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¹Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry, and he mocked the Jews.

²And he spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy people of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore the temple for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in a day? Can they revive the stones from the heaps of rubble, even the burned ones?”

³Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him, and he said, “Even what they are building—if a fox were to jump on it, it would break their stone wall down!”

⁴Hear, O our God, how we are an object of contempt! Return their taunting on their own heads, and turn them into plunder in a land of captivity.

⁵Do not forgive their guilt and do not let their sin be wiped out before You, for they have demoralized the builders.

⁶So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

⁷Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry.

⁸So all of them conspired together to come to fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.

⁹But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night.

¹⁰And so in Judah it was said: “The strength of the burden bearers is failing, Yet there is much rubble; And we ourselves are unable To rebuild the wall.”

¹¹And our enemies said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work.”

¹²When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,”

¹³then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I stationed the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows.

¹⁴When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

¹⁵Now when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work.

¹⁶And from that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them kept hold of the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the captains were behind all the house of Judah.

¹⁷Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens carried with one hand doing the work, and the other keeping hold of a weapon.

¹⁸As for the builders, each wore his sword strapped to his waist as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me.

¹⁹And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another.

²⁰At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, assemble to us there. Our God will fight for us.”

²¹So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars appeared.

²²At that time I also said to the people, “Each man with his servant shall spend the night within Jerusalem, so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day.”

²³So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me—none of us removed our clothes; each took his weapon even to the water.

¹Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers.

²For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let’s get grain so that we may eat and live.”

³And there were others who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses so that we might get grain because of the famine.”

⁴There also were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards.

⁵And now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. Yet behold, we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

⁶Then I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.

⁷So I thought it over and contended with the nobles and the leading people, and said to them, “You are lending at interest, each to his brother!” Therefore, I held a great assembly against them.

⁸And I said to them, “We, according to our ability, have redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?” Then they were silent and could not find a word to say.

⁹So I said, “The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the taunting of the nations, our enemies?

¹⁰And likewise I, my brothers, and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let’s do without this interest.

¹¹Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, as well as the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine, and the oil that you are charging as interest from them.”

¹²Then they said, “We will give it back and will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you say.” So I called the priests and made them take an oath to act in accordance with this promise.

¹³I also shook out the front of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every person from his house and from his possessions who does not keep this promise; just so may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the LORD. Then the people acted in accordance with this promise.

¹⁴Furthermore, since the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food allowance.

¹⁵But the previous governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of my fear of God.

¹⁶I also applied myself to the work on this wall; we did not buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.

¹⁷Moreover, there were at my table 150 Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.

¹⁸Now that which was prepared for each day was one ox and six choice sheep; also birds were prepared for me, and every ten days all sorts of wine were provided in abundance. Yet for all this I did not request the governor’s food allowance, because the forced labor was heavy on this people.

¹⁹Remember me, my God, for good, in return for all that I have done for this people.

¹Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach was left in it, although at that time I had not installed the doors in the gates,

²Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, “Come, let’s meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they were plotting to harm me.

³So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and am unable to come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”

⁴Then they sent messages to me four times worded in this way, and I answered them with the same wording.

⁵Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same way a fifth time with an open letter in his hand.

⁶In it was written: “It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; for that reason you are rebuilding the wall. And you are to be their king, according to these reports.

⁷You have also appointed prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, ‘A king is in Judah!’ And now it will be reported to the king according to these reports. So come now, let’s consult together.”

⁸Then I sent a message to him saying, “Nothing like these things that you are saying has been done, but you are inventing them in your own mind.”

⁹For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, “They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.” But now, God, strengthen my hands.

¹⁰When I entered the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined at home, he said, “Let’s meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let’s close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you, and they are coming to kill you at night.”

¹¹But I said, “Should a man like me flee? And who is there like me who would go into the temple to save his own life? I will not go in.”

¹²Then I realized that God certainly had not sent him, but he uttered his prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

¹³He was hired for this reason, that I would become frightened and act accordingly and sin, so that they might have an evil report in order that they could taunt me.

¹⁴Remember, my God, Tobiah and Sanballat in accordance with these works of theirs, and also Noadiah the prophetess and the rest of the prophets, who were trying to frighten me.

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

¹⁶When all our enemies heard about it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they realized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

¹⁷Also in those days many letters went from the nobles of Judah to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them.

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

¹⁹Moreover, they were speaking about his good deeds in my presence, and were reporting my words to him. Then Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.

¹Now when the wall was rebuilt and I had installed the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites were appointed,

²then I put Hanani my brother, and Hananiah the commander of the citadel, in charge of Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.

³Then I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot, and while they are standing guard, the gatekeepers are to keep the doors shut and bolted. Also appoint guards from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each at his post, and each in front of his own house.”

⁴Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few and the houses were not built.

⁵Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials, and the other people to be enrolled by genealogies. Then I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up first, in which I found the following record:

⁶These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had taken into exile, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city,

⁷who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. The number of men of the people of Israel:

⁸the sons of Parosh, 2,172;

⁹the sons of Shephatiah, 372;

¹⁰the sons of Arah, 652;

¹¹the sons of Pahath-moab of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818;

¹²the sons of Elam, 1,254;

¹³the sons of Zattu, 845;

¹⁴the sons of Zaccai, 760;

¹⁵the sons of Binnui, 648;

¹⁶the sons of Bebai, 628;

¹⁷the sons of Azgad, 2,322;

¹⁸the sons of Adonikam, 667;

¹⁹the sons of Bigvai, 2,067;

²⁰the sons of Adin, 655;

²¹the sons of Ater, of Hezekiah, 98;

²²the sons of Hashum, 328;

²³the sons of Bezai, 324;

²⁴the sons of Hariph, 112;

²⁵the sons of Gibeon, 95;

²⁶the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188;

²⁷the men of Anathoth, 128;

²⁸the men of Beth-azmaveth, 42;

²⁹the men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743;

³⁰the men of Ramah and Geba, 621;

³¹the men of Michmas, 122;

³²the men of Bethel and Ai, 123;

³³the men of the other Nebo, 52;

³⁴the sons of the other Elam, 1,254;

³⁵the sons of Harim, 320;

³⁶the men of Jericho, 345;

³⁷the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721;

³⁸the sons of Senaah, 3,930.

³⁹The priests: the sons of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua, 973;

⁴⁰the sons of Immer, 1,052;

⁴¹the sons of Pashhur, 1,247;

⁴²the sons of Harim, 1,017.

⁴³The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodevah, 74.

⁴⁴The singers: the sons of Asaph, 148.

⁴⁵The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, 138.

⁴⁶The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,

⁴⁷the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon,

⁴⁸the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Shalmai,

⁴⁹the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar,

⁵⁰the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda,

⁵¹the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah,

⁵²the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephushesim,

⁵³the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,

⁵⁴the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,

⁵⁵the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah,

⁵⁶the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.

⁵⁷The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida,

⁵⁸the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,

⁵⁹the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, and the sons of Amon.

⁶⁰All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants totaled 392.

⁶¹These were the ones who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer; but they could not provide evidence for their fathers’ households or their descendants, whether they were of Israel:

⁶²the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 642.

⁶³And of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai, the Gileadite, and was named after them.

⁶⁴These searched among their ancestral registration, but it could not be located; therefore they were considered unclean and disqualified from the priesthood.

⁶⁵And the governor said to them that they were not to eat from the most holy things until a priest arose with Urim and Thummim.

⁶⁶The whole assembly together totaled 42,360,

⁶⁷besides their male slaves and their female slaves, of whom there were 7,337; and they had 245 male and female singers.

⁶⁸Their horses were 736; their mules, 245;

⁶⁹their camels, 435; their donkeys, 6,720.

⁷⁰Some of the heads of fathers’ households gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury a thousand gold drachmas, fifty basins, and 530 priests’ garments.

⁷¹And some of the heads of fathers’ households gave to the treasury for the work twenty thousand gold drachmas and 2,200 silver minas.

⁷²What the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand gold drachmas, two thousand silver minas, and sixty-seven priests’ garments.

⁷³Now the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel lived in their cities. And when the seventh month came, the sons of Israel were in their cities.