Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households and the genealogical enrollment of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes: 2 of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, ^aHattush; 3 of the sons of Shecaniah who was of the sons of ^aParosh, Zechariah and with him 150 males who were in the genealogical list; 4 of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and 200 males with him; 5 of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel and 300 males with him; 6 and of the sons of ^aAdin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and 50 males with him; 7 and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and 70 males with him; 8 and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael and 80 males with him; 9 of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 218 males with him; 10 and of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah and 160 males with him; 11 and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai and 28 males with him; 12 and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 males with him; 13 and of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones, these being their names, Eliphelet, Jeuel and Shemaiah, and 60 males with them; 14 and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and ¹Zabbud, and 70 males with ²them.

15 Now I assembled them at ^athe river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days; and when I observed the people and the priests, I ^bdid not find any Levites there. 16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah and Meshullam, ¹leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, teachers. 17 I sent them to Iddo the ¹leading man at the place Casiphia; and I ²told them what to say to ³Iddo and his brothers, ^athe temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring ministers to us for the house of our God. 18 ^aAccording to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a ^bman of insight of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, and his sons and brothers, 18 men; 19 and Hashabiah and ¹Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, 20 men; 20 and 220 of ^athe temple servants, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, all of them designated by name.

21 Then I proclaimed ^aa fast there at ^bthe river of Ahava, that we might ^chumble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a ¹safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. 22 For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to ¹protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “^aThe hand of our God is ²favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but ^bHis power and His anger are against all those who ^cforsake Him.” 23 So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He ^1alistened to our entreaty.

24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, ^aSherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers; 25 and I ^aweighed out to them ^bthe silver, the gold and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king and ^chis counselors and his princes and all Israel present there had offered. 26 ^aThus I weighed into their hands 650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth 100 talents, and 100 gold talents, 27 and 20 gold bowls worth 1,000 darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold. 28 Then I said to them, “^aYou are holy to the LORD, and the ^butensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD God of your fathers. 29 Watch and keep them ^auntil you weigh them before the leading priests, the Levites and the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.” 30 So the priests and the Levites ^aaccepted the weighed out silver and gold and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

31 Then we journeyed from ^athe river Ahava on ^bthe twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and ^cthe hand of our God was over us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the way. 32 ^aThus we came to Jerusalem and remained there three days.

33 On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils ^awere weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of ^bMeremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. 34 Everything was numbered and weighed, and all the weight was recorded at that time.

35 ^aThe exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: ^b12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, 12 male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to the LORD. 36 Then ^athey delivered the king’s edicts to ^bthe king’s satraps and to the governors in the provinces beyond the ¹River, and they supported the people and the house of God.

These are the heads of their fathers’ households and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes: 2 of the ¹sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, ^aHattush; 3 of the sons of Shecaniah who was of the sons of ^aParosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered 150 men by genealogy; 4 of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, with 200 men; 5 of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, with 300 men; 6 of the sons of ^aAdin, Ebed son of Jonathan, with 50 men; 7 of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, with 70 men; 8 of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, with 80 men; 9 of the sons of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, with 218 men; 10 of the sons of Bani, Shelomith son of Josiphiah, with 160 men; 11 of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, with 28 men; 12 of the sons of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, with 110 men; 13 of the sons of Adonikam, the last to come, their names are Eliphelet, ¹Jeiel, and Shemaiah, with 60 men; 14 and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and ¹Zabbud, with 70 men.

15 Now I gathered them together at ^athe river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days. I observed the people and the priests, and I ^bdid not find any Levites there. 16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leading men, and also for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were teachers. 17 And I sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers, ^athe temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring us servants (ministers) for the house of our God. 18 And ^aas the good hand of our God was upon us, they brought us a ^bman of understanding (insight) from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, named Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers (relatives) , 18 men; 19 and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers (relatives) and their sons, 20 men; 20 also 220 of ^athe temple servants, whom David and the leaders had set apart with their descendants for the service of the Levites. They were all designated by name.

21 Then I proclaimed ^aa fast there at ^bthe river Ahava, so that we might ^chumble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our ¹children, and all our possessions. 22 For I was ashamed to request troops and horsemen from the king to protect us from the enemy along the way, because we had told the king, “^aThe hand of our God is favorable toward all those who seek Him, but ^bHis power and His anger are against all those who ^cabandon (turn away from) Him.” 23 So we fasted and sought help from our God concerning this matter, and He ^aheard our plea.

24 Then I set apart twelve leading priests, ^aSherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers (relatives) , 25 and I ^aweighed out to them ^bthe silver, the gold, and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king, ^chis advisers, his officials, and all Israel who were present there had offered. 26 ^aI weighed into their hands 650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth 100 talents, and 100 talents of gold; 27 also 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics, and two utensils of fine ¹shiny bronze, precious as gold. 28 Then I said to them, “^aYou are holy to the LORD, the ^butensils are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD God of your fathers. 29 Guard and keep them ^auntil you weigh them before the leading priests and the Levites and the leaders of the fathers’ households of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.” 30 So the priests and the Levites ^areceived the weighed out silver and gold, and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

31 We set out from ^athe river Ahava on ^bthe twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and ^cthe hand of our God was upon us, and He rescued us from the hand of the enemy and those who lay in ambushes along the way. 32 ^aSo we came to Jerusalem and remained there for three days.

33 On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils ^awere weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of ^bMeremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites—Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. 34 Every piece was counted and weighed, and all the weight was recorded at that time.

35 Also ^athe former exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: ^b12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and 12 male goats for a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD. 36 And ^athey delivered the king’s edicts to ^bthe king’s satraps (lieutenants) and to the governors ¹west of the Euphrates River, and they supported the people and God’s house.

Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households and the genealogical records of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes:

15 Now I gathered them at ^athe river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days. And I ¹observed the people and the priests, but I ^bdid not find any Levites there. 16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, ¹chief men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, teachers. 17 I sent them out to Iddo the ¹chief man at the place Casiphia; and I put words in their mouths to say to ²Iddo and his brothers, ^athe temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring ministers to us for the house of our God. 18 ^aSo, according to the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a ^bman of insight of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, and his sons and brothers, 18 men; 19 and Hashabiah and ¹Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, 20 men; 20 and 220 of ^athe temple servants, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, all of them designated by name.

21 Then I called for ^aa fast there at ^bthe river of Ahava, that we might ^chumble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a ¹direct journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. 22 For I was ashamed to ask from the king for a military force and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “^aThe hand of our God is upon all those who seek Him, for their good, but ^bHis strength and His anger are against all those who ^cforsake Him.” 23 So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He ^1awas moved by our entreaty.

24 Then I ¹set apart twelve of the leading priests, ^aSherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers; 25 and I ^aweighed out to them ^bthe silver, the gold, and the utensils, the contribution for the house of our God which the king and ^chis counselors and his princes and all Israel present there had offered. 26 ^aThus I weighed into their hands ¹650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth 100 talents, and 100 gold talents, 27 and 20 gold bowls worth 1,000 ¹darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold. 28 Then I said to them, “^aYou are holy to Yahweh, and the ^butensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to Yahweh, the God of your fathers. 29 Watch and keep them ^auntil you weigh them before the officials of the priests, the Levites and the officials of the fathers’ households of Israel at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of Yahweh.” 30 So the priests and the Levites ^aaccepted the weighed out silver and gold and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

31 Then we set out from ^athe river Ahava on ^bthe twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and ^cthe hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the way. 32 ^aThus we came to Jerusalem and remained there three days.

33 On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils ^awere weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of ^bMeremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. 34 Everything was numbered and weighed, and all the weight was written down at that time.

35 ^aThe exiles who had come from the captivity brought burnt offerings near to the God of Israel: ^b12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, 12 male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to Yahweh. 36 Then ^athey gave the king’s edicts to ^bthe king’s satraps and to the governors in the provinces beyond the ¹River, and they supported the people and the house of God.