Ezra 8
1These are now 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.
2Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush.
3Of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh; Zechariah: and with him were registered by genealogy of the men a hundred and fifty.
4Of the sons of Pahath-moab; Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred men.
5Of the sons of Shecaniah; the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred men.
6Of the sons also of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty men.
7And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy men.
8And of the sons of Shephatiah; Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him fourscore men.
9Of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen men.
10And of the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and threescore men.
11And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight men.
12And of the sons of Azgad; Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten men.
13And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore men.
14Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zaccur, and with them seventy men.
15And I gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.
16Then I sent for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, leading men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding.
17And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God.
18And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;
19And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;
20Also of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim: all of them were registered by name.
21Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our possessions.
22For 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 for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.
23So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he answered our prayer.
24Then I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,
25And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the articles, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king, and his counselors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered:
26I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver articles worth a hundred talents, and of gold a hundred talents;
27Also twenty bowls of gold, worth a thousand darics; and two vessels of fine polished bronze, as precious as gold.
28And I said unto them, You are holy unto the LORD; the articles are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers.
29Watch, and keep them, until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites, and heads of the fathers' houses of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.
30So the priests and the Levites took the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the articles, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.
31Then we departed from the river of 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 of such as lay in wait by the way.
32And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.
33Now on the fourth day were the silver and the gold and the articles weighed in the house of our God by 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, Levites;
34With the number and weight of everything: and all the weight was recorded at that time.
35Also the children of those that had been carried away, who had come out of the captivity, offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve male goats for a sin offering: all this was a burnt offering unto the LORD.
36And they delivered the king's orders unto the king's satraps, and to the governors on this side the river: and they aided the people, and the house of God.
Commentaries for Ezra 8:0