Ezra
Chapter 8
1 These are the leaders of their families, and this is the family history of those who came with me from Babylon during King Artaxerxes’s rule.
2 From Phinehas’ sons came Gershom; from Ithamar’s sons, Daniel; from David’s sons, Hattush.
3 From Shechaniah’s family, from Pharosh’s descendants, came Zechariah; with him, they counted 150 men on the family list.
4 From the descendants of Pahathmoab, Elihoenai, son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred men.
5 Shechaniah’s family included Jahaziel’s son and three hundred other men.
6 From Adin’s descendants, Ebed, Jonathan’s son, came with 50 men.
7 From the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah came with seventy men.
8 From the family of Shephatiah, there was Zebadiah, Michael’s son, with 80 men.
9 Joab’s descendant Obadiah, Jehiel’s son, was with two hundred and eighteen men.
10 From Shelomith’s descendants was Josiphiah’s son, with 160 men.
11 From the descendants of Bebai: Zechariah, Bebai’s son, and with him 28 men.
12 From Azgad’s descendants, Johanan son of Hakkatan came, along with one hundred and ten men.
13 From the last sons of Adonikam, named Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, came sixty men.
14 From Bigvai’s descendants came Uthai and Zabbud, along with seventy other men.
15 I brought them to the river that flows to Ahava; we camped there for three days. I looked over the people and the priests, but there were no Levites among them.
16 I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, as well as Joiarib and Elnathan, who were wise men.
17 I gave orders for them to go to Iddo, the leader in Casiphia, and told them what to say to Iddo and his fellow Nethinims there, to bring us helpers for the house of our God.
18 With God’s good help, they brought us a wise man from the descendants of Mahli, who was Levi’s son from Israel’s family; and Sherebiah, along with his sons and brothers, totaling eighteen.
19 Hashabiah, along with Jeshaiah from Merari’s descendants, his brothers and their children, were twenty in total.
20 David and the leaders had assigned 220 Nethinims to help the Levites; each one was listed by name.
21 I announced a fast by the Ahava River to humble ourselves before God, to ask for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions.
22 I was embarrassed to ask the king for soldiers and cavalry to protect us from enemies on the journey, because we had told the king, “God’s favor is with all who seek Him, but His strength and anger are against those who abandon Him.”
23 We fasted and asked God for this, and he listened to us.
24 I chose twelve of the leading priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten other priests with them.
25 He gave them the silver, the gold, and the items, including the gifts for our God’s house that the king, his advisors, his nobles, and all the Israelites there had given.
26 I gave them 650 talents of silver, silver items worth 100 talents, and 100 talents of gold.
27 Also twenty bowls of gold, weighing a thousand coins, and two fine copper containers, as valuable as gold.
28 I told them, “You are special to God; the utensils are special too; and the silver and gold are gifts freely given to God, the God of your ancestors.”
29 Stay alert and guard them until you weigh them in front of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders of the Israeli families in Jerusalem, inside the rooms of God’s house.
30 The priests and Levites took the silver, gold, and items to take them to God’s house in Jerusalem.
31 We left from the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. God’s help was with us, and he protected us from enemies and ambushes along the road.
32 We arrived in Jerusalem and stayed there for three days.
33 On the fourth day, they weighed the silver, gold, and containers in God’s house. Meremoth, Uriah’s son and priest, did this. Eleazar, Phinehas’ son, Jozabad, Jeshua’s son, and Noadiah, Binnui’s son, who were Levites, were with him.
34 Each item was counted and weighed, and the weights were recorded then.
35 The children of the exiles who had returned from captivity gave burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering. All these were burnt offerings to God.
36 They gave the king’s orders to the king’s officers and the rulers on this side of the river. They helped the people and God’s house.