1 N ow these are the heads of their fathers' houses, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:

These are the leaders of family groups and the family names of those who went up with me from Babylon during the rule of King Artaxerxes:

2 O f the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattush.

there was Gershom of the sons of Phinehas, Daniel of the sons of Ithamar, and from the house of David, Hattush,

3 O f the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty.

the son of Shecaniah. There was Zechariah of the sons of Parosh, and with him were 150 men whose family names were written down.

4 O f the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah; and with him two hundred males.

Of the sons of Pahath-moab, there was Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and 200 men with him.

5 O f the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel; and with him three hundred males.

Of the sons of Zattu, there was Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and 300 men with him.

6 A nd of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan; and with him fifty males.

Of the sons of Adin, there was Ebed the son of Jonathan, and fifty men with him.

7 A nd of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah; and with him seventy males.

Of the sons of Elam, there was Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and seventy men with him.

8 A nd of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael; and with him fourscore males.

Of the sons of Shephatiah, there was Zebadiah the son of Michael, and eighty men with him.

9 O f the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel; and with him two hundred and eighteen males.

Of the sons of Joab, there was Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and 218 men with him.

10 A nd of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah; and with him a hundred and threescore males.

Of the sons of Shelomith there was the son of Josiphiah, and 160 men with him.

11 A nd of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai; and with him twenty and eight males.

Of the sons of Bebai, there was Zechariah the son of Bebai, and twenty-eight men with him.

12 A nd of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan; and with him a hundred and ten males.

Of the sons of Azgad, there was Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and 110 men with him.

13 A nd of the sons of Adonikam, that were the last; and these are their names: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah; and with them threescore males.

Of the sons of Adonikam, the last to come, there were Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and sixty men with them.

14 A nd of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud; and with them seventy males.

Of the sons of Bigvai, there were Uthai and Zabbud, and seventy men with them. Ezra Finds Levites for the House of God

15 A nd I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there we encamped three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.

I gathered them at the river that flows to Ahava, where we had our camp for three days. When I saw the people and the religious leaders, I did not find any Levites there.

16 T hen sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, who were teachers.

So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were teachers.

17 A nd I sent them forth unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia; and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and his brethren the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God.

I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo and his brothers, servants in the house of worship at Casiphia. They were to bring men to us to care for the house of our God.

18 A nd according to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;

And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of wisdom, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. His name is Sherebiah, and with him came his sons and brothers, eighteen men.

19 a nd Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;

They also brought Hashabiah and Jeshaiah of the sons of Morari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty men.

20 a nd of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim: all of them were mentioned by name.

They brought 220 men to work in the house of God, whom David and the leaders had chosen to help the Levites. All of them were chosen by name. The People Pray

21 T hen I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

Then I set apart a time there at the river of Ahava when we would not eat any food. This was so we might put away our pride before our God, and pray that He would keep us and our children and all our things safe as we traveled.

22 F or I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them that seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.

For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to keep us safe from those who hate us on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God brings good to all who look for Him. But His power and His anger are against all who turn away from Him.”

23 S o we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated of us.

So we did not eat, and prayed to God about this. And He listened to our prayer. Gifts for the House of God

24 T hen I set apart twelve of the chiefs of the priests, even Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,

Then I set apart twelve of the head religious leaders: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers.

25 a nd weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his princes, and all Israel there present, had offered:

And I weighed and gave to them the silver, the gold and the dishes and objects, which had been given for the house of our God by the king and his wise men and leaders, and all the people of Israel who were there.

26 I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels a hundred talents; of gold a hundred talents;

I gave them silver weighing as much as 650 men, silver dishes and objects weighing as much as 100 men, and gold weighing as much as 100 men.

27 a nd twenty bowls of gold, of a thousand darics; and two vessels of fine bright brass, precious as gold.

I gave them twenty deep, gold dishes, worth 1, 000 gold-pieces, and two pots of fine shining brass, worth as much as gold.

28 A nd I said unto them, Ye are holy unto Jehovah, and the vessels are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill-offering unto Jehovah, the God of your fathers.

Then I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, and these objects are holy. The silver and the gold are a free-will gift to the Lord God of your fathers.

29 W atch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites, and the princes of the fathers' houses of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of Jehovah.

Watch and keep them until you weigh them in front of the head religious leaders, the Levites, and the heads of the family groups of Israel at Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord.”

30 S o the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.

So the religious leaders and the Levites took the weight of silver and gold and objects, to bring them to the house of our God at Jerusalem.

31 T hen we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the lier-in-wait by the way.

Then we left the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. And God helped us and kept us safe from those who hated us and from those who hid waiting to fight us on the way.

32 A nd we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.

We came to Jerusalem and stayed there for three days.

33 A nd on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levite;

On the fourth day the silver and gold and objects were weighed in the house of our God and given to Meremoth the son of Uriah the religious leader. 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 t he whole by number and by weight: and all the weight was written at that time.

Everything was numbered and weighed, and all the weight was written down.

35 T he children of the captivity, that were come out of exile, offered burnt-offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering: all this was a burnt-offering unto Jehovah.

The people who had returned from Babylon gave burnt gifts in worship to the God of Israel. They gave 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and 12 male goats for a sin gift. All this was a burnt gift to the Lord.

36 A nd they delivered the king's commissions unto the king's satraps, and to the governors beyond the River: and they furthered the people and the house of God.

Then they let the king’s rulers and leaders in the lands on the other side of the River know what the king said for them to do. And they helped the people and the house of God.