| English Standard 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 Babylonia, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king: | 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, who was of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered 150 men. | 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 200 men. | 4Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah from Pahath-moab's descendants, and 200 men with him; |
| 5Of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men. | 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 50 men. | 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 70 men. | 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 80 men. | 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 218 men. | 9Obadiah son of Jehiel from Joab's descendants, and 218 men with him; |
| 10Of the sons of Bani, Shelomith the son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men. | 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 28 men. | 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 110 men. | 12Johanan son of Hakkatan from Azgad's descendants, and 110 men with him; |
| 13Of the sons of Adonikam, those who came later, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men. | 13these are the last ones, from Adonikam's descendants, and their names are: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and 60 men with them; |
| 14Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men. | 14Uthai and Zaccur from Bigvai's descendants, and 70 men with them. |
| 15I gathered them to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of the sons of Levi. | 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, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of insight, | 16Then I summoned the leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, as well as the teachers Joiarib and Elnathan. |
| 17and sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers and the temple servants at the place Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers 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. |
| 18And by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen, 18; | 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, |
| 19also Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his kinsmen and their sons, 20; | 19plus Hashabiah, along with Jeshaiah, from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, 20 men. |
| 20besides 220 of the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. These were all mentioned 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 Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. | 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 ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all 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 implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty. | 23So we fasted and pleaded with our God about this, and He granted our request. |
| 24Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them. | 24I selected 12 of the leading priests, along with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and 10 of their brothers. |
| 25And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his counselors and his lords and all Israel there 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 out into their hand 650 talents of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents, and 100 talents of gold, | 26I weighed out to them 24 tons of silver, silver articles weighing 7,500 pounds, 7,500 pounds of gold, |
| 2720 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics, and two vessels of fine bright bronze as 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, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the 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. |
| 29Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel at Jerusalem, within 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 took over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, 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 Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. | 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. |
| 32We came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days. | 32So we arrived at Jerusalem and rested there for three days. |
| 33On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed into the hands of Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and 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. |
| 34The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded. | 34Everything was verified by number and weight, and the total weight was recorded at that time. |
| 35At that time those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. 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. |
| 36They also delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s satraps and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided 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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