The Book of Nehemiah

Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,

Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,

Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,

Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,

Shemaiah and Joiarib, Jedaiah,

Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and their kinsmen in the days of Jeshua.

And the Levites [were] Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, [and] Mattaniah [who was] in charge of the songs of thanksgiving, he and his brothers.

Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, stood opposite them in [their] service divisions.

And Jeshua became the father of Joiakim, and Joiakim became the father of Eliashib, and Eliashib became the father of Joiada,

and Joiada became the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan became the father of Jaddua.

Now in the days of Joiakim the priests, the heads of fathers' [households] were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;

of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;

of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;

of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;

of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;

of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;

of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;

of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;

of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;

of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

As for the Levites, the heads of fathers' [households] were registered in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua; so [were] the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian.

The sons of Levi, the heads of fathers' [households,] were registered in the Book of the Chronicles up to the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.

And the heads of the Levites [were] Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers opposite them, to praise [and] give thanks, as prescribed by David the man of God, division corresponding to division.

Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, [and] Akkub were gatekeepers keeping watch at the storehouses of the gates.

These [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 [and] scribe.

Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem so that they might celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving and with songs [to the accompaniment] of cymbals, harps, and lyres.

So the sons of the singers were assembled from the district around Jerusalem, and from the villages of the Netophathites,

from Beth-gilgal, and from [their] fields in Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem.

And the priests and the Levites purified themselves; they also purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on top of the wall, and I appointed two great choirs, the first proceeding to the right on top of the wall toward the Refuse Gate.

Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah followed them,

with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,

Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah,

and some of the sons of the priests with trumpets; [and] Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph,

and his kinsmen, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah [and] Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them.

And at the Fountain Gate they went directly up the steps of the city of David by the stairway of the wall above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.

The second choir proceeded to the left, while I followed them with half of the people on the wall, above the Tower of Furnaces, to the Broad Wall,

and above the Gate of Ephraim, by the Old Gate, by the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate, and they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.

Then the two choirs took their stand in the house of God. So did I and half of the officials with me;

and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with the trumpets;

and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang, with Jezrahiah [their] leader,

and on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy, even the women and children rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.

For they performed the worship of their God and the service of purification, together with the singers and the gatekeepers in accordance with the command of David [and] of his son Solomon.

For in the days of David and Asaph, in ancient times, [there were] leaders of the singers, songs of praise and hymns of thanksgiving to God.

And so all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah gave the portions due the singers and the gatekeepers as each day required, and set apart the consecrated [portion] for the Levites, and the Levites set apart the consecrated [portion] for the sons of Aaron.