Priests and Levites of the first return
1These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, 5Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and of their kinsmen in the days of Jeshua. 8The Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah and Mattaniah, who with his kinsmen led the songs of thanksgiving. 9Bakbukiah and Unni, their kinsmen, stood facing them in the watches. 10Jeshua fathered Joiakim, Joiakim fathered Eliashib, and Eliashib fathered Joiada; 11Joiada fathered Jonathan, and Jonathan fathered Jaddua. 12In the days of Joiakim these priests were heads of families: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; 14of Melicu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; 15of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; 16of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; 17of Abijah, Zikri; of Miniamin and of Moadiah, Piltai; 18of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; 19of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; 20of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; 21of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel. 22In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan and Jaddua, the Levites were recorded as heads of families, and so were the priests, down to the reign of Darius the Persian. 23The descendants of Levi who were heads of families were recorded in the book of the chronicles, down to the days of Johanan son of Eliashib. 24The heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, with their kinsmen standing across from them to praise and give thanks, one section answering another, as David the man of God had commanded. 25Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon and Akkub were gatekeepers, keeping watch over the storerooms by the gates. 26These served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest and scribe.
Two choirs on the wall
27For the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sought out the Levites wherever they lived and brought them to Jerusalem to hold the dedication with rejoicing — with songs of thanksgiving and with cymbals, harps and lyres. 28The company of singers was gathered in from the region around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites, 29from Beth-gilgal and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem. 30The priests and the Levites purified themselves, and then they purified the people, the gates and the wall. 31I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs to give thanks. One went to the right along the top of the wall, toward the Dung Gate. 32Behind it went Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah, 33with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah and Jeremiah, 35and some of the priests’ sons with trumpets: Zechariah son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph, 36and his kinsmen Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah and Hanani, with the instruments of song of David the man of God. Ezra the scribe walked ahead of them. 37At the Fountain Gate they went straight up the steps of the City of David, by the ascent to the wall, past the house of David and on to the Water Gate on the east. 38The second thanksgiving choir went to the left, and I followed it with half the people, along the top of the wall past the Tower of the Ovens as far as the Broad Wall, 39then over the Gate of Ephraim, the Old Gate and the Fish Gate, past the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard. 40The two thanksgiving choirs then took their places in the house of God, and so did I, with half the officials who were with me, 41and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah and Hananiah, with their trumpets, 42and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam and Ezer. The singers made their voices heard, with Jezrahiah leading them.
Joy heard from far away
43That day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced, for God had filled them with great joy. The women and the children rejoiced too, and the sound of Jerusalem’s rejoicing carried far away. 44On that day men were put in charge of the rooms used as storehouses for the contributions, the firstfruits and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the towns the shares assigned by the law to the priests and the Levites; for Judah took delight in the priests and the Levites who were on duty. 45They kept the charge of their God and the charge of purification — and so did the singers and the gatekeepers — according to the command of David and of Solomon his son. 46For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there had been leaders of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47So in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah, all Israel gave the daily shares for the singers and the gatekeepers. They set apart the holy portion for the Levites, and the Levites set apart the holy portion for the descendants of Aaron.
