⁵ And my God put it into my heart to get together the rulers and the chiefs and the people so that they might be listed by families. And I came across a record of the names of those who came up at the first, and in it I saw these words:

¹ So all Israel was listed by their families; and, truly, they are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel. And Judah was taken away as prisoners to Babylon because of their sin.

² Now the first to take up their heritage in their towns were: Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim.

³ And in Jerusalem there were living some of the sons of Judah, and of Benjamin, and of Ephraim and Manasseh;

⁴ Uthai, the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the sons of Perez, the son of Judah.

⁵ And of the Shilonites: Asaiah the oldest, and his sons.

⁶ And of the sons of Zerah: Jeuel, and their brothers, six hundred and ninety.

⁷ And of the sons of Benjamin: Sallu, the son of Meshullam, Judah, the son of Hassenuah,

⁸ And Ibneiah, the son of Jeroham, and Elah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, and Meshullam, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah;

⁹ And their brothers, in the list of their generations, nine hundred and fifty-six. All these men were heads of families, listed by the names of their fathers.

²⁹ And for this purpose I am working, using all my strength by the help of his power which is working in me strongly.

¹² So then, my loved ones, as you have at all times done what I say, not only when I am present, but now much more when I am not with you, give yourselves to working out your salvation with fear in your hearts;

¹³ For it is God who is the cause of your desires and of your acts, for his good pleasure.

¹⁶ But praise be to God, who puts the same care for you into the heart of Titus.

⁵ Not as if we were able by ourselves to do anything for which we might take the credit; but our power comes from God;

¹⁰ But by the grace of God, I am what I am: and his grace which was given to me has not been for nothing; for I did more work than all of them; though not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

⁶⁴ They made search for their record among the lists of families, but their names were nowhere to be seen, so they were looked on as unclean and no longer priests.

¹⁴ Keep in mind, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat and what they did, and Noadiah, the woman prophet, and the rest of the prophets whose purpose was to put fear into me.

¹⁹ Keep in mind, O my God, for my good, all I have done for this people.

²⁷ Praise be to the Lord, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing into the heart of the king, to make fair the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem;

⁶² They made search for their record among the lists of families, but their names were nowhere to be seen; so they were looked on as unclean and no longer priests.

¹⁶ Do not be turned from the right way, dear brothers.