Nehemiah 7:3-5

Common English Bible

³ I^[a] said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem aren’t to be opened during the hottest time of the day. While the gatekeepers^[b] are still on duty, have them shut and bar the doors. Also, appoint guards from among those who live in Jerusalem. Station some at their watch posts and some in front of their own houses.”

Nehemiah registers the families

⁴ Now although the city was wide and large, only a few people were living within it, and no^[c] houses had been rebuilt. ⁵ My God then prompted me to assemble the officials, the officers, and the people so that they could be registered by families. I found the record of the families who were the first to return, and I found the following written in it: