ACV - Ezra

Chapter 1

1:1  Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,

1:2  Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth has Jehovah, the God of heaven, given me, and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

1:3  Whoever there is among you of all his people, his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah, the God of Israel (he is God), which is in Jerusalem.

1:4  And whoever is left, in any place where he sojourns, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.

1:5  Then the heads of fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, even all whose spirit God had stirred, rose up to go up to build the house of Jehovah which is in Jerusalem.

1:6  And all those who were round about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.

1:7  Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of Jehovah, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put in the house of his gods,

1:8  even those Cyrus king of Persia brought forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them to Sheshbazzar, the ruler of Judah.

1:9  And this is the number of them: thirty platters of gold, a thousand platters of silver, twenty-nine knives,

1:10  thirty bowls of gold, four hundred and ten silver bowls of a second sort, and a thousand other vessels.

1:11  All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar brought up when those of the captivity were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Chapter 2

2:1  Now these are the sons of the province who went up out of the captivity of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, every man to his city,

2:2  who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:

2:3  The sons of Parosh, two thousand a hundred seventy-two.

2:4  The sons of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy-two.

2:5  The sons of Arah, seven hundred seventy-five.

2:6  The sons of Pahath-moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve.

2:7  The sons of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty-four.

2:8  The sons of Zattu, nine hundred forty-five.

2:9  The sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty.

2:10  The sons of Bani, six hundred forty-two.

2:11  The sons of Bebai, six hundred twenty-three.

2:12  The sons of Azgad, a thousand two hundred twenty-two.

2:13  The sons of Adonikam, six hundred sixty-six.

2:14  The sons of Bigvai, two thousand fifty-six.

2:15  The sons of Adin, four hundred fifty-four.

2:16  The sons of Ater, of Hezekiah, ninety-eight.

2:17  The sons of Bezai, three hundred twenty-three.

2:18  The sons of Jorah, a hundred and twelve.

2:19  The sons of Hashum, two hundred twenty-three.

2:20  The sons of Gibbar, ninety-five.

2:21  The sons of Bethlehem, a hundred twenty-three.

2:22  The men of Netophah, fifty-six.

2:23  The men of Anathoth, a hundred twenty-eight.

2:24  The sons of Azmaveth, forty-two.

2:25  The sons of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three.

2:26  The sons of Ramah and Geba, six hundred twenty-one.

2:27  The men of Michmas, a hundred twenty-two.

2:28  The men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred twenty-three.

2:29  The sons of Nebo, fifty-two.

2:30  The sons of Magbish, a hundred fifty-six.

2:31  The sons of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty-four.

2:32  The sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty.

2:33  The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty-five.

2:34  The sons of Jericho, three hundred forty-five.

2:35  The sons of Senaah, three thousand and six hundred and thirty.

2:36  The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy-three.

2:37  The sons of Immer, a thousand fifty-two.

2:38  The sons of Pashhur, a thousand two hundred forty-seven.

2:39  The sons of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.

2:40  The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodaviah, seventy-four.

2:41  The singers: the sons of Asaph, a hundred twenty-eight.

2:42  The sons of the porters: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, in all a hundred thirty-nine.

2:43  The Nethinim: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,

2:44  the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon,

2:45  the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub,

2:46  the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shamlai, the sons of Hanan,

2:47  the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah,

2:48  the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam,

2:49  the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai,

2:50  the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephisim,

2:51  the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,

2:52  the sons of Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,

2:53  the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah,

2:54  the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.

2:55  The sons of Solomon's servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Hassophereth, the sons of Peruda,

2:56  the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,

2:57  the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Ami.

2:58  All the Nethinim and the sons of Solomon's servants were three hundred ninety-two.

2:59  And these were those who went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, but they could not show their fathers' houses, and their seed, whether they were of Israel:

2:60  the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, six hundred fifty and two.

2:61  And of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name.

2:62  These sought their registration among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found. Therefore they were deemed polluted and put away from the priesthood.

2:63  And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.

2:64  The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty,

2:65  besides their men-servants and their maid-servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty-seven. And they had two hundred singing men and singing women.

2:66  Their horses were seven hundred thirty-six, their mules, two hundred forty-five,

2:67  their camels, four hundred thirty-five, their donkeys, six thousand seven hundred and twenty.

2:68  And some of the heads of fathers, when they came to the house of Jehovah which is in Jerusalem, offered willingly for the house of God to set it up in its place.

2:69  They gave after their ability into the treasury of the work sixty-one thousand darics of gold, and five thousand pounds of silver, and one hundred priests' garments.

2:70  So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

Chapter 3

3:1  And when the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.

3:2  Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brothers, stood up and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.

3:3  And they set the altar upon its base, for fear was upon them because of the peoples of the countries. And they offered burnt offerings on it to Jehovah, even burnt offerings morning and evening.

3:4  And they kept the feast of tabernacles as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the ordinance, as the duty of every day required.

3:5  And afterward the continual burnt offering, and the offerings of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of Jehovah that were consecrated, and of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to Jehovah.

3:6  From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to Jehovah. But the foundation of the temple of Jehovah was not yet laid.

3:7  Also they gave money to the masons, and to the carpenters, and food, and drink, and oil, to those of Sidon, and to those of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.

3:8  Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who came out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began. And they appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of Jehovah.

3:9  Then Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, stood together to have the oversight of the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brothers the Levites.

3:10  And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of Jehovah, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise Jehovah, after the order of David king of Israel.

3:11  And they sang one to another in praising and giving thanks to Jehovah, saying, For he is good, for his loving kindness is forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised Jehovah, because the foundation of the house of Jehovah was laid.

3:12  But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers, the old men who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice, and many shouted aloud for joy.

3:13  So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

Chapter 4

4:1  Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the sons of the captivity were building a temple to Jehovah, the God of Israel,

4:2  then they drew near to Zerubbabel, and to the heads of fathers, and said to them, Let us build with you, for we seek your God, as ye do, and we sacrifice to him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria who brought us up here.

4:3  But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers of Israel, said to them, Ye have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God, but we ourselves together will build to Jehovah, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.

4:4  Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,

4:5  and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

4:6  And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

4:7  And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. And the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian character, and set forth in the Syrian tongue.

4:8  Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this way.

4:9  Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the Dinaites, and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites,

4:10  and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over, and set in the city of Samaria, and in the rest beyond the River, and so forth.

4:11  This is a copy of the letter that they sent to Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men beyond the River, and so forth.

4:12  Be it known to the king, that the Jews who came up from thee have come to us to Jerusalem. They are building the rebellious and the evil city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the foundations.

4:13  Be it known now to the king, that, if this city be built, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end it will be hurtful to the kings.

4:14  Now because we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore we have sent and certified to the king,

4:15  that search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers. So thou shall find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful to kings and provinces. And that they have made sedition within the same of old time, for which cause this city was laid waste.

4:16  We certify to the king that, if this city be built, and the walls finished, by this means thou shall have no portion beyond the River.

4:17  Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and in the rest beyond the River: Peace, and so forth.

4:18  The letter which ye sent to us has been plainly read before me.

4:19  And I decreed, and search has been made. And it is found that this city of old time has made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it.

4:20  There have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem who have ruled over all the country beyond the River, and tribute, custom, and toll, was paid to them.

4:21  Make ye now a decree to cause these men to cease, and that this city not be built until a decree shall be made by me.

4:22  And take heed that ye be not slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?

4:23  Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them cease by force and power.

4:24  Then the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Chapter 5

5:1  Now the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, to them.

5:2  Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, rose up and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem, and with them were the prophets of God, helping them.

5:3  At the same time Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai, and their companions, came to them, and said thus to them, Who gave you a decree to build this house, and to finish this wall?

5:4  Then we told them after this manner, namely, what the names of the men were who were making this building.

5:5  But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, and they did not make them cease till the matter should come to Darius, and then answer should be returned by letter concerning it.

5:6  The copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai, and his companions the Apharsachites, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king;

5:7  they sent a letter to him, in which was written thus: To Darius the king, all peace.

5:8  Be it known to the king, that we went into the province of Judah to the house of the great God, which is built with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls. And this work goes on with diligence and prospers in their hands.

5:9  Then we asked those elders, and said to them thus: Who gave you a decree to build this house, and to finish this wall?

5:10  Also, we asked them their names, to certify to thee, that we might write the names of the men who were at the head of them.

5:11  And thus they returned us an answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. And are building the house that was built these many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.

5:12  But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath. He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon.

5:13  But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of God.

5:14  And also the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought into the temple of Babylon, those Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar whom he had made governor.

5:15  And he said to him, Take these vessels. Go put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in its place.

5:16  Then the same Sheshbazzar came, and laid the foundations of the house of God which is in Jerusalem. And since that time even until now it has been in building, and yet it is not completed.

5:17  Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure-house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made from Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.

Chapter 6

6:1  Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the archives where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.

6:2  And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a roll, and in it was thus written for a record:

6:3  In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be built-the place where they offer sacrifices-and let the foundations of it be strongly laid, the height of it sixty cubits, and the breadth of it sixty cubits,

6:4  with three courses of great stones, and a course of new timber. And let the expenses be given out of the king's house.

6:5  And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought to Babylon, be restored, and brought again to the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to its place. And thou shall put them in the house of God.

6:6  Now therefore, Tattenai, governor beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your companions the Apharsachites, who are beyond the River, be ye far from there:

6:7  Let the work of this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in its place.

6:8  Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to these elders of the Jews for the building of this house of God: That of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the River, expenses be given with all diligence to these men, that they not be hindered.

6:9  And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, also wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the word of the priests who are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail

6:10  that they may offer sacrifices of sweet savor to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.

6:11  Also I have made a decree, that whoever shall alter this word, let a beam be pulled out from his house, and let him be lifted up and fastened thereon, and let his house be made a dunghill for this.

6:12  And the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow all kings and peoples who shall put forth their hand to alter the same, to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree, let it be done with all diligence.

6:13  Then Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their companions, because of what Darius the king had sent, did accordingly with all diligence.

6:14  And the elders of the Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

6:15  And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

6:16  And the sons of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the sons of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.

6:17  And they offered at the dedication of this house of God a hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs. And for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he-goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

6:18  And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their divisions, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.

6:19  And the sons of the captivity kept the Passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.

6:20  For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together, all of them were pure. And they killed the Passover for all the sons of the captivity, and for their brothers the priests, and for themselves.

6:21  And the sons of Israel who came again out of the captivity, and all such as had separated themselves to them from the filthiness of the nations of the land, to seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, ate,

6:22  and kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy. For Jehovah had made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Chapter 7

7:1  Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

7:2  the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,

7:3  the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,

7:4  the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,

7:5  the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest,

7:6  this Ezra went up from Babylon. And he was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which Jehovah, the God of Israel, had given. And the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of Jehovah his God upon him.

7:7  And some of the sons of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

7:8  And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.

7:9  For upon the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.

7:10  For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Jehovah, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances.

7:11  Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of the commandments of Jehovah, and of his statutes to Israel:

7:12  Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect and so forth.

7:13  I make a decree, that all those of the people of Israel, and their priests and the Levites, in my realm, who are minded of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with thee.

7:14  Forasmuch as thou are sent from the king and his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thy hand,

7:15  and to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem,

7:16  and all the silver and gold that thou shall find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly, for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem.

7:17  Therefore thou shall with all diligence buy with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meal offerings and their drink offerings, and shall offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.

7:18  And whatever shall seem good to thee and to thy brothers to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do ye after the will of your God.

7:19  And the vessels that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem.

7:20  And whatever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shall have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure-house.

7:21  And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers who are beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done with all diligence,

7:22  to a hundred talents of silver, and to a hundred measures of wheat, and to a hundred baths of wine, and to a hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.

7:23  Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done exactly for the house of the God of heaven; for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

7:24  Also we certify to you, that concerning any of the priests and Levites, the singers, porters, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll, upon them.

7:25  And thou, Ezra, according to the wisdom of thy God, that is in thy hand, appoint magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people who are beyond the River, all such as know the laws of thy God, and teach ye him who does not know them.

7:26  And whoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him with all diligence, whether it be to death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.

7:27  Blessed be Jehovah, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of Jehovah which is in Jerusalem,

7:28  and has extended loving kindness to me before the king, and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty rulers. And I was strengthened according to the hand of Jehovah my God upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.

Chapter 8

8:1  Now these are the heads of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:

8:2  of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush;

8:3  of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty;

8:4  of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males;

8:5  of the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males;

8:6  and of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males;

8:7  and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males;

8:8  and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males;

8:9  of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males;

8:10  and of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and sixty males;

8:11  and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males;

8:12  and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten males;

8:13  And of the sons of Adonikam, who were the last, and these are their names: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty males;

8:14  and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.

8:15  And I gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we encamped three days. And I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.

8:16  Then I sent for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men, also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, who were teachers.

8:17  And I sent them forth to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say to Iddo, and his brothers the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.

8:18  And according to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen,

8:19  and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty,

8:20  and of the Nethinim, whom David and the rulers had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim. All of them were mentioned by name.

8:21  Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

8:22  For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all those who seek him, for good, but his power and his wrath are against all those who forsake him.

8:23  So we fasted and besought our God for this, and he was entreated by us.

8:24  Then I set apart twelve of the chiefs of the priests, even Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them,

8:25  and weighed to them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king, and his counselors, and his rulers, and all Israel there present, had offered.

8:26  I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and a hundred talents of silver vessels, a hundred talents of gold,

8:27  and twenty bowls of gold, of a thousand darics, and two vessels of fine bright brass, precious as gold.

8:28  And I said to them, Ye are holy to Jehovah, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to Jehovah, the God of your fathers.

8:29  Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites, and the rulers of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of Jehovah.

8:30  So the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

8:31  Then we departed from the river 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 the ambushment by the way.

8:32  And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.

8:33  And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levite,

8:34  the whole by number and by weight. And all the weight was written at that time.

8:35  The sons of the captivity, who came out of exile, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to Jehovah.

8:36  And they delivered the king's commissions to the king's satraps, and to the governors beyond the River. And they furthered the people and the house of God.

Chapter 9

9:1  Now when these things were done, the rulers drew near to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

9:2  For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the peoples of the lands. Yea, the hand of the heads and rulers has been chief in this trespass.

9:3  And when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded.

9:4  Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel were assembled to me, because of the trespass of those of the captivity, and I sat confounded until the evening oblation.

9:5  And at the evening oblation I arose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands to Jehovah my God,

9:6  and I said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God, for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our guiltiness has grown up to the heavens.

9:7  Since the days of our fathers we have been exceedingly guilty to this day. And for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to plunder, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.

9:8  And now for a little moment grace has been shown from Jehovah our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

9:9  For we are bondmen, yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended loving kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the ruins of it, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

9:10  And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken thy commandments,

9:11  which thou have commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, to which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land through the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their filthiness.

9:12  Now therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity forever, that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your sons forever.

9:13  And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great guilt, seeing that thou our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such a remnant,

9:14  shall we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the peoples who do these abominations? Would thou not be angry with us till thou had consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape?

9:15  O Jehovah, the God of Israel, thou are righteous, for we are left a remnant that is escaped, as it is this day. Behold, we are before thee in our guiltiness, for none can stand before thee because of this.

Chapter 10

10:1  Now while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there was gathered together to him out of Israel a very great assembly of men and women and children, for the people wept very much.

10:2  And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land. Yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing.

10:3  Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the law.

10:4  Arise, for the matter belongs to thee, and we are with thee. Be of good courage, and do it.

10:5  Then Ezra arose, and made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. So they swore.

10:6  Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. And when he came there, he ate no bread, nor drank water, for he mourned because of the trespass of those of the captivity.

10:7  And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the sons of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together to Jerusalem.

10:8  And that whoever did not come within three days, according to the counsel of the rulers and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the captivity.

10:9  Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together to Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month, and all the people sat in the broad place before the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain.

10:10  And Ezra the priest stood up, and said to them, Ye have trespassed, and have married foreign women to increase the guilt of Israel.

10:11  Now therefore make confession to Jehovah, the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure, and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women.

10:12  Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, As thou have said concerning us, so must we do.

10:13  But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand outside. Neither is this a work of one day or two, for we have greatly transgressed in this matter.

10:14  Let now our rulers be appointed for all the assembly, and let all those who are in our cities who have married foreign women come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God be turned from us, until this matter be dispatched.

10:15  Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah stood up against this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.

10:16  And the sons of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain heads of fathers, after their fathers' houses, and all of them by their names, were set apart. And they sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

10:17  And they made an end with all the men who had married foreign women by the first day of the first month.

10:18  And among the sons of the priests there were found who had married foreign women, namely, of the sons of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brothers, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.

10:19  And they gave their hand that they would put away their wives. And being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their guilt.

10:20  And of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.

10:21  And of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah.

10:22  And of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

10:23  And of the Levites: Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (the same is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

10:24  And of the singers: Eliashib. And of the porters: Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.

10:25  And of Israel: Of the sons of Parosh, Ramiah, and Izziah, and Malchijah, and Mijamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.

10:26  And of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Elijah.

10:27  And of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.

10:28  And of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, Athlai.

10:29  And of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, Jeremoth.

10:30  And of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.

10:31  And of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

10:32  Benjamin, Malluch, Shemariah.

10:33  Of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, Shimei.

10:34  Of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, and Uel,

10:35  Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi,

10:36  Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

10:37  Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu,

10:38  and Bani, and Binnui, Shimei,

10:39  and Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,

10:40  Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

10:41  Azarel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,

10:42  Shallum, Amariah, Joseph.

10:43  Of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Iddo, and Joel, Benaiah.

10:44  All these had taken foreign wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had sons.