Chapter 7

Ezra Journeys from Babylon to Jerusalem

1 aNow after these things, in the reign of bArtaxerxes king of Persia, there went up Ezra son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah,

2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub,

3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth,

4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki,

5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest.

6 This Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a ascribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all 1he requested bbecause the hand of the Lord his God was upon him.

7 aSome of the sons of Israel and some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

8 He came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.

9 For on the first of the first month 1he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, abecause the good hand of his God was upon him.

10 For Ezra had set his heart to 1study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and ato teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

King’s Decree on Behalf of Ezra

11 Now this is the copy of the decree which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, 1learned in the words of the commandments of the Lord and His statutes to Israel:

12 “1Artaxerxes, aking of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace. And now

13 aI have issued a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you.

14 “Forasmuch as you are sent 1by the king and his aseven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God which is in your hand,

15 and to bring the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, awhose dwelling is in Jerusalem,

16 with aall the silver and gold which you find in the whole province of Babylon, along bwith the freewill offering of the people and of the priests, who coffered willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem;

17 with this money, therefore, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams and lambs, awith their grain offerings and their drink offerings and boffer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.

18 “Whatever seems good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do according to the will of your God.

19 “Also the utensils which are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem.

20 “The rest of the needs for the house of your God, for which you may have occasion to provide, aprovide for it from the royal treasury.

21 “I, even I, King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the provinces beyond the 1River, that whatever Ezra the priest, athe scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it shall be done diligently,

22 even up to 100 talents of silver, 100 1kors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt 2as needed.

23 “Whatever is 1commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, aso that there will not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons.

24 “We also inform you that ait is not allowed to 1impose tax, tribute or toll bon any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, Nethinim or servants of this house of God.

25 “You, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which is in your hand, aappoint magistrates and judges that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the River, even all those who know the laws of your God; and you may bteach anyone who is ignorant of them.

26 “aWhoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him strictly, whether for death or for 1banishment or for confiscation of goods or for imprisonment.”

The King’s Kindness

27 Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, awho has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to adorn the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem,

28 and ahas extended lovingkindness to me before the king and his counselors and before all the king’s mighty princes. Thus I was strengthened according to bthe hand of the Lord my God upon me, and I gathered 1leading men from Israel to go up with me.

Chapter 8

People Who Went with Ezra

1 Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households and the genealogical enrollment of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes:

2 of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, aHattush;

3 of the sons of Shecaniah who was of the sons of aParosh, Zechariah and with him 150 males who were in the genealogical list;

4 of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and 200 males with him;

5 of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel and 300 males with him;

6 and of the sons of aAdin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and 50 males with him;

7 and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and 70 males with him;

8 and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael and 80 males with him;

9 of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 218 males with him;

10 and of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah and 160 males with him;

11 and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai and 28 males with him;

12 and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 males with him;

13 and of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones, these being their names, Eliphelet, Jeuel and Shemaiah, and 60 males with them;

14 and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and 1Zabbud, and 70 males with 2them.

Ezra Sends for Levites

15 Now I assembled them at athe river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days; and when I observed the people and the priests, I bdid not find any Levites there.

16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah and Meshullam, 1leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, teachers.

17 I sent them to Iddo the 1leading man at the place Casiphia; and I 2told them what to say to 3Iddo and his brothers, athe temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring ministers to us for the house of our God.

18 aAccording to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a bman of insight of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, and his sons and brothers, 18 men;

19 and Hashabiah and 1Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, 20 men;

20 and 220 of athe temple servants, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, all of them designated by name.

Protection of God Invoked

21 Then I proclaimed aa fast there at bthe river of Ahava, that we might chumble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a 1safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.

22 For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to 1protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “aThe hand of our God is 2favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but bHis power and His anger are against all those who cforsake Him.”

23 So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He 1alistened to our entreaty.

24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, aSherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers;

25 and I aweighed out to them bthe silver, the gold and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king and chis counselors and his princes and all Israel present there had offered.

26 aThus I weighed into their hands 650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth 100 talents, and 100 gold talents,

27 and 20 gold bowls worth 1,000 darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold.

28 Then I said to them, “aYou are holy to the Lord, and the butensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers.

29 “Watch and keep them auntil you weigh them before the leading priests, the Levites and the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.”

30 So the priests and the Levites aaccepted the weighed out silver and gold and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

31 Then we journeyed from athe river Ahava on bthe twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and cthe hand of our God was over us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the way.

32 aThus we came to Jerusalem and remained there three days.

Treasure Placed in the Temple

33 On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils awere weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of bMeremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui.

34 Everything was numbered and weighed, and all the weight was recorded at that time.

35 aThe exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: b12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, 12 male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to the Lord.

36 Then athey delivered the king’s edicts to bthe king’s satraps and to the governors in the provinces beyond the 1River, and they supported the people and the house of God.