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1 all the people gathered togetherat the square in front of the Water Gate.They asked Ezra the scribeto bring the book of the law of Mosesthat theLordhad given Israel.

2 On the first day of the seventh month,Ezra the priestbrought the lawbefore the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding.

3 While he was facing the square in front of the Water Gate,he read out of it from daybreak until noon before the men, the women, and those who could understand. All the people listened attentivelyto the book of the law.

4 Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platformmade for this purpose. Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah stood beside him on his right; to his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

5 Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up.

6 Ezra praised theLord, the great God, and with their hands upliftedall the people said, “Amen, Amen! ”Then they bowed down and worshiped theLordwith their faces to the ground.

7 Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah,who were Levites,explained the lawto the people as they stood in their places.

8 They read out of the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read.

9 Nehemiah the governor,Ezra the priest and scribe,and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This dayis holy to theLordyour God. Do not mourn or weep.”For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law.

10 Then he said to them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared,since todayis holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because the joy of theLordis your stronghold.”

11 And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still,since todayis holy. Do not grieve.”

12 Then all the people began to eat and drink, send portions, and have a great celebration,because they had understood the words that were explained to them.

Festival of Booths Observed

13 On the second day, the family leaders of all the people, along with the priests and Levites,assembled before Ezra the scribeto study the words of the law.

14 They found written in the law how theLordhad commanded through Moses that the Israelites should dwell in booths during the festival of the seventh month.

15 So they proclaimed and spread this news throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, just as it is written.”

16 The people went out, brought back branches, and made booths for themselves on each of their rooftops,and courtyards, the court of the house of God, the square by the Water Gate,and the square by the Gate of Ephraim.

17 The whole community that had returned from exilemade booths and lived in them. They had not celebrated like this from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day.And there was tremendous joy.

18 Ezraread out of the book of the law of Godevery day, from the first day to the last. The Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was an assembly, according to the ordinance.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/NEH/8-5c11c3692409a169e65f4dd40973a010.mp3?version_id=72—

National Confession of Sin

1 On the twenty-fourth day of this monththe Israelites assembled; they were fasting, wearing sackcloth, and had put dust on their heads.

2 Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners,and they stoodand confessed their sins and the guilt of their fathers.

3 While they stood in their places,they read from the book of the law of theLordtheir God for a fourth of the day and spent another fourth of the dayin confessionand worship of theLordtheir God.

4 Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the raised platform built for the Levitesand cried out loudly to theLordtheir God.

5 Then the Levites — Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah— said, “Stand up. Praise Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting.”

Praise Your glorious name,

and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.

6 Youalone are Yahweh.

You created the heavens,

the highest heavens with all their host,

the earth and all that is on it,

the seas and all that is in them.

You give life to all of them,

and the heavenly host worships You.

7 You are Yahweh,

the God who chose Abram

and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans,

and changed his name to Abraham.

8 You found his heart faithful in Your sight,

and made a covenant with him

to give the land of the Canaanites,

Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,

Jebusites, and Girgashites —

to give it to his descendants.

You have kept Your promise,

for You are righteous.

9 You saw the oppression of our ancestors in Egypt

and heard their cry at the Red Sea.

10 You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,

all his officials, and all the people of his land,

for You knew how arrogantly they treated our ancestors.

You made a name for Yourself

that endures to this day.

11 You divided the sea before them,

and they crossed through it on dry ground.

You hurled their pursuers into the depths

like a stone into churning waters.

12 You led them with a pillar of cloud by day,

and with a pillar of fire by night,

to illuminate the way they should go.

13 You came down on Mount Sinai,

and spoke to them from heaven.

You gave them impartial ordinances, reliable instructions,

and good statutes and commands.

14 You revealed Your holy Sabbath to them,

and gave them commands, statutes, and instruction

through Your servant Moses.

15 You provided bread from heavenfor their hunger;

You brought them water from the rockfor their thirst.

You told them to go in and possess the land

You had swornto give them.

16 But our ancestors acted arrogantly;

they became stiff-necked and did not listen to Your commands.

17 They refused to listen

and did not remember Your wonders

You performed among them.

They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader

to return to their slavery in Egypt.

But You are a forgiving God,

gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in faithful love,

and You did not abandon them.

18 Even after they had cast an image of a calf

for themselves and said,

“This is your God who brought you out of Egypt,”

and they had committed terrible blasphemies,

19 You did not abandon them in the wilderness

because of Your great compassion.

During the day the pillar of cloud

never turned away from them,

guiding them on their journey.

And during the night the pillar of fire

illuminated the way they should go.

20 You sent Your good Spiritto instruct them.

You did not withhold Your mannafrom their mouths,

and You gave them water for their thirst.

21 You provided for them in the wilderness 40 years

and they lacked nothing.

Their clothes did not wear out,

and their feet did not swell.

22 You gave them kingdoms and peoples

and assigned them to be a boundary.

They took possession

of the land of Sihonking of Heshbon

and of the land of Og king of Bashan.

23 You multiplied their descendants

like the stars of heaven

and brought them to the land

You told their ancestors to go in and take possession of it.

24 So their descendants went in and possessed the land:

You subdued the Canaanites who inhabited the land before them

and handed their kings and the surrounding peoples over to them,

to do as they pleased with them.

25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land

and took possession of well-supplied houses,

cisterns cut out of rock, vineyards,

olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance.

They ate, were filled,

became prosperous, and delighted in Your great goodness.

26 But they were disobedient and rebelled against You.

They flung Your law behind their backs

and killed Your prophets

who warned them

in order to turn them back to You.

They committed terrible blasphemies.

27 So You handed them over to their enemies,

who oppressed them.

In their time of distress, they cried out to You,

and You heard from heaven.

In Your abundant compassion

You gave them deliverers, who rescued them

from the power of their enemies.

28 But as soon as they had relief,

they again did what was evil in Your sight.

So You abandoned them to the power of their enemies,

who dominated them.

When they cried out to You again,

You heard from heaven and rescued them

many times in Your compassion.

29 You warned them to turn back to Your law,

but they acted arrogantly

and would not obey Your commands.

They sinned against Your ordinances,

which a person will live by if he does them.

They stubbornly resisted,

stiffened their necks, and would not obey.

30 You were patient with them for many years,

and Your Spirit warned them through Your prophets,

but they would not listen.

Therefore, You handed them over to the surrounding peoples.

31 However, in Your abundant compassion,

You did not destroy them or abandon them,

for You are a gracious and compassionate God.

32 So now, our God — the great, mighty,

and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant—

do not view lightly all the hardships that have afflicted us,

our kings and leaders,

our priests and prophets,

our ancestors and all Your people,

from the days of the Assyrian kingsuntil today.

33 You are righteous concerning all that has come on us,

because You have acted faithfully,

while we have acted wickedly.

34 Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors

did not obey Your law

or listen to Your commands

and warnings You gave them.

35 When they were in their kingdom,

with Your abundant goodness that You gave them,

and in the spacious and fertile land You set before them,

they would not serve You or turn from their wicked ways.

36 Here we are today,

slaves in the land You gave our ancestors

so that they could enjoy its fruit and its goodness.

Here we are — slaves in it!

37 Its abundant harvest goes to the kings

You have set over us,

because of our sins.

They rule over our bodies

and our livestock as they please.

We are in great distress.

Israel’s Vow of Faithfulness

38 In view of all this, we are making a binding agreementin writing on a sealed document containing the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/NEH/9-8307b0e98d3da30feba0e3a74ce39e83.mp3?version_id=72—

1 Those whose seals were on the document were:

Nehemiah the governor,son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah,

2 Seraiah,Azariah, Jeremiah,

3 Pashhur,Amariah, Malchijah,

4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,

5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,

7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

8 Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah.

These were the priests.

9 The Leviteswere:

Jeshua son of Azaniah,

Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,

10 and their brothers

Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

11 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,

12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

13 Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.

14 The leaders of the peoplewere:

Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,

16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,

17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,

18 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,

19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,

20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,

21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,

22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,

23 Hoshea, Hananiah,Hasshub,

24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,

25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,

26 Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,

27 Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

28 The rest of the people — the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with their wives, sons, and daughters, everyone who is able to understandand who has separated themselves from the surrounding peoplesto obey the law of God —

29 join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oathto follow the law of God given through God’s servant Mosesand to carefully obey all the commands, ordinances, and statutes of Yahweh our Lord.

Details of the Vow

30 We will not give our daughters in marriage to the surrounding peoples and will not take their daughters as wives for our sons.

31 When the surrounding peoples bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or a holy day.We will also leave the land uncultivated in the seventh yearand will cancel every debt.

32 We will impose the following commands on ourselves:

To give an eighth of an ounce of silveryearly for the service of the house of our God:

33 the bread displayed before theLord,the daily grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbath and New Moon offerings,the appointed festivals, the holy things, the sin offerings to atone for Israel,and for all the work of the house of our God.

34 We have cast lotsamong the priests, Levites, and people for the donation of wood by our ancestral houses at the appointed times each year. They are to bring the wood to our God’s house to burn on the altar of theLordour God,as it is written in the law.

35 We will bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree to theLord’s house year by year.

36 We will also bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as prescribed by the law, and will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God,to the priests who serve in our God’s house.

37 We will bring a loaf from our first batch of doughto the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God. We will also bring the firstfruits of our grain offerings, of every fruit tree, and of the new wine and oil.A tenth of our land’s produce belongs to the Levites, for the Levites are to collect the one-tenth offering in all our agricultural towns.

38 A priest of Aaronic descent must accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth,and the Levites must take a tenth of this offering to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God.

39 For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are keptand where the priests who minister are, along with the gatekeepers and singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/NEH/10-73258e2314c18182da925bc170fdff05.mp3?version_id=72—

Resettling Jerusalem

1 Now the leaders of the people stayed in Jerusalem,and the rest of the people cast lotsfor one out of ten to come and live in Jerusalem, the holy city,while the other nine-tenths remained in their towns.

2 The people praised all the men who volunteeredto live in Jerusalem.

3 These are the heads of the province who stayed in Jerusalem(but in the villages of Judah each lived on his own property in their towns— the Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon’s servants—

4 while some of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin settled in Jerusalem):

Judah’sdescendants:

Athaiah son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of Perez’s descendants;

5 and Maaseiah son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, a descendant of the Shilonite.

6 The total number of Perez’s descendants, who settled in Jerusalem, was 468 capable men.

7 These were Benjamin’s descendants:

Sallu son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah,

8 and after him Gabbai and Sallai: 928.

9 Joel son of Zichri was the officer over them, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command over the city.

10 The priests:

Jedaiah son of Joiarib, Jachin, and

11 Seraiah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the chief official of God’s temple,

12 and their relatives who did the work at the temple: 822. Adaiah son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah

13 and his relatives, the leaders of families: 242. Amashsai son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer,

14 and their relatives, capable men: 128. Zabdiel son of Haggedolim, was their chief.

15 The Levites:

Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni;

16 and Shabbethai and Jozabad, from the leaders of the Levites, who supervised the work outside the house of God;

17 Mattaniah son of Mica, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, the leader who began the thanksgiving in prayer;Bakbukiah, second among his relatives; and Abda son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun.

18 All the Levites in the holy city:284.

19 The gatekeepers:

Akkub, Talmon, and their relatives, who guarded the gates: 172.

20 The rest of Israel, the priests, and the Levites were in all the villages of Judah, each on his own inherited property.

21 The temple servants lived on Ophel;Ziha and Gishpa supervised the temple servants.

The Levites and Priests

22 The leader of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, of the descendants of Asaph, who were singers for the service of God’s house.

23 There was, in fact, a command of the king regarding them, and an ordinance regulatingthe singers’daily tasks.

24 Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, of the descendants of Zerahson of Judah, was the king’sagentin every matter concerning the people.

25 As for the farming settlements with their fields:

Some of Judah’s descendants lived in Kiriath-arbaand its villages,

Dibonand its villages, and Jekabzeel and its villages;

26 in Jeshua, Moladah,Beth-pelet,

27 Hazar-shual, and Beer-shebaand its villages;

28 in Ziklagand Meconah and its villages;

29 in En-rimmon, Zorah,Jarmuth,and

30 Zanoahand Adullam with their villages;

in Lachishwith its fields and Azekahand its villages.

So they settled from Beer-shebato the Valley of Hinnom.

31 Benjamin’s descendants:

from Geba,Michmash,Aija,

and Bethel— and its villages,

32 Anathoth,Nob,Ananiah,

33 Hazor,Ramah,Gittaim,

34 Hadid, Zeboim,Neballat,

35 Lod, and Ono,the Valley of Craftsmen.

36 Some of the Judean divisions of Levites were in Benjamin.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/NEH/11-fdba84136365d81ed8febd72af4f534c.mp3?version_id=72—

1 Theseare the priests and Leviteswho went up with Zerubbabelson of Shealtiel and with Jeshua:

Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,

3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,

4 Iddo,Ginnethoi, Abijah,

5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,

6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,

7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah.

These were the leaders of the priests and their relatives in the days of Jeshua.

8 The Levites:

Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel,

Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah—

he and his relatives were in charge of the praise songs.

9 Bakbukiah, Unni,and their relatives stood opposite them in the services.

10 Jeshua fathered Joiakim,

Joiakim fathered Eliashib,

Eliashibfathered Joiada,

11 Joiada fathered Jonathan,

and Jonathan fathered Jaddua.

12 In the days of Joiakim, the leaders of the priestly families were:

Meraiah of Seraiah,
Hananiah of Jeremiah,
13 Meshullam of Ezra,
Jehohanan of Amariah,
14 Jonathan of Malluchi,
Joseph of Shebaniah,
15 Adna of Harim,
Helkai of Meraioth,
16 Zechariah of Iddo,
Meshullam of Ginnethon,
17 Zichri of Abijah,
Piltai of Moadiah, of Miniamin,
18 Shammua of Bilgah,
Jehonathan of Shemaiah,
19 Mattenai of Joiarib,
Uzzi of Jedaiah,
20 Kallai of Sallai,
Eber of Amok,
21 Hashabiah of Hilkiah,
and Nethanel of Jedaiah.

22 In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the leaders of the families of the Levites and priests were recorded while Darius the Persian ruled.

23 Levi’s descendants, the leaders of families, were recorded in the Book of the Historical Recordsduring the days of Johanan son of Eliashib.

24 The leaders of the Levites — Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, along with their relatives opposite them — gave praise and thanks, division by division, as David the man of God had prescribed.

25 This included Mattaniah,Bakbukiah, and Obadiah. Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms at the gates.

26 These served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governorand Ezra the priest and scribe.

Dedication of the Wall

27 At the dedication of the wallof Jerusalem, they sent for the Levites wherever they lived and brought them to Jerusalem to celebrate the joyous dedication with thanksgiving and singing accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres.

28 The singers gathered from the region around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites,

29 from Beth-gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for they had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem.

30 After the priests and Levites had purified themselves, they purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

31 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up on top of the wall, and I appointed two large processions that gave thanks. One went to the right on the wall, toward the Dung Gate.

32 Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah followed,

33 along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,

34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah,

35 and some of the priests’ sons with trumpets, and Zechariah son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph followed

36 as well as his relatives — Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David, the man of God.Ezra the scribewent in front of them.

37 At the Fountain Gatethey climbed the steps of the city of Davidon the ascent of the wall and went above the house of David to the Water Gateon the east.

38 The second thanksgiving procession went to the left, and I followed it with half the people along the top of the wall, past the Tower of the Ovensto the Broad Wall,

39 above the Gate of Ephraim,and by the Old Gate,the Fish Gate,the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate.They stopped at the Gate of the Guard.

40 The two thanksgiving processions stood in the house of God. So did I and half of the officials accompanying me,

41 as well as the priests:

Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin,

Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah,

and Hananiah, with trumpets;

42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar,

Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer.

Then the singers sang, with Jezrahiah as the leader.

43 On that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy.The women and children also celebrated, and Jerusalem’s rejoicing was heard far away.

Support of the Levites’ Ministry

44 On that same day men were placed in charge of the roomsthat housed the supplies, contributions, firstfruits, and tenths.The legally required portions for the priests and Leviteswere gathered from the village fields, because Judah was grateful to the priests and Levites who were serving.

45 They 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.

46 For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph,there were leadersof the singers and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.

47 So in the days of Zerubbabeland Nehemiah,all Israel contributed the daily portionsfor the singers and gatekeepers. They also set aside daily portions for the Levites, and the Levites set aside daily portionsfor the descendants of Aaron.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/NEH/12-1024e96ebbc453f8f4f1007c5e38ca9d.mp3?version_id=72—

Nehemiah’s Further Reforms

1 At that timethe book of Moseswas read publicly tothe people.The command was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabiteshould ever enter the assembly of God,

2 because they did not meet the Israelites with food and water. Instead, they hired Balaam against them to curse them,but our God turned the curse into a blessing.

3 When they heard the law, they separated all those of mixed descentfrom Israel.

4 Now before this, Eliashib the priesthad been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God.He was a relativeof Tobiah

5 and had prepared a large room for him where they had previously stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, and the tenths of grain, new wine, and oilprescribed for the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, along with the contributions for the priests.

6 While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to King Artaxerxesof Babylonin the thirty-second year of his reign.It was only later that I asked the king for a leave of absence

7 so I could return to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done on behalf of Tobiah by providing him a room in the courts of God’s house.

8 I was greatly displeased and threw all of Tobiah’s household possessions out of the room.

9 I ordered that the rooms be purified,and I had the articles of the house of God restored there, along with the grain offering and frankincense.

10 I also found out that because the portions for the Levites had not been given,each of the Levites and the singers performing the service had gone back to his own field.

11 Therefore, I rebuked the officials, saying, “Why has the house of God been neglected? ”I gathered the Levites and singers together and stationed them at their posts.

12 Then all Judah brought a tenth of the grain, new wine, and oil into the storehouses.

13 I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, with Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah to assist them, because they were considered trustworthy.They were responsible for the distribution to their colleagues.

14 Remember me for this, my God, and don’t erase the deeds of faithful love I have done for the house of my God and for its services.

15 At that time I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath. They were also bringing in stores of grain and loading them on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought to Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day.

16 The Tyrians living there were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem.

17 I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them: “What is this evil you are doing — profaning the Sabbath day?

18 Didn’t your ancestors do the same, so that our God brought all this disaster on us and on this city?And now you are rekindling His anger against Israel by profaning the Sabbath! ”

19 When shadows began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem just before the Sabbath, I gave orders that the gates be closed and not opened until after the Sabbath.I posted some of my men at the gates, so that no goods could enter during the Sabbath day.

20 Once or twice the merchants and those who sell all kinds of goods camped outside Jerusalem,

21 but I warned them, “Why are you camping in front of the wall? If you do it again, I’ll use forceagainst you.” After that they did not come again on the Sabbath.

22 Then I instructed the Levites to purify themselvesand guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy.

Remember me for this also, my God,and look on me with compassion in keeping with Your abundant, faithful love.

23 In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

24 Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples but could not speak Hebrew.

25 I rebuked them, cursed them, beat some of their men, and pulled out their hair.I forced them to take an oathbefore God and said: “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or yourselves!

26 Didn’t King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations. He was loved by his God and God made him king over all Israel, yet foreign women drew him into sin.

27 Why then should we hear about you doing all this terrible evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women? ”

28 Even one of the sons of Jehoiada, son of Eliashib the high priest,had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite.So I drove him away from me.

29 Remember them, my God, for defiling the priesthood as well as the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

30 So I purified them from everything foreignand assigned specific duties to each of the priests and Levites.

31 I also arranged for the donation of wood at the appointed times and for the firstfruits.

Remember me, my God, with favor.

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