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^[a] 650 silver talents,^[b] silver utensils weighing 100 talents,^[c] 100 talents^[d] of gold, ²⁷ 20 gold basins weighing 1,000 darics^[e] each, and two vessels made of polished brass, as valuable as gold.

²⁸ I told them, “You are consecrated^[f] to the Lord, and the vessels are also consecrated.^[g] 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.