¹⁰ “Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon.^(A) Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.

²⁶ I weighed out to them 650 talents^[a] of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents,^[b] 100 talents^[c] of gold, ²⁷ 20 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 darics,^[d] and two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold.

²⁸ I said to them, “You as well as these articles are consecrated to the Lord.^(A) The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. ²⁹ Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem before the leading priests and the Levites and the family heads of Israel.” ³⁰ Then the priests and Levites received the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem.

²⁵ Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem^(A) in the service^(B) of the Lord’s people^(C) there. ²⁶ For Macedonia^(D) and Achaia^(E) were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem.^(F)

¹⁷ “After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor^(A) and to present offerings.