Chapter 8
1 These are the family heads and those registered with them who set forth from Babylon with me in the reign of King Artaxerxes:
2 Of the sons of Phinehas: Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar: Daniel; of the sons of David: Hattush, 3 son of Shecaniah; of the sons of Parosh: Zechariah, and with him one hundred and fifty males were enrolled; 4 of the sons of Pahath-moab: Eliehoenai, son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males; 5 of the sons of Zattu: Shecaniah, son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males; 6 of the sons of Adin: Ebed, son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males; 7 of the sons of Elam: Jeshaiah, son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; 8 of the sons of Shephatiah: Zebadiah, son of Michael, and with him eighty males; 9 of the sons of Joab: Obadiah, son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males; 10 of the sons of Bani: Shelomith, son of Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males; 11 of the sons of Bebai: Zechariah, son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males; 12 of the sons of Azgad: Johanan, son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males; 13 of the sons of Adonikam: the younger sons, whose names were Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty males; 14 of the sons of Bigvai: Uthai and Zaccur, and with them seventy males.
15 The Journey to Jerusalem. I assembled them by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there for three days. During that time I noticed the people and the priests, but I was unable to discern any Levites.[a] 16 Therefore, I summoned Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were judicious men, 17 and sent them to Iddo the leader at a place called Casiphia, in order to procure for us ministers to serve in the house of our God.
18 By the gracious providence of God they sent to us Sherebiah, a wise man, one of the sons of Mahli, son of Levi, son of Israel, with his sons and kinsmen, eighteen men. 19 They also sent us Hashabiah, and with him his brother Jeshaiah of the descendants of Merari with his kinsmen and their sons, twenty men, 20 and two hundred and twenty temple slaves whom David and the princes had assigned to serve the Levites, all of them enrolled by name.
21 Then I proclaimed a fast there by the River Ahava, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and pray that he would grant a successful journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for foot soldiers and cavalry to protect us from enemies along the way, inasmuch as we had said to the king: “The hand of our God is upon all who seek his protection, but his fierce wrath is against all who forsake him.” 23 Therefore, we fasted and prayed to God to grant us a safe journey, and he answered our prayer.
24 Then I selected twelve of the leading priests, together with Sherebiah and Hashabiah and ten of their kinsmen. 25 I weighed out in their presence the silver, the gold, and the utensils, the contributions which the king, his advisors, his officials, and all the Israelites present there had offered for the house of our God.
26 I weighed out and handed over to them six hundred and fifty talents[b] of silver, one hundred silver vessels weighing two talents, one hundred talents of gold, 27 twenty gold bowls worth one thousand darics, and two superb vessels of polished bronze, as precious as gold.
28 Then I said to them: “You are consecrated to the Lord, as are the utensils. The silver and the gold are a free-will offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers. 29 Guard them carefully until you weigh them out to the leading priests, the Levites, and the heads of the families of Israel in Jerusalem within the chambers of the house of the Lord.” 30 The priests and the Levites then took charge of the silver, the gold, and the sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem.
31 On the twelfth day of the first month we set forth from the Ahava Canal to make our journey to Jerusalem. The hand of God remained to protect us from our enemies and bandits along the way. 32 When we arrived in Jerusalem, we rested for three days.
33 On the fourth day, the silver, the gold, and the vessels were weighed in the house of God and presented to the priest Meremoth, the son of Uriah, who was accompanied by Eleazar, the son of Phinehas and the Levites Jozabad, the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, the son of Binnui. 34 Everything was counted and weighed, and the total weight was recorded at that time.
35 After that, those who had returned from their captivity presented burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-two lambs, and, as a sin offering, twelve male goats. All these were presented as a holocaust to the Lord. 36 They also delivered the king’s instructions to the royal satraps and to the governors in West-of-Euphrates who then pledged their support to the people and the house of God.
Footnotes
- Ezra 8:15 Ezra’s journey was delayed while he waited for more Levites to come forward to serve the people. In our current day, we seek and wait for those who will answer God’s call to serve.
- Ezra 8:26 Six hundred and fifty talents: this would convert to about 25 tons of silver. Even a much smaller amount would have been difficult to transport.