3 I said to them, "Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the[1] sun is hot; and while the watchmen are still standing guard, have them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from the residents of Jerusalem, each at his post [on the wall], and each in front of his own house."

4 Now the city was spacious and large, but there were few people in it and the houses had not [yet] been built.

5 Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials, and the people to be registered by genealogy. Then I found the register of the genealogy of those who came [from Babylon] first, and I found the following record: