Signers of the Covenant
And on the sealed document were: Nehemiah the Tirshatha, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah,
Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,
Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,
Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah. These were the priests.
And the Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,
and their brothers: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,
Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.
The heads of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,
Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,
Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,
Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
and Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
Malluch, Harim, Baanah.
The Vows of the Covenant
And the rest of the people — the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and everyone who had separated himself from the peoples of the lands to the instruction of God, their wives, their sons and their daughters, everyone who knew and understood —
held fast to their brothers, their nobles, and entered into a curse and into an oath to walk in the instruction of God, which was given by the hand of Moses the servant of God, and to keep and to do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes;
and that we would not give our daughters to the peoples of the land, and would not take their daughters for our sons;
and that if the peoples of the land brought wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we would not take it from them on the sabbath, or on a holy day; and that we would let the seventh year lie, and the exaction of every debt.
And we set commandments on ourselves, to lay on ourselves a third of a shekel a year for the service of the house of our God:
for the bread of the arrangement, and the continual grain offering, and the continual burnt offering; for the sabbaths, the new moons, for the appointed times, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings, to make atonement for Israel; and for all the work of the house of our God.
And we cast lots — the priests, the Levites, and the people — over the offering of wood, to bring it to the house of our God, by our fathers’ houses, at appointed times year by year, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the instruction;
and to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the LORD;
and the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the instruction; and to bring the firstborn of our herds and our flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God;
and the first of our dough, and our contributions, and the fruit of every tree, the new wine and the fresh oil, we would bring to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithe of our ground to the Levites — and the Levites themselves take the tithe in all the cities where we labor.
And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites take the tithe; and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithe to the house of our God, to the chambers of the treasure house.
For to the chambers the sons of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of grain, the new wine, and the fresh oil; and there are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers. And we will not abandon the house of our God.