Daily Bread

The New Residents of Jerusalem^(A)

11 Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem. The rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten of them to live in Jerusalem,^(B) the holy city,^(C) while the remaining nine were to stay in their own towns.^{(D) 2} The people commended all who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

³ These are the provincial leaders who settled in Jerusalem (now some Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants and descendants of Solomon’s servants lived in the towns of Judah, each on their own property in the various towns,^{(E) 4} while other people from both Judah and Benjamin^(F) lived in Jerusalem):^(G)

From the descendants of Judah:

⁷ From the descendants of Benjamin:

¹⁰ From the priests:

¹⁵ From the Levites:

¹⁹ The gatekeepers:

²⁰ The rest of the Israelites, with the priests and Levites, were in all the towns of Judah, each on their ancestral property.

²¹ The temple servants^(P) lived on the hill of Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of them.

²² The chief officer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah,^(Q) the son of Mika. Uzzi was one of Asaph’s descendants, who were the musicians responsible for the service of the house of God. ²³ The musicians^(R) were under the king’s orders, which regulated their daily activity.

²⁴ Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, one of the descendants of Zerah^(S) son of Judah, was the king’s agent in all affairs relating to the people.

²⁵ As for the villages with their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriath Arba^(T) and its surrounding settlements, in Dibon^(U) and its settlements, in Jekabzeel and its villages, ²⁶ in Jeshua, in Moladah,^(V) in Beth Pelet,^{(W) 27} in Hazar Shual,^(X) in Beersheba^(Y) and its settlements, ²⁸ in Ziklag,^(Z) in Mekonah and its settlements, ²⁹ in En Rimmon, in Zorah,^(AA) in Jarmuth,^{(AB) 30} Zanoah,^(AC) Adullam^(AD) and their villages, in Lachish^(AE) and its fields, and in Azekah^(AF) and its settlements. So they were living all the way from Beersheba^(AG) to the Valley of Hinnom.

³¹ The descendants of the Benjamites from Geba^(AH) lived in Mikmash,^(AI) Aija, Bethel^(AJ) and its settlements, ³² in Anathoth,^(AK) Nob^(AL) and Ananiah, ³³ in Hazor,^(AM) Ramah^(AN) and Gittaim,^{(AO) 34} in Hadid, Zeboim^(AP) and Neballat, ³⁵ in Lod and Ono,^(AQ) and in Ge Harashim.

³⁶ Some of the divisions of the Levites of Judah settled in Benjamin.

Priests and Levites

12 These were the priests^(AR) and Levites^(AS) who returned with Zerubbabel^(AT) son of Shealtiel^(AU) and with Joshua:^(AV)

These were the leaders of the priests and their associates in the days of Joshua.

⁸ The Levites were Jeshua,^(BA) Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and also Mattaniah,^(BB) who, together with his associates, was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. ⁹ Bakbukiah and Unni, their associates, stood opposite them in the services.

¹⁰ Joshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim the father of Eliashib,^(BC) Eliashib the father of Joiada, ¹¹ Joiada the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jaddua.

¹² In the days of Joiakim, these were the heads of the priestly families:

²² The family heads of the Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan and Jaddua, as well as those of the priests, were recorded in the reign of Darius the Persian. ²³ The family heads among the descendants of Levi up to the time of Johanan son of Eliashib were recorded in the book of the annals. ²⁴ And the leaders of the Levites^(BF) were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua son of Kadmiel, and their associates, who stood opposite them to give praise and thanksgiving, one section responding to the other, as prescribed by David the man of God.^(BG)

²⁵ Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon and Akkub were gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms at the gates. ²⁶ They served in the days of Joiakim son of Joshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest, the teacher of the Law.