Ezra 8

1 And so these are the leaders of the families, with their genealogy, of those who ascended with me from Babylon, during the reign of king Artaxerxes.

Now these are the heads of families who were listed of those who went up with me from Babylon, when Artaxerxes was king.

2 From the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. From the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. From the sons of David, Hattush.

Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush;

3 From the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Parosh, Zechariah, and one hundred fifty men were numbered with him.

Of the sons of Shecaniah; of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and with him were listed a hundred and fifty males.

4 From the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai, the son of Zerahiah, and two hundred men were with him.

Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai, the son of Zerahiah; and with him two hundred males.

5 From the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel, and three hundred men were with him.

Of the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel; and with him three hundred males.

6 From the sons of Adin, Ebed, the son of Jonathan, and fifty men were with him.

And of the sons of Adin, Ebed, the son of Jonathan; and with him fifty males.

7 From the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah, the son of Athaliah, and seventy men were with him.

And of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah; the son of Athaliah; and with him seventy males.

8 From the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah, the son of Michael, and eighty men were with him.

And of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah, the son of Michael; and with him eighty males.

9 From the sons of Joab, Obadiah, the son of Jehiel, and two hundred eighteen men were with him.

Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah, the son of Jehiel; and with him two hundred and eighteen males.

10 From the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and one hundred sixty men were with him.

And of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah; and with him a hundred and sixty males.

11 From the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and twenty-eight men were with him.

And of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai; and with him twenty-eight males.

12 From the sons of Azgad, Johanan, the son of Hakkatan, and one hundred and ten men were with him.

And of the sons of Azgad, Johanan, the son of Hakkatan; and with him a hundred and ten males.

13 From the sons of Adonikam, who were the last, and these were their names: Eliphelet, and Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and sixty men were with them.

And of the sons of Adonikam, the last, whose names were Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah; and with them sixty males.

14 From the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and seventy men were with them.

And of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud; and with them seventy males.

15 Now I gathered them together at the river that runs down to Ahava, and we stayed there for three days. And I sought among the people and among the priests for the sons of Levi, and I found none there.

And I made them come together by the river flowing to Ahava; and we were there in tents for three days: and after viewing the people and the priests I saw that no sons of Levi were there.

16 And so I sent Eliezer, and Ariel, and Shemaiah, and Elnathan, and Jarib, and another Elnathan, and Nathan, and Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were wise.

Then I sent for Eliezer and Ariel and Shemaiah and Elnathan Jarib and Elnathan and Nathan and Zechariah and Meshullam, all responsible men; and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were wise men.

17 And I sent them to Iddo, who is first within the place of Casiphia. And I placed in their mouth the words that they should speak to Iddo and his brothers, the temple servants, in the place of Casiphia, so that they would lead to us ministers for the house of our God.

And I sent them to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and gave them orders what to say to Iddo and his brothers the Nethinim at the place Casiphia, so that they might come back to us with men to do the work of the house of our God.

18 And because the good hand of our God was over us, they led to us a very learned man from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, with Sherebiah, and his sons, and his eighteen brothers,

And by the help of our God they got for us Ish-sechel, one of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah with his sons and brothers, eighteen;

19 and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah, of the sons of Merari, and his brothers, and his sons, numbering twenty.

And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty;

20 And from the temple servants, whom David, and the leaders had provided for the ministry of the Levites, there were two hundred twenty temple servants. All these were called by their names.

And of the Nethinim, to whom David and the captains had given the work of helping the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim, all of them specially named.

21 And I proclaimed a fast in that place, beside the river Ahava, so that we might afflict ourselves in the sight of the Lord our God, and so that we might request of him the right way for us, and for our sons, and for all our substance.

Then I gave orders for a time of going without food, there by the river Ahava, so that we might make ourselves low before our God in prayer, requesting from him a straight way for us and for our little ones and for all our substance.

22 For I was ashamed to petition the king for assistance and for horsemen, who would defend us from the enemy along the way. For we had said to the king: “The hand of our God is over all those who seek him in goodness. And his authority, and his strength and fury, is over all those who forsake him.”

For I would not, for shame, make request to the king for a band of armed men and horsemen to give us help against those who might make attacks on us on the way: for we had said to the king, The hand of our God is on his servants for good, but his power and his wrath are against all those who are turned away from him.

23 And so we fasted and begged our God for this; and as a result, we prospered.

So we went without food, requesting our God for this: and his ear was open to our prayer.

24 And I separated twelve from among the leaders of the priests: Sherebiah, and Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers.

So I put on one side twelve of the chiefs of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them,

25 And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold, and the vessels consecrated to the house of our God, which had been offered by the king, and by his counselors and his leaders, and by all those of Israel who had been found.

And gave to them by weight the silver and the gold and the vessels, all the offering for the house of our God which the king and his wise men and his captains and all Israel there present had given:

26 And I weighed out to their hands six hundred fifty talents of silver, and one hundred vessels of silver, and one hundred talents of gold,

Measuring into their hands six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels, a hundred talents' weight, and a hundred talents of gold,

27 and twenty gold bowls which had the weight of one thousand coins, and two vessels of the finest shining brass, as beautiful as gold.

And twenty gold basins, of a thousand darics, and two vessels of the best bright brass, equal in value to gold.

28 And I said to them: “You are the holy ones of the Lord, and the vessels are holy, with the silver and the gold, which has been offered freely to the Lord, the God of our fathers.

And I said to them, You are holy to the Lord and the vessels are holy: and the silver and the gold are an offering freely given to the Lord, the God of your fathers.

29 Watch and guard them, until you weigh them out before the leaders of the priests and the Levites, and the rulers of the families of Israel in Jerusalem, into the treasury of the house of the Lord.”

Take care of them and keep them, till you put them on the scales before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites and the chiefs of the families of Israel, in Jerusalem, in the rooms of the house of the Lord.

30 Then the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, so that they might carry these to Jerusalem, into the house of our God.

So the priests and the Levites took the weight of silver and gold and the vessels, to take them to Jerusalem into the house of our God.

31 Therefore, we set out from the river Ahava, on the twelfth day of the first month, so that we might travel to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was over us, and he freed us from the hand of the enemy and of those who lay in ambush along the way.

Then we went away from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was on us, and he gave us salvation from our haters and those who were waiting to make an attack on us by the way.

32 And we arrived at Jerusalem, and we stayed there for three days.

And we came to Jerusalem and were there for three days.

33 Then, on the fourth day, the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed out in the house of our God, by the hand of Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the priest; and with him was Eleazar, the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad, the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, the son of Binnui.

And on the fourth day, the silver and the gold and the vessels were measured out by weight in the house of our God into the hands of Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the priest; and with him was Eleazar, the son of Phinehas; and with them were Jozabad, the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, the son of Binnui, the Levites;

34 This was done according to the number and weight of everything; and every weight was written down at that time.

All was handed over by number and by weight: and the weight was put on record at that time.

35 Moreover, those who came from the captivity, the sons of the transmigration, offered holocausts to the God of Israel: twelve calves on behalf of all the people of Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve he-goats for sin. All these were a holocaust to the Lord.

And those who had been prisoners, who had come back from a strange land, made burned offerings to the God of Israel, twelve oxen for all Israel, ninety-six male sheep, seventy-seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering: all this was a burned offering to the Lord.

36 Then they gave the edicts of the king to the rulers who served in the sight of the king, and to the governors beyond the river, and they exalted the people and the house of God.

And they gave the king's orders to the king's captains and the rulers across the river, and they gave the people and the house of God the help which was needed.