Study Desk

Also day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. They kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance.

They stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God a fourth part of the day; and [another] fourth part they confessed, and worshiped the LORD their God.

Then stood up on the stairs of the Levites, Yeshua, and Bani, Kadmi'el, Shevanyah, Bunni, Sherevyah, Bani, [and] Kenani, and cried with a loud voice to the LORD their God.

Then the Levites, Yeshua, and Kadmi'el, Bani, Hashavneyah, Sherevyah, Hodiyah, Shevanyah, [and] Petachyah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting; and blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

You are the LORD the God, who did choose Avram, and brought him forth out of Ur of the Kasdim, and gave him the name of Avraham,

and refused to obey, neither were mindful of your wonders that you did among them, but hardened their neck, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But you are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and didn't forsake them.

Yes, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is your God who brought you up out of Mitzrayim, and had committed awful blasphemies;

Nevertheless in your manifold mercies you did not make a full end of them, nor forsake them; for you are a gracious and merciful God.

Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keep covenant and lovingkindness, don't let all the travail seem little before you, that has come on us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our Kohanim, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all your people, since the time of the kings of Ashshur to this day.

The rest of the people, the Kohanim, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the temple servants, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge, and understanding;

They joined with their brothers, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law, which was given by Moshe the servant of God, and to observe and do all the mitzvot of the LORD our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes;

Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God;

for the show bread, and for the continual meal-offering, and for the continual burnt-offering, for the Shabbatot, for the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin-offerings to make atonement for Yisra'el, and for all the work of the house of our God.

We cast lots, the Kohanim, the Levites, and the people, for the wood-offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law;

also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, to the Kohanim who minister in the house of our God;

and that we should bring the first fruits of our dough, and our heave-offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, the new wine and the oil, to the Kohanim, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground to the Levites; for they, the Levites, take the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.

The Kohen the son of Aharon shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure-house.

For the children of Yisra'el and the children of Levi shall bring the heave-offering of the grain, of the new wine, and of the oil, to the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the Kohanim who minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God.

Serayah the son of Hilkiyah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Tzadok, the son of Merayot, the son of Achituv, the ruler of the house of God,

and Shabbetai and Yozavad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who had the oversight of the outward business of the house of God;