CHAPTER 12
1 Soothly these were[the] priests and [the] deacons, that went up with Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and with Joshua; Seraiah, Jeremy [or Jeremiah], Ezra, (And these were the priests and the Levites, who went up with Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, or Joshua; Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,)
2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
3 Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
4 Iddo, Ginnetho, Miamin,
5 Abiah, Maadiah, Bilgah,
6 Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah; these were the princes of priests and their brethren, in the days of Joshua. (Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah; these were the leaders of the priests and their kinsmen, in the days of Jeshua, or Joshua.)
8 Certainly deacons; Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, (and) Mattaniah, were over the hymns, they and their brethren; (And the Levites; Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his kinsmen, led the hymns;)
9 and Bakbukiah, and Unni, and the brethren of them, each man in his office. (and Bakbukiah, and Unni, and their kinsmen, who sang the response.)
10 And Joshua begat Joiakim (or And Jeshua begat Joiakim), and Joiakim begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begat Joiada,
11 and Joiada begat Jonathan, and Jonathan begat Jaddua.
12 And in the days of Joiakim these were the priests, and the princes of the families of priests; Seraiah, Meraiah; Jeremy, Hananiah; (And in the days of Joiakim these were the priests, and the leaders of the priestly families; of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;)
13 (of) Ezra, Meshullam; (of) Amariah, Jehohanan;
14 (of) Melicu, Jonathan; (of) Shebaniah, Joseph;
15 (of) Harim, Adna; (of) Meraioth, Helkai;
16 (of) Iddo, Zechariah; (of) Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17 (of) Abiah, Zichri; (of) Miniamin, (); and (of) Moadiah, Piltai;
18 (of) Bilgah, Shammua; (of) Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
19 (of) Joiarib, Mattenai; (of) Jedaiah, Uzzi;
20 (of) Sallai, Kallai; (of) Amok, Eber;
21 (of) Hilkiah, Hashabiah; (of) Jedaiah, Nethaneel.
22 Deacons in the days of Eliashib, and of Joiada, and of Johanan, and of Jaddua, were written princes of families, and priests, in the realm of Darius king of Persia. (The leaders of the priestly families, in the days of Eliashib, and Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were written down until the reign of Darius the Persian.)
23 The sons of Levi, princes of families, were written in the book of the words of days, and unto the days of Johanan, the son of Eliashib. (But the leaders of the Levite families were written down in The Book of the Words of the Days, that is, in The Official Annals, only until the days of Johanan, the son of Eliashib.)
24 And the princes of deacons were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua, the son of Kadmiel; and the brethren of them by their whiles or times, that they should praise and acknowledge by the commandment of king David, the man of God, and they should keep evenly by order. (And the leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua, the son of Kadmiel, who, along with their kinsmen, gave praise and thanks, each in their turn, the one group answering the other, by the command of King David, the man of God.)
25 Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, and Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, (and) Akkub, were keepers of the gates, and of the porches before the gates. (Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were the gatekeepers standing guard at the gatehouses.)
26 These men were (serving) in the days of Joiakim, the son of Joshua, son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah, the duke, and of Ezra, the priest and writer. (These men served in the days of Joiakim, the son of Jeshua, or Joshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah, the governor, and of Ezra, the priest and writer or the priest and teacher of the Law.)
27 Forsooth in the hallowing of the wall of Jerusalem they sought (out the) deacons of all their places, to bring them into Jerusalem, and to make the hallowing in gladness, in the doing of thankings, and in song, and in cymbals, and in psalteries, and in harps. (And for the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sought out the Levites in all the places where they were, to bring them to Jerusalem, to celebrate the dedication with gladness, and thanksgiving, and with songs, and cymbals, and lutes, and harps.)
28 And the sons of (the) singers were gathered together, both from the field places about Jerusalem, and from the towns of Netophathi (or and from the towns of the Netophathites),
29 and from the house of Gilgal, and from the country(sides) of Geba, and of Azmaveth; for the singers had builded towns to themselves in the compass of Jerusalem (or for the singers had built towns for themselves all around Jerusalem).
30 And [the] priests and deacons were cleansed, and then they cleansed the people, and the gates, and the wall. (And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and then they purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.)
31 And I made the princes of Judah to go up on the wall, and I ordained two great choirs, or companies, of men praising the Lord; and they went to the right side on the wall, to the gate of the dunghill. (And I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall, and I ordained two great choirs, or companies, of men to give praise to the Lord; and the first group went up on the wall to the right side, toward the Dung Gate.)
32 And Hoshaiah went after them, and the half part of the princes of Judah (or and half of the leaders of Judah),
33 and Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,
34 Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremy. [Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah.]
35 And of the sons of priests singing in trumps; 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. (And then came some of the priests blowing trumpets; namely, 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, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, and Hanani, in the instruments of song of David, the man of God; and Ezra, the writer, before them, (and his kinsmen; Shemaiah, Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David, the man of God; and Ezra, the writer or the teacher of the Law, went before them.)
37 in the gate of the well. And (the) men went up (over) against them, in the degrees of the city of David, in the going up of the wall, over the house of David, and unto the gate of the waters at the east coast. (And they went past the Fountain Gate, and then up the steps to the City of David, by the ascent to the city wall, past the house of David, and on to the Water Gate on the east side.)
38 And the second choir of men telling out thankings went over against (them), or on the other side, and I went after them; and half part of the people was on the wall, and on the tower of (the) ovens, and they went unto the broadest wall; (And the second choir of men who gave thanks went to the other side, that is, to the left, along the top of the wall, and I went after them, with half of the people; and they went past the Tower of the Ovens, or the Tower of the Furnaces, unto the Broad Wall;)
39 and over the gate of Ephraim, and over the eld gate, and over the gate of fishes, and over the tower of Hananeel, and over the tower of Meah, and they came unto the gate of (the) flock; and they stood still in the gate of keeping. (and then past the Ephraim Gate, and the Old Gate, or the Jeshanah Gate, and the Fish Gate, and the Tower of Hananeel, and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they stopped at the Gate of the Guardhouse or and they stopped near the Temple Gate.)
40 And the two choirs of men praising stood in the house of God, and I and the half part of (the) magistrates with me. (And then the two choirs of men who gave praise took their places in the House of God, along with me and half of the magistrates;)
41 And the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, Hananiah, in trumps; (and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, who were blowing their trumpets;)
42 and (also) Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer; and the singers sang clearly, and Jezrahiah, their sovereign also, (or and the singers, led by Jezrahiah, who sang clearly, and loudly).
43 And they offered in that day great sacrifices, and were glad; for God had made them glad with great gladness. But also their wives and their lawful children were joyful, and the gladness of Jerusalem was heard [a] far. (And that day, they offered great, or many, sacrifices, and were joyful; for God had made them very happy. And also their wives and their children were full of joy, and the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off.)
44 Also they numbered in that day the men that were over the keeping places of the treasure(s), to receive(the) moist sacrifices, and the first fruits, and (the) tithes, that in (the) seemliness, or fairness, of doing of thankings to the Lord, (the) princes of the city should bring in by them, (for the) priests and deacons; for Judah was glad in (the) priests and deacons (that were) present. (And on that day men were ordained to take charge of the storerooms for the contributions, that is, to receive the offerings, and the first fruits, and the tithes; they were to gather in the portions, required by the Law, from all the fields near the cities, for the priests and the Levites; for all Judah was well pleased with the service of the priests and the Levites.)
45 And they kept the keeping of their God, (and) the keeping of cleansing; and (the) singers, and porters (did as well), by the commandment of David, and of Solomon, his son; (And they did the service of their God, and the rites of purification, as did the singers, and the gatekeepers, after the commands of David, and his son Solomon;)
46 for in the days of David and of Asaph, from the beginning, princes of singers were ordained, praising in song, and acknowledging to God. (for from the days of David and of Asaph, yea, from the beginning, leaders were ordained over the singers, to lead the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.)
47 And all Israel, in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave parts to (the) singers and to (the) porters, by all the days; and they hallowed (a part for the) deacons, and the deacons hallowed (a part for) the sons of Aaron. (And in the days of Zerubbabel, and of Nehemiah, all Israel gave the portions, or the gifts, for the singers and the gatekeepers, as each day required; and they dedicated a portion for the Levites, and the Levites dedicated a portion for the priests, the sons of Aaron.)