| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard 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 leaders and the 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; | 2Gershom, from Phinehas's descendants; Daniel, from Ithamar's descendants; Hattush, from David's descendants, |
| 3of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and registered with him were one hundred and fifty males; | 3who was of Shecaniah's descendants; Zechariah, from Parosh's descendants, and 150 men with him who were registered by genealogy; |
| 4of the sons of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males; | 4Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah from Pahath-moab's descendants, and 200 men with him; |
| 5of the sons of Shechaniah, Ben-Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males; | 5Shecaniah son of Jahaziel from Zattu's descendants, and 300 men with him; |
| 6of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males; | 6Ebed son of Jonathan from Adin's descendants, and 50 men with him; |
| 7of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; | 7Jeshaiah son of Athaliah from Elam's descendants, and 70 men with him; |
| 8of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males; | 8Zebadiah son of Michael from Shephatiah's descendants, and 80 men with him; |
| 9of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males; | 9Obadiah son of Jehiel from Joab's descendants, and 218 men with him; |
| 10of the sons of Shelomith, Ben-Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males; | 10Shelomith son of Josiphiah from Bani's descendants, and 160 men with him; |
| 11of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males; | 11Zechariah son of Bebai from Bebai's descendants, and 28 men with him; |
| 12of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males; | 12Johanan son of Hakkatan from Azgad's descendants, and 110 men with him; |
| 13of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these—Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah—and with them sixty males; | 13these are the last ones, from Adonikam's descendants, and their names are: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and 60 men with them; |
| 14also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy males. | 14Uthai and Zaccur from Bigvai's descendants, and 70 men with them. |
| 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. | 15I gathered them at the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I searched among the people and priests, but 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. | 17I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, with a message for him and his brothers, the temple servants at Casiphia, that they should bring 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; | 18Since the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah--a man of insight from the descendants of Mahli, a descendant of Levi 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; | 19plus Hashabiah, along 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. | 20There were also 220 of the temple servants, who had been appointed by David and the leaders for the work of the Levites. All were identified by name. |
| 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. | 21I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us, our children, and 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.” | 22I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, 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 abandon Him." |
| 23So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer. | 23So we fasted and pleaded with 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— | 24I selected 12 of the leading priests, along with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and 10 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. | 25I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the articles--the contribution for the house of our God that the king, his counselors, his leaders, and all the Israelites who were present had offered. |
| 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 to them 24 tons of silver, silver articles weighing 7,500 pounds, 7,500 pounds of gold, |
| 27twenty gold basins worth a thousand drachmas, and two vessels of fine polished bronze, precious as gold. | 27 20 gold bowls worth 1,000 gold coins, and two articles of fine gleaming bronze, as valuable 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 said to them, "You are holy to the LORD, and the articles are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD 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 LORD's house before the leading priests, Levites, and heads of the Israelite families in Jerusalem." |
| 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, the gold, and the articles that had been weighed out, to bring them 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. | 31We set out from the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. We were strengthened by our God, and He protected us from the power of the enemy and from ambush 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 the silver, the gold, and the articles were weighed out in the house of our God into the care of Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him. The Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui were also with them. |
| 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. | 35The exiles who had returned from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, and 77 lambs, along with 12 male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering for 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, so that they would support the people and the house of God. |
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