11 And of the sons of Bebai: Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twentyand eight males. 12 And of the sons of Azgad; Johanan the son of Hakkatan. Or, the and with him an hundred and youngest ten males.

13 And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore males. 14 Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.

son.

Or. Zaccur. as some

B. C.

He cometh to Jerusalem.

24 T Then I separated twelve cir. 457. of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah,Hashabiah,and ten of their brethren with them,

9ch. 7.15, 16.

t Heb. yellow, shi

dsee ch.

7.7.

t Heb.

17 And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and +1 told them what they should say unto I put Iddo, and to his brethren the words in Nethinims, at the place Casi- their phia, that they should bring un-mouth: to us ministers for the house of See 2 Sa. our God.

18 And by the good hand of our God upon us they "brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;

19 And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;

14. 3, 19.

eNe. 8. 7. & 9.4, 5.

2. 43.

20 Also of the Nethinims, whom See ch. David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Le-52 Ch.20. vites, two hundred and twenty 3. Nethinims: all of them were h Le. 16. expressed by name. 29. & 23.

21 T Then I proclaimed a fast 29. Is. 58. there, at the river of Ahava, that 3, 5. we might hafflict ourselves be- i Ps. 5. 8. fore our God, to seek of him a kSo ICo. iright way for us,and for our little 9. 15. ones, and for all our substance. Ich.7.6,9, 22 For kl was ashamed to re- 28. quire of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for "good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is "against all them 2. that forsake him.

ning brass. † Heb. desirable.

25 And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels,even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors,and his lords,and all Israel there present, had offered:

26 I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels an hundred talents, and of gold an hundred talents;

27 Also twenty basins of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold.

28 And I said unto them, Ye are 'holy unto the LORD: the vessels are "holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill-offering unto the LORD God Le.21.6, of your fathers.

7, 8. De. 33. 8.

$Le. 22.2, 3. Nu.4.4,

29 Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them, before the chief of the priests and the Le15, 19, 20. vites, and chief of the fathers of Israel,at Jerusalem,in the chambers of the house of the LORD.

tch.7.6,9,

28.

30 So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.

31 T Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.

"Ne.2.11. 32 And we "came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.

16.

Ps. 34.

2 Ch. 15.

34 By number and by weight of every one: and all the weight was written at that time.

35 Also the children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity, offered burnt-offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sinoffering: all this was a burntoffering unto the LORD.

36 T And they delivered the king's commissions unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river: and they furthered the people, and the house of God.

The names of those who

eth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.

51Ch. 28.

10.

5 Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, bto swear that they hNe.5.12. should do according to this word. And they sware.

6 T Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God.and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he

came thither, he kdid eat no kDe.9.18. bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.

7 And they made proclamation throughout Judah andJerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem;

8 And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, † Heb. and himself separated from the devoted. congregation of those that had been carried away.

9 T Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for fthe great tHeb.the showers.

rain.

ISee iSa. 12. 18.

10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and thave taken † Heb. strange wives to increase the have trespass of Israel.

caused

or, have back. brought

11 Now therefore make con- to dwell, fession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and "separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives.

12 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.

m Jos. 7. 19. Pr. 28. 13.

n ver. 3.

13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this have thing.

Or, we

greatly offended in this thing. 02 Ch. 30. 8.

14 Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with themthe elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this mat-Or, till this mutter be turned from us. ter be despatched.

15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and

↑ Heb.

stood.

had married strange wives Shabbethai the Levite helped them.

16 And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

17 And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month.

18 And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah,and Eliezer,and Jarib, and Gedaliah.

19 And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass.

20 And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah.

21 And of the sons of Harim, Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah. 22 And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael. Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

23 Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

24 Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.

25 Moreover, of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah,and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.

26 And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah.

27 And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.

28 Of the sons also of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

29 And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth.

30 And of the sons of Pahathmoab; Adna, and Chelal, Be naiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.

31 And of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

32 Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

33 Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliph elet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

CHAPTER I.

B. C. cir. 446.

4.

Nehemiah, understanding by Hanani the misery of Jerusalem, mourneth, fasteth, and prayeth, 1. 5 His prayer. THE words of Nehemiah the "ch. 10. 1. son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace.

2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach:

o ver. 6.

keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven,yet will I gath er them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

10 "Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

11 O LORD, I beseech thee, "let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who Pdesire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the

broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

4 T And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, 5 And said, I beseech thee, dO LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

2 Ki. 25.

10.

dDa.9. 4.

Ex.20.6. a Ezra 7.

40. Da. 9. 17, 18.

Da.9.20.

6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and fthine eyes open, that fiK1.8.28, thou mayest hear the prayer of 29.2Ch.6. thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. h Ps. 106. 7hWe have dealt very corrupt- 6.Da.9.5. ly against thee, and have inoti De. 28. kept the commandments, nor 15. the statutes, nor the judgments, k Le. 26. which thou commandedst thy 33. De. 4. servant Moses. 25, 26, 27.

8 Remember, 1 beseech thee, & 28. 64. theword that thou commandedst 1 Le. 26. thy servant Moses, saying, klf 39, &c. ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: 9 But if ye turn unto me, and

De. 4. 29,

30, 31. &

30.2

CHAPTER II. Artaxerxes understanding the cause of Nehemiah's sadness sendeth him with letters and commission to Jerusalem,1. 9 Nehemiah, to the grief of the enemies, cometh to Jerusalem. 12 He vieweth secretly the ruins of the walls. 17 He inciteth the Jews to build in despite of the enemies,

tieth year of Artaxerxes the ND it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twenking, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his pre

sence.

2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, nothing else but "sorrow of heart. seeing thou art not sick? this is Then I was very sore afraid, 3 And said unto the king, dLet the king live forever: why should sepulchres, lieth waste, and the not mycountenance be sad,when the city, the place of my fathers' gates thereof are consumed with fire?

4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

5 And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy ser vant have found favour in thy