Ezra was the son of Seraiah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Hilkiah, ²who was the son of Shallum, who was the son of Zadok, who was the son of Ahitub, ³who was the son of Amariah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Meraioth, ⁴who was the son of Zerahiah, who was the son of Uzzi, who was the son of Bukki, ⁵who was the son of Abishua, who was the son of Phinehas, who was the son of Eleazer, who was the son of Aaron (the first priest).

⁶As a scribe, Ezra was an expert in Moses’ Teachings, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king gave Ezra everything he requested because the Lord his God was guiding him.

⁷Some Israelites (including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants) went to Jerusalem in Artaxerxes’ seventh year as king. ⁸In that same year in the fifth month, Ezra arrived in Jerusalem. ⁹He had left Babylon on the first day of the first month, and on the first day of the fifth month, he arrived in Jerusalem, since his God was good to him. ¹⁰Ezra was determined to study the Lord’s Teachings, live by them, and teach their rules and regulations in Israel.

King Artaxerxes’ Letter to Ezra

¹¹This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest and scribe, a man with a thorough knowledge of the Lord’s commands and laws for Israel:

¹²From: Artaxerxes, king of kings

To: Ezra the priest, a scribe for the Teachings of the God of Heaven:

I wish you peace and prosperity!

¹³I have issued a decree that any Israelites who are in my kingdom and want to go with you to Jerusalem may go. This also includes the priests and Levites. ¹⁴I, the king, and my seven advisers are sending you to evaluate the situation in Judah and Jerusalem on the basis of your God’s Teachings, which you hold in your hands. ¹⁵Also, you must take the silver and gold that the king and his advisers willingly contributed to the God of Israel, the God whose temple is in Jerusalem. ¹⁶Take any silver and gold that you find in the whole province of Babylon when you take the gifts contributed by the people and the priests. They willingly contributed these gifts for the temple of their God in Jerusalem. ¹⁷You must use this money to buy bulls, rams, lambs, grain, and wine to offer on the altar of the temple of your God in Jerusalem. ¹⁸You and your relatives may do whatever you think is right with the rest of the silver and gold. However, what you do must conform to the will of your God. ¹⁹The utensils that have been given to you so that they can be used in your God’s temple must all be presented to the God of Jerusalem. ²⁰You may use the king’s treasury to pay for anything else that you must provide for your God’s temple.

²¹I, King Artaxerxes, order all the treasurers ⸤in the province⸥ west of the Euphrates River to do exactly what Ezra the priest, a scribe for the Teachings of the God of Heaven, asks you to do. ²²⸤You may give him⸥ up to 7,500 pounds of silver, 100 measures of wheat, 600 gallons of wine, 600 gallons of olive oil, and as much salt as he needs. ²³Whatever the God of heaven has commanded must be carried out in detail for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should God become angry with the king’s empire and his sons? ²⁴Furthermore, we are notifying you that you are forbidden to make any priest, Levite, singer, gatekeeper, servant, or worker in the temple of this God pay any taxes, fees, or tolls.

²⁵You, Ezra, using your God’s wisdom—the Teachings you hold in your hands—will appoint judges and administrators for all the people who know your God’s Teachings and live ⸤in the province⸥ west of the Euphrates River. In addition, you will teach anyone who doesn’t know the Teachings.

²⁶Whoever will not strictly follow your God’s Teachings and the king’s orders should be promptly exiled, have his goods confiscated, be imprisoned or be sentenced to die.

²⁷⸤I, Ezra, said:⸥ Thanks be to the Lord God of our ancestors. He put this into the king’s mind to make the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem beautiful. ²⁸He made the king, his advisers, and all the king’s powerful officials treat me kindly.

I was encouraged because the Lord my God was guiding me. So I gathered leaders in Israel to go with me.

8TH CHAPTER

The List of Those Returning from Babylon

¹These are the leaders of the families and the genealogy of those who left Babylon with me during the reign of King Artaxerxes:

from the family of Phinehas:

Gershom

from the family of Ithamar:

Daniel

from the family of David:

Hattush, son of Shecaniah

from the family of Parosh:

Zechariah, with 150 males whose genealogies were known

⁴

from the family of Pahath Moab:

Eliehoenai, son of Zerahiah, with 200 males

⁵

from the family of Zattu:^a

Shecaniah, son of Jahaziel, with 300 males

⁶

from the family of Adin:

Ebed, son of Jonathan, with 50 males

⁷

from the family of Elam:

Jeshaiah, son of Athaliah, with 70 males

⁸

from the family of Shephatiah:

Zebadiah, son of Michael, with 80 males

⁹

from the family of Joab:

Obadiah, son of Jehiel, with 210 males

¹⁰

from the family of Bani:^b

Shelomith, son of Josiphiah, with 160 males

¹¹

from the family of Bebai:

Zechariah, son of Bebai, with 38 males

¹²

from the family of Azgad:

Johanan, son of Hakkatan, with 110 males

¹³

from the family of Adonikam:

Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, who arrived later with 60 males

¹⁴

from the family of Bigvai:

Uthai and Zabbud, with 70 males.

The People Prepare for Their Journey

¹⁵I had this group gather by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I noticed laypeople and priests there, but I didn’t find any Levites. ¹⁶Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam (who were leading men) and for Joiarib and Elnathan (who were wise). ¹⁷I sent them to Iddo, the leader in Casiphia. I told them to tell Iddo and his relatives, the temple servants in Casiphia, that they should bring us men who can serve in our God’s temple. ¹⁸God was guiding us, so Iddo and his relatives brought us someone competent, Sherebiah, who was a descendant of Mahli, Levi, and Israel. They brought us 18 of Sherebiah’s sons and relatives. ¹⁹They also brought Hashabiah, Jeshaiah (who was a descendant of Merari), 20 of Jeshaiah’s relatives and their sons, ²⁰and 220 temple servants. ⸤They were descended⸥ from the temple servants whom David and his officials had appointed to work for the Levites. These were all listed by name.

²¹Then I announced a fast there at the Ahava River so that we might humble ourselves in the presence of our God to ask him for a safe journey for ourselves, for our little ones, and for all our goods. ²²I was ashamed to ask the king for an armed escort with cavalry to help us against an enemy attack on the way. We had already told the king, “Our God works things out for the good of everyone who dedicates his life to serving him, but his power and his anger oppose everyone who abandons him.” ²³So we fasted and asked our God for a safe journey, and he answered our prayer.

²⁴Then I selected 12 leaders from the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and 10 of their relatives. ²⁵I weighed for them the silver, the gold, and the utensils. ⸤These were⸥ the contributions that the king, his advisers, his officials, and all the Israelites had contributed for our God’s temple. ²⁶I weighed ⸤the contributions⸥ for them to guard: about 24 tons of silver, 100 silver utensils weighing 150 pounds apiece, 7,500 pounds of gold, ²⁷20 gold bowls weighing 18 pounds apiece, and two utensils of fine polished bronze that were as precious as gold. ²⁸I told them, “You and the utensils are holy to the Lord. The silver and gold are freewill offerings to the Lord God of your ancestors. ²⁹Guard them carefully. In Jerusalem, inside the storerooms of the Lord’s temple, weigh these items. Do this in front of the chief priests, Levites, and the leaders of Israel’s families.” ³⁰So the priests and the Levites took charge of the silver, the gold, and the utensils. They were responsible for bringing these items to the temple of our God in Jerusalem.

The People Arrive in Jerusalem

³¹Then we left the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. God was guiding us, and he rescued us from our enemies and from ambushes along the way. ³²When we reached Jerusalem, we rested for three days. ³³On the fourth day we weighed the silver, the gold, and the utensils in our God’s temple. We put them under the supervision of Meremoth, son of the priest Uriah, as well as Eleazar, the son of Phinehas. The Levites, Jeshua’s son Jozabad, and Binnui’s son Noadiah, assisted them. ³⁴Everything was counted and weighed, and the entire weight was recorded at that time.

³⁵The exiles who had come back from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and 12 male goats for an offering for sin. All of these animals were burnt offerings for the Lord.

³⁶The exiles delivered the king’s orders to the king’s satraps and governors ⸤in the province⸥ west of the Euphrates River. These officials then gave their support to the people and the temple of God.

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Footnotes

a 8:5 Greek; Masoretic Text omits “of Zattu.”
b 8:10 Greek; Masoretic Text omits “of Bani.”