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Ezra

End of the Babylonian Captivity

1In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he sent a herald throughout all his kingdom, and also in a written edict declared:

2 ‘Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. ³Any of those among you who are of his people—may their God be with them!—are now permitted to go up to Jerusalem in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem; ⁴and let all survivors, in whatever place they reside, be assisted by the people of their place with silver and gold, with goods and with animals, besides freewill-offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.’

5 The heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred—got ready to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. ⁶All their neighbours aided them with silver vessels, with gold, with goods, with animals, and with valuable gifts, besides all that was freely offered. ⁷King Cyrus himself brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. ⁸King Cyrus of Persia had them released into the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. ⁹And this was the inventory: gold basins, thirty; silver basins, one thousand; knives,^* twenty-nine; ¹⁰gold bowls, thirty; other silver bowls, four hundred and ten; other vessels, one thousand; ¹¹the total of the gold and silver vessels was five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar brought up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.

List of the Returned Exiles

2Now these were the people of the province who came from those captive exiles whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had carried captive to Babylonia; they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, all to their own towns. ²They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.

The number of the Israelite people: ³the descendants of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two. ⁴Of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two. ⁵Of Arah, seven hundred and seventy-five. ⁶Of Pahath-moab, namely the descendants of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve. ⁷Of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four. ⁸Of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five. ⁹Of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty. ¹⁰Of Bani, six hundred and forty-two. ¹¹Of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three. ¹²Of Azgad, one thousand two hundred and twenty-two. ¹³Of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-six. ¹⁴Of Bigvai, two thousand and fifty-six. ¹⁵Of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four. ¹⁶Of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, ninety-eight. ¹⁷Of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-three. ¹⁸Of Jorah, one hundred and twelve. ¹⁹Of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three. ²⁰Of Gibbar, ninety-five. ²¹Of Bethlehem, one hundred and twenty-three. ²²The people of Netophah, fifty-six. ²³Of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight. ²⁴The descendants of Azmaveth, forty-two. ²⁵Of Kiriatharim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three. ²⁶Of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one. ²⁷The people of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two. ²⁸Of Bethel and Ai, two hundred and twenty-three. ²⁹The descendants of Nebo, fifty-two. ³⁰Of Magbish, one hundred and fifty-six. ³¹Of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four. ³²Of Harim, three hundred and twenty. ³³Of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five. ³⁴Of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five. ³⁵Of Senaah, three thousand six hundred and thirty.

36 The priests: the descendants of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three. ³⁷Of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two. ³⁸Of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven. ³⁹Of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.

40 The Levites: the descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the descendants of Hodaviah, seventy-four. ⁴¹The singers: the descendants of Asaph, one hundred and twenty-eight. ⁴²The descendants of the gatekeepers: of Shallum, of Ater, of Talmon, of Akkub, of Hatita, and of Shobai, in all one hundred and thirty-nine.

43 The temple servants: the descendants of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, ⁴⁴Keros, Siaha, Padon, ⁴⁵Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub, ⁴⁶Hagab, Shamlai, Hanan, ⁴⁷Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah, ⁴⁸Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, ⁴⁹Uzza, Paseah, Besai, ⁵⁰Asnah, Meunim, Nephisim, ⁵¹Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, ⁵²Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, ⁵³Barkos, Sisera, Temah, ⁵⁴Neziah, and Hatipha.

55 The descendants of Solomon’s servants: Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda, ⁵⁶Jaalah, Darkon, Giddel, ⁵⁷Shephatiah, Hattil, Pochereth-hazzebaim, and Ami.

58 All the temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants were three hundred and ninety-two.

59 The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, though they could not prove their families or their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: ⁶⁰the descendants of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two. ⁶¹Also, of the descendants of the priests: the descendants of Habaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai (who had married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name). ⁶²These looked for their entries in the genealogical records, but they were not found there, and so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean; ⁶³the governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food, until there should be a priest to consult Urim and Thummim.

64 The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, ⁶⁵besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred male and female singers. ⁶⁶They had seven hundred and thirty-six horses, two hundred and forty-five mules, ⁶⁷four hundred and thirty-five camels, and six thousand seven hundred and twenty donkeys.

68 As soon as they came to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the heads of families made freewill-offerings for the house of God, to erect it on its site. ⁶⁹According to their resources they gave to the building fund sixty-one thousand darics of gold, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priestly robes.

70 The priests, the Levites, and some of the people lived in Jerusalem and its vicinity;^* and the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants lived in their towns, and all Israel in their towns.