1 These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the
genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes
the king.
2 Of
the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of
David; Hattush.
3 Of
the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh; Zechariah: and with him were
reckoned by genealogy of the males an hundred and fifty.
4 Of
the sons of Pahathmoab; Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred
males.
5 Of
the sons of Shechaniah; the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males.
6 Of
the sons also of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males.
7 And
of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males.
8 And
of the sons of Shephatiah; Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him fourscore
males.
9 Of
the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and
eighteen males.
10 And
of the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah, and with him an hundred and
threescore males.
11 And
of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight
males.
12 And
of the sons of Azgad; Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him an hundred and
ten males.
13 And
of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah,
and with them threescore males.
14 Of
the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.
15 And
I gathered them together to the river that runneth 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.
16 Then
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, men of understanding.
17 And
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 Nethinims, at the
place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our
God.
18 And
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;
19 And
Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their
sons, twenty;
20 Also
of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of
the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by
name.
21 Then
I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves
before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and
for all our substance.
22 For
I was ashamed to require 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.
23 So
we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.
24 Then
I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten
of their brethren with them,
25 And
weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the
offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his
lords, and all Israel there present, had offered:
26 I
even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and
silver vessels an hundred talents, and of gold an hundred talents;
27 Also
twenty basons of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper,
precious as gold.
28 And
I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy
also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God
of your fathers.
29 Watch
ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and
the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers
of the house of the LORD.
30 So
took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and
the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our
God.
31 Then
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.
32 And
we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.
33 Now
on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels 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;
34 By
number and by
weight of every one: and all the weight was written at that time.
35 Also the children of those that had been
carried away, which were 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 he goats for a sin offering: all this was a
burnt offering unto the LORD.
36 And
they delivered the king's commissions unto the king's lieutenants, and to the
governors on this side the river: and they furthered the people, and the house
of God.
