CHAPTER 8
1 Therefore these be the princes of families (or And so these be the leaders of the families), and this is the genealogy of them, that were in the realm of Artaxerxes, the king, and went up with me from Babylon.
2 Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush, (the son of Shechaniah);
3 of the sons of Shechaniah and of the sons of Pharosh, Zechariah, and with him were numbered an hundred and fifty men; (of the sons of Pharosh, Zechariah, and with him were listed a hundred and fifty men;)
4 of the sons of Pahath, Moab, and Elihoenai, the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred men; (of the sons of Pahathmoab, Elihoenai, the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred men;)
5 of the sons of (Zattu), Shechaniah, the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred men;
6 of the sons of Adin, Ebed, the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty men;
7 of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah, the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy men;
8 of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah, the son of Michael, and with him fourscore men;
9 of the sons of Joab, Obadiah, the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen men;
10 of the sons of (Bani), Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and with him an hundred and sixty men;
11 of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight men;
12 of the sons of Azgad, Johanan, the son of Hakkatan, and with him an hundred and ten men;
13 of the sons of Adonikam, that were the last (or who were the last ones to return), and these be the names of them, Eliphelet, and Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty men;
14 (and) of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy men.
15 And I gathered all these men at the flood, that runneth down to Ahava; and we dwelled there three days. And I sought among the people, and in the priests, of the sons of Levi, and I found not (any of them) there. (And I gathered all these men at the river, that runneth down to Ahava; and we stayed there three days. And I sought among the people, and among the priests, for the Levites, but I did not find any of them there.)
16 Therefore I sent (for) Eliezer, and Ariel, and Shemaiah, and Elnathan, and Jarib, and another Elnathan, and Nathan, and Zechariah, and Meshullam, princes (or the leaders); and Joiarib, and Elnathan, (the) wise men;
17 and I sent them to Iddo, that is the chief (man) in the place of Casiphia, and I put in the mouth of them the words, which they should speak to Iddo, and to his brethren, (the) Nethinims, in the place of Casiphia, for to bring to us the ministers of the house of our God. (and I sent them to Iddo, that is the chief man, or the leader, at the place of Casiphia, and I put the words in their mouths, which they should say to Iddo, and to his kinsmen, the Temple workers, at that place of Casiphia, yea, that they should bring us ministers for the House of our God.)
18 And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought (to us) a full wise man of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and they brought Sherebiah, and his sons, twenty, and his brethren, were eighteen; (And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us Sherebiah, a very wise man of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and along with him, they brought his sons and his kinsmen, in all, eighteen men;)
19 and Hashabiah, and Jeshaiah came with him of the sons of Merari, (and)they brought his brethren, and his sons, twenty; (and Hashabiah, and along with him came Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, and his kinsmen, and their sons, in all, twenty men;)
20 and of [the] Nethinims, which David and the princes had given to the services of (the) deacons, they brought two hundred and twenty Nethinims; all these were called by their names. (and of the Temple workers, whom David and his officials had appointed for service to the Levites, they brought two hundred and twenty Temple workers; all these were called by their names.)
21 And I preached there fasting beside the flood of Ahava, that we should be tormented before the Lord our God, and that we should ask of him the right way to us, and to our sons, and to all our substance. (And I preached, or proclaimed, that we should fast there beside the Ahava River, and that we should be tormented before the Lord our God, and that we should ask him for a safe journey for us, and for our sons, and for all our possessions.)
22 For I shamed to ask of the king help, and horsemen, which should defend us from our enemies in the way, (or For I was ashamed to ask the king for any help, or for horsemen, who could defend us on the way from our enemies), for we had said to the king, The hand of our God is upon all men that seek him in goodness; and his lordship, and his strength, and his strong vengeance, be on all men that forsake him.
23 And (so) we fasted, and prayed (to) our God for this thing, and it befelled to us wellsomely.
24 And I separated twelve of the princes of (the) priests, Sherebiah, and Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them; (And I separated out, or chose, twelve of the leaders of the priests, Sherebiah, and Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them;)
25 and I betook under certain weight and number to them the silver and gold, and the hallowed vessels of the house of our God, which the king had offered, and his counsellors, and his princes, and all the men that were found of Israel. (and I delivered into their hands, under certain weight and number, the silver and the gold, and the holy vessels of the House of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, or his officials, and his leaders, and all the Israelites who were found, had offered.)
26 And I betook under certain weight and number into the hands of them six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and an hundred silveren vessels; an hundred talents of gold, (And so I delivered into their hands, under certain weight and number, six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and a hundred silver vessels; and a hundred talents of gold,)
27 and twenty golden cups, or basins, which had in weight a thousand pieces of gold; and two fair vessels of best brass, shining as gold. (and twenty gold bowls, which were worth or which weighed a thousand pieces of gold; and two beautiful vessels of the best bronze, shining as gold.)
28 And I said to them, Ye be the holy men of the Lord; and therefore watch ye, and keepeth the holy vessels, and the silver and gold, (or and so keepeth watch over the holy vessels, and the silver and the gold), that is offered by free will to the Lord God of our fathers,
29 till ye yield (them) under certain weight and number before the princes of priests, and of deacons, and before (the) dukes of (the) families of Israel in Jerusalem, into the chamber of God’s house. (until ye give them under certain weight and number to the leaders of the priests, and the Levites, and the leaders of the families of the tribes of Israel in Jerusalem, in the rooms of the House of God.)
30 And the priests and deacons took the weight of silver, and of gold, and of vessels, for to bear them into Jerusalem, into the house of our God. (And so the priests and the Levites took charge of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, in order to carry them to Jerusalem, to the House of our God.)
31 Therefore we moved forth from the flood of Ahava, in the twelfth day of the first month, for to go into Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and delivered us from the hand of [the] enemy, and of the ambusher in the way. (And so we moved forth from the Ahava River, on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and delivered us from the hands of the enemy, and of the ambusher on the way.)
32 And we came to Jerusalem, and we dwelled there three days (or and we stayed there three days).
33 Forsooth in the fourth day the silver was yielded [up] under certain weight and number, and the gold, and the vessels, in the house of our God, by the number and weight of all things, by the hand of Meremoth, the son of Uriah, (the) priest; and with him was Eleazar, the son of Phinehas, and with them were Jozabad, the son of Joshua, and Noadiah, the son of Binnui, deacons; (And on the fourth day, the silver, and the gold, and the vessels were weighed in the House of our God, and given into the hands, or the care, of Meremoth the priest, the son of Uriah; and with him was Eleazar, the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad, the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, the son of Binnui;)
34 and all the weight was described in that time. (and the number and the weight of all the things were listed at that time.)
35 But also the sons of (the) transmigration, that came from (the) captivity, offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord God of Israel, twelve calves for all the people of Israel, ninety and six rams, seven and seventy lambs, twelve bucks of (the) goats for sin; all these were offered into burnt sacrifice to the Lord. (And the sons of them who had been carried off, and had now come back from the captivity, offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord God of Israel, yea, twelve calves for all the people of Israel, ninety-six rams, and seventy-seven lambs, and also twelve goat bucks for a sin offering; all these were offered as a burnt sacrifice to the Lord.)
36 Forsooth they gave the commandments of the king to the princes, that were in the sight of the king, and to the dukes beyond the flood; and they raised up the people, and the house of God. (Then they gave the king’s orders to the leaders who served the king there, and to the governors of the province on the west side of the Euphrates River; and then they supported the people, and the House of God.)