Ezra 8 · עזרא

Now these are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Bavel, in the reign of Artaĥshasta the king.

Of the sons of Pineĥas, Gershom: of the sons of Itamar, Daniyyel: of the sons of David, Ḥattush:

of the sons of Shekhanya, of the sons of Par῾osh, Zekharya; and with him were reckoned by genealogy one hundred and fifty males.

Of the sons of Paĥat-mo᾽av, Elyeho῾enay the son of Zeraĥya; and with him two hundred males.

Of the sons of Shekhanya, the son of Yaĥazi᾽el and with him three hundred males.

And of the sons of ῾Adin, ῾Eved the son of Yonatan; and with him fifty males.

And of the sons of ῾Elam, Yesha῾ya the son of ῾Atalya; and with him seventy males.

And of the sons of Shefatya, Zevadya the son of Mikha᾽el; and with him eighty males.

Of the sons of Yo᾽av, ῾Ovadya the son of Yeĥi᾽el; and with him two hundred and eighteen males.

And of the sons of Shelomit, the son of Yosifya; and with him one hundred and sixty males.

And of the sons of Bevay, Zekharya the son of Bevay: and with him twenty eight males.

And of the sons of ῾Azgad, Yoĥanan the son of Haqqatan; and with him a hundred and ten males.

And of the sons of Adoniqam (who came in the rear,) these were their names: Elifelet, Ye῾i᾽el, and Shema῾ya; and with them were sixty males.

And of the sons of Bigvay, ῾Utay and Zakkur; and with them were seventy males.

And I gathered them together at the river that runs to Ahava, and we encamped there for three days: and I inspected the people, and the priests, but found there none of the sons of Levi.

So I sent for Eli῾ezer, for Ari᾽el, for Shema῾ya, and for Elnatan, and for Yariv, and for Elnatan, and for Natan, and for Zekharya, and for Meshullam, chief men: and for Yoyariv, and for Elnatan, men of understanding.

And I sent them with commandment to ῾Iddo the chief at the place Kasifya, and I told them what they should say to ῾Iddo, and to his brother who were appointed at the place Kasifya that they should bring to us ministers for the house of God.

And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Maĥli, the son of Levi, the son of Yisra᾽el; and Sherevya, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen;

and Ḥashavya, and with him Yesha῾ya of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;

also of the temple servants, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty temple servants; all of whom were mentioned by name.

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a safe journey for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road: because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all those who seek him for good; but his power and his wrath are against all those who forsake him.

So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he listened to our entreaty.

Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherevya, Ḥashavya, and ten of their brethren with them,

and weighed to them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Yisra᾽el there present, had offered:

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

also twenty bowls of gold, of a thousand darics; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold.

And I said to them, You are holy to the Lord; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers.

Watch, and keep them, until you weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Yisra᾽el, at Yerushalayim, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.

So the priests and the Levites took the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Yerushalayim to the house of our God.

Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Yerushalayim: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lie in wait by the way.

And we came to Yerushalayim, and abode there three days.

Now on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremot the son of Uriyya the priest; and with him was El῾azar the son of Pineĥas; and with them was Yozavad the son of Yeshua, and No῾adya the son of Binnuy, Levites;

the whole was counted and weighed: and the weight of everything was recorded at that time.

Also the children of those who had been carried away, who were come out of the exile, offered burnt offerings to the God of Yisra᾽el, twelve bullocks for all Yisra᾽el, ninety six rams, seventy seven lambs, twelve he goats for a sin offering: all this was a burnt offering to the Lord.

And they delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s satraps, and to the governors on this side of the river: and they furthered the people, and the house of God.