Nehemiah 12 Cross References - LEB

¹ These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, ² Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, ³ Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, ⁴ Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, ⁵ Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, ⁶ Shemaiah, Jehoiarib, Jedaiah, ⁷ Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These are the heads of the priests and their brothers in the days of Jeshua. ⁸ And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah and his brothers who were in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. ⁹ And Bakbukiah, Unno, their brothers stood opposite them during service. ¹⁰ Jeshua fathered Jehoiakim; Jehoiakim fathered Eliashib; Eliashib fathered Jehoiada; ¹¹ Jehoiada fathered Jehonathan; Jehonathan fathered Jaddua. ¹² Now in the days of Jehoiakim the priests and the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; ¹³ of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; ¹⁴ of Melichu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; ¹⁵ of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; ¹⁶ of Adaia, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; ¹⁷ of Abijah, Zicri; of Miniamin; of Moadiah, Piltai; ¹⁸ of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; ¹⁹ of Jehoiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; ²⁰ of Sallu, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; ²¹ of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; and of Jedaiah, Nethanel. ²² In the days of Eliashib, Jehoiada, Jehohanan, and Jaddua the Levites were recorded as heads of the _⌊families_⌋.* So these were the priests during the reign of Darius the Persian. ²³ The descendants* of Levi and the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* were recorded in the scroll of the Annals until the days of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. ²⁴ And the heads of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua son of Kadmiel, and their brothers opposite them, to praise and to give thanks by the command of David the man of God, section alongside section. ²⁵ Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at the storerooms of the gates. ²⁶ These were in the days of Jehoiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jehozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and scribe. ²⁷ At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites from all of their places in order to bring them to Jerusalem to do the dedication with joy, thanksgivings, song and cymbals, stringed instruments and lyres. ²⁸ The _⌊singers_⌋* were gathered from the circuit all around Jerusalem and from the villages of Netophathite, ²⁹ from Beth Gilgal, from the field of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers built for themselves villages all around Jerusalem. ³⁰ And the priests and the Levites purified themselves and purified the people, the gates, and the wall. ³¹ Then I brought the commanders of Judah up on to the wall. I appointed two great choirs; one went in a procession to the right on the wall to the Dung Gate. ³² After them went Hoshaiah, half of the commanders of Judah, ³³ Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, ³⁴ Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, ³⁵ and the _⌊priests_⌋* with trumpets; Zechariah son of Jehonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph; ³⁶ and his brothers Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani with the instruments of the songs of David the man of God; and Ezra the scribe went before them. ³⁷ At the Fountain Gate opposite them they went up the steps of the city of David, at the assent to the wall, over the house of David, and up to the Water Gate to the east. ³⁸ Then the second choir went the opposite way. I followed after them with half of the people on the wall, from over the Tower of the Ovens up to the Wide Wall ³⁹ and over the Gate of Ephraim, at the Old Gate, at the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, and to the Sheep Gate. And they stopped and stood at the Gate of the Guard. ⁴⁰ So the two choirs stood in the house of God, and I and half of the prefects with me; ⁴¹ and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah with the trumpets; ⁴² Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jizrahiah the chief officer. ⁴³ They offered on that day great sacrifices and rejoiced because God brought great joy to them. And the women and children also rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar. ⁴⁴ On that day men were appointed for the storehouse rooms, the offerings, the first fruits, and the tithes, in order to gather in them from the fields of the cities the requirements of the law* for the priests and Levites; for the joy of Judah was upon the priests and Levites standing there. ⁴⁵ They kept the responsibility of their God and the responsibility of cleansing, and the singers and gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. ⁴⁶ For in the days of David and Asaph from ancient times there was the head of the singers and a song of praise and thanksgiving to God. ⁴⁷ So all of Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily food portions of the singers and gatekeepers. And they set apart that which was for the Levites, and the Levites set apart that which was for the descendants* of Aaron.

¹⁷ And the sons of Jeconiah, the captive: Shealtiel his son, ¹⁸ Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah. ¹⁹ And the sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel and Shimei. And the sons of Zerubbabel: Meshullam and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister,

¹ Now these were the people* of the province who came up from the captivity of the exile whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon carried captive to Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own city. ² They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.
The number of the men of the people of Israel:

⁸ In the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jehozadak began their work, and the remainder of their brothers the priests and the Levites and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem. They appointed the Levites _⌊from twenty years and older_⌋* to direct the work of the house of Yahweh.

² And they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the _⌊families_⌋,* and they said to them, "Let us build with you. Like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him from the days of Esarhaddon the king of Assyria who brought us up here.

² Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak set out and began to build the house of God that is in Jerusalem. And with them the prophets of God were helping them.

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

² 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, Shemaiah—these are the priests.

¹⁰ Jeshua fathered Jehoiakim; Jehoiakim fathered Eliashib; Eliashib fathered Jehoiada;

¹² Now in the days of Jehoiakim the priests and the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; ¹³ of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; ¹⁴ of Melichu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; ¹⁵ of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; ¹⁶ of Adaia, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; ¹⁷ of Abijah, Zicri; of Miniamin; of Moadiah, Piltai; ¹⁸ of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; ¹⁹ of Jehoiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; ²⁰ of Sallu, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; ²¹ of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; and of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

¹ In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day, the word of Yahweh came _⌊through_⌋* Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,

¹² Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all the remnant of the people gave heed to the voice of Yahweh their God and to the words of Haggai the prophet, as Yahweh their God had sent him, _⌊and the people feared Yahweh_⌋.*

¹⁴ And Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and did the work on the house of Yahweh of hosts, their God,

² "Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying,

²¹ "Say to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah: I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, ²² and I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the military strength of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, every one by the sword of another! ²³ 'On that day,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh of hosts, 'I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'and I will make you a signet ring, for I have chosen you,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh of hosts."

¹ And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing _⌊before_⌋* the angel of Yahweh; and Satan* was standing on his right to accuse him. ² But Yahweh said to Satan,* "Yahweh rebukes you, O Satan!* Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebukes you! Is this not a stick snatched from the fire?" ³ And Joshua was clothed in filthy garments and was standing _⌊before_⌋* the angel. ⁴ And he answered and said to the ones standing _⌊before_⌋* him, saying, "Remove the filthy garments from him." And he said to him, "See, I have taken away your guilt* from you, and will clothe you with rich garments." ⁵ And I said, "Let them put a clean headband* on his head." And they put a clean headband on his head, and they clothed him with garments. And the angel of Yahweh was standing by. ⁶ And the angel of Yahweh assured Joshua, saying, ⁷ "Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my requirements, then you will judge* my house, and you will also guard my courtyards, and I will give to you passageways* among these that are standing here. ⁸ Listen, please, O Joshua the high priest, you and your companions* that are sitting _⌊before_⌋* you. For the men are a sign that,* look, I am going to bring my servant the Branch.* ⁹ For consider, the stone that _⌊I set before_⌋* Joshua, on one stone are seven eyes.* Look, _⌊I am going to engrave an inscription on it_⌋,'* _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh of hosts, 'and I will remove the guilt of that land in a single day.

⁶ And he answered and said to me, "This is the word of Yahweh to Zerubbabel, saying, 'Not by strength and not by power, but only by my Spirit,' says Yahweh of hosts. ⁷ 'Who are you O great mountain? _⌊Before_⌋* Zerubbabel you will become level ground, and he will bring out the top stone amid the shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" '" ⁸ And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ⁹ "The hands of Zerubbabel have founded this house, and his hands will finish it. And you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. ¹⁰ For whoever has despised the day of small things will rejoice and will see the _⌊plumb line_⌋* in the hand of Zerubbabel."
These seven are the eyes of Yahweh which are ranging _⌊throughout the whole earth_⌋.*

¹¹ Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.

¹² And after the deportation to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,* and Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³ and Zerubbabel became the father of Abiud, and Abiud became the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim became the father of Azor,

⁵ It happened that in the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest, Zechariah by name, of the division of Abijah. And _⌊he had a wife_⌋* from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

¹⁰ And from the priests: Jedaiah; Jehoiarib; Jakin;

¹⁰ From the priests: Jedaiah son of Jehoiarib, Jakin,

¹⁸ the twenty-third to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

² And Jeshua son of Jehozadak and his brothers the priests stood up, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers built the altar of the God of Israel, in order to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.

¹ These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

¹ And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing _⌊before_⌋* the angel of Yahweh; and Satan* was standing on his right to accuse him.

³³ Now these were the singers; the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* of the Levites were in the chambers free from other service, for day and night they were over them on the service.

⁴⁸ the descendants* of Lebanah, the descendants* of Hagaba, the descendants* of Shalmai,

⁴ Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani stood on the platform of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to Yahweh their God.

⁹ And the Levites: Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui from the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; ¹⁰ their brothers Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, ¹¹ Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, ¹² Zaccur, Shereiah, Shebanaih, ¹³ Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.

¹⁷ Mattaniah son of Micah, son of Zabdi, son* of Asaph, who was the leader to begin the thanksgiving prayer, and Bakbukiah the second of his brothers; Abda son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun.

²² The chief officer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, from the descendants* of Asaph, the singers over the work of the house of God.

²⁴ And the heads of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua son of Kadmiel, and their brothers opposite them, to praise and to give thanks by the command of David the man of God, section alongside section.

¹ A song of ascents.*
Look, bless Yahweh, all you the servants of Yahweh, who _⌊serve_⌋* in the house* of Yahweh by night. ² Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and bless Yahweh. ³ May Yahweh bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth.

³ The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ⁴ Eleazar fathered Phinehas; Phinehas fathered Abishua; ⁵ Abishua fathered Bukki; Bukki fathered Uzzi; ⁶ Uzzi fathered Zerahiah; Zerahiah fathered Meraioth; ⁷ Meraioth fathered Amariah; Amariah fathered Ahitub; ⁸ Ahitub fathered Zadok; Zadok fathered Ahimaaz; ⁹ Ahimaaz fathered Azariah; Azariah fathered Johanan; ¹⁰ and Johanan fathered Azariah. It was he who served as priest in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem. ¹¹ And Azariah fathered Amariah; Amariah fathered Ahitub; ¹² Ahitub fathered Zadok; Zadok fathered Shallum; ¹³ Shallum fathered Hilkiah; Hilkiah fathered Azariah; ¹⁴ Azariah fathered Seraiah; Seraiah fathered Jehozadak. ¹⁵ And Jehozadak went into exile when Yahweh sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

¹ Then Eliashib the high priest and his brothers the priests arose and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and erected its doors. They consecrated it up to the Tower of the Hundred and up to the Tower of Hananel.

²⁶ These were in the days of Jehoiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jehozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and scribe.

⁴ Before this, Eliashib the priest who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God—the one related to Tobiah—

⁷ So I came to Jerusalem. And I came to learn of the wrong that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by making him a room in the courtyard of the house of God.

²⁸ One from the sons of Jehoiada, son of the high priest Eliashib, who was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonote was there. I chased him away from me.

³³ Now these were the singers; the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* of the Levites were in the chambers free from other service, for day and night they were over them on the service. ³⁴ These were the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* of the Levites according to their genealogies, leaders. These lived in Jerusalem.

¹² And he said to them, "You are the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* for the Levites. Sanctify yourselves and your brothers and bring up the ark of Yahweh, the God of Israel, to the place I have established for it.

⁶ And Shemaiah the son of Nethanel, the scribe, from the Levites, recorded them before the king, the princes, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* of the priests and Levites, one father's house drawn by Lot for Eleazar and one drawn by lot for Ithamar. ⁷ And the first lot went out to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, ⁸ the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, ⁹ the fifth to Malkijah, the sixth to Mijamin, ¹⁰ the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, ¹¹ the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shekaniah, ¹² the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, ¹³ the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, ¹⁴ the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, ¹⁵ the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Ha-Pizzez, ¹⁶ the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Ezekiel, ¹⁷ the twenty-first to Jakin, the twenty-second to Gamul, ¹⁸ the twenty-third to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah. ¹⁹ These were their appointments for their service to come into the house of Yahweh according to their custom by the hand of Aaron their father, as Yahweh the God of Israel had commanded him. ²⁰ And as for the remainder of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah. ²¹ Of Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah, Isshiah the chief. ²² Of the Izharites, Shelomoth; of the sons Shelomoth, Jahath. ²³ Of the sons of Jeriah, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth. ²⁴ The sons of Uzziel, Micah; the sons of Micah, Shamur. ²⁵ The brother of Micah, Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah. ²⁶ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi; the sons of Jaaziah, his son.* ²⁷ The sons of Merari: of Jaaziah, his son,* Shoham, Zakkur, and Ibri. ²⁸ Of Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons. ²⁹ Of Kish: the sons of Kish, Jerahmeel. ³⁰ And the sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites according to the house of their fathers. ³¹ And lots were also cast for these, just as their brothers, the sons of Aaron, before David the king, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* for the priests and for the Levites the fathers, _⌊on the principle of the chief and younger brother alike_⌋.*

²² In the days of Eliashib, Jehoiada, Jehohanan, and Jaddua the Levites were recorded as heads of the _⌊families_⌋.* So these were the priests during the reign of Darius the Persian.

¹⁰ Jeshua fathered Jehoiakim; Jehoiakim fathered Eliashib; Eliashib fathered Jehoiada; ¹¹ Jehoiada fathered Jehonathan; Jehonathan fathered Jaddua. ¹² Now in the days of Jehoiakim the priests and the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; ¹³ of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;

¹⁴ And from the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, from the sons of Merari; ¹⁵ Bakbakkar; Heresh; Galal; Mattaniah the son of Mica, son of Zicri, son of Asaph; ¹⁶ Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun; and Berechiah the son of Asa, son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of Netophathite. ¹⁷ And the gatekeepers were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their brethren (Shallum was the chief); ¹⁸ until then they were gatekeepers at the gate of the king on the east side toward the camps of the Levites. ¹⁹ And Shallum the son of Kore, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, and his kinsmen of the house of his fathers, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, the guardians of the entrances to the tent, and their fathers were over the camp of Yahweh, guardians of the entrance. ²⁰ And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the leader over them _⌊in time past_⌋;* Yahweh was with him. ²¹ Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was gatekeeper at the doorway to the tent of assembly.* ²² All of them were chosen as gatekeepers at the entrances, two hundred and twelve. They were enrolled by genealogies in their villages. They were established by David and Samuel the seer on account of their faithfulness. ²³ So they and their sons were over the gates of the house of Yahweh at the house of the tent as guards. ²⁴ The gatekeepers were on four sides: east, west, north, and south. ²⁵ And their brethren in their villages were to come every seven days _⌊by turn_⌋* to be with these. ²⁶ For the four mighty gatekeepers, they who were Levites, _⌊were entrusted_⌋* and were over the chambers and over the storerooms of the house of God. ²⁷ And they lodged all around the house of God, for upon them was a responsibility. And _⌊they had charge of opening the house of God every morning_⌋.* ²⁸ And some of them were over the utensils of the service, for _⌊they count them_⌋* when they are brought in and _⌊they count them_⌋* when they are brought out. ²⁹ And some of them were appointed over the objects, over the objects of the sanctuary, and over the wheat flour and the wine, the olive oil, the frankincense, and the spices. ³⁰ And some of the sons of the priests mixed the fragrant ointment for the spices. ³¹ And Mattithiah, one of the Levites, was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite and _⌊was entrusted_⌋* with the work of the pan breads. ³² And from the sons of the Kohathites, some of their kinsmen were over the _⌊showbread_⌋* to prepare it _⌊every Sabbath_⌋.* ³³ Now these were the singers; the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* of the Levites were in the chambers free from other service, for day and night they were over them on the service. ³⁴ These were the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* of the Levites according to their genealogies, leaders. These lived in Jerusalem. ³⁵ And these lived in Gibeon: Jeiel the father of Gibeon. And the name of his wife was Maacah. ³⁶ And his firstborn son Abdon, and Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, ³⁷ Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. ³⁸ And Mikloth fathered Shimeam. And they also lived nearby their brothers in Jerusalem with their brothers. ³⁹ And Ner fathered Kish, and Kish fathered Saul, and Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchi-Shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal. ⁴⁰ And the son of Jonathan was Meribaal. And Meribaal fathered Micah. ⁴¹ And the sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz.* ⁴² And Ahaz fathered Jarah, and Jarah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. And Zimri fathered Moza, ⁴³ and Moza fathered Binea; and Rephaiah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. ⁴⁴ And Azel had six sons, and these are their names: Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were the sons of Azel.

¹ Now* this is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the _⌊Israelites_⌋* _⌊before_⌋* his death.

⁶ Then the descendants* of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal; and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know the word that Yahweh said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea concerning you and me.

²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now this I know, that you are a man of God and the word of Yahweh in your mouth is truth."

¹ Now David was old and full of days. And he made Solomon his son king over Israel. ² And he assembled all the commanders of Israel and the priests and the Levites. ³ And the Levites thirty years old and above were counted, and their number according to their head count for the men was thirty-eight thousand. ⁴ Of these, David said, "Twenty-four thousand are to direct the work of the house of Yahweh, along with six thousand judges and officials, ⁵ four thousand gatekeepers, and four thousand offering praise with the instruments that I have made for praise." ⁶ And David organized them in divisions according to the sons of Levi: to Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ⁷ For the Gershonites were Ladan and Shimei. ⁸ The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief and Zetham and Joel, three. ⁹ The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* of Ladan. ¹⁰ And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah; these four were the sons of Shimei. ¹¹ And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons. They were enrolled as one for the house of a father. ¹² The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. ¹³ The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was set apart to consecrate the most holy things. He and his sons were to burn offerings forever before Yahweh to serve him and to bless in his name forever. ¹⁴ But Moses the man of God and his sons were reckoned among the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵ The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶ The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief. ¹⁷ And the sons of Eliezer were Rehabiah, the head. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. ¹⁸ The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. ¹⁹ The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰ The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah the second. ²¹ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. ²² And Eleazar died, and he did not have sons, but only daughters. And the sons of Kish, their relatives, married them. ²³ The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three. ²⁴ These were the sons of Levi according to the house of their fathers, the heads of the _⌊families_⌋,* according to their enrollment, by the number of the names, according to their head count, who were to do the work of the service of the house of Yahweh, from twenty years old and above. ²⁵ For David said, "Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶ And also, the Levites do not need to carry the tabernacle and all its vessels for its service." ²⁷ For by the last words of David, they are the number of the sons of Levi, from twenty years old and above. ²⁸ For their station was _⌊to assist_⌋* the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of Yahweh, over the courtyards, over the chambers, and over the cleansing of all the sanctified objects, and with the work of the service of the house of God, ²⁹ and with the rows of bread, the flour, the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baked offering, the offering mixed with oil, and for all the amounts and measurements. ³⁰ And they were to stand _⌊every morning_⌋,* thanking and praising Yahweh, and likewise in the evening, ³¹ and for every burnt offering offered to Yahweh, on Sabbaths, on new moon festivals, and at the appointed feasts, according to the customary number _⌊required of them_⌋,* regularly before Yahweh. ³² And they shall keep the responsibility of the tent of assembly,* the responsibility of the sanctified objects, and the responsibility of the sons of Aaron, their brothers, to serve the house of Yahweh.

¹ And David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who prophesied with stringed instruments, with harps, and with cymbals. And their inventory of the men of the work and for their duty was: ² for the sons of Asaph: Zakkur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah, sons of Asaph, under the hand* of Asaph, who prophesied under the hands* of the king. ³ Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah,* Heshabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands* of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the stringed instrument with thanksgiving and praise to Yahweh. ⁴ Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth. ⁵ All these were sons to Heman, the seer of the king, according to the words of God to raise a horn.* And God had given to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. ⁶ All these were under the _⌊direction_⌋* of their father in the music of the house of Yahweh, with cymbals, harps, and stringed instruments for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the _⌊direction_⌋* of the king. ⁷ And their number, along with their brothers, trained singers, all the skilled people for Yahweh, were two hundred and eighty-eight. ⁸ And they cast lots for responsibilities _⌊on the principle of small and great alike_⌋,* teacher with student. ⁹ And the first lot for Asaph went out to Joseph; the second to Gedaliahu; he and his brothers and his twelve sons. ¹⁰ The third, Zakkur, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹¹ the fourth to Izri, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹² the fifth, Nethaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹³ the sixth, Bukkiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁴ the seventh, Jesarelah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁵ the eighth, Jeshaiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁶ the ninth, Mattaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁷ the tenth, Shimei, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁸ eleventh, Azarel, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁹ the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁰ to the thirteenth, Shubael, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²¹ to the fourteenth, Mattithiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²² to the fifteenth, to Jeremoth, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²³ to the sixteenth, to Hananiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁴ to the seventeenth, to Joshbekashah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁵ to the eighteenth, to Hanani, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁶ to the nineteenth, to Mallothi, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

¹⁴ And in accord with the ordinance of David his father he appointed working groups of priests for their service, Levites for their responsibilities for praise and cultic service before the priests _⌊according to the daily requirement_⌋,* and the gatekeepers in their working groups, gate by gate. For thus David the man of God had commanded.

⁴⁰ The Levites: the descendants* of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the descendants* of Hodaviah, seventy-four.

¹⁰ And the builders laid the foundation of the temple of Yahweh, and the priests in their apparel with the trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with the cymbals, were positioned to praise Yahweh, _⌊as described by_⌋* King David of Israel. ¹¹ And they _⌊sang responsively_⌋,* with praising and thanksgiving to Yahweh saying, "For he is good, for his loyal love is everlasting for Israel."
And all of the people responded with a great shout of joyful acclaim in praise to Yahweh because the house of Yahweh was laid.

⁷ And Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites were teaching the people from the law* while the people were in their places.

⁸ And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah and his brothers who were in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. ⁹ And Bakbukiah, Unno, their brothers stood opposite them during service.

¹¹ But you, O man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patient endurance, gentleness.

¹⁷ in order that the person of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

¹⁴ And from the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, from the sons of Merari; ¹⁵ Bakbakkar; Heresh; Galal; Mattaniah the son of Mica, son of Zicri, son of Asaph; ¹⁶ Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun; and Berechiah the son of Asa, son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of Netophathite. ¹⁷ And the gatekeepers were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their brethren (Shallum was the chief);

³² And they shall keep the responsibility of the tent of assembly,* the responsibility of the sanctified objects, and the responsibility of the sons of Aaron, their brothers, to serve the house of Yahweh.

¹² These working groups of gatekeepers, corresponding to the chief men, had responsibilities like their brothers to serve in the house of Yahweh.

¹⁵ To Obed-Edom went out the south, and to his sons, the storehouses.

¹⁷ Mattaniah son of Micah, son of Zabdi, son* of Asaph, who was the leader to begin the thanksgiving prayer, and Bakbukiah the second of his brothers; Abda son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun. ¹⁸ All of the Levites in the holy city were two hundred and eighty-four. ¹⁹ The gatekeepers: Akkub, Talmon, and their brothers, the keepers of the gates, one hundred and seventy-two.

⁸ Then* the _⌊watchman_⌋* called,
"Lord, I am standing on the watchtower continually by day, and I am standing at my post _⌊throughout_⌋* the night.

⁶ this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which Yahweh the God of Israel gave. The king granted him all his requests, for the hand of Yahweh was upon him.

¹¹ This is the copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the scroll of the words of the commands of Yahweh and his statutes for Israel:

⁹ Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all of the people, "This day is holy to Yahweh your God. Do not mourn nor weep." For all of the people wept when they heard the words of the law.*

¹¹ And you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite that is in your _⌊towns_⌋* and the alien and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst in the place that Yahweh your God will choose to let his name dwell there.

⁵ And the officials shall speak to the troops, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Who is the man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to this house, so that he does not die in battle and _⌊another man_⌋* dedicates it.

¹² It was told to King David, "Yahweh has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and all that is his because of the ark of God." So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David with jubilation.

⁸ Now David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their strength, and with songs, lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.

⁴ And David gathered the sons of Aaron and the Levites.

¹⁶ Then David ordered the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers with instruments of song, musical instruments, stringed instruments, and cymbals, _⌊raising their voices for joy_⌋.*

²⁸ And all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh with shouting, with the sound of a shofar,* and with trumpets and cymbals, making loud music with musical instruments and stringed instruments.

⁵ Asaph was chief, and his second was Zechariah; Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel were on harps and lyres. And Asaph played on the cymbals.

⁴² And Heman and Jeduthun with them had trumpets and cymbals for making music, along with instruments for the song of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were at the gate.

⁵ four thousand gatekeepers, and four thousand offering praise with the instruments that I have made for praise."

¹ And David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who prophesied with stringed instruments, with harps, and with cymbals. And their inventory of the men of the work and for their duty was: ² for the sons of Asaph: Zakkur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah, sons of Asaph, under the hand* of Asaph, who prophesied under the hands* of the king. ³ Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah,* Heshabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands* of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the stringed instrument with thanksgiving and praise to Yahweh. ⁴ Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth. ⁵ All these were sons to Heman, the seer of the king, according to the words of God to raise a horn.* And God had given to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. ⁶ All these were under the _⌊direction_⌋* of their father in the music of the house of Yahweh, with cymbals, harps, and stringed instruments for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the _⌊direction_⌋* of the king.

³¹ For the Hebronites: Jeriah the chief of the Hebronites for the genealogy for the _⌊families_⌋.* (In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were examined, and there was found among them mighty warriors of strength at Jazer in Gilead.)

¹³ And it was the primary duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard with one voice, to praise and give thanks to Yahweh. And when a sound from the trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments of song was raised to Yahweh—for he is good, because his loyal love is everlasting—then the house, the house of Yahweh, was filled with a cloud.

⁶ And the priests stood at their posts with the Levites, with the instruments of the song of Yahweh that King David had made to give thanks to Yahweh—for his loyal love is everlasting—whenever David offered praise by their hand. Now the priests sounded trumpets standing opposite them, and all Israel stood.

⁴ And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and he gathered them into the eastern square. ⁵ And he said to them, "Hear me, O Levites! Sanctify yourselves now, and sanctify the house of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,* and bring out the defilement from the sanctuary. ⁶ For our ancestors* acted unfaithfully and did evil in the sight of Yahweh our God, and have forsaken him and turned away their faces from the dwelling place of Yahweh. _⌊They have turned their backs_⌋* on it. ⁷ They also shut the doors of the portico and extinguished the lamps. And they did not burn incense or offer burnt offerings in the sanctuary to the God of Israel. ⁸ And the wrath of Yahweh was upon Judah and Jerusalem. And he made them as an abhorrence, as a desolation and an object of scorn, as you see with your own eyes. ⁹ Now behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity on account of this. ¹⁰ Now _⌊it is in my heart_⌋* to _⌊make_⌋* a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger might turn away from him. ¹¹ Now, my sons, do not be negligent, for Yahweh has chosen you to stand before him to serve him and to be his servants and incense burners."

³⁰ Then King Hezekiah and the princes commanded the Levites to praise Yahweh with the words of David and Asaph the seer. So they offered praise with joy, and they bowed down and worshiped.

¹⁶ And the _⌊Israelites_⌋,* the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the _⌊returned exiles_⌋* celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.

¹⁵ I gathered them by the river that goes to Ahava and we camped there for three days. And I looked at the people and the priests, I found no one there from the sons of Levi. ¹⁶ And I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were family heads, and for Jehoiarib and Elnathan who were wise. ¹⁷ I sent them to Iddo, the head of the place called Casiphia, and I placed in their mouths what words to say to Iddo and his brothers the temple servants in Casiphia, to send to us ministers for the house of our God. ¹⁸ With the good hand of our God before us, they brought us a man of understanding from the sons of Mahli, son of Levi, son of Israel—Sherebiah and his sons and brothers, eighteen in total. ¹⁹ Also Hashabiah and with him Jeshaiah, the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty in total. ²⁰ And from the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set up to serve the Levites, two hundred and twenty in total. All of them were registered by name.

¹⁷ And all of the assembly of those who returned from captivity made booths and lived in the booths because the _⌊Israelites_⌋* had not done it from the days of Jeshua son of Nun until that day. And there was very great joy.

²⁰ And the remainder of Israel, the priests and the Levites, in all of the cities of Judah, each in his inheritance.

¹ A psalm; a song for the dedication of the house.* Of David.*
I will exalt you, O Yahweh, because you have drawn me up, and have not made my enemies rejoice over me.

¹ For the music director; on the Gittith. Of Asaph.*
Shout out to God our strength; shout joyfully to the God of Jacob. ² Lift up a song and strike* the tambourine, the pleasant lyre, together with the harp. ³ Blow the horn at new moon, at full moon, for our feast day, ⁴ because it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.

¹ A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.*
It is good to give thanks to Yahweh, and to sing praise concerning your name, O Most High; ² to declare in the morning your loyal love and your faithfulness in the night, ³ on the ten string, and on the harp, with a melody on the lyre.

⁴ Shout joyfully to Yahweh, all the earth. Be cheerful* and sing for joy and sing praises. ⁵ Sing praises to Yahweh with lyre, with lyre and melodious sound. ⁶ With trumpets and sound of horn, shout joyfully before the king, Yahweh.

¹ A psalm of thanksgiving.*
Shout in triumph to Yahweh, all the earth. ² Serve* Yahweh with joy; come into his presence with exultation.

³ Let them praise his name with dancing; let them sing praises to him with tambourine and lyre.

² Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to the abundance of his greatness. ³ Praise him with blast of horn; praise him with harp and lyre. ⁴ Praise him with tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flute. ⁵ Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with clashing cymbals.

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.

⁸ And when he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one of whom had a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

⁵⁴ The sons of Salma: Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Ataroth-Beth-Joab, and half of the Manahathites, the Zorites.

¹⁶ Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun; and Berechiah the son of Asa, son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of Netophathite.

² Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, "Come and let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono." But they planned to do evil to me.

³⁰ (Are they not beyond the Jordan, _⌊toward the west_⌋,* in the land of the Canaanites living in the Jordan Valley,* opposite Gilgal beside the terebinth* of Moreh?)

⁹ And Yahweh said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you." Therefore, the name of that place is called Gilgal* to this day.

⁴³ And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

¹⁷ From the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon and its pasturelands, Geba and its pasturelands,

⁶⁰ And from the tribe of Benjamin, Geba with its pasturelands, Alemeth with its pasturelands, and Anathoth with its pasturelands. All their cities were thirteen cities throughout their clans.

²⁴ the people* of Azmaveth, forty-two;

³¹ The descendants* of Benjamin from Geba, Micmash, Aija, Bethel and _⌊their settlements_⌋,*

² Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods that are in your midst and purify yourselves and change your garments.

¹⁰ And Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes,

¹⁵ And he said to the people, "Be ready _⌊for the third day_⌋.* Do not go near to a woman."

² "This is the decree of the law that Yahweh has commanded, saying, 'Speak to the _⌊Israelites_⌋* and let them take to you a red heifer without a physical defect, on which a yoke _⌊has not been placed_⌋.* ³ And you will give it to Eleazar the priest, and it will be brought* out to a place outside the camp, and it will be slaughtered* in his presence. ⁴ Then Eleazar the priest will take some of its blood on his finger and spatter it toward the mouth of the tent of assembly seven times. ⁵ The heifer will be burned* in his sight; its skin, its meat, and its blood, in addition to its offal, will burn. ⁶ The priest will take cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson thread, and he will throw them in the midst of _⌊the burning heifer_⌋.* ⁷ The priest will wash his garments and his body in the water, and afterward he will come to the camp; the priest will be unclean until the evening. ⁸ The one who burns it will wash his garments and his body in water; he will be unclean until the evening. ⁹ A clean man will gather the ashes of the heifer, and he will put them in a clean _⌊place outside the camp_⌋;* it will be for the community of the _⌊Israelites_⌋* as a requirement for waters of impurity; it is a purification offering. ¹⁰ The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer will wash his garments; he will be unclean until evening. It will be an eternal decree for the _⌊Israelites_⌋* and for one who dwells as an alien in their midst. ¹¹ " 'The one who touches a corpse of _⌊any person_⌋* will be unclean for seven days. ¹² He will purify himself on the third day, and on the seventh day he will be clean. If he does not purify himself on the third day, he will not be clean on the seventh day. ¹³ Anyone who touches a corpse, the person of a human being who died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of Yahweh, and that person will be cut off from Israel because the waters of impurity were not sprinkled on him. He will still be unclean, and uncleanness is on him. ¹⁴ " 'This is the law of a person who dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and all who are in the tent will be unclean seven days. ¹⁵ Every container that is opened that does not have a lid cord* on it is unclean. ¹⁶ Anyone _⌊in the open field_⌋* who touches _⌊one who has been slain_⌋,* or a corpse, or a bone of a person, or a burial site, he will be unclean for seven days. ¹⁷ For the unclean person they will take* from the powder of the _⌊burnt purification offering_⌋,* and they will put* running water into a container. ¹⁸ A clean person will take hyssop and dip it into the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the objects and persons who were there, and on one who touched the bone, or the one slain, or the dead, or the burial site. ¹⁹ The clean person will spatter the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he will purify him, and he will wash his garments; he will bathe in the waters, and in the evening he will be clean. ²⁰ But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person will be cut off from the midst of the assembly because he defiled the sanctuary of Yahweh; the water of impurity was not sprinkled on him; he is unclean.

⁵ And he said to them, "Hear me, O Levites! Sanctify yourselves now, and sanctify the house of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,* and bring out the defilement from the sanctuary.

³⁴ But the priests were too few, and they were not able to offer all the burnt offerings, so their brothers, the Levites, strengthened them to finish the work, and until the rest of the priests consecrated themselves. (For the Levites were _⌊more conscientious_⌋* to sanctify themselves than the priests.)

²¹ The _⌊Israelites_⌋* who returned from the exile and all those who separated themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the earth to seek Yahweh the God of Israel, ate.

²² And then I told two Levites that they must purify themselves and come to guard the gates in order to consecrate the day of the Sabbath. Remember this also, my God, and take pity on me according to the greatness of your loyal love.

³⁰ So I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established responsibilities for the priests and Levites, each in his own work,

⁵ _⌊Then when_⌋* the days of the feast had run their course, _⌊Job would send_⌋,* and he would sanctify them. Thus* he would arise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of all of them, because Job thought,* "Perhaps my children have sinned and _⌊cursed_⌋* God in their heart." This is what Job used to do _⌊all the time_⌋.*

¹ For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of people in the things relating to God, in order that he can offer both gifts and sacrifices on behalf of sins,

³ and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins _⌊for himself also, as well as for the people_⌋*.

¹ And David consulted with the commanders of thousands and hundreds, with every leader.

¹ Then David assembled all the commanders of Israel, the commanders of the tribes and the commanders of working groups who served the king, and the commanders of thousands, the commanders of hundreds, and the commanders over all the property of the king and his sons, with the court officials and mighty warriors, and all the mighty warriors of ability, at Jerusalem.

² Then Solomon assembled all the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the _⌊families_⌋* for the _⌊Israelites_⌋,* to Jerusalem in order to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, which is Zion.

¹³ I went out during the night at the gate of the valley by the Dragon spring and to the Dung Gate. And I examined the walls in Jerusalem and its gates that had been destroyed by the fire.

¹³ Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and a thousand cubits of the wall up to the Dung Gate. ¹⁴ Malkijah son of Recab, commander of the district of Beth-haccherem, repaired the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

³⁸ Then the second choir went the opposite way. I followed after them with half of the people on the wall, from over the Tower of the Ovens up to the Wide Wall

⁴⁰ So the two choirs stood in the house of God, and I and half of the prefects with me;

² Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, ³ Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah, ⁴ Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, ⁵ Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, ⁶ Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, ⁷ Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

² "Make yourself two silver trumpets; make them of hammered-work. _⌊You will use them_⌋* for calling the community and for breaking the camp. ³ You will blow them, and all the community will assemble to the doorway of the tent of assembly. ⁴ But if they blow only one, the leaders, the heads of the thousands of Israel, will assemble to you. ⁵ When you will blow a blast, the camps that are camping on the east will set out; ⁶ when you blow a second blast, the camps that are camping on the south will set out; they will blow a blast for their journeys. ⁷ But when summoning the assembly, you will blow, but you will not signal with a loud noise. ⁸ The sons of Aaron, the priests, will blow on the trumpets; this will be an eternal decree for your generations. ⁹ If you go to war in your land against the enemy who attacks you, you will signal with a loud noise on the trumpets. You will be remembered _⌊before_⌋* Yahweh your God, and you will be rescued from your enemies. ¹⁰ "And on the day of your joy and in your appointed times, at the beginning of your months, you will blow on the trumpets in addition to your burnt offerings and in addition to the sacrifices of your fellowship offerings. And they will be as a memorial for you _⌊before_⌋* your God; I am Yahweh your God."

⁴ And seven priests will bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you will march around the city seven times, and the priests will blow on the trumpets.

³⁹ and his brother Asaph, who stood on his right namely, Asaph the son of Berechiah, son of Shimea, ⁴⁰ son of Michael, son of Baaseiah, son of Malkijah, ⁴¹ son of Ethni, son of Zerah, son of Adaiah, ⁴² son of Ethan, son of Zimmah, son of Shimei, ⁴³ son of Jahath, son of Gershom, son of Levi.

² for the sons of Asaph: Zakkur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah, sons of Asaph, under the hand* of Asaph, who prophesied under the hands* of the king.

¹⁰ And Hosah, from the sons of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief (though he was not firstborn, his father appointed him as chief), ¹¹ Hilkiah the second, Tabaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brothers of Hosah were thirteen.

¹² and all the Levitical singers—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, their sons, their brothers, dressed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and stringed instruments—they were standing to the east of the altar. And with them outside were one hundred and twenty priests who were trumpet blowers.

¹² And look, God is with us at the head, and his priests have the trumpets for sounding blasts against you, O sons of Israel. Do not fight against Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,* for you will not succeed."

¹ After these things during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah,

¹ These were the heads of their _⌊families_⌋* and the register of those returnees from Babylonia who came up with me in the reign of King Artaxerxes:

⁵ Alas for those who sing to the tune of the harp; like David they improvise on instruments of music.

⁷ David captured the fortress of Zion, the city of David. ⁸ David had said, "On that day _⌊when we attack the Jebusites_⌋,* one must attack the lame and the blind, those who hate the soul of David, by means of the water supply." For thus the blind and the lame would say, "He cannot come into the house." ⁹ David occupied the fortress and called it the city of David. And David built all around it from the Millo and _⌊inward_⌋.*

¹⁴ I crossed over to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no place for _⌊my mount_⌋* to cross over.

¹⁵ Shallun son of Col-Hozeh, the commander of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and erected its doors, its bolts, its bars, and he built the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the king's garden, right up to the steps going down from the city of David. ¹⁶ After him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, commander of half of the district of Beth Zur, repaired up to a point opposite the burial sites of David, and up to the artificial pool and to the house of the mighty warriors.

²⁶ and the temple servants who were living on Ophel repaired up to opposite the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower.

¹ All of the people gathered as one to the public square before the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law* of Moses that Yahweh had commanded Israel.

³ He read from it facing the public square before the Water Gate from dawn until noon that day, opposite the men, women, and those with understanding. The ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.*

¹⁶ So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the house of God, in the public square of the Water Gate, and in the public square of the Gate of Ephraim.

⁸ _⌊Next to him_⌋* Uzziel son of Harhaiah (goldsmiths) repaired. _⌊Next to him_⌋* Hananiah son of the perfume-makers repaired. They restored Jerusalem up to the Broad Wall.

¹¹ Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens.

³¹ Then I brought the commanders of Judah up on to the wall. I appointed two great choirs; one went in a procession to the right on the wall to the Dung Gate.

¹³ Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-Shemesh. Then they came to Jerusalem, and he broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim up to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits!

³ The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

⁶ Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam repaired the old Yeshanah Gate. They laid its beams and erected its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

²⁵ Palal son of Uzai repaired opposite the Angle at the tower that juts out from the upper house of the king, at the courtyard of the guard. After him Pedaiah son of Parosh

³¹ After him Malkijah, _⌊one of the goldsmiths_⌋,* repaired up to the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Enrollment Gate and up to the upper room of the corner. ³² Between the upper room of the corner to the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and merchants repaired.

³⁸ "Look, days are coming," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "and the city will be rebuilt for Yahweh, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

² Now at that time the army of the king of Babylon was laying siege to Jerusalem and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah,

¹⁰ "And there shall be on that day"—a declaration of Yahweh— "a _⌊loud outcry_⌋* from the Fish Gate, and a wailing from the Second District, and a loud* crashing from the hills.

² Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool called in Aramaic Bethzatha,* which has five porticoes.

³¹ Then I brought the commanders of Judah up on to the wall. I appointed two great choirs; one went in a procession to the right on the wall to the Dung Gate. ³² After them went Hoshaiah, half of the commanders of Judah,

⁴ These I remember and I pour out my soul within me: that I would go with the multitude; I led them in procession to the house* of God, with a voice of rejoicing and thanksgiving, a crowd celebrating a festival.

⁶ Sing praises to God, sing praises. Sing praises to our king, sing praises. ⁷ For God is king of all the earth. Sing praises with understanding.* ⁸ God reigns over nations; God sits on his holy throne. ⁹ The princes of the peoples are gathered together with the people of Abraham's God. For the shields of the earth belong to God. He is very exalted.

¹⁴ and their brothers; mighty warriors of strength, one hundred and twenty-eight. The chief officer over them was Zabdiel son of Hagedolim.

¹ For the music director; on the Gittith. Of Asaph.*
Shout out to God our strength; shout joyfully to the God of Jacob.

¹ Come, let us sing for joy to Yahweh; let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

⁴ Shout joyfully to Yahweh, all the earth. Be cheerful* and sing for joy and sing praises. ⁵ Sing praises to Yahweh with lyre, with lyre and melodious sound. ⁶ With trumpets and sound of horn, shout joyfully before the king, Yahweh. ⁷ Let the sea with* its fullness roar, the world and those who live in it. ⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the hills sing joyfully together ⁹ before Yahweh, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.

⁵ Sing praises to Yahweh, for he has done a glorious thing; this is known in all the earth. ⁶ Inhabitant of Zion, shout out and sing for joy, for the holy one of Israel is great in your midst."

²⁰ And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took her* tambourine in her hand, and all of the women went out after her with tambourines and with dances. ²¹ And Miriam answered,* "Sing to Yahweh because he is highly exalted; the horse and its rider he hurled into the sea."

¹⁰ "And on the day of your joy and in your appointed times, at the beginning of your months, you will blow on the trumpets in addition to your burnt offerings and in addition to the sacrifices of your fellowship offerings. And they will be as a memorial for you _⌊before_⌋* your God; I am Yahweh your God."

¹¹ _⌊and then_⌋* at the place that Yahweh your God will choose, to let his name dwell there, there you shall bring all the things I am commanding you, your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and _⌊your donations_⌋,* and all of the choice things, your votive gifts that you vow to Yahweh. ¹² And you shall rejoice _⌊before_⌋* Yahweh your God, you and your sons and your daughters and your slaves and your slave women and the Levite who is in your _⌊towns_⌋,* because there is not for him a plot of ground and an inheritance with you.

⁵ Now when the ark of the covenant of Yahweh arrived at the camp, all Israel _⌊let out a loud shout_⌋* so that the earth shook.

²¹ And they offered sacrifices to Yahweh, and on that next day they offered burnt offerings to Yahweh: one thousand bulls, one thousand rams, one thousand lambs, with their libations and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. ²² And they ate and drank before Yahweh on that day with great joy. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and they anointed him commander for Yahweh, and Zadok the priest.

⁵ And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. ⁶ And the priests stood at their posts with the Levites, with the instruments of the song of Yahweh that King David had made to give thanks to Yahweh—for his loyal love is everlasting—whenever David offered praise by their hand. Now the priests sounded trumpets standing opposite them, and all Israel stood. ⁷ And Solomon consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was before the house of Yahweh, for there he had made the burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, for the bronze altar that Solomon had made was not able to hold the burnt offerings, cereal offerings, and the fat.

¹⁰ And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents rejoicing and festive of heart on account of the goodness that Yahweh had done for David, Solomon, and Israel his people.

¹³ And all Judah was standing before Yahweh, and also their little children, their wives, and their children.

²⁷ And all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned, and Jehoshaphat was at their head in returning to Jerusalem with joy, for Yahweh caused them to rejoice over their enemies.

³⁵ And beside the many burnt offerings was the fat of the peace offerings and the libations for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of Yahweh was established. ³⁶ And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had established with the people, for the matter happened suddenly.

¹³ No person could distinguish the sound of joyful acclaim from the sound of people weeping, for the people shouted with great joyful acclaim and the sound was heard from afar.

²⁹ but he remains quiet, and who can condemn? And he hides his face, and who can behold him? Yet* he is over a nation and over a person alike,

⁶ And now my head will be high over my enemies round about me. And I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh.

⁷ Yahweh is my strength and my shield. My heart trusts him and I am helped. So my heart rejoices, and with my song I will give thanks to him.

¹¹ You have turned my wailing into my dancing. You have removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy ¹² so that _⌊I_⌋* may sing praises to you and not be quiet. O Yahweh, my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

⁴ For you, O Yahweh, have made me glad by your work; by the deeds of your hands I sing for joy.

¹¹ kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth, ¹² young men and young women as well, the old together with the young— ¹³ let them praise the name of Yahweh, because his name alone is is exalted. His splendor is above earth and heavens.

³ to _⌊give_⌋* for those in mourning in Zion, to give them a head wrap instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a faint spirit. And _⌊they will be called_⌋* oaks of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, to show his glory.

¹⁰ "Rejoice with Jerusalem and shout in exultation with her, all those who love her! Rejoice with her in joy, all those who mourn over her, ¹¹ so that you may suck and be satisfied from her _⌊consoling breast_⌋,* so that you may drink deeply and refresh yourselves from her _⌊heavy breast_⌋."* ¹² For thus says Yahweh:
"Look! I am about to spread prosperity out to her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream, and you shall suck and be carried on the hip; and you shall you shall be played with on the knees. ¹³ As a man whose mother comforts him, so I myself will comfort you, and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And you shall see and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall _⌊flourish_⌋* like the grass, and the hand of Yahweh shall make itself known _⌊to_⌋* his servants, and he shall curse his enemies.

¹³ "Then the young woman will rejoice in the dancing in a ring, and the young men and the old men together. And I will turn their mourning to jubilation, and I will comfort them, and I will gladden them from their sorrow.

¹¹ the voice of jubilation, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voices* of those who say, "Praise Yahweh of hosts, for Yahweh is good, for his loyal love is _⌊forever_⌋,"* the voices of those who bring thank offerings* to the house of Yahweh, for I will restore the fortunes* of the land as in the beginning,' says Yahweh.

⁹ And the crowds who went ahead of him and the ones who followed were shouting, saying,
"Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!* Hosanna in the highest heaven!"*

¹⁵ But when* the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children shouting in the temple courts* and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant.

²² So you also are experiencing sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you.

¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and singing praise in your heart to the Lord,

¹³ Is anyone among you suffering misfortune? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praise.

¹⁰ But you will count Aaron and his descendants; they will keep their priesthood, and the stranger* who approaches will be put to death."

²⁴ "This is what is for the Levites: _⌊those twenty-five years old_⌋* and above will* come to help with the service in the work of the tent of assembly; ²⁵ and _⌊those fifty years old_⌋* will* return from the service of the work and will serve no longer.

²⁶ For the four mighty gatekeepers, they who were Levites, _⌊were entrusted_⌋* and were over the chambers and over the storerooms of the house of God.

²⁸ For their station was _⌊to assist_⌋* the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of Yahweh, over the courtyards, over the chambers, and over the cleansing of all the sanctified objects, and with the work of the service of the house of God,

²¹ The sons of Ladan: the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* belonging to Ladan the Gershonite: Jehieli. ²² The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, were over the treasuries of the house of Yahweh. ²³ Of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Ozzielites: ²⁴ Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was commander over the treasuries. ²⁵ And his brothers: from Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, and Jeshaiah his son, and Joram his son, and Zikri his son, and Shelomoth his son. ²⁶ That Shelomoth and his brothers were over all the treasuries of the sanctified objects that King David and the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* to the commanders of thousands and hundreds and the commanders of the army had dedicated.

¹¹ And when the priests came out of the sanctuary (for all the priests who were present* sanctified themselves without keeping their divisions) ¹² and all the Levitical singers—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, their sons, their brothers, dressed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and stringed instruments—they were standing to the east of the altar. And with them outside were one hundred and twenty priests who were trumpet blowers.

¹¹ They offer burnt offerings to Yahweh _⌊every morning_⌋* and _⌊every evening_⌋,* sweet spices of incense, and the rows of bread upon the pure table. And the golden lampstand with its lamps they keep kindled _⌊every evening_⌋,* for we are keeping the requirement of Yahweh our God, but you yourselves have forsaken him. ¹² And look, God is with us at the head, and his priests have the trumpets for sounding blasts against you, O sons of Israel. Do not fight against Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,* for you will not succeed."

¹¹ And Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of Yahweh, and they were prepared. ¹² Then they brought the offerings and tithes and holy objects faithfully. And over them as leader was Conaniah the Levite. And Shimei his brother was second in rank. ¹³ And Jehiel, Azaziah, Nathan, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were chief officers under the hand of Conaniah and Shimei, his brother, by appointment of King Hezekiah. And Azaraiah was leader of the house of God.

³⁷ And we bring the best of our dough, our offerings, the fruit of every tree, new wine, and olive oil to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring the tithe of our soil to the Levites, for the Levites receive the tithes in all of our rural towns. ³⁸ And the priest, the descendant* of Aaron, will be with the Levites during the tithe the Levites receive. The Levites will bring up a tithe of the tithes for the house of our God to the chambers of the storehouse. ³⁹ For the _⌊Israelites_⌋* and the _⌊Levites_⌋* will bring to the storerooms the offering of grain, new wine, and olive oil. These are the objects of the sanctuary and the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and singers. We will not neglect the house of our God."

⁴ Before this, Eliashib the priest who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God—the one related to Tobiah— ⁵ prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had formerly put the grain offering, the frankincense, the temple objects, tithes of grain, wine, and oil commanded for the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the offerings of the priests.

¹² So all of Judah brought the tithe of grain, new wine, and olive oil into the storehouses. ¹³ I appointed as treasurer over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, Pedaiah from the Levites, and as their hand Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered faithful. The responsibility given to them was to distribute to their brothers.

³⁴ Happy is the person who listens to me, in order to keep watch at my doors day by day, in order to guard the frames of my entrances.

³¹ But* those who wait for Yahweh shall renew their strength. They shall go up with wings* like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary; they shall walk and not be faint.

⁷ if it is service, by service; if it is one who teaches, by teaching;

⁶ Let no one enter into the house of Yahweh except the priests and the ministering Levites. They themselves may enter, for they are holy, but all the people shall keep the requirements of Yahweh.

¹ And David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who prophesied with stringed instruments, with harps, and with cymbals. And their inventory of the men of the work and for their duty was: ² for the sons of Asaph: Zakkur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah, sons of Asaph, under the hand* of Asaph, who prophesied under the hands* of the king. ³ Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah,* Heshabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands* of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the stringed instrument with thanksgiving and praise to Yahweh. ⁴ Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth. ⁵ All these were sons to Heman, the seer of the king, according to the words of God to raise a horn.* And God had given to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. ⁶ All these were under the _⌊direction_⌋* of their father in the music of the house of Yahweh, with cymbals, harps, and stringed instruments for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the _⌊direction_⌋* of the king. ⁷ And their number, along with their brothers, trained singers, all the skilled people for Yahweh, were two hundred and eighty-eight. ⁸ And they cast lots for responsibilities _⌊on the principle of small and great alike_⌋,* teacher with student. ⁹ And the first lot for Asaph went out to Joseph; the second to Gedaliahu; he and his brothers and his twelve sons. ¹⁰ The third, Zakkur, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹¹ the fourth to Izri, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹² the fifth, Nethaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹³ the sixth, Bukkiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁴ the seventh, Jesarelah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁵ the eighth, Jeshaiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁶ the ninth, Mattaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁷ the tenth, Shimei, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁸ eleventh, Azarel, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁹ the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁰ to the thirteenth, Shubael, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²¹ to the fourteenth, Mattithiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²² to the fifteenth, to Jeremoth, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²³ to the sixteenth, to Hananiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁴ to the seventeenth, to Joshbekashah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁵ to the eighteenth, to Hanani, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁶ to the nineteenth, to Mallothi, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁷ to the twentieth, to Eliathah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁸ to the twenty-first, to Hothir, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁹ to the twenty-second, to Giddalti, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ³⁰ to the twenty-third, to Mahazioth, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ³¹ to the twenty-fourth, to Romamti-ezer, his sons and his brothers, twelve.

¹ A song of Asaph.*
Surely God is good to Israel, to those pure of heart.

¹ A song. A psalm of Asaph.*
O God, do not rest silently. Do not keep silent or be still, O God.

²¹ "Behold, I have given to the descendants* of Levi every tithe in Israel as an inheritance in return for their service, which they are doing, the work of the tent of assembly. ²² The _⌊Israelites_⌋* will not come near again to the tent of assembly, or _⌊they will bear sin_⌋* and die. ²³ The Levites* will perform the service of the tent of assembly, and they will bear their guilt, an eternal decree for all your generations. But they will not receive an inheritance in the midst of the _⌊Israelites_⌋* ²⁴ because the tithes* of the _⌊Israelites_⌋* that are _⌊offered_⌋* to Yahweh as a contribution, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I said to them, 'They will not receive an inheritance in the midst of the _⌊Israelites_⌋.'"* ²⁵ Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶ "You will speak to the Levites and say to them, 'When you receive the tithe from the _⌊Israelites_⌋* that I have given to you from them for your inheritance, _⌊you will present_⌋* a contribution from it to Yahweh, a tithe from a tithe. ²⁷ Your contribution will be credited to you like the grain from the threshing floor and like the produce from the press. ²⁸ So _⌊you will present_⌋* your own contribution to Yahweh from all your tithes that you receive from the _⌊Israelites_⌋;* from it you will give the contribution of Yahweh to Aaron the priest. ²⁹ From all your gifts _⌊you will present_⌋* every contribution of Yahweh, from all its fat, the part that is sacred.'

⁵ And the word spread. The Israelites gave abundantly from the firstfruits of grain, new wine, olive oil, honey, and all kinds of grains from the field. And they brought tithes of everything in abundance. ⁶ Then the people of Israel and Judah who were living in the cities of Judah, they also brought a tithe of cattle and sheep and a tithe of consecrated objects to Yahweh their God. And they gave heaps upon heaps.

³⁵ We also bring the first fruits of our soil and the first fruits of all the fruit trees, year by year, for the house of Yahweh. ³⁶ And the firstborn of our sons and beasts—as it is written in the law*—and the firstborn of our cattle and sheep, to bring to the house of our God and to the priests serving in the house of our God.

²³ For there was a command of the king concerning them and a regulation concerning the singers, required _⌊day by day_⌋.*

¹² Now in the days of Jehoiakim the priests and the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;

¹⁰ And then I came to learn that the food of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, the doers of the work, had gone back each to his field. ¹¹ So I quarreled with the prefects, and I said, "Why is the house of God forsaken?" And I gathered them and set them at their station. ¹² So all of Judah brought the tithe of grain, new wine, and olive oil into the storehouses.

⁸ Will a human dare to rob God? Yet you are robbing me! And you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In the tithes and the contributions! ⁹ You are being cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you! ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe to _⌊the storehouse_⌋,* so that there will be food in my house, and test me please in this," says Yahweh of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour forth for you _⌊an overflowing blessing_⌋.*

⁶ Now the one who is taught the word must share in all good things with the one who teaches.