Ezra 8

1 This is a list of the names of the leaders of the clans who came with me up [to Jerusalem] from Babylonia when Artaxerxes was the king [of Persia]:

These are the family heads and genealogical records of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:

2 Gershom, from the clan descended from [Aaron’s grandson] Phinehas Daniel, from the clan descended from [Aaron’s son] Ithamar Hattush, the son of Shecaniah, from the clan descended from King David

from the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom; from the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel; from the descendants of David, Hattush

3 Zechariah and 150 [other] men from the clan descended from Parosh

of the descendants of Shecaniah; from the descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered 150 men;

4 Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and 200 other men from the clan descended from Pahath-Moab

from the descendants of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men;

5 Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel and 300 other men from the clan descended from Zattu

from the descendants of Zattu, Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men;

6 Ebed the son of Jonathan and 50 other men from the clan descended from Adin

from the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men;

7 Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and 70 other men from the clan descended from Elam

from the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men;

8 Zebadiah the son of Michael and 80 other men from the clan descended from Shephatiah

from the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him 80 men;

9 Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 218 other men from the clan descended from Joab

from the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men;

10 Shelomith the son of Josiphiah and 160 other men from the clan descended from Bani

from the descendants of Bani, Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men;

11 Zechariah the son of Bebai and 28 other men from the clan descended from [another man whose name was] Bebai

from the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him 28 men;

12 Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 other men from the clan descended from Azgad

from the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men;

13 Also Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, who returned [here] later with 60 men from the clan descended from Adonikam

from the later descendants of Adonikam, these were their names: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men;

14 And Uthai and Zaccur and 70 other men from the clan descended from Bigvai.

and from the descendants of Bigvai, both Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men.

15 I gathered all of them together at the canal that goes [from Babylon] to Ahava [town]. We set up our tents there and stayed there for three days. [During that time] I checked the lists of names and found out that there were priests [going with us], but no [other] descendants of Levi [who could help them in the temple].

Now I assembled these exiles at the canal that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And when I searched among the people and priests, I found no Levites there.

16 So I summoned Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, two men whose names were Elnathan, and Jarib, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were all leaders [of the people]. I also summoned Joiarib and another Elnathan, who were wise.

Then I summoned the leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, as well as the teachers Joiarib and Elnathan.

17 I sent them all to Iddo, the leader of the descendants of Levi, who was living in Casiphia [town], to request that he and his relatives and other men who had worked in the temple send to us some men who would [go/come with us to] work in God’s new temple [in Jerusalem].

And I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, with a message for him and his kinsmen, the temple servants at Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.

18 Because God was kind to us, they brought to us a man named Sherebiah and 18 of his sons and other relatives. Sherebiah was a very wise man, a descendant of Mahli, [who was a grandson] of Levi.

And since the gracious hand of our God was upon us, they brought us Sherebiah—a man of insight from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel—along with his sons and brothers, 18 men;

19 They also sent to us Hashabiah, along with Jeshaiah, descendants of [Levi’s son] Merari, and 20 of their relatives.

also Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah, from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, 20 men.

20 They also sent 220 other men to work in the temple. Those men’s ancestors had been appointed by King David to assist the descendants of Levi [who helped the priests in the temple]. I listed/wrote the names of all those men.

They also brought 220 of the temple servants, all designated by name. David and the officials had appointed them to assist the Levites.

21 There alongside the Ahava Canal, I told them that we all would (fast/abstain from eating food) and pray. I also told them that we should humble ourselves in the presence of our God. We prayed that God would protect us while we traveled, and also protect our children and our possessions/belongings.

And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.

22 Previously we had told the king that our God takes care of all those who truly trust in him, but that he becomes very angry with those who refuse to obey him. So I would have been ashamed if I had asked the king to send soldiers and men riding on horses to protect us from our enemies while we were traveling along the road.

For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from our enemies on the road, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.”

23 So we (fasted/abstained from eating food) and requested God to protect us, and he (answered our prayers/did what we requested.)

So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He granted our request.

24 I chose twelve of the leaders of the priests, Sherebiah and Hashabiah and ten of their relatives.

Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, together with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers,

25 I appointed them to supervise carrying to Jerusalem the gifts of silver and gold and the other valuable items that the king and his advisors and other officials, and the Israeli people [who were living in Babylonia], had contributed for the temple of our God.

and I weighed out to them the contribution of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his counselors, his leaders, and all the Israelites there had offered for the house of our God.

26 As I gave these various items to those priests, I weighed each of the items. This was the total: 25 tons of silver, 100 items made from silver that altogether weighed 7,500 pounds, (7,500 pounds/3,400 kg.) of gold,

I weighed out into their hands 650 talents of silver, articles of silver weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold,

27 20 gold bowls that altogether weighed (19 pounds/8.6 kg.), and two items made of polished bronze that were as valuable as ones made of gold.

20 gold bowls valued at 1,000 darics, and two articles of fine polished bronze, as precious as gold.

28 I said to those priests, “You belong to Yahweh, the God whom our ancestors (worshiped/also belonged to), and these valuable things also belong to him. The people themselves gave these things to be offerings to Yahweh (voluntarily/because they wanted to).

Then I told them, “You are holy to the LORD, and these articles are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers.

29 So guard them carefully, and [when we arrive] in Jerusalem, weigh them in the presence of the priests, the descendants of Levi [who will help the priests], and the other Israeli leaders there. They will then put them in the storerooms in the new temple.”

Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem before the leading priests, Levites, and heads of the Israelite families.”

30 So the priests and [other] descendants of Levi took from me all the gifts of silver and gold and the other valuable items, in order to carry them to the temple in Jerusalem.

So the priests and Levites took charge of the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem.

31 On April 19, we left the Ahava Canal and started to travel to Jerusalem. Our God took care of us, and while we traveled, he prevented our enemies and bandits from (ambushing us/suddenly attacking us).

On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was upon us to protect us from the hands of the enemies and bandits along the way.

32 After we arrived in Jerusalem, we rested for three days.

So we arrived at Jerusalem and rested there for three days.

33 Then on the fourth/next day we went to the temple. There the silver and gold and the other items were weighed and given to the priest Meremoth, the son of Uriah. Eleazar the son of Phinehas and two descendants of Levi, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui, were with him.

On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and sacred articles into the hand of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, along with the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui.

34 They counted everything, and wrote down how much they weighed, and wrote [a description of] each item.

Everything was verified by number and weight, and the total weight was recorded at that time.

35 We who had returned from Babylonia offered to God sacrifices on the altar. We offered twelve bulls for all us Israeli people. We also offered 96 rams and 27 lambs. We also sacrificed twelve goats [to atone] for the sins that all the people had committed. These were all completely burned on the altar.

Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and a sin offering of 12 male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD.

36 Some of us who returned [from Babylonia] took to the governors and other officials of the province west of the [Euphrates] River the letter that the king had given to us. [After they read the letter, ] they did all [that they were able to do] for us Israeli people and for the temple of God.

They also delivered the king’s edicts to the royal satraps and governors of the region west of the Euphrates, who proceeded to assist the people and the house of God.