1These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Baḇel, in the reign of Sovereign Artaḥshashta:

2of the sons of Phineḥas, Gĕreshom; of the sons of Ithamar, Dani’ĕl; of the sons of Dawiḏ, Ḥattush;

3of the sons of Sheḵanyah, of the sons of Parosh, Zeḵaryah, and registered with him were one hundred and fifty males;

4of the sons of Paḥath-Mo’aḇ, Elyeho‛ĕynai son of Zeraḥyah, and with him two hundred males;

5of the sons of Sheḵanyah, the son of Yaḥazi’ĕl, and with him three hundred males;

6and of the sons of Aḏin, Eḇeḏ son of Yehonathan, and with him fifty males;

7and of the sons of Ěylam, Yeshayah son of Athalyah, and with him seventy males;

8and of the sons of Shephatyah, Zeḇaḏyah son of Miḵa’ĕl, and with him eighty males;

9of the sons of Yo’aḇ, Oḇaḏyah son of Yeḥi’ĕl, and with him two hundred and eighteen males;

10and of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Yosiphyah, and with him one hundred and sixty males;

11and of the sons of Bĕḇai, Zeḵaryah son of Bĕḇai, and with him twenty-eight males;

12and of the sons of Azgaḏ, Yoḥanan son of Haqqatan, and with him one hundred and ten males;

13and of the last sons of Aḏoniqam, whose names are these; Eliphelet, Ye‛i’ĕl, and Shemayah, and with them sixty males;

14and of the sons of Big̅wai, Uthai and Zabbuḏ, and with them seventy males.

15And I assembled them at the river that flows to Ahawa, and we camped there three days. And I looked among the people and the priests, and did not find any of the sons of Lĕwi there.

16Then I sent for Eli‛ezer, for Ari’ĕl, for Shemayah, and for Elnathan, and for Yariḇ, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zeḵaryah, and for Meshullam, leaders – also for Yoyariḇ and Elnathan, men of understanding.

17And I gave them a command for Iddo the chief man at the place Kasiphya, and put in their mouth words to speak to Iddo and his brothers the Nethinim at the place Kasiphya, to bring us servants for the House of our Elohim.

18Then, by the good hand of our Elohim upon us, they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Maḥli son of Lĕwi, son of Yisra’ĕl, and Shĕrĕḇyah, with his sons and brothers, eighteen;

19and Ḥashaḇyah, and with him Yeshayah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty;

20and of the Nethinim, whom Dawiḏ and the leaders had appointed for the service of the Lĕwites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim, all of them designated by name.

21I then proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahawa, to humble ourselves before our Elohim, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions,

22for I was ashamed to ask of the sovereign a group of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken to the sovereign, saying, “The hand of our Elohim is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.”

23So we fasted and prayed to our Elohim for this, and He answered our prayer.

24And I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests: Shĕrĕḇyah, Ḥashaḇyah, and ten of their brothers with them;

25and weighed out to them the silver, and the gold, and the utensils, the contribution for the House of our Elohim which the sovereign and his counsellors and his heads, and all Yisra’ĕl who were there, had presented.

26Thus I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver objects of one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold,

27and twenty gold basins of a thousand drachmas, and two utensils of fine polished bronze, precious as gold.

28And I said to them, “You are set-apart to יהוה, and the objects are set-apart. And the silver and the gold are a voluntary offering to יהוה Elohim of your fathers.

29“Watch and guard them until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Lĕwites and heads of the fathers’ houses of Yisra’ĕl in Yerushalayim, in the rooms of the House of יהוה.”

30So the priests and the Lĕwites took the weight of the silver and the gold and the utensils, to bring them to Yerushalayim to the House of our Elohim.

31Then we set out from the Ahawa River on the twelfth of the first month, to go to Yerushalayim. And the hand of our Elohim was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the way.

32And when we came to Yerushalayim, we dwelt there three days.

33And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils were weighed in the House of our Elohim by the hand of Merĕmoth son of Uriyah the priest, and with him was El‛azar son of Phineḥas. And with them were the Lĕwites, Yozaḇaḏ son of Yĕshua and No‛aḏyah son of Binnui,

34with the number and weight of all. And all the weight was written down at that time.

35The sons of the exile, who had come from the captivity, brought burnt offerings to the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl: twelve bulls for all Yisra’ĕl, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering – all as a burnt offering to יהוה.

36And they gave the sovereign’s orders to the sovereign’s viceroys and the governors beyond the River. And they lifted up the people and the House of Elohim.