Ezra

Describes the return of the Jews from Babylonian exile and the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.

Chapter 8

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.

*These are the leaders of their families, and this is a list of those who went with me from Babylon during King Artaxerxes' rule.

2 Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush.

*From Phinehas' children, Gershom; from Ithamar's children, Daniel; from David's children, 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.

*From the children of Shecaniah, from the children of Parosh; Zechariah was one of them. In their family record, there were 150 boys.

4 Of the sons of Pahathmoab; Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males.

*From Pahathmoab's children, Elihoenai, son of Zerahiah, and he had 200 sons.

5 Of the sons of Shechaniah; the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males.

*From Shechaniah's children, Jahaziel's son had one child, and he had 300 more boys.

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

*From Adin's children, Ebed, son of Jonathan, and he had 50 male kids with him.

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

*From Elam's children, Jeshaiah, son of Athaliah, and he had 70 sons.

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

*From Shephatiah's children, Zebadiah, son of Michael, and he had eighty males with him.

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

*Obadiah, son of Jehiel, from Joab's family, had 218 male members.

10 And of the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah, and with him an hundred and threescore males.

*And from Shelomith's sons, Josiphiah's son was one, and he had 136 male children.

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

*Zechariah, son of Bebai, had 28 male family members.

12 And of the sons of Azgad; Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him an hundred and ten males.

*From the descendants of Azgad, Johanan was a son of Hakkatan, and he had 110 male children with him.

13 And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore males.

*The last sons of Adonikam include Eliphelet, Jeiel, Shemaiah, and sixty other males.

14 Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.

*From Bigvai's sons, there were Uthai, Zabbud, and seventy other boys with them.

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.

*I brought everyone to the Ahava River and stayed there in tents for three days. During this time, I checked the people and the priests, but found no descendants 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.

*Then I sent for skilled leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Nathan, Zechariah, Meshullam, Joiarib, and Elnathan. These men were wise and knowledgeable.

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.

*I sent messengers to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, and instructed them on what to tell him and his fellow Nethinims there. They were to bring us priests for our God's temple.

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;

*Our God gave us a wise man from the family of Mahli, son of Levi, son of Israel. He was named Sherebiah, and he had 18 family members with him.

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

*Hashabiah and Jeshaiah, along with their brothers and children from the family of Merari, had a total of 20 people.

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.

*The Nethinims, chosen by David and the leaders to help the Levites, numbered 220. Each one was specifically named.

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.

*Then I announced a time of no food at the Ahava River, so we could show sadness in front of God. We wanted to ask Him to show us the right path for us, our children, and everything we own.

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.

*I was too embarrassed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to help us fight our enemies. We told the king that God's hand is good for those who seek Him, but His anger is against those who leave Him.

23 So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.

*So, we didn't eat and asked our God to help with this problem, and He listened to us.

24 Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,

*Then I chose twelve top priests, including Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and eight others like 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:

*They weighed the silver, gold, and items for the temple, which the king, his advisors, leaders, and all the people there gathered, gave as an offering.

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;

*I gave them 650 talents of silver, plus 100 talents of silver vessels, and 100 talents of gold.

27 Also twenty basons of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold.

*Additionally, there were 20 golden bowls, each holding a thousand small units of weight; and two valuable copper containers, almost as costly 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.

*I told them, "You are special to the Lord; even the objects are holy. The silver and gold are a gift you willingly give to the Lord God, who is in charge since ancient times."

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.

*"Be careful to watch and guard them until you weigh them with the leaders of priests, Levites, and important people of Israel at Jerusalem, inside the rooms of the LORD's house."

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.

*The priests and Levites recorded the total value of the silver, gold, and items, then they carried them to Jerusalem for the temple of 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.

*Then, on the 12th day of the first month, we left the Ahava river, heading to Jerusalem. Our God's hand protected us, saving us from our enemies and those hiding to attack us along the way.

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

*We went to Jerusalem and stayed for 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;

*On the fourth day, silver, gold, and vessels were weighed at God's house. Meremoth, a priest, did this along with Eleazar, Jozabad, and Noadiah, who were all Levites.

34 By number and by weight of every one: and all the weight was written at that time.

*By count and by weight, they recorded each person's amount. All the weights were noted down during 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.

*The children who returned from captivity also offered sacrifices to God. They gave 12 bullocks for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and 12 goats for sin offerings. All these were burnt offerings to 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.

*They gave the king's orders to his helpers and leaders on this side of the river, and they supported the people and the place for worshiping God.

read summary

Back to Chapters

Back to Books

* work in progress, there will be mistakes