7:1 The wall had been rebuilt. I had put up the gates at the main entrances to the city. The people who guarded the gates were appointed to their positions. So were the musicians and the Levites.
7:2 I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem. Hananiah helped him. Hananiah was commander of the fort that was by the temple. Hanani was an honest man. He had more respect for God than most people do.
7:3 I said to Hanani and Hananiah, “Don’t open the gates of Jerusalem until the hottest time of the day. Tell the men who guard the gates to shut them before they go off duty. Make sure they lock them up tight. Also appoint as guards some people who live in Jerusalem. Station some of them at their appointed places. Station others near their own homes.”
7:4 Jerusalem was large. It had a lot of room. But only a few people lived there. The houses hadn’t been rebuilt yet.
7:5 So my God gave me the idea and encouraged me to gather the people together. He also encouraged me to gather the nobles and officials together with them. He wanted me to list them by families. I found the family history of those who had been the first to return. Here is what I found written in it.
7:6 Nebuchadnezzar had taken many Jews away from the land of Judah. He had forced them to go to Babylon as prisoners. Now they returned to Jerusalem and Judah. All of them went back to their own towns. Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon.
7:7 The leaders of the Jews included Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah and Nahamani. They also included Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum and Baanah. Here is a list of the men of Israel who returned home.
7:8 There were 2,172 from the family line of Parosh.
7:43 The Levites belonged to the family line of Jeshua through Kadmiel through the line of Hodaviah. The total number of men was 74.
7:44 The musicians belonged to the family line of Asaph. The total number of men was 148.
7:45 The men who guarded the temple gates belonged to the family lines of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita and Shobai. The total number of men was 138.
7:46 Here is a list of the members of the family lines of the temple servants. Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,
7:60 The total number of the members of the family lines of the temple servants and the servants of Solomon was 392.
7:61 Many people came up to Judah from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon and Immer. But they weren’t able to prove that their families belonged to the people of Israel.
7:62 There were 642 of them from the family lines of Delaiah, Tobiah and Nekoda.
7:63 Here is a list of the members of the family lines of the priests. They were Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai. Barzillai had married a daughter of Barzillai from Gilead. So he was also called Barzillai.
7:64 The priests looked for their family records. But they couldn’t find them. So they weren’t able to serve as priests. They weren’t “clean.”
7:65 The governor gave them an order. He told them not to eat any of the most sacred food. They had to wait until there was a priest who could use the Urim and Thummim. The priest would use them to get decisions from the Lord.
7:66 The total number of the entire group that returned was 42,360.
7:67 That didn’t include their 7,337 male and female slaves. There were also 245 male and female singers.
7:70 Some of the family leaders helped pay for the work. The governor gave 19 pounds of gold to be added to the temple treasure. He also gave 50 bowls and 530 sets of clothes for the priests.
7:71 Some of the family leaders gave 375 pounds of gold for the work. They also gave one and a third tons of silver. All of that was added to the temple treasure.
7:72 The rest of the people gave a total of 375 pounds of gold and one and a fourth tons of silver. They also gave 67 sets of clothes for the priests.
7:73 The priests and Levites made their homes in their own towns. So did the musicians, the temple servants and the men who guarded the gates. The rest of the Israelites also made their homes in their own towns. The Israelites had made their homes in their towns. In the seventh month,
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