| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1These are the family heads and genealogical records of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes: | 1Here is a list of the family leaders and the genealogies of those who came with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes: |
| 2from the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom; from the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel; from the descendants of David, Hattush | 2From the family of Phinehas: Gershom. From the family of Ithamar: Daniel. From the family of David: Hattush, |
| 3of the descendants of Shecaniah; from the descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered 150 men; | 3a descendant of Shecaniah. From the family of Parosh: Zechariah and 150 other men were registered. |
| 4from the descendants of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men; | 4From the family of Pahath-moab: Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah and 200 other men. |
| 5from the descendants of Zattu, Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men; | 5From the family of Zattu : Shecaniah son of Jahaziel and 300 other men. |
| 6from the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men; | 6From the family of Adin: Ebed son of Jonathan and 50 other men. |
| 7from the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men; | 7From the family of Elam: Jeshaiah son of Athaliah and 70 other men. |
| 8from the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him 80 men; | 8From the family of Shephatiah: Zebadiah son of Michael and 80 other men. |
| 9from the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men; | 9From the family of Joab: Obadiah son of Jehiel and 218 other men. |
| 10from the descendants of Bani, Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men; | 10From the family of Bani : Shelomith son of Josiphiah and 160 other men. |
| 11from the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him 28 men; | 11From the family of Bebai: Zechariah son of Bebai and 28 other men. |
| 12from the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men; | 12From the family of Azgad: Johanan son of Hakkatan and 110 other men. |
| 13from the later descendants of Adonikam, these were their names: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men; | 13From the family of Adonikam, who came later : Eliphelet, Jeuel, Shemaiah, and 60 other men. |
| 14and from the descendants of Bigvai, both Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men. | 14From the family of Bigvai: Uthai, Zaccur, and 70 other men. Ezra’s Journey to Jerusalem |
| 15Now I assembled these exiles at the canal that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And when I searched among the people and priests, I found no Levites there. | 15I assembled the exiles at the Ahava Canal, and we camped there for three days while I went over the lists of the people and the priests who had arrived. I found that not one Levite had volunteered to come along. |
| 16Then I summoned the leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, as well as the teachers Joiarib and Elnathan. | 16So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders of the people. I also sent for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of discernment. |
| 17And I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, with a message for him and his kinsmen, the temple servants at Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God. | 17I sent them to Iddo, the leader of the Levites at Casiphia, to ask him and his relatives and the Temple servants to send us ministers for the Temple of God at Jerusalem. |
| 18And since the gracious hand of our God was upon us, they brought us Sherebiah—a man of insight from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel—along with his sons and brothers, 18 men; | 18Since the gracious hand of our God was on us, they sent us a man named Sherebiah, along with eighteen of his sons and brothers. He was a very astute man and a descendant of Mahli, who was a descendant of Levi son of Israel. |
| 19also Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah, from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, 20 men. | 19They also sent Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari, and twenty of his sons and brothers, |
| 20They also brought 220 of the temple servants, all designated by name. David and the officials had appointed them to assist the Levites. | 20and 220 Temple servants. The Temple servants were assistants to the Levites—a group of Temple workers first instituted by King David and his officials. They were all listed by name. |
| 21And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. | 21And there by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled. |
| 22For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from our enemies on the road, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.” | 22For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, “Our God’s hand of protection is on all who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him.” |
| 23So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He granted our request. | 23So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer. |
| 24Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, together with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers, | 24I appointed twelve leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten other priests— |
| 25and I weighed out to them the contribution of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his counselors, his leaders, and all the Israelites there had offered for the house of our God. | 25to be in charge of transporting the silver, the gold, the gold bowls, and the other items that the king, his council, his officials, and all the people of Israel had presented for the Temple of God. |
| 26I weighed out into their hands 650 talents of silver, articles of silver weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold, | 26I weighed the treasure as I gave it to them and found the totals to be as follows: 24 tons of silver, 7,500 pounds of silver articles, 7,500 pounds of gold, |
| 2720 gold bowls valued at 1,000 darics, and two articles of fine polished bronze, as precious as gold. | 2720 gold bowls, equal in value to 1,000 gold coins, 2 fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold. |
| 28Then I told them, “You are holy to the LORD, and these articles are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers. | 28And I said to these priests, “You and these treasures have been set apart as holy to the LORD. This silver and gold is a voluntary offering to the LORD, the God of our ancestors. |
| 29Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem before the leading priests, Levites, and heads of the Israelite families.” | 29Guard these treasures well until you present them to the leading priests, the Levites, and the leaders of Israel, who will weigh them at the storerooms of the LORD’s Temple in Jerusalem.” |
| 30So the priests and Levites took charge of the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem. | 30So the priests and the Levites accepted the task of transporting these treasures of silver and gold to the Temple of our God in Jerusalem. |
| 31On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was upon us to protect us from the hands of the enemies and bandits along the way. | 31We broke camp at the Ahava Canal on April 19 and started off to Jerusalem. And the gracious hand of our God protected us and saved us from enemies and bandits along the way. |
| 32So we arrived at Jerusalem and rested there for three days. | 32So we arrived safely in Jerusalem, where we rested for three days. |
| 33On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and sacred articles into the hand of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, along with the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. | 33On the fourth day after our arrival, the silver, gold, and other valuables were weighed at the Temple of our God and entrusted to Meremoth son of Uriah the priest and to Eleazar son of Phinehas, along with Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui—both of whom were Levites. |
| 34Everything was verified by number and weight, and the total weight was recorded at that time. | 34Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the total weight was officially recorded. |
| 35Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and a sin offering of 12 male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD. | 35Then the exiles who had come out of captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel. They presented twelve bulls for all the people of Israel, as well as ninety-six rams and seventy-seven male lambs. They also offered twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was given as a burnt offering to the LORD. |
| 36They also delivered the king’s edicts to the royal satraps and governors of the region west of the Euphrates, who proceeded to assist the people and the house of God. | 36The king’s decrees were delivered to his highest officers and the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, who then cooperated by supporting the people and the Temple of God. |
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