Mijamin,#12:5 Mijamin is a variant of Miniamin; see verse 17. Maadiah,#12:5 Maadiah is a variant of Moadiah; see verse 17. Bilgah,#12:5 Bilgah is a variant of Bilgai; also in verse 18; see Nehemiah 10:8.
6Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah.
These were the leaders of the priests and their associates in the days of Jeshua.
8The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who, with his associates, led the songs of thanksgiving. 9Bakbukiah and Unni, their associates, stood across from them in the services.
10Jeshua was the father of Joiakim,
Joiakim was the father of Eliashib,
Eliashib was the father of Joiada,
11Joiada was the father of Jonathan,#12:11 Jonathan is a variant of Johanan; see verse 22.
and Jonathan was the father of Jaddua.
12In the days of Joiakim, these were the heads of the priestly families:
of the family of Seraiah, Meraiah;
of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
13of Ezra, Meshullam;
of Amariah, Jehohanan;
14of Malluchi,#12:14 Malluchi is a variant of Malluch; see verse 2. Jonathan;
of Shebaniah,#12:14 Shebaniah is a variant of Shecaniah; see verse 3; see also Syriac and some Hebrew and LXX manuscripts. Joseph;
15of Harim, Adna;
of Meraioth,#12:15 Meraioth is a variant of Meremoth; see verse 3 and also some LXX manuscripts. Helkai;
16of Iddo, Zechariah;
of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17of Abijah, Zichri;
of Miniamin and of Moadiah,#12:17 Moadiah is a variant of Maadiah; see verse 5. Piltai;
18of Bilgah, Shammua;
of Shemaiah, Jonathan;
19of Joiarib, Mattenai;
of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
20of Sallai,#12:20 Sallai is a variant of Sallu; see verse 7. Kallai;
of Amok, Eber;
21of Hilkiah, Hashabiah;
and of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan,#12:22 Johanan is a variant of Jonathan; see verse 11. and Jaddua, during the reign of Darius the Persian, the heads of the families of the Levites and priests were recorded.
23As for the descendants of Levi, the family heads up to the days of Johanan son of Eliashib were recorded in the Book of the Chronicles.#12:23 Or the Book of the Annals or the Book of the Historical Events 24The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel,#12:24 Or Sherebiah, Jeshua, Binnui, and Kadmiel along with their associates, who stood across from them to give praise and thanksgiving as one section alternated with the other, as prescribed by David the man of God.
25Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms at the gates. 26They served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak,#12:26 Jozadak is a variant of Jehozadak; see 1 Chronicles 6:14. and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and scribe.
The Dedication of the Wall
27At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from all their homes and brought to Jerusalem to celebrate the joyous dedication with thanksgiving and singing, accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres. 28The singers were also assembled from the region around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites, 29from Beth-gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for they had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem. 30After the priests and Levites had purified themselves, they purified the people, the gates, and the wall.
31Then I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and I appointed two great thanksgiving choirs. One was to proceed along the top of the wall #12:31 Or alongside the wall; also in verse 38 to the right, toward the Dung Gate. 32Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah followed, 33along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, 35and some of the priests with trumpets, and also Zechariah son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah,#12:35 Micaiah is a variant of Mica; see Nehemiah 11:22. the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph, 36and his associates—Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani—with the musical instruments prescribed by David the man of God. Ezra the scribe led the procession. 37At the Fountain Gate they climbed the steps of the City of David on the ascent to the wall and passed above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.
38The second thanksgiving choir proceeded to the left, and I followed it with half the people along the top of the wall, past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall, 39over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate,#12:39 Or the Old City Gate the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.
40The two thanksgiving choirs then stood in the house of God, as did I, along with the half of the officials accompanying me, 41as well as the priests with their trumpets—Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah— 42and also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. Then the choirs sang out under the direction of Jezrahiah.
43On that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.
Provisions for Temple Worship
44And on that same day men were appointed over the rooms that housed the supplies, contributions, firstfruits, and tithes. The portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites were gathered into these storerooms from the fields of the villages, because Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who were serving.
45They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, along with the singers and gatekeepers, as David and his son Solomon had prescribed. 46For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there were directors for the singers and for the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.
47So in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the singers and gatekeepers. They also set aside daily portions for the Levites, and the Levites set aside daily portions for the descendants of Aaron.
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Nehemiah 12: BSB
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.
