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]:
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:
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 sons of Phinehas, Gershom. From the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. From the sons of David, Hattush,
3 Zechariah and 150 [other] men from the clan descended from Parosh
son of Shecaniah. From the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him 150 men were registered.
4 Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and 200 other men from the clan descended from Pahath-Moab
From the sons 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 sons 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 sons 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 sons 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 sons 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 sons 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 sons 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 sons 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 sons 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 sons of Adonikam, those who were last, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men.
14 And Uthai and Zaccur and 70 other men from the clan descended from Bigvai.
From the sons of Bigvai, 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].
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
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.
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.
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].
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.
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.
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;
19 They also sent to us Hashabiah, along with Jeshaiah, descendants of [Levi’s son] Merari, and 20 of their relatives.
and Hashabiah, along with Jeshaiah, from the sons of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, a total of twenty 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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 asked God to protect us, and he answered our prayers.
24 I chose twelve of the leaders of the priests, Sherebiah and Hashabiah and ten of their relatives.
Then I designated twelve of the leading priests, and 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 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.
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 and placed in their hands 650 talents of silver, silver Temple items 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 worth 1,000 darics, and two articles of highly-polished bronze, as valuable 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).
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.
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
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 left the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem, and our God was with us to protect us from enemy ambushes along the way.
32 After we arrived in Jerusalem, we rested for three days.
Eventually we arrived in 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 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.
34 They counted everything, and wrote down how much they weighed, and wrote [a description of] each item.
Everything was checked, both by number and weight, and the total weight was written down at the 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—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.
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 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.
