Nehemiah 12 Holman Christian Standard Bible

12 These^(A) are the priests and Levites^(B) who went up with Zerubbabel^(C) son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua:

Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
²Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
³Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
⁴Iddo,^(D) Ginnethoi, Abijah,^(E)
⁵Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
⁶Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,^(F)
⁷Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah.

These were the leaders of the priests and their relatives in the days of Jeshua.^(G)

⁸The Levites:

Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel,
Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah^(H)—
he and his relatives were in charge of the praise songs.
⁹Bakbukiah, Unni,^[a] and their relatives stood opposite them in the services.
¹⁰Jeshua fathered Joiakim,
Joiakim fathered Eliashib,
Eliashib^(I) fathered Joiada,
¹¹Joiada fathered Jonathan,
and Jonathan fathered Jaddua.^[b]

¹²In the days of Joiakim, the leaders of the priestly families were:

Meraiah	of Seraiah,
Hananiah	of Jeremiah,
¹³Meshullam	of Ezra,
Jehohanan	of Amariah,
¹⁴Jonathan	of Malluchi,
Joseph	of Shebaniah,
¹⁵Adna	of Harim,
Helkai	of Meraioth,
¹⁶Zechariah	of Iddo,
Meshullam	of Ginnethon,
¹⁷Zichri	of Abijah,
Piltai	of Moadiah, of Miniamin,
¹⁸Shammua	of Bilgah,
Jehonathan	of Shemaiah,
¹⁹Mattenai	of Joiarib,
Uzzi	of Jedaiah,
²⁰Kallai	of Sallai,
Eber	of Amok,
²¹Hashabiah	of Hilkiah,
and Nethanel	of Jedaiah.

²²In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the leaders of the families of the Levites and priests were recorded while Darius the Persian ruled. ²³Levi’s descendants, the leaders of families, were recorded in the Book of the Historical Records^(J) during the days of Johanan son of Eliashib. ²⁴The leaders of the Levites—Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, along with their relatives opposite them—gave praise and thanks, division by division, as David the man of God had prescribed.^(K) ²⁵This included Mattaniah,^(L) Bakbukiah, and Obadiah. Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms at the gates.^(M) ²⁶These served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor^(N) and Ezra the priest and scribe.^(O)

Dedication of the Wall

²⁷At the dedication of the wall^(P) of Jerusalem, they sent for the Levites wherever they lived and brought them to Jerusalem to celebrate the joyous dedication with thanksgiving and singing accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres.^(Q) ²⁸The singers gathered from the region around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites,^(R) ²⁹from Beth-gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for they had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem. ³⁰After the priests and Levites had purified themselves, they purified the people, the gates, and the wall.^(S)

³¹Then I brought the leaders of Judah up on top of the wall, and I appointed two large processions that gave thanks. One went to the right on the wall, toward the Dung Gate.^(T) ³²Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah followed, ³³along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, ³⁴Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, ³⁵and some of the priests’ sons with trumpets, and Zechariah son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph followed ³⁶as well as his relatives—Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David, the man of God.^(U) Ezra the scribe^(V) went in front of them. ³⁷At the Fountain Gate^(W) they climbed the steps of the city of David^(X) on the ascent of the wall and went above the house of David to the Water Gate^(Y) on the east.

³⁸The second thanksgiving procession went to the left, and I followed it with half the people along the top of the wall, past the Tower of the Ovens^(Z) to the Broad Wall,^(AA) ³⁹above the Gate of Ephraim,^(AB) and by the Old Gate,^(AC) the Fish Gate,^(AD) the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate.^(AE) They stopped at the Gate of the Guard.^(AF) ⁴⁰The two thanksgiving processions stood in the house of God. So did I and half of the officials accompanying me, ⁴¹as well as the priests:

Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin,
Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah,
and Hananiah, with trumpets;
⁴²and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar,
Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer.

Then the singers sang, with Jezrahiah as the leader. ⁴³On that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy.^(AG) The women and children also celebrated, and Jerusalem’s rejoicing was heard far away.^(AH)

Support of the Levites’ Ministry

⁴⁴On that same day men were placed in charge of the rooms^(AI) that housed the supplies, contributions, firstfruits, and tenths.^(AJ) The legally required portions for the priests and Levites^(AK) were gathered from the village fields, because Judah was grateful to the priests and Levites who were serving.^(AL) ⁴⁵They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, along with the singers and gatekeepers,^(AM) as David and his son Solomon had prescribed.^(AN) ⁴⁶For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph,^(AO) there were leaders^[c] of the singers and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.^(AP) ⁴⁷So in the days of Zerubbabel^(AQ) and Nehemiah,^(AR) all Israel contributed the daily portions^(AS) for the singers and gatekeepers. They also set aside daily portions for the Levites, and the Levites set aside daily portions^(AT) for the descendants of Aaron.