Ezra 2

¹¹Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the population.

¹⁴He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.

¹⁵Nebuchadnezzar carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, as well as the king’s mother, his wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land. He took them into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

⁶These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar its king. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town,

⁷accompanied by Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. This is the count of the men of Israel:

¹¹to bring Queen Vashti before him, wearing her royal crown, to display her beauty to the people and officials. For she was beautiful to behold.

¹Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.

²And Zedekiah did evil in the sight of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done.

⁷The coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah; there they will find pasture. They will lie down in the evening among the houses of Ashkelon, for the Lord their God will attend to them and restore their captives.

⁴But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work! For I am with you, declares the Lord of Hosts.

⁷accompanied by Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. This is the count of the men of Israel:

¹²Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. So the people feared the Lord.

¹⁴So the Lord stirred the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and began the work on the house of the Lord of Hosts, their God,

¹In the second year of the reign of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, stating

¹²After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

¹³Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor.

³of the descendants of Shecaniah; from the descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered 150 men;

²⁵And among the other Israelites, from the descendants of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah.

⁸the descendants of Parosh, 2,172;

⁹the descendants of Shephatiah, 372;

⁸from the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him 80 men;

¹⁰the descendants of Arah, 652;

¹⁸For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, since he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.

¹¹the descendants of Pahath-moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab), 2,818;

⁹from the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men;

¹⁴Let our leaders represent the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at an appointed time, together with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our God in this matter is turned away from us.”

³⁰From the descendants of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.

⁴from the descendants of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men;

²⁶From the descendants of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.

³¹the descendants of the other Elam, 1,254;

⁷from the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men;

¹²the descendants of Elam, 1,254;

¹³the descendants of Zattu, 845;

²⁷From the descendants of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.

¹⁴the descendants of Zaccai, 760;

¹⁵the descendants of Binnui, 648;

³⁴From the descendants of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel,

²⁸From the descendants of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

¹¹from the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him 28 men;

¹⁶the descendants of Bebai, 628;

¹⁷the descendants of Azgad, 2,322;

¹²from the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men;

¹³from the later descendants of Adonikam, these were their names: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men;

¹⁸the descendants of Adonikam, 667;

¹⁹the descendants of Bigvai, 2,067;

¹⁴and from the descendants of Bigvai, both Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men.

²⁰the descendants of Adin, 655;

⁶from the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men;

²¹the descendants of Ater (through Hezekiah), 98;

²³the descendants of Bezai, 324;

²⁴the descendants of Hariph, 112;

²²the descendants of Hashum, 328;

³³From the descendants of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

²⁵the descendants of Gibeon, 95;

⁵⁰These were the descendants of Caleb. The sons of Hur the firstborn of Ephrathah: Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim,

⁵¹Salma the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth-gader.

²⁸Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,

⁵⁴The descendants of Salma: Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab, half the Manahathites, the Zorites,

²⁶the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188;

⁸they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite—they and their men.

²¹Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the people of Anathoth who are seeking your life and saying, “You must not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand.”

¹These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.

³⁰Cry aloud, O Daughter of Gallim! Listen, O Laishah! O wretched Anathoth!

¹⁸Anathoth, and Almon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

²⁷the men of Anathoth, 128;

²⁸the men of Beth-azmaveth, 42;

¹⁷So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities—Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

²⁹the men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743;

³⁰the men of Ramah and Geba, 621;

²⁴Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve cities, along with their villages.

²⁵Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,

⁵Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.

²⁸Assyria has entered Aiath and passed through Migron, storing their supplies at Michmash.

³¹the men of Michmash, 122;

²³And a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Michmash.

⁸From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the Lord, and he called on the name of the Lord.

⁹So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But Joshua spent that night among the people.

¹⁷Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city wide open while they pursued Israel.

²Meanwhile, Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

³³the men of the other Nebo, 52;

⁴⁹“Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo, in the land of Moab across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites as their own possession.

³³the men of the other Nebo, 52;

²²upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,

³“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,

²Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.

¹Concerning Moab, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be devastated. Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced; the fortress will be shattered and dismantled.

⁷the descendants of Elam, 1,254;

³⁴the descendants of the other Elam, 1,254;

³¹From the descendants of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

³⁵the descendants of Harim, 320;

³⁷the men of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721;

¹²The sons of Elpaal: Eber, Misham, Shemed (who built Ono and Lod with its villages),

³⁴Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,

³⁵Lod, and Ono; and in the Valley of the Craftsmen.

²Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.” But they were planning to harm me.

³⁴In Ahab’s days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. At the cost of Abiram his firstborn he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his youngest he set up its gates, according to the word that the Lord had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.

³⁶the men of Jericho, 345;

¹⁵Then the men who were designated by name arose, took charge of the captives, and provided from the plunder clothing for the naked. They clothed them, gave them sandals and food and drink, anointed their wounds, and put all the feeble on donkeys. So they brought them to Jericho, the City of Palms, to their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.

³⁸and the descendants of Senaah, 3,930.

⁹So Jeshua and his sons and brothers, Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Yehudah), and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers—all Levites—joined together to supervise those working on the house of God.

⁷The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,

⁸the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,

¹⁰From the priests: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin;

³⁹The priests: the descendants of Jedaiah (through the house of Jeshua), 973;

¹⁴the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,

²⁰From the descendants of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.

⁴⁰the descendants of Immer, 1,052;

¹²Adaiah son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah; Maasai son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer;

²²From the descendants of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

⁴¹the descendants of Pashhur, 1,247;

⁸the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,

⁴²and the descendants of Harim, 1,017.

²¹From the descendants of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.

⁹So Jeshua and his sons and brothers, Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Yehudah), and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers—all Levites—joined together to supervise those working on the house of God.

⁴³The Levites: the descendants of Jeshua (through Kadmiel, through the line of Hodevah), 74.

³⁹Heman’s kinsman was Asaph, who served at his right hand: Asaph the son of Berechiah, the son of Shimea,

⁴⁴The singers: the descendants of Asaph, 148.

¹Additionally, David and the commanders of the army set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy with the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. The following is the list of the men who performed this service:

²From the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. These sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king.

¹⁷Mattaniah son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, who led in thanksgiving and prayer; Bakbukiah, second among his associates; and Abda son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.

¹⁷So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his brothers, Asaph son of Berechiah; from their brothers the Merarites, Ethan son of Kushaiah;

⁴⁵The gatekeepers: the descendants of Shallum, the descendants of Ater, the descendants of Talmon, the descendants of Akkub, the descendants of Hatita, and the descendants of Shobai, 138 in all.

¹⁷These were the gatekeepers: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives. Shallum was their chief;

¹These were the divisions of the gatekeepers: From the Korahites: Meshelemiah son of Kore, one of the sons of Asaph.

²Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth,

²Now the first to resettle their own property in their cities were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.

⁴⁶The temple servants: the descendants of Ziha, the descendants of Hasupha, the descendants of Tabbaoth,

⁴⁷the descendants of Keros, the descendants of Sia, the descendants of Padon,

²⁸“The rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the people of the land to obey the Law of God—along with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand,

⁵⁸The temple servants and descendants of the servants of Solomon numbered 392 in all.

⁴⁷the descendants of Keros, the descendants of Sia, the descendants of Padon,

⁴⁸the descendants of Lebanah, the descendants of Hagabah, the descendants of Shalmai,

⁵¹the descendants of Gazzam, the descendants of Uzza, the descendants of Paseah,

⁵²the descendants of Besai, the descendants of Meunim, the descendants of Nephushesim,

⁵⁴the descendants of Bazlith, the descendants of Mehida, the descendants of Harsha,

⁵⁵the descendants of Barkos, the descendants of Sisera, the descendants of Temah,

²¹their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to devote to destruction—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day.

⁵⁷The descendants of the servants of Solomon: the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Sophereth, the descendants of Perida,

⁵⁸the descendants of Jaala, the descendants of Darkon, the descendants of Giddel,

⁵⁹the descendants of Shephatiah, the descendants of Hattil, the descendants of Pochereth-hazzebaim, and the descendants of Amon.

²Now the first to resettle their own property in their cities were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.

²¹their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to devote to destruction—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day.

²³Now therefore you are under a curse and will perpetually serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”

²⁷On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers, as they are to this day for the congregation of the Lord and for the altar at the place He would choose.

²¹They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation.” So the leaders kept their promise.

⁷So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants.

⁶¹The following came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove that their families were descended from Israel:

⁶²the descendants of Delaiah, the descendants of Tobiah, and the descendants of Nekoda, 642 in all.

²⁷When David came to Mahanaim, he was met by Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim.

⁷But show loving devotion to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, because they stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.

⁶³And from among the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai (who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name).

⁶⁴These men searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.

³¹Now Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim to cross the Jordan with the king and send him on his way from there.

³²Barzillai was quite old, eighty years of age, and since he was a very wealthy man, he had provided for the king while he stayed in Mahanaim.

¹⁰So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.”

³⁹So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar,

⁴⁰just as the Lord commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the Lord, lest he become like Korah and his followers.

²¹No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall approach to present the food offerings to the Lord. Since he has a defect, he is not to come near to offer the food of his God.

²²He may eat the most holy food of his God as well as the holy food,

⁷But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”

¹⁰Surely the Levites who wandered away from Me when Israel went astray, and who wandered away from Me after their idols, will bear the consequences of their iniquity.

¹¹Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having charge of the gates of the temple and ministering there. They shall slaughter the burnt offerings and other sacrifices for the people and stand before them to minister to them.

²¹He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the Lord by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will go out and come in.”

¹⁰But the remainder of the grain offering shall belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the food offerings to the Lord.

³⁰And place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of judgment, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the Lord. Aaron will continually carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the Lord.

³The remainder of the grain offering shall belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the food offerings to the Lord.

¹⁰No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it.

⁹Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the Law.

³Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will return them to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and multiply.

²⁰On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on him who struck them, but they will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

²¹A remnant will return—a remnant of Jacob—to the Mighty God.

⁶⁶The whole assembly numbered 42,360,

⁶⁷in addition to their 7,337 menservants and maidservants, as well as their 245 male and female singers.

⁸But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from the Lord our God to preserve for us a remnant and to give us a stake in His holy place. Even in our bondage, our God has given us new life and light to our eyes.

³⁵I am now eighty years old. Can I discern what is good and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or drinks? Can I still hear the voice of singing men and women? Why should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?

⁸and I accumulated for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered to myself male and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men—many concubines.

²⁵Then Jeremiah lamented over Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers recite laments over Josiah. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Book of Laments.

¹For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose Israel and settle them in their own land. The foreigner will join them and unite with the house of Jacob.

²The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess the nations as menservants and maidservants in the Lord’s land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.

²⁵The singers lead the way, the musicians follow after, among the maidens playing tambourines.

⁶⁷in addition to their 7,337 menservants and maidservants, as well as their 245 male and female singers.

⁷Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.

³For I testify that they gave according to their ability and even beyond it. Of their own accord,

⁵Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Let everyone whose heart is willing bring an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze;

⁶blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair;

³They received from Moses all the contributions that the Israelites had brought to carry out the service of constructing the sanctuary. Meanwhile, the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning,

²⁹So all the men and women of the Israelites whose hearts prompted them brought a freewill offering to the Lord for all the work that the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.

¹Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

²⁵and I weighed out to them the contribution of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his counselors, his leaders, and all the Israelites there had offered for the house of our God.

²⁶I weighed out into their hands 650 talents of silver, articles of silver weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold,

⁵¹So all the work that King Solomon had performed for the house of the Lord was completed. Then Solomon brought in the items his father David had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

¹⁴Now behold, I have taken great pains to provide for the house of the Lord—100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron too great to be weighed. I have also provided timber and stone, and you may add to them.

²⁰Now their fellow Levites were in charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the dedicated things.

²¹From the descendants of Ladan, who were Gershonites through Ladan and heads of the families of Ladan the Gershonite, were Jehieli,

⁷¹And some of the heads of the families gave to the treasury for the project 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver.

⁷²The rest of the people gave a total of 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priestly garments.

⁷³So the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with some of the people and the rest of the Israelites, settled in their own towns. And by the seventh month the Israelites had settled in their towns.

³These are the heads of the provinces who settled in Jerusalem. (In the villages of Judah, however, each lived on his own property in their towns—the Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon’s servants—

⁴while some of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin settled in Jerusalem.) From the descendants of Judah: Athaiah son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, a descendant of Perez;

²Even in times past, while Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And the Lord your God said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ruler over them.’”

²Now the first to resettle their own property in their cities were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.

¹⁶Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.

¹⁷For the dedication of the house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and a sin offering for all Israel of twelve male goats, one for each tribe of Israel.