1 And these are the heads of their families, the leaders that went up with me in the reign of Artaxerxes the king of Babylon. 2 Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush. 3 Of the sons of Shecaniah, and of the sons of Parosh; Zechariah: and with him a company of a hundred and fifty. 4 Of the sons of Pahath-moab; Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred that were males. 5 And of the sons of Zattu; Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males. 6 And of the sons of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males. 7 And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males. 8 And of the sons of Shephatiah; Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males. 9 And of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males. 10 And of the sons of Bani; Shelomith the son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and sixty males. 11 And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males. 12 And of the sons of Azgad; Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten males. 13 And of the sons of Adonikam were the last, and these were their names, Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty males. 14 And of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai, and Zaccur, and with him seventy males.

15 And I gathered them to the river that comes to Ahava, and we encamped there three days: and I reviewed the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there. 16 And I sent men of understanding to Eleazar, to Ariel, to Shemaiah, and to Alonam, and to Jarib, and to Elnathan, and to Nathan, and to Zechariah, and to Meshullam, and to Joiarib, and to Elnathan. 17 And I forwarded them to the rulers with the money of the place, and I put words in their mouth to speak to their brethren the Nathinim with the money of the place, that they should bring us singers for the house of our God. 18 And they came to us, as the good hand of our God was upon us, even a man of understanding of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, and at the commencement came his sons and his brethren, eighteen. 19 And Hashabiah, and Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and his sons, twenty. 20 And of the Nathinim, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites there were two hundred and twenty Nathinim; all were gathered by their names.

21 And I proclaimed there a fast, at the river Ahava, that we should humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our children, and for all our property. 22 For I was ashamed to ask of the king a guard and horsemen to save us from the enemy in the way: for we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all that seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath are upon all that forsake him. 23 So we fasted, and asked of our God concerning this; and he hearkened to us.

24 And I gave charge to twelve of the chiefs of the priests, to Sherebiah, to Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them. 25 And I weighed to them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of the firstfruits of the house of our God, which the king, and his counselors, and his princes, and all Israel that were found, had dedicated. 26 I even weighed into their hands six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and a hundred silver vessels, and a hundred talents of gold; 27 and twenty golden bowls, weighing about a thousand drachmas, and superior vessels of fine shining brass, precious as gold. 28 And I said to them, Ye are holy to the Lord; and the vessels are holy; and the silver and the gold are freewill offerings to the Lord God of our fathers. 29 Be watchful and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites, and the chiefs of families in Jerusalem, at the chambers of the house of the Lord. 30 So the priests and the Levites took the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring to Jerusalem into the house of our God.

31 And we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to come to Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and delivered us from the hand of the enemy and adversary in the way. 32 And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days. 33 And it came to pass on the fourth day that we weighed the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, 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 Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levites. 34 All things were reckoned by number and weight, and the whole weight was written down.

35 At that time the children of the banishment that came from the captivity offered whole burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve calves for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve goats for a sin offering: all whole burnt offerings to the Lord. 36 And they gave the king’s mandate to the king’s lieutenants, and the governors beyond the river: and they honored the people and the house of God.