The Exiles Who Returned with Ezra

1These are now the chiefe fathers of them, and the genealogie of them that came vp with mee from Babel, in the reigne of King Artahshashte. 2Of the sonnes of Phinehas, Gershom: of the sonnes of Ithamar, Daniel: of the sonnes of Dauid, Hattush: 3Of the sonnes of Shechaniah, of the sonnes of Pharosh, Zechariah, and with him the count of the males, an hundreth and fiftie. 4Of the sonnes of Pahath Moab, Elihoenai, the sonne of Zerahiah, and with him two hundreth males. 5Of the sonnes of Shechaniah, the sonne of Iahaziel, and with him three hundreth males. 6And of the sonnes of Adin, Ebed the sonne of Ionathan, and with him fiftie males. 7And of the sonnes of Elam, Ieshaiah the sonne of Athaliah, and with him seuentie males. 8And of the sonnes of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the sonne of Michael, and with him fourescore males. 9Of the sonnes of Ioab, Obadiah the sonne of Iehiel, and with him two hundreth and eighteene males. 10And of the sonnes of Shelomith the sonne of Iosiphiah, & with him an hundreth and threescore males. 11And of the sonnes of Bebai, Zechariah the sonne of Bebai, and with him eight and twentie males. 12And of the sonnes of Azgad, Iohanan the sonne of Hakkatan, and with him an hundreth and ten males. 13And of the sonnes of Adonikam, that were the last, whose names are these: Eliphelet, Iehiel and Shemaiah, and with them three score males. 14And of the sonnes of Biguai, Vthai, and Zabbud, and with them seuentie males.

Ezra Sends for the Levites

15And I gathered them to the Riuer that goeth toward Ahaua, and there abode we three dayes: then I viewed the people, and the Priests, and found there none of the sonnes of Leui. 16Therefore sent I to Eliezer, to Ariel, to Shemeiah, and to Elnathan, and to Iarib, and to Elnathan, and to Nathan, and to Zechariah, and to Meshullam the chiefe, and to Ioiarib and to Elnathan, men of vnderstanding, 17And I gaue them commandement, to Iddo the chiefest at the place of Casiphia, & I told them the words that they should speake to Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims at the place of Casiphia, that they should cause the ministers of the house of our God to come vnto vs. 18So by the good hande of our God which was vpon vs, they brought vs a man of vnderstanding of the sonnes of Mahali the sonne of Leui the sonne of Israel, and Sherebiah with his sonnes and his brethren, euen eighteene. 19Also Hashabiah, and with him Ieshaiah of the sonnes of Merari, with his brethren, and their sonnes twentie. 20And of the Nethinims, whom Dauid had set, and the Princes for the seruice of the Leuites, two hundreth and twentie of the Nethinims, which all were named by name.

Fasting for Protection

21And there at the Riuer, by Ahaua, I proclaimed a fast, that we might humble our selues before our God, and seeke of him a right way for vs, & for our children, and for all our substance. 22For I was ashamed to require of the King an armie and horsemen, to helpe vs against the enemie in the way, because we had spoken to the King, saying, The hande of our God is vpon all them that seeke him in goodnesse, but his power & his wrath is against all them that forsake him. 23So we fasted, aud besought our God for this: and he was intreated of vs.

Priests to Guard the Offerings

24Then I separated twelue of the chiefe of the Priests, Sherebiah, and Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, 25And weighed them the siluer and the gold, and the vessels, euen the offring of ye house of our God, which the King and his counselers, and his Princes, & all Israel that were present had offred. 26And I weighed vnto their hand sixe hundreth and fiftie talents of siluer, and in siluer vessel, an hundreth talents, and in golde, an hundreth talents: 27And twentie basins of golde, of a thousand drammes, and two vessels of shining brasse very good, and precious as golde. 28And I said vnto them, Ye are consecrate vnto the Lord, and the vessels are consecrate, and the gold and the siluer are freely offred vnto the Lord God of your fathers. 29Watch ye, and keepe them vntill ye weigh them before the chiefe Priestes and the Leuites, and the chiefe fathers of Israel in Ierusalem in the chambers of the house of the Lord. 30So the Priests and the Leuites receiued the weight of the siluer and of the golde, and of the vessels to bring them to Ierusalem, vnto the house of our God.

31Then we departed from the Riuer of Ahauah on the twelft day of the first moneth, to go vnto Ierusalem, & the hand of our God was vpon vs, and deliuered vs from the hand of the enemie, and of such as layde waite by the way.

Arrival in Jerusalem

32And we came to Ierusalem, & abode there three dayes.

33And on ye fourth day was the siluer weighed, and the golde and the vessell in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the sonne of Vriah the Priest, and with him was Eleazar the sonne of Phinehas, and with them was Iozabad the sonne of Ieshua, and Noadiah the sonne of Binnui the Leuites, 34By number and by weight of euery one, and all the weight was written at the same time.

35Also the children of the captiuitie, which were come out of captiuitie, offred burnt offrings vnto the God of Israel, twelue bullockes for all Israel, ninetie and sixe rammes, seuentie and seuen lambes, and twelue hee goates for sinne: all was a burnt offring of the Lord. 36And they deliuered the Kings commission vnto the Kings officers, and to the captaines beyond the Riuer: and they promoted the people, and the house of God.