Ezra 8
Orthodox Jewish Bible
8 These are now the Rashei Avoteihem, and this is the register of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artachshasta the Melech:
2 Of the Bnei Pinchas, Gershom; of the Bnei Itamar, Daniel; of the Bnei Dovid, Chattush;
3 Of the Bnei Shechanyah, of the Bnei Parosh, Zecharyah; and with him were reckoned by register of the zakhar 150.
4 Of the Bnei Pachat-Moav, Elyehoeinai ben Zerachyah, and with him 200 zakhar.
5 Of the Bnei Shechanyah, ben Yachziel, and with him 300 zakhar.
6 Of the banim also of Adin, Eved ben Yonatan, and with him 50 zakhar.
7 And of the Bnei Elam, Yeshayah ben Atalyah, and with him 70 zakhar.
8 And of the Bnei Shephatyah, Zevadyah ben Michael, and with him 80 zakhar.
9 Of the Bnei Yoav, Ovadyah ben Yechiel, and with him 218 zakhar.
10 And of the Bnei Shlomit, ben Yosiphyah, and with him 160 zakhar.
11 And of the Bnei Bevai, Zecharyah ben Bevai, and with him 28 zakhar.
12 And of the Bnei Azgad, Yochanan ben Hakkatan, and with him 110 zakhar.
13 And of the younger Bnei Adonikam, whose shmot are these, Eliphelet, Ye’i’el, and Shemayah, and with them 60 zakhar.
14 Of the banim also of Bigvai, Utai, and Zakkur, and with them 70 zakhar.
15 And I gathered them together by the river that runneth to Ahava, and there abode we in tents three days; and I reviewed the people, and the Kohanim, and found there none of the Bnei Levi.
16 Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemayah, and for Elnatan, and for Yariv, and for Elnatan, and for Natan, and for Zecharyah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Yoyariv, and for Elnatan, men of discernment.
17 And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place called Casiphya, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Netinim, at the place Casiphya, that they should bring unto us ministers for the Beis Eloheinu.
18 And by the good Yad of Eloheinu upon us they brought us an Ish Seichel, of the Bnei Machli, ben Levi, ben Yisroel; and Sherevyah, with his banim and his brethren, eighteen;
19 And Chashavyah, and with him Yeshayah of the Bnei Merari, his brethren and their banim, twenty;
20 Also of the Netinim, whom Dovid and the sarim (princes) had appointed for the Avodas HaLevi’im, two hundred and twenty Netinim; all of them were registered by shemot.
21 Then I proclaimed a tzom there, at the Ahava River, that we might afflict ourselves before Eloheinu, to seek of Him a derech yesharah for us, and for our little ones, and for all our possessions.
22 For I was ashamed to require of the Melech a band of soldiers and parashim to protect us against the enemy on the road; because we had spoken unto the Melech, saying, The Yad Eloheinu is upon all them for tovah that seek Him, but His power and His wrath is against all them that forsake Him.
23 So we did a tzom and besought Eloheinu for this, and He was entreated of us.
24 Then I separated twelve of the chief of the Kohanim, Sherevyah, Chashavyah, and ten of their brethren with them,
25 And weighed out unto them the kesef, and the zahav, and the vessels, even the terumat Beis Eloheinu, which the Melech, and his counselors, and his officials, and kol Yisroel there present, had given as an offering.
26 I even weighed out unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of kesef, and vessels of kesef one hundred talents, and of zahav one hundred talents;
27 Also twenty bowls of zahav, of a thousand darics; and two vessels of nechoshet, precious as zahav.
28 And I said unto them, Ye are kodesh unto Hashem; the vessels are kodesh also; and the kesef and the zahav are a nedavah unto Hashem Elohei Avoteichem.
29 Watch ye, and guard them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the Kohanim and the Levi’im, and chief of the avot of Yisroel, at Yerushalayim, in the chambers of the Beis Hashem.
30 So took the kohanim and the Levi’im the weight of the kesef, and the zahav, and the vessels, to bring them to Yerushalayim unto the Beis Eloheinu.
31 Then we departed from the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Yerushalayim; and the Yad Eloheinu was upon us, and delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and the bandit laying in wait along the Derech (road).
32 And we came to Yerushalayim, and abode there three days.
33 Now on the fourth day was the kesef and the zahav and the vessels weighed in the Beis Eloheinu by the yad of Meremot ben Uriyah HaKohen; and with him was Eleazar ben Pinchas; and with them was Yozavad ben Yeshua, and Noadyah ben Binnui, the Levi’im;
34 By mispar (number) and by weight of every one; and all the weight was written at that time.
35 Also the children of those that had been carried away, the Bnei HaGolus, offered olot unto Elohei Yisroel, twelve bulls for kol Yisroel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin offering; all this was an olah unto Hashem.
36 And they delivered the orders of the Melech unto the Satraps of the Melech, and to the governors of Beyond-the-River [Euphrates] and they gave support to HaAm, and the Beis HaElohim.
Ezra 8
International Standard Version
Ezra’s List of Family Leaders
8 These are the leaders of the families listed among those who left Babylon with me during the reign of King Artaxerxes: 2 From Phinehas’s descendants: Gershom. From Ithamar’s descendants: Daniel. From David’s descendants: Hattush. 3 From Shecaniah’s descendants and[a] from Parosh’s descendants: Zechariah, along with 150 men whose genealogies had been certified. 4 From Pahath-moab’s descendants: Zerahiah’s son Eliehoenai and 200 men with him. 5 From Zattu’s descendants: Jahaziel’s son Shecaniah and 300 men with him. 6 From Adin’s descendants: Jonathan’s son Ebed and 50 men with him. 7 From Elam’s descendants: Athaliah’s son Jeshaiah and 70 men with him. 8 From Shephatiah’s descendants: Michael’s son Zebadiah and 80 men with him. 9 From Joab’s descendants: Jehiel’s son Obadiah and 218 men with him. 10 From Bani’s descendants:[b] Josiphiah’s son Shelomith and 160 men with him. 11 From Bebai’s descendants: Bebai’s son Zechariah and 28 men with him. 12 From Azgad’s descendants: Hakkatan’s son Johanan and 110 men with him. 13 From Adonikam’s later descendants: Eliphelet, Jeuel, Shemaiah, and 60 men with him. 14 From Bigvai’s descendants: Uthai, Zabbud,[c] and 70 men with him.
Ezra Calls the Leaders to Fast
15 I gathered them together at the river that flows toward Ahava,[d] where we camped three days. Afterwards, I examined the people and the priests, but found no descendants of Levi there. 16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were senior leaders, as well as for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of discernment. 17 I told them to go see Iddo, a leader of Casiphia, and tell him and his relatives (administrators of Casiphia) to bring us men who could serve in the Temple of our God. 18 By the grace[e] of our God they brought back a discerning man from the descendants of Mahli, a descendant of Israel’s son Levi, along with Sherebiah and eighteen of his sons and brothers; 19 Hashabiah and Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari and 20 of his brothers and their sons; 20 220 descendants of the Temple Servants whom David and the leaders had appointed to serve the descendants of Levi, listed by name.
21 Then I called for a fast there at the Ahava River so we could humble ourselves before our God and seek from him an appropriate way for us and our little ones to live, and how we should guard our personal wealth,[f] 22 because I was ashamed to ask the king for a contingent of soldiers and cavalry to protect us from enemies we might encounter[g] on the way. After all, we had told the king, “The hand of our God seeks the good of all who seek him,[h] but his power and anger are against everyone who forsakes him.” 23 So we fasted and asked our God about this, and he listened to us.
Ezra Delegates Responsibilities
24 Next I selected twelve of the chief priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them— 25 and divided between them the silver, the gold, the vessels, and the offering for the Temple of our God which the king had offered, along with his advisors, his senior officials, and all of Israel assembled there. 26 I divided among them[i] 650 silver talents,[j] silver utensils weighing 100 talents,[k] 100 talents[l] of gold, 27 20 gold basins weighing 1,000 darics[m] each, and two vessels made of polished brass, as valuable as gold.
28 I told them, “You are consecrated[n] to the Lord, and the vessels are also consecrated.[o] The silver and the gold are a freely given offering to the Lord God of your ancestors. 29 Guard and protect them until you disperse them to the chief priests, the descendants of Levi, and to the family leaders of Israel at Jerusalem in the chambers of the Temple of the Lord.”
30 So the priests and descendants of Levi took possession of the silver, the gold, and the vessels in order to bring them to Jerusalem, to the Temple of our God.
31 Then we left the Ahava River for Jerusalem on the twelfth day[p] of the first month. Our God’s protection[q] was with us, and he delivered us from the enemy’s power[r] and from ambush along the way.
Ezra’s Delegation Arrives in Jerusalem
32 We arrived in Jerusalem and remained there three days. 33 On the fourth day the silver, the gold, and the vessels were distributed at the Temple of our God into the care[s] of Uriah’s son Meremoth the priest, Phinehas’ son Eleazar, Jeshua’s son Jozabad, and Binnui’s son Noadiah, the descendants of Levi. 34 Distribution was according to inventory[t] and weight, with all weights being recorded at that time.
35 The descendants of those who had been taken into captivity and who had returned from captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all of Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering—all of them burnt offerings to the Lord. 36 Then they delivered copies of[u] the king’s orders to the king’s officers, and governors on this side of the Euphrates[v] River. The orders were in support of the people and God’s Temple.
Footnotes
- Ezra 8:3 The Heb. lacks and
- Ezra 8:10 So LXX. The Heb. lacks Bani
- Ezra 8:14 So MT, but qere directs that the name be read Zaccur, perhaps due to confusion with the nearly identical Heb. word for men (Zecarim)
- Ezra 8:15 I.e. about 80 miles northwest of Babylon (cf. 2Kings 17:24)
- Ezra 8:18 Lit. the good hand
- Ezra 8:21 Lit. and for our wealth
- Ezra 8:22 The Heb. lacks we might encounter
- Ezra 8:22 Lit. God upon all who seek him to the good
- Ezra 8:26 Lit. divided upon their hand
- Ezra 8:26 I.e. about 48,750 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
- Ezra 8:26 I.e. about 7,500 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
- Ezra 8:26 I.e. about 7,500 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
- Ezra 8:27 I.e. about 15.6 pounds; a daric weighed about one quarter of an ounce
- Ezra 8:28 Or holy
- Ezra 8:28 Or holy
- Ezra 8:31 The Heb. lacks day
- Ezra 8:31 Lit. hand
- Ezra 8:31 Lit. hand
- Ezra 8:33 Lit. hand
- Ezra 8:34 Lit. By number
- Ezra 8:36 The Heb. lacks copies of
- Ezra 8:36 The Heb. lacks Euphrates
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