Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹After these events, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra — Seraiah’s son, Azariah’s son, Hilkiah’s son,

²Shallum’s son, Zadok’s son, Ahitub’s son,

³Amariah’s son, Azariah’s son, Meraioth’s son,

⁴Zerahiah’s son, Uzzi’s son, Bukki’s son,

⁵Abishua’s son, Phinehas’s son, Eleazar’s son, the chief priest Aaron’s son

⁶— came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he requested because the hand of the LORD his God was on him.

⁷Some of the Israelites, priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants accompanied him to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

⁸Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, during the seventh year of the king.

⁹He began the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month and arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month since the gracious hand of his God was on him.

¹⁰Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the LORD, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.

¹¹This is the text of the letter King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest and scribe, an expert in matters of the LORD’s commands and statutes for Israel:

¹²Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, an expert in the law of the God of the heavens: Greetings.

¹³I issue a decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including their priests and Levites, who want to go to Jerusalem, may go with you.

¹⁴You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your possession.

¹⁵You are also to bring the silver and gold the king and his counselors have willingly given to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,

¹⁶and all the silver and gold you receive throughout the province of Babylon, together with the freewill offerings given by the people and the priests to the house of their God in Jerusalem.

¹⁷Then you are to be diligent to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, along with their grain and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem.

¹⁸You may do whatever seems best to you and your brothers with the rest of the silver and gold, according to the will of your God.

¹⁹Deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles given to you for the service of the house of your God.

²⁰You may use the royal treasury to pay for anything else needed for the house of your God.

²¹I, King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers in the region west of the Euphrates River: Whatever Ezra the priest, an expert in the law of the God of the heavens, asks of you must be provided in full,

²²up to 7,500 pounds of silver, 500 bushels of wheat, 550 gallons of wine, 550 gallons of oil, and salt without limit.

²³Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for the house of the God of the heavens, so that wrath will not fall on the realm of the king and his sons.

²⁴Be advised that you do not have authority to impose tribute, duty, and land tax on any priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

²⁵And you, Ezra, according to God’s wisdom that you possess, appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people in the region west of the Euphrates who know the laws of your God and to teach anyone who does not know them.

²⁶Anyone who does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let the appropriate judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.

²⁷Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put it into the king’s mind to glorify the house of the LORD in Jerusalem,

²⁸and who has shown favor to me before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officers. So I took courage because I was strengthened by the hand of the LORD my God, and I gathered Israelite leaders to return with me.

¹These are the family heads and the genealogical records of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:

²Gershom, from Phinehas’s descendants; Daniel, from Ithamar’s descendants; Hattush, from David’s descendants,

³who was of Shecaniah’s descendants; Zechariah, from Parosh’s descendants, and 150 men with him who were registered by genealogy;

⁴Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah from Pahath-moab’s descendants, and 200 men with him;

⁵Shecaniah son of Jahaziel from Zattu’s descendants, and 300 men with him;

⁶Ebed son of Jonathan from Adin’s descendants, and 50 men with him;

⁷Jeshaiah son of Athaliah from Elam’s descendants, and 70 men with him;

⁸Zebadiah son of Michael from Shephatiah’s descendants, and 80 men with him;

⁹Obadiah son of Jehiel from Joab’s descendants, and 218 men with him;

¹⁰Shelomith son of Josiphiah from Bani’s descendants, and 160 men with him;

¹¹Zechariah son of Bebai from Bebai’s descendants, and 28 men with him;

¹²Johanan son of Hakkatan from Azgad’s descendants, and 110 men with him;

¹³these are the last ones, from Adonikam’s descendants, and their names are Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and 60 men with them;

¹⁴Uthai and Zaccur from Bigvai’s descendants, and 70 men with them.

¹⁵I gathered them at the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I searched among the people and priests, but found no Levites there.

¹⁶Then I summoned the leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, as well as the teachers Joiarib and Elnathan.

¹⁷I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, with a message for him and his brothers, the temple servants at Casiphia, that they should bring us ministers for the house of our God.

¹⁸Since the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah  — a man of insight from the descendants of Mahli, a descendant of Levi son of Israel — along with his sons and brothers, 18 men,

¹⁹plus Hashabiah, along with Jeshaiah, from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, 20 men.

²⁰There were also 220 of the temple servants, who had been appointed by David and the leaders for the work of the Levites. All were identified by name.

²¹I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us, our dependents, and all our possessions.

²²I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his fierce anger is against all who abandon him.”

²³So we fasted and pleaded with our God about this, and he was receptive to our prayer.

²⁴I selected twelve of the leading priests, along with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers.

²⁵I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the articles — the contribution for the house of our God that the king, his counselors, his leaders, and all the Israelites who were present had offered.

²⁶I weighed out to them 24 tons of silver, silver articles weighing 7,500 pounds, 7,500 pounds of gold,

²⁷twenty gold bowls worth a thousand gold coins, and two articles of fine gleaming bronze, as valuable as gold.

²⁸Then I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD, and the articles are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD God of your fathers.

²⁹Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the LORD’s house before the leading priests, Levites, and heads of the Israelite families in Jerusalem.”

³⁰So the priests and Levites took charge of the silver, the gold, and the articles that had been weighed out, to bring them to the house of our God in Jerusalem.

³¹We set out from the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. We were strengthened by our God, and he kept us from the grasp of the enemy and from ambush along the way.

³²So we arrived at Jerusalem and rested there for three days.

³³On the fourth day the silver, the gold, and the articles were weighed out in the house of our God into the care of the priest Meremoth son of Uriah. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him. The Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui were also with them.

³⁴Everything was verified by number and weight, and the total weight was recorded at that time.

³⁵The exiles who had returned from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, and seventy-seven lambs, along with twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering for the LORD.

³⁶They also delivered the king’s edicts to the royal satraps and governors of the region west of the Euphrates, so that they would support the people and the house of God.

¹After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said: “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hethites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.

²Indeed, the Israelite men have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has become mixed with the surrounding peoples. The leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!”

³When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and robe, pulled out some of the hair from my head and beard, and sat down devastated.

⁴Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me, because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles, while I sat devastated until the evening offering.

⁵At the evening offering, I got up from my time of humiliation, with my tunic and robe torn. Then I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God.

⁶And I said: My God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face toward you, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads and our guilt is as high as the heavens.

⁷Our guilt has been terrible from the days of our fathers until the present. Because of our iniquities we have been handed over, along with our kings and priests, to the surrounding kings, and to the sword, captivity, plundering, and open shame, as it is today.

⁸But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from the LORD our God to preserve a remnant for us and give us a stake in his holy place. Even in our slavery, God has given us a little relief and light to our eyes.

⁹Though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings, giving us relief, so that we can rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁰Now, our God, what can we say in light of this? For we have abandoned the commands

¹¹you gave through your servants the prophets, saying: “The land you are entering to possess is an impure land. The surrounding peoples have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness by their impurity and detestable practices.

¹²So do not give your daughters to their sons in marriage or take their daughters for your sons. Never pursue their welfare or prosperity, so that you will be strong, eat the good things of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.”

¹³After all that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and terrible guilt — though you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have allowed us to survive  —

¹⁴should we break your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit these detestable practices? Wouldn’t you become so angry with us that you would destroy us, leaving neither remnant nor survivor?

¹⁵LORD God of Israel, you are righteous, for we survive as a remnant today. Here we are before you with our guilt, though no one can stand in your presence because of this.

¹While Ezra prayed and confessed, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, an extremely large assembly of Israelite men, women, and children gathered around him. The people also wept bitterly.

²Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, an Elamite, responded to Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the surrounding peoples, but there is still hope for Israel in spite of this.

³Let us therefore make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the law.

⁴Get up, for this matter is your responsibility, and we support you. Be strong and take action!”

⁵Then Ezra got up and made the leading priests, Levites, and all Israel take an oath to do what had been said; so they took the oath.

⁶Ezra then went from the house of God and walked to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib, where he spent the night. He did not eat food or drink water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.

⁷They circulated a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles should gather at Jerusalem.

⁸Whoever did not come within three days would forfeit all his possessions, according to the decision of the leaders and elders, and would be excluded from the assembly of the exiles.

⁹So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem within the three days. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square at the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain.

¹⁰Then the priest Ezra stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to Israel’s guilt.

¹¹Therefore, make a confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the surrounding peoples and your foreign wives.”

¹²Then all the assembly responded loudly: “Yes, we will do as you say!

¹³But there are many people, and it is the rainy season. We don’t have the stamina to stay out in the open. This isn’t something that can be done in a day or two, for we have rebelled terribly in this matter.

¹⁴Let our leaders represent the entire assembly. Then let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of each town, in order to avert the fierce anger of our God concerning this matter.”

¹⁵Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah opposed this, with Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supporting them.

¹⁶The exiles did what had been proposed. The priest Ezra selected men who were family heads, all identified by name, to represent their ancestral families. They convened on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter,

¹⁷and by the first day of the first month they had dealt with all the men who had married foreign women.

¹⁸The following were found to have married foreign women from the descendants of the priests: from the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.

¹⁹They pledged to send their wives away, and being guilty, they offered a ram from the flock for their guilt;

²⁰Hanani and Zebadiah from Immer’s descendants;

²¹Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah from Harim’s descendants;

²²Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah from Pashhur’s descendants.

²³The Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

²⁴The singers: Eliashib. The gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

²⁵The Israelites: Parosh’s descendants: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah;

²⁶Elam’s descendants: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah;

²⁷Zattu’s descendants: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza;

²⁸Bebai’s descendants: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai;

²⁹Bani’s descendants: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth;

³⁰Pahath-moab’s descendants: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh;

³¹Harim’s descendants: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

³²Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah;

³³Hashum’s descendants: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei;

³⁴Bani’s descendants: Maadai, Amram, Uel,

³⁵Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi,

³⁶Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

³⁷Mattaniah, Mattenai, Jaasu,

³⁸Bani, Binnui, Shimei,

³⁹Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah,

⁴⁰Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

⁴¹Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,

⁴²Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph;

⁴³Nebo’s descendants: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.

⁴⁴All of these had married foreign women, and some of the wives had given birth to children.

¹The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: During the month of Chislev in the twentieth year, when I was in the fortress city of Susa,

²Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile.

³They said to me, “The remnant in the province, who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.”

⁴When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.

⁵I said, LORD, the God of the heavens, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant with those who love him and keep his commands,

⁶let your eyes be open and your ears be attentive to hear your servant’s prayer that I now pray to you day and night for your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins we have committed against you. Both I and my father’s family have sinned.

⁷We have acted corruptly toward you and have not kept the commands, statutes, and ordinances you gave your servant Moses.

⁸Please remember what you commanded your servant Moses: “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples.

⁹But if you return to me and carefully observe my commands, even though your exiles were banished to the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I chose to have my name dwell.”

¹⁰They are your servants and your people. You redeemed them by your great power and strong hand.

¹¹Please, Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to that of your servants who delight to revere your name. Give your servant success today, and grant him compassion in the presence of this man. At the time, I was the king’s cupbearer.

¹During the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence,

²so the king said to me, “Why are you sad, when you aren’t sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” I was overwhelmed with fear

³and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

⁴Then the king asked me, “What is your request?” So I prayed to the God of the heavens

⁵and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah and to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I may rebuild it.”

⁶The king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So I gave him a definite time, and it pleased the king to send me.

⁷I also said to the king: “If it pleases the king, let me have letters written to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates River, so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah.

⁸And let me have a letter written to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to rebuild the gates of the temple’s fortress, the city wall, and the home where I will live.” The king granted my requests, for the gracious hand of my God was on me.

⁹I went to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent officers of the infantry and cavalry with me.

¹⁰When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard that someone had come to pursue the prosperity of the Israelites, they were greatly displeased.

¹¹After I arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days,

¹²I got up at night and took a few men with me. I didn’t tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took was the one I was riding.

¹³I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Serpent’s Well and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.

¹⁴I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but farther down it became too narrow for my animal to go through.

¹⁵So I went up at night by way of the valley and inspected the wall. Then heading back, I entered through the Valley Gate and returned.

¹⁶The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, for I had not yet told the Jews, priests, nobles, officials, or the rest of those who would be doing the work.

¹⁷So I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned. Come, let’s rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”

¹⁸I told them how the gracious hand of my God had been on me, and what the king had said to me. They said, “Let’s start rebuilding,” and their hands were strengthened to do this good work.

¹⁹When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked and despised us, and said, “What is this you’re doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

²⁰I gave them this reply, “The God of the heavens is the one who will grant us success. We, his servants, will start building, but you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”

¹The high priest Eliashib and his fellow priests began rebuilding the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel, they dedicated it.

²The men of Jericho built next to Eliashib, and next to them Zaccur son of Imri built.

³The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They built it with beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

⁴Next to them Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, made repairs. Beside them Meshullam son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel, made repairs. Next to them Zadok son of Baana made repairs.

⁵Beside them the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not lift a finger to help their supervisors.

⁶Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate. They built it with beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

⁷Next to them the repairs were done by Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, and the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, who were under the authority of the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River.

⁸After him Uzziel son of Harhaiah, the goldsmith, made repairs, and next to him Hananiah son of the perfumer made repairs. They restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.

⁹Next to them Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs.

¹⁰After them Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs across from his house. Next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah made repairs.

¹¹Malchijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-moab made repairs to another section, as well as to the Tower of the Ovens.

¹²Beside him Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs — he and his daughters.

¹³Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars, and repaired five hundred yards of the wall to the Dung Gate.

¹⁴Malchijah son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem, repaired the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.

¹⁵Shallun son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and roofed it. Then he installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also made repairs to the wall of the Pool of Shelah near the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that descend from the city of David.

¹⁶After him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and the House of the Warriors.

¹⁷Next to him the Levites made repairs under Rehum son of Bani. Beside him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, made repairs for his district.

¹⁸After him their fellow Levites made repairs under Binnui son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah.

¹⁹Next to him Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, made repairs to another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the Angle.

²⁰After him Baruch son of Zabbai diligently repaired another section, from the Angle to the door of the house of the high priest Eliashib.

²¹Beside him Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, made repairs to another section, from the door of Eliashib’s house to the end of his house.

²²And next to him the priests from the surrounding area made repairs.

²³After them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs opposite their house. Beside them Azariah son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house.

²⁴After him Binnui son of Henadad made repairs to another section, from the house of Azariah to the Angle and the corner.

²⁵Palal son of Uzai made repairs opposite the Angle and tower that juts out from the king’s upper palace, by the courtyard of the guard. Beside him Pedaiah son of Parosh

²⁶and the temple servants living on Ophel made repairs opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the tower that juts out.

²⁷Next to him the Tekoites made repairs to another section from a point opposite the great tower that juts out, as far as the wall of Ophel.

²⁸Each of the priests made repairs above the Horse Gate, each opposite his own house.

²⁹After them Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house. And beside him Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, guard of the East Gate, made repairs.

³⁰Next to him Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph made repairs to another section. After them Meshullam son of Berechiah made repairs opposite his room.

³¹Next to him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs to the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the upstairs room on the corner.

³²The goldsmiths and merchants made repairs between the upstairs room on the corner and the Sheep Gate.

¹When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious. He mocked the Jews

²before his colleagues and the powerful men of Samaria, and said, “What are these pathetic Jews doing? Can they restore it by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they ever finish it? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?”

³Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “Indeed, even if a fox climbed up what they are building, he would break down their stone wall!”

⁴Listen, our God, for we are despised. Make their insults return on their own heads and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity.

⁵Do not cover their guilt or let their sin be erased from your sight, because they have angered the builders.

⁶So we rebuilt the wall until the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had the will to keep working.

⁷When Sanballat, Tobiah, and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed, they became furious.

⁸They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw it into confusion.

⁹So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard because of them day and night.

¹⁰In Judah, it was said: The strength of the laborer fails, since there is so much rubble. We will never be able to rebuild the wall.

¹¹And our enemies said, “They won’t realize it until we’re among them and can kill them and stop the work.”

¹²When the Jews who lived nearby arrived, they said to us time and again, “Everywhere you turn, they attack us.”

¹³So I stationed people behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. I stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows.

¹⁴After I made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord, and fight for your countrymen, your sons and daughters, your wives and homes.”

¹⁵When our enemies heard that we knew their scheme and that God had frustrated it, every one of us returned to his own work on the wall.

¹⁶From that day on, half of my men did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers supported all the people of Judah,

¹⁷who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried the loads worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other.

¹⁸Each of the builders had his sword strapped around his waist while he was building, and the trumpeter was beside me.

¹⁹Then I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “The work is enormous and spread out, and we are separated far from one another along the wall.

²⁰Wherever you hear the trumpet sound, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!”

²¹So we continued the work, while half of the men were holding spears from daybreak until the stars came out.

²²At that time, I also said to the people, “Let everyone and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they can stand guard by night and work by day.”

²³And I, my brothers, my servants, and the men of the guard with me never took off our clothes. Each carried his weapon, even when washing.

¹There was a widespread outcry from the people and their wives against their Jewish countrymen.

²Some were saying, “We, our sons, and our daughters are numerous. Let us get grain so that we can eat and live.”

³Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, vineyards, and homes to get grain during the famine.”

⁴Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards.

⁵We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

⁶I became extremely angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints.

⁷After seriously considering the matter, I accused the nobles and officials, saying to them, “Each of you is charging his countrymen interest.” So I called a large assembly against them

⁸and said, “We have done our best to buy back our Jewish countrymen who were sold to foreigners, but now you sell your own countrymen, and we have to buy them back.” They remained silent and could not say a word.

⁹Then I said, “What you are doing isn’t right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God and not invite the reproach of our foreign enemies?

¹⁰Even I, as well as my brothers and my servants, have been lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop charging this interest.

¹¹Return their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses to them immediately, along with the percentage of the money, grain, new wine, and fresh oil that you have been assessing them.”

¹²They responded: “We will return these things and require nothing more from them. We will do as you say.” So I summoned the priests and made everyone take an oath to do this.

¹³I also shook the folds of my robe and said, “May God likewise shake from his house and property everyone who doesn’t keep this promise. May he be shaken out and have nothing!” The whole assembly said, “Amen,” and they praised the LORD. Then the people did as they had promised.

¹⁴Furthermore, from the day King Artaxerxes appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah — from the twentieth year until his thirty-second year, twelve years  — I and my associates never ate from the food allotted to the governor.

¹⁵The governors who preceded me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them food and wine as well as a pound of silver. Their subordinates also oppressed the people, but because of the fear of God, I didn’t do this.

¹⁶Instead, I devoted myself to the construction of this wall, and all my subordinates were gathered there for the work. We didn’t buy any land.

¹⁷There were 150 Jews and officials, as well as guests from the surrounding nations at my table.

¹⁸Each day, one ox, six choice sheep, and some fowl were prepared for me. An abundance of all kinds of wine was provided every ten days. But I didn’t demand the food allotted to the governor, because the burden on the people was so heavy.

¹⁹Remember me favorably, my God, for all that I have done for this people.

¹When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and that no gap was left in it  — though at that time I had not installed the doors in the city gates  —

²Sanballat and Geshem sent me a message: “Come, let’s meet together in the villages of the Ono Valley.” They were planning to harm me.

³So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing important work and cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”

⁴Four times they sent me the same proposal, and I gave them the same reply.

⁵Sanballat sent me this same message a fifth time by his aide, who had an open letter in his hand.

⁶In it was written: It is reported among the nations — and Geshem agrees — that you and the Jews plan to rebel. This is the reason you are building the wall. According to these reports, you are to become their king

⁷and have even set up the prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim on your behalf: “There is a king in Judah.” These rumors will be heard by the king. So come, let’s confer together.

⁸Then I replied to him, “There is nothing to these rumors you are spreading; you are inventing them in your own mind.”

⁹For they were all trying to intimidate us, saying, “They will drop their hands from the work, and it will never be finished.” But now, my God, strengthen my hands.

¹⁰I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was restricted to his house. He said: Let’s meet at the house of God, inside the temple. Let’s shut the temple doors because they’re coming to kill you. They’re coming to kill you tonight!

¹¹But I said, “Should a man like me run away? How can someone like me enter the temple and live? I will not go.”

¹²I realized that God had not sent him, because of the prophecy he spoke against me. Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

¹³He was hired, so that I would be intimidated, do as he suggested, sin, and get a bad reputation, in order that they could discredit me.

¹⁴My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat for what they have done, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the other prophets who wanted to intimidate me.

¹⁵The wall was completed in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul.

¹⁶When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.

¹⁷During those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them.

¹⁸For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, since he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.

¹⁹These nobles kept mentioning Tobiah’s good deeds to me, and they reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.

¹When the wall had been rebuilt and I had the doors installed, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed.

²Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah, commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.

³I said to them, “Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot, and let the doors be shut and securely fastened while the guards are on duty. Station the citizens of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some at their homes.”

⁴The city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and no houses had been built yet.

⁵Then my God put it into my mind to assemble the nobles, the officials, and the people to be registered by genealogy. I found the genealogical record of those who came back first, and I found the following written in it:

⁶These are the people of the province who went up among the captive exiles deported by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Each of them returned to Jerusalem and Judah, to his own town.

⁷They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. The number of the Israelite men included

⁸Parosh’s descendants — 2,172

⁹Shephatiah’s descendants — 372

¹⁰Arah’s descendants — 652

¹¹Pahath-moab’s descendants: Jeshua’s and Joab’s descendants — 2,818

¹²Elam’s descendants — 1,254

¹³Zattu’s descendants — 845

¹⁴Zaccai’s descendants — 760

¹⁵Binnui’s descendants — 648

¹⁶Bebai’s descendants — 628

¹⁷Azgad’s descendants — 2,322

¹⁸Adonikam’s descendants — 667

¹⁹Bigvai’s descendants — 2,067

²⁰Adin’s descendants — 655

²¹Ater’s descendants: of Hezekiah — 98

²²Hashum’s descendants — 328

²³Bezai’s descendants — 324

²⁴Hariph’s descendants — 112

²⁵Gibeon’s descendants — 95

²⁶Bethlehem’s and Netophah’s men — 188

²⁷Anathoth’s men — 128

²⁸Beth-azmaveth’s men — 42

²⁹Kiriath-jearim’s, Chephirah’s, and Beeroth’s men — 743

³⁰Ramah’s and Geba’s men — 621

³¹Michmas’s men — 122

³²Bethel’s and Ai’s men — 123

³³the other Nebo’s men — 52

³⁴the other Elam’s people — 1,254

³⁵Harim’s people — 320

³⁶Jericho’s people — 345

³⁷Lod’s, Hadid’s, and Ono’s people — 721

³⁸Senaah’s people — 3,930.

³⁹The priests included Jedaiah’s descendants of the house of Jeshua — 973

⁴⁰Immer’s descendants — 1,052

⁴¹Pashhur’s descendants — 1,247

⁴²Harim’s descendants — 1,017.

⁴³The Levites included Jeshua’s descendants: of Kadmiel Hodevah’s descendants — 74.

⁴⁴The singers included Asaph’s descendants — 148.

⁴⁵The gatekeepers included Shallum’s descendants, Ater’s descendants, Talmon’s descendants, Akkub’s descendants, Hatita’s descendants, Shobai’s descendants — 138.

⁴⁶The temple servants included Ziha’s descendants, Hasupha’s descendants, Tabbaoth’s descendants,

⁴⁷Keros’s descendants, Sia’s descendants, Padon’s descendants,

⁴⁸Lebanah’s descendants, Hagabah’s descendants, Shalmai’s descendants,

⁴⁹Hanan’s descendants, Giddel’s descendants, Gahar’s descendants,

⁵⁰Reaiah’s descendants, Rezin’s descendants, Nekoda’s descendants,

⁵¹Gazzam’s descendants, Uzza’s descendants, Paseah’s descendants,

⁵²Besai’s descendants, Meunim’s descendants, Nephishesim’s descendants,

⁵³Bakbuk’s descendants, Hakupha’s descendants, Harhur’s descendants,

⁵⁴Bazlith’s descendants, Mehida’s descendants, Harsha’s descendants,

⁵⁵Barkos’s descendants, Sisera’s descendants, Temah’s descendants,

⁵⁶Neziah’s descendants, Hatipha’s descendants.

⁵⁷The descendants of Solomon’s servants included Sotai’s descendants, Sophereth’s descendants, Perida’s descendants,

⁵⁸Jaala’s descendants, Darkon’s descendants, Giddel’s descendants,

⁵⁹Shephatiah’s descendants, Hattil’s descendants, Pochereth-hazzebaim’s descendants, Amon’s descendants.

⁶⁰All the temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants — 392.

⁶¹The following are those who came from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but were unable to prove that their ancestral families and their lineage were Israelite:

⁶²Delaiah’s descendants, Tobiah’s descendants, and Nekoda’s descendants — 642

⁶³and from the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai — who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and who bore their name.

⁶⁴These searched for their entries in the genealogical records, but they could not be found, so they were disqualified from the priesthood.

⁶⁵The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest who could consult the Urim and Thummim.

⁶⁶The whole combined assembly numbered — 42,360

⁶⁷not including their 7,337 male and female servants, as well as their 245 male and female singers.

⁶⁸They had 736 horses, 245 mules,

⁶⁹435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

⁷⁰Some of the family heads contributed to the project. The governor gave 1,000 gold coins, 50 bowls, and 530 priestly garments to the treasury.

⁷¹Some of the family heads gave 20,000 gold coins and 2,200 silver minas to the treasury for the project.

⁷²The rest of the people gave 20,000 gold coins, 2,000 silver minas, and 67 priestly garments.

⁷³The priests, Levites, gatekeepers, temple singers, some of the people, temple servants, and all Israel settled in their towns. When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns,

¹When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people gathered together at the square in front of the Water Gate. They asked the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses that the LORD had given Israel.

²On the first day of the seventh month, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding.

³While 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 attentively to the book of the law.

⁴The scribe Ezra stood on a high wooden platform made 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.

⁵Ezra 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.

⁶Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and with their hands uplifted all the people said, “Amen, Amen!” Then they knelt low and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

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

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

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

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

¹¹And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, since today is holy. Don’t grieve.”

¹²Then 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.

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

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

¹⁵So 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 shelters, just as it is written.”

¹⁶The people went out, brought back branches, and made shelters 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 Ephraim Gate.

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

¹⁸Ezra read out of the book of the law of God every 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.

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

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

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

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

⁵Then the Levites — Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah  — said, “Stand up. Blessed be the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting.” Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.

⁶You, LORD, are the only God. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their stars, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them, and all the stars of heaven worship you.

⁷You, the LORD, are the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and changed his name to Abraham.

⁸You found his heart faithful in your sight, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites — to give it to his descendants. You have fulfilled your promise, for you are righteous.

⁹You saw the oppression of our ancestors in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea.

¹⁰You 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.

¹¹You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging water.

¹²You led them with a pillar of cloud by day, and with a pillar of fire by night, to illuminate the way they should go.

¹³You came down on Mount Sinai, and spoke to them from heaven. You gave them impartial ordinances, reliable instructions, and good statutes and commands.

¹⁴You revealed your holy Sabbath to them, and gave them commands, statutes, and instruction through your servant Moses.

¹⁵You provided bread from heaven for their hunger; you brought them water from the rock for their thirst. You told them to go in and possess the land you had sworn to give them.

¹⁶But our ancestors acted arrogantly; they became stiff-necked and did not listen to your commands.

¹⁷They 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 abounding in faithful love, and you did not abandon them.

¹⁸Even 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,

¹⁹you 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.

²⁰You sent your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst.

²¹You provided for them in the wilderness forty years, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell.

²²You gave them kingdoms and peoples and established boundaries for them. They took possession of the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and of the land of King Og of Bashan.

²³You multiplied their descendants like the stars of the sky and brought them to the land you told their ancestors to go in and possess.

²⁴So 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.

²⁵They 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.

²⁶But 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.

²⁷So 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.

²⁸But 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.

²⁹You 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.

³⁰You 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.

³¹However, in your abundant compassion, you did not destroy them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and compassionate God.

³²So 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 kings until today.

³³You are righteous concerning all that has happened to us, because you have acted faithfully, while we have acted wickedly.

³⁴Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors did not obey your law or listen to your commands and warnings you gave them.

³⁵When 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.

³⁶Here 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!

³⁷Its 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.

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