1
Now when the wall had been built and I had erected the doors and appointed the gatekeepers, singers, and the Levites,
2
I gave command over Jerusalem to my brother Hanani and Hananiah the commander of the citadel. For he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.
3
I said to them, "Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot. While they are standing guard let them shut and fasten the doors. And appoint guards from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his post and another opposite his house."
4
The city [was] widespread and large, but the people in it were few and no houses were rebuilt.
Lists of the Exiles Who Returned
5 Then my God put into my heart to assemble the nobles, the prefects, and the people to be enrolled. I found the book of the genealogy of those who first came back, and I found [this] written upon it:
6
These are the people of the province who came up from captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried into exile. They returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each one to his city.
7
These came with Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:
8
the descendants of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two.
9
The descendants of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two.
10
The descendants of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two.