NEḤEMYAH 12

1 And these were the kohenim and the Lĕwites who came up with Zerubbaḇel son of She’alti’ĕl, and Yĕshua: Serayah, Yirmeyahu, Ezra,

2 Amaryah, Malluḵ, Ḥattush,

3 Sheḵanyah, Reḥum, Merĕmoth,

4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Aḇiyah,

5 Miyamin, Ma’aḏyah, Bilgah,

6 Shemayah, and Yoyariḇ, Yeḏayah,

7 Sallu, Amoq, Ḥilqiyah, and Yeḏayah. These were the heads of the kohenim and their brothers in the days of Yĕshua.

8 And the Lĕwites: Yĕshua, Binnui, Qaḏmi’ĕl, Shĕrĕḇyah, Yahuḏah, Mattanyah over the thanksgiving, he and his brothers.

9 And Baqbuqyah and Unni, their brothers, were opposite them for guard duties.

10 And Yĕshua brought forth Yoyaqim, and Yoyaqim brought forth Elyashiḇ, and Elyashiḇ brought forth Yoyaḏa,

11 and Yoyaḏa brought forth Yahonathan, and Yahonathan brought forth Yaddua.

12 And in the days of Yoyaqim, the kohenim, the heads of the fathers were: of Serayah, Merayah; of Yirmeyahu, Ḥananyah;

13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amaryah, Yahoḥanan;

14 of Meliḵu, Yahonathan; of Sheḇanyah, Yosĕph;

15 of Ḥarim, Aḏna; of Merayoth, Ḥelqai;

16 of Iddo, Zeḵaryah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;

17 of Aḇiyah, Ziḵri, of Minyamin; of Mo’aḏyah, Piltai;

18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemayah, Yahonathan;

19 of Yoyariḇ, Mattenai; of Yeḏayah, Uzzi;

20 of Sallai, Qallai; of Amoq, Ĕḇer;

21 of Ḥilqiyah, Ḥashaḇyah. And of Yeḏayah, Nethan’ĕl.

22 The Lĕwites and kohenim in the days of Elyashiḇ, Yoyaḏa, Yoḥanan, and Yaddua, were recorded heads of their fathers, also the kohenim in the reign of Dareyawesh the Parasian.

23 The sons of Lĕwi, the heads of the fathers until the days of Yoḥanan son of Elyashiḇ, were written in the book of the annals.

24 And the heads of the Lĕwites were Ḥashaḇyah, Shĕrĕḇyah, and Yĕshua son of Qaḏmi’ĕl, with their brothers opposite them, to praise, to give thanks, watch opposite watch, according to the command of Dawiḏ the man of Elohim.

25 Mattanyah, and Baqbuqyah, Oḇaḏyah, Meshullam, Talmon, Aqquḇ were gatekeepers guarding at the storerooms of the gates.

26 These were in the days of Yoyaqim son of Yĕshua, son of Yotsaḏaq, and in the days of Neḥemyah the governor, and of Ezra the kohĕn, the scribe.

27 And at the dedication of the wall of Yerushalayim they sought out the Lĕwites in all their places, to bring them to Yerushalayim to perform the dedication with gladness, and with thanksgivings, and with singing, cymbals, harps and lyres.

28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Yerushalayim, from the villages of the Netophathites,

29 and from Bĕyth ha’Gilgal, and from the fields of Geḇa and Azmaweth – for the singers had built themselves villages all around Yerushalayim.

30 And the kohenim and Lĕwites cleansed themselves, and they cleansed the people, and the gates, and the wall.

31 And I brought the rulers of Yahuḏah up on the wall, and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs, to go to the right on the wall toward the Dung Gate,

32 and after them went Hoshayah and half of the rulers of Yahuḏah,

33 then Azaryahu, Ezra, and Meshullam,

34 Yahuḏah, and Binyamin, and Shemayah, and Yirmeyahu,

35 and of the sons of the kohenim with trumpets: Zeḵaryah son of Yahonathan, son of Shemayah, son of Mattanyah, son of Miḵayah, son of Zakkur, son of Asaph,

36 and his brothers Shemayah and Azar’ĕl, Milalai, Gilalai, Ma’ai, Nethan’ĕl, and Yahuḏah, Ḥanani with instruments of songs of Dawiḏ the man of Elohim, with Ezra the scribe before them.

37 And at the Fountain Gate and straight ahead of them, they went up the stairs of the City of Dawiḏ, on the stairway of the wall, beyond the house of Dawiḏ, as far as the Water Gate eastward.

38 And the other thanksgiving choir went over against them, and I behind them with half of the people on the wall, going past the Tower of the Ovens as far as the Broad Wall,

39 and above the Gate of Ephrayim, and above the Old Gate, and above the Fish Gate, and the Tower of Ḥanane’ĕl, and the Tower of Mĕ’ah, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stood still at the Gate of the Prison.

40 Then the two thanksgiving choirs took their stand in the House of Elohim, and I and half of the deputy rulers with me,

41 and the kohĕn, Elyaqim, Ma’asĕyah, Minyamin, Miḵayah, Elyo’ĕynai, Zeḵaryah, and Ḥananyah, with trumpets,

42 and Ma’asĕyah, and Shemayah, and El’azar, and Uzzi and Yahoḥanan, and Malkiyah, and Ĕylam, and Ĕzer. And the singers sang aloud, with Yizraḥyah in charge.

43 And on that day they brought great offerings and rejoiced, for Elohim had made them rejoice with great joy. And the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Yerushalayim was heard far away.

44 And on that day some were appointed over the rooms for the stores, for the contributions, for the first-fruits, and for tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions required by the Torah for the kohenim and for the Lĕwites. For Yahuḏah rejoiced over the kohenim and the Lĕwites who stood up.

45 Both the singers and the gatekeepers guarded the charge of their Elohim and the charge of the cleansing, according to the command of Dawiḏ and Shelomoh his son.

46 For in the days of Dawiḏ and Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to Elohim.

47 And in the days of Zerubbaḇel and in the days of Neḥemyah all Yisra’ĕl gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, a portion for each day. And they qadosh what was for the Lĕwites, and the Lĕwites qadosh what was for the children of Aharon.