| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of King Artaxerxes: | 1These are the family heads and genealogical records of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes: |
| 2of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush; | 2from the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom; from the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel; from the descendants of David, Hattush |
| 3of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and registered with him were one hundred and fifty males; | 3of the descendants of Shecaniah; from the descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered 150 men; |
| 4of the sons of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males; | 4from the descendants of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men; |
| 5of the sons of Shechaniah, Ben-Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males; | 5from the descendants of Zattu, Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men; |
| 6of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males; | 6from the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men; |
| 7of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; | 7from the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men; |
| 8of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males; | 8from the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him 80 men; |
| 9of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males; | 9from the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men; |
| 10of the sons of Shelomith, Ben-Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males; | 10from the descendants of Bani, Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men; |
| 11of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males; | 11from the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him 28 men; |
| 12of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males; | 12from the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men; |
| 13of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these—Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah—and with them sixty males; | 13from the later descendants of Adonikam, these were their names: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men; |
| 14also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy males. | 14and from the descendants of Bigvai, both Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men. |
| 15Now I gathered them by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And I looked among the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there. | 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. |
| 16Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leaders; also for Joiarib and Elnathan, men of understanding. | 16Then I summoned the leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, as well as the teachers Joiarib and Elnathan. |
| 17And I gave them a command for Iddo the chief man at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say to Iddo and his brethren the Nethinim at the place Casiphia—that they should bring us servants for the house of our God. | 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. |
| 18Then, 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, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and brothers, eighteen men; | 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; |
| 19and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty men; | 19also Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah, from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, 20 men. |
| 20also of the Nethinim, whom David and the leaders had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim. All of them were designated by name. | 20They also brought 220 of the temple servants, all designated by name. David and the officials had appointed them to assist the Levites. |
| 21Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. | 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. |
| 22For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.” | 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.” |
| 23So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer. | 23So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He granted our request. |
| 24And I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them— | 24Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, together with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers, |
| 25and weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the articles, the offering for the house of our God which the king and his counselors and his princes, and all Israel who were present, had offered. | 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. |
| 26I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, silver articles weighing one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold, | 26I weighed out into their hands 650 talents of silver, articles of silver weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold, |
| 27twenty gold basins worth a thousand drachmas, and two vessels of fine polished bronze, precious as gold. | 2720 gold bowls valued at 1,000 darics, and two articles of fine polished bronze, as precious as gold. |
| 28And I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD; the articles are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD God of your fathers. | 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. |
| 29Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.” | 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.” |
| 30So the priests and the Levites received the silver and the gold and the articles by weight, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God. | 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. |
| 31Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road. | 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. |
| 32So we came to Jerusalem, and stayed there three days. | 32So we arrived at Jerusalem and rested there for three days. |
| 33Now on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the articles were 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; with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui, | 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. |
| 34with the number and weight of everything. All the weight was written down at that time. | 34Everything was verified by number and weight, and the total weight was recorded at that time. |
| 35The children of those who had been carried away captive, who had come from the captivity, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD. | 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. |
| 36And they delivered the king’s orders to the king’s satraps and the governors in the region beyond the River. So they gave support to the people and the house of God. | 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. |
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