25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping the watch at the storerooms of the gates.
26 These lived in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah athe governor, and of Ezra the priest, bthe scribe.
Nehemiah Dedicates the Wall
27 Now at athe dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, bboth with thanksgivings and singing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps.
28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Jerusalem, from the avillages of the Netophathites,
29 from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built themselves villages all around Jerusalem.
30 Then the priests and Levites apurified themselves, and purified the people, the gates, and the wall.
31 So I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs. aOne went to the right hand on the wall btoward the Refuse Gate.
32 After them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah,
33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,
34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah,
35 and some of the priests’ sons awith 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,
36 and his brethren, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with athe musical binstruments of David the man of God. Ezra the scribe went before them.
37 aBy the Fountain Gate, in front of them, they went up bthe stairs of the cCity of David, on the stairway of the wall, beyond the house of David, as far as dthe Water Gate eastward.
38 aThe other thanksgiving choir went the opposite way, and I was behind them with half of the people on the wall, going past the bTower of the Ovens as far as cthe Broad Wall,
39 aand above the Gate of Ephraim, above bthe Old Gate, above cthe Fish Gate, dthe Tower of Hananel, the Tower of the Hundred, as far as ethe Sheep Gate; and they stopped by fthe Gate of the Prison.
40 So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God, likewise I and the half of the rulers with me;
41 and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Minjamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets;
42 also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loudly with Jezrahiah the director.
43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard aafar off.
Temple Responsibilities
44 aAnd at the same time some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouse for the offerings, the firstfruits, and the btithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who ministered.
45 Both the singers and the gatekeepers kept the charge of their God and the charge of the purification, aaccording to the command of David and Solomon his son.
46 For in the days of David aand Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.
47 In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, a portion for aeach day. bThey also consecrated holy things for the Levites, cand the Levites consecrated them for the children of Aaron.
New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Book Notes:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Book Notes
Nehemiah
Nehemiah
NEHEMIAH appears to have been the author of this book, from his usually writing in his own name, and indeed, except in those parts which are unmistakably later editions or borrowed from public documents, he usually employs the first person. The major portion of the book is occupied with a history of Nehemiah's twelve years' administration in Jerusalem, after which he returned to his duties in Shushan. At a later period he returned with new powers and commenced new and vigorous measures of reform, which are detailed in the later chapters of the book.
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