Ezra 8

1These are the heads of their fathers and their genealogy, those who went up with me from Babylon during the reign of Artaxerxes the king.

2Gershom from Phinehas' sons, Daniel from Ithamar's sons, Hattush from David's sons.

3Of Shecaniah's sons, of Parosh's sons: Zechariah, and with him were enrolled by genealogy one hundred fifty males.

4From the sons of Pahath-moab, Elihoenai son of Zerahiah, with two hundred males.

5From the sons of Shecaniah—the son of Jahaziel—and with him three hundred males.

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

7From the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, with him seventy males.

8From the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, with eighty males.

9From Joab's sons, Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred eighteen males.

10From the sons of Shelomith, Josiphiah's son, and with him one hundred sixty males.

11From Bebai's sons, Zechariah son of Bebai, and twenty-eight males with him.

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

13From the last sons of Adonikam—these their names: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah—with sixty males.

14From Bigvai's sons: Uthai, Zabbud, and Zaccur, with seventy males.

15I gathered them to the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. I examined among the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there.

16I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, the leaders, as well as Joiarib and Elnathan, the understanding men.

17I sent them to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, commanding them, and put words in their mouths to speak to Iddo and his brothers the Nethinim at Casiphia to bring ministers to us for the house of our God.

18By our God’s good hand upon us they brought us a man of understanding from the sons of Mahli, son of Levi, son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen.

19and Hashabiah, with Jeshaiah of Merari’s sons, his brothers and their sons, twenty.

20And from the Nethinim whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred twenty Nethinim: all of them were designated by name.

21I called for a fast there by the Ahava River, to humble ourselves before our God and seek from him a straight path for us, our children, and all our possessions.

22For I was ashamed to ask the king for an army and horsemen to aid us against the enemy on the road, because we had told the king, "The hand of our God is upon all who seek him, for good, but his might and wrath are against all who forsake him."

23We fasted and implored our God for this, and he yielded to us.

24Then I separated twelve of the priests' chiefs, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them.

25I weighed out the silver, the gold, and the vessels to them—the offering for the house of our God that the king, his advisers, his princes, and all Israel present had offered.

26I weighed out into their hands six hundred fifty talents of silver, silver vessels a hundred talents in weight, and a hundred talents of gold.

27and twenty gold basins of a thousand darics, and two vessels of fine polished brass as valuable as gold.

28I said to them, "You are holy to Yahweh, the vessels are holy too, and the silver and the gold are a voluntary offering to Yahweh, the God of your fathers."

29Keep watch and guard them until you weigh them before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites, and the chiefs of Israel's fathers, in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of Yahweh.

30The priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and gold and the vessels to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

31We set out from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and those lying in wait along the way.

32We arrived in Jerusalem and stayed there three days.

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

34Everything by number and by weight, and all the weight was recorded at that time.

35Those who returned from captivity, the sons of the exile, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve goats for a sin offering—all this a burnt offering to Yahweh.

36They delivered the king's decrees to the king's satraps and governors beyond the river, and they supported the people and the house of God.