Study Desk

You gave them bread from heaven for their starvation, and you caused water to go out from a rock for their thirst. You told them to go in order to take into possession the land that you have sworn by your hand to give to them.

Even when they made for themselves a molten idol of a calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you out from Egypt,' and committed great blasphemies.

And you gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst.

You were patient toward them for many years, and you have warned them by your spirit through the hand of your prophets, but they did not listen. So you gave them into the hand of the nations of the lands.

But in your great compassions you did not put an end to them, and you did not abandon them. For you are a gracious and compassionate God.

You are righteous in everything that has come on us, for you dealt faithfully, and we have acted wickedly.

We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land nor take their daughters for our sons.

"We put on ourselves the commandment upon us to yearly give a third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God:

for the rows of bread, the offering of the daily sacrifice, the continual burnt sacrifice, the Sabbaths, the new moon festivals, the appointed festival times, the holy objects, the sin offerings that make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.

And we have cast lots for the contributions of the wood offering of the priests, the Levites, and the people to bring it to the house of our God, by our fathers' houses, at designated times, year by year, to burn on the altar of Yahweh our God—as it is written in the law.

We also bring the first fruits of our soil and the first fruits of all the fruit trees, year by year, for the house of Yahweh.

And we bring the best of our dough, our offerings, the fruit of every tree, new wine, and olive oil to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring the tithe of our soil to the Levites, for the Levites receive the tithes in all of our rural towns.

And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, will be with the Levites during the tithe the Levites receive. The Levites will bring up a tithe of the tithes for the house of our God to the chambers of the storehouse.

For the Israelites and the Levites will bring to the storerooms the offering of grain, new wine, and olive oil. These are the objects of the sanctuary and the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and singers. We will not neglect the house of our God."

For there was a command of the king concerning them and a regulation concerning the singers, required day by day.

As for the villages in their territories, some from the descendants of Judah lived in Kiriath-Arba and its settlements, Dibon and its settlements, Jekabzeel and its settlements,

from Beth Gilgal, from the field of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers built for themselves villages all around Jerusalem.

On that day men were appointed for the storehouse rooms, the offerings, the first fruits, and the tithes, in order to gather in them from the fields of the cities the requirements of the law for the priests and Levites; for the joy of Judah was upon the priests and Levites standing there.

For in the days of David and Asaph from ancient times there was the head of the singers and a song of praise and thanksgiving to God.

So all of Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily food portions of the singers and gatekeepers. And they set apart that which was for the Levites, and the Levites set apart that which was for the descendants of Aaron.