Ezra 8

People Who Went with Ezra

1Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households and the genealogical enrollment of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes: 2of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, 1Hattush; 3of the sons of Shecaniah who was of the sons of 2Parosh, Zechariah, and with him 150 males who were in the genealogical list; 4of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and two hundred males with him; 5of the sons of 3Zattu, Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel and three hundred males with him; 6and of the sons of 4Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and fifty males with him; 7and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and seventy males with him; 8and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael and eighty males with him; 9of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 218 males with him; 10and of the sons of 5Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah and 160 males with him; 11and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai and twenty-eight males with him; 12and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 males with him; 13and of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones, these being their names: Eliphelet, 6Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and sixty males with them; 14and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and 7Zabbud, and seventy males with 8them.

Ezra Sends for Levites

15Now I assembled them at 9the river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days; and when I paid close attention to the people and the priests, I 10did not find any Levites there. 16So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, 11leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, teachers. 17And I sent them to Iddo the 12leading man at the place called Casiphia; and I 13told them what to say to 14Iddo and his brothers, 15the temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring ministers to us for the house of our God. 1816And as the good hand of our God was upon us, they brought us a 17man of insight from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, and his sons and brothers, eighteen men; 19and Hashabiah and 18Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty men; 20and 220 of 19the temple servants, whom David and the officials had provided for the service of the Levites, all of them designated by name.

Protection of God Invoked

21Then I proclaimed 20a fast there at 21the river of Ahava, to 22humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a 23safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. 22For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to 24protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “25The hand of our God is 26favorably disposed to all who seek Him, but 27His power and His anger are against all those who 28abandon Him.” 23So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He 2930listened to our pleading.

24Then I selected twelve of the leading priests: 31Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers; 25and I 32weighed out to them 33the silver, the gold, and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king, 34his counselors, his officials, and all Israel who were present there had contributed. 2635So I weighed into their hands 36650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth 37a hundred talents, and a hundred gold talents, 27and twenty gold bowls worth a thousand 38darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold. 28Then I said to them, “39You are holy to the Lord, and the 40utensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a 41voluntary offering to the Lord God of your fathers. 29Watch and keep them 42until you weigh them before the leading priests, the Levites, and the leaders of the fathers’ households of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.” 30So the priests and the Levites 43accepted the weight of silver and gold and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

31Then we journeyed from 44the river Ahava on 45the twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and 46the hand of our God was upon us, and He rescued us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the road. 3247So we came to Jerusalem and remained there for three days.

Treasure Placed in the Temple

33And on the fourth day the silver, the gold, and the utensils 48were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of 49Meremoth 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. 34A notation was made for everything by number and weight, and all the weight was recorded at that time.

3550The exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 51twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to the Lord. 36Then 52they delivered the king’s edicts to 53the king’s satraps and the governors in the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, and they supported the people and the house of God.