From the day that I was appointed ¹  governor ²  in the land of Judah, that is, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes – twelve years in all – neither I nor my relatives ³  ate the food allotted to the governor. ⁴ 

But the former governors who preceded me had burdened the people and had taken food and wine from them, in addition to ¹  forty shekels of silver. Their associates were also domineering over the people. But I did not behave in this way, due to my fear of God.

The Levites – Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah – said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God!” “May you be blessed, O LORD our God, from age to age. ¹  May your glorious name ²  be blessed; may it be lifted up above all blessing and praise.

Then the king, with his consort ¹  sitting beside him, replied, “How long would your trip take, and when would you return?” Since the king was amenable to dispatching me, ²  I gave him a time.

They replied, “We will return these things, ¹  and we will no longer demand anything from them. We will do just as you say.” Then I called the priests and made the wealthy and the officials ²  swear to do what had been promised. ³ 

all the people gathered together ¹  in the plaza which was in front of the Water Gate. They asked ²  Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had commanded Israel.

There were others who said, “We are putting up our fields, our vineyards, and our houses as collateral in order to obtain grain during the famine.”

Even I and my relatives ¹  and my associates ²  are lending them money and grain. But let us abandon this practice of seizing collateral! ³ 

Those truly of Israelite descent ¹  separated from all the foreigners, ²  standing and confessing their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. ³ 

You made known to them your holy Sabbath; you issued commandments, statutes, and law to them through ¹  Moses your servant.

Should we then in your case hear that you do all this great evil, thereby being unfaithful to our God by marrying ¹  foreign wives?”

and in the presence of his colleagues ¹  and the army of Samaria ²  he said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they be left to themselves? ³  Will they again offer sacrifice? Will they finish this in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones to life again from piles of dust?”

I said to them, “To the extent possible we have bought back our fellow Jews ¹  who had been sold to the Gentiles. But now you yourselves want to sell your own countrymen, ²  so that we can then buy them back!” They were utterly silent, and could find nothing to say.

My God placed it on my heart to gather the leaders, ¹  the officials, and the ordinary people so they could be enrolled on the basis of genealogy. I found the genealogical records ²  of those who had formerly returned. Here is what I found written in that record: ³ 

Hanani, who was one of my relatives, ¹  along with some of the men from Judah, came to me, ²  and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped and had survived the exile, and about Jerusalem. ³ 

Then those in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers ¹  has failed! The debris is so great that we are unable to rebuild the wall.”

Then I ¹  said, “The thing that you are doing is wrong! ²  Should you not conduct yourselves ³  in the fear of our God in order to avoid the reproach of the Gentiles who are our enemies?

There were 150 Jews and officials who dined with me routinely, ¹  in addition to those who came to us from the nations ²  all around us.

I sent word back to him, “We are not engaged in these activities you are describing. ¹  All of this is a figment of your imagination.” ² 

The governor ¹  instructed them not to eat any of the sacred food until there was a priest who could consult ²  the Urim and Thummim.