Ezra 2 - New Catholic Bible (NCB)

Chapter 2

Census of the Province. ¹ These were the people of the province who returned from the captivity of the exiles, those whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried away to Babylon and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town. ² They were led back by Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.^[a]

The census of the men of the people of Israel: ³ the sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; ⁴ the sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; ⁵ the sons of Arah, seven hundred and seventy-five; ⁶ the sons of Pahath-moab, namely the descendants of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve; ⁷ the sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ⁸ the sons of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five; ⁹ less the sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; ¹⁰ the sons of Bani, six hundred and forty-two; ¹¹ the sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three; ¹² the sons of Azgad, one thousand two hundred and twenty-two; ¹³ the sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-six; ¹⁴ the sons of Bigvai, two thousand and fifty-six; ¹⁵ the sons of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four; ¹⁶ the sons of Ater, namely the descendants of Hezekiah, ninety-eight; ¹⁷ the sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-three; ¹⁸ the sons of Jorah, one hundred and twelve; ¹⁹ the sons of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three; ²⁰ the sons of Gibeon, ninety-five; ²¹ the sons of Bethlehem, one hundred and twenty-three; ²² the sons of Netophah, fifty-six; ²³ the sons of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight; ²⁴ the sons of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two; ²⁵ the sons of Kiriath-jearim, Chephi-rah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three; ²⁶ the sons of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one; ²⁷ the sons of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two; ²⁸ the sons of Bethel and Ai, two hundred and twenty-three; ²⁹ the sons of Nebo, fifty-two; ³⁰ the sons of Magbish, one hundred and fifty-six; ³¹ the sons of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ³² the sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty; ³³ the sons of Lod, Hadid and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five; ³⁴ the sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; ³⁵ the sons of Senaah, three thousand six hundred and thirty.

³⁶ The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, who were of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three; ³⁷ the sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two; ³⁸ the sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; ³⁹ the sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.

⁴⁰ The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, Kadmiel, Binnui, and Hodaviah, seventy-four.

⁴¹ The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and twenty-eight.

⁴² The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-nine in all.

⁴³ The temple slaves: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁴ the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon, ⁴⁵ the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub, ⁴⁶ the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shamlai, the sons of Hanan, ⁴⁷ the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah, ⁴⁸ the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam, ⁴⁹ the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai, ⁵⁰ the sons of Asnah, the sons of the Meunites, the sons of the Nephusites, ⁵¹ the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, ⁵² the sons of Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, ⁵³ the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, ⁵⁴ the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.

⁵⁵ The descendants of the slaves of Solomon: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Hassophereth, the sons of Peruda, ⁵⁶ the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, ⁵⁷ the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Ami. ⁵⁸ The total of the temple slaves and the descendants of Solomon’s servants numbered three hundred and ninety-two.

⁵⁹ The following were those who returned from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer but were unable to prove that their families and their ancestry were of Israelite origin: ⁶⁰ the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda: six hundred and fifty-two. ⁶¹ And also in regard to the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai (he had married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and became known by his name). ⁶² These men had searched for their names in the genealogical records^[b] but they were not to be found there. As a result, they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. ⁶³ Consequently the governor^[c] ordered them not to partake of the most sacred food until a priest arrived to consult the Urim and the Thummim.

⁶⁴ The entire assemblage numbered forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty people, ⁶⁵ apart from their male and female slaves, who numbered seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven, not including two hundred male and female singers. ⁶⁶ Their horses numbered seven hundred and thirty-six. In addition, their mules numbered two hundred and forty-five, ⁶⁷ their camels numbered four hundred and thirty-five, and their donkeys numbered six thousand seven hundred and twenty.

⁶⁸ When they arrived at the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the heads of families gave free-will offerings for the rebuilding of the house of God on its original site. ⁶⁹ According to their resources they donated sixty-one thousand gold drachmas, five thousand silver minas, and one hundred priestly robes.^[d]

⁷⁰ The priests, the Levites, and some of the people settled in Jerusalem and its vicinity, while the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants lived in their towns, and all the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns.

Footnotes

1. Ezra 2:2 The Nehemiah mentioned here is not the same one who will rebuild Jerusalem almost a century later, and Mordecai is not the person who is named in the Book of Esther.
2. Ezra 2:62 Genealogical records: during this time period, examining records was extremely important for many reasons. One must prove that they descended from Abraham to be considered a true Jew, and this allowed them to participate in full community life.
3. Ezra 2:63 Governor: Sheshbazzar; see Ezr 1:8.
4. Ezra 2:69 As generous as these donations were, fundraising for the new temple did not compare to the money that David raised for the building of Solomon’s temple, and hence it would never compare to the splendor of the original temple.