Families Who Returned from Exile
2 Ezra 8, verse 1. These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, the leaders who went up with me in the reign of Artaxerxes the king of Babylon: 2 Ezra 8, verse 2. of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush; 2 Ezra 8, verse 3. of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, and a group of one hundred fifty men with him; 2 Ezra 8, verse 4. of the sons of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males; 2 Ezra 8, verse 5. of the sons of Zathoe, Shechaniah, the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males; 2 Ezra 8, verse 6. of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males; 2 Ezra 8, verse 7. of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; 2 Ezra 8, verse 8. of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males; 2 Ezra 8, verse 9. of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred eighteen males; 2 Ezra 8, verse 10. of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and with him one hundred sixty males; 2 Ezra 8, verse 11. of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him seventy-eight males; 2 Ezra 8, verse 12. of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred ten males; 2 Ezra 8, verse 13. of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these—Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah—and with them sixty males; 2 Ezra 8, verse 14. also of the sons of Bigvai and Uthai, and with him seventy males.
Temple Servants
2 Ezra 8, verse 15. Now I gathered them by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there for three days. And I looked among the people and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. 2 Ezra 8, verse 16. Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, and also to Joiarib and Elnathan, men of understanding. 2 Ezra 8, verse 17. And I gave them a command for Iddo the chief man at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say to Iddo and his brethren the Nethinim at the place Casiphia—that they should bring us servants for the house of our God. 2 Ezra 8, verse 18. And as the hand of our God was good upon us, they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and brothers, eighteen men; 2 Ezra 8, verse 19. and Hashabiah, and Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and his sons, twenty; 2 Ezra 8, verse 20. and from the temple servants of the Levites, whom David and the leaders had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred twenty temple servants. All of them were designated by name.
Ezra Proclaims a Fast
2 Ezra 8, verse 21. Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and for our little ones and all our possessions. 2 Ezra 8, verse 22. For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort 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 for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.” 2 Ezra 8, verse 23. So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.
Gifts for the Temple
2 Ezra 8, verse 24. And I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them— 2 Ezra 8, verse 25. and weighed out to them the silver, gold, and the articles, the first fruits of the house of our God, which the king, his counselors, his princes, and all Israel who were present had offered. 2 Ezra 8, verse 26. I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, silver articles weighing one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold, 2 Ezra 8, verse 27. twenty gold basins worth a thousand drachmas, and two vessels of fine polished bronze, precious as gold. 2 Ezra 8, verse 28. And I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord; the articles are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers. 2 Ezra 8, verse 29. Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.” 2 Ezra 8, verse 30. So the priests and the Levites received the silver and the gold and the articles by weight, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.
The Return to Jerusalem
2 Ezra 8, verse 31. Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road. 2 Ezra 8, verse 32. So we came to Jerusalem and stayed there three days. 2 Ezra 8, verse 33. Now on the fourth day, the silver and the gold and the articles were 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; with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui, 2 Ezra 8, verse 34. with the number and weight of everything. All the weight was written down at that time. 2 Ezra 8, verse 35. The children of those who had been carried away captive, who had come from the captivity, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. 2 Ezra 8, verse 36. And they delivered the king's orders to the king's satraps and the governors in the region beyond the River. So they gave support to the people and the house of God.