Nehemiah 12:36

Flee from youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

They sang to one another in praising and giving thanks to Yahweh, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel.” All the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised Yahweh, because the foundation of Yahweh’s house had been laid.

All the people gathered themselves together as one man into the wide place that was in front of the water gate; and they spoke to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Yahweh had commanded to Israel.

The harp, lyre, tambourine, and flute, with wine, are at their feasts; but they don’t respect the work of Yahweh, neither have they considered the operation of his hands.

that each person who belongs to God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold;

David and all Israel played before God with all their might, even with songs, with harps, with stringed instruments, with tambourines, with cymbals, and with trumpets.

He set the Levites in Yahweh’s house with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, of Gad the king’s seer, and Nathan the prophet; for the commandment was from Yahweh by his prophets.

The Levites stood with David’s instruments, and the priests with the trumpets.

Prepare yourselves after your fathers’ houses by your divisions, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son.

But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they didn’t make them cease, until the matter should come to Darius, and an answer should be returned by letter concerning it.

In the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, I picked up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad before in his presence.

At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with giving thanks, and with singing, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and with harps.

Praise him with loud cymbals! Praise him with resounding cymbals!

The way of the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh, but he loves him who follows after righteousness.

Take away from me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

But you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, steadfastness,

The gatekeepers: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their brothers (Shallum was the chief),

So he left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required;

David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

and has extended loving kindness to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. I was strengthened according to Yahweh my God’s hand on me, and I gathered together chief men out of Israel to go up with me.

For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is on all those who seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all those who forsake him.”

The chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers close to them, to praise and give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, watch next to watch.

Give thanks to Yahweh with the lyre. Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings.

I have set watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem. They will never be silent day nor night. You who call on Yahweh, take no rest,

and I brought them into Yahweh’s house, into the room of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was by the room of the princes, which was above the room of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold.

in gentleness correcting those who oppose him: perhaps God may give them repentance leading to a full knowledge of the truth,

So David and all the house of Israel brought up Yahweh’s ark with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.

“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money which is brought into Yahweh’s house, which the keepers of the threshold have gathered of the people.

David spoke to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers with instruments of music, stringed instruments, harps, and cymbals, sounding aloud and lifting up their voices with joy.

Thus all Israel brought the ark of Yahweh’s covenant up with shouting, with sound of the cornet, with trumpets, and with cymbals, sounding aloud with stringed instruments and harps.

and with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God; and the sons of Jeduthun to be at the gate.

four thousand were doorkeepers, and four thousand praised Yahweh with the instruments which I made for giving praise.”

also the Levites who were the singers, all of them, even Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and their brothers, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them one hundred twenty priests sounding with trumpets);

when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking Yahweh; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised Yahweh, saying, “For he is good; for his loving kindness endures forever!” then the house was filled with a cloud, even Yahweh’s house,

He appointed, according to the ordinance of David his father, the divisions of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their offices, to praise and to minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required; the doorkeepers also by their divisions at every gate, for David the man of God had so commanded.

The men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to give direction; and others of the Levites, who were all skillful with musical instruments.

The elders of the Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

this Ezra went up from Babylon. He was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which Yahweh, the God of Israel, had given; and the king granted him all his request, according to Yahweh his God’s hand on him.

Some of the children of Israel, including some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God on him.

Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the perfect God of heaven. Now

I, even I Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers who are beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, requires of you, it shall be done with all diligence,

According to the good hand of our God on us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen;

Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the bandit by the way.

and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple, for the wall of the city, and for the house that I will occupy.” The king granted my requests, because of the good hand of my God on me.

I told them of the hand of my God which was good on me, as also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. They said, “Let’s rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.

Depart from evil, and do good. Seek peace, and pursue it.

My heart overflows with a noble theme. I recite my verses for the king. My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.

Those who sing as well as those who dance say, “All my springs are in you.”

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sat on Moses’ seat.

Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus. He was mighty in the Scriptures.

Follow after love and earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

and not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes, rather than God’s stewardship, which is in faith—

being approved by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has been hospitable to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, and if she has diligently followed every good work.

Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord,

Let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it.

For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit.

The king made of the almug trees pillars for Yahweh’s house, and for the king’s house, harps also and stringed instruments for the singers; no such almug trees came or were seen, to this day.

Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the book of the law in Yahweh’s house.” Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan, and he read it.

and Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of God’s house;

and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites. Sanctify yourselves, both you and your brothers, that you may bring the ark of Yahweh, the God of Israel, up to the place that I have prepared for it.

Also the hand of God came on Judah to give them one heart, to do the commandment of the king and of the princes by Yahweh’s word.

Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites after their divisions, every man according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of Yahweh’s camp.

The singers the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and the gatekeepers were at every gate. They didn’t need to depart from their service, because their brothers the Levites prepared for them.

Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:

So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their cities. When the seventh month had come, the children of Israel were in their cities.

Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of God’s house,

Oh come, let’s sing to Yahweh. Let’s shout aloud to the rock of our salvation!

Shout for joy to Yahweh, all you lands!

Let them praise his name in the dance! Let them sing praises to him with tambourine and harp!

who strum on the strings of a harp; who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Now while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his division

I left you in Crete for this reason, that you would set in order the things that were lacking and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you,

But you, man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.