Ezra 2:1-4:5

Good News Translation

The List of Those Who Returned from Exile^(A)

2 Many of the exiles left the province of Babylon and returned to Jerusalem and Judah, all to their own hometowns. Their families had been living in exile in Babylonia ever since King Nebuchadnezzar had taken them there as prisoners. ² Their leaders were Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.

This is the list of the clans of Israel, with the number of those from each clan who returned from exile:

• ^3-20 Parosh - 2,172
• Shephatiah - 372
• Arah - 775
• Pahath Moab (descendants of Jeshua and Joab) - 2,812
• Elam - 1,254
• Zattu - 945
• Zaccai - 760
• Bani - 642
• Bebai - 623
• Azgad - 1,222
• Adonikam - 666
• Bigvai - 2,056
• Adin - 454
• Ater (also called Hezekiah) - 98
• Bezai - 323
• Jorah - 112
• Hashum - 223
• Gibbar - 95

^21-35 People whose ancestors had lived in the following towns also returned:

• Bethlehem - 123
• Netophah - 56
• Anathoth - 128
• Azmaveth - 42
• Kiriath Jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth - 743
• Ramah and Geba - 621
• Michmash - 122
• Bethel and Ai - 223
• Nebo - 52
• Magbish - 156
• The other Elam - 1,254
• Harim - 320
• Lod, Hadid, and Ono - 725
• Jericho - 345
• Senaah - 3,630

^36-39 This is the list of the priestly clans that returned from exile:

• Jedaiah (descendants of Jeshua) - 973
• Immer - 1,052
• Pashhur - 1,247
• Harim - 1,017

^40-42 Clans of Levites who returned from exile:

• Jeshua and Kadmiel (descendants of Hodaviah) - 74
• Temple musicians (descendants of Asaph) - 128
• Temple guards (descendants of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai) - 139

^43-54 Clans of Temple workers who returned from exile:

• Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,
• Keros, Siaha, Padon,
• Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub,
• Hagab, Shamlai, Hanan,
• Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah,
• Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam,
• Uzza, Paseah, Besai,
• Asnah, Meunim, Nephisim,
• Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur,
• Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha,
• Barkos, Sisera, Temah,
• Neziah, and Hatipha

^55-57 Clans of Solomon's servants who returned from exile:

• Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda,
• Jaalah, Darkon, Giddel,
• Shephatiah, Hattil, Pochereth Hazzebaim, and Ami

⁵⁸ The total number of descendants of the Temple workers and of Solomon's servants who returned from exile was 392.

^59-60 There were 652 belonging to the clans of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda who returned from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they could not prove that they were descendants of Israelites.

^61-62 The following priestly clans could find no record to prove their ancestry: Habaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai. (The ancestor of the priestly clan of Barzillai had married a woman from the clan of Barzillai of Gilead and had taken the name of his father-in-law's clan.) Since they were unable to prove who their ancestors were, they were not accepted as priests. ^63 (B)The Jewish governor told them that they could not eat the food offered to God until there was a priest who could use the Urim and Thummim.^[a]

• ^64-67 Total number of exiles who returned - 42,360
• Their male and female servants - 7,337
• Male and female musicians - 200
• Horses - 736
• Mules - 245
• Camels - 435
• Donkeys - 6,720

⁶⁸ When the exiles arrived at the Lord's Temple in Jerusalem, some of the leaders of the clans gave freewill offerings to help rebuild the Temple on its old site. ⁶⁹ They gave as much as they could for this work, and the total came to 1,030 pounds of gold, 5,740 pounds of silver, and 100 robes for priests.

^70 (C)The priests, the Levites, and some of the people settled in or near Jerusalem;^[b] the musicians, the Temple guards, and the Temple workers settled in nearby towns; and the rest of the Israelites settled in the towns where their ancestors had lived.

Worship Begins Again

3 By the seventh month the people of Israel were all settled in their towns. Then they all assembled in Jerusalem, ^2 (D)and Joshua son of Jehozadak, his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, together with his relatives, rebuilt the altar of the God of Israel, so that they could burn sacrifices on it according to the instructions written in the Law of Moses, the man of God. ^3 (E)Even though^[c] the returning exiles were afraid of the people who were living in the land, they rebuilt the altar where it had stood before. Then they began once again to burn on it the regular morning and evening sacrifices. ^4 (F)They celebrated the Festival of Shelters according to the regulations; each day they offered the sacrifices required for that day; ^5 (G)and in addition they offered the regular sacrifices to be burned whole and those to be offered at the New Moon Festival and at all the other regular assemblies at which the Lord is worshiped, as well as all the offerings that were given to the Lord voluntarily. ⁶ Although the people had not yet started to rebuild the Temple, they began on the first day of the seventh month to burn sacrifices to the Lord.

The Rebuilding of the Temple Begins

⁷ The people gave money to pay the stonemasons and the carpenters and gave food, drink, and olive oil to be sent to the cities of Tyre and Sidon in exchange for cedar trees from Lebanon, which were to be brought by sea to Joppa. All this was done with the permission of Emperor Cyrus of Persia. ⁸ So in the second month of the year after they came back to the site of the Temple in Jerusalem, they began work. Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the rest of their people, the priests, and the Levites, in fact all the exiles who had come back to Jerusalem, joined in the work. All the Levites twenty years of age or older were put in charge of the work of rebuilding the Temple. ⁹ The Levite Jeshua and his sons and relatives, and Kadmiel and his sons (the clan of Hodaviah^[d]) joined together in taking charge of the rebuilding of the Temple. (They were helped by the Levites of the clan of Henadad.)

^10 (H)When the builders started to lay the foundation of the Temple, the priests in their robes took their places with trumpets in their hands, and the Levites of the clan of Asaph stood there with cymbals. They praised the Lord according to the instructions handed down from the time of King David. ^11 (I)They sang the Lord's praises, repeating the refrain:

“The Lord is good, and his love for Israel is eternal.” Everyone shouted with all their might, praising the Lord, because the work on the foundation of the Temple had been started. ^12 (J)Many of the older priests, Levites, and heads of clans had seen the first Temple, and as they watched the foundation of this Temple being laid, they cried and wailed. But the others who were there shouted for joy.

¹³ No one could distinguish between the joyful shouts and the crying, because the noise they made was so loud that it could be heard for miles.

Opposition to the Rebuilding of the Temple

4 The enemies of the people of Judah and Benjamin heard that those who had returned from exile were rebuilding the Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel. ^2 (K)So they went to see Zerubbabel and the heads of the clans and said, “Let us join you in building the Temple. We worship the same God you worship, and we have been offering sacrifices to him ever since Emperor Esarhaddon of Assyria sent us here to live.”

³ Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the heads of the clans told them, “We don't need your help to build a temple for the Lord our God. We will build it ourselves, just as Emperor Cyrus of Persia commanded us.”

⁴ Then the people who had been living in the land tried to discourage and frighten the Jews and keep them from building. ⁵ They also bribed Persian government officials to work against them. They kept on doing this throughout the reign of Emperor Cyrus and into the reign of Emperor Darius.^[e]