The Book of Ezra

⭑ Unlocked Literal Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 8 -

These are the leaders of their ancestors’ families who left Babylon with me during the reign of King Artaxerxes.

Of the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the descendants of David, Hattush,

who was of the descendants of Shecaniah, who was from the descendants of Parosh; and Zechariah, and with him there were 150 males listed in the record of his genealogy.

Of the descendants of Pahath Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah and with him were two hundred males.

Of the descendants of Shecaniah, Ben Jahaziel and with him were three hundred males.

Of the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan and with him were listed fifty males.

Of the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah and with him were listed seventy males.

Of the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael and with him were listed eighty males.

Of the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel and with him were listed 218 males.

Of the descendants of Shelomith son of Josiphiah and with him were listed 160 males.

Of the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai and with him were listed twenty-eight males.

Of the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan and with him were listed 110 males.

Those of the descendants of Adonikam came later. These were their names: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah and with them came sixty males.

Of the descendants of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur and with him were listed seventy males.

Ezra Sends for the Levites

I gathered the travelers at the canal that goes to Ahava, and we camped there three days. I examined the people and priests, but could not find any descendants of Levi there.

So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, and Elnathan and Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam-who were leaders-and for Joarib and Elnathan-who were teachers.

Next I sent them to Iddo, the leader in Casiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo and his relatives, the temple servants living in Casiphia, that is, to send to us servants for the house of God.

So they sent us by our God’s good hand a man named Sherebiah, a prudent man. He was a descendant of Mahli son of Levi son of Israel. He came with eighteen sons and brothers.

With him came Hashabiah. There also were Jeshaiah, one of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty men in all.

Of those assigned to serve in the temple, whom David and his officials gave to serve the Levites: 220, each of them assigned by name.

Fasting for Protection

Then I proclaimed a fast at the Ahava Canal to humble ourselves before God, to seek a straight path from him for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.

I was ashamed to ask the king for an army or horsemen to protect us against enemies along the way, since we had said to the king, ‘The hand of our God is on all who seek him for good, but his might and wrath are on all who forget him.’

So we fasted and sought God about this, and we pled to him.

Priests to Guard the Offerings

Next I selected twelve men from the priestly officials: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers.

I weighed out for them silver, gold, and the objects and offerings for the house of God that the king, his counselors and officials, and all Israel had freely offered.

So I weighed into their hand 650 silver talents, one hundred talents of silver objects, one hundred gold talents,

twenty gold bowls that were together valued at one thousand darics, and two well-polished bronze vessels as precious as gold.

Then I said to them, “You are consecrated to Yahweh, and these objects also, and the silver and gold are a freewill offering to Yahweh, the God of your ancestors.

Watch over them and keep them until you weigh them out before the priestly officials, Levites, and leaders of the ancestors’ clans of Israel in Jerusalem in the rooms of God’s house.”

The priests and the Levites accepted the weighed silver, gold, and the objects in order to take them to Jerusalem, to our God’s house.

We went out from the Ahava Canal on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us; he protected us from the hand of the enemy and the ones who wished to ambush us along the road.

Arrival in Jerusalem

So we entered Jerusalem and stayed there for three days.

Then on the fourth day the silver, gold, and objects were weighed out in our God’s house into the hand of Meremoth son of Uriah the priest, and with him were Eleazar son of Phinehas, Jozabad son of Jeshua, and Noadiah son of Binnui the Levite.

The number and weight of everything was determined. All the weight was written down at that time.

The ones who came back from the captivity, the people of exile, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all of Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering. All were a burnt offering for Yahweh.

Then they gave the king’s decrees to the king’s high officials and the governors in the Province Beyond the River, and they helped the people and the house of God.

Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:

Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattush.

Of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and with him were listed by genealogy of the males one hundred fifty.

Of the sons of Pahathmoab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah; and with him two hundred males.

Of the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel; and with him three hundred males.

Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan; and with him fifty males.

Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah; and with him seventy males.

Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael; and with him eighty males.

Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel; and with him two hundred eighteen males.

Of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah; and with him one hundred sixty males.

Of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai; and with him twenty-eight males.

Of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan; and with him one hundred ten males.

Of the sons of Adonikam, who were the last, their names are: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah; and with them sixty males.

Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud; and with them seventy males.

Ezra Sends for the Levites

I gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava; and there we encamped three days. Then I looked around at the people and the priests, and found there were none of the sons of Levi.

Then I sent for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, for Elnathan, for Jarib, for Elnathan, for Nathan, for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib and for Elnathan, who were teachers.

I sent them out to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia; and I told them what they should tell Iddo and his brothers the temple servants at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.

According to the good hand of our God on us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen;

and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty;

and of the temple servants, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred twenty temple servants. All of them were mentioned by name.

Fasting for Protection

Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a straight way for us, for our little ones, and for all our possessions.

For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is on all those who seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all those who forsake him.”

So we fasted and begged our God for this, and he granted our request.

Priests to Guard the Offerings

Then I set apart twelve of the chiefs of the priests, even Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them,

and weighed to them the silver, the gold, and the vessels, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king, his counselors, his princes, and all Israel there present, had offered.

I weighed into their hand six hundred fifty talents of silver,(a) one hundred talents of silver vessels, one hundred talents of gold,

twenty bowls of gold weighing one thousand darics,(b) and two vessels of fine bright bronze, precious as gold.

I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD, and the vessels are holy. The silver and the gold are a free will offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers.

Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and the princes of the fathers’ households of Israel at Jerusalem, in the rooms of the LORD’s house.”

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

Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the bandits by the way.

Arrival in Jerusalem

We came to Jerusalem, and stayed there three days.

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

Everything was counted and weighed; and all the weight was written at that time.

The children of the captivity, who had come out of exile, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats for a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD.

They delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s local governors and to the governors beyond the River. So they supported the people and God’s house.

Footnotes

(a)8:26 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces

(b)8:27 a daric was a gold coin issued by a Persian king, weighing about 8.4 grams or about 0.27 troy ounces each.