Ezra 8 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
These are the family leaders and the genealogical records of those who went up with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:
From the descendants of Phinehas: Gershom. From the descendants of Ithamar: Daniel. From the descendants of David: Hattush,
son of Shecaniah. From the descendants of Parosh: Zechariah, and with him 150 men were registered.
From the descendants of Pahath-Moab: Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and 200 men with him.
From the descendants of Zattu: Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and 300 men with him.
From the descendants of Adin: Ebed son of Jonathan, and 50 men with him.
From the descendants of Elam: Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and 70 men with him.
From the descendants of Shephatiah: Zebadiah son of Michael, and 80 men with him.
From the descendants of Joab: Obadiah son of Jehiel, and 218 men with him.
From the descendants of Bani: Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and 160 men with him.
From the descendants of Bebai: Zechariah son of Bebai, and 28 men with him.
From the descendants of Azgad: Johanan son of Hakkatan, and 110 men with him.
From the descendants of Adonikam — the last ones: their names were Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and 60 men with them.
From the descendants of Bigvai: Uthai and Zakkur, and 70 men with them.
I gathered them at the canal that flows toward and we camped there for three days. When I looked over the people and the priests, I found no Levites there.
So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam — all leaders — and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were teachers.
I sent them to Iddo, the leader at the settlement in I told them what to say to Iddo and his relatives, the temple servants at so that they would bring us ministers for the house of our God.
Because the good hand of our God was on us, they brought us a man of insight named Sherebiah, along with his sons and relatives — 18 men total — from the descendants of Mahli, son of Levi, son of Israel.
Also Hashabiah and Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari, with their relatives and sons — 20 men.
And 220 of the temple servants — all of them listed by name — whom David and the officials had appointed to serve the Levites.
There at the Ahava canal, I proclaimed a so we could before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions.
I was too to ask the king for soldiers and cavalry to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, "The hand of our God is on everyone who seeks him, for their good, but his power and his anger are against everyone who abandons him."
So we fasted and asked our God about this, and he answered us.
Then I twelve of the leading priests — Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their relatives with them.
I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the items — the contribution for the house of our God that the king, his advisors, his officials, and all the Israelites present there had given.
I weighed into their hands 650 talents of silver, silver items worth 100 talents, 100 talents of gold,
20 gold bowls worth 1,000 and two items of fine polished bronze, as precious as gold.
I said to them, "You are set apart to Yahweh, and these items are set apart. The silver and gold are a voluntary offering to Yahweh, the God of your ancestors."
"Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the rooms of the house of Yahweh, before the leading priests and Levites and the family leaders of Israel in Jerusalem."
Then the priests and Levites received the silver, gold, and items that had been weighed out, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.
We set out from the Ahava canal on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from and along the way.
We arrived in Jerusalem and rested there for three days.
On the fourth day, the silver, gold, and items were weighed out in the house of our God into the hands of Meremoth son of Uriah the priest. With him was Eleazar son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui.
Everything was verified by number and weight, and the entire weight was recorded at that time.
The exiles who had returned from 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 an for — all of it a burnt to Yahweh.
They also delivered the king's orders to the and officials of the region west of the Euphrates, who then gave their support to the people and the house of God.