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¹ NOW these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Joshua: Seraiah, Azma, Ezra,² Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,³ Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,⁴ Ada, Azti, Abijah,⁵ Benjamin, Meadriah, Belagiah,⁶ Shemaiah, Nedo, Jedaiah,⁷ Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brethren in the days of Joshua.⁸ Moreover the Levites: Joshua and his sons, Kadmiah, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who were in charge to begin the thanksgiving, he and his brethren.⁹ Also Bakbukah and Unni; their brethren were opposite to them in the watches.¹⁰ And Joshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begat Jehoiadah,¹¹ And Jehoiadah begat Jonathan, and Jonathan begat Jaddua.¹² And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chiefs of the fathers; namely, Seraiah, Amariah, Jeremiah, Hananiah;¹³ Azariah, Meshellum, Amariah, Johanan;¹⁴ Malchiah, Jonathan, Shechaniah, Joseph;¹⁵ Haram, Ariah, Meremoth, Lahmai;¹⁶ Iddo, Zechariah, Gibton, Meshullam;¹⁷ Abijah, Zichri, Benjamin, Moadiah, Polta;¹⁸ Bilgah, Shammua, Shemaiah, Jonathan;¹⁹ Jehoidah, Mathnai, Jedaiah, Uzzi;²⁰ Sallai, Kallai, Amok, Ebid;²¹ Hilkiah, Hashabiah, Hodah, Nathanael.²² The Levites in the days of Eliashib, Jehoiadah, Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chiefs of the fathers; also the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian.²³ The descendants of Levi, the chiefs of the fathers, were written in the book of the chronicles, even until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.²⁴ And the chiefs of the Levites were Hashbiel, Sherebiah, Joshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren opposite them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandments of David the prophet of the LORD, watch opposite watch.²⁵ Mattaniah, Bakai, Obadiah, Shallum, Atlam, and Akkub were porters keeping watch at the gates.²⁶ These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Joshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest and scribe.

²⁷ And when the wall of Jerusalem was finished, they gathered the Levites together in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness and rejoicing, with thanksgiving and with singing, with cymbals and with harps.²⁸ And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together from the plain country round about Jerusalem and from the villages of Netopha;²⁹ Also from Beth-gilgal and out of the valley of Gibeah and Armoth; for the singers had built for themselves villages round about Jerusalem.³⁰ And the priests and the Levites purified themselves and purified the people and the gates and the wall.³¹ Then I brought up the chieftains of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies; and they walked upon the wall toward the right of the great gate;³² And with them went Hoshaiah and the half of the chieftains of Judah³³ And Azrael, Ezra, and Meshullam,³⁴ Judah and Benjamin and Shemaiah and Jeremiah³⁵ And certain of the priests sons with trumpets; namely, Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Malka, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph:³⁶ And his brethren, Shemaiah, Azrael, Melal, Gelal, Ater, Nathanael, Hanani, and Judah, with the musical instruments of David the prophet and servant of the LORD and Ezra the scribe went before them, above the fountain gate.³⁷ And opposite them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the great gate eastward.³⁸ And they gave thanks and went up upon the wall, and I after them, and the half of the people went up upon the wall, and they stood upon the great tower and upon the high wall and upon the broad wall;³⁹ And from above the gate of Ephraim, as far as the old gate to the fish gate; and from the tower of Hananeel, as far as the great tower, even to the sheep gate; and they stood still in the great gate.⁴⁰ Then the two companies that gave thanks entered the house of the LORD, and I and the half of the chieftains who were with me;⁴¹ And the priests: Eliakim, Maasiah, Malhin, Michaiah, Eliho, Ananai, Zechariah, and Hananiah;⁴² And those with trumpets: Maasiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Johanan, Malchijah, Elam, Ezer, and Shamua, the singers, and Zerahiah the leader.⁴³ Also that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced; for the LORD had made them rejoice with great joy; the wives also and the children rejoiced; so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.

⁴⁴ And on that day certain men were appointed over the chambers of the kings storehouses to gather into them the offerings, the first fruits, and the tithes of the towns, as it is written in the book of the law, for the priests and Levites, since the Jews were rejoicing because the priests and the Levites had stood up keeping watch in the house of their God.⁴⁵ And those who had charge of the ceremonial of purification, and the singers and the porters, served according to the commandment of David and of Solomon his son.⁴⁶ For Asaph was in charge in the day of David, and he stood up at the head of the singers and sang praises and gave thanks before the LORD God.⁴⁷ And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave gifts to the singers and to the porters, every day his portion; and they set aside holy things to the Levites; and the Levites set them aside for the descendants of Aaron.