1These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and with Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
2Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
3Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
4Iddo, Ginnetho, Abijah,
5Miamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
6Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the leaders of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua.
8The Levites were these: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving, he and his brothers.
9Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, stood opposite them in the watches.
10Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim was the father of Eliashib, and Eliashib was the father of Joiada,
11and Joiada was the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan was the father of Jaddua.
12In the days of Joiakim these priests were the heads of families: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
13of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
15of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;
16of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
18of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
19of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
20of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
21of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethaneel.
22In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the Levites were written down as heads of families, and so were the priests, up to the reign of Darius the Persian.
23The sons of Levi, the heads of families, were written in the book of the chronicles, up to the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.
24The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers standing opposite them, to praise and to give thanks, as David the man of God had commanded, one group facing the other.
25Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers, keeping watch at the storerooms by the gates.
26These served in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.
27When the wall of Jerusalem was dedicated, they searched for the Levites in all the places where they lived, to bring them to Jerusalem. They were to keep the dedication with gladness, with songs of thanksgiving and with singing, with cymbals, lutes, and harps.
28The sons of the singers gathered together from the plain country around Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi,
29and from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth. For the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem.
30The priests and the Levites made themselves clean, and they made the people clean, and the gates, and the wall.
31Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall, and I appointed two great choirs to give thanks. One of them went to the right along the top of the wall, toward the dung gate.
32After them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah,
33and Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,
35and some of the priests' sons with trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph,
36and his brothers, Shemaiah, Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. Ezra the scribe went in front of them.
37At the fountain gate, which was opposite them, they went up the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, as far as the water gate on the east.
38The other choir that gave thanks went the opposite way, and I followed them with half of the people along the top of the wall, past the tower of the furnaces as far as the broad wall,
39and from above the gate of Ephraim, above the old gate and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel and the tower of Meah, as far as the sheep gate. They stopped at the prison gate.
40So the two choirs that gave thanks took their places in the house of God, and I did too, and half of the rulers with me,
41and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets,
42and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loudly, with Jezrahiah as their leader.
43That day they offered great sacrifices, and they rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy. The wives and the children rejoiced too, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.
44At that time men were put in charge of the rooms where the treasures, the offerings, the firstfruits, and the tithes were kept. They were to gather into them from the fields around the cities the portions set by the law for the priests and Levites. For Judah was glad because of the priests and the Levites who served.
45The singers and the gatekeepers kept the service of their God and the service of purification, as David and his son Solomon had commanded.
46For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there were leaders of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.
47In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah, all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, each day what was due for that day. They set apart what was holy for the Levites, and the Levites set apart a portion for the sons of Aaron.