Nehemiah 9-11

Ezra's Confession of Israel's Sins

9¹ On October 31 the people assembled again, and this time they fasted and dressed in burlap and sprinkled dust on their heads. ² Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners as they confessed their own sins and the sins of their ancestors. ³ They remained standing in place for three hours while the Book of the Law of the Lord their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God.

⁴ The Levites-Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani-stood on the stairway of the Levites and cried out to the Lord their God with loud voices. ⁵ Then the leaders of the Levites-Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah-called out to the people: "Stand up and praise the Lord your God, for he lives from everlasting to everlasting!" Then they prayed: "May your glorious name be praised! May it be exalted above all blessing and praise! ⁶ "You alone are the Lord . You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you. ⁷ "You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and renamed him Abraham. ⁸ When he had proved himself faithful, you made a covenant with him to give him and his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites. And you have done what you promised, for you are always true to your word. ⁹ "You saw the misery of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cries from beside the Red Sea. ¹⁰ You displayed miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, his officials, and all his people, for you knew how arrogantly they were treating our ancestors. You have a glorious reputation that has never been forgotten. ¹¹ You divided the sea for your people so they could walk through on dry land! And then you hurled their enemies into the depths of the sea. They sank like stones beneath the mighty waters. ¹² You led our ancestors by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night so that they could find their way. ¹³ "You came down at Mount Sinai and spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and instructions that were just, and decrees and commands that were good. ¹⁴ You instructed them concerning your holy Sabbath. And you commanded them, through Moses your servant, to obey all your commands, decrees, and instructions. ¹⁵ "You gave them bread from heaven when they were hungry and water from the rock when they were thirsty. You commanded them to go and take possession of the land you had sworn to give them. ¹⁶ "But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to your commands. ¹⁷ They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them, ¹⁸ even when they made an idol shaped like a calf and said, 'This is your god who brought you out of Egypt!' They committed terrible blasphemies. ¹⁹ "But in your great mercy you did not abandon them to die in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud still led them forward by day, and the pillar of fire showed them the way through the night. ²⁰ You sent your good Spirit to instruct them, and you did not stop giving them manna from heaven or water for their thirst. ²¹ For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell! ²² "Then you helped our ancestors conquer kingdoms and nations, and you placed your people in every corner of the land. They took over the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and the land of King Og of Bashan. ²³ You made their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and brought them into the land you had promised to their ancestors. ²⁴ "They went in and took possession of the land. You subdued whole nations before them. Even the Canaanites, who inhabited the land, were powerless! Your people could deal with these nations and their kings as they pleased. ²⁵ Our ancestors captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took over houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate until they were full and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings. ²⁶ "But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to return to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies. ²⁷ So you handed them over to their enemies, who made them suffer. But in their time of trouble they cried to you, and you heard them from heaven. In your great mercy, you sent them liberators who rescued them from their enemies. ²⁸ "But as soon as they were at peace, your people again committed evil in your sight, and once more you let their enemies conquer them. Yet whenever your people turned and cried to you again for help, you listened once more from heaven. In your wonderful mercy, you rescued them many times! ²⁹ "You warned them to return to your Law, but they became proud and obstinate and disobeyed your commands. They did not follow your regulations, by which people will find life if only they obey. They stubbornly turned their backs on you and refused to listen. ³⁰ In your love, you were patient with them for many years. You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets. But still they wouldn't listen! So once again you allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them. ³¹ But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are! ³² "And now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of unfailing love, do not let all the hardships we have suffered seem insignificant to you. Great trouble has come upon us and upon our kings and leaders and priests and prophets and ancestors-all of your people-from the days when the kings of Assyria first triumphed over us until now. ³³ Every time you punished us you were being just. We have sinned greatly, and you gave us only what we deserved. ³⁴ Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors did not obey your Law or listen to the warnings in your commands and laws. ³⁵ Even while they had their own kingdom, they did not serve you, though you showered your goodness on them. You gave them a large, fertile land, but they refused to turn from their wickedness. ³⁶ "So now today we are slaves in the land of plenty that you gave our ancestors for their enjoyment! We are slaves here in this good land. ³⁷ The lush produce of this land piles up in the hands of the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They have power over us and our livestock. We serve them at their pleasure, and we are in great misery."

The People Covenant to Keep the Law

³⁸ The people responded, "In view of all this, we are making a solemn promise and putting it in writing. On this sealed document are the names of our leaders and Levites and priests."

10¹ The document was ratified and sealed with the following names: The governor: Nehemiah son of Hacaliah, and also Zedekiah. ² The following priests: Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, ³ Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah, 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 following Levites: Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui from the family of Henadad, Kadmiel, ¹⁰ and their fellow Levites: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, ¹¹ Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, ¹² Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, ¹³ Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu. ¹⁴ The following leaders: 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 Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, ²⁷ Malluch, Harim, and Baanah. ²⁸ Then the rest of the people-the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, Temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the pagan people of the land in order to obey the Law of God, together with their wives, sons, daughters, and all who were old enough to understand- ²⁹ joined their leaders and bound themselves with an oath. They swore a curse on themselves if they failed to obey the Law of God as issued by his servant Moses. They solemnly promised to carefully follow all the commands, regulations, and decrees of the Lord our Lord: ³⁰ "We promise not to let our daughters marry the pagan people of the land, and not to let our sons marry their daughters. ³¹ "We also promise that if the people of the land should bring any merchandise or grain to be sold on the Sabbath or on any other holy day, we will refuse to buy it. Every seventh year we will let our land rest, and we will cancel all debts owed to us.

³² "In addition, we promise to obey the command to pay the annual Temple tax of one-eighth of an ounce of silver for the care of the Temple of our God. ³³ This will provide for the Bread of the Presence; for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings; for the offerings on the Sabbaths, the new moon celebrations, and the annual festivals; for the holy offerings; and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel. It will provide for everything necessary for the work of the Temple of our God. ³⁴ "We have cast sacred lots to determine when-at regular times each year-the families of the priests, Levites, and the common people should bring wood to God's Temple to be burned on the altar of the Lord our God, as is written in the Law. ³⁵ "We promise to bring the first part of every harvest to the Lord 's Temple year after year-whether it be a crop from the soil or from our fruit trees. ³⁶ We agree to give God our oldest sons and the firstborn of all our herds and flocks, as prescribed in the Law. We will present them to the priests who minister in the Temple of our God. ³⁷ We will store the produce in the storerooms of the Temple of our God. We will bring the best of our flour and other grain offerings, the best of our fruit, and the best of our new wine and olive oil. And we promise to bring to the Levites a tenth of everything our land produces, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our rural towns. ³⁸ "A priest-a descendant of Aaron-will be with the Levites as they receive these tithes. And a tenth of all that is collected as tithes will be delivered by the Levites to the Temple of our God and placed in the storerooms. ³⁹ The people and the Levites must bring these offerings of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the storerooms and place them in the sacred containers near the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers. "We promise together not to neglect the Temple of our God."

The Residents of Jerusalem

11¹ The leaders of the people were living in Jerusalem, the holy city. A tenth of the people from the other towns of Judah and Benjamin were chosen by sacred lots to live there, too, while the rest stayed where they were. ² And the people commended everyone who volunteered to resettle in Jerusalem. ³ Here is a list of the names of the provincial officials who came to live in Jerusalem. (Most of the people, priests, Levites, Temple servants, and descendants of Solomon's servants continued to live in their own homes in the various towns of Judah, ⁴ but some of the people from Judah and Benjamin resettled in Jerusalem.) From the tribe of Judah: Athaiah son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of the family of Perez. ⁵ Also Maaseiah son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, of the family of Shelah. ⁶ There were 468 descendants of Perez who lived in Jerusalem-all outstanding men. ⁷ From the tribe of Benjamin: Sallu son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah. ⁸ After him were Gabbai and Sallai and a total of 928 relatives. ⁹ Their chief officer was Joel son of Zicri, who was assisted by Judah son of Hassenuah, second-in-command over the city. ¹⁰ From the priests: Jedaiah son of Joiarib; Jakin; ¹¹ and Seraiah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the supervisor of the Temple of God. ¹² Also 822 of their associates, who worked at the Temple. Also Adaiah son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malkijah, ¹³ along with 242 of his associates, who were heads of their families. Also Amashsai son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer, ¹⁴ and 128 of his outstanding associates. Their chief officer was Zabdiel son of Haggedolim. ¹⁵ From the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni. ¹⁶ Also Shabbethai and Jozabad, who were in charge of the work outside the Temple of God. ¹⁷ Also Mattaniah son of Mica, son of Zabdi, a descendant of Asaph, who led in thanksgiving and prayer. Also Bakbukiah, who was Mattaniah's assistant, and Abda son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun. ¹⁸ In all, there were 284 Levites in the holy city. ¹⁹ From the gatekeepers: Akkub, Talmon, and 172 of their associates, who guarded the gates.

²⁰ The other priests, Levites, and the rest of the Israelites lived wherever their family inheritance was located in any of the towns of Judah. ²¹ The Temple servants, however, whose leaders were Ziha and Gishpa, all lived on the hill of Ophel. ²² The chief officer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, a descendant of Asaph, whose family served as singers at God's Temple. ²³ Their daily responsibilities were carried out according to the terms of a royal command. ²⁴ Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, a descendant of Zerah son of Judah, was the royal adviser in all matters of public administration.

The Settlement outside of Jerusalem

²⁵ As for the surrounding villages with their open fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba with its settlements, Dibon with its settlements, and Jekabzeel with its villages. ²⁶ They also lived in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth-pelet, ²⁷ Hazar-shual, Beersheba with its settlements, ²⁸ Ziklag, and Meconah with its settlements. ²⁹ They also lived in En-rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, ³⁰ Zanoah, and Adullam with their surrounding villages. They also lived in Lachish with its nearby fields and Azekah with its surrounding villages. So the people of Judah were living all the way from Beersheba in the south to the valley of Hinnom. ³¹ Some of the people of Benjamin lived at Geba, Micmash, Aija, and Bethel with its settlements. ³² They also lived in Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, ³³ Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ³⁴ Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ³⁵ Lod, Ono, and the Valley of Craftsmen. ³⁶ Some of the Levites who lived in Judah were sent to live with the tribe of Benjamin.