Daily Text and Bible Reading: Monday, June 3 [Press play below]

7.1 As soon as the wall had been rebuilt I set up the doors; then the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites were appointed.
7.2 I then put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah the chief of the Fortress, for he was a most trustworthy man and feared the true God more than many others.
7.3 So I said to them: “The gates of Jerusalem should not be opened until the heat of the day, and while they are standing guard, they should shut the doors and bolt them. And assign the inhabitants of Jerusalem as guards, each to his assigned guardpost and each in front of his own house.”
7.4 Now the city was spacious and large, and there were few people inside it, and the houses had not been rebuilt.
7.5 But my God put it into my heart to gather together the nobles and the deputy rulers and the people to be enrolled genealogically. Then I found the book of genealogical enrollment of those who first came up, and I found written in it:
7.6 And these were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of the exiles, those whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had exiled and who later returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own city,
7.7 those who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. The number of the Israelite men included:
7.8 the sons of Parosh, 2,172;
7.9 the sons of Shephatiah, 372;
7.10 the sons of Arah, 652;
7.11 the sons of Pahath-moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818;
7.12 the sons of Elam, 1,254;
7.13 the sons of Zattu, 845;
7.14 the sons of Zaccai, 760;
7.15 the sons of Binnui, 648;
7.16 the sons of Bebai, 628;
7.17 the sons of Azgad, 2,322;
7.18 the sons of Adonikam, 667;
7.19 the sons of Bigvai, 2,067;
7.20 the sons of Adin, 655;
7.21 the sons of Ater, of Hezekiah, 98;
7.22 the sons of Hashum, 328;
7.23 the sons of Bezai, 324;
7.24 the sons of Hariph, 112;
7.25 the sons of Gibeon, 95;
7.26 the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188;
7.27 the men of Anathoth, 128;
7.28 the men of Beth-azmaveth, 42;
7.29 the men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743;
7.30 the men of Ramah and Geba, 621;
7.31 the men of Michmas, 122;
7.32 the men of Bethel and Ai, 123;
7.33 the men of the other Nebo, 52;
7.34 the sons of the other Elam, 1,254;
7.35 the sons of Harim, 320;
7.36 the sons of Jericho, 345;
7.37 the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721;
7.38 the sons of Senaah, 3,930.
7.39 The priests: the sons of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua, 973;
7.40 the sons of Immer, 1,052;
7.41 the sons of Pashhur, 1,247;
7.42 the sons of Harim, 1,017.
7.43 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodevah, 74.
7.44 The singers: the sons of Asaph, 148.
7.45 The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, 138.
7.46 The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,
7.47 the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon,
7.48 the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Salmai,
7.49 the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar,
7.50 the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda,
7.51 the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah,
7.52 the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephushesim,
7.53 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,
7.54 the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,
7.55 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah,
7.56 the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.
7.57 The sons of the servants of Solomon: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida,
7.58 the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,
7.59 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Amon.
7.60 All the temple servants and the sons of the servants of Solomon were 392.
7.61 And these went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they were unable to verify their paternal house and their origin, as to whether they were Israelites:
7.62 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 642.
7.63 And of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name.
7.64 These looked for their records to establish their genealogy, but they could not be found, so they were disqualified from the priesthood.
7.65 The governor told them that they should not eat from the most holy things until there was a priest who could consult the Urim and Thummim.
7.66 The total number of the entire congregation was 42,360,
7.67 apart from their male and female slaves, who were 7,337; they also had 245 male and female singers.
7.68 Their horses were 736, their mules 245,
7.69 their camels 435, their donkeys 6,720.
7.70 Some of the heads of the paternal houses contributed to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 gold drachmas, 50 bowls, and 530 priests’ robes.
7.71 And some of the heads of the paternal houses gave to the project treasury 20,000 gold drachmas and 2,200 silver minas.
7.72 And the rest of the people gave 20,000 gold drachmas, 2,000 silver minas, and 67 priests’ robes.
7.73 And the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all the rest of Israel settled in their cities. When the seventh month arrived, the Israelites had settled in their cities.

8.1 All the people then gathered with one accord at the public square in front of the Water Gate, and they told Ezra the copyist to bring the book of the Law of Moses, which Jehovah had commanded Israel.
8.2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the congregation of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month.
8.3 And he read aloud from it before the public square in front of the Water Gate, from daybreak until midday, to the men, the women, and all who could understand; and the people listened attentively to the book of the Law.
8.4 And Ezra the copyist was standing on a wooden podium made for the occasion; and standing alongside him on his right were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
8.5 Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people. As he opened it, all the people stood up.
8.6 Then Ezra praised Jehovah the true God, the great One, at which all the people answered, “Amen! Amen!” and lifted up their hands. They then bowed low and prostrated themselves to Jehovah with their faces to the ground.
8.7 And Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, who were Levites, were explaining the Law to the people, while the people remained standing.
8.8 And they continued reading aloud from the book, from the Law of the true God, clearly explaining it and putting meaning into it; so they helped the people to understand what was being read.
8.9 And Nehemiah, who was then the governor, Ezra the priest and copyist, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all the people: “This day is holy to Jehovah your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the Law.
8.10 He said to them: “Go, eat the choice things and drink what is sweet, and send portions of food to those who have nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord, and do not feel sad, for the joy of Jehovah is your stronghold.”
8.11 And the Levites were calming all the people, saying: “Be quiet! for this day is holy, and do not feel sad.”
8.12 So all the people went away to eat and to drink and to send out portions of food and to carry on a great rejoicing, for they understood the words that had been made known to them.
8.13 And on the second day, the heads of the paternal houses of all the people, the priests, and the Levites gathered around Ezra the copyist to gain further insight into the words of the Law.
8.14 Then they found written in the Law that Jehovah had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should dwell in booths during the festival in the seventh month,
8.15 and that they should make proclamation and announce throughout all their cities and throughout Jerusalem, saying: “Go out to the mountainous region and bring in leafy branches from olive trees, pine trees, myrtle and palm trees, and the leafy branches of other trees to make booths, according to what is written.”
8.16 So the people went out and brought them in to make booths for themselves, each one on his roof, as well as in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the house of the true God, in the public square of the Water Gate, and in the public square of the Gate of Ephraim.
8.17 Thus all those of the congregation who had come back from the captivity made booths and were dwelling in the booths, for the Israelites had not done it this way from the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day, so that there was very great rejoicing.
8.18 And day by day there was a reading from the book of the Law of the true God, from the first day until the last day. And they held the festival for seven days, and there was a solemn assembly on the eighth day, as was required.