Ezra 8

Chapter 8

Exiles Who Returned with Ezra

1 Here is a list of the family leaders and the genealogies of those who came with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:
2 From the family of Phinehas: Gershom.
From the family of Ithamar: Daniel.
From the family of David: Hattush,3 a descendant of Shecaniah.
From the family of Parosh: Zechariah and 150 other men were registered.4 From the family of Pahath-moab: Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah and 200 other men.5 From the family of Zattut: Shecaniah son of Jahaziel and 300 other men.6 From the family of Adin: Ebed son of Jonathan and 50 other men.7 From the family of Elam: Jeshaiah son of Athaliah and 70 other men.8 From the family of Shephatiah: Zebadiah son of Michael and 80 other men.9 From the family of Joab: Obadiah son of Jehiel and 218 other men.10 From the family of Banit: Shelomith son of Josiphiah and 160 other men.11 From the family of Bebai: Zechariah son of Bebai and 28 other men.12 From the family of Azgad: Johanan son of Hakkatan and 110 other men.13 From the family of Adonikam, who came latert: Eliphelet, Jeuel, Shemaiah, and 60 other men.14 From the family of Bigvai: Uthai, Zaccur,t and 70 other men.

Ezra’s Journey to Jerusalem

15 I assembled the exiles at the Ahava Canal, and we camped there for three days while I went over the lists of the people and the priests who had arrived. I found that not one Levite had volunteered to come along.16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders of the people. I also sent for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of discernment.

17 I sent them to Iddo, the leader of the Levites at Casiphia, to ask him and his relatives and the Temple servants to send us ministers for the Temple of God at Jerusalem.
18 Since the gracious hand of our God was on us, they sent us a man named Sherebiah, along with eighteen of his sons and brothers. He was a very astute man and a descendant of Mahli, who was a descendant of Levi son of Israel.t19 They also sent Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari, and twenty of his sons and brothers,

20 and 220 Temple servants. The Temple servants were assistants to the Levites—a group of Temple workers first instituted by King David and his officials. They were all listed by name.
21 And there by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled.22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsement to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, “Our God’s hand of protection is on all who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him.”

23 So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.
24 I appointed twelve leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten other priests—25 to be in charge of transporting the silver, the gold, the gold bowls, and the other items that the king, his council, his officials, and all the people of Israel had presented for the Temple of God.

26 I weighed the treasure as I gave it to them and found the totals to be as follows:
24 tonst of silver,
7,500 poundst of silver articles,
7,500 pounds of gold,27 20 gold bowls, equal in value to 1,000 gold coins,t
2 fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold.28 And I said to these priests, “You and these treasures have been set apart as holy to the LORD. This silver and gold is a voluntary offering to the LORD, the God of our ancestors.29 Guard these treasures well until you present them to the leading priests, the Levites, and the leaders of Israel, who will weigh them at the storerooms of the LORD’s Temple in Jerusalem.”

30 So the priests and the Levites accepted the task of transporting these treasures of silver and gold to the Temple of our God in Jerusalem.
31 We broke camp at the Ahava Canal on April 19t and started off to Jerusalem. And the gracious hand of our God protected us and saved us from enemies and bandits along the way.

32 So we arrived safely in Jerusalem, where we rested for three days.
33 On the fourth day after our arrival, the silver, gold, and other valuables were weighed at the Temple of our God and entrusted to Meremoth son of Uriah the priest and to Eleazar son of Phinehas, along with Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui—both of whom were Levites.

34 Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the total weight was officially recorded.
35 Then the exiles who had come out of captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel. They presented twelve bulls for all the people of Israel, as well as ninety-six rams and seventy-seven male lambs. They also offered twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was given as a burnt offering to the LORD.

36 The king’s decrees were delivered to his highest officers and the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River,t who then cooperated by supporting the people and the Temple of God.

EZRA 8

The Families Who Came Back //with Ezra

1 Artaxerxes was king of Persia when It led the following chiefs of the family groups from Babylonia to Jerusalem:

2-14 Gershom of the Phinehas family;
Daniel of the Ithamar family;
Hattush son of Shecaniah of the David family;
Zechariah and 150 other men of the Parosh family, who had family records;
Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah with 200 men of the Pahath Moab family;
Shecaniah son of Jahaziel with 300 men of the Zattu family;t
Ebed son of Jonathan with 50 men of the Adin family;
Jeshaiah son of Athaliah with 70 men of the Elam family;
Zebadiah son of Michael with 80 men of the Shephatiah family;
Obadiah son of Jehiel with 218 men of the Joab family;
Shelomith son of Josiphiah with 160 men of the Bani family;t
Zechariah son of Bebai with 28 men of the Bebai family;
Johanan son of Hakkatan with 110 men of the Azgad family;
Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah who returned sometime later with 60 men of the Adonikam family;
Uthai and Zaccur with 70 men of the Bigvai family.

Ezra Finds Levites //for the Temple

17 Then I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, t and I told them to ask him and his temple workers to send people to serve in God's temple.
18 God was kind to us and caused them to send a skillful man named Sherebiah, who was a Levite from the family of Mahli. Eighteen of his relatives came with him. 19 We were also sent Hashabiah and Jeshaiah from the family of Merari along with 20 of their relatives.

20 In addition, 220 others came to help the Levites in the temple. The ancestors of these workers had been chosen years ago by King Davidt and his officials, and they were all listed by name.

Ezra Asks the People //To Go without Eating //and To Pray

23 So we went without food and asked God himself to protect us, and he answered our prayers.

The Gifts for the Temple

25-27 Then I weighed the gifts that had been given for God's temple, and I divided them among the twelve priests I had chosen. There were gifts of silver and gold, as well as the articles that the king, his advisors and officials, and the people of Israel had contributed. In all there were: 22 tons of silver; 100 silver articles weighing 70 kilograms ; 3.4 tons of gold; 20 gold bowls weighing over 8 kilograms ; and 2 polished bronze articles as valuable as gold.

28 I said to the priests:
You belong to the [Lord], the God of your ancestors, and these things also belong to him. The silver and gold were willingly given as gifts to the [Lord].

29 Be sure to guard them and keep them safe until you reach Jerusalem. Then weigh them inside God's temple in the presence of the chief priests, the Levites, and the heads of the Israelite families.

30 The priests and Levites then took charge of the gifts that had been weighed, so they could take them to the temple of our God in Jerusalem.

The Return to Jerusalem

31 On the twelfth day of the first month, t we left the Ahava Rivert and started for Jerusalem. Our God watched over us, and as we traveled along, he kept our enemies from ambushing us.
32 After arriving in Jerusalem, we rested for three days. 33 Then on the fourth day we went to God's temple, where the silver, the gold, and the other things were weighed and given to the priest Meremoth son of Uriah. With him were Eleazar son of Phinehas and the two Levites, Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui.

34 Everything was counted, weighed, and recorded.
35 Those who had returned from exile offered sacrifices on the altar to the God of Israel. Twelve bulls were offered for all Israel. Ninety-six rams and 77 lambst were offered on the altar, and 12 goats were sacrificed for the sins of the people. 36 Some of those who had returned took the king's orders to the governors and officials in Western Province. Then the officials did what they could for the people and for the temple of God.