1 Genealogical Records Now these are the heads of their fathers’householdsand the genealogical records of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes:
2 of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom;of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel;of the sons of David, Hattush;
3 of the sons of Shecaniahwho wasof the sons of Parosh, Zechariah and with him 150 maleswho were inthe genealogical records;
4 of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and 200 males with him;
5 of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel and 300 males with him;
6 and of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and 50 males with him;
7 and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and 70 males with him;
8 and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael and 80 males with him;
9 of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 218 males with him;
10 and of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah and 160 males with him;
11 and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai and 28 males with him;
12 and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 males with him;
13 and of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones, these being their names, Eliphelet, 8:13 Or Jeuel Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and 60 males with them;
14 and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai, and 8:14 Or Zakkur Zabbud, and 70 males with 8:14 Or him them.Ezra Sends for Levites
15 Now I gathered them at the river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days. And I 8:15Lit understood, discerned observed the people and the priests, but I did not find any Levites there.
16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, 8:16Lit heads chief men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, teachers.
17 I sent them out to Iddo the 8:17Lit head chief man at the place Casiphia; and I put words in their mouths to say to 8:17As in Gr; Heb Iddo his brother Iddoandhis brothers, the temple servants at the place Casiphia,that is, to bring ministers to us for the house of our God.
18 So, according to the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of insight of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, and his sons and brothers, 18 men;
19 and Hashabiah and 8:19 As in Gr; Heb with him Jeshaiah Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, 20 men;
20 and 220 of the temple servants, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, all of them designated by name.God’s Protection Sought
21 Then I called for a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a 8:21 Lit straight way direct journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.
22 For I was ashamed to ask from the king for a military force and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is upon all those who seek Him, fortheirgood, but His strength and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.”
23 So we fasted and sought our God concerning thismatter, and He 8:23 Lit was entreated by us was moved by our entreaty.
24 Then I 8:24 Lit separated set apart twelve of the leading priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers;
25 and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the utensils, the contribution for the house of our God which the king and his counselors and his princes and all Israel presenttherehad offered.
26 Thus I weighed into their hands 8:26Approx. 24 tons or 22 metric tons, a talent was approx. 75 lb. or 34 kg 650 talents of silver, and silver utensilsworth100 talents,and100 gold talents,
27 and 20 gold bowlsworth1,000 8:27A Persian gold coin weighing approx.0.3oz. or 8 gm darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold.
28 Then I said to them, “You are holy to Yahweh, and the utensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to Yahweh, the God of your fathers.
29 Watch and keepthemuntil you weighthembefore the officials of the priests, the Levites and the officials of the fathers’householdsof Israel at Jerusalem,inthe chambers of the house of Yahweh.”
30 So the priests and the Levites accepted the weighed out silver and gold and the utensils, to bringthemto Jerusalem to the house of our God.
31 Then we set out from the river Ahava on the twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the way.
32 Thus we came to Jerusalem and remained there three days.Silver, Gold, and Utensils Weighed
33 On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with himwasEleazar the son of Phinehas; and with themwerethe Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui.
34 Everythingwasnumberedandweighed, and all the weight was written down at that time.
35 The exiles who had come from the captivity brought burnt offerings near to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, 12 male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to Yahweh.
36 Then they gave the king’s edicts to the king’s satraps and to the governorsin the provincesbeyond the 8:36The Euphrates River River, and they supported the people and the house of God.