Ezra 8
English Standard Version
Genealogy of Those Who Returned with Ezra
8 These are the heads of their fathers' houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king: 2 Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of (A)Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, (B)Hattush. 3 Of the sons of Shecaniah, who was of the sons of (C)Parosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered 150 men. 4 (D)Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men. 5 Of the sons of Zattu,[a] Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men. 6 Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men. 7 Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men. 8 Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him 80 men. 9 Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men. 10 Of the sons of Bani,[b] Shelomith the son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men. 11 (E)Of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and with him 28 men. 12 Of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men. 13 Of the sons of Adonikam, those who came later, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men. 14 Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men.
Ezra Sends for Levites
15 I gathered them to the river that runs to (F)Ahava, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there (G)none of the sons of Levi. 16 Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and (H)Meshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of insight, 17 and sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers and[c] the temple servants at the place Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for the house of our God. 18 And (I)by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of (J)Mahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen, 18; 19 also (K)Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of (L)the sons of Merari, with his kinsmen and their sons, 20; 20 (M)besides 220 of the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. These were all (N)mentioned by name.
Fasting and Prayer for Protection
21 (O)Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river (P)Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, (Q)to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, (R)“The hand of our God is for good on (S)all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.
Priests to Guard Offerings
24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: (T)Sherebiah, (U)Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them. 25 And I weighed out to them the (V)silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his (W)counselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered. 26 (X)I weighed out into their hand 650 talents[d] of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents,[e] and 100 talents of gold, 27 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics,[f] and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold. 28 And I said to them, (Y)“You are holy to the Lord, and (Z)the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers. 29 Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers' houses in Israel at Jerusalem, (AA)within the chambers of the house of the Lord.” 30 So the priests and the Levites (AB)took over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.
31 Then we departed from the river Ahava (AC)on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. (AD)The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. 32 (AE)We came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days. 33 On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were (AF)weighed into the hands of (AG)Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, (AH)Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of (AI)Binnui. 34 The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.
35 At that time (AJ)those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, (AK)twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 (AL)They also delivered the king's commissions to the king's (AM)satraps[g] and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God.
Footnotes
- Ezra 8:5 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks of Zattu
- Ezra 8:10 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Bani
- Ezra 8:17 Hebrew lacks and
- Ezra 8:26 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
- Ezra 8:26 Revocalization; the number is missing in the Masoretic Text
- Ezra 8:27 A daric was a coin weighing about 1/4 ounce or 8.5 grams
- Ezra 8:36 A satrap was a Persian official
Ezra 8
New American Standard Bible
People Who Went with Ezra
8 Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households and the genealogical enrollment of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes: 2 of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, (A)Hattush; 3 of the sons of Shecaniah who was of the sons of (B)Parosh, Zechariah, and with him 150 males who were in the genealogical list; 4 of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and two hundred males with him; 5 of the sons of [a]Zattu, Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel and three hundred males with him; 6 and of the sons of (C)Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and fifty males with him; 7 and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and seventy males with him; 8 and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael and eighty males with him; 9 of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 218 males with him; 10 and of the sons of [b]Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah and 160 males with him; 11 and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai and twenty-eight males with him; 12 and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 males with him; 13 and of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones, these being their names: Eliphelet, [c]Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and sixty males with them; 14 and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and [d]Zabbud, and seventy males with [e]them.
Ezra Sends for Levites
15 Now I assembled them at (D)the river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days; and when I paid close attention to the people and the priests, I (E)did not find any Levites there. 16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, [f]leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, teachers. 17 And I sent them to Iddo the [g]leading man at the place called Casiphia; and I [h]told them what to say to [i]Iddo and his brothers, (F)the temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring ministers to us for the house of our God. 18 (G)And as the good hand of our God was upon us, they brought us a (H)man of insight from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, and his sons and brothers, eighteen men; 19 and Hashabiah and [j]Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty men; 20 and 220 of (I)the temple servants, whom David and the officials had provided for the service of the Levites, all of them designated by name.
Protection of God Invoked
21 Then I proclaimed (J)a fast there at (K)the river of Ahava, to (L)humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a [k]safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. 22 For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to [l]protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “(M)The hand of our God is [m]favorably disposed to all who seek Him, but (N)His power and His anger are against all those who (O)abandon Him.” 23 So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He [n](P)listened to our pleading.
24 Then I selected twelve of the leading priests: (Q)Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers; 25 and I (R)weighed out to them (S)the silver, the gold, and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king, (T)his counselors, his officials, and all Israel who were present there had contributed. 26 (U)So I weighed into their hands [o]650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth [p]a hundred talents, and a hundred gold talents, 27 and twenty gold bowls worth a thousand [q]darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold. 28 Then I said to them, “(V)You are holy to the Lord, and the (W)utensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a [r]voluntary offering to the Lord God of your fathers. 29 Watch and keep them (X)until you weigh them before the leading priests, the Levites, and the leaders of the fathers’ households of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.” 30 So the priests and the Levites (Y)accepted the weight of silver and gold and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.
31 Then we journeyed from (Z)the river Ahava on (AA)the twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and (AB)the hand of our God was upon us, and He rescued us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the road. 32 (AC)So we came to Jerusalem and remained there for three days.
Treasure Placed in the Temple
33 And on the fourth day the silver, the gold, and the utensils (AD)were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of (AE)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 A notation was made for everything by number and weight, and all the weight was recorded at that time.
35 (AF)The exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: (AG)twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 Then (AH)they delivered the king’s edicts to (AI)the king’s satraps and the governors in the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, and they supported the people and the house of God.
Footnotes
- Ezra 8:5 As in LXX; MT omits Zattu
- Ezra 8:10 As in LXX; MT omits Bani
- Ezra 8:13 Or Jeuel
- Ezra 8:14 Or Zakkur
- Ezra 8:14 Or him
- Ezra 8:16 Lit heads
- Ezra 8:17 Lit head
- Ezra 8:17 Lit put words in their mouth to say
- Ezra 8:17 As in LXX; MT Iddo his brother
- Ezra 8:19 As in LXX; MT with him Jeshaiah
- Ezra 8:21 Lit smooth way
- Ezra 8:22 Lit help
- Ezra 8:22 Lit upon all...for good
- Ezra 8:23 Lit was entreated by us
- Ezra 8:26 About 24 tons or 22 metric tons
- Ezra 8:26 About 3.75 tons or 3.4 metric tons
- Ezra 8:27 A coin weighing about 0.25 oz. or 7 gm
- Ezra 8:28 Or freewill offering
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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