CHAPTER 7
When
the wall
had been rebuilt
and I had set the doors
in place,
the gatekeepers,
singers,
and Levites
were appointed.
Then I put my brother
Hanani
in charge
of
Jerusalem,
along with Hananiah
the commander
of the fortress,
because
he
was a faithful
man
who feared
God
more than most.
And
I told
them,
“Do not
open
the gates
of Jerusalem
until
the sun
is hot.
While
the guards
are on duty,
keep the doors
shut
and securely fastened.
And appoint
the residents
of Jerusalem
as guards,
some
at their posts
and some
at
their own homes."
Now the city
was large
and spacious,
but there were few
people
in it,
and the houses
had not yet
been rebuilt.
Then my God
put
into
my heart
to assemble
the nobles,
the officials,
and the people
to be enrolled by genealogy.
I found
the genealogical
register
of those who had first returned,
and I found
the following written
in it:
These
are the people
of the province
who came up
from the captivity
of the exiles
carried away
to Babylon
by Nebuchadnezzar
its king.
They returned
to Jerusalem
and Judah,
each
to his own town,
accompanied
by
Zerubbabel,
Jeshua,
Nehemiah,
Azariah,
Raamiah,
Nahamani,
Mordecai,
Bilshan,
Mispereth,
Bigvai,
Nehum,
and Baanah.
This is the count
of the men
of Israel:
The gatekeepers:
the descendants
of Shallum,
the descendants
of Ater,
the descendants
of Talmon,
the descendants
of Akkub,
the descendants
of Hatita,
and the descendants
of Shobai,
138 in all.
The temple servants:
the descendants
of Ziha,
the descendants
of Hasupha,
the descendants
of Tabbaoth,
The descendants
of the servants
of Solomon:
the descendants
of Sotai,
the descendants
of Sophereth,
the descendants
of Perida,
the descendants
of Shephatiah,
the descendants
of Hattil,
the descendants
of
Pochereth-hazzebaim,
the descendants
of Amon.
The following
came up
from Tel-melah,
Tel-harsha,
Cherub,
Addon,
and Immer,
but could not
prove
that their families
were descended
from Israel:
the descendants
of Delaiah,
the descendants
of Tobiah,
and the descendants
of Nekoda,
642 in all.
And from
among the priests:
the descendants
of Hobaiah,
the descendants
of Hakkoz,
and the descendants
of Barzillai
(who
had married
a daughter
of Barzillai
the Gileadite
and was called
by
their name).
These men
searched for
their family records,
but they could not
find them
and so were excluded
from
the priesthood as unclean.
The governor
ordered
them not
to eat
the most holy things
until
there was
a priest
to consult the Urim
and Thummim.
in addition to
their 7,337
menservants
and maidservants,
as well as their 245
male and female singers.
They had 736 horses, 245 mules,
Some of
the heads
of the families
contributed
to the project.
The governor
gave
to the treasury
1,000
darics
of gold,
50
bowls,
and 530
priestly
garments.
And some of the heads
of the families
gave
to the treasury
for the project
20,000
darics
of gold
and 2,200
minas
of silver.
The rest
of the people
gave a total of
20,000
darics
of gold,
2,000
minas
of silver,
and 67
priestly
garments.
So the priests,
Levites,
gatekeepers,
singers,
and temple servants,
along with some
of the people
and the rest of
the Israelites,
settled
in their own towns.
And by the seventh
month
the Israelites
had settled in their towns.