These were the people in the province. They were the ones who left the place where the exiles had been taken captive. (King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had taken them to Babylon.) These exiles returned to Jerusalem and Judah. All of them went to their own cities.
The priests, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants settled in their own cities. All the other Israelites settled in their own cities.
and 220 temple servants. ⌞They were descended⌟ from the temple servants whom David and his officials had appointed to work for the Levites. These were all listed by name.
They joined their relatives, the nobles, in binding themselves with a curse and an oath to follow God’s teachings given by Moses, God’s servant. They also bound themselves to follow all the commandments, rules, and regulations of the Lord our Lord.
The leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem. The rest of the people drew lots to bring one out of every ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city. The remaining nine-tenths were supposed to live in the other cities.
The priests, Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and the rest of Israel settled in their own cities. When the seventh month came, the people of Israel were in their own cities.