Ezra 8

The Return Journey Begins with Those Who Were Willing

1 These are the family heads and the genealogy of those who came up with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:

2 From the descendants of Phinehas: Gershom. From Ithamar: Daniel. From David’s line: Hattush.

3 From the sons of Shecaniah, a descendant of Parosh: Zechariah, and with him were 150 registered males.

4 From the sons of Pahath-Moab: Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 males.

5 From the sons of Zattu: Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 males.

6 From the sons of Adin: Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him 50 males.

7 From the sons of Elam: Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him 70 males.

8 From the sons of Shephatiah: Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him 80 males.

9 From the sons of Joab: Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him 218 males.

10 From the sons of Bani: Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 males.

11 From the sons of Bebai: Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him 28 males.

12 From the sons of Azgad: Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 males.

13 From the sons of Adonikam, the last to arrive: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 males.

14 From the sons of Bigvai: Uthai and Zakkur, and with them 70 males.

Ezra Gathers the Group by the River

15 I gathered them at the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I looked among the people and priests but did not find any Levites.

16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leaders, and also for Joiarib and Elnathan, men of insight.

17 I sent them to Iddo, the leader at the place called Casiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo and his associates, the temple servants, so they would bring us ministers for God’s house.

18 Because the hand of our God was on us, they brought us a wise man from the descendants of Mahli (a son of Levi, the son of Israel): Sherebiah and his sons and brothers, 18 men.

19 Also Hashabiah, along with Jeshaiah from the sons of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, 20 men.

20 They also gave us 220 temple servants, all of whom were designated by name. These were the ones David and his officials had appointed to assist the Levites.

Ezra Calls for Fasting and Protection

21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the Ahava River, so we could humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our stuff.

22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies along the way, because we had already told the king, “The hand of our God is on everyone who seeks Him, but His wrath is against all who abandon Him.”

23 So we fasted and asked our God for help with this, and He heard our prayer.

The Treasure Gets Counted and Protected

24 Then I picked twelve of the leading priests, Sherebiah and Hashabiah were among them, plus ten of their relatives.

25 I weighed out to them the silver, gold, and the sacred articles, the offerings the king, his counselors, his officials, and all Israel had donated for God’s house.

26 I handed over 24 tons of silver, 100 silver articles weighing 150 pounds, 7,500 pounds of gold,

27 20 gold bowls worth 1,000 gold coins, and two polished bronze objects as valuable as gold.

28 I told them, “You are holy to the LORD, and these articles are holy. The silver and gold are freewill offerings to the LORD, the God of your ancestors.”

29 “Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in front of the leading priests, Levites, and heads of Israelite families in Jerusalem at the rooms of the house of the LORD.”

30 So the priests and Levites took charge of the silver, gold, and sacred items to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.

The Journey and Arrival in Jerusalem

31 On the twelfth day of the first month, we left the Ahava River to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was with us, and He protected us from enemies and ambushes on the way.

32 We arrived in Jerusalem and rested there for three days.

33 On the fourth day, the silver, gold, and sacred items were weighed out in the house of our God and handed over to Meremoth son of Uriah the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, and the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui were there too.

34 Everything was counted and weighed, and the total was recorded at that time.

35 The exiles who had returned offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, plus 12 male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to the LORD.

36 They also delivered the king’s orders to the royal governors and officials west of the Euphrates, and they supported the people and the house of God.