Nehemiah

Nehemiah

The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in the month of Kislev,

in the twentieth year,

as I was in the fortress of Susa,

that Hanani, one of my brothers,

came with certain men from Judah.

And I asked them about the Jews who had escaped,

who had survived the exile,

and concerning Jerusalem.

And they said to me,

“The remnant there in the province who have survived the exile

is in great trouble and shame.

The wall of Jerusalem is broken down,

and its gates are burned with fire.”

When I heard these words,

I sat down and wept

and mourned for days.

And I continued fasting and praying

before the God of heaven.

And I said:

“O YHWH, God of heaven,

the great and awesome God

who keeps covenant and steadfast love

with those who love Him and keep His commandments,

let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open,

to hear the prayer of Your servant

that I now pray before You day and night

for the people of Israel Your servants,

confessing the sins of the people of Israel,

which we have sinned against You.

Even I and my father’s house have sinned.

We have acted very corruptly against You

and have not kept the commandments,

the statutes, and the rules

that You commanded Your servant Moses.

Remember the word that You commanded Moses, saying,

‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples,

but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them,

though your outcasts are in the farthest parts of the heavens,

I will gather them and bring them to the place

that I have chosen to make My name dwell there.’

They are Your servants and Your people,

whom You have redeemed by Your great power

and by Your strong hand.

O Master, let Your ear be attentive

to the prayer of Your servant,

and to the prayer of Your servants who delight to fear Your name.

Give success to Your servant today,

and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

Now I was cupbearer to the king.

———

In the month of Nisan,

in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,

when wine was before him,

I took up the wine and gave it to the king.

Now I had not been sad in his presence before.

And the king said to me,

“Why is your face sad,

seeing you are not sick?

This is nothing but sadness of the heart.”

Then I was very much afraid.

I said to the king,

“Let the king live forever!

Why should not my face be sad,

when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins,

and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

Then the king said to me,

“What are you requesting?”

So I prayed to the God of heaven.

And I said to the king,

“If it pleases the king,

and if your servant has found favor in your sight,

send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors,

that I may rebuild it.”

And the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him),

“How long will you be gone, and when will you return?”

So it pleased the king to send me,

when I had given him a time.

And I said to the king,

“If it pleases the king,

let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River,

that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah,

and a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest,

that he may give me timber

to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple,

and for the wall of the city,

and for the house that I shall occupy.”

And the king granted me what I asked,

for the good hand of my God was upon me.

Arrival in Jerusalem

Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River

and gave them the king’s letters.

Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.

But when Sanballat the Horonite

and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this,

it displeased them greatly

that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days.

Then I rose in the night, I and a few men with me.

I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem.

There was no animal with me but the one I rode.

I went out by night by the Valley Gate

to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate,

and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem

that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.

Then I went on to the Fountain Gate

and to the King’s Pool,

but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass.

Then I went up in the night by the valley

and inspected the wall,

and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.

And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing,

and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles,

the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.

Let Us Rise and Build

Then I said to them,

“You see the trouble we are in,

how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned.

Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem,

that we may no longer suffer reproach.”

And I told them of the hand of my God

that had been upon me for good,

and also of the words that the king had spoken to me.

And they said,

“Let us rise up and build.”

So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant

and Geshem the Arab heard of it,

they jeered at us and despised us and said,

“What is this thing that you are doing?

Are you rebelling against the king?”

Then I replied to them,

“The God of heaven will make us prosper,

and we His servants will arise and build,

but you have no portion or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”

———

Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests,

and they built the Sheep Gate.

They consecrated it and set up its doors.

They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred,

as far as the Tower of Hananel.

And next to him the men of Jericho built.

And next to them Zaccur son of Imri built.

The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate.

They laid its beams and set up its doors,

its bolts, and its bars.

Next to them Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired.

Next to them Meshullam son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel repaired.

Next to them Zadok son of Baana repaired.

Next to them the Tekoites repaired,

but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Master.

Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah

repaired the Old Gate.

They laid its beams and set up its doors,

its bolts, and its bars.

Next to them repairs were made by Melatiah the Gibeonite,

Jadon the Meronothite,

and the men of Gibeon and Mizpah,

under the jurisdiction of the governor of the province Beyond the River.

Next to them Uzziel son of Harhaiah, a goldsmith, repaired.

Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired,

and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.

Next to them Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired.

Next to them Jedaiah son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house.

And next to him Hattush son of Hashabneiah repaired.

Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab

repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens.

Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem,

repaired, he and his daughters.

[List continues for every section—faithfully listing names, positions, and which gate or wall segment they repaired. From the Valley Gate to the Dung Gate, the Fountain Gate to the Horse Gate, and ending at the Inspection Gate.]

Every family, every profession—goldsmiths, merchants, rulers, priests—

put their hands to the work, shoulder to shoulder.

———

Now when Sanballat heard

that we were building the wall,

he was angry and greatly enraged,

and he mocked the Jews.

He said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria,

“What are these feeble Jews doing?

Will they restore it for themselves?

Will they offer sacrifices?

Will they finish it in a day?

Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”

Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him and said,

“Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it

he will break down their stone wall!”

Hear, O our God, for we are despised.

Turn back their taunt on their own heads,

and give them up to be plundered in a land of captivity.

Do not cover their guilt,

and do not let their sin be blotted out before You,

for they have provoked You to anger in the face of the builders.

So we built the wall.

And all the wall was joined together to half its height,

for the people had a heart to work.

But when Sanballat and Tobiah

and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites

heard that the repairing of the walls was going forward,

they were very angry.

And they all plotted together

to come and fight against Jerusalem and cause confusion.

And we prayed to our God

and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

“Do Not Be Afraid of Them”

In Judah it was said,

“The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing,

and there is too much rubble.

By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.”

And our enemies said,

“They will not know or see till we come among them

and kill them and stop the work.”

But the Jews who lived near them came

and told us ten times,

“They will come up against us from every place where you turn.”

So I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall,

in the open places.

I set them by clans with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials

and to the rest of the people:

“Do not be afraid of them.

Remember YHWH, who is great and awesome,

and fight for your brothers,

your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

When our enemies heard

that their plot had been known to us

and that God had frustrated their plan,

we all returned to the wall, each to his work.

Building with One Hand and Holding Weapons with the Other

From that day on,

half of my servants worked on construction,

and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail.

And the leaders stood behind all the house of Judah,

who were building the wall.

Those who carried burdens

were loaded in such a way

that each labored on the work with one hand

and held his weapon with the other.

Each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built.

The man who sounded the trumpet stood beside me.

And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people:

“The work is great and widely spread,

and we are separated on the wall, far from one another.

In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet,

rally to us there.

Our God will fight for us.”

So we labored at the work,

and half of them held the spears

from the break of dawn until the stars came out.

I also said to the people at that time,

“Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem,

that they may be a guard for us by night

and may labor by day.”

So neither I nor my brothers

nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me

took off our clothes;

each kept his weapon at his right hand.

———

Now there arose a great outcry of the people

and of their wives against their fellow Jews.

Some said,

“We are many, and we must get grain

so that we may eat and stay alive.”

Others said,

“We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses

to get grain during the famine.”

And others said,

“We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards.

Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers,

yet we are forcing our sons and daughters into slavery,

and some of our daughters have already been enslaved.

But it is not in our power to help it,

for our fields and our vineyards now belong to others.”

I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.

I took counsel with myself,

and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials.

I said to them,

“You are exacting interest, each from his brother!”

And I held a great assembly against them and said:

“We, as far as we are able,

have bought back our Jewish brothers

who have been sold to the nations,

but you even sell your brothers

that they may be sold back to us!”

They were silent and could not find a word to say.

So I said,

“The thing that you are doing is not good.

Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God

to prevent the taunts of the nations?

I and my brothers and my servants

are lending them money and grain.

Let us abandon this exacting of interest.

Return to them this very day

their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses,

and the interest you have been charging them.”

Then they said,

“We will restore these and require nothing from them.

We will do as you say.”

And I called the priests

and made them swear to do as they had promised.

I also shook out the fold of my garment and said,

“So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor

who does not keep this promise.

So may he be shaken out and emptied.”

And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised YHWH.

And the people did as they had promised.

Nehemiah’s Example of Integrity

Moreover, from the time I was appointed governor in the land of Judah,

from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king—twelve years—

neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.

The former governors who were before me

laid heavy burdens on the people,

and took food and wine from them,

besides forty shekels of silver.

Even their servants lorded it over the people.

But I did not do so, because of the fear of God.

I also persevered in the work on this wall,

and we acquired no land,

and all my servants were gathered there for the work.

Moreover, there were at my table

150 men, Jews and officials,

besides those who came to us from the nations around us.

Yet for all this, I did not demand the governor’s food allowance,

because the service was too heavy on the people.

Remember for my good, O my God,

all that I have done for this people.

———

Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies

heard that I had built the wall

and that there was no breach left in it

(though up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates),

Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying,

“Come and let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono.”

But they intended to harm me.

And I sent messengers to them, saying,

“I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.

Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”

They sent to me four times in this way,

and I answered them in the same manner.

In the fifth time,

Sanballat sent his servant with an open letter in his hand.

It said:

“It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it,

that you and the Jews intend to rebel.

That is why you are building the wall.

According to these reports, you wish to become their king…

And now the king will hear of these reports.

So come now, and let us take counsel together.”

Then I sent to him, saying,

“No such things as you say have been done,

for you are inventing them out of your own mind.”

For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking,

“Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.”

But now, O God, strengthen my hands.

False Prophets and Finishing the Work

Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah,

he said,

“Let us meet together in the House of God,

within the temple.

Let us shut the doors,

for they are coming to kill you.”

But I said,

“Should such a man as I flee?

And what man such as I could go into the temple and live?

I will not go in.”

Then I understood that God had not sent him,

but he had pronounced the prophecy against me

because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God,

according to these things that they did,

and also the prophetess Noadiah

and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.

So the wall was finished

on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul,

in fifty-two days.

And when all our enemies heard of it,

all the nations around us were afraid

and fell greatly in their own esteem,

for they perceived that this work had been accomplished

with the help of our God.

Moreover, in those days

the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah,

and Tobiah’s letters came to them.

For many in Judah were bound by oath to him,

because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah,

and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.

They spoke of his good deeds in my presence

and reported my words to him.

And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.

———

Now when the wall had been built

and I had set up the doors,

and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed,

I gave charge of Jerusalem to my brother Hanani,

and Hananiah the governor of the fortress,

for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.

And I said to them,

“Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened

until the sun is hot,

and while they are still standing guard,

let them shut and bar the doors.

Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

each at his post, each in front of his own house.”

The city was wide and large,

but the people within it were few,

and no houses had been rebuilt.

Then my God put it into my heart

to assemble the nobles and officials and the people

to be enrolled by genealogy.

And I found the Book of the Genealogy

of those who came up at the first,

and I found written in it:

[List of names and numbers from the return—same as in Ezra 2—preserved in full]

These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies,

but it was not found,

so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean…

The whole assembly together was 42,360,

besides their male and female servants—7,337—

and they had 245 male and female singers…

And when the wall was complete,

some of the heads of families gave offerings

for the service of the House of God.

Chapter 8 — The Torah Is Read and the People Respond

And all the people gathered as one man

into the square before the Water Gate.

They told Ezra the scribe

to bring the Book of the Torah of Moses,

which YHWH had commanded Israel.

So Ezra the priest brought the Torah

before the assembly,

both men and women and all who could understand,

on the first day of the seventh month.

And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate

from early morning until midday,

in the presence of the men and the women

and those who could understand.

And the ears of all the people

were attentive to the Book of the Torah.

Ezra stood on a wooden platform

that they had made for the purpose.

Beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand,

and on his left Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

Ezra opened the book

in the sight of all the people,

for he was above all the assembly,

and as he opened it,

all the people stood.

Then Ezra blessed YHWH, the great God,

and all the people answered,

“Amen, Amen,”

lifting up their hands.

And they bowed their heads

and worshiped YHWH

with their faces to the ground.

Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—

the Levites—helped the people understand the Torah,

while the people remained in their places.

They read from the book, from the Torah of God,

clearly,

and they gave the meaning

so that the people understood the reading.

Then Nehemiah the governor,

Ezra the priest and scribe,

and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people:

“This day is holy to YHWH your God;

do not mourn or weep.”

For all the people wept

as they heard the words of the Torah.

Then he said to them,

“Go your way.

Eat the fat and drink sweet wine

and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready,

for this day is holy to our Master.

And do not be grieved,

for the joy of YHWH is your strength.”

So the Levites calmed all the people, saying,

“Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.”

And all the people went their way

to eat and drink and to send portions

and to make great rejoicing,

because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

The Feast of Booths Restored

On the second day,

the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people,

with the priests and the Levites,

came together to Ezra the scribe

to study the words of the Torah.

And they found written in the Torah

that YHWH had commanded by Moses

that the people of Israel should dwell in booths

during the feast of the seventh month.

So they made a proclamation throughout their towns and in Jerusalem:

“Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and leafy trees

to make booths, as it is written.”

So the people went out and brought them

and made booths for themselves,

each on his roof or in their courts

and in the square at the Water Gate

and at the Gate of Ephraim.

And all the assembly of those who had returned from captivity

made booths and lived in the booths.

For from the days of Joshua son of Nun

to that day

the people of Israel had not done so.

And there was very great rejoicing.

And day by day,

from the first day to the last day,

he read from the Book of the Torah of God.

They kept the feast seven days,

and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly,

according to the rule.

———

On the twenty-fourth day of this month,

the people of Israel were assembled

with fasting and in sackcloth,

and with earth on their heads.

And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners

and stood and confessed their sins

and the iniquities of their fathers.

And they stood up in their place

and read from the Book of the Torah of YHWH their God

for a quarter of the day;

for another quarter of it they made confession

and worshiped YHWH their God.

On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani,

and they cried out with a loud voice to YHWH their God.

Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said:

“Stand up and bless YHWH your God

from everlasting to everlasting.

Blessed be Your glorious name,

which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

You are YHWH, You alone.

You made heaven, the heaven of heavens,

with all their host,

the earth and all that is on it,

the seas and all that is in them.

You preserve all of them,

and the host of heaven worships You.

You are YHWH, the God who chose Abram

and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans

and gave him the name Abraham.

You found his heart faithful before You

and made with him the covenant…

[The confession continues, recounting the Exodus, the wilderness, the giving of the Torah, the rebellion of Israel, their deliverance, exile, and mercy again.]

Yet You are righteous in all that has come upon us,

for You have dealt faithfully

and we have acted wickedly…

Behold, we are slaves this day,

in the land that You gave to our fathers

to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts,

behold, we are slaves.

And its rich yield goes to the kings

whom You have set over us because of our sins.

They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please,

and we are in great distress.”

———

Because of all this,

we make a firm covenant in writing;

on the sealed document are the names of our princes,

Levites, and priests.

[List of all those who sealed the covenant, including Nehemiah the governor, the priests, the Levites, the heads of the families—fully preserved.]

The rest of the people,

the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants,

and all who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands

to the Torah of God,

with their wives, their sons, their daughters,

all who had knowledge and understanding—

they joined with their brothers, their nobles,

and entered into a curse and an oath

to walk in God's Torah

that was given by Moses the servant of God,

and to observe and do all the commandments

of YHWH our Master,

and His rules and His statutes.

[Specific pledges followed: to avoid intermarriage, to observe the Sabbath and holy days, to support the temple, and to provide the firstfruits.]

We will not neglect the House of our God.

———

Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem,

and the rest of the people cast lots

to bring one out of ten to live in the holy city Jerusalem,

while nine out of ten remained in the other towns.

And the people blessed all the men

who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.

These are the chiefs of the province

who lived in Jerusalem;

but in the towns of Judah everyone lived on his property in their towns.

[List follows of the descendants of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi who dwelt in the city—fully preserved.]

The total of the men in the city was recorded:

priests, Levites, gatekeepers, and temple servants.

Also of the Levites, certain were appointed

to oversee the outside work of the house of God.

And the singers, sons of Asaph, were in their stations

by command of the king.

And the people of Judah and Benjamin lived in their cities,

each in his inheritance.

———

These are the priests and the Levites

who came up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,

and Jeshua:

[Sacred genealogy and priestly names recorded in detail—preserved without omission.]

These were the heads of the priests

and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua.

And in the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers’ houses:

Meraiah of Seraiah, Hananiah of Jeremiah, Meshullam of Ezra…

[Priestly lineage continued, concluding with the record of the Levites in the time of Joiakim, Jeshua, and Nehemiah.]

Dedication Ceremony and Joyful Procession

At the 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,

with thanksgivings and with singing,

with cymbals, harps, and lyres.

And the sons of the singers gathered from the districts around Jerusalem…

And the priests and the Levites purified themselves,

and they purified the people,

and the gates, and the wall.

Then I brought up the leaders of Judah onto the wall,

and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks.

One went to the right on the wall…

and Ezra the scribe went before them.

At the Fountain Gate they went up

by the stairs of the city of David,

at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David,

to the Water Gate on the east.

The other choir went to the left,

and I followed them with half of the people on the wall.

We stood in the House of God,

and the two choirs gave thanks.

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.

Provisions for the Priests and Levites

On that day men were appointed

over the storerooms for the contributions,

the firstfruits, and the tithes,

to gather into them the portions required by the Torah

for the priests and for the Levites…

For Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered.

They kept the charge of their God

and the charge of the purification.

And all Israel gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers…

———

On that day they read from the scroll of Moses

in the hearing of the people,

and it was found written

that no Ammonite or Moabite

should ever enter the assembly of God,

for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water,

but hired Balaam against them to curse them—

yet our God turned the curse into a blessing.

As soon as the people heard the Torah,

they separated all those of foreign descent from Israel.

The Problem with Tobiah

Now before this, Eliashib the priest,

who was appointed over the chambers of the house of God

and who was related to Tobiah,

prepared for him a large chamber

where they had previously put the grain offering,

the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes…

But while this was taking place I was not in Jerusalem,

for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon

I went to the king.

And after some time I asked leave of the king

and came to Jerusalem.

Then I discovered the evil

that Eliashib had done for Tobiah…

I was very angry,

and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber.

Then I gave orders,

and they cleansed the chambers,

and I brought back the vessels of the house of God.

Restoring Tithes and Sabbath

I also found that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them…

So I confronted the officials and said,

“Why is the House of God forsaken?”

And I gathered the Levites and restored them to their posts.

Then all Judah brought the tithe…

And I appointed treasurers…

faithful men, and their task was to distribute to their brothers.

Remember me, O my God, concerning this,

and do not wipe out my good deeds

that I have done for the House of my God and for its service.

Sabbath Reform

In those days I saw in Judah

people treading winepresses on the Sabbath

and bringing in heaps of grain…

I warned them.

Then I commanded the gates be shut

when it began to grow dark before the Sabbath,

and not opened until after.

I stationed some of my servants at the gates…

Then I warned the merchants who lodged outside Jerusalem

not to do so again.

Then I commanded the Levites

to purify themselves

and guard the gates…

Remember this also in my favor, O my God,

and spare me according to the greatness of Your steadfast love.

Foreign Marriages and the Line of the Priesthood

In those days I saw the Jews

who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod

and could not speak the language of Judah…

I confronted them and cursed them

and beat some of them and pulled out their hair…

And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying,

“You shall not give your daughters to their sons…”

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women?

Shall we listen to you and do this great evil?

And one of the sons of Joiada, son of Eliashib the high priest,

was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite.

Therefore I chased him from me.

Final Words

Remember them, O my God,

because they have defiled the priesthood

and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign,

and I established the duties of the priests and Levites…

And I provided for the wood offering at appointed times,

and for the firstfruits.

Remember me, O my God, for good.