1 And these are the chief fathers, and their genealogy, who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of Artaxerxes the king. 2 Of the children of Phinehas, Gershom; of the children of Ithamar, Daniel; of the children of David, Hattush; 3 of the children of Shecaniah, of the children of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty. 4 Of the children of Pahath-Moab, Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males. 5 Of the children of Shechaniah, the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males. 6 And of the children of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males. 7 And of the children of Elam, Isaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males. 8 And of the children of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males. 9 Of the children of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males. 10 And of the children of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and sixty males. 11 And of the children of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males. 12 And of the children of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten males. 13 And of the children of Adonikam, the last ones, whose names are these: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty males. 14 And of the children of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.

15 And I gathered them together at the river that runs to Ahava; and there we encamped three days; and I surveyed the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there. 16 And 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, and for Joiarib and for Elnathan, men of understanding. 17 And I gave them a commission to Iddo the chief, at the place Casiphia, and I put words in their mouths to say to Iddo and his brethren the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God. 18 And 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 his brethren, eighteen; 19 and Hashabiah, and with him Isaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty; 20 and of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim: all of them were expressed by name.

21 And I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. 22 For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way; for we had spoken to the king saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his anger is against all them that forsake him. 23 And we fasted, and besought our God for this; and he was entreated of us.

24 And I separated twelve of the chiefs of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, 25 and I weighed to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the heave-offering for the house of our God, which the king and his counsellors and his princes, and all Israel present, had offered. 26 And I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver; and silver vessels a hundred talents, and of gold a hundred talents; 27 and twenty basons of gold, of a thousand darics; and two vessels of shining copper, precious as gold. 28 And I said to them, Ye are holy unto Jehovah; the vessels also are holy; and the silver and the gold is a voluntary offering to Jehovah the God of your fathers. 29 Watch and keep them until ye weigh them before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites, and the chiefs of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of Jehovah. 30 And the priests and the Levites received by weight the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.

31 And we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth 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 of such as lay in wait by the way. 32 And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.

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 Urijah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites: 34 the whole by number and by weight; and all the weight was written down at that time.

35 The children of those that had been carried away, who had come out of the captivity, presented 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 for a burnt-offering to Jehovah. 36 And they delivered the king's edicts to the king's satraps, and to the governors on this side the river. And they furthered the people and the house of God.