Ezra 8

1 This is a list of the family leaders and genealogical records of those who came back 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 son of Shecaniah. From the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him 150 men were registered.

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, son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men.

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

5 From the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah, son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men.

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

6 From the sons of Adin, Ebed, son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men.

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

7 From the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah, son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men.

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

8 From the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah, son of Michael, and with him 80 men.

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

9 From the sons of Joab, Obadiah, son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men.

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

10 From the sons of Bani, Shelomith, son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men.

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, son of Bebai, and with him 28 men.

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

12 From the sons of Azgad, Johanan, son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men.

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, those who were last, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men.

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 with them 70 men.

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

15 I gathered the returning exiles together at the Ahava Canal. We camped there for three days while I reviewed who had come—the ordinary people, the priests, and the Levites. I discovered there wasn't a single Levite

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 so I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men with good insight.

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 I told them to go to Iddo, the leader of the Temple servants at Casiphia, asking him and his relatives to send us ministers for the Temple 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 Since our gracious God was with us, they brought us Sherebiah, a man with good insight from the sons of Mahli, son of Levi, son of Israel, together with his sons and brothers, a total of eighteen men;

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, along with Jeshaiah, from the sons of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, a total of twenty men.

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

20 In addition they brought 220 of the Temple servants, a group appointed by David and his officials to help the Levites. These were all registered by name.

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 At the Ahava Canal I called for a fast so we could confess our sins before God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, along with all our possessions.

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 I had been reluctant to ask the king to give us a military escort to protect us from enemies on the way. We had told the king, “Our gracious God takes care of everyone who follows him, but shows his anger against anyone who abandons 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 So we fasted and asked God to protect us, and he answered our prayers.

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

24 Then I designated twelve of the leading priests, and Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and 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 and handed them the donations of silver and gold, and the items that the king, his counselors, his leaders, and all the people of Israel there had given for the Temple of our God.

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 I weighed out and placed in their hands 650 talents of silver, silver Temple items weighing 100 talents, 100 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 20 gold bowls worth 1,000 darics, and two articles of highly-polished bronze, as valuable as gold.

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

28 I told them, “You are set apart for the Lord, and these Temple items are too. The silver and gold are a voluntary offering to the Lord, the God of your forefathers.

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 You are to guard them and keep them safe until you hand them over, weighing them before the high priests, the Levites and the family leaders in Israel at Jerusalem, in the treasury rooms within the Lord's Temple.”

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 The priests and Levites took responsibility for the silver and gold and the Temple items that had been weighed out to be brought to the Temple of our God in Jerusalem.

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 On the twelfth day of the first month, we left the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem, and our God was with us to protect us from enemy ambushes 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 Eventually we arrived in Jerusalem and rested there for three days.

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

33 On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the Temple items were weighed out in the Temple of our God and handed over to Meremoth, son of Uriah the priest, accompanied by Eleazar, son of Phinehas. Also present were the Levites, Jozabad, son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, 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 Everything was checked, both by number and weight, and the total weight was written down at the time.

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

35 Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel—twelve bulls for all of Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and a sin offering of twelve goats. All were sacrificed as a burnt offering 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 They also delivered the king's decrees to the chief officers of the king and the governors of the province west of the Euphrates, who then provided assistance to the people and to God's Temple.

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.