1 Esdras 8:41–60

⁴¹And these I gathered together to the river called Theras, where we pitched our tents three days: and then I surveyed them. ⁴²But when I had found there none of the priests and Levites, ⁴³then sent I unto Eleazar, and ^aIduel, and ^bMasman, ⁴⁴and Alnathan, and Mamaias, and ^cJoribus, and Nathan, Eunatan, Zacharias, and Mosollamus, principal men and learned. ⁴⁵And I bade them that they should go unto ^dSaddeus the captain, ^ewho was in the place of ^fthe treasury: ⁴⁶and commanded them that they should speak unto ^dDaddeus, and to ^ghis brethren, and to the treasurers in that place, to send us such men as might execute the priests’ office in the house of the Lord. ⁴⁷And by the mighty hand of our Lord they brought unto us skilful men of the sons of ^hMoli the son of Levi, the son of Israel, ⁱAsebebia, and his sons, and his brethren, who were eighteen. ^48jAnd Asebia, and Annuus, and Osaias his brother, of the sons of Channuneus, and their sons, were twenty men. ⁴⁹And ^lof the servants of the temple whom David had ordained, and the principal men for the service of the Levites, to wit, ^kthe servants of the temple, two hundred and twenty, the catalogue of whose names was shewed. ⁵⁰And there I vowed a fast unto the young men before our Lord, to desire of him ^la prosperous journey both for us and them that were with us, for our children, and for the cattle: ⁵¹for ^mI was ashamed to ask the king footmen, and horsemen, and conduct for safeguard against our adversaries. ⁵²For we had said unto the king, that the power of the Lord our God should be with them that seek him, to support them in all ways. ⁵³And again we besought our Lord as touching these things, and found him favourable unto us.

⁵⁴Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, ^mmEsebrias, and Assanias, and ten men of their brethren with them: ⁵⁵and I ⁿweighed them the gold, and the silver, and the holy vessels of the house of our Lord, which the king, and his council, and the princes, and all Israel, had given. ⁵⁶And when I had ⁿweighed it, I delivered unto them six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels of an hundred talents, and an hundred talents of gold, ⁵⁷and twenty golden vessels, and twelve vessels of brass, even of fine brass, glittering like gold. ⁵⁸And I said unto them, Both you are holy unto the Lord, and the vessels are holy, and the gold and the silver is a vow unto the Lord, the Lord of our fathers. ⁵⁹Watch ye, and keep them till ye deliver them to the chief of the priests and Levites, and to the principal men of the families of Israel, in Jerusalem, into the chambers of the house of our God. ⁶⁰So the priests and the Levites, who had received the silver and the gold and the vessels, brought them unto Jerusalem, into the temple of the Lord.