Ezra 8
8
1 And so these are the leaders of the families, with their genealogy, of those who ascended with me from Babylon, during the reign of king Artaxerxes.
2 From the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. From the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. From the sons of David, Hattush.
3 From the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Parosh, Zechariah, and one hundred fifty men were numbered with him.
4 From the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai, the son of Zerahiah, and two hundred men were with him.
5 From the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel, and three hundred men were with him.
6 From the sons of Adin, Ebed, the son of Jonathan, and fifty men were with him.
7 From the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah, the son of Athaliah, and seventy men were with him.
8 From the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah, the son of Michael, and eighty men were with him.
9 From the sons of Joab, Obadiah, the son of Jehiel, and two hundred eighteen men were with him.
10 From the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and one hundred sixty men were with him.
11 From the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and twenty-eight men were with him.
12 From the sons of Azgad, Johanan, the son of Hakkatan, and one hundred and ten men were with him.
13 From the sons of Adonikam, who were the last, and these were their names: Eliphelet, and Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and sixty men were with them.
14 From the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and seventy men were with them.
15 Now I gathered them together at the river that runs down to Ahava, and we stayed there for three days. And I sought among the people and among the priests for the sons of Levi, and I found none there.
16 And so I sent Eliezer, and Ariel, and Shemaiah, and Elnathan, and Jarib, and another Elnathan, and Nathan, and Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were wise.
17 And I sent them to Iddo, who is first within the place of Casiphia. And I placed in their mouth the words that they should speak to Iddo and his brothers, the temple servants, in the place of Casiphia, so that they would lead to us ministers for the house of our God.
18 And because the good hand of our God was over us, they led to us a very learned man from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, with Sherebiah, and his sons, and his eighteen brothers,
19 and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah, of the sons of Merari, and his brothers, and his sons, numbering twenty.
20 And from the temple servants, whom David, and the leaders had provided for the ministry of the Levites, there were two hundred twenty temple servants. All these were called by their names.
21 And I proclaimed a fast in that place, beside the river Ahava, so that we might afflict ourselves in the sight of the Lord our God, and so that we might request of him the right way for us, and for our sons, and for all our substance.
22 For I was ashamed to petition the king for assistance and for horsemen, who would defend us from the enemy along the way. For we had said to the king: "The hand of our God is over all those who seek him in goodness. And his authority, and his strength and fury, is over all those who forsake him."
23 And so we fasted and begged our God for this; and as a result, we prospered.
24 And I separated twelve from among the leaders of the priests: Sherebiah, and Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers.
25 And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold, and the vessels consecrated to the house of our God, which had been offered by the king, and by his counselors and his leaders, and by all those of Israel who had been found.
26 And I weighed out to their hands six hundred fifty talents of silver, and one hundred vessels of silver, and one hundred talents of gold,
27 and twenty gold bowls which had the weight of one thousand coins, and two vessels of the finest shining brass, as beautiful as gold.
28 And I said to them: "You are the holy ones of the Lord, and the vessels are holy, with the silver and the gold, which has been offered freely to the Lord, the God of our fathers.
29 Watch and guard them, until you weigh them out before the leaders of the priests and the Levites, and the rulers of the families of Israel in Jerusalem, into the treasury of the house of the Lord."
30 Then the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, so that they might carry these to Jerusalem, into the house of our God.
31 Therefore, we set out from the river Ahava, on the twelfth day of the first month, so that we might travel to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was over us, and he freed us from the hand of the enemy and of those who lay in ambush along the way.
32 And we arrived at Jerusalem, and we stayed there for three days.
33 Then, on the fourth day, the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed out in the house of our God, by the hand of Meremoth, 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.
34 This was done according to the number and weight of everything; and every weight was written down at that time.
35 Moreover, those who came from the captivity, the sons of the transmigration, offered holocausts to the God of Israel: twelve calves on behalf of all the people of Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve he-goats for sin. All these were a holocaust to the Lord.
36 Then they gave the edicts of the king to the rulers who served in the sight of the king, and to the governors beyond the river, and they exalted the people and the house of God.
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Ezra 8: CPDV
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Ezra 8
8
The List of Those Returning from Babylon
1These are the leaders of the families and the genealogy of those who left Babylon with me during the reign of King Artaxerxes:
2from the family of Phinehas:
Gershom
from the family of Ithamar:
Daniel
3from the family of David:
Hattush, son of Shecaniah
from the family of Parosh:
Zechariah, with 150 males whose genealogies were known
4from the family of Pahath Moab:
Eliehoenai, son of Zerahiah, with 200 males
5from the family of Zattu: #8:5 Greek; Masoretic Text omits “of Zattu.”
Shecaniah, son of Jahaziel, with 300 males
6from the family of Adin:
Ebed, son of Jonathan, with 50 males
7from the family of Elam:
Jeshaiah, son of Athaliah, with 70 males
8from the family of Shephatiah:
Zebadiah, son of Michael, with 80 males
9from the family of Joab:
Obadiah, son of Jehiel, with 210 males
10from the family of Bani: #8:10 Greek; Masoretic Text omits “of Bani.”
Shelomith, son of Josiphiah, with 160 males
11from the family of Bebai:
Zechariah, son of Bebai, with 38 males
12from the family of Azgad:
Johanan, son of Hakkatan, with 110 males
13from the family of Adonikam:
Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, who arrived later with 60 males
14from the family of Bigvai:
Uthai and Zabbud, with 70 males.
The People Prepare for Their Journey
15I had this group gather by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I noticed laypeople and priests there, but I didn’t find any Levites. 16Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam (who were leading men) and for Joiarib and Elnathan (who were wise). 17I sent them to Iddo, the leader in Casiphia. I told them to tell Iddo and his relatives, the temple servants in Casiphia, that they should bring us men who can serve in our God’s temple. 18God was guiding us, so Iddo and his relatives brought us someone competent, Sherebiah, who was a descendant of Mahli, Levi, and Israel. They brought us 18 of Sherebiah’s sons and relatives. 19They also brought Hashabiah, Jeshaiah (who was a descendant of Merari), 20 of Jeshaiah’s relatives and their sons, 20and 220 temple servants. ⌞They were descended⌟ from the temple servants whom David and his officials had appointed to work for the Levites. These were all listed by name.
21Then I announced a fast there at the Ahava River so that we might humble ourselves in the presence of our God to ask him for a safe journey for ourselves, for our little ones, and for all our goods. 22I was ashamed to ask the king for an armed escort with cavalry to help us against an enemy attack on the way. We had already told the king, “Our God works things out for the good of everyone who dedicates his life to serving him, but his power and his anger oppose everyone who abandons him.” 23So we fasted and asked our God for a safe journey, and he answered our prayer.
24Then I selected 12 leaders from the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and 10 of their relatives. 25I weighed for them the silver, the gold, and the utensils. ⌞These were⌟ the contributions that the king, his advisers, his officials, and all the Israelites had contributed for our God’s temple. 26I weighed ⌞the contributions⌟ for them to guard: about 24 tons of silver, 100 silver utensils weighing 150 pounds apiece, 7,500 pounds of gold, 2720 gold bowls weighing 18 pounds apiece, and two utensils of fine polished bronze that were as precious as gold. 28I told them, “You and the utensils are holy to the Lord. The silver and gold are freewill offerings to the Lord God of your ancestors. 29Guard them carefully. In Jerusalem, inside the storerooms of the Lord’s temple, weigh these items. Do this in front of the chief priests, Levites, and the leaders of Israel’s families.” 30So the priests and the Levites took charge of the silver, the gold, and the utensils. They were responsible for bringing these items to the temple of our God in Jerusalem.
The People Arrive in Jerusalem
31Then we left the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. God was guiding us, and he rescued us from our enemies and from ambushes along the way. 32When we reached Jerusalem, we rested for three days. 33On the fourth day we weighed the silver, the gold, and the utensils in our God’s temple. We put them under the supervision of Meremoth, son of the priest Uriah, as well as Eleazar, the son of Phinehas. The Levites, Jeshua’s son Jozabad, and Binnui’s son Noadiah, assisted them. 34Everything was counted and weighed, and the entire weight was recorded at that time.
35The exiles who had come back from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and 12 male goats for an offering for sin. All of these animals were burnt offerings for the Lord.
36The exiles delivered the king’s orders to the king’s satraps and governors ⌞in the province⌟ west of the Euphrates River. These officials then gave their support to the people and the temple of God.
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